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Anime

Must-See Films at L.A. Anime Festival 153

Posted by michael from the tom-and-jerry dept.
May Kasahara writes "The first annual Los Angeles Anime Festival is being held May 2-15. Among other films screening at the festival are Studio Ghibli's The Cat Returns (making its US debut), Memories, and all nine episodes of The Animatrix. However, the film I really want to see is the trippy-looking Tamala 2010: A Punk Cat In Space. More information, including a full schedule of events, is available here."
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Must-See Films at L.A. Anime Festival More

Must-See Films at L.A. Anime Festival

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  • Alas all of these wonderful fests seem to be in far off places like LA and Colorado or NY what about us folk in the midwest. Nothing interesting seems to happen much around here in the way of major cons or fests even though we have Chicago. What gives??

  • Will someone show Kodocha? (Score:5, Informative)

    by axolotl_farmer ( 465996 ) on Monday April 21, 2003 @02:07AM (#5771956)
    The list of anime to be shown makes envious...why are there never any anime festivals here in Sweden...

    Is Kodocha [slashdot.org] ever shown at anime festivals. This is the funniest shoujo anime I've seen. There a a bunch of torrents over at Animesuki [animesuki.com].

    Enjoy!

    • Interest (Score:1, Troll)

      by t0ny ( 590331 )
      Im only interested if it shows graphic depictions of tentacle rape.
      • Im only interested if it shows graphic depictions of tentacle rape.

        Um, mods, you may want to understand what you are moderating. A 'Troll' is an inflamatory statement, mearly stated to provoke others to "Flame". Modding some "Flame" is either a response to an obvious "Troll", or else a hostile posting.

        Personally, I would have expected this to be moderated "Funny", seeing how I post it on every anime/manga article I see. However, feel free to moderate it "Redundant" for such behavior. However, "Tro

    • I haven't seen the anime, though I love the manga [tokyopop.com]! It's easily the smartest, funniest shoujo manga I've ever read!

      I wouldn't be suprised if fansubs have been screened before at smaller anime fests, but I haven't heard of any official screenings; I don't believe anyone's aquired rights to the series English-language release yet...

  • Anime is something else. I'm just getting into it and it's mindboggling, and a refreshing alternative to watered-down toons here in the states (watered-down vs. anime toons). I got Evangelion box set a few weeks ago and it is great. Any other cool robot anime that's pretty current (other than gundam)?

    Oh yeah, for a few minutes, it appeared that Slashdot actually got /.'ed before the links to the stories did. Guess it can happen to anyone.

    • Try RahXephon, Full Metal Panic, Gun Parade March. The first two are available here on DVD, the third via fan subs, as it is still running in Japan.
    • If you thought Evangelion was a robot anime, you're the reason they created the other ending. Congratulations, you missed the point. :)
      • Oh yeah, they weren't robots, but that's another good thing about anime. I had to watch a few times before I started picking up on little hints throughout the series (the eye, the blood-like fluid, and exposed hand) that I missed or didn't understand from watching it the first time through. I still don't get everything that happened. What other ending is there?

        • Re:ah anime (Score:3, Informative)

          by spectral ( 158121 )
          Evangelion was a psychological anime. The 'robots' weren't really robots, though you appear to have realized that by now ^_^. I get slightly confused as to how many endings there are, and in which order they were released. The way I heard it/understand it is that there is the original ending, which is the psychological one. The last two episodes look like the animators did every single drug and mushroom in the world and then decided to write the script and draw it. It's all in Shinji's head.

          "Air &

          • Re:ah anime (Score:3, Informative)

            by Hast ( 24833 )
            "End of Evangelion" is the ending you're looking for. It's really quite good and it ties the end of the TV series together in a way which makes a tad bit more sense. (Although not a hell of a lot. ;-) BTW, Air&Heart is the first part of EoE.

            I always liked the idea that the last two eps are going on inside Shinji's head while the first part of EoE shows what happens in the normal world at the same time. Others seem to prefer the idea that the last two eps of the TV show happen after the "third impact".
            • Yeah, I've tried to understand Eva.. it hurts my brain to think about it too much. That and Lain. Both very good series. And I forgot to mention Lain earlier when someone else was asking me for a list of stuff I liked. I liked a lot, I just listed some of the more recent stuff I could remember watching.

              So yeah, Lain's good too if you liked the aspects of Eva that made you think. If you thought it was cool cuz stuff got blown up, then maybe Lain wouldn't be so good. ;)
        • "Little hints"?

          Which ones were they - the scene where the main character masturbated over a catatonic 15-year-old girl, whose mother committed suicide after her husband started having an affair? The fact that the main character's mother died in an accident while inside an Eva - the same Eva that the main character was forced to ride in! Boy, that sure was a coincidence. Not to mention the other woman who committed suicide because the man she loved didn't care for her, but only for a five-year-old girl (who
          • You failed to read his post correctly.

            He didn't say "not your typical robot anime". He said "not your typical robots".

            The "hints" referred to were the evidence that the Evangelion units were biological/supernatural, and not purely mechanical.

            I wouldn't exactly call them hints, though. They really bludgeon the idea over your head in the first 2 episodes, but tune it down from there.
        • The "Eva units" in Evangelion were more robot-like than the mechanized battle suits from a series like Gundam or Golion [robot-japan.com].

          Prehaps you don't know what a "robot" is? It's an artificial machine that moves by itself. An "automaton". The very first use of the word "robot" was in reference to artificial slaves that rebel against humankind.

          Anything with a pilot in it is not a robot. "Powered suit" is an appropriate term, so is "battle armor". In fact, the word "mecha" is often used...

          There is such a thing a

    • I don't find them interesting (Score:5, Funny)

      by Trepidity ( 597 ) <delirium-slashdot@NoSPam.hackish.org> on Monday April 21, 2003 @03:01AM (#5772033)
      There's a lot of gee-whiz techno-nonsense reminiscent of early 1980s cyberpunk. Just because you have a robot, a "hacker," and a scantily-clad schoolgirl in your show doesn't mean you can skip the plot.
    • Are we talking the Modern cartoons, that are mostly Anime-influenced? Or are we talking classic American cartoons from the 80s and early 90s?

      And if you love robot Anime, watch Robotech. It's the father of a good 50% of the Anime out there, and chances are they though of it first (and then Gundum just ripped it off).
      • While it's true that modern cartoons are influenced by anime, there is still a noticeable difference between American cartoons and Japanese anime. Just going off of what I'm familiar with in anime vs. American cartoons, there's the long-legged, scantily-clad, curvaceous women that are slowly appearing in American cartoons, but not at the scale of anime. The sexual innuendos and situations are more prevalent and obvious in anime too. Anime battles are more graphic and vivid. I don't know whether it's a q
        • I think the main reason for the censors cutting American Import "Anime" is the difference between audiences in America and Japan. There, Anime is part of adult culture. Here, cartoons are still overwealmingly targeted to kids.

          Sex, violence, nudity, and adult themes are cut out because it's still not in public circles that Anime is an adult art form. With the most popular cartoons being things like Pokemon, it's getting harder to convince people. DBZ in America is targeted to kids and teenagers (personally,
        • American television wouldn't come anywhere near the religious references that underscore many of the adult-themed Japanese anime. Evangelion is by far the most extreme example I've encountered so far, but that also makes it the most fascinating - to pick apart references to Judao-Christian symbolism that most Jews/Christians have never heard of. American TV producers don't have the spine to incorporate potentially religious topics into anything.

          Japanese fascination with religious symbolism shows up in "

      • Sorry, Gundam came before Macross (which is what was used to create Robotech). The father of giant robot anime is probably Tetsujin 28-go (Gigantor was the english version) from early 60s, though Astroboy from early 50s could also be considered the father of all robot anime, he wasn't a giant robot though.

    • If you want to see what good writing can do for anime, I suggest you get the upcoming first season of Bishoujo Senshi Sailormoon on UNCUT subtitled-English DVD that ADV Films will release this July on a two-box DVD set.

      Don't laugh folks: the original version shown in Japan is in many ways a VASTLY different show than the DiC English-language "adaptation" that was originally shown in 1995. The original version is a much darker series, with much more serious storylines and the end of the first season caused
      • This is hyperbole. There is nothing "VAST" about the differences.

        Swapping around some backstory to replace "dead" with "magic sleep" doesn't really have all that much of an effect on the show itself, which is still "a dumb blonde with a magic school-uniform zaps random monsters with the same magic spell week after week". Although, it is a big shame the homosexuals were transgendered.

        I especially recommend watching the first seven episodes,

        Although they contain essential character introduction (if you
    • Try Zone of Ender
    • any other cool robot anime?

      search no more, go for gasaraki, one of the best in recent time, deep political plot, tactical military armor seen as it should be seen( a military tool far better than any tank), a little of supernatural fenomena, characters that act and look like real people, just go and search for it( if you are an stalwart patriot, dont see the episode when 4 tactical armors beat the crap out of a full abraham M1 tank battalion, its ugly)

      anime is at its best these days...
      • Gasaraki was promising for the first 4 episodes. The best of Clancy and Evangelion. Then just as the war was about to heat up, they fly back to Japan and it veers back to bland corporate/government/alien conspiracy sameness.

        tactical military armor seen as it should be seen( a military tool far better than any tank)

        Tactical armor shouldn't be "better than any tank". It should be superior to tanks in some situations.

        The military planners in the beginning spoke of Tactical Armor as an advantage in ur

  • Anime?? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 21, 2003 @02:14AM (#5771976)
    Im not trying to troll, but...

    I was wondering, just how popular is Anime amongst /.ers?

    Is this really something that everyone likes?

    Or is it just a category because Taco likes Anime?

    Same thing with The Matrix? Is it really needed that there be a whole category just for the matrix?

    There seems to be a HUGE range for these suject categories. Apple is a big category, so is Hardware. But I am confused why we have such general categories for most things, yet specific cetegories for others.

    • Re:Anime?? (Score:2, Funny)

      by buyo-kun ( 664999 )
      Let me put how I like anime this way. I have 40 different, complete, anime series.
      • I'm just beginning to get into anime, and it's fantastic, visually impressive, detailed and some (not all) have amazing story-lines. It does seem rather over the top to have a category just for anime or just for the matrix, but anime is extremely popular on the net (and is probably considered by many to be 'nerdy', a category on /. for it is fitting. And the matrix is one of the most (if not the most) technologically innovative films ever.
        • I would have to agree with you on your thought that anime would be considered 'nerdy'. But I say who cares. As long as you are enjoying the entertainment value of your anime of choice. I was first hooked on The Record of Lodoss WAr. Then I think it went to DBZ and Rurouni Kenshin. Since it was pointed out by another /. member that Transformers is actually anime, I would have to say it all started with that. I mean wow! Where else besides anime can you find such detailed character development in a ser

    • Re:Anime?? (Score:3, Insightful)

      by Jacer ( 574383 )
      It's a needs basis. Maybe The Matrix has it's own category on the premise that they understand many people want to filter out all articles dealing with it. A lot of news and information about The Matrix means that a lot of people who could care less may get upset. It just gives them a way to 'skip' the news. Dealing with the rest of your comment, Anime, by and large, is considered fairly geeky. Even if only ten percent of Slashdotters are 'into' anime, that's a large enough demograph to target.

    • Re:Anime?? (Score:3, Insightful)

      by spectral ( 158121 )
      I think the categories might be there since there are frequently stories in them. The matrix gets probably as much stories as half of all other movies combined here on slashdot, especially with the sequels and animatrix episodes. Therefore, people who hate the matrix and don't want to hear about it can filter it's topic.

      Same with anime. I think having more fine-grained topics is GOOD. I agree with Apple as a topic. PC users who don't care/hate apple might just block it. Breaking apple down in to smal

    • Re:Anime?? (Score:3, Informative)

      by bm_luethke ( 253362 )
      So, I'll give my experience.

      I work at a US national lab in High Permformance Computing - plenty of geeks. In the older crowd (30+ to 35+) not really that relevant. Most know nothing about it or think "cartoon == kids" 30- tends to like cartoons in general.

      The current group I am in I am the next to youngest (28) and am obsesed with it. The youngest has (24 I think) has never weighed in. The others (29, early 30's, 40's) think it is sorta wierd but have never really watched any (other than the wierd stuff I
    • I've never been able to really get into Anime since I watched Robotech as a kid. I loved that show, and still love watching it. It's not because I love Anime, but it reminds me of those cartoons.

      For me, my cartoon loves are strictly American for the most part. I haven't been able to figure out why that is, since most of my friends love the Anime. I love classics like Transformers, G.I. Joe, things like that. I have quite the collection of downloaded episodes, and also have DVDs of my childhood cartoon love
      • I enjoyed Ghost in the Shell, though I suppose that's qualified as Magna (I do not know the difference).

        Ghost in the Shell is an anime. An anime is an animation. A manga is a comic.

      • I've never been able to really get into Anime since I watched Robotech as a kid. I loved that show, and still love watching it. It's not because I love Anime, but it reminds me of those cartoons.

        Are you trying to convince yourself you don't? :P

        I still watch the modern adult cartoons: South Park, KOTH, Simpsons, but don't really consider them cartoons. I have enjoyed some Anime movies, but to me, most seem watered down, or geared towards another culture and mindset. I can only watch so many cartoons with

    • Re:Anime?? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by tdelaney ( 458893 ) on Monday April 21, 2003 @06:17AM (#5772328)
      Obviously, I can't speak for slashdotters as a whole, but I can give my experience.

      When I was a child (mid-70s - 80s) I found that there were some cartoons that I really enjoyed, and some that I didn't.

      Somewhat later (when Robotech came around) I discovered that nearly all the shows I had enjoyed originated in Japan - Kimba the White Lion; Astro Boy; Voltron (vehicles and lions); The Mysterious Cities of Gold; Star Blazers; Battle of the Planets; Ulysses ...

      OTOH, the shows I disliked were universally from the US - Scooby Doo; Flintstones; Jetsons ...

      As time went on I discovered that I *still* didn't like most US animation, but I did enjoy most Japanese animation I watched. There were some US shows I enjoyed (e.g. Simpsons) and some anime I detested (e.g. Debutante Detective School).

      Eventually I worked out the major things I liked and disliked. I enjoy story- and character-driven shows. I dislike episodic shows with no connection between the episodes and no character development. Of slightly lesser importance is character design and the overall look of the show - I *like* most of the anime character designs (esp. Miyazaki and CLAMP designs) and anime shows tend to look better in general - more attention to background detail, etc. OTOH, I'm currently watching "The Soultaker" and I don't overly like the look ...

      There is a *much* greater percentage of anime which is character- and plot-driven than US animation. The Simpsons is a character-driven show - most of the episodes don't have much to do with each other (though they often refer to previous events), but the characters are well-developed - they have real (caricatured) personalities. There are others, but they're few and far between (and of course, there are shows such as "King of the Hill" that I'll never watch because the ads just turn me off).

      I just finished watching "Burn Up Excess" today. It's a show with ridiculous storylines, huge breasts and unrealistic hair colours. It's also a lot of fun, with an on-going storyline that develops over the series, and characters whose stories draw me in *despite* the huge bouncing breasts. Of course, it's not a patch on shows such as "The Irresponsible Captain Tylor" or "Crest of the Stars" or "Kiki's Delivery Service" to name a few excellent shows. It's a (mostly) lightweight bit of fun, and much higher quality than most of the crud I occasionally catch on Cartoon Network or Nickelodeon.

      My personal collection is about 300 or so DVDs, and about 400 VHS (used to be more VHS, but I've managed to sell quite a few ...). All up I have about 200 complete series and movies. I tend to pick and choose my shows quite a bit (for example, I never got the El-Hazard TV series because everything I read said that it wasn't nearly as good as the OAVs) but I've got quite a few in there that I'll never watch again (fortunately, most of those are VHS). There are a number of shows though that I watch time and time again.

      Fortunately, Madman [madman.com.au] is releasing lots of anime here in Australia now - importing was prohibitively expensive. Oh - and I have lots of manga as well - Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind is definitely my favourite manga. However, the US comics I've enjoyed over the years have also tended to have strong storylines and characters - I don't find *that* great a disparity although no US comic I've ever read has had the depth of "Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind".
    • Maybe they put it in a whole separate section so only those readers geeky enough would keep it on their front page. That's the cool thing about a completely personalized slashdot experience and separate categories for things like The Matrix and anime, it allows non-fans to avoid it.

      I enjoy The Matrix and anime because they make me think. They are entertainment as well as provocative revolutionary subjects that force most viewers to question the founding principals behind their society and government.

      I e
    • The downside of anime being the world's only respected (not popular, but respected) form of animation is that it's the kind that's getting most imitated. There are good American graphic novels like Sandman, Watchmen, Dark Knight Returns and Creature Tech that don't fit either into the Disney style of cartooning or the superhero style (Watchmen and DKR have superheroes but show mainly their bad sides), but are still among the world's best graphic novels. You can see some of their style rub off in Tim Burto
    • It's too bad "The Matrix" is a category as it is instead of another word to fit the "living within a simulation" genre. We really don't seem to have a word or title to give to the concept as a whole.

      There's a bunch of great papers [simulation-argument.com] on the subject as well, including one [simulation-argument.com] that proposes that we probably do live within a computer simulation.

  • Good starting point? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by rf0 ( 159958 ) <rghf@fsck.me.uk> on Monday April 21, 2003 @02:44AM (#5772010) Homepage
    I'm trying to get into anime and I've watched things like Akira and TBH thats about it. Whats a good series I should try to get to help into another spending habit? :)

    rus
    • I got my start from watching Cartoon Network's Adult Swim (particularly sat. night). Cowboy Bebop and Outlaw Star were two that caught my attention. Evangelion was suggested by a friend and that series is definitely top of the list. Oh yeah and Vampire Hunter D is a good anime movie. I'm still pretty new to it, but those are a few that caught my attention.

      Oh yeah, and kazaa was pretty helpful....

    • *sigh* I'll bite. First my favorite argument: liking Anime as a format is rather stupid. Liking genres of stories, not so stupid.

      What types of stories do you [think you would] like? There's a few typical anime genres, though there seems to be a lot of cross-genre stuff. Typical, and largest being shoujo (targeted at females), and shounen (targeted to males). But in there there's subcategories. Magical girl (sailor moon is probably the most popular/well known example in America) is a type of shoujo.
    • Slam Dunk is an awesome cartoon. Nowhere else have I ever seen 3 seconds of a high school basketball game take 30 minutes to complete. Edge of you seat stuff.

    • Re:Good starting point? (Score:3, Informative)

      by nathanh ( 1214 )

      I'm trying to get into anime and I've watched things like Akira and TBH thats about it. Whats a good series I should try to get to help into another spending habit? :)

      Depends on what you like. I'll touch on movies as well as series.

      If you like action, explosions, girls in robot suits, then Bubblegum Crisis 2032 is great. Don't confuse this with Bubblegum Crisis 2040: good but not great.

      If you want romantic comedy then Ah! My Goddess is great for watching with your girl. Only 2 discs in the series

    • Trigun is quickly becoming one of my favorite cartoons. I like the character Vash because he is silly a lot of the time but he is also an excellent marksman and has this amazing ability to get out of impossible situations. You can see it weeknights on Cartoon Network.

      I also saw Spirited Away a few weeks ago and it is definately worth a rental now that it is on DVD.

    • As with any story-type thing, it depends what you are after. If you like a not too serious sci-fi, go for Trigun. A bit more serious (and with a great soundtrack), Cowboy Bebop. Both of these are generally easy to watch. If you want funny (and disturbingly addictive) and don't mind a bit sappy, Love Hina. An interesting action/drama-ish one is Noir, which follows two assassins. A comedy following a kid training to be a ninja, Naruto.

      Based on what I'd like, I'd recommend these as good starting places. All a

      • I must disagree on a technical basis. Noir shouldn't correctly be called "action".

        That word implies that people would move around from time to time, especially when faced with a dangerous situation like a gun battle [animenewsnetwork.com].

        Now that I think about it... maybe it shouldn't even be called "animation". Like Fushigi Yugi, it's more a slide-show with a soundtrack.

    • Re:Good starting point? (Score:2, Informative)

      by trurl7 ( 663880 )
      Man have you opened up a can of worms. Everybody and their anime-watching cat is gonna have their top ten list up here. So, I'm trying to beat the rush. Here are my personal picks:

      1) Cowoy Bebop (action/sci-fi) - adventures of several bounty hunters always a bit down on their luck including a former cop, a former mafia enforcer, a woman with no past, a young hacker, and a genetically modified Welsh Corgi. Probably one of the best series released in the last few years. Awesome music, probably some of t
    • "Hikaru no Go" is a great anime series that you can download for free, as high-quality MPEG4 files. They are fansubbed. The series is great! It has great character development. Don't judge the show until you watch at least the first 5 episodes.

      Most people can't stop watching after they have seen the first 5 episodes. So just give it a chance.

      You can download Hikaru no Go from AnimeTorrents [animetorrents.com]. Make sure to install BitTorrent first... which is extremely easy.

  • Sacrifice Woods (Score:3, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday April 21, 2003 @02:48AM (#5772015)
    Here's a bit of info about a film that will be appearing at the festival, Sacrifice Woods [sakura.ne.jp].

    • Are the moderators dumb or is it some kind of sick elaborate joke (I'm thinking of the underrated moderation point)? If you care to check the original story, you will see that no work entitled Sacrifice Woods will be shown at the festival, and if you unfortunately care to check the provided link, you will be treated with a bad drawing of a naked women being tortured. It is sick and perverted, all the more so when you get that there are hundreds of similar drawings on the site. I think that the artist needs

  • but would SOMEBODY please web-cam / tape it and make it available online somewhere?

    Some people just can't make it to LA on short notices like this (not to mention it's a week long excursion). Especially (and ironically) people that have to be in Japan during that time, like myself, actually.

    • Re:I know theatres are cracking down (Score:5, Funny)

      by Metrol ( 147060 ) on Monday April 21, 2003 @03:29AM (#5772065) Homepage
      but would SOMEBODY please web-cam / tape it and make it available online somewhere?

      Some people just can't make it to LA on short notices like this (not to mention it's a week long excursion). Especially (and ironically) people that have to be in Japan during that time, like myself, actually.

      Got some good and bad news for ya.

      The good news is that someone has already snagged a copy of most all of these movies! Heck, you don't even have to wait in line, much less visit lovely downtown Hollywood, or the really cool Egyptian theater.

      The bad news... I know this is going to be one of those WAY out there wacky ideas. This is so OUT there that you probably would have never thought of it yourself. I'm here to help. Brace yourself for a monster paradigm shift without a clutch my friend, this may sting a bit.

      You could *gasp* BUY these titles on DVD! That's right, you're hard earned Dollars and/or Yen can be donated directly to the artists and distributors that make this possible in an otherwise clandestine system known as "The Free Market", and sometimes by it's often derrided name, "Capitalism".

      It may seem strange at first, but by utilizing this system you could then watch these movies at any time! It's wacky that way. So go and travel to Japan and enjoy your time there. "The Free Market" will be waiting for you when you get back at a variety of web sites and corner video stores near you!
      • I am not at all against the idea of paying money for something I like, and in fact I have watched many of the listed titles via rental - the point I am trying to put across is, though (granted, apparently didn't come through so clearly) is the fact that access control on stuff is very much a pain.

        My biggest peeve is that it is darn near impossible to get English subtitled works that were produced here in Japan! That's not to mention the rediculous hoops I would jump through do circumvent the region coding

  • List of Must-See Anime Films (Score:3, Funny)

    by Trepidity ( 597 ) <delirium-slashdot@NoSPam.hackish.org> on Monday April 21, 2003 @02:58AM (#5772030)
    • ...
    • ...
    • ...
    • ...
    • ...
    • ...


    I'm going to have trouble fitting them all in, what with the Must-See Star Trek Fan Film Festival this week too.
    • Oooohh! ... is a good one. Probably one of my favorites in the genre. Not quite as good as ... (which is my all time-fav) but better then ...

      As for ... a lot of people seem to like it, personally I don't. I do feel that it has some merit to it, even if it is just ripping off ... (still not as good as the original ...)
      • Is how often the plot consists of a lot of ..., mixed with some ..., but what really kills me is the overabundance of ... which is followed by annoying ...! After all, it's just a bunch of cartoons anyways.

  • Oh no! (Score:2, Funny)

    by Zestius ( 526143 )
    The Anime festival is gonna get slashdotted!

  • The Real Story (Score:4, Interesting)

    by mib ( 132909 ) <mib@post.com> on Monday April 21, 2003 @03:54AM (#5772090)

    Is it just me, or should this really have been called the "Los Angeles Anime Advertising Fest". A significant proportion of the program is excerpts from forthcoming DVDs from American distributors (ADV Films, Manga Ent., Pioneer).

    Here's my take on the real "must-see" films of the festival:

    • Tamala2010 A Punk Cat in Space.
      Has an outside chance of actually being great, but at least it'll be strange and a good conversation piece.
    • Jungle Emperor Leo.
      This became "Kimba" in its Americanized form. A chance to see some of anime history in its original form that you may not get again.
    • Castle in the Sky/Kiki's Delivery Service.
      Do yourself a favor and see this superior double-feature instead of the lacklustre "Cat Returns."
    • Arete Hime.
      Worth a look for the animation, for which it won an award at the Toyko Anime Fair in 2002.
    • Memories.
      As anime films go, this one is a brilliant work of art.

    I found some more PR guff about the fest at anime-tourist [anime-tourist.com] too.

    I guess fanboys will want to see Animatrix as well (I probably would), though the three released online episodes don't seem anything to write home about.

    Now, anyone want to buy me a trip to LA?

    - mib

  • KYLE: We HAVE to see this movie, dude.
    CARTMAN: Aw, screw it. It probably isn't all that good anyway.
    KYLE: Cartman, what are you talking about? You love Terrance and^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^HAnime.
    CARTMAN: Yeah, but the animation's all crappy.
  • Yes, there WILL be tentacles (late night schedule).

    Nothing to see here, move along, move along.
  • The real link should of course be kodocha.isgreat.net [isgreat.net]
  • Ghibli's The Cat Returns (making its US debut) What, that guy "Cats" from Zero Wing? [planettribes.com] Cool! What new words of wisdom does he have for us? :^P
  • Tamala2010: Punk Cat looks a radiohead animation that you would see on MTV. I liked the animation style that drawn for some of the charecters. Tamala sorta looks like Parappa the Rapper which is cool. I think it could be somthing that could be picked up by a cable such as MTV or Cartoon Network. All in all I give the series: 4 out of 5 /.'s
  • If you want to get a great example of just how wide-open a genre Anime is, take a look at this series, done by ABe, one of the people who were responsible for Serial Experiments: Lain.

    It's beautiful, it grabs hold of your heart and won't turn it loose until you've seen the entire series and even then...seriously, it's great. And there is not a giant robot or a tentacle in sight.

    It is not an action series, but a slice of life, a slice of a life you can't experience anywhere else. Right now it's available i
    • IS it better than, or on par with, Spirited Away? I just picked that up this weekend and I think it's one of the best films I've ever seen. But then I have a soft spot for Studio Ghibli films.

      Now if I could only find my copy of Zombie Deathmatch...
      • If you like Studio Ghibli's output, you will definitely enjoy Haibane Renmei. Haibane Renmei is a series, not a feature-length film, and therefore is paced differently. And even for most anime series it's paced differently. It unfolds at a slow, stately pace, so you will have to be patient with it. But yeah, anyone who likes Miyazaki will enjoy this. It has similarly strong, involving characters and has the visual look of a moving painting.
  • Over time, I've picked up a few Anime titles. Ghost in the Shell... Ninja Scroll... Akira (which bored me silly)... now Castle in the Sky, Spirited Away... Grave of the Fireflies... Maybe ten others.

    I also saw the Overlord series, and some other works. Some if it was good, some of it very, very bad. Like any field, there are crap films and wonderful ones.

    But I can't help but note that my enjoyment of certain pieces could have been heightened had the animation not suffered from that ridiculous stop-acti
  • I happened to be in Japan when this film was released, and went to see it opening night. It was ok, but not spectacular. BTW it's NOT a Miyazaki Hayao film, just a Studio Ghibli film.

    I thought the most interesting part was the really strange series of short animated films (also produced by Studio Ghibli) they played before the main feature started. I hope they play those here in the US, some of them were funny.

    BTW the name of the film in Japanese is "Neko no Ongaeshi" -- "The Cat Returns a Favor". Which i
  • sci fi cons don't have shit on anime conventions.

    I heard him say that at the sakuracon. It's true.

  • "I've never been able to get into American live-action works. I mean, it's all just mindless gun fights and porn."

    A foolish, clueless statement that ignores the vast wealth of American live-action works, both cinematic and television? Yup. Yet people will make similar statements about anime. It's just as silly to say, "I've never been able to get into Japanese animated works. I mean its all giggling girls, giant mecha, and tentacle porn."

    Anime is just Japanese animation, it covers a huge number of g

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