#anime films

[boku-no-anime-phase]

🚨 MOVIE ALERT: 🚨

Satoshi Kon's Paprika and Tokyo Godfathers are both free to watch legally on YouTube right now!

Paprika is a surrealist action film about dreams that inspired Inception. It is absolutely excellent (although I strongly recommend you check the content and rating to make sure it's something you're comfortable with; they rated this R for a reason).

Tokyo Godfathers i haven't seen yet, but it's about this group of homeless people who find an abandoned baby on Christmas Eve. It is apparently very sweet and I'm looking forward to watching it!

Kon's other films include Millennium Actress and Perfect Blue.

Millennium Actress is phenomenal as well (and is available to watch on Crunchyroll right now) - it's a very cool surreal retelling of a fictional famous actress' life, and a meditation on how love drives us. (A few more thoughts on it on a different alt here.)

Perfect Blue I haven't seen yet, but I've heard it's amazing and also horrifying; and I've heard that like with Paprika:Inception it directly inspired one or two popular live action Western movies. As far as I can see, right now you'd have to rent it to watch it.

Anyway, go forth and jump into some great anime!

[cartoonfan21]

Studio Chizu, Movies

All directed by Mamoru Hosoda

[mugiloves]

SUZUME (2022) dir. MAKOTO SHINKAI

[redandwhiterosepurity]

Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust 🦇

[elizabugz]

[chasingshadowsblog]

"I am Tetsuo." - Youth vs. Adulthood in 'Akira'

"School kids these days!" Throughout its high-speed opening sequence Akira wastes no time in establishing a distinct line between the young people and the adults of its city, Neo-Tokyo. The adults include politicians and police officers, a resistance movement, the military and a group of scientists working alongside them; the youths are represented by Kaneda and his biker gang, the strange, sad children whose minds and bodies have been manipulated and damaged by the very people they believe are looking out for them, and, most importantly, Tetsuo. A shadow of blame, misunderstanding and fear has been cast over the various youth factions by the adult world, only for them to then be surprised later on when the children retaliate. A mistake frequently made by the adults in Akira is the underestimation of these groups thought stupider, weaker and more vulnerable than them. It is a mistake that will inevitably result in the destruction of the adult world and the creation of a new universe by the small hands and great minds of those same children.

"Who the hell do you think you're talking to, moron?!" As well as establishing this theme, the opening battle between Kaneda's gang and the rival Clown gang also gives us a brief but clear glimpse of the relationship between the movie's two main characters, Kaneda and Tetsuo, the nature of which remains unchanged throughout the movie despite the rapidly moving events. Kaneda is a great character to look at in this context as not only is he a part of the childrens' world of juvenile delinquency, schools that offer no help or hope, "if you screw up here, it's the end of the road!" and vulnerability in the face of authority figures, he is also the adult foil to Tetsuo's child. Tetsuo is introduced to us playing with Kaneda's bike, listing in awe all of its special features, Kaneda bursts onto the street, catches him in the act and makes fun of him "…it's too loud, you couldn't handle it." The other guys follow his example, teasing Tetsuo as they hop on their bikes and take off after the Clowns, leaving Tetsuo to catch up, but, by the end of this sequence, Kaneda changes his tune. When the gang first leaves the alley he takes the lead, not looking back to see who follows. Later on, however, when the police join the chase, he is once again the first to get going, except this time he singles Tetsuo out, making sure he's following, "Let's go, Tetsuo!" Finally, after Tetsuo jets ahead of the gang and crashes into Takashi, causing an explosion, the entire group gathers around his body in panic and concern, even wanting to get him to a hospital. When the military shows up instead and takes his body away, Kaneda, pinned to the ground by a police officer, yells at them to stop, "You can't take him away like that!" Kaneda constantly flip-flops between hurting Tetsuo and caring for him deeply. We learn through flashbacks that the two boys have been friends since they were kids, with Kaneda having taken Tetsuo under his wing, creating the imbalance in their relationship that only grew with time - so much so that Kaneda believes that he can treat Tetsuo this way without any consequences. There is no indication that Kaneda is older than Tetsuo - if he is it can only be by a few months - but he certainly acts as if he is, an attitude that Tetsuo has cultivated a hatred for. It isn't so much the fact that Kaneda makes fun of him that drives Tetsuo over the edge, but that his friend, his best and oldest friend, treats him like a child. And, much as he tries to prove otherwise, Tetsuo is a child. He recognises this in himself, knowing Kaneda does too, and hates himself for it.

After escaping the hospital the first time, Tetsuo steals Kaneda's bike and goes looking for his girlfriend, Kaori, so they can run away together. He finds Kaori being assaulted by members of the Clown gang and in an attempt to rescue her (and be the hero for once) he ends up being attacked himself then saved moments later by Kaneda. Afterwards, Tetsuo beats up one of the thugs while Kaneda stands behind him and watches, as if he is letting Tetsuo do this in response to the attack on Kaori. Which is exactly what he's doing since, a moment later, he orders Tetsuo to stop and blames him for the fight happening in the first place, "Just knock it off now! This whole thing happened just because you took my bike for a spin." This, naturally, upsets Tetsuo, who responds in rage, "Shut up! Don't order me around!" then frustration and tears. Tetsuo wants desperately for people to see him as tough and competent, and Kaneda is surprised by this reaction. Saving Tetsuo has always been his job, that Tetsuo would be mad at him for it never occured to him.

Kaori is another significant relationship in Tetsuo's life. Like him she is on the younger side of their teen years; the other girls that follow the gang around are all dressed up and wearing make-up whereas Kaori appears without make-up in a simple tank-top and shorts. Kaori is well-matched to Tetsuo; he can relate to her youthfulness but her shyness and vulnerability allow him to feel like he is the strong one in their relationship, and Kaori shows genuine concern and love for Tetsuo, unlike Kaneda's inconsistent love-hate. However, Tetsuo often responds to her feelings as Kaneda has taught him, by needing her then brushing her off as it suits him. By the final sequence in the Olympic stadium, she is the first person Tetuso reaches out to for help as he loses control of his powers, inadvertently engulfing her in whatever is happening there, his childish grasping and carelessness killing the last person who cared about him.

Mentally and emotionally, Tetsuo is behind the other younger characters in Akira; even the ESPers are more mature than him, for all that they are trapped in the bodies of children. Tetsuo is sensitive but unable to control his feelings, when he gains his powers he prefers to threaten and intimidate those who have frightened and wronged him, and rejects all offers of help, as he has learned to do from the adult world. His childishness is evident to everyone around him, not just his friends but even people who have just met him. The second time he is confined to the hospital the children attack him mentally with a parade of toys that grow bigger and bigger, surrounding him in his bed. A giant teddy bear appears to bleed milk, a rabbit topples over, almost crushing Tetsuo under its weight, a toy car vomits milk, causing a flood in the hospital room and when he tries to escape through the door, the walls turn into plastic bricks and crash down around him. These images, traditionally of childhood and innocence, are exaggerated until they are grotesque; what should warm and comfort Tetsuo instead terrifies him. It is only when he breaks a glass in the reality of the hospital room, cutting his foot on the shards, that the children are thwarted (scared themselves by the sight of blood, an all too real concept in their otherwise safe and isolated nursery). In attempting to intimidate Tetsuo, the kids knew exactly which nerve to hit. Although these images initially frighten Tetsuo, by the end of the scene his fright turns into anger - at the attack, at being frightened in the first place, and at the reminders of his true nature. This anger is what drives Tetsuo throughout the rest of the movie and causes his powers to grow. The first thing he does immediately after this incident is kill two hospital workers, an action emulative of the violent grown-up world. Tetsuo is no longer going to be scared or controlled by other people, from now on, he is the one who will intimidate. Anger is a fuel for Tetsuo's powers and it is always after a spell of rage that he experiences them. After Kaneda orders him to stop beating up the Clown biker, Tetsuo explodes,"Why do you always have to try to save me? I could handle it on my own… I won't always be on the receiving end, you hear that?!" Tetsuo is enraged, and embarrassed by his tears in front of Kaori, prompting a slew of scary hallucinations he doesn't understand. If it is anger that causes his powers to expand, it is an anger at himself, his fear, his uselessness and his need to be taken care of. The conclusion of this scene encapsulates the vulnerability of the younger characters in the face of the adult world; as the military arrives on the scene to take Tetsuo away, Kaneda, Kaori and the boys can only stand by and watch it happen.

"They were too scared, so they hid it away from the public. They forgot all shame and honor, cast off the civilization and science we had created, and shut the lid of the Pandora’s Box they themselves had opened." The adult world in Akira, however it is represented, is purely antagonistic. Though Kaneda and the colonel often show concern for their charges, their respective relationships are wholly manipulative and abusive. Kaneda demonstrates power over Tetsuo in order to maintain their imbalanced dynamic; the colonel does so to instil loyalty in the highly destructive (and highly impressionable) children in his employ. However, where the colonel was successful, Kaneda failed; Tetsuo, in his power, became defiant rather than scared and submissive. Despite everything done to them, Kyoko, Takashi and Masaru remain with the military throughout the movie, deciding for themselves, too, that Tetsuo must be destroyed. Although Takashi appears to be fleeing the military with one of Kei's companions, after being tracked down again he returns to their home without a fight. It even appears as if the children are afraid of the outside world and have no wish to be a part of it, "You know we can't survive outside. We belong at home," a further example of the military's manipulation. These children (really adults by now) have known no other world than their nursery and are repelled by reminders of the outside world, "It's blood!" "I'm scared!" Kaneda, on the other hand, completely loses Tetsuo and doesn't get him back until it's too late. Unlike Takashi, or the student protestors we hear battling police in the news, Tetsuo does not try to run from or fight against his personal adult figure, instead he attempts to emulate it. "You see, Kaneda, I won't be needing you to rescue me ever again." After gaining his powers, Tetsuo tries to beat a rival gang member to death, murders members of the hospital and army, kills the bar owner and downs handfuls of capsules; all actions, flauntings of strength, that he has seen performed by adults around him all his life and that he never had the "strength" to do himself. In acting how he thinks a grown-up would act in his situation, Tetsuo ultimately causes his own destruction; he becomes overpowered and, without the knowledge and experience needed to control himself, is overwhelmed by it, killing himself and many others. When Kaneda realises that he won't be able to bully Tetsuo into submission anymore, he readily accepts that the only thing to do is kill him and insists that he must do it, "He's not your friend, he's ours! If somebody's gonna kill him, it should be us!" To Kaneda, Tetsuo is now a lost cause and cannot be reigned in by him or salvaged by him. The colonel's manipulation keeps the ESPers cowed; Kaneda's drives Tetsuo to self-destruction.

"It was too difficult for Tetsuo… of course, too difficult for us. And for Akira." Akira's world is dirty, seedy, ruthless and selfish; it provides no obvious hero for us to root for, so, by the final showdown in the Olympic Stadium, we aren't entirely sure what we want, only that we want it to be over. Akira's world has no room for heroes and villains, but it is a world where the weak (the young and vulnerable) suffer under and by the actions of those in power. And although the conflict in Akira is undoubtedly caused by adult hands it is the child characters who resolve it and it is those same characters who suffer the most by it. Kaori is engulfed by Tetsuo's growing body and dies. Takashi, Kyoko and Masaru, in saving Kaneda, sacrifice their bodies, joining Akira and Tetsuo in a new universe. Tetsuo spends the entire movie fighting the child in himself, turning everyone against him and ultimately killing himself. Still, however bad Tetsuo becomes, it is difficult to truly see him as a villain, even when every other character has a gun trained on his back. Instead we feel sympathy for Tetsuo, who, no stranger to mental abuse, loses his mind over the course of the film. Tetsuo performs actions that are wrong, but so do the colonel, Kaneda and the resistance movement. Yet, at the end of the film, it is Kaneda, Kei, Kai and the colonal who survive while Kaori, the ESPers, Akira and Tetsuo are dead. In this case, however, Tetsuo and the kids have come out on top, with a new universe to shape while back in the old one, the adults are left with the shambles of the bombed out Neo-Tokyo. If there is a positive note in Akira to end on, it is that now, after transcending to a new plane of existence, an uncorrupted world, Tetsuo can finally accept himself for who he is, "I am Tetsuo." It says a lot that he had to leave everything and everyone he knew behind to do so.

[some-gifs-ig]

ghost in the shell (1995) dir. mamoru oshii

[emberlynn-sapphire-anarchy-angel]

Studio Chizu🤍🖤couples

Makoto and Chiaki (The girl who leapt through time)

2. Natauki and Kenji (Summer Wars)

3. Hana and the Wolfman

Yuki and Souhei

(Wolf Children)

4. Ren and Kaede (The Boy and the Beast)

5. Kun and Mirai's parents (Mirai of the Future)

6. Suzu (Belle) and Kei (The Dragon)

All movies are directed by Mamoru Hosoda

[bearfoottruck]

Oh, and before I forget, I just saw a new trailer for the fourth My Hero Academia movie, titled My Hero Academia: Holding Out For Heroes. View it here.

[shantechni]

So yeah I went to see Suzume last night and-

It's neat, go see it.

[luckystarchild]

Award-winning anime movie The Tunnel to Summer, The Exit of Goodbyes is FINALLY coming to theaters stateside on November 3, 2023, and I am ecstatic about it. I even made a TikTok!

Full disclosure, I work for the company putting it in theaters! I actually got to announce our acquisition of the title at an anime convention. More importantly, my best work-friend (who is a huge film lover) was almost solely responsible for getting this into theaters, and he has put so many hours of time, dedication, and love into this release. Coordinating dozens of theaters across the country is no easy feat, and I'm so proud of him for everything he's accomplished with this film. He's a one-man band of theatrical excellence!

I don't talk about my work all that often on here. I most certainly don't promote our titles with any degree of regularity. I don't shill for my company without getting paid, so on my personal accounts I only talk about the shows I truly love and think other people would love to.

That being said, I truly love this film. It's a meditation on grief, adolescence, the passage of time, and human connection, and I haven't been this deeply affected by a movie in quite a while. It's definitely one of my favorite films of the year, and definitely on my list of top anime movies of all time. It's also a very brisk 86 minutes, with incredibly tight writing and stellar character work. The perfect fall treat. It's even a little creepy in parts to fit the season!

I promise I'm not just shilling for work when I tell you it's worth it to see it in theaters, haha. The film won an Annecy Award for its animation and truly comes alive on the big screen. I highly recommend catching it in theaters if you can! It will be on streaming platforms later if you can't make it, of course. (But more than anything, I really hope people go see this movie so my friend's hard work can get recognized. ♥️)

Visit tunneltosummer.com for tickets, and catch it in theaters on November 3rd, 2023.

[boku-no-anime-phase]

Excuse me while I'm incoherent for a while about the gorgeous, spooky, weird, moving, dense, sweet, surreal masterpiece that is:

The Boy and the Heron (2023) 🪶

[gaaconfessions]

GAAConfession #30

[i-eat-mold]

When Anna helped Marnie and was there for her in the silo during the storm, and hugged her, and covered her, and protected her, and loved her, and then Marnie left, and then when Anna found Marnie again, and Anna asked Marnie “Why did you leave me? Why did you betray me like that?” And Marnie said “I’m sorry. I am so sorry. I have to leave now, and I have to say good bye to you, but I need to know. I need to hear it. I need to hear you say you forgive me. I love you. I love you” and Anna said “Of course I forgive you. I love you, I love you.” Yeah that. That tore me apart.

[multicolour-ink]

Just saw BELLE (the anime film).

A very beautiful movie with admittedly quite messy plot.

My - goodness - the pivotal scene where Suzu has to sing got me tearing up so good ;_;