Movies
Musashi: The Dream of the Last Samurai
Digital Devil Story – Goddess Reborn
Nifty but strange mix of fantasy and horror. This film is part of a cross-media franchise, with the games still running strong. The animation is pretty decent and the soundtrack decidedly 80s. It's the art direction and some cool monster designs that lift this film above its peers. If you're a fan of 80s horror, this comes recommended.
Zillion: Burning Night
A bit random if you're not familiar with the franchise, but the animation and art style are pretty cool and the constant barrage of action makes for a very fun 45 minutes. The musical focus doesn't really add much (but is somewhat typical for that era) and it's hardly a landmark animation, but in the end I had a pretty good time with this one.
California Crisis
A fun and action-packed anime. It's a tad random and more than a little unfinished (the plot really just stops halfway through, leaving a bunch of core elements completely unexplained), but the animation is solid and the art style is pretty cool. It's also an amalgam of familiar genre elements, so even though the film lacks explanations, it's not too difficult to fill in the blanks. The American comic book-like touches are an interesting stylistic choice, not in the least because they are part of the animation, giving the film a very detailed and lush look. The plot is trivial, simple, and unfinished, but it's a good hook for some cool action sequences. Certainly not the most memorable anime, but fun filler nonetheless.Read all
A pretty peculiar short anime. Radio City Fantasy feels more like an animated poem than a classic narrative. It's one of those films that has virtually no plot and some very basic characters, betting everything on atmosphere. The mood is a bit too frilly and light to be entirely in my wheelhouse, but it's always nice to find something that stands out from the crowd. The art style is pretty interesting, the animation itself isn't quite as elaborate though. It's not a big surprise considering the limited appeal of a project like this, but some extra budget could've made a real difference. The score too was disappointing, a bit too poppy and cheesy for my liking. Still, it was a pretty fun, unique journey, so I'm not complaining too much.Read all
A decent OAV, which I liked quite a lot the first time I watched it. So many years later though, it turns out to be quite cheesy. Apart from the final episode that is, which gets all anime crazy and weird. Some decent animation here and there, a couple of fun scenes, but most of it is a little too corny and predictable for my taste.