Yoshiaki Kawajiri

A couple of directors come together to give the best of themselves, enjoying the freedom to make something that doesn't necessarily need to meet customer demands.

A fine collection of Matrix-related short films, dominated by the Studio 4°C efforts. The anthology sports a varied range of art styles, first-class animation and several interesting takes on the Matrix universe. Not all shorts are a hit, but there are plenty of stand-out pieces that make this one a very easy sell.

A pretty mad mix of action, fantasy and gory, Gothic horror, completely in line with Kawajiri's most famous work. The animation is rich, the styling extremely bold and the pacing furious. This is clearly not for everyone, but if you love yourself some brutal 90s anime, then this is one of the best films out there.

One of the early films that helped to give anime a bad name. Gruesome, crude and violent, with a bare-bones plot and a strong focus on style. It's vintage Kawajiri, with beefy character designs, crazy demon spawn and lots of torn limbs. It was an eyeopener back when I first watched it, nowadays it's still very entertaining. Delightfully violent.

Vintage Kawajiri. A weird mix of sci-fi, fantasy and horror, draped on top of a noirish premise. The two parts are a little disconnected and the whole feels a little rushed, but there are some pretty kick-ass action scenes and monster designs on display here. Not the easiest film to track down, but if you like Kawajiri's work it comes well recommended.

Kawajiri takes on Tezuka's Hi no Tori manga with Rintaro acting as a producer. It's a pretty impressive array of names, and they were able to deliver. I'm a bit surprised this short anime isn't better known among anime fans, as Kawajiri does a stellar job building up the story within the short amount of time that was given to him. Fans of sci-fi and fantasy won't be disappointed.