Blog Archives

Ocean Waves (1993)

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Posted on August 19, 2010 by Samson

For all lovers of Asian films and anime, the mention of the name Studio Ghibli should automatically bring up in their minds colourful images of mythical creatures, epic battles and magical adventures. So I must begin this review by telling you this: while Ocean Waves was in fact made by Studio Ghibli, it features none of the above. So please don’t expect it to resemble a Miyazaki classic, or you will be very, very disappointed. What this well-made little film … (read more)

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Saiyuki Requiem (2001)

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Posted on March 12, 2007 by Deni

Today’s lesson: the pros and cons of the Original Animated Video, otherwise known as the OAV (or OVA – Original Video Animation – depending on your viewpoint), as exemplified by the Saiyuki movie, Requiem.

Originally, OAV was a term coined to describe the movie-length spin-offs that spawned from existing TV series. These days, they could be almost considered a rite of passage – you’re not a real series unless you’ve done a such-and-such-The-Movie. Well, maybe not, but from Cowboy … (read more)

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Saiyuki Reload (2003)

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Posted on March 12, 2007 by Deni

This is perhaps the second last time you’ll hear me harp on this subject, and actually, I’m sort of wondering what more I’ll be able to say about Saiyuki. With this new series – Reload – the Journey to the Max boys are back, mixing it up with a couple of story arcs from the manga (both Gensoumaden and the new, still on-going manga series, Reload) and a few anime-only episodes as per the standard manga-to-anime formula. The quality in … (read more)

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Saiyuki (2000)

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Posted on March 12, 2007 by Deni

This is a completely biased review. I’m not ashamed to admit it. Everyone’s got their little secrets, their weaknesses, right? Well, mine’s Saiyuki.

Sometimes known as Gensoumaden Saiyuki, the anime is based on a manga series by Kazuya Minekura that started serialisation around 1996 (and is now published in the US by Tokyopop). It was inspired by the famous Chinese story Journey to the West, better known to Western audiences as Monkey, and it’s everything … (read more)

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Twilight of the Dark Master (1997)

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Posted on January 25, 2006 by Jonathan

malnourished/ adj. suffering from the absence of some essential elements necessary for health.
underdeveloped/ adj. not fully developed; immature.
generic/ adj. characteristic of or relating to a class; general, not specific or special.

I had originally intended that the above definitions alone would comprise this review, but while those words may each be employed in the description of most of Twilight of the Dark Master, their use is not really warranted when discussing … (read more)

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Paranoia Agent (2004)

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Posted on January 25, 2006 by Andy

You slide a disk into the tray. The laser bites and the disk whirs in appreciation. You select the first episode from the main menu and the chiming theme kicks in — man, I love anime.

Though, as much as I enjoy anime my brain won’t disconnect completely to the experience. I still think about the, ‘1:32 scale model of the Pisa Tower constructed out of dirty dishes’ or, ‘when am I going to deal with a refrigerator that is … (read more)

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