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HORUS, PRINCE OF THE SUN was the first and only film Isao Takahata directed for what was Japan's top animation studio in the 1960's, Toei, with a little bit of contribution from Hayao Miyazaki, of course. At the time most Japanese animated features were made cheaply and quickly. But Takahata wanted to go one step further and create something elaborate and beautiful. It drove up the budget, to the point where it annoyed the Toei executives. At one point during production, the budget froze and so the animators were reduced to using still shots for certain scenes, such as a wolves attacking on a village ... at about 29 minutes in, and later, when rats stampede through the same village. For similar reasons, the film was only given a limited release in Japan and it received poor box office numbers, even though the critics greeted it with raves. To add insult to injury, Takahata was demoted and never directed another feature for Toei again. Sometime later, Takahata and Miyazaki left Toei to find work elsewhere.

Watching this animated film today you probably wouldn't even realize that any of this happened, but it did. The animation style is obviously 60's, but it has a lovely, rich palette. It's not quite as gorgeous as the Studio Ghibli classics we've come to know, but nonetheless it is lovely.

HORUS starts out with an intense action scene in an unknown Scandanevian region in which we see our hero, a boy warrior named Horus (Hols in the dubbed version) battling a pack of silver wolves with only a hatchet as a weapon. In a quick twist not all that different from King Arthur, the tide turns in his favor when he draws a sword from a massive rock giant who appears out of nowhere. After this victorious fight, Horus returns home to his father, who dies after telling him about his village being razed by the evil Ice Lord Grunwald. Vowing to avenge his village, Horus sets off and eventually comes across a village of innocents. En route, he also encounters Hilda, a golden-voiced girl who sings songs on her harp. Unfortunately, she turns out not to be as nice and innocent as she seems, setting the stage for a potential showdown.

The story contains many plot elements that Miyazaki would later use in his subsequent films, but in terms of character development, I'm afraid HORUS comes up a bit short. Horus himself isn't all that interesting, and neither are his companions. Even the villainous Lord Grunwald is pretty much what you'd expect from a manipulative, scheming, power-hungry baddie. Perhaps the most interesting character is Hilda, who is presented as a conflicted character torn between her friendship with the hero and the temptations of the villain. But her redemption at the end feels a bit rushed. Perhaps part of that can be attributed to the running time of 82 minutes; although it results for a faster pace, it does cause for some character bits that seem a bit hasty.

Despite being a financial failure in Japan, HORUS: PRINCE OF THE SUN has attracted considerable attention from viewers both in Japan and even in the U.S.. Bizarrely, the film was shown on American television in the late 60's, renamed LITTLE NORSE PRINCE, although uncut. The dub was done by Fred Ladd's New York-based Titan Productions , so a lot of the voice talent will be reminiscent of shows around this period such as KIMBA THE WHITE LION and ASTRO BOY. They also dubbed THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF PUSS 'N BOOTS and ANIMAL TREASURE ISLAND. As such, the dub is occasionally campy and theatrically stylized, using only four actors(!). Because this was done in the age of reel-to-reel, there are obvious places where the actors struggle to match the mouth movements, and some stiff delivery. Truth be told, the dub is not so awful that it ruins the film, but it is mediocre by today's standards. (It should also be noted that Hilda's songs come across differently in the Japanese version, the English versions are noticeably dissimilar.)

Despite its flaws, though, HORUS is still fascinating look at historical Japanese anime. Try not to get too high expectations of this film and you'll enjoy it more.

OKKO'S INN, a disarmingly charming, instantly likable Japanese animated feature, is the sort of family-friendly movie rarely seen from a lot of western productions of this type nowadays. While most kiddie flicks I've seen these days tend to go for loud, noisy, in-your-face schtick and disgusting scatalogical humor for the heck of it, this one instead aims to be a more gentle, down-to-earth sort of tale. Whatever humor we get is thankfully brief and of the clean and clever kind. More importantly, it's a film with a lot of heart. It's only weakness may be that it may fall somewhat short of the standards often ... set by, say, Studio Ghibli, but director Kitaro Kosaka (himself, incidentally, a Ghibli veteran) still manages to make this a delight for kids and adults while emerging as a beautiful work in its own right.

The main character of this tale is Oriko Seki (aka Okko), a 12-year-old girl who is tragically orphaned within the first five minutes when her parents' car crashes into a derailed truck while traveling home from a performance. Miraculously surviving this incident, Okko is subsequently sent to stay with her grandmother, who happens to be the proprietor of an inn in the countryside. The inn in question, which doubles as a hot springs house, goes by the name of Harunoya, with a philosophy that all are welcome.

Naturally, it does take Okko some time to get settled into this new establishment. She is befriended by three ghosts -- two of which are children who passed away years ago: the spunky but friendly Uribo, and the sassy, mischievous Miyo -- and a pesky "demon" known as Suzuki. With encouragement from these three (invisible to all but the little girl), Okko aspires to be a "junior innkeeper". Predictably, she starts off on the clumsy side and makes some poor calls of judgment, but gradually gets better, learning lessons about selflessness and valuing life. Over the course of Okko's coming of age journey, we meet a variety of other characters, among them a sullen teenage boy, a friendly fortune teller called Glory Suriyo (who takes her on a memorable shopping trip), and a bratty rival junior innkeeper named Matsuki, who treats Okko contemptuously at every opportunity. Of course, at the major core of the story is Okko coming to terms with the fact that her mother and father are no longer with her.

A lot of this movie's subject feels strikingly similar to Hiroyuki Okra's A LETTER TO MOMO, as well as numerous other animated tearjerkers such as MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, COCO, and KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS, but OKKO'S INN manages to carve out its own niche thanks primarily to its plucky cast of characters. Okko is an easily relatable protagonist, and her similarly likable ghost buddies provide moments of gentle humor without treading into "annoying" territory. Only Matsuki comes across as downright unsympathetic -- at least for a good majority of the film -- until we find out that she, too, has troubles of her own. (As you might expect, the ending is a bit of a tearjerker, but not so much that it makes the movie downright depressing.)

In lesser hands, this tale could potentially tread into draggy territory. Thankfully, Kosaka keeps an energetic pace throughout all 96 minutes, making even the more quieter, slower moments flow without draining interest. That said, there are a couple of moments when the development of some moments feels a bit hasty, notably in the handling of Matsuki's character. Some additional scenes where we get to see her being nicer would have been welcomed, but that's honestly my only complaint.

Despite being directed by a Ghibli veteran, OKKO'S INN was animated at Madhouse Studios, whose output has ranged from gritty productions like NINJA SCROLL and PERFECT BLUE, to somber, friendlier stuff such as THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME. If you're not familiar with this studio, these works you may have been fortunate to see. OKKO'S INN, naturally, being among the more softer offerings of this studio, has a predictably sunny, beautiful look to it. There is a digital sort of look to the animation, but it still offers the sort of warmth that hand-drawn craft is usually known for. On occasion there are uses of computer images, but thankfully they don't stand out in all the wrong ways.

I went to see the dubbed version, provided by NYAV Post. It's yet another quality effort, with terrific performances by all involved. Madigan Kacmar does an outstanding job as Okko, providing the character with just the right amount of warmth, spunk, and heart. She has terrific chemistry with K.J. Aikens' somewhat smart-alecky but lovable Uribo as well as her other co-stars. Carly Williams' Matsuki is as snarky and prissy as you'd expect, while Tessa Frascogna's Miyo and Colleen O'Shaughnessy's Suzuki complete the trio of ghost companions for Okko. Glynis Eliis is also great as Okko's grandmother. NYAV Post has turned out excellent work lately, notably in the form of of big hitters such as A SILENT VOICE, MIRAI, and even the flawed, forgettable FIREWORKS. It's gratifying to see them continue to live up to their standards here.

There have been a lot of great contenders for emotionally resonant animated features from Japan lately. OKKO'S INN may be among the lesser known of them, but it certainly deserves a following. If you ever decide to check out this charmer, I highly would recommend doing so.

Mamoru Hosoda's fifth animated feature, MIRAI, may seem a bit more small scale compared to his earlier movies such as THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME, SUMMER WARS, and WOLF CHILDREN, but it's no less mesmerizing. To anyone unfamiliar with these aforementioned films, I do recommend them highly -- they're all magnificent movies, almost the equivalent of Hayao Miyazaki's work. MIRAI isn't quite that, but it's the next best thing.

The film tells the story of a pampered little boy named Kun, used to his parents catering to him all the time. So much so that when he gets a new sister, Mirai (which means "future"), ... his parents start neglecting him, and of course, he gets jealous. He behaves like any kid in his situation would. He throws tantrums, he bawls, he says nasty things, and at one point, even throws one of his toy trains at his sister. "Your attitude stinks," says another character in the film, quite accurately.

At the peak of every outburst he flees into the garden where a tree is growing, at which point the scene changes to a different location where he meets members of his family when they were younger -- including the pet dog(!), as well as, most mysterious of all, his new sister as a teenager. These close encounters send Kun on flashback journeys where he must learn to be more appreciative and caring and stop acting like a spoiled brat. (In a way, this is sort of like A CHRISTMAS CAROL for 4 year olds, but not feeling "dumbed down" in the least.)

Hosoda handles this story with just the right touch of tangibleness as well as his occasional trademark moments of surrealism. However badly Kun behaves, he remains a very relatable character throughout -- in fact this might be the most realistic portrayal of any such boy I've ever seen in any animated feature. And of course, the animation, as mentioned, is nothing short of gorgeous, complete with a mix of CGI and hand-painted backgrounds -- a rarity in animated films these days... even in Japan. (Hosoda laments how rare this style of background art is becoming and is quite vocal for its support, and rightly so.)

MIRAI is also a surprisingly funny film -- one scene in which Kun and two new friends of his have to put away some dolls without Dad in the room suspecting in particular is hilarious. There's even a brief episode in which Kun tries to ride a bike for the first time -- without training wheels! The results go as well as you'd expect, resulting in yet another outburst as well as a visitation, after which he gets a second chance. There's even a frightening climax at a train station, although I dare not reveal more about it at the risk of spoiling the story.

If you're a fan of Japanese animated features and Hosoda's work in general, MIRAI should be a great one to check out. It's accessible to children and adults, and easily superior to many other Western animated features released this year, notably the overbloated RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET. GKids is releasing this movie and treating it as a contender for Best Animated Feature Film for this year. Even if it probably doesn't nab the prize, it nonetheless is strong enough to make an impression of its own. I dare say it even stands alongside the recent Chinese animated fantasy BIG FISH & BEGONIA as one of my favorite animated films of 2018.

Adding to an already great movie is an even better dub provided by the folks at NYAV Post, with top notch directing by the always reliable Mike Sinterniklaas and script adaptation by the similarly talented Stephanie Sheh. This dub, like the similarly grand Disney-Gkids-Ghibli dubs, features a cast of noteworthy names such as John Cho, Rebecca Davis, and Daniel Day Kim. Surprisingly, too, Crispin Freeman -- yes, that Crispin Freeman(!) -- has a brief cameo, and it's always a pleasure to hear him. The real triumph of the dub is, as per usual in a NYAV Post, the casting of the kids. Young Jaden Waldman does an absolutely excellent job at rendering Kun, effectively conveying his mood swings and giving him a lot of appeal in spite of this character's sometimes unlikable personality. (Only issue is that he screams a bit too much, but on the other hand, it makes sense considering the circumstances.) I've always appreciated hearing children voice children -- as evidenced in my praise of the dub for "Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water", and it's a pleasure to see that there are dubs doing this practice today, MIRAI being one of them. The lipsync is also spot on with well timed and written dialogue -- a difficult task for any scriptwriter, but it's done well here.

MIRAI marks yet another glorious achievement for Hosoda, all the more so because he bases it on a personal story. It's often been said that some of the more inspiring features sing best when the writers write from their own experiences. This is no exception. I look forward to seeing what this director does next.

MODEST HEROES, a 53-minute (yes, that's how long it is) animated feature which is actually three fifteen-minute featurettes in one program, is the second animated release from Studio Ponoc. Founded in 2015, the fledging studio found success nationwide with their first feature, the charming if derivative MARY AND THE WITCH'S FLOWER. That film, handled by Hiromasa Yonebayashi and many other former animators at Studio Ghibli (who temporarily closed in 2014 but thankfully reopened recently), was more of a crowd-pleaser and technically more of a "Best of Ghibli" kind of showcase. MODEST HEROES, on the other hand, is something quite different, and may actually be all ... the better because of it. This "package film" (a term borrowed from the 1940's Disney releases MAKE MINE MUSIC, FUN & FANCY FREE, etc.) provides the animators the opportunity to experiment with various animation techniques and aesthetic styles. Each featurette, handled by different directors, is loosely tied together with various shots of the quirkiest film projector I've ever seen in any movie.

The first featurette which opens this anthology, "Kanini and Kanino", handled by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, is an absolutely breathtaking and imaginative underwater fantasy about a pint-sized family who wield staffs with crab claws (shades of THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY) who dwell at the bottom of the sea of all places. The titular characters are two siblings who are separated from their parents and set off on a journey to find them. This featurette is the only one of the three not to receive a dub, and interestingly, is rather limited with dialogue, giving the picture a bit of a semi-silent film treatment. (There are occasions where the characters call out each other's names.) This short mixes traditional animation with computer generated imagery to realize both its underwater environment and the monstrous fishes who cast ominous shadows above our tiny heroes.

After this stunner, we shift gears to a more down-to-earth, slice-of-life kind of tale, aptly named, "Life Ain't Gonna Lose." Directed by Yoshiyuki Momose, this short is based on an actual true story about a little boy who is lethally allergic to eggs. His mother strives to support him while managing her career as a dancer, and the boy must eat special foods and avoid getting contact with egg yolk. It's a very relatable and nearly heart wrenching tale. The animation here is a bit more like a watercolor-painting style, but the short is no less impactful for it. This dubbed version features the voice of Maggie Q as the boy's mother.

The final tale, and arguably the gloomiest, is Akihito Yamashita's "Invisible", in which we follow a man who is literally invisible to everyone around him. All we see is his coat, hat, glasses, shoes, and gloves. He needs to carry a weight in order to stay on the ground, because otherwise he will float away. He does good deeds, but is unnoticed by others... until he sees a runaway baby's carriage. This short is animated in the classic hand drawn style, and with more shadowy colors. Again, dialogue is sparse in this short, but not to the same degree as in the first.

All three featurettes showcase the visual range of Studio Ponoc in ways that will leave you eager to come back for more and more. Interestingly, after the showing I went to, an interview with Ponoc producer Yoshiaki Nishimura aired, who expressed the need to try to stand out from other studios in Japan. His solution--to try to push the limits of animation and make their movies the kind that kids would enjoy and would also inspire adults. It's very rare to see animation studios today with this kind of thinking. Bravo to Studio Ponoc for making the approach. It will be very interesting to see what they do next. If you ever get a chance to see MODEST HEROES, I strongly suggest you do so, and without hesitation.

Makoto Shinkai's YOUR NAME achieved what would arguably be a most improbable feat: it dethroned Hayao Miyazaki's SPIRITED AWAY to become Japan’s most successful film. And what a movie it is! Heartfelt, hilarious, moving, thrilling, and enthralling, this movie cleverly mixes together the central idea from Disney's FREAKY FRIDAY with a bit of BACK TO THE FUTURE for good measure.

It's about two teens -- Taki and Mitsuha -- who somehow find themselves switching places in their bodies periodically. (A running gag involves Taki waking up in Mitsuha's place noticing "his" breasts.) Stakes get higher in the latter half when the two star-crossed strangers use that ... connection to avert a tragedy. Sounds like a bizarre story for an animated film, doesn’t it? But it works. The first half in particular, where we see the difficulties that Taki and Mitsuha experience during their supernatural "body swapping" episodes, is hysterically funny. It's only in the second half when things get a little slower, but even then, Shinkai manages to maintain a lot of interest for the viewers, notably in the form of a stylized "time travel" sequence and of course the chemistry between the leads.

The dubbing is very well done as well, as per usual by NYAV Post. Both Mike Sinterniklaas and Stephanie Sheh voice the lead characters (and apparently directed each other as well), and turn in great performances. The show stealer, though, is young Catie Harvey as Mitsuha's little sister Yotsuha, who arguably gets the best lines in the film: "I see you're not touching your b**bies today," she snarks at her sister.

YOUR NAME is more of a story for teenagers and adults, but kids might enjoy watching it, too, for aside from the occasional sexual innuendo (which is mostly played for laughs and frankly, is tame compared to what you would see in raunchier Anime), there's little else to offend.

The first thing I should mention about BIG FISH AND BEGONIA is that it is visually stunning. I do not recall seeing many Chinese animated productions (although I wouldn't be surprised if I had inadvertently stumbled upon one without realizing it), but this is one of the most visually impressive I've seen from the country. Like a magnet, it seduces you from the first frame and keeps you entranced for all 100 minutes. In a way, this film reminded me a bit of Laika's recent KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS. That film, while not a tightly plotted story, was nonetheless so visually stimulating that one ... could not help but be glued to their seats throughout. BIG FISH is the same way.

Describing the plot, it's sort of a mixing pot of THE LITTLE MERMAID with shades of SPIRITED AWAY and Chinese mythology. Basically, this film imagines an "alternate world" way beneath the ocean -- a sort of mythological Chinese flavored kingdom whose inhabitants are some sort of humanoid "spirits" with powers who are responsible for guarding the balance of nature. One of its residents, 16-year-old Chun, participates in a sort of "coming of age" ceremony, in which she is transformed into a crimson colored dolphin and swims to the surface world. Here she comes face to face with a human boy and his little sister. But the visit turns tragic when she is trapped in a fisherman's net. The boy courageously rescues her, only to drown. Feeling responsible, Chun travels beyond the boundaries of her village to some sort of one-eyed demon (Lingpo, the Lady of Souls), where she strikes a Faustian bargain. The boy will be reborn as a dolphin, whom she will have to tame and grow until he is old enough to return to hid world. But the price is two-fold. First, she must give up half of her life force to revive the boy in question (whom she names Kun), and whatever pain he receives, she'll receive too. The second and more dangerous outcome involves unnatural disasters such as rainstorms, maelstroms, and even snow which threaten to destroy her world's existence. Only her closest friend Qiu, who secretly harbors a crush on her, might be able to set things right.

As mentioned, BIG FISH AND BEGONIA is absolutely breathtaking to look at. The film is also rich with metaphorical imagery, particularly when talking about matters such as life and death. In one scene, for instance, when an old man dies, he is reborn as a tree. His similarly deceased wife, incidentally, is some sort of peacock who comes to rest on the tree in question. In terms of character development, BIG FISH AND BEGONIA isn't very heavy on it, but Qiu, oddly enough, emerges as the most interesting of the characters. When we first meet him he appears to be somewhat mischievous and playful. But he also has a very serious dedicated side to him, and ultimately goes to great lengths to help the person dearest to him. The rest of the cast don't stand out as much, but with the possible exception of one fairly negligible potential baddie (who lives in a rat-infested sewer), nobody comes across as truly unsympathetic. Only issue is that there are a plethora of minor characters who only have about five minutes of screentime, to the point where we don't get to know them as well, but that's my only issue.

The dub by Studiopolis is well done for the most part, with no noticeably bad performances, although I DID detect some mistimed lines at least in the first half hour -- I do find it jarring to see a character's mouth start flapping only for no sound to come out until the second one, and this unfortunately sometimes happens in the beginning. Thankfully, this problem disappears in the second half, and other than that, as mentioned, everyone plays their roles well. Stephanie Sheh and Johnny Yong Bosch, in particular, do great turns as the lead characters, Chun and Qiu, respectively.

Perhaps the best way to describe this film is that it is more visual poetry rather than a cohesive plot, but it also offers a sincere heart that somehow manages to win the viewer over. The ending is also bittersweet and will surely wrench tears. (I know I was crying toward the end!) Directors Lian Xuan and Zhang Chun spent more than 12 years(!) working on this film, most of it being a series of starts and stops. According to the making-of-featurette, this film started off as a wildly successful 7 minute short made in Flash, but acquiring funds for expanding it into a feature proved problematic, and nearly disbanded the animation studio B & J. So what saved the day? Crowdfunding, that's what. The amount of interest from said crowdfunds prompted a Chinese distributor to take a chance and fund the film. Xuan and Chun's lengthy labor of love was greatly rewarded: the film was a smash hit in China, the second most successful animated film over there

I wouldn't say this movie reaches the echelons of say, Studio Ghibil, but it doesn't have to. If you're an animation fan and want to see something this breathtaking and emotional, you can't go wrong with this one. Every second of it will have you nailed to your seat.

Studio Ghibli had long established itself as the pinnacle of Japanese animation starting in the 1980's, but recently the studio went into hiatus, leaving most of its younger employees at a dead-end. Not to be discouraged, some of these employees decided to start a new facility of their own. Now christened as "Studio Ponoc", this team of former Ghibli animators, led by Hiromasa Yonebayashi (THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY and WHEN MARNIE WAS THERE) begin their career with MARY AND THE WITCH'S FLOWER, based on a children's book by the late Mary Stewart. The end result could very well be described as basically a "Greatest ... Hits" of Ghibli as opposed to something that would establish a new identity for the studio, but considering the alternative, which would be a complete extinction of a beautiful form of art, for once, this isn't a flaw.

Probably the best way to describe this feature is that it's a sort of KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE meets HARRY POTTER, with a dash of SPIRITED AWAY, and occasionally PRINCESS MONONOKE, HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE, as well as CASTLE IN THE SKY for good measure. While MARY AND THE WITCH'S FLOWER doesn't quite live up to the standards of those titles, it is nonetheless a pleasant enough venture. It's also refreshing to see an animated feature targeted at kids and adults which goes all-out on being ambitious. In fact, the film's action-packed opening scene, in which we see a mysterious girl flee from a burning laboratory on a broomstick while chased by dolphin-shaped watery-like creatures, provides a great start.

After this thrilling sequence, we meet Mary (voiced in the English version by Ruby Barnhill), a bored little girl who has just moved to the countryside to stay with her aunt. She's friendless, depressed, and even clumsy. The only other person her own age in the town she has recently moved into, a boy named Peter, also rubs her the wrong way: he jokes about her red hair, which for some reason she is sensitive about. While pursuing a runaway cat into the woods beyond her house, Mary discovers both a little broomstick and a glowing flower. Before you know it, she is suddenly transported to Endor College (no, it's not a reference to STAR WARS), an elaborate fortress of a university which doubles as a school for witches. She is "welcomed" by the school's domineering headmistress Madam Mumblechook (Kate Winslet) and scientist Doctor Dee (Jim Broadbent). But things get ugly when she takes a spellbook that doesn't belong to her and accidentally puts Peter's life in danger. The last act of the movie involves Mary trying to correct her mistake, building to an edge of your seat climax with just enough pyrotechnics and thrills to please any fan of such suspenseful finales.

It's evident that director Yonebayashi is paying homage to his former master with every scene in his film. More often than not, there are visual references that one will make to classic Ghibli films along with visual touches of its own. Endor College is located on a tall mesa stretching above the clouds, bizarre assortments of chimera creatures abound in cages, and there are also the sort of rubbery, shape-shifting, ooze-like creatures that can be found from HOWL. At one point our heroine crash-lands in the forest, with her broomstick broken in half. And the entire climax involves scaling a massive tree which houses scientific technology. The animation is also as richly detailed and colorful as anything from Studio Ghibli, with the character designs each containing Miyazaki's signature style, from the cherub-like faces of the protagonists to the grotesquely proportioned "caricature" creatures.

Musically, too, MARY AND THE WITCH'S FLOWER excels. Although Joe Hisaishi's musical services are missed, Takatsugu Muramatsu supplies a beautiful orchestral soundtrack with occasional Hammer-dulcimer strummed interludes for good measure. There are times when the director does allow the music to take a back seat and let occasional still shots filled with environmental sounds do the talking instead of spoon-feeding us.

Perhaps the only issue with this otherwise enjoyable feature is that it doesn't quite achieve the same heights of Ghibli's classic films. It might be due to Yonebayashi trying to do a bit too much within 104 minutes or so, but there are a few plot points that feel a bit unresolved. I was unclear about Mary's issue regarding her hair, for instance, especially since the film decides to discard it in the second half. Her relationship with Peter also could have used a bit more fleshing out as well -- her sudden shift from annoyance to wanting to rescue him feels abrupt, even for a kid her age. The ending itself, while thrilling, also seems a bit rushed as well. Moreover, Mumblechook and Doctor Dee aren't all that scary for being antagonists, and despite Yonebayashi's claims that they are "misunderstood", all we're permitted to see in the film is both characters mostly engaging in despicable acts.

Probably the most interesting character in the movie is the one that doesn't utter a word, and that is Tib, a black cat who very much resembles Jiji from KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE. He pretty much acts like any ordinary cat would. He meows, prances, acts independently, and mostly communicates with facial expressions. For good measure, Tib even has a girlfriend. Not that the other characters are unlikable by comparison, but these two animals, for some reason, really stand out.

Following in the tradition of the Ghibli movies, this movie also employs some well-known actors and actresses to provide the voices for the dub -- only this time, the dub is recorded at England's Tambourine Studios, resulting with a mostly British-accented cast. Considering that this is based on a British children's book, this provides a nice change of pace, and is arguably all the more fitting for this film perhaps because of that. (None of this is a slight against any of the Disney-produced dubs for the Ghibli library -- they're still excellent, warts and all.) Oddly, the only performance that took a while to grow on me was that of Barnhill as Mary (recently seen as Sophie in Steven Spielberg's THE BFG). Her voice is a bit grating at first, with the occasional moment of tentativeness, but she gradually steps it up as the film goes on and by the end her Mary grew on me. Broadbent and Winslet are fine in their roles as Mumblechook and Dee, by contrast, while Louis Ashbourne Serkis (son of Andy Serkis from LORD OF THE RINGS fame) speaks appropriately for the role of Peter. Strangely, my favorite performance of the dub might be that of Ewen Bremner as as Flannagan, a pompous fox-like character who chastises Mary for how she handles her broomstick. The Scottish accent is a great fit, and he brings a lot of character. There are a few moments where the lip sync is less than perfect, but not distracting enough to take away from the film. I can't speak for the Japanese version, as I haven't seen it.

In the end it doesn't matter which version you watch. MARY AND THE WITCH'S FLOWER, inferior though it may be to Ghibli, is nonetheless lovely and a great way to spend two hours. Although it does little to set Ponoc apart from the studio it takes inspiration from, there's plenty to enjoy. That it comes at a time when hand-drawn animated features like these are scarce (at least in America) is a blessing as well.

Everyone has stories about bullies and victims, but there have been very few features, namely animated ones, which actually dare to show the raw emotional honesty of such situations, particularly from the West. Luckily fans of traditional animation have a great contender for this subject: A SILENT VOICE, directed by Naoko Yamada. Based on a similarly titled Japanese graphic novel series, this movie doesn't hold back on showing the true tragedies of the story it tells, making its uplifting resolution all the more meaningful.

A SILENT VOICE tells the tale of both the growth and redemption of a former bully, Shoya Ishida. We first meet him ... as a High School teenager as he solemnly contemplates suicide on account of guilt for his past behavior, and for the first half hour we get to see what drove him to this point. In Elementary School, Shoya mercilessly ostracized a new classmate, Shoko Nishimiya, a deaf girl who occasionally talked but mostly communicated in sign language. The cruelest thing he did was to rip out her hearing aids and throw them out the window. Eventually, Shoko transferred to another school, and then he too was bullied by his former classmates, arguably as punishment for his actions. At this point the film transitions back to the present, but rather than throwing away his life, Shoya decides to make amends. He takes sign language classes, and eventually encounters Shoko again for the first time in five years. Gradually, the two become friends. Simultaneously, Shoya also makes friends with another boy, Tomohiro Nagatsuka. Due to his guilt, however, he hesitates to look at people in the eye, and eventually comes to realize that Shoko, too, has feelings of self-resentment and must help her overcome her troubles.

In lesser hands, this story could come across as a preachy, melodramatic soap opera, but director Yamada and her staff at Kyoto Animation manage to avoid this pitfall and succeed in making this a relatable tearjerker with a lot of heart. The development between the two leads is compelling, richly tragic, and emotional, and will no doubt wrench tears from the iciest of viewers. There are a plethora of other characters who make up the story who are rounded in varying degrees, although not to the same extent as we get to see from the leads. Occasionally the plot does rush some minor developments (on account of trying to compress a six-book manga into a lengthy film), but while careful concentration is required to fully discern the occasional subplots, nobody in this story comes across as truly unsympathetic. The only exception might be Naoka Ueno, a rather nasty and bitchy character who arguably comes across as worse than Shoya, never showing any major growth from her misdeeds and instead continuing to bully poor Shoko. One scene where she openly confesses how much she detests the deaf girl is particularly mean-spirited.

Aesthetically, A SILENT VOICE might not be as lavishly detailed or colorful as, say, a Studio Ghibli production, but frankly, having said that, the actual animation is no slouch. The backgrounds are lovingly rendered and the character designs, while distinctively "Anime" in appearance, all have a distinct look and feel to them that makes each easy to identify. There are occasional uses of computer imagery (such as a brief but nonetheless thrilling scene where we go on a roller coaster ride at a carnival), but mostly Yamada chooses to execute the film in a rather stylish way. This is done through the use of different camera cutaways and lavish shots, such as fish swimming through a brook and occasional fireworks, giving A SILENT VOICE a bit of an "art film" tilt. To illustrate Shoya's isolation we see X's marked on the people he avoids making contact with, which may seem as a bit too "on the nose" at times, but having said that, it's a clever approach that works wonders. Kensuke Ushio's primarily piano-driven (and sparse) score is also a nice touch. It's also to the film's credit that the film backs off on dialogue in certain occasions when it needs to, rather than dumbing everything down to its audience.

Further complimenting A SILENT VOICE's atmosphere is its English dubbing. NYAV Post has done a lot of great dubs over the years in no small part to the talented duo of Michael Sinterniklaas and Stephanie Sheh. This yet another winner for them, and certainly up there with their best, with excellent performances from everyone involved. The real triumph of the dub is the casting of an actual deaf actress to portray Shoko, Lexi Cowden. Every second of her turn comes across as very believable and convincing. The actress admits that doing the role was almost like a therapeutic session for her, given that she went through similar experiences in real life. The end result is all the more tangible and authentic because of it. The same is true with the casting of the children for the Elementary School scenes, a practice that I continue to applaud NYAV Post for still going through with.

A SILENT VOICE clocks approximately over two hours, which may cause the film to come across as a bit lengthy at times, but that it manages to keep a good pace on its story and maintain interest even when it occasionally slows down is a testament to its success as a film. There's a reason why Makoto Shinkai, director of Japan's current highest-grossing feature YOUR NAME (released the same year, incidentally), expressed enthusiasm about A SILENT VOICE; it deserves every ounce of praise. This is a modern day winner filled with genuine heart, and offers a most relatable and universal message without being preachy.

Based on a horror book by Japanese author Hideyuki Kikuchi and with character designs by FINAL FANTASY's Yoshitaka Amano, 1985's VAMPIRE HUNTER D was a low-budget, B-grade direct-to-video release was criticized by many for its cheap production values and simplistic story. Even so, it still managed to find an audience that was gradually garnering interest in Anime thanks to being exposed to edgier, more violent works than one would expect from the West, such as AKIRA, WICKED CITY, etc. Sixteen years later, a second film was made, helmed by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, the man behind the aforementioned WICKED CITY as well as the similarly popular NINJA ... SCROLL. It's also very loosely based on the third book Kikuchi has written, called "Demon DeathChase." Not having read that book in question, my review will not be comparing this movie to its source material, but in terms of how it stands as a film.

If you were among those who found the original VAMPIRE HUNTER D underwhelming, then this semi-sequel should serve as a better alternative. It's arguably superior to its predecessor in many respects. For instance, the animation is stunningly rendered and rich with gothic colors, shadows, and lights. The cheaper, cruder animation style of the 1985 OVA could never even hope to compare. Its storyline, too, is a step above the more simplistic, forgettable plot of the original. This time around, D is on the trail of Meier Link, a charismatic vampire who has apparently captured a lonely woman. But has she really been taken against her will? Further complicating matters are competition from the rough and ready Markus brothers, a suspicious, troubled bounty hunter named Leila, monsters, and ultimately, the ghost of the bloody countess Carmella.

The characters' motives in this tale are much more complex, and not the simplistic archetypes the first tale depicted as. D, in particular, gets a bit more depth; while his primary motive is to protect the innocent, it is implied that he harbors other emotions. Being a "half-breed" vampire/human offspring (awkwardly transliterated as "dunpeal" as opposed to "dhampir"), he is against the existence of his own kind, to the point that he does not wish to see another such offspring occur. It's also implied that greed is a bit of a motivation; he gouges the bounty price in order to accept the job, for instance. More intriguing is the dynamic between Meier and his "captive", Charlotte, which can be best alluded to as a "Romeo and Juliet" style romance. Meier, incidentally, despite his seemingly cold demeanor and feral nature, is not the major villain; he is simply a tragic figure who simply wants to live a peaceful life with his new love without being surrounded by hatred or bigotry. Which also brings the question over whether all vampires are evil incarnate or not. This brings an edge of ambiguity to what could have otherwise been just another chase/slasher movie. Charlotte is probably the least interesting character in the movie, but that's mainly because she is given very little to do. The Markus brothers get to have more screen time, and they are clearly portrayed as in it mostly for greed. Even so, one of them, the frail Grove, seems to possess a somewhat softer side. Leila is arguably the most interesting character in the movie; she starts off as antagonistic and aggressive, but as the movie progresses, we're given traces of her backstory and are permitted to see a softer side emerge. The change of heart she undergoes is intriguing to watch.

Kawajiri's past films such as NINJA SCROLL and WICKED CITY sometimes had a rather nasty, misogynistic vibe, particularly in their handling of otherwise competent female characters and were rather heavy on gore. BLOODLUST, thankfully, is free of any such offensive bits, making this arguably the director's most accessible work. Which isn't to say that this is a movie that children can sit through, on the contrary. This is still very much a violent movie, with plenty of battles involving stabbing, brief decapitations of zombies (bloodlessly), arrow showers, and of course the occasional blood spurts. Luckily, it's not overdone, although some of the monstrous creatures in the movie can come across as intimidating. Particularly intriguing are a trio of hybrid demons called "Barbarois." These include the jester-like Benge with a voice like Mark Hamill's Joker who can attack by sliding through the shadows of unsuspecting prey, Caroline, a witch whose threats include merging herself into spikes or camouflages with trees, and a werewolf named Mashira. Although brief, these three prove to be quite a formidable trio. There's also a brief scene involving an ancient crone riding a unicycle who is implied to be leery toward our hero, as well as a briefly tense confrontation in a stable. Although the primary antagonist, Carmilla, doesn't show up until the last reel and as such, comes across as a rather minor character, she is nonetheless a sneaky, manipulative villain.

The overall tone of the movie is one of genuine darkness and melancholy, but there are brief moments of humor which, depending on the viewer, could either break the mood or at least lighten the tension. Much of it comes from D's left hand, which occasionally shifts into a spooky looking face and proves to be a capable force to be reckoned with. Mostly, however, he's there to mostly badger his "master" for fighting against his instincts and provide laughs. These are supplied by Mike McShane, who brings a lot of personality and life to this bizarre character with pure smugness to boot. His last line in the movie is also the best: "You're not so bad after all. You just DRESS bad." While some folks may find the hand to be a jarring character, he does provide an amusing contrast to his often stoic counterpart.

It should also be mentioned that VAMPIRE HUNTER D: BLOODLUST, despite being animated by Japan's MadHouse, is also something of a Western co-production. The thunderously powerful music is provided by Marco d'Ambrosio, whose score is rendered by both a full orchestra and chorus and in the manner of a dramatic action-thriller. Nonetheless, it's a great accompaniment to the picture, especially the organ-powered, vocal-chanting cues during the climactic scenes. In another unusual move, the movie's primary language is English. That's right, a Japanese animated movie whose English language voice track might not be considered a dub at all. It was even released in Japan with Japanese subtitles! While opinions on the matter of voice acting may be subjective, I found this particular movie to have solidly good performances, easily superior to the laughable corny dreck of Streamline's 1992 dub of the original VHD. This English language cast is helmed by Jack Fletcher, who has provided great dubs for titles such as PRINCESS MONONOKE, CASTLE IN THE SKY, KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE, and TENCHI MUYO, as well as FINAL FANTASY X. Andrew Philpot brings a quiet, understated tone to the title character which is eerily fitting, while not holding back on some of the more action-packed scenes. McShane, as mentioned, is hilarious as his left hand. But the best performance by far is John Rafter Lee as Meier Link; with a rich voice that oozes with charm and charisma, he is simultaneously chilling and sympathetic as this character. Pamela Seagall has a few stiff moments as Leila, but otherwise is solid, and Julia Fletcher is a suitably sultry, villainous Carmilla. All in all, I have nothing bad to say about this cast, although it should be noted that their performances are still very much "post-synching" as opposed to pre-lay, so there are some occasional stilted lines. For the most part, though, the script flows fairly well. (For purists who would rather hear this movie in Japanese, there IS a Japanese language track in existence; disappointingly, though, it's only available on import DVDs from Japan.)

If there is any complaint to be made against VAMPIRE HUNTER D: BLOODLUST, it might be that the sound mix is unbalanced. The voices are mixed a bit too low in the center channel, while the music and sound effects come across as blastingly loud, to the point where the viewer is required to turn up the volume on and off at the more quieter moments. Perhaps a bit more consistency in the sound levels would have been welcomed, but it is a bit of a problem regardless.

All in all, however, VAMPIRE HUNTER D: BLOODLUST has aged gracefully well and works as a much more complicated and interesting vampire story than the original did. Even if you're not a fan of the original, chances are you won't be disappointed with this.

Yoshiaki Kawajiri's WICKED CITY, based on a similarly titled book by Hideyuki Kikuchi (who also wrote VAMPIRE HUNTER D) has its share of devoted fans who consider this a classic in the halls of Anime, but I stand firmly behind this review.

This is a disgustingly vulgar, reprehensibly distasteful, and needlessly gory animated mess with little in the way of genuine appeal. Despite a promising start and a potentially interesting plot, WICKED CITY goes all out on shock value at its most repulsive level -- to the point that whatever virtues it may have are all but forgotten. It's misogynistic as well, with extensive scenes involving ... a female character being raped (three times!), and other two femme fatales who use their sexuality as a weapon to deceive and/or kill unsuspecting prey. As mentioned, it's also quite violent, with plenty of moments involving blood splattering, again for no specific reason other than violence for the hell of it. Shock value for shock value's sake does not a good film make, animated or otherwise.

Too bad, because WICKED CITY does have a few moments of redeeming qualities, although as mentioned, they aren't enough to elevate my star rating.

The film's opening half hour is arguably the best; sans again another sequence that will make one queasy. The sequence in question involves Taki Renzabur', a salesman by day, spy by night, who lands a "date" of some sort with a pretty girl at a bar after winning a bet. She takes him to her home, and, after an extensive sexual intercourse session, she transforms into some sort of monster with spidery legs. Her VAGINA, of all things, even transforms into a fearsome maw with sharp teeth! Taki survives the encounter, and his boss reminds him to "be a little more sexually cautious from now on." Shocking and revolting as that opening scene is, it is practically nothing compared to the other graphic bits that happen throughout this seemingly never-ending 80-minute "thriller."

Following that unpleasant episode, we learn that Taki is a spy for some sort of "Black Guard", which apparently helps keep tensions between humanity and the "Black World" (in other words, monsters and ghouls) in check. He is assigned to protect an ancient (200 years old) midget named Giuseppe Mayart who has come to sign a peace treaty that will ensure public safety. Taki also meets Makie, a beautiful but skilled Black World woman who becomes his partner and something much more besides. Their mission to keep Mayart safe from attacking "Radicals" who want to sabotage their efforts proves to be anything but easy. Mayart, incidentally, is a most unpleasant character. He's a repulsively lecherous, crude, and generally foul-tempered pain in the butt who arguably proves to be more troublesome than one would expect. He refuses to stay put when his guardians take him to a hotel for his own good, goes off gallivanting to a "soapland" where he gets into trouble with a demon posing as a slut, and acts contemptuously toward the people who are in his best interests.

At this point, the film devolves into a back and forth series of violent confrontations involving nasty, nightmarish creatures, mostly in the form of rapists and seductive temptresses. The most sickening of these creatures isn't even the last obstacle our heroes have to encounter. Midway through the film, Makie and Taki are attacked by some sort of "parasite" no bigger than a tongue (I kid you not) which burrows its way into the former and bursts from her stomach, transforming into a phallic tentacle which takes the unfortunate girl captive and begins to sexually assault her. As if that isn't enough to make one uneasy about seeing more, we are also treated to two other such scenes, both of which involve Makie being violated, and our hero coming to save her. And so on and on it goes, to the point where it becomes tiresome.

If this is the sort of stuff viewers of Japanese animation demand, then WICKED CITY certainly delivers, but I found it to be very off-putting and too overdone. Part of this may be because I am of the standard that works involving violence and sexual assaults should present the material in question if the plot commands for it, or at the very least doesn't do so gratuitously. Satoshi Kon's far more interesting and arguably more terrifying PERFECT BLUE found the right balance in its effort to tell a "break the innocent" sort of story in which the protagonists is subjected to such atrocities and feels rightfully terrified because of it. Here, however, the unpleasant bits are thrown at the viewer in non-stop fashion that whatever story it tries to convey ultimately becomes forgotten. That, to me, is poor filmmaking, and it's a shame that Kawajiri's efforts are wasted on such a wretched work.

To Kawajiri's credit, however, WICKED CITY does sport an appropriately gothic, smoky atmosphere. The animation, although at times limited, is smooth and legitimately frightening as opposed to being cheap and nasty. Produced by the folks at MadHouse, who are legitimately known for lavishly animated and often times disturbing series, the monsters are imaginatively drawn and while the transformations may again rub viewers the wrong way, they are at the very least convincingly depicted without looking hokey. On that level, WICKED CITY does at least excel. Kawajiri also treats the picture like a live-action movie, and it shows from the skillfully edited and choreographed action bits. It's almost enough to make the viewer forget that they're watching an animated feature.

The film, interestingly, received two different dubs around its release. The version most American viewers are familiar with are done by Streamline Pictures, while international audiences had to endure a somewhat censored cut by Manga UK. Neither is a particularly outstanding effort, but of the two, the Streamline dub, surprisingly, is more effective, which is not something I usually say when it comes to their output. Their dubs have often been hit and miss, with most of their efforts (with the exception of Fox's MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO) being in truly dreary territory. This is actually one of their better ones, with appropriately cast voices and smooth-sounding dialogue. Greg Snegoff gives Taki a very natural, tough-guy persona to match his personality, while Gaye Kruger, Mike Reynolds, and the late Jeff Winkless all excel. The Manga UK dub, on the other hand, is a seriously awful, laughable, choppy, stilted embarrassment with both bad acting as well as phony (and out of place) accents. Save for some characters like Makie and Taki's boss, everyone else is miscast. The dialogue adaptation is also needlessly profane, with smatterings of f-words every fifteen seconds as well as lines that come across as either rushed or so bad they're funny such as "Don't ever think you can win this battle, you pathetic ANIMAAAAAAAAL!" Not having seen the Japanese version, I can't say how either version compares, but if it's English you want to hear this movie in, the Streamline version is the less cringeworthy one.

Discotek Media has recently rescued WICKED CITY from the morgue of oblivion and will be including both dubs in their rerelease, with superior video quality to boot. Considering the company's track record, fans will surely be pleased. I, on the other hand, absolutely detest this film and I can not recommend it to anyone who is faint at heart or even for pleasurable entertainment. Or for ANY reason. So... take my review with a grain of salt.