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A pleasant hidden gem in an era where the OVA was on its way out. "Kirara" is a bitter sweet 40-minute film about a young woman, named Kirara, who tragically passes away on the day of her wedding. However, her pleas to God grants her the ability to travel 8 years into the past as a ghost and revisit the early days with her beloved, nicknamed Konpei. Teenage angst and romantic awkwardness ensues as Kirara confronts her 16-year-old self. Considering its length, I don't want to go too much into detail as the story is quite delightful to experience for oneself despite the opening segment's ... breakneck pacing. I should warn, however, the ending is a tad anti-climatic but the overall concept is quite special. "Kirara" leaves you wanting more once the final credits roll but it does remind viewers to lead an honest life, to be true to one's self, and most importantly, to minimize regrets as nobody knows when it's their time to go. Life lessons aside, "Kirara" offers elegant character designs and background art that makes the experience feel full and realized. These merits alone make it worth sitting through at least once. I feel a lot of care went into this adaptation and it is fascinating to see an OVA with this kind of visual execution during a time where the medium's support was waning thin and its golden era was fading into a memory. As an added bonus, there are several melancholic vocal tracks that make an appearance throughout which make the experience all the more unique. "Kirara" is one of those anime that has fallen through the cracks and often fails to be remembered. Nonetheless, I hope you give "Kirara" a chance and that you come away appreciating something from it. If I haven't won you over yet, then consider the following: this OVA would make a great blueprint for a Makoto Shinkai film...enjoy!

Simply put, Bounty Hunter is an OVA heavily inspired by classic American action. Cobra (1986) is probably the closest work to it and in terms of other animated works, Kenichi Sonoda's Riding Bean and Gunsmith Cats are good matches. It is very much a product of its time and does contain some dialogue/depictions that would not fly today but it adds to the gritty atmosphere of the main location featured, that is, New York City's South Bronx.

Considering how short the film is, I don't really want to dive too deeply into it, however, what I do want to say is if you miss the ... days gone by of good ol' fashioned action and all its over-the-top chase scenes, firefights, and questionable continuity, then you have come to the right place! Bounty Hunter does little to stand out but it is quite solid in terms of animation, character designs, background art, music, action, and it tells a decent story. The film, however, nails what it's trying to go for in terms of atmosphere and it's not afraid to point directly at the anguish plaguing the urban settings Hard (the film's bounty hunter and main character) finds himself scrounging for details in. South Bronx feels like a character in and of itself, making the film a somewhat immersive experience especially if you've ever had the pleasure of walking through NYC, having to tip-toe around broken glass and getting a whiff of the city's "unique odors". It's all here and hopefully this overview inspires you to give it a shot.