Fantasy4eva: Anime Reviews

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(Anime) Movie Review: Hotarubi no Mori e

Yesterday I watched a movie for the second time. Just to be clear, that never happens. In this case, though, maybe I gave it another shot because I needed something a little bittersweet and short. And at 45 minutes, it's short as one can be. It’s too short, really. The movie is called Hotarubi no Mori e.

The story is about a six year old girl who meets a young man called Gin when she gets lost in a forest. The forest is next to her grandfather’s (a house that she has come to visit for the summer). And although she should be scared of him the moment she see’s a mask on his face, as well as spooky spirits that tell her they’ll eat her If she touches him, instead, she becomes more intrigued by him. They quickly hit up a friendship. It’s innocent and sweet. There are some funny moments too. For example: often in excitement she will run to him and be stopped in her tracks by a club in the head (it’s funny in the anime though) but still she does it over and over again until she learns to be close to him without ever really being too close. What she then learns is that, due to a curse, if any human touches Gin he will disappear forever.

Every summer she visits her grandfather, but her real visits are for Gin. Even when she is far away at home her thoughts are preoccupied by Gin. Is he ok; is he lonely, does he miss her too? As the years go by, Hotaru comes closer and closer to his age and his height. This transition is tough for the both of them because you can see the two of them catching feelings for one another but how does that even work when they can’t touch each other? Like I said, it’s short and sweet but I like how it still manages to fit a lot in. And I’m not even going to lie. There might have been a tear or two (poor old softy that I am). I’m not going to say that it will blow your socks off or say that it’s amazing. It’s a beautiful, subtle movie that deals with helplessness, growing into a woman, finding yourself, and its main focus: love.

CREDIT

Just to let you know, I am working on that thing called reading :) I am currently reading Wanderlove. Well, sort of. I read like two pages today and then stopped again. The books not bad. But like I said, I’m working on it. One of my current gripes is that it tends to get a bit dramatic at times, and I just have a hard time with not rolling my eyes. Please don’t hate me Wanderlove lovers! Eeeek.

AR - Spirited Away

PG -125 mins. - Animation/ Adventure/family - UK release date; 12 sept 2003

Writer; Hayao Miyazaki Director: Hayao Miyazaki Stars: Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshett and Miyo Irino

Rating: B

Hey guys ;) I haven't been the best blogger for the past few weeks. I can't really say that'll change any time soon. However, I will post whenever I can. I hope all is going good with you guys *hugs*

It's been a while since I did my last anime review so I thought it was about time I did another.

My Thoughts - Hearing a fair deal of great things about the talented Hayao Miyazaki, I thought it was time I looked into some of his work. SPIRITED AWAY immediately appealed to me. And I'm very glad that I went with my gut and gave this a go.

I thought it was just lovely and so very charming ;)

It's the spirit "no face" which initially made me really want to watch the movie. Although he was a little creepy looking, he seemed sad, and so, I found myself very curious about his character - he would prove to be my favourite. With his "huh's'', erratic hand gestures - his attempt of communication - and obvious soft spot for Chihiro - I was instantly charmed by him. Yes, you would assume that he is far from the charming type at face - value, but you'll understand where I'm coming from if you've watched the anime.

Let's get into the plot, folks.

Ten year old Chihiro is moving away to another town with her parents, but it's when her father decides to take another route - that they find themselves among an abandoned amusement park. Things take a drastic turn when Chihiro decides to explore. She comes across a boy called Haku who urges her to turn back and cross the river before it's too late. Much to her horror she returns to her parents to find that they have been tuned into pigs. What Chihiro realises is that they are now trapped in the spirit world. A dangerous place filled with monsters.

I particularly loved this whole other world. Especially how all these different creatures resided there - getting on with their daily chores. It's interesting to see how Chihiro is ignored and isolated because she is human. She will struggle to adjust in this new place, attempt to find her footing and at the same time try to free herself and her parents. It's only with the loyal and wise Haku at her side, though, does she find herself knowing the rules of this mysterious place and along the way forming a true bond with him.

I didn't realise how engrossed I had become until I was trying to fight off sleep. Sure, there may have been a scene or two that felt a little rushed and I might have been apprehensive about so and so apparently being "in love" but it was a sweet anime that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Of course there are the bad guys. But then there are the in - between' - like the baby - who at first annoyed me, yet eventually really grew on me. There's growth in some of the characters which is always great to witness. Chihiro and the baby are perfect examples of that.

I think I'll be giving HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE and PRINCESS MONONOKE a go next since I'm definitely warming to Miyazaki' work. Have any of you watched this or any of his other work, or any other anime lately? Recommendations and thoughts are always welcome!

AWW there's my favourite character "no face", bless him :D

AR - The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Bet you didn't know that I was an anime lover eh?! Well yes, I adore it. Just to be clear there are no episodes since it's a movie. If you're interested in watching it after reading the review just tweet me. Anime reviews are something that I'm thinking of bringing permanently on the blog, what are your thoughts on that? Oh and of course; AR = Anime Review. And yes you deserve a cookie if you read all of the review :P Also, I contemplated including the trailer but I don't think that it does the movie justice, so I chose not to.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (19 September 2008 UK )

Rated; 12 A - 98 Mins - Animation|Comedy| Drama

Director:

Mamoru Hosoda

Writers:

Yasutaka Tsutsui (novel), Satoko Okudera (screenplay)

Stars:

Riisa Naka, Takuya Ishida and Mitsutaka Itakura

Rating; A

My Thoughts - Mokoto and her best friends Chiaki and Kousuke have an inseparable and touching bond that has always kept them together, but what Mokoto fails to notice is the things they have sacrificed to ensure that they always stay together and that she never feels alone. Both are great looking guys and receive a fair amount of attention from girls but for some reason - perhaps due to her nativity she never seems to realise why both turn each girl away. She fails to notice that things surely can't be this way forever. People change, move on and grow.

I saw that the three of them, when together were in a world of their own. They had this little routine of theirs that it seemed over the years had become the norm for them. Their friendship was touching but what they had isolated any other guy or girl coming into the mix. I can now see why girls were jealous of Mokoto. What they had shut out any other girl having a chance with both boys, and it was from this aspect that Mokoto was naive. I have a feeling that the boys knew exactly what they had affected others, how it affected them, but they cared too much for her to even attempt to change anything. Like I said this whole dynamic had become the norm.

Mokoto's time arrives the day she steps into school and sees the words "time waits for no one" on the blackboard. Shortly after she comes across a strange object that will not only save her life but allow her to time travel. This object is both a curse and a gift. It will be the reason behind undeniable pain and regret but also the reason behind love and hope. When Mokoto gets carried away with this new power she soon starts to learn that you can't be selfish and try to mend your own past without hurting another, and she learns this the hard way.

You then have a triangle of some sorts although I'm not sure if you can call it that because one never really opens up about his feelings which I found sad. They both care for her so much but either she is clueless, or discovers how they feel and makes sure that it never happened. She makes countless mistakes that frustrated me greatly, but I like how this anime shows that there are consequences for certain actions. I think, personally, that it was important for her to deal with those consequences because ultimately had she not she would have not become the person who she became, and would have not learned from her mistakes.

What really surprised me though was how touching this movie became. It took a sudden turn and became very serious and heartbreaking. Mokoto goes through an array of emotions. One minute life is going good and she is in bliss from this new discovery, but then things start to go wrong. As she goes through these ordeals she has no other choice but to face them head on. It makes her instantly mature. She becomes much more aware of the affect her two best friends have on other girls, she starts to see how selfish she has been and how kind and selfless they have been in always putting her first. It's when she really opens her eyes for the first time that she sets to put things right in the best way she can, but is it too late?

I think I've been harsh though. The thing is that Mokoto is naive and reckless but she is also confident and in some areas mature. She's not one of those girls who worries, or for that matter cares what others think. She isn't the kind of girl who feels the need to surround herself with many people or be in a certain clique, but is perfectly happy to be around the two boys that make her happy and comfortable. Furthermore what she goes through perhaps made me forget that she is merely a 17 year old girl who is allowed to make mistakes. I think I forgot her age in the midst of becoming engrossed in the anime. But it's hard too. When you watch this anime everything builds up gradually: her mistakes, the suffering of others, regret, guilt - that at the time you don't think that she's a young girl who is going through a hard time. I wasn't really able acknowledge this until I had finished watching it. So don't be too hard on yourself if you end up doing the same. It just means that you were really sucked in. With that I need to let you guys know that it gets a little more serious towards the last 30 minutes. Before that and throughout there is also a lot of great humour which had me laughing countless times that you will really enjoy!

Although I felt for Kousuke I was always with Chiake. There's this charm and a certain charisma about him that just draws you to him and makes him so endearing and smexy. Or maybe it's because it seems that Kousuke is neglected a bit in the anime. The writer, obviously, for some reason didn't really go into any real depth like they did with Chiaki, but I'm guessing there's a reason behind that :)

THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME started off a little slow for the first few minutes but soon enough it really picked up and I was completely engrossed. I cannot stop gushing enough about this anime. Not only does it teach you a thing or two but it's romantic in this hopeless kind of way that is just so sad. A memorable moment for me is when she is tears, and not only in tears but actually sobbing and running up the stairs to a roof I think it is? *If you see that scene let me know how it made you feel*. That moment had me emotional because you can really feel her pain and all the regret that she feels. If you're an Anime lover, and heck even if you're not, WATCH THIS because it was freaking brilliant!! The last 10 minutes that lead up to the ending were awesome in particular. So much built up to that moment and then suddenly there's this new revelation, a decision to be made, a possible mistake made, yet again, only for something else to occur. YOU WILL be all over the place whilst watching this. Laughing, smirking, close to tears and anxious as hell! I think when something has the power to evoke such a strong reaction it's always an indication that it's worthwhile watching. I honestly walked away from this anime feeling a little heavy hearted because of the ending but quite awed by how beautiful it really was. Can you tell that I really liked it? xD

Of course it would be ridiculous for me to say that every one of you will love it. Like I mentioned. I can imagine even non - anime lovers enjoying this but I can't guarantee that even anime lovers will love it. You're going to have to go on a whim like I did when I spotted it on Jenn's blog and hope for the best. For the most part though if you give it a go do be patient with it for at least 5 - 10 minutes because it's worth it. I know you may be thinking; well Aly you gave it an A and you obviously love it right? Well yes, true, but what if I connected with it in a completely different way you know? I just don't want you to put your hopes up, but the minimum that you can get from it, is a sweet touching story with endearing characters. Also I wasn't the biggest fan of the artwork at first but actually grew to like it. If you do watch it let me know what you think. Hopefully you'll fall in love with it like I did =)

Heads up to Jenn from Books At Midnight who did a post on Anime in which this was featured and caught my eye. =)