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Mary & the Witch’s Flower
By Andrew Osmond. Two years ago, the British film magazine Little White Lies interviewed director Hiromasa Yonebayashi, then best known for directing Ghibli’s Arrietty and When Marnie was There. Yonebayashi was asked about the first Ghibli films he saw. Nausicaa and Totoro, he answered. “I’ve been watching all of them since I was a child… […]
Mind Game
By Andrew Osmond. Mind Game is a trip. Struggling to describe it in my book 100 Animated Feature Films, I called it “spectacular, spontaneous, confusing, kooky and hilarious.” It’s also dense, packed with so many dizzying visual ideas screaming for a rewatch. Its visual style is freehand, lopsided, a virtuoso exercise of virtuous sloppiness. Its […]
Erased vs Erased
By Andrew Osmond. The concluding half of the splendid anime time-travel thriller Erased arrives on 30th April as a Collector’s Blu-ray and a DVD. If you’ve not heard of the series before, hop over here for our introduction. If you’re an Erased fan, you’re in luck, as you can binge the story both in animation […]
Books: Ghost in the Shell
By Andrew Osmond. Like or hate it, last year’s live-action Ghost in the Shell performed a service in reminding many people of the Japanese original. But many people probably thought of one Ghost only. At least in Britain and America, it does seem that the 1995 cinema anime film, directed by Mamoru Oshii and co-produced […]
Persona 3: Greek Inspirations
By Mitchell Lineham. Each entry in Atlus’ Persona series has an identifiable theme, and Persona 3 sees ancient Greek mythology take centre stage. Persona 3 Movie #2: A Midsummer Knight’s Dream introduces us to a new slew of Persona, each of which reflects the state of their user’s hearts.