Blog Archives

Alien vs Ninja (2010)

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Posted on June 14, 2011 by Alison

What sort of Asian film geek could resist a title like Alien Vs Ninja? It would take a better geek than me.

The story is a simple one: a group of ninjas get sent out to investigate a fireball that falls near their village, only to be attacked by a tremendously fast and brutal alien that’s unfazed by their weapons. One by one they fall victim to the beast, eventually killing it only to discover that oops, there’s another … (read more)

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The Chasing World (2008)

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Posted on May 24, 2011 by Justin

The Chasing World was a surprise. I was expecting something more predictable, a day-glo world of gory creature effects and shouting, perhaps something like Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl. What I got was an efficiently-constructed, fun little film which runs somewhat like a mashup of modern Doctor Who, Fukasaku’s Battle Royale and that nightmare where you’re somewhere familiar, running from hundreds of identical masked assailants, and you don’t know why. You know the one.

Our lead character … (read more)

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Black Butler (2008)

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Posted on May 22, 2011 by Deni

Genre is a funny thing. On the one hand, it gives you a ballpark for your expectations. Science fiction? Space ships and aliens. Horror? Dark scary places and the liberal splashing about of blood. Gundam? Bloody big robots. But on the other hand, genre can also confine and confuse in the face of reality, and looking at genre definitions across cultures can make things even harder. Black Butler (known to the early uptakers as Kuroshitsuji) originally ran in a … (read more)

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Paradise Kiss (2005)

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Posted on May 18, 2011 by Tom

It’s a less then well-known fact that reviewers sometimes don’t get to choose what they are to review. More often than not it’s a curse, having to watch such terrible fare as Space Adventure Cobra. But every so often there is a surprise like Air Gear, Elemental Gelade or in this case Paradise Kiss.

Paradise Kiss follows Yukari Hayasaka, a young high school student who is floating through high school and life; not striving to be the … (read more)

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Eureka Seven: Good Night, Sleep Tight, Young Lovers (2009)

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Posted on May 15, 2011 by Tom

There is a history in anime of the adaptation of TV series to movies. Often these films are new stories in the same world, like the Cowboy Bebop movie. Other films closely adapt the plot of the original, taking out a lot of the filler that sometimes creeps in during a series like the Evangelion movies. And then there is Eureka Seven.

Renton is the pilot of a mecha called Nirvash, named after a childhood pet, aboard … (read more)

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FLCL (2000)

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Posted on April 22, 2011 by Eugene

Certainly a sign of advancing years when one starts reminiscing of times past.  It’s hard not to be nostalgic when revisiting a series that first began and ended almost 10 years ago but that’s certainly the case when the new Blu-ray disc of FLCL arrived in the mail.

I have fond memories of the show though the exact details as to why eluded me up until the point I pressed play for the entire series.  The Pillows soundtrack came on … (read more)

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Jyu Oh Sei (2006)

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Posted on March 26, 2011 by Deni

Jyu Oh Sei, based on a three book manga by Natsumi Itsuki, is possibly one of the more underrated anime you could do yourself a favour and watch. Think Asmiov crossed with Golding – a kind of Lord of the Flies in space, where man is reduced to the most basic needs of survival, where the alien plant life is both beautiful and deadly, and where the rules are completely made to be broken.

Thor and Rai are twins … (read more)

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Yatterman (2009)

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Posted on February 23, 2011 by Alan

Years ago, I saw Takashi Miike’s Gozu. When the film finished a certain reviewer behind me laughed for about a minute, then drew breath and exclaimed “What the f*ck was that all about?”

That’s Miike for you. And so welcome to Yatterman, a film that’s kind of like inserting that weird popping candy into your eyeballs. But not, as it happens, a WTF flick for the right reasons.

Yatterman was originally a ’70s anime on the telly that … (read more)

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