Blog Archives

Electric Dragon 80,000V (2001)

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Posted on October 7, 2007 by Greg

Common sense dictates that any film featuring the line “He conducts electricity! He talks to reptiles! He’s the man!” is bound to be good. But there are certain elements that separate the good from the great, and director Ishii Sogo has brought them all to Electric Dragon 80000V. Tadanobu Asano looking for lizards in the back streets and sewers of Tokyo? Masatoshi Nagase as the coolest half-deity assassin you’ve ever seen? A soundtrack so loud that it could turn … (read more)

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Wild Zero (2000)

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Posted on September 30, 2007 by Alison

I confess that I’m at a loss how to begin talking about this one: I mean, what can one say about a movie that features aliens, rock ‘n’ roll, zombies, combs, tight shorts, and true love? But I’ll give it a go, and try to make some sort of sense about a movie that makes no sense, but is buttloads of fun.

First up, this is a road movie. Not a road movie like Thelma and Louise, or Easy … (read more)

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Wings of Honneamise (1987)

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Posted on September 30, 2007 by Andy

Studio Gainax’s most visible pre-Evangelion project in the West was a meditation on spirituality, technology and man’s future in space.

The Royal Space Force is an embarrassment to the military, a funding black hole to the public, and its dress uniform an affront to fashion. The unit exists on a whim of the royal house, and is filled with misfits and dreamers. It is only during a war that the government sees a use for the Space Force: initially … (read more)

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Daredevil in the Castle (1961)

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Posted on September 25, 2007 by Justin

In his prolific and much-lauded career, Toshiro Mifune worked with director Hiroshi Inagaki even more often than he did with his more celebrated collaborator Akira Kurosawa — the best-known product of these collaborations is the Miyamoto Musashi trilogy, with Mifune playing the title character. Working for the Toho studio, Inagaki was a very well-respected writer/director during the 1950s and 60s with a bit of a specialisation in period action films: his Musashi films and his version of The 47 Ronin… (read more)

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Death Trance (2005)

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Posted on September 25, 2007 by Alan

There’s an awful lot of biffo in ‘Death Trance’, which is to be expected from the Yuki Shimomura, the action director of the barking mad Versus making his directorial debut here.

And that’s pretty much the point of the film — there’s not too much interference from that pesky plot stuff. In fact, at one point, Grave, the vaguely androgynous anti-hero of the film, gets an explanation of back story from Ryuen (Takamasa Suga), the temple monk sent after him … (read more)

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Gun X Sword (2006)

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Posted on September 25, 2007 by Andy

Gun X Sword creates a sense of unease right from the get go. Its hero Van’s (literal) Puritan attire of uncocked, felt hat and black longcoat seem to be cast offs from Vampire Hunter D. The hand-me-downs don’t end there. Van is not only a dead-ringer for Cowboy Bebop’s Spike but his personality is a facsimile right down to his melancholy indifference to the world around him. Finally, Gun X Sword’s setting, the planet Endless Illusion, is a futuristic … (read more)

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Gilgamesh (2003)

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Posted on September 25, 2007 by Deni

Long has mythology and history inspired anime. Remember Studio Pierrot’s Mysterious Cities of Gold back in the 80’s, where ancient South American technology was set against the backdrop of a boy’s search for his father? Or how about something from more recent memory, like Rah Xephon for example, where oracles and obscure references to the Greek arts take centre stage? Even the epic Neon Genesis Evangelion could be said to draw upon aspects of religious mythology, making a good argument … (read more)

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Fafner (2006)

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Posted on September 25, 2007 by Andy

With teen mecha pilots, huge glowing celestial enemies and poly-mythological naming conventions with a leaning toward the Norse and the sturm und drang of Wagner’s Ring cycle, Fafner doesn’t so much wear its influences on its sleeve as tailor a whole leisure suit out of them.

What Fafner may lack in concept originality, it certainly makes up for with intrigue. The first volume works hard to set up an array of mysteries that pretty much indicate there aren’t one or … (read more)

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