Blog Archives

Shikoku (1999)

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Posted on March 12, 2007 by Alison

I like my Japanese horror. I like getting the bejeesus scared out of me by some master of total creepiness with a budget in two figures. I even, in a weird sort of way, like the inevitable aftermath of a good horror film: lying wide-eyed and quivering in bed, quilt pulled up to my chin, scanning the darkness for signs of ghosty activity. It’s surprising I’ve got any bejeesus left, in fact.

Shikoku, however, is no threat to anybody’s … (read more)

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Serial Experiments LAIN (1998)

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Posted on March 12, 2007 by Ching Yee

“We’re all connected” – so goes the saying in LAIN. This oft repeated message is the mantra that the masses live by in Lain’s world and when you think about it, ours too – we have to be technically savvy, zooming on the information superhighway and most importantly we have to be connected.

Lain, the protagonist of the series is thirteen, a junior high-schooler and considered slightly strange among her compatriots – she’s computer illiterate. Compounded by her shy … (read more)

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Saiyuki Requiem (2001)

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Posted on March 12, 2007 by Deni

Today’s lesson: the pros and cons of the Original Animated Video, otherwise known as the OAV (or OVA – Original Video Animation – depending on your viewpoint), as exemplified by the Saiyuki movie, Requiem.

Originally, OAV was a term coined to describe the movie-length spin-offs that spawned from existing TV series. These days, they could be almost considered a rite of passage – you’re not a real series unless you’ve done a such-and-such-The-Movie. Well, maybe not, but from Cowboy … (read more)

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Saiyuki Reload (2003)

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Posted on March 12, 2007 by Deni

This is perhaps the second last time you’ll hear me harp on this subject, and actually, I’m sort of wondering what more I’ll be able to say about Saiyuki. With this new series – Reload – the Journey to the Max boys are back, mixing it up with a couple of story arcs from the manga (both Gensoumaden and the new, still on-going manga series, Reload) and a few anime-only episodes as per the standard manga-to-anime formula. The quality in … (read more)

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Saiyuki (2000)

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Posted on March 12, 2007 by Deni

This is a completely biased review. I’m not ashamed to admit it. Everyone’s got their little secrets, their weaknesses, right? Well, mine’s Saiyuki.

Sometimes known as Gensoumaden Saiyuki, the anime is based on a manga series by Kazuya Minekura that started serialisation around 1996 (and is now published in the US by Tokyopop). It was inspired by the famous Chinese story Journey to the West, better known to Western audiences as Monkey, and it’s everything … (read more)

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Rayearth (2000)

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Posted on March 12, 2007 by Deni

If there is one thing about anime, and in particular anime from the creative pool called Clamp (check out the X review for more info on the Clamp collective), it is that nothing ever happens on a mundane level. If you find yourself in a Clamp story, of indeterminate high-school age and Chosen (it doesn’t really matter what for) you can at least be sure the last thing you are going to be is bored. It’s the world at … (read more)

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Sailor Moon (1992)

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Posted on March 12, 2007 by Deni

My brother, bless his cynical little heart, has a word which he likes to apply liberally in instances just like this. This word is ‘twee’.

And yes, it actually is a word. Apparently the 4th Edition of The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language lists the definition as:

adj. Chiefly British
Overly precious or nice.

This is pretty much Sailor Moon down to its cute little red-trimmed mini-skirts.

However, there is something to be said for resisting the urge … (read more)

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Ring: The Spiral (2000)

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Posted on March 12, 2007 by James

Of all the sequels and remakes to the first Ring film, Ring: The Spiral is the most successfully different. Filmed and released at the same time as the first film, it presents a kind of counter-story to the one dominated by Sadako in the rest of the franchise. Which isn’t to say the unfortunate supernatural wretch doesn’t make an appearance via the VHS fantastic and cause relentless, impossible strife. It’s just that this is really a film about a man’s … (read more)

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