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Do you remember, as a child, roleplaying with your friends in the backyard, pretending to be firefighters and superheroes and animals? Remember when your make believe story would hit a wall, and you had no idea how to keep going...so you just threw in whatever you could think of? Maybe flying elephants save you, or you can suddenly transform into a car. It didn't have to make sense as long as you were having fun.

"Uchuu Show e Youkoso" is just that: a make believe story where elements are tossed in to keep the plot going, because who cares if they're cliché or nonsensical? This is ... about having fun!

Really, the best way to enjoy this film is to go in accepting that you're getting some good old space romping and little else (that is it in no way surpassing the scale of Star Wars. Just...no). You have some seriously vibrant animation, with action scenes and visual spectacles galore. The plot can be engaging, too, especially when it slows to allow the protagonists to chat and take in the beauty of alien culture. Nothing deep or revolutionary, but the conflict and climax are entertaining enough for casual viewers.

I'm not saying that the story itself is a bland afterthought to the visuals. Five school students coming together to find a missing rabbit - one lost IN SPACE - offers plenty of humour and mayhem to lose yourself in. The tension between Natsuki and Amane, the only two human protagonists with legitimate focus and growth, feels natural. You want to see them find their rabbit, save the universe, and get home before their parents find out, while learning a few life lessons along the way.

Therein lays the strength of this film: you want to see what happens. You want to see what sort of crazy plan the kids will come up with, how it'll go wrong, and how they'll get out of trouble. You can let the uninteresting side characters slide, give the offkey pacing a pass, and ignore the obvious similarities to other popular anime films of the same demographic (just avert your eyes, Ghibli...), because in the end, it's just here for a fun time.

If you have younger anime fans around, or are just looking for a longer, edgier Ghibli adventure, "Uchuu Show e Youkoso" offers a couple hours of entertainment. Nothing new, nothing expansive, but enough to have a fun time now and again!

I've glimpsed a fair share of Western literature and popular fictional characters in anime, brought to life with shiny new coats and entertaining Japanese influence: Lassie, Anne of Green Gables, Poirot, Sherlock, Monte Cristo. Some are in similar territory, and some are cast into all new genres, from science fiction to romance to straight comedy.

And then you have the Magica Quartet, who got together one night and said, "gee, how has no one gotten the brilliant idea to blend cute, cheesy, pastel magical girls with the ever nihilistic Lovecraftian horror?"

And then...it worked.

Before you lays a story so seemingly impossible to get right, so outlandishly absurd, ... that as the episodes blend into each other - because no way are you not watching this all in one sitting - you find your arms getting sore from all the pinching you're doing to try and wake up from the dream it's woven. Don't worry, it stops by episode three, because by then you are completely invested, breathing in sync with the tense hum of uncertainty every moment brings you. The first three episodes? Just a sliver of the gut-wrenching glory that awaits.

Am I being overdramatic? Sappy? Nauseatingly poetic? Definitely - but only because this series deserves all the dramatic, sappy, poetic acclaim I can muster.

Here lays a tale of cosmological proportions, piercing the undefeatable terrors hidden in the stars, a truly Lovecraftian tragedy pitting man against a force it cannot hope to stop. Revealed through a splendid display of captivating backgrounds and fluid dance into battle after battle, five souls jump into the fray and shatter themselves for the sake of survival. Five girls, each with an astounding amount of courage and growth, put everything into their fight against an otherworldly being that to this day continues to linger in people's memories.

Okay, okay, fangirling aside, "Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica" is one of the greatest Lovecraftian horrors I've seen from the technical and creative standpoint. Period. On top of the aforementioned animation and soundtrack, you get gratifying character development amidst a highly enjoyable cast, intelligent pacing and worldbuilding, and a deeply satisfying finale, bittersweet and unsettling to the core - as all great tales of Lovecraftian influence should.

This is not a magical girl show for the faint of heart. You want the power of love and friendship mingled with fierce combat? Jump into any of the PreCure. Otherwise, sit back, take a couple deep breaths, and allow the magnitude of Madoka's journey into magic girl macabre wash over you.

And beware the cute...and whatever contracts it tries to offer you 0_0

There are anime designed to physically slam you with happiness, throwing bright colours and cheery tunes at you like an endless confetti on your birthday. You sit down for an episode and get up feeling like you can walk on air, taste the sweetness of life with every breath.

Casshern Sins is not one of those anime - but that in no one takes away from just how beautiful this show is.

With that catchy, melancholy opening and first few minutes of animation, you see this is a peek into a dying world. The washed out colours, empty backgrounds, and quiet, even nonexistent sounds paint a gorgeous, ... miserable realm. You know about as much as our amnesic protagonist Casshern does, wandering the endless deserts of an apocalyptic Earth, meeting strays and psychos and broken folk as each desperately searches for a meaning to any further seconds of existence.

You know, the cuddly stuff.

But it is precisely that, uh, "cuddly" atmosphere, that makes this series so addicting. Yeah, alright, the story has been done before - amnesic hero learns he was part of the great destruction of his world and must find the truth while helping others cling to whatever hope that can salvage - but every other aspect keeps Casshern Sins alive; as alive as you can be in a world rusting away to nothing. You're thrown in and have to deal with the desolate, and boy is it a beautiful experience.

The quiet scenes are done right, gently lulling you in with serene ambience and deep, thoughtful conversation in the midst of beige, blue and grey hues. The happy scenes are done right, pinks and greens trickling in as childish giggles and uplifting dreams of better days wash over you. The action scenes are done right, each blow as heavy as the next: you hear, feel, heck, you even SMELL every fight.

I don't know if I've made this clear yet, but everything about this anime is right. Even the plot, as familiar as it may be, is perfectly weaved into the environment. Casshern and those he meets, enemy and ally alike, are the literal life of the show, and their combination of pessimism, naivety and hopeful abandon sticks with you to the final moments.

It's right, it sticks with you...I'm terrible at finishing summaries, so just trust me on this. Looking for a more slow-paced, somber journey? Step into the sands and take a philosophical walk through some of the most beautiful ruins this side of the robotic apocalypse.

What an absolute spectacle. This is the sort of film that gently draws you in by the hand, stroking you with gentle breezes, lapping at your bare toes as the distant calls of whales echo by your ears.

And then proceeds to faceplant you into the sand and screech like a dying seagull as you hallucinate from a lack of oxygen.

For the first hour of the film I was completely hooked! Ruka, Umi and Sora are familiar but enjoyable archetypes, and no time is wasted in building a bond between the trio and getting into the mystery. The side characters have next to no ... focus, but they work into the setting well enough to not take away from the story. And, of course, with every frame being pure eye candy, you easily lose yourself to the world and watch the plot flow with the waves...until the plot begins to lose you.

Am I an idiot? Did I miss all the obvious hints and signs because I was too caught up in the gorgeous scenery and facial expressions? Totally possible. Most likely. Did I genuinely attempt to follow every hint and sign? For sure. And yet there I sit, taking in the second hour of the film, jaw dropped because the sights and sounds are all I can follow, and even that loses any sense of direction in the final half an hour. It does sort of tie bits and pieces together at the end, but certainly not enough for me to ponder what I just saw.

I can see the direction the story was going, and what it was asking the viewers to explore. There are elements of fantastical and philosophical proportions that do offer decent speculations - but certainly not enough to hold a story together. If that was the point - if the story should be taking a backseat to the visuals, then that's fine! I'm all for a pure spectacle, but I want to know I'm only getting a spectacle. Don't build up a story just to toss me into a lecture on the existence of man and memories. I'm just not smart enough, y'all -_-

Looking for a sensory overload? "Children of the Sea" will mesmerize you with its top tier visuals and great voice acting. If there is any, ANY way, turn the voices down, turn off subtitles, and just take it the sights and sounds. Otherwise, stick with the Ghibli films for a satisfying blend of storytelling and beautiful animation, because the most you'll get from these children is a headache.

A pretty one, though XD