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This is a pretty silly short animation, so if you like absurd humor then yeah it's not like you're wasting much time watching it. The visuals are funny and actually well detailed in some parts, and the line delivery gets me. You get exactly what you expect, really. A weird naked grey alien guy helping a girl who is sad about being cheated on. No harm done in checking it out. I enjoyed it, but these are kind of hard to rate much higher. I binge watched a lot of obscure short animations, and while there are some truly beautiful works out there, this one ... stuck out to me because of how ridiculous it was. I wish I had more to say but that is really all there is to it, and I have to meet a character quota. It's funny.

MW is an under appreciated classic that is still relevant to this day. It tells a very powerful and equally disturbing story in only 26 chapters while juggling numerous interesting themes. I also think the themes presented here and Tezuka’s works as a whole are very progressive. That is impressive for a 1976 release, although the work being published on Big Comic left Tezuka with fewer restrictions than usual. I will give a brief review first before diving into spoilers so proceed with caution.
MW is an excellent reflection of sin and corruption, one that shows the lowest of humanity. The obvious parallels to real world ... events help to get the message across. Irreversible damage is caused by Yuki through his various crimes but you can definitely still feel sorry for him. I see many say he is too comically evil, but to me that is the whole point of his character. Yuki is a remorseless monster yes, but killers like that exist and it does not make him any less intriguing. I do find Garai more interesting however, due to his role in the story as a priest. He is aware of Yuki’s crimes and yet he cannot stop him because he loves him. The sexuality in the story and the juxtaposition between other representations of what would be deemed as sinful made Garai’s inner struggles that much more riveting. Overall the plot is very linear and is full of memorable moments. Despite this, I do think the other side characters are very one-dimensional even if they are only there to serve their purpose as regular, realistic people. Watching Yuki’s schemes unfold while also digging deeper into the two mc’s pasts was very fun and suspenseful. The artstyle is something you should already be familiar with, which is both good and bad. The style and paneling makes things easy to see and follow but it looks a bit goofy in some of the darker scenes. It’s not too distracting and in some parts the contrast actually accentuates the implied violence but it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
Spoilers ahead!
With that being said, I thought the ending felt rushed. Yuki wanting to destroy the world felt a little too stereotypical and a bit out of character even. His whole thing was targeting specific victims and sadistically crippling them and their loved ones. His attacks were impersonal which is exactly why they were so disturbing. People like to attach motives and reasoning behind murders because we find security and a bit more comfort in things we understand or can predict. However the terror of random violence is what makes Yuki so interesting to watch. His trauma and the toxins cannot be blamed for his actions, but it is easy to sympathize with him because of what he has been through. The government and the leakage of MW is the catalyst for all of these problems and everyone involved should be blamed but it is hard to do so. The exploration of this and Yuki’s role as a foil to Garai makes the story interesting regardless of certain things working too well in favor of Yuki’s crimes. An interesting aspect to Garai’s view of redemption is how he seeks forgiveness from God and blaming the flesh despite repeating his sins over and over.
This is one of the longest reviews I’ve written so I will be finishing up by saying: MW is amazing but is not for everyone. It covers many sensitive topics and includes many scenes of abuse and rape. If you can stomach that, I recommend this to anyone who is looking for a unique reading experience, one that has withstood the test of time in my opinion.

Kaitai Zanuff is a quick and effective one-shot with appealing art. Given how short the story is, I will not be summarizing the full story or spoiling major points. The titular character Zanuff is fairly interesting to read because of his uncontrollable urges. The desperate struggle against a darkness looming inside is shown pretty well, both in dialogue and art style. I expected a stereotypical abused past explanation but the story never shifts the focus away from his current predicament. A few flashbacks are shown here and there, but the story covers a lot of ground while still keeping you invested in the characters. They’re ... nothing too special, but the wholesome interactions between him and Alice are very heartwarming.
The ending is gut wrenching, but in a bittersweet way. Someone who should not have been born, a monster with uncontrollable urges was able to be the light in another’s life. The story handles the theme of redemption very well without glorifying violence. I’m glad this does not try to exaggerate or justify the gore because the amount shown here does the job without being distracting. The simpleness of the plot and art juxtaposes the actual layers of a psychopath and possible motives someone like Zanuff might have. It leaves you questioning whether or not Zanuff can be considered evil because the reader learns of his sweet side that tries to control his urges. The crimes are obviously not justifiable or excusable, but the story explores human nature and a person’s true morality in an interesting albeit brief way. Alice’s mother is an effective foil to Zanuff, and what little we get of her truly exemplifies the themes shown here.
Overall, while I don’t think Kaitai Zanuff makes significantly unique observations, the style and simple plot is appealing. Some will definitely find it stereotypical or hyperbolic but I think it was enjoyable enough as a one-shot.

Hauntingly beautiful. The visuals are so striking and otherworldly. There are so many creative ideas thrown about that it’s sort of hard to really keep track of what is happening. However, I think attaching meaning to every little scene is a bit wrong. Yes the imagery is symbolic of various ideas but we as the viewer are meant to react in awe contrasting the expressionless reactions of the adorable cats as they walk through both hellish and dreamlike landscapes. The humor is very dry and dark, but instead of it being edgy for the sake of being weird it adds to the atmosphere. I also ... love the music, as it perfectly captures the vibes of the scenes. Oddly enough, for a movie with no supposed “meaning” it made me very emotional. There’s an odd and inexplicable sense of melancholy with a beautiful hint of nostalgic loneliness that I wish I had the writing prowess to properly convey. The exploration of death and the cruelness of the cats and the world, contrasts the cute and dreamy visuals so hard that it gives you whiplash. I believe only the circus scene is an actual adaptation of the manga, and everything else is original. I’ll be checking out the original work very soon but this is an amazing tribute. Overall, this is one of the most creative movies I have seen in a long time, and will recommend it to anyone who likes absurd and surreal works.

Cute little manga. I adore the characters as they are quite memorable with some really dry lines that get me. I thought it would be a lot more comedy centered with how it absurd it starts, but the story gets pretty sad. The contrast of the style and the plot is nice. Nothing really too unique but definitely went in a different angle than expected. I’m not the biggest fan of the paneling and overall flow, as some arcs have tons of great jokes where others are surface level depressing. Problem is, those arcs don’t have enough time to really be memorable. If you’re very ... empathetic, then sure you can feel bad for the characters but I don’t think it really clicked with me. I like the simple and cute art but it’s certainly not for everyone. This is a nice quick read if you’re bored but beyond the humor and cute characters there’s really nothing to sink your teeth into.

Definitely better than I expected. The story never really stagnates and actually picks up quite fast. Sadly as many others have pointed out, I think the biggest flaw here is how rushed it feels near the end. We get a lot of interesting side characters and development but it speeds to the ending, leaving it feeling a bit empty. I don’t mind it much but it could have used a couple more chapters at least. The characters are fun and have great chemistry. Jokes don’t get run into the ground even if the development of their characters are near surface level. Considering the core subject, ... I don’t think it explored its themes in a unique way but with its length I don’t think this holds the manga back. As for the art, I don’t mind it at all. The character designs are very cute but there’s nothing too notable about the style. I actually think reading this in color might be nice, due to the complementary clothes and hair. The paneling never got distracting or anything. Overall this was very easy to pick up and read so I recommend it if you want a story that covers a lot of ground in a short amount of time.

Ethereal, beautiful and serene. Loved the atmosphere a lot. There’s many ways you can take the story and themes but it all felt very personal. False hopes, the crushing weight of reality, rebirth, lots of themes you can really dive into and examine. The religious themes are a bit on the nose but still adds to the plot nicely. Some parts are slow but overall I think they help add to the feeling of loneliness and hopelessness this movie expertly conveys. A bit rougher than oshii’s later works but the backgrounds and lighting and the long pauses were spot on. There’s just something about anime ... from this era that gets me. Sucks that it was so influential but was criticized a lot at the time. The vibes were immaculate. If you are looking for something fast or action packed, you will be bored. There are long stretches of silence and just taking in the visuals. I love the character designs and the shot compositions in particular, although the music could have been better despite me loving the ambiance. I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a unique experience.

Belle is pretty good if you just want something with visual flair and some nice music. To me it felt like the writers had no clue how vr stuff actually works and just made it the whole plot because it’s a popular thing. I won’t get into the logistics because anime but yeah don’t expect much explanation for things.
Plot-
Probably the worst part of the whole movie. Not gonna spoil anything but it really grinds to a halt in some spots and pulls some terrible tropes. Overall predictable and safe but yeah things could have been cut out. Not too sure how beauty and ... the beast ties into anything but that’s cool ig. Yeah there’s not much to sink your teeth into as everything feels very surface level and not really explored in any unique or meaningful way. I really wish they developed things better but this plot is just frustrating and despite tackling serious modern problems it just throws things under the rug to wrap everything up nicely.
Visuals-
Very easy on the eyes. 2d vs 3d is something I don’t have a strong opinion on anyways, but some of the cg scenes do look stiff. However the big moments land and the overall aesthetic is really nice with some good designs. The 2d sections are pretty boring for me. Not sure if I’m just getting tired of this art style but nothing really pops. The backgrounds are nice as always and the animation itself is smooth so I wouldn’t say either style brings the other down. I actually enjoy how the vibrant neon look of U contrasts real life, as it should since it is an escape for these people.
Music-
It’s alright. With this being a song centric plot I thought there’d be more music but it was actually a bit forgettable for me personally. I think it’s my taste in music so I’m sure many people enjoy this soundtrack. To compare, another song centered anime movie I watched this year is One Piece Film Red. The songs in that are much more varied and unique in my opinion. The singing is nice to listen to at least, and the singers and voice actors are all very talented.
Overall-
Belle is perfectly serviceable aside from the parts that come to a crawl and the really tropey dumb stuff. You can definitely enjoy this if you like the visuals and the music, which I can appreciate even if the disney-esque singing isn’t my favorite. For me it is a 4-5 but I can see why a lot of people loved this.

Fairly standard story with decent main characters. The twists were predictable and I think the story needed to be fleshed out more. I wanted to be emotionally invested but the premise alone did not suffice in really grabbing me as much as I was hoping it would. The art however, is breathtaking. Good shading with some real striking panels occasionally. The environment is detailed, panels flow fine and there are nice accents all over. I really enjoy the aesthetics. Other than that there’s not really anything too special here. Solid read, I guess I would recommend and it takes no time to finish so might ... as well check it out if you are curious.

Does the beautifully surreal and creative art style excuse the sloppy plot? Personally, yeah. It is still worth experiencing. The characters are shockingly vile, but the story itself becomes pretty contrived. Starts out solid, great attention grabber. It’s nauseating and yet you can’t look away. After the burst of visual stimuli, there’s not as much to sink your teeth into. Due to the art style, the explicit scenes aren’t too visually gross but the discomfort comes from the reactions and implications. The short length does make it an enjoyable read and as stated earlier, the art and paneling is delightfully unique. This had a lot ... of potential. But for what it is, I still think Kami no Kodomo is a great read just for visuals alone. And if it wasn’t obvious, stay clear of this if you cannot handle sexual violence and other disturbing themes.