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Prince Ashitaka is a protector of his people. His courage whilst fighting a boar demon gets him cursed. The only place giving him any hope of survival is the place where the boar demon came from. There lies a war between the animals and the people trying to cut down the forest. Though the people have guns on their sides, the animals have princess Mononoke, their protector and their very own assassin. When Ashitaka falls between these two groups, he gets swallowed up within their hatred.

The ultimate message of this movie is quite profound. Humans cannot live without nature. Though they’re trying to increase their ... power and areas of the land, they need the forest to survive. Quite literally, they need plants to synthesise oxygen! Obviously they learn that a little too late.

The relationship between Ashitaka and San (Princess Mononoke) is turbulent, yet intertwined with the plot. As soon as he lays eyes on her, he is enchanted by the fierce wolf girl. After saving her from a vicious battle, she begins to trust him and take care of him too. The two really are star crossed lovers as she belongs to the animals and he is a protector of humans. Yet they cannot help but be drawn to the other. Their ultimate teamwork skills in resolving the differences between humanity and nature really right the wrongs of all that happens.

Ashitaka is a strange protagonist. He simply cannot make up his mind about whose side he should be on. He kind of gets by without making a decision which enrages San, but allows him to be the mediator between the worlds. I personally would have preferred him fighting with San on the side of nature and making the humans regret their actions as the ending feels dissatisfactory in that regard, but I was content with the way things panned out.

San and her adoptive wolf mother Moro had the most heartwarming relationship. It truly broke my heart when I saw them separated. The talking wolf mother absolutely loves the human child castaway by the humans and if that doesn’t foreshadow their ability to coexist in harmony, I don’t know a better plot device that could.

This movie explores the blockheaded nature of the leaders of war. They both are just so stubborn for their cause that they cannot be content with what they already have. Though you are drawn to be on the side of the wolves and the boars that are having their homes destroyed, you cannot help but see from the evil lady Eboshi’s perspective. She is trying to gain more land for her Irontown, but she is also creating more jobs for lepers and women by buying them from brothels and thus saving them from a life of submission to men. She believes she’s doing the right thing by attacking the wolves and boars. Her ultimate goal is to kill the Deer God, the heart of the forest. The real snakes in war are the strategists though. Jiko-bo is the real snake, trying to plan a way to leave the deer God vulnerable by using lady Eboshi.

The imagery of the deer God and the weird creatures of the forest is truly magnificent. He is this ethereal creature that heals, sustains and maintains the balance of the world. Yet it’s never clear why he doesn’t cleanse Ashitaka of his curse. Perhaps because he knew of the role Ashitaka had to play in bringing peace between the worlds. The music was remarkable and enrapturing. It really captures the beauty and turmoil of every scene. There were some pieces that will stay with me forever as the melodies were so magical.

This movie defied my preconceived expectations! As soon as the cursed boar showed up with his weird malicious form, crawling with leech like creatures, I knew I was in for a wild ride. There is gore galore, but it all carries significance and is not just thrown in there for dramatic effect. Watch this if you’re after a thought provoking, thrilling escape to a world facing the repercussions of war.

Arrietty is a tiny person. When I say tiny, I mean only about 10cm tall! The tiny people live in the house of a sickly human boy named Sho, who has always heard about the little people of the house from his mother. Arrietty and her family are borrowers, tucked away in the house and ‘borrowing’ items that the humans are unlikely to notice are missing. After narrowly escaping being seen by Sho whilst outside, Arrietty is excited to start on her first borrowing herself, with her father, Pod. When an encounter with Sho leaves her family very concerned, Arrietty must decide whether the bridge ... into the human world is one which she wishes to cross.

So lets start with the characters. We have the suspicious house keeper, Haru, who is totally onto the family of borrowers. She’s quite a nuisance and you began to hate her weird reaction to the little people. Sho is quite tranquil and is not super insistent in intruding into the lives of the little people…rather, he leaves them little (or should i say huge) gifts like sugar cubes that will last them many cups of tea. We have Spiller, the outsider caveman little person that shows Arrietty and her family that there is life beyond their hideaway house. Arrietty’s mother and father keep things in their house running. From making tea to ensuring they have enough ‘borrowed’ resources, they work quite well as a team.

In terms of the plot, I personally felt it was quite lacking. Their is quite a bit of exposition on how the little people steal the things they need and seeing from their perspective is quite fun. Bugs, rats and birds are not their friend! They have glowing red eyes and are out to get them, but Arrietty turns out not to be such a weakling after she arms herself with a pin. The tension and story progression is what appeared most lacking to me. Arrietty hates Sho and hates how encountering him has turned her life upside down. And then she doesn’t anymore. There are no true villains, except for Haru, who really falls short in that criteria. She does look like a titan from Attack on Titan though…so bonus points for that?

The relationship between Arrietty and Sho was meant to be deep, meaningful and a merging of their worlds of the little and big human beans. Did I mention they call them human beans? No idea why, but this movie is filled with nature and foliage, which is definitely the most visually appealing aspects of this anime. Arrietty really only comes to him out of desperation, he helps her out and thus they have an eternal bond forever that can never be overcome by any obstacle right? Wrong. Really, not much happens at all between them. Sho wants a glimpse into Arrietty’s world which she doesn’t want to provide, but when there is no way around collaborating with Sho, she does. So romantic right? Even though the romance/companionship is quite strange and hollow in the first place, the significance of Arrietty giving her little ‘borrowed’ hair clip to Sho was quite cute.

The animation, though was pleasing, didn’t appear extremely memorable to me. Though the huge tissue boxes, sugar cubes and Arrietty’s little home and the dollhouse were well detailed and pleasing to the eyes, nothing really stood out to me.The music on the other hand is lovely, with Arrietty’s song carrying with it the magic that this movie was trying to portray.

There are too many questions left unanswered. Where are all the other little people like Arrietty? Why did Sho’s mother leave her critically ill child with his Aunt? Quite a jerky move by the way.

My favourite character was most definitely the sassy yet dependable cat. You can never go wrong with cats in an anime. Go check this out if you’re looking for a nice relaxing break from the human world.

This is such a pure, heartwarming, feel-good movie! Sophie is an ordinary girl that runs a hat shop, but is not very content with how life’s turned out. When she has a magical encounter that allows her to sky walk in the arms of the infamous wizard Howl, she feels a spark of magic in her life. Things don’t remain perfect for long though. The Witch of the Waste, disgruntled by Sophie’s brave and no-nonsense behaviour casts a spell on her…causing her to turn into an old lady! Feeling that Howl is the only one who can rid her of her spell, she ventures out ... to find Howl’s moving castle. The adventures that follow reveal that Howl needs Sophie just as much as she needs him.

The innocent heart of gold that Sophie has, whilst still not being a pushover is just the absolute perfect mix of attributes for her character! Though the evil witch turned her into an old lady, when she sees her struggling through something, she stands and cheers for her…how absurdly sweet of her! Even Heen, the dog of Howl’s arch nemesis wins a place in Sophie’s heart and she strives to take care of everyone that somehow ends up with her, including an infatuated turnip-head scarecrow that has a much important role to play than initially expected.

Howl himself is such a crazy character! In absolutely the best way. He has a confident, determined or serene smile on his face 99% of the time. Nothing seems to truly faze him…Except for when his vanity gets compromised! An absolutely hilarious scene shows Howl’s meltdown after he accidentally dies his luscious golden locks into an orange shade and turns himself into a heap of goop after throwing a tantrum. Though initially he seemed so distant, perfect and inhuman, layers of his personality are peeled back and we get a glimpse into his loving side, the side that wants to protect all the innocent lives of those caught up in the war of the country. We see just how much he wants to protect Sophie and their new family that includes Turnip head, Heen, Calcifer, the Witch of the Waste and Markl.

Markl is the little apprentice wizard that first encounters Sophie. Though initially he is annoyed about her intruding into the castle, once he sees that she has some magic within her, he warms up to her. The scenes where Sophie poses as Howl’s cleaning lady (a consequence of not being able to tell anyone about the curse) and causes havoc in the house disturbing both Calcifer, the fire demon and Markl are so amusing.

Calcifer is the fire demon bound to the castle that doesn’t want to obey anyone. He wants to march to the beat of his own drum. Yet when Sophie comes in and doesn’t even bat an eyelash at him, not fearful at all of his powers, he makes a deal with her that can help free both him and her from their curses. This agenda takes a backseat, as Sophie realises her new family is more important.

The romance, though is very light completely ties together the whole story and family concept, with Howl and Sophie acting like the father and mother of their makeshift family.

A special mention about the music. It is so fitting and my ears were delighted from the very first scene. I will never forget the beautiful Howl’s Moving Castle main theme. The waltz like, magical piece is truly amazing!

Specific details create such a stunning experience - from Howl’s glittering jewellery with his subtle movements and his beautifully decorated bedroom to Sophie’s transition from old to young depending on her confidence, bravery and belief in her own abilities. The plot is intricate and exciting with the music and visually stunning animation creating a truly immersive experience. The ending reveals many aspects of the story and explains why certain characters acted as they initially did and it is such a sweet way to conclude the film. This is one of my favourite films of all time and with good reason! The music, imagery, character development and masterful plot make this a truly memorable film to watch.

This is the most visually stunning anime I have ever seen! Akihito is a half youmu, half human that is being chased by the Spirit World warrior Mirai. Though he is immortal as he is a youmu (strange creatures roaming the planet that may be hostile/aren’t visible to humans), that doesn’t stop Mirai from plunging a sword into his body multiple times, in the hopes of gaining practice to fight the actually hostile full Youmu. Through this weird dynamic, a friendship forms between the two, as they learn that they are both more similar than they had previously thought.

The world in Beyond the Boundary is ... well developed and is introduced to the viewer as it is introduced to Mirai, who has moved into Akihito’s town. She learns of the Youmu family that is friendly and trades Youmu stones (stones that are collected after Youmu are defeated) with money to sustain the Spirit World Warriors. The Spirit World Warrior families of two friends Hiroomi and Mitsuki are also introduced as those watching Mirai and Akihito and their actions, should they ever need to intervene for the safety of mankind. Everything is not what it seems when it comes to this anime. Though the first episodes introduce the characters and some of their backstory, as the episodes progress, you realise why some characters acted in a particular way in the previous episode. Each episode peels back a different layer of the characters’ personalities, whilst also contributing to the plot. Mirai’s backstory and her desire to escape the hostility of the family that had taken her in after the death of her own family is a very interesting aspect of the start of the anime. Akihito’s backstory is less well developed as there are so many questions left unanswered at the end of the anime regarding his powers and how he had acquired them. The progression of the plot and the whole secret behind ‘Beyond the Boundary’ and what this phrase means was my favourite aspect of this anime as it was such a climactic, albeit confusing ending, which I shall get to later.

So there is obviously romance between Mirai and Akihito, but it is a develops at a very slow pace, which is fitting. Though it’s not blatantly confessed between the leads until later in the anime, it is expertly weaved with the plot. Mirai relates with Akihito, as she is not popular in the Spirit Warrior world due to her special ability of fighting the Youmu with a sword made out of her blood which makes her incredibly powerful. Akihito doesn’t really fit in with the humans of the world, or the Youmu and later in the anime, we learn that his friends are only around him because of an ulterior motive. The fact that Mirai and Akihito are both super powerful in their own way is a great aspect of their relationship, as they can subdue the destructive nature in each other. Out of this desire to help each other control their powers and sacrifice themselves for each other, a completely believable and awesome romance flourishes. The suspenseful back-and-forth nature of their relationship towards the end is heart stopping, slightly irritating, yet mostly satisfying.

This anime really reminded me about why I love the world of anime in the first place. Really serious stuff can be going on, yet somehow, adding hilarious jokes such as a FULL EPISODE where all the characters band together to sing a song and a dance routine in pop star outfits, in the hopes of subduing a particularly strange Youmu still works somehow! This show can just change the tone from dark to comical at the flip of a switch. The teasing of Akihito’s glasses obsession and Akihito and Hiroomi’s bromance never gets old.

The side characters do not feel like side characters at all! We have the adorable Youmu, Ai. The Nase spirit warriors Hiroomi and Mitsuki that really become almost best friends with Akihito and Mirai. The bloodthirsty mysterious character Sakura, who is integral to the mysteries of the plot. We also have the unique Youmu, which completely alter the appearance of the world when they arrive to the town, creating a visually immersive experience, especially during the battle scenes.

The ending was the least satisfying because there were so many questions left unanswered! Though I can’t mention them for the sake of no spoilers, Akihito’s backstory felt extremely unresolved, as well as, certain things he manages to do at the end of the anime are never explained. Other mysteries of the Nase family and the Spirit Warrior Society are also left ambiguous.

The battle scenes are ABSOLUTELY SPECTACULAR and are paired with the most immersive heart stirring music. The atmosphere is just so magical and manages to achieve a level that I have not seen many other anime in the past even come close to. I am just in awe when thinking about the music and visual imagery of this anime.

Watch this anime. Your ears and your eyes will thank you for it! You may get an unexpected laugh too, amidst the dark nature of the remainder of Beyond the Boundary.

This is one disorientating movie! There are two types of people in this movie. Those that have had gravity inverted for them and those that have not. When the worlds of the two people collide through a mysterious hole in the ground which serves as a portal between their two worlds, chaos ensues. Patema is a girl who had heard of the stories about the surface of Earth with its sky and foliage from her friend Lagos, who mysteriously disappeared. When Patema accidentally falls through the portal, she is saved from floating away into the sky by Age, a boy from the city of ... Aiga that has his feet planted firmly on the earth. The bond that forms between the two causes them to fly through the sky for each other. Their dependency on each other to stay grounded is what creates a really subtle, yet present theme of romance that is embedded in the story perfectly.

I did not go into this film expecting as much back and forth between the two worlds. I must say, for those people that don’t have amazing spatial awareness and are prone to getting lost, this film is not entirely easy to watch and does strain your brain. An ancient hatred by the people of Aiga about the ‘inverted’ creates a tension within the film as the tyrannical leaders trying to uphold the utopian society in Aiga brainwash all the children to believe that those that had gravity inverted and floated into the sky were sinners and only the pure people of Aiga got left into the Earth. Age is different though. His father had always wanted to uncover the secrets of the sky by building a hot air balloon, yet he died prematurely by an accident whilst trying to float away, leaving Age to dream on his behalf. Patema could not have encountered a more appropriate person after falling through the portal. Their relationship is cute and there is one particularly hilarious scene in which Patema is insistently pestering Age about coming back and not leaving her forever in a shed. Patema and Age literally have to cling to each other whenever they’re trying to make their way around Earth. The romance did feel a far fetched to develop so easily. I much prefer to interpret is a friendly devotion that developed between the two because they were both enchanted by each other and each other’s worlds.

So back to the plot: the main conflict is uncovering the secrets behind the people of Aiga and Patema’s people. Where Patema’s people think of the people of Aiga as ‘bat people’ whenever they enter their underground world, the people of Aiga are unaware about the location of Patema’s people. Their focus is on maintaining law and order to uphold their perceived utopian (but in reality dystopian society). Though the people of Aiga wish to flush out the inverted ‘sinners,’ there are mysteries which the leaders of the city are going to great lengths to hide. Mysteries that are uncovered by the bond that develops between Aiga and Patema. I must say the plot twist is quite mind boggling and I really did not see it coming. Some plot holes regarding Patema and Age’s journey into the perceived city of ‘stars’ did quite irritate me because I was wondering why it was so uninhabited, but all in all, it was quite a cool concept that was fun to watch!

The feel of the movie is mostly serious and mysterious, yet there are moments of suspense and also little moments of light hearted relief, like when Porta and Age are trying to make their way around a location, using their gravity powers to avoid being seen by a camera.

The character design was simple, yet I really found myself loving the clothing that Patema and the ‘Inverted’ people were wearing. The backdrops of the movie are simply stunning. From the glimmering lights to the gorgeous cloudy, space-like atmosphere that Patema and Age traverse through when they are floating through space, it is extremely gorgeous!

I didn’t find myself to be a fan of the soundtrack as I personally felt that sometimes the music was not fitting of what was going on, on the screen. The music did not capture me and help with the immersion, as say some of the Studio Ghibli films of the past have.

All in all, the other character of note is the main villain, the evil leader of Aiga who is really against the Inverted people and wants to see them gone, no matter the cost. He does play a fair villain, fit with the crazy gene of wanting the ‘inverted’ people to be dependent on him so that he gets to amplify his own sense of power. When his secrets are revealed it’s oh so satisfying and that’s exactly what made this such a nice sci-if mystery.

With Patema Inverted, I came for the romance but stayed for the intriguing and well-developed plot and stunning imagery. Go check out this cool (but dizzying!) film for yourself. Be prepared to go up and down and up and down…just remember, it all depends on perspective anyway!

This anime is about some issues that I'm personally very well acquainted with. Extreme social anxiety. Tomoko Kuroki is a not so average high school girl and to say that she struggles to talk to people is a huge understatement. We follow Tomoko through her various attempts at becoming popular and making friends. The hilarious reasoning behind the crazy things that she does in this anime are based on dating simulators which she loves to play. Let’s just say…dating simulators aren’t the most accurate way to learn how to make friends!

Be prepared to cringe, but also to laugh your heads off! To cope with her ... extreme loneliness, Tomoko envisions that the happy friends around her are actually miserable, superficial and attention seeking. Though she says this, whenever an opportunity to talk to these 'unworthy' people comes up, her voice gets all frail, whimpery and quiet and she makes very awkward jerky motions with her body. If the anime left it at that, it may not be so cringe inducing, but the unique lifestyle of filling her spare time with playing dating simulators has made Tomoko very strange.

She is desperate to have a romance like the ones in her video games, yet her social awkwardness has the opposite effect. She tends to sexualise random scenarios to set herself up for some very weird situations e.g. when a guy tried to swat away an ant from her arm, she freaked out and believed that it was due to her undeniable allure.

There are only a few characters in Watamote, since the spotlight is on Tomoko. We have her best friend turned trendy and popular ‘Yuu chan’ whom Tomoko both despises, wants to be…and wants to be in a relationship with!? She feels some really weird attraction to either be like her and transform into a social butterfly and cling to the only friend she really has. Yuu is a bit dense though as she doesn’t really realise that Tomoko is still so socially awkward and exactly how dependent she is on their childhood friendship. The fact that she still continues to be Tomoko’s friend after she did some VERY strange and inappropriate things is heartwarming though!

We also have ‘Ki chan,’ a little girl that idolises Tomoko based on the cool stories she tells her about her fake social prowess. The lengths that Tomoko goes to keep up the facade that she is popular and trendy are insane, especially when she tries to give herself hickeys with a vacuum cleaner. One of the absolute highlights of the show. We have a cute helpful umbrella guy who appears later in the story and gets entangled in one of Tomoko's awkward situations. I wished that he had actually become a closer friend of hers, but he only featured briefly.

Tomoki, her brother doesn’t really pay attention to her and stays away from her so that her weird doesn’t rub off on him. The inability of Tomoko's mother to realise that her daughter was so lonely and that this was feeding her strange personality felt quite unrealistic. Though most of the reactions of Tomoko's class towards her weirdness felt pretty accurate, some of them seemed unrealistic also. Like they ignored her weirdness to an unbelievable degree! Imae is really the only one who shows up towards the end of the show who really shows any promise of actually becoming her friend. I was happy that they put some hopefulness amongst the social anxiety that is central to this show.

Though there aren't many characters, Tomoko herself is such an entertaining protagonist, we don't really need them! From her weird fantasies where she envisions herself as some heroic desirable protagonist that everyone fawns over to her necessity to compensate for her lack of human interactions via interactions with cats, plushies and of course her hilarious dating games. Her fantasies and over exaggerations about the way that people are treating her are both hilarious and depressing at the same time.

Watamote shows how your mind can either make your world appear like heaven or hell. Usually the things that seem like huge a social faux pas in reality are not that big of a deal. Our mind just tends to amplify the embarrassment. Tomoko’s mind did this very thing to a huge degree that lead her to acting really strangely in public and then grieving about her loneliness after the cringeworthy encounter was over. When you have an unusual personality, I don’t think Watamote is that far off in terms of the thoughts that run through your head and the crazy things you can do. Tomoko’s ability to make everyone else responsible for her being lonely and out of place is something that’s really easy to do and was captured really accurately in the show. Sometimes, when you can’t deal with your own weirdness, you must project your frustration onto others. This anime does a phenomenal job at showing the whole strange and unrelenting nature of social anxiety and the consequences of not fitting normal societal expectations. Though some may be disappointed by the lack of progress in the ending, I feel like it did service to what the show was trying to portray…resisting or changing your weirdness is much harder than embracing it and accepting that we are who we are.

An entrancing escape from daily life. This movie follows the life of Chihiro as she moves to a new town with her sulky attitude intact. When the appetite of her parents leads their family to a strange region with huge portions of food on display, her parents succumb to their drooling mouths and absolutely stuff their faces. You know how kids can sometimes just sense when something’s not right? Chihiro gets that feeling in the strange town and decides to wander around by herself, only to discover that her parents have transformed into…pigs! She must travel into the depths of a bath house overrun by ... strange spirits and magic, where as a human, she is utterly alone and an outcast. She keeps her wits about her as she strives to search for a cure to turn her parents back to normal, but will the mysterious boy Haku play the role of her saviour, or does he have other plans in mind?

The imagery is absolutely captivating. From the magnificence of the bathhouse to the variety of the various magical creatures there. The character design is so unique and distinct for each of the spirits and the characters seem as though they are a mishmash of creatures from the depth of someone’s wildest imagination. From the indignant yet softie Kamaji who is part old man, part spider human, to the majestic but ruthless Haku, who also happens to be a dragon. Yubaba features as the angry old bird women who is the head of the bath house and the strange faceless spirit that is unnervingly adorable and horrifying at the same time. This movie has an array of unforgettable characters.

The cascade of events in the movie allow the plot to flow very smoothly! As Chihiro ventures deeper into the world of the bath house, she must overcome great feats such as running across a pipe only barely hanging onto a building and some flimsy stairs leading to a huge drop below. Chihiro as a protagonist has a heart of gold and a will of steel. The perfect combination of traits which slowly, but surely wins over the reluctant members of the bath house. Even Yubaba admires the natural talent she has to offer. In her nervous yet determined way, Chihiro is able to make friends with the soot balls that are mischievous and feed on rainbow coloured star confetti, a radish spirit that is indifferently awesome and Lin, who looks strangely like an older version of herself and takes the role of her mentor.

This movie is enchanting to the eyes, has a musical score that fits each scene remarkably and has menacing and has soft-centred characters. Of course, there is a much deeper meaning below the surface. It focuses a lot on the downfall that reliance on greed will cause a person. It shows the invaluable nature of sacrifice in bringing a person true happiness. This is focused upon in many ways. The first obvious instance of Chihiro’s parents with the spirit world food, the next instance with Yubaba realising that her child is missing and she didn’t even notice because of her preoccupation with the money she was earning and another instance with the spirit No face, who tries to buy Chihiro’s friendship and the friendship of everyone at the bath house. No face is the literal manifestation of greed in this film as he chases Chihiro around, enticing her, yet her strong determination gets her through every trial thrown at her. There are certainly many! From rescuing her many friends, evading danger and recognising her parents amidst a sea of pigs, she certainly doesn’t have it easy.

The ultimate message of this movie is that real human connections are the thing that is most precious and valuable in this world, as money and treasures will never pull through for you the way a trusty, yet perhaps begrudging friend may. Chihiro sacrifices all the rewards she obtains for her hardworking nature on her friends without a second thought and that’s what truly wins her the ending that is magical, fulfilling and utterly satisfying. This is an excellent movie which masterfully combines amazing visuals and quirky, yet endearing characters with a deep message that resonates as strongly throughout the film at an extremely enjoyable and appropriate pace.

In the third instalment of the Garden of Sinners series, we follow the story of Fujino, a victim of sexual violence that has gained the magical ability to twist and turn the body of other humans into abnormal positions, ultimately killing them. Her encounter with Kokutou brings the perspective back to the setting of the first movie with Kokutou, Touka and Shiki at the office. For some strange reason, perhaps because Kokutou came to her rescue like a knight in shining armour, Fujino tries to find him again, yet her threatening powers lead the question…what does she really want to find him for?

This movie focuses ... on the themes of revenge and justice and the way in which a person with similar attributes is treated, can lead to completely different outcomes. Though Fujino had similar powers to Shiki, her family never nurtured her or gave her respect, leading to her powers spiralling out of control. From events that occur, it can be deduced that it occurs after the second movie, but prior to the third. The side we see of Shiki leads us to believe that she has a much better control of her powers, yet we call her the absolutely moral character, because she herself has her own views on murder and the correctness of it based on the circumstances.

Kokutou once again feels like he has a knack for running headfirst into trouble. Even though he knows that the people he’s getting involved with have murderous intentions, he still believes that there’s some good in them to be salvaged. He’s portrayed as a super morally righteous guy as he even helps an escapee of Fujino’s attack, one of the perpetrators of her assault. His relationship with Shiki is fleshed out further in this movie as Shiki gets entangled with the responsibility of subduing Fujino’s attack, partially because Kokutou’s life may be in danger. The very fact that she does her utmost to prevent Fujino’s death as Kokutou was so desperately trying to do just goes to show how much she truly began to care for him.

The animation of this movie is absolutely phenomenal. Fujino’s power allows her to levitate and manipulate objects and the red and green colour of her eyes and her bursts of power looked pretty amazing. The showdown between Shiki and Fujino was certainly one to behold as it literally shook the hold city and left damage in it’s wake. It also gave the opportunity for Shiki to act like her most badass self.

Ultimately, this movie is about whether revenge is the better path to take in any situations. It also explores the nature that sometimes revenge is the only option, when hatred and pain is the only thing that’s driving you. It really brings into perspective that when someone acts out and commits acts of inhumanity, to what degree should the people responsible for creating that monster have to pay for their own inhumanity?

A pretty thought provoking movie with stunning visuals and extremely atmospheric soundtrack once again.

The second movie in the Garden of Sinners series focuses much more on explaining character relationships, yet it has a completely different feeling to the first movie. Where the first movie had an eerie and mysterious feel throughout, this movie had some sweet moments included in there and the creepy moments felt WAY more creepy.

So in the first movie, we were introduced to Shiki’s character. Though in the first movie, she acts as a saviour of sorts, in this one, we are introduced to a darker side of Shiki. It is revealed that she has two personalities of sorts, a sombre and supposedly tranquil one ... and an outgoing, yet perhaps more sinister personality. In the city, there have been some murders occurring and Shiki is shown around the bodies. The question is, is she the one causing the murders, or is she just an innocent bystander that has the ability to sense these things? It’s definitely hard to decide.

Kokutou on the other hand is quite unwavering in his faith to Shiki. He develops an interest in her and decides to follow her around like a lost puppy, even though she tries very hard to keep him away. Sometimes the viewer may feel that he has absolutely no sense of self preservation, but he must have the ability to sense that there was something magical about her. There is quite a notable cute scene in which Kokutou and Shiki are standing under the rain and she gets lost in the comfort of his presence whilst he hums a playful tune. It was a nice moment of relief amidst the foreboding feeling of the film.

The animation and soundtrack are once again, flawless. The bamboo forest is absolutely my favourite aspect, with the vivid nature of the gruesome murder sites coming in close second.

In this movie, though there isn’t a plethora of events occurring, the major question on why Kokutou was so close to Shiki is revealed. As Shiki grapples with her two personalities, it’s quite interesting adding another layer to her character.

A superb, though provoking, yet light movie on the relationship between a father and son. As this movie has the same director as Wolf Children, one of my all time favourite anime movies, the themes of the trials and journey of parenthood felt similar between the two films. This movie felt like a merge between Lion King, Mulan, Spirited Away and Aladdin, in terms of the settings that were provided and the likeness between some of the characters.

The soundtrack is very fitting and the animation is utterly phenomenal. The backdrops and the character designs have such a great level of detail and seamlessly fit together. ... My favourite aspects of the animation include the glittering, golden streets of the land of the beasts and the spectacular magical whale.

After the death of his mother, Kyuta, a young boy decides to run away, rather than live with his other relatives. When he encounters Kumatetsu, a beast building up his strength to prepare for the ultimate showdown between his worthy beast rival, Iozen, they decide to form a bond. Kumatetsu agrees to train Kyuta as his pupil, whilst Kyuta gets the home that he desperately needs. Though they bicker relentlessly, this is how their connection grows and they begin to admire and respect each other, forming the relationship of that as a father and son.

The scenes between Kyuta and Kumatetsu are engaging with the chase scenes between the two and the adorable way in which Kyuta begins to copy everything that Kumatetsu does, leading to Kumatetsu getting totally freaked out is hilarious. Kumatetsu as a character is cleverly crafted in his stern but loveable demeanour, being a big softie/joker at heart. One of my favourite scenes of this movie was when he was fighting Iozen and he begins to do these weird movements resembling some strange mating dance leaving everyone shell-shocked. Kyuta has this cute little ball of fur, Chiko that hides in his hair and comforts him and basically saves the day at one point! Props to the ball of fur.

The storytelling of this movie allows a lot of deeper messages to be packed in there. As Kyuta grows up, he begins to question whether he belongs to the human world. or the world of beasts. The identity crisis that is quite familiar for adolescents as they transition to adulthood, leaving them either rejecting or accepting their parents beliefs as their own is portrayed marvellously. This movie shows the difficulties of parenthood including the heartbreaking moment when kids grow up to pursue their own lives and also the sacrifices that parents make to put the needs of children above their own. In this way, I think it’s truly an important movie for everyone to watch to adopt the perspectives of their own parents for a little while.

The notion that you can gain so much by teaching others is also strong in this movie. This is true for Kumatetsu and Kyuta’s relationship, each learning new fighting skills from each other and Kyuta and Kaede’s relationship, their mingled motivations to learn new things turning into a romantic relationship. Their ‘brawn and brains’ relationship was quite well built and didn’t overpower the more important themes of the movie.

With Ichirohiko’s character, another layer of depth is added to the film. By comparing him to Kyuta, it can be seen just how two different kids in similar circumstances can turn out a different way. This is not the fault of the supportive parents, but is due to the individual’s warped perspectives, adding another insight into parenthood. The precarious nature of the human psyche is a big aspect towards the end of the movie, how we always walk the tightrope between darkness and light. The take home message that this movie leaves you with is that though we always face the allure of darkness in our lives, the ability of humans to keep resisting against it carries weight in itself, as an example of the triumphant nature of morality and light.

Kumatetsu ultimately learns, that when he’s on the journey of chasing something, he discovers something else along the way that’s infinitely more valuable. The rewarding nature of being a guardian.

This is a feel good, inspirational, brainwash-your-kids-with-this-positivity type of movie, chocked full with important messages.