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The Ursei Yatsura franchise & TV series is an insane, wacky, hyperactive, frantic, comedy show with most of its humour rooted in Japanese culture and in general it's not really my cup of tea. However the director, Mamoru Oshii of Ghost in the Shell fame, whilst using the characters and setting of the TV show tones down the madcap slapstick nonsense a notch or two and instead creates a trippy, surreal, philosophical film concerning dreams and how they interact with reality. It's still a comedy but this has got miles more depth than anything seen in the TV series.

Without any knowledge of the TV series ... this film will probably baffle newcomers with its strange cast of weird characters and its odd and unreal universe. However if you can get past that obstacle then there's a really clever and well made film underneath that explores themes and ideas concerning the nature of dreams and what we percieve as reality, territory that Oshii would return to and expand upon in his later films, whilst reamining an enjoyable and light hearted comedy. A quick briefing on the Japanese folktale of Urashima Tarō and Zhuangzi's butterfly dream may also aid understanding of the plot if needed!

Technically this film is leagues away from the quality of films later produced by Takahata and Miyazaki at Studio Ghibli. Still it's a great little film with more depth than is first apparent. It's a shame Takahata encountered such resistance and lack of backing from the studio when making this film. It could have been so much more. At one point still frames replace the animation becuase they ran over budget in production! A landmark in anime nontheless.

I finally got round to seeing the proper Japanese version instead of the awful english dub. It made all the difference. Perhaps the only criticism I have is that it's slightly too long but there's so many ideas crammed into it and so much going on it can be forgiven or that. It's not a film that ties up all it's plot points nicely in a simplistic resolution at the end but rather one that leaves a number of questions unanswered for the viewer to interpret and think about long after the film has ended. This is a film for those who like to be ... challenged by their choice of viewing. Check it out.

Simple. Wonderful. Beautiful. Comforting like a hot mug of hot chocolate in front of a warm fire! A rarely seen Takahata gem. A film any musician should appreciate.

This is a fantaastic action film. It's an homage to a series of ninja novels and the main character an homage to a famous samurai folk hero...but never mind all that rubbish! All you need to know is it's a high octane thrill a minute action adventure with great characters, great fight scenes and a decent plot (certainly much better than you'd expect for a movie of this type). Be warned it's very violent and it will shock anyone who equates animation with Mickey Mouse or only knows anime through Studio Ghibli. Having said that all the extreme content is handled in a mature and ... responsible manner. It's certainly not a tastless or nasty film.

My main criticism? The song for the closing credits is abysmal and totally out of sync with the rest of the film.

I loved this film. It reminded me slightly of a cross between Only Yesterday and Whisper of the Heart from Studio Ghibli. My only complaint is that, besides the usual plot holes and paradoxes that any film involving time travel has to burden, there were quite a few major plot points at the end of the film that weren't explained satisfactorily or thoroughly enough. It shouldn't be too much of an issue but the effect was that it made the emotional climax at the end of the film seem slightly forced rather than a natural outcome to the story. It's a shame because everything else ... is top drawer and it just falls short of total brilliance. Highly recommended.

This is worth watching for the spectacular visuals alone (and they really are eye meltingly spectacular) but the plot is so complex it's pretty much incomprehensible.

I wasn't too bothered about this film until I actually got round to seeing the original japanese version, having previously only seen the sub-par english dub. It made all the difference. This is sci-fi done as it should be. Lots of ethical and philosophical musings on the advances mankind is making in the fields of science and technology tied up in a compelling, though admittedly very complex, plot concerning the hunt for a mystery cyber terorrist.

It looks great. The film is over a decade old now but it's visuals still hold up. The soundtrack is wonderfully atmospheric, there's terrific action, and generally there's a great ... deal of substance and intelligence behind it all.

As far as influence goes without Ghost in the Shell there probably wouldn't have been The Matrix either.

It's a good film no doubt but it's definitely a bit too long. It plays like an extended TV episode (which isn't necessarily a bad thing) but unfortunately it isn't up there with the best episodes to be found in the series. Still it's always good to see Spike and the gang in action seeing as it looks like there isn't going to be a new series made anytime soon for obvious reasons! Its very stylised and is fantastically shot but it seems to drag at times. It would have been nice if it could've linked in a bit more of the Vicious/Julia/Spike backstory into ... the plot too. As it is it's a worthwhile and entertaining side story but probably isn't gonna convert any non-believers out there.

I rented this out of curiousity not really expecting much from it but I actually thought it was great. The film is strange, idiosyncratic and probably not everyone's cup of tea but the psychedelic visuals are so spectacular (and the soundtrack isn't bad either) that it's worth watching just as a feast for the senses. It's like nothing I've seen before and it's definitely worth checking out if you're looking for something "different" be it animated or live action.