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Good lord, it's a Tanaami film that's NOT full of phallus noses and random penises!
Okay, there are some pointy long noses, but it's not nearly as obvious as much of his other work. Also, no strobe effects! You can watch it without threat of seizures or eye pain.
I realize this might sound like faint praise, but those were the main detractors, in my mind, to almost all of the other films by Tanaami that I've seen. The man is an amazing graphic pop artist, but it's hard to enjoy a riotous explosion of color and form when the lighting direction ... leaves you with a blinding headache. Run & Roll may be nothing but a wordless, one minute ad, but it is full of colorful artistic expression and crazy character forms safe enough for the whole family. Give this tiny bit of random fun a try.

Going into this manga, I had not read Cooper's novel, nor seen any of the multiple Hollywood films adapted from it. I had no idea what the story was about. Having finished Sugiura Shigeru's book, I can confidently say I still have no idea what the story is about.
The plot meanders through kidnappings and skirmishes between Native Americans of various tribes, the French and the British/Americans. I couldn't tell why anything was going on at any time. The setting seemed only to exist to showcase the amazing talents of Hawkeye-the guy gets into and out of trouble much like Bugs ... Bunny- or for cheap gags and slapstick. Historical and geographical inaccuracies abound: I'll bet you never knew there were that many barren cliffs and canyons in upstate New York, or that the Delaware were horsemen to rival any plains tribe. The art varies from highly detailed and realistic to offensively cartoonish, usually combined in the same panel.
The main highlight of the English edition is the extensive essay at the end of the manga about Sugiura Shigeru's life, career and particularly his artistic influences. This makes up close to half the volume, and takes longer to read than the manga. Presented among the historical information is a persuasive argument that the mangaka was heavily influenced by US western movies and comics, from borrowing poses and backgrounds to wholesale plagiarism of panels.
If one is interested in the historical development of manga and the US comic influence upon it, the essay is worth reading. Check it out from your local library and skip the actual manga. The Cliff's Notes of the novel would be better reading if you want actual entertainment.

Where does one draw the line between animation and film editing? Takashi Ito's works beg that question. From the DVD compilation Itou Takashi Eiga Sakuhin Shuu, about half of the films have been added to the database here by someone. Half haven't. Having watched films from both categories, I can't see much difference between the two.
As to Drill, like many of this director's others, it has no sound or characters, and consists of live-action stills. This time the scene appears to be the shoe lockers and surrounding halls of a school. This is a guess, they could ... just as easily be filing cabinets in an office. Frankly, I'm not sure it matters. The reason you see such a low score for this film over in the stats is likely because narratively, nothing happens. The camera pans about the motionless scene for awhile. Then the director starts playing with perspective. Things become distorted to the point of abstraction, then the film ends.
So, why the comparably high score on my part? Well, it's not bad for what it is: an experiment in image manipulation and film technique. I was never a film student, so I can't say if this was particularly innovative, but it had some visual interest. Comparing films like this to traditional mainstream anime such as Attack on Titan isn't comparing apples to oranges, it's comparing apples to monkey wrenches. They have nothing in common save being film from Japan. It's like asking someone to compare Ben-Hur with a flash video off Youtube; you simply cannot judge them on the same scale. That being said, I cannot whole-hardheadedly recommend you watch this. Despite the virtues I've extolled, it's still rather boring. Unless you are a student of film-making, or have a great deal of interest in experimental films, you might be better off investing five of your minutes elsewhere.

Fetish Doll is one of those artsy, independent short animes that are meant to be thought-provoking and tend to get low ratings here on MAL. After all, they often don't have stories or characters as such. This is not the reason I've given this one a 5; I've quite enjoyed several such shorts, although I'll admit for the record that Keiichi Tanaami hasn't been a favorite.
As for this one, the sound is adequate. Didn't remember much about it between viewing a few days ago and now, so I ran it in the background as I typed this. It starts ... with a ping-y flute, and then pulls in other noises, some of which I could only describe as wet. The art seems hand-drawn, with translucent layers floating over moving background images.
None of that was a problem. Nor were the first five-seven seconds of the film. It opened with a field of slightly abstract dancing flowers in bright colors, making me think I was in for something like a Mirai Mizue film or one of Furukawa Taku's abstract shorts. Then things got weird. The bulk of the film can be summed up in three words: ghostly floating penises. Call me a prude, but it's not my cup of tea. Your mileage may vary.

Kappo, the Japanese for strutting or striding, is aptly named.　　The movie consists of legs moving across the screen　in　and　on　high　heels. The art is very minimalistic, just enough to get the motion across. The background music is an accordion tune that to me evokes a Parisian cafe.
This is a fair example of an experimental, independent anime. As such, it will not appeal to everyone. No,　there　isn't　a　plot,　or　characters,　or　even　dialogue.　This is an exercise in animated motion, variations on a theme. Look at it as abstract art, rather than a typical anime. You might even enjoy it.

Takahashi-sensei's works are a bit of a hit or miss for me. I loved Mermaid Saga, Inuyasha was okay, and Ranma was some of the stupidest drivel I've ever read. Rinne falls somewhere around Inuyasha on the continuum, I would hazard.
I've finished nearly one hundred chapters of this manga, and I'm still looking for a plot. Thus far the series has been completely episodic: a supernatural problem arises, and the main characters deal with it within, maybe, five chapters tops, and it is forgotten. There have been an endless number of characters introduced to bring these problems to the ... cast's attention, and then they're gone. They're plot devices, nothing more.
As for the main cast, they haven't grown much over those hundred chapters. Now, they are interesting characters, with strengths and foibles and problems, but none of those problems seem like they'll be solved anytime soon, or that they are even trying to overcome them. Rinne is still broke, and the love polygon is rather stable.
The art is instantly recognizable from the author's other works. While unique, it's not spectacular.
This isn't to say the manga isn't enjoyable. It's a pleasant enough diversion, but like cotton candy, it's lacking in substance. At the same point in Inuyasha we knew many of the major plot points of that manga. Rinne seems to be here for a long haul like so many other Takahashi works. It's certainly worth a little light reading, but you might find yourself wanting something with a little more meat.

Have you ever been reading a battle manga and thought, "there's too much dialogue, it's covering up the sound effects."? Or read something with 50+ volumes of plot and backstory and thought, "I don't need to know all this, I just want pictures of movement progressing through time."? Then this is the manga for you.
New Engineering, to use the English translation's name, collects 24 short works, ranging from nearly 30 pages down to only one. Calling them stories is a bit of a stretch. Story seems to imply character, plot, development, something. The ones with dialogue could probably ... be counted on one hand. Some were drawn to go with articles that are not in the book. The author admits in the afterword that one of the single page works was a poster he couldn't even sell.
Most of the works fall into one of two categories, either fighting or fabricating. No explanation is ever given for why things are made, or why people fight. A large variety of sound effects in both Katakana and English are used prominently. Thankfully they are translated at the bottom of the page, with some of the drawings it is hard to tell what is happening-are they rolling AstroTurf, sod or carpet, for example. Not to say the drawings aren't incredible, they are, but there is a surreal absurdness to them all such that any notion of what might logically happen next is lost.
Overall, New Engineering is like an art museum. You may or may not like some, or even any of the works, but the pictures are well made and looking at them is culturally edifying. And if you try, you might just find something that speaks to your soul.

This short is weird, to put it simply. There isn't really a story or plot, this is just a ten minute view of a world. And what a world! A distopian landscape of dead trees and corpses inhabited by monstrous insects, flying leviathans and unfortunate people. The people are dismembered, used as hosts for insect larvae, and are frequently eaten and defecated. If you've ever seen the hell scenes by Hieronymus Bosch, particularly the Garden of Earthly Delights, there is great similarity. The work also echos the misfortune of Edward Gorey's cartoons and the absurdities of Monty Python. ... If you liked any of these, give it a try.

Gateway Drug, noun- A habit-forming substance whose use may lead to the abuse of drugs that are more addictive or more dangerous. In theory,a substance such as marijuana, which is easily available, less expensive, and more socially acceptable than harder drugs such as cocaine. Inuyasha is a gateway anime. The series is easily available, it's been shown endlessly on Cartoon Network, merchandise can be found at your local mall, games and videos at any rental chain, and both manga and anime at your local library. To fill in the gaps of missed episodes, one turns to the manga. Catch up on part of ... the story, and you pick up another series to fill the time, then another, and soon you're a member of this site.

The same can be said of other series, Bleach, for instance, but Inuyasha is different. The plot of the series is, frankly, only so so. Good guys and bad guys vie for control of magic item. Could be the second season of Fullmetal Alchemist, could be Lord of the Rings. More annoyingly, as the series ended when it caught up to the manga-only half done at the time-there's no conclusion. However, this is also what makes it so easy to be slowly reeled in. It doesn't matter very much if you don't see the episodes in order, or miss handfuls at a time. The characters don't really change and are always easily identifiable, short flashbacks fill in any really pertinent information, and while an arc might last a few episodes, things are returned to the status quo before beginning again.

Haphazardly is perhaps the best way to watch. When one sits down and views entire seasons in a row, the result is less satisfying. The shear repetitiveness: search for shards/Naraku, huge fight, eveyone nearly dies, they all get away, rinse, repeat...it gets to be mind-numbing. And that leads to thoughts like "How many times can you survive being stabbed through the chest, even if you are half-demon?" or "Just how much property damage has the mutt caused in this battle?", a level of scrutiny best not applied to most popular works of fiction.

As with all culturally pervasive things, there will be those who cannot stand the series, and those who cannot bear to hear a word against it. Reality usually lies somewhere in the middle. But thanks to Inuyasha, many of us have moved on to explore the wider world of anime, manga and j-pop, and for that, the series deserves some credit.

You know, I did try. For a long time I just ignored this series, too long, peculiar premise, no time. I finally ran into the first few volumes at the library and gave in. Why not? I thought. The whole series is out in English, the library actually has them, I enjoy Inuyasha and this is Rumiko Takahashi's other famous work. It can't be that bad, now can it?
Well, that depends on your taste. Ranma 1/2 is a comedy. A rather plotless, inane comedy filled with slapstick and truly horrible puns. (Shampoo, granddaughter of Cologne? Yeesh.) And it ... is indeed reminiscent of Inuyasha, though, that really should be the other way around-Ranma came first. The art is markedly similar, Takahashi-san does have a unique, enjoyable style, and it hasn't changed greatly over the years. Neither has her sense of humor; the comedic interludes of Inuyasha immediately sprang to mind as I read. But there was nothing else to pull you in. No clearly defined antagonist (Random romantic rivals coming out of the woodwork, but no villain or even anything close.), no particularly sympathetic protagonist (Ranma? Bit of a jerk, really. And the whole lot act like idiots on a regular basis.), and not much of a plot. Boy and girl forced into arranged marriage. Boy also changes sex involuntarily. Stuff happens.
Five volumes was more than enough for me. Your mileage may vary.