The Beary Best Four (sort of) Anime Films

I love anime films and television. So when I ended up living in Japan it was almost like living an anime. There was an an anime style something just about everywhere you went that was in some way modernized. They used anime to let you know there was road work, that you were about to enter an adult film store, and even to promote gambling in the form of pachinko. FYI pachinko places run by the Yakuza do not really like it when an American tries to go to the VIP area. So since I love anime so much I decided that I would let you in on my four (sort of) favorite anime films of all time in no particular order.

Akira - 1988 English Dub

 

Normally I would never put over an English dub anything over the country of origin because bad lip syncing really gets to me. But since Cam Clarke headlines this version as Kaneda I find it to be the best version. You can't really try to make any sense out of the plot since the anime studio basically took six volumes (about a thousand pages each) and then tried to cram it in two hours of film; but that says a lot for a film to make absolutely no sense and still seem great! Whatever you do stay away from the 2001 English edition. It's awful. But good luck finding the 1988 English dub edition. I had to buy it in Korea when I was living there.

The Grave of the Fireflies

 

My general consensus about sad films is you don't cry. It's a film. And to date there are only three films that I have actually shed a tear for and they are Dear Zachary, The Long Way Home, and this anime film. It's a story about a brother and sister who are orphaned and must raise themselves during World War II. It shows some of the lesser thought of effects of war on a country that is actually a war zone and I think since America hasn't really been the field of battle since the Civil War we really don't think about it.

Perfect Blue

Perfect Blue is not only one of the best anime psychological thrillers in the world but one of the best psychological thrillers in the world. If you had any love for Black Swan then you should definitely watch Perfect Blue. Especially since Black Swan bit off of Perfect Blue pretty stinking hard. This film does a great job blurring the lines of reality, fantasy, and possible mental illness, so much so that you'll probably need to take notes to keep track of what is what. Normally I don't like to do homework during a film but in the cases of this and Inception I make exceptions.

Every Other Studio Ghibli Film Other Than Grave of the Fireflies

Alright so this is cheating. Just a little bit though. But then again my blog, my rules yeah. Anyway I don't think I have ever seen a Ghibli film that I didn't like. Grave of the Fireflies gets a special mention because it can illicit more emotions than most of the others and unlike the other Ghibli films is based in reality instead of a fantasy world but I have yet to not be entertained by one of the Ghibli films. Even my kids love them and those are the hardest critics in the world. These films just have a great way of getting your soul to smile and that makes them worthwhile. For a list of all the Ghibli films and television productions click right here.