Ghost in the Shell - pretty in the face

Ghost in the Shell (Kokaku kidotai), 1995 - Dated but beautiful cyberpunk Neo-Tokyo philosopher cop drama. A watershed in hardcore tech animation. The philosophy is clichéd, and the English dub is extremely flat, but the pacing, motion, and design are whip-tight. For teens of ambitious intellect.

Millennium Actress (Sennen joyu), 2001 - Clever timeline-twisting historical pseudo-documentary. Attractive technique, solid characters, engaging plot. Skirts the edge between sappy melodrama and poignant history drama, to good effect. For anyone who can follow and appreciate a plot twist.

Akira, 1988 - Old-school edgy dystopian anthem. Introduced anime to the US. Ambitious and twisty, the psychological aspect is a little “Easy Rider” now, but still interesting. For the disaffected.

Perfect Blue, 1997 - Brooding, psyche-out J-pop stalker suspense thriller. Some nice design and animation, some standard-issue characters, some blood, some angst. For the disaffected.

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (Inosensu: Kôkaku kidôtai), 2004 - Gratuitous, transparent, and egotistical philosophical exercise, in an often beautiful wrapper. Weightless plot leaves no mark. For unambitious anime fans.

Blood: The Last Vampire, 2001 - Angsty tractionless half-effort horror-action wank with a shell of a plot, complete with cardboard Angelia Jolie. Almost works as a spoof. For the short attention span.

Steamboy, 2004 - Appropriately elaborate steampunk, but the script is deadly. Immediacy, relevance, passion, and depth of a junior high history lesson. Avoid the dub. For anyone too young to notice a horrible script.

Metropolis (Metoroporisu), 2001 - The glimmers of good design aren’t worth sitting through the poor script, poor acting, and poor 2D/3D combinations. Better than Steamboy. For the convalescent who’s watched everything else.

Ninja Scroll, 1993; Wicked City, 1987; Vampire Hunter D, 1985 - Tawdry slashers, undeserving of links or bold type. Seen as classics because of their combination of over-the-top violence combined with 80’s “blow your mind” mysticism. For unambitious, disaffected boys.

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