There are plenty of iconic anime films that have been released throughout the years. From the fantasy worlds created by visionary Hayao Miyazaki to Mamoru Hosoda’s brilliant coming-of-age stories, anime has always been an excellent medium within film for storytelling. One such pioneer of the medium was the late, great Satoshi Kon whose directorial debut,… Read More Perfect Blue (1997)
I was fortunate enough to cover this year’s Cardiff Animation Festival and was able to watch an array of films (over 100 in fact!). One of the highlights was loundraw’s debut, Summer Ghost which has a non-traditional running time of 40 minutes meaning that it can be considered either a long short film or a… Read More Summer Ghost (2021)
Anime is always an exciting medium as it boasts some of the most progressive filmmaking. While most people are familiar with the works of Studio Ghibli, there is another huge animation studio that has become hugely popular in Japan and has a large following worldwide. Studio Chizu was founded by director Mamoru Hosoda and producer… Read More Belle (2021)
One of my favourite anime shows of all time is the 90s classic Sailor Moon. The original anime based of the hugely successful manga by Naoko Takeuchi ran from 1992-1995 for five seasons following teenager Usagi Tsukino who is an underachieving schoolgirl by day and a crime-fighting hero by night. Along with the other Sailor… Read More Top 5 Sailor Moon Episodes
It’s hard not to think about Hayao Miyazaki when choosing what anime film to watch. Known as one of the founders of the Japanese animation powerhouse Studio Ghibli, Miyazaki has established a name among critics and audiences alike as an important figure in helping Japanese cinema reach a global audience with films that are suitable… Read More Hayao Miyazaki: Film Ranking
Another day, another Ghibli review. Hayao Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke is a Medieval set fantasy in the ancient land of folklore and Gods and the battle between Mankind and the spirits in the forest. The film follows Prince Ashitaka who is cursed by a dying boar and must venture to the West to find the reasons… Read More Princess Mononoke (1997)
One of the big ones to come out of Studio Ghibli and with good reason, Spirited Away follows protagonist Chihiro who finds herself in the spirit world where her parents have been turned into pigs. Chihiro must work under the ruthless Yubaba in a bathhouse for spirits where she is forced to take care of… Read More Spirited Away (2001)
Hayao Miyazaki’s 1986 family action film, Castle in the Sky was the first film made under the Studio Ghibli brand (Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind was made before Ghibli’s inception although it is now included in the Ghibli catalogue). The film follows young orphan Pazu who catches a girl, Sheeta, after she falls from… Read More Castle in the Sky (1986)
“Many of my movies have strong female leads- brave, self-sufficient girls that don’t think twice about fighting for what they believe with all their heart. They’ll need a friend, or a supporter, but never a savior. Any woman is just as capable of being a hero as any man.” Hayao Miyazaki “I do not make… Read More The Heart in Studio Ghibli
Studio Ghibli is a film studio renowned for its creativity, passion and maturity. There are no limits to the imagination. From the iconic characters such as Totoro and the Catbus from My Neighbor Totoro (1988) to the architectural brilliance such as the bathhouse in Oscar winning Spirited Away (2001) or the castle in Howl’s Moving… Read More Studio Ghibli
Smaller Pictures Film 