The story is about the relationship of Takaki Kono and Akari Shinohara, but focuses more on Takaki kun. The two became the best of friends since they share the same interest, Takaki thought that they'll be together for a longer time, however the unexpected move of Akari's parents due to work, when they are about to go to middle school made them realize how much they meant to each other. Not wanting to part but have no choice they kept in touch by writing letters and hoping one day they will be able to see each other again.
It's a story about their long distance love.
Released on 2007 by Comix Wave Inc.
Directed by Makoto Shinkai
The film won the Lancia Platinum Grand Prize and a few more awards.
Movie soundtrack listing can be found at A.V.A.L.O.N Project site.
One More Time, One More Chance lyrics - English translation and piano sheet (Scroll down to Byousoku 5 Centimeter and click on no. 10)
Another story from Director Makoto Shinkai, as expected of this Japanese Director the scenery are superbly drawn and details are taken into consideration. Story is a bitter sweet, as some love story in reality goes, yet the way it was narrated leaves an impression in your heart.
Two boys became good friends with a girl over the course of summer, seemed like a typical story but this has a more interesting twist - the promise they made to each other during that summer will save the world from destruction.
Hiroki and Takoya are child prodigies, they are in their ninth grade, and secretly building a ship, so they can fly it to the Hokkaido Tower, which is visible from their current location. The two was excited about the upcoming summer so they can do summer jobs and speed up their money building so they can buy parts for the ship.
In one of the scenes, Takoya and Hiroki are discussing about girls and if they would actually go and date one, Hiroki mentioned to Takoya that he has a crush on Sayuri Sawatari also a child prodigy and their classmate. And as luck would have it Takoya bump with Sayuri in one of the bookstores, they got to talk while waiting for their train ride and he invited her in their summer workplace. Where the three of them got close and made the promise, the promise that three years later would save the world.
Released on 2004 by CoMix Wave Inc and License by ADV Films
Directed by Makoto Shinkai
Won numerous awards
It took awhile for me to understand the story since at the start of the movie, the setting was already on the parallel universe, my mind set was, it was still in present Japan, the dialogues can get you lost if you don't listen or pay attention, specially on the talks of parallel universe and Quantum physics. You might want to watch this movie more than once to pay attention to the details of the story.
Again landscapes is superbly presented in this anime.
Footnote: An interesting site I found while doing research for this anime:
Visit KAF for anime music/anime OSTs, forums, and more!
The story started with a couple with a cat, where the man was offered a job to do in India, but ends up living there, while they were on discussion about the offer, the scene shift to 3 shadow puppets who are discussing about India's origins, and about the Ram's family, which is base on the Ramanaya. The 3 shadows continue to narrate the story about Rama, and the couples scene is inserted during the narration.
Produce by Nina Paley and directed by her
Released on 2008
Garnered a lot of awards.
The story is quite interesting since it is told in a funny way, the animation is different and the songs are quite entertaining. I thought I won't finish this movie since the animation was a little weird, but the narration and dialogues was quite entertaining, I actually find myself watching the entire film.
And the very surprising part about this anime is, the owner decided to release this film for free and is only asking for donations, do please go to this site, to see the film. Questioncopyright.org
This anime did got some controversy as a group of people in India did not like the way Ramayana's tale was portrayed in this anime.
The story started with a dream, as it ends, we see that the dreams belongs to a Detective named Konakawa, and a girl named Paprika was helping him in his dream, Paprika can joined the Detective in his dream and recorded it with the help of the device named DC Mini.
As Paprika is travelling to some unknown destination we see that she changes, and we see Doctor Atsuko riding her car and going to work. As she reached the elevator and the door opens a big fat guy was stuck there and asked for her help, also warning her that the DC Mini was stolen.
She contacted their Chief to tell him about the DC Mini being stolen and their worst fear is, it is an inside job.
Who stole the DC Mini? And why?
Released on 2006 by Sony Pictures
Directed by Satoshi Kon
Animated by MadHouse Studio
Won Best Feature Length Theatrical Anime Award at the 6th annual Tokyo International Anime Fair.
Observation:
This is again another film on the possibilities of dreams and what's the future for it. Looking for evidence in our dreams for the possible answer which is linked to our reality, and implanting dreams, to either help or destroy an individual.
What is also fascinating about this anime is, the story was very well written that even you get confuse if the characters are in reality or dream state. You can't hardly tell the two apart.
Some say that the American movie Inception would have gotten the idea from this anime. For me, it could be a possibility.
If you are familiar with the Rapunzel story and love that fairy tale, then you might enjoy this movie, as this is base on that story, but Walt Disney studios made a lot of changes to it.
The story began with a narration of drop of sunlight falling to the ground and became a flower, legend has it that it heals all kinds of sickness, however a witch named Gothel found it and kept it for her own selfish gain. That when she sings a certain song to the flower it restores her youth.
One day, the Queen who was pregnant became ill, desperate to save her, the Kingdom looked for the magical flower in order to save the Queen. As Gothel was using the flower she heard the guards approached, and as she was in a hurry to leave, the flower's cover was knocked over, leaving it expose and was found by the King's guards, they took the flower and fed it to the Queen, who was healed and gave birth to a healthy baby girl named Rapunzel. Gothel sneaked in the castle to take a look at the baby, seeing that the baby's golden hair she recognized it as the flower's magic. She cut a handful of the baby's hair to bring it with her, but the hair would turn brown and lose it's magic. Wanting the magic badly, she stole the baby and hid her in her tower, keeping the magic all to herself and raising the baby as her own.
And so the King and Queen continue to lit a lantern every year on her birthday, letting it float to the sky with a hope that their baby can see it and return.
Fast forward eighteen years later, we see 3 thieves stealing the missing Princess tiara from the castle, as they were being chaste, Rapunzel was at the same time asking Gothel's permission that she be allowed to go outside to find out about the floating light which she saw every year on her birthday. But Gothel refused reminding her of the bad people outside who would recognize the magic in her hair and take it from her. She then left Rapunzel to do some errands.
Back to the 3 thieves, they were beginning to lose the King's soldier, however Maximus, the horse of the Captain of the Guards was determined not to let them go. Flynn one of the thieves was planning to steal the tiara from his partners and he succeeded when he left them behind to be captured and he hid to the tower. Unknown to him that it was Rapunzel's tower.
What will be Flynn's role in Rapunzel's life? Will she be able to see what the lights is really about?
Released on 2010 by Walt Disney
Directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard
Won in Animation category in the National Movie Awards
Tangle Soundtrack can be found in St. Lyrics with lyrics
Below is the incantation being song to start the magic:
Observation:
One of the best scene's in this movie is the one when they went out on a boat to watch the lanterns being released. This is one of the best ideas to do on a birthday release a lot of floating lanterns or any special events, or you can do this on Christmas or New Year.
I've been looking for some instructional videos on how to do this, but so far this is what I found:
Hope you have a fun filled holiday releasing this lanterns!
A dog suddenly appears on the screen, as it runs, it was slowly joined by other dogs, they ran through a bunch of people but did not harm them, it was running with a purpose, then the dogs stopped infront of a white building, where they were angrily looking up to a window where a person appeared, and saw them.
A person was narrating that story, as it was his dream, he was narrating it to his friend who was a filmmaker, the exact same person who made this anime. This is their story.
Released on 2008 by Sony Pictures Classic
Directed by Ari Folman
Won Golden Globe Awards for Best Foreign Language
Soundtrack of Waltz with Bashir can be found at IMDb.
It has always made me sad to think a certain group of people would try and erase a group of race, I thought when the Nazi war was over this would not happen again, coz I believe that the human race would have learned their lesson, but I was wrong, and to think this still happens to day. It seems humanity as a whole is still greedy, too self centered and lesson not learned.
I wonder when will human beings stop this kind of act?
A Princess who was confined in the castle's tower to wait the right Prince for her, asked that the suitor with the most interesting magical item to offer will be the one who can have the princess hand in marriage. During the long wait, unknown to the King and guards, the Princess was sneaking in and out the castle using the secret passages. One day, as Princess Arete was sneaking back in the castle, she did not noticed that a person was following her and manage to get in the castle also.
That night, the mysterious person gave the Princess a visit, she was a witch who came to the kingdom to look for her missing magical item, but Princess Arete told her she hasn't seen it. So she left her alone.
The next day a sorcerer came to the kingdom to asked for the Princess hand in marriage, off course the advisers didn't want this, but they found the Princess missing, and the soldiers found her at the gate, as she was carrying the book. As she was reprimanded by the King, she refused to go back to the tower, and walked out, but the sorcerer stop her, and transformed her to a obedient Princess. The advisers and King saw this and decided to accept the sorcerers request and marry her to him.
During the wedding preparation, the witch disguise herself as one of the Princess maid in waiting, told her that the sorcerer was one from her land, since she is too weak to help her, the witch gave her a magical ring to aid her to save herself and left. As she is still under the sorcerers magic, she has no will of her own to defy the sorcerer. How can she save herself? Will she be able to get out of the sorcerer's magic?
Released on 2001 by Studio 4 degrees C
Directed by Sunao Katabuchi
Awarded for excellence in New Century Tokyo Intl Anime Fair 21
Soundtrack and lyrics can be found at Anime Lyrics.
Translation for the lyrics on Kin'iro No Tsubasa can be found at painters-colic site.
Wallpaper can be downloaded here.
Magical items are so coveted not only in the movies but so much more in games, as they would give you the needed leverage to win the game. They are thousand of magical items mentioned in movies, tv and games that when you search for magical items online you'd be overwhelm with the results you get.
This made me wonder, which is preferable? Magical items or spells?
While looking for some magic trick, I found this interesting clip:
