another great anime - this is the same director as Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service and much more. pretty much everything that Hayao Miyazaki (the director) does is great stuff - but in particular i love this movie the best.

it has action, it has a great story, it has great characters, amazing folklore, just all around great stuff. i also enjoyed the fact the story promotes peace and forgiveness.

there are violent moments - so i wouldn't let the little ones watch this, but once they get older i would totally let them watch it. as for age... it got a PG-13 from the MPAA so you figure it out.

love this movie - if you're thinking of giving anime a go - i'd strongly recommend this anime movie.

Quoted: Mononoke-hime - Cast, Crew, Reviews, Plot Summary, Comments, Discussion, Taglines, Trailers, Posters, Photos, Showtimes, Link to Official Site, Fan Sites

so a friend of mine asked over the weekend if i could recommend some anime - so i'll be dotting a few.

Grave of the Fireflies is one of the best anime i've seen to date. it's the only anime that actually made me tear up. it was the first anime which made me see that anime isn't just about big robots, teenage girls in uniforms or any of those other silly things.

the story for this anime is series stuff - it follows two siblings (older brother & younger sister) right after WW II. both their parents have past away during the war and the story continues from that point. it is extremely sad so be-forwarned but it's extremely good as well.

as for the title - Grave of the Fireflies comes from something that is actual. during WW II most of japan was made of wood (houses, stores, etc...) even in the cities so the US would fly over japan dropping hot metal beams - causing the cities to catch on fire. at night when the US would drop these hot metal beams they would look like fireflies - OF DEATH! (sorry, couldn't help it).

again - one of my fav animes - very sad / very good.

Quoted: Hotaru no haka - Cast, Crew, Reviews, Plot Summary, Comments, Discussion, Taglines, Trailers, Posters, Photos, Showtimes, Link to Official Site, Fan Sites

watching berserk - i'm at disc 4 of 6. waiting for the last two to arrive from netflix. i'm at a point where i wouldn't loose sleep if i didn't finish the series - but what the hey.

the overall story is mildly interesting. the animation story arc seems kinda rushed, but i guess that's to be expected? there was one instance which i thought was of interest and that was when they showed one of the main characters (guy) having 'relations' with a 'lord' in order to get funds for a war compaign in order to save the lives of his soldiers. other then that single scene i'm still looking for something to interest me.

with that said here's what amazon had to say :
In the castle town of Midland, a new king has come to power through treachery and violence. His demonic agents relentlessly victimize the townspeople, until the night a battle weary soldier enters the city. Covered in an array of weapons and countless battle scars, he calls himself the Black Swordsman. The sword he carries is as big as his grudge against the king. Blade in hand he hunts the servants of evil with unending vengeful fury.

Quoted: Amazon.com: Berserk: TV Series Season 1 Complete Collection: DVD: Berserk by Berserk

watched this movie yesterday - via Netflx.
all in all a pretty good flick, but not as great as i had hoped. a part of that could be cause i'm such a huge fan of Hayao Miyazaki's previous works. works such as my neighbor totoro, nausica of the valley of the wind, spirited away and my personal favorite princess mononoke (in case you're wondering what mononoke means - ghost (angry), specter).

howl's moving castle has a similar feel - creepy creatures, magic, spirits and the like. his creativity of how the castle works is pretty amazing. his characters are super sweet - but it seemed lacking. the movie felt long, the story slow to develop and the ending seemed very abrupt. everything tied up very nicely in 5 minutes and left you wondering... really. that's all you had to do?

this would be a rent for me. if you are curious - i'd strongly suggest his other works - especially Princess Mononoke.