https://stevedrice.net/ 2026-04-27T14:23:15+00:00 https://stevedrice.net/ https://stevedrice.net/_media/wiki/dokuwiki.svg text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/2 Review of 'Ghost in the Shell (Kôkaku Kidôtai)' A very strange Japanese anime (animation) movie. Extremely violent it follows the story of a female killer android who attempts to find out what is going on. The animation is truly incredible though the story is very disturbing text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/13 Review of 'Battle of The Planets: Volume 1 - Attack of the Space Terrapin' 1st film in the 'Battle of the Planets' series Another one of those guilty pleasures. I own this DVD mainly for nostalgia purposes since I remember watching this on my black & white television as a kid. It has not aged well. This is also the American, sanitised, version of the Japanese original (whose name escapes me now) with no real violence or other reality-enhancing elements. text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/33 Review of 'Akira' On July 16, 1988 an atom bomb destroys Tokyo. 31 years later, in 2019, the ultra-modern Neo-Tokyo has risen from the ashes with a undercurrent of violence. Kaneda (Mitsuo Iwata) is a young punk leader of a motorcycle gang. His friend Tetsuo (Nozomu Sasaki) resents Kaneda's success and his high-tech motorcycle (that features on many posters for the film). When chasing the text/html 2023-12-31T16:44:56+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/39 Review of 'Laputa: Castle in the Sky (Tenkû no shiro Rapyuta)' A charming story of a boy working as a mechanic who one day is surprised to find a girl float down from the sky. He learns that she has something to do with the legendary “Laputa: Castle in the Sky text/html 2023-12-31T16:44:56+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/40 Review of 'Kiki's Delivery Service (Majo no takkyûbin)' Another Miasaki classic finding a young witch, Kiki, who sets off on her own to the big city where she finds a job delivering for a bakery. Things are going well until...Fantastic story, characters and animation. Really good. text/html 2023-12-31T16:44:56+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/44 Review of 'Princess Mononoke (Mononoke-hime)' One of Miyazaki-san's latest films. Truly incredible animation from the Japanese master. An extremely odd but somehow intriguing story with very human (and not-so-human) characters. Enveloped with Japanese myth and culture this is a very good movie. text/html 2023-12-31T16:44:56+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/51 Review of 'The Castle of Cagliostro (Rupan sansei: Kariosutoro no shiro)' Lupin, the famous thief, finds a beautiful maiden being held against her will by the evil count of Cagliostro who wants the (obviously) treasure promised by ancient prophesy. It is up to Lupin to rescue her in this early film by Hayao Miyazaki (though not, in my opinion, entirely up to his later standards). text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/67 Review of 'Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no haka)' Stunning animation. Tragic story. That is Grave of the Fireflies in a nutshell. A young boy Seita and his little sister Setsuko are forced to fend for themselves when their mother dies as a result of the bombing of Japan in the second world war. They leave the city to the countryside where their aunt, who eventually has enough trouble just feeding her family, scorns them and they leave her house to live in the countryside. Seita's pr… text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/68 Review of 'The Cat Returns (Neko no ongaeshi)' Haru is a young girl with typical problems. One day she saves a cat from being run over by a truck (thanks to some quick action with a lacrosse stick). To her surprise the cat turns out to be the prince of Cats whose father vows to reward her good deed. Unfortunately, a series of events lead her to the cat kingdom where there does not appear to be an exit. text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/69 Review of 'Whisper of the Heart (Mimi wo sumaseba)' Shizuku is a young school girl who is having difficulty deciding what to do with her life as she studies for her entrance exams but is also distracted by her feelings for boys. One boy in particular, a young violin maker, attracts her and forces her to look deep inside herself to see what is most important text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/70 Review of 'Only Yesterday (Omohide poro poro)' A classic from the Studio Ghibli this is a rather pleasant tale about a young women coming of age to examine her life and what she wants to do with it. This analysis is helped by flashbacks she has to her life as a young girl. She takes a trip from her home in Tokyo to the countryside where she helps to harvest flowers used for cosmetics. It is here she meets a young farmer who has no such questions about his life. text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/71 Review of 'Pom Poko (Heisei tanuki gassen ponpoko)' An early movie from the magnificent studio Ghibli. The life of a community of raccoons is put at risk with the development of a new suburb for Tokyo. The raccoons are forced to take action against the humans who threaten their very lives by transforming into various items (including humans) text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/72 Review of 'The Little Norse Prince (Taiyou no ouji Horusu no daibouken)' The first movie directed by Isao Takahata while Hayao Miyazaki is just beginning his illustrious career in the lowly position of animator. Really only now of interest to fans of the two directors The Little Norse Prince (Prince of the Sun: The Great Adventure of Horus) tells the story of Horus, a young boy whose village has been destroyed by an evil villain. Horus sets out on his own after his father dies and comes ac… text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/73 Review of 'My Neighbours The Yamadas (Hôhokekyo tonari no Yamada-kun)' The Yamadas are just an ordinary Japanese family have some rather odd (but not too odd) adventures. There is the not-so obedient housewife, the forever exhausted self-doubting father, the older brother just beginning to find his own personality, the young, innocent, daughter and the slightly mad grandmother. This is not really a movie per se but rather a series of small vignettes of various aspects of the Yamada's life … text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/84 Review of 'Memories (Memorîzu)' Memories is a set of three movies created by the master anime director Katsuhiro Otomo (who might be remembered as the director of “Akira”). Each story, directed separately by three other anime directors (Koji Morimoto, Tensai Okamura, and Katsuhiro Otomo) is different in both style and story but are all masterpieces. text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/85 Review of 'Tales from Earthsea (Gendo Senki)' The long awaited debut of Hayao Miyazaki's son's first film Tales from Earthsea (based on the book by Ursula K. Le Guin) finally comes to the big screen. First shown in Japan in August 2006 it is now available to English speaking audiences. text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/94 Review of 'Tekkonkinkreet (Tekkon kinkurîto)' An explosion of colour and vitality. Tekkonkinkreet tells the story of two young friends: The dark mannered, older, Black and the young innocent, White. They are children of the street living in an abandoned car under the train tracks in Treasure Town text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/99 Review of 'Paprika (Papurika)' From the director that brought us the poignant Christmas story “Tokyo Godfathers” and the earlier, disturbing, “Perfect Blue” is this story of a world in which dreams threaten to become reality. In the not so distant future psychological therapy is making use of the text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/100 Review of 'Afro Samurai' In a world where the best Samurai wears a “1” headband and the second best wears “2”, Afro Samurai as “2” is challenged by all comers and, as such, is bathed in blood. As a matter of fact the whole picture is bathed in blood with limbs flying throughout as well as fountains of blood across the black and white style of the animation. Afro is a man who witnessed his father (who was text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/110 Review of 'Vexille (Bekushiru: 2077 Nihon sakoku)' In the not-so-distant future the world has decided that caution should be exercised in the development of robotics and technology with the UN imposing such restrictions. Japan disagrees with this approach and eventually seals itself off from the outside world by installing a shield around it that cannot be penetrated. No one outside of Japan knows what is going on inside. Ten years later our story begins. text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/111 Review of 'Appleseed Ex Machina (Ekusu makina)' Appleseed is a long-running Japanese animation series. It tells the story of two members of the E.S.W.A.T. team that serves to protect the city-state of Olympus. Deunan is a young female warrior and Briareos is her cyborg partner (and lover). This story sees our two heroes battling not only a threat to Olympus (and the security of the fledgling world order) but also to themselves as Briareos is mortally wounded very early in the story. Ter… text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/112 Review of 'The Girl who Leapt Through Time (Toki o kakeru shôjo)' A bit of a lighter Japanese animation. A young girl in the middle of trying to figure out which of two boy-friends she wants to “get serious” with accidentally develops the ability to time-travel. She uses her power to, rather unsuccessfully, change things in the past. It is a coming of age story as she strives to come to terms with what she actually wants text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/119 Review of 'Casshan: Robot Hunter' In a dystopian future the human race is enslaved by robots (“neoroids”) that were, obviously, originally supposed to help civilization but turned bad. They are headed by Black King (BK1) -- a super-robot that is super-bad. Casshan is a legendary hero who is all but indestructible that comes to save the humans (along with his trust robotic dog side-kick). He has made the ultimate sacrifice to fight the robots: By becoming partly one himself. The love of h… text/html 2023-12-31T16:44:56+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/139 Review of 'Ponyo (Gake no ue no Ponyo)' Beautiful animation from the beloved master of Japanese anime, Hayao Miyazaki. Ponyo (voiced by Noah Cyrus) is goldfish, one of many daughters of the wizard Fujimoto (voiced by Liam Neeson). One day she falls asleep on top of a jellyfish and is taken far away from her home where she is found by a young boy Sosuke (voiced by Frankie Jonas). She grows fond of the young boy but is taken back by her father. She again rebels, in the process releasing … text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/152 Review of 'The Secret World of Arrietty (Kari-gurashi no Arietti)' Shô is a young boy who visits his aunt and rather suspicious maid in a large house in the county-side. He is very sick and while he relaxes he spots something a bit unusual - a small girl - very small, as in 4 inches tall. Arrietty lives with her parents under the floorboards of the house who live by text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/153 Review of 'Summer Wars (Samâ uôzu)' Kenji is a bit of a geek: He is a programmer-for-hire for the OZ computer network in Japan which is used to control all aspects of public life in a not-so-far-fetched extension of present day. He is roped into playing the role of Natsuki's fiancé at her family's gathering for her grandmother's birthday. Kenji receives a cryptic mathematical riddle in the middle of the night which he answers and unwittingly helps in releasing an AI into OZ that starts to … text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/159 Review of 'The Sky Crawlers (Sukai kurora)' Ok, I got this at a seriously discounted price. Unfortunately, not discounted enough and also unfortunately, I got this. I had seen it on the shelves for a few years and was intrigued with what looked to be tremendous quality Japanese Animation and, to be honest, the animation (at least in the sky) is actually very good. It is just everything else that is not. text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/171 Review of 'From Up on Poppy Hill (Kokuriko-zaka kara)' Umi (Masami Nagasawa) is a young woman who, while still attending school, helps maintain her family's house as a boarding house. Her father, a sailor, was killed by a mine in the Korean war but she continues to raise nautical flags every morning as her father taught her - Though this effort is not unnoticed. When getting involved with saving her school's club house she meets an attractive young man Shun (Junichi Okada) but, to her conf… text/html 2023-05-14T11:51:34+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/172 Review of 'Children Who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below (Hoshi o ou kodomo)' Shinkai is back with this tale of Asuna (Hisako Kanemoto), a young girl who, having lost her father, takes care of herself and her mother that she rarely sees (as she works long hours at a hospital). She finds time herself listening to a self-made radio where she occasionally hears odd music. One day she encounters a strange creature that attacks her as she crosses a rail bridge a young boy grabs her and takes he… text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/173 Review of 'A Letter to Momo (Momo e no tegami)' Hyper-realistic animation is the order of the day with this wonderful film from Hiroyuki Okiura. Momo (Karen Miyama) is a young girl who begins the film with her eyes downcast as she moves with her mother out of Tokyo to a Japanese island village. Her father recently passed away and she is obsessed with guilt about having yelled at him the last time she saw him. The title's letter refers to a scrap of paper she finds in her father's office … text/html 2023-12-31T16:44:56+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/194 Review of 'The Wind Rises (Kaze tachinu)' So, they say this is Miyazaki's (the godfather of modern Japanese animation) final movie but this has been said before. If it is, indeed, his last then there is no more fitting tribute that it be this magnificent piece of cinema. A children's film this is most definitely not with little ones likely to die of boredom ten minutes in but for the rest of us text/html 2023-05-14T11:51:34+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/202 Review of 'The Garden of Words (Koto no ha no niwa)' Takao is a student who hopes to become a shoe-maker meets a mysterious woman one rainy day sitting in a park gazebo. He is skipping school and she is skipping work. Over the course of the rainy season he strikes up a relationship with Yukino who offers shows an interest in Takao's designs. After the season ends Takao returns to school and finds more information about his rainy-day companion. text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/216 Review of 'Short Peace' “Short Peace” is a short movie consisting of four separate chapters, each by a different, eminent, anime director with a somewhat nebulous connection of all being stories about redemption...and all quite Japanese. It should be noted that in Japan there is a fifth part that consists of a video game so watching the movie is only partly the vision of the experience intended by the directors. text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/220 Review of 'The Tale of The Princess Kaguya (Kaguyahime no monogatari)' One day a bamboo cutter working in the forest sees a glowing bamboo stalk come out of the ground and reveal a miniature woman dressed in fine clothes within. Taking her home to his wife she turns into a small child that they then raise as their own. The girl enjoys living in the forest and being with her friends. The bamboo cutter finds more glowing bamboo but this time having gold within which he takes as a sign that … text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/225 Review of 'SOS! Tokyo Metro Explorers: The Next (Shin SOS dai Tôkyô tankentai)' Fifth grader Ryuhei Ozaki finds a journal called “Toyko Explorer Records” that appears to show the directions to treasure hidden under the streets of Tokyo. With the help of three friends he goes off to search for it. Entering the underground via a manhole they discover a man who still believes it is World War 2 then they come across a small town of social outcasts. text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/226 Review of 'Negadon: The Monster from Mars' In the year 2025 an automated sampling spacecraft returns from Mars and crash lands in the middle of Tokyo releasing a terrifying monster: Negadon! It is up to a scientist suffering from depression over the accidental loss of his daughter and his massive robot to defeat the terrifying invader. text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/227 Review of 'Kakurenbo: Hide and Seek' A twisted and deadly game of hide and seek set in an abandoned city where only kids can play. Wearing cat masks the children enter the game and are pursued and consumed by demons. A chilling secret awaits them all text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/228 Review of 'Planzet (Puranzetto)' A story set on an earth devastated by war with an invading alien fleet. Hiroshi Akishima is a talent-less teenager who cares little for the future given his lack of faith in any future existing for the planet. He is chastised by his younger sister and his father for his supposed lack of any faith. After Hiroshi's father is killed by an alien he and two other misfits are humanity's unlikely last hope to defeat the aliens. text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/229 Review of 'Science Ninja Team Gatchaman: The Movie (Kagaku ninja tai Gatchaman)' A group of five teenage super-heroes (ninjas) are tasked with defeating the nefarious “Sosai X”, the leader of Galactor, an evil alien terrorist organization who seeks the overthrow of earth. Using their spaceship text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/234 Review of 'When Marnie Was There (Omoide no Mânî)' Anna Saski is a troubled young woman who distances herself from her peers and adopted mother in Sapporo finds solace in her amazing drawings. Her adopted mother, hoping that Anna's asthma will be improved by a trip to the countryside and, perhaps, become more sociable sends Anna away to stay with her aunt and uncle who live in a small town on the ocean. Anna soon becomes intrigued by an abandoned house on the bay. Soon enough she meets a … text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/263 Review of 'Princess Arete (Arîte hime)' Arete is a young princess living in the top of a tower of a castle looking out at the roofs of the town below wondering about the thoughts of the people under them as they go about their lives. She is restless with her life in the castle reading books so frequently escapes to the village to experience the real world. Her father, the king, has sent knights out to seek magical treasures for the castle coffers with the prize being the hand of his daught… text/html 2023-05-14T11:51:34+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/270 Review of 'Your Name (Kimi no na wa)' I am a great fan of Makoto Shinkai, a leading light in contemporary Japanese Animation, so when I learned that his latest film “Your Name” would be premiering at the London Film Festival I could not resist attending. Even better, it was great to see the man himself before the screening as he answered some questions for the audience. The full house listened raptly to what Shinkai had to say then quietly appreciated the film itself text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/279 Review of 'Momotaro, Sacred Sailors (Momotarô: Umi no shinpei)' I saw this as part of the London International Animation Festival (2017) at the Barbican Cinemas. It was a newly restored print and shown alongside the short “Spider and Tulip” (1943). Momotaro is billed as the first Japanese animation (anime) feature and was written as a piece of war propaganda as it starts with the return of several navy veterans to their homes. Soon they are encouraging their fellow animals to do what they… text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/362 Review of 'Mirai' Four-year old Kun (voiced by Moka Kamishiraishi) is coming to grips with the arrival of a new addition to his family: A sister named Mirai. Burning with jealousy now he has to share his parent's attention he experiences fantastic visions while in the small garden of their house where family members from different eras visit to help him understand more about life. His first experience is when his dog is transformed into a young man full of energy but later he meets Mirai a… text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/386 Review of 'Origin: Spirits of the Past' 300 years in the future Earth has been ravaged after genetic manipulation of plants on the moon results in trees gaining consciousness, destroying the moon and invading Earth. “Neutral City” is in the ruins of a city located between the now hostile forest and, text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/405 Review of 'Cowboy Bebop: The Movie' Travelling around in the spaceship “Bebop” a group of bounty hunters headed by Spike Spiegel (voiced by Kôichi Yamadera), heavy Jet Black (voiced by Unshô Ishizuka), beautifully deadly Faye Valentine (voiced by Megumi Hayashibara) and the extremely quirky kid-genius Ed Wong (voiced by Aoi Tada) chase a reward in the world of 2071 to track down a mysterious terrorist who has released a bio-weapon attack on Mars. The bio-weapon leaves little trace of it's… text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/434 Review of 'Metropolis (Metoroporisu)' Metroplis is a visually stunning display of Japanese animation with a wonderful jazz soundtrack. Set in a future where robots are expendable slaves to the people of the city, the story opens with a celebration of the opening of an incredible skyscraper the text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/461 Review of 'Steamboy (Suchîmubôi)' Rei (voiced by Anne Suzuki) is a young inventor in the late 19th century who receives a parcel from his grandfather Lloyd (voiced by Katsuo Nakamura) containing blueprints and a mysterious “steam ball” along with a note telling him to contact Robert Stevenson (voiced by Kiyoshi Kodama). Shortly after the parcel arrives two operatives show up from text/html 2023-05-14T11:51:34+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/462 Review of 'Weathering with You (Tenki no ko)' Morishima Hodaka (voiced by Kotaro Daigo) has run away from home. On the way to Tokyo he is rescued by a man named Keisuke Suga (voiced by Shun Oguri). In Tokyo, where is has been perpetually raining for months, Hodaka finds it difficult to find a job. Dejected and hungry he finds himself in a McDonalds where a kind employee, Amano Hina (voiced by Nana Mori), gives him a hamburger, lifting his spirits. Reluctantly Hodaka contacts Suga who run… text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/481 Review of 'Millennium Actress (Sennen joyû)' As a film studio is being demolished, it's most famous star the retired and reclusive Chiyoko Fujiwara (voiced by Miyoko Shôji, by Fumiko Orikasa as a young child and Mami Koyama as a young adult) is interviewed about her life and career by television interviewer Genya Tachibana (voiced by Shôzô Îzuka). He learns of her life-long search for a man she met only briefly as he fled from the police. Her search followed her through the films she starr… text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/491 Review of 'Appleseed (Appurushîdo)' Following the devastation of the third world war, warrior Deunan Knute (voiced by Ai Kobayashi) fighting in the ruins is rescued by a heavily armoured “ESWAT” (Extra-Special Weapons and Advanced Tactics) team. Deunan is taken to a utopian city called text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/492 Review of 'Wolf Children (Ookami kodomo no Ame to Yuki)' Before watching this film I did not quite know what to expect. The title pretty much gives the story away: It is about children who are half-wolf, half-children. “Wolf Children” is a bit of a surprise text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/506 Review of 'Tokyo Godfathers (Tôkyô goddofâzâzu)' It is Christmas in Tokyo and three homeless people, middle-aged alcoholic Gin (voiced by Tôru Emori), young runaway Miyuki (voiced by Aya Okamoto) and transvestite diva Hana (Yoshiaki Umegaki) discover an abandoned baby. They take it upon themselves to discover what has happened to the child's parents and return it to them. As they crisscross the snowy city in their difficult search they will each have to face their own troubling past before… text/html 2025-07-26T13:14:19+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/521 Review of 'Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex - Solid State Society' Following on from the second Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex television series, Togusa (voiced by Kôichi Yamadera) is now leader of the Section 9 team following Motoko Kusanagi's (voiced by Atsuko Tanaka) departure. They are investigating a series of suicides involving the followers of Colonel Ka Gael of the Seok Republic. However, all is not what is seems when they discover his long-dead body beside the word… text/html 2023-04-30T18:21:53+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/631 Review of 'Belle (Ryû to sobakasu no hime)' In this spectacular Japanese animation from Mamoru Hosoda we meet Suzu (voiced by Kaho Nakamura), a shy, reclusive girl who is struggling to come to terms with the tragic loss of her mother. When she is introduced to the virtual world of text/html 2023-05-14T11:51:34+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/719 Review of 'Suzume (Suzume no Tojimari)' Suzume is a young girl living in a quiet village who has a chance meeting on her way to school with a mysterious man looking for abandoned areas with doors so she directs him to a nearby abandoned onsen (bathing) resort. Eventually she follows him to the resort to find a mysterious door in the middle of a small pond. Through the door she can see another place but when she passes through the door she finds herself still in the ruins. She stumbles ove… text/html 2023-12-31T16:44:56+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/747 Review of 'The Boy and the Heron (Kimitachi wa dô ikiru ka)' The latest film from the ever-retiring “Hayao Miyazaki” is set in Japan during the second world war. Mahito (voiced by Luca Padovan) is a stern young man who loses his mother in a horrific bombing raid. He travels with his father to stay in their countryside estate with his new stepmother Natsuko (voiced by Gemma Chan). Fairly quickly the local grey heron (voiced by Robert Pattinson) shows an interest in Mahito - Dive bombing … text/html 2025-04-13T13:58:40+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/795 Review of 'My Hero Academia: Two Heroes' 1st film in the 'My Hero Academia' series The first big screen outing for the “My Hero Academia” anime set in a world where almost everyone has a superpower known as a “Quirk” and those who show promise are sent to The Hero Academy to train to become professional heroes who face the on-going battle with villains having superpowers as well. The series is focused on the journey of text/html 2025-04-13T13:58:41+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/800 Review of 'My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising' 2nd film in the 'My Hero Academia' series The second “My Hero Academia” film after My Hero Academia: Two Heroes, taking place roughly after season 3 of the anime television series sees the escape of villain Nine (voiced by Yoshio Inoue, Johnny Yong Bosch in English dub), whose Quirk is being able to acquire other Quirks (including text/html 2025-04-13T13:58:41+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/804 Review of 'My Hero Academia: World Heroes' Mission' The third film of the “My Hero Academia” franchise sees Humarise, a doomsday cult, believing that “quirks” (the superhero abilities that most people now possess) will eventually cause the extinction of humanity plant bombs around the globe containing a gas that kills quirk users by causing their abilities to rage out of control. Freeing the world of all quirks, leader Flect Turn (voiced by Kazuya Nakai) believes, will allow quirk-free huma… text/html 2025-04-13T13:58:41+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/introduction Japanese Anime A friend of mine introduced me to anime (Japanese Animation) a very long time ago and ever since then I have gone out of my way to seek out new and interesting films. I am not what you might call “hard core” in that I don't tend to watch a lot of the mass-market stuff but I do enjoy a good story and excellent animation. I did try to learn Japanese at one point so I could better appreciate the original language and still intend to do so as I am so fascinated by the culture. I s… text/html 2025-04-13T13:58:41+00:00 Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) https://stevedrice.net/reviews/film/anime/list List