Through the last month or so, I did a lot of specific genre watching in order to bring myself up to a slightly more respectable level where horror films are concerned. Well as you may or may not know, there is another film genre out there where I am sadly ignorant…and the ignorance is at an even more shameful level than my piddling horror knowledge.

The genre is anime, and it’s a genre where I have seen a pitiful two films.

My ignorance is not due to any sort of aversion as there’s nothing about anime that turns me off. It’s just one of those styles of filmmaking that I’ve never reached for and never been specifically prodded into…until now.

I followed a Twitter conversation as it unfolded between Alison the Nerd Vampire, Ryan “Univarn” Helms, and the artiste responsible for the doodle you see in this post, Alex “Film Forager” Kittle. the three of them bounced titles around for tweet after tweet, and while I’d wager most of them made it into this list, it’s Miss Kittle that’s ultimately responsible for this syllabus.

Here’s what I hope to tackle in the coming weeks…

SPIRITED AWAY
WHISPER OF THE HEART
PRINCESS MONONOKE
PAPRIKA
MILLENIUM ACTRESS
TEKKONKINKREET
5 CENTIMETRES PER SECOND
GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES
THE PLACE AS PROMISED IN OUR EARLY DAYS
THE GIRL WHO LEAPT THROUGH TIME
AKIRA

I won’t be a scholar by the time everything is said and done, and I’d wager that there are many more titles out there that could enlighten and educate my anime-deprived soul. What’m I’m hoping to do is successfully ace ‘Anime 101’, and I’m trusting Alex had that in mind when honing down the final tally to ten. For the curious, she actually explains her logic on the most recent episode of Some Cast it Hot.

Now with all of this said, you might have heard my latest episode of The Matineecast where I advise against setting time-sensitive watchlists (And if you haven’t listened yet, the podcast has been up for two days – get on it). It might seem a tad hypocritical of me to unveil a dvd laundry list a mere two days after decrying such watching habits. However, I don’t intend on mainlining these titles one-after-the-other. Quite the contrary, I’m hoping to pepper them in with my own usual habits in an effort to make anime a bigger part of my usual repetoire. The idea is to have a mittful of them watched by New Year’s, but we’ll see how it all goes.

So wish me luck folks! I’m trying it and hoping that I like it. If you’re an anime fan and can think of a title or two that have been omitted, please feel free to suggest ’em (keep in mind, I’m very much a novice). Likewise, if you have any thoughts on the genre for me to keep in mind as I watch, I’d be glad to hear those too.

Wish me luck!

28 Replies to “Big in Japan (Setting The Anime Watchlist)”

  1. Definitely start with AKIRA – that’s the movie that really brought anime to the attention of cinephiles outside of Japan, and so much of the genre has been directly influenced by it’s legacy. That being said, it’s a dense watch, as it crams 6 volumes of manga into a two-hour film – imagine if Wright kept everything in SCOTT PILGRIM. It might have been Wrong (you see what I did there…).

    I have a few anime titles I personally like, but I’m certainly not an aficionado by any stretch. Two I like that aren’t on this list are GHOST IN THE SHELL and APPLESEED. Not required viewing, just films that I really enjoyed. And some would consider THE ANIMATRIX as part of the anime genre, so if you’ve seen those, then you’ve got a smattering of different styles of animation and story-telling within the genre.

    1. I think I’m going to work up to AKIRA actually. The list Alex made me was pretty much in the order you see here, with ideas like accessibility and influence in mind.

      Like you said – it’s a dense watch. Starting there would be like taking someone who wanted to grow their appreciation for Sci-Fi and starting them off with 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY.

      I’ve heard of GHOST IN THE SHELL…wonder why Alex didn’t include it? We’ll have to wait until she reads this and hear her explanation then.

      1. Point taken, re: Akira. I have a bias as it was the first anime film I’d ever seen ands I was just blown away by it, therefore I don’t think it’s too much of a stretch to start there. Although in terms of accessibility, it can wait. Once you do watch it, though, you’ll definitely see how it shaped everything that came after it.

      2. I actually haven’t yet seen GHOST IN THE SHELL which is why I couldn’t recommend it. I’m sure it’s great though! And yes I purposefully didn’t put AKIRA as a starting point because while I think it is truly a masterpiece, it’s so dense and strange and in some ways very specifically Japanese, I thought it might be a little alienating to begin with.

        And as for the below comments, I think all of Miyazaki’s oeuvre is great, I just gave you SPIRITED AWAY and PRINCESS MONONOKE to start since those are sort of his major works. I suggested HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE as well since that’s a personal favorite. I encourage you to see more Miyazaki (including TOTORO and NAUSICAA) if those first two suit your fancy! And PERFECT BLUE is another Satoshi Kon film, and all of his work is absolutely top-notch. I gave you PAPRIKA and MILLENNIUM ACTRESS to start, figuring you’d seek out his other films if you liked those.

        Anyway thanks so much for heeding my anime advice, Ryan! I hope I haven’t steered you wrong. And I agree- I’m against watchlists with end dates, so I’m glad you’ll be spreading this out amongst your usual viewings. Looking forward to hearing what you think!

        1. Thanks for offering the anime advice in the first place!

          I don’t think you’ve steered me wrong. I see it as someone wanting me to try a type of cuisine I’ve never tried before and starting me off with the most widely enjoyed dishes.

          Thanks again for the cheat-sheet I used for the photo in this post. It’s tacked to my fridge for handy reference.

  2. Hey Ryan…

    If you haven’t seen My Neighbour Totoro or Nausicaa Valley of the Wind those are the two must see Miyazaki films. Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke are great, but more action films than the aforementioned visual adventure orgasms.

    I’d say squeeze them in if you can.

  3. You’ve got a good variety of anime films there to get you rolling, so major thanks to Alex for taking the reins after that conversation! I’m sure any number of people can name a collection of anime films that could easily be argued onto this list, but I think this covers a broad spectrum, with a mixture of receptions, that should give you an inkling for what to expect.

    Any chance of getting you to earmark a few for some blog posts? I know you scale back doing write ups on non-theatrical viewings, but I can guarantee you at least one customer for those posts 😉

    1. I’d like to write something about them as I go beyond the weekly wrap-up, but haven’t settled on a tack just yet. Perhaps as I watch them, something will spring to mind.

      I’ll see what I can do.

  4. So great that you’ve got 5 Centimeters Per Second on there. I reviewed it at my site and could not be happier about it. A Really beautiful, touching film.

  5. I’ve actually only watched one anime: Perfect Blue. If that sounds familiar, it’s because Darren Aronofsky bought the remake rights to it just so he could copy one scene for Requiem for a Dream (the one where Marion is screaming in the bath) and in Black Swan also (the one where someone appears above the bath suddenly). It’s a brilliant, mind-bending film!

    Good luck!

    1. I just realized that I never mentioned the two anime films I *have* seen – STEAMBOY and UP ON POPPY HILL, which I’m sure will seem wildly random to those in-the-know who have already commented.

      Those sequences you mention from REQUIEM and SWAN are pretty memorable, so perhaps I’ll circle back to this one after I’ve finished the beginners’ course.

  6. My girlfriend just brought Paprika to our place from home. I’ve been looking forward to digging into that as well. As for my own preferences, Spirited Away would be a great start.

    1. Paprika has been in the back of my brain for more than a year now; glad to finally be bumping it up the list. As for Spirited Away, I’m sure there’s a reason Alex put it up towards the top of the list.

      1. I’m not the biggest fan of Paprika. It takes an “INCEPTION” idea and has a much messier ending written into it. While the visuals are gorgeous I feel it can be an example as to why certain people avoid anime entirely.

  7. Alex was definitely right in the order. Spirited Away and Whisper of the Heart are very accessible, although I would watch them with subtitles rather than the dubs Disney created. They tend to leave a lot out of the translation.

    1. I loathe and despise dubbed foreign films. Rest assured they will be watched in all their subtitled glory.

      PS – Any other titles I should keep in mind as an annexe once I get through these?

      1. Just make sure when you watch the subtitles, you have it set to the subtitles for the japanese audio. A lot of these films with dubs also have subtitles for the dubbed audio and if you try and watch the Japanese audio with the english subtitles, you’ll have lots of “I see words but don’t hear anybody speaking” moments.

  8. Ok I absolutely can’t believe that you haven’t seen of these movies in that list. You are in for an absolute treat with Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke and Grave of the Fireflies. I have been trying to get my hands on Akira but have been unable to do so via uh… legal means (i.e Netflix) so far.

    I would also recommend Ghost in a Shell 2.0 (just a remasterized version of the original). Glad you are exploring the genre Ryan!

    1. It’s true mate – anime is by far my biggest genre blind spot. When I met Alex last month and we were talking about this at the bar surrounded by other movie lovers, many of them seemed to own copies of the titles mentioned here. So happily, I think I’ll be able to track them all down without much resistence.

  9. If you’re into samurai movies you should add “Sword of the Stranger”. Great animation and story, and it’s very accessible while also working in a lot of good social commentary. If you’re _really_ into samurai movies- or ninja movies- you’ll want to watch “Ninja Scroll”, but keep it for the end of the list because it’s not a starter anime.

  10. Pretty solid list. I haven’t seen Millenium Actress, 5 Centimetres, or Early Days (and of those three, I’ve only heard of Millenium Actress). But I’ve seen the others (though I’m having trouble remembering Whisper of the Heart). Spirited Away is fan-freakin-tastic. I’m also a big fan of The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. I wouldn’t be surprised if you teared up during Grave of the Fireflies. Mononoke and Akira are essentials, but they aren’t for everybody (especially Akira). Finally, I really didn’t like Paprika or Tekkonkinkreet. As somebody else said, Paprika is like Inception, but much messier/not done as well. And I had a lot of trouble getting into Tekkonkinkreet because I didn’t like the animation style and it really bugged me.

    I must also put my name on the list of those recommending Totoro. It’s a kid’s movie, but it’s really, really good. And I can’t suggest Ghost in the Shell. It’s another “essential,” but I’ve never cared for it (and I’ve given it more than one chance).

  11. I’ve heard so much about these films over the years that it’s gonna be tough to keep my expectations in check. A lot of people who have similar taste to me really recommend PAPRIKA, so I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt. Thanks for the suggestions!

  12. Anime is actually my genre-of-choice so I’m thrilled to see someone tackling it who wasn’t previously into it. One of my upcoming blogs is going to be on the Western attitudes towards anime and I will definitely have to point you out as definitely the kind of open-mindedness that we need to see more of.

    RE: the list itself, I don’t disagree as such with any on the list (my personal highlights are Mononoke, 5cmps and the Girl Who Leapt Through Time FYI), but you can’t really go wrong with any Studio Ghibli production. There’s a school of thought that suggests you should start with some of the more recent ones, due to higher production values and better technology available, as well as a more Westernised style through conditioning and improved accessability. Though the older ones have more charm and are (for the most part, there are exceptions) truer to the genre. Examples of recent production that would be good starting points are Ponyo and Arrietty (which was based on The Borrowers).

    Incidentally, I prefer Howl’s Moving Castle to Spirited Away and would recommend it over the other, though Spirited Away was technically the first feature anime to be designed deliberately with Western audiences in mind, so there’s a logic to starting with it.

    One final note – wherever possible, try to opt for subs rather than dubs. Ghibli in particular do excellent dubs (with usually excellent casts), but many lovers of the genre, including myself, think that something is almost lost in translation (if you’ll pardon the pun). I thought it was just me for a while, but discovered others felt the same – I don’t know, just a recommendation!

    Also it gets you into good habits for further anime exploration – when you reach the period where you want to explore some anime series, let me know. I’d be happy to curate an equivalent list for you.

    1. Apologies for not resonding to this sooner, but welcome to The Matinee Arran!

      I always prefer subs even in my live action films. I’ve always thought that subs never get the inflections quite right. Years ago I learned how to keep up with reading subtitles and following the on-screen action, so now it just feels like second nature.

      I’m hoping that this is just the beginning and that I can use it to springboard into other titles, but given that I’m *so* in the dark on the genre, I wanted to take things in an order that will give me an appreciation. For instance, if somebody was telling me that they’d never seen any Kubrick – I’d never suggest that they begin with 2001.

      Thanks for the comment, and do come back soon.

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