 |
The Castle of Cagliostro
|
All About Anime
Japan's anime actioners offer more excitement than most of Hollywood's live-action blockbusters. Filled with outrageous stunts and explosive superheroics, recent home video titles like X make the live action X-Men look dull by comparison. It just proves that only a filmmaker's imagination is the limit when it comes feature animation.
Arriving on the heels of the latest, hokey Pokémon adventures in Pokémon 2000, those anime fiends over at Manga video have filled the summer with new titles of straight-out-of-Tokyo animation -- something dedicated couch potatoes have been espousing for years.
Japanese anime offers an adult alternative to the kiddy fare that comes out of the Disney machine. Consider this special anime edition of Couch Potato as a gentle nudge.
The Castle of Cagliostro
Unrated
1980, Manga
The English-language release of Princess Mononoke created new fans of veteran anime director Hayao Miyazaki. Watching his 1980 spy tale, The Castle of Cagliostro, further confirms his status as the true heir to Disney magic.
Gentleman thief Lupin III and his companion Jigen head to the secluded European country of Cagliostro to uncover a massive counterfeiting ring. But Lupin becomes a marked man after he helps the Monarch's runaway bride, Lady Clarisse de Cagliostro, escape from the Count's castle.
Adapted from a popular Japanese comic book, The Castle of Cagliostro pays homage to the silent swashbucklers of Douglas Fairbanks. It's amusing how Lupin leaps from one castle tower to another without any fear of falling.
Miyazaki pairs Keystone Cops-inspired physical comedy with an array of spy game gadgets. By the time The Castle of Cagliostro reaches its climax atop the castle's clock tower, it's clear that this animated spy tale is a comic update on past Hitchcock adventures like To Catch a Thief and North By Northwest. -- SR (Grade: A)
Perfect Blue
Unrated
1997, Manga
Director Satoshi Kon takes Japanese anime beyond its genre tradition and into the world of a Hitchcock-like suspense drama. Perfect Blue dazzles the eye in amazing fashion, but the best thrills lie with its twisted storytelling. When Pop singer Mima Kirigoe leaves her popular trio to become an actress, her life slowly begins to fall apart. Her paranoid delusions are fueled by the discovery of Internet sites that describe every aspect of her life. Making matters worse is a mysterious stalker who's killing her friends. -- SR (Grade: A)
X
Unrated
1996, Manga
If X-Men had a bigger budget, the fight scenes would resemble the skyscraper-shattering rumbles in X. Its pyrotechnic visuals aside, the confusing plot is a story we've seen too many times. A young boy with strange powers is enlisted to save Earth from a terrible fate. Bloodletting, beheadings and a gruesome crucifixion puts a perverse spin on a goofy story about the battle between the Dragons of Earth and the Dragons of Heaven. But the only thing worth remembering is a rollicking fight inside a vacant Tokyo train station. -- SR (Grade: C)
Devilman
Unrated
1987/1995 Manga
Gruesome monsters invade modern-day Tokyo, again, in these two anime adventures of the popular Japanese comic book character. But Devilman's supernatural backdrop fails to break these two shorts out of the genre rut. A young high school kid named Akira is pulled into battle against demons by his best friend, Ryo Asuka. Killing a demon changes Akira's life forever. Now, he is Devilman, combining the superhuman body of a demon with the soul of a human.
Devilman is an interesting spin on teen heroism. The challenge to develop stories is as unique as its bizarre hero. -- SR (Grade: C)
