The Boy and the Beast

The Boy and the Beast (Mamoru Hosoda, 2015)

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Rating: AQ=6, AP=6 / Comfy Combo

Scale O=3, Scale P=3, Scale Q=3, Scale R=2, Scale S=2

Anime, Coming of Age, Action, Adventure

I've never thought what it would be like to be raised in a world of gods with a god as my guardian and mentor. It's a fun concept. The story is charming--I loved watching the characters grow and really wanted to see them succeed and gain each others' respect. The Boy and the Beast also expresses what humanity has and lacks through the characters of  Kyuta/Ren and Ichirōhiko in a way I've not quite seen before. And the ending is bittersweet and beautiful. I love the idea that your mentor, teacher, father, loved one, lives on in your heart as a sword--your strength.

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Cyberpunk Edgerunners Season 1

Cyberpunk Edgerunners Season 1 (Hiroyuki Imaishi, 2022)

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Anime, Sci-Fi, Action, Drama

Rating: AQ=8, AP=10 / Drooling

Scale O=4, Scale P=4, Scale Q=3, Scale R=3, Scale S=4

This show is vibrant, absorbing, strange, and wonderful. I love it. The animation is superb--some of the most beautiful images I've seen in a while. Studio Trigger is amazing. I don't run to watch the newest anime, but I have thoroughly enjoyed many series, especially Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Shamploo. Cyberpunk Edgerunners is a show about bounty hunters in a dismal/post-apocalyptic future where people are modifying their bodies with technology to become "better" and dreaming of getting out of their bleak existences. So it reminded me a lot of Blade Runner and also Judge Dredd.

I would watch this show again and again. Really enjoyed it.

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Samurai Champloo

Samurai Champloo (Mamoru Hosoda and Shin'ichirô Watanabe, 2004-2005)

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Rating as TV series: DSQ=11, SP=6 / Can't Get Enough

Scale A=4, Scale B=4, Scale C=3, Scale D=3, Scale E=3

Rating as Animation: AQ=10, AP=10 / Meant to Be

Scale O=4, Scale P=4, Scale Q=4, Scale R=4, Scale S=4

I adored this series and relished each episode. So much humor, mystery, stunning artistry, and great stories. The roller-coaster relationships between Jin, Mugen, and Fuu is fun to watch. And I loved feeling as though I was in Edo period Japan...and it was even more enjoyable when modern/futuristic moments found their way into the story. Beatboxing samurai? Baseball? Graffiti artists? So much fun.

Favorite episodes are probably: Akage ijin and Chimimôryô

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Cowboy Bebop, revisited

Cowboy Bebop Season 1 (Shinichiro Watanabe and others, 1998)

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Rating: DSQ=12, SP=7 / Decadence

Scale A=4, Scale B=4, Scale C=4, Scale D=3, Scale E=4

Anime, Action, Adventure, Science Fantasy, Western, Noir

Favorite episodes: This is tough, because I think they are all better as a whole, but I'd probably have to say "Speak Like A Child" and "Cowboy Funk"

Re-watching this series was great. It'd been over ten years and my first viewing missed a lot, of course. This show is just spectacular in all ways: the music, animation, story lines, characters, humor, mystery, setting... everything. A group of misfits--each with their own mysterious past--always seems to work as a set-up. I especially like Ed and Ein, this crazy data-duo.

I recommend watching the series in order and also in the original Japanese. Also, be prepared to binge!

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Mary and the Witch's Flower

Mary and the Witch's Flower ( Hiromasa Yonebayashi and Giles New, 2017)

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Rating: Q=7, P=6 / Can't Get Enough

Scale 1=4, Scale 2=3, Scale 3=3, Scale 4=3

Animated, Coming of Age, Magic, Fantasy, Adventure, Based on Book

I really enjoyed this film--such glorious animation for the first out of Studio Ponoc. I am certain that this new animation studio will be successful. I would have liked to watch it in the original Japanese, but I didn't have the option. This is a story in the vein of Harry Potter and Kiki's Delivery Service, but it does hold its own. A fun escape for all ages!

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