Princess Mononoke

Description
In order to satisfy their own needs for land and resources, Man is encroaching on their sacred territory, cutting down the trees and destroying everything else that stand in their path. As a result, the gods became angry.

While fighting to save his village from the attack of a demon-god Ashitaka comes in contact with it and is inflicted with a deadly curse. In his search for a cure he is forced to leave his village forever and journey to the forest inhabited by animal gods. There he finds himself in the middle of a war between the forest gods and a village led by lady Eboshi.

Not far from the heart of the sacred forest where the great Deer God dwells, a new town called Irontown is founded. Conflict seems inevitable.

A young girl, raised by wolves, and a warrior bearing a curse inflicted by the hatred of a dying Boar God are trying to make things right. Will they succeed?

Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Review

Story - 5 (Great)

This anime has a great way of getting you interested quickly and wanting to find out what happens next. Very close to the beginning you already get some action in which the town gets attacked by a demon god boar and the main character Ashitaka gets cursed. He is then sent on a journey to understand the origin of what caused the boar's death in an effort to possibly cure his curse as well (instead of just sitting there and rotting to death, might as well try to do something about it right?!). Further into the story, Ashitaka finds himself between the war of humans and the forest animals. This story will really make you think about the morality of what's right and wrong. But sometimes things aren't so simple as you will find out. What about San who is human but believes she's a wolf and stays with the animals? Overall the story is great, it'll make you want to find out what Ashitaka will do to resolve the conflict between the two sides and if it'll be solved at all without great loss. The animal gods are really cool too ;p

Music/Sound - 5 (Great)
The hymn sounds really beautiful.. I bet it'll get stuck in your head or you'll be humming it after watching.

Art/Animation - 4 (Good)

There are some blood and gore scenes like body parts flying off in battle. You might squirm a bit when you see the demon gods ;p spurting bloody all over. But if you're okay with that stuff then no problem :) Don't worry it's not as bad as it sounds lol.

Character - 3 (Average)

Well personally I thought the characters were static from beginning to end. You have the pragmatic Lady Eboshi of Iron Town who does what she must to survive and protect her people. Then you have the opposing side which is San(half wolf girl) and the animals who despise and want to kill the humans for destroying their forest. Finally, you have the good guy Ashitaka who is the mediator and stays neutral. He doesn't fully take either side but constantly switches between helping one side and then the other. He just wants to do what's right and have peace! :p Oh and you have the greedy hunters too. You get those hints pretty early into the anime so it sets the story up... but I didn't think the characters changed much or at all so that's why I gave it an average score for development.

Humor - 2 (Below Average)

This anime is a bit on the serious side but it also tries to use humor throughout the movie. There weren't many parts to laugh at besides the people of Irontown and maybe the wolves. If you think the forest beings look funny too I guess.

Overall - 5 (Great)

If you like fantasy, giant animals, nature and wolves ;p, or looking for a thoughtful story then you'll want to watch this. I recommend to everyone.

The Twelve Kingdoms (Juuni Kokki)

Description

Yoko Nakajima, an unhappy high school student, is one day suddenly faced with a strange man who swears allegiance to her. After a battle with demon-like beasts, he then takes her to another world along with two of her classmates. There, her appearance has changed and she can understand the language even though her classmates cannot. But their status as "Kaikyaku" (people who come from Earth) makes them hunted fugitives, so they wander the land of the 12 countries, simply trying to survive and to figure out the reason why they were brought to this world.

Fantasy, Adventure, Drama, Novel

Review

Story - 5 (Great)

For Twelve Kingdom, there isn't really one story. There are many stories that branch off of Yoko's story and converge as the episodes continue. So you can think of this anime having multiple stories that focus on different characters and situations besides the main character Yoko. Being able to view so many perspectives of the story will give you a better understanding of what's happening as well and how things came to be(which can lead to very good twists!). Even though it's 45 episodes long, it really is interesting enough to keep watching through.

I think sometimes certain stories were suddenly held on pause as it skipped to a new one (sometimes a completely stand alone story that doesn't contribute much to the main story at all).. which can sometimes be confusing or irritating for others if they want a one-goal kind of story to follow. But if you're patient and don't mind an anime that loves to philosophize and storytell about the many different ways a kingdom could be ruled, and how this mystical world works with it's magical kirins and the destiny they carry.. then this may be the anime for you.

I think it's one of those anime that can suck you into their world because it's so unique. Basically the story revolves around the existence of the twelve kingdoms, each having their own Kirin (a heavenly being). The kirin must chose a ruler to make their kingdom and people prosperous. Many problems arise when there is no ruler on the throne...

Personally I felt the story was kind of incomplete, making me think "what, that's it?" at the end. There were still a lot of unanswered questions and not all the kingdoms were explored. It definitely had a lot it could have continued on besides Yoko's story but it'd be incredibly long I guess ;p The ending was still okay though.

Music/Sound - 5 (Great)
I tried the english-dubbed for this anime as well and it's pretty good.

Art/Animation - 4 (Good)

Character - 5 (Great)

This is the greatest aspect of this anime. You really get a great sense of what the characters are like and they are all unique and different from each other. They all have their own problems that they must overcome and these trials are deeply explored. Individual character stories are shown to see why they were the way they are and how they suddenly changed. The story shifts from the main character Yoko, King En, Keiki, Enki, the servant girl Suzu, the spoiled princess Shouko, Rakushin, Kouya, and many more.. and each has a meaningful/interesting story to tell that can enrich the main story or the interactions between the other characters.

I think the best thing about this anime.. is that it really explores the negative and positive aspects of the human emotions. You see how some characters are affected by greed, perfection, jealousy, or ignorance.. and how some are able to redeem themselves. You really can gain a lot of insight and learn things from each of the characters themselves. Most likely, you'll end up with a favorite character.

Humor - 1 (Bad)

This anime definitely is more on the serious side of storytelling so don't be expecting to laugh so much. It rarely uses comedy, although sometimes they may say some things that make you smile or chuckle a bit. But humor is definitely not this anime's main focus.

Overall - 5 (Great)

I recommend this anime to people who are looking for a philosophical anime (lots of talking along with some action). If you like fantasy and kingdom stories then this is right up your ally.
-This is one of my favorite anime.^^

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time

Description

When 17-year-old Makoto Konno gains the ability to, quite literally, "leap" backwards through time, she immediately sets about improving her grades and preventing personal mishaps. However, she soon realizes that changing the past isn't as simple as it seems, and eventually, will have to rely on her new powers to shape the future of herself and her friends.

Fantasy, Drama, School-Life

Review

Story - 5 (Great)

I thought the story was very well done. It kept me wanting to find out what would happen and interested the whole way through. It's amusing to see what happens to Makoto and those around her as she keeps trying to change things to the way she wants it to(for herself and her friends). It'll also start to make you wonder if what she does starts to have any consequences. The story has some good twists too.. the only thing I had a problem with was the ending solution, but I guess it can be overlooked considering how good everything else was. Besides some unanswered questions.. the ending was pretty decent and fulfilling.

Music/Sound - 5 (Great)

Art/Animation - 4 (Good)

Character - 4 (Good)

The character development was done pretty well for an hr 30min movie. You actually get a sense of what kind of person Makoto is because of her actions and the way she cherishes her friends so much. You also get to learn a bit about her two friends Kousuke and Chiaki and how she feels about them. The three characters have their own personalities that stand out and it's fun seeing them interact. If you compare Makoto from the beginning and the end, you can see that she probably became more mature from her experience.

Humor - 4 (Good)

This anime had a lot of humor in it and I thought it was pretty funny. Not the laugh out loud, can't stop kind.. but it has it's cute moments, and the friends always throwing sarcastic remarks towards each other, and not to mention how Makoto is constantly rolling around and bumping her head on things and appearing out of nowhere to scare people. Probably will get some smirks out of you at least ;p. It has a easy-going feeling and uses humor to appeal to the viewer a lot.

Overall - 5 (Great)
I really recommend everyone to try watching this! It's great.. and you may learn something from it :) and it's just a fun easy-going anime to watch.