Essential Anime: Difference between revisions

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== Films by Release Date ==
 
* ''[[NausicaaNausicaä of the Valley of the Wind]]'' (Japanese title, ''Kaze no Tani no Naushika'') (1984): Post-apocalyptic SF/Fantasy story about the futility of war and Man's place in nature (both extremely common themes in <s>anime</s> postwar Japanese culture) and the dangers of biological warfare. Its success paved the way for the founding of the highly influential [[Studio Ghibli]].
 
* ''[[Project A-ko]]'' (1986): For many US fans, this silly schoolyard comedy cum Sci-fi parody was the first feature-length anime available, while in Japan its surrealist humor strongly influenced later films and series such as ''[[Excel Saga (anime)|Excel Saga]]'' and ''[[Azumanga Daioh]]''. It directly inspired the 2003 American film ''[http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0275799/ Xtracurricular]''.
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* ''[[Grave of the Fireflies]]'' (Japanese title, ''[[Hotaru no Haka]]'') (1988): Poignant story of two children trying, and ultimately failing, to survive in war-torn Japan after their mother is killed in an air raid. Based on a semi-autobiographical novel (the author, needless to say, survived, but much of the rest is directly from his own experiences) that was well-known in Japan in the 1960s and 1970s but almost unheard of elsewhere. Widely respected as one of the finest animated films, ever, but also widely reputed to be among the ''saddest'' films ever shown—so much so that AVClub.com has included it in their list ''[http://www.avclub.com/content/feature/not_again_24_great_films_too/3 Not Again: 24 Great Films Too Painful To Watch Twice]''.
 
* ''[[Ghost in the Shell (1995 film)|Ghost in the Shell]]'' (Japanese title, ''Kokaku Kidotai'') (1996): A [[Cyberpunk]] thriller concerning cybernetic police operative Motoko Kusanagi and her struggle to uphold the law in a future where humanity and technology have merged. In this film, the first of a widely popular anime franchise that includes the ''[[Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex]]'' series, Motoko and her colleagues in Section 9 face off against an insidious "puppet master," a unique AI whose nature challenges every assumption they—and she—has about what it means to be human. Notable for also influencing western sci-fi flicks, most obviously ''[[The Matrix]]''.
 
* ''[[Spirited Away]]'': (Japanese title, ''Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi'') (2001). Considered by many to be the best work by [[Hayao Miyazaki]], ''Spirited Away'' tells the story of Chihiro, a spoiled 10-year-old girl, who on the way to a new home gets stuck with her parents in a world of spirits, where her parents become pigs after eating spirit food. To save them, she will need to find her own courage and work at Yubaba's spirit bathhouse until she learns how to save them and return to her own world.