When exploring the legendary filmography of Studio Ghibli and director Hayao Miyazaki, Princess Mononoke (Mononoke Hime) stands out as a colossal, revolutionary achievement. Released in 1997, this dark epic departed from the studio's traditionally whimsical and family-friendly tone to deliver a gritty, violent, and deeply philosophical fantasy. Decades after its release, the film remains a timeless masterpiece, offering a profoundly nuanced commentary on environmentalism, human greed, and the agonizing struggle for coexistence.
Gantz has a special place in my heart, since it was one of the first "adult" anime I saw as a kid, and even after rewatching, I must say, it held up pretty well. That's mainly thanks to the amazing writing of Hiroya Oku.
Magi aka Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic is a fun shounen anime without much fanservice (rare these days), but lots of heart. I don't know many anime that display the Middle East, especially in a positive light, but Magi does an exceptional job at it. They explore old fairytales like 1001 Arabian Nights, having characters like Aladdin, Sinbad, and magical djinns, plus lots of clever story lines!
"Tengoku Daimakyou" or "Heavenly Delusion" is a captivating anime that blends elements of fantasy, adventure, and mystery into a compelling narrative. Set in an apocalyptic world, the series follows the journey of its protagonists Kiruko and Maru as they navigate through various trials and tribulations.
"Ajin" is a dark and thought-provoking anime that explores themes of identity, morality, and the consequences of scientific experimentation. Set in a world where a small percentage of the population are immortal beings known as "Ajin," the series follows the journey of Kei Nagai, a high school student who discovers he is one of these mysterious creatures after surviving a fatal accident.
Did you watch the great fantasy anime Sousou no Frieren already? You can read my review of the anime here.
You will notice that all the names of the characters, and sometimes cities etc., are German words - since I speak
German I made a list with translation of those names, which often describe the characteristics of the person well.
"Sousou no Frieren" is a breathtaking anime that delves into the profound themes of friendship, mortality, and the passage of time with grace and poignancy. Adapted from the manga series written by Kanehito Yamada and illustrated by Tsukasa Abe, this anime captures the essence of its source material while adding its own layer of visual and emotional depth.
If you were to mix Naruto, Bleach and Hunter x Hunter, you'd get Jujutsu Kaisen. A fun shōnen manga/anime that perfectly blends dark fantasy, intense action, and intricate character development. I enjoyed the show a lot, but it's not without flaws.
Noragami is a popular series thanks to its unique plot and hilarious main character, Yato. Yato is a deity or god, who's trying his best to not be forgotten and help as many humans as possible with their problems. If you are familiar with Japanese folklore and the Shinto religion, you will find the world of Noragami very interesting, if not, you are about to learn a lot of new trivia!
A while ago I remembered an anime I used to watch when I was a kid (9 or 10 years old), "Vision of Escaflowne". My memory of it was hazy to say the least. What I did remember were those characters with the long noses, the pretty guy with long blond hair, and a very memorable soundtrack (the German OP was great). So I had a strong urge to re-watch it, and I did, the unfortunate result was, my memories of this fairy-tale like anime were shattered.
Escaflowne starts promising (girl travels through worlds, meets knights and royalty, can use magic, some interesting adventures) but the more episodes you watch the more plot holes appear. Things often made no sense, or they simply ignored important details, added or just changed rules for convenience (to get out of a tricky situation, for example).
Don't even get me started on the lazy, repetitive dialogs, or how many times a character yells out another one's name to make things 'dramatic'. Most characters were irritating, mainly because they were walking stereotypes. The antagonist role wasn't really explored, his past, his plans, his purpose (except he wants to destroy the world as we know it and mess with faith), just what was going on in his head? The Van's brother suddenly became a good guy and all was forgiven (this could have worked out better if they didn't rush his development, it only took one episode for him to do a 360).
Many elements just got smashed together here; fortune-telling, robots and all kinds of machines (whose origin never was explained), luck enhanced soldiers that defied logic (lack of logic in general), magicians, atlantis, faith everywhere, shoujo romance, and the climax - utter disappointment.
Let's talk about the romance. Three (or more) failed love-triangles, which had ineffective build-ups and were executed poorly (I just didn't care anymore at one point, it was too much). The main characters never even showed they really liked each other until we were reaching the end, which was a mistake if that couple was supposed to be the main selling point of this anime, it wasn't believable and I couldn't root for them. And then once Hitomi realizes who she loves (and it was all faith), she leaves his world forever because...? They don't explain that part either, so much for true romance.
Art? Well it's an anime from 1996, so I can't complain, it's actually a pretty good production. The world the director created looks beautiful, that's the one thing my memory hadn't failed me at. As well as the epic soundtrack, it might be the best thing about Escaflowne (later found out it was done by Yoko Kanno) - but nothing can save an anime that has so many inconsequent story lines such as this one, and it's sad because it had potential.
