Anime
Anime is the Japanese word for Animation. In Japan, the animation industry is more in the forefront than in the US, and animated shows covering virtually every genre can be found in the form of television shows, Original Animation Videos and feature films.
Much like any other entertainment medium, anime can range from the very silly to the very serious, and is not necessarily intended for children or any specific age group. Below is a hand-picked selection of titles that Alice's mavens consider the best of the genre on offer.
Right: 'Ghost In The Shell'
5 Centimetres Per Second (2007)
Director: Makoto Shinkai
This animated triptych - named for the speed at which cherry blossoms fall to the ground - is made up of three stories surrounding Takaki, a Japanese... Read more
A Letter to Momo (2011)
7.3/10
Director: Hiroyuki Okiura
Clinging to an unfinished letter written by her recently deceased father, young Momo moves with her mother from bustling Tokyo to the remote Japanese... Read more
A Silent Voice (Koe no katachi) (2016)
8.2/10
Director: Naoko Yamada
A deaf elementary school girl, Shoko Nishimiya, upon transferring, meets a boy named Shoya Ishida in her new class. Shoya, who is not deaf, leads the... Read more
A Silent Voice (Koe no katachi) (Blu-ray) (2016)
7.7/10
Director: Naoko Yamada
A deaf elementary school girl, Shoko Nishimiya, upon transferring, meets a boy named Shoya Ishida in her new class. Shoya, who is not deaf, leads the... Read more
Afro Samurai (2007)
7.8/10
Director: Fuminori Kizaki
Starring: Voices Of, Samuel L Jackson, Kelly Hu, Ron Perlman
Samuel L Jackson is the titular sword-slinger desperate to avenge the death of his father at the hands of Justice (Ron Perlman), who also happens to b... Read more
Afro Samurai: Resurrection (2009)
7.3/10
Director: Fuminori Kizaki
Starring: Voices Of, Samuel L Jackson, Lucy Liu, Mark Hamill, Grey DeLisle, Phil LaMarr
Samuel L. Jackson returns as the voice of the super bad samurai who avenged his father and found a life of peace. Still, there are those who will neve... Read more
Akira (1988)
8.1/10
Director: Katsuhiro Otomo
Starring: Voices Of, Lewis Lemay, Jimmy Flanders, Drew Thomas
Groundbreaking Japanese animated epic set in the post-WWIII metropolis of Neo-Tokyo. The labyrinthine plot revolves around a battle between oppressive... Read more
Akira ( Blu-ray ) (1988)
8.1/10
Director: Katsuhiro Otomo
Groundbreaking Japanese animated epic set in the post-WWIII metropolis of Neo-Tokyo. The labyrinthine plot revolves around a battle between oppressive... Read more
Alive (2002)
5.8/10
Director: Ryuhei Kitamura
Starring: Hideo Sakaki, Ryo , Koyuki , Shun Sugata, Erika Oda, Tak Sakaguchi, Jun Kunimura
Tenshu is imprisoned and sentenced to death for murdering the men who raped his girlfriend. However, he manages to survive his execution and is presen... Read more
Appleseed (1994)
7/10
Director: Kazuyoshi Katayama
Set after W.W.II in the megacity of Olympus, this 'anime' epic follows a female SWAT team officer and her Biodroid (artificial humanoid) partner as th... Read more