DVDpedia : Anime : Title : K

Theatrical: 2005

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Genre: Anime

Duration: 180

Summary: On July 2nd, communications systems worldwide are sent into chaos by a strange atmospheric interference. It is soon learned by the military that a number of enormous objects are on a collision course with Earth. At first thought to be meteors, they are later revealed to be gigantic spacecraft, piloted by a mysterious alien species. After attempts to communicate with the aliens go nowhere, David Levinson, an ex-scientist turned cable technician, discovers that the aliens are going to attack major points around the globe in less than a day. On July 3rd, the aliens all but obliterate New York, Los Angeles, and Washington. The survivors set out in convoys towards Area 51, a strange government testing ground where it is rumored the military has a captured alien spacecraft of their own. The survivors devise a plan to fight back against the enslaving aliens, and July 4th becomes the day humanity will fight for its freedom. July 4th is their Independence Day...

Theatrical: 1989

Studio: Walt Disney Home Video

Genre: Anime / Adventure

Duration: 103

Summary: In Hayao Miyazaki's magical Kiki's Delivery Service, a 13-year-old girl meets the world head on as she spends her first year soloing as an apprentice witch. Kiki (Kirsten Dunst) is still a little green and plenty headstrong, but also resourceful, imaginative, and determined. With her trusty wisp of a cat Jiji (a gently subdued Phil Hartman) by her side she's ready to take on the world, or at least the quaintly European seaside village she's chosen as her new home. Miyazaki's gentle rhythm and meandering narrative capture the easy pulse of real life (even if his subject is a girl flying high upon a broomstick) and charts the everyday struggles and growing pains of his plucky heroine with sensitivity and understanding. Beautifully detailed animation and the rich designs of the picture-postcard seaside town of red-tiled roofs and cobblestone streets only add to the sense of wonder. This charming animated fantasy is a wholesome, life-affirming picture that doesn't speak down to kids or up to adults. --Sean Axmaker

Theatrical: 2003

Studio: A.D. Vision

Genre: Anime / Adventure

Duration: 316

Summary: This is the last DVD is this series, based on the novels of Keichi Sigsawa. They feature Kino, an anomalous traveler and Hermes, the motorcycle that doubles as a companion. This pair follows the road, moving from place to place and never staying for more than three days. Each story finds Kino confronting many of the mysteries that make up human nature. Some are sarcastic, some chilling, some humorous, but all are views of the human condition, seen as a faceted gem, and from a distance.



The three-day limit is Kino's way of avoiding entrenched complications. While we never do learn why Kino avoids extended relationships (other than with Hermes), the traveler is very much in control of her fate. Kino never goes somewhere by accident, she can take care of herself, and she is doing what she wants to do. The mystery that surrounds this figure becomes part of the atmospherics of the series, rather than a story arc of any consequence.



The final stories are all very strong ones. The first episode is a pastiche of a disquieting tale of revenge and atonement that seques into a visit with a wise mane who has somehow relinquished and clinging to the world. When we discover that appearances are not quite what they seem we have to decide what is the nature of this kind of 'wisdom' when it serves an unexpected purpose.



The second episode tells of how two countries avoid the continuance of a 200-hundred-year war. Or rather, how they avoid having that war take their own lives. This is a dark story, one that turns on the unwillingness of people to take any but the easy route. For some people, change is simply not an option.



This is the bleakest DVD of the collection, and the third tale is what makes it so. Kino decides to visit the country with the unfriendliest reputation to travelers, only to discover that everyone is going out of their way to be friendly. Naturally, nothing is as it seems, but the twist in this tale is a double one. This isn't an easy ending for the series and viewers will find more to think about than they bargained for.



This series gets an 'A' for going into emotional nooks and crannies that are most often avoided by both life and animated film. Sometimes there is a strong lesson behind the episodes, but often we are just left with a poignant feeling and a question or two. I like this sort of thing, but many may prefer stronger story arcs and solider conclusions. One thing you can count on, though is thoughtful work and many unexpected twists.



One last note - as another reviewer has mentioned, the Japanese is more ambiguous than the norm. In this last DVD this surfaces as a large number of glaring differences between the subtitles and the dubbing. Since neither is completely wrong this is one of those cases where it is best to experience both.

Theatrical: 2002

Studio: Anime Works

Genre: Anime / Action

Duration: 50

Summary: In Japan cartoons and animated features do not encompass fantasy or slapstick personification of animals, but instead delve into the wondrous serendipity and the dark purposes of human interaction. "Kite" is a prime example of their expression within this genre. With its darkly disturbing La Femme Nikita-style story line, this film begs to be more than the 45-minute event that it is, rivaling the live-action works of Luc Besson and even John Woo. The story involves a college student, Sawa, whose family was brutally murdered. Sawa is adopted by Mr. Akai, the police detective investigating the case, and a twist occurs when we find that Mr. Akai has trained and utilized Sawa as an assassinating angel of vengeance to eliminate the undesirables able to slip through the net of the legal system. In the undertaking of one of these missions, Sawa meets Oburi, another orphan trained like her for the same purpose, and she is placed in the classic position of having to make a life-changing decision. Insights into the truth about Sawa's past are revealed through abstract flashbacks as the film progresses at maniacally breakneck speed, with intense gun battles and blood and guts galore. "Kite" is exquisitely animated by Yasuomi Umetsu and accompanied by a hauntingly beautiful soundtrack composed by An Fu, and the only flaw is that it could have been expanded by exploring more of its profound emotional revelations. "--Hector V. Barrientos-Bullock"

Theatrical: 2004

Studio: Geneon [Pioneer]

Genre: Anime / Manga

Duration: 300

Summary: Koshiro, a 27-year-old bachelor who's just broken up with his girlfriend, meets high school sophomore Nanoka at a train station. Despite the difference in their ages, they're attracted to each other, and spend an enjoyable afternoon at an amusement park. Then Koshiro discovers that Nanoka is his younger sister, who's been raised by their divorced mother. Nanoka moves in with Koshiro and their father, taking over all the household chores. Although Koshiro narrates this cherry petal-strewn slush, it's clearly aimed at female viewers. "Koi Kaze" pushes the vaguely incestuous tone of "Sister Princess" and "Marmalade Boy" to new heights--or depths. The idea of a frustrated romance between a 27-year-old man and a 15-year-old girl may play in Japan, but in America, where child molestation has become a major public concern, "Koi Kaze" is disturbing at best. (Rated 16 and older: alcohol and tobacco use) "--Charles Solomon"