An Anime Film "Starter Kit"

May 15, 2018 Dennis D. McDonald

Working my way through the back episodes of the Filmspotting SVU's podcast series I came across episode 145 which includes intelligent discussions of a "starter kit" of 4 Anime movies:

Ninja Scroll
Millennium Actress http://www.ddmcd.com/movies/millenium
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time http://www.ddmcd.com/movies/time
The Boy and the Beast

I have reviewed 2 of the 4 films and included links above to my own reviews. They are, in my opinion, both excellent. I have not yet seen the other two.

The Filmspotting SVU podcasters believe it unnecessary to recommend a single Miyazaki film given those films' overall excellence. Were I to choose two Miyazaki films to start with I would select these:

Princess Mononoke http://www.ddmcd.com/movies/mononoke
Spirited Away http://www.ddmcd.com/movies/spirited

Some additional titles by other directors I would also recommend as "starters" are these:

In Our Corner of the World http://www.ddmcd.com/movies/corner
Letter to Momo http://www.ddmcd.com/movies/momo
Miss Hokusai http://www.ddmcd.com/movies/hokusai

An additional film I would like to add to the above list but have as yet been unavailable to find available for rental or streaming anywhere is Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise. It's one of the best "alternative history" films I've seen.

Note that the above vary in terms of maturity and "family friendliness" with "Wings of Honnêamise," for example, including a disturbing rape scene.