Noah’s Barks pages relating to anime. These are generally imported from my MyAnimeList account.
The bastardized anime for ‘.hack//Legend of the Twilight,’ possibly my first non-Toonami-adjacent manga. (Includes ‘Offline Meeting Special’)
Not to be confused with Osamu Tezuka’s 1969 film, ‘1001 Nights’ is a short film from 1998 that features the surreal, evocative art of Final Fantasy alum Yoshitaka Amano.
‘A linchpin’ is an animated short that contains a woman who has intercourse with an alien. It’s also much weirder than that.
These six surrealist fantasy vignettes offer a tour through a bizarre, picturesque, and often humorous world. (Includes ‘A Traveler’s Diary Specials’)
Hideaki Anno of ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion’ fame directs studio Gainax’s gorgeous, intense mecha anime that would inspire hits like ‘Gurren Lagann.’ Heavily alludes to tennis anime ‘Aim for the Ace!’ (Includes ‘Science Lesson’)
‘All That Gundam’ is a teaser for the upcoming OVA ‘War in the Pocket’ and a short tribute to UC Gundams from the first 10 years of the franchise.
‘Ani*Kuri15’ is an anthology movie consisting of 15 one-minute short films, each directed and produced by different industry figures in their own styles.
Hideaki Anno directed this commercial for Animate, a major media retailer in Japan. Heavily stylized, it’s a progenitor to latter-era Gainax and Studio Trigger’s style.
An ’80s sci-fi OVA about a police officer and her cyborg boyfriend and partner, ‘Appleseed’ adapts one of the earliest works of ‘Ghost in the Shell’ creator, Masamune Shirow.
Masamune Shirow’s ‘Appleseed’ is once again adapted into animation—this time in full CG.
‘Aquatic Language’ is a lightweight short film with a sultry café atmosphere and eccentric cast.
One of the most influential works in mecha anime, ‘Armored Trooper Votoms’ delivers a gritty dystopian setting and raw, low-tech combat.
This sequel OVA to ‘Armored Trooper Votoms’ certainly makes some heretical decisions, and it’s just as certainly not "brilliant."
‘Roots of Ambition’ is an ultimately superfluous document in Chirico’s story, but is entertaining due to giving its icons modern production values.
This one-off OVA was released two years after the TV series’ conclusion. Chronologically taking place before the series conclusion with no impact on its continuity, is it worth your time?
‘The Last Red Shoulder’ is the second all-new ‘Votoms’ OVA, and it makes watching both works entirely worth your time.
Before ‘JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure,’ there was ‘Baoh: The Visitor.’ There’s a reason why only one of them is remembered.
Gotham Knight is an animated anthology film consisting of the works of several different Japanese directors. What will the combination of East and West bring to the caped crusader?
An animated short film whose unique papercraft style makes it an easy recommendation.
When at its best, Berserk dwells up even more powerful emotions from its epic source manga, which is quite an accomplishment.
‘Bio Hunter’ is another Yoshiaki Kawajiri OVA that’s sure to be an instant classic for any fans of occult, violent, Japanese kitsch from the ’90s.
Guns! Explosions! Car chases! Tits! Ass! ‘Black Lagoon’ is a sleazy, exploitative Hollywood action pastiche that demonstrates how to idealize that style in anime. (Includes ‘Black Lagoon Extras’)
After a long hiatus, Black Lagoon returns with this OVA. While that should be a perfect format for this action series, too much of the manga’s story is condensed by this adaptation’s meager runtime.
In a rarity, Masamune Shirow co-directs and co-writes this OVA adaptation of his own manga. In ‘Black Magic M-66,’ a sci-fi thriller, the military and a reporter must stop a murderous, rogue android.
‘Blazing Transfer Student’ is a two-episode OVA by studio Gainax that humorously parodies classic shonen clichés.
The quintessential ’80s OVA, ‘Bubblegum Crisis’ is an aesthetic delight from one of anime’s peak eras for production values.
‘Buso Renkin’ is a surprisingly enjoyable, lightweight "battle shonen" series penned by the creator of ‘Rurouni Kenshin.’
Casshern Sins reimagines the ’70s superhero children’s series as a beautifully animated, starkly nihilistic tone piece. The immortal Casshern wanders a diseased, post-apocalyptic wasteland, encountering those who must grapple with their impending death.
Though its two lead characters are the blankest of slates, ‘Castle in the Sky’ is a whimsical romp that inspired many classic JRPGs. I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing.
Charcoal Feather Federation is another anime honored with the creative footprint of Yoshitoshi Abe, which depicts daily life in a mysterious, ethereal, and isolated fantasy world.
‘Chihayafull’ is the best anime you could possibly make about a game with arguably less depth than Pogs… unfortunately, it’s still "about" that game.
An action/thriller/mecha hybrid, Code Geass has been characterized as an anime with "something for everyone"—unless someone wants something truly special. (Includes "Black Rebellion")
The lovable corgi from Cowboy Bebop goes on vacation but can’t afford actual animation.
‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’ essentially works as a longer version of a standard episode. Considering the series was more than the sum of its parts, that could be a problem.
This extravaganza of insanity and parody is one of the funniest anime ever produced, due in large part to ADV’s pitch-perfect English dub.
With a wonderfully stylized, gothic world and a fun cast, it’s a shame that ‘D.Gray-Man’ is 103 episodes of intriguing world-building with next to no payoff.
What happens when you try and adapt eight years’ worth of manga chapters into 13 episodes? The answer will not shock you.
Before going on to form Gainax, one of the anime industry’s most influential studios, the creative minds involved created these two shorts for science-fiction conventions Daicon III and Daicon IV. Features: Questionable usage of many copyrighted materials.
While I expected Dancouga Nova to be a fanservice-heavy insult to the original series, what I actually found was a brisk, sincere, and very decent mecha series.
Despite just barely being able to finish its original storyline, Dancouga receives a sequel movie. The creators even experiment with something new: production values.
After a premature end to the TV series, Ashi Productions gives ‘Dancouga’ a more proper conclusion with ‘Requiem for Victims.’
Something of an underdog, this poorly-animated mecha show from a time when the genre was in decline manages to succeed by bucking certain conventions, embracing others, and by having a wonderfully fun cast.
Darker Than Black is a action/drama series with neo-noir flavorings that’s full of superpowered humans fighting for their survival. Somehow, it’s incredibly boring. (Includes Episode 26 and Gemini of the Meteor)
Created by studio Madhouse, ‘Death Billiards’ is a wonderful short film certain to please any general fans of psychological thrillers.
‘Death Parade’ turns the ‘Death Billiards’ short movie into its own series, which sadly reveals the narrative limitations of its writers.
Pulp horror auteur Yoshiaki Kawajiri bats under par in Demon City Shinjuku, which fails to shock its way into being memorable.
Directed by Masaaki Yuasa, Devilman Crybaby is a modernized retelling of Go Nagai’s classic work, and it’s a stylish masterpiece that explores the duality of man. No, really.
What if ‘Digimon’ was a "giant monster" movie? ‘Digimon Adventure Movie’ answers: it’d be pretty damn fun.
Intended to promote the incredible Megami Tensei video game series, the Digital Devil Story OVA was doomed by adapting an infamous horror novel.
This short anime was made to promote the Disgaea anime series, and was included on copies of Disgaea 2.
While Dragon Ball Z has been long surpassed in overall quality by many of the series it inspired, it is rarely beat in brutality.
The various movies throughout the ‘Dragon Ball Z’ franchise. (Includes movies 1 through 14)
A brief consideration of why the early Dragon Ball Z Specials tend to stand head-and-shoulders above other noncanonical material.
The History of Trunks features a story set in an alternate dystopian future, and its emotional weight makes this Special about as good as the franchise has ever been.
‘Eden of the East’ asks game participants how they would spend 10 billion yen. At the very least, you shouldn’t need that much to make a better-written anime than this.
