Anime

Both a celebration and sendoff of the ‘Mazinger’ franchise, ‘Infinity’ is a joyous watch full of explosive animation that brings ‘Mazinger’ iconography more to life than ever before.

"Crash on crash!" Vintage super robot Mazinger Z receives a fresh, diabolic coat of paint in ‘Mazinkaiser,’ an exciting, hilarious OVA.

Mazinkaiser clashes with one of its greatest rivals in this extended finale to the Mazinkaiser OVA.

This short OVA was included with Mega Man Maverick Hunter X, a PSP remake of the SNES original. A solid retelling of the cast’s origin story.

I watched ‘Mekakucity Actors’ because I liked the poster, not knowing it was an adaptation of a random Japanese band’s concept album. Confusion and frustration ensued.

Why have I found so many anime short films to be unmoving? Melody inspires me to ask that question, and not for good reasons.

This anthology film features three unrelated segments made by icons of the anime industry.

Legendary manga author Rumiko Takahashi’s series of parables about immortality are adapted in Mermaid Forest. Why didn’t that equate to a good series?

Metropolis is a theatrical tribute to Osamu Tezuka that does the manga legend a slight disservice by delivering truly gorgeous animation with an ultimately shallow story.

Directed by Satoshi Kon, ‘Millennium Actress’ is a fictional drama about a legendary actress’s career and personal life, with the two narratives interweaving into one kaleidoscopic, romantic journey.

With Mob Psycho 100, One Punch Man creator ONE is more in his element writing for something that isn’t conceptually farcical, but he shows his limits as a writer when he falls back into battle shonen cliches.

In spite of its fun premise, ‘Mobile Fighter G Gundam’ is a relentless slog of inconsequential subplots, a glacial storyline with a routine, unenthused structure, and poorly-animated fights composed of still, lifeless choreography.

The first adaptation of the manga franchise created in part by industry icon Mamoru Oshii, this OVA is a mostly comedic slice-of-life series with an added mecha flavor.

‘Patlabor 2’ director Mamoru Oshii attempts a seemingly personal treatise on post-World War II Japanese politics, but the esoteric themes left me somewhat cold.

In a novel, new method of torture, studio Khara delivers a short film that teases the possibility of a new ‘Patlabor’ series.

‘Patlabor’ hits the big screen as it picks up from where the ‘Early Days’ OVA left off, delivering another relatively serious storyline that still has heart through its lovable cast.

‘Gundam 00’ feels like a truly "modern" ‘Gundam’ series, with fast-paced action and thriller elements to help distract from its thin morality and depth.

Kamikaze goo aliens, waifu clones, A Wakening of the Trailblazer—and THEN things start to get crazy!

War—what IS it good for? ‘Gundam 0080’ tackles this familiar question with hitherto unseen honesty, resulting in one of the franchise’s emotional highlights.

‘Mobile Suit Gundam 0083: Stardust Memory’ features beautiful animation, a likable cast until half of them are discarded, and media’s least-believable love triangle ever.

The Gundam series that never was, ‘Gundam F91’ salvages concepts originally intended for a TV series in one two-hour movie. How did we get here?

This movie trilogy adaptation and rewrite of the original Mobile Suit Gundam series delivers a relatively clean, moving, and intriguing sci-fi war drama.

‘Gundam Thunderbolt,’ which started as one of the best Gundam entries yet, returns with an underwhelming and meandering second season.

Big, stupid, and oddly compelling, Gundam Wing is the franchise equivalent to one really long, weightless action movie.

Remember ‘Gundam Wing?’ It’s back—in movie form! Also, it’s exactly the same. Is ‘Endless Waltz’ better off for that?

This oft-maligned sequel to ‘Zeta Gundam’ is known for its tonal whiplash complete with frequent slapstick comedy. Is ‘Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ’ better than people give it credit for? (Includes ‘Gundam Frag.’)

‘Char’s Counterattack’, the climactic, final showdown between Amuro Ray and Char Aznable, feels like it deserves more than trite drama laced with "daddy issues."

The 08th MS Team grounds the Gundam franchise in guerilla warfare, with relatable characters and focused, tight storytelling. (Includes "A Battle with the Third Dimension," "Miller’s Report")

While rife with frustrating plot developments and character writing, Zeta Gundam’s ambition is palpable and infectious, ensuring this series will be still be watched in generations to come.

The themes of ‘Monster’ aren’t particularly deep, and it occasionally dabbles in ridiculous melodrama. That’s not as important as the fact that this is an original premise for an unpredictable thriller.

‘Mt. Head’ has a distinctive visual style, and the folklore story backed up by traditional Japanese music are cool, but I found it repulsive and dull. Most things are just one or the other, not both.

I reminisce on "Mushrambo,"(aka "Shinzo") a shonen anime from my childhood. Perhaps the most interesting thing about this anime is why it was localized to begin with. Can I come up with an answer?

‘My Hero Academia’ is yet another "battle shonen" property that starts with oodles of promise, but devolves into poorly-considered plotting, a misused cast, and other general foibles. (Covers seasons 3 and 4)

For all of the hemming and hawing about Neon Genesis Evangelion’s deep themes or lack thereof, the series is mainly successful for simply being a great story that’s told with finesse. (Includes Schick x Evangelion)

Everything was for ‘The End of Evangelion.’ The most exceptional and compelling attributes of ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion’ are on full display in this theatrical climax.

A reimagining of the classic ‘Getter Robo’ storyline, ‘New Getter Robo’ only justifies the first part of its name if replacing the Dinosaur Empire with Oni is enough for you.

Exotic powers and fantastical fights galore and gore in ‘Ninja Scroll,’ essentially an R-rated "battle shonen" adventure.

‘Noiseman Sound Insect’ is directed by Masaaki Yuasa. Nothing’s more memorable than its strikingly vibrant, punk-attitude poster.

On Your Mark is an evocative music video with fantastical animation by Studio Ghibli that’s enough to make you wish this was one of their theatrical stories.

Brainer up! ‘One Outs’ is a baseball anime that breaks convention through its genius main character who seeks victory through strategy rather than athletic ability. A homerun derby of thrills.

While reading the ‘One Piece’ manga, I sated my curiosity regarding its animated version by watching its first movie. I left the theater (my bedroom) unimpressed. Also, I didn’t actually leave.

One Punch Man is a parody whose premise remains entertaining for about as long as any of Saitama’s fights. What’s left is just another battle shonen, minus sincerity. (Includes seasons 1 & 2)

Satoshi Kon directs Paprika, a beautifully kaleidoscopic journey through the dreamworlds and wishes of its characters.

Normally a movie director, Satoshi Kon uses the Paranoia Agent TV series as a vehicle to deliver many of his ideas for short stories. Results vary, but ultimately impress.

A chimerical monstrosity of horror, drama, mystery, sci-fi, and thrills, ‘Parasyte: The Maxim’ somehow manages to excel at all of them.

Pendulum is a short film that captures the sensation of suppressing emotions until they rupture and hurt those closest to us. A decent watch set to a song by Muse.

While I would normally consider myself a fan of Satoshi Kon, ‘Perfect Blue’ moves way too fast for its own good, and is too easily discernible despite seeking panicked thrills through its obfuscated plot.

Have you ever wanted to experience the story of Persona 3, except worse? Wait, what do you mean, "no?" (Includes Persona 3 the Movie Meets "Walkman")

In this glorified commercial for the ‘Persona 5’ video game, it feels blasphemous that such a stylistic game would be associated with cheap, lackluster animation.

This mini-series adapts part of the ‘Pet Shop of Horrors’ manga, and does a fine job of establishing atmosphere, but some horror and narrative elements lack teeth.

While simpletons might like to laugh about how it’s funny to take something called "ping-pong" seriously, Masaaki Yuasa delivers a visceral, dramatic, and touching coming-of-age story.

Scattered thoughts on some of the Pokémon anime’s many movies and specials. (Includes movies 1-4, Team Go-Getters, Mewtwo Returns, Pichu Bros. in Party Panic, and Pikachu’s Summer Vacation)

This five-minute music video set to Megumi Hayashibara’s song "No No Pessimist" was meant to pitch a potential Popful Mail OVA to producers, but in the end, nothing came from it.

Will ‘Porco Rosso’ ever rise above being a middle-of-the-road Ghibli movie? Maybe when pigs fly. Oh. Damn it.

Though breathtakingly beautiful and wonderfully imaginative, Princess Mononoke is held back by its simplistic themes and sanctimonious messaging.

While its production values are phenomenal, ‘Puella Magi Madoka★Magica’ can’t help itself from overindulging on its premise, making some would-be emotional moments overly-dramatic and silly.

Created during the waning years of the OVA boom, ‘Read or Die’ is a nonetheless fun, superpowered action thrill-ride that’s only compromised by its cheap-looking digital animation.

The original ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion’ was a well-paced, impressively animated, and affecting story. But, hear me out: what if they made it again, except it wasn’t those things? I am (not) impressed. (Includes ‘Beautiful World’)

‘Rebuild of Evangelion 2.0’ continues to experience diminishing returns. Everything here has been done before and better, and the allusions to ‘End of Evangelion’ only make its comparative hollowness more apparent.

Wanna have a good time? ‘Redline’ is where your first and last stop should be—or would be, if it didn’t compel you to burn nitroglycerin.