Thomas J.A. Watson

This was honestly a very trivial and shallow analysis of anime both as an artistic medium and the subsequent countercultures that it inspires. Thought I enjoyed seeing the interviews of several big-name directors, too much of the film was based in the director's self-reflection in attempting to learn more about the art form. I felt that despite the great lengths she went to discover more about anime, she still hasn't completely gotten a grasp on it, which is evident in her overall lack of analysis of many classic anime and the historical origins of the medium. It felt like instead of doing her own research and coming to conclusions based on her observations, she was using the interviews with the directors as a proxy for information and wisdom that she didn't possess. For a film that is meant to be about anime, very little of it actually explores the themes and philosophies of individual anime, and instead focuses on more frivolous subjects which are closely associated with the medium.