Cyberknight Massao Kawata

The most amazing part of this series is the trailer, it makes it seem good. Too bad the actual show is nothing like that. The main character is unbearably annoying. The special effects are exaggerated, completely breaking the mood and suspension of disbelief. It cannot entertain adults, for being too dumb, nor the youngsters, for being too boring. For real martial arts, better go with some classics, like Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan or, for some more modern take, Donnie Yen.

The Unicorn hears that she's the last one left. Could it be true? How could that possibly be true? Filled with questions, the Unicorn leaves her forest, in a guest for answers, and ultimately finds more than she could have ever imagined in her eternal life. * SPOILER ALERT * If you don't want to know more details about the film, and the book that originated this, before watching it, and reading that, stop reading this review now! Asking butterflies and others if they have seen any of her kind lately, the Unicorn follows the leads toward a mythical monster, whom, she was told, would have taken all of them away, all but her. In her wanderings, she meets a man, who takes her for a white mare. She learns that, as time has passed, people became unable to recognise unicorns. So, maybe she was not the last unicorn, maybe there were others like her, only people couldn't see them as such, and then concluded that they had all vanished. She also wonders, if humans can only see her as a white mare, what do they see when they look at each other... If there is a word to describe this film, it's "magical". The script is much shorter than the book, story wise, leaving a lot of plot out. The film is also affected by the Dis-nay Curse, meaning, the producers made it a musical. On the other hand, the graphism is beautiful and the animation is very well done, all by the team that would, years later, become the acclaimed Studio Ghibli.

A strange object if found underground an old church, a place haunted by strange happening since immemorial times. It is said that everybody that sleeps there has a dream, the exact same dream, played over and over. * SPOILER ALERT * Stop reading this if you don't want to know more details about the film before watching it. The object is anachronic, resembling more a piece dropped by an advanced civilization than by monks of an ancient order. When a research team from a university is called to investigate it, an evil force starts acting on them, changing their behaviours, and of people around the church. This film mixes supernatural horror with science fiction, masterfully stitching those two genres into a terrifying backdrop, from where the ultimate evil may emerge.

A man meddles with witchcraft in a attempt to rescue his girlfriend, who had been dragged to Hell by a daemon. This is one of those rarest gems that prove that an amazing plot and an intelligent storytelling doesn't require a mountain of money to produce. In fact, a bigger budged simply wouldn't make any difference in this film, as it simply wouldn't have been used (except, maybe, for casting top-rated actors, who could possibly have spoiled the whole mood of the film). * SPOILER ALERT * Stop reading if you don't want to know more details before watching it. In his attempt to rescue his girlfriend, the man summons a daemon called Lo, using a grimoire left behind by the woman. Because Hell is a huge place and very crowded, the daemon needs a precise "description" of her, which is provided as a psychic imprint from the man's memories with her. Those memories are not played like flashbacks, but, instead, like a theatre play. Of course, the role-playing is not how things actually happened, but as he remembers (and felt) them. As the story plays, more is revealed of the reasons why the woman was taken to Hell... In the form of a musical! Oh, but don't worry, it's not a Dis-nay kind of musical, it's a hell lot different! Great acting, sharp humour and an interesting story makes this one of the best films of its genre... Which is fantasy-horror-comedy-romance-drama-musical-fine arts, all wonderfully blended and served with a perfect timing and casting.

A dying species, the Noza, searches for a new planet to colonise, eventually arriving at Maris, a human settlement. Without time to spare and with far superior technology, the Noza invade Maris to wipe the humans out. When the situation seems hopeless for the humans, three mysterious weapons are found, named "Zillion", powerful enough to cope with the invading Noza army. Being a very limited resource, three top soldiers are chosen to carry the Zillion pistols, codenames Apple, Champ and J.J. The production adopted a "the simpler, the better" philosophy for the anime series. Except for J.J., little back story is given to any of the characters, the scripting preferring to focus on the characters' development after the team, named The White Nuts, is assembled. The plot is, indeed, simple, with a classic alien invading force and a struggling human population, although, for a change, that population is not on Earth, but on a far away colony, which the story never bothers trying to explain how it got there. By the way, the story never bothers about how the aliens also got there and why they had no alternative but to invade the human colony planet and engage on a lengthy war, instead of searching for another place to settle. The lack of background doesn't spoil the fun, though, as the characters are very charismatic and the show sticks to the rules it defines for itself, with a few interesting twists that keep it from getting staled. The graphism of the series is nice, well drawn and animated, although some sequences are reused along the series, like the departure of the main VTOL transporter "Big Porter" and the transformation of the tricycle "Tricharger" into a versatile mechanical battle suit (AKA "mecha"). Again, that doesn't spoil the entertainment value of the show, as everything is carefully well done. Highlight must be given to the amazing series' soundtrack, composed by Jun Irie, and the opening and ending theme songs, by Yoshiaki Ohuchi, "Pure Stone" and "Push!". Even though J.J. hints a few insinuating jokes at Apple through the series, "fan service" is mostly avoided, what is a good thing. All comedic reliefs are played well and not overdone. Clichés like romantic drama and unbeatable/invincible protagonist are also avoided, making this show really entertaining.