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Avatar - The Last Airbender: The Complete Book 3 Collection (REGION 1) (NTSC)

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > Anime
by: Avatar Last Airbender

September 16, 2008
This third and final season of the truly great Avatar series is something of a season of two halves. The first half of the season sees Aang and his friends go undercover within the Fire Nation in order to wait for the eclipse that will rob the world's firebenders of their power. This first half of the season is good with the group learning new skills and meeting new friends while Zuko tries to settle back into his old life as Crown Prince. Everything changes in the second half of the season with the planned invasion on the Day of Black Sun but not everything goes as planned and the group must find a new strategy to defeat Fire Lord Ozai before he can conquer the world.

This season includes many great episodes with the first half ... Read More:

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The Cat Returns

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > Anime
directed by: Hiroyuki Morita

September 26, 2005
I really enjoyed this film even though it didn't completely satistfy my Ghibli craving.

I found it slightly odd that all the characters seemed to live in an oriental world but they themselves looked western. Also, one of the things i love about Ghibli films is to watch how other cultures live, even down to how they eat and sleep. Unfortunately this film didn't really have any of this, they did eat and drink things but they seemed westernised.

However, apart from all this i found the film entertaining, very funny in parts and it seemed to end too soon for me. I'm very much looking forward to watching the previous film involving some of these characters (Whisper of the Heart).

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Tokyo Godfathers [2003]

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > Anime
directed by: Satoshi Kon

September 13, 2004
I wasn't expecting much, but it offers the best human story in any animations I've seen. The animation is not great, I think it added the touch of realism to the film. Do see it if you are looking for a good touching story about human relations.

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Ghost In The Shell Movie Double Bill

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > Anime
starring: Akio Ohtsuka, Atsuko Tanaka, Koichi Yamadera
directed by: Mamoru Oshii

September 04, 2006
Don't ge me wrong on this, but as much as I liked these films I feel as though they were overhyped. No doubt I enjoyed them but just not as much as other anime like Cowboy Bebop or Full Metal Alchemist. I was really looking forward to these with all the great reviews, but ultimately a little dissapointed as they just didn't have much of an impact on me. I feel like I'm being harsh, as I'm slating the films simply because they didn't live up to the hype. But they were still very good. Good plot, involving characters and great animation. But as good as all this was it just wasn't as good as I was led to believe.

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Millennium Actress

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > Anime
directed by: Satoshi Kon

September 26, 2005
Before a more detailed review, I'll state these things for the quick Amazon browser:

1. This film is beautiful. The backgrounds are fantastically painted, the characters look and show express far more realistically than most anime, and there is a great deal of visual variation due to the range of scenes represented.

2. It's a heart wrenching love story.

3. It has an astounding soundtrack.

4. There's even a ninja swordfight.

More detail:

Genya is obsessed with Chiyoko (the "Millennium Actress" of the title) and her films, and can't believe his luck at being able to finally interview the mysterious and reclusive actress. His cameraman - who I feel is a representation of the first time viewer - is not ... Read More:

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Pokemon 3: The Movie [2001]

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > Anime
starring: Veronica Taylor, Rachael Lillis, Eric Stuart (III), Madeleine Blaustein, Ikue Ootani
directed by: Michael Haigney, Kunihiko Yuyama

October 08, 2001
Overall looking from a movie point of view, it's not bad at all. As a fan of Pokemon i like watching the series, the movies and playing the games. I like the way the movie was produced and done. I like the visual effects, which some say may not work. But i think overall it's a nice family film, and i can't see a Pokemon fan being disappointed. But great to check out!

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Porco Rosso

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > Anime
directed by: Hayao Miyazaki

January 30, 2006
Probably my favourite Miyazaki film (for now!). The superb animation combined with a rather melancholic tone link it quite firmly with its more famous descendent "Spirited Away". However this film is more whimsical and has some great set pieces that inject a lot of energy. The backdrop of romantic 1930s adventure, the threat of Italian fascism and the trauma of war all underlie, as usual, an apparently mere 'cartoon' or children's tale.

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Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (2 Disc Set) [2001]

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > Anime
starring: Ming-Na, Ving Rhames, Alec Baldwin

January 21, 2002
I think this film is wonderful. The CG animation is amazing - there are moments, particularly the character close-ups, where you can't quite be sure whether you're watchig real actors. This film bombed big time at the cinema, and one of the reasons suggested was actually the fact that the characters were so life-like they were almost creepy. Another reason is perhaps the fact that this is a stand alone piece of work and has no relationship with any of the Final Fantasy RPGs, which probably infuriated the fan boys. However, the story is mature and deals with mature issues - namely friendship, love, death and the afterlife, the individuals part in the big picture etc etc, but it's also a fully fledged action film with some pretty amazing set pieces and really exciting moments. It's refreshing ... Read More:

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Ghost In The Shell [1995]

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > Anime
starring: Atsuko Tanaka, Akio Ôtsuka, Tamio Ôki, Iemasa Kayumi, Kôichi Yamadera
directed by: Mamoru Oshii

September 22, 2003
`Ghost in the Shell' and `Akira' are often hailed as something of a turning point for Japanese Animated film - it's grown up, articulate, deep.

When you watch this DVD, if it's the first time you've seen the film then much of what you see feels familiar. And that's not surprising considering this has embedded itself deep into film culture - take the opening credits for example and you'll see the direct influence on American thought-provoker - the Matrix.

This film presents concepts which take some thinking about to fully understand, definitely a film to be watched twice. This feels more like a live action film than anime, and that's not all down to the beautifully detailed artwork, it's due to the realistic feel of the story. It's far fetched - but not too far-fetched that you can't ... Read More:

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Spirited Away [2003]

Childrens Toy Shop > DVD > Anime
starring: Rumi Hîragi, Miyu Irino, Mari Natsuki, Takashi Naitô, Yasuko Sawaguchi
directed by: Hayao Miyazaki, Kirk Wise

March 29, 2004
My 7 & 10 year olds love this and watch it lots. I was pleasantly surprised as it is not the usual box office, Disney wonder. I first heard of it when Jonathon Ross raved about it. He was right - the animation is great and the story is quite interesting (to me) and fascinating (to my children). Nice to see eastern cartoons that are not just kungfu rubbish, but are well thought-out.