Skip Beat!
directed by Kiyoko Sayama
based on the manga of the same name by Yoshiki Nakamura
Released March 2009
A girl, who devoted her life to serve a young man she had loved dearly and sincerely, takes revenge as she discovers how she was only used as a mere servant and not given the appreciation she deserves. How she plans on taking revenge? By entering the world of showbiz and making herself beautiful and popular.
5 Centimeters per Second
Orig. Title: Byosoku 5 Centimeter
Directed by Makoto Shinkai
Released 2007
“It must really be a lonelier journey than anyone could imagine. Cutting through absolute darkness, encountering nothing but the occasional hydrogen atom. Flying blindly into the abyss, believing therein lie the answers to the mysteries of the universe.” – Takaki Tohno
This film by Makoto Shinkai tells the tale of a girl and a boy, once very close friends as children, separated by distance, but still thinks about each other.
The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
Orig. Title: Toki o Kakeru Shojo
Directed by Mamoru Hosoda
Released 2006
Based on the novel of the same name by Yasutaka Tsutsui
Makoto Konno, an average happy-go-lucky high school girl who only cares about baseball and her two friends Kosuke and Chiaki, was suddenly given an ability to ‘time leap’. Once she understood and accepted that she can really do such an impossible thing, she continued to go through her normal high school life while using this ability to enjoy much of the things she wanted to do, but also, to prevent the occurrences she’s not comfortable with; like for example, a love confession, or death.
Attack on Titan
Original Title: “Shingeki no Kyojin”
Adaptation of the manga “Shingeki no Kyojin” by Hajime Isayama
Ongoing anime since April 2013
“Several hundred years ago, humans were nearly exterminated by titans. Titans are typically several stories tall, seem to have no intelligence, devour human beings and, worst of all, seem to do it for the pleasure rather than as a food source. A small percentage of humanity survived by walling themselves in a city protected by extremely high walls, even taller than the biggest of titans.
Flash forward to the present and the city has not seen a titan in over 100 years. Teenage boy Eren Jaegar and his foster sister Mikasa Ackerman witness something horrific as the city walls are destroyed by a colossal titan that appears out of thin air.” – IMDb
Children who Chase Lost Voices
Created and Directed by Makoto Shinkai
Released 2011
It has been a while since I last watched a Japanese anime film. And today I finished this lovely film about loss, grief and journey to acceptance. The film is about Azuna and her journey to this other world beneath the surface where the Gate of Life and Death can be found.
On the Couch, Eating Potatoes 