Board 8 > Gauntlet Crew Ranks Anime Movies II

(+) Yeah! (+)

Inviso posted...

Yeah, if not for Cannon Fodder, I think Memories would've made my top 10. MAYBE. I could see myself ranking it as high as eighth in a "Cannon Fodder"-free universe. At the very least, it would've made it to 11th.

Definitely makes mine with no Cannon Fodder.

14. Welcome to the Space Show

Red: 6
Johnbobb: 8
Karo: 13
Inviso: 18
Genny: 22
Charon: 25
Jona: 27

Total: 119

Red: A trip with a spacedog complete with a trip to essentially planet doggo? Im sold. In all seriousness, I liked this movie a lot when they were building up the world on the moon and the planets and stuff, that type of world building always manages to hold my attention as our characters racked up a bunch of debt they couldnt possibly afford on their own. I was less enthusiastic with the climax of the movie, but thoroughly entertained with the world in space this movie decided to build up for us.

Johnbobb: This was such a fun time! Has a very strong Studio Ghibli feel to it, with imagination and creativity flowing out of even the smallest details. I'm sad to say I ended up falling asleep the first time through (due to work; no fault of the film itself) so I ended up seeing the first third and last third before seeing everything in the middle and could only imagine what insanity had happened in between until I rewatched it the next day. All the characters range from solid to great, with Natsuki in particular being a standout. There really wasn't much to dislike. Maybe a little long on the runtime, but I've watched shorter anime films here that felt a lot longer.

Karo: What It Is:
A group of children get whisked off by a talking dog alien and go on an adventure in deux ex machina.

What I Think:
It is one of the better 'ghibli lite' films that you see a lot of these days, a lot of the appeal is seeing all the crazy creatures and locations they encounter, which gives one an eye-of-a-child sense of wonder.
The film would have been better without the whole subplot about Mike Wazowski trying to feed wasabi to Galactus or whatever the fuck, all it does is serve to distract or interrupt the heart of the story.
It will never rank among the greats in the medium, but it is solid for what it is and at least kept me entertained throughout the whole movie.

Score: 75/100

Inviso: This was a fine movie, and it had a bunch of good parts to it, but it has the problem of being TOO imaginative for its own good. Any individual plot from this movie would have worked. Kids find a weird alien dog/superhero and help him, so they get to go to space? Okay, sure. Go with a nice story about kids exploring the universe and having character growth and change. That works fine, and I liked it. Or, have a story about how villain aliens come to Earth to abduct humans, rabbits, and wasabi, and a bunch of human kids find an alien dog to help them fight the bad guys. That also worked, and was fine. The problem is that these two stories got interlocked, and it feels like neither one was given proper focus. The actual PLOT plot fails because it relies a TON on information the audience doesnt get, and doesnt make sense. And that plot winds up detracting from the quality of the slice of life stuff. None of this implies the movie is terrible. Im still ranking it in a relatively high tier. It just could have been a lot better, in my opinion.

Genny: For a movie featuring a cast of predominantly children, Welcome to the Space Show is a lot more tolerable than it has any business being. Of the many coming of age films on this list, Space Show is middle of the road. Where it excels is its colorful cast of side characters of varying designs, backgrounds, and planetary origins. Not ten minutes pass where I'm not looking at some strange new creature and I love the world building involved in that creativity. Unfortunately where the movie drags is its overlong runtime, and focus on the human race. I understand why Natsuki and Amane needed more screentime than anyone else, but were any of the other children actually necessary? Did we need an eleven minute sidequest where the plot is sidelined so the side characters can get jobs so they can earn enough pods to get inside a space shuttle bound for home? That's a lot of sides I didn't need with my main course to be honest. (Before anyone points it out I realize the characters needed the temp job experience to realize what they each want to be when they grow up, but we really didn't need five kids in the first place) I think the entire movie should've been about Pochi instead.

Charon: This movie was saved until the end of our watching due to its length, and my perceived notion that it wasn't going to be very enjoyable. I will say that I liked it more than I thought I would but I still think this movie is at least 30 minutes longer than it needed to be. There's a lot of pointless filler in here, like when they all get a job, since that's immediately nullified by Natsuki's selling of snack food. The backstory of Pochi with the main villains isn't terribly interesting because it's barely elaborated on. Surprisingly though, I wasn't offended or annoyed by any of the characters despite them being all children! That's a pretty incredible feat for any film despite other shortcomings.

Jona: This movie is really charming with its fun design of aliens. The world of Welcome to the Space Show is definitely a sight to behold. The cast of kids are quite solid with Natsuki and Amane being the highlight with their relationship having a focus. The film could have had just those two being the only kids in the movie and I think it would have been better for it. At over 2 hours long, this is far too long for a movie thats aimed at kids and definitely starts to wear out its welcome.

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Outlier:

Johnbobb: 262
Jona: 246
Inviso: 205
Karo: 197
Genny: 197
Red: 186
Charon: 167

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For the record this is the one I think Ermine would've liked the most had he actually participated. It's solid, but not great for me personally. Pochi Rickman is A+ though, and manages to be equal parts cute and cool without ever trying "too hard".

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It sat higher on my list for awhile but I soured a good bit on the last 25% or so of the movie.

It was more interesting going from place to place than it was trying to resolve some dumb conflict.

Despite the small gaps in our rankings it looks like Inviso, JONA, Charon and I all essentially had the same kind things to say about Welcome to the Space Show, and we all nitpicked the same basic flaws.

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While I agree with everyone else that Cannon Fodder was pretty boring and bland, it didn't drag down Memories overall as much for me as it did for others. I think the quality of Magnetic Rose far outweighs the negatives of Cannon Fodder

Welcome to the Space Show I thought was a blast because unlike Vis, I definitely don't think it was

PrinceKaro posted...

TOO imaginative for its own good

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This is probably the most surprising movie to me, as in, I'm surprised it ranked this high.

And yes, I subscribe to the belief this would have been Ermine's #1, just based on his tastes. I'm certain he'd have been a fan of Pochi and the rest of the cast should be pretty inoffensive. I still think the runtime is just absurd though; trimming down some of the pointless interludes would have been nice. Still much better than I was expecting though.
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13. Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms

Red: 1
Charon: 3
Genny: 6
Jona: 18
Karo: 21
Inviso: 28
Johnbobb: 31

Total: 108

Red: So what makes this movie #1 for me? The fact that I could clearly recognize that it glosses over plotlines but the emotional notes hit by the characters touch all the right spots that my brain never really cared. We never learn much about the disease facing the dragon things, its just there. The rest of the Maquias race thatll live who knows how long, meh dont care. The leader of that race being held prisoner and her daughter not amounting to much of anything? Also little care. The movie effectively uses all of these potentially interesting worldbuilding elements to contain our main storie of Maquia, her family, and her having to come to terms with life, death, and life after everything you loved has died. We get a brief taste where this is going in a sad pet death moment that was already sad, and the movie all the way to the climax does not spare us the sadness of knowing Maquia is still relatively young while everyone else we knew has passed on. It was just an extremely effective way of using a unique world as the background for a story meant to tug at our emotions.

Charon: Oh hey it's another film where the ultimate theme is death near the top of my list, imagine that! This was one of the few films I watched more than once on the list so perhaps it has an unfair advantage, but I grew to like this one even more on my second watch. Watching Ariel grow under Maquia's care and having to see him live his entire life while Maquia will surely outlive him is definitely heart-wrenching. The way the humans treat the magical creatures of the world here seems to me to be a bit of a commentary on our reality and the way we view things that aren't humans like us. The world created here is very large, but the film does a good job of keeping you grounded to the main characters as they traverse through a large part of it. I could technically point out flaws in the film, but the narration and drive of it is so strong and emotional I have a hard time not liking it more than I feel I'm entitled to.

Genny: It would be too easy to praise Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms for its gorgeous visuals, stunning soundtrack, and heartbreaking moments alone, so I'm going to go a step beyond that and praise it for its deeper themes as well. To that end I'm going to discuss the parallels between the two Iorph girls whose lives were uprooted on one fateful day: the meek and subdued orphan Maquia, and the bold and beloved daughter Leilia. On the night of the sacking of the land dwelled in by the Clan of the Separated, Maquia is swept away by a Renato while Leilia is detained and held captive by the kingdom of Mezarte. The former is for the first time in her life truly free to make her own choices, and chooses to adopt an infant boy in a very macabre scene, while the latter is coerced into bearing a child for a man she did not love after being torn away from Krim- the Iorph boy whom she was infatuated with. Lelia is confined to the castle of a foreign kingdom and forcibly kept apart from her daughter whom she loved with all her heart despite knowing her so briefly; Maquia is bound only to the chains of freedom and all that entails, watching her son grow while moving from place to place to her heart's content to keep the nature of her Clan from being discovered. Maquia is essentially a child that plays at being a mother, while Leilia is a mother who can never see her child.

Though the movie focuses on Maquia and her relationship with her adopted son Ariel, her foil Leilia is the most interesting and most tragic character in the film by far. She has many chances to escape, but chooses never to do so, perhaps out of fear of what they would do to Medmel if she ever tried. It doesn't help that Izor, who was once the captain of Mezarte's military, takes it upon himself to become her personal attendant in a selfish effort to atone for his sins, something Leilia is reminded of every time she looks at him. Prince Hazel proves to be the most ignoble prince in existence and loses interest in both his daughter and his concubine when the former shows no traits of Iorph longevity, and though Medmel wants to see her mother just as desperately as Leilia wants to see her daughter, the castle's staff intentionally keeps them apart. Leilia's bitterness and isolation drive her into a state of temporary insanity that's agonizing to watch, while Maquia struggles with the trials of motherhood, but ultimately leads a fulfilling and charmed life.

The dynamic between Maquia and Ariel, who eventually begins to grow apart from his adoptive mother because of his inability to protect her as she did for him throughout his formative years, and between that of Leilia and Medmel, who were separated through their most crucial times, is another interesting parallel that I wish was further explored. Instead we get the second most heartbreaking scene in the film, whereupon they finally lay eyes on each other and Medmel has to question who Leilia even is. I can't even imagine what must have went through her mind in that moment, but Leilia decides she can't be a part of this life any longer and takes back some small bit of her freedom by telling Medmel to forget her while promising to leave this dark chapter of her long life out of her Hibiol. I don't think I need to tell anyone who watched this what the saddest moment was, but I cried my eyes out the first time yet not the second of the two times I've seen it.

If I had to name one shortcoming in this film it's that I don't get the character of Barlow, the half Iorph drifter. Is he there just to show that Medmel lost the genetic lottery? Any character that already existed could have provided the exposition he divulges here and there throughout the movie's duration so I don't understand his inclusion. Despite that, it's a wonderful film with powerful themes and symbolism that explores something rarely seen in fiction: a mystical world on the brink of losing what makes it so magical. I'd put it in the same tier as some of my favorite Ghibli films, but this is not one I'd want to rewatch any time soon. It's just too bittersweet for my poor heart to take.

Jona: The production values on this movie are top-notch. While the fantasy world here is a bit generic, the art is fantastic, and the world feels believable. The story and characters just end up being just fine though. Seeing the relationship between Maquia and Ariel is interesting but the time skips in the movie dont give the proper time to get attached to their characters. Because of that, the emotional moments are quite the mixed bag. Those scenes are done quite well though and have great music thanks to Kenji Kawai. This really could have been a fantastic film but it feels like its missing things that could make it go from good to great. I do feel like this would have been great as a television series.

Karo: What It Is:
An ageless elf loli from a mystic village raises an orphaned boy and names him after a disney princess.

What I Think:
This movie wants you to have the feels but it didn't do anything for me, while the characters and world have a very generic fantasy kind of feel that is a bit lacking.
It is competent enough, but it can't really reach the level it needs to to compete with the best of the exemplary animated movies coming out of japan in recent years.

Score: 64/100

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Inviso: This one really frustrates me, because I feel like there was a strong, emotional throughline that SHOULD have elicited the proper response from meme, who cries at literally everything everand yet the movie failed in that regard. See, if you wanted to tell a story about motherhood, I think that works nicely. But the problem is that the movie was unable to tell the emotional story of motherhood without massive attempts at worldbuilding that ultimately fall flat. You establish this race of eternally-young characters, and the problem is that, after the initial attack, the movie keeps focusing on them. The princess storyline? Completely pointless. Krim? Completely pointless. Meanwhile, you introduce this Dita character for one scene, and then one OTHER scene, and it lacks ANY of the necessary emotional weight, because weve been given no investment in the character. Really, one of the major flaws is the constant timeskipping in this regard, and it just made this movie feel like it was too long and it couldve ended like FIVE times and just kept going. Its just nothing special.

Johnbobb: Ok, so this is a good movie. I can't deny that. Excellent animation, great voice acting, a well-built world, solid (if overused and distracting) music. But man, I just couldn't convince myself to care about it. I don't know what it was, but I was just not emotionally invested in this story at all. I didn't dislike it necessarily, but I was pretty bored throughout, and I can't place why that was. Gonna chalk this one up as my fault more than the film's itself.

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Outlier:

Johnbobb: 280
Jona: 251
Inviso: 220
Karo: 205
Genny: 204
Red: 198
Charon: 177

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I'm sorry for that long write-up, but I had a lot to say about the brilliance of this film's multifaceted writing. Even the supporting characters such as Ariel and Leilia are developed just as much as Maquia herself, and are characterized to the point where you might feel sympathy, disgust, or rage at some of them and that's rare for a one-off anime film and yes I know it's based off a light novel or something don't @ me.

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Holy shit, Genny. I forgot that Barlow even EXISTED. There were just too many storylines jumping around.

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Huh turns out I hate Johnbobb's list also
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Meh, as much as I dislike Johnbobb's write-up I can't disagree with it since he admitted it was more likely a case of him personally failing to connect with a movie that should elicit a huge emotional response. However I don't understand how in the world could someone fail to connect with any of these wonderfully written characters with understandable if not relatable plights and motivations, yet find Makoto Kobayashi anything but deplorable.

I also disagree about Maquia being overlong and having several points where it could have ended. There were exactly two scenes the movie could have ended on, but if we only got the first then then emotional impact of the second would've never come to fruition. I think it's precisely as long as it needs to be to endear you to the characters and care when one disappears for one reason or another. Maybe there are one or two characters that didn't need inclusion, but the movie itself treats Barlow like a nomadic rogue and doesn't give him true focus, nor does it pretend like he's super important (which is why I was personally for not including him).

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Maquia and Ariels story was too diluted by the time skips and the sidebars to the princess or her unrequited lover (over a too long runtime) to connect with me. Makoto was a realistic depiction of how a character would act in his situation, and was reminiscent of my own feelings. Not that difficult to explain.

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Maquia was a movie I ended up not caring much about, despite generally being a Mari Okada fan. (Though admittedly even before this I'd have characterized her writing as hit-or-miss)

I remember really liking some moments at the beginning, but then losing interest somewhere in the middle of the movie. I think the story they were trying to tell was too dependent on the worldbuilding side of things when the worldbuilding just wasn't that solid in my opinion.

There were definitely individually good moments spaced throughout despite this, but I can't say I had much overall investment in the story.
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Not that I need someone else's opinion to validate my own, but this blogger does an excellent job of summarizing my sentiments regarding the myriad of missed opportunities that is Colorful, and explains why I hate it much better than I could all without involving my personal reasons:

https://wrongeverytime.com/2016/02/22/missed-chances-in-colorful/

In short, Colorful could have been a beautiful movie that celebrated the flaws of a depressed protagonist and painted every individual involved in a similar light, but instead it delved way too deep into Makoto's self-loathing, antisocial tendencies, and misogyny (there really is no better word for his behavior) that any attempt to redeem him by the end is futile.

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I think I viewed Colorful as a story of healing moreso than as one of redemption.

Not sure whether or not that distinction actually matters.
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12. Lu Over the Wall

Karo: 3
Johnbobb: 12
Genny: 13
Red: 13
Jona: 14
Charon: 16
Inviso: 36

Total: 107

Karo: What It Is:
I want to be where the people are, I want to see, want to see them dancing.

What I Think:
A teenager befriends a strange little mermaid girl called Lu from the sea and as usual the adults are ignorant bigots who don't understand anything. Whenever Lu hears music she sprouts human legs and starts dancing, which is something way easier than selling your voice to an evil sea witch.
There is just so much joy in this film, and Yuasa's usual animation strangeness here seems cute and charming, rather than off-putting and unpleasant. Though it is still quirky, a certain grounding keeps the story from spiraling off completely into cloud cuckoo land like his films usually do and the movie is better for it.

Score: 90/100

Johnbobb: An enjoyable ride the whole way through. The whole "guy falls in love with a mythical girl and shows her the human world" trope wasn't as original as Yuasa's other movies, sure, but it never stopped the movie from being just a ton of fun. Brightly colored and powerfully animated, with all the characters managing to make me laugh at one point or another.

Genny: I found Lu Over the Wall to be equal parts bizarre and adorable. I think this movie is the perfect use of Masaaki Yuasa's distinctive aesthetic, and that's what made the movie such a joy to watch for me. You would think a movie called Colorful would have the brightest and most varied palette on this list, but you'd be quite wrong in that regard. I for one was never bothered by the implied romantic relationship between Kai and Lu because her race, the ningyo, seemingly age much slower than humans so I just assumed she was much older than she appeared. Her speech patterns didn't really throw me off either because ningyo have their own language and Lu was clearly still learning as the movie progressed. My only issue with this movie is that some segments did tend to go too overboard (pun intended) in their otherworldly shenanigans. It's a little jarring when a fantasy film grounds itself in a small degree of reality only to completely abandon that iota of believability for the sake of whacky entertaining shenanigans.

Red: This is a weird but fun one with a mermaid capable of dancing to music and basically enthralling everyone else around to also burst into dance and lose most senses of whats going on around them aside the happiness of dancing. Oh, and the merfolk turn people, dogs, who knows what animals or whatever else into more merfolk by biting them. Its strange. The film is lighthearted and never really stops feeling like fun even when things inevitably turn poorly for our town with a curse. Not the deepest of movies by any means, but a fun kind of weird.

Jona: Its so easy to write this off as a Ponyo rip-off but at the same time, I still like this more than Ponyo. The story beats are predictable but I feel this movie more than makes up for it in style. The art style is unique and colorful and the animation matches the films vibrance and energy. The music is also great whether it is being played by the band or not. The characters are likable and the movie can actually be pretty funny at times. If you dont mind an unoriginal story with predictability, the movie is just straight-up fun.

Charon: A cute, better Ponyo with more relatable characters for me is how I see this film. There are obvious parallels to be drawn there but ultimately I feel they are pretty different movies; they just happen to share a sort of unsettling romance between young characters. This was all very cute though, I must admit. I enjoyed all the characters and can't really say anything bad about this movie. I can't quite rank it any higher since it's a simple little tale with cuteness, but I think it being at this level speaks to the quality of the film. This is a good animation studio; I hope for their future success!

Inviso: This movie was REALLY fucking dumb. I hated the art style just when I saw the preview loaded up on Netflix, and then I watched it, and it was just as stupid as I expected. The whole movie ranged from over-the-top cartoony bullshitnamely in the form of Looney Tunes-style dance sequences and stupid song breaksto forced attempts at sentimentality that feel like a desperate effort to give the film some sense of meaning. But this all fails. The movie comes across not unlike how I felt about Ponyo. Its just childish for the sake of being childish. None of the characters are likable, and the vast majority of them come across as stupid. And the end result is a plot that feels cobbled together to include random J-pop bands and mystical curse water, failing miserably to make them work.

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Outlier:

Johnbobb: 280
Jona: 253
Inviso: 244
Karo: 214
Genny: 205
Red: 199
Charon: 181

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GenesisSaga posted...

Meh, as much as I dislike Johnbobb's write-up I can't disagree with it since he admitted it was more likely a case of him personally failing to connect with a movie that should elicit a huge emotional response. However I don't understand how in the world could someone fail to connect with any of these wonderfully written characters with understandable if not relatable plights and motivations, yet find Makoto Kobayashi anything but deplorable.

I did find Makoto deplorable!

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No no, the second half of that statement was directed at Inviso.

Can't connect to broad appeal Maquia or righteously angsty teen/young adult Ariel, but CAN get emotionally vested in the biggest prick to ever exist aside from the one running this country? Do not get. Sorry, just don't and won't.

Anyway speaking of Inviso I called it. Lu Over the Wall is great, but I can easily see why that wouldn't be someone's kinda film.

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He's not even a prick. He's a narrator seeing the life of this kid from an outside perspective, and the kid's life was shitty and depressing enough that he tried to kill himself.

Makoto's life is as follows: his brother is absent and absorbed with his studies, his father is a workaholic, his mother (who I THINK was a stay-at-home mom?) isn't that attentive and none of his family realizes that, hey, our son has no friends because the bullies at his school are so awful that he closed himself off entirely to avoid feeling the pain of having his every waking moment be filled with torment. I'm not saying Makoto's life is anything special, because I'm sure a lot of people feel that sense of isolation (I know I sure did, which is why I related to his story and the story moved me).

Then, yeah, there's a certain degree of misogyny involved in his actions towards Shoko compared to Hiroka, but again, I GET it. Keep in mind that Makoto is isolated and bullied and has no one, and then suddenly, however vain and shallow and materialistic she is, Hiroka starts taking an interest in him. She's a pretty, popular girl, and she's not treating him this way as some sort of cruel prank or anything. For a social outcast like Makoto, I know from experience that in that sort of situation, you want to form a connection SO badly, and this is a person who not only is treating you with kindness, but they're also attractive to you. You start to think "Oh...I can't believe that this person is treating me with any sort of respect whatsoever. Maybe I have a chance with her. That would be amazing." And you build it up in your head until that dream gets shattered (in this case, when he sees her going into the love hotel with an older man).

With Shoko, even taking attraction out of the equation, there's just a difference in perception between the two girls, and perhaps if Hiroka HADN'T shown Makoto the kind of attention she did, he would've been more receptive to Shoko's interests. But when someone popular seems to take you under their wing and treat you as being within range of their social status, THAT'S what you focus on, not the people on a similar to yourself.

Also, then Makoto gets the one-two punch of seeing his romantic dreams crushed, followed by seeing his shitty family life becoming even shittier because his mom is cheating on his dad. All of this comes together to explain the depression and suicide attempt. I understand the character and I empathize with him.

Then you have the narrator who is coming in with a clean slate, but he's also only seeing things from Makoto's perspective. He knows that the kid's life is crappy enough that he'd try to kill himself, so he lashes out at all the things and people that could've created a scenario in which a kid would do such a thing. It's not RIGHT, because he's only seeing things from that one perspective, but that's also how depression works, usually. You get wrapped up in your own troubles and don't realize how other people around you are affected. That's what made that ending dinner scene feel so powerful to me. You have Makoto's brother finally speaking up and airing all the dirty laundry Makoto doesn't understand, which leads to the narrator finally admitting everything wrong in Makoto's life that the family didn't understand. And I personally didn't mind the pep talk to Hiroka at the end, because it shows that the narrator has kind of grown and sees warning signs in Hiroka, and even though that dream image of her has been shattered, he still doesn't want to see her suffer (or anyone, really).

It just felt like a very complex movie that I could relate to based off my tween years, and I don't think Makoto is some sort of a prick for reacting the way he did to a difficult scenario for a person to deal with on their own and without a decent support structure.

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I see where you're coming from with most of that assessment (I'll elaborate on that later), but I still disagree. It does make him a prick because the world throws tough shit at everyone equally and how you respond to it generally determines how the people around you regard you. Sure in some cases it doesn't matter how you act (like I'm not going to blame Makoto for shutting himself off to people his own age when some of those jerks are jabbing writing utensils into his back, bleeding him like a stuck pig), but the way he treats his mother and Shoko (and Purapura to a much lesser extent) is completely inexcusable. You can sympathize with it and understand it all you want, but in my opinion it makes him a gigantic prick.

First of all, if he actually knew he was Makoto from the jump he would've been entitled to be angry at his family for contributing to his suicide. From an outsider's perspective though he doesn't have the right to judge them! Maybe things work differently in Japan, but honestly even if his mother had an affair with some man she knew because she felt neglected by her work-obsessed husband WHY would that be any of Makoto's business!? It literally has nothing to do with why his life sucked at that point and would entirely be on his mother and father to work that crap out between themselves.

Siding with Hiroka over Shoko doesn't sit right with me either. Even ignoring how uncomfortable it made me that he would've willingly sexually assaulted a peer (who I still think is coded on the spectrum), Shoko is the only one outside of his immediate family that actually CARES ABOUT MAKOTO AS A PERSON- and you can tell she does because she takes an interest in his artwork, makes several attempts to communicate with him on more than a surface level, and is the first one to notice he's not acting the way he used to before he made an attempt on his own life- and he treats her like trash because she's quirky and he doesn't like the way she looks.

Meanwhile, because he has a crush on Hiroka he's willing to exonerate her of the SAME SIN HE'S UNWILLING TO FORGIVE HIS OWN GOSH DARNED MOTHER FOR (except WORSE because she's not even doing it to fill some emotional void, she's doing it because she can't afford to buy cute purses otherwise), and because she engages in pleasantries with him (and everyone else in the art club) he tries to save her from herself because she's popular and he likes the way she looks.

It's gross. That behavior is disgusting and it's way too close to how certain people would act in real life. I watch movies for escapism, not to be reminded that the real world is far too often a harsh and unjust place. To me, it doesn't make him relatable, or understandable, it anything other than a garbage heap of a human being. I'm not saying when the world gives you lemons you've gotta squeeze the juice into your eyeballs and your butthole and pretend it feels great, but you can't just go around throwing them at other people in an active attempt to make them share in your own suffering.

Finally I'm just gonna mention something I don't think anyone else has before regarding his older brother and his friend. His parents and brother were willing to postpone the older brother's enrollment into a medical school program so that they could collectively afford to send Makoto off to an art school since he's talentless in every other field. Logic would dictate that he'd turn this offer down because, now humbled by his experiences, he would feel melancholic that his brother who worked hard while he just gave up would have to delay his dreams for someone as unworthy and undeserving as him. Instead... he turns down this offer because he made a friend and wants to stay with him in a public high school for underachievers. He finally does one truly selfless act... for the entirely wrong reason, which makes it kind of selfish again. It doesn't even make sense. That scene is written so poorly I can't even wrap my mind around it.

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11. Okko's Inn

Karo: 5
Red: 9
Johnbobb: 14
Charon: 15
Inviso: 17
Genny: 20
Jona: 21

Total: 101

Karo: What It Is:
A little girl sees dead people, and much cuteness was had.

What I Think:
After a brush with death that claims the life of her parents, Okko is suddenly able to see some friendly ghosts and spirits who help her run the family inn. Through her new friends and purpose, she comes to terms with the tragedy and eventually has an emotional confrontation with the man responsible for the accident.
The movie's animation looks way better than you'd think just from seeing the still pictures, and is quite charming in style. You wouldnt think that a film could simultaneously be both so adorable and so heartwrenching as this one, but here we are.

Score: 87/100

Red: This movie absolutely started out full Disney, tragically and kind of graphically murdering parents to set up the plot. While being somewhat intriguing with her ghost helpers, what ended up working out best in the movie was the two future innkeepers coming to terms with their future in life. She comes to terms with her parents deaths and her and her rival develop a mutual respect. Not the most exciting or complex story, but I thought the growth for everyone involved worked out very well.

Johnbobb: This has to be the most precious movie we watched on this list, and there were a lot of cute ones. It's also the Disnified, complete with the child protagonist's parents dying suddenly in the beginning. Yeah, some of the themes it establishes can be said for half the list: young kid experiences a tragic event, enters an unfamiliar world, helps magical people with their own problems while learning to grow themselves before they can return to normal life. But even still, there's something that makes Okko's Inn feel unique. It's simultaneously mature and immature; it's just lighthearted enough without going overboard. Just a nice time.

Charon: A surprisingly good coming-of-age type story about the dealing with loss and grief. Outside of some of the gross habits of Uribo, all of the characters are pretty likable and add to the plot of the film. Even a character trope I'd typically dislike with Matsuki's character I found interesting since they inverted the trope that the new girl is bullied by the popular girl and her friends; in this case it's actually Okko that becomes popular and the strange "bully" sort of character is actually just an aloof, misunderstood genius. I was almost moved a few times in this film, by that I mean crying, but not quite there yet. It'll happen higher on the list for sure! I think a good indicator for these drama films for me, even if they have supernatural elements, is how good they are at getting me misty eyed.

Inviso: This movie made me tear up towards the end, and it felt earned, rather than forced tugging on heartstrings like some other films on this list. ButI dont knowit just wasnt QUITE fully realized, I think. Starting the movie off by killing off the main characters parents works for me, and it establishes this lingering sorrow that Okko is dealing with, even as she tries to maintain a childlike innocence. My problem is that the ghost children and the little inn demon almost feel shoehorned into the movie at that point, and they ultimately dont serve a real purpose. The story structure is simple enough, with three main guests coming to the inn, and each one helps Okko deal with her grief in a different way, but I just like the ghosts and even the introduction of a comically-bitchy rivaldont help to further the plot in a meaningful manner. Its still a solid movie, but its just not quite good ENOUGH to make my top tier.

Genny: I had a great laugh before this film even got started because Charon feared Okko's Inn would be a "slice of life" based on the name and YouTube thumbnail, and trust me the way Jason said that phrase was like he was spitting out poison. Well it's not a true slice of life because there are supernatural elements, namely a ghost, a demon, and a poltergeist, but other than that it fits the bill. Like most in this genre it's very calming, and there's no real antagonist. There was even a point or two when I got a little misty-eyed, which is about all I could ask of a film like this. I kind of hated Uribo's buck toothed design and nose picking habit, but he grew on me like pretty much everyone else by the end. It's a nice movie, but not one I'd likely ever revisit.

Jona: A cute and charming slice-of-life film about a girl whos helping to run an inn. Its nice to see the different relationships of Okko develop whether they be with ghosts, inn customers or an innkeeper from a different inn. The most interesting parts of the movie where Okko has PTSD and isnt over her parents deaths at the beginning of the movie. Everything works fine in this movie but it isnt particularly great.

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Outlier:

Johnbobb: 283
Jona: 263
Inviso: 250
Karo: 220
Genny: 214
Red: 201
Charon: 185


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These are the movies remaining in the top 10!

When Marnie Was There
The Anthem of the Heart
The Boy and the Beast
A Silent Voice
Your Name
I Want to Eat Your Pancreas
Penguin Highway
Promare
Ride Your Wave
Weathering With You

Top 10 will start monday but for now, thoughts? predictions?

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6 of the remaining 10 are in my top ten, nice. I feel I should mention that I didn't dislike my #28, but at this point I'm ready for it to go. I'm not surprised my #21 is still active in this crowd.

01. ???
02. ???
03. ???
04. ???
05. Angel's Egg
06. Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms
07. ???
08. ???
09. Mind Game
10. The Wonderland
11. ???
12. Mary and the Witch's Flower
13. Lu Over the Wall
14. Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters
15. Blood: The Last Vampire
16. ???
17. Memories
18. Dead Leaves
19. Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
20. Okko's Inn
21. ???
22. Welcome to the Space Show
23. Napping Princess
24. Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade
25. The Night is Short, Walk On Girl
26. The Castle of Cagliostro
27. Vampire Hunter D
28. ???
29. Children of the Sea
30. Giovanni's Island
31. Liz and the Blue Bird
32. The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon
33. Miss Hokusai
34. Mirai
35. Appleseed
36. The Fantastic Adventures of Unico
37. In This Corner of the World
38. Fireworks
39. Phoenix 2772
40. Colorful

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Can't help but be irritated at Your Name doing so well after Garden of Words did so badly on the last list you all did, but I guess Your Name is also reasonably good.

(Haven't gotten around to watching Weathering With You yet so will refrain from commenting there)
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1. Mind Game
2. The Night is Short, Walk On Girl
3. Children of the Sea
4. ???
5. ???
6. ???
7. Fireworks
8. Welcome to the Space Show
9. ???
10. Memories
11. Dead Leaves
12. Lu Over the Wall
13. Mary and the Witch's Flower
14. Okko's Inn
15. ???
16. Mirai
17. ???
18. ???
19. Blood: The Last Vampire
20. Giovanni's Island
21. Napping Princess
22. Ghost in the Shell 2
23. Miss Hokusai
24. ???
25. The Fantastic Adventures of Unico
26. In This Corner of the World
27. Little Prince and the Eight Headed Dragon
28. Angel's Egg
29. ???
30. The Wonderland
31. Maquia: When the whatever whatever
32. Liz and the Blue Bird
33. Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade
34. The Castle of Cagliostro
35. ???
36. Phoenix 2772
37. Colorful
38. Vampire Hunter D
39. Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters
40. Appleseed

I mean... I guess these results could be worse

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Your Name was the consensus winner last I had heard...

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1. Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms
2. ???
3. ???
4. ???
5. ???
6. Welcome to the Space Show
7. Colorful
8. ???
9. Okko's Inn
10. ???
11. ???
12. ???
13. Lu Over the Wall
14. Memories
15. Napping Princess
16. The Castle of Cagliostro
17. The Wonderland
18. ???
19. Vampire Hunter D
20. ???
21. Little Prince and the Eight Headed Dragon
22. The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl
23. The Fantastic Adventures of Unico
24. Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
25. Liz and the Blue Bird
26. Mary and the Witch's Flower
27. Mirai
28. In This Corner of the World
29. Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade
30. Appleseed
31. Giovanni's Island
32. Blood: the Last Vampire
33. Children of the Sea
34. Mind Game
35. Miss Hokusai
36. Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters
37. Phoenix 2772
38. Fireworks
39. Angel's Egg
40. Dead Leaves


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2, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 16, 19

Looking back, I think I overranked my 13.

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I may have underrated my #28, but even then, only by like 3 spots tops. I guess I just wasn't as infatuated with it as the rest of you guys. Looks like we all were fairly infatuated with Okko. Only one bottom half ranking and it's at the top of it. Neat.

Genny's Predix- Get 'em while they're HAWT!

10. Ride Your Wave
9. Weathering with You
8. When Marnie was There
7. The Boy and the Beast
6. Anthem of the Heart
5. Penguin Highway
4. I Want to Eat Your Pancreas
3. A Silent Voice
2. Promare
1. Your Name

Based off nothing in particular.

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1. ???
2. ???
3. Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms
4. ???
5. ???
6. ???
7. ???
8. ???
9. ???
10. The Wonderland
11. ???
12. Mind Game
13. Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade
14. Napping Princess
15. Okko's Inn
16. Lu Over the Wall
17. Vampire Hunter D
18. ???
19. Mary and the Witch's Flower
20. Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters
21. The Castle of Cagliostro
22. Dead Leaves
23. Memories
24. Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
25. Welcome to the Space Show
26. Mirai
27. Angel's Egg
28. Giovanni's Island
29. The Night is Short, Walk On Girl
30. Blood: The Last Vampire
31. Appleseed
32. Fireworks
33. Liz and the Blue Bird
34. Miss Hokusai
35. The Little Prince and the Eight-Headed Dragon
36. Colorful
37. In This Corner of the World
38. Children of the Sea
39. The Fantastic Adventures of Unico
40. Phoenix 2772
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Oh geez Johnbobb still has a bottom 10 in play. I'm clenching my butt cheeks for whatever that one is...

Looks like his remaining film list is fairing the worst and unless I'm mistaken Charon's are doing the best. It seems my man has bottom outlier locked down, and top outlier is Johnbobb's to (not) lose!

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I haven't done the math. red might could still challenge for bottom outlier, I'm not 100% sure. It depends on how well my #18 does and all I'm guessing. It's likely still technically possible.
---

GenesisSaga posted...

10. Ride Your Wave
9. Weathering with You
8. When Marnie was There
7. The Boy and the Beast
6. Anthem of the Heart
5. Penguin Highway
4. I Want to Eat Your Pancreas
3. A Silent Voice
2. Promare
1. Your Name

Oh man if I Want to Eat Your Pancreas finishes above Penguin Highway and only one spot below A Silent Voice I will riot.

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Yeah there's one film in particular I really didn't care for but I'm not super surprised to see others liked it

It was one I WANTED to like too, then just didn't

---

1. ???
2. ???
3. Lu Over the Wall
4. ???
5. Okko's Inn
6. ???
7. ???
8. ???
9. ???
10. ???
11. ???
12. Liz and the Blue Bird
13. Welcome to the Space Show
14. Mary and the Witch's Flower
15. Colorful
16. Mirai
17. ???
18. Vampire Hunter D
19. The Night Is Short, Walk On Girl
20. Giovanni's Island
21. Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms
22. Napping Princess
23. Children of the Sea
24. Memories
25. The Castle of Cagliostro
26. The Fantastic Adventures of Unico
27. Angel's Egg
28. Miss Hokusai
29. In This Corner of the World
30. Phoenix 2772
31. Dead Leaves
32. Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters
33. The Wonderland
34. Fireworks
35. Little Prince and the Eight Headed Dragon
36. Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
37. Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade
38. Blood: the Last Vampire
39. Appleseed
40. Mind Game

---

1. ???
2. ???
3. Colorful
4. ???
5. ???
6. ???
7. ???
8. ???
9. Giovanni's Island
10. ???
11. Fireworks
12. ???
13. Memories
14. Castle of Cagliostro
15. Napping Princess
16. Vampire Hunter D
17. Okko's Inn
18. Welcome to the Space Show
19. ???
20. Mary and the Wizard's Flower
21. Blood: The Last Vampire
22. The Wonderland
23. Appleseed
24. Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence
25. Miss Hokusai
26. Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade
27. Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters
28. Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms
29. In This Corner of the World
30. Liz and the Blue Bird
31. Night Is Short, Walk On Girl
32. The Fantastic Adventures of Unico
33. Phoenix 2772
34. Mind Game
35. Children of the Sea
36. Lu Over the Wall
37. Little Prince and the Eight Headed Dragon
38. Mirai
39. Dead Leaves
40. Angel's Egg

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I figure now is a pretty good time for this. I'm gonna do something a little different here, and after this ranking ends I'll do the same thing with my top 3 characters as well.

Genny's Bottom 3 Anime II Characters

3. Kun - Mirai

https://otakucalendar.com/Images/Items/ccfbd466-3f59-452c-aa35-177611fe79a4.jpg

Kun begins as this cute kid who's world is turned upside down when he's no longer the center of attention in his nuclear family. At first he tries to connect with Mirai as though she is another child, but of course the baby has no idea what's going on and as Kun isn't that much older he can't grasp why she's such a big deal. Whenever his attempts to steal the attention of his parents away from his new sister fail, he ramps up his obnoxious behavior culminating in what would've been an attempt on Mirai's life had his mother been even less attentive (which would have been quite a feat indeed as she's barely in the movie). Kun is a pretty realistic portrayal of a toddler presented with a situation they'd rather not be dealing with, but this is not the kind of protagonist I typically find compelling. Thankfully through a series of educational flashbacks, glimpses into potential futures, and genuine attempts to be less of a baby and more of a role model he does eventually mature, which is why he lands here.

2. Makoto Kobayashi - Colorful

https://imgur.com/Sw1R7SS

I've said so much about Makoto already I really need not put another essay here so I'm only going to spare a couple sentences more. I don't recall hating any protagonist more than him in any medium, and I have plenty of experience with unlikable protagonists in literature, film, and video games. Part of it is that he reminds me of the worst aspects of myself at the worst period of my life, but dialed up to an 11 yes, but the fact that the movie never makes an active effort to redeem him outright and merely rather "sets him on the right path" hurts. It's roughly an hour of watching "Makoto" being an insufferable, judgmental misogynist, and about ten, maybe fifteen minutes if I'm being generous of watching him take baby steps in the right direction and it's just not enough to forgive him for all the agony he put me through.

1. Crack - Phoenix 2772

https://dubbing.fandom.com/wiki/Space_Firebird?file=Space_firebird-1980-1h.jpg

Of course, even the worst protagonist still has a purpose unlike this waste of space in a space film that had no space to spare. I accidentally called him "Jack or Jacque" in a previous post, but his name was actually Crack, and he can lick mine. This is the B.E.N. of Anime II, but instead of actively dragging a decent movie down he makes a mediocre movie infinitely worse. You wanna know the worst part? He didn't even need to be included. Crack added nothing to the cast or the film as a whole, and the only thing they needed from him was some phoenix-luring space juice they could've just stolen from him if only their moral compasses had led them astray. This dog-inside-a-die was the character I wanted to die the most so imagine my frustration when it managed to outlive most of the cast. Finally the phoenix eats him, and just as soon as I finally breathed a sigh of relief that I'd never have to see the damned dice dog again the phoenix only revives him along with everybody else in a Utopia all her own. Absolutely. Infuriating.

Edit: ugh gotta fix these "direct links"
Edit2: Never mind they work and I'm too lazy

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I second Crack being an unbearable piece of garbage

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I cannot abide by a character who's only purpose is to have none, a pure comic relief character that doesn't even have the decency to be comical. The kangaroo-sheep with the feather duster was really enough. Adding the amorphous blob and Crack was just a sorry excuse for the three of them to break out in unnecessary musical numbers that aren't particular good, and Crack has the added "bonus" of being a bit of a jerk to boot. Die, die-dog, die.

---

An addendum to My Liz and the Blue Bird writeup:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1f0MWuX55g
---

A related question: Does Hibike Euphorium have nearly as many latent homosexual undertones as Liz and the Blue Bird?' I'm genuinely curious. While there's nothing overtly erotic about the movie I couldn't help but notice there was only one man that had a speaking role, and the all of the band girls were extremely close to each other, and I mean both emotionally and physically as well. It's a little more intimate than the average person would be with people they viewed as "friends". Plus there's that whole Mizore stalking Nozomi through the hallways scene thing, and her intentionally choking on the oboe to make Nozomi's flute playing look better so they could get into the same school, Mizore wanting to go to the same school in the first place, and of course the "I love you" scene... You see where I'm going with this, but my question is if the series is also this consistent with its undertones or did the writers just decide to go full Les and the Blue Bird because this was just a side story with side characters and they were at liberty to do whatever they wanted with it?

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From what I've heard it's similar levels of yuribait, where they're totally gay and in love but it refuses to actually confirm it.
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I see, I see. Interesting. While the music and atmosphere were both quite relaxing and enjoyable, if I'm going to watch a yuri or yaoi anime (and I'm not inclined to do this much) I think I'd prefer a little more bang for my buck.

Never could get into Free! but Yaoi!! on Ice looks great.

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I would like to see Yaoi on Ice, if it was the inverse of Yuri on Ice. >_>

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