Alright, here goes. Time to do something that, as I recall, I promised myself I would never do. And that is, to start a blog. I’m not even very good at replying to people’s emails, let alone write a regular blog. But since this is for marks (hehe), then I might as well. By the way, I’m initially typing this on MS Works right now coz the stupid wordpress.com website won’t load. And that’s right, I’m using MS Works not MS Word coz my computer at home is quite ghetto.

Since I have to talk about something, I might as well talk about what’s gotten me addicted the last couple of years, and that’s anime. Thankfully over the transition between first and second term in our Digital Animation program, I got some down time to check out a few fairly recent anime movie releases (most of which I think have not made its way to North America yet). And when I say “fairly recent”, that means these titles were released in Japan at least within the last couple of years or so (which isn’t too bad considering I’m here in Canada, and it takes forever for Japanese anime titles to make their way across the Pacific).

Anyway, just the other day, I got the chance to see the movie Paprika. It’s a 2D feature film animated by the acclaimed (and definitely one of my favorite production companies) Madhouse Studios, which also animated such award-winning films as The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Millennium Actress (if you ever get the chance by the way, do yourself a favor and go watch these two other titles as well!). But back to the topic at hand, Paprika has a very DEEP, engaging, and somewhat bizarre storyline about a female psychotherapist and her colleagues who use a new form of technology that allows them to see into a person‘s dreams. They plan on effectively using this technology in the treatment of their psychiatric patients. But before they could make further use of this breakthrough, the devices are suddenly stolen. Worse is that the culprit has started to use the devices to intertwine the dream world with reality, in order to manipulate the real world into the culprit’s ideal dream. The thing about Japanese storytelling that has really impressed me over the years is that they often have very unique and interesting storylines and are not afraid to push the envelope, especially in their animated pieces. Paprika definitely does not disappoint in these areas, and deservedly has won awards both in Japan and internationally. If you enjoy thought-provoking storylines and clean animation, then go check out this movie. Even the replay value alone is well worth it.

Here’s the link to the Paprika website with movie trailer (you get way better resolution there compared to the Youtube vid below): http://www.sonyclassics.com/paprika/

 

And since I’m not the best movie critic out there, here’s the IMDB link: http://imdb.com/title/tt0851578/

Next week, stay tuned for more anime rants from your friendly neighborhood anime crackhead…