Typically, site anime expert pantsukudasai56 would be the one to recommend anything and everything anime. Anime in its series form, OVA (original video animation) and/or straight up film. I like to think my knowledge of anime is second only to his.
While I’ve had an off and on love affair with anime throughout the years I have seen my fair share of anime film. From pantsukudasai56’s viewpoint, only those anime that were produced from beginning to end with the intent of having a film release qualifies as anime film. OVA productions he sees as a sort of straight-to-video releases and shouldn’t qualify. his own initial 4 Shots From 4 Films entry were all anime films.
With his example as a guide I have chosen four anime films that veteran and burgeoning fans of the art form should check out. Two come from the heir apparent to the great Satoshi Kon. Another is a hyperkinetic (even for an anime) traditional hand-drawn anime which has had a major influence on the more recent Fast and Furious films. The fourth is a film from the late 80’s which rekindled my love for anime during my high school years.
Anime has always skewed towards the hyperkinetic imagery that most Western animation rarely, if ever, put on the screen. Where Western animation has a much more flowing style that tries to mimic realism in the artform with anime we get intense action in the animation no matter what genre.
One recent anime that pretty much takes this hyperkinetic style to a new level was 2009’s OVA (original video animation) title from renowned anime studio Madhouse simply called Redline. It’s a wall-to-wall scifi action film that combines futuristic setting and world-building with the speed freak action of the racing genre.
Redline was directed by Takeshi Koike and it took him and his crew of animators from Madhouse a total of seven years and millions of dollars to finish the project. This was a project that pushed the animation to it’s limits with the film using over 100,000 hand-drawn pages of animations that at times looked like it was something that looked more computer-generated. It’s a film that showed many of Koike-san’s artistic influences from his mentor Yoshiaki Kawajiri (well-known for classic anime titles as Vampire Hunter D and Ninja Scroll) right up to the thick lines and heavy blacks of Frank Miller.
The plot for Redline is really not that complex and for some it’s too simple that it became a flaw. It’s a story about the a futuristic race that uses the greatest groundcar racers in the galaxy (instead of the current hovercar this world has turned to using) to tell a story about the underdog fighting against adversity to win not just the ultimate prize but the love of a girl who also happens to be one of his main rivals in the film. The story revolves around the main characters of Sweet JP, with his ludicrous pompadour (the subject of many jokes in the film) and 50’s-style Greaser leather jacket, and his main rival and love interest in Sonoshee.
Redline barely brings the main leads past being cardboard cutouts as characters, but the story gives the two enough backstory to make them easy to relate to. Yet, it’s not the story that will hook and pull in anime fans both veterans and newbies. It’s all about the action and animation that makes this film one of those anime that people really should be watching. There’s so much action going on in the film that one could easily lose themselves in all that kinetic energy to forgive it’s story’s basic simplicity.
Some have called Redline as the anime version of the latest Fast and Furious films (mainly the last two), but I disagree with that assessment. The latest Fast and Furious films are attempts to make a live-action version of Redline. The two share similar traits and follow that racing creed that the Vin Diesel franchise has popularized: “Ride or Die”.
Redline might not the be the greatest story ever told in anime, but for pure-adrenaline action from beginning to end there’s none better. One can watch it on Youtube on their streaming service, yet I recommend that people who have a huge HDTV (especially the latest 4K screens) watch it on that to see hand-drawn animation at it’s best.
So, another month of all things horror and dark has passed. Time to detox from that month by putting up a new AMV that’s all about fun and extreme action.
The latest “AMV of the Day” is simply called “Ride or Die” and I must say that it’s probably one of the best anime music video’s I’ve ever seen. I have to say that it’s on par with another AMV profiled earlier this summer with “RadioAkshun” in terms of editing and syncing up the lyrics of the chosen music with scenes from the anime.
The anime itself is breathtaking to watch and I’ll be profiling it soon. Redline works almost perfectly with the theme song from this past summer’s Fast & Furious 6. One rarely finds AMVs that uses hip-hop songs to great effect but this video’s producer and creator, Kyssifur, choosing 2 Chainz and Wiz Khalifa’s “We Own It” was quite a genius move.
Ok, less talking and back to watching this video on loop. It’s just that much fun and awesome.
Anime:Redline
Song:“We Own It (Fast & Furious)” by 2 Chainz and Wiz Khalifa
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