Michael Arias

A film with a very authentic (Japanese) anime feel, yet it benefits greatly from Arias' outside influences. It's superbly animated, sports a terrific score and tells a truly intriguing story.

Arias' sense of humor is considerably different from Kitano's, but Heaven's Door could be mistaken for one made by a Kitano apprentice.

An interesting mix of album film and animation anthology, helmed by some of Japan's most talented animation directors. The animation quality is exemplary, the variation in art styles is refreshing and the length is perfect. Ironically the soundtrack is one of the weakest elements here, but fans of the famed Studio 4°C anthologies can't go wrong with this one.

Michael Arias made a name for himself when he joined Studio 4°C to direct Tekkonkinkreet, one of the landmark animtion features of the 00s.