Movies
New Dream Hunter Rem: Massacre in the Phantasmic Labyrinth
If the first episode was a direct reference to Snow White, this second one is an amalgam of references to various literary works and tales of folklore. It makes for a fun little oddity, but at the same time, it also makes it quite hard to pinpoint the series' identity. I'm still not quite sure what Dream Hunter Rem tries to be, or who it wants to appeal to. Victor Frankenstein is working hard to create the ultimate human. He succeeds when Julian awakens from his operating table, but then disaster strikes. Dr. Death takes a hold of Julian and bewitches him, creating the Frankenstein monster. It's up to Rem to enter Julian's dreams and free him from this evil. The animation is pretty decent, the film can be surprisingly gruesome at times (only to alternate between overly cute scenes) and the short runtime makes sure it never gets boring. It's not the most memorable anime, it's a bit too random and referential for that, but if you're looking for something short and a tad stranger than the average franchise, it's not a bad bet.Read all
New Dream Hunter Rem: Dream Knights
A cute little anime, with a surprising bite. I didn't quite know what to expect from this one, so when the first five minutes hinted at light fantasy mixed with comedy I was maybe a little disappointed. The film gets way darker in certain scenes though, which provides a fun contrast with the happy-go-lucky vibe elsewhere. Dream Hunter Rem is a young girl who battles demons who invade other people's dreams. When a Snow White-like plot develops (a demon wants to kill a girl prettier than her to become the prettiest in all the lands), Rem engages herself to save the girl from the clutches of the demon. She is in for quite the fight, one she won't be able to win just by herself. The animation and art style are pretty basic, though the demon design is quite nice (not very original, just well executed). The plot is simple but fun, the mix of light and dark is pretty effective and the pacing is perfect. It's maybe a little too obvious this is a franchise extension (with the classroom insert), other than that it was good but simple fun.Read all