Blessing Bell

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Blessing Bell review

"Tanaka's gentle and loving approach and Terajima's superb portrayal of his character take you along on an amazing trip, full of endearing, funny and warm moments."

Irreversible

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Irreversible review

"Look beyond Irreversible's most infamous scenes and you'll find a conceptually perfect film, an audiovisual tour de force that is sure to leave a strong emotional footprint on all those watching it."

Tekkonkinkreet

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Tekkonkinkreet review

"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."

Mirrored Mind

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Mirrored Mind review

"A perfect score and absolutely stunning visuals transport you to a different world, only to let go of you 60 minutes later, comforted and touched by the film's protagonist's struggle."

Promare

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Promare review

"Promare is bonkers, hyperactive, grotesque and madcap, a dream come true for those who chase adrenaline cinema, executed in such a way that it oozes unbridled quality and creativity."

Patlabor 2

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Patlabor 2 review

"A-grade Oshii material that should please his fans. It's an impressive tour de force, delivering a perfect mix of intriguing philosophy, intelligent writing and stunning audiovisual stimuli."

Survive Style 5+

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Survive Style 5+ review

"Survive Style 5+ is an audiovisual blast, a film that gets better with each successive viewing and one that ranks as one of my favorite comedies ever. A true delight."

Ritual

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Ritual review

"One of the most unique dramas I've ever seen, keeping me interested from start to finish without even a hint of boredom on the horizon. Make sure you don't miss out on this one."

Angel's Egg

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Angel's Egg review

"It's a strong, beautiful and extremely personal film that earned its place amongst the best work of Mamoru Oshii (and animation in general) and is the perfect example of mature animation."

Eden Log

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Eden Log review

"Eden Log is genre film heaven, featuring a superb audio track, insanely pretty visuals and a good, mysterious outline that keeps the tension going. Genre filmmaking at its best and most intense."

Hotel Poseidon

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Hotel Poseidon review

"A celebration of the weird, the absurd and the surreal, constantly adding new layers of wonder, forcing its audience to sit back in submission and let the film wash over them."

Symbol

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Symbol review

"Symbol is a rare type of film. Extremely creative, laugh out loud funny, artistic yet easy digestible and leaving you behind with a slightly bedazzled but contented feeling. It's an experience."

The Limit of Sleeping Beauty

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The Limit of Sleeping Beauty review

"The presentation is gobsmackingly beautiful, with soundtrack and cinematography constantly feeding off of each other. The acting is superb, the story intriguing and the pacing pretty damn perfect."

Genius Party Beyond

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Genius Party Beyond review

"Studio 4°C establishes and confirms its title of best and most interesting animation house out there and dishes out a set of short films that challenge the medium in all sorts of ways."

Helter Skelter

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Helter Skelter review

"The entire film is an oddly compelling and insanely stylized fever dream that left me completely dazed and fully perplexed, a rare and significant accomplishment."

Reconstruction

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Reconstruction review

"Reconstruction is a warm, fuzzy and romantic film, set in a world of cold bewilderment and intrigue, scoring high marks in just about every department that matters"

Tetsuo: The Iron Man

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Tetsuo: The Iron Man review

"Tsukamoto's Tetsuo is an almost perfect cyberpunk endeavor, sporting lush black and white visuals and a superb industrial soundtrack, while providing a nerve-wrecking and overwhelming experience."

Umfeld

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Umfeld review

"There's simply nothing out there that matches the experience of submerging yourself in 56 minutes of moody, ambient glitches tailored to wildly morphing abstract visuals."

Dead Leaves

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Dead Leaves review

"Fans of animation and high adrenaline cinema owe it to themselves to check this one out, as long as you embrace its juvenile pleasures, Dead Leaves serves pure and unadulterated bliss."

Tokyo.sora

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Tokyo.sora review

"As far as realistic drama goes, this is as close to perfection as I've seen. If you're into Japanese dramas and you haven't seen this yet, there is no better film I could recommend."

Dolls

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Dolls review

"Dolls is a tragedy wrapped up in a very stylish and atmospheric cocoon, allowing the audience to be swamped by its sadness, but without ever letting go off the beauty that surrounds it."

Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence

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Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence review

"Innocence is a cinematic celebration. It's an audiovisual delight, it's thematically sound and rich and it invites you to watch and enjoy it time and time again."

Honey PuPu

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Honey PuPu review

"Everything is a mash-up, a mix, a collage of ideas and perceptions, some personal, some found elsewhere. Watching this executed by a talented director is a truly unique experience"

Enter the Void

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Enter the Void review

"Whether you will fully appreciate Noé's film depends on your stamina and your ability to handle his extremely direct approach, but just on a cinematic level alone there is so much to enjoy here."

Avalon

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Avalon review

"It's the ultimate live action film, made by a seasoned animator, a director who fully understands and exploits the power and appeal of an all-enveloping atmosphere."