The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.

So, certain Best Buy stores right now are clearing out their anime selections with a giant 50% sale that starts today. No exclusions, if your store is going to cut back on their anime selection (poor economy and niche market...), then all anime DVDs in the store will be half off. I went to my local best buy today as it was on the list for the sale. After the sale finishes on the 21st, then these stores (nearly 500 of them across the US) will only offer about the top 20 most popular anime titles. I picked up "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" special edition 2-disk set with the bonus soundtrack CD.



This was a theatrical release from 2006, and it actually had a limited theatrical run here in the states not too long ago. It was a pretty enjoyable film, nice animation, humorous scenes, emotional scenes, an intriguing story, and had a nice love story at the heart of it all. Here's the trailer for the film, so I suggest that if you are near a best buy that is having this massive sale you pick this one up! As a side note, since I'm a big Japanese literature fan, it was interesting to see that the original story of this was from Tsutsui Yasutaka, an author who just had his first English translation released with his short story collection 'Salmonella men on planet porno.' Hopefully this movie will give more exposure to his work, as he is a really creative writer.



That's it for now, see you next time!
rodger

5 Centimeters Per Second

Wow. I just had the pleasure of watching the best animated film I’ve seen in a very long time. Makoto Shinkai’s “5 Centimeters Per Second” was a beautiful masterpiece of longing, melancholy, and love. This 65 minute anime is split up into 3 different parts, and it follows the lives of three main characters searching for true love.


(5 Centimeters Per Second Trailer)

I really can’t begin to do this anime justice. It has to be seen to be believed! And well, getting an official copy might be difficult. It was released earlier in the year by ADV films here in the states. However, shortly after its release, a lot of behind the scenes business moves were being made by ADV and its distributor which caused ADV losing the license to this title. While many of ADV’s licenses were picked up by Funimation, this was not the case with this film. So, basically only so many of these DVDS were made here and what’s left in the stores is all there is. There are a few online shops that probably still have copies, but snatch it up while you still can because this is sure to be a collector’s item. Thankfully, the Best Buy in town had one lone copy, and I was overjoyed to finally pick up this film.

I knew ever since I saw the trailer that this would be something I would really enjoy. All of the ingredients of young love and trying to do the impossible just really appeals to me. It’s the kind of story that I would like to write (and if any of my short stories are any indication, the kind of story I often find myself trying to write). Sure enough, by the end of the film, I was crying and just in awe at how utterly beautiful this film is.

Today, we also got a new Sony high definition TV with all the hook ups to make the picture just perfect. I’ve never seen such beautiful animation in my life! The colors were so vibrant and the picture quality was just out of this world for me. All HD TVS should have this dvd playing because it really showcases the power of great imagery.

Ok, well that’s all from me for today. I’m kind of in a nostalgic mood after watching that film. I urge anyone with even the tiniest interest in anime to please search out a copy of this DVD (you could watch it online I’m sure, but I’m all for supporting the anime industry and buying the official products). Gorgeous film, emotional yet subdued story, and just wonderful insight into how fast people fall in love... 5 cm per second.
rodger