Princess Mononoke

Princess Mononoke^? (San) is an adorable, cheeky and righteous character. She dwells within the great forest where humans are expanding their mining and lumbering like a disease.


"Taste the blood..."

Ashitaka is our hero who's been cursed and has left his village never to return again. He encounters many changes in his body and also many divine encounters throughout his unraveling journey.


"I'm gonna fuckin' kill you!"

The Kodoma^? are the cutest little beings I've ever seen, their rattling heads just fill the air with music.
*rattle-rattle*

Set in an era of historic significance, the spiritual and materialistic worlds collide. The forest is a place where animals are Gods, usually represented by two or more tails or by gigantic size.

The orchestrated music is also very memorable... unforgettable actually. The animated plains that Ashitaka and his trusty elk, Yakul, ride across, are drawn realistically to create a "sway to the wind" effect.

Truly a classic and definite must-see! Not much to say but you have to watch the movie to really grasp it all.

Mushishi

Quite a decent anime along the lines of the ghost-hunting or medicine-man theme. Mushi are spiritual beings that dwell in the human world, in various shapes, sizes and forms. Some look like animals, insects and reptiles whilst others mimic parasitic, mutualistic and animalistic behavior.

Ginko is the Mushi-Master (Mushishi^?) we follow as he constantly eludes the mushi that mysteriously gather if he stays at a place for too long. We encounter individuals affected by Mushi and their characteristics, as Ginko seemingly unravels all the paranormal mystery surrounding the cases.


"Yes, Ginko is a plant too!"
Anbudom^? calls it, "x-files, anime-style" and it has been acclaimed by various critics, networks and the entire manga/anime scene.

The ambient background music (quite mysterious) establishes the identity and originality of this anime throughout the series.

The Sore Feet Song by Ally Kerr is quite a fitting opening song to go with the nomadic character of Ginko. Not the usual j-pop or karaoke but an English song. The guitar bit is very addictive.

I also love the way the ending scene always shows us scenery of the current episode and has a different thematic ambient ending every time.

It has been licensed and has been aired by Animax in parts of Asia. I wonder if DStv will air it. Either way, dubbed or subbed, it's a must-see.

Animax on DStv

A bit late and just for the DStv viewers... Animax will be broadcasting on Channel 111 as from 02 November 2007.

I would honestly stick to my trusty ol' wired ADSL in this situation.