Dart’s Guide To Essential Anime (The Movie Edition) AKA Mo’ Manga Mo’ Murda Mo’ Homocide

It's time I hit y'all off with a list of some joints I consider to be essential anime films. The list could've been much longer but even I have shit to do and I really should leave the house some before the weather turns completely. Here ya go:

Fist Of The North Star
In a post apocalyptic future where food and water are scarce, crops won’t grow and everyone is just looking to survive, one martial artist named Kenshiro protects the weak while pursuing the man who kidnapped his girlfriend, his best friend Shin and master of a martial art that is the polar opposite of the one he practices. Some of the best animated fight sequences ever..and the bloodiest.


Dagger Of Kamui AKA Revenge Of The Ninja Warrior
This is one of the most slept on anime films in North America even though it heavily influenced the creation of Ninja Scroll. An orphan named Jiro is accused of killing his mother and is forced to flee his hometown. He is saved by a monk who takes him in and makes him a ninja. He is then given the mission to discover his own past and find a long lost treasure...then a whole bunch of crazy shit jumps off.


Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind AKA Warriors Of The Wind
The world as we know it was destroyed by huge monsters made of living flame. They eventually died off and life started again but in some parts of the world jungles full of toxic plant life and huge insects spring up making it hard to find a place to live. One group of people are blessed to live in a valley with clean air and fresh water. Eventually, a huge army comes to take over the Valley Of The Wind and it’s left to the princess Nausicaa to save the lives of her people.


Princess Mononoke
This movie is pretty well known in North America due to the fast in was put into theatres in wide release and redubbed. It also was heavily influenced by Nausicaa as the story is about a princess who must save her people from a marauding army while dealing with the dangers eminating from a magic forest near her homeland.


Riding Bean
This short movie singlehandedly started the Gunsmith Cats series. Bean Bandit is a seemingly invincible expert driver/courier/transporter for underworld types in Chicago. One day, a man shows up at his door with the daughter of one of the richest men in Chicago and asks him to deliver her to his home...then all hell breaks loose. Im surprised no one’s tried to adapt this into a movie yet (The Transporter series is the closest to it).


Golgo 13: The Professional

This is one of the best anime films ever made, hands down. It was the first to use computer animation sequences and it told the story of the world’s greatest hitman/secret agent, Duke Togo AKA Golgo 13. This flick has everything in it...James Bond ain’t got shit on this cat.


Ninja Scroll AKA Wind Ninja Chronicles
If you haven’t heard of this one then I don’t know what to tell you. Wandering ronin Jubei Kibugami stumbles onto a team of rogue ninjas and a mysterious plague that wiped out an entire village. Jubei teams with Kagero, a female ninja whose touch is toxic to humans but she is immune to poison herself to get to the bottom of the mystery. This is a must see for anyone trying to get into anime.


Vampire Hunter D
In the distant future, a half human/half vampire assassin named D goes to war with the world’s most powerful vampire determined to eliminate him. It's made in a dark noir style and is easily one of the best full length anime films ever made.


Big Wars
In the future, humans terraform and colonize Mars just to become subjected to alien terrorists known only as “The Gods”. They seek to exterminate their Mars settlement to prevent the human race from expanding to other planets. They have a formidable army spearheaded by a huge stealth carrier called “Hell” and they use mind control to subvert human subjects. The Earth military plans a preemptive strike to try to stop “The Gods”. The Hollywood movie “Independence Day” was partly inspired by this anime.


Ghost In A Shell
In a future flooded with technological advances and the widespread application of the internet, a terrorist/hacker run rampant. A special tactical team formed of a secret divison of the police are called in to stop this cyber terrorist and bring him to justice. If you haven’t seen this yet you’re sleeping.


Wicked City AKA Demon Beast City
The Earth and an alternate dimension controlled by demons known as The Black World (yeah, I know...why it gotta be Black?) have a treaty that keeps the demons from trying to invade the our realm of reality. Every thousand years, the treaty needs to be renewed and it’s up for renewal. One man stands inbetween a rogue faction of demons that are trying to prevent the signing of the treaty and take over the Earth. This joint is bugged out for real, not for the squeamish.


Cowboy Bebop: The Movie
This movie supposedly occurs between episodes 22 and 23 of the anime series. The crew of bounty hunters head back to Earth to capture a huge bounty but end up embrolied in a terror plot cooked up by a war veteran looking to infect the Earth with the same virus he was infected with by the US Government during his tour of duty. This joint is ill.


Cyber City Oedo 808
One of the most slept on pieces of anime is broken up into three parts and tells the stories of three of the worlds most dangerous criminals with no chance of parole working with the police in the year 2808. If you’ve never seen it, do so as soon as possible.

Space Adventure Cobra
Die hard fans of the series have mixed feelings about the full length due to some character and plot changes but it’s still a landmark anime film. Space pirate Cobra falls for a girl named Jane (Jane? What a nice name, that’s reminds of my high school flame) and ends up trying to save her and her twin sister from his nemesis, the evil Crystal Boy. It’s pretty hard to find but after about 5 minutes of searching you should be able locate a copy for a reasonable price. (Clue: don’t use the obvious retail sites...try overseas).


Macross The Movie AKA Clash Of The Bionoids
This is Tatsunuko Studios’ full length film based on the Macross anime series. The animation is crazy and as a joke during one of the battle sequences the artists snuck in a cell with a Budweiser logo in it. If you’ve never seen it then you already know what I’m gon’ tell ya.


Akira

Duh! I really don’t even have to say anything here.

I’ll post an essential anime series list later on this month. One