The passing of Jean Giraud this weekend has shaken many science fiction and fantasy fans who are familiar with his work, and thanks to the nature of the internet and social media, intrigued many who are not. To the uninitiated the attention may seem baffling — why such an outpouring of sadness and love for a seemingly obscure French comic book artist? The answer is both simple and surprising: Giraud — or Moebius, the pen name his fans prefer to use for him — may not have been a household name himself, but his influence over the very biggest SF names and works is undeniable.

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Studio Ghibli is — much deservedly — probably the best known anime studio in the west. Spirited Away won the studio’s legendary co-founder Hayao Miyazaki an Oscar back in 2002, and The Secret World of Arrietty is currently wooing both critics and audiences during its theatre run in the U.S. It’s the 17th movie from the production house, first founded by Miyazaki and fellow director/animator Isao Takahata in 1985, but the pair’s careers stretch back much further than setting up the influential studio.

[Travel back into Ghibli prehistory...]

If you have even a passing interest in anime there’s a very high chance you know that Studio Ghibli’s latest offering, The Secret World of Arrietty, opens in U.S. theaters this Friday. What’s perhaps more surprising is that us fans here in the UK had the unusual pleasure of first seeing the movie back in July of 2011 — and, in fact, the Blu-ray/DVD was released here last month. It’s unusual because us poor limeys usually have to play second fiddle when it comes to anime releases; economies of scale and the niche nature of anime fandom mean that we often miss out on some releases altogether, and can find ourselves waiting for up to 6 months after U.S. releases for the ones we do. So what makes Arrietty so different?

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With giant battling robots being one of the first images to spring into people’s minds when you mention anime to them, it’s no surprise that military science fiction was for years one of the most popular genres in Japanese animation. In fact there’s so many shows depicting some kind of futuristic — and usually mechanised — warfare that it can be hard to know where to start. Which is why I’ve picked out just four examples — from the action packed and epic through to the dark and philosophical — that I think most military SF buffs will find interesting.

[Prepare for battle...]

First off I’d just like to say a huge thank you to everyone that read my list of ten anime films you should see before you die – the response has been phenomenal – not just the number of people who read it, but also those who took the time out to get involved in the following discussion. Some people loved my selections, some people thought I was well off the mark, but it was clear that there was no way I was going to be able to avoid putting together another list, this time of TV series.

It has been a far harder list to compile. Not only because of the vast selection to choose from, but also because I knew from the start that I would be leaving out some shows that a lot of people hold very dear. As such, I hope that at least some of you will read the next paragraph first before scrolling down the list to see what is missing and getting upset.

[See the ten...]

Yeah, I know. You don’t like anime. It’s all big eyes and tentacle rape. You’ve seen enough to know you don’t need to see anymore, thank you very much.

The problem with all that is you’ve not seen Redline.

At least not yet. But you will see it. You’re the type of person that reads Tor.com. It will be impossible for you to avoid it. If you’re sensible you’ll try and catch a cinema screening of it somewhere, at a festival or a con. Or you’ll pick it up when it comes out on DVD or Blu-ray (next month in the UK, January in the US). Or perhaps you’re more stubborn than that. Perhaps you’ll refuse to watch it at all, especially after this slightly irritating blog post intro. But you won’t escape it. You can’t. Someone on your Twitter or Facebook stream will be raving about it. You’ll be at a party and someone will be chatting about it. And then one day — maybe even years from now — you’ll be at a friend’s place and they’ll say to you “what do you mean you’ve not seen Redline?” And despite your protests about not liking anime because it’s all big eyes and tentacle rape, they’ll force you to sit down and watch it.

And then you’ll wonder why you resisted for so long, while the movie melts your retinas and makes your heart want to explode out of your chest and you realise that the person that made you watch it is your best friend forever.

[CLICK HERE TO MELT YOUR RETINAS]

Those of you that caught my last post — a review of Highschool of the Dead — may remember me explaining how anime tends to churn out the usual genre tropes — zombies, vampires, aliens... all the expected stuff. But occasionally it still manages to through out something a bit more... unusual. Like say, for example, reluctant freedom-fighting teenage ballerinas riding transforming motorbikes.

[Welcome to RideBack]

As I mentioned last time, the last few years have been tough if you’re a science fiction, fantasy or horror anime fan. The medium has been dominated by slice-of-life comedies and dramas, created to appeal to a certain breed of very specialist fan that are far more interested characters than plots or ideas. But anime — like all entertainment — is driven by trends and cycles, and the last year has seen the rise again of more genre orientated shows. And also — like all entertainment — originality is generally scarce, and risks are avoided in favor of tried and tested formulas. Alien invasions. Sexy teenage vampires. Post apocalyptic dystopias. Rebellious robots. All that dwarves and elves stuff. And this week... zombies.

[BRAAAAAIIIINNNNSSSSSSSSS]

If, like me, you first encountered anime in the 1990s then the chances are they were science fiction, fantasy and horror stories that first attracted your attention. In fact for decades that was what the medium was most strongly associated with — from the outside it seemed to be little more than cyborgs, giant robots, psychic teenagers, and city-leveling demons. In truth anime has always, since its first conception, covered a much wider range of topics and genres. Comedies, slice-of-life dramas and romances have always been popular, and over the last few years they have dwarfed everything else around them, with anime otaku seemingly more interested in cute girls and the intricacies of their daily life than any kind of more out of this world topics.

[TO - 2001 Nights...]

A couple of weeks ago I was lucky enough to be invited to a swanky location in London’s glamorous west end for anime distributor Manga UK’s 20th birthday party. Now for those of you outside the UK Manga may not be a familiar company, but on this side of the Atlantic it is a name synonymous with anime (and yes ’manga’ being associated with ’anime’ has caused decades of confusion). Originally founded in 1991 to distribute the movie Akira, it went on to not just release hundreds of titles theatrically and on VHS and DVD, but also to produce a legion of infamous dubs and even contribute financial backing to productions like Ghost in the Shell.

The party was fun, but a slightly unusual experience for me. Not just because us lowly anime bloggers don’t usually get invited to such fancy corporate events, but mainly because as I sat there—swigging free beer and munching free sushi—I found myself drifting away down memory lane.

[Booting up the way-back-when machine....]

Hikaru Takabe is having trouble fitting in with the rest of the teenage girls at her high school. It could be because she’s just moved into town to live with her aunt after her father’s mysterious death, instantly making her “the new kid.” It probably doesn’t help that she’s far too shy to talk to any of them, instead choosing to drown them all out with her ever-present headphones. Or—of course—it could have something to do with the fact her body has been hijacked by an alien hunter known as Horizon who has the ability to mutate her into a grotesque shape-shifting bio-weapon.

[And you thought puberty was tough...]

One of the most surprising, and gratifying, things that has happened since I started my blog, Tim Maughan Books, a year or so ago is the positive feedback I’ve had for the anime reviews—especially from people I know are far from being massive fanboys like myself. It’s gratifying because its part of the reason I started writing them; to try and introduce the medium to people who had never really indulged in it all, at least not past perhaps watching Spirited Away with their kids. The problem is, once you’ve had your first taste, where do you go next? Type ‘anime’ into Google and the results are bewildering, and without a little bit of guidance and a quality filter finding something to watch can be a daunting task. There’s a lot of shit out there, plus a lot of stuff that isn’t really meant for you…unless you’re a ADHD stricken 12 year old emo-ninja-obsessed boy that refuses to eat anything except Pocky and instant Ramen. So, as requested, I present my list of 10 ‘mature’ anime films you really should see. They are in no particular order, the term ‘mature’ is kind of loose, seeing as at least two are really kids’ films, and this is purely personal opinion. If you disagree, see you in the comments section.

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