Big D's Anime faves
Since there seem to be a few on here who like their anime I thought I'd pull a threadjack and drop this lot on y'all.

1. Laputa
This is the film that got me into anime, purely from seeing the last twenty minutes on TV. When I finally got hold of a copy I found out that the rest of the film was every bit as good. My all time favourite Ghibli film.
2. Project A-Ko
Two schoolgirls rowing over the friendship of a third. Since one of them is superpowered and the other one is a genius, if crazed, inventor the results are impressive. Then aliens invade. Marvellously funny.
3 Perfect Blue
Idol singer switches careers to become an actress. Then her reflection starts taunting her and this weird guy is following her around and people have started dying...
There's not a lot of anime that makes the grey cells do some work but this is one of them.
4. Porco Rosso
Mercenary pilot with the face of a pig versus sky pirates over the 1920's Adriatic. As you'd expect, dogfighting there is in plenty but also fits in some scenes that are just plain beautiful.
5. Steamboy
Young 19th cent. inventor takes posession of a super-gizmo from his grandfather and promptly has all sorts of important people chasing after him to claim it. The director of Akira has a go at Steampunk and does a superb job of it.

Honourable mentions to: Macross-Do You Remember Love, Beautiful Dreamer, Millenium Actress, End Of Evangelion, Wings of Honneamise...
(Big D, Tue 22 Jul 2008, 17:28, 4 replies)

Yay!
Have to agree with you about Laputa - my favourite film of all time, closely followed by Spirited Away
( Weetobix, Tue 22 Jul 2008, 17:29, closed)

Mentioned Steamboy yesterday, excellent stuff
Spirited Away is very good too.
( Jeccius Steam Borderlands 2 junkie, Tue 22 Jul 2008, 17:34, closed)

anime greats...
I think that i'd add to the vote for Wings of the Honneamise - saw it late one evening on ITV, I believe and it blew me away. Just a stunning mix of 1984, The Right Stuff...god, it's beautiful and once you start watching you can't stop. It's not the usual schoolgirls and tentacles pornorama, so it's often overlooked, but I'd say it's just a stunning piece of cinema, nevermind whether it's animated.

Adding to the list, I'd have to say Akira - yes, it's weird and the last five or ten minutes make little sense to those who aren't Japanese, I feel, but it's the look of the film that sticks in the mind - no-one I know could watch it and resist the urge to imagine riding Kaneda's bike. He was toooo cool!

I agree on Steamboy - it's a cracking film. Made by Ken Otomo (I think) - the guy who did Akira, anyways. Blinding, even if they make Isembard Kingdom Brunel into some well-built tall Engrish man, as opposed to the sickly midget he was in reality.

I'd also argue that the first Crying Freeman was a good film - not the usual sci/hentai mix. Actually, the live-action version is worth a watch, too.

Finally Ghost In The Shell - not an amazing film, but very stylish and it was the basis for the original Matrix film.
(Chad, Wed 23 Jul 2008, 14:38, closed)