Wired have an informative (and quite long) peice today discussing the reemergence of Japanese Anime (link). Two of my favourite anime films are mentioned Ghost in the Shell and My Neighbour Totoro. In terms of story and setting these two films are poles apart, but in quality of artwork and attention to detail they share a very high standard.
Ghost in the shell is an action packed cybperpunk style story involving plenty of violence, sex and nudity while My Neighbour Totoro is a childrens fantasy tale, with a message, but one that is carefully obscured by cute characters and fun situations. Ghost in the shell has always been quite widely available on video and DVD in the UK as it came not too long after and followed a similar vein to other classics such as Akira. Fewer people, however, will have heard of My Neighbour Totoro which is a shame as for any fan of animation it is well worth watching (it's an excellent childrens film too).
According to the article on Wired, Ghost in the Shell 2 is due for release in the coming months and Hayao Miyazaki the creator of My Neighbour Totoro and many other films (including Princess Mononoke) will have a new film out soon called Howl's Moving Castle. I look forward to seeing both.
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