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On this episode, Cat and Joe kick off Ghibli June & July with a review and discussion of When Marnie Was There - the last animated film before Studio Ghibli halted production to restructure the company in the wake of Miyazaki's retirement (even though he technically came back later to direct yet another film!) and people feared it would be shutting down forever. Cat and Joe discuss how this movie would be better as a horror film, why they disagree with popular reviews of this movie, and what Studio Ghibli's interest in adapting British children's novels into anime is about.

On this episode, Cat and Joe discuss and review Psycho-Pass: The Movie, an extension of the Psycho-Pass series and a continuation of the stories and ideas explored in Seasons 1 & 2. In this movie, the 1984-meets-Minority-Report world is expanded beyond Japan, as they extend the social judgement system Sibyl to the nearby South East Asian Union in the year 2116, but all is not what it seems. We get a glimpse at the apocalyptic global situation, and are challenged to consider the benefits of a morally abhorrent system. The team discuss how it holds up compared to the series, what it adds or takes away from the canon, and what philosophy they would have liked it to explore more. The Psycho-Pass series is available to watch on Hulu.

On this episode, Cat and Joe welcome back guest host Vance Tucker to talk about another wild classic anime movie by Yoshiaki Kawajiri, based on the works of fantasy horror author Hideyuki Kikuchi. Demon City Shinjuku, released in Japan in 1988 and later in the US in 1994, is set in a distant future where there’s one president of the world, amazing technology, very vague magic force-like powers, a lot exposition and demons about to pour out of the center of Tokyo to take it all over. Cat, Vance and Joe have a lot of questions about this truly ridiculous, but very fun film.

On this episode, Cat and Joe discuss and review Masaaki Yuasa's mind boggling directorial debut, Mind Game. This wildly experimental film mixes a variety of animation styles, and even throws in some live action. Since its release in 2004 it has developed a cult following, and has a whopping 100% on Rotten Tomatoes! In Yuasa's own words, "Instead of telling it serious and straight, I went for a look that was a bit wild and patchy. I think that Japanese animation fans today don't necessarily demand something that's so polished. You can throw different styles at them and they can still usually enjoy it."

On this episode Cat and Joe discuss, review, and describe their frequent shock at how incredibly bonkers this movie is. This bubbly film by Masaaki Yuasa explores the ways in which a young woman deals with grief, horrific loss, and moving on, with a quirky surfing-meets-firefighting rom com twist. Joe describes this episode as his favorite episode the team has recorded for the pod so far.

On this episode, Cat and Joe discuss the recently theatrically released, Jujutsu Kaisen 0, which enjoyed a $17.6 million opening weekend in the U.S. This is a prequel based off the original 2018 manga, and directed by the Jujutsu Kaisen series director, Sunghoo Park. It's a new angle on the Jujutsu warrior world and there's lots to discuss - How does the movie compare to the series? Is the new protagonist, Yuta, a more engaging hero than Itadori? Does this film work as a stand alone, or do you have to watch the series first? Give it a listen and find out where The AMP hosts stand on the Jujutsu world of cursed energy techniques and cursed spirits. Also available as a video podcast on the Anime Movie Podcast YouTube channel.

On this episode, Cat and Joe discuss and review one of their all-time favorite anime movies, and Satoshi Kon’s directorial debut, ‘Perfect Blue’. This mind-bending psychological thriller is a beautiful and disturbing thinking piece that uses live-action tropes of disjointed editing and purposeful misdirection to keep you guessing and discussing the possibilities until the end.

On this episode, Cat and Joe discuss and review Isao Takahata’s Pom Poko, an underrated Studio Ghibli film jam-packed with Japanese folklore, raccoon dogs and shapeshifting. The film explores the fight of the tanuki, also known as raccoon dogs, for their homeland in the face of encroaching modernism and housing developments. The AMP team discuss the significance of the folkloric aspects of this film, and weigh in on each other’s personal theories about how and why the tanuki are able to do the incredible things they do with their testicles throughout this delightfully animated and well-crafted film.

On this episode, Cat and Joe discuss and review Studio Ghibli's 'The Secret World of Arrietty' based on the British children's novel The Borrowers by author Mary Norton. This is the directorial debut of former Ghibli animator Hiromasa Yonebayashi who later went on to co-found Studio Ponoc. Cat and Joe discuss how Yonebayashi successfully creates a believable yet hugely imaginative world of the tiny people who live in our walls and steal our stuff. They also discuss what they would do if they found Borrowers living in their own apartments, and what it would be like to live in a big scary world if you were only 4 inches tall.

On this episode, Cat and Joe discuss and review the shiny new Mamoru Hosoda film, Belle, a Beauty and the Beast re-imagining. Hosoda dives back into the world of digital reality and what it would be like if we were all to log in. Relevant as it is romantic, but also insanely confusing at times. Check out the movie in select theaters currently and come back and give the pod a listen.

This is the 52nd episode of the AMP, and we’re going on hiatus. Thanks so much for listening - take some time to catch up on some of these films while we’re gone! And look out for some special bonus episodes… Before they take a break, Cat and Joe discuss and review the 2019 film Promare, co-produced by Trigger and XFLAG, and directed by Hiroyuki Imaishi. This film has a LOT going on - mecha, action, historically and politically relevant themes, Greek mythology, super powers, sci-fi technology, some wild animation and a banging soundtrack. Totally worth a watch and of course, a listen! Available to stream on HBO Max, and available to rent or buy on Google Play, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Vudu and AppleTV.

On this episode, Cat and Joe discuss and review the 2018 anime film Okko’s Inn by Kitarou Kousaka. This director has been heavily involved in many Studio Ghibli films, was an animator on Akira, and designed the original characters for the series Monster. This paranormal coming of age story has some Spirited Away meets Colorful vibes, which means Joe hates it, and Cat tries her best to defend it - and they both laugh a lot. Available to stream on Netflix and Hoopla, available to rent on Google Play, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Vudu and iTunes.