My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

My Neighbour Totoro (1988)

Dir. Hayao Miyazaki

I feel it's fitting that Totoro sits large in Studio Ghibli's logo, because it remains arguably the best film the animation giant ever made.

The story is simple, but wonderfully realised, with a sincerity that shines out from every hand-drawn cel, as if even the ink that was used to make it flowed out in celebration.

A father and his two young daughters move into a new house in a rural area situated close to the hospital where the children's mother is recovering from a long-term illness.

While the father unloads the packed truck, the children, Satsuki and Mei, investigate their new environment, which also serves as our introduction to its ambience and mysteries.

The Sandman Presents: The Corinthian (2001-02)

The Corinthian: Death in Venice (2001-02)

Author: Darko Macan | Illustrator: Danijel Zezelj | Page Count: 74 (total)

"What a curse the self is."

Another three-issue 'limited series' released under The Sandman Presents banner, this time featuring 'the dark mirror to humanity' himself, The Corinthian, recognisable in the white suit and dark glasses ensemble that he so favours, making him reminiscent of Andrew Eldritch in a Floodland (1987) era Sisters of Mercy music video.

The walking nightmare is in Venice, city of canals, bridges, and honeymooners, among other things. He's not the only wicked thing walking the famous city's streets, but he has a singular goal that is unique to him, and he's no qualms about using others in pursuit of it.

Prior knowledge of the character's origins will be helpful; for that you'll need to have read The Sandman: Volume II: The Doll's House (1991), at the very least.

The Legend of Zelda Manga: Legendary Ed. Vol. 05 (2017)

Four Swords: Parts 1 and 2 (2004)

Author and Illustrator: Akira Himekawa | Page Count: 370

"There's a new Link in this chain!"

I've not played the Four Swords Adventures (2004) game because the stores near where I lived didn't stock it and I didn't have access to online retailers back then, but after reading the two-part adaptation, I'm wishing that I could play it right now!

After some brief but satisfying establishing of Link's uppity nature and his friendship with Princess Zelda, the Big Bad is unleashed and the adventure begins.

The environments will be familiar to anyone that's played any of the previous games (Town / Mountain / Ice / Desert regions, etc) but that familiarity didn't result in reader apathy because the situations that the Links find themselves in held my attention completely.

The comedy is situational and more often than not caused by some kind of confrontation; it's rarely the goofy kind that I complained about in Oracle of Seasons (2001), so it's much more enjoyable.

Dark Water (2002)

Dark Water (2002)

Dir. Hideo Nakata

Often unfairly placed behind Ring (1998) and Ju-on (2002) in importance, I feel that Hideo Nakata's Dark Water, based on a story from Ring author Koji Suzuki, is fully deserving of sharing space with either of the other two.

The argument that it's not as good because it's not as scary is, frankly, nonsense. The story has less opportunity for in-your-face scares, so adding more would be forcing an aspect that isn't wholly organic. Instead, it has chills and atmosphere in abundance, and some fantastic performances from its two female leads; i.e. Hitomi Kuroki as a 'single mother' and Rio Kanno as her six-year-old daughter.

It uses the horror elements in a more subtle manner than either of the two previously mentioned works, making it supportive of a structure that's more traditional in nature, while upfront is a story about a mother who's struggling to keep custody of her daughter.