Paprika Movie Analysis

Based on the homonymous novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui, "Paprika" concerns a machine called DC-Mini that enables doctors to infiltrate their patients' dream in order to treat the psychological issues.

Dr Atsuko is the head of a team that researches the machine's potential uses. However, its usage is illegal, therefore she has to use an alternate persona named Paprika, when she is diving into her patient's subconscious.

Eventually, three of the machines are stolen, an act resulting in their malfunction and the subsequent collision of the real world and the dream world.

Satoshi Kon directed a complicated anime, where each detail depicted on the screen plays a role in the story. However, the visuals and the animation of "Paprika" are so elaborate,

All of whom however, add to the script and the general aesthetics of the film. Furthermore, his ecological and humanistic notions are once more evident and elaborately presented.

The drawing and the animation are exquisite as always, and the fans of his works will notice the similarities between the maoin protagonists of this film wit the ones from "Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind."

Grave of the Fireflies (Isao Takahata, 1988)

The anime takes place in a small city during the WW2, where a boy named Seita, his mother, and his little sister try to make a living, while their father fights in the Pacific. The bombings and the subsequent evacuations are an everyday occurrence, the people however, still believe in the final victory of Japan.

Unfortunately, the reality of the war soon crashes their hopes and the situation is even worse for Seita, who now has to take care of his little sister.

Isao Takahata's film is based in the homonymous semi-autobiographical short story by Akiyuki Nosaka, with the director retaining the horrible circumstances of the war and the tragic episodes in the life of the writer, thus resulting in a highly dramatic

Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001)

Probably the most celebrated anime globally, chiefly due to the Oscar it won in 2003 for Best Animated Feature, "Spirited Away" is Hayao Miyazaki's magnum opus.

10-year-old Chihiro and her parents are heading towards their new house when her father decides to cut through road that eventually leads them to a dead-end. Subsequently, they discover a strange city and while they are roaming it, the parents are transformed into pigs. Chihiro mmust now find the courage to free them from the spell and return to the real world.

Hayao Miyazaki directed a surrealistic coming-of-age film, that looks like a dream and at times, like a nightmare. In his cast canvas Miyazaki portrayed a plethora of symbolisms, allegories and hidden meanings that are chiefly revolving around his permanent message regarding the purity of children and the corruption of grownups.

Both the hand drawing and the animation are sublime, in this masterpiece of the genre that established Miyazaki as a world-renowned figure.

Summer Wars (Mamoru Hosoda,