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This article contains spoilers for "M3GAN 2.0."

Ever since 1968's "2001: A Space Odyssey," the concept of an artificial intelligence gaining sentience and immediately becoming murderous (or at least dangerous) to us puny humans has been a common trope in science fiction and horror stories. 2022's "M3GAN" seemed to be another example of the trope at first blush. After all, its basic premise concerns a toy doll who is outfitted with a state-of-the-art AI by tech guru Gemma (Allison Williams), only to gain sentience and attempt to execute its prime directive of protecting Gemma's orphaned niece, Cady (Violet McGraw). As snootily described by Gemma's ersatz boyfriend Christian (Aristotle Athari) in this month's sequel, "M3GAN 2.0," M3GAN is an example of the "paper clip" problem when it comes to AI. Essentially, if you tell an AI to completely focus on just making paper clips, then it will eventually see every other...

In anime, some of the most influential and iconic series to ever release happened to come out in the same decade. The '90s were one of the most impactful decades for the anime landscape and, as such, quite a few series hold up much better than one would think. To appreciate the current era of anime, one only has to go back and experience what laid the groundwork.

Surprisingly, such anime series are not only masterpieces, but hold up to modern scrutiny through a retrospective lens. Sure, the animation can be a little dated and certain tropes dominated the era, but who doesn't like '90s anime sparkles and filters? While not every anime from the '90s aged particularly well, quite a few of the most important anime to ever be released during that time can still entertain modern audiences.

Ghost in the Shell Popularized Cyberpunk in Anime...

In discussing what makes an anime film — or any self-contained story — engaging to audiences, many factors come into play to determine a work's quality and appeal. From relatable character-driven narratives to thought-provoking themes, there are a plethora of techniques anime uses to give its stories enticing substance. Yet, one of the most effective ways to immediately grab the viewers' attention remains a compelling, unorthodox premise.

The term "high concept" is often mistakenly linked to pretentiousness. However, a high-concept film is simply a narrative in which the primary allure ties into a singular hooking idea — one that can be communicated in one sentence and drives the intrigue of the entire feature. A medium renowned for its artistic inventiveness and affinity to experimentation, anime features some of the best high-concept films any fan of the unorthodox would be tantalized by.

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2024 treated viewers to some excellent films,...

Studio Ghibli movies are no stranger to the weird and the wonky, with many of the films within the studio’s roster planted firmly in the fantasy genre, such as Howl’s Moving Castle or Spirited Away. Yet sometimes these movies take the weirdness too far, with elements left unexplained, aesthetic choices that seem utterly bizarre or creative elements used that seem plucked from a fever dream.

While these elements do blend together with the overall story to produce truly mesmerizing and iconic results, the weirdness can’t be denied. From Ponyo’s transformation from goldfish to little girl in Ponyo to the surreal tower odyssey Mahito undertakes in The Boy and the Heron, these Studio Ghibli films indulge in all their delightful weirdness.

Related 10 Anime That Would Be Great Studio Ghibli Movies

Studio Ghibli has created masterful fantasy films, which leave fans wanting more. Here are anime series that have the Studio Ghibli charm.

Studio Ghibli knows how to weave together a rich tapestry of fantastical elements, using royal characters, political conflict, and the whimsy of fairy tale princesses and princes to create stories sure to delight children. The allure of the regal makes for a compelling reason to include the trope within stories, as far-off lands inhabited by daring damsels encourage young children — and young girls especially — to indulge their imaginations and explore emotional themes like courage, love and the strength of character to overcome challenges.

Many of Studio Ghibli’s movies — especially those that have been touched by Hayao Miyazaki — serve as an ode to childhood, which makes the inclusion of princesses and princes all the more understandable. From Sheeta’s moral defiance to using her family’s legacy as a weapon in Castle in the Sky to Asbel fighting against the Pejite’s stooping to the same brutal behavior as the...

Anime has a long and storied history, with the mecha genre standing as one of its most enduring and influential pillars. This naturally sparks the timeless debate: what is the greatest mecha series of all time? Spanning over 50 years, the genre features a wide range of iconic series and films, each striving to be named the best and captivating generations of fans globally.

The rise of Osamu Tezuka's Astro Boy in 1963 set the stage for the mecha genre. In 1972, Go Nagai's Mazinger Z introduced the concept of piloted mecha, sparking the genre’s popularity. This momentum led to iconic series like Mobile Suit Gundam (1979) and The Super Dimension Fortress Macross (1982). Over the years, mecha has evolved into diverse forms, including piloted, sentient, remote-controlled, transformable, biomechanical, and even biblical variations.

Patlabor is A World Politics Type of Suspense Thriller Patlabor: The Movie 2

Patlabor: The Movie 2 is a unique film,...

Mamoru Oshii has solidified himself from one acclaimed anime film to another. “Ghost in the Shell” is hailed as a masterpiece of cyberpunk storytelling, and “Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer” is highlighted for its hilarious comedy. Oshii has a lot of range as a visionary that transcends beyond animation, as he has done live-action features as well. One of his most personal projects is the franchise known as the “Kerberos Saga,” a gritty alternate history political thriller. Various forms of media, from radio dramas to comic books, have painted a picture of the gloomy society presented in this horrifying rendition of alternate history. When it comes to cinema, the most popular entry is Hiroyuki Okiura’s anime movie “Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade,” which, which Oshii wrote. Yet, the saga’s first depiction on film would be in Oshii’s surreal and marvelous gem, “The Red Spectacles.”

“The...

Ghost In The Shell

Written by Kazunori Ito

Directed by Mamoru Oshii

Japan, 1995

The animated companion to Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell seeks to delve even deeper into the nature of identity than its predecessor, distinguishing itself with a more political story and its backdrop as the advent of the information age. An animated art film is a nigh-singular achievement. It’s a cross-section of two genres you almost never get, and a great one to boot.

Motoko the cyborg ponders the nature of self. When a completely artificial body gains a ghost, or soul/identity, she drifts into solipsism and begins to doubt the notion that her identity even exists. She feels that maybe her actual brain tissue has died or was taken over by the electronic portion. This is important because another theme of this movie is “from many come one (E Pluribus Unum),” or the singular...

Now that our new house is settling, we wanted to bring back our weekly DVD & Blu-Ray Releases posts. We are calling this weekly post “Home Invasion”. If you plan on purchasing these items via Amazon, all you need to do is click on the buttons provided or on the artwork and not only do you get the same price you normally would with Amazon, but you help us out a little bit as well – which is all we ask because this list does take some time to put together.

All Descriptions are from Amazon.com unless otherwise noted. We have excluded the Netflix code on this particular post. This is due to all of the changes with Netflix and their DVD mailing program. If you want us to include the code in future Home Invasion posts, where you just click a button to add it to your queue, leave us a comment below.

The official website for Shinji Higuchi‘s upcoming kaiju TV drama MM9 (short for Monster Magnitude 9) has been updated with a 30-second TV spot. Unfortunately, there are no actual monsters to be seen, but you gotta love Anna Ishibashi‘s delayed thumbs up at the end.

Based on a story by sci-fi writer Hiroshi Yamamoto, the show centers around a special “living creatures” division of the Japan Meteorological Agency which predicts the appearance of monsters. When an attack does occur, a team of monster specialists called “Kitokutai” is sent to the front lines, even if the Japan Self-Defense Force is unavailable. As ordinary public servants, these unsung heroes have no weapons, and must rely only their skills, knowledge, and experience to minimize the damage caused by monsters.

Ishibashi (17) and Machiko Ono (28) are the show’s two main stars. Ishibashi plays Sakura Fujisawa, a rookie member of the team, and Ono plays Mikazuki,...

Shinji Higuchi (44), known as the “Heisei special effects king” for his work on the Heisei era Gamera trilogy, is supervising the production of his first TV drama. The show is called MM9 (Monster Magnitude 9) and is set in an alternate version of modern-day Japan in which monster attacks are the norm and are treated as another form of natural disaster. The show is based on a story by sci-fi writer Hiroshi Yamamoto which was originally serialized in Tokyo Sogensha’s “Mysteries!” from 2005-2006 and published as a book in 2007.

The project was first hinted at through an April Fools joke which presented it as a “sci-fi epic” called XX9. Higuchi released a photo of the cast dressed up in traditional sci-fi outfits and wielding futuristic rifles.

The show centers around a special “living creatures” division of the Japan Meteorological Agency which predicts the appearance of monsters. When an attack does occur,...