Azure Flame Rebirth

When a storm leaves our nameless protagonist shipwrecked on a desert island, he naturally turns all of his efforts to escaping his plight. Unfortunately, every raft he builds is destroyed by a giant red turtle whenever he sets out to sea. In his frustration, he attacks his nemesis, only to find that it later transforms into a beautiful young woman. As the man gets to know his new companion, he starts to abandon his thoughts of escape, in favour of building a life with her on the island. Continue reading →

On a distant island live the Iorph – an ageless race of pale haired ethereal beauties also known as the Clan of the Separated. They spend their days weaving their thoughts and memories into a special cloth as Hibiol, and keep themselves strictly detached from the outside world. But for lonely orphan Maquia, everything changes the night their village is attacked. Maquia finds herself stranded in the outside world, where she rescues a human baby from his dead mother’s arms and decides to raise him as her own. As the years pass, her adopted son grows and matures, whilst Maquia does not. Can their relationship really endure the vast disparity in their lifespans? Continue reading →

Mary and the Witch’s Flower is the first film from Studio Ponoc, a breakaway from Studio Ghibli. With that in mind, it’s no wonder that the film looks and feels very much like a Ghibli title. It’s based on The Little Broomstick by British author Mary Stewart, a novel which sounds like it should be a classic that every English-speaking child has read, but which I’ve actually never encountered before. Continue reading →