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Anime DVD Reviews of My Beautiful Girl Mari, and The Place Promised in Our Early Days

© Holly Ellingwood

My Beautiful Girl Mari is an unforgettable animated feature length Korean movie brought to us by ADV. A story about a boy who deals badly with abandonment; he struggles over his ailing grandmother, his mom having a boyfriend, and his best friend moving away. Feeling hurt and angry, he strikes out with rudeness or cold indifference to those around him. Withdrawing further and further from those who care for him, he has trouble facing the concept of loss and finds himself tumbling into a fantasy world, one of incredible creativity and offering him an escape. However, as stresses increase, the boy, Nam- Woo, must decide whether to face the world or continue to run from it.

This is a rare and beautiful anime. It lures you in with mesmerizing beauty, the artwork is astounding. Then, like the animation style, the story progresses with a soft and subtle manner that wraps around you gently like your favorite blanket on a cold night, or the coming blue in the sky after the evening begins to fade. This is a movie that gives a viewer pause and makes one think. My Beautiful Girl Mari is a story about the change from childhood to becoming and adult and what we lose when that occurs. This is the perfect movie for adults and young people. And it is an excellent film to see with friends and talk about afterwards over coffee. It will definitely be something you will want to tell everyone about. It ranks a high 9 out of 10 kendo swords.

Ratings and Release Information: Rated G, My Beautiful Girl Mari is available now on DVD.

"Just like people, the universe also dreams."

The Place Promised in Our Early Days is a feature length movie from ADV done by none other than Makoto Shinkai. He was the genius who made, completely on his own, the amazing award wining short anime film Voices of a Distant Star. Now he brings us this moving science fiction drama about two best friends and the promise they make to a girl whom they both care dearly for. Known in Japan as Beyond the Clouds, The Place Promised, this movie is set in a Japan with an alternate history, divided into North and South, and tensions run high. A long white tower stands in the middle, and two boys, Takuya and Hiroki, both dream of flying there someday. A promise they share with Sayuri, a girl they both care for. But time passes, tensions mount between warring factions and separation occurs, betrayal looms. Hiroki wonders if he can keep his promise to Sayuri, a promise that if kept, could well mean the destruction of not only the world, but the universe itself.

The copyright of the article Anime DVD Reviews of My Beautiful Girl Mari, and The Place Promised in Our Early Days in Anime is owned by Holly Ellingwood. Permission to republish Anime DVD Reviews of My Beautiful Girl Mari, and The Place Promised in Our Early Days in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.