Slice-of-life fantasy romance and coming-of-age story. Moderately arty, mostly looks great. Short and simple, but too simple.

Starship Troopers  was first published as a two-part serial before being released as a novel in 1959. Written by Robert A. Heinlein, himself a navy veteran, this military sci-fi coming-of-age story covers Johnnie Rico’s basic training and early career in Mobile Infantry (M.I.). This review will make a few comparisons with the 1997 film directed by Paul Verhoeven with the screenplay written by Edward Neumeier. Is the film faithful to the book? More Yes than No. Like most if n

Nice artwork. Simple and crude storytelling, but it’s not bad for what it is.

Good production and performances. Not bad and I want to like it more, but the writing is just not quite right.

Young woman learns of best friend’s suicide from years of abuse. She then steals her ashes to give her a proper send-off. Tight, good pacing. Solid effort. Nicely drawn.

Twins swap places in a story about survival and finding one’s direction. Solid performances all around. Shot conventionally but nicely edited. Simple plot but the characters, relationships and themes make it more complex than it appears.

Typical coming-of-age children’s story. Two annoying leads but the premise and plot are simple and work well enough. It’s short so it’s over quickly either way.

Solid production but the plot is uneventful. Autopilot pacing. Relies on performance to carry the series.

High school slice-of-life romance drama with time travel. Not a particularly original premise but still decent production and execution.

Short 6-episode teen romance drama. Relatively simple and predictable but nonetheless satisfying enough for what it is.

Comedy of a shy guitarist who joins a band and struggles with anxiety. Absurd delivery. Lacks musician jokes but entertaining and relatable.

Continuation of the same. Visually slick still. You either like it or you don’t.

Solid coming-of-age, slice-of-life romance. Can argue about plotting and pacing but it is emotionally realistic.

Racing action can be better executed but plotting and pacing are not bad so far. Interesting and entertaining enough to keep one interested.

Solidly enjoyable slice-of-life drama-comedy about a 27-year-old given a chance to relive the final year of high school.

Decent film that addresses the issue of Gilbert. Visually superb although the plotting could be better.

Nothing special, the premise is maybe a little forced, but still a decent side story.

Classic high school slice-of-life comedy. Can use a little more variation even if it is meant to be slice-of-life genre.

Solid character-driven work that is not cringe. Visually superb.

A few minor problems but otherwise another solid film by Shinkai.

Fantasy coming-of-age drama set in a town that is stuck in time. Unfocused and under-developed. But looks very good. Worth viewing.