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

Ninja family vs rival clan. Nicely shot. A few points regarding characters and conflict can be better, but intriguing and entertaining.

Interesting enough premise. Excellent production. Can delve deeper into the themes, but plot and characters are sufficiently captivating.

Like Part 1, decent voice acting and production. More focused storytelling but signposting is a little clumsy. Still mildly enjoyable.

Better execution than the first two parts but plotting is somewhat clumsy.

Some consider it a modern classic. Interesting premise. Clumsy plotting. Cheesy and tries too hard with its gratuitous nudity and violence.

Cool warrior girl and humans versus evil AI. Nothing particularly good. No few problems but strangely not a complete waste of time.

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

Mecha-noir set in a domed city. Interesting premise but too ambitious. Somewhat unfocused and themes insufficiently explored.

An amusing and entertaining read, but the satire and black comedy can be taken further.

Amusing and fun series. Each episode can use more structure and take the satire further.

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

Fairy tale–inspired crime comedy. Not bad but under-developed and fails to move on after hitting its beats so it loses energy.

Well-managed storytelling despite somewhat wishy-washy themes. Ultimately, it’s about the wonderful stop-motion animation.

Nothing particularly bad, but nothing particularly memorable either.

Decent adaptation. Good pacing and production. Enjoyable but lacks the absurdity of the anime. (Even the anime can be more absurd.)

Character-focused but not necessarily character-driven. Good pacing with enough kaiju action. Solid production. Very well executed.

Typical sci-fi premise and setting. Decent voice acting and production. But plot is derivative. Nothing spectacular, mildly enjoyable.

Supernatural-cosmic horror. Sufficiently intriguing. Decent plotting and pacing. Generally a satisfying read.

Tries to be the “cute young woman assassin taking on the yakuza” action-comedy. Tries too hard to look cool. And fails. Messy plotting.

There are quite a few clones and derivatives of Taken since its release in 2008. Here are 35 mini-reviews.