3 Best Movies to Watch by Yoshitsugu Matsuoka

1. Blue Lock, 2022

After his team loses in the prefectural tournament finals, Yoichi Isagi is invited to join an isolated training program designed to create the best striker in the world in hopes of Japan winning the World Cup. The program's designer believes that great strikers are selfish and egoistic players. As a more intense sports anime, the stakes of becoming the best striker in Japan (and the world) or never playing football again keeps the suspense high. The series does a great job of balancing the action and taking the time to develop the characters and their motivations. Blue Lock is a solid, high-concept anime for the world's most beloved sport.

Genre: Action & Adventure, Animation, Drama

Actor: Aoi Ichikawa, Eri Yukimura, Hiroshi Kamiya, Junichi Suwabe, Katsuyuki Konishi, Kazuki Ura, Kazuyuki Okitsu, Kenichi Suzumura, Koki Uchiyama, Masatomo Nakazawa, Natsuki Hanae, Nobunaga Shimazaki, Shinnosuke Tachibana, Shoya Chiba, Shugo Nakamura, Soma Saito, Takahiro Sakurai, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Yuki Ono, Yuma Uchida

2. GAMERA -Rebirth-, 2023

There are two sides to Gamera Rebirth that don't mix all that well yet in the first two episodes watched for this review, but still complement each other in intriguing ways. There is, of course, the part of the show concerned with monsters fighting monsters—classic kaiju spectacle that makes good use of the series' jagged CG animation, though the action never quite reaches a level of true excitement or tragedy. What's more surprising about Gamera Rebirth, then, is its story of three young friends whose childhood is violently interrupted by both the titular giant turtle creature and the violence of the American military on their soil. This part of the show doesn't benefit from the series' visual style (which only seems to inhibit the characters' emotional expression), but there's a rawness to this main plot that keeps it just as urgent as the kaiju stuff. The kids swear and get beaten up, as they try to make sense of this turbulent time in their life.

Genre: Action & Adventure, Animation, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Actor: Aki Toyosaki, Hisako Kanemoto, Mamoru Miyano, Subaru Kimura, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka

Rating: TV-14

3. Helck, 2023

After the fall of the Demon Lord, the Demon realm hosts a tournament to find a successor. Strangely, the contestant predicted to win (stronger than other contestants in every way) is Helck, a human with a disdain for humankind. With the tournament underway, fantasy and action are abundant in the first episode alone. The mystery of Helck's participation and the constant loom of a race war set the trajectory of the series but humor and gimmicks are never far behind. Whether it's a ridiculous card-building game, twins with coffee-triggered telepathy, or the sudden onslaught of winged creatures, Helck has something to offer.

Genre: Action & Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Actor: Akira Ishida, Haruka Shiraishi, Katsuyuki Konishi, Mikako Komatsu, Shiki Aoki, Shuichi Ikeda, Yoshitsugu Matsuoka

Rating: TV-14