The Castle of Cagliostro

Slightly Silly

If memory serves, The Castle of Cagliostro was my introduction to anime. It's a good choice for a start because it's one of those flights of fancy that works so very well in animation. Parts of it are entirely impossible, the characters are always clowning, and the action is outrageous. I'm tempted to say that some of the characters could find work in Jackie Chan movies. Compared to things like Akira, the movie is quite realistic, doling out super-human characteristics subtly and infrequently. This is pretty tame for anime, but it's a fun ride. The settings are beautifully conceived, and the plot is just complicated enough to stay interesting. Cagliostro was directed and co- written by Hayao Miyazaki, who has since directed Princess Mononoke. I was looking forward to Mononoke already, but now I'm even more eager to see it.