awesome. I need to rewatch it but my copy is still that old one with the crappy subtitling. It was good enough to warrant buying, IMHO.

Before going any further I'd like to say that I love this film - it's similar to something Takahata would do (e.g. Only Yesterday), only with an extra je ne sais quoi that makes it stand out. Basically, it's one of those 'classic' anime movies that comes around once every couple of years and as such deserves to be treasured.

Personal fanboying aside, I noticed the interesting reaction this movie had with the UK audience at the recent Sci-fi London Anime All-nighter event. Alongside the likes of Vexille, Tekkonkinkreet and even Appleseed 2: Ex Machina, this was the one film of the whole evening that elicited the most positive and enthusiastic reaction from the audience. My friend who accompanied me admitted it was the best of the lot, despite walking in with the expectation that the Appleseed piece would be the most enjoyable - and many others I spoke to agreed. I was a little worried that it was just me but no...the majority of the people who have watched it loved every minute.

As far as I know the UK DVD release is forthcoming but is as yet unavailable to preorder; I'm not sure about the US edition but it's well worth the purchase as and when.