btw i do think we should have more movies about lesbians who are fully realized complex characters who ultimately achieve happiness in ways they may not even necessarily deserve and get to ride into the sunset with their lover because lesbians deserve to know that a happy ending is possible despite how unrealistic it may seem and despite a world that doesn't understand or support them. and i think these movies should depict sex and fetish content because it's hot and because lesbians deserve to know that no matter how messy or "weird" their desire seems it's real and it's even worth celebrating. and if you don't agree. well. you should not be allowed to watch movies
When I started watching Bubble, I assumed Hibiki was just very autistic-coded because that’s all it ever is, coding, it’s never explicit—BUT NOPE HE STRAIGHT UP IS AUTISTIC, IT’S A MAJOR PART OF HIS STORYLINE, HE’S LITERALLY AUTISTIC.
Hibiki isn’t just presumed to be autistic by the cast because he’s somehow mystically aware of supernatural things, he is able to perceive supernatural things because he is autistic. The diagnosis came first. It’s not a case where it’s actually some superpower, where he’s actually the chosen one, he’s autistic and that means he’s hypervigilant and has auditory sensitivity and that makes him pick up on things that others don’t. He’s not neurodivergent-coded because he’s actually “special,” he’s genuinely special because he’s actually neurodivergent.
The leading female character, Uta, is autistic-coded but not explicitly such because of plot reasons. She’s mostly nonverbal for the majority of the film, when she does speak it’s with a very flat verbal affect. She absorbs information and gets really into math once it’s introduced to her. She has a special interest in The Little Mermaid, and also in spirals and how they relate to gravity and the cycle of expansion and compression throughout the universe. The only thing that makes her being autistic less explicit than Hibiki is that you don’t see her get a diagnosis (and she won’t because that would be a weird way to derail the story).
Bubble will make you cry—it’s based on The Little Mermaid, the original, which should make it clear that the title of the film has a distinct double-meaning in the context of the story—but I’ve never seen neurodivergence on display so clearly, so respectfully, and so naturally in an anime before, and I recommend it with every fiber of my being.
Okay I LOVED Lisa Frankenstein. What a fun modern twisted fairy tale. It felt like a Tim Burton movie. I continue to adore Katherine Newton & Cole Sprouse was actually excellent. Just a very fun campy dark romantic horror comedy of a movie 🎥
(disclaimer: this is only for ones I've watched and enjoyed--there probably are other good films out there, I just haven't seen everything yet!)
Akira (A cyberpunk classic. The hand painted animation alone makes this a must watch)
Promare (dynamic [and pretty] adult characters fight fires and start fires, all in a scifi + mecha candy-colored world with stunning animation. One of my all time faves by Studio Trigger)
Belle (Hosoda) (SHE IS THE MOMENT. A movie about facing fears, coping with past trauma, and connecting through technology. Also a retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but without the romantic undertones!)
Suzume (If you watch anything from the Shinkai Cinematic Universe, make it this one. It still has all his classic art style and storytelling methods, but the time and place based storyline and animation is even more stunning)
Howl's Moving Castle (A classic. Most everyone has heard about this Studio Ghibli offering by now, but if you haven't watched yet, please put it on your list NOW. Pretty landscapes. Pretty Howl. Pretty animation. Absolute comfort film)
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (If you like vampire stories and amazing feats of animation, please watch this one. MadHouse animated it--the same studio that did Trigun and Death Note--and it's absolutely stunning. The story follows D, a dhampir and vampire hunter, and a starcrossed couple, Charlotte, a human, and Meier, a vampire)
JJK 0 movie (You don't have to have watched Jujutsu Kaisen to see this film! MAPPA absolutely blew everyone away with the animated battle sequences in 0. The story is a prequel, so you can start your journey without prior knowledge. Follow our protag, Yuta, and his cursed spirit, Rika, as they fight against a cult leader who wants to rid the world of curses)
obsessed with the niche tiktok trend of people blasting kim petras xxx in their heavy machinery and then just getting out of the car. it’s so john carpenter christine core. david cronenberg crash if the whole crew listened to hyperpop. a new kind of sexualizing machines for a new age
the entire plot of inception is that robert fischer has beautiful princess disorder and everyone needs to kidnap him to contain the beautiful princess virus