Hi everyone

[Gapchenko]

Hi everyone, I’m new to the site and I also have not long joined the discord server. I’m going to the London con this Friday. It’s my first proper con and I’m really excited for it
I’ve been into anime since I was a kid and during the dial up days of the internet we used to wait hours to stream an anime film from the website Sputnik. Just wanted to join and say hi

[Ojisama]

Hello @Gapchenko and welcome to the AnimeLeague Forum.

I really hope you have a great time in London.

So what did you used to watch in those far off days?

[Gapchenko]

Hi @Ojisama , thank you, it looks like it’s going to be a great day!
Ha funny you should ask that as I was going to post on here asking for help as there are two films I really can’t remember the name of and have never been able to see again.
One film it was a kind of samurai fantasy where the main hero character had the ability to transform himself into a bird of some kind, I remember a big fight outside a tall feudal style tower. I think it was the end of the film as i remember his bird form flying up over the tower to finish.
The second film is was a fairly short one, maybe no more than 40 or 50 minutes, it was again a feudal setting with samurais and the style of it was almost black and white. It had a very pale water colour aesthetic and was set during the winter so there was snow everywhere, which added to the pale cold whiteness of the art style.
So yea those two I’ve desperately been searching for for years and never found them. We used to watch a lot of cowboy bebop on there, also vampire hunter d and I think ninja scroll was on there too

[Ojisama]

Hmm. I'll have to cogitate on those a bit. Can you narrow down the likely year(s). The second one sounds really familiar.

[Gapchenko]

Thank you!
I would say between the years 2001 to 2005, although I’d lean more towards the 2001/2002 area. The films are probably a bit older than that though but definitely not any newer. The website was Sputnik 7, they ran the site completely in flash so webarchive is no help ha. I’ve asked my brother and he keeps saying that the name KIDOMARU keeps coming to mind as the title of the second film in question but that’s not coming up with anything familiar

[Ojisama]

He might be pretty close with that one.

Kai Doh Maru is an OVA that aired in 2021. and has a published run time of 46 minutes, and I have it on DVD.

This story takes place during the Heian Period of Japan`s history, when evil spirits still resided in the forests, mountains and rivers. A girl battles against these evil spirits, while she is disguised as man. She ultimately has to fight against her cousin with the help of Minamoto no Raikō, for whom she holds undeclared feelings, to thwart her Uncles thirst for power.

Your unlikely to find a streaming version anywhere, but E-Bay has multiple listings for the DVD.

[Gapchenko]

Oh wow, thank you! That’s the one! Less than 24 hours and one found one to go ha I can’t believe all it took was some spaces in the name… after all this time There’s a copy of it on YouTube, looks like I know what I’ll be watching when I do the kid’s lunchboxes tonight ha
The other one must definitely be between 2001 and 2003 then I think, I’m not sure if it was a team of samurai hero’s or just one guy

[Ojisama]

I'm not feeling the other one at all. The plot doesn't ring any bells. A prominent supernatural samurai movie from that era would be Ninja Scroll (Juubee Ninpuuchou) but that was from way earlier, 1993, and I must confess that I haven't watched it.

Does this description ring any bells?

"Jubei Kibagami wanders feudal Japan as an itinerant swordsman-for-hire. After a past betrayal left him masterless, he has no more patience for warring political factions and their schemes. Unfortunately, both past and political intrigue collide when he meets and saves a female ninja named Kagero from a man with the ability to make his body as hard as stone.

The sole survivor of a ninja clan, Kagero continues her team's last mission: investigate a mysterious plague that wiped out an entire village. Jubei wants nothing to do with this, but the stone-like man's allies, a group of ninja with supernatural powers known as the Devils of Kimon, make that option difficult. To make matters worse, a government spy poisons Jubei, promising him an antidote if he can unravel the true intentions of the Devils of Kimon and their connection to the plague. The trail leads to shadow leaders, a plot to overthrow the government, and a man that Jubei thought he would never see again."

[Gapchenko]

Ahh ok, I might post a dedicated thread looking for suggestions as to what this one could be. I’ve seen ninja scroll and it’s definitely not that one, recommend it though if you’re into pretty violent anime ;p it’s always a fun watch ha

[Teeny]

Welcome to Anime League @Gapchenko
I hope you have an awesome time at the London convention this weekend!
I can't think of the animes you are trying to identify unfortunately but glad you have been able to identify one of them at least!
Hopefully someone in the community knows of the other film you are trying to find.
Have fun on the forum and hope to see you around

[Gapchenko]

Thank you!
Yea I had a great time yesterday in London. We’re already looking at booking the full weekend in August next.
Hopefully someone out there knows the last film ha

[Wheely Sweet]

Hi and welcome to Anime League @Gapchenko

I hope you enjoy it here and at the con. Feel free to message me if you have any questions/want to chat

[Gapchenko]

Thank you @Wheely Sweet ! Yea I had a great time at the con on Friday, definitely going to do more and for more than just the one day! This community has been great so far, everyone is so welcoming and friendly, I’m looking forward to getting to know you all, and getting some food anime and manga recommendations ha!

[Wheely Sweet]

That's good to hear

[Teeny]

Glad you had a great time at the convention!
Did you buy any merchandise while you were there?