A public service announcement from your friends at Cinebuds: “Animated movies” and “Anime” are NOT the same thing. It’s a good time to point this out because throughout this month, Milwaukee Film will turn its lens on the magic of both categories as part of its “Ani-May” movie series.

Yes, the more general moviegoing public will notice familiar titles like The Iron Giant, Ferngully and Smashmouth-adjacent delight-turned-sequel-factory Shrek (and Shrek 2). That does NOT mean families with young children should descend on the Oriental Theatre willy-nilly for any selection in the series.

A prime case in point is the film that earns our focus in this episode, the punctuation-laden Chainsaw Man: The Movie – Reze Arc. Leave the kiddies at home for this high-octane, high-violence tale that might just lure you in via a slow-burn 40 minutes that seem to be more about teenage dating than the title would suggest.

Then … it earns that title.

But while Dori and Kpolly spend time exploring the mythology of devils and hunters, compare Chainsaw Man to Blade and wonder whether they’re getting too old for this s***, there’s more than chainsaws in this episode! Our duo also touch on the full lineup for “Ani-May” — from Shrek’s swampy nostalgia to the Fantasia-indebted Allegro Non Troppo.

#####

Cinebuds is sponsored by Joe Wilde Garage Doors.