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| Saw the premiere at my local theatre last night, got a free poster too. I quite liked it, it's a good experience. The visuals are of course gorgeous and the music and songs are fantastic, all the singing sequences were very powerful most particularly the last one. It's an interesting that our anonymous social identity and the ability to start over from scratch could draw out our potential, Suzu's ability to sing again in the virtual world did improve her general mood in reality after all. It sounds like a lot of people were put off by the Kei subplot, having the Dragon be a character we barely get to see and understand but I think that was the whole point. Suzu's mother lost her life saving a stranger's kid, throughout her life Suzu's hasn't been able to understand why her Mother would do that even if it meant she would lose her life in the process. Her encounter with the Dragon and her feeling of wanting to help him is where I feel she slowly begins to understand how her mother felt that day. Much like how her mother lost her life, Suzu risks losing her virtual life, unveiling herself in an attempt to try and save a bunch of random stranger. It's a very nice parallel that is likely going over everyone's head. Perhaps the most powerful moment of the entire story to me is when she texts her Dad on the bus and her Dad says that she grew up into a kind girl trying to protect someone. Exactly how her mother would have raised her. The culmination of her story if of course when she realizes that if help can't get there in time, 'she' has to do something even if it may end up dangerous for her. This could be exactly what her Mother felt on the day of her death. Of course, there is a substantial amount of plot convenience in the show regards to how Suzu helps Kei but it doesn't dilute what the show is trying to show and tell. My interpretation of the Beast/Dragon in this story is something along the lines of 'stranger'. It feels like a question of how far could you go to save a stranger? I agree that if the Dragon was maybe Shinobu or her Dad like one of the other people stated, it could have made the story more intimate but I think it would also distract from the actual theme of the show. There is some real humanity in trying to help a complete stranger after all. In other notes, the confession scene was hilarious. 8/10 |
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| I'm seeing a lot of opinions that are quite extreme. Some think it's a revolutionary movie (see the 14-minute applause at Cannes Festival) while others think it's garbage. I just think it was a exceptional movie. It was definitely flawed, and I struggled to get into it, but the last 30-45 minutes really pulled me in. For the most part, I don't mind that the beginning of the movie skimmed over some important exposition. It established how U worked and it gave us enough insight into Suzu's life that we could fill in the blanks. However, my primary criticism of the first act is that Suzu's rise to stardom is glossed over. It's portrayed as if it happens overnight. This is the one aspect I feel could've been expanded upon. I'm not the biggest fan of Makoto Shinkai's works (ex. Your Name), but if there's one thing he knows how to do, it's montages that is able to portray a passage of time in a condensed manner. I definitely feel Belle could've used one of these at this point. Outside of that, my other complaints are relatively minor. The fight scenes between the Unveil people and the Beast dragged on a little long for my taste. In general, the middle of the movie dragged its feet quite a bit, to the point I was checking my watch to see how much longer I had to sit and watch this. I was disappointed to see that there was over half an hour left. However, the movie pulled one of the biggest trump cards I can recall in recent memory. Throughout the movie, I did not care about the mystery identity of the beast in the slightest. This is because I was certain it was the childhood best friend. But the reveal legitimately shocked me and I was fully engaged for the rest of the movie. ]In my opinion, it retroactively made everything that came before it better. I feel that if I watched it again, I'd enjoy the entire movie a bit more. The final singing scenes didn't impress me all that much, but I think that's a personal preference. I don't care all that much for entire scenes dedicated to a character singing. But I won't hold it against the movie considering the person I went to see this with saw these as the highlight of the film. Overall, when it was said and done, I enjoyed this movie a lot. I appreciated the commentary it had on people's perceptions of others through social platforms. The animation generally impressed me. Some of the background art in the real-world scenes looked photorealistic at times. I liked Mirai a bit more (another unpopular opinion apparently), but this movie has convinced me that Hosoda knows his stuff (which is not a popular opinion as well). 8-8.5/10 |
| Sorry, the user you are looking for is not available at the moment. You are currently reading text generated by APSAB or "Auto-Programmed-Signature-Mataining-Bot" (patent pending). ERROR CODE 1979-NIPUL-W3EB Please Install the Latest Version of MAL.OS as Some Features of Certain Signatures May Not Appear Correctly. You are currently running MAL.OS.V4. Click here to download MAL.OS.V5. APSAB Version: Beta.99 "If Seinfeld isn't your favorite anime, then you aren't watching anime correctly." - Me |
| The film has beautiful music and visuals and not much else under the surface, everything just felt so underdeveloped and flat from the relationships to the tackling of loss which felt almost entirely glossed over for the entirety of the movie save the very start and one scene on the train near the end. We barely got to see anything of the virtual world despite being most the film's runtime, like what the fuck do you go there to do or see, the beauty and beast parallels and homages were so close its hard not to compare how flat their relationship was even when taking into account a platonic perspective, we barely ever got to see the mc interacting with anyone in the real world in a meaningful way mostly being told how their relationships are meant to be cause everyone has 5 min screentime tops save her fun friend. really the only things i liked outside the music, was that they did at least show some of the nastier comments on the internet, or some unsavory aspects like people faking identities or building sob stories for fame like the artist. I didnt hate it but this was far less enjoyable than i was expecting and am kind of left wishing we saw this same movie without the ai stuff, and was just seeing a girl coping with the loss of her mom and the distance of her childhood friends which is so shockingly absent this entire movie its kind of making me question where the hell the run time really went. anirudhtsuki said: they make it paltonic but there are 3 major scenes in this movie that are straight up shot for shot, as in literally recreating the scenes to the perspective (the best screaming to get out, the ballroom dance, them on the balcony). It absolutely was going for beauty and the beast in an intentional copy. I mean her name is fucking belle for crying out loud.I wish it was Luka since there was no romance. People being this beauty and the beast address insulting this movie or haven't watched both of them. |
Immahnoob said: Jizzy, I know you have no idea how to argue for shit, tokiyashiro said: Jizzy as you would call yourself because youre a dick The most butthurt award goes to you And clearly you havent watched that many shows thats why you cant determine if a show is unique or not Or maybe you're just a child who likes common stuffs where hero saves the day and guys gets all the girls. Sad taste you have there kid you came up to me in the first place making you look more like a kid who got slapped without me even knowing it and start crying about it to me |
| I was so surprised and excited when I looked up the length of this movie and it was a solid 2 hours. While I don't feel like time was wasted, essentially, I do feel things could have been reworked or expanded on to actually conclude most of the points in the story. That conclusion was so open ended it didn't feel like an ending at all - like the core significant issue wasn't resolved. Maybe the MC's issues did, but with the Beauty and the Beast motif the beast is the flip side to the same coin you could at least give him some concrete closure as well. The 'twist' was also a little obvious for me considering how they kept hinting at age gaps relationships with MC's friend and the choir women. I almost wish it HAD been Shinobu because then the involvement of the kids wouldn't feel so out of left field. I can understand the theme they were trying to go for with MC's issues with her mom saving total strangers and trying to tackle internet relationships but none of that felt like it was really expanded upon, only mentioned to get from point A to point B. It didn't feel as natural as they probably wanted it to be, especially with how little logic I felt there was letting her go alone in the end. Like wtf. . . . None of that made sense all things considered. I liked it overall tho, it was just all over the place. The script needed reworking. It's like they lost themselves half-way through trying to figure out how to end it and went with the first draft. Soundtrack has some bangers tho. All the songs are lovely but only a few I feel I want to hear again enough to look them up when the soundtrack releases (I watched it dubbed.) |
VyudaliJan 14, 2022 7:20 PM
| After the incredibly mediocre Mirai, I was rooting for Hosoda to make a big comeback with this one. But I find myself struggling to process what happened. To get the positives out of the way, this was visually spectacular and is easily Hosoda's best looking movie yet. The music is just phenomenal, and the performance by Kylie McNeill was absolutely breathtaking. She has a tremendous voice. I also liked Suzu, short-haired brunette with freckles is how to go straight to my heart. She was a cutie. One of the issues I have is when The Beast is introduced. For some reason, Belle was immediately interested in him. But why? It's not like they spoke or had any kind of emotional connection. For all she knew, he was some try hard on the internet trying to break the rules. Why would she try to find out who he is? Did she sense that he was hurting as well? This was what made their relationship hard to believe. In fact, I found it hardly compelling. The death of the mom was also a little hard to believe. So she just drowned, then someone else saved the girl? Hosoda has a bad habit of glossing over details for the sake of the story, and in the long run it hurts his films. I didn't mind the similarities with Beauty and the Beast, but there was a lot of implications that they were romantically attracted to one another. Then they just didn't get together, because of the obvious age gap and Suzu's established attraction to Shinobu. Which kind of surprised me considering the marketing felt like the movie was leaning towards that. Also, so what happened afterwards with the brothers? I doubt the father just turned over a new leaf. Were they taken to child protective services? They aren't living with Suzu, clearly. Just feels like it was cut off too soon. I suppose we'll just have to accept the implication that she saved them from their father and they're OK. Ultimately, I don't feel under or overwhelmed, I just feel whelmed. I like how Suzu was able to save the brothers, overcoming her fear of singing as herself/getting over her mother's death, and the theme of identity and self acceptance in a world that encourages creating fake personas. But it just felt like Hosoda tried to put too many ideas and themes into one movie, making it feel like things weren't properly explained/explored. The script needed reworking and adjusting, as this felt like it was just all over the place. Hosoda is becoming a real master of visuals, but without someone to reign him in, he just gets lost in all his ideas, making it a jumbled mess. (Similar to George Lucas) Certainly better than his last film. I think Belle will be remembered more so for its striking set pieces and music, rather than its themes, characters, or story. 6/10 |
takkun_Jan 15, 2022 8:34 AM
| Even though romance was not the main theme, gotta say that Hosoda really sucks when it comes to romance ^^'. IIRC the only movie he did that had a proper one was summer wars, and it was not even a great developed one (for me XD). Which is a shame, I believe a proper development and closure would have made this movie better. Most people know (or would think) this movie referenced Disney's movie where one of the main theme was romance... So it's kinda sad this one was so bad with it. |
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| Let me start out by saying that I am a massive fan of Hosoda's other works. I have yet to see The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, but I have seen all of his other major movies (Summer Wars, Wolf Children, The Boy and the Beast, Mirai). With that being said, I was quite disappointed in this movie. I really did not have any expectations going into the movie. Firstly, I had only seen the english dubbed trailer and did not read the premise. Generally when I see Hosoda's name attached to a project I feel the need to go and experience it. I mostly gathered that it was a take on Beauty and the Beast and went from there. After seeing the movie, I felt extremely conflicted. Firstly, the positives. I really enjoyed the music. Kylie McNeil has an incredible voice that practically carries most of this movie's scenes. Alongside the music is the animation and artwork, both of which are extremely beautiful. The CG in this movie is probably the best example of CGI in anime I have ever seen. The movie is just gorgeous to look at. Suzu is an interesting character at first. I think the idea of dealing with a trauma involving someone choosing the life of another over staying with you is a fascinating concept. Suzu herself is also likeable and relatable, being the soft-spoken and shy character that most of us, I imagine, are also like. I enjoyed the scenes that took place outside of "U". I wish there were more scenes outside of "U". "U" felt like a very underutilized platform and the villain was a very sparse threat. My main problem with the film lies in the execution of these concepts. I understand that artistry is something that can touch a person to the core of their being, and this is ultimately how Suzu overcomes her trauma. I understand that she is finally able to sing as herself in the end because she accepts her true self and sings as her true self. However, this turn comes out of absolutely nowhere. Maybe I can see how by observing the Beast's pain she was able to come to terms with her own pain and thereby finds her true self. However, the scenes between the Beast and Belle are very sparse and short. Therefore, when Belle finally sings as Suzu, it felt incredibly rushed. This goes towards the Beast's problem as well. I cannot find myself believing that someone hurting from such an intense pain as physical and mental abuse from their father would be so willing to trust a complete stranger that he had spent only a few short hours with. We are shown that he is not a trusting individual and lashes out at others due to his pain. He makes the turn to trusting far too quickly. Now that I am writing this out, I just believe that Hosoda had far too many ideas for a two hour timespan. These concepts most likely would have worked out far better as a series than as a movie. We have the idea of overcoming trauma by realizing your true self, we have the idea of the overconsumption of media and what it does to warp our personas, we have themes of abuse, it's just too much for such a short timeframe. Despite my disappointment in the movie I did find it to be a worthwhile experience. I look forward to Hosoda's future endeavors. |
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| Knowing OST definitely made it more emotional for me and actually seeing all the pretty scenes inside U universe was amazing but story and the whole outcome still confuses me like thats clearly not what i was expecting it to be... Reminded me of The Anthem of the Heart and Summer Wars |
| I was surprised to see the abundance of negative reception, but I did like it overall. The relationship between Belle and the Dragon developing as fast as it did was kinda questionable, and the child abuse depiction felt out of place and used more like a plot device than having any sort of nuanced take on the issue. In the first place, it was strange to see Belle suddenly becoming interested in the Dragon and a big chunk of the film spent a lot of time investigating who he was. I got that it was supposed to reflect how her mom went of her way to save the child, but it was impossible to relate to the Beast in that way until his identity was revealed. But I did relate a lot to the theme of showing your true self and enjoyed seeing Suzu gradually accept her identity. The school scenes were cute and funny, especially the awkward confession. And of course, some of the best animation and music I’ve seen / heard in a while make it an enjoyable experience overall. |
KefkirothJan 15, 2022 3:54 PM
| 5/10, worth the ticket but I wouldn't watch again if it weren't to compare the dubs vs subs. I agree with the people above it seems like parts were cut randomly to meet the time. I'm curious if there will be a second movie or a re-release with longer more fleshed out content. When watching this the first time was I the only one that thought Kei was going to be a rewritten avatar/second avatar to Shinobu and that the sibling was either an AI or also loosely rebuilt from Belle? It gives -- pre Vivi's perfection in art style and the slow/mediocre notes of SAO plot. Actar said: It definitely seemed to build up that way that Kei could have been the kid, but the only purpose was to make it seem like both Kei and her had wounds from not having a mother figure.Honestly, I really, really thought the child whom the mother saved at the beginning would have played a part in all of this. The survivor's guilt + Suzu's hatred for taking her mother away from her. How interesting would have that been? DEBOri said: Does anyone know how Shinobu figured out that Suzu is Belle, and what was the point of him revealing that, from a narrative perspective? I'm not sure either. I think maybe it was for a comedy factor - like we thought she was going to get confessed to and got psyched out(even though it's briefly stated Shinobu's her mother figure anyways). The other option I could think of is that it's because he thought that was the secret she was hiding from him and wanted her to tell him so she wasn't bottling up everything |
KaguyachinchinJan 16, 2022 12:42 AM
Saw it, liked it. Yes, it's Beauty and the Beast. I didn't care. Yes, it's also Summer WArs, but I liked that, too. There were enough other things going on that were good enough to over ride that. Where did high school girls get hard hats? LOL tea cozy hat. That's a kayak, not a canoe. Good music. Justice looked like City of Heroes characters and that's not a bad thing. Beast's castle looked like the abandoned parts of the internet from Ralph Wrecks the Internet. Justin is all the bad parts of Capt. Amazing (Mystery Men) and Mr. Robot mushed into one gigantic douche nozzle. I want to see Mrs. Naitou's stereo up close. Who's Peggy Sue? I doubt the choir women were the Sages, but that thought crossed my mind. I knew Fox was going to be covered in scars, but for different reasons. 23 seasons behind the plate for Carlton Fisk and almost 30 years retired, he's probably still got bruises!  |
| Beauty and the Beast, right down to the ballroom scene, the little castle helpers, the castle itself, and the storming of the castle. Oh yeah, Belle. Anyways, I just came back from the theaters, and the experience of watching Belle on the big screen was definitely worth the price of admission. However, I can't say I enjoyed it as a film. It works as a glorified music video, much like Black Rock Shooter. Like BRS though, Belle feels like it was built around a concept, but with stories and characters awkwardly attached. The film definitely knew it was a film, as it threw around a number of gestures demonstrating it had no intention of portraying actual people. I know it's an anime with no obligation to be grounded in reality, but at the same time, if the story wanted to portray an ordinary girl becoming a prima donna, then it has some strange idea of what "ordinary" is. The CGI kind of threw me off at first, but that's most likely because I thought I walked into Summer Wars. I enjoyed the animation, as it looked befitting of a modern film. However, I haven't watched many recent anime, so my frame of reference is limited. For all I know, this could be standard fare, but it still looked fine to me. The main thing I didn't understand was the U system of generating avatars. An AI could scan you, and then automatically generate an avatar based on your true self? So regardless of what you think, the AI will tell you exactly what you are on the inside? This seems almost dystopian, and I'm not sure how a huge majority of the human population are anthropomorphic animals or various other critters. Were there that many furries in the world? The film seemed rather lackadaisical about the concept of doxxing. What would exposing The Beast's IRL face even accomplish? Would that stop him from causing mayhem on the internet? Rather, within the U app, how is there even a function for fighting? Lastly, when Suzu confronted the abusive father at the end, what did that even accomplish? The authorities didn't seem like they were interested in doing anything, and it seemed like help was called numerous amounts of time in the past to no avail. What's different this time around? All Suzu did was look at the father really stern, he somehow freaked the hell out, and then...I guess things are fine? Are the brothers going to continue living with the father, or are they getting moved into protective services? Did the authorities even show up? How did Suzu navigate to their neighborhood by herself? Where were her friends, did they just stay behind while Suzu ran off alone? Going back a bit, how did Hiroka even call the brothers? Was the little brother streaming himself singing? How'd they cold call him through a stream? Who were the three random jerks who popped in during the stream to comment on the abuse and leave? How'd they even have the ability to voice chat? Did this fictional chat system have no privacy settings? I guess this goes back to Justin's (haha, get it? Justin? Justice?) comment about policing and the internet, but is there no concept of moderation at least? Is there no accountability or terms of use? Is there no liability for people getting hurt? I suppose it may just be a symptom of today's culture, where it's possible to hurt others remotely without repercussions, but I'm unsure about the film deciding to be realistic only for this aspect. At the end, I'm unsure what the film's goal was narrative-wise. It tried to do a lot, ranging from coping with childhood trauma, to a romance subplot, to overcoming social anxieties, child abuse, the nature of the internet and online personas acting as a shield of anonymity, rekindling familial bonds, and a huge display of audiovisual splendor that, in my opinion, overshadowed anything and everything else. In short, this was a nice music video, but I can't say much else without second thoughts. |
| I watched this with my sister who is a counselor who works with trauma and abuse survivors. She originally got excited with Ryuu's monologue about how people always want to help but it never leads to anything (the systems in place IRL fail people in domestic abuse situations time and time again). Poignant! And then instead of continuing this commentary, you get a confrontation from a single stranger, a teenager, with no bystanders, somehow leading to an emotional revelation from an abuser who's implied to have been at this for years, and a kid saying he's going to "fight back". And then everyone just leaves. So the kids who just "acted out" are going right back into a house alone with a father who is physically abusive and now would be angry about being confronted, except now also the one kid wants to finally "fight back" (i.e. escalate the situation/anger the abuser further; he was already fighting back, for the record!!). Wound up with my sister yelling about how that, especially with a younger sibling in the house, is how kids wind up murdered. And it's portrayed as good? Heroic? Moving? Maybe don't do that... Nevermind the fact that the digital portions feel like they were conceptualized by someone who's never touched a computer. (Which... I don't recall feeling so strongly from Summer Wars?? It's been a few years since I watched it so maybe I'm misremembering but I swear it handled digital space better than this) It's OK to bend the rules and create new ones, it's sci-fi, but god please consider if those new rules actually make sense and are consistent. |
 artist | doofus | joiner (but not finisher) of challenges |
| Everything about this movie that captured my intrigue in any way was squandered in no time. I would've preferred a much more focused story about Suzu and the double life she leads. Overdone, but easier to handle and compelling enough. |
| AMAZING. I loved the movie. I was able to see it in the theater and it looks amazing. The animation and the soundtrack were great. |
| Loved the soundtrack. Character development/relationship development was pretty lacking. Guess I expected more romance. Shinobu was uninteresting as a character and there wasn't any solid development between them at the end. The dragon was much more interesting, but after all the build up and after his identity is revealed, it was kind of like 'what do I even know about this character?' All that time spent on him and in the end, all my feelings toward him and the possible connections that could have been made to the MC kind of fizzled out. Everything felt pretty rushed. Could have been really good... |
| I really enjoyed the film, Hosoda is a master at what he does and it really shows. At times (such as when she was being interrogated by Justin) I kept thinking "yo why doesn't she just log out?" Seriously though, great movie! |
| "The will to live is stronger than anything else" |
| just came back from watching this in theaters and I had to say something about it. Studio Chizu makes great movies so I was excited to watch this one. At first, the movie was kinda confusing but they end up explaining it and u figure it out as you watch which I liked, except some of the characters were unnecessary. This movie reminded me of beauty in the beast also at some parts which was cool to see that. The visuals were beautiful and the soundtrack was amazing, they did really well on this! The ending of the movie made me tear up which made me like the movie even more. I liked it and I'm glad they decided to put it in theaters !!! pretty solid movie |
girltokyoJan 23, 2022 9:43 PM
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| the whole beauty and the beast thing is ruining the whole damn thing. the lack of interaction between the two, the "internet police" that can expose your irl identity breh. they could've done better by just exploring suzu and dump the whole beast thing. |
| The end is so confusing. What happened to kids? Was there police or something? Looked like that guy just run away, and that's it. Doesn't explain much. And "thank you" in return for love confession is something... though understandable, they've met for the very first time in real life. Very naive movie, but it was enjoyable, especially thanks to amazing songs. |
| Man just leaving the cinema, hosoda snapped again. I’d put this one over Tokikake and slightly below Wolf children only because I didn’t cry. Artistically, definitely his best work. Can’t give it a 10 because no confession smh. |
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| My first anime movie on a theater ever since DBZ in 2013. It was honestly quite an experience, I haven't watched that many anime movies before, including stuff like Your Name and A Silent Voice so I honestly have no basis to compare this one to. What I can say is that from the last big budget Hollywood movies that I watched this was by far better, it has been quite a long time since a watched a movie that made me emotional, and it really hit the feels with climax singing scene. The movie wasn't perfect, there was stuff that I felt was weird, like the beast fighting scene or Belle being interrogated (although that does serve a purpose later on), the CGI and character design wasn't bad tho, overall the movie was pretty solid, I watched dubbed and I don't really have many complaints with it, and I appreciate that it didn't feel dragged out like most hollywood movies do. Overall I loved the experience 9/10 |
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| spoilers................. the movie is exciting, the aesthetics are beautiful, and the music is fantastic, but I felt a confusion in the story, some holes. Was it a surprise to see that the beast was just a child because at first it seemed kind of romantic? I may be exaggerating but after seeing that dance, which is clearly adapted to Disney's "Beauty and the Beast", I felt confused about what the film wanted to show me about their relationship. bella and the monster don't know each other, i thought she had some connection because of her real romantic interest, but after seeing that he was just a kid (didn't say i didn't like the plot twist) their relationship got a little confused.. . has belle become something motherly to abused children? I still found the connection very out of the blue, very empathetic however.. Seila, I could be wrong too because I don't know how the demonstration of affection between relatives in Japan is. other than that, the ending was very short, were the kids ok after all? belle managed to tell the boy that she loves him??? the cut was too abrupt! |
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| Doxxing: The Movie |
Fortress_MaximusFeb 5, 2022 2:38 PM
 Novels I have read/am reading pending approval: since November 10 2022 |
| This was very good, not great but quite enjoyable, the songs certainly carried the show at points. There were an awful lot of "standard anime scenes" The furtive glances across the classroom, the childhood crush, the villain looking on in disbelief as everyone switches sides. Maybe the audience at Cannes hadn't seen anime (Especially Summer Wars) before and thought it was a masterpiece of originality. There were a lot of jumping about plot wise, I got the feeling that they needed more time to stitch the sections of the film together. As others have said why does she care about the beast? When did Hiro become Suzu's producer? What was the point of Ruka and the kayak dude? Don't get my wrong, I loved them and their screen time was some of the most enjoyable in the movie; it just that it had only the most tenuous relevance to the main plot. They either needed more scenes or none at all. But then again, in the original story Belle doesn't have much reason to care about the beast. It's a story about selflessness to a suffering person who on first impressions doesn't deserve it. This is turning into a bit of a moaning thread when this was actually a really enjoyable, well made film with a few typical anime plotholes. So I will say what I thought was great. The real world was beautifully drawn both art-wise, plot-wise and character-wise. What with 95% of all anime being set in the glass towers and spotless Western-style apartments of modern Tokyo it was nice to have a break from to have a mix of well lived in traditional houses and the slightly decrepit 1960's school buildings that are so nostalgic for anyone who lived through comprehensive school in the UK since about 1980. The real world character interaction was all well written, a joy to watch and never once felt forced. The scene with the huge text drama over Suzu and Shinobu holding hands in particular rang very true, the analogy between RTS generals marshaling troops in the heat of battle and girls constantly firefighting petty feuds was genius! I have to say, Hosoda is a master of everyday interactions between normal people, it's only when the conveniently unexplained "tech" elements is introduced that his movies fall down,at least for anyone with even a rudimentary interest in technology. |
BritishBlitz87Feb 13, 2022 7:49 AM
| Old is Gold "Look, look, we can do spinning shots without wasting our entire budget" "Did you see? Look, it's all smooth and everything !" "You're not looking, please, it's SO AWESOME LOOK AT HOW SPINNY IT IS!!!!" - All anime animators since the invention of CGI. |
| Beautifully animated, I liked how it had at least 3 different animation styles i could spot at least, frame by frame, 3d animated and puppet like, it was kinda jarring having a 3d character in the cg puppets crowd, I mean, it is actually smart to have a crowd be made like that instead of just stills, makes it look really alive. The 3d animated characters like the other singer Belle and other critters are animated in a lively way that reminds me more of western 3d animation, that isn't something bad actually (maybe i haven't seen enough 3d anime to say something like that tho). Almost forgot to mention the really well made visual metaphors like the RTS one, that one was really good xd Now for the movie itself, idk what to think about it tbh, it pulled some wacky CSI shit and i feel like it mentioned some things that it didn't really build upon, like, it lacked some back story for some of the characters. Fun watch, banger ost, saw this had a english and french dub with the actual songs being dubbed, they both sound pretty good. But sadly this secondlife esque world reminds me of ralph breaks the internet and that one simpsons episode that is set in the future that lisa goes to some vr facebook. That isn't really a compliment tbh. In general the whole vr plataform didn't make that much sense to me on how it was done (not the technology but rather the plataform itself), and i'm kinda disapointed they didn't really expand more on it, I think even psychopass did a better job with its vrchat thingy. Enjoyable movie tho. 7/10 |
Carpal_Tunnel69Mar 10, 2022 2:43 PM
| I really enjoyed the movie, it has a good message and the visuals and musics are stunning. It's a shame that it has such an low score, it's really a mistery to me why original animes had always bad reception from ppl on this site. |
| What a shitty movie. 2/10 |
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| Finally I got the occasion to see a subbed anime movie in indoor theatre, which is a mirage in my country, at least in my city. This was worth the watch. Animation and song were amazing, unfortunately plot wise there were several incongruences and things that didn't convince me. For example, if avatar is automatically generated, why there were some characters who chose it? (the housewife). When Suzu reveal herself as Belle in the livestream with the two brothers, all the characters in the room except Shinobu should have been surprised. They weren't as they already knew it, without any scene where they acknowledge it. I think Belle and Beast relationship needed more development and screentime in the beginning, to justify their closeness since the second half. "Villains" were poorly characterized. interesting reflections about social media from a sociological point of view. Intense storytelling, especially in the last part. Despite the flaws, overall an enjoyable watch. I would wanted to give this at least an 8, but for now I will stick with a 7. |
Thrasher96Mar 19, 2022 7:28 PM
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| Kinda disappointed, the song and animation is incredible but story and characters is not up to par and the VA is not that good |
| I don't remember 'Beauty and the beast' like this (or at all). Overall a decent movie especially the animation and music were very pleasing. I should say story-wise felt all over the place and underdeveloped. For example while I understand that Kei a 'nobody' being the dragon similar to Suzu makes sense, I didn't really had that emotional connection to actually care. |
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| This had so much going for it. The visuals and music are literally top notch, and not just for anime but for movies as a whole. Yet it’s plagued by such a shit story that I can’t give it the great score I want to give it. |
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| That was beautiful, I like that it wasn't a "internet bad! Social media is the worst!" but just lay down that is the people that can make them be a good or bad place to share what they like or not (the way they got rid of poor Peggie) I liked how it used the Beauty and the Beast motif, the Disney design of Belle's appearance and her way of expressing herself by singing all of it serves as the bridge between Belle and the Dragon to connect (the ballroom dance reference) and at the same time is an homage to how Disney inspired Japanese artists to create and tell their own stories. The detail of Suzu being aware of Rei's story and then getting to do something about it when she found out the secret said story was hiding as a way to get her to understand her mother altruism was amazingly done. Suzu grow as a character was beautiful, the scene when she finally "speak" to her father was so heartwarming. My only complain would be Suzu only needing to glare the abusive father to break him but I'd let it pass The confession scene was hilarious and cute, Hosoda should do a full rom-com film next. |
| My first reason to watch was for the music only and as i've watched it, is good. That beauty and the beast like scenes were not my cup of tea but how they revealed who the beast is made me bawl like a child. Srsly, that hurted me even after finishing the movie. Tomoe who was humming Belle's song with lifelessness and that hug of Kei and Suzu, it hurts. I do wonder how the abuse stopped but i guess Kei had the courage to tell everything to the child protection Also Take the courage message was delivered very well (imo) that i dont mind how movie didnt answer lots of questions (how beast hate in U died down, how and when shinobu knew who belle is, what happened to that "justice" person in U world after Belle's unveil?) (Not sure if i got the names correctly lolz) Also i love that 2nd(?) couple dynamic So overall, i enjoyed it even with the flaws |
MurukoHiiragiMay 1, 2022 11:34 AM
"Everyone fails sometimes But dreams won't fade, dreams won't fade Let's chase them as many times as it takes and don't lose Because today after all is today and once you wake up, it'll be a new morning" ~Aqours~ |
| The music was absolutely gorgeous. Love the OST. A lot of Beauty and the Beast comparisons I see. I didn't personally mind it too much, though it did feel like Belle's character design was overally.. uh.. Disney? Some of the scenes near the end were a bit too coincidental and I got laughs at them going CIS with the zoom features. Overall though, I did enjoy the movie. |
| What the fuck was that end |
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| Probably my favourite version of Hosoda Mamoru's Digimon The Movie The music were really nice and I got a little emotional in the last Suzu/Belle song |
| They took such an interesting concept and managed to make it 'meh'. |
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