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Aug 2, 2021
Cipher the Video is a 1989 OVA adapted from a 1985 manga (simply titled "Cipher") which tells the story of two teenage twins. If you only watch this OVA, good luck trying to actually find a plot.
Simply put, Cipher is quite possibly the single worst "animated" audio-visual product I have ever sat through. This is not entertainment and to refer to it as actual animation is an insult to the craft since there is only the slightest hint of it in this 26 minute exercise. Sure, even quality can come from OVAs with limited animation but even the art style is poorly done; characters are
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generic and messy, lacking in any personality whatsoever.
This lack of personality isn't just limited to the design but also the voice acting (the OVA was only ever dubbed in English with Japanese subtitles, apparently trying to go for realism but ending up with something far worse). The actors are decidedly amateur and noticeably flub some of their lines as if they hadn't bothered to read the script or just used the first take each time. Somewhat thankfully the dialogue is kept to a minimum, with the majority of the runtime dedicated to montages of images as 80s pop tunes play over them. Unfortunately for us some of these are dreadful cover versions of classics by the likes of Phil Collins and Kenny Loggins.
I mentioned at the start of this review the difficulty in understanding the plot, but that's because there really isn't one. It's just montages of images with no direction whatsoever and no attempt at cohesion or constructing even a basic narrative. From what I have heard th manga is actually pretty good so if you're looking for something new to read then it might be worth checking out.
Even ironically I cannot recommend this. Unlike other bad anime which can be mocked and ridiculed to the point where it is perversely enjoyable, Cipher offers no such redeeming qualities. It is a pointless, banal waste of time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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Mar 6, 2021
Ocean Waves was the first Studio Ghibli movie to not be directed by Miyazaki or Takahata and is not your standard Ghibli fare; it lacks the imaginative fantasy of the former and the emotional gravity of the latter, instead opting for a more nuanced and reflective experience over its brief 72 minute runtime.
The story begins with Taku taking a flight back to his hometown to attend his high school reunion and proceeds to reflect on his final year when he befriended Yutaka and first met Rikako, a girl who has relocated from Tokyo and takes an immediate disliking to her new surroundings. What follows is
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a series of flashbacks narrated by Taku of his encounters with her.
Despite the high production qualities which one would expect of a Ghibli film, Ocean Waves is severely lacking in plot and character development. Although Taku is the main protagonist and narrator for the film, he has very little characterisation and acts almost as a passive observer in his own life, whilst Rikako is someone who immediately comes across as manipulative and unpleasant with some of her earlier interactions. Rikako also appears at a glance to be the only one with some kind of arc; we learn why she is the way she is, but this doesn't excuse her treatment of the other characters, and the sympathy that we are meant to feel is inherently expected and not genuinely earned.
The plot is simply a sequence of events that can be described as boy-meets-girl, friend-falls-in-love-with-girl, girl-rejects-friend, boy-is-forced-along-on-a-trip-to-Tokyo and... I think you get the general idea. Things happen and then nothing follows. Everything feels contrived, even the ending - and considering the conflict between the protagonists the ending feels almost ridiculous in its sudden realisation. Taku is supposed to be spending his flight reflecting but never has any sudden revelations or epiphanies; he simply explains the events that happened and that's it.
Yet despite the obvious issues with the film, I can't help but think about its charm; this is a slow, quiet, thoughtful movie. This isn't a lost Ghibli classic at all, but it has a certain charm. In life all we can do is look back passively at the events that took place, we cannot change them but that's not where our stories end. Maybe that is the true purpose of this film (probably not, but it won't stop me from watching it again).
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Dec 11, 2020
For many people of a certain age, Ninja Scroll was probably one of the earliest mature anime films they had watched. Released in 1993, Ninja Scroll stood out at a time when most anime was either family-friendly Studio Ghibli works or of the fantasy variety by being an ultra violent and stylistic take on the classic samurai action genre.
Jubei is a wandering swordsman who is drawn into a fight against the Eight Devils of Kimon, a group of warriors displaying supernatural powers and led by the seemingly immortal Gemma whim Jubei once decapitated. In his reluctant journey he teams up with Kagero, the sole female
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survivor of a previous encounter with the Devils, and Dakuan, a government agent who aims to stop Gemma in his plan to overthrow the government.
The story itself is barebones and exists merely for one purpose; for our main characters to initiate combat with each of the Devils. Although the story prevents it from being as deep as other classic films from this period, the action scenes are simply a wonder to watch. Expertly drawn and with some great sound design (especially during the bamboo forest fight), these scenes get to show of the swordplay, abilities and a gratuitous amount of blood in all of its fine glory.
The lack of a story prevents any deeper character development, although if there is one notable exception it has to be Kagero. At the start of the film she has to force her ill-fated group to accept her as a member, and throughout the movie during conversations with Jubei we hear her disappointment at being the woman that she is and treated in such a poor way. Which reminds me...
Although this film is still enjoyable almost 30 years later and the artistry has aged well, the one thing that has not aged well is the quite misogynistic approach to the few female characters. Of the four female characters in this movie three of them appear naked, one appears only in a sex scene, and another is sexually assaulted twice in the movie. I know that this is a mature anime but for me personally there is just something uncomfortable about it, even if during the first of such scenes it does play an important part for one of the battles and allows for some character development.
Despite my own feelings towards certain aspects of the film, this is an incredibly enjoyable anime which provides consistent thrills but the lack of a compelling plot is its one major flaw.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 4, 2020
Vampire Holmes is an anime based on a mobile app. That single sentence would probably be enough to signpost that this isn't going to be particularly good, but oh no... this is much worse.
Across 12 episodes lasting 3 minutes (or 2 minutes, if you take out the opening and closing credits) we follow the story of Holmes and his assistant Hudson (did the creators actually read the original work?) as they bicker and argue about, well, anything really. Whether it's the rent, food, Holmes' lack of engagement with cases or a white cat that for some reason calls itself a black cat. If you were
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expecting some deep character development, I suggest you look elsewhere since the show doesn't even live up to its title: Holmes never displays vampire traits, nor are vampires actually shown.
In terms of animation, this is an incredibly cheap horrible looking show with production quality straight out of the lazy bargain basement Youtube Kids cartoons that garner an incessant number of views. It's just like that, only I'm pretty sure kids would find this an eye-gouging mess as well.
If I have anything positive to say about Vampire Holmes it has to be the fact that there is a plot which is resolved... somehow. Episodes feature random bits of information which merely act as a MacGuffin to set up the next argument, and when the final episode arrives all of these points are tied together and make for a conclusion... of sorts. That's the greatest twist ever: this terrible show had a plot.
This is a show which is awful, but somehow I still recommend it. It's so bad and the plot resolution so unexpected that I found myself mildly entertained. At least for the 5 minutes after it ended.
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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Nov 14, 2020
Focusing on a teenage boy who can regenerate his body and his younger sister who must feed on flesh to survive, Pupa pushes the boundaries of taste (no pun intended) and shock horror.
Pupa is, in a word, disgusting. It is disgusting to watch with its low quality animation and muddy art style; the sound effects and music are horrible to listen to (does that make it a success?); the story is vulgar in its depraved nature and the characters are merely beings that exist with no purpose except to make you feel disgust. This is a show that made me feel unclean, and after a
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certain point I could simply not watch any more of this.
With each episode lasting barely five minutes, you would be led to believe that Pupa is an easily digestible (no pun intended) series. But even with such a short running time, why subject yourself to such depravity?
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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Nov 14, 2020
Virus Buster Serge marked the debut of Masami Obari as a director and writer for a television series, prior to this his directorial work consisted of several mecha and fighting OVAs whilst he had never been credited as a writer on these projects.
These details are important to consider when watching Virus, as it is clearly the work of an auteur in an unknown medium... and it shows.
Obari's weakness and inexperience as a writer are on full display; after the first three episodes the viewer gets the impression that there was no story planned out since the following nine episodes seem to meander with very little
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relation to the plot. It's almost as if Obari made no attempt to tell a compelling story, instead relying upon the belief that plot points could be hinted at but these are never fully developed.
Characters in this show are no better. There are no distinct personalities among any of the principal cast; they simply exist in a space, recite typically banal dialogue, and make inexplicable choices which make no sense in the context of the so-called "plot". Artistically, the characters are bland in their design (perfectly capturing their distinct lack of personality) with males sporting angular faces and chiselled abs, whilst the females possess oversized breasts and eyes - none of these characters are unique in their design. The mech design is only slightly better, but the action sequences lack excitement and are quite boring, relying on an unchanged formula for the duration of the series. Given Obari's history with the genre, this is a significant flaw.
If there is anything positive to say about the show it has to be that the sound is generally good. The English dub isn't brilliant, but there are some decent performances and the music, whilst not memorable, is passable. There is an attempt at creating images that stand out, but as a whole the show just fails to work.
Even bad anime can be embraced by fans and by the masses, even if such admiration is ironic, but Virus commits the biggest sin of any piece of entertainment: it fails to entertain.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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