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Mar 26, 2019
About half a century after Philip K. Dick sold "The Minority Report" to Fantastic Universe in order to buy more drugs, we have Psycho Pass. They share the simple premise of a society founded on preemptive law enforcement, and the implications for justice. It's remarkable how much continuity there is in our social concerns. Or perhaps it isn't. I think that we'll crack the secrets behind faster-than-light travel long before we get anywhere near a consistently sane justice system.
The justice system in Psycho Pass is *notably* insane, but something I could see a fearful society adopting. Living through the introduction and codification of the Patriot
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Act taught me that freedom gets traded for security for pennies on the dollar. The citizenry in Psycho Pass is, on the whole, happier and healthier in a surveillance date with predetermined occupations and internments based on a loosely-defined psychological hue. We're just missing a few hops ahead in technology. And guns that make people explode like balloons.
As my tangents might show you, Psycho Pass gets you thinking. Which is probably the best compliment you can give any high-concept science fiction. The worst thing that can happen to your premise isn't a few one-liners at its expense. It's indifference.
I'm a semi-stan of Gen Urobuchi, the main scriptwriter. I say "semi" because, despite my love of most of his work, I can't seem to get through any entry in the Fate/Stay franchise. That said, with the exception of that ahistorical bump in the road, Psycho Pass is a match for the quality of the rest of his body of work.
The show has both a strong intellectual core and a crowd-pleasing action streak, and I appreciate the balance of elements. I think a number of detective and science fiction properties assume that psychological texture and base thrills are in opposition to each other. Psycho-Pass has a very Tarantino relationship to violence, in that it understands that violence is a part of the human story and often casts other matters in sharp relief. Very well done.
There's also a good balance between expanding the world and its characters. I'm an eternal fan of Ghost in the Shell, but I would never argue that Major is anywhere near as well-developed as the world she lives in. In Psycho Pass, you get a close read on the personalities and drives of almost all the investigators (half of whom live in high-concept indentured servitude). This added a great deal to my interest in the show's broader mysteries.
As for the animation, there's certainly a budget. The show's at its visual best during a short arc in which the team investigates a virtual reality cult of personality. Call it my Snow Crash nostaligia, but I think this show does a good job of sketching the kind of online identities people would try to lose themselves in. The action is also well done, which is important if, like me, you raised your hand when Eminem asked if you like violence.
I have an unconventional recommendation for newcomers considering this series. It shares a trait with western crime thrillers in that it's an ideal "date show." The episodes are the right balance of plot-driven, fast-paced, lightly bloody mystery to make for a good watch-along with someone you're getting to know. Obviously not for everyone, but a coup for the right type.
P.S.: Theme song's a banger.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Mar 25, 2019
Redline is a philosophical treatise on going fast.
In the state of nature, man is left with two choices: going fast, and other stuff. Going fast is the perfect intersection of Stoic discipline, Buddhist detachment from material desire, and the divine right cited by the Sun King Louis XIV. It is the ultimate Platonic form: a perfect, unchanging idea. Other stuff is boring, and not worth talking about.
Every frame of going fast in Redline is lovingly hand animated. Other stuff, like narrative cohesion and making sense, receives minimal attention. This balance of elements makes Redline one of the great intellectual works of our generation. This may
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fly over the head of casual audiences and undergraduate philosophers. I suggest they try lighter fare, like Derrida, before tackling Redline.
Redline's soundtrack is perfectly suited to going fast. I suggest playing the standout track "Yellow Line" the next time you find going fast necessary in your own life. You'll find the boost gained from the song's energy more than sufficient to outrace local law enforcement.
There's a case to be made that the other stuff in Redline is not very good, and sidelined in favor of going fast. This is true. Redline is trying to teach you about the divine grace of going fast, and the fallen nature of other stuff. You simply need to open your heart and soul to the lessons that it is trying to give.
I'd argue that Redline's main issue is the presence of other stuff. There's a love story in there somewhere that takes several vital scenes away from going fast. I suspect that, in the future, we will receive a director's cut that focuses more on the movie's emotional core. Until then, we'll have to stick to this *mostly* perfect version.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Mar 25, 2019
One privilege of being born in the first world during the 21st century: I've never seen a train derail. My understanding is that it's a deeply traumatizing experience, with metal twisting around flesh in all the wrong ways. I don't have a personal experience that can compete with that kind of gore. I do, however, have a reference point for the velocity of a train sailing off the rails. That's an ill-advised viewing of Darling in the FranXX.
That might seem harsh, but let me clarify my position. I'm a mech-head. You can feed me robots the way you feed a child corn syrup. I might
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aspire to objectivity, but my scores for mech shows have grade inflation that Harvard can only aspire to. So when I say that a mech anime has problems, something has gone on an elemental level. I'm calling it a three, which likely makes it a mainstream two.
To explain what went wrong in the writer's room, let me tell you an old joke. Two friends are talking in a cafe. The first says "My dog writes detective novels." The second asks "How's he do that?" The first replies "He starts at the end, and writes backwards."
Classic dad joke, with an important, almost universally acknowledged rule of storytelling built in. If you're going to lean on mystery in your plot, you need to know where you're going. It's as important as knowing the punchline to a joke, if not more so. Unfortunately, after the sixteenth episode, Darling in the FranXX seems to be freestyling. The answers we get to its core questions are cliches at best, and original nonsense at worst.
This is disappointing because the show has some strength out the gate. There's surprising verisimilitude in how the kids interact with each other before the main plot kicks in. Ground well-trod by Evangelion and company, but well-executed. There's a hint of Never Let Me Go in the dramatics between doomed children in a society built around their exploitation. It's an idea that can take you a long way with a steady hand. Sadly, no one in the writer's room seems to have had a plan beyond the initial mood-setting.
I'd also be remiss if I didn't admit that the show looks fine. The animators and designers largely held up their end of the bargain: Darling in the FranXX is a pretty face with an empty head. Maybe that's a good fit for a show entrenched in early relationships. We've all dated that person. Multiple times. This week. Alright, just me.
The tragic thing is that Darling in the FranXX doesn't even make for a good hatewatch. That's a sport that I, as a snark machine, am more than compatible with. I can get through something that fails out the gate with a smile and a bottle of Bacardi 151. But when a show starts out with promise, it feels more like the jokes on me.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Mar 22, 2019
I never watched a minute of toku as a child, teen, or adult. Since SSSS.Gridman is a heart-covered love letter to that genre, I could take that as a sign that I should recuse myself from providing an opinion. But since my overall impression is positive, I'm going to go ahead and add mine to the pile.
SSSS.Gridman is a lightly metafictional take on the tokusatsu genre, injecting the classic action formula with MFA-ish storytelling priorities (e.g. depression, the nature of living in a narrative, etc). That's not a knock against it: crossing the streams takes us somewhere relatively unique. I'd call it a more straight-laced
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Samurai Flamenco, and that's good company.
The focus is split between Yuuta, an amnesiac with a heart of gold (trust me, don't run away, it's set-up for a nice hat trick later on) and Shinjo Akane, a girl with both a Columbine High mentality and the ability to create Kaiju. Yuuta can turn into Gridman, who is somewhere on the all-caps JUSTICE scale between 1960's Superman and contemporary Captain America. You might guess that Akane is more interesting. You're right. But Yuuta's antics do have a classic appeal, and Trigger does their usual good job of leaning on the mechanics/standards of a genre for effect.
The style of the fights takes a moment to get used to, but works marvelously. Trigger did an excellent job of giving the movements of the kaiju and Gridman variants a sense of scale and gravity. They lumber the way something of that size should. Thanks to the animation, and show underlining these battles having very real casualties, every building that gets knocked over feels like it matters.
I have an odd relationship with the ending. I'm fine with the outline of events, wherein Akane finds some measure of autonomy and acceptance. The last fight looks great, and they do a decent job of not leaving any threads dangling. Then there's the big "but." I think there's a tendency in spec-fic to associate going abstract with a good climax. And it can be done well. But in Gridman's last episode, I don't quite feel the sense of control that it takes to make that narrative work.
I think it comes down to the pacing of the last episode. Most of this show works because of how deftly it handles it's atmosphere, and the doling out of information. That's a sharp contrast Alexis and Gridman shouting at each other about mortality, which feels a little familiar. Granted, you're supposed to see a few echoes of the past in a tribute like S.S.S.S.Gridman. But it's possible to get a little too much of a good thing.
Samurai Flamenco had similar inspiration, and handled the home stretch a little more artfully. As someone that enjoyed both, I recommend it as a companion piece for anyone that vibes with the overall tone of SSSS.Gridman.
It's a good time. Not perfect, but good. A fine choice for anyone looking for some extra optimism in their media diet.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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