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Mar 16, 2016
Hosoda is here again with another modern tale, expanding the themes from his last movie about coexisting with another species. At first glance, the movie feels like his 2006 feature The Girl Who Leapt Through Time in terms of atmosphere. They both start with a chill slice of life feeling that gains weight as it progresses. The difference is that TGWLTT is more likeable, whereas The Boy And The Beast takes a good 20 minute for you to get invested with the world and characters here presented.
The beast world is portrayed as a rustic place that still resembles bustling modern day cities, with
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people walking around conducting the businesses giving you the impression that former is not unsophisticated, but simply culturally different than the boy’s hometown Shibuya. That’d be perfect, but things are not as simple. There’s also more supernatural elements involved that I’ll talk about more later.
The cinematography is sweet. Vivid but not unnecessarily colorful. It’s satisfying but not awfully memorable. The soundtrack is well balanced, capturing the busy and frenetic environment while still managing to sound somewhat relaxing. The directing is a pro, filled with Mamoru’s trademarks lateral shots and some clichéd montages that still manages to be creative and exciting. The animation is also great, keeping up with the quality well-established in his previous film. The action sequences are fast without being exaggerated and the choreography reminds me of older Jackie Chan’s movies, although less comical.
The movie focus a lot on relationships. The main one between Kyuta and Komatetsu being by far the best. Wolf Children (I can’t help but compare these movies since they share a lot of similarities) was also about motherhood, TBATB is also about growing up and the way these two characters learn to become better together is the most entertaining thing the movie has to offer. There are also side stories involving other human characters. One of them exists simply for plot conveniences that could be cut out from the movie while another is more believable, creating a more stable bound to the human world for Kyuta enhancing the duality dilemma he suffers from. However, the most problematic one is hard to explain without spoiling, so I’ll try my best. Let’s say there’s a key plot event that takes place in the second half of the movie that could’ve been improved a lot if a certain rivalry was better established. It comes out of nowhere and harms the movie so badly that it becomes hard to actually care about it. That was actually worsen by the fact that everything that comes after it plays out so conveniently and predictably. The supernatural excess doesn’t help either. The movie is way more fantastical than it should’ve been in my opinion. There’s an specific element that feels out of place, making the movie’s flaws even harder to ignore. To put it simply, the third act is not good, it’s just messy. Oh yeah, I also think the tone of the movie could be more consistent, but maybe that’s just a nitpick.
The reason why I keep comparing The Boy And the Beast with Wolf Children so much is because if feels like a big step back for Hosoda. He was known for not knowing how to finish a film, (as obviously seen in The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) and WC was his only film that was satisfying in its entirety. The fact that TBATB have such a problematic third act is disappointing to say the least. I apologize again for turning this review into a filmography analysis, but it was an easy way to illustrate my point.
With all that said, if you are curious about the movie, go watch it. It’s not that bad if you don’t compare to Hosoda's previous efforts. It is charming and entertaining on its own way and it has several qualities too good to be ignored, just don’t go in expecting to watch an animated masterpiece.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Mar 7, 2016
There's not that much to say about City Hunter 2. It is better than its predecessor, that's for sure, which doesn't necessarily means it doesn't come with its fair share of flaws.
City Hunter (the first season) is formulaic as an episodic show can get. It is more than 50 episodes of an absurdly untouchable MC that has an aim that'd make Spike Spiegel jealous, going around solving cases with his partner that follows him around with her famous ecchi hammer while he approaches girls in a manner that today wouldn't be as acceptable as it was in the 80's, and I'm putting that lightly. City
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Hunter is also tons of fun. I mean, hilarious over the top moments with insane action stunts that goes beyond common sense. It is a comedy for a good reason, a wise decision to help you suspend your disbelief the same way other shows do, like JoJo for instance. Why am I wasting this much time talking about City Hunter in a City Hunter 2 review? You probably guessed right, the latter is basically the same deal, but as I mentioned prior, improved. A lot.
I'm not gonna lie, the show overall is not simply better executed, it also brings some new stuff to the table. The main stories are now split is two episodes arcs, giving more room for the plot to breathe, for the events to have more weight and for you to grow more attached to the characters, making this second season not only more memorable, but also more emotional. That's right, the show manages to balance its solid comedy with some pretty engaging dramatic moments, something that was almost inexistent in the first season. The main couple also get plenty of development throughout the show, more surprisingly Kaori, who gets lots of moments to shine and even take care of some bad guys herself (with a freaking bazooka). The writing is not consistent though, far from it. This brings me to City Hunter 2 heaviest flaws: The amount of unnecessary and uninteresting fillers, (almost half of the show actually) and specific events that defies your willingness to simply shut your mind and go with the flow. And I'm talking about an anime where a dude can unrope a person with a bullet. Episode 50 for example, has possibly the most baffling plot twist I've ever seen in my life. I'm not joking. And I've seen my share of absurd fiction.
Now that we are over with the negative side, we can move on to the other good stuff CH 2 has to offer. Simply put, CH 2 has one of the most gorgeous character design I've ever seen in an anime. It's not something flattering to say, but the amount of pretty women this show has to offer is unbelievable. We are introduced to countless along the way and I was always surprised by the creators ability to come up with such details that made the female characters so awfully distinguishable from one another. And I have to emphasize the quantity since we see a new girl every couple of episodes.
The soundtrack is sweet and nostalgic. Usually when the show begins a new story, we get a familiar welcoming song that basically says "sit back, relax and enjoy". The suspense tracks are intriguing and the more romantic ones delightful. What I'm trying to say here is, although they aren't ambitious and grandiose pieces of work like Madoka or Attack On Titan, they provide the perfect mood the show is aiming for, giving it a strong sense of identity. The OPs and EDs are also great. Stylish and sexy 80's. Glorious stuff.
The voice acting is also top notch, Ryo's in particular. Veteran Akira Kamiya is a master of generating laughter with tone of his voice alone, fitting his character like a glove. He is so charismatic and distinctive that I only have to thank whoever cast the dude. What a perfect choice.
I always think about City Hunter with a smile. Is that type of show that makes you a little embarrassed about ignoring its glaring flaws cause it's so charming and likeable (although I don't consider it to be a guilty pleasure since it does what it intends pretty well).
On a final note, I have to say that CH 2 didn't age well at all. And that's probably why I like it so much. It possesses a kind of naivety that is now lost, so I think of it as this sort of little gem, forever stuck in its period of time. In other words, nostalgia. And that's all pretty weird cause I wasn't even born in the 80's. Anyway this is getting way too subjective if you know what I mean so I will finally say that it is worth going through the first season (that isn't bad actually) just to watch this one. Sure it could have at least 10 episodes less and it gets redundant from time to time, but all in all: Memorable characters; lots of laugh; entertaining as hell; great times.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 15, 2015
Do you like watching high schoolers beating each other to a pulp while having a laugh at it? Well my friend, I got the perfect gift for you, even if it comes wrapped somewhat messily (cringy analogy). So anyway, let’s get the technical aspects out of the way, shall we?
Kyou Kara Ore Wa!! is a 90’s action comedy made by Pierrot, which means that the art style is bland and the animation is passable at best. The sound and the voice acting is also nothing to write home about and the absence of an opening is a little disappointing. The best aspect about it is
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the well-choreographed fighting scenes (that’s what we are here for anyway), even if some recycled bits are thrown here and there.
So visually, there’s really nothing interesting here, but aside from that, is the anime good? I do think so. Like I said, the fighting scenes are genuinely exciting to watch and it doesn’t fail as a comedy either, with several humorous sitcom moments to even things up (without laugh tracks of course).
The pacing is also well balanced. The show doesn’t simply jump from one fight to another, but instead leaves room for you to breath offering some relaxing Rumiko Takahashi-esque slice of life scenes where we can observe the character’s interactions and the situations they get themselves involved (yes it has some sort of romance and yes I use parenthesis a lot). That’s a very nice touch considering that each episode ranges from 35 min to 1 hour long but you barely notice its length. Oh… Right, this is also a 90’s show made for young boys, meaning that underage gang members will spread chaos and violence across the city with the police or whoever is responsible for minor thugs doing little to nothing to stop them. The best dojo in the world is also located in this town apparently since all of them seem to know Jackie Chan moves and have the resistance of professional heavy-weight boxers, so you know what to do if your disbelief, right?
The characters are likeable, but superficial. Although the main duo dynamic is really entertaining to watch, there’s never a deep feeling of development or inner change, but in my opinion that help keeps the light tone of the show. Because that’s what it is. A good old-fashioned shonen to watch before bed or whenever you want to just chill.
So yeah… Ratings. If I had to take a more objective stance I’d probably give it a six, because even if the anime is pretty self-aware of it is, it isn’t terribly memorable and we also have to take into consideration its more mediocre aspects. HOWEVER, I honestly prefer rating based on enjoyment cause I’m always struggling with this numerical system and since nostalgia is poking me consistently in the back as I’m writing this review (the show practically screams River City Ransom and even Yu Yu Hakusho to a certain extent, another show from the same studio but better animated and I swear this is the last parenthesis) I’ll raise it to a seven.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Oct 13, 2015
Extreme violence and sadism are things that really shoud be handled with care in animation, otherwise you end up with something like Ichi The Killer.
The OVA is only 45 minutes long, but by 30 minutes in you start having to endure it instead of simply watching and not because it's disturbing, but because it is awful. The OVA shows the MC's past, prior to his transformation as the frenzied hopeless psychopath Ichi The Killer, so possibly the only good aspect of the show is when we delve into Ichi's psyche, witnessing when the line between violence and sex blurred in his mind, specially
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in what is by far the most interesting sequence of the short film when we see something involving BDSM and the dissecting of a frog.
The pacing is terrible, we have no sense of plot development whatsoever, and the animation starts half decent before gradually becoming horrendous. And aside from the remix song containing Ichi's screams that plays in the beggining, middle and ending of the OVA there's nothing awfully interesting about the sound design and the voice acting.
Honestly, I would recomend Takashi Miike's live action adaptation instead of this one, because even if it suffers from the same issues from the OVA regarding plot and pacing it stills benefits from the incredible Tadanobu Asano's perfomance as Kakihara (the most interesting character of the movie that unfortunately is almost absent in the OVA) and Miike's trademark black humor, something that can make the gore a little more bearable for the squeamish.
Since any kind of humour is lacking in the OVA we have nothing left but extremely unrealistic evil characters (seriously, everyone in japan is freaking jerk apparently) and unintentional comedy due to the over the top Ichi's face expressions.
In the end I really don't know the reason why this even exists. Does it want to expand Ichi's character? Does it want to add to the overall universe? Beucase if the answer is yes it failed miserably. It's boring, dumb and pointless and I don't think it's possible to recommend it to anyone. Not to fans of the movie or the manga (which I haven't read by the way) and neither to ultraviolence junkies. If you want just some silly, fun bloody horror/action anime, trust me, look elsewhere.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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Oct 9, 2015
If you heard about this show before then you probably heard more about the mile a minute monologues delivered by the unnamed protagonist than anything else about it. Which is a shame even though this aspect of the series becomes a highlight once your brain is properly adjusted. Tatamy Galaxy has probably the best dialogues I've ever seen in a anime before and one of the best writing in general, add this up with the ingenious, flourishing and mind boggling direction by anime genius Yuasa Maasaki and you have one of the most creative and fulfilling experiences anime have to offer. It is really that
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good.
The setting might not be the most original, but the groundhog day college life-esque plot is really handled fantastically. You have this multitude of interesting characters, symbols and themes the run through the veins of the show for its entirety that never go to waste. Every little item presented here is utilized later on giving the episodic show a feeling of continuity that is really hard to achieve. Still, probably what satisfies me the most about it is how it manages to avoid pretentiousness. Although Yojouhan is deep and multilayered it never tries too hard to impress. It is ambitious, but always honest; it is clever, but never showy. It's just perfectly balanced.
You might think the ending is a bit cliched when you first see it, but when you stop to reflect on it you reach the conclusion that no show ever conveyed Carpe Diem so effectively, it is much more than a simple romantic comedy.
Aside from Monster I can't think of another show I watched that I don't have any problems with it (and yes I've seen Cowboy Bebop) but Tatami is probably a second one.
It's so weird how much you can relate to a MC that doen't even have a name, but now that I think about it, that's exactly the point.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Oct 5, 2015
Games are always fun, specially when they involve mayhem and aliens. Coming out almost at the same time as Battle Royale, Gantz is one of those types of stories that we are all well familiar nowadays, that have our protagonist trapped in some sort of twisted survival game along with some other unlucky bastards and their lives are on the line at all times so they must develop survival skills in order to keep breathing, just to play some more later.
So good things first. The action is extraordinary. One of the best I've ever seen. And not because it is extremely frenetic (although it
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kinda turns out this way later on), but because we can feel the lives of the players at stake. Gantz is (in)famous for its explicit portrayal of violence, but I have to admit it works really well here. Witnessing such horrific ways to go (twice if you read the synopsis) makes the characters realize how fragile they really are and how that affects their psychological states. No one is safe in Gantz, and although the players have ways to defend themselves, you can always feel the danger lurking in the corners, it's extremely unconfortable but it feels realistic. It is easy to be turned off by the extremely violent, nihilistic approach towards human nature Oku presents and the gratuitous nudity, but once you get used to it, it becomes immensely addictive, making you even feel guilty by the numbness to gore that comes after the few chapters.
The art is also a highlight. While some readers may be dissatisfied with the computer made backgrounds, you cannot deny Oku's tremendous talent for action sequences, human anatomy and facial expressions.
But I still have to say, Gantz is far from perfect. The characters are extremely unlikable and it's hard to root for any of them, specially in a case where caring about them is very necessary (it's a game anyway, you need to want the character to survive) even if some of them are somehow well developed.
The story quality also suffers considerably when we get to the final arc. All the "realism" established in the beggining simply vanishes and you start to get the "shonen tropes" feeling lingering in your mouth. Add this up with some half-baked contradictory philosophy and you start to wonder why the author didn't quit while he was ahead.
Gantz is a sci fi/action manga. Not a very "scientific" one, but fun and well done (at least artistically) nonetheless.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Oct 4, 2015
I love old anime. I really do. I think they have a charming naivety and simplicity, something that is now lost due to the chaotic overabundance of anime today. But this one... There's just no defending it. As much as I have an immense respect for Go Nagai, it's impossible to appreciate Violence Jack. I don't mind violence at all in any media (that's exactly why the title didn't stop me from watching it), but when that is the ONLY thing you have to offer with such sloppy execution, then we have a problem. Evil City is a OVA filled with
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underdeveloped character, stale animation and random acts of violence that amount to nothing, kinda like the first one, but even worse. The dialogue is silly as expected from such corny title and action sequences are okay at best. It would be way easier to indulge if the senseless gore happened only during the fights (some anime can do it pretty effectively), but when most of the violence concentrates on prolonged rape scenes, then it becomes simply intolarable. Embarrassing even...
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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