- Last OnlineJan 5, 8:23 AM
- GenderMale
- JoinedJun 3, 2014
RSS Feeds
|
![]()
Nov 15, 2024
It seems I am the sole review for Ghost Cat Anzu as of today, which is a shame. I saw it through a short theatrical window and was the only one in my theatre to enjoy what I found to be a pretty charming story of found-family. The animation for me was the strongest stand-point, first directed in live action and then animated over in rotoscrope. While it might be jank for some, I found it charming and lanky, the yokai / ghost characters being the stand-outs, whether it be the titular Anzu, who's lumber and laugh makes it impossible not to be charmed, or
...
his friend Frog who ribbits with glee as he digs holes and enjoys his hot springs. The movie moves at a pace that a cat would enjoy, going from small vignettes in the countryside about what happens when a 37 year old ghost cat drives a motorized scooter without a license, or a god of poverty who overstays his welcome by following everybody he deems to have misfortune. I think ultimately, that is what will make or break the movie for most viewers. Much of the central plot, following a girl who misses her mother and father, or learning to get along with someone you previously dimissed, is nothing you haven't seen before. There's are themes that have been explored better and more in depth in countless other anime, such as Anohana or Toradora! Following loneliness, loss, etc. The movie will go scene from scene of hijinks, living on the countryside, etc. until they reach Tokyo where the plot takes a turn for the more whimsical in the last act. Some viewerrs might actually get a lot out of the finale and how it deals with moving on, but for those bored with the first two acts it is quite the tonal shift. So while I believe Ghost Cat Anzu has a pace & plot might not be for everyone, I believe that with it's strong character design and animation it is definitely a worthy lazy Sunday watch.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
What did you think of this review?
Nice
 0
Love it
 0
Funny
 0
Confusing
 0
Well-written
 0
Creative
 0Show all
![]()
May 28, 2022
This review will contain spoilers for both the main MHA series up to date as well as it’s spin-off.
My Hero Academia Vigilantes started off as a spin-off to the main series, but within its 126 chapter run I believe managed to stand alone from its source as well as surpassing it to become a fairly enjoyable superhero manga. This is due to a few number of aspects I will be going over below, starting with
I. The side-characters.
I believe that due to a much smaller cast, MHA:V manages to have a much tighter focus on the character development and ambitions as a whole. There’s
...
no one character that manages to steal the show and overtake the manga for sequences and arcs at a time, nor are there characters who dip in and out of the story without reason to have the reader miss them in their place. For example, Eraserhead manages to get more development within one volume than he has in the entire 30+ volume run of the main series, in part to an arc focusing on his days as a student rather than a teacher. It in part enhances the viewer’s perception of him in the main series, making the reveal that Oboro is Kurogiri hit that much harder. Likewise, Slain the hero hunter exists in the past in Vigilantes as a violent villain Hunter who crosses the line frequently, accumulating in his turn to the dark side that is both satisfying and sad to read. Even Rumi, who exists in the main series as a jobber, gets an excellent arc alongside Knuckleduster as an up-and-comer that establishes her rowdy personality and fighting style in a way that feels organic. For many MHA readers, Vigilantes is a fun way to see your favorite side characters actually get the spotlight alongside some excellent development and fights that help flesh them out better than the development they’ve received in the main series. But for Vigilantes readers only, the characters are still well written enough to where they stand alone and intrigue the reader enough to root for them. Even our protagonist’s mentor, Knuckleduster, ends up feeling much more like a cohesive character because of this. Unlike All Might, he isn’t really sidelined out of the story at any point, his vigilantism serving as both a way out for his character as well as a perfectly understandable evolution of the heroism in-universe. Once you learn of his backstory, you understand perfectly why he believes that outside of the law is the only way to work. But what is a mentor without his aide? This brings us to the protagonist,
II. Koichi and his relatability.
Within the first handful of chapters, I feel the reader has a much better grasp into the world through our protagonist Koichi AKA The Crawler. He is a much more relatable character than Deku, and this is in part to his vulnerability as well as his acceptance of his stature. He is much-more mild mannered, his love for All Might more of a side-enjoyment than an annoying re-occurring gag. His quirk is easily defined as well as not-being overly flashy, which lends itself to extremely entertaining chase and fight scenes that has the reader guessing where he’ll float next. Combine this with the fact that what he’s doing is in-canon against the code, as well as the fact that he’s just an average joe, makes both the tension and stakes much higher than most situations Deku could manage on his own. There are several points in the series where you genuinely don’t know if he’ll make it out unscathed, and due to his lack of support system with the smaller cast, means that for the most part he stands alone and fights alone for much of the series. This leads to many satisfying moments where his wins feel EARNED rather than given to as he uses his intellect and his powers to keep both his opponents fumbling. By the end of the series he feels like a fully-fledged hero, something many of the central cast characters in the main series still lack after several hundred chapters in. And finally, the aspect that I feel elevates the story is,
III. The Main Villain.
Number 6 AKA Rokuro, washes every single villain in the MHA universe and it’s not even close. Due to his screen time and the amount of disguises and scenes he has with the other characters, his drive as a villain and what ultimately turns him into a monster by the end of the series is much more focused and relatable to the reader. As a young boy suffering from Agnosia, he had no self-focus nor fit in with society. As such, All for One manipulates him and shapes him into a dark image of fanboy-ism and hero worship, making him a dark-coin flip to our main protagonist. He worships his heroes so much that he is willing to scar himself just so that he looks like the hero he adores so much, hoping that one day he may save others just like his idol. Of course, the rejection that comes from his hero is enough to push him over the line, in a scene that is both tragic and understood by anyone who’s struggled with rejection. He isn’t just some big baddie monologging from the shadows with his ultimate plan, he’s a scary reminder of what wanderers without a sense of belonging can be indoctrinated into without help from society. It also certainly helps that he pops in and out of the story as several side-characters in disguise, meaning for the most part he shapes many of the conflicts throughout the story without it being forced.
Yes, the artwork isn’t remotely as bombastic and detailed as the main series, but due to the much tighter focus on the character work, a darker tone, and the much shorter length, I believe that Vigilantes is one of the better super hero manga one could pick up and have a good time with, regardless of their knowledge of the main book.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Apr 19, 2022
[This review will contain spoilers for the film, as well as a few aspects of the previous games the characters appeared in.]
Right off the bat, I think I should establish that your overall enjoyment of this film will vary based on what type of Resident Evil fan you, as I cannot imagine you’d be watching this movie if you weren’t.
If you’re a fan of the classic PS1 era of the series, where survival is key and you never know just what might pop out of the darkness, you’re going to absolutely loathe this movie.
If you’re a fan of the goofier titles like RE4-6,
...
where the protagonists fight in active volcanos, have unlimited golden eggs in their pockets, and can punch boulders into place, you’re going to absolutely adore this movie.
I’m sure you can tell based on my score what category of fan I happen to fall into.
Resident Evil Vendetta is an absolutely no-holds bar blast from start to finish, and at an hour and a half too, it’s pretty much all killer no filler until the credits roll. It doesn’t have the extremely photorealistic animation that Infinite Darkness has, or the compelling side characters that Damnation had, but it more than makes up for it with some of the most insane-balls to wall action in the entire franchise. The main villain, Glenn Arias, is that he’s so down bad for Rebecca Chambers, that he’s literally willing to infect the entire planet with a virus just so he can smash. This is due to the fact that Rebecca is identical to his deceased wife, who somehow is identical to Chambers sans the blonde hair. None of this is explained.
Glenn’s villainous plot is also aided by his two surviving wedding guests, Diego & Maria Gomez. Except Diego has been transformed by the A-Virus, turning him into a Hulk-like monster with superhuman capabilities and transformations. Maria on the other hand, just wears latex and jiggles around. None of this is explained.
During the final battle, Chris is aided by is BSAA team and they pull up to fight a transformed Glenn in a military chopper. Nadia, one of the team members, opens the back hatch to reveal that she has the same railgun Jill Valentine once used to defeat Nemesis back in Resident Evil 3. In a moment of pure-fan service, she charges up the weapon and blows a hole through Glenn’s chest…except the beam keeps going and immediately tears through the five skyscrapers behind him, blowing up and no doubt killing thousands off-screen. None of this exp-
Do you see what I’m getting at? This entire film is packed to the brim with such pure and utter chaos that it makes Resident Evil 6 look like Barney & Friends. Characters will pull off such insane stunts to the point where it’ll feel like you just gave Michael Bay your Resident Evil action figures plus Red Bull then told him “Go Nuts!”. Leon Kennedy drives his motorcycle up an entire skyscraper elevator just to drive it at the final boss, then flip off of it, and THEN shoot the engine in mid-air to blow it up. Chris Redfield gets an entire Oldboy-esque sequence where he fights with a M4A1 Carbine bayonet combo and absolutely wastes an entire platoon of zombies without breaking a sweat. Rebecca Chambers gets to make o-faces while drinking mocha lattes and gets damsel-ed for the entire second half of the movie. Poorly written female characters? Now I know I’m watching a Michael Bay movie!
All in all, this is a movie makes it abundantly clear within the first 15 minutes that you’re not going to be watching it for the “art” of it. You’re going to be watching it because you want to see some absolutely insane zombie action staring your favorite Capcom characters, and on that front Residenr Evil Vendetta goes above and beyond to make sure the viewer’s having a good time doing it. Just leave your brain at the door, and you’re bound to have fun…just be sure that the zombies don’t much on it while it’s out.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
![]()
Feb 7, 2022
(This review will contain spoilers.)
Jagaaaaan had the potential to be one of the greatest seinen series ever made, with a very accessible set-up, an unconventional protagonist, and some absolutely fantastic yet grotesque artwork, the first fifty-four chapters of the series are very highly recommended. The scenarios in which the powers are distributed to humanity and what humanity does with said powers are just as disturbing and realistic as can be, which makes for quite the unpredictable ride.
But this isn’t a review of the first fifty-four chapters. This is a review of the whole series, and as a whole, Jagaaaaan takes your enjoyment and time
...
and throws it out the window.
Immediately after killing off 70% of the cast by the mid-point, the series takes a nosedive so spectacular it makes you wonder why you started reading the series in the first place. The artwork in particular, is the first thing you’ll make note of. I’m not sure if it’s because the artist lost a few assistants or what, but Nishida’s artwork becomes more and more sketch like, with far less grotesque detail and more same-face syndrome. The late game chapters in particular begin to lack details such as backgrounds, accumulating in our first big downgrade. Speaking of downgrades, time to meet some more characters! We meet Yadori, a delivery man who hates himself, absorbs a woman named Ari and becomes her, transforming from a envious male into a female that is envied by all. Sounds pretty interesting right? We’ll come back to her later.
The protagonist is introduced to Takemitsu Mikazuchi, a cold-cop who chews pencil lead and takes over as the deuteragonist from this point on while the series becomes a serial cop vs. fractured human of the week series for a dozen chapters. Jagasaki goes from a homicidal narcissist to an edgy bi-polar loser who constantly flip flops from wanting to kill himself to wanting to kill everyone else around him to a cinnamon roll shonen protagonist who just wants to protect his hot new cop girlfriend. THEN, the series switches gears once again and we are introduced to Deader Land, a Halloween/horror based theme park that seems like a short arc in the grand scheme of things.
Believe it or not, this is where a good chunk of the rest of the story is going to take place/have stakes on. The leader of Deader Land is a fractured human named Nomans Nomen (????), a business man and founder who wishes to turn his theme park into a nation that can grant anyone’s wishes. Also by his side is Tengu, an edgy swordsman who’s there to look cool and fight Jagasaki when needed, but his character doesn’t extend beyond that. It is also here that Mikazuchi betrays our protagonist and becomes The Black Oni, an edgy swordsman who’s there to look cool and fight Jagasaki when needed, but his character doesn’t extend beyond that. Hey wait….
Oh, and also Chiharu, our main antagonist who hasn’t appeared for literally over 30 chapters, was undercover here as a tour guide and then decides that he wants to ally himself with the hero because “humans are interesting” and all that.
So within 10 chapters,
We are introduced to our new main antagonist with no backstory.
Our former main antagonist is demoted by betraying our new main antagonist to become Jagasaki’s uneasy partner in crime.
And our former partner in crime Mikazuchi betrays our protagonist to serve our new main antagonist.
If this sounds stupid and confusing as all hell, not to worry, we still have about 50 chapters more to go. Characters no longer function on development or rhyme or reason and instead become vehicles and functions for edgy one-liners and people for our protagonists to fight. Gone are the morally grey characters of old, and are in its space are these losers who trudge around and feel bad for themselves. Did we really need 2 evil swordsmen with historical motifs for Jagasaki to fight when there’s not a single thing that splits them apart besides their names?
You could possibly be wondering at this point, “Oh well what about Yadori? They got introduced before all these sword guys, maybe she’s up to something interesting.”
Nah, she just gets fucked. In both the literary sense and the physical sense.
Because Yadori as a man was envious that he wasn’t a “main character”, as a woman he throws his sexuality around to get a what she wants/discover herself. Normally, this would not be an issue if the character was better written, but it’s taken to such virile extremes that sex becomes her only purpose in the story, and for trans character not only is that not a good look, but it’s such a massive waste of a character that every single time it cuts to her, a voice in your head goes.
“Yup, this chapter’s gonna have a sex scene isn’t it.”
Yadori gets raped, blackmailed, fucked in public, fucked on the deck of an apartment, and has an entire conflict of a chapter based around whether or not she can make a dude cum from her titfuck in order to distract him while she hacks a terminal. None of this is played for laughs. Whatever foundation for the character was laid for her within the first couple of chapters of her appearance is thrown out the window in favor of cheap softcore pornography and as a result does nothing for the story, serving as another checkmark for the author to cross off.
After this very public Dead Lands arc, Norms decides he wants to run for government and despite all of the atrocities he’s committed, everybody is totally cool with it and gives him all the media attention he could possibly want while he climbs the ranks. Sure.
Hang in there though, because the series still isn’t through introducing shitty side characters, and because the villains still outnumber our heroes 3 to 2, we need another hero to balance things out. Enter Yukimaru, an edgy cat-twink who wants revenge for the death of his grandfather due to fight that occurred between Jagasaki and Tengu at Deader Land. Appearance-wise, he is basically untellable from Tengu. He joins Jagasaki under the condition that he can kill him when this is all said and done, and our protagonist agrees with literally no pushback. Because if he doesn’t give a fuck why should we? Not that it matters, cuz Yukimaru first shows up at chapter 103, and with a screen-time of 25 chapters, it’s just as hard to care about him as we do for our remaining cast. He also fucks Yadori, so I guess to his credit he serves 2 purposes instead of 1, so that’s a plus I guess?
From here, the series chugs through its remaining 30 chapters with crappy monologues about the human condition, what it is to live, fight scenes, and cum. Some characters get redeemed only to get killed off immediately after, some characters get fake-out deaths only to immediately be revealed to be alive right after, and in the case of Chiharu (remember him? Our former main antagonist?) he gets killed off only to be revealed to be alive within the FINAL TWO PAGES OF THE SERIES. The series ends with the status quo not changing whatsoever, Jagasaki is now pretty much well-put together and has a happy relationship with his new cop girlfriend, such a happy relationship in fact that we get to see them fuck in the pen-ultimate chapter! Great! The series basically ends the same way it starts but with worse art and a worst cast to boot. If I could rate in parts/arcs, the first fifty-three or so chapters of the series are an easy 9/10 for me. But a review has to encapsulate a series as a whole, and as a series, Jagaaaaan just crashes and burns far too early on for it to be worth the experience. Do yourself a favor and just look up some panels on google images, it’d be more satisfying experience than the one I took to read this.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
|
