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A Few Moments of Cheers was a joyous experience that delivered a tightly written tale of youth wrapped in tons of flair.

With a story centred around a musician at a high school the story may initially come across as falling into familiar territory, however the team at studio Hurray led by director Popurika decided to lean into what they knew best - music videos - in order to set the story apart from the dozens of contemporaries. In doing so, the subject matter comes across as fresh and innovative allowing them to craft a message that feels genuine and real. Ultimately, the movie discusses ... themes of selfishness, connections, pressure and isolation amongst others through the relationship between teacher musician and video producer student, serving as an important reminder of the values and compromises we must prioritise to succeed.

Whilst the premise and story are on their own compelling, what really elevates A Few Moments of Cheers to the level of a masterpiece is the spectacular visual and audio presentation. The film employs a 3D CG cell shaded style which remains consistently gorgeous throughout the film thanks to the use of excellent lighting, bright, vibrant colours and beautifully hand painted backgrounds. There really isn't a bad looking shot in the entire movie. Moreover, the use of 3D allows the animators to play with really interesting unconventional techniques, such as smooth pans and transitions and crazily detailed and entertaining shots of Kanata animating his videos. The music further compounds the unique style of the film, with a constant string-led orchestral score conveying a great deal of the emotional impact, particularly in montage scenes and those with little dialogue. The original songs that Orie sings are also really powerful pop pieces that become almost guttural at points due to the sheer emotion in her voice. I was glad to see them finish the movie with the full final MV as well; it was a well appreciated touch that really brought things together.

At only just over an hour long there really is very little reason to avoid watching A Few Moments of Cheers. It expertly tells a compelling story with beautiful animation and music and manages to feel perfectly satisfactory by the end. I really hope that Popurika and the team at Hurray continue to make feature length anime in the future outside of music videos because if they can continue to produce them at this level then we might just have a new all time great studio on our hands.

Prior to viewing Rabbits Kingdom the Movie I had no experience with the Tsukiuta franchise so I went in with fresh eyes and the hope that I would be pulled in and become a fan. Unfortunately, this movie not only massively let me down with its baffling creative choices and poor quality, but left even the fan-filled audience I was watching with confused by the end.

This really isn't an idol movie. It may seem that way based on its franchise connection, promotion and character designs, but fundamentally it features almost none of what makes an idol anime good other than pretty boys. The first song ... doesn't even kick in until right at the end. Instead, they took the tragic approach of turning a generic idol franchise into an even more generic isekai one. Of course they could have made this work, with the concept being justified in universe as a play being put on by the idol group (it was also based on a real world play), but the plot they went with is just boring and gets really stupid near the end.

Even with a confusing premise and a dull story, things could have been saved a bit with some solid action - particularly given this was an action/fantasy story. Again though, they managed to completely fail in this regard. Any action is portrayed with still frames and maybe some camera panning, making the fights incredibly bland and unimpressive. The art just passes as bearable, but is by no means good.

As a whole I really can't imagine this movie appealing to many people. An idol movie with few idol elements and an isekai story with bad fight scenes and a stupid plot is really not much of anything at all. The most I can imagine this doing is maybe satisfying the desire for something new from existing fans, but even then it is highly dependent on your individual tolerance to all the negatives.

With the monumental success of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man it is no wonder that studios immediately turned to adapting more of his works. The concern of course then becomes whether there will be a rush to pump something out regardless of the quality. Thankfully, much like Chainsaw Man, Studio Durian was able to uphold and even uplift Fujimoto’s Look Back and, in the process, create a beautiful, heartfelt and devastating movie that will surely leave an impact for years to come.

Clocking in at only a little over an hour Look Back is a very short film, however it absolutely makes the most of that ... runtime. Beautifully sequenced timelapses emphasise the feeling of constant time passage which establishes a real sense of progression for the film. There is also no time wastage, with every scene playing an important role in either the plot or at tugging on your heartstrings. I also wouldn’t say I was left wanting more by the end, rather that it had an entirely satisfactory and fitting conclusion – perfect for a self-contained movie.

Despite being a relatively new studio, Studio Durian took the opportunity to show off their animation skills with some of the most mind-blowingly smooth and fluid animation in the business. For a film about the creation of manga, crazy animation was certainly not necessary, but it does make the overall package that much better. Any scene with movement whether it be running or paper floating about features dynamic action shots with constant flow, employing the common modern technique of 3d environments to stunning effect. This animation style also perfectly reflects Fujimoto’s style of drawing, with realism less important than the impact and emotion behind the scenes. The thinner, sketchier art style of the manga is also reflected in the movie. I think the perfect example of Durian’s desire to go above and beyond is the opening scene, where they fully animate Fujino’s first yon-koma manga in her style creating an exciting opening out of what could otherwise have been a fairly standard scene.

The music in Look Back is another aspect executed flawlessly. Nakamura Haruka crafted a fitting soundscape composed primarily of piano and strings. Whilst it swells up at times, particularly during the montages, it also knows when to remain minimalistic in order to let the raw emotion be displayed in full. The ending theme (played at a brilliant moment I might add) remains in much the same style as the soundtrack with the addition of soothing vocals to encourage reminiscence on the short but moving experience that just occurred.

I finally want to touch on the theme and story. It is clear from the outset that Look Back is largely a distillation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s experience as a mangaka (if you couldn’t figure it out from the premise, the appearance of the Chainsaw Man parody Shark Kick later on will surely suffice to demonstrate that fact). Fujino’s feelings of incompetency, her struggle to maintain friendships, the clashes in her partnership, the choice between art university and becoming a mangaka outright, and on and on. All of these elements feel as though they are coming from Fujimoto’s heart directly which makes them all the more impactful and realistic when they occur in the film. Even when things exit the realm of reality towards the end, they do so to emphasise the need to push forward and move on whilst respecting and building on the events of the past that is central to the overall message.

Tldr; Look Back is a raw, stunning, beautiful and emotional ride all packed into an hour that left me utterly blown away by the level of craftmanship and heart put into it.

At long last the much-anticipated sequel to Gundam Seed and Gundam Seed Destiny has released and thankfully it was well worth the wait. Whilst I absolutely loved the original Gundam Seed as a modern remake/alternative version of the original Gundam, Gundam Seed Destiny was largely a letdown due to the shift to a far worse cast (Shinn) and a feeling that the old characters were getting purposefully dumbed down and discarded. Gundam Seed Freedom is to me Destiny done right.

Although a lot of the plot is a retread of the themes of Destiny, with the new villainous organisation entitled Foundation even aiming to carry ... out the Destiny Plan from that series, Sunrise made the right choice to this time squarely focus on the relationship between Lacus and Kira with the other characters coming secondary in importance. Due to this, the message of both Destiny and Freedom – that the individual must have the freedom to control their own destiny, rather than the government or their genes – is conveyed far more clearly and in keeping with what we know of the characters. Kira and Lacus are thereby allowed to make active plot advances and grow both separately and as a couple.

The other key focus of this film is love. The new characters Orphee Lam Tao and Agnes Giebenrath essentially act as the foils to Kira and Lunamaria, with Orphee seeing love as a purely pragmatic matter and Agnes using it to distract from her own insecurities. In contrast, the movie sends the message (through Lacus) that one should need the person they love rather than love the person they need; a rather simplistic yet poignant point that sums up much of this aspect of the movie. By the end, all of the couples we have come to care for get a moment to shine and connect, strengthening their relationships from the TV series quite satisfactorily.

Sunrise has once again kept up their high production levels with this film. Action scenes are as usual brilliantly dynamic and exciting, with excellent sound design creating a truly cinematic feel to the fighting. The music too is fantastic including epic orchestral pieces (some remixed from the TV series) and the return of T.M. Revolution and See-Saw for fitting new theme songs.

Even with so much to like, there are of course a few blemishes present in this film. Much of the melodramatic teenage angst that is present in Gundam Seed (and indeed most Gundam series) is back here, so those who find such characters frustrating will not be won over by Freedom. Additionally, the aforementioned similarity to Gundam Seed Destiny may leave some finding this film to be a little superfluous, although I do think the improvements to the structure and characters largely negate this issue. Fans of Athrun and Cagalli may also be disappointed to find these two lacking really any presence in this movie especially compared to their role in the past, however this too I think is a justifiable trade off in order to keep the focus on Lacus and Kira within the constraints of the 2-hour runtime.

Overall, I think Gundam Seed Freedom is a triumphant return which fixes much of the series past problems and confidently concludes (at least for now) one of Gundam’s most prominent series. If you already liked Seed, this movie will definitely be a fun and satisfying return to the Cosmic Era timeline, although it probably won't do much to win over new fans.

While somewhat of an improvement on the first part, this conclusion to the story started a whole 9 months ago still does not come even close to the standards of the early seasons of this show.

The decision to split this in two still baffles me as Part Two certainly does not offer a complete package. What you are getting this time is 50 minutes of Tristan, Lancelot and Meliodas battling waves of demons and the culprit of the attacks Deathpierce. The story in this part is essentially meaningless as the action really is what you are here. Unfortunately though, the continual use of subpar, ... cheap anime game standard CGI makes even that look lacklustre.

The only real entertainment I got out of this was seeing Tristan and Lancelot a bit before their upcoming proper debut in the Four Knights of the Apocalypse (a show which promises to be far greater than this). If you have already subjected yourself to watching Grudge of Edinburgh Part One, then you can probably handle watching this too. People who are huge fans of the series may even get some joy out of watching this. But to anyone else already let down by previous seasons and movies in this series, I probably wouldn't even bother.

Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's Little Space War continues the trend of Doraemon movies always having extremely interested premises executed in the most basic way possible. This time around, the gang meet a tiny alien who is fleeing a war back home so they are called in to action to help. Probably my favourite portion of this movie was the opening sequence, as it featured a mix of film references to keep it interesting including Star Wars, E.T., King Kong and even the MGM intro. I found this to be an especially delightful way to open the movie and to pay respect to the key sources ... of inspiration for the film, as upon watching you will soon realise that it is essentially an amalgamation of all of those films in to one. I also appreciated that the story felt more cohesive from start to finish this time around, as Papi is introduced very early on and the alien/space war remains integral to every scene. However, as usual the film falters in the second half, offering little originality to keep the movie fresh as it goes on. Instead, it returns to the safe adventure and action that has defined the majority of the Doraemon films so far. This far into the series, I would expect one knows if they are a Doraemon fan or not and this film will certainly appease those looking for another fun Doraemon adventure, but it ultimately does not deliver a satisfying experience for anyone searching for anything more than that.

Doraemon the Movie: Nobita's Great Adventure into the Underworld is a slight step up from the previous Doraemon film, though it still fails to pass the threshold for what I consider to be average. This time around, Doraemon and Nobita have entered in to a parallel world similar to our own but with the existence of science being replaced by magic. All is not well in this new world as demons have come and it is up to the gang to save the world, with a new character called Miyoko Mangetsu helping lead them to the demon world to fight back. The premise was a ... real strong point of the movie, enabling the establishment of an interesting alternative reality. The early scenes showcasing the differences in society were to me the main highlight of the film. Unfortunately, the film quickly devolves in to the standard romp for these films. Nothing throughout the majority of the movie really does anything to make it stand out from any other Doraemon film, with Miyoko being a bland expository character (as every new supporting character in these films are), the villains being completely paper thin without any real motives and the plot amounting to nothing but another basic battle. Really the only other aspects of this movie that I enjoyed were the time travel elements which were decently trippy for Doraemon and the appearance of Dorami (even if it was rather brief). Overall, this film may not have been the worst of Doraemon so far, but it was exceedingly standard for Doraemon and arguably sub-par as a standalone movie. Only bother watching this if you are a serious Doraemon fan.

4 movies in and a distinct formula is definitely starting to set in. Structurally, this film is extremely similar to the previous film (which I had plenty of issues at the time - read that review for more details), with the gang proposing a trip followed by an hour or so of light adventure before the sudden reveal of a hidden society two thirds through culminating in a major battle at the end. Unfortunately this time around I found the ocean exploration to be rather dull, slow and boring. Some minor tension is introduced at a few points thanks to encounters with unknown creatures and ... the power of their talking buggy, however it is otherwise a slog to get through. The latter portion of the movie was also a relative let down with the underwater society being bland and only a single new character being introduced who himself was totally unremarkable. While the film does offer a slight degree of educational value for children, such as the explanation of evolution and information on the Bermuda Triangle, it still does not deliver enough to be worth a watch in that regard. If anything, kids too would likely get tired of the dragged out underwater exploration. The animation and sound is also nothing special, with its age obviously showing and even being subpar compared to other Doraemon films from the time. Overall, Doraemon the Movie: Nobita and the Castle of the Undersea Devil is the weakest movie in the franchise thus far, having a slow and dull plot, uninteresting new characters and locations and relatively poor animation.

Doraemon, Nobita and friends are back once again, this time determined to explore uncharted lands and discover the mysteries of the world. Firstly, be warned that the synopsis listed above does spoil the first two thirds of the film, though that is largely because the first hour of the film is lacking in a great deal of plot. Instead, the majority of the runtime is spent showcasing the fun adventure of our heroes through the dangerous African landscape (specifically around central Africa in the area now known as DRC), encountering a variety of wild animals and people which threaten them with peril. I had a ... continuously fun time throughout this section of the movie enjoying the variety of charming and childish encounters and scenarios. At the one hour mark though, the film takes a sudden and drastic shift in style and tone, switching focus to a hidden kingdom and the ongoing troubles there. As a result, the film comes across as extremely disjointed, feeling almost like two films in one. Though this isn't necessarily deal breaking, the extreme contrast can easily leave viewers bored during one half or the other depending on their preferences in film. Personally, I found the whimsical adventure of the first two thirds to be more entertaining than the exposition and plot heavy final act, though again one's enjoyment will largely come from whether you enjoy plot or adventure more in movies. I also found the villains to be rather weak as usual for these Doraemon films, further cementing my preference for the light-hearted side of Doraemon. To summarise, Doraemon the Movie: Nobita and the Haunts of Evil is another adequate entry in the series, however the drastic divide between the two parts of the movie make me hesitant to recommend it to everyone.

Doraemon: The Records of Nobita, Spaceblazer is nothing special, but is overall adequate enough as a fun family movie that I cannot give it any less than a 5. All of the usual gang is back again this time with the introduction of new space companions Roppuru and Chammy. These characters are fine enough on their own, though their obvious inherent similarity to Nobita and Doraemon leaves less of a lasting impression in the long run and leaves little room to distinguish them during the film. The villains too are entirely one-note, as you would largely expect from this type of film. The animation and ... music were standard for Doraemon, with the usual opening and ending sequences recurring as always. I did also wonder throughout the movie why Doraemon had no way of giving the gang a baseball field to play on when it really does not feel like that outlandish of a task for him, although that is more of a general critique or issue of the franchise given Doraemon's permanent role as a deus ex machina. In all, while this may not have lived up to the standard set by the first film it was still a perfectly fine sequel that serves its duty of giving some light family entertainment.