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Jan 19, 2021
This movie is heavily criticized by the Saint Seiya fandom, however to be fair is a very competent work. The story happens after the Hades arc, and it shows very well the consequences of these events: the gold saints were punished and turned into a statue, Seiya now is in a wheelchair, in a semi-vegetative condition. This was a smart decision, because it shows that conflicts have consequences, what was not done in other sagas of the franchise, in which the protagonists simply win without side effects or losses.
Also, the saints do not have the same faith and confidence in their powers, what is very
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realistic, since the golden saints are absent and Seiya has not the same power from before. All this contributes to create a much more real scenario, in which you really feel that maybe the protagonists will loose in the end. Other factor that makes this have sense is that Athena apparently abandoned Earth, which is now in the control of Artemis.
In terms of animation the movie is very good: the colors that were choosed combine perfectly with the idea of a Sky saga, the action is fluid and dynamic, and more importantly: the art is capable of expressing the emotions and feelings that the story needs.
In regards to the theme it is coherent with Saint Seiya as a franchise: the mortals challenging the gods, what is very well developed, with Seiya regaining his power until he can face the gods and angels. The end is a controversial one, but I personally love it: it has impact, it is strong, and it expresses the thematic that was developed not only in the entire movie, but also in the original series. In conclusion, Overture offers a version more realistic, thematically coherent and well animated than the majority of the series, being in my opinion the highest point of the Saint Seiya franchise.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jan 16, 2021
After a long time Dragon Ball finally gained another anime series. The last one, Dragon Ball GT, was an absolute disaster, and Dragon Ball Super, although is better than the first one, is not far in terms of mediocrity. To begin with the first two arcs are merely the repetition of the movies Battle of Gods and Ressurrection of F, but with a terrible animation and a very slow pace. These arcs contrast deeply with the nature of Dragon Ball Z, with a less serious story. This is not necessarily bad, but this was a radical change, not to mention that the characters were infatilized
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to fit in this new perspective, in a totally arbitrary way. Vegeta is undoubtedly the most tragic example of this.
The change was so radical that there is no more any sense of menace in the anime. Goku, even if he is a funny character, was serious when his friends and the Earth were in danger, not only in Dragon Ball Z, but also in the original series. This problem is present not only in the beginning, but almost in the whole Dragon Ball Super, with the exception of the Black saga.
Other chronical problem is the chaos that power levels became. Dragon Ball, since Z, is all about encoutering stronger enemies, training, and then defeat this new enemies. This formula cannot work if the power levels are not clear, and the progression is not logical. This series is completely confuse in regards to this: Goku without any transformation can fight Hit, and Vegeta in super saiyan blue form is easily defeated. This not to mention absurds, like Android 17 that is years without any training, having a power level similar to super saiyan blue(in the android saga he was weaker then Cell, that was weaker then super saiyan 2 Gohan).
Some people can argue that these are just small plot holes. The problem is that Dragon Ball Super relies on the formula of surpassing stronger enemies, on superation. This needs clear power level rules to work, or everything will be only arbitrary.
Also, the series not only is very bad, but also undermine Dragon Ball Z. Vegeta losed completely his personality, and Freeza, the most iconical villain of the franchise, is turned on a charicature, loosing everything that characterizes him as an incredible antagonist. Talking briefly about the arcs that are not movie adaptations, the universe 6 saga had potencial to have better fights, against more interesting opponents, but had a good ending and a nice final battle. The Black arc had a good idea, but in the end the power levels did not made any sense, and the explanation for the events were filled with plot holes. The final saga, the Universe Tournament, was completely stupid, made no sense, without any sense of danger, character development or anything interesting at all, with the exception of some fights.
In conclusion, Dragon Ball Super has a terrible animation, is filled with plot holes, a very slow pace(with even "fillers" in a anime that is not based on a manga), distorts completely iconical characters of the franchise, destroys completely the power levels logic, and lacks any sense of danger and menace, what make the battles void of any type of emotion. However, there is an important positive aspect in the series: Dragon Ball Super is not Dragon Ball GT.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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May 5, 2020
Jojo's first season, which adapts the first two parts of the manga, is fantastic. The first part, Phantom Blood, considered by many to be the worst arc in the series, is actually quite underrated and misunderstood. The thematic elements are very well worked, through the dichotomy between Jonathan and Dio: rich x poor, good x bad, including his powers, in which while the antagonist is characterized by withdrawing his strength from others, the protagonist potencialize his own strengths , being also able to use its power for healing.
The fights also have an important dramatic weight, precisely because of the good development of the rivalry between
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Dio and Jonathan. Also the death of non villain characters during the battles, incluiding important ones, adds tensions to the combats, turning them into more interesting and engaging ones. Comparing to other 80s animes and mangas of the same genre, for example Hokuto no Ken, the main character was extremely powerful and rarely there was some fight that seemed to be unlikely to be won by Kenshiro.
Another important point that many forget, is that at the time the original work was written it was taboo to have a non-Japanese protagonist, even more to create a story that takes place in another country. Many today accuse Phantom Blood of being cliché using today standarts. However, in addition to being an anachronism, part of the fun of Jojo's experience is experiencing the style of that time. The anime is recent, but we cannot lose sight of the time when the original material was prepared, as this is an adaptation of a work from the 80s.
Yes, there are some problems in part 1, mainly in the middle of the story, where you have a poor pacing and some plot conveniences. However, this is a minor problem, since this part is pretty short. In overall Phantom Blood is very good, with great development of thematical elements, as well as a surprising ending, that also concludes the arc of the Jonathan and Dio rivalry.
The next part, Battle Tendency, is even better. The use of hamon(the special power of Jojo first two parts) is greatly expanded, with great creativity and strategy in combat. And this introduces two major positive chacteristics in the series: fights defined by not by who has the higher power level, but by how well and inteligently the power is used and creative and interesting abilities, that are not much seen in other shonens, especially at that time.
The protagonist of this arc, Joseph Joestar, contrasts sharply with his predecessor, being much more pragmatic than Jonathan, even using "dirty" battle tricks, which would certainly not be approved by his grandfather. His personality is also unique: instead of being altruistic, idealistic and having strict moral standards, Joseph, although he cares for the people around him, is driven by his own interests and needs.
He even runs away from combat in a comical way, something unusual for protagonists of fighting anime.
Also he is not very strong, with many villains being stronger than him, what obligates the character to defeat them by using inteligent solutions instead of force. This fits perfectly with the story: he was forced to train for a few days due to unusual events, which was enough to make him more prepared, but not overpower or even on the same level of the main villain.
All of this makes Battle Tendency to have fantastic fights: full of strategies, twists, emotions and constant tension. Just as in Phantom Blood important characters die, and the battles seems deadly. The pacing is also very good, with the story progressing without unnecessary moments, or prolonged or rushed scenes.
In conclusion the first season of the Jojo's anime is fantastic, with two amazing parts, very competently adapted, with the anime being able to.express the 80s artistic style of Araki's work, as well as two incredible openings, endings, sound and some minor changes that were for the better of the story.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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