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- BirthdayJul 27, 2001
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Feb 11, 2024
Originally watched half way eight years ago and dropped because someone had a hold on the next disc at the library and I was getting impatient.
Was it worth the wait to finally finish it? Honestly yeah. Samurai Champloo is tempered with a very clear artistic vision and absolutely cutting animation that out stylized the rest of its class of Spring 2004 anime. Even Monster with its aesthetic richness is arguably unable to compete with fast paced stylish swag of Champloo. The lighthearted way the anime taps into nearly every Jidaigeki trope for an amusing tone and can still perfectly pivot for an intense battle or
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a tender emotional moment is truly elite in execution. Director Watanabe Shinchiro also deserves props for trailblazing the fusion of hip hop and samurai that still exists as a tiny micro genre to be found occasionally in various other mediums such as the Ryu Ga Gotoku Kenzan! opening. A natural evolution of 'cool setting meets smooth music' that Watanabe establishes in Cowboy Bebop, but pushing this choice further with a lot of hip hop culture that even if not perfectly represented still showcases a vague punk ethos and an undeniable edge.
Also featuring the greatest baseball filler episode ever aired. With a cameo shot drawn of the one and only Ichiro!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Nov 15, 2023
Among the pool of contemporary manga, One Piece is a series that demonstrates without rival an insurmountable level of worldbuilding and creativity within the medium. This rich universe and One Piece’s undefeated ability to churn up slews of profits via merchandise and manga sales, leads One Piece to lend it’s likeness not only to a subpar anime adaptation but various disjointed animated film outings. One Piece: Strong World can be remembered simply as another strikeout, despite Oda Eiichiro’s coaching behind the scenes.
Even at its most criticized arcs, the writing of Oda Eiichiro in One Piece never truly missteps. There is a level of detail in
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every single arc where elements introduced or shown early on will all come to blossom fully in the finale of said arc or even further along in the series. This attention to detail is not present in Strong World. Rather, the writing is so lackluster that it can be presumed that Oda did not produce any sort of screenplay for this film, but rather drafted out a film concept and initial draft, that was then entirely adapted by the film’s other credited writer: Uesaka Hirohiko (the usual One Piece anime story series composition and filler script writer from 2004-2016). As with the majority of One Piece films up to this point, the viewer finds themselves confronted with the usual suspects of half assed writing. Cheap flashbacks to the main storyline that create inorganic tension, dull gags, failure to utilize the abilities of the Strawhats in meaningful ways, only a single memorable original antagonist, all layered together in a symphony of predictability. Perhaps these gripes could be overlooked if this film was backed by gorgeous animation, and yet save for specific moments of fast paced action, Strong World is swimming in mediocre animation.
Baron Omatsuri and the Secret Island was the film that showcased the potential of One Piece when stylized in a different artstyle. This is almost certainly due to Kato Hiroshi (The End of Evangelion, Interstella 5555) involvement as art director. Unfortunately for subsequent films, Baron Omatsuri set a precedent high enough that it becomes almost painfully obvious how much the animation in Strong World ends up as a poor simulation of Oda’s incredible artstyle, rather than spreading its wings into its own world. For something with the budget of a full length film, it’s almost awkward how many shots there are that seem so mechanical and ‘non animated.’ Even when fanservice rears its polarizing head, Strong World’s attempts at sneaking ass or cleavage into shots feel completely stilted and lifeless compared to Oda’s natural ability to depict the titillating albeit unrealistic bodies of his female characters. The truest praise that can be sung for One Piece: Strong World is that there are indeed tight moments of fast paced animation, the character designs for this film are magnificent (Robin’s look is a 10), and there are a few very funny shots of animations sprinkled throughout. Unfortunately, even hippie Brook smoking a joint could not save this movie.
So once again we come up short. Strong World remains another example that whether through adaptation of the manga’s story or through original story, it’s safe to assume that for the time being there aren’t currently writers or directors with both the interest or the chops to bring One Piece to life through animation. You can skip the most of the movies. Read the manga.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Jul 16, 2023
The culmination of early 2000s Japanese online pop culture bubble and possibly the beginning of the decline. Lucky Star owes everything to it's influences which is proudly wears on its sleeve, with it's predecessor shows, Nico Video, gaming forums, 2chan, etc. Understandably polarizing when it leaves the circle of it's target audience but for those who've soaked themselves in the geek world of 2000s Japan, this show is so close to perfection and could never be made today with the same level of soul. So enjoy Lucky Star because there will only ever be one.
And thank you Shiraishi Minoru for creating the funniest anime
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ED known to man.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jan 19, 2023
A shallow show with a wonderfully stylish coat of paint.
There is so much to praise Bakemonogatari for and yet on the other side of the coin I find myself criticizing it for pretty much everything else. This show is stylized and incredibly so. It utilizes some of my favorite types of editing and atmosphere you can find in anime. With frequent cuts to shots of text on solid colors, atmospheric backgrounds and mood taking priority over drawing irrelevant characters, dreary music, and almost random shifts in artstyle. It's a solid array of versatile production that can be used to positively buff up the show. The
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problem therein is Bakemonogatari mostly meanders as a bland drama unfolds, the supernatural elements introduced hardly seeming to matter as all the shine this show has to offer seems to merely be a vehicle to peddle cheap eroticism and harem tropes with little actual emotional payoff.
Before diving into my gripes I first wish to speak on my enjoyment for Bakemonogatari's opening and endings as well as it's score. Personalized for each girl, these openings and the ending theme are some of the best content in the whole show. With incredible music tracks paired with gorgeous visuals with some common links between them all, including the meta comments on the OPs and ED that directly state which version of the OP/ED you are currently viewing. Each song is fantastic, especially the renowned Ren'ai Circulation which was even more delightful of a track when placed in the context of the full show. Many props to the music team and the VA's performances for each opening. Also worth celebrating is the score which is composed by the fantastic Kosaki Satoru who I recognized for having done the score to one of my favorite anime (Haruhi) as well as some other pieces I've heard around. While the full 'soundtrack' is mainly composed of ambient pieces, the bulk of these tracks hold enough atmosphere and progression in them to capture my attention often and help carry me through some of the more dulling long winded expository dialogues. Of course Kosaki seasons the score with some signature sweeping enrapturing 'emotional' tracks such as 'Classmate' as well as the arranged versions of the opening tracks. I loved the music to this show. It really made me feel something.
I wish the rest of this anime was as capable of making me feel something, especially the protagonist. Voiced by Kamiya Hiroshi, one of my favorite VA's of all time, I was incredibly interested in seeing what kind of character Araragi would be, what kind of developments he'd take if any and overall if he'd be likeable. He was nothing. Perhaps intended as a 'self insert' style character, I found him far too lecherous and uncharismatic to even slightly feel any kinship with Araragi, relate with him or root for him. And of course because this show is a 'harem-esque' he somehow manages to capture the hearts of every female lead despite being completely passe. I'm pretty detached from perversion or fan service in anime, unless I've already invested thoroughly in the show or already excessively like the character, I usually find horny gags or fanservice to just completely ruin immersion. I sit back in my chair and put my hand up like "Really?" "This is one of the first impressions you want me to have of this character? Fan service?" And it's completely true that the target of such fan service is still pubescent teenage boy viewers, which admittedly I am no longer. So while it could be accurate to say that I'm 'missing the point' of fan service, as I am considered no longer the target audience, it still completely ruins this shows chance of elevating into higher art when I find myself constantly rolling my eyes at Araragi's perverted outbursts, spontaneous groping, peeping and etc. It's not even that often, but it's still far too much for my tastes. This brings me back to my belief that the supernatural 'plot' of this show hardly carries any real weight other than to lead to more setups of getting the viewer to thirst for the female protagonists. The overarching plot goes somewhere but if we chart the path of it's direction of travel from episode 1 through 14, it barely covers any distance at all! It's such a disappointment to feel like you're watching episodes again and again where the plot is giving the viewer the runaround while merely dropping crumbs of things to actually enjoy. The bit of action we do see is fantastic, looks great, moves the plot forward and is fun, but it's a rarity while the majority of episodes wield long winded conversations and of course, low hanging fruit in the form of eroticism. There really was no need for the invisible snake scene to be sexual. Please grow up.
I know this is a long series and I'm hoping if I keep trucking through at least the Kizumonogatari film series and another series, it'll start to worm it's way into my heart, buuuut I really did want a lot more from the cast in general. It seems the only characters that were truly given much chance to fully develop were Senjougahara and Hanekawa, which should be the case given how important their roles were. Hopefully the rest will make their move sooner or later, especially Oshino. But as for the here and now, this first season of Monogatari has me leaving very conflicted but still hopeful for the future. Hopefully the fan service will either be dialed back a little in future installments or if used in a gag will ACTUALLY be funny like other series that do gag fan service. [I did think cat Hanekawa was cute though since I'm a sucker for nya puns.]
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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