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Aug 31, 2023
I want to preface this review with the context that I have read and watched a lot of masterful wwii biographical/historical fiction media. Schindler’s List, Generation War (German perspective tv mini series), and Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes (novelization of a famous Hiroshima victim who developed leukemia about a decade after the bombing) being the three that have affected me the most.
Sadako colors how I feel about Grave of the Fireflies more than any other though, not just because it is also set in Japan, but because I read it when I was just 8 years old. Now, granted, I have not read Sadako
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since then, but it is a book that absolutely destroyed me at the time, and evoked a level of pain and empathy that has very rarely been equalled since for me. Crucially though, there was -nothing- in that story that could have been done to change the outcome. Sadako from the moment she was diagnosed with leukemia was well and truly doomed.
The same cannot be said for Grave of the Fireflies.
There are elements of this film that I absolutely adore: the story being told from the reminiscing perspective of Seita’s ghost, the attempts Seita makes to maintain some semblance of normalcy for Setsuko, the clash of serenity in nature and utter destruction during firebombing raids.
However, the movie does a poor job of showing just how scarce food could be. Both are slowly wasting away from malnutrition, but yet almost the entire screentime is occupied by Seita and Setsuko either eating or playing. The reality of Japan at the time definitely is that all infrastructure, including agriculture, was severely or totally disabled. However, Seita’s choices and ultimately pride/stubbornness come across as the reason for Setsuko’s ultimate death. From this perspective, I just could not feel as sorry for the duo as they otherwise deserve, because I can see so many decisions which got them in more dire situations.
Now, I do want to be clear, the original novel was a semi-autobiographical apology letter, and I did not know that going in. I can empathize more given that context, and will probably watch the movie again sometime in the future to see how that changes my perception.
Lastly, I would like to voice the opinion that this movie is probably best viewed while still in childhood and especially if you yourself have a younger sibling. I am an adult (although still young), but more importantly do not have a younger sibling, so perhaps there’s a feeling there that I can’t replicate because of that.
All that said, it’s a supremely crafted movie, and a very important one at that, but some narrative flaws and screenplay choices relegate what could otherwise be among the absolute best wartime tales into one that is best viewed before delving into other seminal wwii media.
Tl;dr Expected S tier Schindler’s List/Sadako/Deer Hunter level heartwrench, got A tier instead and brutally disappointed because of it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jun 6, 2023
Dororo is a story with one of the best premises and settings in all of anime:
The firstborn son (Hyakkimaru) of a feudal lord has all but his life taken from him at birth - limbs, senses, skin - and goes on a journey to kill demons to reclaim every bit of his body that was taken from him with his prosthetic body, complete with sword arms, mask, etc.
The first 8-12 episodes are straightforward, but benefit heavily from that because the pacing is perfect and the focus on Hyakkimaru learning to adapt to each new bit of himself being reclaimed. For most of this time, he
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is completely nonverbal since he was originally blind and deaf.
Frankly, from the moment he first starts talking, the show (mostly) falls off a ****ing cliff. It's infuriating, because that first third to half of the show is borderline perfect.
I don't want to go into exhaustive detail about it, but the story careens away from its focus on Hyakkimaru and detours into the side characters, especially Lord Daigo, his wife, and his secondborn son and his servants, none of whom have enough gravitas to be interesting. It is an absolute chore to pretend to care about these pathetic and petulant characters.
The last few episodes do recover fairly well, with some great action set pieces, but they lose a lot of impact because none of the legwork needed to set the stakes for these fights gets done before.
The one consistent aspect of Dororo, is the show's namesake. Dororo is a good companion character for Hyakkimaru, and the writing around Dororo is mostly solid throughout, even in some of the awful semi-filler episodes between eps 13-19.
All in all, the good start is truly a 10/10, while the remaining 12-16 episodes are a 6/10 at best. I'd give the show an overall 7.5 or 7.6 out of 10, but my enjoyment was soured too much to justify rounding up to an 8. And is it worth it? Yes, but barely.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Oct 1, 2022
I don't really know where to start with this one, but I guess the first thing I will say is that I've noticed that outside of Ghost in the Shell, I have not really cared much for Mamoru Oshii projects: I've started (and in these cases dropped) both The Sky Crawlers and Angel's Egg. It's nothing against him, and I recognize that he is a talented filmmaker, but there's just something about his minimalist storytelling that I just really do not enjoy most of the time.
Talking specifically about Jin-Rou, though, I will start with the good.
The animation quality, especially with facial expressions, is insanely good,
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almost scarily so. The first act of the plot is compelling and paced extremely well. But that's about it.
The bad is almost entirely plot and character based. The main issue with Jin-Rou is that our main character, Fuse, has absolutely no character arc; the vast majority of the movie focuses on his feelings or lack of feelings of guilt after a certain event in the first act, but after what feels like a bunch of filler, he ends up making a decision at the climax that just leaves everything unresolved. While it is probably a valid argument that this is one of the main points of the movie, I can't accept that in good conscience when the story itself is ultimately a very generic dystopian world, insurgency-fights-it deal. If Fuse has to be a statue of a character, then there MUST be a compelling plot past the exposition and a great climax so that my time isn't wasted.
So essentially, what Jin-Rou provides us with is a rehashed, almost creepily mediocre story everyone knows and no characters worth any emotional investment in. The artwork, sound design, and first act are all very well designed, but all that is dragged down by a pitifully forgettable (and I have done my best to forget it) plot and cast.
How this is almost an 8/10 average is eons beyond me. I would only recommend this to aspiring animators as a case study in how to effectively animate facial expressions and small movements, and to aspiring editors/directors as a case study of exactly how NOT to make a compelling story that can express an idea/theme.
For me, I give it a 4/10. It's not worthless, but it tries its best to be.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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