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- BirthdayNov 2, 2002
- LocationPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
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Feb 5, 2024
My initial impression of Vampeerz - having gone in completely blind, and currently only two volumes in - is that it's fun, but flawed. Charming and funny at times, but awkward and hard-to-follow at others. It's trashy, and knowing who wrote it kinda sours the whole thing, but I wouldn't write it off completely. It's no Shakespeare, but if the concept really appeals to you, it may be worth a look.
The concept is incredibly simple; a girl meets a vampire at a funeral, the vampire moves in, hi-jinks ensue. What is immediately noticeable - and what drew me in originally - is that some of
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the art is absolutely gorgeous. The kissing scenes have some wonderful details (the spit trails especially), and the blood sucking scenes feel great. The artist genuinely has some real talent, and it shines in the more overtly erotic panels. Though, I feel rather conflicted praising him. That being said, anything that isn't meant to be erotic can be pretty hit or miss. The style and quality randomly changes, and while the author's got a knack for human designs, most of the background and environments are pretty dull.
The story however is practically non-existent. Dialogue is choppy, and hard to follow. Each chapter feels disconnected from the others, and plot points are brought up, resolved or ignored, and then dumped a chapter later. At times, it almost feels like entire pages were ripped out. Characters act spontaneously, dialogue is suddenly dropped, motivations turn around on a dime. The story is just serves as excuses for the erotic scenes and attempts at comedy. If you're someone who wants narrative-heavy yuri that follows complex characters, I'd really recommend that you skip on Vampeerz.
The elephant in the room is that Vampeerz is written by A) a guy, B) who has a history almost exclusively in hentai (it seems, primarily with schoolgirls), and C) involves some explicit and erotic stuff between teenage main characters. Letter A is the big one, in my opinion, especially because it feels like Vampeerz tries to hide it. The pseudonym it's published under, "Akili," is typically read as a woman's name. And whenever the author is gendered in the manga, they/them is used exclusively. I do think knowing that Vampeerz is made by a guy and not a girl changes the context quite a bit. Personally, I read through the first two volumes thinking the author was a woman, and looking back, a lot of the erotic scenes do feel a bit more predatory. It's difficult to explain, although I'm sure anyone who's gone read a lot of yuri understands the feeling.
Ultimately, I don't think this kills my interest in Vampeerz. I know my own limits, and - at least as of volume two - they haven't been crossed. And I do intend to keep reading. But I'm not sure I could really recommend Vampeerz to anyone else as anything more than problematic trashy fun. Use your own judgement - if the above sounds really off-putting to you, then skip this one. You're not missing much.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Sep 27, 2022
I've never seen a film like Metropolis before, and I mean that in the best and worst ways. It is seriously difficult to describe, and having just finished it ten minutes ago, I have no idea how to explain what even happens in this film. The TL;DR is don't watch this if you're expecting a typical cyberpunk shounen like I was. But if you're into experimental, odd, or just plain weird shit you may actually really love this film.
THE BAD
There's zero character development. No-one, from the villains to the heroes to the side-characters have narrative depth. We know nothing of any character's backstory or motivation,
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and we don't know why they take most of the actions they do. The characters are simply representations of actions, emotions, thoughts, etc. Their existence is purely symbolic. I really like this concept on paper, but in execution it is extremely disorienting.
Nothing in the movie connects. Plot points come and go by the scene. Characters arrive only to die minutes later. I seriously had no idea why most of the events even happened. Narratively, metaphorically, they rarely connected. Maybe if I was more familiar with the source material (I had no idea this was an adaptation going into it) I would have understood it a lot more. But even compared to other art films I've enjoyed, this was extremely disjointed.
Violence and death are used incredibly weirdly in this film. I won't say too much since this is spoiler-free, but a lot of characters die or are violently injured throughout this film, and it always feels incredibly tonally odd. I suspect this is a quirk of adaptation, but violence really loses a lot of its bite when it's with these Astro Boy lookin characters.
Speaking of which, tonally, this film is all over the place. I'm not big on this kind of character design to begin with, but the film never really finds a good balance between "kiddy mystery/action/sci-fi" and "grim cyberpunk dystopia." There's topless porno mags and mass murder, but cutesy characters and ditzy dialogue. There's themes of death, mortality, and the ethical usage of violence, and then there's a cute robot friend. There's gritty sci-fi squalor, but a jazz centric soundtrack. It feels extremely weird at times, again like the art style really didn't benefit the film at all.
THE GOOD
The animation and art are incredibly beautiful sometimes. Characters move extremely fluidly, and you can tell a lot of time and effort was put into every scene in terms of body language and movement. And a lot of the environments are beautiful. Even the tacky, old 3D VFX holds up well, if just as a nostalgic treat. You see so many locations and so many places and so really feel like the city is alive. Even if it rarely makes much sense.
The climax of the film may be one of the best sequences of cinema I have ever seen. The visuals, the metaphors, everything the film stands for comes together flawlessly in the climax. The film went from zero to one hundred in seconds, and suddenly I could see why people would love this movie. It undid the previous one-and-a-half hours of confusion, and for a split second was truly a beautiful film. I seriously cannot do it enough justice even if I wrote three more paragraphs about it.
THE VERDICT
I didn't understand this film until the very end, and even though it was an incredible finale, I don't think the rest of the film is very good. It's dry, dull, and repetitive. While it keeps you intrigued, it doesn't stop you from getting bored. And certain segments especially around the middle of the film are barely cohesive. That being said, there's a lot you might love here as well. And as much as I dismiss certain elements of the film, you (the reader) may actually love those pieces. The obtuse characters, the odd pace, the completely unique and overdeveloped atmosphere; these are personal dislikes, not objective ones.
So do I recommend this? No, not unless you really know what you're getting into and everything I listed above gets you excited to watch this film. But do I think it's a bad film? Not at all. It just wasn't a great film for me. I'm glad I watched it, but I never want to re-watch it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Oct 29, 2018
Mob Psycho 100 is excellent, no question about it. It's a wonderfully animated comedy that jumps between dry and dark humor without ever losing it's levity. Most "dark comedy" anime I've seen eventually lose their humor, and you realize that you're just watching a character make jokes while they're slicing their way through a horde of innocents. Mob Psycho 100 is an actual comedy, with a sense of absurdity that separates the real life dark elements from the genuine characters and weird situations.
Speaking of the characters, god damn are they great. Shigeo is an adorable protagonist. He nails the typical
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"weird shy nerd" stereotype and comes off as lovable - if not odd - rather than creepy. Teruki is a true con man, and while a "heart of gold" Marie Sue at times he's enjoyable nonetheless. And when Ritsu is introduced as Shigeos brother, you feel a genuine sadness from him. He looks, acts, talks, sounds, hell even smells like a brother that feels he'll never be as good as Shigeo.
But, let's get to the main gimmick of Mob Psycho 100. Shigeo is an absurdly powerful psychic, despite being a child. And for the most part, he hides his ability. However throughout the series there's a meter that builds whenever he's frustrated, sad, anxious, etc. And when it hits 100 he lets everything out in a huge psychic burst. And my god, it *feels* like a break when it happens. Everything swells perfectly, the animation ramps up, the music starts blaring, it feels like a super saiyan "You've fucked up now" moment. Very few shows manage to capture a real feeling of emotionally breaking, but Mob Psycho just nails it so well.
Honestly I can't say anything critical about the show. It's a nine and not a ten mostly because it wasn't a life changing watch, but it doesn't need to be. I'd recommend Mob Psycho 100 to anyone with a pulse and a sense of humor, and prepare to strap in for what will likely be an all night binge.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Oct 29, 2018
I dropped Gangsta. 9 episodes in, however looking back on it I should've dropped it back at episode 5. It has a solid premise, interesting characters, and a unique enough world, and it squanders all of it. I dropped Gangsta. not because it was bad, but because it had so much going for it and it somehow didn't deliver.
The characters are the perfect example of this push/pull failure. Worick is a male escort who's turned to either vigilantism or investigation (honestly I can't remember) and Nicolas is a "twilight", basically a FotNS-esque superhuman with above average speed and strength. Gangsta. offers
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a traditional yet fun dynamic - seedy underground hooker with traditional soldier - but does almost nothing with it. You don't feel a connection between the two. Nicolas could be some random kid who walked in off the street, and it wouldn't feel any different from the bodyguard backstory they dropped on the viewer 2/3s in.
But by and large, Gangsta.'s biggest issue is that it's just a bland, forgettable, boring pile of animation in a genre where the whole point is standing out. It's been about four months since I've seen Gangsta., and I couldn't even remember the main character's names. I don't remember the world, I don't remember the story - of which there is not much - and I don't remember anything except everything looking grey. And when you're writing in a genre where the entire point is to be over the top, violent, and dramatic, I think this speaks for itself.
Now, let me be clear that Gangsta. wasn't offensively bad. I'll admit I genuinely enjoyed the first few episodes back when I thought it was going somewhere. The opening has some fun imagery, and Worick's design is pretty cool...okay I'm stretching for positives. If you enjoy dime-a-dozen gang anime with an honestly interesting twist, you'll probably like Gangsta. But if you're not into that pretty specific genre, you'll either be bored or confused the entire way through.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Jun 26, 2017
[Minor Spoilers Ahead]
Ao no Exorcist: Kyoto Fujouou-hen (Which I will refer to as BE2 from now on) is a sequel done right in my opinion. They took the ideas from the original, and just improved upon them all-round.
Rin, while still being juvenile, is a lot more fun this time around. With his dialogue written more like a confused teen then an angry 8 year old. They've trimmed back the amount of characters, but in return given them all little subplots in the final 5 episodes. In works out well in the end. The main story is actually quite good, despite
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turning to sequel bait near the end. It feels much more well paced then the original, which felt like it was trying to fit 60 episodes into 24.
BE2 otherwise felt like part of the original series. The animation and voice acting all matched perfectly, and everything was really the same.
If you enjoyed the first season, which I did, you're going to enjoy this aswell, maybe even more. If you didn't, I'm sorry to say you're probably not going to change your mind. I'd advise against starting with this, however, as very little is explained, and it's presumed you watched the first season beforehand.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jun 22, 2017
Sakamoto desu ga? brings something new, to the veritable buffet table of comedy anime. In a world filled with awkward protagonists, bumbling sidekicks, and simplistic humor, Sakamoto desu ga? manages to stir things off by doing the exact opposite, and manages to stick out from One Punch Man, despite the two having a relatively similar bases. Sakamoto desu ga? stars Sakamoto (obviously), a man who has no flaws, and makes no mistakes. You drop your books near him, he'll catch them all before they hit the ground. You tie his legs together before a race, he'll gallop on all fours with
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more poise then you ever could.
Such an anime seems like it would get boring quite quick. A perfect protagonist, after all, cant really grow. And here's where the similarity with OPM is most significant. Both tell the story of their protagonist through the side characters. In OPM most of it's about the public not recognizing Saitama, and how other heroes cope with his superiority. In Sakamoto desu ga? it's about the other students, and how they deal with this "freak". However the similarities end shortly after, with OPM delving into juxtapositional comedy, and Sakamoto desu ga? focusing on more altruistic, almost philosophical comedy.
The art and sound are relatively standard for the most part. When it wants to, Sakamoto desu ga? can hit you with some beautiful visuals, or masterful songs and dialogue. However those moments are reserved, and given as "rewards" for reaching the climax of a story.
My main issue with Sakamoto desu ga? is the story structure. Each episode is broken into 2-3 "parts", with each part being ~10 minute "adventures". While this is great for comedy, it's very hard for the show to develop many characters, as they simply don't get enough screentime. This leads to Sakamoto desu ga? at times feeling void of personality, but that almost never detracts from the comedy within.
All in all I loved Sakamoto desu ga?, and it's a show I sincerely enjoyed. The humour was spot on, it was just light enough while remaining serious on some issues, and Sakamoto was amazing, without feeling robotic or devoid of humility. Like OPM and Mob Psycho, this is a comedic classic I'd wholeheartedly recommend you give a watch.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jun 22, 2017
When written out on a piece of paper, the plot to Assassination Classroom sounds like some half-baked plot a kid with anger issues would start out with. Basing a show around killing a teacher would be very easy to mess up, one slip and you go from the funny into the cruel and disturbed. Assassination Classroom walks this precipice with a grace that just gets smoother and faster the farther you get into it. The first episode is rocky, but the show quickly figures out what it wants to do, and it takes it from 0 to 100 real fast.
Every character has
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a chance to shine. My one worry with this anime was that a few characters would be handpicked out, and the rest of the class would be used purely for background movement. But no, somehow every single person you see is fleshed out to be believable. And this is all done without any filler episodes, or any sacrifice to the pacing of the plot.
The only minor complaint I have is that the art and music really didnt pop out too much. The openings were great, and didnt get old, however they werent very deep. The art style is a typical anime art style, without much deviance from the norm. However each character was distinct, and no-one looked too far fetched.
All in all I loved Assassination Classroom. It was just witty enough to get a laugh, just fast enough to never get boring, just enthralling enough to keep me hooked, and all thats piled ontop of a great story, with genuinely likable characters. I can say Im genuinely exicted to watch Season 2
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Sep 1, 2016
Death Parade attempts to tackle a very delicate subject matter; Death. We've had anime before based on the ethics of death, and on the concept of afterlife's (What happens when we're reincarnated/reborn) but Death Parade is the only one I've personally seen which attempts to tackle the middle man of those two questions; "How do you decide where each person goes?"
[Minor Spoilers, Nothing Revealing]
Death Parade attempts to tackle this issue very respectfully, and elegantly, and it somehow succeeds. It portrays everything from abuse, to suicide, to accidental deaths in a well thought out, careful way It never feels mean spirited, everyone has
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reasons for everything. When a character breaks out in desperation, you truly feel empathetic to them. Even if they do the wrong thing in your eyes, you can understand why they went through with their choice. Death Parade doesn't ask you to empathize with a character, it allows you to choose who you believe is in the right.
The art style of Death Parade is beautiful, if not a little bit simple. Visual effects such as the games appearing are amazingly done, and feel like they could be right at home in amazing shows such as FMA. However, some things (Tears sliding down cheeks for example) seem to move way too fast, and can take you out of a scene sometimes. The character designs are very down to earth, with the only "weird" ones being arbiters themselves, and even then they're still very similar to real life.
Sound design is top notch, however I did have some issues with it. You really have a single main song, that repeats quite a bit. It's beautiful, and dare I say haunting, but I wish the would've thrown in another track or two. Sound effects (Car crashes, glass shattering, etc.) sound extremely nice, although I understand you can't really mess that up. Still, they have a certain heaviness to them other shows can lack. The voice actors really give it their all, and almost every voice fit with every character. If a character was angry, you could tell within a second of hearing them speak.
Speaking of characters, they are incredibly written. Like I said earlier, every action has a motive. If a character kills themselves, it's not just a "My life sucks, better end it lol" situation, it's an "I have no other option I'm sorry I'm so sorry." situation. Issues like this are handle with extreme care, and as a result never feel rushed or shallow. The best part about the characters is near the end of the games. You really see them unravel and unfold, as you're fed the exact same information they are. Death Parade also takes a few odd turns (which I can't explain because it would spoil said episodes), and not every episode ends with tears. For this reason alone, it stands out.
I loved nearly every minute of this anime. Every really just stuck out to me, and it seemed like a lot of hard work and passion went into this project. Maybe it's just because I love psychology, but I doubt any anime will surpass this on my top ten list, at least not for a good long while.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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