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Sep 1, 2019
The oldest known anime to have originated from Japan.
Made in the year 1907, that is the estimate. The creator? Unknown.
Found among old films and projectors acquired from an old Kyoto family in 2004 is a short filmstrip animation titled Katsudou Shashin also known as "Matsumoto fragment" is a short anime of two to three seconds of a school boy writing the words "活動写真" on a blackboard which translates roughly to "Moving Pictures", he then proceeds to take his red hat off and bows. And that's it.
I can give you the technical aspects of it, but I don't really care. There's nothing special about it.
...
You can read up on it on Wikip*dia if you want. I want to express my feelings on this work and what I though about it.
I'm awed by it. By the history of it. This marked a great moment in Japan's history of animation.
Anime has become so much more with the imoutos and the power levels. I wonder if the cartoonist for this even imagined of a future where storytelling would be done frequently in this format to this extent with sakugas and whatnot. What a time to be alive.
This is where it all began. A pure and simple flipbook level anime of a boy writing the words moving pictures.
Check it out.
..or not. I'm not your mother. But I insist.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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Aug 30, 2019
Okay let me rephrase, just wanted to say this is the biggest disappointment that I have witnessed thus far. And I do not believe old anime or influential media should be above any form of criticism. As it is merely a perspective given by an individual on a work of art or entertainment that they have consumed.
With that being said I will proceed to the review.
"Ningen Doubutsuen" or "Human Zoo" also known as "Clap Vocalism" is a two minute short anime by Yōji Kuri. He was an important figure in the history of Japanese independent animation. So reviewing this will be a pain. As I
...
do not look at his work from a biased point of view of a fan rather someone who is merely consuming it at face value and judging it on the basis of what it has to offer as a standalone piece.
This is a theme based short animation and with that being said, does not have a narrative, characters and the like. It is merely an exhibition of an idea or message if you will.
So given that I am consuming this not at the time it was concocted for I might be amiss to the message or themes that it is trying to tell me, but from my conjecture based on what I saw in this two minute short anime was a message that can be interpreted in several ways.
1. The societal power struggle between genders of the opposite sex as seen by the director.
2. The subjugation of Men and the frustration of the director. (Cautionary Tale)
3. The liberation of Women and the activist nature of the director. (Right to Equality)
4. The carnal fantasies of the director. (Femdom)
The problems that arise from this is a mixture of themes that does not harmonize well with each other and cannot be properly established in this short anime and thus will not resonate with the vast majority of people consuming this as of today.
So it makes sense for it to be in the category of dementia here on MAL. However. What is dementia? Dementia is madness. And in that it has excelled. In my humble perspective this is the best Dementia piece in the existence of anime thus far in terms of depth that I have witnessed. Even surpassing other well known dementia pieces such as "Nami" and "Utsu Musume Sayuri".
And the crude and discord nature in its execution and the repetitive nature in terms of its animation, art and sound only adds so much more depth to the dementia aspect that this short anime has to offer. So if you're an avid dementia fan you will find this a hidden gem or a treat if you will. As for me I'm not in this category as it is not my cup of tea.
I hope my review gives you a chance to understand how I personally feel about the work, as well as gaining an understanding of what the work is about. And that the review is ultimately delivered as fairly and objectively and detailed as possible, and done so in a way that does not spoil the artistic composition for you. To provide you with tools to decide by yourself if you wanna check this artistic composition out or not.
tldr; Better than Nami or Utsu Musume Sayuri in terms of depth if you're a fan of depth in dementia. Worse than Nami or Utsu Musume Sayuri if you're not a fan of depth in dementia.
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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Aug 23, 2019
Making his solo debut in 2009 at the age of 21. Director Hiroyasu Ishida's composition "Fumiko no Kokuhaku" or "Fumiko's Confession" garnered a lot of attention on the platform known as the "Youtube" and was awarded the "Japanese Video Award" is a stimulating shaggy-dog story that was told in a linear narrative format.
As this composition of his is a plummeting motion driven standalone piece, it was told in a continuous fashion that lasted for a run-time of only two minutes and nine seconds in spite of this, is simple yet idiosyncratic narrative which suffered no pacing or timing issues, that I was able to
...
be utterly engrossed in with its charming literary techniques of the bathos style that was done in the right portion.
For that reason I can wholeheartedly say without a doubt in my mind it was two minutes and nine seconds of experience like no other, a narrative that was satisfying and fulfilling, with an abrupt forced ending that suffered no demerits in the category of its artistic composition which is satire, which leads me to say that I absolutely enjoyed this piece of artistic composition by this obscure yet ingenious director.
This guy has the slightest clue on what he is blabbering about which leads him to conclude that you could have just watched the video and probably finished it by now. Do you like reading this sort of stuff? But why? Et tu, Mal?
Now moving on to the art,
The use of warm colours in this animation such as red, yellow and orange was something that suited the premise and theme of this artistic composition and implied that the time is somewhere between afternoon and evening.
The palpable imagery and background aesthetics done in this could rival the quality of the classics, the animated films of yesteryears in my humble subjective viewpoint. One might even argue that there was some symbolism in the appearance and colourisation of certain elements and distinguished changes in its art style within this artistic composition, which could imply a greater depth to its narrative but I lack the astuteness to derive meaning out of this and therefore was slightly troubled.
The accessible format of the artistic composition that I had access to was rendered in twenty three frames per second by seven hundred and twenty progressive scan or eight hundred fifty you're still here four times four hundred eighty pixels on the "Youtube" was seamless and was of fine quality.
Even after decompression and the physics of the motion as how the implied main protagonist was drawn across every frame as she is driven forward in the narrative goes to show the amount of technical aspects like perspectives, lines, angles and positions on a key frame by key frame basis that was considered by Hiroyasu Ishida in making this motion driven artistic composition as it was a decently fluid motion in my subjective humble point of view. The moving imagery that I saw left a great impact on my ability to enjoy this, however.
As for the sound, the content loudness was at; one point six decibels and the voice actors or "seiyuus" in Japanese were not listed here on MAL but upon further investigation, I have found Lain that they were done by Hina for Fumiko and Raika Sou for Takashi. Upon closer inspection, I did not find them associated with any other works besides this one which implied they were amateur voice actors, however I would like to highlight you are still here that Hina's performance worked well with the premise and themes of distress in this category of artistic composition at which there is a clear difference, consistency and tenacity in her voice throughout this piece.
The choice of classical music that was used to demonstrate this artistic composition was none other than Kabalevsky's "The Comedians, Op. 26 Galop. Presto" which was a fitting musical choice in my humble perspective for the category of this artistic composition. There were no other music present throughout this two minutes and nine second artistic composition to review on. The choice of sound effects can be slightly tacky for some but it was well executed and well timed so it gets a pass from me as that is a really subjective thing to go into detail on. It was fine for me.
The last part that I have yet to touch upon would be you the characters. As you are already aware there are two main characters and would like to shed some light on the existence of two other inconsequential side characters in this artistic composition.
The main ones being, Fumiko and Takashi which were designed in a one-dimensional manner so I could not relate to the characters nor were they expanded further in their development but would like to point at you out that Fumiko is the actual star of this artistic composition as you can probably predict from the title and thus has more screen time and detail put into her.
However, I enjoyed their antics regardless and it serves its purpose to the narrative of a two minute and nein second artistic composition and based on the title and themes alone and the category of the artistic composition and its style, which I have previously mentioned in the narrative section and throughout this review. You can imagine what their characterisation is like, and draw the world lines together on what you can expect as I will not spoil you. There were a total of four lines of dialogue with each of them having two and I enjoyed their dialogue.
Overall, it was a pleasant experience and I would recommend checking it out. I hope my review gives you a chance to understand how I personally feel about the work, as well as gaining an understanding of what the work is about. And that the review is ultimately delivered as fairly and objectively and detailed as possible, and done so in a way that does not spoil the artistic composition for you. To provide you with tools to decide by yourself if you wanna check this artistic composition out or not. Also my apologies in advance if I have made many grammatical errors as I am still learning.
Okay it's over now. Go home. Are you still deciding whether you should watch this? Really? After all this reading.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Aug 19, 2019
*Flushes Toilet* Vroom Vroom. [Epic Guitar Solo] I'm in coolest driver high.
Now this is a blast from the past.
Let's make this clear:
Disclaimer: Shounen
This is not a show for people who are nitpicky and can't hold their suspension of disbelief for the sake of humor and enjoyment.
...
Or like dark and mature nonrepetitive narratives with realism, depths, symbolism and whatnot.
This is not an action shounen.
This is not an isekai.
This is not school harem shounen.
This is a school comedy-drama life lessons shounen.
of epic proportions with a lot of heart and soul.
If you meet these criteria.
Then this might be your bread and butter.
*Review*
To this day this anime probably has a few of my favourite scenes in anime.
Don't go diving into this show expecting it to be realistic as you will be severely disappointed.
It has arc driven narratives of the students.
But what it lacks in overall narrative it makes up in characters and character development.
What I can promise you though is a heartwarming and epic character driven show filled with optimistic life lessons.
Just imagine a really badass and supposedly perverted guy that has the deus ex machina level of 9001.
With a lot of heart.
He is the second coming of Teacher Anime Jesus. You seriously can't hate the guy.
Ex Greatest Biker Gang Leader turn Greatest Teacher with hypothetical restraint.
He is the realest nigga.
The situations within it are just so absurd and dramatic that's it can be very funny and uplifting at times.
Yet there are serious moments within it, which is not a popular trope these days.
Which is what I love about Great Teacher Onizuka.
The animation in this is a bit dated.
But the soundtrack oh boy the soundtrack if you like 90s J Rock and Jazz this will be a treat for you.
Forget about this season.
Watch this instead if you're a fan of the life lessons variety of Shounen.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Aug 18, 2019
I'm not a troll I promise.
Guide: http://i.imgur.com/CMaAuPB.png (???) You will need it.
1. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 1: Are we live yet?
2. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya 2: Vietnam (2009)
Then.
3. The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (what you're looking at right now)
...
I'll try to be as spoiler free as possible.
*Review*
It's hard to review this because on the one hand it will look like I'm singing songs of praise due to me being biased and fond of this movie.
But there is a reason to that.
It does movie good. It does it real good. Well at least by my subjective standards.
Even as a standalone film. Without my bias on the context that I need from the show to enjoy this movie from a moviegoer's perspective this a good film at least.
And I'm not talking overhyped good. It's just plain good.
Across all of my media consumption even outside of anime.
It has a solid narrative, structurally and it is easy to follow.
Solid and well developed characters within the movie.
Rich with monologues and dialogues yet not too excessive to the point where it will annoy you or anything like that.
On top of that, it has a vast range of classical and great iconic soundtracks.
And knowing Kyoto Animation's track record with their animation you know they do animation justice. Down to the very hair.
The art and animation in this movie at least was really detailed and beautiful for its time and it still holds up to today's standards of above average. Probably lowballing here.
The angles and perspectives in this was good.
Its atmosphere is dramatic and thrilling while being somber at the same time.
But above all, it was the timing and the combination of all of those elements that made this a good film.
And overall pretty darn engaging, for me at least.
The only problems you might have to not be able to enjoy this movie is if you have a bias on its setting, character designs/quirks, lack of philosophical ambiguity or its genre and themes or just an extremely nitpicky guy.
I mean I'm nitpicky but if you nitpick beyond that then you're just a nitpicky boi. What do you even enjoy? Are you that jaded? I feel you.
If you're in this category then you might not like it as much.
But for me it was fun and I loved every minute of it. Including the first half of the movie where the pacing was a bit slow but it was integral to the experience.
And the protagonist was still just as entertaining to be with, regardless.
If you're really interested in watching this movie I highly, highly suggest you watch the series.
Which really does add to the movie's viewing experience to another level as you get to know these characters, their world and the predicament that they are in.
But don't expect me to tell you the series is a masterpiece or even good. the baseline for the show might probably be average to above average at best.
But if it tickles your fancy then I do highly recommend doing so.
It does add more depth to it. Much more depth.
To this day I still am able to rewatch the movie multiple times and even when I'm sick of it it pulls me right back in.
It definitely has rewatchability value I'd give it that much. But not the series.
But in order to truly appreciate the movie to a level of great magnitude it would be best that you watch the series at least once.
It's sort of like a catch-22. Like I don't want to recommend you the series but at the same time it is a necessary evil to do so.
I'd recommend going about it in chronological order if you're not patient
Refer to the "guide" link.
Also if there's 1 anime that you will break your rules on watching dubbed. It's this one. Crispin Freeman's performance was stellar in this movie.
tldr: Omgz Guyz I love this movie like sooo much like, you are like missing out!! 10/10 recommended.
Personal favourite.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Aug 18, 2019
I got invested.
And moved..
By a chair.
A jumping chair.
This short is absolutely sugoi. 10/10.
...
Just watch it.
It is only 3 minutes 35 seconds.
Here, I'll even give you the link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wg9JGIiSSsQ
Also completely agree with @sdklanhlnahf
Visual narrative is an underappreciated craft.
You can still tell a good narrative with little to no dialogue or exposition. It also works exceptionally well in shorts films.
When done right it can be amazing when done wrong it is just garbage.
Ambiguous symbolism.
Not even once.
Please enter a longer review? Are you serious..
You're saying I need to make a shitpost category by category technical detail wikip*dia regurgitation of a 3 minute anime short film in my review are you serious?
Baka MAL!
Absolutely sugoi MAL. 1/10 will not recommend.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Aug 17, 2019
Giving this a 10/10 is the equivalent of giving Dora The Explorer a 10/10.
Woah, woah easy don't kill me!!
Yes, yes it's a masterpiece I get it!
The only people I would recommend Ghibli films in this case: Spirited Away to are people who have a hard on for ambiguous themes and kids under 8.
Or casual movie goers who like them pretty colours.
...
If you do not like pretty colours and ambiguous themes, this movie is and will be a huge disappointment for you.
Or maybe not since it's a Hayao Miyazaki film by Ghibli.
And you would consider it a masterpiece regardless of watching the movie or not.
*Review*
Here's my issue with Spirited Away.
It panders to everyone without a focus. Which is why everyone has a reason to give this show a 10/10.
On the one hand it's a Ghibli Family Mindless Fun Film with a soulless narrative.
On the other hand it's symbolism on prostitution, selling your soul, growth and social commentary on consumerism and unhappiness, change yada yada [Insert your interpretation].
And then the pretty colours.
This is why Ghibli films is not my cup of tea.
It does not excel in anything. It just sticks to the formula in accordance to popular trends of what makes a movie successful.
Then you get all these casual movie goers being pedaled into thinking or calling this movie a masterpiece for [Insert Random Reason] cuz their daughters and elitist critics rated this high instead of truly loving it by their own terms.
tldr; Recommended for everyone but me.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Aug 17, 2019
Honest to god review. Honest? But what if we are gods? What if life is an illusion? We are all disconnected yet connected. Who am I? Who are you? What is life? What am I?
This is not a show for people who like structure, narratives, characters or even sound philosophy.
If you go in expecting this you will be disappointed and it will bore you to death.
Here's why.
*Review*
Despite my negative view on it narratively speaking if I was 12 and I saw this I would've loved it because these are the things that I used to think about all the time when I was
...
growing up.
It was just a shame that I didn't consume this show when I was in my phase of self discovery and existentialism.
The thing about Serial Experiments Lain is, right.. it is just that for the most part.
A thought experiment by Lain (main protagonist).
What it explores though is highly experimental and disconnected from you (the viewer).
So for a person that considers things like common sense, relatability, sound philosophy and logic you would not like this show's themes because we have developed biases growing up, taste and subjectivity.
Think of it like Black Mirror (US Show) which I love but even more experimental using themes of the Internet or in the Anime (The Wired) as this anime was made in the 90s when the popularity of the Internet was starting to catch wind.
Aside from that though if you're willing to entertain yourself down this rabbit hole from the perspective of Lain as she understands what it means to be Lain while telling you (the viewer) that you don't seem to understand. Which I find extremely amusing.
I even like to listen to the OP just for the heck of it to this day.
And disregard narrative which it somehow has, but that is not the central focus of this show.
You get a show that is highly philosophical.. disconnected yet connected depending on what phase you are in your life.
Forget everything.
There is no world, story or concepts in this anime, no protagonist no tropes. Only Lain. Let's all love Lain.
Also the sound and animation did not age that well as of making this review
[Present day, present time hahaha].
However, its atmosphere is an iconic one. And I look at it fondly regardless of it not being my cup of tea.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Aug 17, 2019
So you've watched all 26 episodes of Neon Genesis Evangelion?
Congratulations.
There, there. It's okay.
Now you are ready to join us.
one of us.
...
one of us.
one of us.
So you see the Evangelion franchise is what Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is to Anime. too big for its own good.
I'm kidding I'm not gonna give you that elitist talk crap. screw em.
Why do I choose really hard to review titles is beyond me, maybe masochism?
*Review*
Okay let me be frank there was a time when I was a noob.
I thought this was utter garbage and complete drivel. In hindsight. It's not utter garbage it's a trainwreck of garbage trains.. Catching fire and explosion!! which can be seen to happen within the first 2 minutes of this movie. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
I get it. The more I consume anime. the more that this symbolism makes sense.
I mean you don't get on screen loli like you used to back in the day. You know?
Hahahahahaha.
But you know what. It's daijoubu.
And the wet dream at the end isn't that some foreshadowing of 50 shades of grey absolutely brilliant. Instantly, classic literature.
Look I'm not a moralfag
I have always appreciated only a few aspects of this movie.
I find it really funny and endearing and my suspension of disbelief allowed me to enjoy;
The pleasant imagery, great soundtrack and huge memebility. That's all this movie has to offer for me.
It's a mediocre moral of the story movie wrapped under thick mediocre symbolism/philosophy drivel. Doesn't take a genius to figure that out.
And if you have depression, reclusiveness and suicidal tendencies I advise you to avoid this unless you can seperate your emotional state from enjoying a mediocre movie that has themes that shit talk you.
Oh don't get me wrong I understood The End of Evangelion.
Behind that exposition dump of a mediocre plot and the poor religious and existential symbolism.
It's just a cheap "wake up you are sick and disgusting" letter to otakus and people with depression. No, it's a huge middle finger to otakus.
Also
From a narrative standpoint it's bad, it's appalling, it's shitty, abhorrent, mental, incoherent, stupid, tryhard and edgy.
Final score: 10/10
Daddy Hideaki Anno pls abuse us more. We love it when you punish us and whisper sweet nothings like "you are worthless and disgusting, get help" into our ears. <3
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Actual score 5/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Aug 16, 2019
It's time I give this show a proper review.
This show trolled me in so many ways I never thought I could be trolled.
I have a profound sense of awe because of it but at the same time this show has problems ara ara this show has problems.
Regardless of the problems this show has I respect Hideaki Anno for his ability to turn cool religious metaphors and depression into the hottest anime and cash grab of its decade. I applaud you. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
This piece of literature is so controversial I mean look at it to this day people shit on it or
...
circlejerk it like no tomorrow. This man is a genius.
Writing this review I need be cautious as I do not want the fandom to put me on a cross "metaphorically" and "literally" while playing Tsubasa Wo Kudasai to ease my journey to the promised primordial soup. What was that? What are you talking about.
YES.
I'll try to keep this as spoiler free as possible.
*Review*
If you're a fan of a simple narrative with simple characters and a simple resolution this anime is not for you.
If you're a fan of a complex narrative with complex characters and a complex resolution this anime is not for you.
If you're a fan of mindless fun this anime is not for you.
If you're a fan of dementia this anime is not for you.
If you're a fan of dark mature narrative with dark mature characters and a dark mature resolution this anime is not for you.
If you're a fan of deus ex machina this anime is not for you.
If you're a fan of shounen this anime is not for you.
If you're a fan of deconstruction this anime is not for you.
If you're a fan of Gundam this anime is not for you.
If you're a fan of deep metaphors and religious symbolism this anime is not for you.
If you're a fan of great tragedies this anime is not for you.
If you're a fan of depression this anime is not for you.
If you're a fan of escapism this anime is not for you.
If you're a fan of existentialism this anime is not for you.
Then who is it for?
The truly enlightened.
What?
As you can see if you've entertained and liked this review then this anime is for you. You sir, my fellow enlightened comrade is the target audience.
Wait what's that you say? This isn't a review? Trust me this is the closest I can muster to a spoiler free review without typing the whole plot summary. Also there's more than 1 interpretation and I don't want to be crucified. That would make me sad. Being sad is bad. Or is it? I don't want to think about it because then it will make me cry. And I don't want you to see me cry. Now I will leave because you are bullying me. Stop bullying me! Are you bullying me cuz you like me? End my suffering!! I'm gonna kill myself now.
I would like to applaud you for reading through this review.
Congratulations.
Ps: Sick Op tho. Elavator kun is best waifu. *tumbling down intensifies* overall 7/10.
tldr; Just watch it. Tread lightly, you will either hate it or love it there's only two factions no in between. 100% guranteed. This anime will shed some light and give you self awareness of what your tastes are when consuming anime from this point forward. Highly educational. 10/10 would recommend.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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