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Oct 16, 2020
Madoka Magica is a show that works on every level. The animation is gorgeous, the writing is tight, the performances are memorable and the soundtrack is iconic. Everything came together on this project in a way that you just don't see very often.
The animation and designs are the most striking thing about Madoka. The character designs are unique and endearing and makes the characters effortlessly sympathetic. It contrasts nicely with the darkness of the story without ever feeling out of place or gimmicky. The surreal witch labyrinths are where the creativity of the animators really shines. They've crafted a series of trippy nightmare worlds that
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provide interesting threats as well as hints about the true nature of the creatures that live in them. The labyrinths are probably the most well-known and memorable visual elements of the show, and they really help it stand out in terms of animation. There are some issues when it comes to how the characters' faces are drawn from a distance. It's clear that some corners were cut, and the characters look noticeably wonky in many shots, as illustrated by the infamous "maguka" thread. The blueray edit cleans this up a little but it's still noticeable in many places.
The show manages to get across a specific tone with its story that is perfectly executed. It's a very dark show for it's genre, but avoids getting overly edgy or grimdark in a way many of the shows that it inspired do. The darkness of the plot never feels like something done just for the sake of being dark. It feels genuinely tragic in the traditional sense. The hardships that befall the characters are fantastical, sure, but they are always grounded in something relatable and human. Sayaka's downward spiral, or Homura's doomed quest, as examples, both hit harder because of how easy it is to see one's self in the characters. The incredible soundtrack also helps the show's tone, feeling mysterious, dark, yet compelling in its sound.
The characters have compelling arcs that compliment each other and ultimately inform the themes of hope and despair. The premise presents each of the characters with an inescapable dilemma that reveals itself over the course of the plot. Each of the characters represent a different answer to the question at the heart of the show, and we get to know them as characters by how they cope with their situation. Their conflicts with each other over their differing perspectives is believable and effective. The show takes time to flesh each of them out and they all feel complex and compelling, even those that only appear for a small amount of the show's limited run time, such as Mami.
The pacing is tight; every beat has room to breath without ever slowing the show down. Every scene contributes to the final conclusion. The tension of the show escalates incredibly effectively, with each episode bringing new revelations about the central dilemma that fundamentally changes our understanding of the situation. What this show manages to accomplish in only 12 episodes is commendable. the effective use of the run time and constantly escalating stakes makes Madoka Magica a very easy show to binge in one sitting.
The ending is bittersweet and beautiful. Everything Madoka learns about the characters and the world she's in comes into play. Her passivity for most of the series makes sense once she finally makes her key decision, with all the different perspectives she got from both the major and some minor characters informing her along the way. The final result manages to be satisfying and bittersweet. Hopeful yet tragic in a way that stuck with me ever since I first saw it.
Madoka Magica is one of the all-time greats of anime. It moving, intense, and it will stick with you for years to come.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Oct 7, 2020
Beastars is a fantastic series with a lot going for it. It's themes are well realized and the animation is stunning.
The inner turmoil of the main characters is fantastically realized. Every character is struggling against themselves in some way and their arcs all compliment each other thematically.
Louis and Lugosi each of complimentary but opposite arcs. Lugosi struggles to hide his true nature from the world and plays a meek facade. Louis is insecure about his lack of strength in a world dominated by carnivores and so projects confidence that he doesn't believe he possesses. Haru wants to feel in control of her life despite being
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looked down upon by those around her and uses sex as a means of taking agency over her life
The animation is incredibly done, seamlessly blending 2d and 3d animation to create a look that is unique and stands out. The expressive style lends itself to give the world a sense of believably and weight. The carefully directed shots create many striking images that feel iconic. The shot of Lugosi grabbing and clinging to Haru after losing control of himself feels like a perfect encapsulation of the themes of the show itself.
The world is well realized, taking the messy and uncomfortable implications of a world populated by different species coexisting in fragile harmony to its radical conclusions. Rather than shying away from them, Beastars spends its time carefully exploring the dark underbelly of this society and the psychology of its cast, drawing parallels to the real world without being overly on the nose or allegorical like other properties with similar premises.
It's an honest exploration of sexuality and repression on Lugosi's part with his feelings towards Haru. Whether these feelings are natural and healthy or ultimately destructive is the core conflict of the series and the ending leaves this question tantalizingly unanswered for now.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 21, 2020
I went into this show with low expectations, but it still managed to surprise me with its sheer appalling tastelessness.
The constant over sexualization and over-the-top violence make it clear that this show is meant to be an edgy teenage jerk-off fantasy, and as such, I'm sure it does it's job effectively. Where it gets me is the attempts at discussions of real-world issues like terrorism, war, child soldiers, sex slavery,torture, abuse, and trauma, resulting in some of the most jarring tonal shifts I have ever experienced. Its pretensions towards some level of depth and seriousness just make it all the more laughable.
The main character,
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Asuka, is not really a character at all. She's a bundle of tropes and traumas. Her struggle is ostensibly about her struggling to get back into the magical girl despite her traumas. Fair enough, but her specific hangups about fighting are vaguely defined. This is because it's only really explored via the occasional speech that she stops to make, usually in the middle of the battle, and her motivations for fighting or not fighting are different every time. She could've had complex and multifaceted reasons for her apprehension, but the lack of any exploration of her character just makes it come off as inconsistent. The times when we should be getting that insight more organically than monologues, the scenes between the action sequences when Asuka is spending time with her friends, are instead spent on bad sex jokes.
The side characters are a real problem. Much of the show's down time is spent on Asuka hanging out with her two friends from school, but they are both incredibly one-note and most of their interactions only really serve as excuses to get the girls into skimpy outfits. We are later expected to believe that these are the moments that make life worth living for Asuka, the things that she's willing to fight for. Her entire arc, if it can be called that, hinges on her relationship with these two, and it falls completely flat. There are attempts to do more with the two friends, by putting them in traumatizing situations and having them suffer ptsd as a result. This falls flat as well, since trauma is not a suitable substitute for character development.
The plot is a mess. The pacing is all over the place, with the series grinding to a halt in the middle to introduce more characters and then ramping up suddenly, dropping critically important details about the characters and world-building on our laps right up until the final episode. The villains' motivations make little sense, which I suspect is the result of the adaptation leaving out important reveals that happen later in the manga, leaving them feeling hollow in the show itself.
This show suffers from a very strange mix of priorities. I honestly can't tell if it wants to be shameless trash or if it's actually trying to be a deep exploration of war and trauma. Either way it fails on basically every level. It has a fetishistic fascination with the military, and wants to portray a kind of gritty realism alongside the wacky magical anime stuff. This is not a problem in and of itself, but its understanding of these topics are too shallow to really be able to explore them with any depth. It really does feel like a story written by a teenage boy, and I mean that in the worst way possible.
I guess the op's pretty cool, though.
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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