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Sep 20, 2024
Despite being a pretty big fan of anything surrealist and/or avant-garde, I have never seen anything quite like Paprika. Even Christopher Nolan's great Inception, which borrows heavily from the dream world established in this film, cannot come close to being as weird as Paprika. Satoshi Kon made something absolutely incredible here, and it's definitely one of the most mind bending films I've ever seen.
Paprika focuses heavily on the scientific, philosophical, and psychological implications of dreams. A scientist develops a device that allows dream therapy to take place while people are asleep, and all sorts of weird things happen as a result. When the device is
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stolen, dreams and reality start to merge, and this is just the beginning of the mind-melting that's about to come.
This is an incredible film, it's so utterly incomprehensible, yet it has such a consistent, stylish carefree nature that makes it an incredibly fun watch all throughout. I can confidently say it's one of the strangest pieces of media that I've ever experienced, and it still leaves so many questions unanswered. The direction of the film is utterly sublime, the characters all feel pretty well established, and the visuals are as trippy as they are unique. Paprika is undoubtedly one of the most unusual films I've ever seen, and one of the most impressive visual pieces of animation ever created. It's got an impeccable style, and it's one of the greatest representations of dreams and the psyche in the entire medium of film.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Sep 17, 2024
A dense, surreal exploration of the parasitic entertainment industry, Satoshi Kon's Perfect Blue is a fantastic psychological thriller that blurs the line between reality and fantasy, making viewers question the true events of the film even after the credits roll. I really love how it's structured, with each scene seeming like a continuation of the last, except when the rug gets pulled out from underneath you by the plot twists. It's an engrossing, disturbing film that makes you ponder exploitation in the industry, obsessive fanboys, and even the nature of identity itself.
This film is the definition of a trip. It still has such a surreal
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feel that it reminds me of my actual dreams, which is always a plus in a psychological story like this. There are so many amazing moments in this film that made me genuinely shocked, the only part that I didn't really like was the ending as it feels a bit abrupt, and doesn't give a lot of closure to Mima's character. But aside from that, this is a great example of experimental anime and I absolutely loved it!
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Sep 13, 2024
I'm a bit conflicted on the Umineko anime. On one hand, it's got a great atmosphere, solid usage of gore, and a story that's only getting more mysterious as it goes on, not to mention the amazing character development that goes on. But on the other hand, as an adaptation? This series has a plethora of issues, even beyond its nature as an adaptation, but what's really damning is just how good the source material is. It's a shame that anime-only watchers will probably walk away confused and disappointed, as it only adapts the first 4 arcs (of which there are 8) of the original.
Then
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again, the series is still pretty damn good, all things considered, and has some moments that rival the best of the visual novel. What's most surprising about this series is how the showrunners aren't afraid to get dark. The series has a lot of blood, gore, and generally fucked up shenanigans, even more so than the source material. Some scenes, particularly in the third arc, genuinely made me cringe and I'm glad I'm not a masochist. It's a pretty damn raw series, with a lot of raw imagery, and in that respect it does a good job of capturing the horror elements of the original.
What's also surprising is the series's usage of sound. While the OST isn't anywhere near as good as the VN's (which is god tier), I think that when they allow the soundtrack to take over, the series's atmosphere kicks up a notch.
The series also has a really good cast of characters. They're all pretty interesting and well-developed, and there are a lot of them. Sure, they don't get quite enough development as in the original, which can be detrimental to some earlier episodes as you don't really feel like you know the characters. But as the series goes on, the characters really start to get good, and I think my favourites here are Rosa and Maria. Their dynamic is depicted in such a way that you can't help but feel for them as the series goes on, and they're one of my favourite mother/daughter pairings of all time.
What's also really interesting with the series is how it handles the mystery. The series does a great job of keeping the mystery going, but the fact is that in adapting such a dense, difficult mystery novel, a few details were changed that make it far less cohesive than the original. While it's still a great mystery, it doesn't really have a resolution here, and the best thing it does is make you wonder what's really going on, without ever truly letting you figure out whodunit.
The series's biggest flaw is just how much it cuts down on the original. I spent at least 90 hours on Umineko, and that's pretty low all things considered. That doesn't even count the time I spent theory-crafting, re-reading, or generally just trying to figure out the mysteries. It's such a dense novel, and unfortunately, that means this anime falls short on being truly great.
So, is it worth watching? I'd say it is, though you should really consider reading Umineko as opposed to watching it. There aren't many stories with its sheer scope and execution. But regardless, the anime is some solid supplementary material for starved Umi-fans, like myself. Give it a watch, it's a good time. Just know that you'll have to deal with the cliffhanger ending and some pretty weird pacing issues.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Sep 9, 2024
Utterly incomprehensible. I mean, how could it not be? Adapting an 8 hour visual novel into a single-episode OVA isn't something that I think anyone could do without significant harm, and while I can't claim to have played the original, as it hasn't been translated yet, what I can say is that this OVA is straight up terrible. Its animation is poor, the sex scenes are just repetitive, and the story is impossible to follow. What little there is of it is told in such an empty way that it's basically pointless to try and analyze it. The tasteless shock value is akin to the
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worst ecchi out there, and the only thing that saves it from being outright offensive is that I've played SubaHibi, a VN with an incredible amount of empathy towards the atrocities it depicts. This is a weird case, because if I had played the original VN, I'm sure I would have a better understanding of the events here, but it might even be worse, because of how short and rushed it is. I have no idea why they thought it was a good idea to try and make this. To take a pillar of the denpa genre and cram it into le fetish slop that lasts about 24 minutes and has the emotional depth of a puddle. I could go on, but honestly, this is really not worth wasting your time on.
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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Sep 4, 2024
I watched the anime of this first, and while I consider it to be a masterpiece, this manga was lacking in the surreal atmosphere that made the anime so great. While I do recognize this did come first, so I will pay it the respect it deserves, this medium doesn't really suit the story. The characters are still as depraved as ever, and the story is still just as good, but the scenes don't linger like they should. Midori is already a pretty short movie, and this took me even less time to read through. The few pros the manga has over the anime is
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that its artstyle is more appealing, and some scenes, like the ending, hit a bit harder in the manga format. On its own, this is a pretty solid read, but I'd recommend anyone who wants to check this out to watch the anime first.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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