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Jan 4, 2025
Underrated movie that has aged incredibly well over the years.
The plot is nothing particularly special, the title is essentially what you get - a vampire hunter. But the magic for this movie is in the absolutely breathtaking backgrounds that are so meticulously drawn throughout. To accompany, the animation for this work is nothing short of amazing - smooth, gripping animation that keeps your eyes glued to the screen and had me audibly yelling "what the hell" when ones were being animated for a cool-as-heck sword flip of a ring. Character motivations are relatively flat and perhaps under-developed, but the visual intrigue of
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their backstories are choreographed and presented in chilling fashion, in a true "show don't tell", every-frame-a-painting directorial masterpiece. The settings are grandiose, the action makes use of the setting, and the eyes are treated to a spectacle throughout.
This movie is what vampire hunter movies should be like, and what modern movies should aesthetically aspire to regardless of genre.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jan 4, 2025
For full transparency, this is my first foray into the Macross franchise.
For its age, this is a very pretty anime with impressive background art and very solid animation, though most notably in its Itano circus scenes and battle fights. If this was pure sci-fi, would definitely solidify as it one of those series that demands a watch for its impact on anime mecha.
But while the complaint that idols in space converting aliens to CULTURE might be falling on deaf ears to adherents of this franchise, it is unfortunately so off-putting as a plot point that it simply requires a mention. This movie desperately
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wants to give a strong "I drink respect women juice" message throughout, whether through its weird alien men vs alien women background lore or shoehorned "machismo pilot that sexually assaults his partner" plot point. It almost comes off as one of the late Shinzo Abe's fertility messages or something that desperately should be broadcast in South Korea these days. But I digress - an idol platform on a major space fortress is a hilarious, almost campy addition to a traditional mecha anime, and probably not for the better.
The love triangle and how it's addressed also doesn't seem to help resolve whether this is a respect women movie or simply a wish fulfillment anime - though I suppose it is at least admirable that they decided to not have the protagonist pursue the idol and go for a mature woman (though one that still subscribes to traditional female roles in said relationship). Baby steps for the mid-80s, I suppose.
It's a beautiful movie everyone should watch to understand why this franchise exists, but damn is the messaging whack. FOR THE CULTURE!
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 10, 2024
Anthology movie of various animation greats. Very hit and miss set of shorts here, but if you're looking to expand your animation repertoire, this is probably not something you should skip.
Genius Party - great recognizable symbology that serves perfectly for the movie. Really appreciate the idea of outward inspiration, internal passion, and the electric spread of ideas that is so inherent to art. Great technicality in effects animation.
Shanghai Dragon - I hate narratives involving incompetent children as a focal point as it often involves watchers' frustration, but I was shut up by the end. The importance of "incompetent" children unfettered by
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practicality and society, allowed to exhibit their own creativity, was actually really well told by this short and I appreciated it. The heavy use of CGI spaceships was... a bit excessive, but I think it fit the overall idea well, and the style used for the drawing animation was a good addition.
Deathtic 4 - sorta horrific visuals but I guess that's the point of a zombie movie. Audibly laughed at some of the slapstick humor so I guess this short succeeded in what it desired to achieve. Campy? but fun.
Doorbell - meh concept, meh execution. The ideas introduce a concept of creepiness, but just not overall directed well enough to give more atmospheric vibes. Animation is also clunky. Like some of the end concepts (the idea of many selves chasing each other?) but not enough to redeem the whole thing.
Limit Cycle - the most pretentious animation I've ever watched, by far. Just let me read a philosophy book bro.
Happy Machine - Yuasa wanted practice for Kaiba I guess. Really amazing animation, concepts were clearly pulled out of a hat though. Major Scavengers Reign vibes, with a sorta dark ending regarding the futile? cycle of life.
Baby Blue - now this is youth!! Probably one of Watanabe's best directorial works, ironically enough. Poignant, nostalgia-driven, and some nice laughs here and there without excessive melodrama. But why the hell does he have a grenade?
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Nov 13, 2024
Novel execution for an anime, but baffling premise.
Flag is probably most well known for presenting its entire narrative through first person POV shots, mostly through found footage by the two journalist protagonists' cameras or cameras placed conveniently on war machines. It's certainly an admirable approach and contributes meaningfully to the theme of journalistic importance, but this limitation can find itself in tricky corners.
The main narrative point of this story is for main character Shirasu to document a UN special forces team to recover a symbolic flag that she had previously taken a photo of. While the world-building may have been more appreciated in
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other contexts, the overt usage of decked-out killing machines, elaborately militarized religious cults, and clandestine operations to cover up the entire mission by the UN over a single flag becomes straight comedy near the end. Sorry, a cool photo of a flag does not simply quell a civil war.
While the documenting of soldiers as human via photojournalism is an interesting idea, the naivety of Shirasu (despite her being a lauded international journalist in a country engulfed in civil war) coupled with a reluctance to really deep dive into the corruption of Western military institutions, i.e. the UN, slowly devolves into a whitewashing of Middle Eastern neo-colonialism. Presenting soldiers as honorable people who failed to prevent the genocide in Rwanda and looking to redeem themselves doesn't mesh well with POV shots of them obliterating landscapes with mecha machine guns.
The animation isn't bad, but the CG robots are out of place aesthetically and narratively. Shirazu's voice actress sounds as out of place as the situations Shirazu herself is in 90% of the time (why are you in the middle of a firefight, girl?). The ending is a confusing neoliberal mess. But points for trying something new.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Sep 6, 2024
This show is extremely not good, but whether you will enjoy this fully depends on your appreciation of the original R2 season. Did you enjoy the campy fanservice and ridiculous plot points leading to questionable climaxes in R2? Perfect, Roze the Recapture is perfect for you.
There's not much to say about yet another questionable cash-in for the Code Geass franchise. An unwillingness to explore the deeper depths of the Geass supernatural aspect, relatively poor CG mecha combat, and terrible Okouchi-level writing surpassing even Valvrave make this movie-turned-ONA series unwatchable even by modern Code Geass standards. The main characters' relationship raises questions
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near the end and is never fully fleshed out, and the main villain reveal made me choke from laughter. It seems even CLAMP couldn't decide whether to create a gay or straight fanservice protagonist, and decided "why not both?"
But I am a man raised by the campy legacy of our emperor Lelouch, and any reason to indulge myself in Code Geass trash is a journey I am willing to take. Do I want cameos from every CG franchise entry in the span of 5 minutes while in the middle of a laughably impossible genocide plot? Hell yes, thank you Okouchi!
My only complaint is that we couldn't even have gotten the amazing S-tier mecha cinematography from Akito the Exiled in this show. But hey, at least we got Leila.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Dec 31, 2022
-- Who should watch this? --
Everyone. Mob Psycho 100 is the pinnacle of animated bildungsroman. Extra points for people who want insane animation sakuga, wanting to feel something in their heart, unconventional art design, and wholesome characters to latch onto. Especially great for new anime watchers. Maybe not the pick for those looking for a horror or grounded thriller show, but even then, if you want to call yourself an anime fan: sit down and pull up Mob Psycho.
-- Review --
This review is intended to cover the whole animated series over the past 6 years, because it's a 10/10 masterpiece.
Like other
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shows I've reviewed before, this show has received so much critical attention and praise that there is little more for me to write about. Simply put, this show understands what it means to show, not tell. It's not arthouse pretentious - it won't make you guess what every frame, every object represents in protagonist Mob's character-building story - but it certainly puts the weight of its passion into its character acting, its vibrant and colorful animation that lets you know precisely the atmosphere of the scene it's adapting, its desire to convey the message of growth and self-acceptance without telling you outright.
Of course, much of it is owed to the wonderful writing of ONE, but the amazing direction by Tachikawa and the incredible animation work by those at Bones really allow those sentiments to be brought out. Special shout-out to Hakuyu Go for not only the amazing inner-world representation animation in season 2, but to come back for season 3 for the 40k frame episode dedicated solely to Mob's little slice of life. The fight scenes are choreographed expertly, the emotional scenes are never contrived, and even I, a perfectly grown man, have felt a little more emotionally developed than I was coming into this show.
There is very little that the animation industry could ask more of a show than what Mob Psycho 100 has provided. Good night, sweet prince, and thank you for the memories.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Dec 31, 2022
-- Who should watch this? --
People who really like Arknights will probably really enjoy this. If you really like ambient lighting/photography, poorly written pseudo-war melodrama, AND cute gacha girl designs, this might be a perfect combination for you too. Otherwise, really not much else to be had here from a technical or especially a narrative perspective. Skip it.
-- Review --
Damn, this show was boring.
I'm not against gacha game adaptations on principle: I watched Takt and Fate/Babylonia, among others. They weren't amazing but they weren't terrible either. They had good animation, looked pretty, and even if the writing was terrible from
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an adaptation standpoint, I had some amount of enjoyment that kept me in every week. But Prelude to Dawn had none of these benefits, and piled on a whole lot more of terrible dialogue and narrative.
"Show, not tell" is the crux of animation and visual media, and episode 1 of Prelude to Dawn failed this to such a degree, I almost gave in to the gacha advertisement, because I figured if I was just going to read a synopsis of the background and character profiles through subtitles, I could probably read it faster by actually downloading and playing the game prologue. From there, it doesn't get much better. Much of this show is dedicated to the emotional turmoil of the pacifist protagonists and how they fight against not-totally-evil antagonists and their acceptance of violence, etc., etc., ...which might be a really good plot, if not for the fact it just boils down to close-up shots of the bunny-girl and bear-girl crying, with the other characters providing not-very-comforting condolences to them. All Quiet on the Western Front this anime is not.
The photography is great, and probably what originally sold me to watch this show. Very good ambient lighting coupled with on-model animation and character design convince me that there was at least some production budget, but the animation fight scenes, while passable, are not really anything to write home about. Once again, more melodramatic talk-no-jutsu exists in this show then gunfire or magic. Even for sound, there was a startling lack of Arknights' wonderful soundtrack - which leads me to believe they deliberately chose silence to emphasize the brutality of warfare. Unfortunately, this just meant that the un-engaging dialogue and uninspiringly framed close-up shots of the characters had to be delivered solely by VA performances that were too strong for the writing they were given.
Previews gave me some hope for this show, but even worse than being disappointed, I had to continuously debate with myself whether I had the attention span for 8 weeks of this boring tripe. Guess I did.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Dec 31, 2022
Bocchi may not be a rock, but damn does her show rock.
The undisputed sleeper hit of 2022, there is very little I can write in this review that has not already been covered by other reviewers or youtuber video essays. As I write this, I'm listening to the Kessoku Band album on repeat, so perhaps this review's context is best placed within a meta framework of where I personally think Bocchi the Rock represents for my relationship with the anime industry as a whole.
In a Fall 2022 season of extremely hyped shows such as Chainsaw Man, Bleach TYBW, and Mob Psycho 100, very few
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people expected a CGDCT show to match the quality of these shows. And how? Because this season really demonstrated what people have been wanting from anime for decades: to convey emotion, characterization, and plot using the medium of animation to its full extent. Now, Bocchi the Rock is not Bones' Mob Psycho 100 - it is not a masterpiece bildungsroman with 40k frame episodes of symbolic imagery - but it was certainly one of the most masterful adaptations of a 4koma to illustrate overcoming (debatably) social anxiety in one of the most visually humorous anime in years. And all because of the raw passion of this staff.
The involvement of Kerorira, Umehara, and Saitou in this show have been well-documented, and their love for this franchise really cuts through this work. The plethora of creative technicals ranging from detailed mocap band lives, 3DCG gags, live-action cuts, and incredible character animation didn't make my sakuga-obsessed jaw drop - it warmed my whole damn heart. And that's when you know you've created something amazing. It's when you make an album for the characters' band with full MVs. It's when you create a promotional Youtube series of the main character's VA trying to learn how to riff the guitar solos in the OP, then insert images from that series into the last episode of the anime. It's when fans recognize your main character's gag face with simply paper clips on pink paper.
It's when your fans fall in love with your characters, your music, your art. Bocchi the Rock is not a serious drama with a serious plot. But I felt as much emotion from it, had as much fun with it, looked forward to it, as I would my top-rated masterpieces. And honestly, if that's not the goal of anime, I don't know what is.
-- Who is this anime for? --
Someone looking for one of the best slapstick comedies of all time, with high production values, but still want a satisfyingly progressive plot and captivating characters. A+ for people who want a music anime. Great intro to CGDCT and SoL anime provided some prior introduction to anime, but otherwise can and should be watched by everyone.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Oct 7, 2022
Girl meets boy. Boy happens to be a vampire. Boy drags girl into his world of the night. Girl is unsure if she should fall in love with said boy. Other boys that are vampires appear and disapprove of said relationship. Boy must prove that he wants to pursue girl despite the taboos of his world. Now gender-flip it and you have Yofukashi no Uta.
While watching Yofukashi no Uta, I had initially thought up a review regarding the current state of wish-fulfillment anime, of shows that encourage the drop-outs of society to continue their lives in the solitude of
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night in the hopes that a cute girl will fall from the sky and be their manic pixie dream girl. But then I realized - this is just a genderswapped vampire otome anime! And I stopped trying to think about it too hard.
Kou Yamori is insufferable, indecisive for most of the show, and really lacks any charisma to pull this plot together. Even if you gender-bent him into an otome protagonist, he'd probably rue the scorn of every self-insert female watcher as having no backbone and no ambition. Nazuna is equally indecisive throughout this show, which begs the question - is there even a plot to this or am I just watching myself decide what to eat for dinner? Perhaps this is just a general theme of the author's works since Dagashi Kashi - make eccentrically cute girls and let the manga write itself - but sales evidently do not equal quality.
The best I can give for this show is that the framing, direction, and backgrounds look great. For a show that advertised itself on conveying the atmosphere of night, it certainly delivers. But perhaps adding some ambient background music would have prevented it from being a total snoozefest.
I think if you expect you'll like this, you will, and if you don't know if you'll like this, you probably won't. Go watch Diabolik Lovers or something.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Sep 19, 2022
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners may finally have broken the curse of terrible video game-to-anime adaptations, with a flashy, over-the-top, yet still emotionally poignant show that brings back the best of the Trigger/Gainax feel.
Total disclaimer, I never played Cyberpunk 2077 and my knowledge of it is limited to the memes of its initial release. And yet much like Arcane, that limited understanding is completely fine for being able to enjoy this show to its intended extent. The plot is relatively simple: scrappy young boy in dystopian cyberpunk world with his back against the wall finds super special mechanical parts and goes out to screw the system.
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Edgerunners is, at its essence, more of a spiritual successor to Gurren Lagann than even Promare was.
Lucy has all the plot twists of Nia, but with a more kickass design and a personality that will kick your ass. Aoi Yuuki's vocal range has improved to the point that you can barely recognize her from her usual brat character archetype and does an extraordinary job voicing Lucy. David as a character, while not groundbreaking, has an empathetic if not heavy-handed story on the perils of late-stage capitalism (leave it to Trigger to stick in a lesson on the evil of for-profit health care systems) and the struggles of those who are simply trying to scrap a living. But together, Lucy and David's romance story is titillatingly sexy, romantically mature, and has enough chemistry that you can look past the gore, Imaishi explosions, and drug addiction to find some pretty good writing underneath.
Edgerunner's animation is incredibly solid - Trigger aka Imaishi and Yoshinari's animation style is not always for everyone, but they do it justice in this show with more explosions, more exaggerated movements, and overall debauchery. They've clearly learned from their 3D work in Promare, and have pretty successfully incorporated 3DCG into their action scenes by choosing a good noir art style - in a sentence I never thought I'd have to write: Their 2015 shitpost anime Ninja Slayer From Animation really paid off.
The music choice is great, small design ideas like the static and fidgeting eyes during cyberpsychosis are well thought out, and the overall presentation is fun and engaging. It's not groundbreaking but if you've got the chance to pick it up, Edgerunner is worth the time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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