Deconstruction is a loose term nowadays. No Match For Aoi-kun! is not a deconstruction of the Mahou Shoujo genre, but rather, and in pretty awesome taste may I add, an extension of the stylistic choices and elaboration of said choices that is seen in many Mahou Shoujo media.
It begins with Aoi Rio, titular main character, who is a self loathing student due to the fact he is in his late teens and still likes the magical girl show Pretty Eririn. His insecurity comes at the end of the fact that on top of that immature enjoyment, he is unable to live up to the
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Jul 5, 2021
Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso
(Anime)
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Isn't it okay to like shows that may not objectively be the best? Isn't it okay to like shows that fills itself up with tropes? Isn't it okay when in the face of all that, there lies a pool of genuine and heart wrenching emotions that is relevant in almost every person?
Your Lie in April lacks a lot of things. It lacks good characterization, Kaori doesn't get much development until 2/3 of the show has already passed. Watari plays no part in the show except to deter Kousei from visiting Kaori and realizing his true feelings. And in between, almost every character has some ... sort of innate flaw that doesn't make their character better, but just flawed from a story-writing point of view. This is all recognizable, and not to mention things that would usually make a show much worse. But even if its characters are superficial, I really felt the emotion it portrayed on a personal level. It had so many themes, but those themes were really well interwoven and connected to where it felt like one big seamless journey of self discovery. Using music as a messenger for the feelings that the characters wanted to express on others, it's not just symbolic as hell but it also just sounds dazzling. The characters each utter the words, "Let it ring" when they're playing their impassioned tracks, and in general it echoes the sentiment of letting others know how much you appreciate them or any other variety of emotions that there is. Aiza's little sister wanted him to remain the infallible role model of whom she was always chasing, and that's what she wanted to tell him when she played her electrifying piece. Kousei's Love's Sorrow was an ode to his mother and an homage to their memories, the good and the bad, and he ultimately finds solace when he finishes playing. Through his playing, he finds closure and is even able to forgive her and send a final message to her. Kaori's playing is a constant attempt at making the audience remember her, so that she could be as inspiring as Kousei was once, so that she can live on in someone's heart. Each character embodies a form of relatability that the audience can see and point out in themselves. And the usage of sometimes dramatic, but sometimes gentle, sometimes caressing, but sometimes invigorating music, to symbolize that is nothing short of masterful. In general, the tropes that is used aren't all that terrible. Yes, Kaori is a manic dream pixie girl, but she doesn't come along to Kousei's life and solve everything for him. She pushes him forward, not drags him along. She reminds him he has agency in his life, she reminds him that his playing is what he can express through, and she reminds him that music is freedom. It's not wish fulfillment more so than it is the show reminding you that you have power in your own abilities. So, do things on your terms. Kousei's mental anguish does not perish by meeting Kaori, but rather through finding himself and how others around him have shaped him and built him up. Though even this is nothing more than a farce, because at the end of the show, when Kaori is soon to die, her parallels to Kousei's mother have never been more apparent. But even knowing Kaori will die, Kousei is able to continue playing his greatest piece in the show yet. Envisioning Kaori in the azure plain, right next to him, accompanying him on the awesome journey of music, for it to all come to an end. Instead of holding on to her memory and depending on the piano once again while at the same time being unable to face the piano and play, he thanks her and grants her goodbye. This is a showing of independence, but through the character that you've built from your relationships and dynamics. Your Lie in April's interpretation of independence is one of my favorite yet, and it's so supremely subtle and detailed, that I bawled like no end at the end of that stunning scene with Kousei and Kaori playing. The romance in Your Lie in April is average, I'll grant anyone that. The show itself is filled with cliché's and generic showings, I'll agree to that too. But I haven't seen myself reflected in an anime's portrayal of sentiment in so long, that this show almost reminded me of many things in my life. My mother, my brother, my sister, my father, and what I want to show to them. What I would want my sound to ring out to them to sound like. Would it be tender and sweet? Would it be a stark reminder of the bond that we've built up over so long? Your Lie in April is great at what it does, and dare I say, unrivaled at those aspects. While I could always sit here and pretend that its flaws detracts from its passion and its messages by a large amount, I'd be doing a great disservice to myself and the show if I did. Your Lie in April is profound, tragic, and hopeful all in one. What emotion will your music ring out?
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jun 2, 2021
Fate/stay night
(Anime)
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This adaptation, by itself, is pretty bad. The choreography is overtly stiff, a lot of plot points are kind of just mulled over and never explained, and the pacing is pretty questionable too. So then, why is this anime in my favorites list? I even gave it only a 7, which by no means is a terrible score, but the other anime in my favorites are either 9/10's or childhood classics I grew up with. There are two main reasons.
The first is that I watched this after I had watched Unlimited Blade Works. In my mind, the things that /stay night ignored were the ... things that UBW were able to elaborate on, and so I was still able to piece the plot together regardless. In addition, the power system of the series, which I have always adored, remains a staple here as both UBW and /stay night are adaptations of the 2004 visual novel, and so of course they share the whole servants and masters stuff. But the association that I make with /stay night and Unlimited Blade Works is both a curse and a gift because many of what makes UBW great is completely absent in /stay night. Don't get me wrong, I didn't expect Ufotable style combat from a studio not named Ufotable, but most of the fight scenes in this anime last a minute at most, will have the camera pan out to where you can't even actually see the characters fighting, and an anticlimactic finish every single time. Even the final fight of the series, Gilgamesh vs Saber is treated in a fashion where the camera is constantly changing to Shiro, then back to Saber who is all of a sudden knocked down on her feet, then back to Shiro who is now trapped in some black goo, and then back to Saber who, wait a minute is she about to defeat Gilgamesh? The point is, the fight scenes are hard to comprehend. One thing haphazardly leads to another and the audience is expected to just approve of it. And don't get me started on the lacking exposition of this anime. An adaptation shouldn't depend on its source material to corroborate its story, rather it should attempt to concisely describe everything that was in its source material as a sort of standalone work. There's a lot of lines in this anime that hint toward something greater, like when Shiro and Ilya are out shopping, and Shiro ponders to himself if that's what it'd feel like to have a sister. If I hadn't watched UBW, I would have had no clue that Ilya and Shiro had any connection whatsoever. UBW, which has the exact same length (granted it has like 3 more episodes in pure run time), was able to tell me everything I needed to know to perfectly understand what was being shown. /Stay night skips over these backstories and implied expositional scenes, yet still expects you to understand its more nuanced points. On the topic of Ilya, I have no clue as to what they did to her here. Her motivations aren't explained for anything, and even worse, following Berserker's death (of whom held a great deal of importance to her), she doesn't seem to mourn him in any fashion and just joins Shiro and friends. While it's concerning that her character is devolved into some bro-con, it's even a greater question as to how the main cast so easily accepts her. Shiro is an idiotic people-pleaser, I get that, but Rin and Artoria? I haven't played the visual novel, so I'm unsure if it's fleshed out better there, but at least in the anime, the dynamics between Ilya and like, anything else, is a complete wreck. In all honesty, I find Fate's romance pretty subpar. In UBW, I didn't feel a strong inclination between Shiro and Rin, neither did I feel the romance followed an interesting path, nor was it really ever indicative of romance. /Stay night really doesn't do a much better job, as for the entirety of the first cour, Saber is pretty disinterested in romance, and doesn't even perceive herself as a woman. Then, a few episodes into the second season, she is embarrassed when Shiro sees her naked, a situation she was completely apathetic to just a few episodes ago. But if I'm being more truthful, I could care less if the romance between Shiro and Saber is every bit as average as the romance between Rin and Shiro. Because my second reason for liking /stay night more than it should be objectively received is that I absolutely love Saber. Everything about her is just awesome. Her simple design, of golden blonde hair that is tied in an elegant braided bun, the noble colors of white and blue decorating all of her attire, the iconic ahoge, the silk ribbon, her strong-willed, no nonsense demeanor, her undying loyalty, just the way of which she carries herself oozes with esteem and prestige, yet she is so genuinely humble in her reception of others. A kuudere done completely right, and one that puts almost all of the others to shame, Artoria Pendragon stands at the pinnacle of Fate in terms of likability, and only second in narrative. Her sole goal is to alter the events of history and make it so that a different king was chosen, in hopes that her country remained peaceful, unlike during her reign. But somewhere deep down, her suppressed emotions, which are perceived as the dreams of a little girl, lay dormant. Similarly, Shiro is equally regretful of his life, his failures, and has constant reminders that his ideals will only lead him down a life sure to be filled with empty hope and wishes that he listened to all of the admonishment. But even then, he pursues the road of a hero, selflessly putting himself in harms way. While there is always his intention of wanting to see everyone's smile and becoming a champion of justice, in the back of his mind, he always remembers that he loved a girl named Saber. And that because at one point, they saw the same sky and breathed the same air, there is a road that leads to her. And that's where the anime ends. Less than average. But if I was looking at /stay night's adaptation only, it wouldn't be one of my favorite creations in the realm of entertainment ever. Instead, I am looking at the Realta Nua ending, as well as the fate series as whole. The grassy plains of Avalon, each lock of grass moving in the direction of the wind, the sun, beaming on every proponent of the landscape. Under a tree, and under the shade it offers, Artoria sits there, without regret, but with a tiny kindle of hope. When the stars come out, she prays, and asks of the same request to them every night. When she gives in to exhaustion and goes to sleep, she sees the same dream. A hellish landscape. Barren, deserted, and empty, but there's a far worse sight than its atmosphere. The silhouette of a man can be made out, who traverses the scene over and over and over, in hopes of helping mankind right its wrongs. In hopes of saving everyone who can be saved. His actions are the actions of a man whose heart is made of steel. But he himself, is made of tin, fragile and volatile to sudden change and sudden harm. How long has he even journeyed? Why was he journeying? He looks to the sky, in some strange faith he receives an answer. Though he feels a peculiar emotion that the sky itself was the answer. Artoria sits, never receiving her compensation, and Shiro treks the unforgivable avenue hoping for something he's long forgotten. All things break down under the stress of time. Machines, souls, and bodies. In an ironic twist, it's mortality that returns Shiro to his rightful place. Unaware of how long he's pursued a goal, unaware of what the goal even was because of how long it had been, he awakens to a lively sky. Blue, its marbled clouds filling the otherwise plain azure. Grass tickles his ankles. Gusts embrace his hardened composition. He steps forward instinctually. She wakes from her dream. A soulful reunion, that makes me tear up every time, is a gripping end to one of the most beautiful sagas I've ever laid my eyes on. A clash between Shiro and Saber's likeminded sentimentalities, that ends with the two seemingly fated partners reconvening. Nothing has changed, they've held onto their ideals. But nevertheless, they are able to see each other again, and will share that joy for a long, long time to come. This adaptation by itself is a decent 4. But the Fate series, of which I mean just Heaven's Feel, UBW, and /Stay night, is undoubtedly a 10. There are little quips along the way that make their individual beings slightly lower, but the amalgamation of it all combines in an incredibly cohesive way. Its narrative is among the best of any artwork I've ever read or seen. Welcome home, Artoria and Shiro. FSN's adaptation, a decent 7.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 19, 2021 Not Recommended
I really am surprised that no review has given this film less than a 5. It's got a bit of something for everyone, and when I say that, I don't mean to like, I mean to hate. An incredibly nonsensical romance, multiple characters who are important to the narrative but aren't really included at all, terrible writing, major conformity, and the culmination of all things to hate in romantic anime films.
The beginning of the movie was, to be frank, legitimately cringe inducing. I have long thought the days of guy characters tripping and accidentally seeing a girl's panties and then being chased around over, ... but this movie just reminded me that third rate writing will always exist. On top of that overplayed scene, of which I guess was the only way to introduce two of the main characters to each other, upon learning that the guy who she was just chasing around like a hound was her upperclassmen, Setoguchi Hina suddenly falls in love with the guy. Like, what? I was so shocked at the random and hasty development that I had to check the time that had gone by in the movie. A whole 8 minutes had passed before the main heroine got the hots for the other main character, Ayase Koyuki. 8 minutes has to be a record for shitty pacing. Even though I hate people who will call a film's pacing bad just because it doesn't adhere to some objective scale of, "this happens at x time" and such, 8 minutes was pretty jaw-dropping. Worst of all, though, it's not like he does anything to gain her affection. He shows up, trips over the garbage she cleaned up, looked at her garments, and then turned out to be older than her. Bam, girl madly in love. What the hell? It only continues to go downhill, as just a few scenes later, following some stupid scenes about Hina being jealous, Ayase has suddenly graduates. Oh, and those other older characters? They graduated too, I guess. Hina bawls her eyes out, but the audience is kind of left feeling apathetic to the whole ordeal. Of the few scenes they had shown up to that point, Ayase wasn't even in that many many of them to begin with. The fact I was now supposed to resonate with the girl, of whom was not developed particularly well either, about the guy whose only personality traits seem to be smiling, really stirred me up. Now listen, I don't claim to be some music critic, but the soundtrack on this movie is pretty subpar at best. I Want to Eat Your Pancreas had a mediocre soundtrack, but I still loved that movie. The difference here is that this movie seems to have a boner for its songs and tries to play them at every moment possible. The continuous and repetitive melodies get really old, really quickly, especially when the scenes that they overlay are cliché montages that don't actually serve to substantially progress the story in any way. It's worse than a backdrop at the end, it's legitimately gritting to sit there and watch some melodramatic scene filled by less than average music. The characterization? I wish there was stuff to talk about, but every character can only be boiled down to their archetypes, really. Childhood friend who really likes the main character. Main character who really likes some other character. Cool big brother. Teasing big sister. Love interest, but that's all you need to know about him. It's kind of funny because when Ayase gets a haircut and Hina theorizes it's because he wants to make Natsuki, her childhood friend's elder sister, attracted to him, I laughed it off because there had been no indication whatsoever, neither had the two even interacted that much. But at the end of the movie, it turns out he DID like Natsuki, and it made me crack up because of how utterly convoluted and underdeveloped the whole plot was. Everyone likes everyone, but none of that is ever dived into. Yes, it's a one hour film that doesn't necessarily have the tools to put into place the groundwork for an emotionally riveting and complex narrative as far as the theme of multiple romances go, but why even try to tackle it in the first place if it's left so half assed. Its presentation is acceptable at best. Usually, movies like this will try to have at least one nice looking still, or barely moving frame that's wallpaper worthy, but this one seemed to have spent half of its budget in the weird prologue thing in terms of visuals, and god knows it did not care for its audial qualities. Its only saving grace is that is stumbled outside of the cliché realm at the ending to deliver an ending that actually implies the childhood friend won Hina's heart. Although it was a short lived implication, the fact that it comes after all of the inexcusable garbage made the moment an amazingly refreshing touch. Even then, I can't believe I sat there and watched the full hour of whatever dumpster fire this movie was. It lacked in all qualities that one would expect from a good, or even average film. Everything it did in mediocrity was only exacerbated in a negative manner by all of the bad it portrayed. How can something be this by the numbers and mind numbingly cookie cutter in its presentation, characterization, and plot progression, and still not do it at least somewhat well? The formula has been set in stone since the late 2000's for cheesy romantic anime and still, this modern piece of cinematic rubbish can't do a single thing right. Forget its somewhat interesting ending, I hate this stupid movie. I hate it with my all. I'm feeling a light 1.
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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May 17, 2021
Jigokuraku
(Manga)
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I tried so, so hard to like Jigokuraku. Now I don't mean that in an ill-intended way, like I had heard praises from it from a friend and forced myself to enjoy it to make them happy. No, I mean that the first act of the series, the first 25 chapters or so, were absolutely rocking. Although the premise itself has mad multiple iterations over the times, I could tell Jigokuraku was a fresh take on the unknown arena fight to the death formula.
*Spoilers Ahead* Gabimaru began as one of my favorite main characters in the beginning. His apathy and brutality signifies the contemporary pattern ... of shonen becoming more gruesome and bloody. Still though, the author is unafraid to make Gabimaru a victim to the generic, "I only care for x character" trope. This, in my eyes, actually works to the benefit of Jigokuraku, as his relationship with his wife is fleshed out not in the manner of countless flashbacks only when its convenient, but Gabimaru's intense struggle in Shinsekyo, a beautiful land that somehow both occupies the uncanny valley with its ominous manmade-ness and a divine land with its vast array of floral decoration and tinted skies. He fights monster after monster, as well as even trying to forsake his role assigned by the Shogunate to ensure his Yamada-Asaemon guardian's safety, to ensure he can see his wife. And while this would usually be off-putting, a character who we know is going to win, and his wife is probably only a plot device to force him into victory regardless of how dire the circumstances get, the gore we see happening outside of Gabimaru shows the true dangers of the monsters on the land. Eizen, the rank 1 Yamada-Asaemon gets completely obliterated against the giant Rokurota. For all we know so far, the Yamada-Asaemon are master executioners, but also skilled in swordplay and make even the fiercest of wrongdoers quiver in fear. But Rokurota smashes Eizen into a tree and makes fine paste of him like it was nothing. Because we know what is happening on the island isn't some willy-nilly nonsense with characters constantly prevailing over major obstacles, Gabimaru's struggle purely for his wife becomes even more valiant. At the same time, he is only thinking about how to be strong for his wife, not allowing his more sentimental side to interfere during battle. A major theme, that is constantly reverberated over and over, is that weakness really isn't that far off from strength. Gabimaru's sentimentality towards his wife was initially perceived as weakness by him and the Iwagakure members, but it's what allows him to overcome the series' challenges. Sagiri Yamada-Asaemon's weakness as a morally gray executioner who is dragged down by her past victims, no matter how evil they were, is what allows her to become the centerpiece in taking down the main villain at the end. Tenza's weakness as a amateur swordsman and criminal sympathizer allows him to gather the courage and power to face an immortal being to save his partner and teacher. Shion's weakness that makes him run away and make the correct decision when Tenza was getting killed is the weakness that eventually implores him to face the enemy head on in regret that he made the correct choice. And this list goes on, and on, and on. These themes are weaved in beautifully with the narrative, and it never becomes sob stories. We don't need to feel grief for Sagiri that she is a woman and doesn't get recognition, we just need to know that that is her circumstance. It might be painted in an unlucky way sometimes, but it's never depicted as a source of pity for the audience. I've always felt a pit in my stomach whenever I am forced to look down at a character's sadness and weakness in contempt rather than admiration. For Jigokuraku, every character's struggle is contextualized in a morally grey manner, as well as offering not sorrow but understanding. In Kimetsu no Yaiba, as Akaza is getting killed, he suddenly gets a sad backstory that is implied to somehow justify his actions as a demon. In Jigokuraku, when Shugen, the least morally ambiguous character in the entire series is questioned about his morality, he doesn't go on a sudden trip down memory lane about "my Yamada-Asaemon comrades, they all died for these convicts..."to suddenly become their ally, instead, it only reinforces his absolutism in justice. While some characters change over the course of the series, many retain some, if not all of their qualities. Of course, Shugen is the greatest example of a character not budging on their ideology in Jigokuraku, but Shion also does not change his views that much from the beginning of the series to the end. These contrasting viewpoints only serve to make the characters that do undergo drastic alterations, like Sagiri and Gabimaru, stand out. Ultimately, Jigokuraku is as much about love as it is about war. War is Jigokuraku's tool to emphasize the love Gabimaru feels for his wife, but love is also the tool used to put meaning into the struggles. Every character had something to lose, and if they didn't at the beginning, they certainly did at the end. The eccentric characterization made it incredibly easy to fall in love with almost every character, whether it be the teasing Yuzuriha or the caring Gabimaru, each character is fleshed out in a manner unbefitting of a series that killed off such threatening figures so early on. Yet it's exactly because it's unbefitting that we are somehow left yearning for the salvation of the cruel criminals. But still, there is something that steers me off of praising Jigokuraku too much. As much as I can sing praises for its awesome characters and themes, the plot's progression itself from the second act of the manga onwards becomes messy and compromised. Tao, I'll admit, is a power system that I don't even really understand that well. But even if I chalk it up to my own ineptitude, I still disagree with the author's choice to pin up the Lord Tensen as ultimate, immortal beings, yet Gabimaru and crew swiftly come to not just threaten them, but actually kill them. In the end, when it is only Rien standing, there's almost a feeling of unrewarded-ness. If Rien is this force that is basically about to solo everyone and everything, then what was even the point of watching each of the Lord Tensen members fall one by one? In addition, the main cast is seemingly immune to death, as Yuzuriha even monologues after her battle against Ran that she is about to die. Yet some chapters later, she pops up and is like, "Yo, what's up Sagiri." And it's not just Yuzuriha but a bunch of other characters who are about to kick the bucket but then just randomly heal up. While I didn't want Gabimaru to die at the end, the method of which he was brought back so easily, left a bitter taste in my mouth as to how anticlimactic the ending was about to be. If it's that easy to basically revive him, then certainly it can't be that hard defeating immortal plant girl, given that they've done it many times before right? The Lord Tensen were awful villains. By comparison to the exuberant protagonists', the Lord Tensen were hardly explained in detail and thus left to be figureheads for villainy rather than villains themselves. Even Rien, the big bad at the end, succumbs to exactly what I hated about Akaza from Kimetsu no Yaiba (see earlier in this review). Even Shugen and Jikka, characters that made for excellent tension with their absolutist tendencies and indifference, respectively, were nothing more than a backdrop in the face of Sagiri and Gabimaru saving the day. Not to say I didn't enjoy watching Sagiri and Gabimaru finish what they started, but surely Shugen and Jikka could have at least been introduced earlier. Jikka's conniving ends up successful, though the audience hardly cares, and the rest of the characters get a good ending. Which is boring. I mean, of course they were going to spare each other on the boat home, but Rien was this close to killing Sagiri and Gabimaru. Even at the end, the same manga that shocked me with its unrestricted violence against major figures at the beginning, it devolves into a death-free resolution filled by plot armor and grandiose sentimentalities about love and friendship. I can't put into words how frustrating it is to read such great character writing, that is consistent throughout, but a plot that fails to drag the narrative up to pace with the characters. Sagiri is without a doubt, one of my favorite characters in all of the manga I've read, but her utilization is bland and ultimately slapstick by the author. Everyone's utilization, in fact, was, because of how quickly all of the Tensen fell. Even then, its themes and characters stick with me in a way that tell me I can't possibly rate Jigokuraku low. I teared up at ending the series, and that in its own way, shouts at me, "you loved this, just admit it". And yeah, I did love it. Jigokuraku is swiftly going on any recommended list I'll ever give to friends, but I can't let that cloud my judgement. This is about the moment I'd declare it a light to decent 6. But after reading the satisfyingly sweet epilogue, I reminded myself my style of reviewing has always been more subjective than objective. I favored Sagiri and Gabimaru together, even if I knew it wouldn't happen, but after the epilogue where Sagiri is Yui and Gabimaru's biggest shipper, I couldn't help but bolster a big, and likely stupid, smile. I feel like I should thank Jigokuraku for some reason. And that in of itself is enough to garner it a higher score than I initially had marked down. I'm feeling a light to decent 7.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Apr 28, 2021
Onnanoko ga Shinu Hanashi
(Manga)
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Death is anime's favorite method of pushing forward a topic.
In a shonen anime and you need an easy way to make the main character have a rough period? Kill off one of his friends. In a romcom and you need an easy way for the main character to go through a tough time so that his/her love interest can swoop in and save the day? Kill off one of their friends. But sometimes, you watch something like 'I Want to Eat Your Pancreas' that shows the nuances of death. Simply put, death is someone not living any more. But what does that really mean? ... If we go by 'I Want to Eat Your Pancreas', in my mind one of the golden standards for a story surrounding death', death is the act of which you lose time. You lose time to do the things you love, to spend time with the people you love, and you understand the commodity that life is. Similar media can be seen in a ton of other examples, such as the Japanese film 'Ikiru' in which a character begins to truly live given the knowledge they will die. In the case of 'The Death of Ivan Ilyich', death is the freeing act from the increasingly difficult and more homogenous demands of bureaucracy. To die is to have the freedom to go against the societal requirements of marriage, home ownership, and having a family. When any type of media is released with death at its core, it cannot afford to take the typical formulaic approach with death as a motivator and nothing else. In some ways, Onnanoko ga Shinu Hanashi understand this, but in other ways, it shows a gross misinterpretation of why death is impactful to begin with. Only 8 chapters, the manga is practically doomed to begin with. The story begins with Seto, a sickly girl, as indicated by the color of her hair, meeting a girl named Chiho. At first, she is quick to demean her and call her ugly, but as she sees her blowing bubbles on the ceiling, she flips a complete 360. This the first issue with what the manga presents; The relationships that are happening are not explained as to how they begin or why they begin. So she sees Chiho blowing bubbles on the ceiling, why does this prompt her to become her friend? Sure, it can be implied that maybe she empathizes with her or is just apologetic about the earlier confrontation, but from this point onward, the only other female Seto really interacts with is Chiho. They become best friends on the basis of nothing. Even the characters with whom she has a relationship with from the past don't get their relationship substantiated in the slightest. Why does Kazuya and her have such a tight knitted companionship, and why does Chiho seem to fit right in despite having talked to her for just one day? When relationships materialize out of nothing, they fall apart like nothing. When Seto's death inevitably arrives, none of the scenes of the two other deuteragonists crying and breaking down really make me feel anything. Honestly, the only word fitting enough to describe the fact Seto died after 2 chapters is just pathetic. The fact that the most important character, of whom has thus far not had anything explained about her, relationships or otherwise, has died so briefly into the manga, following some other non-emotional scenes which purposely play on your heart strings, is poor story writing first, and kind of embarrassing second. Not only do none of the scenes in this manga seem to give me any type of emotion, but they are also so obviously framed as such with melodramatic language such as "Treat that one as me and take good care of it please." Makoto Shinkai often employs this type of melodramatic language in his works to carry a mood across (often the language doesn't help), but the difference is that his works have awe-inspiring visuals that make declarations as or even grander than the dialogue. In Onnanoko ga Shinu Hanashi, though, the presentation is below average, and the dialogue ends up falling flat and feeling cheesy. Once this manga got through the motions of introducing the characters and killing Seto off though, is when it finally takes its interpretation of what death means. In Chapter 7, the importance of memories is stressed by the dying Seto. It's in Chapter 7 that we see why Seto didn't want to be seen by Chiho and Kazuya while she was dying. Even though she was soon to perish, she didn't want to be treated as such and she definitely didn't want her companions to see her in a state unbefitting of their memories. And her dreams of having a family with Kazuya hit much harder following the chapter in which we learn Chiho ended up having children with him. Even as Kazuya is by Chiho's side, there is a good chance he is continuously haunted by the ghost of Seto, of which he loves. Ultimately, the question, "who does he love more?" is begged. But in a true showing of pessimism, it's never said, and with the fact that chapter 6 precedes 7, it can be assumed that he loves Seto more. For Onnanoko ga Shinu Hanashi, death is the moment of which memories are cemented. And for someone like Seto, who is so sickly that she is practically only skin and bone at the end, death is a moment that shouldn't take away from memory. And if it does, then perhaps its better not to witness the moment of passing at all. In the end, Onnanoko ga Shinu Hanashi does understand what it means and what it takes to be a good death-oriented story. It expresses the nuances of death and also forms a stance on what death is, past the most simple definition. But unfortunately, its hindered by its less than subpar early and middle chapters, as well as any nuance the manga does take is projected onto characters who still were never all that fleshed out. There's only so much you can do for characters as dehumanized as Chiho and Kazuya, and its more than obvious at the epilogue. Feeling a strong 3 to a light 4.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Apr 12, 2021
Perfect Blue
(Anime)
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This was a film I had been looking forward to for some time.
I had long heard the praises of Satoshi Kon's directorial brilliance and songs of his influence on western media, which to be fair, is pretty much undeniable, but still, this would be my first time seeing it for myself. My first Kon movie, being one of his most beloved classics, the prospect certainly excited me. *Spoilers ahead* Beginning Perfect Blue, it opens up with Kirigoe Mima's final performance as an idol, as is theorized by her fans and said so by her managerial staff. She's doing her routine when a gang of trouble ... doers start to throw bottles onto the crowd below and the stage. A security guard, who we see through the lens of for but a moment, a moment that gazes upon the stage where Mima is dancing in a dazzling brilliance, sees the guys and walks up to them to stop them. What ensues is a small scale scuffle. Mima then announces her retirement at the end of it all, to which we can see a close up of the security guard's face, deadpanned, but with a sinister type of implication, perhaps from his appearance alone, it's possible to deduct his role in the movie. Later on, it's a bit too obvious, though. As she arrives home, she reads some mail, she feeds her fish, a delicate pleasure, and she gets a call from her mom, who we never hear from again, not in an important way, anyhow. And while that would be somewhat of a Chekov's gun moment, it does give us an eerie feeling when she gets another call on the line, which plays radio silence except for some heavy breathing. Thereafter, receiving a fax that says traitor over and over, you'd think that Mima would move out, but she doesn't. She stays in her small room, the same room she lived in as an idol, she'd live in as an actress. The importance of the identity, "Mima Kirigoe" is at the centerpiece of this feature. It's a cool concept, and one that is handled with a lot of care and symbolism. As she continues to stray away from the innocent idol image that she bestowed herself and fans received without any sort of disillusionment, she also is twisting her identity. At the very beginning of her acting career, a simple line, "Who are you?" can be taken as a question to not only her stalker, metaphysically, but to herself, too. It's a question she is trying to answer for the entirety of the film's length. It's a question that is mostly pushed forward by the increasingly negative perception of her in the idol world. Despite not being in that realm of entertainment any more, the movie does its very best to display the disdain fans are coming to grow of her, and she presumably is aware too. At the same time, the producers she is working under have given her perverted roles and other portions of the show business, photography in particular, are painted in an inherently lewd way. Her image as the idol Kirigoe Mima is becoming the image of the actress Kirigoe Mima. But as with all in life, when she fails to fit the ideal that she has been placed into, people get upset. People get angry. And one such person who is upset with what she has done is Rumi, one of her managers, and the one most against her career switch. But Rumi is a bit more subtle with her frustration, as she is still pretty supportive of Mima, the person. Me-mania, her psychotic stalker who we all could've guessed the identity of is the more extreme end of that obsession. He is the one who operates Mima's room. He is the one who kills people in the stead of protecting Mima, and he is (probably) the one who sent explosive mail to the set of Double Bind which blows up Tadakoro's hand. Me-mania isn't an unrealistic character, unfortunately. The film works as both a psychological thriller and exposé of the show business industry. Its dark underbelly, consisting of deranged fans and lunatic naysayers is on full display. The otakus who sneer at Mima's post-idol career are meant to symbolize people who will put others in an idealistic box. One that if deviated from, will anger the person who put them in the box to no end. Mima herself starts to wonder what she truly wants to do. Convinced by her fans, she is almost gaslighted into thinking that what they want, is what she wants. The three entities, Kirigoe Mima as a person, Kirigoe Mima as an idol, and Kirigoe Mima as an actress are three completely different people. One is the beautiful lie conceived by the desperate masses, one is the ugly lie made to deceive the higher ups, and one is the true identity. But Kirigoe Mima, the person struggles to understand why these three entities are separate from each other, and that results in a dream like fashion later on in the movie when the film takes on the style of the movie inside of the movie, Double Bind. Her idol image is constantly terrorizing her, whether on the street or in her home. The middle of the picture is a mind twister to put it bluntly, with Kon's directorial brilliance really showing its prowess as the audience is lured into a reality just as confusing as the one Mima is experiencing. Delusions, hallucinations, reality, all of it is played with by means of Double Bind takes, dreams, and other similarly boggling concepts. Constantly, the audience is on the edge of their seat, not only because of the strange nature of the movie but because of the looming threat of Me-mania, and the fear that Kirigoe Mima, the idol, comes to life. Finally, when Me-mania does rear his head, it ensues in a fight scene where Mima seemingly becomes a action movie star with her dodges. I mean, seriously, she is that nimble? Maybe instead of punching her, Me-mania could've, I don't know, stabbed her once or something? He is also taken down in an anticlimactic manner, with a singular blow. Then, the movie applause plays... All of this is carefully crafted, minus the anticlimactic manner of how Me-mania is taken down. It remains a mystery as to if it was reality or not. And the final part, Kirigoe Mima realizes Rumi is the one at the center of everything. She is the one who has dressed up like Mima, terrorized Mima, and now, is about to get rid of Mima. They are led on a mad chase, where once again, Mima is Neo from the Matrix with her movement. One detail I've loved throughout all the moments where she imagines the idol Mima is how she is always so elegant, making only light splashes in the puddles, skipping through masses of people like it's nothing, it's borderline impossible. Just like the image put onto Mima herself. Mima is led into a corner, where she is standing by a mirror and sees her reflection. To me, it's her seeing herself and then seeing Rumi as two different entities. This scene might be the first time she understands the differences. This scene is where the person Kirigoe Mima doesn't care for what's reality, what her image is, she is just her. Despite any of that, she is still being approached with a sharp object. And of course, as she is approached, all it takes is a simple tug of the wig, and Rumi's illusion comes crashing down and she slips onto glass, once again making the ultimate villain nothing more than a small stepping stone. The movie hits on so many cylinders in the right ways. The depiction of subtle mental health issues in not just our protagonist but the characters around her, the endless symbolism, the directorial genius that was required to craft the dream/movie scenes, and most importantly a beautiful message about finding yourself amongst the image others have placed on you. It's always lovely that revelations come at the end of gruesome murders and obscene happenings, because it truly shines a light on our own despondent lives. Dark stuff happens, but it's all so we can figure things out. Mima is not alone when she finds herself, because many will find themselves too, off the back of this movie. Yes, many of the climaxes are brought to a screeching halt and yes, her self-realization is pretty short lived, but still, this movie is definitely something fascinating and worthy of the title 'masterpiece'. The blue sky, omitting a perfect blue at the end of the movie encapsulates everything almost perfectly. The only thing that edges it out? Kirigoe Mima: I'm real.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Feb 9, 2021
Chainsaw Man
(Manga)
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*Spoilers ahead*
Of all the things I've feasted my eyes on in 2021, Chainsaw Man takes the crown for "Most Overblown yet Enjoyable" manga thus far. And it's not like it's just because of the short length that has passed that it takes this achievement, because as it's looking, I don't know if I will read anything that comes close to this in comical absurdity, especially not with its complementing flamboyancy for the rest of the year, let alone the next few years. And when I saw that this manga is just absolutely inordinate with no idea of when to stop and still has the gall ... to implement all of the generic battle shonen showings, I seriously mean it. Look at the bright, green cover that screams, "I'm weird!". Look at a panel during the fight scenes and witness the comic-book like sequences for yourself and you'll understand. The action sequences and designs all point at, "American comic-book hero" to me. This is added onto by the title of the manga and title of Denji's devil, "Chainsaw man". And while it is great to point and laugh at the beginning for how strange it is, it quickly takes a turn for the intriguing as "Chainsaw man" is extremely vehement in his attitude, incredibly repulsive in his behavior, and worst of all, utterly disrespectful towards all types of individuals. But that's what made Denji, as a main character shine in my eyes. Even in this growing trend of main character's who seem to be much more morally grey than the past generation of battle shonen main characters, Denji really stands out with his driving desire being just, "Sex." This desire stems from his extremely rough childhood, a battered child who lived on whatever he could find until being put to work, akin to a dog. He has no wants for revenge, stardom, glory, or anything else. He simply wants a normal life, and that is a desire that in his eyes, is as great as any of the other characters' more passionate and righteous desires. The clashing ideologies stands out superbly when you contrast the characters next to each other, the collected and revengeful Aki, the arrogant and absentminded Power, their differences are what makes them so adhesive to each other. Each interaction is like a refreshing breath of air despite it being a lot of the same jokes over and over. But sometimes, the joke is surprisingly juvenile, giving it that Onizuka-esque feel, that no matter how many times it's brought up, it's always funny. Indeed the character's relationships are great, but their individual designs are also awesome and are so distinctive that you can pick them out amongst a crowd of any other manga characters. The characters aren't the only one that benefit from the characteristic art, the backgrounds and devil designs give Chainsaw man an unparalleled flare. And when you mix juvenile humor, childish dialogue, and wildly imaginative monsters all together, you get this eye magnet that seems to just draw you in to flip to the next page, to see how much crazier it can get, to witness the depths of its gore and heights of its elegance. And while the art style might not be a one-size fits all, it is just simply so entrancing with classic, yet still idiosyncratic depictions of Japanese mythology (Kon), "Paranormal" hunters (Aki), Airheaded girl (Power), and more. You just can't shake your head to abhor its folly but rather, you'll find yourself nodding to it's ridiculousness. After all, who said nonsense was intrinsically bad? Luckily, it's not just all nonsense. There's quite a good amount of substance here. Power getting her stomach blown out formed quite the lump in my heart, the despair that Makima induces was genuinely very depressing and heavy that at times, I found myself looking at the still page unable to find the words in my mind and equally unable to flip to the next page. The messages of companionship are no doubt cliché, but when Denji sees that the whole world is rooting for him, he realizes he isn't the Chainsaw man to live a normal life. He is the Chainsaw man because he wants to be and that came with all the territory. Endless sex, endless food, he wants it all. And as if the strangely warming realization wasn't enough, there are the panels where they juxtapose what is going on with the past, an example being Aki as the gun devilman fighting Denji, where he is having fun. That series of events in particular, as Aki is actually having fun slaughtering people is extremely insightful to what this manga is all about. It'll steer you in every emotion, desperation, pity, joy, cheerfulness, sadness, the list goes on. But the truth is that to elicit these emotions, the manga will often use irrelevant characters as sacrificial lambs . But what's amusing, to me anyway, is that unlike with any other anime or manga that does this, I still feel the surge of sentiments, I still feel it's real. I think it's because it doesn't try to mask it as anything more, nothing too deep or too impactful that you can understand that Chainsaw man is an intrinsically human story, with human desires, human characters, and human occurrences. Its objectionable atmosphere vaporizes when you think of it not as an ideal world but as a world where you could exist, deep-rooted in reality. But in this reality, things are freakily ostentatious and stylistic. But who cares? Because Chainsaw man is the refreshing tide that comes in on a rough wave as far as I'm concerned. A manga that doesn't want to be more than what it is, and yet is still so much already is incomparably enticing. I look forward to Part 2, as anyone should. I'm feeling a strong 9.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jan 15, 2021 Recommended
Maquia: The Promised Flower Blooms.
*Spoilers ahead* What a film, what a film! For almost as long as I've lived, I've been in a weird relationship with my mother. Not a relationship where we downright hate each other but there certainly is bad blood there that is pretty far gone as far as family goes. I've spent forever searching for something to show me why everyone who engaged in loving relationships with their mothers say "you should talk to her more" or "but she's your mother!" Like yeah, I know, but what does that really mean? Being a mother, all that nonsense. That's the same question ... that is posed to a young Maquia when she is separated from her village of Iorphs, a race that harbors individuals that can live for much much longer than the normal person. A dragon sweeps her up and she is inadvertently sent to a forest. As she is kind of wandering around in her new environment, she finds the dead body of a mother who seems to still be hugging her supposed child. And I don't exactly know what compels her to pick up the child, either be it the director had to do it to progress the film or maybe it came as a shock to her that someone would be willing to go so far for anyone. Her sentimentality on love is, "If I ever love anyone, I will truly be alone" as explained to her by Racine, the village elder. I imagine this sight is not just one to behold but one that holds deep significance to her. She realizes that he is not truly alone as his bond with his mother, even if he had never seen her was still much greater than having nothing. And so she grabs the baby from outside of the mother's grasp, one that was still firm and adopts it. And just in that moment alone, I applied it to my life back in better times. Times that I can say I unconditionally loved my mother and she did so for me as well. Would she, in some type of catastrophic event have sacrificed herself for me? Would her protective grip be so strong, that she is able to hold on to me and comfort me even from beyond the grave? When she brings the child outside and smells him, he smells like the sun. Beautiful. And sure, you can say this scene is a bit overblown in terms of emotion especially when that somber soundtrack comes on, but I think its meaning far outweighs that. For now, anyway. Her name-choosing process was quite adorable. Her eyes darting around the room, at first choosing a female name to honor her lost fried before blurting out Ariel and staring at the floor like a nervous wreck. It's a fun, lighthearted moment, but this is the moment when the child really becomes hers. His identity is set now. She goes on a small walk around town with Mido before coming to a stop where Mido explains a mother's life is hectic. After being hit with a, "I don't know" from Maquia, she jokingly slaps her stomach. When Maquia laughs, Ariel follows suit. These fun, energetic, and bright scenes really help the narrative develop as we see how Maquia becomes more of a mother, how Ariel begins as such a loving baby, it humanizes this "mother" role that we've all come to misunderstand. Our moms are people just like us. The film then shows us another symbolic showing of Maquia dyeing her hair to fit Ariel's, distancing herself from her heritage and in a way, leaving that life of pain, of misery, and of isolation, a theme that comes to be developed. Which is really one of Maquia's strong suits. It develops every idea it starts, every theme, every narrative is woven together through progression of the plot. More light heartedness ensues after the first time skip which is understandable if you want to show someone's whole life in the span of 2 hours, but they do start to get a bit much later on into the movie. And it's when Ariel's friends tell him that liking your mother is weird is when we see the first instance on valuable social commentary. This is definitely not a thing limited to fiction as children in real life are ridiculed by their peers for loving their moms all the time, especially little children who don't know any better. And when Maquia meets an existential crisis as she comes to realize everyone will die much quicker than her, she truly understands what the elder meant by her words. The irrationality of this scene is what really sells it because almost everyone understands that others die, it's just a fact that we don't really account for. Lang goes on a charade about how mothers don't cry, which may be just a tiny drop of chauvinistic and completely irrelevant to the narrative they're trying to sell and quite frankly might have only been introduced to make the final scene that they did. When you hit the festival, the first thing you notice are the vivid colors flying across the screen as the citizens are dressed in different types of the colors, the banners up are characterized by a royal blue, and the venues offer a wide array of hues for you to feast your eyes on. But if this is the first time you notice the breathtaking audiovisuals, I hope you look back because almost every scene is brought to life with lively animation befitting of the moment. The high definition water, unique art style, wonderfully apricot skies, the velvet trailing of the Renato as Maquia is soaring through the illuminated night, every detail is left observed and there is no speck that doesn't amaze me in the art department. Tranquil plucked strings for the calm scenes as opposed to grandiose choirs for the climactic ones, who can't love that? My least favorite moments of this picture are when the themes of motherly love go overboard. Leilia not wanting to leave because of her child, Leilia only wanting to see her child (despite it being unwanted in the first place and her freedom being taken for it), and an assortment of other melodramatic "but my kid!" scenes make the narrative quickly go from heartfelt to cinematic tool for drama. As Ariel grows up, he goes from wanting to protect his mother to...wanting to protect his mother. But this never feels static because his outward personality wanes from warm and loving to cold. His overall personality changes, of course, but it's important to the narrative that he remains wanting to protect his mother. He just realizes he's too weak and undeserving of someone who treats him so carefully. And when I heard the line, "Why does that person treat me so carefully?", I couldn't stop the emotion crawling up my throat. It's such a relatable emotion. such a genuine piece of dialogue, such a beautifully understanding moment. Maquia really understand both sides of adolescence. Both from the parent's perspective and the child's. But it's this superb understanding coupled with powerful intertwined themes such as finding happiness in separation that really catapults this picture in quality. Beautiful artwork, beautiful morale, but sometimes the otherwise genuine and vehement themes are blown out of proportion into something else entirely. The pacing is, honestly fine but those time skips don't do it any favors. I'm feeling a strong 8 to a light 9 on Maquia.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jan 14, 2021
Shashinkan
(Anime)
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Mixed Feelings
Shashinkan was a 16 minute short I found while browsing YouTube and at first, I was a bit opposed to it because the art style unnerved me. But as I went on, I unearthed the true essence of this short. And while I can appreciate both its narrative and overall storytelling, I can't praise it too much.
For starters, the run time is by far the weakest aspect of this video, everything that happens besides when the young girl is getting a picture goes by so quickly and unmentioned that it simply becomes a faint afterthought. The beginning scene, her mother almost has no place ... in the story until the very end where they use her portrait to steer you in some emotional way. Same thing with the husband in the military who has no actual standing in providing substance to the plot until they decide to throw in sub-themes of war and loss. I understand the sub-themes are a way of progressing the morale of the picture and I can appreciate it but a lot of the oomph is removed when much of the emotional investment depended upon characters who I was never invested in. And no, I'm not some robot who didn't take anything away from the short just because of these inconveniences. I couldn't stop a smile from creeping up my face as I watched the final scene because I, in that moment had a sense of relatability. Just like her, perhaps I should smile more, and in general just see the better parts of life. As their town is getting urbanized and less people visit the store, a subtle detail I enjoyed, they are still able to smile after going through what they have gone through. A powerful and emotional message to be sure, but one that is so barely fleshed out that I really only found myself feeling anything at the climax. I'm feeling a decent 5 on this one.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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