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Feb 24, 2017
Overall: 7.5
There were things I enjoyed about Wolf Children, and other things that I found lacking and even a little bit detrimental to the movie. Some people found such things to have really harmed the movie, so my review is subjective, and I hope to give anyone planning on watching it a good idea of what they are in for, without spoiling too much.
First, the good:
What I really liked about this movie, and what made it stick as at least a solid 7, was the adorable overtones. As you may know already, the children (as well as the husband, who
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isn't in the movie for long) can transform into wolves. The director is really on point with how well he mixes the cuteness of animals and children into some very cute characters and scenes. The whole movie looks a lot like something out of Studio Ghibli, which helps balance out the type of cuteness it portrays. It's not "Suupa kawaii desu" cute, it's endearing, and some scenes, which admittedly have little to do with developing a plot, still caught my attention.
Some things that made me really think they could have done better were in the area of plot and character development. This movie seemed to take itself a little more seriously than a typical slice-of-life, having some conflicts and resolutions, as well as a set of events driving the action of the story. However, the events in question were a little off-putting. Sometimes I would be taken out of the story by some random decision the mother made, and I would go "what? Why would you do this?" When, for example, she was looking at that house in the country, and the realtor was giving all those disclaimers, she was like "I'll take it." With no forethought towards looking at anything better than the piece of work that laid before her. And I kind of get it, she needed to seclude herself and her kids from people because they're werewolf-kids, but you know, her decision seemed hasty. What bothered me more was her decision to quit working and live solely on the savings she had, to raise her children. I guess there are reasons for that, too.
The music and the art were definitely something that established this movie as something that, to me, was worth watching. I can only describe it as beautiful. I would not go so far as to say that the whole movie was beautiful, though. Not really a tear-jerker, because all the tear-jerking developments were not done right. For example, you notice that there's a romance developing near the end but there's so little context to it. The moment the two characters in question appeared in the same scene, they looked at each other, soft music played, and you just know that they're gonna end up falling in love after like, one struggle.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Feb 13, 2017
People often say not to review this movie based on its comparison to the series because this was made before the series, but considering the series is out, I think it's totally okay to review the movie in such a way, because it's obvious which of the adaptations is superior.
I gave the movie an overall 6: Story 6, Art 7, Sound 6, Character 6, Enjoyment 6. Allow me to explain why I gave these ratings. For the most important aspect, story, I feel that it is justified because even though a lot of the heart-breaking events occur in the movie, the
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build-up is either paced way too quickly or is not there at all. I understand that for a movie, things have to move quickly, but the director did not use his time to establish a connection to the characters, which is very important for the emotional gravity of the story. Unlike in the VN or the anime series, for the Clannad movie, when someone dies, it doesn't feel like someone you cared about passed away. The emotions feel cursory. It seems like, when someone really lovable and endearing from the TV anime has their moment, be it happy or sad, when it happens in the movie, you just feel like someone telling you about their friend. You can feel sympathetic or empathetic but that's not the same as actually reacting with joy or pain.
I urge anyone reading this review to just watch the series instead. It's out, and it has been out for quite a while now, so I see no reason to watch the movie first. All that watching the movie will do is tell you what happens in the TV anime but without the emotional quality. The movie, however, is good for watching after the TV anime so that you can revisit it and buffer out that post-clannad afterglow.
The other scores don't matter so much and are more cursory opinions. I gave the art a 7 because the style is something some people have to get past, what with the buggy eyes and stuff. I gave the sound a 6 because a lot of the soundtrack was recycled and you'd notice one song play twice in a 15 minute span and the transitions for the music weren't all that smooth. I gave the Character area a 6 because while the characters are sweet and endearing, all with their awesome and unique qualities, you don't get to know them in the movie. You only see Ryou and Kyou a little bit, and Tomoya just kinda appears alongside Sunohara. There is no Fuuko, and I don't remember Ichinose having any role either.
Again, I urge anyone reading to just watch the anime.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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May 31, 2016
7/7/5/6/7/6
I wandered into one of the viewing rooms at FanimeCon just this weekend (memorial weekend 2016) during the very beginning of this movie. I thought to myself, "hey, this is pretty cute", not to mention I had a couple hours until the next panel I planned on going to.
Now, what I have to say about this, is that it's a lot like Finding Nemo--- only that it gets really fucking brutal in a subtle, built-up way. The crazy thing is that this was obviously meant for kids.
MILD-MEDIUM SPOILERS AHEAD: (Though personally, I don't think these will ruin the movie experience, but
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rather, make you realize what exactly I mean.)
So, yeah, like I said, its a lot like finding nemo. It's even got that Pixar feel to it. However, shit starts to get real because apparently the Koreans do not like to white-wash their shit, like how (for example) sometimes fish attack each other and feed on their corpses. So while it's kind of cute, I started building some level of empathy for these little fishies, especially Padak, the main character. "Padak" is apparently the Korean onomatopoeia for the sound a fish makes when it flips around on land, hence the name "Flippy" in the description of this movie. Padak is a fish in captivity, living in an aquarium tank in front of a fish restaurant/market. She wants to escape back to the ocean and tries to convince her new fishy friends to either help her or to do the same. Only one fish, a mean and rugged flatfish, knows about the sea. Drama ensues inside the tank, some fish fighting, and some dying in the process, only to be fed upon by the other fish. Sometimes, they have to "play dead" in order not to get picked by the customers of the market, and do other things in order to survive in the tank. What really got me was when one actually did get taken out, and he was taken to the table to get slaughtered and eaten. It looked on in horror as the cook beheaded and gutted his half-dead comrades, throwing their guts and bones in the garbage disposal and searing their bodies on a stove.
So, I would say this was rather interesting. Just like a fucked up "Finding Nemo". For that reason I give the plot somewhere around a 7 or 8 even.
The art was nice, because like I said it looked like a pixar film. So I give it a 7.
The sound/music didn't really captivate me. I never really noticed it. I give it a 5.
Characters weren't totally fleshed out, though I did feel some empathy for some of them. I give that area a 6.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Apr 15, 2016
So, i was pretty stoked when I learned that steins;gate 23(b) was out as a precursor to steins;gate 0. However, I honestly didn't really get the change. It seemed he had given up on Kurisu, which was sad and disappointing. But more than that, it didn't really give me a lead to what S;G 0 was going to be about.
Story: 6/10
Dont get me wrong, I LOVE stein's gate, but half of it felt like a rerun and then diverged into a plot that was not fully explained as far as how it was supposed to transition. It didn't serve
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that purpose.
Art: 8/10
They kept the art original to the steins;gate series and so it was very reminiscent of it. Not much else to say in that regard.
Sound: 7/10 because it was still original to the steins;gate series but nothing new was added.
Character: 8/10
The reason why I felt this way is because in my experience reading the VN and watching the original S;G anime, Okarin just didn't act like himself. He wouldn't have given up after just one failure. His character changed but only because he was arbitrarily given this new quality inconsistent with the series.
Enjoyment: 7/10
They left at very little of a cliffhanger.
Overall: 7/10
Same reasons as the enjoyment.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Feb 18, 2016
Story: 6-7 / Art: 8 / Character: 6 / Enjoyment: 7 / Sound: 6
As you may or may not know, this is a chinese cartoon (as another reviewer pointed out). But don't let that make or break your decision to watch this anime. However, as for me, it definitely made my decision because I could tell someone honestly that I was just "watching some of my chinese aneemay". However, it's really not as bad as it sounds because chinese are known for low-quality stuff or knock-offs and to be honest this is a legitimate show in its own right.
The story is a
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lot like The World God Only Knows. The approach is different, but still, a love diety (in this case, a cupid of sorts) watches and aids the MC in his endeavors with the many girls that fall in love with him. Each time he resolves the situation, they lose the memories of their romance. However, the memories they lose aren't the memories made with the MC, as those are real. The thing is that after they all share a cake with Haoyi, memories become implanted in their minds that leads to them feeling deep love for him rather than just being infatuated. Its THESE memories which are problematic because Haoyi has no idea what they're talking about and they bring it up in front of people. So, to correct that, he cures their curses by locking in the romance, and then the fake memories go away though they still may be left with love for him.
The art is phenomenal, I must say. It's really smooth, bright, and so very cute and emotive. I love that about this series. Animation is seamless and well-done.
The characters are somewhat typical. You have your very sweet, considerate deredere who would probably still love you even if you raped her dog. She knows you must have had a real good reason to do so. Then you have the tsundere athletic type. In this case, the tsundere is a bit interesting because she's not so unbelievable as a character. She's disciplinary somewhat, but not outright hateful and stone-hearted yet somehow turns really dere for no apparent reason. Then you have your yandere. It's pretty much like that. My favorite is Zitong (the deredere)
As far as enjoyment goes, I have to say its been pretty funny actually. Theres a bit more to it than it just being "cute" and having "cute" be considered "comedy". There is legitimate comedy in there. Not just situational comedy, either, but actual jokes. Being that the "bar" for romcom anime is set very low for comedy, I am impressed that they actually went above it.
Sound was alright, too. However, sometimes I could hear a bit of echoing in the voices. I was confused when this happened because I thought maybe they were doing a flashback but I was wrong.
Overall, I give it a 7
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 24, 2016
//**Spoiler Alerts Included**//
First let me get this out of the way; there is no second part. However, the first part was really well-written and performed. The way it ended (no spoilers here) implies there would be a second part but sadly there isn't as its 2016 now. So, a perspective shift is needed at the end otherwise you feel like youre left at somewhat of a cliffhanger.
Aku no Hana is in fact, a pretty twisted anime. It's not "edgy" twisted, or really implausible, either. Basically, the main Character, Kasuga, as said in the description, ends up stealing a gym uniform on total impulse, and this
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crazy girl who hangs out in the sidelines sees him. The girl, Nakamura, is a bad-news bitch who believes that deep down, everyone is very messed up, hiding all their carnal desires and instincts through walls in their hearts. She sees Kasuga take the uniform and it fills her with excitement that she saw another person acting like a deviant. She then sets out to force him to do things he thought he never wanted to do, like making him wear those stolen gym clothes while on a date with the girl he stole them from.
Now, the whole time I'm watching this go on, I'm thinking "why doesn't Kasuga just spill the beans? There are plenty of opportunities like when Saeki, the girl whose uniform he stole, basically makes it clear she would not be upset the slightest if he did it. Still, I realized this anime wasn't about the passing of events regarding the stolen uniform, because well, that would make the plot seem kind of tacky where things got stretched so far out of hand and somehow could get fixed by just telling the truth. Which, if i'm being totally honest, is what I wanted it to be about.
//"How-I-Feel-It-Ended" Spoilers//
For the first half of the series, I thought it'd be about how far a lie gets taken and that possibly the truth can set you free. Then, after a certain point, there was literally no turning back and things got very interesting, but they definitely changed because I knew I'd recoil if somehow telling the truth fixed Kasuga's problems. Instead it became about an evil flower; which, you could say both Nakamura and Kasuga are. However, Im referring more to Kasuga as he basically becomes evil. That is the way I saw the anime to suit the ending scenes.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Dec 26, 2015
"I am Mora, I will never explain anything and will go robot and back at random moments. And lose all the time."
"I am psycho killer, I will kill room full of people, but then imprison one guy in a room with open ventilation shaft. And then go into robot to kill this guy with giant knife."
"I am military guy. I want to fight robot. I will hire psycho killer and pathetic hacker and kidnap a girl. And jump into robot asap."
"I am Sougo. I do not care who Felia is. I never question Mora. I never care why my hand lights up when he becomes
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robot. I will run and cry 'Felia, Felia', even if they have automatic gun shooting at me."
"I am Felia. I will cry 'Sougo, Sougo' and emit purple light."
"I am Typhoon. I will rain a bit. Then snow a bit. Thus prevent ultra high tech aircraft from landing. Then disappear."
"I am mysterious ruling organization of astrologers. I will appear at random moments to make you feel this show have a plot."
Comet Lucifer is one of those shows that wasted great potential by having terrible writing. My first impressions on the show were very exciting; I felt like with the crossover between childish fantasy and sci-fi, there might be plot elements that, you know, actually immerse you into the show. However, there are so many holes in the writing that I hardly want to call it a "plot". I find myself constantly being pulled out of the story. The following examples contain spoilers, but really they're not important spoilers because the plot was already undercooked.
So, we already know that this show is basically about a guy named Sougo who likes to collect crystals, and one day when down in the mines, after falling to near-certain death, finds this child, Felia, and a robot named Mora along with a crystal which is under-explained like almost everything in this series. Actually, Mora is a sort of rock-like thing that talks and transforms into a robot. It was kind of cool having a mysterious aspect about him and I could have accepted it if later on, the writers wrote in some important themes regarding said robot. They only kinda did. Anyways, Felia is like, the embodiment of the Earth, and theyre now on an adventure to find the Altar of the Abyss.
Felia, at this stage, is just a child. She's cute, but absolutely useless. Her only vocabulary is "Sougo" and she floats and emits purple light. It would seem like she has a connection to Sougo's crystal, which has a connection to Mora but I can't really say. In their "adventure", so much stupid shit happens that it's as if the writers were just Creative Writing students from your local primary school.
For example, these bad guys who are after Felia, offering no explanation as to why they want her instead of the crystal, which apparently can replace the entire world's energy source. No mention of getting the crystal comes from them, by the way, they just want Felia. Of these bad guys, we have a dude who is crazily infatuated with Felia, a young psycho with decent combat skills, and a veteran soldier-type guy, and thats really all you get to know about them. The veteran-type gets a few flashbacks to his previous life and you learn things about him that don't ever end up really tying to the story. Anyways, crazy infatuated bad guy hacks into the power grid and sends robots after Sougo and Felia. He starts shooting at Felia and Sougo whirls through bullets, without Mora, to save her, as he does NUMEROUS TIMES LATER. In another episode, young psycho captures Sougo, and though he had no problem killing many people before, he just locks Sougo in a room with an open ventilation shaft which Sougo doesn't find or crawl out of until he's been in there for a very long time. He gets the shit beat out of him and immediately after just opens up the ventilation shaft, and somehow finds Mora in there. I guess he tracked the crystal, which is still in Sougo's pocket. He crawls through, gets out, and again starts running through bullet showers screaming "FELIA! FELIA!" and somehow makes it... Later on, Felia uses some magic to save herself and Sougo from falling to their deaths, and she matures. She grew about a foot and expanded her vocabulary beyond "SOUGO!"
If you haven't even started this series (please don't), you might have no idea how quickly Felia's use of the word "Sougo" gets old. I counted 39 times before I decided to stop, in one episode alone. However, because she matured, she became more bearable, and she actually is pretty cute. From that point, I thought they could be foreshadowing a sad ending, so I continued watching. Later on, I would experience dumb shit like.... like when they stopped by a town where a wedding was going on, somehow becoming involved as flowerboy/flowergirl (Sougo/Felia, making Kaon jealous... Oh did I mention that this girl Kaon has been tagging with them too?). Anyways, in the end, theyre raided by the bad guys, and after they have to fight Mora and another robot belonging to an insignificant character, the villagers start throwing pebbles at them and theyre all like "FALL BACK! RETREAT!" That was jaw-droppingly stupid, but I'm dead serious. Then more stupid shit like when one guy, Do Mon, is picking out food to eat and he's like "Oh, this looks like a [so and so] fruit! It might not be poisonous if i cook it," then proceeds to take a head-sized piece of it and chop it and serve it. Then there's also the time when Felia, Sougo, and Mora break off from the group to go alone to the Altar of the Abyss, knowing there will be soldiers crawling around everywhere, leaving the group including Roman and his battle-grade mecha behind. Another fucking Mecha would probably be very useful, yknow? At this point in the series, which is like 8 episodes in, Sougo still doesn't know how to use Mora.
As far as the characters go, I went through most of this review without mentioning Kaon, Roman, his brother I don't care to know the name of who has been around this whole time, and Do Mon. Kaon is a "girl next door" type to Sougo, and has obvious feelings for him, but is so generic about it. She pretends, embarrassingly, not to like him, then wonders why Sougo is getting so involved with Felia. She has an arranged marriage with Roman, a flashy dude and the only character who is a little interesting. Do Mon is Sougo's father figure, who has to put up with Felia when Sougo brings her in, and she does that god awful dancing vegetables thing.
By the way, some of you might have heard of the dancing vegetables. Yes, the show spent a few full minutes on having Felia make vegetables float around and dance in the air.
So, please, don't be like me watching the whole series. What is there to gain from it? +1 on your list?
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Dec 25, 2014
Di Gi Charat is a very colorful and humorous slice of life following two catgirls, Dejiko and Puchiko, who wind up in Akihabara. Without a home, they find work at a game shop (called "Gamers" -- Which, interestingly enough, is the store that this anime was aired as an ADVERTISEMENT for, before it became a series).
What's really great about this anime is that it's taken in 16 bite-size chunks of about three minutes each. A lot is packed in to this tiny series, and it moves quickly. The timing for the jokes and for Dejiko's eyeball beam drive the humor
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in well. I'm glad to know that there is more of this, and that Di Gi Charat didn't just end here. There are later series such as Panyo Panyo Di Gi Charat!, and Di Gi Charat Nyo!
As a person who isn't totally into moe, I still found this to be golden in my adolescent years as well as when I recently re-watched it as a grown-ass man.
There's one more thing I would like to say about the series. So, it takes place in Akihabara, right? Well, two characters really stand out and make me wonder about something that may actually blow my mind if it has any sort of truth behind it. The two side characters I am talking about frequent the game store. I don't think they have names, but one is tall with black hair, and the other is short and fat, with messy brown hair and glasses. He happens to talk JUST like Daru from Steins;Gate, and oddly enough he is also quite the fan of Dejiko. Could this possibly be a younger version of Daru and Hououin Kyouma? I would love to think that.
Overall enjoyment: 10/10. One of my favorite weeb songs comes from this (Party Night), and while story isn't much of a factor, I still loved it for other things like its humor and ability to keep you hooked via bite-sized chunks.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jun 20, 2014
I wanted to write this review early on, but I decided to wait a few episodes, then after that, another few episodes, until the show ended. Thats because it changed enough for my view on it to shift quite a bit, but after everythings been said and done, I can tell you why I like where it stands now, though it could have done some things better. Nanana's buried treasure, as we all know, is basically about a group of adventurers looking for amazing magical artifacts hidden by Nanana, who now is a ghost residing in an apartment room where main character Yama
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Juugo (referred to as the title "Juugo", or better yet, Mr "Totally honest and not plotting anything") resides, bound to a rent contract with an otherwise chill landlord who only wants to drink beer and hang out. Yes, she is basically an alcoholic TCC-chan.
So, what makes this anime something special for this season? Well, for one, I seriously could not get it out of my head that this was basically an anime version of Indiana Jones X Legend of Zelda (what with the ancient chambers and the action-filled collection of artifacts in treasure chests hidden behind complex traps). With that out of the way, let me say that as an anime, it held a certain quality to its story that made me unable to really feel like I could totally predict it all, let alone write a review before it was completely over. I started off thinking that Juugo was just a kid who fell into a sticky situation, and just wanted to check out artifacts and do some general good. But really, this kid has motives and it's not just to find Nanana's killer and evict her from his room. Thats NOT to say he is evil, though, and that right there is the second curve for just one character's standing in the show. Dont worry, its not too complex. Its still mostly about the search for treasures.
I did like the characters a lot. Weve already talked about Juugo, but I dont consider him to have met all the main protagonist criteria. Stories are somewhat based around him, and moreso around Nanana-chan. Those stories involve the group, though. The girl I call the protagonist other than Nanana would be Master Detective Tensai. She is literally the deus ex machina of the group's conquests. Her high resolution foresight knows no boundaries, and knowing this, if you pay attention she knows about Juugo before any lines in the show hint that he's plotting something. She IS the real Indiana Jones, in my head. Then we have Club President Isshin, who is the first runner up to be the antagonist, but really he is just like anyone else- a person whose selfish dreams are considered evil, though theyre honest. His downfall is that theyre certainly not modest. He comes around to help the group in the face of a real antagonist, Hiiyo Ikusaba, an ex club member who is anachronistic in his ways. Whats scary is that his philosophies make a bit of sense, too, and that is why for some reason I was expecting him to come forward as a possible protagonist to the show, but I dont know how they could have done that. It would have been nice, though, to see more characters who were multifaceted in their role as the story went forward. There is always one character who we can be sure will not change, though, and that is Nanana. All throughout the show she is pretty much a cute hikikomori ghost who likes pudding. I dont get it, whats with it in this anime year? All the neets like pudding.
The art and sound weren't 100% on the mark, or that diverse, but it still fit pretty well. This is especially for the adventuring tunes. Music is there to add background and the art is there to support the setting, and in the most important places, like the dungeons, it was perfect. In less important scenes, it wasn't awful. Im certainly glad they werent playing dubstep during a sad moment like one anime this season.
So, with that said, I had much enjoyment in this anime. I wrote this review because i recommend you watch it if you like Indiana Jones X Legend of Zelda anime crossovers, Multi-dimensional characters, cute NEET ghosts, treasure, and side characters who, one second get the shit kicked out of them, the next they are in a full body cast just talking to the group while the group doesnt even ask a question. Dont pry too hard into that if you dont think its funny because its not important.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jun 3, 2014
Harmonie is a fantastic metaphor for the duality between individualism and collective conscious. Each of the students are remarkable individuals, who share an interest in one way or another. I don't find it a coincidence that Akio's friends start the short film by talking about their shared interest in anime before their individual qualities are portrayed. Akio has an ear for music and an interest in art.
Now what's more important is the message conveyed about stifling individual creativity. Juri, the female lead, is constantly embarrassed for the ridicule she has undergone for her dreams and her musical compositions. For a
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long time, I was the same way. I used to compose music and play the piano, for my own sake. I felt extreme insult when my sister or mother would tell me to stop. I was being "too loud" for them to stay in their comfort zone and watch their TV talk shows in the other room. I was "too repetitive" because I had to practice, and they ridiculed me for that as if I had to know a song as soon as I read it. I didn't play what THEY wanted me to play. And so for 8 years I quit the piano completely. My creativity was stifled, but I had dreams, and still, I would hear the music in my head. I had to hide it. Juri opens up to Akio and it took a lot of courage.
This short film is about all of that. Individuals are unique, but still connect and bond beyond the shallow premise of conformity. Also let me add that Harmonie is part of the Anime Mirai Project (for the year 2014) and there are other great short films released under the Project. However, almost every stream site that isnt specifically a fansub group will have Harmonie listed as "Anime Mirai" by title.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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