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Aug 6, 2008
[Note: this is a not-so-serious review, because really, the movie doesn't take itself very seriously.]
I went to the theater to see Naruto with very low expectations, in part because I've seen all the Naruto movies so far, and in part because the average age of the audience in the movie theater was 10 years old. Yes, in Japan Naruto caters to the "tween" audience, and I felt like an old lady sitting in the theater, waiting for the movie to start. I expected the movie to be "The Sasuke Movie" but...actually...I'm surprised to say, Naruto was the cool one in this movie. This instantly made
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it the top Naruto movie, in my humble opinion, and had the best fights of any Naruto movie so far. (I'm pretty sure next summer we'll be treated to another one.)
Story --Naruto movies are not known for their great scripts, but this one actually had some nice twists to it. Since one of the first scenes was of a smoldering Sasuke with no shirt on, I expected most of the action to be from him, but lo and behold, Naruto came through pulled some great moves during the course of the story. As there isn't much plot that the summary left out, I'll leave it at that.
Art --Also standard Naruto film style, some 3D, but not as out of place as the last movie (I thought). Mostly done on the ships, and the villain's hideout, which I hereby dub "The Castle in the Sky." The leaf ninja village seemed like it was trying to be Renaissance Italy for some reason though...
Sound --Nothing very impressive, but not at all bad. The voice acting of the movie-only characters was well done, as I normally get annoyed with the movie-only character voices.
Character --Ah, characters. Let's see, we have Sasuke as a less emo version of himself (yay), Sakura and Hinata as the still-useless-in-fights Naruto backups/fanservice objects, cameos by Kakashi, playing the role of a voice-over explanatory narrator, and Orochimaru, playing the bedridden grandmother (Sai, Neji, Shino, and Shikamaru play cameos of themselves). There's also the movie-only character Doctor and his apprentice Amaru, who gets to be the one befriended by Naruto (poor Amaru). Then then there's Naruto, slightly more mature than usual, still getting slapped around as usual, and showing tantalizing hints of becoming more hentai with each passing day...
Enjoyment --This could be high because my expectations were so low, but actually, I maintain that the awesomeness of this anime comes from when Naruto has to face, and/or use, the chakra of the nine-tails. And use it he does in this movie. It was like the Sasuke rescue-arc battle at the waterfall redone, which to me was the high point of the series. Sadly, there was also the Sasuke lipsticked-winged-monstrosity to be seen (I won't even mention the villain's cheesy "released" [to borrow a Bleach term] form), but I could take that when Naruto's busting out multiple rasengan from his clones and destroying everything in sight.
Overall, a good movie--by Naruto standards.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jul 23, 2008
3 words describe this movie: Death By Cuteness [Note: This review is based off of the Japanese version, not the Disney dubbed one!]
If you thought Totoro was cute, you ain't seen nothing yet. Ponyo is the cutest little...fish-girl ever. The movie is loosely based on "The Little Mermaid," but don't think Disney. Think instead of when you were a kid, and the world was brighter, magical, full of wonder and delight. Those are the feelings which describe what happens when you enter the world of Miyazaki.
Story - Although there's more story to Ponyo than your average Miyazaki film (eg: Totoro again), the film is geared
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more to a younger audience, and therefore has simply a slow progression of events which unfold for the main character Sousuke, who saves what he calls a "goldfish" from the ocean, trapped in a jar. Unbeknownst to him, her father is looking for her, as she has run away from home. Sousuke, however, promises to protect the "goldfish" he names "Ponyo," and Ponyo slowly becomes more and more human as she spends time with Sousuke.
Art - The art is great Miyazaki as usual. This time, the art reflects a child's view of the world. I particularly liked the backgrounds that look they're colored pencil/crayon/chalk (though still drawn with lots of detail) and the sea creatures. Actually, any of the ocean scenes are amazing. It felt like I was in an aquarium.
Sound - The beginning of the movie was an opera piece, which was quite interesting, and a normal orchestral score after that. The seiyuu who played Ponyo has the most adorable voice too. Voice acting throughout was top-notch.
Character - If you do not fall in love with Ponyo, you have no heart. She's innocent and adorable. Sousuke seems really smart for a 5-year-old, and very kind, obedient, and generous. If I had kids, I'd want them to be like the characters in this movie. The "grown ups" seem to be overly cheery, and this was the main thing I found incredulous in the film. What kind of mom leaves 2 kids alone at night? What kind of adults seeing 2 kids alone in a candle-powered boat, simply wave hello to them? What kind of adults calmly talk to sea-spirits like they're next door neighbors?? Yeah, this only happens in Miyazaki world.
Enjoyment - I love the ocean, and little kids (when they're not brats), and the whole fish-out-of-water element (haha, this movie literaly has a fish-out-of-water), so I obviously loved this movie. You know it's great when you get out of the movie theater and you`re still smiling.
If you like other Miyazaki movies, I think you'll like this one. If you don't like slow paced, slice of life (with a dash of magic) movies, then you probably won't enjoy it as much. If you do, just sit back, relax, and let Miyazaki take you to another world...
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Apr 17, 2008
Wow. This movie has left me nearly speechless. There are scenes in it that are shocking, jaw-dropping, amazing...if you haven't seen this movie yet, and you like action movies, with a good plot, solid characters, and the best action sequences I've ever seen in an anime, then beg, borrow, stea---er, do whatever you can to get your hands on it. You won't regret it. Take my word for it.
I guess I could just say that and be done, but if you're not convinced yet, I'll pimp it some more.
Story - typical action stuff, set in historical Japan, but has twists enough in the plot to
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make me unable to predict exactly what was going to happen next--and I've watched enough action movies and anime to know that this one stands firmly within its chosen genre, yet breaks out of it from time to time. This, I think, makes it interesting to watch (because who wants to be able to predict the whole story?).
Art - Quite good, detailed backgrounds, though there aren't that many grand, sweeping vistas in this movie. There's some CG that's done fairly well. The action scenes is where the animation makes you sit up and question whether what you've just seen is drawn or not. I've never seen sword fights done this well before: without excessive slow-motion, artsy camera angles, just straight up, flat out, swordsmanship. Of course, it's flashy, but much more realistic than many live action sword fights I've seen in other movies. The characters are drawn realistically as well.
Sound -There were distinctly Japanese themes and instruments in the soundtrack. Perhaps a bit over-dramatic at times, but I like dramatic music to set the scene, so though it may bother some people I liked it a lot.
Character -Some cliche/stereotypical stuff here, but for the most part, sympathetic characters. There's no annoying characters, and the main characters are developed/change throughout the course of the movie, which in my opinion is hard to do considering the time constraints.
Enjoyment -Well, if you don't like a lot of blood, then your enjoyment will be lower than mine. I don't particularly like loads of it, but in this movie, since the fight scenes are realistic, with swords and all, there's all the slicing and dicing of enemies you can possibly imagine that goes on.
Ok, enough of my raving about it. Just go watch it already!!
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Dec 22, 2007
Story: I don't want to give any spoilers, but basically if you've seen the trailer, you've seen the majority of the plot. It's not that the plot was bad at all; there were just a few random plot devices that were a bit strange, especially in the beginning with Ichigo's initial involvement in the story. If one compares it to the first Bleach movie (which of course is inevitable), this movie's plot was much better. There were a good amount of flashbacks which were done nicely as well.
Art: You can really see the difference here between the TV series and the movie. There were some
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excellent camera angles, scene changes, and special effects. At times, the camera took Ichigo's viewpoint; other times it took a grand, panoramic view of the scene. Of course, other movies have done that, but with such camera work/framing it gave the movie a more serious, artsy feel to it. It's good if you're like me and enjoy that stuff.
Sound: It has all the major themes of the series, plus a choral piece that gave me shivers, and several distinctly Japanese pieces that set the tone of the film exactly right. The seamless blending of sound and sight was perhaps the best part of the movie for me.
Character: Well, of course all of the Bleach characters are in character...with almost every soul society member and human (and quincy) making at least a cameo appearance. The villain was suitably well developed and somewhat sympathetic since he is featured in most of the flashbacks. Hitsugaya fans will enjoy getting a glimpse under his "icey" exterior during the flashbacks as well. I wasn't so fond of how emo he was, but it was at least tolerable and not too overdone.
Enjoyment: The reason why I didn't give a 10 for enjoyment (and why the overall score is a 9) is because there's not very many good battles in the movie. Let's face it, one reason Bleach is so great is because of the epic fights. I went to the movie specifically in the theater to see that epic quality on the big screen, and was a bit disappointed. There were a few somewhat boring "henchmen" fights, and the final battle was kind of anti-climactic. However, I did like the fact that the climax took place in Soul Society, where the captains could show off their full powers (though again, you don't get to see anything new or really exciting stuff happen).
In all, however, I very much recommend seeing this movie, whether you be a die hard fan or new to Bleach, or even if you don't like the series very much. This movie takes most of the good points from the series and puts it into one and a half hours of good entertainment.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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