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Jul 17, 2019
When the main gripe one has with a piece of media is "I want more of this" is it really even a downside? Surely this is a good thing, right?
I mean, yeaaah, but still I would love to see a lot more of these characters, the ending really implies a further narrative, I would adore to see a full slice of life romcom with Romeo and Juliet juggling their lives as M and S along with a blooming "romance"
This being said, I adore this short, everything from the aesthetic of luchadors and nuns to the insane proportions and how they actually affect fights in fantastical
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ways to the themes of BDSM being framed like love at first sight.
Basically, watch it and pray with me that we someday get a full series. Someday!
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jun 10, 2019
Now, before I begin this review I would like to preface: this is an extremely biased and personal opinion, I'm not going in depth on why this is objectively the greatest Miyazaki or Lupin the Third entry. This was my first exposure to Lupin and what got me to fall in love with these characters. That being said I am combing through the movies, the series, the specials, and the manga, so perhaps a personal ranking may be on the horizon soon (well, as soon as I scale this absolute monolith of a franchise with my bare hands and defeat the dread of extremely limited
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European releases.)
Without further ado:
Lupin the Third - Castle of Cagliostro
The characters of Arsène Lupin III, Daisuke Jigen, Goemon Ishikawa XIII, Fujiko Mine, and Inspector Koichi Zenigata are absolutely and fundamentally perfect in their conception, they all balance one another out in terms of attitude as well as their skillsets and roles within a heist. I watched Mystery of Mamo afterwards and it was shocking that it was only released a year prior to Cagliostro. Mamo has this vague notion of who these characters are and how they function; as stated earlier this is their biggest draw in both diversity and staying power, but having archetypes is only part of the battle, these are still characters need just that: character!
Lupin retains his traditional role as his usual self, but we see a glimpse into a more Robin Hood side of his thievery with him using his abilities to help others. It's interesting how watching Lupin's plans unfold work a lot like a Sherlock Holmes in that the puzzle is solved from the moment their eyes even meet it, the fun comes from seeing their working as they undo all opposing forces with wit and grace. It is extremely gratifying to watch Lupin work and even more so to see the work be used for the role of a traditional hero rather than selfish gain.
Jigen is very much the Watson if we keep to this analogy of Holmes, for newcomers we immediately know that this behaviour is common for Lupin, but still retains this mystery to it that never fails to captivate the imagination. Jigen and Goemon are extremely endearing in their relationship to Lupin and even make Lupin more endearing also, the fact that they can keep up with his impromptu style without missing hints at this long history that I just want to see (hence why I'm binging the series.)
Fujiko isn't exactly a part of the posse but she most certainly acts as an element to the overall dynamic, she's undercover and we don't even realise it's her, but she gives up the minute Lupin shows up, choosing instead to assist him. Fujiko has so little respect in Mamo that it's disgusting, her role is shrunk down to the sex appeal and the romantic sub-plot, every scene with her showed her breasts on full display without rhyme nor reason, this film on the other; she is a vital wild card almost, Lupin allows himself into dangerous situations because he retains faith that she will be there to save him. (Fujiko is my favourite female character ever, I hope it's not too obvious.)
Then, we have Zenigata, my absolute favourite Lupin the Third character, so much so I want to write an entire piece on how amazing Inspector Zenigata as a character. To condense it for this film though: he is absolutely hilarious, his relationship with Lupin is on par with Tom and Jerry or Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, but it isn't just slapstick, he is an actual character with motivations that shift as the story progresses, going from Lupin being his primary mission to outing the count and overthrowing his superiors.
Anyway,
The story: solid, the plot fulfills its purpose but the character driven nature of it shines through via the strength of their writing and dynamics.
The art/ animation: drop dead gorgeous painterly backgrounds coupled with some of the most expressive and entertaining character art I have seen.
Basically, watch this movie, it is an amazingly fun time and a perfect introduction to some of the best characters in anime as well as manga.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Jun 7, 2019
SHORT 1 - Final Flight of Osiris (dir. Andy Jones and prod. SQUARE USA)
So, this short only really exists to set up Matrix Reloaded as well as Enter the Matrix (greeeaaaattt), and in spite of a well choreographed opening fight scene, it quickly devolves into gray mush with muzzle flashes. It suffers slightly from Star Wars prequel-itis, yes it is tying directly into events of the film I like and yes I do recognise the iconography, but the reason these shorts exist is to expand the universe beyond what was seen before. FFoO meanwhile does very little to expand the universe, stylistically ressembles a Matrix
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themed Second Life server, and is a boring slog to begin with. This short should've been called The Blue Pill because it sure as hell put me to sleep.
2/10
SHORT 2 - The Second Renaissance Parts 1 & 2 (dir. Mahir Maeda and prod. Studio4oC)
Now this is where we should have started, detailing the conception and subsequent rise of machines, it's an interesting expansion of this world. The visuals are interesting with overall fine designs, the main focus are the machines and they look great, but the humans all look very bland bar a few close up shots with some interesting shots with a portrayal of them being extremely animalistic. It's also one of the more intense and mature execution of the robot uprising idea, with neither the message of "human bad" nor "technology bad" it shows the conflict without bias with both sides being given a part to flesh (or metal) out their motives.
7/10
SHORT 3 - Kid's Story (dir. Shinichiro Watanabe and prod. Studio4oc)
Whilst The Second Renaissance showed a larger conflict as whole, this short shows the personal stakes of a Neo-like character living in the Matrix whilst questioning his reality. The sketchy visuals with the fluid almost jittery movements is an amazing portrayal of the characters perception of the Matrix. Although an extremely simple short it's effective in its execution with a brilliant soundtrack to couple some interesting animation and it really does a good job at justifying this collection's existence as a whole since it and the previous short have already displayed the diversity of Matrix as an IP.
9/10
SHORT 4 - Program (dir. Yoshiaki Kawajiri and prod. Madhouse)
Kid's Story was more about animation in motion, meanwhile Program is extremely picturesque and beautiful with a further exploration of small scale conflicts found within the resistance groups, it was extremely effective in both tying familiar iconography with unique ideas, the use of paper doors as an obstacle was a cool moment, the simulations bleeding code was very nice, and overall the samurai setting is a brilliant set up that gives this short its own identity.
8/10
SHORT 5 - World Record (dir. Yoshiaki Kawajiri and prod. Madhouse)
And it's a sports anime now, no but seriously as expected from Madhouse it's got some amazing animation, my main description would be "Redline - except my car broke down" and you can really see those aesthetics in this short almost 4 years prior. It's an interesting addition to this collection and also a very unique spin on a sports story like this, I probably would've preferred if Matrix Reloaded was about this guy instead. My only real complaint is it's placement, we just got a Kawajiri/ Madhouse short, so it somewhat nullifies the complete variety displayed prior, that being said the style is still different enough with more exaggerated faces as well as a larger emphasis on movement and a more naturalistic environment that breaks into some unique visuals in the sequence with the Smiths (Agents, not Morissey).
7/10
SHORT 6 - Beyond (dir. Kouji Morimoto and prod. Studio4oC)
It wasn't at all surprising when I checked Morimoto's page and spotted Tekkon Kinkreet inhabiting his body of work, this is definitely my second favourite stylistically and in motion it's an absolute treat. I see why Thor: Dark World directly ripped this scene into their movie (yeah Marvel, I fucking noticed). There isn't really much else to analyse with this short, I adore the aesthetic, it fully utilises it's format as a short to tell a concise yet realised story.
10/10
SHORT 7 - A Detective Story (dir. Shinichiro Watanabe and prod. Studio4oC)
Watanabe is back and hey look, it's my favourite! I love how it blends the Matrix universe with a film noir/ manga aesthetic, it was definitely a smart choice putting this towards the end seeing as it seems to tie directly into the films somewhat with the appearance of main character (okay, yeah Neo and Trinity showed up in Kid's Story, but Trinity is like the central focus). The writing is sharp, the soundtrack is amazing and the mystery while small is still very fun. My only complaint is it seems t be cut a tad short, but when my complaint is that I want more, that's not really a complaint. I would love to see Watanabe do a detective series sometime since this style very much suits him.
10/10
SHORT 8 -Matriculated (dir. Peter Chung and prod. DNA)
I was awaiting a short to explore the spirituality of Matrix, sadly they saved it for last, conceptually the short has interesting themes with the humans somewhat reprogramming a machine by making it feel like a human almost. Aesthetically in its backgrounds it is gorgeous and the sequence wherein they explore this weird space within the machine is rife with Buddhist imagery and interesting ways of bending the reality. Aside from that, this short is ugly as sin, the awful proportions, the nauseating use of CGI that just doesn't meld well with the rest of the scene and good lord the outside world is so mind-numbingly dull, sadly we visit there often.
5/10
IN CONCLUSION: If the first and last shorts were cut, this would be amazing, but with those two bad apples I would say this is just pretty great, I still wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to just about anyone, but not without a "skip the first short and the last short, they kinda suck" prefacing it. Definitely a perfect companion for the Matrix and a much preferable addition to the series than Reloaded or Revolution.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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