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Jan 17, 2015
"Warning: Kino's Journey has been known to induce a strong feeling of wanderlust in its viewers. It has also been proven to boost levels of empathy. Watch at your own risk."
But in all seriousness, like most anthology styled shows, "Kino's Journey" is somewhat difficult to review in its entirety. Instead of presenting one narrative with a beginning, middle, and end, it presents several self-contained stories, each with their own conflict and resolution. The only thing that stays the same is that each episode is seen through the eyes of series protagonist and professional traveler Kino, and her talking bike, Hermes.
I've seen that the show has
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been compared to the seminal TV classic, "The Twilight Zone" and I feel that the comparison is justified. They both rely heavily on a tasteful, yet oppressive atmosphere. They both delve into the depths of human nature utilizing a wide range of backgrounds and an ensemble cast, besides Kino and Hermes of course. Kino's Journey also often provides a smart twist at the end of each story. Still, the show manages to feel like its own unique entity, rather than a pale imitation (I'm looking at you "Night Gallery" and "The Outer Limits").
This is a rather heavy show that is focused on the many facets of human nature. Kino's Journey understands that humanity is deeply flawed, but that beauty arises from imperfection. Kino's Journey is equal parts profound and sobering, wasting little time on frivolity. Each episode brings a new land, and with it, a new set of themes and problems.
In the end, I'd say the biggest flaw of Kino's Journey is the length. At thirteen episodes long, the show doesn't have the time to delve too far into Kino's past. The show does not provide a satisfying conclusion, and quite frankly, it would be impossible to do so with its particular format. Still, by the end, when its melancholy theme plays one last time, its hard not to wish that you could go on more journeys with Kino.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jan 17, 2015
"Tetsuwan Birdy Decode," or "Birdy the Mighty: Decode," is a smartly written show with decent production values and a good hook. It is not an ambitious show however. Birdy the Mighty is a show that proves to be quite entertaining, but its not likely to leave you with much after the credits roll. There's nothing wrong with that, but its something to keep in mind when deciding to watch it or not.
Birdy's characters are likable enough, but not particularly complex. The show does provide a nice duality between public and private life though. Whether its Tuto's charming mix of effeminate charisma and straight faced
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mentorship, or Birdy's public role of air headed, demure pin-up girl contrasted with her brash, independent nature as a galactic cop. Birdy and high schooler Senkawa also have fairly good chemistry together. The story makes sure to establish early on that Birdy and Senkawa's relationship is strictly platonic, which is good because sexual tension between two people sharing the same body could prove more than a little unnerving.
I don't recall the music too well outside of a fantastic opening and a catchy ending. That doesn't necessarily mean the score was bad, it just wasn't particularly memorable. At least it wasn't distracting, and sometimes that's all that matters.
The art is smooth and clean, with a soft color palette. It does tend to get rather sketchy when there's a lot of movement on screen, making the action hard to follow sometimes. Conversely, the sketchiness allows the fight scenes to be fluid and dynamic. In my opinion, it was a fair trade-off.
As far as conflict goes, I found it hard to take the main antagonist seriously. Perhaps that's due to the fact that he takes a passive role in the story and rarely interacts with the protagonists. Or maybe its because he has a tendency to spew rather cliched villain rhetoric. It doesn't help that he's an Indian television producer named after M. Night Shyamalan. The dubious homage is a tad bit humorous, but it really doesn't help his credibility as a villain. Although to be fair, it could rightfully be argued that he's not the main threat, but to follow that line of thought any further would be to risk delving into spoiler territory.
Birdy the Mighty: Decode is a show that's consistently entertaining, but very rarely impactful. If you're looking for a meaningful animated experience, you'd be wise to look elsewhere. But if you're in the mood for something fun, and occasionally touching, then you could do a whole lot worse than Tetsuwan Birdy Decode.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 16, 2015
"Let's all love Lain."
Most people would agree that love takes work. Love is a complex state that takes effort to foster and maintain. Likewise, it takes some work on the part of the viewer to really love Serial Experiments Lain, and that isn't a bad thing by any means.
Serial Experiments Lain is not going to spoon feed you its messages, or even its plot. Lain invites its viewers to interact with it on an active level. Lain isn't a show that should be watched when the brain is switched on autopilot. You have to engage with Lain in order to understand it, or at least
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feel that you understand it.
The meaning of Serial Experiments Lain tugs at the edges of your mind. Whenever you think you have a solid handle on what Lain is trying to tell you, the show pulls the rug out from under your feet again. Some plot threads seem to lead off into nothing. Or maybe that tangent you thought was pointless is the linchpin for the entire plot. This is a show that delights in keeping its viewers mentally off balance. There are probably almost as many interpretations of the show as there are viewers.
However, as smart as Serial Experiments Lain seems to be, its also rather inscrutable. A good deal of the charm the show has lies in trying to decipher it, but its lack of clarity is sure to turn a lot of people off. Some people will think the show is pure genius, while others will feel it contains nothing but meaningless drivel.
Watch the show then introduce it to a friend. Don't let them know your interpretation of the show so they can go into it free of the burden of preconceptions. Then after they've seen it too, compare notes. You might be surprised how different your interpretations turn out to be. Serial Experiments Lain asks us, as the viewers, to conduct our own set of experiments. If you're willing to put the work into loving Serial Experiments Lain, then the show is bound to love you back. So let's all love Lain.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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