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Jun 3, 2016
Ayy, Go watch: Batman Gotham Knight
Batman Gotham Knight is a 6 part OVA produced with the collaboration of 3 household names: Production IG, Madhouse, and Studio 4C.
I'm not going to spend time summarizing the show, you can find that on Myanimelist or on someone else's blog, but I am going to tell you why I believe Gotham Knight is indeed worth the watch.
Due to the show being made by 3 different studios, there's an insane amount of budget and artistic style put into each story. The animation specifically of episodes 1 and 4 are absolutely phenomenal, and are almost on movie levels of fidelity. The
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artstyles also give great personality to each story and make it fun to try to figure out which studios did what episodes. That makes for a pretty fun guessing game believe it or not.
The tone of Gotham Knight also very consistent. Never did I feel that there was an abrupt tone switch that took me out of the mood, or a moment ruined by comedy. It was dark the entire time, and when it wasn't dark...aka only the first episode, it was consistently mysterious but fairly lighthearted in tone. The atmosphere of Gotham Knight is also another thing that deserves praise, especially in episode 5, which is easily the best episode in the series. At many times, specifically towards the beginning, I felt as if I was watching a horror movie. I felt the terror that this hobo on screen felt. This is not the only case of a great atmosphere, however this is the best example I personally felt in the series.
The characters aside from Batman and the woman he meets in episode 5 don't have much depth, however it's just a short Batman flick so I don't really see this as an issue. Characters however are well defined even if it means they're just villain or just cop. The duo in episode 2 felt like real people because aside from being cops, that's all they were. They're realism made them relatable, which added to the feeling to suspense later in the episode.
One of the best things about Gotham Knight is believe it or not, its theme expoloration which is once again, most prominently seen in episode 5. I know just said that Gotham Knight is mainly an action flick; however, dont go into it thinking that's all you'll be getting. Gotham Knight covers themes of dealing with pain, heroism, and the idea of masking your pain with heroism.
Overall, Gotham Knight is definitely worth the watch just for the action sequences and the budget alone. The theme exploration is nice but the show isn't extremely thought provoking. What it is however is a very fun ride, to the point that even I, someone who has fallen asleep in every other attempt in trying to watch a Batman film, can enjoy the experience. HEY DONT JUDGE ME!
So AYY YOU, GO WATCH BATMAN GOTHAM KNIGHT! WHY? CAUSE I TOLD YOU SO, AND IM ALWAYS RIGHT!
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 17, 2015
K, also known as, The K-Project, is a show produced by a no name studio that goes by the name GoHands. They have produced nothing but mediocrities prior to this show, which I wouldn't consider to be a god-scend, but far from "Shit" or "below average"
Art & Animation - 9/10
I honestly don't even think I need to explain this one. The show looks gorgeous, easily the best looking show that I've ever seen (YES, I HAVE SEEN THE FATE SERIES). The colors are very outlandish, the animation is very fluid, and the shots, OH MY GOD THE SHOTS!
Sadly past episode 4, I can't recall 1
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single perspective shot. But the perspective shots through the first part of the series were really cool, and helped to immerse me into the world. Don't really have to explain anything here. Even the CGI vehicles looked fantastic.
Sound - 9/10
My lord this show sounds phenomenal. With the exception of a few voice actors, the dub is absolutely fantastic. Characters have strong emotion, and while some lines sound cheesy, nothing sounds out of place. The OST is fantastic. Only once can I recall the OST not fitting the mood of the show, and that was during the second episode's fight scene between Kuro and Yata. The soundtrack is a mixture of techno, pop, rap, and ambience, all which sound very unique, and memorable.
Story - 4/10
I'm going to split the story section up into two parts, because this show is exactly like Shingeki no Bahamut in terms of how the downhill slide occurs.
Part 1 (Episodes 1 - 7)
The show is very fun. Fight scenes are very sparse, and the show is just...FUN XD The show starts with our main hero, Yashiro Isana, being supposedly framed for the murder of one of a rival gang, the Red Clan (AKA. HOMRA). While being pursued by them, Yashiro is also threatened to be killed by a man who goes by the name of Kuro, the Black Dog. Eventually, Kuro finds his chill, and remembers that he is to judge Yashiro, as he is to be the next leader of the colorless clan. (Sounds like Durarara, huh?:lol:).
The first 4 episodes are just action, a little bit of world building, and dumb fun. Yashiro is trying to solve the mystery while living with his cat who has now transformed into a human, and Kuro. These episodes are the highlight of the show, as it never takes itself seriously. It's just action with very entertaining character interactions. These first 4 episodes also throw out alot of mysteries, that are explained in later episodes.
Part 2 (Episode 8-13)
Just like Bahamut, the second half of K takes itself waaaay too seriously, and ends up becoming very confusing and incomprehensible. Tons of science dialogue and info-dumping is thrown out, which makes scenes very hard to understand. I actually had to go to a wiki at the end of the series due to being so baffled. I understood the gist of stuff, but not the explanations.
The ending is very controversial, but because I started this show on 5.10.15 and ended it on 5.17.15, the movie is available to me, and soon the second season will be available for me as well, starting in October in 2015. The movie picks off from where the show ends, leaving me nothing to complain about at this time. However, this does not excuse the execution of the ending. A death was very anticlimactic is what I'll say. As soon as the character walks in, they're killed 3 seconds later. But to put it simply, the show dives heavily into a type of plot which revolves around the relationships of many characters, but sadly none of those characters can be fully expanded on due to time constraints.
One thing that I would like to talk about is the structure. Just like Baccano, K will often bring up questions, and then connect everything else later. It also has a story which is told from 3 main perspectives. There's the Red Clan, the Blue Clan aka. the police (of sorts, kek), and Yashiro and crew. The show does a great job of bringing things together, but never fully explores things that it tries to connect. The pacing also feels rushed trough flashbacks, once again, due to the lack of episodes, which is probably the biggest flaw concerning the issue.
I don't think Studio GoHands thought that K-Project would be successful, so instead of throwing out a fleshed out show, what we got was a ton of good ideas, that never get fully explored, or dived into. The story isn't too bad overall, but it becomes too serious for its own good, and as a result, goes from an above average, fun show, to a messy, below average battle shounen of sorts.
Characters 4/10
The characters in K all have a great sense of personality. There's the hot-headed Yata, who is very likeable for his sheer loyalty to the Red Clan's leader, Mikoto. The kings just seem so bad-ass, and the main cast of characters are very likeable. HOWEVER, no character develops, and by no, I mean not even 1. Sure these characters are easy to care for, but without any development due to their actions, the actions seem useless. I'd have to say the best character in the show was by far Mikoto, however he was never really explored. He seems to have had a dark past, but that's never explained of course, DUE TO STUPID EPISODE CONSTRAINTS! JESUS, WHY COULDN'T THIS BE 25 EPISODES!? XD
Ahem, back to Mikoto, yeah...right...
Mikoto is the only character that seems to have a motivation. He and the blue king, Reishi Munakata. It is often stated that the two have had been friends previously, but as I've said time and time again in this review, the relationships was never explained. More great potential, wasted. Just like Izaya and Shizuo from Durarara!!, these 2 characters really made the show special; but unlike Durarara!! which gave us a backstory on its rivalry, The K-Project leaves the characters' backstory a mystery. Hopefully, this is all explained in season 2, however it won't be anywhere near as relevant or as impactful as it would be in season 1.
Overall fun characters, but they have no depth, motivations, or development...of course beyond Mikoto and Reishi.
Value - 5/10
I've heard a ton of people say that no one will remember this series; but the animation alone is very much enough to make this series remembered for years to come. However, in terms of rewatch value, this show has little to none. There isn't a ton of fighting despite the amazing budget given to the show, meaning that you can't just go back and watch the series for the fights without lounging through the exposition once again. If you're able to do that however, props to you, but I personally don't plan on rewatching this series anytime soon. Rather, I'll just search up the fights on YouTube.
Enjoyment - 7/10
I loved this show...until it began to expose its own flaws to a far greater degree than I would've ever imagined that it would. Even then however, I still enjoyed the show, enough that I would recommend it to anyone, just because of how bad-ass everything was :smile:
Final Verdict - 6.33/10
K is a very fun and entertaining show, the struggles once it gets to episode 8, as you realize that they wasted too much time on attempting to connect you to the characters, rather than actually delving into their stories. The presentation is the best that I've seen in anime, period. The characters are very fun and bad-ass, but overall lack depth or development.
I would recommend K to anyone looking for an action series, or people that are looking forward to something good in the fall, as this is receiving a second season then. I hope you found this review helpful
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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May 17, 2015
Even if you like the show, Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso's OVA is an in-coherent mess, with events and backstories that should have been elaborated on in the show.
Animation - 5/10
In the show, the animation (besides the atrocious CGI hands) was beautiful in places. However in the OVA, most of the scenes are reused, and when a scene ISN'T reused, it's probably a still frame. There were still an overabundance of chibis, and some very awkwardly animated scenes. Some examples are when Takeshi Aiza was riding on his bike, and there was a very oddly place perception shot. The animation while he was riding was
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also just a loop, which would be fine, if the animation was so awkward and didn't repeat for as long as it did.
The art was ok. Just about the same as the show but with an issue that I need to bring up. These characters are approximately 12 years-old in the OVA, and at this point of the story. Yet, they all look as if they are 3rd graders. It's a really big pet peeve of mine, that I feel was undermined for the sole purpose of making the characters "easy to connect to" or "kaaaawaaaa---eeeeeee".
Sound - 6/10
Voice acting was exactly the same. Nothing stood out in the OST other than the remix of one of the songs in the show. I had a big issue when Aiza was listening to Kousei play the piano at his house...yet I couldn't hear the piano...at all. Would have been nice to experience what Aiza was listening to.
Story - 3/10
An absolutely incoherent mess. The story is supposed to give background information on the relationship of Aiza, Emi, and Kousei, yet we see no interaction from Kousei. He's simply...not apart of the relationship. It felt as if the OVA was just screaming "NOTICE ME SENPAI! NOTICE ME!", and Kousei never noticed.
Aside from Kousei's involvement, the story just jumps around too much to really understand what's going on. One moment they're at a concert, next moment, Aiza is sitting outside Kousei's house. The pacing is atrocious as events go by waaaaay too fast to comprehend what's actually going on. This all just felt as if it was supposed to be an arc IN THE SHOW, similar to how Kuroko no Basket has arcs dedicated to flashbacks to develop the characters.
Characters - 3/10
Emi and Takeshi both have the same, typical cliche'd "I'M GONNA BE THE BEST!" mentality, that isn't even somewhat heartwarming due to the pacing of the OVA and the lack of amount of time to establish a connection. Even if you are to watch this after marathoning the show, you won't feel anything, as these motivations were established in the show.
As stated earlier, Kousei is very bland and has no involvement in what was SUPPOSED to be a 3-way development triangle of sorts. Due to him being the most interesting character in the show, by far, it makes no sense to have him act completely bland, other than to be an excuse to have the "NOTICE ME SENPAI!" mentality with Takeshi and Emi.
Aiza and Emi are generic. Nothing happens with these two as neither of them really grow...well Aiza does to an extent, but in the end, he has the same mentality as he did at the beginning of the OVA. There's no development here, and the characters are very generic.
Enjoyment - 1/10
I'd give it lower but I physically can't.
Value - 1/10
There's no rewatchability here, that's for sure. This was also built off of many typical shounen cliche's, and the OVA brings nothing new to the show.
Final Verdict - 3.17/10
The OVA/OAD is very hard to watch. The amount of reused clips is disappointing, but it's an OVA, so I guess that can be excused to an extent. The sound is average, and the characters are just...there. Nothing is done with them, and they don't develop. Even if you like the show, there is no point in watching this OVA, other than for the sake of watching something short.
Don't watch this, it's a waste of time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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