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Jul 15, 2015
Like many, my interest in this version of Arslan Senki was spurred by the Arakawa anime adaptation, which is 14 episodes in at the time of this writing. Unfortunately, I did not have the pleasure of viewing this version earlier, whether in my childhood or otherwise.
The five main characters, Arslan, Daryun, Narsus, Gieve, and Farangies, are written well enough in this OVA and have presence. However, the secondary members of Arslan’s band, especially Alfreed and Etoile, are not; Their time on screen proves to be dull and pointless. Silvermask is a pleasant surprise, starting as a fairly generic villain shaking his fist of vengeance at
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the protagonist. In time, he grows to be genuinely engaging, and his character and story are actually the most interesting. Shuuichi Ikeda was just the right amount of over-the-top in this performance and it is perfection. Unfortunately, Silvermask’s story has no resolution, and that is genuinely disappointing.
The plot and writing are sloppy, and Silvermask’s story is not the only plot thread to be unresolved. In fact, most of the plot threads that the OVA works so hard to weave together are ultimately abandoned. Regardless of the shortage of source material, these points as well as the anticlimactic ending should be taken into account when writing critically about the anime.
Artwise, the style is distinctive and pleasing, sporting a bit of greek flair. The character designs are harmonious and cool to say the least, many being infinitely better than the Arakawa version. Farangies, Arslan, and Daryun’s 1991 designs deserve a special mention. The cultural aesthetic of Arslan Senki is fairly strong, though a lot of the kingdoms shown did not look different enough from each other; In a story about warring countries, this can make for confusion.
Though the style is nice, the animation itself mixed bag. It is oftentimes incredibly impressive, though it can be inconsistent and generally lacking. There are times when the low framerate is painfully apparent, and many classic budget cutting tricks are used. Examples include: no backgrounds/white glow, reuse of shots, unnecessary silhouetting, and restriction of color (for instance, coloring night scenes in monochrome gray).
Regarding sound, only one or two pieces of music in the soundtrack are remarkable. It has a pronounced late eighties/early nineties sound to it, which not a bad thing by any means but it is worth noting and does date the OVA. The voice acting is decent: not anything ground-breaking, but it gets the job done.
Overall, this incarnation of Arslan Senki is inferior to its more cohesive remake, but it is still extremely enjoyable. Though flawed, I am quite fond of it and it is undoubtedly worth a watch.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 22, 2015
One Piece 3D: Mugiwara Chase is surprisingly well written, for it is pleasant and relatable, especially if you are a pet owner, and involves a goal that any One Piece fan knows must be achieved at all costs. It doesn’t try to be bigger than it really is. And it’s truly quite short, only a half-hour.
As in the show, the humor is spot on and the character interactions are solid. Everything One Piece fans crave in the writing is there. Unfortunately, the 3D animation is disorienting and distracting, and did lessen my enjoyment of the film during times that would normally elicit a reaction from
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me, such as moments of hilarity or action scenes that should be cool but just aren’t the same in 3D. The most awkward sequences are those involving the more extreme expressions often seen in One Piece, which are intensely amusing in the show’s normal style but peculiar here. Clearly, the style of One Piece is not suited for this alternative medium and I genuinely wish it was animated normally.
Mugiwara Chase is a lovely watch, but the animation can get in the way of the experience. If you don’t mind or even like the different animation, you will have absolutely zero problems with it.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 20, 2015
Fate/Zero is exciting. The amount of substance in the writing is beyond belief, and the unconventionality of the morals and characters make it inherently interesting.
The show focuses heavily on Kiritsugu Emiya and Kirei Kotomine, though no protagonists are entirely selected and all sides get screentime. Even though they both appear to be uninteresting and unlikeable, both of their struggles and their relationships toward other characters and servants are captivating. Kiritsugu wants to “save the world” and be a “hero of justice” and rid it of evil and war, yet he commits a slew of horrible murders and deceptions to reach his goal. Kirei is an
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empty and confused priest that doesn’t feel much emotion, so he wishes to know what exactly gives him pleasure. Kirei’s plight is explored more in the second season, but from early on Kiritsugu makes the audience question the definition of “hero.” There’s a bunch of internal politics going on, since it involves mage families that have been established and quarreling for hundreds of years. Game of Thrones is an appropriate comparison.
Don’t come into Fate/Zero with the expectation of constant fights and action. Though there are a slew of nicely choreographed and beautifully animated fights, the backbone of the show is honestly the politics and themes; only one servant is defeated by the end of the season and most of episode eleven is literally servants talking about what it means to be a king. If these topics are unappealing, Fate/Zero is not for you.
But that’s not to say that the show has no fights and lighthearted moments in the first season. Waver and his relationship with Rider is often used for comic relief, and though it is blatant, it is enjoyable and their bond ends up being a highlight of the show. The fights are intense and beautiful; the two involving Saber and Lancer stand out especially due to Lancer’s mesmerising spearmanship, Saber’s everything, and the palpable sexual tension between the two.
Ufotable went above and beyond the call of duty with the animation. The character designs are harmonious and appropriate to each character. And though the show’s style features rather amorphous faces, emotion is conveyed scarily well. The music is composed by Yuki Kajiura of Madoka Magica fame, and is equally epic.
Watch the show subbed. Most of the performances in the english dub are uninspired, though it is not the worst dub ever made. It’s strange, because all of the english voices are actually matched rather well. I can only imagine how amazing the dub could have been in the hands of the right ADR director. In contrast, the Japanese cast yielded sound performances with appropriate amounts of emotion. Lancer definitely caught my attention; his voice has a warrior’s strength but is tinged with sadness. Seems like that would be a hard balance to maintain, but he is absolutely perfect and heartbreaking from the start.
The first season of Fate/Zero primarily provides setup for the second. However, the ideals, politics and moral ambiguity displayed make it just as entertaining. The first episode is long and exposition heavy and some may find the show confusing at first, but stick with it, as it gets less so through the course of the show (and consequent rewatches).
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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May 20, 2015
One Piece 3D2Y: Overcome Ace's Death! Luffy's Vow to his Friends is not about what the title suggests it is, but the side story presented is engaging (at least on some level) to any fan of One Piece.
There is a lot of re-animation of previous events in the show, especially in the beginning of the special in which the Marineford Arc is condensed to a few minutes in an almost comedic manner. Though it is cool to see older scenes in the alternative animation style of the special, all of the rehashing was unnecessary in terms of plot and good storytelling. Besides that, the plot
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itself is fairly straightforward.
Byrnndi World and his small crew are not the most threatening villains despite World’s lofty goal to destroy the World Government, but that is intentional and they are more than serviceable for this special. World himself is unlikeable and overly ambitious; however, he and his crew get a decent backstory so the audience at least understands why. His shift in dreams is easy to empathize with, and out of all the One Piece movie villains excluding Strong World and Film Z, Byrnndi World and his crew especially may be tied with the sixth movie’s Baron Omatsuri for the title of most complex.
On a character standpoint, Luffy is as endearing as ever and his writing feels natural though all of the material is non canon. Other than Luffy, canon characters appearing in 3D2Y include Hancock and her sisters, Rayleigh, Mihawk, Perona, Buggy. Disregarding the fanservice, Hancock is a strong character and the amount of screentime she gets is justified. Rayleigh is as cool as ever, though his role in the plot is minimal. Mihawk appears briefly along with Perona, but despite his power and more significant role in the series, he doesn’t do anything that warrants him being in the special. Finally, Buggy. The jokes about him accidentally making his newfound fandom think he’s awesome and powerful even though he’s not got old long ago, and are equally old here. Other than that, he is actually entertaining.
The animation is deviates from One Piece’s usual style, but not nearly as much as the sixth movie. It tends to favor thick linework and sharp angles, with character expressions animated in the same manner. Though different, the animation is quite nice to look at and makes the fight scenes more dynamic. Luffy’s fights are amazing as usual and there is a lot of haki usage which makes them that much better. Unfortunately, fights involving Boa Hancock focus more on fanservice rather than showing off her prowess and skill. It’s easy to brush off a random and unwarranted jiggle or two, but the fanservice in this special reduced my enjoyment of the story.
One Piece 3D2Y: Overcome Ace's Death! Luffy's Vow to his Friends is deliciously long and features great characters, surprisingly good villains, and some decent fights in a unique and watchable animation style. However, the hefty fanservice and inclusion of pointless scenes and characters detract from its integrity.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 19, 2015
According to the One Piece wiki, this movie is the least popular of the current twelve. Consequently, I went into it with pretty much zero expectations but was pleasantly surprised; though it’s not cinema gold, Chopper’s Kingdom on the Island of Strange Animals was far more enjoyable than I thought it would be.
The plot is lackluster, and definitely the weakest aspect of the film. Honestly, one could probably tell that from the title. The narrative is silly and convoluted and does not fit in with the One Piece universe, which is saying something since the One Piece universe allows for a lot of silliness. The
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villains and movie-exclusive side characters are weak and unmemorable, and the two primary talking animal characters just come off as pointless.
Bonds between nakama are pretty much the backbone of One Piece, carrying the audience through occasional bouts of mediocrity. It is undoubtedly the most important aspect of the show and all of the franchise’s additional installments. What is great about this movie is that the chemistry between the Straw Hats is very natural, and touching more times than one would expect. Sanji and Zoro stand out the most in that regard. Everyone has a role in the plot, even though they don’t all get fight scenes. Luffy is actually the one crew member that stands out the least; Luffy is his normal lovely Luffy self and Mayumi Tanaka is a goddess as usual, but he does not do anything out of the ordinary when it comes to his role in the story.
Fight scenes in this movie are short and generally unimpressive, but they are still fun to watch. Fights including Sanji and Zoro pretty much always have some pay off. Zoro’s last little battle with one of the henchmen was definitely neat, and Sanji’s was as well. Mainly because of the return of a certain princely alter ego. Unnecessary, but still magnificent.
As a side note, the ending credits are cute and honestly justify watching the movie anyway, though I am a sucker for stuff like that.
Though the plot of Chopper’s Kingdom on the Island of Strange Animals is lacking, strong character interactions and entertaining fight scenes almost eclipse it and make this movie worth watching. My overall rating for it would be much higher if the plot was even the slightest bit stronger.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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May 12, 2015
Magi is certainly not the best shonen anime ever made, but it is certainly enjoyable.
The primary selling point, especially in the first half of the show, is definitely the setting and cultural aesthetic. Magi showcases lands inspired by various middle eastern and asian cultures, primarily those of historical Islam and China. The show establishes itself as separate fantasy world, so keep in mind that it is not trying to be historically accurate despite the inspiration from "1001 Nights."
The animation is bright and colorful which compliments the fantastical settings, powers, and more outwardly cute art style. In addition, most of the character designs are neat and
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memorable; standouts include Hakuryuu, Judal, Sinbad, and his eight generals. The only aspect about the style that was irksome was that the characters' faces tended to be homogenous, with both male and female characters based on the same model. Voice alone seems to determine gender, and hair style and eye color determine identity. Of course, these trends are nothing new in anime, but the frequency of their occurrence makes it jarring, nontheless. (Notable exceptions include Sinbad and a couple members of his posse, but that's about it).
The actual story was decent enough, but nothing groundbreaking. It seemed to meander, but I suppose it's composed of arcs, however small and loosely defined. Magi doesn't really pick up until the last fourth of the show, which is problematic from a plot and pacing standpoint. However, the world, powers, and characters are good enough to carry the show on its own. Even when the show attempts a large-scale plot, it is ultimately the characters that make it worth watching.
Speaking of which, Alibaba is adorable and a protagonist worth rooting for, and Aladdin's draw is how he is often wise beyond his years. However, the perverted boob jokes involving Aladdin definitely detract from the integrity of the character. Honestly, most of the chibi comic relief in Magi just seems strange and out of place. The third protagonist is Morgiana, a former slave girl and definitely the weakest of the main trio (in regard to personality and character; she is definitely physically stronger than the other two). She is just simply uninteresting. Now, the show does go to great lengths to flesh out her development, but it means nothing if the character is uninteresting to watch. Unfortunately, it just makes the development seem contrived.
Sinbad is by far the most charismatic and appealing character, and all of his generals are equally so. It's a pity that we didn't see more from them, as small bits of information about their backstories and personalities caught my attention. Sinbad definitely delivered from a character standpoint, but we didn't see enough of him fighting with his djinn equip powers, which is just odd considering that his dungeon capturing adventures and resulting numerous amount of djinn vessels are kind of his claim to fame. Also, there was a startling reveal about him in the last episode, but of course there was no time for the show to go into that. I hope that the second season explores Sinbad and his generals' developments more.
All of the conflicts in Magi are sorted into black and white, often literally! This is certainly the show's biggest, most glaring problem . The rukh (essentially glowing spirit butterflies) are labelled as a force of good while the reverse "black" rukh are only seen as evil. Which is strange, as the black rukh only make people fall into "depravity." It is natural for a person to have moments of moral lapse, pining for revenge, feeling angry, greedy, etc., so it seems odd to just rule these feelings off as evil, especially to the point where feeling any of these in a small amount essentially leads to magical self destruction.
In summary, Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic is colorfully animated with rich and diverse settings, characters, and powers. However, don't expect anything too groundbreaking in terms of story and quell any hopes for moral ambiguity.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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