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May 20, 2021
I will not talk about the story, though there will be spoilers. I will talk about the main 'scientific idea' behind the plot, and how it is badly implemented. Then a few words about the characters.
Wikipedia says that the author did a physics degree. The whole plot revolves around a special compound, 'archetype', that allows light from the future to travel to the present. Large portions of the episodes so far are dedicated to explaining the fantastical characteristics of this compound. A shame that the science-talk is almost irrelevant to the story.
The concept of the compound itself is not obviously impossible. But, on its
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own, it would not make an interesting story. The plot needs that light coming from the future through the 'archetype' conveys information about the future. And from this, in virtue of their relation with the 'archetype', the kaiju are given the ability to foresee attacks. How the 'archetype' gives us any information about the future is never explained. Given that almost half the screen time is taken up by explanation of 'science' behind it all, it is hugely dissatisfying to not be given the most important part of the narrative. If the author has no way of explaining the future sight in the first place, it would have been best not to spend so much time discussing the pseudo-science. Simply asserting that kaijus see the future is much better than writing convoluted conversations that do not give much relevant information.
Now this is not a criticism of the idea behind the story. On the contrary, I think the play with time adds great spice to Godzilla, elevating it beyond just a kaiju show. I'm taking issue with the execution. It's a simple choice: either give some complete, coherent scientific picture in simple terms, or simply assume the effects of seeing the future, and do great things with it. For now, the show has not done either. The time spent on dialogues took away chances for the show to go to strange places with the idea, while the dialogue themselves do not give a satisfying picture.
An aside. The show has the interesting idea of building a super computer that spits out the output instantly by acquiring information from the future, through the 'archetype'. But, it is then ruined with the plot requirement that it cannot solve certain things due to there being an Armageddon in the future. In episode 9, finally, some character suggested that one can loop the calculations before the Armageddon. It is unthinkable that, with some characters being professors, no one understood that if information from the future is at all possible, any algorithm can be completed (almost) instantly. One can do this by looping: look 30 seconds ahead, carry on from that information, and look 30 seconds ahead again... This is completely analogous to the author's description of how light is amplified by the 'archetype'. All the more mysterious that the characters had no clue earlier. But, this is an aside, I am fine with this kind of plot holes.
There is a bigger problem than genius characters not actually being geniuses: their portrayal. The author decides that characters have to think slow enough for the audience to follow, but at the same time portrayed as extraordinary. This is just does not work: it ends up with the characters dropping jargon all over the place, while only demonstrating reasoning skills that are at best ordinary. Such characters are, to me at least, nothing but annoying. And the time they spend babbling on about the pseudo-science just robs them of any character development. (Contrary to when I first saw the character art, I now feel glad that Arikawa Yun is not voiced by Sugita-san.)
All in all, the show could have gone to great places with this nice concept, but the author's attempt to science-up the show has achieved little beyond taking up time. Still, a few more episodes to go, hopefully they'll change my opinion.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Apr 30, 2021
As I didn't see any other reviews drawing the parallels, I'll try to point it out:
This is a well-written Doctor Who story in the disguise of a kid's anime.
Rights, I don't mean literally a Doctor Who story. There are significant differences. As Doraemon's target audience would be kids primarily, there is less made-up-but-fun pseudo-science. The plot is pushed by miraculous tools from the future whose mechanisms are not explained. And the treatment of time travel isn't the most satisfying: after changing a moment in the past, the effect is only a momentary miracle in the present where the alien robots disappear, leaving the states of
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affairs up to that point unchanged. A more satisfying one, for me, would be for the whole story to 'not have happened', and with the group looking nostalgically at an angel they couldn't have known flying past. But, those are but details.
The reason I compare this to Doctor Who stories is simply that they build a fantastic world in the same way and have the characters adventure in them in almost the same manner. Like a few good Doctor Who stories, the intro to the adventures are very casual, and the story just unfolds into something grand as it continues. Then, there are some nice thought experiments. In this case, robots worshiping a God and believing that the world is theirs to rule over, and some other robot politics. Granted, they are too quickly glossed over to be seen as the main theme, but still a nice thing to have. In fact, it's nice to have them just pointed out but not overtly emphasised, so that we get to think about them while not feeling as if being lectured on some cliched 'life lessons'. Finally, the story ends happily, quite an important factor for me for such adventure stories.
I'm not sure the above is enough to compel you to watch this kid's animated movie. Just some concluding remarks that I may or may not have justified: it's more engaging than the old Doctor Who, with cool animation and some great action; it's more wholesome than the new Doctor Who, with no (honestly quite unentertaining for me) cheeky romantic subplots and no condescending political-correctness lecturing.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 30, 2021
Given the other reviews, I dared not give it an 8 like I was going to.
I agree with some points of the other reviews: how the stories don't go anywhere, how the characters are somewhat generic, how at points it can get a bit cringe/uncomfortable.
But, to me, these are part of what make the movie nice. It might take a certain perspective to see this, and I will try to outline mine.
First, you should not see this as some drama celebrating lgbt+. This is a slice of life, with romance. When you think the characters are bland, it could just be that they
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succeeded in making them approachable people you'd meet in real life. If you feel the stories are too common place, slice of life might not be for you. The point is to appreciate those little moments of ordinary romances. And by that, one might take it as a silent tribute to lgbt+. I'm not going back on my previous words: the point is, the stories treat same-sex relationships as any other common place relationship instead of celebrating them as special.
Second, the moments to note are the struggles. They are generic as mentioned, but nonetheless great. They are portrayed really subtly, and all the more rewarding and wholesome to witness, at least for me. The moment a girl is told that her ex from high school is getting married; the moment a guy sees another who looks like someone who might have expressed romantic interest in him, but disappeared from his life before it became clear; the moment a primary school couple is introduced to porn early (by an attractive relative acting in it), and face their sexuality in secret. Rights, I may have used 'moment' loosely and just snuck in a summary of the stories. But, the point is, each of the story shows some struggle, and will end with some change in the main characters' lives: behaviourally, they are miniscule, almost insignificant for others around them; but for us viewers, who have shared parts of their journey and peeked into their struggles, we get to appreciate the big mental steps forward they have taken.
Finally, a tad more about it as a work of animation to justify the rating. If you see the cast, there's no way the voice acting wouldn't be great. Granted, the music and art are not awe-inspiring, but, very fitting for the slice of life genre.
All in all, a nice short movie to watch.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Apr 17, 2021
Quite obviously rushed. However, good concepts and great animation. Seems promising. Would want more of this, better written, than a revived Bleach.
As reviews need to be longer, just a few more words:
There being a law that those who have touched dragons are to be imprisoned/executed sounds completely unreasonable. But, this could lead to further reveals, and I wouldn't mind just assuming it as a premise. The greatest part of the short story for me: in the end the problem isn't solved by friendship and love between human and dragons. That the white dragon outright tried to kill its adoptive mother lays promising grounds for further
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dragon-human relationships.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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