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May 15, 2013
Death is inevitable. Even if you can control of your fate, you pay a price by doing so. In the end, death still comes and your life will be forgotten.
Let me back up for a moment. Did I mention this is a childrens' movie? The plot of this short movie follows Chirin, an innocent lamb whose mother is killed by a wolf. Vowing to never be weak again, Chirin trains to become a wolf and exact revenge on his mother's killer. Ringing Bell is likely the darkest children's film ever made, but is well worth watching.
The plot of Ringing
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Bell is really where the value of this film lies. Though the plot is very grim, it is intelligent and mature. From the halfway point of the film to its end, the movie poses a series of difficult questions and doesn't really give complete answers. The viewer is left to watch the story unfold and draw meaning for themselves.
As for the other aspects of this movie, I should warn that I was only able to find the English dub. This dub however is surprisingly good. In particular, the narrator, Ron Gans, has a great voice and does an excellent job. The handful of songs (also in English) in this movie are rather annoying and are reminiscent of the songs from the old animated Hobbit movie. The character design and animation is nothing spectacular, but my perception might be skewed as a 2013 viewer assessing a film from 1978.
I first heard of this film on the Anime World Order podcast, where they remarked that the message of Ringing Bell was "If you are born a sheep, then be a sheep; don't try to be something you're not". This is a perfectly fine interpretation, but I believe that the message of the movie is about the consequences of how you live your life. Living a life among the weak is easy, comfortable, and happy, but as a consequence, you are susceptible to violence and despair from the actions of the strong. You can try to be strong, but to do this you must discard the comforts of a simple life and live a hellish existence. If you are successful, you can reap the benefits of being strong, but someone stronger will inevitably come along to knock you down. Either way, your life will be forgotten eventually, so make a decision about the direction of your life based on what you want and accept the consequences of your choice.
My biggest concern about this film is that the message it relays may not be something that its intended audience, children, are ready to receive. Even with "adult" themes, it is definitely aimed at children, who may even be scarred by having such a brutal message about the world forced on them. I suppose it does however, provide a contrast to the overwhelming amount of mindless childrens' entertainment which is produced today.
Even for adults, the movie is worth a quick, 45 minute look. At the very least it serves as an unique entry for film/anime history. As of May 2013, the film can be found in its entirety on YouTube, though I will not provide a link to avoid copyright infringement. Just search "Ringing Bell Anime" at the website.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 1, 2013
The description of a work of media as "epic" has become overused in recent years. However, Legend of Galactic Heroes has earned this moniker every bit as much as "War and Peace" or "The Illiad". Over the course of 110 episodes, this show follows the rise and fall of nations and the exploits of hundreds of notable characters. For any fan of hard science-fiction, Legend of the Galactic Heroes is a thoroughly enjoyable experience, though the show's weaknesses limit its appeal outside of the genre.
The strongest aspect of Legend of the Galactic Heroes is the attachment developed with the enormous cast of
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characters. The show primarily follows the deeds of Reinhard von Lohengramm of the Galactic Empire and Yang Wenli of the Alliance, but over the course of 110 episodes, the show thoroughly develops dozens of characters serving alongside the main characters. Although many of these characters fit into archtypes common to the "epic" genre, the show nonetheless succeeds in establishing strong connections between the viewers and the characters. Almost every character in this show is ultimately expendable, but when deaths occur, there is a real sense of loss as the viewers, alongside the cast, bid farewell to a character who has been developed for 30, 50, or even 100 episodes.
The main theme of Legend of the Galactic Heroes revolves around the question of whether an enlightened autocracy is superior to a corrupt democracy. Though the show intentionally gives no answer to this complicated question, the matter is thoroughly explored and the advantages and disadvantages of each system are considered in a way which would make Alexis de Tocqueville proud. There are numerous secondary themes, but running silently through the whole show is the conceptual tension between the insignifcance of the individual in the vast scope of history agasinst the impact that an exceptional person may make in the present day. Though all human accomplishments are overturned in time, great men must strive to do their best for the current generation and their posterity.
The animation of the show is varied in its quality. While some of the space combat scenes are particularly well animated, viewers will notice many cost cutting measures used throughout the series. This is understandable, however, given the length of the series and the time period it was made in, just before the widespread use of digital animation. Furthermore, even the lower quality scenes do not distract from the enjoyment of the show.
The music of the show consists entirely of classical music. While using music in the public domain was likely also a cost cutting measure, it works well within the show. The music adds the required pomp and gusto to the show and reinforces it scope and breadth. The space battle scenes, in particular, are enhanced by the grand scores from composers such as Dvorak and Shostakovich.
While the show is a grand experience befitting an epic, it does suffer from some notable flaws. The source material for this show is a series of novels, and the writing of the show cannot escape the common fault of this type of source. More often than not, the show resorts to informing the viewer by telling instead of showing. The narrator is almost constantly talking, providing information about what is going on in other parts of the galaxy and giving occasional foreshadowing. While this may acceptable in a book, it grows wearisome in a show, particularly after more than 100 episodes. The main cause for this fault is that there is simply too much going on and too much information that is necessary for the plot to avoid this method.
A second fault, is that the show is obsessively detail-oriented. Entire episodes are devoted purely to administrative manners such as fleet and personnel reorganizations. Those who desire to wholly invest their attention in the world of this show may find this to be a strength, but for the casual viewer, these portions of the show are intensely tedious and uninteresting.
Finally, Legend of the Galactic Heroes is, objectively, a fairly sexist show. Almost all of the main characters are men, and the significant female characters (except one) only really contribute to the action of the show through advising the men occasionally. Furthermore, after the women marry, their role is essentially limited to child-bearing and housewifery. To be fair, this is probably a result of this show being informed by the lack of Japanese gender equality present in the 80's, but it can be distracting even to a modern male viewer, and may present a barrier to enjoyment for female viewers.
Despite these flaws, Legend of the Galactic Heroes is one of only a handful of truly epic anime. It is a tremendous and fascinating experience for a connoisseur of hard science-fiction. For casual anime viewers, it is a worthwhile part of anime history, although some fast-forwarding and historical context may be necessary.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 2, 2011
Beck tells the story of a young high school student who picks up a guitar and begins a journey of growth, music, and friendship within a rock band.
While you don't see many serious depictions of rock bands in anime, the story and characters somehow don't really stand out. Koyuki, in particular is as bland as can be, but many of the other characters such as Ryusuke and Maho really don't have much to their personalities either. The story fits the characters and plods along in no real hurry to make a point. Many episodes felt like they ended simply because they were
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out of broadcast time.
The two most important elements of this show, though are the art and, of course, the music.
I have never seen as bipolar a series where animation is concerned than Beck. For the vast majority of each episode, the animation is very low quality. Characters have almost no features to them, backgrounds are uninspired and dead, and occasionally, you'll see atrocities like characters with webbed fingers (didn't bother to draw the lines in the hand). One the other hand, the producers of this show clearly threw all of their money into the animation of the musical scenes, which are incredible. Incredibly fine detail is used when showing the most technical elements of their musical performance. The way fingers move while picking a guitar is so convincing, you might believe that it was rotoscoped (I do not believe this is the case). The only problem, is that this pristine animation tends to last only a few seconds at best. A little more balance would have made the show much more tolerable to watch.
As you might expect, the real highlight of this show is the music, which really shines, though they repeat songs quite frequently, and their original productions are rather uninspired. The music is not the usual jPop fare, but a refreshing mix of punk rock and hip-hop. What is most intriguing is that the music actually improves over the course of the series. The last four episodes have a wide variety and display polished songs that have developed over the course of the series. Without a doubt this is the strongest point of the series
While the beginning of this show seems very promising, it ultimately fails to deliver anything above mediocrity. The generally poor animation combined with unengaging story and characters creates a series that is burdensome but punctuated with the occasional impressive music performance. Anyone would be no worse for watching this, but it is difficult to imagine that people other than ardent music fans would love this.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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