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Jul 15, 2016
Kononoha no Niwa, aka Garden of Words, is a half-movie (duration is around 46') by the prolific director Makoto Shinkai. The story centers around two characters, an introvert 15 year old boy and a beautiful older woman of indeterminable age. Their first encounter happens while a gazebo inside an enormous park shelters them from the rain.
For both of them, being there is a misdemeanor. The boy skips school, and the woman her work; the boy sketches his veiled dreams, and the woman eats chocolates and washes them down with beer. After their initial contact, both of them
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look forward for the rainy days that will ensure their meeting inside the park. The chance encounter has been transformed into an important bond and the gazebo no longer shelters them from the rain, but from an everyday life they are ill-equipped to face.
For better or for worse, life's insurmountable power has more than enough strength to dispel our sheltering illusions, and then triteness takes over. But the one thing that life loves more than eradicating the niche shelters humans find for themselves, is displaying her unpredictability to the same humans as an ultimate exhibition of control. Our protagonists are separated by the triteness and find each other again, when the biggest of the woman's mysteries surfaces. At this point, psyche's floodgates will open, and their emotions will deluge.
A review of this movie cannot be complete without a mention of the stunning animation. Its beauty is unparalleled; finally a movie that can surpass the Ghibli films of almost three decades ago.
For such a short film, it manages to study two the main characters meticulously and depict their complicated relationship with accuracy and beauty, all the while being supported by the spectacular animation. Beauty all around. 8.0/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jul 15, 2016
Majo no Takkyuubin, aka Kiki's Delivery service, is one of the first films by Hayao Miyazaki and studio Ghibli. When the 13 years old witch, Kiki, chose to strictly adhere to the rule that a witch must spend one year away from her family, she packs her things; rides her broom stick with her familiar, a black cat; and searches for a new city.
The city she chooses, is a beautiful, maritime one, with an Italian stylization. During her stay, she must utilize her arcane talents in order to provide for herself. While her initial reception is cold, Kiki
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is infatuated with the city and decides to stay.
We, the audience, quickly become infatuated with the city as well; the backgrounds look spectacular and the direction manages to depict accurately the vibrant Mediterranean setting. I know it is a matter of taste, but I love the design of the early Miyazaki films and still consider them the pinnacle of the medium.
And that is the point where the praise stops. For a film that's about a magic wielder it is not magical at all, like for example its predecessor, Tonari no Totoro (1988), was. The film's main theme are the troubles of a girl stepping on the threshold from childhood to adolescence. For instance no focus is given to how kiki studies or trains for her craft, but at two scenes we see her disappointment with her plain black robes.
As the film progresses it is apparent that this is a kid's movie; the scenario is simplistic and the world's rules unestablished. The film doesn't hide that fact, and it is maybe unfair to criticize it strictly, maybe I am just spoiled by the quality Ghibli and Pixar films, but it just is not as good as the competition.
While it fails to transcend its genre like Mimi wo Sumaseba (1995), or the Incredibles (2004), it is still a very cute family film, that will resonate especially well with young girls. Know your expectations and enjoy the spirited animation. 6.0/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jul 12, 2016
Cromartie Koukou is a high-school in Tokyo with loose entrance requirements. How loose? A gorilla (an actual simian primate) and a middle aged man (that resembles a certain deceased rock-star) are students there. Not even the worst students mind you; Cromartie has a collection of the dumbest and most hardcore delinquents in all of Tokyo.
A good premise for a gag manga, but where is the straight guy? Enter Kamiyama, a painfully mainstream character that makes the dubious choice to attend Cromartie. The mangaka, Eiji Nonaka, has created a good setting and takes advantage of both his premise and
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his inspired drawing, to deliver the comedy.
Cromartie students try to further cement their school's status as the most badass, gorillas keep filling the classrooms, aliens invade, and no one knows where the teachers are. Amidst all this chaos, Kamiyama approaches each situation with a cool head and tries to set his fellow classmates in order.
If you are into comedy you are going to laugh hard, and if you are into absurd comedy you are going to love it. I always looked forward for the last page of the chapter for the mangaka to deliver the punchline along with some excellently drawn reactions.
It's all fun and laughter for the first chapters, but after a while the humor's quality and the number of laughs decreases. When the number of chapters reach triple digits, the quality has reached a low level and for the next 100+ chapters the manga is just running of fumes, delivering a single dry chuckle every few chapters.
My suggestion is to start reading the manga, but whenever you enter a 10-chapter dry spell, just drop it. It is not going to pick up the pace for you ever again. If I had dropped it at around chapter 110 I would have given it an 8. I persevered until chapter 223, so 6.0/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jul 9, 2016
Netoge is an anime adaptation of a series of light novels that tries to hide the fact that is yet another addition to the harem genre. To the high-school, harem, ecchi genre to be precise. There is a Greek proverb that roughly translates to: “The prostitute wants to hide, but the enjoyment doesn't let her” and that applies here; Netoge doesn't delve deep into the harem genre as, for instance, Nisekoi, or to the ecchi genre as Shuffle, but, believe me, it enjoys being in the company of both.
Continuing on rough translations; the title means: “And You
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Thought There Is Never a Girl On-line?“ you can probably guess that the anime tries hard to prove that notion wrong. The protagonist is the stock, average, good-natured boy, whose main hobby is playing a popular MMORPG. An off-line meeting of the small guild that he belongs in, brings light to the fact that the three other members are gorgeous girls that attend his school. What's more, one of them, his in-game wife, is a shy introvert who has problems distinguishing reality from the game and gleefully proclaims that he is her husband.
The guild manages to open a legitimate club in the high-school and eventually the number of hot girls goes from 3 to 5. Of course, no other penis-wielding character is to be found, except the mandatory scenes of envious classmates -you know the ones, those who are more akin to tapestry than actual characters.
The story is non-existent, the characters inconsistent, and if you have ever watched one of those, you know exactly how much progress will be made in 12 episodes.
As I said, the anime doesn't take the genre tropes too far. Also, the girls are cute, a fact that is enhanced by the good animation. Finally, the narrative mixes reality with the MMORPG's gameplay, which is an interesting storytelling device, but mainly gives us a chance to see the girls in exotic garments, like a beautiful priestess's dress, or slutty mage's robes.
Concluding, Netoge is an average series. It has some interesting elements, but it carries all the genre's problems. If you are not a fan, I'm positive you can find something better to watch. If you are a fan, well... you could do a lot worse. 5.0/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Jul 7, 2016
This high-school comedy is based on a 4-volume manga that ended in 2015. The titular chacrcter is a 16 years old boy that is as much an idealized man as Mr. Gray is. Sakamoto is athletic, handsome, studious, but his main attribute is style; to quote from the OP: “Everything he does is cool, cooler, coolest-o”.
Being the not-so-obscure object of desire of every girl and her mother (quite literally), is bound to excite the envy of the other boys; all of them want to see Sakamoto's pristine image get blemished. Those boys with delinquent habits, are willing to
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make the effort to achieve that. The show has a distinct One-punch-man feeling to it; the villains' careful laid plans are laid to waste by the equivalent of a single punch from Sakamoto. Actually it is a stylish move that looks initially silly, but ends up getting maximum cool points.
That way of acting sets the series tone; Sakamoto looks unapproachable, arrogant, and usually downright stupid; but he always has a selfless plan, to help his classmates while simultaneously manages to be kind to his “enemies”. The comedy stems from the absurdity of the situations that Sakamoto finds himself in and of course from when he increases the level of absurdity to resolve the situation with the aforementioned single cool-looking move.
Unfortunately, the comedy sometimes misses its target. Moreover, since there is no story whatsoever, but each episode is a series of sketches, it is vital that most of them are entertaining, which is not the case. The final negative element, probably an emanation of the lack of a storyline, is that there is no development, neither in characters, nor in plot.
So, Sakamoto offers a lot of laughs and some very original over-the-top situations. Even though the are a lot of uninteresting sketches, if we couple the good ones with the kindness that the series radiates, we have a good result. The twelfth episode concluded the series, but there is a thirteenth episode in the blu-ray, that the station didn't manage to air due to scheduling conflicts.
The worst part about Sakamoto is that it is probably the third-best original anime of the Spring 2016 season; a quite disheartening fact. 6.5/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jul 5, 2016
Tanaka-kun is a high-school, slice of life anime based off an ongoing 2013 manga. Its central theme lie with the titular character's proclivity to laziness. Of course, said proclivity is taken to the extreme; Tanaka wants only to be left alone to nap. 24/7 if possible. The rest of the class had to accept this and nobody thinks it is weird when the muscular Ohta, Tanaka's best friend and enabler, carries his listless corpse to class (or even back home).
So far the premise seems mildly interesting at best and that is the reason I almost skipped that
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one. Thankfully, the terrible shows of this season forced me to give more chances than I usually do. After watching just first episode I was hooked; the calm pace was relaxing and the jokes plenty.
Our main duo is supported by a cast of quirky female characters who, albeit with common roles, manage to deliver cuteness and laughs. This store has everything; Tsundere, genki-girl, faker girl, and, not only one, but two imoutos! There are also two boys that always appear together, but their screen-time amounts a total of around 5', so I won't bother with them.
The show takes a page from its protagonist's book, and has the episodes delivered in a peaceful way; the conflicts/misunderstandings are neither severe nor too dumb, there is no crude slapstick, and everything follows a serene path. There are two things that are over the top though; The lengths that Tanaka will go in order to avoid action (as you probably guessed, he will go to counterproductive lengths), and the amount of dutiful effort that Ohta will spend just to cater to Tanaka's wishes of idleness.
If at this point of the review, the show still appears to you as generic and not worth your while, I will not begrudge you. This show is an example of how a talented writer can take genre conventions and elevate them to a level that the last dozen shows you watched convinced you that does not exist any more. Clearly the season's second best show (sorry Jojo). 8.0/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jul 2, 2016
Nijiiro days is a high-school, slice-of-life anime, complete with the usual comedic and shoujo elements. It's an adaptation of the ongoing manga with the same name. Episodes are about 12 minutes long, meaning that the 24 episodes basically comprise a single kur.
The story initially focuses on the four boy gang, but as time progresses (thankfully for the boys) an equal number of girls are added to the mix, creating the familiar “mina-oriented” storyline. As a result, the focus is not on a single protagonist, but to the whole group of friends. The characters are distinct and
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their development visible, although some platitudes exist on their characterization.
Expanding on that, the show has a formulaic feeling to it; If I had a list with all the genre's trites, I would be able to cross each item off. Having said that, none of the banalities reach that particular level of annoyance that anime are known for; the main (wannabe) couple is dense, but not that dense; the man-hating girl does not become exasperating; hey, we even have an actual couple and a couple of kisses!
All and all, the group works great, producing comedy and that warm, peaceful, and fuzzy feeling that the fans of this cliché-ridden genre (like yours truly) seek. Another elements that adds to the peaceful setting, is that the anime is down to earth; no Ouran Koukou or Special A grandiose displays of wealth, intellect, or general over-the-top-ness. Instead, the boys interact in a natural way between them, trading jabs, talking about girls, and being typical boys. Because of that, I was surprised when I found out that the mangaka is a girl. Each of the girls is unique, finding a way to be both charming, interesting, and (of course) cute. On a final note, the art is OK; nothing special, but it does not drag the anime down.
Nijiiro days delivers what the name (rainbow days) promises; a nice group of friends, a bit of comedy, and a bigger bit of romance. While it is not the most original nor the best, it is a solid addition to the genre. I hope for a second season. 7/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 28, 2016
Shirobako is a focused meta-anime (anime about people making anime). It centers around Aoi Miyamori, a young producer in a small anime studio, and it comprises of variety of characters who also work in the industry.
During this review, I'll contrast two other anime with a strong meta focus; Bakuman (6.5/8.0/7.5), a story about two guys trying to make it as mangaka and Sore ga Seiyuu (7.0), a story about three girls who try to make it as (you guessed it) seiyu.
There is a fourth anime I haven't watch, called Love Get Tsu, but it doesn't seem as meta focused as the other three
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and has a low rating, so I didn't bother. If someone has a strong opinion either for or against this anime, feel free to message me.
Let's start discussing Shirobako. Like this review, it starts slow. The story begins with Aoi and her four high-school friends promising each other that sometime they will remake their high-school anime club production as full-fledged professionals in the anime industry. I cannot fathom why writers feel the need to use such clichés. This subplot offers nothing to the story and whenever it comes up, it only drags the episode down.
A second fault with the the first episodes, is that Aoi interacts with a ton of characters and their dialogues are full of industry jargon, which can make the initial episodes tiring.
However, after the viewer settles in, Shirobako picks up a pleasant pace and is entertaining to watch. There are many interesting characters occupying the various components of anime making.
Of course, with so many characters present, one can not expect any decent character development, even for the main ones. Instead, Shirobako focuses on the conflicts of the various personalities on work related themes. Those conflicts (and their resolutions) manage to be informative and pleasant.
After the first few episodes, the writers continued their efforts to annoy me; Aoi has some crises, were she contemplates what she wants to do in her life, while she just got a promotion on a job she loves. I suspect that the whole charade was instigated so that she could give a “heart-warming” speech in the end. Which she does. And feels forced and unnecessary; the story was heart-warming enough without the use of such devices.
The animation is nothing special. There was an scene where a traditional animator was rambling about how he doesn't like 3d animators and the fact that 3d seems to be the future of anime. In the next scene there is an ugly 3d-modeled car; I sure hope the creators didn't want to imply that we will have to make do with such unaesthetic 3d rendered objects.
Out of the three anime mentioned, Bakuman is the clear winner on characters. Shirobako's and Sore ga Seiyuu's characters are nothing special.
Bakuman has a stronger shounen element inside, meaning it offers some great peaks in some episodes, but the shounen element also means an annoying dose of stupidity at times. Shirobako is about as good as Bakuman and its quality is more even, especially after the first episodes. Sore ga Seiyuu is a close but distinct third.
As depiction of the industry goes, Sore ga Seiyuu wins by a large margin. While Shirobako doesn't go as far as to glorify the industry, it certainly offers a romanticized narrative. Bakuman has more realistic foundation on its depiction of the manga industry, but a lot of times goes all shounen on us. Sore ga Seiyuu, almost involuntarily, offers some visceral scenes regarding the seiyu industry which, I have to say, caught me off guard. But in a good way.
If you liked any one of three, I would recommend the other two. Shirobako, with its uplifting story, would speak to a wider audience; that's the one to start with. 7.5/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 10, 2016
I don't particularly care for anime movies. I have seen most of the popular ones and I'm not impressed. I consider Japan's most famous anime directors overrated and the list includes Hayao Miyazaki (keeping him company are: Momoru Hosoda, Isao Takahata, and Satoshi Kon). So, you can imagine that I didn't have high expectations going in; boy was I wrong.
Tonari no Totoro needs no introduction, it is the face of studio Ghilbi, its first release alongside Hotaru no haka, and it is referenced and spoofed in other works constantly.
During the first minute of the movie, the experienced viewer identifies the familiar studio Ghibli
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animation and the newcomer is left wondering how a movie released in 1988 can still look so beautiful, while Miyazaki introduces us to our two heroines, Satsuki (10) and Mei (4), as their father drives them to their new residence, in a rural village.
After a few minutes more, we are quick to realize the main characteristic of the movie: This is a story being told while looking through the eyes of a kid. If you think you have heard that one before, allow me to make a distinction; Miyazaki managed to capture the way a kid views the world, in such a way, that it doesn't feel like a story written for kids by adults, but it feels like the accidental filming of a kid's dreamy state of mind.
I will take this point even further; I don't think this is a kid's movie. I recognize, of course, that it has all the elements a kid's movie should have, but I'll insist. I can not imagine a kid older than 6 liking this movie. Most kids will find it unexciting, opting instead for a show that triggers are pulled, or princesses are getting crowned.
I cannot imagine myself up until my late teens liking this movie. Instead I can easily imagine myself saying the Greek equivalent of, “well, that was a waste of time” or “nothing fucking happens”. Indeed the movie seems uneventful at first glance, but there is a distinct shadow of death and loss looming throughout the movie; Its existence maybe be lost to the younger audiences, but it appeared to me as a potent a “villain” as any.
But it is high time I get to what makes this movie great. After the Kusakabe family steps out of the car, having reached their new home, we, the audience, realize that we have stepped in a magical world. The interesting part is that this magical world feels familiar and I was quick to be filled with nostalgia; watching the two sisters rush to fetch a bucket of water reminded me the first (or, at least, one of the first) times that I watched running water. Those of you who discard these feelings of nostalgia, I ask you to remember the first time that you came across a small river. And then try to imagine who happy and excited you were.
That brings us to the main point of why Tonari no Totoro is so great; It doesn't coerce nostalgia from us with its imagery, but it reminds us how perfectly happy we were with the simplest of things: The shade of a big tree, a path to the woods, and some folklore.
Continuing, we are introduced to the countryside and its denizens, human and magical, but most of all we experience a sense of harmony between man and nature, so seamlessly interwoven, that it puts preachy environmental-friendly works (including ones from Miyazaki) to shame.
The feelings of euphoria and harmony continue, while the two sisters meet and interact with the spirit world and combat the shadow of loss with their own childlike (I mean that in a good sense) way. The ending is simple but fulfilling.
My new favorite anime movie. 9.0/10. If you like this one, my second and third favorites Hotarubi no Mori e (8.5/10) and Ookami Kodomo no Ame to Yuki (8.0/10) share some traits.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jan 7, 2016
This overrated movie cements in my eyes Mamoru Hosoda's status as an overrated director, although I really liked Ookami kodomo no ame to yuki (8.0).
I expected more from the animation; the combination of studio Madhouse and the high praise this movie enjoys filled me with expectation, but in the end it was nothing out of the ordinary. Of course ordinary for Madhouse means a cut above the rest. So, great but not spectacular, animation.
The movie begins as a “slice of high-school life” with some time-leaping shenanigans. For the most part the movie does a good job for the first two thirds; the heroine, Makoto,
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behaves pretty naturally and develops along with the increasingly complex time-leaping machinations.
The movie centers around Makoto, so I will not fault it too much about the underdeveloped side characters, but I have to point out the the strong friendship (or awkward love triangle) between Makoto and the two boys feels forced. I wouldn't reproach that aspect of their relationship if it didn't became so important in the plot later.
The director attempts escape the genre's prose by introducing some stylistic elements: The actual leaps in order to leap through time, showing numerous times the pompous phrase “time awaits for no one”, and gently insinuating the heroine of the source material as the “aunt witch” (Kazuko Yoshiyama). Those tricks work, but they don't offer anything of substance.
In the final third of the movie the problems appear in massive amounts. First of all, have the inevitable plot holes that associate themselves whenever a work of art depicts some form of non linear time line. People don't seem to mind (yes, I am looking at you, Interstellar fans) but a bunch of plot holes really spoils things for me. I will address the major plot hole in parable form in order to avoid spoilers:
Genie: “Congratulations, you have three wishes”
Makoto: “I want to have an infinite amount of wishes”
Genie: “Cool choice sister, infinite wishes it is”
Another problem is the dubious motivations of the characters towards the end. I don't want to spoil anything, but motives are not well established. If you couple that with the also poor established time travel “rules” you have a mess of a third act. And the mess continues to the very end; Gungrave (7.0/10) managed to salvage itself from it's shitty third act by providing a heartfelt ending, here we have a vanilla ending, devoid of any real emotion.
There are more faults I could whine about; like the lack of sufficient stakes or lessons for the heroine, but I think you get the idea: It begins as a calm and sweet movie, but fails to deliver. You could do worse, but you can do so much better. 5.5/10.
If you liked the good aspects of this movie, like the slice of life and coming of age, I would suggest Sakamichi no Apollon (7.5/10), Cross game (9.0/10), and Barakamon (8.0/10).
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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