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Jan 16, 2021
I share the same sentiment as many others who've watched this movie: it was disappointing. But stay with me here, that doesn't mean it's not worth watching!
This movie is based off of an incomplete book that the author died before finishing. Why make a movie like that in the first place? I dunno... the film seems to remain around the same amount of incomplete as the source material, so there isn't much of a plot or main conflict. (There is a set-up for what the plot was supposed to be, but once you get half-way through the movie and there isn't any word on it
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you realize the movie isn't going anywhere with it.)
This turns it into more of a "slice-of-life" movie. You just follow the main character after she gets adopted by a witch and watch things unfold. And that, all things considered, is fine with me. I enjoyed the movie. It has a quirky cast of characters, cool music, and something new to many of us, CG Ghibli animation. Which by the way, is quite good, so don't worry.
So, I'm disappointed that we didn't get to see the whole intended story, and I'm also disappointed that we didn't get more plotless slice-of-life time with the characters. But, it's a cute movie. Family friendly, but not too childish. If you're okay with just sitting down and watching something, I recommend it. It doesn't follow the typical "rising action, climax, resolution" movie formula and that's ok. Don't write this one off. I think the other ratings are a little harsh.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jun 6, 2020
To preface this, I'm a beginner Lupin fan, with this being the 2nd movie I've seen (the other being Castle of Cagliostro) so I won't be able to offer much input on whether this film does the franchise justice or how good it is compared to everything else in the Lupin cinematic universe.
But, I can say that although prior experience with the series may help offer context for the main characters, it isn't necessary.
The story I will admit isn't the most groundbreaking, and formulaic if anything. Gave me Indiana Jones vibes and even if a bit formulaic, it's based off of a tried-and-true
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formula. It works.
The characters help the movie shine. I love the group of main characters, all of their unique quirks, and seeing them interact with each other. There's a good handful of funny moments with the crew. The villains were good as well.
Now, the art. When I first saw the trailers I was surprised they were going to do a fully 3DCG Lupin movie. If you're worried about the art, don't be. I think they were able to bring the same vibes and energy into the CG as they had in the 2D. Everything was very well animated. High quality stuff. It was refreshing to see such a good CG anime movie.
The music was amazing too, with the talented Yuji Ohno behind it. I've listened to a good bit of his music that wasn't Lupin and other movie soundtracks so I know this man knows what he's doing. I particularly loved the main theme and the end credits song.
I respect this movie for going in the direction it did and pulling it off. This will be an enjoyable watch for most, Lupin fan or not. I recommend it !
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 30, 2020
I'd never heard of this movie before so I wasn't sure what to expect. But since it had a high rating I went on and watched it. Is this movie worth your time? Short answer, yes. Very much so. Unfortunately, the Japanese are masters of war films constructed from a child's point of view, since many of these stories come from firsthand experience. And the innocence of childhood makes the destruction of that innocence hit even harder.
The story for the first half of the movie is just a slice-of-life glimpse into the everyday of a normal Japanese family. It gets more suspenseful as you
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know what's bound to happen any day and that their peace will be interrupted. This is when you really get to bond with the family members. Then it slowly starts to get darker and darker. History unfolds. It never gets too graphic. I think this movie would be safe to watch with a child.
The art is wonderful. I wasn't able to watch it in a very high resolution, but I think that suited it just fine and didn't distract too much from the beautiful backgrounds and character animation.
I didn't notice much music during most of the movie but when you do hear it it's beautiful. Especially the song that plays during the end credits.
The characters really shine in this movie. It's very entertaining to just watch this family live their lives together. You develop a connection with each of them. That's what makes the sad moments of this movie really hit. When the characters remember the times when life used to be normal, you remember too, and you wish with them that they could go back. I definitely had to hold back tears while watching this.
Overall, I liked this movie a lot. I think it's atypical even among anime war films, because of how much time is dedicated to the normal, instead of jumping right into the war. I would say it's under recognized for sure, and can hold its own very well against other great anime war films such as Grave of the Fireflies and Hadashi no Gen (two others I also greatly enjoyed and reccommend).
This is a movie you won't forget and you won't regret.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 19, 2020
Hello World is an interesting movie. It almost felt like two different movies stuck together halfway through, since the story had a tonal/genre shift and became more convoluted. I will say I enjoyed the first half more. The second half went knee deep into the sci-fi time-muckery, which can just get confusing on your first watch.
The art is very good. The backgrounds and set pieces are simply gorgeous. The character animation is 100% CG, which is only distracting for the first few minutes. Once you get used to it, you can see how well it was executed. Especially in the second half once stuff
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started firing up action-wise.
Sound design was pretty good, but I felt like the audio was unbalanced somehow. Characters spoke softly and then would yell at a much louder volume. Music and sound effects would kick in loudly as well, so I had to keep my hand on the volume remote.
The characters were nice for the most part. Very cute and appealing designs, and cute personalities. Character motivations didn't make complete sense to me in some parts.
Overall, enjoyable movie. I don't regret watching it, and I had fun with it. You might like it too, so give it a chance :)
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Mar 2, 2020
This film was adapted from a manga in which I have not read. Any issues regarding story clarity may stem from film run time limitations and direction/production decisions and, from what I've heard, are largely not present in the source material. I'll give the movie a little leeway here. Similar issues appear to be present in Akira, also adapted from a longer manga.
So, story. As I and many other reviewers have mentioned, the plot gets much more confusing at some point during the movie. The whos, whats, and whys are left mostly unexplained and make for a confusing experience. But i definitely enjoy the
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concepts that were thrown out there.
Art. By far the best part of the movie. This is not meant as a bad thing. The visuals are extremely impressive. It's one of the most (if not THE most) well animated movies that I have ever seen, and I appreciate the work that was put into it greatly. The art really saved the more confusing parts of this movie, because although I wasn't sure what was happening, what was on screen looked phenomenal.
Music composed by Joe Hisaishi, so you know it's gonna be great. Good enough to pull you out of the movie a bit to think about how nice it is.
Characters were enjoyable but I felt like many of them weren't as fleshed out as they could've been so I was left questioning some of their motivations. The reasons for this probably tie in closely with why the story is unclear.
I got a fair bit of enjoyment out of this movie, even though I didn't completely understand it. (Personally I just have a hard time understanding movies in general anyway...) Unless you can't stand unclear plot in movies, I think you will be thoroughly entertained the whole way through, even during the vague parts. And, if you are a fan of animation (or just have functioning eyeballs) the visuals are sure to leave you stunned and will make up for a few of the movie's other shortcomings. If there is ever a screening in your area, go see it on the big screen.
I understand if you are hesitant to watch the film, but I still definitely recommend it. It's a nice way to spend a couple of hours, and if you'd like more clarity, it might inspire you to read the manga source material. (Which I am tempted to.)
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Jan 21, 2020
This is an hour long music video. If you aren't into no dialogue or electronic music, you will probably not enjoy this movie. If you are interested in house/electronic music however, especially of the Daft Punk variety, this is the film for you. The entire Daft Punk album, Discovery, is the audio for the film. So obviously, one of the best house albums ever made as the soundtrack makes the music 10/10. (Thankfully, because the music is what makes the film.)
If you've read the synopsis, you already know the story. It's simple, but effective. Simple enough to be told with no dialogue. No sub or
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dub arguments here guys, just sit back and enjoy the tunes.
We sympathize with the likable main characters, and want them to make it back home, but they lack true depth since the lack of dialogue and short film length don't leave much room for characterization. In this case, that's fine.
The art is bright, cool, and crisp. The art style is a little old for its time, due to the directing talents of Leiji Matsumoto. Don't worry, it's not outdated looking, it's the good kind of vintage.
This movie is a unique experience that I haven't had with any other film, and it introduced me to the entire Discovery album, and Daft Punk, which I truly love. It's only an 1hr7min, so I really recommend you take the time to watch, and listen, to this special film. You can even watch it on YouTube for free, in the form of the official music videos.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jan 21, 2020
This is purely an artistic animation. If you are searching for anything more than something cool to look at for a few minutes, this is not it. No story, character, or anything. Unless you create your own, if you're feeling creative. (Like the other reviewer here.)
But, if you are a fan of the "animation" part of "anime," then you're in for a very cool, and interesting looking 4 minute ride.
Honestly, even if you're not here just for the animation (which is all this short has to offer) then you can still spend 4 minutes on it. I'm sure you've spent more than 4
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minutes watching worse.
It does what it sets out to do well, but that isn't much.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jan 20, 2020
Barefoot Gen is one of THE war films to see.
If you thought Grave of the Fireflies was brutal, watch this. Don't let it's "cute" artstyle fool you. It contains gross, graphic, heart-wrenching scenes throughout the film. Scenes that show the true horrors and hardships of the Japanese people after the bombing of Hiroshima, written from the personal experiences of a survivor himself. The part where the bomb is actually dropped on the city is my favorite depiction of the bombing from any film. (However, I'll admit I haven't seen too many war films.) It isn't for the faint of heart. And that's one of
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the reasons I love it. There's not much it's afraid to say or show, even about the different ways in which Japan mishandled the whole situation. This movie shows you how it really was and drives home exactly why an event like that should never happen again. There was no happy ending, no winners. Just a lot of people that managed to scrape by, left only with their lives. Not the typical story of triumph.
If you like war, history, drama, grit, and survival, please watch this film. It has a lot to teach you, no matter who you are or what age you are. (Of course, I wouldn't show this to young children because they might have nightmares.) It may or may not make you cry but, it will leave an impression. This is a movie you probably won't forget.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jan 19, 2020
At first I was a bit skeptical about this movie because of the polarizing comments I read about it. But later, I decided to give it a try. It did not disappoint. I'm not an avid drama watcher, so it's not like I've seen something like this 100 times (like others claim to have), but it does follow some of the more common drama formulas. Is that bad? No. Those formulas work. The movie does them well.
This movie will probably make you tear up at some point. It's a moving film. It honestly got me thinking about life and death, and how it relates to
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my own life, so I teared up again thinking about the lives of my loved ones.
The ending (no spoilers) was a little different than initially expected, in a way I've seen some people confused or even upset about, but I liked it. I think it ended better than it could have if everything went 100%"to plan."
Beautiful art, catchy music, charming characters. If you're looking for a good, solid drama movie, you've got yourself one right here. Definitely worth a watch.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jan 10, 2020
This movie is an interesting product of its time. I found it to be an enjoyable watch. I somehow found it in 1080p, which made its unique artstyle pop even more. Nice colors and composition, even a scene with some experimental arthouse animation.
If you want a movie with a compelling story and characters however, you should probably look elsewhere. The only character with much of an arc is the son, Shinnosuke, and maybe Ichimonji. Kumo, although an entertaining character at times, is pretty sexist and just casually abuses his child? (Not to mention, cheats on his wife every chance he can get.) So yeah,
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if you don't wanna deal with outdated values, parts of this movie will drag you down.
Overall, despite some of its issues, I'm glad I watched it. It was an entertaining way to spend the afternoon, peeking back into the annals of animation history, for better and for worse.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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