Contains some spoilers. (4/10 means I didn’t like it but it definitely isn’t bad. I thought it’s especially important to note for this review.)
Evangelion 3.0+1.0 (4.0) is difficult to completely hate. It's not amazing, yet possesses a given charm that makes it as irresistible as it is flawed. Well that is unless you’re one of those of ill-reputation intolerant OG Eva fans who recoil in apprehension at the sight of changes and unforgivingly deem a rebuild, of which serves a completely different purpose, already pointless from the get-go; or you somehow believe the anime is persuading you to touch grass and get pussies (unironically one
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of many stupid popular non sequiturs). No the rebuild isn’t unavailing, because it’s not some reciting remake to revisit for old time’s sake. It’s something that should not only be viewed with context, but also for what it is, and for what it’s worth. So instead of being annoyed by how your good ol’ themes are ostensibly being regurgitated but worse, let’s really try to be more objective here and look at what Anno REALLY wanted to communicate, and possibly where he succeeds and fails in doing so.
So why is it particularly difficult to hate 4.0? For starters, 4.0 is a glaringly personal work, and combining with the original Eva series and its 1997 sequel movie, it’s almost autobiographical for both Anno and the franchise itself. It’s really endearing in a way. The growth of Anno as a person and as an artist, not necessarily better but a growth in artistic philosophy is to be reckoned, is vivid. It isn’t concealing, if anything often a bit too blunt. Though I wouldn’t call the film 100% straightforward with its execution, it certainly is very frank with its emotions. An emotionally sincere movie is, after all, an honest attempt at reaching the audience, sans façade or snobbery. And that is, at the very least, a commendable effort. This directly reflects EoE’s approach, though the difference is black-and-white. You could say the 2 movies are of polar opposites despite their evident similarities. And this is key in understanding the rebuilds, as well as Anno as a changed man.
Since the majority of 4.0’s criticisms seem to stem from EoE's direct comparison, I think it's important to talk about EoE alongside. Now EoE isn’t an exceptionally well-structured film, nor is it a tonally firm one, nor does it have a very convincing narrative. But what matters is that some of the most prominent critiques I’ve seen directed at 4.0 is what EoE itself commits, and these detractors often love EoE. The plot is unnecessarily convoluted, basically neglecting some of the most important questions, and the structure makes it tonally unstable. EoE also outright refuses to give any reasonable payoffs to its supposed mystery, i.e. Adam and Lilith’s origins. Or truth is, it’s not that it didn’t really explain it, it sort of did but not in any proper manner. It doesn’t even seem to care about any of this at that point, which is... fair? Sure the movie’s focal is the characters’ psyches, hence a convoluted mess of an end product that shouldn't have made its other elements a cerebral exercise. And it's not that I’m intellectually handicapped or anything, the movie literally gives up on explaining any of this properly. It wasn’t being subtle, it just wanted to gloss over it. Unless you actively read on these to get some valid answers for yourself, this is simply something the movie chooses to do. It still makes sense, and yes you can even make sense of the disowned symbolism, but the neglectful approach is ultimately suboptimal. And yet many people agreed that it's for the better, so hey, if that’s the case then so is 4.0.
4.0 isn’t well laid-out either and seriously, the expositional info dumps make almost no sense whatsoever. The main thread that I seem to have a grasp of is its end goal of each event; everything else, from the perhaps allegorical/symbolic black moon to the “Pattern Blue! L-field is currently disgorging an infinite amount of Evangelions right out of its vaginal areas”, is all shit pulled right out of someone’s ass. Then again, I’m almost certain that in near future, there will be some 40-page journal article explaining every detail. But not that it matters, because this isn’t even what the film wants to convey, which only makes it all the more annoying. The stuffs that didn’t matter much are what you must work on the most. Sure it does complement the movie thematically, but like EoE, it probably boils down to very elemental concepts (such as of religious epiphany, or the death/ever-preeminent ‘existence’ of a greater being). For being a less-than-significant factor, it should be executed conceivably more unobtrusively to avoid striking as overbearing. And yet in both the rebuilds and the original, this was not the case. The series builds up its mystery around this, while 4.0 uses a large chunk of its runtime to explain, well, things. Which is why both of them annoy me, and I consider this to be an issue shared by the two films.
“4.0 is action-filled fan service trash.”
Can't say that's really a bad thing in itself. Even if it is for the thrill and less the philosophical rambling, that doesn’t mean it’s any cheaper. For the most part, the action is, I guess, alright. Breathtaking at times, and then you have some jarring CGI that somehow looks infinitely worse than 3.0. Maybe it was intentional for one or two instances (that one blatant 'unedited set' scene) but no, literally every scene with CGI looks awful. For a movie that has much to do with the action genre, it’s become a flaw. The soundtracks are great as standalones, but honestly the constant majesty of it does wear me out at some point. So there’s not much emphasis when it comes to the music, because the music directing isn’t super brilliant or anything. The choreography is fine. It does its job but other than that I don’t find much reason to adore it as much as EoE. But overall, I’d say it has some pretty high budget, especially for the meticulous and painstakingly gorgeous first act with breathtaking hand-drawn backgrounds and movements.
“The characters in 4.0 are worse than that of EoE. They aren’t as fleshed-out and some characters are worth as much as a couple of fan service.”
I will say this isn’t a completely confounding argument, but I generally disagree. Let’s get to the basics first. What constitutes a good character? It’s not that a more fleshed-out character is necessarily a better one. It’s not that suffering makes one more likable. It's not a prerequisite to have multiple episodes for the audience to get attached. Depth really isn’t so simple. But rudimentarily, characters are good when they serve the narrative well. An adventure film doesn’t need a tragic villain, and in some cases, that might even work against the narrative, especially tonally. Similarly, Evangelion doesn’t need Freudian psychoanalysis for it to be good. The narrative of the rebuild makes it quite apparent that that isn't the focal. 4.0 functions as a continuity of what had come before rather than a reiteration of the same idea. It is supposed to be an evolution. Shinji is still the center of the attention, however the rebuild leaves bread crumbs hinting small changes within him and what the people surrounding him means to him to eventually turn him into what he is in the end. And that is what 4.0 wants to focus on. Sure this might mean that some characters work more as archetypes to fulfill a development or theme, but that doesn’t mean it’s unequivocally worse.
For instance, to Shinji, Asuka is the love-hate relationship that's difficult to let go, though after a 14-year gap, they must both do so. It’s like Evangelion to Anno, a burden on his shoulder that he just has to set himself free from (the time-skip of the rebuild is 14 years after EoE as well, so some funny "coincidence" for you). But it’s not just a mental burden for a once depressed man, it is a work of passion and love from someone who's desperately honest in his arts. And he wants to confirm that, even back then, albeit engulfed in hatred and sadness, he really did love Eva anyway. Shinji loved Asuka too, and that’s what Asuka needs to hear, even if things cannot be reversed. Which is why Asuka is a subject of heavy fan service in this movie, because she desires to be seen as a woman by Shinji. And I’m not saying this really is the way to go about executing this, but I do think that’s the point. In their most vulnerable, naked self, instead of choking and continuing on hurting each other, they instead open up to finally move on, freeing themselves from their own shackles. The cloud of resentment has cleared after 14 years, and Anno can finally confess his love and gratitude to his very own creation, unlike the attitude we saw in EoE. And no, we didn’t get a full dive into literally every single insecurity there is in Asuka, but for what she is in this narrative, her character arc is sufficient. So it’s not so unmistakable to claim that EoE Asuka is decidedly better when the narratives are too fundamentally at odds with each other. Some characters, such as Rei in her previous appearances, definitely work as mere archetypes of Shinji’s own fantasy of being unconditionally loved. And I suppose I’m fine with that. I don’t need Rei to be so incredibly profound for the films to demonstrate its point, and I do think her characterization is at just the right amount.
Also, it seems that the perspective that 4.0 takes is often misunderstood (just like the unfairly hated prequel 3.0 but we’re not here to talk about that). There is a reason why 4.0 avoids the overly bleak scenario of the human psyche, and maintains a more balanced position. We all know every character in this film has insecurities and other personal issues, and the film doesn’t deny that. What the film denies, and this is the greatest divergence from the original, is that these characters aren’t all about insecurities and depression. A lot of them won’t cower in their own distress and anxiety, and instead choose to keep moving on. Certainly there are characters who can’t do this, or those who have yet to manage to do this. And for better or worse, this is definitely a more accurate representation of humanity, not from the lens of a depressed man, but from the lens of someone who understands human behaviors and treats it with greater objectivity. To me, this is where 4.0 exceeds EoE. EoE makes every single one of its characters so frustratingly psychologically similar, even if their issues aren’t. And in a way, it reflects Anno’s whilom view on humanity and human relationship, but that view is inherently of little worth because it’s so filled with dissatisfaction and misanthropy. I mean, sure the ending made up for it, but it definitely didn’t change its view on humans as a whole (who seemingly aren’t made up of good values, so EoE’s persuading people to appreciate one another for their true, vulnerable and selfish self instead of seeking what good traits they have). From how I see it, 4.0 has a point of view that I much prefer.
But let’s not get too content here. The characters’ interactions, dynamics, relationships and most importantly, roles in the narrative, all suffice their existence in the movie. But that doesn’t mean everything is nicely executed. Overall, I’d say character writing is generally fine, but the execution greatly fluctuates. Shinji’s selfless act of freeing everyone at the end comes across as good-guy-solving-everyone’s-problem; also probably a bit too out of character for such little time. It’s not that I think the progress didn’t make sense, at least writing-wise, but the execution was incredibly heavy-handed at times. The dialogues are sometimes so un-organic, like Rei asking a simple question “What do you think I should do?” to a random stranger to which she receives a baffling response “You’re yourself right? So you should do what you like?”. I mean I’m sure they have no idea what she thinks or believes at the time, so answering as if you’re spoon-feeding her with goodwill ideologies definitely makes it less engaging. Also, most of the dialogues are about things that you probably won’t and won’t need to understand, and there’s a lot of that. So I don’t think I enjoyed the script all that much.
And tonally, the movie seems to be incapable of settling on a certain one. And a ‘certain tone’ doesn’t bespeak an unchanging tone. Even with tone shifts, there should be a thread of consistency. The first few sequences aren’t bad, it gets things done by setting the film out to be action-filled. Then comes the first act, which reasonably gets slowed down significantly. But then, to balance out the first act and the bombastic and climatic third act, the second act needs to be extra heedful in order to make it work. Which it isn't. The second act is what you can call almost tonally nonexistent. It is supposed to build tension from peacefulness of its previous act, but it doesn’t take its time to do so. It is monotonous and forgettable, which worsens everything subsequently. It is arguably the most important segment to make the whole function work, but unfortunately it didn’t pull off. All things considered, the movie has a bad sense of tone, and everything following act 1 is cluttered events that make me almost lose all interest.
But, be that as it may, 4.0 is nigh beguiling, additionally for whatever befuddling emotions it has managed to evoke in me, I do think it is, to put it mildly, worth the time. And while 4.0 might not incorporate that dense esoteric cinematic language that would have Eva fans ejaculating uncontrollably, the movie definitely doesn’t treat the audience like some airhead adhd dumdum either. Being more contemplative (which EoE arguably isn’t), slower (not EoE) or more indecipherable doesn’t make a movie more intellectual, nor does it make its enjoyers any smarter. The cleverness, or even intelligence, of a movie doesn’t lie within that. For what it is, at least 4.0 sort of delivers. I’m sure my view on this movie will continue to change, but for now, I’m both disappointed and strangely satisfied. It has this bittersweet but unfalteringly buoyant finale that kind of hits the right spot for me, despite every stupid little thing happens before that. And I guess Anno once again has accomplished what he’s best at, dividing the anime community. This movie will enrage people, make people either screech in anger or feel inspired. It either touches your heart, or makes you hate positive Anno and beg him to become depressed again so that he can cook you some experimental art-house movie like in the early 2000s. Either way, it is quite a memorable experience, altogether frustrating, uplifting, disappointing and satisfying. And I’m sure this movie will be talked about for years in the future, for what it is and not just for being part of an already established legacy.
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Aug 19, 2021
Shin Evangelion Movie: ||
(Anime)
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Mixed Feelings
Contains some spoilers. (4/10 means I didn’t like it but it definitely isn’t bad. I thought it’s especially important to note for this review.)
Evangelion 3.0+1.0 (4.0) is difficult to completely hate. It's not amazing, yet possesses a given charm that makes it as irresistible as it is flawed. Well that is unless you’re one of those of ill-reputation intolerant OG Eva fans who recoil in apprehension at the sight of changes and unforgivingly deem a rebuild, of which serves a completely different purpose, already pointless from the get-go; or you somehow believe the anime is persuading you to touch grass and get pussies (unironically one ...
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Mar 31, 2021
Kaifuku Jutsushi no Yarinaoshi
(Anime)
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Not Recommended
Shield Hero is having an inferiority complex rn.
Ok hear me out, I really want to give this an ironic high rating, but it is literally beyond my capability to even do so. Like I want to be super quirky like other reviewers who rate ironically too :( you know like those 10/10 Ex-Arm reviews that pose a threat to comedy, or perchance the voguish undaunted NTR-immune de-Twitter’d armor-plated exemplars who fervently admire this sort of stuffs. Anyhow, it’s bad, because it kinda gets boring especially towards the end. But still not that bad. After 12 episodes, I barely even know what happens. Comment on my intelligence ... however you want, but whenever I watch this show, my attention span halves and my brain ceases to intellectually function (though confessedly I just don’t really care about whatever was going on). But that didn’t matter. In the end, what matters is that I was slightly amused by the show, sardonic or not, yet also got bored of it pretty quickly. And if there’s anything I ought to be mindful of, it is that unlike Shield Hero, our protagonist healer hero isn’t some midway morally ambiguous caitiff that we’re supposed to like. Ironically, that makes it all the better. Let’s get one thing straight first. The discourse on morality, sexual violence and (hate to even type this) ‘thematic depth’ regarding this show is all worthless to me, because for a torture porn to receive such a treatment is unthinkable. It’s like saying “I watch Ruggero Deodato’s movies for the plot”. Now after finishing the show you might be wondering, why are the characters over-the-top unhinged subhuman garbage with no redeeming quality? The answer is rather simple: they aren't supposed to deserve the audience’s remorse. Essentially the classic “look at how satisfying the rape revenge brought upon these scums of the earth is”, which is integral to how torture porn works. None of this is meant to help you understand more about rape and revenge, and since this is no meaningful writing in my book, I wouldn’t take it seriously either. We, the audience, are conditioned to feel absolute contempt and hatred for the abusers, for it's only natural, and rational, to despise humans who have shown zero human traits and committed countless evil deeds. So conveniently, the show justifies these comically malicious characters’ suffering, superficially appealing to the instinctual human response. Of course whether you’re content with the revenge or not is within your power, yet it's practically undeniable that such is the intent. So, nuancing something this openly farcical and exploitative, be it under positive or negative light, is just mindboggling. “But no one deserves to be tortured.” Ok save that for a serious talk. Because even more conveniently, a once sane, upright jack of a protagonist has become a psychopath beyond recognition, understandably after years of torment. Convenient, isn’t it? For whatever a psychopath does isn’t within the realm of morality. It matters not if you disagree with the dude's perspective on punishments, because the man is already as far from sanity as humanly possible. Better yet, the show is completely aware of this, and acknowledges how evil the MC is. I wouldn’t consider laughing manically after bathing under the blood of the soldiers who just killed the people from your own village is very batman-like; at least from how I see it, the show doesn’t make it seem cool? Sure it works in favor of evil, but it isn’t deceptive nor does it shun its evilness. And even better, this man also happens to be a literal god with the kind of power that can technically do anything in the name alchemy (time travel(??), altering people’s appearance, forceful erection, hentai mind-breaking, etc.). Yes it makes no sense, though this is all but an excuse. It excuses his actions, his revenge, his methods, his fucking, his every misdeed simply because it needs to get to the point, the torture porn. There’s nothing deeper about it. In a way, this makes it hysterically enjoyable to watch at times. Watching a comically-treated gloating, egomaniacal psychopath not giving a damn about anything even if he might appear otherwise at first, and how his hedonic schemes are equally as horrible as his victims, is all so hilarious for whatever reasons. I also couldn't care less about whatever happens to the mc because he’s a purely wicked guy himself. So to sum up the experience, it's like witnessing an inhuman villain slaughtering other inhuman villains while the whole thing is so absurdly comical, and it’s quite honestly not that bad (at first). Sadly, the formula gets worn out pretty quickly and soon enough, the show loses much of its entertainment (after 4 or maybe 5 episodes). Everything is repetitive, which is to be expected, ultimately becoming the greatest flaw. Sure there might be 1 or 2 funny things happen once in a while to tingle my mingle like the ferocious shadow schlong. But generally, there isn’t much to look forward to, because the formula is kept completely static. Our protagonist's path of vengeance won't see any alternatives for as long as this goes on, and the outcome is predictably a 2-sides-of-the-coin. Whatever triumph lies ahead or catastrophe befalls the protagonist simply doesn't compel me, because I have no care for him in the first place. I take none of this seriously so it shouldn't come as a surprise that for a repetitive formula, nothing can be of interest for a 12-episode length. I guess avoiding the pitfall of Shield Hero (not making a meant-to-be-adored MC and revenge a complete pain in the ass to sit through) can only benefit it so much. In exploitation, enjoyment is everything. While it's rather amusing to take in the self-aware irony and hilarity, it isn't nearly enough to compensate the dreary repetitiveness and a direction that doesn’t pique my interest. Btw I didn’t watch most of the Shield-Hero-esque trading/investigating/wandering shenanigans but I get the gist of it. Still let’s just say Redo of Healer does it better and thus is a wholly better show because we all know that’s true. For the overall production quality, it’s aight like a mid-tier hentai I didn’t really care. The voice acting makes it pretty funny though, so I approve that. That said, it's whatever. Now, onto the real questions. Does it make you a psychopath for enjoying how absurdly psychopathic the protagonist is? No. Does it make you a subhuman garbage who deserves no remorse for rooting for the dude? Probably not (except if you actually take it seriously in some twisted way, but morality is shit-fest of a discussion anyway). And does it make you a man of virtue for feeling sick watching a torture porn? Fuck no. Also you have the carte blanche to jerk off to this, yeah I know you’re welcome. Enough said, Shield Hero can go suck Healer Hero’s long shadow schlong. This is objectively the superior revenge tale.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Mar 11, 2021 Mixed Feelings
(Contains minor spoilers)
The more you love someone, the more their suffering will affect you. It’s difficult for me, as a viewer, to really feel grief for a character that the author himself already hates. Rather, above all, I suppose I do feel the absolute hopelessness and melodramatic nihilism seeping through each and every frame of End of Evangelion (EoE), so perhaps I do feel depressed. But to say that I feel for the characters would be disingenuous. To create something beautiful, you must first love it. With mere hatred and resentment, one might be a victim of a fault in writing: bad melodrama. Though without establishing ... how the series leading to the movie is and how the movie actually ends, this would definitely seem like an unjust critique, for arguably, this movie has quite a positive conclusion considering that this is Evangelion that we’re talking about. So let us first talk a bit about the series as a whole. Evangelion's main selling point is perhaps its strangely thorough and unflinching presentation of the characters' psyche, under the influence of a hopeless apocalypse. The most obvious trait that every character seems to share is that they all are fundamentally broken human beings with literally no redeeming quality, and the author views this somewhat as a demonstration of his own belief. That is, all humans, after exploring the deepest, most vulnerable of their Freudian ids, are exposed to be inherently disgusting, full of selfish needs and nothing else. The movie therefore ends on a loosely absurdist note, being that for one to find the meaningful in the ostensible meaningless, it accepts the fact that humans are despicable but they should all accept each other’s flaws and come to appreciate who they truly are. For context: Human Instrumentality Project eradicates structuralism, individualism, freedom of choice and any sort of desires and struggles simply because there's nothing to be desired or struggled to begin with. It is the ultimate escapism for weaklings (since abandoning the self relieves you from everything), and also is a desperate, unrealistic resolution to its abiding misanthropy. Rejecting Human Instrumentality means escaping escapism, accepting responsibilities, retaining individuality – viz. understanding one's own shortcomings, learning to deal with it and learning to appreciate others even with the pre-existing 'AT-Field'. Therefore in all of this rambling, it actually has quite a simple message with the aid of some profound ideas - accept the insecurities and flaws and appreciate yourself and others. The problem is not so much in this seemingly irreproachable conclusive message, but rather in its execution (or at times, lack thereof). As we spend the majority of the runtime in both the series and the movie exploring all the despicable human traits reside in our characters without any glimmer of faith in humanity whatsoever, the said conclusion seems rather dubious and otiose, because we have not come to love the characters, or more accurately, we’re not supposed to love them. If the movie wants us to love our pathetic absurdist self, it should’ve executed in such a manner instead of insisting on whining how the characters are so vulnerable and flawed. Admittedly, the flaws of Evangelion’s characters are very human, even relatable in many ways; though as shown through how irredeemable every character is, it is easy to lose every shred of hope and humanity, and so it seems as if we’re just experiencing a philosophical misanthropic manifesto of the author himself with a forced positive final note. It’s almost uncanny in a way. At the end of everything, the characters supposedly accept the barest of each other’s flaw, but not to have come to appreciate their valuable attributes because simply, there is none. EoE merely persuades its characters to appreciate other people’s flaws and not their strengths, because every character in the movie is too broken and similarly insecure. Talking about realism, that seems highly irrational and delusory to me. Human simply isn’t a complete blackness with only deep dark desires, nor are they all about insecurities. To undermine the goods would both be unwise and, as I’ve mentioned, melodramatic in poor taste. I’m sure for Anno who had been suffering from clinical depression at the time, this would be a feasible point of view. The total hopelessness, total nihilism, total cynicism in oneself and in humanity, and the desperate desire for the nonexistent love that is. However, this is, if anything, foolish and parochial. It doesn’t accurately represent humans, nor does it hold much worth since it derives from a suicidal man after all. For this reason, he bitterly self-inserts and has thus come to despise the characters, and perceivably struggles to see the lights within his own creations. The approach of believing in such complete absence of so many things, in such a setting that aims to convey humanity as a whole, has created this sense of misanthropy and profound hatred, ultimately resulting in the misalignment with the movie’s underlying philosophy. For better or worse, it’s clear that EoE is not within the realm of subtlety when it comes to psychoanalysis, or character self-analysis in general. I’m not talking about every little action the character decides to take here (which can sometimes be subtle), but their psychological trip that literally vomits dialogues of emotions with an unchanging formula – has a character confronted with his/her own issues, has them denied it, has them begged further to deny it, drives them practically insane, has them admitted it. I remember being so intrigued when this method of character reflection was first introduced in the second half of the series, until they kept chewing it over and over again even in the movie. The issue isn’t that it’s so raw and lacks subtlety, but it is overused with over-expositions, and thus has the earmarks of being whiny. This was slightly more balanced in the series, since different methods of characterizing are used more varyingly. Though for this movie, this method takes up the entire climax. Characters having existential crises every so often does not interest me, more so when there’s nothing new to put on the table. Shinji’s (or any other character) flaws have been previously explored, at which the movie's "crazy phantasmagoric sequences" are but visually whiny (albeit impressively so). So, contrary to some popular beliefs, the characters weren't terribly complex or anything in this movie. It also doesn’t help how convoluted of a story EoE is, making it incredibly distracting for the first several viewings. The entire point of EoE is to discern the characters’ internal struggles and appetency to appreciate and be appreciated. By way of explanation, EoE is executed as a character-driven movie. So making a plot this infuriatingly convoluted really isn’t a wise decision, because it distracts viewers from what the movie tries to convey. If, and only if, the convoluted narrative has some sort of thematic value, meta even, then it might’ve been perfectly acceptable, which unfortunately isn’t the case for EoE. Even after reading pages of explanations to fully understand the supposed plot holes, it is still the narrative’s fault for being so negligent of properly explaining all the already jarring events. It barely scratches the origin of the Angels, or Lilith, or anything, and these are supposed to be the mystery built-up throughout the series awaiting for a satisfying payoff. It is a narratively incoherent mess of a story that really doesn’t have to be so overly complicated. Sure, it's easier to shrug it all off and give the audience a big middle finger since "nothing matters anymore at that point". But this wasn't Burning, the movie, type of ambiguity. It's simply more lazy than tactful. But here we are. Despite all of that being said, I still gave this a 5, meaning it was not bad at all. Because even though the movie failed to make me deeply care about the characters, it still gave me adequate emotional depth that I could spiritually connect to. As I said, it’s a raw movie with raw emotions, about very real issues, even if under the director's disagreeable lens (since that didn’t really detract it from being emotionally impactful). Because the director and author, Hideaki Anno, is also being raw and very true to himself in the movie. It doesn’t mean I liked his bizarre point of view any better, but it’s undeniably difficult to completely hate the movie simply for how emotionally real it is. Other than that, the animation, music and choreography were also pretty great, and since I have quite a soft spot for that, I’m giving the movie a bit of personal bias here. So, audiovisual-wise, this movie is exceptional to say the least. And emotionally, it excels, considering how much I downright disdain the pov this movie took. In conclusion, ok movie, nice audiovisual, whatever philosophy, bad execution. Used to be a 10 from me for such a long time, and for holding some personal significance, I'd say it's a 5/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Feb 15, 2020
Sennen Joyuu
(Anime)
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Mixed Feelings
Minor spoilers ahead.
Millennium Actress is a film that can easily be called great. It is outwardly audacious and seemingly gorgeous in nature. Though in reality, Millennium Actress seems like it would be praised as long as the aesthetics are nice, the plot is not straightforward and that it is directed by Satoshi Kon. Not only are the fans often completely oblivious of any criticisms, but their belief that this movie is a magnum opus also won't change because of what was mentioned (as ridiculous as it sounded). About it being a faultless masterpiece, I beg to differ. The story is downright average and uninspiring. That said, the ... story has a heart, with an intention that remains clear and consistent. Unfortunately, this is also one of my biggest gripes - the movie is rather 'static' for what is essentially labyrinth of a narrative, which is totally incongruous (and more on that later), and has virtually nothing to anticipate other than “does the actress meet her love?”, which is kind of a dull two-sides-of-a-coin. Nevertheless, the movie still manages to feel complete because of its 'heart'. Also, paying homage to Japanese cinema is no good excuse for an average story, though it's nice and somewhat exciting to feel such radiated, genuine affection of Kon towards the rich cinema history. As briefly stated, the execution is poor. As thin and uninspiring as the story was, the execution did not do much to embrace it. To regurgitate what I said, it's not brilliant to have an abstruse narrative for a story so simple, quixotic even, hence the incongruity. Much of what Kon does was dragging the weak storyline for an hour and a half. For a story with barely any philosophical weight nor plot development, the messy confusing narrative didn't make it more "complex", only pretentious. “But it merges reality with memories...”, sure. I understand that by the end of the actress’ life, she can recall the events so vividly and can’t differentiate what’s real and what isn't; yet forasmuch as this whole sequence solely focuses on that concept alone without even bother to have a wider, or deeper reach, it gives the audience no insights or depth other than the actress' very simplistically discernible state of mind. Perhaps, this would've been so much more effective had the emergence not just taken up such a big chunk from the movie. When an idea so superficial being told this grandiosely, it will inevitably give the impression of self-indulgence. And to make matters worse, dragging it out wears out any novelty. The narrative, while somewhat impressive, not only lacks depth, but precisely because it lacks depth that it also comes off as pretentious. The characters, I guess, are fine. They're fun and likable enough to lead the audience till the end, but none of them are really remarkable. Some parts of the scripts are honestly so corny though. I could forgive everything these hombres say throughout the movie, but even the very last line? It’s a corny melodrama kick in the gut. It literally just goes to prove my view on how the movie is as shallow as it could get, and yet with sprinkles of striking but empty visual storytelling, Kon manages to make it seem perplexing, yet not actually so. That said, the tone did make the experience somewhat endearing. It's difficult to fully criticize Kon because the man was such a talented romanticist in this film. Kon knows exactly how and when to utilize comedic relief, or to build our expectations up for an emotional impact. So thanks to that, the story flows quite seamlessly. Still, this is insufficient as a saving grace for an overall poorly-written and executed movie. But, if we really stop bothering about Kon's excuse of a story, we are left with what is probably Kon's true intention - a heartfelt love letter to Japanese cinema, elevated and, without reservedness, expressed via the exercise of exhibiting grand, unbounded audiovisuals. The animation is flawless and the attention given to the art is nothing short of stellar. The music is pretty good and generally well used. I have no real complaint about the production value and perhaps would even more than enthusiastically sing praises to the aesthetics alone. Again, though, this movie is subpar in almost every other way. Satoshi Kon is definitely not a hack, however refutably overrated, for he has demonstrated his genuine competence in composing his own coups such as Perfect Blue and Tokyo Godfathers, and even glimpses of greatness here and there in Millennium Actress. Nevertheless, the self-indulgent and bafflingly convoluted narrative has made Millennium Actress his weakest work that I’ve experienced so far. Mind you, this movie used to hold a 10 on my list for quite some time, so I do understand all the worshipping. Yet have I verily changed my mind to thus give my sincere final verdict upon this movie: How corny.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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Oct 11, 2019 Not Recommended Spoiler
This review contains spoilers.
(Before judging, read the entirety.) I wasn’t anticipating this. I wasn’t having high expectations for it. I did not even feel one bit of hype. But for some reason, I decided to go out with my friends and watch this movie. Expectations were low, yet this movie still somehow managed to exceedingly dismay me. No I’m being way too generous. This movie just took a full shit on my face, and squandered my precious money and time. As unsurprising as it is, the positive responses are regardless absurd, leaving me no choice but to write lengthily. I want to make it clear that ... I found the series to be quite okay, and I honestly wasn’t expecting the movie to be any better, if not, worse. And yes, it indeed was, probably tenfold worse. “Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dreaming Girl” is one of the worst movies I’ve ever watched in a very long time. To be honest, I’d never expect this movie to be this awful of an evidently devious disingenuous melodramatic tear-gushing tryhard. Before this review, as to some opinions, this might seem like a nitpicking review, but no. Neglecting plot holes, poor characterization, etc. and claiming one is avoiding nitpicking is foolish. This will be a full in-depth analysis to thus express why I dislike this movie so much. ______________________________ ART: After the indisputable success of the series and for being only a 90-minute movie, I very much believe us audience deserve better quality than this. It’s basically akin to the series, which isn’t atrocious, just mediocre. Though, I want to particularly point out the awful CGI (human CGI is inarguably one of the worst backgrounds this industry has to offer) as well as the queer 2D drawing in the middle of a 3D background. I might be griping, but I expect a movie’s quality to exceed this. The animation is acceptable most of the time. If anything, my complaint would essentially hinge on some specific off-quality scenes, but I think it was not critical. The art style is never of my liking because I find the character design and color palette dull, but I got used to it eventually so again, it’s fine. In conclusion, everything is average. ----------------- WRITING: I could not have been moved or impressed by this kind of plot, really. If anything, I was abhorred by the blatantly manipulative story that has no consistency or substance whatsoever. Basically, the movie is in toto a tear-fest where virtually every character has to cascade their interminable rivulet of tears to intimate their insuperable pain for at least not once, but twice, for such is the most subtle and artistic method to present one’s dejected emotions. On serious note, crying should've been powerful and relevantly timed, unlike this lazy and dodgy representation of one's sadness. The premise is essentially time-travel yet written abysmally. With a bit of non-sense quantum physics blabbering and a few illogical small talks with the smart eye-glassed girl, the idea of time traveling is thereby conceptualized. And it never demonstrates any beforehand conditions and repercussions of time travel, as if the author himself doesn’t know what he is writing about. But that inconsistency aside, I'd like to criticize the approach to this idea itself. Anyone who acknowledges the more or less impenetrable idea called ‘time’ simply understands that time travel necessitates meticulous fictional accounts. By making it so vague and providing so little details, it feels as though the director was trying to make things as feasible as possible, but in a way that viewers would be disabused that it made sense because it said so. In other words, since the movie never fully explains how you time travel but simply derive it from quantum physics and some ambiguous supernatural phenomenon (meaning it would seem sophisticated and condensed), it could trick viewers into thinking that it ultimately makes sense regardless of how non-sensical it might turn out to be (I.e. whenever a ramification arises, we are forced to automatically accept it while simultaneously think “Oh, didn’t know that could happen, I guess time traveling really isn’t all that easy. I must express some meager empathy to the characters now must I not?”). Honestly, everything is just randomly presented without much exposition via this time travel concept, for the sake of plot convenience that completely steers clear of any proper explanation; and I simply could not appreciate the fact that the author would do anything to control the emotions of their audience, in which this case involves a poorly-written premise. I also notice people have stated how this movie reminded them of some other popular anime such as “The Disappearance of Suzumiya Haruhi” or “Steins;Gate”. It wouldn’t be unjust to call out how this movie plagiarizes a lot of ideas and styles, and I believe it is already quite clear in the first place so I see no point in dissecting the similarities. I guess Kamoshida Hajime should learn something from Tarantino or some successful "stealers" next time. For not only this man's writing resembles just a bit too much with the other successful works viz. literally copying ideas, but he also fails to properly utilize its context. This is effortless and talentless. The lack of connections betwwen every event is also what I've mentioned. The plot crams so many things and results in various climaxes, which makes it very separating. Though, I think even a plot like this might be more affiliated if the execution is on-point. Not to mention, the movie's philosophy, which is the plausibility of changing one's fate and what measure ought to be taken, can be a decent concept if well-executed. Thus, I will further develop these ideas in the Execution segment. ----------------- CHARACTERIZATION: Absolutely appalling. I saw zero characterization other than some (once again) manipulative emotional shit from the young Shouko writing her dreams onto a homework paper. The thing about our protagonists is that they are superficial scalloping bods who have no prominent traits, to the point where they are quite undistinguishable. If you think making lecherous jokes about private woman matters is quirky, unique and writing-demanding then you sure have a grave problem, which I won't solve it for you here unfortunately. Anyway, while it's true that our characters act upon propensity, such is too shallow to be deemed as 'realistic' characterization. As a result, the characters become awkwardly predictable, simple and even unnatural. Meaning every decision a character makes just doesn’t indicate anything remotely noteworthy. I.e. showing all the phases of depression that Sakuta has to undergo, from going to the beach, weeping to sillily shouting “Can anyone save...?”, means nothing. Whilst being established upon propensity, this scene is nothing but a subpar 'conspicuous aka not quite subtle' implication of depression that I find absolutely lazy, dull and clumsily obvious, and such (I believe) over 3-minute long scene does not further develop anything other than characters being sad in an irksomely overdramatic way. Instead of spending time on constant mourning and crying scenes like this (which take up the majority of its runtime), the movie could've made it much more subtle and short, which is far more effectively emotional, and preferably delving further into the characters. It's only obvious to assume that Sakuta would suffer boundlessly without having to show it in the most extreme way, which makes this entire scene futile. It serves no purpose and is handled annoyingly overdramatically and unrealistically, only for the sake of sensationalization, not characterization. What's worse is that the movie attempts to make the characters so facile and faultless that their resemblance to a human is completely nonexistent (and is also why they're so undistinguishable). To be fair, it's impossible to say there is any characterization whatsoever in this movie. And the absence of subtlety comes in every single way possible, prominently in characterization. And again, I know saying this is redundant at this point, but please, don't just approve how crying automatically suffices characterization. As to my explanation of how the plot misuses and awfully exploits it, this movie is a perfect exemplification of how crying could become a non-thematic and irrelevant device of emotional manipulation rather than good character writing/development (which is nothing superior to your orthodox ill-fitting fan service). ----------------- PACING: I can rest assured that I’m not the only person to feel that the pacing is all over the place and is never appropriate with the event happening. It's sluggish at parts where I have no idea what's so important (such as all the futile conversations between Sakuta and his friends after a certain death that he chose to let go for it was seemingly out of his capability, all just to show Ah, tranquility is back baby), whereas some important dialogues are unceremoniously bundled. Often times, things happen without any build-up. Awful pacing. ----------------- EXECUTION: The execution is perhaps the worst factor of all, ruining what could've been an okay movie. To me, it doesn't matter how good the plot is, since if it's poorly executed, then everything already collapses. And truly, this is where the movie fails to deliver anything remotely cohesive or meaningful. First prominent issue is that structurally, the movie feels like four episodes crammed together, with no coherent, consistent narrative. With probably roughly 3 climaxes (or so) and a handful of endings, being underwhelmed would be an understatement to transcribe my feelings. Essentially, every "fake ending" always tags along with a climax; thus, nothing feels emphasized, taking also the mere 90-minute duration into account. Not to mention I was so confused whenever it "faked" its conclusion. I literally couldn't stop checking the time to confirm whether the "ending" I was seeing was just some sort of funny bamboozlement or not. That being said, I believe the director focuses way too much on his redundant 'impactful' climaxes with out of the blue twists and yet he still fails to properly do so; also for that matter, he completely disregards the importance of theme impartation. In other words, having so many climaxes in a single movie primarily for the intent of having emotional weight, it really loses its focus on what it really wants to be, or convey. This is why its philosophy doesn't matter. Let's say the themes are sacrifice and love, and the underlying philosophy is the great length taken to change one's fate, which people might bring up to reasonably defend the movie. Now, if the author really wants to express the said ideas, or anything else you could possibly analyze from this movie, then that should've been the focus. Instead, we've spent a large chunk of the movie looking at characters crying and saying they're sad, literally. So regardless of the philosophy, being this excessive about emotional manipulation neglectfully undermines the focal of the story. What's worse is that fate, or sacrifice, or any idea presented in the movie, are such loose and flimsy concepts in this movie. As stated, since nothing has any sort of real exposition to lay a concrete foundation, the author can just do whatever he wants, however stupid. Like conveniently rewriting future by simply "not meeting a certain someone" as if time-travel can just be that easy. This makes the whole "fate", or "sacrifice" idea pointless. It feels underwhelming for bearing so little consequences, opposing the entire philosophy of fate and sacrifice itself. But maybe I'm overthinking, because I honestly just feel like "what we see is what we get". The manipulative execution really makes everything feel superficial after all. And yet so far I haven’t even nitpicked on trivial stuffs, because it would ineluctably lead to me hate-speeching endlessly (“wtf is that scene where Shouko helpes Sakuta to get on the bed? That is one of the most, if not the most artistically distasteful scene in a movie that takes itself seriously”), but lets not talk about that here. On side note, the jokes are dry as usual, but far more unfunny and cheap. I, unlike many, particularly find it uncomfortably skeptical about the likelihood of Sakuta's lecherous jokes to realistically achieve its magnificent triumph like in this series. I would wholeheartedly recommend people to stop laughing at this jester's unfunny little jokes about woman's body and habits really, for I find it highly unappetizing. ----------------- ENJOYMENT: I believe there's nothing to be enunciated here. I struggled every second for it to end and cringed every time a character broke down and shed their incessant outpouring of tears. I hated this. ----------------- SOUND: Boring typical rom-com music, I don’t remember much. Voice acting is actually fairly good. ----------------- TITLE: I hate the title. All these long ass names that visually and content-wise attract viewers trend should stop. It’s cancerous. ______________________________ This is an awful movie, and I would never recommend this movie to anyone, you have my words. I literally can’t imagine how anyone walking out of the theater be crying over this movie (good thing is there's no one in my theater did, even better, most were just laughter). Maybe I’m way too apathetic, but this movie gave me absolutely no emotions that it should’ve given. Or rather, it doesn't really matter, because the sole intent of this entire movie is seemingly to make you sad at any cost. As impassive as I am, I still hope for God's sake the score will get lowered and this will no longer be in the Top 100.
Reviewer’s Rating: 2
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