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Dec 23, 2020
This is not going to follow my usual style of reviewing a show because I just want to get some major things out of my head with this show. Also note that this will be spoiler-free.
My history with Hibike.
- Keeping it short and sweet here. Discovered this absolute gem back in August and
...
it instantly shot up to my 2nd (potentially 1st) favorite show of all time.
- I procrastinated a whole lot (re-watched s1,s2 and Liz once) before finally getting to the latest entry.
- Part of the reason was because I'm usually just reluctant to finish my favorite shows because the idea of "All good things must come to an end" fucking sucks.The other more important reason was that I heard that this movie did not live up to its predecessors.
Unfortunately, the rumors were true.
Problems
Pacing and Content
- I'm going to address the elephant in the room right from the get-go as it is the most glaring problem. I don't know how or where to begin but the movie is a cramped mess. I don't want to get into the tiniest of details so I'll give you a general idea of why this was the case.
- In case y'all didn't know, the original Hibike! Euphonium Novel is split into 3 years, spanning over the course of MC Kumiko's high school years. The first 2 seasons of the anime adapted Kumiko's 1st year of high school. This movie adapts the 2nd year.
- IF it's still unclear, Year 1 had an 8hr runtime while Year 2 was hastily packed into a 1hr40m movie. Naturally this would lead to TONS of content being skipped/skimmed over. I don't want to get to into spoiler territory so just know that the pacing and content of the movie sucks, from start to around 3/4 of its runtime. This is my biggest gripe with the movie.
Budget
- I have one more issue with it, that being the budget and how it was spent. I love the performance, but there were a few things that made it miss the mark for me.
- I've never cried at any music performance in my life, until I listened to the third movement of Liz and the Blue Bird's titular piece. I mention this because its plain as day to see that this is where most of the budget went. It's not a bad thing, but...
- the performance is merely a backseat. I shit you not, we can have a 360p crappily animated performance, slap it on s1, 2 or Liz's climax performances and they would still be good. It's because...
- Hibike! Euphonium is about the journey, not the end. So blowing all their budget to do such a grand performance didn't sit well with me because I'd much rather trade the entire performance for a good middle section.
Positives
Potential
- Even with the scuffed pacing, it's clear as day that Hibike! will always have some of the best characters this medium has to offer. Though most of the drama that would otherwise be emphasized on if this movie was instead turned into a series were short, they were super interesting. Perhaps it's due to them being rushed that piqued my interest, but I could actually see it de-throning S2's drama if stretched out.
Authenticity
- This is one of the rarest things in Anime nowadays. Hibike! is one of the few possessors of said Authenticity. I will probably never have the right words to describe what I mean by this.
Characters
- Another Hibike special. Every single key Y1 student brings so much new conflicts to the table, while our Main Y2 cast continues to discover about themselves and their futures. Lastly, the remaining Y3s try their hardest to make their final year a memorable one.
Conclusion
- All in all, this movie is but an installation in one of the best Animes of all time, and if you liked it previous seasons, this one will be no different.
- Finally, for all those who just scroll down to look at the score, note that my scoring for movies (except Liz) don't matter for shit because I haven't seen enough of them. Read the actual content to get a better understanding of how I truly feel.
Thanks for reading!
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Dec 10, 2020
Violet Evergarden The Movie(2020) (SPOILER FREE)
Kyoto Animation's first work in a long time, following the horrendous attack that took place last year.
I was lucky enough to be able to see this on 10/12/20 in my local theaters.
As a general thought, this movie served well enough as a closure to its massively successful prequel.
Story - 8/10
I'd like to think that I'm crazy lenient for giving this category as high as I did. I did not think the story was any more special/different from the prequel. It's mostly the same as what you'd get from watching the original.
...
The only difference is the conclusion, and also the main reason of why I think I'm crazy. The conclusion
(very important clarification. I don't mean the end as in the legit last shot of the movie, I meant the moments leading up to it, meaning ~30mins before the end.) SUCKED.
It was mostly a waste of a time and threw away a very cool underlying narrative the show might have been trying to build over the course of the movie. Otherwise it's a pretty standard Violet Evergarden-esque story. Which is to say, very good.
Characters - 7/10
This score looks more likely to me. I'm still on the fence on whether it was the characters that sucked or the ending that sucked. I chose to go with the former here where everything fell apart near the end.
The whole movie was great as a whole, but character motivations were somewhat lost in the final act with many decisions leaving you confused as to why they would do that.
Sound - 8/10
Really love the sound in this show. OST/BGM came on at the right times, were pleasant to listen to. Many atmospheric sounds.
Only complain was that it got loud out of nowhere sometimes (2 times?)
Animation - 10/10
It's KyoAni. What more do I gotta say.
The rain and water animation towards the end of the show were impeccable and more than on par with Kotonoha no Niwa's.
Direction - 9/10
Tempted to give this a 10 since I'm a total newb when it comes to recognizing directional talent.
Character (re)introductions were done superbly well, there's use of the classic emphasis, but not overdone like in the KNY movie and a very nice past/present type of storytelling as well, albeit cliché.
It is a well directed movie that won't ever bore you, despite it being a really slow burn SoL.
Overall
I liked this movie. The ending got me feeling all types of ehhhh but everything else was good.
The only other thing I'll mention is, and try not to let this affect your viewing experience, but pay close attention to the distance all the characters are apart from each other while speaking. It was funny as heck.
I still don't know what score to give it though as I totally suck at giving movie scores due to my low count so why not you tell me what I should give it based on what I said.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Nov 15, 2020
Had the privilege of seeing this in Cinemas. And as such I didn't have the opportunity of pausing it every few seconds to talk about how I feel,but I still have some things to say.
Firstly, what I'd give the movie overall, it's a clean 70/100.
I put the rating first so it'll be easier for me to explain why.
- Story: 6/10
I would say hear me out on this, but I'm pretty sure that the general consensus on this series' story is that it is just basic af.
The movie is no different since, well, it's still adapting the same story.
...
There's nothing innovative, nothing new being done but it ain't bad, it just isn't special either, hence the score.
- Characters: 7/10
I'm actually willing to give this higher/lower depending on who I'm talking to.
For a generic shonen buff, the characters are awesome. You have inspiring trope, the brave and unwavering MC and two quirky supporting characters. For someone of my taste, it's plain. Not bad, again, just plain. Characters in KnY can be found in almost every single action shonen so it doesn't really stand out to me.
However, I do think that the characters in this show are way more sympathetic, and one spoiler scene in the movie got me a little down. So, yea its generic but slightly better.
- Animation: 10/10
Hands up everyone who saw this coming. No fucking shit it's gonna get a 10 for animation.
Ufotable outdid themselves when they aired the TV series last year, and they outdid themselves this year again with this movie. This shit hits different when seen on the big screen - the colours, the drawings and the fight scenes are truly something to be marveled at.
I cannot for the life of me stress how amazing the animation is and can't ever express my thanks to everyone on the art team for this show. It is simply one of the most crisp animations and art styles I've ever seen.
- Direction : 4/10
One of the few negative points of the movie to me. The direction of this show is simply not good.
Many, many many repetitive shots of whatever the story is trying to emphasize. E.g 3 overhead shots in the span of 5mins during the last arc of the movie.
Very predictable directions as well due to the previous point, to the point where I can already tell what's going to happen without actually having any prior knowledge.
Lastly, there was nothing innovative. The adaptation feels like a flat out copy-paste of the manga pages, a lot of important stuff were omitted/not explained, making it super super hard for anyone who hasn't seen the original series to keep up. And before I get clowned for this, it's marketed as a movie so it's clearly meant for first-timers as well as returnees. A good example of a movie with good backstory explanations/summary is Detective Conan. No matter which movie it is, it always begins with a brief backstory to help newcomers familiarize. This is how you do marketing for a movie that can be enjoyed by both parties.
- Music 4/10
Lastly, and sort of least, the music. Nothing particularly interesting here.
They practically repeated Kamado Tanjiro no Uta in like 3 different versions throughout the impactful scenes in the movie - we have a Hum version, a la-la-la version and bits of the original. That's all.
- Conclusion
I have a slight love/hate relationship with this show. On one hand, I do not think it does anything particularly special on the outside. Yet, i would recommend this series to almost anybody who wants a taste of what shonen is like at its absolute peak - that in having godly animation and super fucking creepily amazing fights.
Lastly lastly, to help you better understand how I feel about this movie, I will give you a short statement.
Did I think it was an amazing movie? Ans : Nope.
Would I watch it again? Ans: 100% would anyday. You literally cannot miss the epitome of shonen animation.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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Sep 2, 2020
Koi wa Ameagari no You ni or After The Rain, is an anime done by Wit Studios, and aired in the Winter 2018 season with a 23min/ep runtime for 12 episodes.
This review will be broken down into 3 different sections
The 2018 Winter Season.
- KoiAme aired in the Winter of 2018. And when you click on the other shows that aired in the same time, holy shit was that season a monster in every aspect.
- If you were craving Action, there's Devilman Crybaby, Nanatsu no Taizai and the sequel to the then ultra-popular Overlord.
- In the Drama department lies Citrus and ReLIFE's long awaited conclusion.
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...
Comedy? Takagi San and Saiki Kusuo is more than enough to sate your thirst.
- Last but not Least, Winter 2018 had some disgusting Originals. Violet Evergarden, Maquia and Yorimoi stand atop all the other anime that season with VE being one of the most popular animes of recent times.
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So why watch KoiAme when there are tons of other beasts in this season? Well, for one, I think that KoiAme is worthy of being compared to the Big Dogs. In the midst of these Monstrous Originals and Big Sequels lies a very well made adaptation that flew under the radar of many.
Wit Studios' Accomplishments with KoiAme.
Let me get this out of the way, KoiAme, if you're not aware by now, is a Drama/Romance SoL. And in case you're still unclear, Wit Studios( AOT, Owari no Seraph, Kabaneri, Vinland Saga and Magus Bride) were the animators of this. I do not know the intention behind picking up KoiAme when they are known for literally so many Big Action Animes, but boy did Wit outdo themselves with this adaptation. I am not familiar with Wit but the staff they assigned to this project were basically perfect.
Koi wa Ameagari no You ni
Story
- KoiAme has an amazing story. Story wise, straight up, episodes 1-6 were pure 10/10s. Every single moment and plot point was planned in advance and calculated to a T. Watching it blind is, simply put, one of the best experiences I've had watching anime. With that being said, its a shame that only the first 6 episodes were of that quality. While episode 7 and 8 still held up to the quality of the previous 6, episodes 9-12 completely fell flat and derailed far off what anyone was expecting and hoping for. This is not the fault of the studio but rather the source material. However, the studio managed to salvage this by having Directors so good it saved the show. I will mention this later.
Characters
- Not much to go off on other than our Main Cast, each have their own motivation and are very clear and vocal in what they want to do.
Visuals/Animation
- One of the Standouts of the Anime. The little details in the detailed backgrounds are so fucking pleasing to the eye. Absolutely beautiful.
Music
I still don't pay enough attention to OSTs but the ED for this anime was sang by Aimer (my favourite artist), so it automatically gets a pass from me.
DIRECTION
-OH BOY this is the meat of the adaptation. The direction of KoiAme is hands down the best direction I've seen in Anime, ever. Director Ayumu Watanabe is amazing. He single-handedly elevated the anime in its good moments and pulled it out of the mud in its bad moments. I cannot stress enough how impactful his direction contributes to the overall quality of the anime.
_While Watanabe is listed as the only director on Anilist, I did some more digging and found out that there was another director brought in specifically for one episode. Kaburagi Hiro directed and wrote the storyboard for episode 6 of the anime.
And these were my thoughts for ep6 : When consumed in moderation, simply fantastic. Virtually no flaws. 5 whole minutes of telling a story through almost complete silence is more than just bold. There are simple story directions, there are complicated story directions, there are bold story directions, and then there's this blend of all three. Credit to the director for pulling off so many different styles of story-telling. The whole episode felt like a fever dream - from the foreshadowing start all the way to the perfect end-cut. What Hiro has done with Episode 6 of KoiAme changed how I viewed the importance of direction in anime. Episode 6 of KoiAme, is by far one of the best standalone episodes of Anime, ever. (Similar to VE Episode 10)
Conclusion
- In the midst of the giants of Winter 2018 lies a simple anime about Love that is executed so damn well. If you have the slightest interest in a good, solid love story that only gave way in its Final Arcc, give this anime a chance.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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