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Jul 6, 2019
Think of the most ancient, mysterious, beautiful forms of life in this world: sea salps, mycelia, slime molds, diatoms. Think of phenomena like the flash of green light when the sun sets, or St. Elmo's Fire on the masts of ships. Think of parasites in the eyes or a sinkhole opening in the ground. These are what Mushi are. Though sometimes dangerous or frightening, they hold no ill will towards humans or anything else. They just are what they are.
As a Mushi-shi, Ginko is like a traveling doctor with a Jedi master's calm and wisdom, helping people who have been affected by Mushi but also
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treating the Mushi and their place in nature with respect. This show is suitable for all ages content-wise, but has a grown-up tone I appreciated. While Ginko does what he can, not everything can be cured; endings more often have people finding ways to accept the hand they've been dealt rather than everything coming out perfect. The characters all seem like ordinary people you could meet in daily life, and tend to be on the quiet, reserved side.
On the production side of things, the art fits the overall mature tone of the series. The animation is nothing special, but though stylized, the characters look like "real people" in a way most anime characters don't. The backgrounds and scenery are very beautiful and detailed, with subdued, foggy colors. I can without a doubt give the sound a 10/10. The music suits the visuals and stories perfectly, being calming yet not without a certain melancholy or darkness. The quiet approach taken with the voice acting works very well with everything else to create the atmosphere that makes this show memorable.
Ultimately, Mushishi isn't something to binge-watch; due to the episodic nature, it's something to watch an episode of here and there when you want to do something relaxing. If the interesting parts of a biology textbook crossed with a folktale sounds like something you would enjoy, you will enjoy this.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Jun 8, 2019
This OVA covers the first half of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders. It differs from the source material in two main ways: minor plot details are changed to make it flow better within seven 30-minute episodes, and anything comedic is completely omitted. Your opinion will depend on what you think of these changes. I very much enjoyed this series for them. The changes give a main villain to the story arc, instead of the protagonists only fighting unrelated bad guys of the week. The serious tone well suits the stoic, observant character of protagonist Jotaro Kujo— he comes across as mature and pragmatic at first
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impression rather than off-puttingly rude. The seriousness also reins in the over-the-top behavior of other characters that otherwise would threaten to overshadow his quiet presence. Even the opening gets right to the point: depicting the gruesome death of Jotaro's ancestor Jonathan Joestar lets the viewer know what the protagonists are up against.
The art is striking and detailed, with subdued but beautiful colors, and seems to draw some influence from Western comics. There is a questionable-quality frame here and there but not enough to detract from my enjoyment. The music is old-school synth stuff that fits the visual style and tone of the series well.
If you're a big fan of old-school anime and/or JoJo, I recommend this one. As with many older OVA, make sure you watch the subtitled version since the English dub is not good.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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May 31, 2019
A warning: this is just a series of scenes that will only make sense to people who have read the manga, because the animation has no unifying story thread or exposition. What this little series of videos does well is capture the dark, unearthly atmosphere that is crucial to Blame! being what it is. The music and sound design is easily the best part; it's very Industrial, very bleak, very atmospheric, and the tracks for the endless, empty megastructure are as good as those for the sequences of action. The animation is extremely limited, but the art style is right and it serves well enough
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to give a feel for the world of Blame!.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Jun 22, 2018
Reviews claiming this is the worst anime ever created are unwarranted; ICE has serious flaws, but it also has a ton of atmosphere, cool art, and exciting action. Its key issue is having far more worldbuilding and plot ideas than can comfortably fit into 100 minutes, making the story a rushed, nonsensical mess. With more time and editing, it could have been a genuinely good show. As it is, it's just metaphorical pornography for those who are fond of beautiful women, sci-fi weapons, a dark atmosphere, old-school artwork, and worldbuilding ideas.
A big part of ICE is fanservice stemming from the fact that with no more
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men, lesbianism is the only option for sexual relations. I appreciated how tasteful it is all things considered; it's not moe, childish, or unintentionally creepy. Part of the story involves a teenage girl having romantic feelings for a much older woman, but it's handled appropriately by the characters. Most aren't exactly likable individuals— many, including the main villain, entirely blame "the evil men" for the destroyed world. This made me roll my eyes a bit, but if such a disaster happened in real life, I'm certain some women would claim the same thing.
The best aspect is definitely the art; though this was made in 2007, it deliberately has a mid-'90s hand-drawn style. All of the character designs are detailed and appealing. The ruined world is surreal and beautiful. However, I can't give it a 9/10 in this regard because the vehicles (other than some very cool, under-utilized mecha) are period-accurate ugly CG.
Altogether, ICE feels like a half-remembered dream about some strange '90s sci-fi you saw when flipping through TV channels late one night. I enjoyed it for the unique art and atmosphere, but the lack of editing and proper pacing prevent it from being "good."
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Apr 13, 2018
Without a doubt, the art is the reason to watch this one. It takes place in a beautiful fantasy world 1,000 years after the apocalypse. Some shots of the landscapes feel truly magical, and the creature, vehicle, and aircraft designs are excellent.
With regard to the story, there's not much. The central message is NATURE = GOOD, TECHNOLOGY = WAR = BAD, delivered with all the subtlety of a plummeting anvil. The bad people wear armor, drive tanks and planes, and try to fight off the dangerous creatures when threatened by them. The good people are helpless innocents who listen to what nature-loving Princess Nausicaa tells
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them.
Also, everything is inconsistent, beginning with the quality of the animation itself: some shots have much more detail than others. Some of the soundtrack is somewhat out-of-place synth, other parts are the orchestral music to be expected of Studio Ghibli. The film also suffers from failure to "show, not tell." Nausicaa repeatedly tells us fighting is bad but is nonetheless good at combat and doesn't hesitate to participate in it. She also has a tendency to over-explain everything. Also, every character is a flat archetype: the good king, the wise old blind woman, the cutesy children, the evil warlord, the sycophantic second-in-command.
Altogether, it's not bad, but it's not the masterpiece it's said to be.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Mar 26, 2018
The art and soundtrack are quite good, but insufficient to salvage this mess of tired tropes. Darling in the Franxx sets out with the goals of character development and worldbuilding, and succeeds at neither.
All of the characters are one-dimensional stereotypes: our generic protagonist-kun, his unlucky childhood friend, his magical tsundere girlfriend who is in love with him just because he isn't afraid of her horns, the big guy who loves to eat, the studious girl who wears glasses, the childish rival... Nonetheless, entire episodes are devoted to characters making the discovery that they are in love with their piloting partner, who they have obviously compatible
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personalities with. The only interesting character is Zero Two, the half-human love interest with a quirky yet dark personality, and she is out of focus.
But what Darling in the Franxx suffers most from is painfully slow pacing. I enjoy stories that take their time when done well, but Darling in the Franxx has no direction— it feels no closer to a conclusion halfway through than it does in the beginning. At the end of an episode, it never feels like anything has been accomplished. Whenever something interesting happens, it is cast aside: the tiny glimpses of worldbuilding lead to no further exploration; a character develops a mysterious disease seemingly as a result of piloting with a certain partner, only to be suddenly fine and dandy in the beach episode with no comment.
There is also the blatant aping of Neon Genesis Evangelion. There's a SEELE-like governing council of mysterious masked men, an arrogant, talented female pilot in a red suit, video displays with orange text and caution lines, a mech entering "stampede mode" revealing sharp teeth... homage is fine but without the despair and horror this is all without reason and, frankly, insulting.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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