ANIME REVIEW: One Punch Man (Season 1)

ALL ABOARD THE HYPE TRAIN!!! It’s been awhile since I’ve actually tried to follow the really popular current animes. But I heard good things about One Punch Man, and we discussed it a little in my creative writing class (for graphic forms), so my interest was piqued. I waited until after my final exams to watch it – here are my thoughts.

Saitama

Synopsis and spoiler-free analysis portion:

Ah, what can I say about One Punch Man… One Punch Man (ワンパンマン) was originally a web comic written by an author using the pseudonym ONE, and was later re-illustrated by Yusuke Murata, and is now an anime produced by Madhouse Studios. Season one is twelve episodes long and currently has one OVA. It is about a man named Saitama (pictured above) who lives in a world plagued by monsters. Prior to adopting his signature bald-headed look, he was a “normal” college graduate. After not being able to find a job out of graduation, he encounters a monster; action ensues, and he decides to be “someone who’s a hero for fun”. Years of intense training after this incident, he has finally become strong enough that he can pretty much obliterate anything in just “one punch”.

So funny:

I mean, just look at Saitama’s character design – it’s a little ridiculous. There cannot be anything in this world that looks balder than he does. Beyond that, One Punch Man parodies the standard “badass super cool super manly superhero” that is so prevalent in the superhero comics industry. He doesn’t give long speeches, doesn’t have much of a sad backstory (or a sad anything really) that explains why he became a hero, he is supposedly all human (but he has superhuman strength somehow). There are supporting characters who fall into these categories, but Saitama doesn’t. Not only does he not look that cool (I think that’s arguable; he’s kind of cool sometimes), he doesn’t act that cool either. His whole character is a comic relief for otherwise pretty serious situations.

The humour of this anime is really up my alley. A lot of it is just really silly, and it generally surrounds making fun of Saitama’s character and how ridiculous he is. I like that not all (or any) of their jokes play off of the sexual tension between characters, which so many of the recent animes do. And the characters are genuinely funny and likeable. I think anyone would love Saitama. While he looks and acts relatable, he’s still a super badass.

Full body shot of Saitama.

Recommended for:

I’d recommend this anime to anyone, really. I know action seems a little objectionable to people who don’t like the genre, but I think the humour makes up for that part. I will say that fans of romance animes won’t have my payoff here… so don’t go in expecting that. But do go in expecting to have fun. It’s a super fun watch, you don’t have to think a lot while watching it but it’s still very enjoyable, and everyone in there is really loveable. I will say though, watch at least two or three episodes in your first sitting (because the first episode was a little meh). It’s only twelve episodes long in total anyway.

Saitama looking all badass in his fighting form.

More specific analysis (spoilers ahead!):

Don’t go on if you haven’t watched it blah blah blah. Scroll down to the spoiler free TLDR; section for the final verdict and rating.

What got me hooked:

I started getting hooked on One Punch starting from episode three. I actually think this is still my favourite episode of the season. I laughed out loud when Saitama revealed his work out regimen in the House of Evolution, of doing one hundred sit ups, one hundred push ups, one hundred squats, and running ten kilometres. My reaction, aside from laughing, was pretty much the same as the characters in the anime’s reaction. I absolutely love it when characters (or people in general) call each other on their bullshit – especially the way Genos did. This episode killed me at the end when Saitama loses his shit when he realizes that they might miss the sale day at the supermarket. So troll.

Genos tells Saitama to cut the crap.

Wanting more:

Although I loved it, in the end I am left wanting more – a lot more. Which is good, but I don’t think they’re going to release a new season any time soon, which is really unfortunate. I feel like at the end of this season, nothing really got resolved in any way – longer running animes usually leave us with some kind of sense or direction of where the anime is going. We just got to see Saitama be super badass one last time in the last episode, which is all well and good, but I guess it kind of lacked an ending? Like he defeated a “God-level” threat all by himself… now what? But I don’t dislike animes that end a season like that… It just sucks that I have to wait so long before the next season will be revealed.

Also, I am hoping to see more female characters than I did in this season. While looking through some pictures and fanart, there does seem to be a main female love interest(?) in it, but this season didn’t really have any besides like three or four characters out of the multiple male characters.

I’ll be reading the manga soon to rest my anxious heart soon, and I’ll probably review that too.

I wanna see more! Let me see! Let me see!!

TLDR;

Recommended for: People looking for something funny and light hearted to enjoy, people looking for some kick ass action animes to watch, people who enjoy lovable characters.

Not recommended for: People looking for something dramatic or serious, people looking for something with romance

Visuals: 9/10 – The animation was really nice, and really new. The fighting was very fluid, and the characters had fun designs (though some of them a little generic in my opinion. But that kind of works in their favour for parody aspects). I didn’t talk about it above, but I really liked how they used a sketchier style sometimes during battle or for comic relief even.
Story: 8.5/10 – I really liked the concept and the parody aspect, but in terms of actual story-arc, it’s missing a little bit to be completely complete. Which is understandable – this is just the first season.
Overall enjoyment: 8.5/10 – It was a really good anime. I am really eager to see more of it. It isn’t just some cheesy shounen action anime – it has some really original comedy in there that I think anyone can enjoy. I will definitely be reading the manga too.

 

ANIMATED MOVIE REVIEW: Satoshi Kon’s PAPRIKA (2006)

WOW. SO um… I just finished watching Paprika and wow… No words. But I’ll force some out so that I can process what I just watched…

Paprika’s eyes from the movie poster.

Synopsis and spoiler-free analysis portion:

AHEM. Paprika (パプリカ) is a Japanese animated movie directed by Satoshi Kon (今 敏, Kon Satoshi). It is a sci-fi, psychological thriller centering around a new, unstable technology called the “DC Mini” which allows people to enter each other’s dreams. The protagonists are Dr. Atsuko Chiba, a scientist who is working on the DC Mini project, and Paprika, a mysterious female therapist who uses the DC Mini as a means to deliver psycho-therapy to patients plagued with nightmares. One of Paprika’s patients is the police detective Toshimi Konakawa, who has been suffering from nightmares from an unsolved case. The unstable technology soon creates problems for all those who are involved with it.

Paprika holding the DC Mini.

Dr. Atsuko Chiba (foreground) and detective Toshimi Konakawa (background).

“Is this real life? Or is this fantasy?”:

Wow. What a wild ride Paprika was. Holy shit. I have to say, while I was watching the movie, I was so freaking confused – even scared sometimes. I think my brain is still intact. I seem to be able to digest the movie a little now. People have compared this movie to Christopher Nolan’s Inception (2008), with the main similarity of course lying with the DC Mini, which gives the user the ability to manipulate dreams. If you thought Inception was confusing… oh boy. Inception seems like a walk in the park after watching this movie. Inception at least had the decency to explain the plans to you.

And HOLY were parts of this movie CREEPY. The pictures I provide for this post does not even begin to outline the weirdness that is in this movie (because I don’t want to spoil anything). It’s not particularly gory or anything, but there are things that happen in this film that will make your skin crawl. It’s a scary ride – but scary good.

Ugh. The dolls were the creepiest of all.

Creativity points:

I have to hand it to Kon and everyone who worked on this film – this film was creative. I can’t even imagine how this was put together. It was just like a big snowball of “what if this happened?” It was like nothing was out of bounds – which is what I love about animated films. It was very colourful. Animation was really cool – the fluidity of some shots were so realistic that I gasped out loud when I saw it (because it freaked me out). I really wish I could insert a gif but you know. No spoilers. Freaky things like that are best to be experienced on your own, in the context of the film.

I too question what I watch sometimes.

Recommended for:

Thought this film isn’t gory or gruesome, I still wouldn’t say it’s for the light-hearted. Some pretty dark stuff happens in this film. Since it’s animated, it probably won’t be as bad for most people (unless you really are that squeamish). Seriously though, if this was live action, I don’t think I’d sleep for days. If you liked Inception, or movies about dreams or psychological thrillers, this is a good one to watch. Animated movie fans, this will be a treat. Guaranteed to be a treat for your eyes.

Only scratching the surface of weirdness in this picture. One of my favourite stills though.

In-depth analysis (SPOILERS AHEAD!):

Turn back now or regret it forever. Unless you’ve already watched the movie.

What I liked about it:

Well, I think it’s already pretty obvious. The creativity, of course. It’s a cool idea they had for this technology; and the things that happened inside of the dreams themselves were pretty crazy. I liked that it wasn’t predictable AT ALL – which I find that after watching and reading so many things, a lot of movies are. But this one wasn’t. I had no idea where the boundaries between dream and reality were, the way I’m sure the characters had no idea. And when they finally reveal it, my mind is blown a little. A really good one was when Chiba goes into a dream while in Himura’s room. She is chasing after him, and she tries to jump over a rail, which eventually, collapses into nothing.

My favourite part of the really big dream where the detective goes to save Paprika/Atsuko. I specifically liked the ending of that segment, where he ends up on “floor 17”, or the floor with the victim of the murder he was trying to solve. His reaction to finally catching the “culprit” was priceless, and it made me really happy, because I felt really bad for him throughout the movie for some kind of reason.

I also really liked the scenes where Osanai has Paprika pinned down in his weird butterfly room. That was really creepy and such, but really interesting to watch. When Osanai reached his hand into her body, I did NOT expect him to be able to go under her skin to tear her mask off. Boy did these scenes make me feel uneasy. But I couldn’t look away.

Konakawa on floor 17.

What I didn’t like about it:

I was kind of let down by Paprika as a character… I don’t really know why though. I think I expected her to be more lovable – she is supposed to be the “woman of your dreams” after all – but she fell kind of flat for me. But of course, that’s probably because she doesn’t really exist, so you can’t really expect her to “develop” the way the other characters developed. The “real” her is Atsuko Chiba. But I didn’t like Chiba’s character that much either. She just felt kind of flat to me… It was sweet when they show her “dreaming” inside the bigger dream, where she dreams about being with Tokita. I liked that. I think the problem was that I didn’t get to spend as much time with our protagonist(s) as I liked, so it was hard for me to fully enjoy them as a whole character. I’m not fully satisfied with the end product of the characters.

Aside from the two main characters, I felt that the villains were kind of generic and boring to watch, especially the company president. How many times have you watched something where an old guy who all the characters trust, is actually the one behind all the mishaps in his quest for power? It’s not exactly groundbreaking. And he just wasn’t that convincing as a villain. I wish they delved more into the psychological aspect of dreams, rather than having an actual “villain”. He didn’t seem to have a really good handle on how to manipulate the dreams to his advantage.

I feel like some things weren’t really explained in this movie as well. What happened to Osanai and their company president? Are they just dead? Won’t the police get involved with that? I guess I can just infer what happens after. Also, why was the baby Chiba able to destroy the president in the end? It just seemed kind of like a random solution to what happened. I guess it doesn’t have to all make sense. I really think I just need to rewatch it.

Chiba talking to “Paprika” reflected on the window.

TLDR;

Recommended for: Satoshi Kon fans (how have you not watched this movie though? He only has four), fans of Inception, fans of sci-fi psychological thrillers, fans of animated movies

Not recommended for: People who don’t like to be mind-fucked, people who can’t handle any level of horror

Ratings:

Visuals: 9/10 – They were really good. I don’t know what else to say about them. I think character design maybe could have been better. Some of them seemed a little prototype-y.
Story: 8/10 – I don’t really have many complaints about it… Just that there seems to be a bit of rushing here and there, and maybe the characters could have been developed better. Also, I feel like some of my questions were left unanswered. Maybe I just need to rewatch it again. I still find it to be super cool and creative though.
Overall enjoyment: 7.5-8/10 – Despite giving it higher scores, I’d give it a 7.5 to 8 out of ten. Why? I didn’t really fall in love with the characters, and some things that happened seemed a little random. Maybe this score will change if I rewatch it.

P.S. Now that I’ve written all of this down, it all seems okay now : )

MOVIE REVIEW: Wong Kar-wai’s IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE (2000)

Hello folks!

This will be my first ever movie “review” (not intended to be taken very seriously in any way). It is of one of my favourite films, which I had just re-watched yesterday so it’s still fresh in my memory. I hope my review can do it some justice (though I doubt it). If you don’t want to read everything and you are just here for the final verdict, go down to the TLDR; at the bottom.

Maggie Cheung (left) as Mrs. Chan, and Tony Leung Chiu-Wai (right) as Mr. Chow (or Chow Mo-Wan)

Synopsis and spoiler-free analysis portion:

In the Mood for Love (Chinese: 花樣年華) is a HK film directed by one of my favourite directors, Wong Kar-wai. The movie is set in Hong Kong in the sixties, and it stars Maggie Cheung as Mrs. Chan, and Tony Leung Chiu-wai as Chow Mo-wan (also known as Mr. Chow). Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow move in next door to each other in the same apartment building; they soon discover that their spouses have been cheating on them with each other (Chow’s wife with Mrs. Chan’s husband), and they start to develop a platonic friendship through this development. It is a widely acclaimed film (though I don’t know anyone who has watched it other than my parents) and it is considered to be one of Wong Kar-wai’s best, and most visually beautiful films.

A visually beautiful film

First, I would just like to point out how much I love the Chinese title: 花樣年華 (pronounced fa yeung nin wa in Cantonese), which, literally, means something like “the time that the flowers are in full bloom”. There is just something so romantic about that title – and I think it represents the film better than the English title does (though the English title isn’t bad either). Like the Chinese title suggests, this film is a visually stunning masterpiece – without the help of crazy CGI and whatnot. From the smoke coming from Mr. Chow’s cigarettes as he smokes alone, to the various beautiful, floral patterned qipao (旗袍 – kei po in Cantonese), the traditional Chinese dresses that Mrs. Chan wears throughout the movie – all come together to create a beautiful film.

Maggie Cheung has never looked more beautiful – I guarantee that during the time that you are watching this film, you cannot think of any woman more beautiful than her as Mrs. Chan. But it wasn’t just her clothes and her makeup and her hair that made her that way, but Cheung portrayed her perfectly. From the way Mrs. Chan carried herself – in her posture, in her stride, in her facial expression – was really true to her character, a refined and restrained, professional and elegant woman who is unhappy with her marriage. Tony Leung Chiu-wai also embodied Mr. Chow pretty perfectly too – as a handsome, soft-spoken, lonely, and self-contained newspaper writer. The chemistry developed between these two characters was fascinating to watch, and very realistic (more on that below). The way they share their loneliness, pain, and anxiety together, their subtle flirting and courting, the way they talk to each other with their eyes… I can honestly watch their interactions forever. If you like Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu-wai, I think you’d really enjoy this movie. These characters they portray are at the height of being “subtly cool” and infinitely romantic.

Mrs. Chan walking down the hallway of a hotel. She is wearing a red coat over a white and black qipao. In this scene, the camera cuts between footage of the flowing curtains in the hallway and her pacing between floors.

The smoke motif used in the movie; Mr. Chow is at his desk at work, after hours.

Recommended for:

If you’re thinking about watching this film, I would definitely recommend it to you if you like films that are really focused on visual aspects – through sets, costumes, camera, and of course acting. It has a great score as well, that really highlights the loneliness of the characters and the longing between our protagonists. I will say the film progresses a little slow though, especially if you’re looking for a movie with a lot of passionate make-outs and a lot of sex; the title might suggest that there there will be a lot of amorous activities acted out in the movie – there won’t be. The beauty of the storytelling lies with the subtly of the acting.

Mrs. Chan thinking as she looks out the window from her apartment. She is wearing a blue qipao with a yellow daffodil pattern.

Longer analysis (SPOILERS AHEAD!):

You have been warned. Scroll down to the ratings and TLDR; if you don’t want to see this! These will be analyses of specific scenes.

The chemistry between Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow:

Like I’ve mentioned before, if you were reading the entire time, the chemistry between Mrs. Chan and Mr. Chow is incredible and believable. They don’t talk a lot in the film – at least not compared to what I’m used to seeing. It’s not a film where the man comes up with an endless amount of witty lines to charm the woman, or where the woman’s enchanting personality captivates the man like no other beauty before her could (you know which movies I’m referring to…). It’s a film that starts off with a man and a woman, neighbours, wanting to be platonic friends. But as the film progresses, it becomes clearer and clearer that they aren’t simply friends. We are first made aware of this when Mr. Chow says the magical “hook-up” words, “Let’s not go home tonight” or “Let’s stay out tonight” (depending on what your translated version says); it is only seconds later that we realize they are reenacting a scene. As we move through the movie, we see Mr. Chow longing for Mrs. Chan more and more, and she eventually starts developing feelings for Mr. Chow as well.

Longing – that’s the word for it. Long shots of Mr. Chow staring at Mrs. Chan as she broods over how she feels about this awkward situation that they’ve found themselves in with each other’s spouses; and she eventually broods about their own relationship. Long shots of Mr. Chow inching towards Mrs. Chan’s hand as they ride a taxi together, only to have her pull away, until finally, in their last car ride together, she holds his hand back. Their implied amorous activities finally release the sexual tension that is in the air between the two, but the longing doesn’t end their; we carry it until the end of the film (and beyond, for me) of wanting more, but never receiving. It really does create the “mood” of love, as we succumb to the pain of an unrequited relationship. It’s not even happening to us, yet we feel the pain as they do.

Mr. Chow and Mrs. Chan sitting inside of the taxi.

A visually beautiful film (part 2):

There are many notable visually stunning scenes here – my favourite is the one where Mrs. Chan rushes to the hotel where Mr. Chow is staying to write his story. She is wearing a white qipao with a black flower pattern, with a red coat over top. The contrast between the eye-catching red coat and the muted qipao alone is already so beautiful. But even more so is the way the camera follows Mrs. Chan up and down the stairs and through the corridors as she makes the decision to go to – or to bail on – Mr. Chow’s invitation. Her motions and emotions are frantic and afraid and uncertain and it made the audience (or me at least) feel the same. Flashing between the hotel structure and herself, the camera is barely able to follow up with Mrs. Chan’s movements – it is only when Mr. Chan opens the door to greet her do we feel release. Now that is storytelling by the camera done right.

The red curtains flowing in the hallway leading to Mr. Chow’s hotel room where he awaits Mrs. Chan.

 

Another scene which I’m sure a lot of people found really stunning was the final scene where Mr. Chow is in Cambodia, and he is talking into the hole. Long shots of the canyons and rocks are seen against a blue sky. Lovely, yes, and really the only “picturesque” landscape scene we get from the movie. However, I’m not a complete fan of this – I agree it’s beautiful, but for some kind of reason it doesn’t sit well with me against the rest of the film. It doensn’t look like it fits the sixties era very well… which the rest of the film excels at. It really does illuminate Mr. Chow’s loneliness though.

Favourite scene(s):

There are so many good scenes in this movie. One of my favourites is the scene where Mr. Chow first calls Mrs. Chan to “consult with her about his wife’s birthday present.” They play innocent as they talk to each other, each of them trying to get information from each other, each of them trying to say things without saying anything. It was really clever – and the second time around watching it, I picked up on some things prior to this scene that adds to this scene (like when Mrs. Chan asks her husband to buy two of the same handbags for her boss – one for his mistress and one for his wife).

Another thing I loved was their reoccurring “bit” to act out hypothetical situations, the first one being the scene where Mr. Chow suggests, “Let’s not go home tonight.” They then go on to reenact Mrs. Chan asking her husband if he has a mistress, and also to her reacting to Mr. Chow leaving to Singapore. I thought all of these were so funny – especially after the first time watching it, when I finally realized they were joking.

From the first time Mr. Chow invites Mrs. Chan out to a diner to talk.

TLDR;

Recommended for: People who like art films, fans of Wong Kar-wai, Maggie Cheung, or Tony Leung Chiu-wai, and the romantics

NOT recommended for: People who can’t stand subtly or “implied” actions, people who are looking for a lot of passion and making out and sex, people with little patience (the pacing is a little slow, and I can see it being a turn off for people who can’t deal with that), and people looking for a standard Hollywood rom-com

RATINGS:

Visuals: 10/10 – Truly a beautiful movie. I want to own all of Mrs. Chan’s qipaos. The camera was great at assisting with the subtle visual storytelling, where the dialogue was missing.
Story: 9/10 – I think it’s a pretty good romance story, but the first time watching it, I found that it kind of lacked closure. I’m okay now. I felt that it was INCREDIBLE at evoking mood.
Overall enjoyment: 10/10 – It wasn’t a 10/10 the first time I watched it (close, but it wasn’t) but I couldn’t get it out of my head. And the more I thought about it, the more I loved it. And it’s a 10/10 now. Even if you don’t know Cantonese and are only relying on subtitles (I will say that some of the subtitles in my version were not completely sufficient in terms of creating a sense of character through the dialogue) it’s still a really good watch if you’re looking for a mood-evoking, visually stunning romance film.

EXTRAS: Found this super funny clip on Critereon about a dancing scene that was filmed but cut from the movie. It is my new favourite thing:

https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/2499-in-the-mood-for-dancing