ANIME REVIEW: PSYCHO-PASS (Season 1)

After my last review of Baccano! (Season one), I thought I’d continue the theme of gory and grotesque anime reviews by reviewing Psycho-Pass. I’m excited, aren’t you?

Synopsis and spoiler-free section:

Yes, I finally get to talk about Psycho-Pass. Psycho-Pass (Japanese: サイコパス “Saiko pasu”) is an anime set in Japan, in the year 2113. Japan has entered an era where they have seemingly “perfected” the way public safety is handled, through the enforcement of the “Sibyl System”. The Sibyl System gives a way to objectively measure a person’s mental state and criminal intent – otherwise known as their “Psycho-Pass”. The story’s protagonist is Akane Tsunemori, a new “Inspector” for “Unit One” of the Public Safety Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, where she works alongside with the “Enforcers”, individuals who are labelled as criminals in terms of the Sibyl System. Through working as an Inspector alongside the Enforcers, Akane soon realizes that her views of “justice” and the Sibyl System may be horribly flawed.

The visuals:

Holy crap – if you claim that Psycho-Pass doesn’t have awesome visuals, I would be inclined to call you a dirty liar. Well, I wouldn’t – I mean, to each their own opinion. But I would be very confused as to why you would think that. It is animated by Production I.G, and the animation in Psycho-Pass is nothing but top-notch. I was hooked on the visuals alone the very moment that I saw the weapon that they used in this show – the “Dominator”. When Akane is first introduced to the Dominator, we immediately notice the fluidity of the animation with the way the Dominator assembles itself. Super cool. All the settings, from the city landscape to the interiors of their workplace and elsewhere (some really cool scenes which you will only see if you watch the anime ;)), are all consistently detailed and beautifully hi-tech looking.

Aside from animation, the way the “camera” is used during fight scenes is also quite brilliant – it truly feels like we’re a part of a chase or we’re in the action. The usage of an unsteady camera during these scenes imitate human vision quite well.

*-* was my face when I saw this.

Intriguing ideas:

Although I found that there were some cliche aspects of Psycho-Pass (in comparison to other shows/animes/books etc about dystopias), I really enjoyed the ideas that went into this show regarding the Sibyl System and the technology in this world. I love the concept of reading one’s “Psycho-Pass” – it’s a bizarre and ethically ambiguous concept about how you could put a label like that one someone, but an interesting one nonetheless. I think they handled the reasoning for this in the anime quite well. The technology, as I’ve also mentioned above where I talk about the visuals, is really cool. Aside form the Dominator, they have technologies in this anime like a compact that can dress you up automatically (pictured below), and other cool things that I won’t spoil for you. But the thing that bugs me about the investment they made into making up some really cool gadgets is that they didn’t go all the way with some other basic aspects of life that could be improved with advanced technology. Can’t think of them all though, right?

Akane’s super cool compact mirror that allows her to change clothes instantly!! So convenient D:

Recommended for:

So if you read the very top of this review, I mentioned that I’m continuing with the theme of gore – which kind of hints to you that there is a fair bit of blood in this anime. The title of this anime is Psycho-Pass – which may suggest that we could be dealing with some psychos. There are a few things in here that are a little bit more than “a little” grotesque. I’d advise you to STAY AWAY if you are sensitive to a medium amount of gore or lower, because some things in here are a little extreme (though I don’t know if I would say it’s more extreme than Baccano! – but it is more realistic).

Also, if you’re sick of the “fighting with your sense of justice” type of plot, you might be turned off by this. I don’t know if that’s a concern for anyone, but my brother said that factor seemed a little to0 obvious and “in your face”. It’s a common theme in stories about dystopias though, so you should be expecting that. However, I think Psycho-Pass does a pretty good job of steering it away from being too predictable in the end.

Finally, I will recommend this to anyone who is looking for an anime with a good mixture of the psychological, action, and drama genres. It executes dramatic scenes very well. Though there are some things that I didn’t love about Psycho-Pass, it is a well crafted anime. I will agree with my brother that it is a little bit preachy, but it is still thought provoking, and the details sets it apart from other stories about dystopias.

Watch it to see these lovely faces : )

In-depth analysis (spoilers ahead):

This is where I give my opinions about specific parts and aspects of the anime. Scroll all the way to the bottom for the final verdict if you haven’t already watched this anime : )

Continuing with the visuals:

The only complaint I have with the visuals is the character designs. They all look really good and they fit their characters really well – and that’s kind of my problem, especially for Kougami, Ginoza, and Makishima. I feel like if I got a non-visual character description of these three, the visual description I would give about these three wouldn’t be far off – ESPECIALLY in the case of Ginoza. I felt Makishima’s character design was a little cliche for the “super-smart” and “super cool” villain type. Kogami wasn’t as bad as the other two. I do like the character designs for the female characters though. I don’t know, maybe I’m just being picky. How many different anime character designs are there out there anyway?

Don’t tell me that you haven’t see this character design elsewhere before…

Revenge plots:

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little sick of watching it. So I’m not going to lie – I’m sick of watching these. Even though the climax was set for Kougami and Makishima to have their big showdown, I wasn’t that into it, because I have seen so many similar set-ups in the name of revenge. I don’t know how to describe it, but theirs felt a little artificial and way too forced. It felt a little “cringey” for me to watch some of the scenes where Kou is all angsty, plotting his revenge for Makishima.

That being said, I absolutely LOVED the way that they ended their feud – the way they hunted each other down in a field, away from all the modern technology and such. It felt kind of serene, and for a lack of a better word, “homey”, for Kou to “dispose of” Makishima with a hand gun (ugh, that sounds so bad. Maybe I should get my Psych-Pass checked too). And damn, it was such a visually beautiful scene as much as it was a symbolically meaningful scene (which I will discuss below). So maybe the revenge plot theme of this wasn’t all in vain.

Filler picture for mood.

Some really beautiful scenes (in other words, more about the visuals):

Two scenes stand out in my head that totally blew me away with its beauty are, one: when we are first shown the Sibyl System, and two: as mentioned before, the final part of Kou and Makishima’s showdown. When we are first shown the Sibyl System, I was shocked and amazed. Shocked at the concept, but amazed with how the animation looked. I felt that it was a very smart concept – I was trying so hard to figure how the Sibyl System worked, and that was not my guess. Seeing it though, was super eerie but also super fascinating. The detail in those shots are another great example of how visually awesome this anime is.

But the scene that I liked the most, not only visually, but the scene that I liked the most in the entire anime, was the scene where Makishima is running from Kou, with the sun setting behind him and  bloody streaming down his face. I was astonished by the elegance in this scene, how the frantic and dying Makishima offset so well with the calm and vivid setting sun. Great, and unforgettable scene.

It’s hard finding a picture sometimes that doesn’t contain spoilers but still fits what you’re talking about…

Tldr; and ratings section:

Recommended for: People who like psychological/action/drama animes, people who like stories about dystopias, people who enjoy animes with cool concepts and cool technology
Not recommended for: People who can’t handle blood and gore, people who might find messages about justice to be too preachy

Visuals: 9.5/10 – Okay, you already know I love this. I almost feel bad for taking off 0.5 points… because I felt that this anime was very safe with some of the character designs. Believable character designs are important!
Sound/music: 7/10 – On the music front, I really don’t remember much, and I didn’t care for the opening theme song or the ending theme. However, sound effects were good, and the tension building music in the dramatic parts were good.
Overall enjoyment: 8/10 – Despite it’s flaws, I really enjoyed Psycho-Pass. It was just an all-round interesting anime to watch – both because of it’s visual aspects and it’s storytelling aspects. Plus, not to mention, it has some of my favourite visual scenes of all time.

ANIME REVIEW: BACCANO! (Season 1)

Ugh my brain is dying. I need to do something other than school work. But I have this inexplicable (minor) fear of being unproductive, so… I guess I’ll do this and ignore my other responsibilities for a little while…

From Baccano!’s opening theme.

Synopsis and spoiler free section:

Wow, what can I even say about this anime? Well, Baccano! (Japanese: バッカーノ! “Baccano!“) is an anime that was released in 2007, and spans for a total of one 16 episode season. The animation was done by the studio Brain’s Base, and it is based on the “light-novel” series of the same name, written by Ryouga Narita (who also authored the popular light-novel series Durarara!!) and illustrated by Katsumi Enami. The plot follows the events aboard a train called “The Flying Pussyfoot” (super tasteful name for a train, I must say :P), where it appears that multiple possibly dangerous groups – like the mafia, bandits, and such – and even supernatural beings, have congregate. The story starts off in 1932, but follows a non-linear timeline, flashing back and forth (time wise and space wise) mainly between the years 1930-1932.

Watching this dubbed:

So this is one of the few animes I’ve watched dubbed, as suggested by people on online forums and such. For most of the characters, I think the dubbed voices worked. I think it was great for a handful of other characters – as they all have an accent of some sort, since this is supposed to take place in 1930s Manhattan (though there are others with a non-New York accent). To get the full experience, I think it’s best to watch it dubbed. However, I did feel at times that some of the accents sounded a little forced, which is never a good thing and can be a little cringe-worthy. That being said, I still think it is worth it to watch this dubbed, as a New York or French or English-speaking language accent can’t really be imitated in Japanese… for obvious reasons.

Firo’s “name card” from the opening theme.

Awesome opening theme:

I love Baccano!‘s theme song, and I’m sure if anyone has ever told you about Baccano!, they probably would have mentioned it too. You just can’t talk about Baccano! without mentioning it’s opening theme. Baccano!‘s opening theme song, named “Guns & Roses”, is performed and written by the band Paradise Lunch. What’s so good about it that you just have to mention it? Well, the song itself is such a great mood setter, with it’s high energy brass instruments and quick beat – it pairs perfectly with the animation of the opening theme, which is also awesome. The animation that pairs with the theme song is a quick rundown of most of the important characters of the show, flashing quickly from character to character – because there are a LOT of them. This combo of elements just grabs your attention right away – which an opening theme should do, because it’s the first thing you see. It does it well. Not to mention, the opening theme is a perfect display of how this anime plays out – fun, energetic, creative, and just a little chaotic.

Miria (left) and Isaac (right), the power couple 😉

Maybe more than just “a little chaotic”:

Yeah, maybe. I mean, for an anime that only lasts 16 episodes, a LOT of things happen to a lot of different characters. Between getting the names of the characters right so you could know who the characters are referring to, and then knowing their nicknames, and then knowing which time period they’re in, and then knowing the story line in general… yeah. I won’t pretend it isn’t a lot. HOWEVER, I say it’s manageable – and chaotic in a good way. There’s bad chaotic, where we have a lot of characters who show up for one or two episodes (maybe even a story arch), do something for an episode that seems REALLY important, and then they never show up again or they never get mentioned again and they didn’t really add to the overall story line. I hate it when they do that in shows. But Baccano! wastes no time with that bullshit – if someone is there, he/she is there for a reason. This anime will start off seeming like it’s just throwing a bunch of characters at you, but the characters and their story line always serves a purpose and always comes full circle. That’s what I would consider “good” chaotic. Stick with it and it should make sense later!

Isaac, Miria, Jacuzzi (the one with the face tattoo) and Nice are having a nice chat together. So happy and cute 🙂

Recommended for:

Well, despite me hyping this anime up to be all fun and games, you have to understand one thing before watching this: this is not for the light hearted. Although this anime is amusing and cheery and it has it’s fair share of cutesy moments, it is GORY and GRUESOME. Although I can’t stand scary movies at all, I am 90% okay with gore/slasher films and whatnot – and even a couple of parts in Baccano! made me a little squeamish. A few especially grotesque images stand out in my head. If any amount of gore makes your stomach churn… this might be an anime to avoid.

I WILL recommend it for people who are looking for an interesting and unconventional anime, in terms of storytelling and style. It’s a very refreshing anime. If you like animes like Durarara!!, this should be right up your alley – and rightfully so, since the author of the light-novels for Baccano! also authored Durarara!!. I would like to mention that I watched Durarara!! first, and it was during one of Durarara!!‘s breaks that I picked up Baccano!, and since then… well, it’s been a little bit difficult to get back to Durarara!!. Although they play around with similar elements, and I LOVE the characters in Durarara!!, I liked how concise Baccano! was; Durarara!! is getting to be a little bit overwhelming for me… But I still enjoy it. But if you like animes that get to the point faster, you’ll probably enjoy Baccano! more.

Don’t these two (Lua, on the left, and Ladd, on the right) just look delightful??

In-depth analysis (spoilers ahead):

So that was the end of the spoiler-less section. Please scroll all the way down for the ratings : )

Favourite characters & characters I wish they included more:

There were definitely some good ones in this anime. I think like a lot of people I’ve seen talking about this anime online, my favourite is Claire, AKA Vino, AKA the “Rail Tracer”. I think he had the most interesting backstory, and he is definitely the most charismatic of the bunch. Who doesn’t like a super confident guy like that? Who else can rock a full face of blood? Also, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love his interactions with Chane. Aside from Claire though, I LOVED Isaac and Miria. They’re freaking adorable together, and I really enjoyed watching them pull their schemes together. I don’t think I would have loved Baccano! as much as I do without them. They really hold the show together with their comedic relief.

I really wish Baccano! talked about Luck and Maiza more. I don’t really know what we could’ve gotten out of knowing Luck more, besides seeing that he was a super calm and collected guy from the mafia. I don’t know, I just wanted to get more background about him because he seemed like he was going to be in it a lot at the beginning of the anime. On the other hand, I think an episode on Maiza could have been extremely interesting – just how did he get involved with being in the mafia? What was he doing all those years leading up to the current events? I would have loved to learn more about Maiza, even if that means sacrificing that air of mystery hiding behind his smile.

Maiza, always smiling.

Tldr; and ratings section:

Recommended for: People looking for an anime with an interesting style of storytelling, people who like animes that doesn’t waste time telling a story, people who like Durarara!!.
Not recommended for: People who can’t handle gore or blood, people who get frustrated following semi-confusing story lines

Visuals: 8/10 – Although I didn’t talk about it above, I really liked the art style of Baccano! – especially the character designs. Obviously this anime is a little old (2007), so the colours and the backgrounds and whatnot are a little lackluster compared to the super sexy animation of today, but I don’t think it looks completely dated. Also, the way they cut from scene to scene is executed very well.
Music: 8/10 – As stated above, I think the theme song matches the vibes that Baccano! gives off perfectly. Not stated above, I think the background music and reaction music (is that a thing?) works very well with the visual elements of Baccano!. I especially love the sharp and quick, haphazard music that accompanies frantic moments in the anime.
Overall enjoyment: 8.5/10 – Baccano! is a super solid anime, in terms of… well, frankly, it’s solid in everything. It is interesting and attention grabbing right off the bat, it has a compelling form of storytelling, and it has an unforgettable cast. If you’re able to handle some gore, you HAVE to check it out.

ANIME REVIEW: BARAKAMON (Season one)

This is going to be a short one. Been a few days since I wrote something. I missed it – I’m sure no one else did though. : P . I still watched stuff though. Here’s the latest I watched:

If I could sum up this anime in one photo…

Synopsis and spoiler free portion:

Ah… so cute… Barakamon (ばらかもん) is an episodic, slice-of-life anime about a young, talented calligrapher with a bad temper and a rotten, impulsive personality, named Seishuu Handa. After being publicly disgraced at an exhibition, Handa’s father forces him to move to the Goto Islands. Initially finding the island life to be an inconvenient struggle compared to his urban lifestyle in Tokyo, he soon finds the villagers growing on him more and more. He soon finds that there is more to life than what he knew as he continues to grow with the characters on this island, all the while practicing his calligraphy.

Why is this interesting?

…is probably what you’re thinking after reading the synopsis. Look, I won’t pretend that it’s the deepest thing you’ll ever watch, or that it will change your life if you watch it. I’ll tell you what it is though: it’s funny, it’s cute, and it has a great cast of characters. Like most SoL animes that I’ve watched, the characters have to be really great or else I just can’t get into it. The relationships that Seishuu forms with the villagers, and especially with Naru, are just so precious. Seishuu is precious. He is just the perfect awkward character. His reactions to things are so funny and relatable. The characters in Barakamon makes this anime really hilarious – without having to rely entirely on over-the-top situations, unrealistic sexual encounters, or even romantic tension. It’s good fun, and it doesn’t leave you feeling dirty afterwards (usually).

The best duo : )

Recommended for:

If you’re looking for some good, clean humour that makes you feel good, I think this is a great anime for that. I felt really relaxed watching this. I mean, sometimes you just need something like that – an anime that doesn’t require much from you, aside from your viewership. It’s really short too – only 12 episodes. I wanted to stay on that island with them just a little longer. Obviously, if you don’t like SoL animes, you probably won’t like this one. However, I will say a lot of the complaints I have seen about SoL animes is that they’re “boring” – I can assure you this one isn’t. Like I keep say – it’s super, super funny. On top of that, it’s very heartwarming. Although, I can’t say that this anime will make your heart throb – there’s nearly no romance (imagination is your friend for this one).

C’mon! Let’s go watch it!

Longer analysis (with spoilers):

This is usually reserved for further discussion of the anime, but I don’t really have anything to say about it that I haven’t already covered… So I just won’t waste anyone’s time any further (mine included) and I’ll get on with the ratings.

I just really wanted to have this photo in my review. This is my favourite scene from Barakamon :’D

TLDR; and ratings:

I’m really wondering if I even need to do a TLDR; section. This is the shortest review that I’ve written so I don’t know. You can’t just read the whole thing? 😦

Recommended for: People looking for an anime to relax with, people looking for an anime with (mostly) clean jokes that are ACTUALLY funny, people looking for an anime with fun-loving characters
Not recommended for: Basically people who don’t like SoL animes I guess. Like with most SoL animes, it is episodic, not a LOT changes in the end, and it is somewhat open ended.

Music: 6.5-7/10 – It has a good opening and ending theme that I like, and the background music was nice and calming most of the times (though I swear I’ve heard all of these songs somewhere before…) But it doesn’t stand out that much.
Visuals: 7/10 – I liked the visuals for this – especially how they made use of character expressions a lot for this. They had some very pretty scenes, especially when Seishuu reflects on what he has learned that episode. However, I wouldn’t say the art style is very “recognizable” when you put it beside other animes. I mean, Seishuu looks like a pretty standard character, just saying.
Overall enjoyment: 8/10 – I really enjoyed Barakamon. I just felt GOOD when I was watching it, you know? Like really relaxed and happy. And it was actually very funny, and SO sweet and cute. Definite recommend.

 

 

 

ANIME REVIEW: TERROR IN RESONANCE (Season one)

Shinichiro Wantanabe… The only anime directly I specifically search for anime series from. Here’s my first review of one of his animes (first of many more to come, actually): Terror in Resonance.

Disclaimer at the end of the opening sequence states that this is a work of fiction, and is not based on any real life events.

Synopsis and spoiler free analysis section:

First, can I just say how interesting the title alone sounds? ANYWAY, Terror in Resonance (Japanese: 残響のテロル Zankyou no Terror) is an anime directed by Shinichiro Wantanabe (director of the highly acclaimed and super popular animes Cowboy Bebop and Samurai Champloo), about two adolescent males, Nine and Twelve, who are genius terrorists. Honestly, after that sentence, how are you not already hooked? Throughout the series, Nine and Twelve set out a series of attacks – which can only be stopped if the puzzles they set out (displayed through YouTube). A former detective, Kenjiro Shibazaki, has been “resurrected” back into the police detective department to help solve these puzzles.

Nine (left) and Twelve (right).

Nine and Twelve (and the others):

At first, I didn’t feel very attached to the characters in this anime, but they slowly grow on you. At first, Nine seems like the stock, cold-hearted, super-cool and super-intelligent guy, and then Twelve seems like the stock character foil to that (sunny and bright and warm and fuzzy), but they later turn out to be so much more. I grew to really love them, despite them not having some qualities that I really like in a character (like wittiness, to name one.)

As for the others, Shibazaki’s character was interesting, but not the most interesting detective I’ve ever seen. They should have elaborated more on his scenes, but since it’s such a short anime, it makes sense that they didn’t drag it out. There was never any real “drama” that I felt during his scenes (I’d elaborate on that more, but you know, spoilers). But he’a good guy.

As for female characters… There aren’t really many. There are like… four or five in total, and maybe like three of them are important to the plot. I didn’t really like any of the female characters (I will elaborate more later) but they were involved in some of my favourite scenes in the anime. There was only one particularly strong female character… but no spoilers, sorry.

Shibazaki looking all detective-ish.

Awesome visuals (and then some not so awesome ones):

The “camera” style used for this anime is one of the most unique that I’ve seen. I kind of don’t even want to talk about it here because I just want you to notice it on your own. So go to the next paragraph if you do want to try to notice it on your own. It’s really subtle. The camera, when it is supposed to be shooting a still frame, moves ever so slightly. I wonder why they went in that direction with the camera. I really liked the effect it created, and it gave the anime a really realistic tone to it. Aside from that, the camera follows the characters fantastically when they run.

The scenery and backgrounds were the best part visually. They weren’t on the level of, say, Psycho Pass, with the super cool electronics and stunning scenery (that ending scene ahhhh…), but it looks really good still. There were some very stunning shots.

The details put on the scenery and smaller objects definitely took precedence over the detail and quality put into drawing the characters sometimes. When zoomed out, the characters don’t look nearly as polished as the background, so sometimes it doesn’t really match and looks kind of cheap in comparison to the BG. Up close, they look pretty good.

Some nice buildings behind Nine.

Actual shot from the hallway. What a pretty hallway. That’s Lisa btw.

Music (feature one of my favourite artists!!!!!):

Music, like in most of Wantanabe’s animes, was incredible. Yoko Kanno, who has also worked on the soundtrack for Cowboy Bebop (GREAT music), Darker than Black (which I have not watched) and many other great anime works. “Fugl” from the OST is one of my favourites. It’s a really peaceful and sad sounding piano piece, that integrates nicely with the scenes and stories of the characters.

ALSO! ALSO!! I’m excited for this. There’s this band I really like that not a lot of people have heard of (they have been in soundtracks for other things) and their song is used in one of my favourite scenes of the film. The song is called “Is” by POP ETC, formerly known as The Morning Benders (actually, I don’t like most of the songs under their new name; their sound changed after their name changed, but the name change was for another reason; anyway, check it out!!!!)

There were a couple of songs I didn’t like. I didn’t like the opening song very much (but that’s fine, I just skipped it after the first couple of times), and I didn’t like the song that they played during Nine’s flashbacks. Why was it so hardcore? I feel like some eerie electronic music or event no music would have given a better effect.

He’s not listening to any of the songs I mentioned above… but the song he is listening to is beautiful too.

Recommended for:

I really like this anime. Because it is about such a controversial subject, I can’t say I would recommend it for everyone… at least not without giving it away to much. But if you’re looking for an anime series that will make you think deeply about things, that also looks beautiful and sounds beautiful, this might be good for you. I will say that there are no female characters who I found to be incredibly likeable in this.

Jump down to TLDR; to skip the spoilers!!!

Specific scene analyses (spoiler section!):

HERE WE GO!

Female characters and their roles:

As I said before, I didn’t really feel much for the female characters. I didn’t really like Lisa at first, because it was obvious that she was going to be one of those characters that drag down the rest of the team, gets taken hostage at some point, and then has to get rescued and part of the plan is ruined because of that (which is what happened). SO you know – those characters always get hated on. BUT, I can’t completely dislike her. She gave Twelve, in his really short life, someone to really cherish. His feelings for her, like his sense of family with Nine, made him human. It proved that he was more than just a failed experiment. Also, she was a good character for offsetting the two boys; she was just “ordinary”. If we only got to see scenes with the super geniuses Nine and Twelve, and the brainiacs Five and Shibazaki, I think it would get a little tiring and tense. We would never get to see the “humanity” in the two boys.

It was adorable and very heartwarming watching Twelve act like a normal boy : )

Five, on the other hand, is a lot more capable than Lisa; I still didn’t find her very likeable, as she was trying to destroy Nine and Twelve’s plans (well, she was really just out to get Nine). I found it a little cliche having a super obsessive enemy who is hell-bent on catching the main character at all costs, even by doing things that are extremely unprofessional. Another thing that pissed me off was how she suicided after she kissed him! But you know what? It could all be rationalized to some degree. She is the object of the experiment. She, like Nine and Twelve, is damaged psychologically. Nine and Twelve are the only thing that resembles a family to her. She clearly resents the Japanese government for doing what they did to her, so she completely disregards the safety of the citizens in the country to win her “game”. But of course, she realizes that they are just fighting against the same system that she hates so much. I still think that part was cheesy, but I think he character is somewhat justifiable. That being said, I’m still not a fan of hers, and I think her character is the biggest flaw in the show – for me, at least. The only value I think that she added to the show was that she gave a further insight into their past, but that’s where they should have left her – in the past.

She looks cool though. Her character design is completely different from the rest. Much less realistic.

The puzzles:

I thought the riddles were pretty clever – though they, in total, only had two or three. My favourite was the one where they set off the “invisible bomb” – where they released all the information about the investigation. I did not expect that to be the “bomb” at all.

One problem I did have with the puzzles was that there seemed to be a… lack of intensity. I never really did feel that Shibazaki struggled that much with them… and some of them were kind of easy if you’ve read anything about mythology. Like, Shibazaki just had to go to the book room and take out a book about mythology and then he would have an easy lead. They did state that they were somewhat trying to get caught. I learned some cool things to add to my own knowledge of mythology, so that was a plus.

Sphinx!

My favourite scenes:

Although I don’t really like Lisa as a character, a lot of my favourite scenes included her in it – and would not have been possible without her. I think a lot of people’s favourite, and my own, is the scene inside the Ferris wheel where Lisa was held captive, and Twelve had to try to disarm the bombs. It’s an impossible task to do in the time he was given – but you can see Twelve struggling to retain his composure and to reassure Lisa that everything would be okay. Though I think a lot of people complained that he shouldn’t have betrayed Nine, he really didn’t have a choice – Lisa would die and so would he. I argue that it would have been much worse for Nine to have to more deaths on his hands.

This is like… the biggest freakin’ Ferris wheel I’ve ever seen. Look at all those carts!! How long would it take to load the whole thing?!

I actually really loved all the scenes with Twelve and Lisa, despite Lisa’s character flaws. Like I said before, her existence in the show was necessary to show that the boys were indeed human. They weren’t random terrorists who completely disregards society – they didn’t want anyone to die from what they were doing. You could really see that from Twelve’s repeated rescuing of Lisa. Lisa was a choice that Twelve made for himself.

Another good scene, where Twelve comes swooping in to save Lisa from the police. This scene also features the song “Is” by POP ETC.

The ending (and my perfect ending):

Oh man. So close to crying after Twelve died. Nine’s scream was so heart wrenching. Though I really don’t see why they didn’t kill Nine first – he was the one holding the trigger. Or if they didn’t want Twelve and Nine to talk, I feel like they could have negotiated with them. Sphinx had kept all of their promises regarding their attacks the entire time – they were as trustworthy as a couple of terrorists get.

I think my perfect ending would have been if Nine, Twelve, and Lisa ran away together to some rural area. They would lead a peaceful life for a year or two, until Nine and Twelve could no longer survive, and die “naturally” as a result of the experiment. Kind of cheesy, but I think they deserve that peaceful ending.

But although I say all of these things, I was satisfied with the ending. I really wanted them to have a happy ending though. Their entire lives were filled with such horror – I really just wanted them to live a happy life, even if their lives were going to end shortly after (you could already see signs of Nine deteriorating earlier on). I would have been so happy if the anime had ended in the tone that it did at around 15 minutes into the finale. But the reality is, they were terrorists, and an anime like this would not have made sense without some kind of retribution for their actions. So I think the ending was good – they had some real happiness before dying.

😥

Their deaths were inevitable – Nine showed signs of mental deterioration, the same way that Five did.

A few things that bugged me:

I mean, they’re pretty minor things – I can live with them and still enjoy the anime.

First off: Five’s English. Oh man. I don’t usually like to mention it, because it’s rude and it’s fine for people who aren’t native English speakers to have trouble speaking it… but oh man. I have never cringed at someone’s English in a show so badly. I wish they had done the entire thing in Japanese instead, but I guess they just wanted to show the contrast between Five working with her team of American agents and the Japanese detectives. Voice over would have worked really nicely in their favour for this…

Second: Five’s character in general. I talked about it above already. She just wasn’t a very realistic character in a show that leaned more towards reality – it made her scenes seem kind of off.

A lot of her scenes were cringey for me.

Third: Twelve’s condition of having synesthesia. Like, it was cool that they kept showing how he could see feathers in the air and stuff… and him telling Lisa was the first time that he opened up about himself… but that was it. It seemed kind of pointless. I thought that he would be able to use it to eventually rescue Lisa (ie: like in the Ferris wheel scene, I thought they would have a fake Lisa strapped there, and he would be able to tell it wasn’t her because of the colour of her voice). But nope – all it was was an interesting fact about him.

Pretty pretty. But that’s all it really had to offer.

TLDR;

Recommended for: People looking for a unique psychological anime, people looking for an anime with good cliffhangers, people looking for something serious
Not recommended for: It’s a touchy subject that not everyone would be cool with. Also, don’t watch it if you’re looking for an anime with some lols.

Visuals: 9/10 – It really was a beautiful anime, with unique “camera” shots and amazing scenery. They sometimes went a little cheap on drawing the characters though, which is pretty noticeable when everything else looks so beautiful and realistic.
Music (new!): 9/10 – Adding this new section! I really should have been talking about this anyway – there were some great scores in my previous reviews. The music in this was amazing. There were some songs that I didn’t really care for, but overall the score matched the anime very well. I loved it.
Story: 8-8.5/10 – I do love the story. I bought into it completely, though I think a lot of people may find some of it to be unrealistic. It’s really different from other animes that I have seen, and they had some great cliffhangers (I finished this within a 22 hour time frame). But I had some problems with the side characters and some missing information that I couldn’t ignore.
Overall enjoyment: 8-8.5/10 – This was a solid anime. I’m going to be thinking about it for awhile. Everything put together just made it really awesome – some real quality work here.

 

MOVIE REVIEW: Tetsuya Nakashima’s CONFESSIONS (2010)

I do love a good thriller – I don’t like horror movies (with the scary looking ghosts and shit), but I LOVE thrillers. I watched this film because a friend from my film class suggested it to me, and it seems interesting. Here’s what I thought.

The main character, Yuko Moriguchi, played by Takako Matsu.

Synopsis and spoiler-free review portion:

Confessions (Japanese: 告白 kokuhaku) is a psychological-thriller about a disenchanted middle-school teacher, named Yuko Moriguchi (pictured above), of a class of misbehaved students. The events of this movie takes place after Ms. Moriguchi’s daughter had been murdered – by two students in her class (“Student A” and “Student B”). She proceeds to take revenge on these two students to avenge her daughter’s death. Confessions is directed by Tetsuya Nakashima, and has won several awards for that year.

Lots of talking:

Well, the film’s name is Confessions, so it probably makes sense that there is a lot of talking. But at some point it gets to be a lot, and then I find myself checking my phone. I don’t know why. I need to read subtitles, so it makes no sense that I should check my phone while watching this movie. I also really rarely check my phone while watching things. BUT THERE WAS SO MUCH TALKING. Thankfully, not the whole film is like this – I think it happens the most during the first 20 or so minutes. Just letting you know what you’re getting into.

Me nearing the end of Ms. Moriguchi’s first soliloquy.

Multiple storylines:

I liked that Confessions followed multiple storylines from different POVs – not only that of Ms. Moriguchi’s, but also that of the two culprits, and other side characters. It made the film a lot more interesting (maybe because I’m a really big fan of this type of storytelling), because partway through, I was really wondering where this movie was headed if it was only going to follow Ms. Moriguchi. I don’t think that would have been a very good movie. Don’t get me wrong – overall, I liked Ms. Moriguchi’s character, as she was probably the most interesting character (to me anyway); there just didn’t seem to be enough material to just follow her around the whole time.

I wonder what he’s thinking about.

Moody visuals:

If you could tell from the pictures I’ve selected for this post, pretty much the whole film is filtered by a… I want to say rainy? type of filter. I think it looks nice and artsy, and goes well with the serious tone of the film. There are also a lot of symbolism that they use throughout the film to evoke mood (like the popping of bubbles, etc). I liked that they used these two devices to enhance the overall aesthetics of the film.

Buttahfllly! “But what does it MEAN?”

Problems I had with the film:

The lots of talking thing… I could deal with. For the purpose of what they were trying to do, I think it worked and accomplished what they needed to. But there were a few other problems – like the fact that it was kind of predictable at times (which is the worst in a thriller!!!) and some of the cheesy special effects. They went a little overboard with the visual effects sometimes (that I mentioned in the previous section) and that came off as a little corny to me.

Recommended for:

I still think it’s a good watch, despite some of its shortcomings. It still has its twists and turns that I didn’t see coming (though not as many as I would have liked and not some of the more important ones), which kept it interesting. I guess it’s recommended for people who like psychological-thrillers because that’s all I can really consider it. It’s also a pretty interesting insight into the deranged minds of pre-teens. If you’re not good with seeing bloodshed though, this one might not be for you.

Middle school is this much fun apparently. Weird kids.

Specific scene analyses (spoilers ahead!):

Scroll down to TLDR; for ratings and to skip the spoilers! There’s actually not a lot left I need to say in this section anyway, but you know, spoilers.

The ending bit:

I have mixed feelings about the ending, but I think I mostly liked it. It definitely wasn’t an ending that I felt was unsatisfying – it was – but there were a few things I didn’t really like about it. The fact that Shuya’s plan was going to fail – and the way that it was going to fail – was so obvious. The prospect of a kid blowing up a room full of preteens and teachers is pretty far-fetched… even for a movie. It wasn’t just obvious to me right? It was obvious right? Of course Ms. Moriguchi’s going to intercept his plan! However, I didn’t expect Ms. Moriguchi to blow up his mom’s office. I liked the plan, didn’t like the special effects for this part or the dramatic reenactment of the event inside Shuya’s head. It was a little over the top for me. When I was talking about cheesy special effects before, I was referring to this. This was my biggest problem with the movie. It seems like it’s not that big of a deal, but it really ruined the whole tone of the ending for me. Ms. Moriguchi’s last lines were pretty badass though. I’m still wondering why no teachers stepped in to say anything.

IN-SYNCED GASPS!!!

TLDR;

Recommended for: People who like psychological-thrillers (duh), people who like movies told from multiple point of views, people looking for a good plot twist
Not recommended for: People who are squeamish with blood, people who don’t like watching movies with a bunch of kids (this is a thing right?), people who don’t like to watch movies with a lot of talking (I feel like this isn’t a thing to worry about if you speak the native language, but be prepared to be reading the subtitles a lot.)

Ratings:

Visuals: 8/10 – They were pretty good; I liked that the movie used a lot of artful imagery. A lot of the visuals had to do with building the mood of the movie. I just couldn’t get over some of the cheesy special effects.
Story: 7.5/10 – The story was good too, but I felt some of it was over-dramatic and parts of it were predictable. Still interesting to watch though.
Overall enjoyment: 7.5/10 – Overall, I did enjoy the movie, but I didn’t love it. It felt a little long to me at times, and I didn’t like that some parts felt cheesy or predictable to me. I don’t think I’d watch it again though.

 

 

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 : )