New Manga Spotlight – Happy Sugar Life, Jigokukoi; Death Life, Niehime to Kemono no Ou, Canaria-tachi no Fune and Kangoku Jikken

by AidanAK47, posted in New Manga Spotlights

[slideshow_deploy id=’18102′]

Happy Sugar Life

High-schooler Matsuzaka Satou has a reputation for being easy, but one day her lifestyle of sleeping with one boy after another comes to an end. It happens when she meets the child Shio, for whom she is convinced she feels true love for the first time. Satou may seem sweet and innocent, but there is nothing she won’t do to protect their life together, including committing murder. But from where did she acquire the little girl, and how long can their “Happy Sugar Life” together last?

This is a story about love. But not in the sense of “Let’s get married and live our lives together” but more along the lines of “I will stalk you and watch you as you sleep at night, breathing heavily.” This story is about Yanderes and it certainly has them of all kinds and sizes. What you are going to get out of this depends on whether you like dark stories like myself. In this case everyone in this story is messed up in some way or another and it brings some great twists to the table. If you watched Mirai Nikki and thought that it would have been more interesting if it focused primarily on Yuno then this is the manga for you. Admittedly the main characters preaching on other characters “Love” is somewhat grating and this does depend a lot on it’s shock value. Still I think it has merit in that there are so few of these kinds of stories pulled off this well.

 

Jigokukoi; Death Life

Another series by the author of Jigokuren ~Love in Hell~. Set in the same world as Love in Hell but with all new characters.

A love comedy in hell you say? Well this isn’t necessarily a new title as the author has used this setting before in a similarly titled manga. But damn if it isn’t an interesting setting. Basically our protagonist dies and goes to hell. Hell in this universe happens to be everything you expect it to be besides the cute demon girls as it is their job to torture their subject in order to gain some level of status and money. Oh and by torture I really mean that in every sense of the word. If you are not a fan of gore you would do better to stay away from this as it does not hold back with it’s artwork. There’s people getting skinned alive, having their intestines nailed to a wall and even chopping off…yeah that’s too painful for me to even type. Regardless of the damage inflicted, once a person dies they just revert back to their old selves and thus the torture can begin anew. Despite how dark the subject material sounds this is actually more of a dark comedy that doesn’t take itself too seriously. I would recommend reading the prequel to this as I am not too fond of the new characters dynamic. The best comparison i could make for this is that it’s like Bludgeoning Angel Dokuro-chan.

 

Niehime to Kemono no Ou

Saliphie, the 99th sacrifice to the terrifying demon king, learns two secrets about the king: The first, that he has been letting the sacrifices go in secret. The second, that half of his blood is that of a human. She gets to know the king’s kindness and sorrow, and then it’s announced that the king has taken Saliphie, who wishes to become a source of energy for the king, as his queen, and…?

Well it’s beauty and the beast without the stockholm syndrome. This is an odd choice for me as I generally don’t go for these kinds of stories. However I must admit that their is something rather charming about this one. Maybe I just like the Dynamic between the king and the sacrifice girl as he tends to act menacingly while the girl just sees right through him. Plus i really love the design of the king and the setting of the monster kingdom. Of course there may be those of you being put off by the fact that the King is a lion and that this story looks like beastitly. Don’t worry, the king has a human form and their relationship is not sexual. I am not exactly crazy about this one but I admit that I rather enjoy reading it. It’s a very warm and fuzzy love story.

 

Canaria-tachi no Fune

Yuri is just a normal girl in high school: she loves hanging out with her friends, she has dreams, and she has worries. But one day, she wakes up in a strange forest she’s never seen before beside a man named Chihiro. As the two of them learn more about the place they suddenly find themselves in, and the oddly real dream they had of being abducted by aliens, the dark secret of where they are and what has happened to them will begin to unfold.

A man and a girl find themselves on an Alien planet without any real knowledge of why they are there. Once again this is a pretty dark story as the two come to terms with their alien surroundings. Artwork is great and so far the story has had some interesting turns. Might need a bit more time to show where it really is going but the general mental breakdown of the protagonists is enough to keep me intrigued.

 

Kangoku Jikken

Eyama Aito, a high school student, is the victim of daily bullying. One day a strange letter arrives inviting him to a “captivity game.” He may choose one person to hold captive for one month with a chance at winning a large amount of money. He chooses the ringleader of his bullies, Aya Kirishima, and the only rule of the game is to not kill her. Everything else is fair game. Eyama’s revenge begins!

Another dark concept to add to the mix. The bully and bullied which places when a boy enters the girl that torments him in a game. The rules of the game are simple, enter a name and that person will be abducted and held in a facility for one month. In that one month the one who entered the name can do absolutely anything to the victim. As long as it doesn’t kill the victim or remove their ability to speak then anything is fair game. However at the end of each week the victim is given an opportunity to guess the name of their capturer. If they guess right they get 10 million yen paid by capturers pocket. If they fail to guess the name in that month then the victim pay the capturer 10 million yen. What makes this one interesting is that their are others in the game as well who take part for different reasons.Our protagonist looks to be someone who is a potential sadist and has at least some degree of intelligence. I am hoping it doesn’t pull the rape card as that would be cheap however so far it looks like it’s sticking to just physical and psychological abuse. It might need some time before we can really see where it goes but for now I am rather fascinated.

 

Other Notable New works

Goblin Slayer

Shinyaku Marchen

Wombs

Bokura no Fushidara

Unbalance School Life

Kami-sama, Ki-sama o Koroshitai

Berserk(2016) – 06 [Nighttime Feast: Burning at the Stake]

by Bam, posted in Berserk(2016), Currently Watching:

The episode picks up where the last one left off, with the lakeside haunting of Casca and Nina. We see the brand attracting ghouls followed by the Demon Child warding them off. For those who might be unfamiliar with the franchise, the Demon Child is Casca’s infant, and it’s been corrupted by the Godhand form of Griffith, Femto. The child’s powers were never clearly explained, but it’s safe to assume that he takes a bit after his stepfather. This will be further explored in the coming chapters.

The next scene marks the return of the Skull Knight. I’m definitely disappointed that we didn’t get to see the fight between Guts and the Wheel Skeletons. It’s not really a crucial scene, but given the iconic design of the monsters it is still a letdown. Skull Knight warns Guts of the significance of the ‘hawk dream’ which apparently was shared with him as well. Guts calls him “old man” which is a bit of an understatement, given that he’s at least a thousand years old.

Speaking of millennia, the Skull Knight explains that an Eclipse-like event is about to unfold, which takes place every thousand years. It’s unclear if he’s referring to the general descend of the Godhand, or specifically to the rebirth ceremony. It is widely believed that the he is the psedo-apostle form of another character in the Berserk universe called Emperor Gaiseric. He supposedly united the nations of Midland over a thousand years ago. Later in the episode we learn that the emperor imprisoned a man that refused to deny his sins. The prisoner must’ve been in the possession of a Behelit, as his trial ends with an Eclispe. This occurrence causes the empire to crumble, and earlier in the story we see the remains of branded bodies in the tower where Griffith was being held prisoner. It’s unknown if Gaiseric ever became a Godhand and then later reborn, or gained his powers from a separate source.

The scene comes to a close with Guts asserting his intention of saving Casca, no matter what gets in his way. I have to say that it’s refreshing to see this defiant side of Guts again. His resolute attitude and disregard for warnings and danger is a core part of his personality, and one of the main reasons why he’s such a beloved character. He fights on against all odds, and his neverending struggle is symbolic to the spirit of survival that keeps pushing all humanity forward. This charming arrogance is sorely missing from some of the new chapters of the manga. Readers who are staying up-to-date probably know what I’m talking about. He has been portrayed uncharacteristically timid in the newer installments. This might be due to character growth, but I’m hoping that it’s temporary, and that we’ll soon get to see the true berserker in action.

We switch back to the Tower of Conviction, as a doubtful Farnese is reflecting on the state of affairs. There is a subtle juxtaposition of the relative prosperity of the Holy Iron Chain Knights, set against the hunger and famine that continue to ravage the land outside. If you’ve been paying attention, there are frequent close-up shots of Farnese throughout the series. I realized that the reason for these is most likely because the close angles hide the uncanniness of the CGI, and create a more drawn look to her face. Moving on, we get to see the prostration of Mozguz, and him reassuring Farnsese of her faith, by an appeal to blindly following the divine authority. Even in reality, blind faith is often used to give purpose to those who are distressed by uncertainty. It’s also explained how Mozguz targets the social outcasts and uses their ostracization as a tool for recruitment.

We then head back to the campsite, and are introduced to Nina’s thirsty lover, Joachim. He’s mostly used as a plot-device for the viewers to get to see the other side of Nina, as she invites him to their secret gathering. As I expected, the episode includes the infamous cave scene. Similar to the manga, the gathering is a plethora of psychedelics, sex and cannibalism. I guess now we know where Nina caught that nasty little STD. Among the storm of hedonism it seems that some curious nipple-theft is taking place, and nobody’s the wiser.  It’s surprising that so much nudity is included, especially given the fact that they were well aware of their limitations due to censorship. It’s not really a big deal, but it’s seriously distracting. The orgy scene itself is drawn minimally and awkwardly, giving it a clean and sterile look that detracts from the sense of grotesque that they were going for. No matter how much they distort the images, and draw characters off-model, this still doesn’t look all that hellish. The cannibalistic imagery might be the only aspect of it that is slightly unnerving. We also get a glimpse of the Goat Head, who serves as the leader of sorts to the cult. I’ll be discussing him in more detail in the upcoming episodes.

The party is interrupted when Joachim is chased out of the cave, leading to his fall into the ravine. He’s later found by the Egg-Shaped Apostle, which will be playing a crucial part in what’s to come. It’s always good to see Luca, as she takes no nonsense from Nina, and promptly starts scolding her for her stupidity. Their reconciliation doesn’t last long, as Casca’s discovery leads to an attempted rape by a group of impressively aerodynamic men, which itself is interrupted by the manifestations of some more ghosts. This scene is very awkward, since the few models they had were reused so many times, in some instances standing almost next to eachother. The saving grace is that the scene is brief, as the Demon Child yet again dispels the apparitions.

Similar to episode three, this one also has an extended post credit scene. We get to explore the backstory of both Farnese and Serpico. Farnese is engaged in almost Lady Melisandre levels of pyromania, and it is shown that this is deeply rooted in her childhood. Serpico again demostrates that he’s a sympathetic fellow, and it’s his tragic past that has brought him into the Vandimion fold; that among other things. This episode in whole was rather plain looking, and primarily used as set-up for the next one. I understand that there was no way to exclude this whole section, but I hoped that they portrayed it with some more energy. The grey muddy colors are really tiring, and at this point I can’t wait for the Eclipse to bring some change in the scenery. The next episode is called “The Black Witch” so at least we know it’ll be racist. I jest, in reality we’re going to get a big reunion, but not a particularly sweet one. Things always seem to pick up when Guts enters the picture, and so the next one is going to be a more dynamic episode

~Bam~

Under the Dog OVA Review – 55/100

by HelghastKillzone, posted in Other:, OVA Reviews

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Under the Dog represents the latest in a growing trend of anime being funded in alternative ways like Kickstarter or Netflix and represents a break from the traditional financing method of animation production committees. Over the course of its development, it had its fair share of problems from to trouble in delivering its stretch goals to creative splits to swapping out animation studios but the first OVA has now finally arrived to disappointing results.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Initially, Under the Dog has an interesting premise where monsters exists, governments try to contain an outbreak and a third faction has an odd interest in recruiting special people that can have the power to destroy or save humanity. Unfortunately, that is squattered on the two high school characters that end up being inconsequential to the narrative as they end up dying before the episode’s end. Anthea, the character that the trailer hyped up, shows up near the end and doesn’t add much other than showing off her boobs and muttering a couple of lines. I also didn’t really end up learning about the history or the basic mechanisms even though terms like “flowers” and “light of humanity” were being dropped left and center. It reminded of how the first movie of Kara no Kyoukai thrusts its viewers in the middle of a perplexing alternative nasuverse before returning to the beginning and building its characters and mystery up. At the very least, I enjoyed the US military squaring off the monster and the high school chick as the action was decent enough with the infantry displaying a decent amount of realism in their tactics.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

As this is animated by Kinema Citrus, a studio who isn’t known for their consistent quality or smash anime hits, the results are disappointing when compared to the promise of the original trailer. Everything looks rather bland in both colour scheme and in the details of its world and character while maintaining a jerky animation style that seems to be missing a couple frames. Even more bizarre is the omission almost all of the footage that was shown in the original reveal trailer where the cool motorcycle and the smooth fighting scenes are nowhere to be found and the new footage from the OVA didn’t come close to what the this Kickstarter project promised.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

If this was a regular TV anime and not an OVA funded through Kickstarter and had a badass reveal trailer, I wouldn’t have paid much attention to it. However, the final product is a far cry from its promise and goes to show that it is not where the money comes from ,but rather the creative process and talent that enables how well it turns out in the end. Under the Dog is less of Kick-Heart or Little Witch Academia and more of a Mighty No. 9.

55/100

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya 3rei – 05

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya 3rei

I guess this is the hot spring episode and as the fanservice escalates I am beginning to have second thoughts. That generally feeling when the thing you thought was great might not actually be all that great is seeping in. Sort of like the anime adaption of Parasyte which was strangely underwhelming despite the source material being so good. Though I think this at least will be the last of the fan service for a while and we will be returning to action next episode. Though I don’t know what’s up with that face the Ainsworth head is making to Miyu in the preview, I really hope Silver Link don’t add something that insinuates that direction. So todays episode introduces a little girl who’s the daughter of the Ainsworth family head and Gilgamesh puts a hot spring on the roof of the school. Gate of Babylon truly has everything though I wish they kept Gilgamesh in the scene as he added lines like trying to make the hot spring match Japanese customs so it didn’t seem that weird and out of place. Plus more Gilgamesh is always a good thing. It’s still poor reasoning to have a hot spring scene but hey it’s better than just having a hot spring randomly on the roof of a school.

Tanaka gives some insight into herself with her hate of Erika which seems to be her recognising that she was an Ainsworth instinctively. Her memory seems to begin at the moment she met Illya which seems to suggest she gained self awareness the moment she ran into her. I still think she is a counter guardian and by rule of thumb they generally work without awareness. The unlimited bladeworks series somewhat contradicts that by showing Archer as a counter guardian being aware of his surroundings but  in reality he learned of what he was doing then by getting a peek at the Akashic Records. The question of what exactly is she is another matter, I doubt she’s some form of ancient hero but she does remind me a bit of the human form of Ciel’s weapon from Tsukihime which was called Nanako.

Gilgamesh seems to know more about what is going on than he is giving away and duly noted by Chloe trying to get some exposition out of him. I am not too fond of this episode with all things considered but I do like how they introduced the main villain. Darius comes across as a silly doting father before revealing his true colours and it gives him more personality rather than just being the arcs villain. Some comedy worked here though Tanaka and Erika’s back and forths got somewhat tiresome. Erika I find to be a more interesting character as this arc goes along though here her main gimmick is playing a game of extreme reverse psychology and that is somewhat charming at first but begins to wear out it’s welcome by episodes end. Not a lot happened here so I don’t have much to say and I would have preferred they just get a move on with the main plot.

~AidanAK47~

Mob Psycho 100 – 04

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Mob Psycho 100

As Mob Psycho continues I believe it is slowly getting better as the introduction of more characters helps to round out Mob’s emotional range. With last episode we got the introduction of Dimple, the cult leader spirit who has now decided to follow Mob around in an attempt to find a chance to possess him. This character looked to be quite annoying from the opening sequence but he actually plays a good role of a voice of common sense for Mob. This main conflict of today’s episode is a battle between school delinquents and Mob ends up getting tricked into being kidnapped. Mob may be an extremely powerful esper but he’s also innocently gullible to a fatal degree. But that is a quality that separates him from his counterpart Saitama in that Mob is a honest and childish person at heart and that makes him quite endearing. Though it’s worrisome as well as I am certain that sparing Dimple will come back to bite him later on.

This looks to be the first main villain for Mob and he plays an interesting contrast to him. This guy is under the belief that he is the main character in his own story and acts entitled due to his psychic power. Whereas Mob wishes only to be a normal person and his tremendous psychic power makes that a difficult task. Mob’s brother seems to be envious of his brothers powers while Mob is envious of his ability to be popular. They both want what the other person has and don’t truly appreciate the value of what they have got. Mob’s brother brings up an interesting point that when growing up with Mob, his expectations were put on an extraordinary level and thus he isn’t satisfied with simply being a normal person. Mob on the other hand has grown up on an extraordinary level which has caused him to be ignored by society, thus he has come to desire a normal lifestyle. When you are normal you want to be extraordinary. When you are extraordinary you want to be normal. So put in simple terms, you always want what you don’t have and come to appreciate what you did have when you have lost it. Human nature in a nutshell.

The body improvement club remain a solid cast of good people despite their overly aggressive design and as I heard this being pointed out, they seem to be the only characters who aren’t trying to use Mob for their own benefit. Mob has no real stamina or strength for bodybuilding and yet the club is nothing but supportive of his efforts to improve himself. Meanwhile Seigan is using him for money, Dimple wants to possess him and the telepathy club wanted him to join just to have a place to goof off. Thus the nicest people in the show are the guys who look like a violent grunt from Jojo or Fist of the North Star. Animation remains stellar though admittedly that may depend on your taste in animation. I however find it rather charming even though it can get a bit too liberal in exaggerating movements. There are still frames but these are often used for comedic purposes like one of the screenshots above, were they are often over detailed and make for some great reaction images. I think we have gotten past most of the slow start of Mob Psycho and perhaps after this is where the show will truly shine.

~AidanAK47~

orange – 05

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Orange

This episode sets the focus squarely on Suwa and his secret/ not-too-secret affection for Naho. Suwa is actually the one who always look after Naho, and he would do anything to make the girl safe and happy, even if it means he will eventually end up losing her. Normally I never buy that kind of love, simply because I believe if you truly love someone, you have to be a little selfish. You would want that special someone to yourself only. All that to say Suwa’s sadness is just so damn appealing that it’s hard to fault him for being too nice. Naho, on the other hand, takes his kindness for granted and she’s just too occupy about her feeling towards Kakeru to really notice everything around her. This episode gives her moment to really takes a step back and looks around, so that she could notice the efforts of everyone around her, Suwa especially, and moreover she has to acknowledge that. The two developments from Suwa and Naho come together nicely in the last scene, but I’m not entirely happy with its execution. There are 3 consecutive scenes where the show basically repeats the same message. In the first scene we have Kakeru asking Suwa if it’s alright for him to go watch fireworks alone with Naho, then the next scene the group teasing Suwa on the girl he likes, just so that the insensitive Hagita bluntly speaking out loud. The very next scene we have the girls confront Suwa again, asking him directly if he will help supporting Naho and Kakeru, in which he agrees. Those scenes are variation of the same things: Suwa has a felling for Naho and everyone but her notices that, but Suwa decides to steps down and being a supportive player. I get it but sometimes repeating the point too much and it lost its impacts. While I personally think the last scene is rewarding and effective, I also feel the story drags down too much in that middle part.

This week orange mentions time travel for the first time and honestly I don’t really care much about that. After all, the time travel element in the show is just the setup to progress the story, there’s no point to delve much into that. When the teacher goes for the technicality of time travel; about how it could produce alternative timelines, my mind wanders right back to Steins;Gates; which is very fitting because the director Hiroshi Hamasaki was the director of Stein;Gates. The topic of time travel was then explored nicely by the discussion between Suwa and Kakeru: “Would you go to the past or future if you could time travel”. It’s interesting to note that Kakeru really wants to go back to the past to fix his regrets, which is exactly what the future-self Naho has been doing. The conversation also hints at the insecurity of Kakeru, which further evident by his message towards Naho asking who she sent her chocolate for on Valentine Days. He hides his feeling well from his friends, but he is the one who always looks back to the past, feeling regrets with what he could do and refuses to look ahead to the future.

This episode still has an awful lot of still frame and the animation itself is a huge step down compare to the first three episodes. Let’s take a look at one of this week’s screenshot and you can see the quality of the animation was dropped to the point their faces are slightly deranged. While I can accept it last week as an illustration for Naho’s feeling hangover, there is no excuse this week and I start to think that this is more of a budget thing. Sadly, if it’s true then I have to come to terms with the animation quality. Overall, I think this is my least favorite of orange so far, both because the story could have been neater and more impactful, and the animation quality has decreased significantly. It’s not a disaster yet but I really hope the show can pick up itself from here.

~SuperMario~

91 Days – 04

by AidanAK47, posted in 91 Days, Currently Watching:

Todays episode reminded me a lot of an off kilter episode of cowboy bebop. Speaking in terms of plot progression it was rather poor, seeing as all we really get is that Avilio learns there is another person responsible for his family’s death. This was a fairly enclosed episode as an antagonist is introduced and shiftly defeated by episodes end. However that doesn’t make this a bad episode. I would like something with more meat to it but we did have some nice character moments with Avilio and Nero. As well as a nice action sequence. For a small change of pace this episode is fine. Assuming of course that the remaining episodes don’t take a similar format. I need some mafia in my mafia drama after all. Vanno may be dead but his presence hasn’t left the show yet. In this episode we have a flashback of him getting drunk and depressed over his sister getting married. That looks to be the reason why he was so confrontational at the wedding in the previous episode and no doubt he wouldn’t be happy about his sister being married off to a enemy mafia family to keep a truce. I have a feeling she won’t take her brother’s death well and could throw a wrench into Avilio’s plans for vengeance.

I like the way Nero interacted with the kids as it shows that despite the sins of his past, he is still a good man. Even Avilio I think is getting somewhat swayed by his charisma. I still think he is cautious of Avilio but this episode certainly doesn’t show it. The two make a good duo with Nero being the charming outgoing and Avilio the strong silent type. I adore the fact that despite having high intelligence, Avilio is a terrible driver It added some nice comedy to have him straight faced as he nearly crashes the car. Plus him holding a grudge against the signpost man outside the camp zone and scaring him when driving out was so childish and petty of him that it made me smile. Really, these two have great chemistry and it’s going to be a shame when Avilio moves to kill him. Why he hasn’t killed him yet hasn’t been made clear though perhaps he wanted to get more information about the murder of his family. Nero confessed that he was the one who nearly shot Avilio when he was running away from the house that night which should be quite disastrous for him seeing as Avilio is back to enact revenge count of monte cristo style. One interesting detail is that it appears the letter that was sent to Avilio left out a person who was also there that night which could be the person who sent him the letter in the first place. I am fairly certain that someone is trying to have Avilio do the dirty work for them.

The opening of the series is something I think has great visuals but I am not keen on the band they used. Maybe because it reminds me too much of Psycho Pass whom this band did the opening for. I would have personally prefered something along the lines of Baccano’s opening with a more melancholic tune. It might be the singer I am not all that fond of as they have a an exasperated way of singing. Ultimately I don’t think it fits the show. I really can’t let this episode go by without mentioning the Assassin sent after the two. He has the same quality of Fango in that he is very much out of place with the nature of the show. However unlike Fango I don’t quite reject his existence so heavily. He reminds me heavily of “the Cousins” from Breaking Bad in that he is almost a eternal near supernatural inhuman threat. Perhaps a greater comparison would be Pierrot le Fou from Cowboy Bebop as they hold the same level of being outwardly silly yet dominantly mencing. He at points turned this episode into a comedy, in particular when Nero and Avilio escaped the pub and ran him down with the car. All that was missing was the benny hill theme but the music got close to that. It was a nice reference to David and Goliath with Avilio using a sling to fling cans at the man though I don’t understand why he thought that would be more effective than a gun. I say this was a nice little side story to help endear the characters but next episode needs to get back to the main story. While Nero and Avilio’s excellent road adventure sounds like an interesting show in it’s own right, I think the main plot has too much potential to be sacrificed for that.

~AidanAK47~

Kizumonogatari Part 1: Tekketsu-hen (2016) Movie Review – 85/100

by SuperMario, posted in Anime Reviews, Monogatari Series, Reviews by SuperMario, World Animation

Just a quick note that I originally intended this week’s review to be about Miss Hokusai. But because of the DVD release of this Kizumonogatari (with good subtitle to boost), I decided to bump this up and review it instead. Monogatari series has been among one of my favorite series, and certainly the one that I spend time the most. Sorry Miss Hokusai but you will have to wait for few weeks later. When it comes to Monogatari series there’s simply no competition, okay? Now, let begin.

It’s always a tricky line when you are making a TV movie when you think about it, because you have to please both the fans of the series, along with new audiences who never see the series before. In other words, you have to make a movie that maintains the elements, tone and themes that make the series famous, at the same time the movie has to have something that can stand on its own. In that regards I always consider that The Adolescent of Utena is the best TV movie adaptation ever in anime. The way it reimages the plot of the original show, updating the settings, altering some plot points, and then goes completely bananas with its theme. Kizumonogatari has a bit of advantage, since it is also based from the light novel as a prequel to Bakemonogatari. The film was originally announced to be adapted right after the first series, back in 2010. Six years past, with the presence of many following seasons, there were doubts whether or not Shaft going to adapt it at all. Then comes the announcement of not one film, but a trilogy. This movie is just the first part of the trilogy, and clocking at exactly 1 hour, the film doesn’t hide the fact that it’s not self-contained, instead the film pleases itself of placing a groundwork for more events to come in latter parts.

Kizumonogatari part 1 nails many of the show’s distinctive features. Audiences who already love the series will find a lot to enjoy here. There are long, snappy dialogues, the distinctive but messy style of visual, the sharp impressionist art backgrounds, the insert screen texts, the ecchi undertone and of course the head-tilts. They’re all here. Its quick styles of visual prove to be too much for some, but never fail to impress (there’s a reason that my avatar is from Monogatari). The color palate changes according to the mood the characters are in or the topics they conceive. Monogatari is one of the few examples on how a great adaptation should be, in the sense that they don’t need to adapt it faithfully, but take the tone, the theme of its source material and turn the show into a very distinct visual feast (The Tatami Galaxy is another example). After all, light novels and visual anime shows are two different mediums, there is something that work well in one medium but will not work in another, hence taking an artistic liberty to the source is a very necessary task. Many characters that we come to know and love has returned for the film, or to put it more correctly, appear for the first time together. It’s actually very nice to see those characters before everything happen, when they are still insecure and naïve.

Yet, this movie sets itself apart from the series for so many reasons, or I should say, this movie is an update version from the series. While usually I don’t like the use of narration, Monogatari series is one of the best example on how to use the voice-over right. Because every character in the show has their own distinctive voices, using narration to understand the way they think, the worldview they possess feels deeply personal. Yet in the movie, the inner voice is stripped down and what we have instead is the external experience. The film shows what the characters experience through pure visual storytelling instead of relying on what the character’s inner thought. The first sequence of the film is the perfect example of this approach to create a sense a paranoia we feel along with our main character Araragi. We literally follow our main character’s every footstep, see what he sees, hear what he hears. In the sequence, Araragi wanders around an abandoned building. He’s shaking and terrified, completely out of place. It is a nightmarish situation in which Araragi couldn’t get out of and we sense his uneasiness. All this were achieved without any spoken dialogue.

Moreover, if there is one element that truly stands out in the film, it is the sound designs. The film uses a more jazzy, popular melodic soundtrack that fits the scenes they play like a glove. My favorite piece of soundtrack happens when Hanekawa and Araragi meet up for the first time after the “incident”, the soundtrack goes Latino and sweet and upbeat, but later when Araragi encounters the vampire Kiss-Shot, the soundtrack goes dense and off-putting. The sound, or the lack thereof, complements the movie in so many way as well. I have to note that the sound designs, just like the visual presentation, are highly unconventional. The film use sounds like the tickling clock to represent the sexual tension of Araragi when he thinks back about Hanekawa’s underpants and big boobs, or use baby cries to substitute for the desperation of Kiss-shot when our main character refuse to help her, or the distorted sounds of people talking to illustrate the un-humanness Araragi is becoming. The more I think about those sound designs, the more I believe that the movie has outdone the series in so many level. The settings also get new designs: the old abandoned cram school, the high school and Araragi’s house have these new looks and it’s a joy to watch. As did with our characters. The characters have their own distinctive appearances and ask me which hairstyle fit Shinobu better, I would choose this one without hesitation. Unlike the series that I have mentioned earlier, the color palate in the film is dominated by the bright yellow and orange colors, which for me is very suitable, since Kiss-Shot has yellow hair (and she’s very important to this story), the yellow ray of the sun (which also very fitting with the theme) and most of all it makes the blood looks less terrified.

Story-wise, the film contains 3 parts: Araragi and Hanekawa meet for the first time; Araragi finds a limbless vampire Kiss-Shot on a verge of dying and decides to help her; Araragi on his mission to retrieve Kiss-Shot limbs in order to reverse back to human, with the help of Oshino Meme, a “negotiator”. Actually, for those of you who curious, the very first opening section of Bakemonogatari is basically a very quick overview of Kizumonogatari and contains the prequel’s most important scenes. Now I don’t encourage you to watch that to spoil yourself, but you might check it out to see the different in approach and design between that “preview” and the actual movie. That is for me what Kizumonogatari would look like if it were adapted 6 years ago. The second part of the film is easily the best part of the film, the way it mixes the natural world of the first part and the supernatural world of the last part, in addition with the visual and sound designs to create an eerie and quite disturbing atmosphere. Monogatari has tackled difficult and even depressing subjects before (the whole Sodachi’s acts), but this is the only time where they manage to put the viewers in and make sure us stay there with Araragi with an unflinching look.

So what’s to expect for the next two movies then? Oshino Meme mentioned that the whole thing now is too unbalanced that he can’t help but to step in; and he is the negotiator who bridges between here and there. Araragi thought that this is them (Araragi and Kiss-Shot – the Vampires) against human (the Vampire executors), but then Meme remarked again that Araragi and himself are human. If he can pick up something from that, he should have realized the reason Oshino Meme steps in is to help Araragi against Kiss-Shot. She’s hiding something and at this moment she just manipulates Araragi in order to get her full power back. Like the film states clearly in the beginning, “This story about a vampire has an unhappy ending – It concludes with everyone becoming miserable”. Don’t expect a joyous ending here, but that’s precisely the reason I look forward to the next movie.

Overall, Kizumonogatari part 1 is a worthy successor to the series, and a major step up in terms of production values and its visual storytelling, which is a feat itself consider that everyone have an extremely high expectation from it. Still, I have a hard time to score it alone as this one is clearly just a set up for more to come, but at least I could say that it succeeds in what it sets out to do. Lastly, to the question whether this movie would be a good place to start for newcomer. Well, I always prefer to go with the airing order, because they have been written that way (Kizumonogatari would be the third release in light novels). But I’d say the newcomer would welcome to watch this, because the movie both maintains many trademark elements from the series, and it’s chronically a beginning of its all. The only downside with this is you then have to wait for almost a year for the full trilogy to come out and it’s no fun waiting.

Next post, I will review one of my favorite film and personally the best animated film of this decade so fa… scratch that, this is one of the best film of this decade so far in any form, animated or not. Expect a high score here. Stay tune!

~SuperMario~

Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World – 18

by AidanAK47, posted in Currently Watching:, Re:Zero -Starting Life in Another World

I suppose I will start by saying that according to word of mouth, this episode was a complete 1:1 adaption of the source material. Meaning that every line of dialogue, every action is exactly the same as the source material. For an adaption that is quite a feat but in ways it can be a detriment. There are those who believe that as long as an adaption stays as faithful as possible then it will just be as great as it’s source material and truthfully I thought this as well before. However there are many other factors to take into account with an adaption and if it doesn’t adapt the source material for a another medium then the results can feel lesser. I think a perfect example of this is the Watchmen movie, which if you disregard it’s changed ending, is a very faithful adaption of the comic. However despite this it’s considered a weak movie and a disappointment to its source material. Why? Because reading something and watching something are two entirely different experiences. From the New World is a good anime example of something which is hindered by it’s original format as it’s exposition heavy and to me feels like a journey to find the next thing to spout more exposition. For a book that’s fine, but for an anime it’s painstakingly slow and cuts away one for the greatest assets of a visual medium. The ability to show someone a story instead of telling them one.

You may wonder why I am talking about this but I want to try and explain why this episode gave me a mixed response. From a narrative standpoint I like what was accomplished. Subaru looks to finally be snapped out of his rut and this marks the starting point of his long awaited redemption. I certainly am glad for that as if his issues continued further than his character would become completely unsympathetic. However I feel the journey to his revelation was all too long and while I am hesitant to use this word as I feel it is rather harsh, this felt somewhat…contrived. I admit I am certainly not fond of drama where characters recite perfectly a long seemly previously arranged upon script and shout till some sort of revelation. It at often points just feels like a story beating around the bush till the point where it’s reveal could have the most dramatic gravitas. This is why I lost so much patience with Kiznaiver, as an adult i have come to value my time. Thus I have less patience for a show that is evidently wasting it. I feel that some of this conversation was somewhat redundant, yet at the same time it felt necessary. It’s confusing for me, basically I am trying to say that I think this whole thing could have been handled in a manner that would have made it less…dialogue dependent I suppose.

The bulk of the episode was focused on a single conversation between Rem and Subaru but there was some interesting aspects before that. Subaru died once again by Pucks hand but Puck mentioned quite a number of interesting things. One was that his contract with Emilia details that if she dies then he will end the world. For such a saintly figure like Emilia that’s a rather grievous claus to take up, makes me wonder just why she agreed to it. This means that Subaru didn’t just save Emilia in the first arc, he saved the world. Puck also refers to the white Whale as Gluttony which does fit. Does this mean that cardinals of sin need not be human? Upon facing down Betelgeuse he means that he would need at least half the dark hands of Satella to take him down which does seem to suggest that Puck faced Satella at some point. Finally Puck did what everyone did and pointed out just how Subaru had failed.

So having just been told off by the entire cast what solution does Subaru come to? I honestly thought he was starting to get it when he talked before putting forward his proposal. But then he says he wants to run away with Rem. She of course rejects him on this offer but for those interested there is indeed a If story written detailing just what would happen if she accepted his offer. Thus after a long twenty minutes of talking does she convince Subaru to try to fix things again with her fully supporting him all the way. One thing I am concerned about is whether this “fixed” Subaru for good. I have said before that I don’t think Subaru’s problems are something that can be brushed aside with some pep talk and a forehead kiss. It such be a long process of fixing his issues and considering that there is more arcs to come it’s possible that will be the case. If Subaru is essentially going to toss aside all his mental hangups and become a perfect hero then his downfall these past few episodes will feel very cheap. You need to carry that weight with you Subaru and you yourself have shown to be aware of your failings.

I want this to be a bandaid for Subaru’s problems, not a solution. Much like Emilia’s lap pillow in the previous arc, this should be a temporary fix to get Subaru on the right track. I really did like Subaru acknowledging his screwups in the previous episodes and one thing he said that really struck a chord with me was him saying that before coming to Lugnica, he did nothing. That felt like a real jab at those who self insert characters were created for. His claims about being empty almost felt like a meta moment of him coming to see his existence as some self insert light novel protagonist. I also have quite a bit of respect with him for putting it out that he loves Emilia and flat out rejecting Rem. Again that certainly seems to be a trait of light novel protagonists to lead on other girl’s affections without pointing out that they already have someone they care for.(Isn’t that right, Kirito?) I wasn’t quite happy with this at first but I did read an interesting opinion about Subaru falling for Emilia in the same way that Rem fell for Subaru. In that they were both saved by those they desire. Well before this gets any longer I might as well wrap this up by saying that Subaru it was good that you told her and that you are absolutely goddamn insane to reject such an embodiment of pure perfection that is is Rem! Bloody hell.

~AidanAK47~

Thunderbolt Fantasy – 04

by SuperMario, posted in Currently Watching:, Thunderbolt Fantasy

Wow, this episode is way better than I would have expected. Remember last week I mentioned that the demon girl might have a deep appreciation for Gui Niao (I called him Lin Xue Ya previously, but consider that he himself prefers to be called as an alias Gui Niao, I will stick with it from now on) and I expected the clash of light and dark arts between the two girls? Well, I couldn’t be more wrong this time, since the show went in a completely different fashion. Xing Hai hated his guts, because she felt manipulated by him in their last encounter. Many people suggest that it was a romantic tension but I don’t buy that at all. She quickly changes her mind though (way too quickly) after she heard about Tiang Xing Jian sword; and guess who’s the only one she gets along well? This is none other than Dan Fei. I really enjoy how the characters bound off each other, particularly the skeptical remarks from Juan Can Yun the spear wielder to the demon girl, and the venomous words from herself towards Gui Niao. Those arguments actually raise an interesting point about the very notion of hero/villain in the show. The two addition members this week (Xing Hai the demon lady and Sha Wu Sheng the Roaring Phoenix Killer) could very well be the ultimate villain in another series, yet here they will have to become “good” guys, joining up with the group to kill a villain. Gui Niao is another perfect example of this concept, we see him as cool and excellent strategic thinker, but we don’t know his motives in this quest at all. He mentioned that he is acquainted with the antagonist Mie Tian Hai so he feels responsible for stopping the guy, but he might as well just want to get control of the sword himself. Both Xing Hai and Sha We Sheng despised him to the point of hunting him down, plus the fact the he has little remorse when hearing about his master was killed because of him. I say this ambiguity makes his characters somewhat compelling and I can’t wait to see how far he plan ahead and what his true intention will be.

Another bit that goes against my expectation come from the second half. When we heard about the master who has a magic flute, plus the fact that he’s a skilled swordsman, we immediately think he could be a great addition for the group, using his wisdom as a voice of reason for the group to avoid any potential danger, right? WRONG. He was immediately killed off by the Roaring Phoenix Killer Sha Wu Sheng, who his purpose was simply to hunt down any connection to Gui Niao, in order to find him and kill him off. This development takes me completely off-guards, kudos to the writing of Gen Urobuchi. The Roaring Phoenix killer is by far the most skilled and deadliest character we encounter so far. Judged from him having the magic flute that the group desperately needed, I don’t know for sure what will happen in the next episode. Will the gang fight him to death to get the flute? Will Gui Niao negotiate with this guy so he would join the group? God knows. Finally, to the “most whimsical lines this week”, we have Xing Hai hesitating to enter the temple because the “smell” was too offensive. I guess being devil is not easy to get along, even if they really try to. If the show can keep up with those qualities that made it so refreshing: its elegant characters; its campy sense of humor and its stunning fights, I think Thunderbolt Fantasy is up there as one of the most entertaining show this season. The fun just about to begin and I really can’t wait for the next episode.

~SuperMario~