#its good. not as impactful or funny as the dub to me as an english speaker tho

[ayv-art]

Love how Tamaki looked when he dressed as a girl, so I did a screenshot redraw of him. Original under the cut.

[basedkikuenjoyer]

So apparently I have hit a milestone while going full bore on my bullshit. There’s fifty of y’all now who decided you were getting enough out of this blog to follow along, and that’s mildly neat. Didn’t really expect that. We���ve had a lot of fun talking One Piece and other anime so I dunno, wanted to do something to mark the occasion and letting y’all know a bit more about my tastes seemed like it could be a lark. Shouldn’t be a shock that One Piece is my favorite anime/manga franchise...so here’s the rest of a top 10! No particular order, whys under the cut. Beyond that, consider me open to lightly personal asks for a bit too, just if you were curious.

TOP LEFT - Ranma 1/2: Okay...confession time. Eiichiro Oda is not actually my favorite mangaka. He’s pretty much only given us One Piece and there are several questionable aspects of his style. As a person and professional, I adore Rumiko Takahashi. Inuyasha was a huge deal for me as a teen. Mermaid Saga has been a fun recent read. Maison Ikkoku is one of my next big purchases planned. But Ranma, Ranma guys...it’s a stone-cold classic. Boy cursed to take the form of a cute girl when doused with water gets involved in a web of romantic pursuits stapled to bizarre martial arts competitions. It’s so silly, it’s honestly pretty smart when it wants to be. Fun shonen with a backdoor to maybe, just maybe giving young men a little empathy about what the girls in their lives are dealing with. This kind of blend is why Takahashi is such a goddamn legend and manga pioneer. Team Shampoo for life.

TOP MIDDLE - YuYu Hakusho: Yeah, it means more to me than Hunter x Hunter. This was one of the most important anime series for me to stumble across. Adult Swim back in the early 00s. It’s what showed me there was a much cooler world of more mature anime out there. Kurama was also a first anime crush and that sparked a lifelong love for plant-based superpowers because that’s probably what I would have if we lived in a cooler world. This is as infinitely rewatchable to me as The Simpsons or King of the Hill, and it even got more meaningful given my boyfriend and I bonded over it early in our relationship.

TOP RIGHT - Paranoia Agent: Another 00s Adult Swim classic, but one it took me a while to properly sit down and watch. I’m...generally a little too squishy for the truly screwed up anime out there but this one I could handle. And I love it. Especially as an adult that has had moments I wish a “Lil Slugger” could give me an out from day-to-day problems. “Happy Family Planning” is such a friggin masterpiece. Same with the most kickass lady in the series talking the monster down. I can’t recommend it easily because it does get into things like suicide casually, but man is it so good at what it wants to do. So short but it leaves such an impact.

MIDDLE LEFT - Kaguya, Love is War: I needed one episode of this to know it’d be a favorite. It’s a silly little high school romcom that has no business being as good as it is but I love every minute of Kaguya and Shirogane’s wild ride. That ending? Facepalmed because it was obviously the only way those two could end up of course. But I also love this series for being willing to be real, calling out gendered double standards and talking frankly about sex in a way that never feels inappropriate. But more than anything it’s a riot! The English Dub just makes me like it more for the headcanon this is all a story Brook is making up to kill time.

CENTER - Stop!! Hibari-Kun: I’ve talked about this one before. Shonen romcom where the everyboy lead is pursued by the perfect girl...who happens to be trans. It’s funny, heartfelt, and so ahead of its time in so many ways. Not to mention the fashion! It’s a cool series made cooler by it’s unique place in manga history.

CENTER RIGHT - Nana: Hey! It’s another one Oda namedropped! I remember being so excited when Shoujo Beat magazine had it’s run here in the US. Had a subscription for issue 1 and let it run for two years. So fun getting that in the mail as a teen even if my Mom groaned about it every time. This was their flagship and it isn’t hard to see why. A very real, even kinda gritty story about early adulthood. The odd couple roommates but the conflict isn’t really as much about them fighting. It’s about women supporting each other and finding their way together. And like Kaguya, it doesn’t shy away from some real problems women that age might have to deal with, even if they’re unsavory to discuss.

BOTTOM LEFT - Revolutionary Girl Utena: Trippy, weird, gay as hell, and has a good point by the end. I just adore everything about Utena. It flew over my head when I was a young teen watching it, but I still enjoyed it. Going back later though, I think this might be one of the smartest anime I’ve ever seen. Only problem is you can’t really describe why it’s awesome without spoiling it. But even little tricks like burying massive twists in clip show episodes...awesome. If I made a manga, this would be the main influence.

BOTTOM MIDDLE - Cardcaptor Sakura: Catch you catch you catch me catch me daaaatte... I’m so glad I got to see this as a kid Sakura’s age. It was always just such a comfy show as a kid. Tomoeda is the type of small town I wish I could have grown up in instead of Biblethumping and letting everything go to shit because all the adults cared about was phony moral outrage. Aside from that though, an almost perfect example of a Magical Girl series. Solid gay rep for the time too which I enjoyed. I say “almost” though because goddamn do I hate the Rika/Mr. Terada side of it. Too far CLAMP, even with the anime reining it in.

BOTTOM RIGHT - Fruits Basket: I was a fanatic about this manga when I was about 14-15. Then it came back with the anime adaptation it always deserved! It’s so hard to pin down what makes Fruits Basket so good, ostensibly it’s just kind of a reverse harem romcom. But its so heartfelt and unfraid to be comfy and sweet. It also gave me Ayame to salivate over. Between him, Kurama, Izo, & Cavendish...I think I have a type.

[roseofblogging]

Rose's Media of 2023 Round-up

Well, now this is truly going to be a Rose Rambles post

I am truly awful about remembering what I watched/read. Maybe I'll be better about that in 2024. Maybe not!

Noting that these are not necessarily all things that released in 2023 (but many are); they're just what I discovered at the time.

Favorite book: The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa I bought this book in May 2022 from the Powell's bookstore in Portland while I was there on vacation. I'm very slow getting around to books due to my TBR being so long (and I go through it slowly because my day job is book editing). I was motivated to read it when some Splatoon friends started a Discord book club, and this was our first pick. It's dreamlike and strange. Some might find the vagueness on the rules of what's going on unsatisfying, but I didn't go into the book trying to figure out exactly how their world worked. It's much more about the experience and quiet horror of forgetting things and people. I had just gotten a diagnosis for ADHD shortly before starting this novel and was already in a headspace of reconciling just how poor my memory can be (slightly different, as ADHD most impacts working memory, but still). Definitely recommended, but go in knowing that it's slow and thoughtful rather than heavily plotted. Runner-up: Lore Olympus

Favorite live-action movie: Tár This is a tough one. I really, really enjoyed both Barbie and Oppenheimer, but I have critiques of both. However, Tár (which came out in 2022) just really floored me with how intense it was and how anxious it made me (in a good way!). Runner-up: Talk to Me

Favorite live-action show: The Fall of the House of Usher Not one of Mike Flanagan's best, but still very good! I don't think I can say anything about it that others haven't said already, but it's beautiful, haunting, tragic, and very well-acted. Runner-up: Andor season 1

Favorite TV anime: Gundam: The Witch from Mercury Suletta Sundays were THE BEST! I really wish this had some tweaks, maybe a part 2 fleshing out some other things (as a lot of worldbuilding started to feel rushed), but I was a big fan of all the references to Shakespeare's The Tempest and Revolutionary Girl Utena, and even sooome similarities to Evangelion (some, not many). Guel became my favorite character for much of the show, but I also love Suletta not only for being our first female Gundam protagonist, not only for being our first queer woman of color Gundam protagonist, but because I really enjoy stories about replicas/clones of redheaded characters. (This is funny because I'm replaying Tales of the Abyss right now.) 2023 wasn't one of the strongest years for anime, though. As much as I loved Witch from Mercury, it's got some weak points. Nothing really hit the same high point of the end of the first part. Runner-up: PLUTO

Favorite animated movie: The Boy and the Heron This is not my favorite Miyazaki movie by far, but it is one of the ones to feel like a very targeted attack on my post-college life! It's weird, the pacing is a little wonky, but I love its ideas and themes so, so much. I still need to see this in the English dub (I've heard wonderful things), but the original Japanese cast is fantastic. This is a very sad movie that does not seek to manipulate a viewer's heart. You know how a lot of movies know how to cue tears with swells of music? I'm not even knocking that for being manipulative--I like it! But I was so impressed with how deeply The Boy and the Heron (aka "How Do You Live?" as the English translation of the Japanese title goes) affected me without any tricks--just heartfelt moments that might have meant nothing to others. (The bread scene made me choke back tears in the theater.) This movie is about grief, but it's also about creative legacies. It's hard to watch this and not think about how there's really no one to follow in Hayao Miyazaki's footsteps at Studio Ghibli. His potential predecessors have either died or seemed uninterested (in the case of his son, who seems content not to pick up the mantle). Runner-up: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (reeeeally only because of its cliffhanger ending... It doesn't feel like a finished story.) Honorable mention: Suzume (I gotta at least mention it, because it's my favorite piece of media about dead places).

Favorite video game that is NOT SPLATOON: Tears of the Kingdom I actually had a very fun time piecing together story beats and exploring, but I still stand by it not being one of the stronger Zelda games imo. I know some people still have not played, so I'm being vague on purpose, but I actually greatly enjoyed Zelda's presence in this game compared to Breath of the Wild.

[thescrapbookingscientist]

Bimonthly Media Roundup

-Cyberpunk Edge-runners (Anime) - Finished up Cyberpunk Edgerunners at anime night. Overall I think it was fine, I respect the unique character designs and animation, liked the soundtrack, and can respect the fucked up but realistic hyper-capitalist setting, but I can't say I really connected with the characters or was that engaged in the story as a whole. Lucy was fine, I liked her well enough, and in general the women had fun designs if little substantial screen time but I would find myself frequently zoning out as there wasn't really a mystery or engaging plot tension and I didn't care about the characters all that much when barely any of them cared about each other. That being said I don't want to be too harsh on it, it had some good parts, I liked the moon being called back as an escape from reality for example.

-Face Off (TV) - Wish that Netflix has the whole thing rather than just 2 seasons and some bonus episodes but it was nice while it lasted. The creativity on display with a lot of these creatures is impressive and its neat to see the behind the scenes of how movie monsters are constructed.

- Fallout (TV) - Waiting to watch more before I make any judgements but I did quite like the first episode, it's a good setup with some nice tension and gave an appropriate amount of time to each character based on what's going on in their plots. Interested to see more.

- In Stars and Time (Video Game) - Watching the Jello playthrough, very delightful so far, I love Time Loop stories in general and the character art is very cute. Will likely say more as I get through.

- Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint (Webnovel) - Picked this back up to see if I could finish it before the anime comes out, I do quite like it but boy is it a long novel.

- The Apothecary Diaries (Anime) - Still having fun with this so decided to watch the English dub partially as background noise but partially because I just want to see it again.

- Pokemon Infinite Fusion (Video Game) -Been utterly obsessed with this game since I downloaded it, a pokemon fangame where you can fuse pokemon together to make unique new creatures. Not only are there 200,000+ possible fusions with a lot of really cool/cute/weird/horrifying/funny sprites, but it's also a genuinely good game with side-quests, fun dialogue, an original plot, and nice art all around. It's also free, which is insane. Only downside is that I have to play it on my PC, destroying my back.

- One Piece (Anime) - Yup.

- Genshin Impact (Video Game) - Somehow randomly got Kazuha when trying to pull for Yan-Fei constellations. I mean I'll take it, wow, he's been quite fun to play so far even if I'm pretty indifferent to him as a character. Anyway nice to see Rosaria in the event, she's pretty cool with her perpetual eye bags.

Listening To: How Did You Love by Shinedown, Give Up Your Dreams from The School of Rock, Everything Goes On by Porter Robinson, All the Boys by Panic! At The Disco, Willow by Taylor Swift, Rose Colored Boy by Paramore, Her Diamonds by Rob Thomas, Stray Italian Greyhound by Vienna Teng, Hey I Don’t Work Here by Tom Cardy, Pierrot by Kei, and Can’t Catch Me Now cover by Annapantsu

[peemanne]

Yakuza (PS2) Review: The Dragon's First Roar

oh hey look this one isn't a repost from my backloggd this time

original plan for this one was actually gonna be a video for a ranking of the whole series (to get some editing practice in) before i decided to scrap the idea so i thought "hey might as well repurpose it into a review review". so here we are!! yippee!!

This review contains major spoilers (and obviously also for Yakuza Kiwami, its remake)

Reviewed on September 23, 2023

Completed on PC (via emulator)

Rating: 7/10 (3.5 Stars)

(additionally, for reference, feel free to check out the patented Pee-Man's Jank Ass Play Order Graphic)

The spark that started a fire. I have a lot of respect for this game, even if it is sitting here at the bottom of the list. And I just want to say: I truly believe I haven’t played a single bad RGG game. And something tells me that’s gonna stay the same as I play the rest of them. I’m sure you’ve heard about it by now. This was Nagoshi’s passion project. He put his whole career on the line for this game, and, well, the series is still around today, isn’t it? Before I can even begin talking about it though, I have to get something very important out of the way. I played the English dub. Willingly, actually. I decided to play through the VERY infamous dub where the fandom’s one (1) joke would come from willingly. Now, was this a mistake? Yeah, probably. Should I have played the restoration patch? Yeah, probably. Would I recommend the dub to someone who would want to experience Yakuza 1? Probably not, no. But do I regret this decision overall? Oh, absolutely not. 

I’m sorry, the dub is just so, so good. Not in an actually well-made way, of course, but it’s still so good. This is textbook “so bad it’s good”. It added so much more memorability to this game, and I’m not even kidding. Kiryu shouts "FUCK YOU" very loudly at whatever poor soul he’s beating down whenever he uses a heat action. I don’t know how something can be so stupid, funny, and somehow still badass at the same time. Most of the casting wasn’t even that bad, honestly. It’s just the fact that the direction is awful. I cannot believe that “YOU WERE… MY REAL FATHER!” made it through. Still though: Kiryu was actually pretty decent for most of his runtime, Nishiki was surprisingly rather consistently good and even great in some cutscenes ("SHE WAS YUMI'S SISTER! WHO TOLD YOU TO KILL HER?!"), Goofy shows up as Date which is awesome, and Mark Hamil Majima. No, seriously, I’m still surprised they managed to bag him. It’s even funnier that he has absolutely no recollection of his character, too. 

There are moments in Yakuza 1 that I would not AT ALL remember if not for the dub. “I suggest you blow me” guy has the best vocal delivery I’ve ever heard in my life. The character where Kiryu beats up a bunch of color-themed gangs would not at all mean anything to me if it weren’t for “KILL THIS …………………………………. DUMB MOTHERFUCKER”. And my biggest example: Hayashi. One of the most famous lines from this mess of a dub, “Go! Kill this arrogant moth-er-fack-ar!”, naturally came from this clown. And because of that, I’d completely unironically have this guy on in my mind, which then made his appearance and subsequent unnaturally really good boss fight in Y2 much more meaningful to me. 

So TL;DR for the dub: it’s awful and that’s why it’s awesome. I would absolutely recommend playing the patch if you’re interested in picking this game up, but at the same time, I’m just saying, y’know, playing through the dub WOULD be pretty funny, man. 

Onto the actual game, and I’m just not the biggest fan of Yakuza 1’s combat. To give it credit, it was actually a lot better than I was expecting from the first ever entry of the franchise, but it’s still not the best for me. Kiryu feels pretty stiff at times, and you’re often fighting the camera more than the enemies. There is one thing the combat in this game just nails, though, and that’s IMPACT. The sound design here (and by extension the direct sequel) is just immaculate. You can really FEEL that damage. The heat actions all feel rough, brutal, and HEAVY, in a way that just hasn’t really been replicated since. Which is funny to think about, because they’re STILL reusing the heat actions from the PS2 games. 

I got a rush whenever Kiryu started the low health heat action and mercilessly pummeled through his opponent. I’d wince just a little whenever he’d smash a goon’s head against the wall. Your punches, your kicks, your tiger drops, they all have that “oomph” to them. Every hit just feels so naturally MEATY. I really appreciate that aspect, even if I found the combat itself to be mediocre. 

Now onto the story… Yeah, admittedly not a fan either. Again, dub, but even disregarding that, the plot’s pretty whatever. Cause take a look at something like Y4, right? Yeah, the story just took the biggest nosedive when the second half started, but everything in it was still unapologetically cool in that video-gamey kind of way that made you overlook some of that. And while Yakuza 1 undoubtedly does have some really sick scenes and setpieces, I just… don’t care about Yakuza 1’s plot. Nishiki and Kiryu’s relationship is like the one anchor that actually got me going, and even then you could argue pretty easily that even that was a little paper thin in some aspects. In retrospect, 0 just does so much heavy lifting for the fish boy, and I’m sure Kiwami adds even more to that. Still though, I do like the dynamic the two had in this game. Nishiki’s a pretty damn respectable villain. Maybe a little two-dimensional, but still solid. The confrontation with him in Serena is one of my favorite scenes in the game because of it. Sure, Nishiki in this game can kind of feel like “i used to be your buddy but suddenly i'm super evil and messed up now grahhhh” in some aspects, but you can still feel that bond he and Kiryu have, and the heartbreak that comes with seeing just how much those 10 years had drifted the two apart. The other aspects of Y1’s story were just kinda… alright, I guess. Jingu is an asspull and a half, and him being Haruka’s dad is honestly something I just forget most of the time. Shimano and the Triad are decent secondary threats, and now that I look back on it, their two long battles were really fun and memorable. And just about everything in between, I just didn’t really care for. The deaths were well-handled and mostly hit pretty hard, though. Reina and Shinji both kicking it back to back was effective, and made that rooftop showdown with Arase such a special encounter, added with the amazing Turning Point. Oh, and Kazama, I guess. He's there too, I suppose.

One thing I appreciate a lot though is how justifiably broken Kiryu is at the end of the game. In the span of like, a week, his entire world was flipped on its head, he lost his sworn brother, his father figure, love interest, and two close friends. The tough guy facade is long gone by then. By the end of it all, he’s obviously just broken. Practically suicidal, actually. And the only thing that manages to get him back on his feet is Haruka. It just makes Amazing Grace playing during the credits hit so much more. Overall, while there certainly are some strong points, I just found Yakuza 1’s story pretty weak. Again, dub, but still.

But if there’s one thing Yakuza 1 just nails perfectly, it's the atmosphere. The PS2 games have this really unique feel that hasn’t been replicated in the franchise since. It’s definitely the grimest and seediest Kamurocho’s ever felt. I know it’s a hardware limitation and all, and free-roam is strictly better, but the restrictiveness of the map adds so much. It’s almost claustrophobic, and makes those moments of panic where you need to rush to somewhere for the story really tense. 

It even reflects in the substories. Yakuza 1’s substory selection, on average, isn’t really strong. It’s filled with a lot of empty space substories and certain scam ones just kinda mesh into each other, but the ones that work, work REALLY well. 1-4 all have full-blown cutscenes for certain substories, and that does a lot for the feel and the memorability for each one. There are some great standout substories like The Truth About the Fake Yumi, The Yakuza’s Wife, and Man on a Ledge, which introduced us to Akimoto and Mizuki, and uh… alright I might wanna take that last one back… 

Still though, even with the whole annoyance of missable substories, (which for the record i am so so glad they got rid of) Yakuza 1 has some well-crafted substories worth lending an ear to, even if there’s not really any goofy haha silly ones. 

One experience I’d like to share is this substory where you have to find medicine for a guy on the streets. Naturally I just found him while playing through the story, so I just talked to him, said sure, I’d help, and I just continued whatever I was doing in the main story. I come back a few chapters later, only to find out someone completely different talking about how a guy who needed help died there. That’s how I found out you had failable, missable substories: I failed to help this guy, and the city sure didn’t care, and he just died unfairly because of that, on the cold, unfeeling streets of Kamurocho. That told me so much about both the tone of the game and of the city. 

Lastly: the OST. It’s a good ass soundtrack. Of course it is, it’s a Yakuza game. The first two games have a uniquely rough, edged feel to their soundtracks. It’s got an almost grunge-like rock to it, and I’m a fan of the tracks that came out of that. Some I’d just like to highlight are: 

son of a gun

Scarlet Scar

Pray Me

My personal favorite from the game, Turning Point

And of course, the iconic Receive You

Even if I do have some gripes with it, Yakuza 1 is still a pretty solid game. There’s a reason this series is still around today. I’d recommend a play for anyone interested; it’s a very unique experience and it’s cool seeing how much the series has grown, while at the same time seeing just how much they already had figured out on that first step. Just, play the patch. But also watch the dub. It’s very funny. 

Ten... Ten years in... I can't do this anymore, man. I can't. I- I'm done. I'm done, man.

[shihalyfie]

I'm more of a sub person now but I do still have some linger fondness for the Digimon dub, who's VAs had some moments of good acting and went on to really kill it in other anime/video game dubs.

Oh, absolutely. Despite everything I've said about it probably making me sound like I'm hellbent on being its critic, it is something I initially got into Digimon myself with (my history with dubs is a bit more complicated than that, but that goes into too much of a personal story, so we'll just leave it at that simplified version for now). I think the voice actors did a fabulous job, arguably even moreso than a lot of other dubs at the time, and I don't think anyone was fundamentally miscast. I was also pretty upset to hear that some of the voice actors wanted to return in Kizuna but couldn't because of the pandemic scheduling issues, because it's obvious they really loved their roles a lot.

Honestly, if I have issues with anything, it's purely to do with the scriptwriting choices, and not even all of the scriptwriting choices (some of the jokes are funny, really!) but specifically the ones that had a major impact on characterization or how the story holds up, which is why I have a lot more to say about Adventure and 02's than Tamers and after's -- that's where the changes were that much more extreme. But it's not even the dub itself anymore as much as I'm more frustrated at the fanbase attitude towards it where "it didn't change anything significant" is still treated as a fact even 20-plus years later, and claiming otherwise (let alone having issues with any changes) gets you considered a purist or killjoy. To use a friend's way of putting it, you could watch an entire half an episode that's vital to Daisuke's characterization and foreshadowing his role in the second half of the story and see every single line he says be turned into the exact opposite, then hear the fanbase say that this had no significant impact or that you're overreacting about it, and it kind of feels like being gaslighted! But then your friends who didn't grow up in English-speaking countries and had their own dubs closer to the original Japanese text confirm that the way some of the English dub-following fans talk about the characters feels utterly unrecognizable to them (let alone the fact the "the dub didn't change anything" leads to an accidentally-or-otherwise Anglosphere-centric mentality where said friends testify they feel this dub is being shoved down their throat when they shouldn't be expected to have seen or care about it).

Basically, I guess the take-home is that I don't want to make judgments on whether the English dub is "good" or "bad", because, again, my own feelings on it are mixed at worst and I have my reasons to be personally attached to aspects of it, and moreover it did play a role in getting Digimon international exposure that I can't say I'm not thankful for, and of course everyone has their own stories of how they encountered Digimon or what things they prefer and that's fine. I personally think it's best to experience your media in a way that makes you happiest, especially when we're talking things that hover around 50 episodes and the Japanese version isn't entirely accessible internationally. My biggest goal is to get on the table that there was a significant difference, that different people have the right to their own preferences and to have grievances against certain things, that it's not a bad thing to at least have better awareness of the Japanese version (even if you didn't watch it yourself) so that we don't end up in circular arguments about future material like Kizuna and the upcoming 02 movie that are naturally going to prioritize Japanese version compliance, and that when you talk about the characters you need to be conscientious about which version the other person is talking about instead of having a disjointed conversation due to misunderstandings (I consider the fact I'm familiar with the English dub characterizations to be a good thing, because it means I can keep up with a lot of conversations I couldn't otherwise). Like, let's at least be honest about the fact it changed a lot. But it being "different" doesn't necessarily mean "objectively bad", and I'll never say there isn't good reason to enjoy or prefer that dub if that's what makes you happiest.

[elpercotreviews]

My Anime 9/10′s

With probably no spoilers cuz I don’t wanna talk too long about them zzz.

1. Fullmetal Alchemist

YALL ALREADY KNOW THIS A 9/10. The only real reason this show is not a 10/10 is because it’s just a story that I’d never rewatch. There’s like 70 episodes, which is way too long for my short attention span, especially since I’ve seen it already. But yeah, by all accounts, this story is a masterpiece and is one of the only “shounen” anime’s that I genuinely enjoyed. No random sexualization. No dumb filler. All the characters have an actual purpose and role in the plot and everyone has their own morals and ideals that interact to make the story interesting. I couldn’t bring myself to really hate anyone, even the villains, because everyone was pretty well written. Also super satisfying ending that ties up everything properly without leaving me confused or upset. If you only watch a few anime in your life, Fullmetal Alchemist is pretty much a MUST WATCH to see a beautiful example of a modern classic anime as an artform. Also I should say that I really don’t like Hunter x Hunter (AN EXTREMELY CONTROVERSIAL OPINION BTW) but I love Fullmetal Alchemist so take from that what you will.

2. Parasyte: The Maxim

Same kinda shit where you already know this a 9/10 for me. It’s just a very satisfying anime that doesn’t have random sexualization or random filler or anything like that. Ending is also very good and ties up the story in a way that doesn’t leave more questions but also allows the characters to have a “life” outside of the scope of the story. I think Parasyte, because of its more horror and psychological-esque vibes, counts as a seinen and not a shounen, so for more mature audiences. I also really liked how the story was successfully adapted to modern times since the manga is from the 80′s. I have actually rewatched this anime, but what stops me from giving it a 10/10 is a few things that I found kinda “stereotypical” that I don’t wanna discuss further too much cuz it’s spoilers. I still obviously really like this anime and highly recommend it.

3. Zankyou no Terror

TBH, this anime is pretty hard for me to properly describe in a lot of words as to why I like it. The art was really pretty as well as the music, which was just straight up amazing. The cinematography of this anime is excellent as well, and a lot of scenes have that sense of being acted out by real people, as opposed to feeling completely drawn/animated. I was a teenager when this anime came out and I think a lot of the themes presented in the show really related to me. The show does kinda have some leftover questions when it ends that prevents me from rating it a 10/10, but I have such a soft spot for this anime. It’s from the same creator as Samurai Champloo and Cowboy Bebop, and although those two animes are also very good, they did not impact me as much as this anime did. Recommended for people looking for idk something that gives off Inception vibes?? In the sense that it’s much more about its themes and its message more so than the believability of the events that occur.

4. Magic Kaito 1412

THIS IS JUST A PERSONAL PREFERENCE BTW LOLOL I DON’T KNOW ANYBODY WHO’D PUT THIS AS A 9/10 ANIME. I JUST REALLY LIKED IT OKAY. It’s made by the same person who does Detective Conan but I like this a lot more because it’s a much shorter series and slightly more mature (more for teens than just straight up kids). I really liked the main guy, I think he’s funny and charismatic. He’s a pervert at times but Imma forgive that cuz of the 90′s. Idk it’s just a really fun anime that I don’t have to take seriously and can just watch and enjoy.

5. Mob Psycho 100 (season 1 AND 2)

Imma put season two as slightly better than season one. So season one would be like a 9 and season two is like a 9.25 for me. Super super funny anime and I like it SO much more than One Punch Man. I liked that there was a good balance of serious moments, but you can definitely still count this anime as a comedy. I’m typically not the type to watch “comedy” but this anime genuinely had me laughing out loud, while also crying and freaking out right alongside the main character. The main guy is super great because he’s just this shy and sweet middle schooler, and it’s really interesting watching him balance trynna have a normal life while also using his powers for good and such. Apparently the anime was decently faithful to the manga and there’s apparently enough material for a third season so I’d be pretty stoked for a season 3, but season 2 ended on a pretty good spot and was satisfying. TBH, if I had the time, I’d probably rewatch both seasons and bump it up to a 10/10.

6. Vinland Saga

This anime is just the first season of what I hopes to be a whole series that will be stay beautifully and faithfully adapted from the manga. As someone who read very far into the manga (but quit like years ago simply because I hate slow updates lol), I actually didn’t enjoy watching the anime at first. I was impatient and kept waiting for when like the “major” events would happen. So I watched like three episodes and quit. But when I had some free time, I decided to get stuck in and commit to watching the whole series and I was so pleasantly surprised with just how good it was. I was impatient but I needed to realize that there is no “filler” or like “wasted time” in the entire anime. I hadn’t read the manga in years, so so many things were only vaguely familiar but I think this helped me stay surprised and excited throughout the anime. I’m looking forward to the rest of the manga being adapted because it’s just a good Viking saga lolol. Major themes of stuff like growing up, violence vs. peace, what it means to be a good person, etc. Lots of blood and LOTS of violence like a LOT they are VIKINGS CMON but tbh not really any gore which I liked cuz gore makes me ughhhh. A very good watch and only a taste of an excellent story.

7. Demon Slayer

It’s just Demon Slayer duhhh. Of course this a 9/10 for me. I don’t wanna write much just cuz the show is so popular. Just read a REAL review of this anime somewhere else lmaoooo. Also yes I did watch the movie in theaters and yes I liked it a lot as well mmkay. I’m mad hype for season two. My S/O doesn’t like Demon Slayer as much as me, but also has Hunter x Hunter as their all time favorite anime. Do with that information what you will lolol.

8. Attack on Titan Season 3 Part 2

Same shit as Demon Slayer. Just go read someone else’s review about why it’s so good lol. Also, unlike Mob Psycho 100, I can’t include all of the seasons in this, because I have very various opinions about how good/bad the other seasons were. But this season 3 part 2, was just plain and simply amazing. While I might not like each season equally, as a whole Attack on Titan is also a modern masterpiece of storytelling. Read the manga if you can.

9. Great Pretender

I love this anime so much. Such a good and fun wild ride. The whole show is ridiculous but in a fun way. I’m a HUGE fan of heist films, so of course I absolutely enjoyed a heist anime. I’ve watched this show in sub AND dub, due to the fact that everyone is “technically” speaking English the entire time. If you’re a purist, just watch in sub OR dub cuz I did get confused here and there, especially when I would go back to compare language discrepancies.  Because basically I did this super high maintenance thing where I switched back to Japanese whenever the main character had flashbacks, since he’s ya know, Japanese. The dub also has this confusing thing where the first five minutes or so are still in Japanese, but switches to English when a little cue card on the screen goes “For the Viewers sake, everything from now on will be translated to Japanese.” It’s cuz in the sub, the inverse obviously happens where the characters are initially speaking broken English to each other, but for convenience sake, everything from that point on will be in Japanese. It’s confusing at first but I liked it cuz it just proved the whole international vibe of the show. It’s funny either sub or dub when they joke about how bad the main guy speaks English, cuz in the dub he’s speaking perfect English, while the sub has him not speaking English at all. But anyway, great anime that WOULD have gotten a 10/10 if not for the last episode. Like without spoiling ... WTF WAS THAT LMAOOOO. The anime as a whole is super wacky and zany but at least I could try to think it’s real life, but that last episode was just so unbelievable and bizarre and pulled my suspension of disbelief into the STRATOSPHERE that I just had to convince myself that this show takes place in some improbable alternate reality where something like what happened in the last episode is at least 5 percent possible CUZ HOW DID ANY OF THAT WORK LMAOOO??? Once again, great show, one of my absolute favorites, BUT THAT ENDING THOUGH WTF.

10. BNA

Good super underrated anime that I don’t hear people talk about at all. If Beastars is anime Zootopia, then BNA is Disney Beastars lmaooo does that make sense? It’s a lot more fun and zany than Beastars and I liked it way more. Made by the same people who made Kill la Kill. I really like that more classic, animated “cheap” art style that the anime has, and I also really liked the plot of the story. Not a 10/10 cuz the show does leave a few unanswered questions at the end of it, but this show was such a fun and interesting ride. When I finished the last episode, I was left with a big smile on my face because I just genuinely enjoyed this anime. Recommended if you wanna watch something a little unique and more on the silly and wack side. Talks about some serious stuff, but luckily the show never takes itself TOO seriously, and remains overall lighthearted for a fun action/sci-fi show.

[365days365movies]

March 7, 2021: Wolfwalkers (Review)

Well, it’s not a 98%. Close enough, though...

Because this film is...fantastic. It’s amazing! Come on, it’s such a good movie, what else were you expecting? This one was a corker, it was just a good time. And I’m definitely watching this one again, I promise you that.

But here’s the real question: is it my favorite Cartoon Saloon film? Well...

Yeah, sorry, Song of the Sea still takes that role for me. And to be honest, The Breadwinner gives it a run for its money, too. Definitely better than The Secret of Kells, although...not that much better. I’ll elaborate, I promise. But this is still a great movie! ALL of Cartoon Saloon’s films are great movies, come on!

But, since it’s not a straight-up 100%, I’ll break it down, as well as my very unimportant issues with it. So, let’s get into it. Check out Part One and Part Two of the Recap for more, if you’d like!

Review

Cast and Acting: 10/10

Yeah, if this movie has one thing over the Ghibli films, it’s the voice acting. And yeah, I realize that I’m judging this English-language film vs. the dubbed Ghibli films, and that’s unfair. But even without the Ghibli films factored in...this movie’s got some fantastic voice acting. I can say quite honestly that there isn’t a weak performance in the bunch. Worst ones are probably the two farmers, and they’re completely fine. Climbing on up, we’ve first got Tommy Tiernan (as Sean, and he’s pretty great) and Simon McBurney (as Oliver Cromwell, and he does a fantastic job). Then, Sean Bean and Maria Doyle Kennedy as the concerned parents, and hot damn, they’re great. Kennedy barely gets time to shine, but is great when she does. And Bean? Holy shit, Sean Bean is fucking AMAZING in here!

But no...no, they’re all outright bad compared to the stars of the film, and some of the best young voice actors I’ve ever heard. Don’t know what it is about Cartoon Saloon, but they always get great kids for their films, and Honor Kneafsey and Eva Whittaker might be their best! These two are powerhouses of the film, and their voices inhabited those characters perfectly. I mean it when I say that these two were perfect. Bravo!

Plot and Writing: 8/10

Here’s where the film is a touch weaker than the other Cartoon Saloon films for me, because while this was a good story by Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart, with great writing by Will Collins, it wasn’t their most impactful for me. It’s also, to be honest, quite predictable. Which, no, isn’t a bad thing for a kids’ movie, but it was noticeable. Here’s the thing: Song of the Sea wasn’t super predictable. I was touched and surprised by the ending, and it’s still my favorite of the Saloon films. The Breadwinner...oof, yeah, I had no idea how that one would end. And Kells wasn’t as unpredictable, but it also had some major surprises in store that kept me on my toes. But Wolfwalkers? Didn’t feel it. Knew that Moll would be OK at the end, and that was the main crux of the tension of the story. Now, that said...there were still definitely things that surprised me, like Bill getting bitten, and the two retaining their status as Wolfwalkers in the end. That did surprise me, and it definitely isn’t like the story was bad, even a little bit. Just was basically what I expected.

...Except for Cromwell dying. WHAT THE FUCK. The Cartoon Saloon universe has a REALLY interesting alternate history, I tell you what! Goddamn, I hope they do one that takes place in the USA with some of our folklore and mythology. Like...OOH, I GOT ONE. Paul Bunyan story! Do something with Bunyan and the Ox. Or OOH, EVEN BETTER, Pecos Bill! Actually, maybe not Pecos Bill. John Henry? Eeeeeh, that might be complicated. I dunno, but there’s something there, Cartoon Saloon! There is something there.

Directing and Cinematography: 10/10

I mean...it’s Cartoon Saloon. It’s amazing. Tomm Moore is great again, joined this time by writing partner Ross Stewart. Looks like Nora Twomey is working on another film called My Father’s Dragon, and I am READY for that shit. But yeah, I mean...come on. It’s funny, because this movie’s production and release were heavily affected by COVID-19, and it doesn’t show. There is a single criticism that I can give to it, but it doesn’t belong in this section. Because the directing and cinematography are typically amazing. Goddamn beautiful. As for the one potential flaw...

Production and Art Design: 9/10

Understand: this is a nitpick. Bu if I had to pick on anything here, it’s simply the animation cells showing the sketches lying underneath. Now, Disney ended up doing this with an era of films in the 1960s and ‘70s (The Many Adventures of Winne-the-Pooh, Robin Hood, The Jungle Book, the Aristocats all did this), but it’s still a little distracting here. And that’s it. Character design is goddamn amazing, and actually made me want to start drawing a bit. The artistry of the backgrounds and set-pieces is stellar, and the stylized designs of Cartoon Saloon somehow never get old to me! It’s just...amazing. Like I said: the underlying sketch thing really is a nitpick, and I don’t even mind it, personally. It’s honestly good to see the work behind a 2-D animated movie, you know? So, yeah, just the one point.

Music and Editing: 10/10

Bruno Coulais and Kila knock this music out of the park all-around, and I have nothing negative to say about it. I’m not sure which track is going in my playlist, but one of them is. Maybe “Running with the Wolves”, and I’m only a little ashamed to admit that. OK, what about the editing by Richie Cody, Darren Holmes, and Darragh Byrne? I mean...yeah, it’s amazing, WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME? Animated films rarely have poor visual editing (unless they’re REALLY bad), and the sound editing usually takes the hit. However, no such problem here. Again, sound editing is fantastic in this movie, from voice mixing to sound effects to overall balance. It’s all pretty goddamn great. No complaints here.

Yeah, 94%. I mean, of course, right?

Sure, it’s not Ghibli-levels of profound, but it is fantastic all the same. Who cares about profundity, anyway? It’s just a good goddamn movie! And like I said in the beginning, I’ll be watching this again very soon. Beautiful.

But I think it’s time to start wrapping up the animated portion of this month with something closer to home. Now, I’d love to do Disney, and I was actually going to see Raya and the Last Dragon in theaters this week (yeah, really, not kidding), but other stuff got in the way. And I’ve seen all Disney films other than that. So, what’s another fully American studio who’s produced a movie that I somehow haven’t seen? And, that movie has to be fantasy? Well...

March 7, 2021: Onward (2020)

[soonhoonsol]

One of my friends LOVES the American version!! It's one of her favorite shows!! I'm currently doing research for my thesis I won't have it written until the end of the school year in May but I've researched the show before for smaller essays.

ATLA is one of my favorites because it's so well thought out and the world building is just AMAZING!!! Plus I have good memories of watching it with my dad 😊😊 New Girl I just found super funny and it's one of the only sitcoms that I've REALLY enjoyed. The kdramas just have such good actors in them and the stories are so interesting and well done!!! It's Okay that's love deals with mental health and how it impacts relationships while still building up a beautiful romance!!!!! Signal has some time travel elements in it and is based on a true serial killer case in Korea!! I like mystery and its a perfect thriller!! Goblin sits at the same table as DAYS!! The fantasy romance is just TOP NOTCH!!!!!

ANOTHER SOO HYUK FAN 😲😲😲 I remember being interested in him when I first started watching dramas (which was almost 10 years ago aaaaaa) but watching him in DAYS had me flipping out and now all I watch are his dramas!!! He was on a variety show last year and he's so happy in it 🥺🥺 I'm way too obsessed I could go on all day. I'm currently watching scholar who walks the night and it's the last show on viki that I have to watch. Then I'll have to find his stuff elsewhere but I'll find it. I know viki has pipeline for rent!!! But I'm not sure if that's only in the US or if it's available elsewhere. I do know it's only English subtitles. I watched it as soon as it was available HE LOOKS SO GOOD IN IT!!! I'm on my 3rd evil soo hyuk role in a row hehe oh gosh I've written so much about soo hyuk

I did not see them film it!!! I'm pretty sure they filmed it over the summer when there weren't many students around!! - 💛

All I do anymore is think about Lee Soo Hyuk 😔😔 your carat anon is turning into soo hyuk anon so sorry - 💛

~

i totally see why!! despite all the medical jargon that i don't understand, the show is really good!! it's interesting, it's funny and it's also really cool to learn about the medical industry. my only issue is that i've watched like 9 episodes so far and like every single ep has a patient with cancer???

i love the way you talk about your interests it's so wholesome to see you get excited 🥺🥺 really warms my heart!! Signal sounds interesting! i do love a good time travel story <3

PLEASE DO GO ON ALL DAY!! i love hearing about soo hyuk <3 what dramas would you recommend? i started watching High School King of Savvy and frankly the first 2 eps were so slow i found them boring but... soo hyuk handsome... must pull... through....

VIKI!! i've never heard of it ashjahs hopefully i can find a subbed version because i wanna watch it so badlyyyy >< soo hyuk looks so good but seo in guk tho... i'm a sucker for long hair on dudes 👀

ooh no wonder!! but still that's so cool :D

i now dub thee carat soo hyuk anon <3 BUT OMG have you seen svt's Anyone performance on... m countdown? the one with the white fits!! DK reminded me of soo hyuk so much i was going insane

[crystalnet]

Pop Music in Ghibli

If you mention Ghibli and soundtracks in the same breath to most people, the first thing they will likely think of is Joe Hisaishi-senpai’s prodigious and immaculate compositions, BUT it occurred to me recently that there’s actually a great amount of pop music showing up in a handful of some of my very favorite Ghibli films. They’re more rare compared to the instrumental tracks, sure, but in that way it might be even be more impactful-- especially for plebeians without an ear for vocal-less music-- when they do show up. Click through as I explore pop music in 5 Ghibli classics. 

#1- The Wind Rises: ‘ "Hikōki-gumo" (ひこうき雲) by Yumi Matsutoya

Okay so hearing this song on a recent viewing of this film was the whole impetus for writing this. By hugely influential and popular song-writer Yumi Matsutoya, this closing-credits track drops just in time for a full fatality against the viewers’ emotional fortitude- if it remains in tact at all by that point. Between the bittersweet lyrics-- which corresponds beautifully with a plot point from the end of the film-- a righteous hammond organ part and this heart-breaking melody, it all just becomes a bit too much, in a great way. 

Mrs. Matsutoya here is outright indecent towards our emotions here. And I love it. In addition to that, the track counts as only one of a few instances of a pop song in a Ghibli joint serving as the closing track. So uh yeah, go down a rabbit hole of Matsutoya’s music if you wanna explore the wonderful world of vintage J-pop/city pop etc., and you will not be disappoint. Also, this isn’t even the first time one of her songs was used... her debut in Ghibli occured 2 decades earlier in....

#2- Kiki’s Delivery Service: ‘I’m Gonna Fly”- Sydney Forester

Okay, so this is not another Matsutoya song. But in the original Disney release of Kiki, this song stood in for what was in the Japanese release a rather different, rockabilly-pop song from one of Matsutoya’s early albums ‘Rouge no Dengon‘, and this has since been corrected on subsequent releases. Tonally they are pretty different, but they both share a level of charm. This English replacement is way cornier though, but I imagine whichever one you grow up with will be the superior and preferable dose of nostalgia. I’m tainted by living with the original 90s English version for so long, that I get really thrown off in the first 20 minutes if, mid-maiden voyage, Kiki turns on her radio to Matsutoya instead of this funny little stand-in.

Speaking of Kiki’s radio, this is one of only TWO instances I’m aware of in which the pop song is diegetic within the film-- meaning it actually comes from a source within the actual world of the movie-- at least sort of (it’s that kinda pseudo-diegesis where the volume of the song makes it clear that it can’t actually be coming from her little radio). This song just really has a kind of saccharine horse-girl charm which I love and I feel like it matches the movie’s atmosphere pretty well despite being modern sounding, whereas Kiki’s world seems to be vaguely set in a version of the.... 50′s where dirigibles never went away? Never really thought about it actually. 

But yeah, these weird contract-based one-off recording artist concoctions are always kinda fun. They remind me of weird tracks from the Detective Conan opening themes where you just wonder about how and why they come about. Ultimately though, Disney probably made a good choice. The song occurs early enough in the film that it might do some work towards dissuading any reservations younger viewer-- or their parents-- might have after wading into such a then-exotic animated film such as this. It gently reassures one that despite appearances, this film CAN be a movie for English-speaking Americans. Plus I mean this lady’s voice actually rocks. I feel like it helped sell the movie to my older Jewel-listening sisters when we were kids and for that I’m grateful~

#3- Only Yesterday: “Omoide No Nagisa”- The Wild Ones  (and much much more)

Okay so Only Yesterday is stuffed to the brim with tons of pop music and other cultural ephemera, far too much for me to parse through now (maybe deserving of its own deep-dive post) but I’ll focus on one that shows up early in the movie.

(This isn’t full track, for some reason the only full version on youtube will not embed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRlKvOiXgjo

This track plays during one of the early memoir-esque narration-heavy flashback scenes. It’s before we are fully thrust into those more washed-out, impressionistic coming-of-age sequences, and are being lead gently into that world by way of recollection from the now adult protagonist. She is remembering the craze in 1966 around “group-sounds”, a genre in Japan that was clearly partly indebted to the British Invasion happening on the other side of the world. 

I like the song a lot because I can hear the Beatles, Kinks and Monkeys etc., but it has it’s own really unique flair on top of that influence. I hear smokey curry and coffee shops. Fuzzy bunny-eared television signals. I think of young fresh-faced Japanese Boomers experiencing a newly technicolor world of pop-culture. The echo on the mic pick-ups whirs in my mind pulling me back toward a “simpler time”. 

The appearance of this song early on is a tip-off to the unfurling of a particularly globally-minded and varied soundtrack in this film which continues to surprise throughout the runtime-- it is my second favorite Ghibli soundtrack after ‘Totoro’ by far and that usually has to do with the incredible Bulgarian choir music that appears, but stuff like this Wild Ones track is just great too. Whether the male-lead/love-interest is playing that Bulgarian “peasant music” via his Toyota’s cassette player or we are getting a history lesson in early J-pop/rock, it’s all particularly tasty. There’s even a couple appearances from music from Japanese children’s television.

A lot of the referencing is nigh impossible for this westerner to parse, but all of it--save for one track-- is pretty ace. That one let-down for me is yet another pop song in the form of the ending credit-sequence track, a Japanese cover of ‘The Rose’. I think Bette Midler is just not a tasty association for an American of my ilk and so even if the rendition is tasteful, and the ending scene is beautiful, it remains the only time I’m let down sonically in the movie. 

Before I move on, it’s worth mentioning that the movie itself may be named after an American film OR a song by the Carpenters. I can’t be sure, but I kinda wish they actually used this Carpenters track to close the film instead of ‘The Rose’ but maybe it was a licensing issue. Anyhow. Perfect movie. 

#4- Whisper of the Hear: “Take Me Home, Country Roads”- John Denver/Olivia Newton John/Various

Okay so the way this song factors into the movie is way different than anything else we’ve discussed so far. I’ll embed the Olivia Newton-John rendition that the film opens with as opposed to the Japanese version that plays in the ending, because uh, as cute as it is, the vocalist (who I think is just the main-character’s voice actress?) is pitchy as hell (maybe in a twee, intentional way?) 

But so yeah, this song is a big part of an initial and reoccurring plot-point in the film which has the young protag. translating the American song into Japanese with her school friends. It’s a slightly illegible plot-point if you watch the English dub, but it basically comes across. According to Wiki, the producer of the film’s daughter actually supplied her lyrics which Mr. Hayao himself supplemented, which is just too cute. In the film, her version is called ‘Concrete Roads’ which has some nice thematic resonance with a lot of the angst that shows up in ‘Pom Poko’ regarding the suburban developments which sprawled out from Tokyo and other major Japanese cities throughout the 20th cent., encroaching on that same beautiful countryside that John Denver was initially sending up.

In a climactic scene, the protag. nervously but triumphantly sings the song along with her magic-boy boyfriend and his grampa’s grampa-friends, and uh yeah it’s cute as heck. 

The film is based on a manga, and though I’m too lazy to research this much, I assume the manga was the first to introduce the concept of centering so much of the story around a relatively benign country-pop tune such as this. But I mean, the choral arrangement in the intro of Newton-John’s is kinda emotional as hell. Mountain-momma indeed. 

#5- My Neighbor Totoro: Ending Theme- I don’t know...

Alright we’ll end with a sampling from the best of the best. I’m not gonna force too much “research” for this ‘cause like, I don’t know man, I just don’t wanna do anything that would remotely threaten to extinguish the magic. And I refuse to ever listen to the abomination that is the Disney re-dub. But I understand they re-recorded these tracks for that. Which, like, why? I’m also assuming the songs were pretty faithful translations of original Japanese tracks, because they’re just too good to have just been created for the western release. Like Hisaishi has to be behind those kalimbas and synth-lines. The lady’s voice basically sounds like my mom to me(?) and the dusty patina on her vocal-track alone kinda makes me wanna weep. 

And I kinda hate when people just joylessly parrot internet meme terms, but this song is what I would be unable to not describe as a “bop”. I mean the drums alone rip. 

This song has a sister-track in the form of an introductory credit-sequence song which accompanies a ridiculously cute visualizer, and they’re both just perfect matches for the joyful, innocent and exuberant nature of the film itself. Elsewhere on the OST, this is basically the last time that I’m aware of Hisaishi using synthesizers and it’s just glorious. Get this man on drum-machines and synths again! So uh yeah, I mean it’s all just great. What else could I say? Best soundtrack of all time period. Full stop. The end. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ok that’s that. Keep in mind, there’s like a small hanful of Ghibli I still haven’t seen so there could be some major instance I’m missing but uh, maybe I’ll update if one day I find out there’s a straight up Utada Hikaru song in ‘Princess Kaguya’. Oh and uh yeah there’s this one in ‘When Marnie Was There’ by one Priscilla Ahn . It’s like a b-side of the Kiki song but not as good as that makes it sound like it’d be. But it’s horse-girl-core as hell. So uh yeah.

see ya space cowboy~

[totallyfrandom]

I've recently watched the 2019 "The Lion King" movie online, and I'm glad I didn't pay to see it at the cinemas because it wouldn't be worth the ticket price. It was lame. (record-lengthy rant below; not really spoilers as it's basically the 1994 animated movie again with a few minor changes)

”The Lion King” from 1994 is one of my most favorite Disney animated classics from my childhood and I was interested at first when the remake was announced. I was impressed by the gorgeous realistic animation in the first previews and trailer, but the more I looked into the last trailer, the more concerned I was about one thing: the expressions. Their faces lacked emotions. My biggest concern was Timon who's the most expressive comic relief character, and Scar who is this mischievous character with a very wide range of sly expressions on his face showing his scheming. Will the scenes of emotions and comedy suffer from this realism?

So I didn't have great expectations of the movie when I started watching it but other than the impressive CGI, it's really telling if at the end of the movie I go ”Finally it's over!” which is in this case.

My concern was confirmed: the characters lack so much of the expressions and emotions, which was a huge sacrifice for the sake of realism. That was my biggest problem with the movie. Also, unlike ”Beauty and the Beast” remake and ”Maleficent” for example, it felt more like they only made this remake to cash in on people's nostalgia. It didn't fool me, I felt no nostalgia whatsoever. Just disappointment over how lame it felt.

Below are some scenes and character critiques that I particularly want to mention.

First up, Scar. I didn't like his voice. I'm not saying that Ejiofor did a bad job, it just doesn't fit his sly character. And just like the rest of the characters, the realistic animation sacrificed the facial expressions and emotions of Scar which was a huge part of his character. His voice didn't really replace that sacrifice. He didn't feel intimidating at all.

Speaking of intimidating, now we come to the hyenas. The only character who somewhat comes close to intimidating was Shenzi. She felt more of a threat than Scar was. I noticed two changes in this remake: one is the other two hyenas Banzai and Ed got a rename. Now they're called Kamari and Azizi. Ed, or now Azizi, even speaks and doesn't act as stupid and giggly as before. But none of them are any funnier, they've only become duller. None of their attempt of ”comedy” made me laugh, not even crack a smile. This change had no reasoning behind it (none that I know of) and feels pointless. I have no idea why they'd change two old fan favorites like that. But I do have to give some credit for the other change that was a bit more interesting – or it could just be my interpretation or simply a misunderstanding: Scar's alliance with the hyenas. In the original movie, Scar was portrayed as the leader of the hyenas from the start, even over Shenzi, but in this adaptation it seems more like Shenzi is the leader over the hyenas and Scar is the imposter who got them on his side because he promised them to enter the Pride Lands with food for the taking. Shenzi even dared to question Scar as if she challenged him (I would pay to see a cool backstory for remake-Shenzi instead of this movie). Shenzi is also the one who picked adult Nala as her opponent in the final fight for an actual reason. So yeah, Shenzi is good. But she didn’t save the movie, unfortunately.

While the hyenas weren't funny, the only character who are somewhat funny (despite the sad sacrifice of expressions for most comedic scenes) were Timon and Pumbaa. But I still have mixed feelings about them (which I'll mention below in the songs section) so they weren't my favorite characters in this movie, but more like they--along with Shenzi--were the better characters of the entire cast. At least the duo are the only ones that made me chuckle (which was my only close-to-laugh during the entire movie) and that was near the end of the movie. Not impressive when it took that long for me to laugh.

Then we have Rafiki. There are two things I'm bothered about this remake of him: he didn't have his iconic staff like in the original and I thought that maybe they removed the staff for the sake of realism (I would've expected that the staff would be gone anyway) but then near the end of the movie he pulls out his staff from the tree calling it ”old friend”. It feels like the staff was originally removed but then was forced in for the last scenes just as a nod to the fans, as it was a last-minute addition. That was my problem with the staff situation: first it wasn't there but then BAM! Rafiki brings it up calling it ”my old friend” as a last-minute nod to fans who'd hate to see it go, maybe to avoid a riot. It felt a bit tacky, Imo. But what made him into a less sympathetic character is that instead of mourning for the loss of his old friend Mufasa and the prince like in the original, he goes ”tsk-tsk-tsk”. Yeah, when my dad dies I'm gonna sit there during his funeral and go ”tsk-tsk-tsk”. Wtf Disney? I guess this is what they do instead of being able to show any emotions in the realistic animal faces.

I don't know what I can say about the other characters, even about the main protagonist Simba. They were just lame when they lacked the emotions and expressions that was part of the characters so I didn't feel any connection to them. They were just... there. Same name, same personality, but that's all. Even with James Earl Jones returning for voicing Mufasa didn't help (did Disney bring him back just to add to the nostalgic value hmm?), partly because I grew up with the Swedish dub so Mufasa's English voice didn't give the same impact to me as it may give to fans who grew with James Earl Jones as Mufasa.

As for scenes, we'll start with one with Rafiki and it was the most unnecessary and time-wasting scene I had to endure. I mean, I can't believe we have to watch an almost 3-minute long journey of a tuft from Simba's mane. It's the scene where Rafiki learns that Simba is still alive: Simba shakes his head, resulting in a small tuft of his mane gets loose and floats in the wind. But instead of a smooth transition and then within 15 seconds reach Rafiki like in the original, we see it be in various places and picked up by various animals that contributes to its progress, even being eaten by a giraffe before the scene fades to black... which is pointless when it just continues the journey but now we see the tuft in a ball of giraffe dung being rulled by a beetle. Eventually, which felt like ten long minutes, the tuft reaches Rafiki's tree with the help of an ant. It's almost like this prolonged scene is just there to fill more minutes of the movie. Also, that tuft of Simba's mane has been inside a giraffe and then pooped out, presumably smelling, and Rafiki was holding it so... ew.

Due to the realism in the animal faces which limits their expressions, there are a lot of emotional scenes that I used to love that lacks that emotion. No scene made me shed tears or fill me with a heavy heart, no scene made me feel that hope and warms my heart. A couple of examples:

The scene where Simba finds Mufasa’s body didn't give me any emotions, which is a disappointment as this is one of the saddest scenes in animation history. But I admit that JD McCrary who voices young Simba did a good job in delivering the sad voice and sounded legit like he was close to tears. That was the closest to real emotions in the film. Too bad the facial expression of the CGI lion cub didn't give what McCreary's performance deserves.

Another scene I find a lot of disappointed in was my favorite from the original movie; when adult Simba was talking to his father in the clouds. It always used to touch my heart because of how amazing it was with the music and the visualization in the sky and the emotions of awe in Simba' face. But this one was such a lackluster. It didn't move me in any way and I could barely see Mufasa (I guess his face appeared just with a blink of an eye a few times when lightning struck in the clouds but that was way too quick). They didn't even play one of my favorite instrumental music when Simba was running back to the Pride Lands. Sure, it's fine that they have at least one new song that wasn't in the original soundtrack before, but they did sacrifice such a motivational piece of music for it.

But the worst scene in the entire movie (if we don't count the songs) is when Scar betrays Mufasa and pushes him off the cliff. Instead of Mufasa saying "Scar! My brother! Help me!" with a pleading tone in his voice (this was a literal life and death situation), he just says "Scar! Help me!" as if it was an order. Then instead of whispering to his brother, Scar almost yells out "Long live the king!" before he literally bitch-slaps Mufasa so that he looses his grip. Why not shove him off like in the original movie when Scar was already digging his claws into Mufasa's paws like in the original movie? Also there was no zoom-in on the eyes of Mufasa when he realized the betrayal just before his death... but then again, those eyes would've been lifeless from expressions.

By the way, Scar is stupid when he's talking loudly about secrets, like before the final fight scene he gave away that he was responsible to Mufasa's death which convinced Sarabi of Simba's innocence despite Scar desperately tried to lie his way through. You really messed this up, Scar.

As for the songs in general, they were just... there. Only the opening song ”Circle of Life” is good enough for me. The rest both feel and sounded duller.

I was so disappointed in "I Just Can't Wait to be King". Due to the realism, there's no colorful background that complements the song and it feels bland (”Can You Feel the Love Tonight” and ”Hakuna Matata” suffers the similar thing). Even the song itself doesn't give any nostalgia to me. It looks kinda off to see realistic Simba sing, it's like an uncanny valley vibe. Again he lacks any expression, same with Zazu. When Timon sings ”Hakuna Matata” and ”The Lion Sleeps Tonight” with a wide-open mouth, it looks... odd. I don't see Timon singing, instead I see an animal screaming. For food or for help, either way works, but not singing.

However, the worst song in the entire movie was "Be Prepared" for so many reasons. One, I’ve already mentioned above that I think Scar's voice doesn't fit his character so his singing clearly can't top the original song (which is why I think it had to be changed a bit which I'll mention soon). Two, it doesn't have the dark and dramatic shadowing. Three, Scar's mischievous expressions are gone for the sake of realism so Scar just looks flat and awkward. Four, the song was changed and is now shorter so I was just sitting here getting confused of where it was going and thinking when the powerful chorus and the xylophone(?) instruments are gonna start and then you hear that final "Be Prepaaaaared!" from Scar before it zooms out without the echoing laughter of Scar and the hyenas, instead the last "Prepared" echoes before the scene fades to another scene. It just ends like that just as quick as the song started. Like, the heck was that? I get that they had to get rid of the army of hyenas marching, but this was just lame and lazy. This brings to the fifth reason: they just ruined one of the greatest Disney villain songs ever made. After watching the movie I've read that there was a rumor or concern that ”Be Prepared” wouldn't be in the movie. I'm kinda wishing it didn't make into the remake when they didn't even try making it look or sound great. Definitely not memorable.

...

This is just a half of everything I wanted to say about the movie, but I think I'll stop here after having said the more important bits that I wanted to rant about.

All in all, under all that gorgeous realistic CGI animation lies a lazy attempt at the remake with most scenes being shot-to-shot copies from the original, half-assed attempt at most songs when it comes to the visuals (or barely an attempt in ”Be Prepared”), lifeless expressions of the realistic animals and ruining the emotions of powerful and most memorable scenes just to cash in on people's nostalgia. Only Shenzi was the character who had some potential for something new and interesting but like I said, she didn’t save the movie for me.

At least they TRIED a lot more with ”Beauty and the Beast” remake and ”Maleficent” where they actually did good new changes that contributed more to the story. With ”The Lion King” remake they just upgraded it to look good but had to sacrifice the most important thing which is the expressions of colors and reactions in characters' faces. Even Beast's facial expressions had more emotions through all that makeup.

As for recommendation, if it wasn’t obvious enough I personally wouldn't recommend it. It's better to go back watching the 1994 animated classic instead of wasting time and money on it. Unless you’re a true nostalgic, then go ahead and enjoy it. I’m not judging anyone who likes or loves it. It was just personally a disappointment for me when it didn’t live up for my childhood favorite classic.

One final thing: you feel like reading my lengthy rant wasted your valuable time? That’s what it felt when I was watching the movie and finally came to the end, hence the “Finally it’s over!”.

[rex-shadao]

Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us Review

Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us

(Japanese Title: Everyone’s Story)

Review

There was an old statement from former Pokémon anime head writer, Takeshi Shudō, about Ash Ketchum (Satoshi).  On his personal blog, he has claimed that Ash, as the main character aimed for children, could not be written as anything beyond the plain and simple stereotypical hero.  And that to compensate for his vanilla personality, Ash needed to be surrounded by “fascinating villains and rivals” such as the Team Rocket trio. While I disagree with the notion that Ash Ketchum can’t be an interesting character by his own right, I find it to be the best method to tell further stories of Ash when nearly all of his character development has been done.  The problem with Ash in recent Pokémon TV series and movies is that his early hotheaded and inexperienced personality, which made him a relatable character for many viewers, has all but phased out over time; in its place is the standard Shōnen stock hero.  It makes sense for Ash to reach that stage in his character arc, but his personality is now more generic and thus less interesting to watch.  So how would anyone tell an interesting story about Ash without regressing his character development he had earned over the past several years?

Enter the new director of this film, Tetsuo Yajima.  Tetsuo Yajima had previously worked on the Pokémon anime as a Storyboard, Key Animation, and Episode Director since the Black and White series.  But he didn’t rose to prominence until he was helmed as the Series Director of XY and XYZ.  Under Yajima, the XY series did something unique with their approach of Ash Ketchum.  Rather than just focusing from Ash’s perspective, the series explored on how Ash himself affects everyone around him; from his companions to his rivals to even the bystanders that otherwise have no impact on the main plot. As a result, we got an array of characters with their own quirks and storylines, and we could contrast all of them with Ash as the foil standard.  This approach became the base foundation for the story of 21st movie and in my opinion, all the better for it.  After all, it is everyone’s story, not just Ash’s.

The movie begins not with Ash and Pikachu, but with a new character Risa (Lisa). Unlike our main hero, Risa is not a Pokémon Trainer.  She’s a former athlete runner who is tasked by her injured brother to go to Fula City’s Wind Festival celebration and catch a Pokémon for him.  Shortly afterwards, we are introduced to a little girl named Margo (Largo) and her father Oliver, mayor of Fula City, leaving their mansion to prepare for the festival.  And as we finally arrive to the city itself, it’s there we meet the rest of the ensembled cast.  There is Callahan (Kagachi), a boastful braggart who lies about his achievements to his young niece Kelly; Toren (Torito), an insecure and timid scientist under pressure from his peers and scheduled presentation; And Harriet (Hisui), an old woman who hates Pokémon and wants to be left alone.  And in the middle of this multi-introduction is Ash and Pikachu, who are closely followed by Team Rocket.

All of these characters have a distinct flaw that they must face and overcome as the movie progresses.  The sole exception is Ash Ketchum.  If you expect Ash to be some sort of immature idiot or a failure trainer, you are clearly not familiar with Yajima’s style.  This Ash is an ideal trainer, an ace who easily gains the admiration of his peers and rivals for his skills, lessons and selfless heart.  His character doesn’t change at all throughout the movie, but that is a good thing.  It fixes a crucial problem that previous Pokémon movies have, where they would either focus too much on Ash at the expense of everyone else or simply shoehorn in stories where he is not needed.  Having Ash be this supporting mentor figure allows the ensemble of new characters to take center and leave a lasting impression for the audience, while also making Ash integral to the overall story.

The characters themselves are all memorable despite being one-shot movie characters of the day.  Risa’s clumsiness and naivety are funny to watch and a great contrast to Ash’s veteran persona, who has to teach her the ways of the Pokémon Trainer.  Callahan wanting to impress his niece makes him a sympathetic character despite the fact the comeuppance for his dishonesty is well-deserved.  Toren’s crippling shyness makes me wish he grew a spine already.  Harriet trying to get away from a group of Pokémon that always follow her is absolutely hilarious, especially with that domineering voice. And Margo is like a younger version of Ash, such as protecting her befriended Pokémon in the same manner that Ash would do for any Pokémon.  And although Margo has a lot in common with Callahan’s niece Kelly, there are distinguished traits to tell the two apart.

Though the characters’ arcs all start separately, they all intertwine with each other naturally and frequently; whether it be Risa getting wrong info from Callahan, Toren accidentally spilling a Pokémon attract chemical on Harriet or Ash protecting Margo from a bunch of kids selling lemons.  Though there some stories that are more interesting to follow, like Callahan and his lying habits getting him into trouble, none of them overshadows the others. They all had their heroic moments in the spotlight, and I can easily recall each of the character’s story arc despite the film juggling all of them in the climax of the film.  It does live up to title of the movie.

These intertwinements, along with a few Easter eggs and details in the background, help create a living, breathing environment that is Fula City.  With such a down-to-earth premise compared to other Pokémon movies such as Pokémon 2000: The Power of One, world building is essential to the film’s strength to retain the audience’s interest in the movie. Take for instance the film’s handling of the featured Mythical Pokémon, Zeraora. Unlike most featured Pokémon in modern movies, Zeraora is kept hidden for the majority of the story until near the climax where it finally reveals itself.  Its presence is only alluded to in historical events and urban legends told by various citizens ranging from small kids to government officials. Whereas most Pokémon movies would have an exposition book or expert to explain everything about their featured Pokémon to our heroes near the beginning, this movie holds off on the major exposition until near the end, after a gradual buildup of clues and hints given to the audience an idea of what the exposition is going to be.  By that point, the audience is already immersed with the personal stories of the cast ensembled rather than the mandatory promotion of a Mythical Pokémon for kids to get.  In fact, this is perhaps the first Pokémon movie where the marketing focus in on the human characters rather than the Mythical and Legendary Pokémon.  It’s why I haven’t mentioned Lugia, the featured Legendary Pokémon of this film, at all up to this point despite being a central figure to the Wind Festival. Lugia is not essential to the plot.

Moving on to the action aspect, there’s not a lot of Pokémon battles in this movie as this is a character-driven story.  But the battles that are shown are impressive.  The audience that I was in awed and laughed during these sequences. The animation, camera perspective and sound effects are top-notch, especially when combined with a scenic background and realistic interaction with the environment.  It’s like the battles featured in the XY series, only sharper and more fluid.  Unlike the battles in the TV series and most movies, where Pokémon battles take place in a designated field area with the trainers in relative safe distance, Pokémon can hit their own trainers by sheer accident or cause destruction of property when on a rampage.  It’s a sense of realism that hasn’t been seen since the opening of Pokémon 3: Spell of the Unown, and I hope it appears in future movies.

Voice acting-wise, the English dub is actually good at least by The Pokémon Company standards.  This is perhaps Sarah Natochenny’s best work as Ash here, and the rest of the ensembled cast all sound natural and pleasant to here.  The only characters that may sound off are Jessie, James and Meowth of the Team Rocket trio, but they are not in this movie that long and much of the problem I have is due to lingering nostalgia for Rachael Lillis, Eric Stuart, and Maddie Blaustein.  Script-wise, some of the wordings are very cheesy, like Ash’s inspirational speech about “Pokémon Power” to a group of people far older than him during a crisis. But I can’t really fault the movie as this has been the standard message that told over and over again in nearly all of the Pokémon adaptations, including the Pokémon Origins mini-series from 2013.  The only thing I wish is that they could find better words for Ash to say other than just “Pokémon Power.”  For people who have grown fond for the Japanese dub, this competent dub production will help get you through the movie.

It’s also helped by the fact that the Japanese music score (which contains orchestrated music directly lifted from the games) is retained for this film after years of The Pokémon Company constantly replacing it with a US score for international releases since the start of the XY series.  The Japanese score is pleasant to listen even for non-fans; and it has the added bonus for long-time Pokémon fans to identify music they had heard during their playthroughs of the Pokémon games.

All in all, Pokémon the Movie: The Power of Us is unlike any other Pokémon movie beforehand.  It’s not an action blockbuster nor a blatant advertisement tie-in to GameFreak’s recently released game (though don’t get me wrong; Risa’s Eevee is a promotion for Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Let’s Go, Eevee!).  It could have gone for nostalgia, action hype or even over-the-top comedy for the movie direction.  They would still entertain the audience regardless of critical scores.  Instead, the film goes for a humble premise and focuses on the characters, their stories, and the world they live in.  And that is what makes this movie one of the best the Pokémon franchise has to offer.  

[musicmushi]

What's your favorite Digimon series within the broader franchise? What did you like most and least about it? And if you could pick any digimon ever to be your partner who and why~?

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH 

AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

THANK YOU FOR ASKING THIS!!!

Okay so I’m gonna be super honest with ya I’ve only seen the first season all the way through (multiple times also) 

I tried watching the second season and I just remember getting really mad at Davis and his weirdly territorial crush on Kari so I didn’t give it a chance but my sister assures me that it’s VERY good and I have the first 4 seasons in a boxset so for the time being I will take her word for it and give it another shot when I get through season 1 again. I did watch a few episodes of Tamers and it’s very promising and interesting and dark like really something I can just sink my teeth into.

So as of this moment, I think it would be Adventure 1, Tamers, and holy frick frack on a dildo jungle gym I think I screamed for like 30 minutes when I heard the old cast reprise their roles in Digimon Tri!

What I liked the most about Adventure 1 is it’s darker and more relatable than people give it credit for. I remember seeing a retrospective on Digimon and the reviewer said that the Digimon in the “real” world were covered up by calling the debris impact terrorist bombings but only in the original Japanese because the English dub was silly and terrorism is too heavy for American kids and I remember thinking ‘No…Joe called them terrorist attacks…in English’ Not only that but the kids were all relatable with relatable thoughts and feelings and home lives.

I remember really connecting with Matt’s dark cave depression and crying when Gabumon pulled him out of it…Matt coming from a broken home just trying his best to be an amazing big brother to T.K but Tai unknowingly outshining him because Tai and Kari are full blooded siblings where Matt and T.K are only half brothers. I know it doesnt sound all that important or different but…its hard trying to be a good older sibling when you don’t get to see your kid siblings grow and mature…It just hit a little close to home. Then there’s Sora’s cave of fear and doubt not truly believing she was good enough or strong enough to do the impossible and she had to be the glue for everyone. 

Mimi’s reaction to fallen friends and innocent digimon fading away because they were willing to sacrifice themselves. And then Tai trying to keep things moving like you just understand everyone in that situation. Mimi wants to grieve, the others need time to breathe and collect their thoughts, but Tai wants to keep the team moving forward because in his mind if they don’t win as soon as possible then more and more innocent lives will be lost and there won’t be a kindergarten for the digimons to reincarnate at. Like yeah he’s wrong to push so hard but even Matt admitted that Tai’s point of urgency was right…Everyone has their chance to shine and their own growth moments and every character feels relatable to some extent…

I especially like when the english dub gets a little silly and adds a bit of ridiculous humor when it feels right because these are KIDS going through all this and with that hefty story there has got to be some levity.

I think what I kinda hate about the season is not really anything in the show but its everyone’s reaction to it saying Digimon is just a knockoff Pokemon…their stories could not BE any more different. Not only that but calling it a knockoff makes it sound like the show is cheap or lacks soul and it very much does not lack that! 

My absolute favorite digipartner is Gomamon! He’s adorable and funny and the food stuff with him is hilarious and I feel like I would need his reverse psychology moments of help whenever I act a bit too much like neurotic Joe lol

[shihalyfie]

What are your feelings on the general tonal direction that the dub was given compared to the original?

I had this general feeling that the dub was always attempting way too hard to be funny. Like, jokes seemed to be shoved in at every opportunity. Establishing shot with nothing but the BG playing. Nope got to have a funny intercom moment about a jelly donut in the pool. Scene transition, nope got to have the kids running in the background call back to the donut.

I dunno. It was something that always seemed to bother me in hindsight. It was amusing, but out of place.

Preliminary point of disclaimer: I am absolutely not saying any of the following as an indictment of people who personally prefer the American English dub for any reason; I'm well aware that there's a lot going on in terms of accessibility, reasons of personal sentiment/attachment, and the fact that legally available subtitled versions of the earlier series range from limited accessibility to downright absent. I also fully admit to having my own attachments from the fact that said dub was what I technically got into the franchise via to begin with; I love the voice actors and I also have certain zinger lines from the dub I personally treasure, so please take everything I'm about to say with an understanding that there's a lot of extremely complicated personal sentiments mixed in with it.

I will say that, first of all, which dub we're talking about is important. There's a pretty huge difference between the Adventure/02 dubs and the Tamers/Frontier/Savers ones, and then of course the one for Xros Wars (although I think the majority of the fanbase is pretty critical of that last one, given that the "but my childhood" bias is out of the picture). There's also a mild difference between the Adventure and 02 ones, since the latter is probably the most aggressive in terms of how off-the-rails it could get with its changes (and I am confident in saying that I fully believe this is the case even outside my own bias for 02 as a series). I honestly never really had much to gripe about with Tamers through Savers; I think they were still fairly aggressive with the added jokes, but it wasn't to the level that I'm particularly bothered (even though I generally prefer watching with the Japanese version these days anyway). It's probably a matter of taste. The second 02 movie and the Tamers/Frontier movies were also dubbed during this era, and I have the same to say about those.

Adventure and 02 are a completely different story, and especially in regards to 02. I think added jokes are okay to a certain extent -- again, probably question of taste -- but I have problems when the desire to be funny starts actually cutting into characterization or story integrity. That definitely happened way too many times for my liking in Adventure and 02, and I have a lot of personal misgivings about it, especially since its definition of "funny" often overlapped with "these characters start insulting each other for no reason" to degrees that stop feeling like "comfortable friends" and more just "needlessly malicious". Certain characters (Mimi and Daisuke come most to mind) are very different to the point where I couldn't make sense of their intended character arcs, and actively disliked their characters as a kid for being rude, condescending, and obnoxious before I watched the Japanese version and realized how different they were. (I give my regards to everyone who saw the potential in them with the dub only, of which there are many, but please understand that I am not the only person in this camp, and that I feel the changes most certainly led to a statistical increase in people disliking them.) In the case of 02, I also think the insistence on being reckless about the changes adversely impacted the story and character arcs overall because a lot of things that were meant to be consistent in Japanese stopped making sense, a lot of the emotional depth and range of the characters got stripped out to make said jokes -- hard to believe Daisuke's nearly as emotionally pained and impacted at times when a joke has to be added in there, especially when most of his lines in the first half involve him dunking on others and others dunking on him for comedy purposes -- and in general, I'm not against adding jokes per se, but there are times I just really wish it could have learned to hold it back just once during some very important scenes that have vital story and character importance. I am personally very positive that this only contributed further to the stigma of 02 being a poorly written series with inconsistent character and story writing, especially when there was a lot of nuance lost in said character arcs.

I'm not a localization purist. I don't think changes are inherently bad. I'm fully aware that things were very different back then, and at the time it was considered that making those changes may have been necessary to reach the Anglosphere market. I don't personally know if it was actually true; nearly every other country got a significantly more accurate dub and they seem to be fine (and they're currently side-eyeing the Americans for being so weird about it, and I can't say I blame them for it, especially when Anglosphere fanbase denizens have this awful entitled attitude about acting like other dubs are lesser and that somehow "but my childhood" only applies if you've seen in American English, never mind that other people have childhoods too and the Southeast Asian English dub also exists). I wonder if it's really a good thing in the long run for Americans to be pinned as people who can't enjoy something unless you add a million jokes. I'm also disturbed by the fact a lot of people gave and still give passes to some sentiments that often feel like downright anti-Asian motives when it comes to dub changes, just because "my childhood". I completely understand that localization means that you have to alter certain cultural things lest they become difficult to relate to or understand, I cannot say I'm on board with the fact these kinds of dubs were and are often so aggressive about it that they feel like they're pathologically trying to scrub out the Asian scourge. I don't have any particular grudges against the dubbing staff for what they did on an individual level because, as someone who doesn't work in the localization industry, I don't know what pressures they had or what they had to consider in marketing this product, I think everyone has the right to judge which version of the product they prefer for themselves; I just am really uncomfortable with what kind of sentiment fuels the idea that these changes were necessary in the first place, I dislike the fact that I can't voice my concerns without being treated like I'm insulting a sacred cow, and I'm a bit frustrated that the "the dub didn't change anything significant" is still such a pervasive sentiment in this fanbase after 20 years, making discussion of this issue difficult and discussion of the series itself unproductive when we keep running into two people "arguing" about what's actually two very different things.

[jollyinha]

Soooo... I saw an One Piece tag in Reddit, and for some reason I really like doing tags, even though no one gives a fuck about it. Since I have nothing better to do, LET’S ANSWER IT!

1 - Who is your favorite character and why? (Additionally, who is you fav Straw Hat?)

Most people would guess that it’s Sanji, since I’m crazy for this boy literally since I put my eyes on him... But my favorite character is Luffy, because without him, I wouldn’t stay interested in One Piece for much time. I kept watching the anime because I thought he was a funny and interesting protagonist, and it changed my life.

Besides, he is everything I love in a character (Especially in a protagonist): Dreamer, determinated, funny loyal and dumb. He inspired/inspires me in many, many ways, and I just love this strawhat boy.

2 - Who is your favorite villain and why?

That’s a tough one... Arlong impacted me the most (I hate, haaaaate his guts!) and Lucci akuma-no-mi is pretty cool. But I’m saying Crocodile. I mean, c’mon, the guy tricked an entire kingdom, defeated Luffy TWICE (I think it was twice, correct me if I’m saying shit), had an entire organization... And had banana crocodiles and a cool casino. And his akuma-no-mi is badass too. I kind of hope that he appears again in these recents arcs, even if it’s very unlikely!

3 - What is your favorite quote or statement? 

Oh man, there’s so many of them... Screw that, I’m making a small list.

-  "When does a man die? Does he die when he's been shot? No. Does he die when he's ravaged with disease? No. Does he die when he's been poisoned? NO! A man dies when, and only when, he is FORGOTTEN! “

-  "A man's dream will never die!"

- “The government says your existence is a crime, but no matter what kind of weapons you may hold, just being alive isn't a sin! THERE'S NO CRIME IN LIVING!!!''

-  “Don't start a fight you can't finish.”

4 - Who is your favorite female character?

Urgh, I love all my girls! I love Robin, Vivi and Nami nearly equally, but I’m saying Nami. Her backstory was the first one that actually made me cry. It’s amazing to think that he was stealing from pirates that could kill her, even though that she was just a child! That moment when she asked for help... Damn, it brings me chills. 

And I also love how even though she was already extremely important for the crew while being only the navigator, she still wanted to become stronger, and asked for Usopp to create the Clima Tact. She uses her intelligence to fight, fights for her friends when it’s necessary and still saves everyone’s butts by being the amazing navigator we know!

5 - What is your favorite fight? 

I gotta say the fight against Lucci. Not only was a very intense battle and it was the first time Luffy used a Gear, but I love its meaning. If he needs to kick the World Government’s ass to save a crewmate, he will absolutely do it. Nothing shall stand in his and his nakama’s way!

6 - What is your favorite episode? 

Well, I don’t ACTUALLY watch the anime since Alabasta. After that, I’ve only watched a few loose episodes, so I don’t know a lot about the anime. But I’m saying the episode that Brook joined the crew. The expressions and the voice acting are just on point!

7 - What is your favorite One Piece opening?

We Are!, of freaking course. It’s the only opening that I never skipped while I watched the anime. Although We Go! comes in a close second. Believe in Wonderland is good too.

8 - What is your favorite movie, special or "episode of"?

I did enjoyed Strong World and 3D2Y a lot, but Gold was amazeballs, starting with that freaking catchy song in the beginning. The animation is GORGEOUS, Tesoro is very interesting in my opinion, the outfits are amazing, and the final battles were pretty cool too. I didn’t liked Carina very much, tho

9 - What is your favorite arc in One Piece?

Alabasta, without any doubt. Baroque Works was freaking charismatic, the scenarios were interesting as hell, Vivi was an amazing character in general, the battles were intense and fun, and it’s such a funny arc! I really like the filler were Ace spends a while with the Strawhats too. Water 7 comes in a close second place.

10 - What is your favorite One Piece videogame? 

One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3. It’s so much fun to play with characters like Hancock, Ace, Law and Tashigi! The story log is very nostalgic and the dream log is addicting as hell.

11 - If you were in the One Piece universe, who's crew would you join and why?

What kind of question is that? Strawhat Crew, of course! They all have this sense of one for all and all for one, and they really look like a family, and this is very heart-warming to me.

12 - What is the saddest One Piece moment?

Weeeeeeell... I’ve been stuck in Dressrosa for a while, and the saddest moment in my opinion is at Whole Cake. I took EVERY SINGLE POSSIBLE SPOILER of this arc, though. Without hesitation, it’s Sanji’s backstory. I feel like crying when I only see PICTURES of his backstory... I don’t even want to think what I’m going to feel when I actually get in Whole Cake. Sanji occupies a very special place in my heart, so it hurts a lot to see that this was his past. Congratulations, Oda, you completely broke my heart once again. Also, Pudding can stick her finger in her third eye and go to hell

13 - What is the most shocking moment? 

The third scene that made me cry in One Piece: Usopp VS Luffy in Water 7. These two are such good friends! That’s why I remember that I was freaking out when they began to fight. 

14 - What is the funniest One Piece moment and who is the funniest character?

There are plenty of funny moments in this beautiful story, so I’m going to say more than one. Zoro getting lost, Luffy’s impressions, Robin’s imagination and all the “Can you poop?” moments. And of course that Luffy is the funniest character.

15 - What is the most memorable moment? 

That moment when Luffy gets Zoro’s swords, and he defends his captain for the first time. C’mon, it’s the beginning of the crew!

“Nice, Zoro!”

“It was no trouble, Captain.” 

16 - What is your favorite ability in One Piece?

Hana-Hana No Mi. It’s elegant, has many uses and it can be powerful as heck. I totally want it! Emperor’s Haki is a close second, tho... 

17 - Do you own any One Piece merchandise? (Official or not)

Many of them! All the mangas that were/are being released on Brazil, the special editions (Red, Blue, Yellow, Green and Wanted!) an giant wallpaper, plenty of posters, many figure actions, an Sanji cosplay, a flag, a strawhat, a keychain and a notepad (The last two actually came from Japan!), a necklace and a shirt.

18 - Do you prefer watching One Piece in sub or dub?

As I said up there, I’m brazilian... So I never actually had acess to the english dub, and the portuguese dub (It’s a very good dub, btw) came out before I knew One Piece. So, it’s sub.

19 - What is the #1 thing you love the most about One Piece?

I’m a sucker for this kind of thing: The whole dreams, freedom, friendship and bravery message that it passes. I keep the lessons that One Piece gave me deep in my heart. They give me hope and happiness in hard moments.

20 - What is the #1 thing you hate the most about One Piece? 

There’s two of them: The brazilian fandom and what they did to Sanji after the timeskip. Brazil’s fandom is full of toxicity, arguing, homophobia and sexism. And Sanji was so smooth and serious before the timeskip, but I feel like he became a gag after the timeskip. Where’s the suave Sanji, goddamnit?!

21 - Does One Piece take your number 1 spot in your top 10 animes? (If not, where?)

Absolutely yes. One Piece saved me from dispair countless times. Its jokes, its lessons, its characters... And if it weren’t for One Piece, I wouldn’t have known half of my friends, and honestly, I don’t know where I was going to be nowdays if I didn’t had them. In many aspects, One Piece saved my life. I’m eternally grateful to Oda. One Piece is a huge inspiration to me in both emotional aspects and in a writer’s point of view. Watching One Piece was the best choice I ever made, because that silly strawhat boy changed my life and took me out of the darkness many times. I love this masterpiece with all my soul.

[wonderfulworldofmichaelford]

Michael After Midnight: Doogal

Doogal. It’s fucking awful.

I could really just end the review with that; this movie barely deserves acknowledgment. But that’s pretty cheap and unfair, so let’s tell you WHY it’s awful. This is the Amercanized gag dub of the film The Magic Roundabout, which was already in English; they just decided to slap a bunch of celebrity VAs into the film and have them vomit pop culture references all over the place, and even give voices to characters who didn’t speak in the original. The movie is basically an abridged series without the abridging… or the humor for that matter.

So what’s making us out and out on this magic roundabout? Well… Doogal is a dog with a bad sweet tooth. This sweet tooth leads to him inadvertently releasing from the magic roundabout the villainous sorcerer Zeebad, some weird springy guy with ice powers. Now Doogal and his ragtag group of weirdo friends needs to journey across the land, gathering the magical crystals so they can free Doogal’s human owner Florence from Zeebad’s ice. Can they do it? Do you even care?

The absolute worst thing here is the fact this is a gag dub of an English-language film; this could have easily been shipped over here without the new cast, but… for some reason… the studio saw fit to hire Whoopi Goldberg, Kevin Smith, Jon Stewart, and JIMMY FUCKING FALLON to redo the characters. Remember Kung-Pow! Enter the Fist? Remember how that was a gag dub that changed stuff about an original movie to make it funny? Well, imagine if that movie WASN’T funny and had Jimmy Fallon in it and you have an idea of what’s in store for you. The voice cast adds absolutely nothing to the film; Jon Stewart  is so stilted as the big bad, Whoopi Goldberg and William H. Macy are just so pointless, Chevy Chase adds nothing as the train, and the little shit playing Doogal can’t be fucked to give good line reads. There’s Judi Dench as a pointless narrator who beats you over the head with boring, obvious narration, and there’s Kevin Smith, dubbing over a character who never even spoke in the original and now has fart noises dubbed onto his ass. But worst of all is Jimmy Fallon; every line of his fucking dialogue has some sort of pop culture reference in it. He is like a living embodiment of a Seltzerberg movie, and not one of the passable ones. He’s a full-on Disaster Movie. He is the absolute nadir of the film and he alone brings it down to awful level; everything else brings it even lower than that.

The fact they dub over characters who didn’t talk in the original film is atrocious and deserves its own tearing apart; Kevin Smith’s character, a moose, is one example. The moose doesn’t really say anything particularly funny anyway, and nothing it says impacts the plot, so it is really pointless to have it speak. Even more egregious is making a bunch of skeletons that appear later in the film talk; most of what they do is spouting off pop culture references, which then leads to Jimmy Fallon spouting off pop culture references, which only makes me hate them more. The fact that the dubbing is so piss-poor and you can see that none of these characters mouths are moving is truly a testament to how no one working on this gave even a single iota of a fuck.

What about the plot? Is it at least salvageable? No. No it isn’t. It’s a super generic fantasy plot that is set in motion by random stupidity and has little to no buildup or reason to care. It’s frankly insulting how bad this is. What’s worse is it’s hard to care about the characters since instead of a proper intro they get a fucking classic rock musical number… yeah, that’s not how you get an audience to care about the characters of your film. It almost feels like this is a problem with the original, that the film is more made for fans of the stop-motion show that the film is based on, but that’s not really much of an excuse; if you’re not giving us reason to give a shit about these characters, well, just fuck off.

Doogal is just absolutely irredeemable tripe. That being said, I still don’t think it’s the worst animated film ever; that dishonor still goes to Chicken Little, because with Disney, there’s really no excuse to churn out such a subpar product. The fact Chicken Little is from something known for putting out quality content makes it worse in my eyes. Ohhhh, but don’t think for a moment that means I think Doogal is much better, even marginally; it may be number 2, but it’s still only by the tiniest margin imaginable, because it is just as insultingly stupid and oversaturated in pop culture jokes.

Doogal is the sort of film that I’m glad has fallen into relative obscurity… though since Pan-Pizza reviewed it, it might get seen a bit more. Honestly? Check this out, if only to see how cringe-inducingly bad and unfunny it is. It’s definitely good riffing material if nothing else. Other than that though, Doogal is one dog that needs to be taken behind the shed and put out of its misery. For being based on something called the Magic Roundabout, this sure didn’t bring any sort of joys that a roundabout does. I mean, don’t you associate the word “roundabout” with a good time? Yes. Yes you do. In fact… this gives me a great idea! I think my next review is going to be about Jo