Newest Post
Archive for 2015
Hey guys, kanna here! I can't believe it...not only is this blog almost a year old, but we reached double digits for Anime Mondays in that one year! Here's to the next ten!
So, to make up for the sucky review I gave for my double-digits special, I've decided to...ask you guys a few questions! Haha! I can be evil sometimes, can't I?
*crickets*
OK. Anyway, onto the questions!
1. Are you a bored, top of the class student?
2. Do you hate all things evil?
3. Have you found a strange black notebook recently?
4. If you said yes to question 3, did you write someone's name in the book?
5. If you said yes to question 4, was the person's name someone you utterly despised?
6. If you said yes to question 5, did you imagine this person's death? Things like date, time, cause, location, etc.?
7. If you said yes to question 6, did you write all that information in the book?
8. If you said yes to question 7, did that person turn up dead in the exact way you wrote it in the notebook?
If you said yes to all of these questions, you:
a) are a coldblooded killer
b) are a psychopath
c) both a and b
or
d) figured out what anime I'm getting at
If you chose d, and you figured out what anime I was getting at, then congratulations! You get bragging rights! And cookies (tee hee...cookies...and it's the internet...get it?)!
The anime for Anime Monday #11 is...Death Note.
Anyway, a little background.
Death Note (and yes, that's also the Japanese title, it's just pronounced differently, because the 'th' sound doesn't exist in Japanese, so it's pronounced as Desu Notō in Japanese) was originally a manga written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. The manga had 108 chapters, which were collected into twelve volumes, and ran from December 2003 to May 2006 in Weekly Shonen Jump.
On October 3, 2006, an anime adaptation premiered in Japan and ran for 37 episodes, until June 26, 2007. It aired every Tuesday at (I swear, I couldn't make this up if I tried) 22:34 (Japanese Standard Time; the equivalent of which is 10:34 PM).
Why so peculiar about the time? No idea. I mean it. I looked up the significance of the time and everything. I even thought it was a date, like 2/23/04. But I couldn't find anything. I guess because all the episodes were a little over twenty minutes each, but that would have to mean the show before it ran for a little over thirty minutes, with commercials and credits...I'm overthinking this. For any of my readers who live or lived in Japan during the time of the anime, or during the year 2004, if anyone knows ANYTHING about the significance of 22:34 or 22304 or any form of those numbers, PLEASE tell me so I can edit this!
Apparently, this anime was so popular that it got THREE live action movies, multiple video games, a light novel, a drama series, AND TWO musicals (no, I don't get it, either, but I listened to some of the songs, and they're pretty good). One in Japan and another in South Korea.
So, plot.
The story revolves around Light Yagami, a bored, young genius who despises anything and everything evil. He finds a black notebook with the words "DEATH NOTE" written on the cover, and some...pretty detailed instructions inside.
I'm not exaggerating. There are NINETY-ONE RULES ON HOW TO USE THIS NOTEBOOK. Forget the fact that it has all these powers and stuff; WHY THE FRICK DO YOU NEED NINETY-ONE RULES ON HOW TO USE A NOTEBOOK?! IT'S LIKE WRITING SUPER DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO MAKE INSTANT RAMEN! UNNECESSARY!
Anyway, Light thinks that this is a pretty bad prank and abandons the book, before thinking about what sick mind he must have and going back for the book. He takes the book back to his house and decides to take a look at it. We learn the first FIVE of our NINETY-ONE RULES. It's going to get overwhelming later on, but here we go with the first five:
1. The human whose name is written in this note shall die.
2. This note will not take effect unless the writer has the person's face in their mind when writing his/her name. Therefore, people sharing the same name will not be affected.
3. If the cause of death is written within the next 40 seconds of writing the person's name, it will happen.
4. If the cause of death is not specified, the person will simply die of a heart attack.
5. After writing the cause of death, details of the death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds.
OK...a little detailed, but keep in mind that this book has NINETY-ONE FREAKING RULES.
Anyway, Light has the news on the TV in his room when he decides to test the book out. Apparently, there was a kidnapping, and the news released a name and face of the kidnapper. So Light wrote the name down and waited for 40 seconds. At first, nothing happened. But then, the people who were kidnapped ran outside, and it was revealed that the kidnapper seemed to have died from a heart attack.
Light thinks it's a coincidence. After all, there's no way in the world a notebook could have magical powers, right? RIGHT? So he decides to test it out again and picks someone else. He picks a criminal, on the off chance that the notebook is, in fact, legit. Although he does consider killing someone who has been nothing but a bully, but he rethinks killing someone he knows and decides against it. Not that it makes a difference to him. Kinda hypocritical for a guy who hates everything evil, but whatever.
On the way back from his prep course, he sees a motorcycle gang getting ready to do some...pretty nasty things to a young lady. He overhears the name of the leader of the gang and writes the gang leader's name and a cause of death (a traffic accident) to further test the notebook. Sure enough, the guy gets hit by a truck, causing Light to gasp in realization that the Death Note isn't a prank. It's the real thing.
As all of this is happening, we meet the Shinigami (死神; literally translates to god of death or death god), Ryuk. Ryuk is...interesting, to say the least. Like Light, he's bored. He drops a Death Note into the human world from the Shinigami world. Ryuk meets Light and follows him around as Light learns more about the Death Note and the powers of Shinigami. We later find out a few more of the NINETY-ONE FREAKING RULES (I'm sorry, I just...ninety-one rules? Really?), which have a lot to do with the Shinigami.
Now, these are going to be a little out of order. Just letting you know, as the numbers for the rules always start back at one, and I'll only be including the rules relevant to the Shinigami's connection with a human. These are from sections (yeah...I should have mentioned that they had to split NINETY-ONE FREAKING RULES into sections) III (three), IV (four), and V (five).
III (Three)
2. The human who touches the Death Note can recognize the image and voice of its original owner, a god of death, even if the human is not the owner of the note.
IV (Four)
1. The person in possession of the Death Note is possessed by a god of death, its original owner, until they die.
2. If a human uses the note, a god of death usually appears in front of him/her within 39 days after he/she uses the note.
3. Gods of death, the original owners of the Death Note, do not do, in principle, anything which will help or prevent the deaths in the note.
4. A god of death has no obligation to completely explain how to use the note or rules which will apply to the human who owns it unless asked.
V (Five)
1. A god of death can extend their own life by putting a name on their own note, but humans cannot.
3. The human who becomes the owner of the Death Note can, in exchange of half his/her remaining life, get the eyeballs of the god of death which will enable him/her to see a human's name and remaining life span when looking through them.
4. A god of death cannot be killed even if stabbed in his heart with a knife or shot in the head with a gun. However, there are ways to kill a god of death, which are not generally known to the god of death.
G-D WHY ARE THERE NINETY-ONE FREAKING RULES IN THIS STUPID NOTEBOOK? JUST SOMEONE EXPLAIN THAT! IT'S LIKE-
OK, kanna...calm down. Just calm down...deep breaths...rule #1 of anime is to never bring logic into it.
OK, I'm good. Let's just keep going.
This series wouldn't be that interesting if we didn't have an antagonist, and sure enough, we do. And his name is...L.
L is a world-famous detective working for Interpol, and he comes into the picture when the unexplained deaths of so many criminals gets Interpol's attention. It's also here where we get a pretty clever Japanese/English wordplay. L deduces that the killer is known as "Kira" (similar in pronunciation to the English word, killer, except in Japanese, it's pronounced kee-rah, and you don't really pronounce the r as an r, but it's more like a Spanish r) and that Kira is able to kill people through supernatural means. But when Light realizes that L is on to what's going on, Light quickly begins a game of cat-and-mouse, and our series is in full swing.
So...let's talk characters.
Light Yagami: He's interesting. Normally, his type of character wouldn't be that interesting to me, as he is, in a sense, becoming a "god of a new world." That isn't a type of character I tend to like, as most writers have a tendency to either give this type of character too much power, or not enough. But I actually like his character. The writers didn't give him too much power or not enough power. They gave him flaws, too. These flaws help balance out the power, and we have a nice 50/50 ratio of power and flaws. It's perfect. Granted, he's not my favorite character in the series, but he is an interesting character.
Ryuk: Appearance-wise, I initially FREAKED. I mean...I'm not sure what I was expecting, but when you've seen anime with a Shinigami in it where the Shinigami look more...humanized and less...well...
How would you NOT freak out? Granted, I saw Death Note about a year or two before I saw Bleach, so when I saw Bleach, I didn't freak when I saw the Hollows (if I review Bleach, which probably won't happen, I'll explain what those are). But Ryuk...wow. Just wow.
Anyway, characterization. Ryuk was a lot different from a lot of the other Shinigami in other anime I've seen. Like I said, this was before I saw Bleach, and the other Shinigami that were in different series had personalities that were more...humanized (like their appearances). But this was a different story entirely. They mixed characteristics of a demon-like character and combined it with characteristics of a more human character, and had those characteristics mirror Light's personality. He also wants to cleanse the world of evil and become the "god of a new world." He didn't take Light's side, but he didn't necessarily take the side of the police, either. He was basically a neutral party in everything.
L: Ah, L. Everyone's favorite Interpol detective. He's actually called L Lawliet, but you'd have to read the manga in order to know that, because they don't reveal it in the anime. He's the character that we know so much about, and yet, so little at the same time. And I guess that's why so many people like him. This guy is a freaking GENIUS. He never shows his face in public and even uses a machine to disguise his voice, so hardly anyone knows what he really sounds or looks like. Not only that, but only ONE PERSON in ALL OF INTERPOL is able to get in contact with him.
The music in Death Note is amazing, as well. We have an anime with awesome characters and music. Let's see...the opening is pretty awesome, the ending is pretty awesome, and even the freaking BACKGROUND MUSIC is awesome. Everything just fits perfectly.
The anime actually had two openings and three endings. The first opening was for episodes 1-19, titled, "The WORLD," and performed by a Japanese rock band called Nightmare. The second opening was for episodes 20-36, titled, "What's up, people?!" and it's performed by another Japanese rock band, MAXIMUM THE HORMONE.
The first ending was performed by the same group that performed the first opening, Nightmare, and lasted for the same number of episodes (1-19). This song was called "Alumina." The second song was performed by the same group that performed the second opening and, MAXIMUM THE HORMONE, and lasted for the same number of episodes (20-36). This song was called "Zetsubou Billy." The third ending was performed by someone else entirely AND was only for the last episode of the series. The third ending was performed by Yoshihisa Hirano, and it was called "Coda~Death Note."
So...overall rating?
TEN OUT OF FREAKING TEN
Why: First off, the animation is pretty good. It's not great, but it's definitely pretty good. The character designs are on point, as it's easy to see who's who. Unlike in Claymore where everyone looked basically the same and there's this weird color filter, or UtaPri where there are too many characters to tell apart.
So, to make up for the sucky review I gave for my double-digits special, I've decided to...ask you guys a few questions! Haha! I can be evil sometimes, can't I?
*crickets*
OK. Anyway, onto the questions!
1. Are you a bored, top of the class student?
2. Do you hate all things evil?
3. Have you found a strange black notebook recently?
4. If you said yes to question 3, did you write someone's name in the book?
5. If you said yes to question 4, was the person's name someone you utterly despised?
6. If you said yes to question 5, did you imagine this person's death? Things like date, time, cause, location, etc.?
7. If you said yes to question 6, did you write all that information in the book?
8. If you said yes to question 7, did that person turn up dead in the exact way you wrote it in the notebook?
If you said yes to all of these questions, you:
a) are a coldblooded killer
b) are a psychopath
c) both a and b
or
d) figured out what anime I'm getting at
If you chose d, and you figured out what anime I was getting at, then congratulations! You get bragging rights! And cookies (tee hee...cookies...and it's the internet...get it?)!
The anime for Anime Monday #11 is...Death Note.
Oh, I probably should have mentioned this in advance. Because it's October and it's close to Halloween, we'll mainly be focusing on horror/supernatural anime. I'll try not to pick anything too gory for my squeamish readers, but I can't promise anything.
Anyway, a little background.
Death Note (and yes, that's also the Japanese title, it's just pronounced differently, because the 'th' sound doesn't exist in Japanese, so it's pronounced as Desu Notō in Japanese) was originally a manga written by Tsugumi Ohba and illustrated by Takeshi Obata. The manga had 108 chapters, which were collected into twelve volumes, and ran from December 2003 to May 2006 in Weekly Shonen Jump.
On October 3, 2006, an anime adaptation premiered in Japan and ran for 37 episodes, until June 26, 2007. It aired every Tuesday at (I swear, I couldn't make this up if I tried) 22:34 (Japanese Standard Time; the equivalent of which is 10:34 PM).
Why so peculiar about the time? No idea. I mean it. I looked up the significance of the time and everything. I even thought it was a date, like 2/23/04. But I couldn't find anything. I guess because all the episodes were a little over twenty minutes each, but that would have to mean the show before it ran for a little over thirty minutes, with commercials and credits...I'm overthinking this. For any of my readers who live or lived in Japan during the time of the anime, or during the year 2004, if anyone knows ANYTHING about the significance of 22:34 or 22304 or any form of those numbers, PLEASE tell me so I can edit this!
Apparently, this anime was so popular that it got THREE live action movies, multiple video games, a light novel, a drama series, AND TWO musicals (no, I don't get it, either, but I listened to some of the songs, and they're pretty good). One in Japan and another in South Korea.
So, plot.
The story revolves around Light Yagami, a bored, young genius who despises anything and everything evil. He finds a black notebook with the words "DEATH NOTE" written on the cover, and some...pretty detailed instructions inside.
I'm not exaggerating. There are NINETY-ONE RULES ON HOW TO USE THIS NOTEBOOK. Forget the fact that it has all these powers and stuff; WHY THE FRICK DO YOU NEED NINETY-ONE RULES ON HOW TO USE A NOTEBOOK?! IT'S LIKE WRITING SUPER DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS ON HOW TO MAKE INSTANT RAMEN! UNNECESSARY!
Anyway, Light thinks that this is a pretty bad prank and abandons the book, before thinking about what sick mind he must have and going back for the book. He takes the book back to his house and decides to take a look at it. We learn the first FIVE of our NINETY-ONE RULES. It's going to get overwhelming later on, but here we go with the first five:
1. The human whose name is written in this note shall die.
2. This note will not take effect unless the writer has the person's face in their mind when writing his/her name. Therefore, people sharing the same name will not be affected.
3. If the cause of death is written within the next 40 seconds of writing the person's name, it will happen.
4. If the cause of death is not specified, the person will simply die of a heart attack.
5. After writing the cause of death, details of the death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds.
OK...a little detailed, but keep in mind that this book has NINETY-ONE FREAKING RULES.
Anyway, Light has the news on the TV in his room when he decides to test the book out. Apparently, there was a kidnapping, and the news released a name and face of the kidnapper. So Light wrote the name down and waited for 40 seconds. At first, nothing happened. But then, the people who were kidnapped ran outside, and it was revealed that the kidnapper seemed to have died from a heart attack.
Light thinks it's a coincidence. After all, there's no way in the world a notebook could have magical powers, right? RIGHT? So he decides to test it out again and picks someone else. He picks a criminal, on the off chance that the notebook is, in fact, legit. Although he does consider killing someone who has been nothing but a bully, but he rethinks killing someone he knows and decides against it. Not that it makes a difference to him. Kinda hypocritical for a guy who hates everything evil, but whatever.
On the way back from his prep course, he sees a motorcycle gang getting ready to do some...pretty nasty things to a young lady. He overhears the name of the leader of the gang and writes the gang leader's name and a cause of death (a traffic accident) to further test the notebook. Sure enough, the guy gets hit by a truck, causing Light to gasp in realization that the Death Note isn't a prank. It's the real thing.
As all of this is happening, we meet the Shinigami (死神; literally translates to god of death or death god), Ryuk. Ryuk is...interesting, to say the least. Like Light, he's bored. He drops a Death Note into the human world from the Shinigami world. Ryuk meets Light and follows him around as Light learns more about the Death Note and the powers of Shinigami. We later find out a few more of the NINETY-ONE FREAKING RULES (I'm sorry, I just...ninety-one rules? Really?), which have a lot to do with the Shinigami.
Now, these are going to be a little out of order. Just letting you know, as the numbers for the rules always start back at one, and I'll only be including the rules relevant to the Shinigami's connection with a human. These are from sections (yeah...I should have mentioned that they had to split NINETY-ONE FREAKING RULES into sections) III (three), IV (four), and V (five).
III (Three)
2. The human who touches the Death Note can recognize the image and voice of its original owner, a god of death, even if the human is not the owner of the note.
IV (Four)
1. The person in possession of the Death Note is possessed by a god of death, its original owner, until they die.
2. If a human uses the note, a god of death usually appears in front of him/her within 39 days after he/she uses the note.
3. Gods of death, the original owners of the Death Note, do not do, in principle, anything which will help or prevent the deaths in the note.
4. A god of death has no obligation to completely explain how to use the note or rules which will apply to the human who owns it unless asked.
V (Five)
1. A god of death can extend their own life by putting a name on their own note, but humans cannot.
3. The human who becomes the owner of the Death Note can, in exchange of half his/her remaining life, get the eyeballs of the god of death which will enable him/her to see a human's name and remaining life span when looking through them.
4. A god of death cannot be killed even if stabbed in his heart with a knife or shot in the head with a gun. However, there are ways to kill a god of death, which are not generally known to the god of death.
G-D WHY ARE THERE NINETY-ONE FREAKING RULES IN THIS STUPID NOTEBOOK? JUST SOMEONE EXPLAIN THAT! IT'S LIKE-
OK, kanna...calm down. Just calm down...deep breaths...rule #1 of anime is to never bring logic into it.
OK, I'm good. Let's just keep going.
This series wouldn't be that interesting if we didn't have an antagonist, and sure enough, we do. And his name is...L.
L is a world-famous detective working for Interpol, and he comes into the picture when the unexplained deaths of so many criminals gets Interpol's attention. It's also here where we get a pretty clever Japanese/English wordplay. L deduces that the killer is known as "Kira" (similar in pronunciation to the English word, killer, except in Japanese, it's pronounced kee-rah, and you don't really pronounce the r as an r, but it's more like a Spanish r) and that Kira is able to kill people through supernatural means. But when Light realizes that L is on to what's going on, Light quickly begins a game of cat-and-mouse, and our series is in full swing.
So...let's talk characters.
Light Yagami: He's interesting. Normally, his type of character wouldn't be that interesting to me, as he is, in a sense, becoming a "god of a new world." That isn't a type of character I tend to like, as most writers have a tendency to either give this type of character too much power, or not enough. But I actually like his character. The writers didn't give him too much power or not enough power. They gave him flaws, too. These flaws help balance out the power, and we have a nice 50/50 ratio of power and flaws. It's perfect. Granted, he's not my favorite character in the series, but he is an interesting character.
Ryuk: Appearance-wise, I initially FREAKED. I mean...I'm not sure what I was expecting, but when you've seen anime with a Shinigami in it where the Shinigami look more...humanized and less...well...
How would you NOT freak out? Granted, I saw Death Note about a year or two before I saw Bleach, so when I saw Bleach, I didn't freak when I saw the Hollows (if I review Bleach, which probably won't happen, I'll explain what those are). But Ryuk...wow. Just wow.
Anyway, characterization. Ryuk was a lot different from a lot of the other Shinigami in other anime I've seen. Like I said, this was before I saw Bleach, and the other Shinigami that were in different series had personalities that were more...humanized (like their appearances). But this was a different story entirely. They mixed characteristics of a demon-like character and combined it with characteristics of a more human character, and had those characteristics mirror Light's personality. He also wants to cleanse the world of evil and become the "god of a new world." He didn't take Light's side, but he didn't necessarily take the side of the police, either. He was basically a neutral party in everything.
L: Ah, L. Everyone's favorite Interpol detective. He's actually called L Lawliet, but you'd have to read the manga in order to know that, because they don't reveal it in the anime. He's the character that we know so much about, and yet, so little at the same time. And I guess that's why so many people like him. This guy is a freaking GENIUS. He never shows his face in public and even uses a machine to disguise his voice, so hardly anyone knows what he really sounds or looks like. Not only that, but only ONE PERSON in ALL OF INTERPOL is able to get in contact with him.
The music in Death Note is amazing, as well. We have an anime with awesome characters and music. Let's see...the opening is pretty awesome, the ending is pretty awesome, and even the freaking BACKGROUND MUSIC is awesome. Everything just fits perfectly.
The anime actually had two openings and three endings. The first opening was for episodes 1-19, titled, "The WORLD," and performed by a Japanese rock band called Nightmare. The second opening was for episodes 20-36, titled, "What's up, people?!" and it's performed by another Japanese rock band, MAXIMUM THE HORMONE.
The first ending was performed by the same group that performed the first opening, Nightmare, and lasted for the same number of episodes (1-19). This song was called "Alumina." The second song was performed by the same group that performed the second opening and, MAXIMUM THE HORMONE, and lasted for the same number of episodes (20-36). This song was called "Zetsubou Billy." The third ending was performed by someone else entirely AND was only for the last episode of the series. The third ending was performed by Yoshihisa Hirano, and it was called "Coda~Death Note."
So...overall rating?
TEN OUT OF FREAKING TEN
Why: First off, the animation is pretty good. It's not great, but it's definitely pretty good. The character designs are on point, as it's easy to see who's who. Unlike in Claymore where everyone looked basically the same and there's this weird color filter, or UtaPri where there are too many characters to tell apart.
We get a lot of insight into the characters and their motives. Sure, Light and Ryuk don't initially have motives until the Death Note is brought into the picture, but you can still understand them as characters and develop a connection to them. L is amazing; a genius. Just watch the second episode and you'll see what I mean.
For a series as dark as this, they actually did manage to fit some comedy in there. Don't get me wrong, it's pretty hard to find because of how subtle it is. But it's there.
Lastly, I wouldn't normally bring this up, but the ENGLISH DUB is actually pretty awesome. The voices are all on point...except for L's. But that's hardly worth taking points off for. It's just that it's been mentioned that L is English, and not once, voice disguised or not, do we hear any kind of accent.
This anime is FILLED with twists and turns, and there's plenty to keep you guessing as to what the characters will do next. I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who enjoys a supernatural mystery thriller. There's a little bit of gore, but it's not too bad. Even so, if you're squeamish, don't watch it. Most of the death scenes are more implied, but there are a few that they show, and it's not pretty.
Well, that's it for now!
Next Anime Monday (which WILL BE A MONDAY; I AM DETERMINED): Ghost in the Shell
Next Anime Monday (which WILL BE A MONDAY; I AM DETERMINED): Ghost in the Shell
See you next time! ~k
Well, I've kept you waiting long enough. I am SO SORRY about that, and I feel awful about it. I really do. But, here's your review! It's a special one, because it's double digits! It's...
ATTACK ON TITAN: PART 1
ATTACK ON TITAN: PART 1
OK, for those of you who can't read Japanese, haven't seen the poster, or are just too lazy to look up translations for yourselves (any of those options are fine), I'll give you a quick walkthrough of the translation. The top part lists Hajime Isayama as the creator of the source material, Shinji Higuchi as the director, and Yusuke Watanabe as the writer (although there were technically two writers, the other being Tomohiro Machiyama. I don't know why he isn't listed on the poster).
The part in red that says この世界は、残酷か means "The world is cruel" or "The world is merciless."
Then we have the title of the film, 進撃の巨人, which literally means "advancing giants." However, because that just doesn't sound badass, they changed the translation of it to something similar enough. Something we now know and love as...Attack on Titan.
Now, I know what you're thinking. I bet it's probably something along the lines of, "Kanna, you already did a review of Attack on Titan. Why are you doing it again?" Well, because...the first part of the live action movie came out. And I was super excited for it. I mean REALLY excited. It was all I'd ever talk about with my friends, regardless of whether they watched the anime or not (needless to say, they got tired of it pretty quickly). The trailer was AMAZING. For those of you who want to see the epic-ness WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES, here you go.
Note that this is the trailer that they used for the U.S. release of the movie. I saw the other trailers for Australia, New Zealand, and Singapore, but thought this would be more appropriate since I live in the U.S.
With an AMAZING trailer, AMAZING looking special effects, and having the creator of the original source material work on the writing team, those of us who were eagerly anticipating the movie were super, seriously excited. Not to mention having an amazing cast with actors like Haruma Miura, Kiko Mizuhara, and Kanata Hongo leading the cast.
I can't wait to see how well this movie was adapted! I mean, they had HAJIME FREAKING ISAYAMA on the writing team. There's NO WAY POSSIBLE they could screw this up, right? Right? RIGHT?!
RIGHT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
RIGHT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
ONE SCREENING LATER
Good G-d...where did they go wrong? I mean...wow. Just...wow. I'm actually at a loss for words. I mean...how much could they POSSIBLY screw up before utterly DESTROYING everything that is Attack on Titan? I just...well, let's start with the first of the movie's problems. And I will TRY to keep this brief, but this movie just seemed to go on FOREVER, so I make no promises.
1. The characters
GOOD FREAKING G-D, the characters. Nothing wrong with the actors (although I could be biased saying that, because I am a fan of Haruma Miura and Kanata Hongo) or the performances they gave (okay, some of the scenes do have pretty bad acting), but...could they be anymore OUT OF CHARACTER? I get it's an adaptation and you have to make some changes, but let's go over what really makes me angry about this.
GOOD FREAKING G-D, the characters. Nothing wrong with the actors (although I could be biased saying that, because I am a fan of Haruma Miura and Kanata Hongo) or the performances they gave (okay, some of the scenes do have pretty bad acting), but...could they be anymore OUT OF CHARACTER? I get it's an adaptation and you have to make some changes, but let's go over what really makes me angry about this.
In the anime and manga, Mikasa was Eren's foster sister, and they looked out for each other. Mikasa was there for Eren when he struggled to understand the fact that he could turn into a Titan, the very thing he hated. But in the movie, Mikasa and Eren weren't brother and sister. They were boyfriend and girlfriend. Why? No reason. They just were.
Another change: Personalities. Good G-D, this was where they REALLY went wrong. Apparently, Eren's fearless attitude when standing against the Titans made him "difficult to relate to" according to Isayama. So, they threw away Eren's fearlessness and backstory of someone, who, as a BOY, killed someone to protect Mikasa. They basically turned Eren into a WIMP. A really big wimp.
2. Who's missing?
Let me show you something, and then we'll talk a little about it.
Notice someone missing? Or, someones? Say...Levi? Annie? Bertholdt? Reiner? LEVI FREAKING ACKERMAN? THE MOST POPULAR CHARACTER IN ALL OF ATTACK ON TITAN? And that's just A FEW of the missing characters!
Well, as luck would conveniently have it, they're not ACTUALLY missing (well...some of them, at any rate). Nope. Their names have been changed. I think. It's a little hard to say, as I'm not sure who was supposed to be playing the movie's version of Annie, if she was even in this movie, or if we'll even see her in Attack on Titan Part 2: End of the World. But they did leave a lot of characters out.
Notice something else? Say...how all the names aside from Eren's and Armin's are all Japanese? To be fair, Mikasa's name is Japanese already, so it's not like they could change that. But yeah. Captain Levi FREAKING Ackerman (sorry, but he's my favorite character) became Shikishima, Commander Shadis became Kubal, Hannes became Souda, and Zoë Hange became Hans.
There are a lot of movie exclusive characters, which is risky enough. There are movies that do this fairly well, like The Hobbit trilogy. But to change the names of fan favorite characters? You need to have some serious NERVE to do that and be successful. This movie FAILED.
So, why change the names of fan favorite characters like Levi (sorry...he's kinda my favorite character)? Well, there's a reason for that, and it's a pretty stupid one at that. It's because the names DIDN'T TRANSLATE.
Now, I know what you're thinking. Probably something along the lines of, "Kanna, they had to; they don't have the letter 'l' in Japanese, and the 'v' sound isn't that common..." Look, I'm totally aware of that. But when you can pronounce names like Levi FREAKING Ackerman pretty decently in the anime and have it translate well enough into the manga, there's really no excuse. Besides, Lil and Kubal have the letter 'l' in their names. How did they get a free pass? It's RIDICULOUS.
3. The Titans
These things were the CORE PART of the movie. Even if you HATED the characters, you probably wanted to see the movie so you could watch these giant monstrosities rip up the village the characters lived in and then eat the people living there, leaving little to no survivors.
Well...how do I put this lightly? THE CGI SUCKED. I mean, how could you SCREW UP the things in the movie that people were actually looking forward to seeing? How do you go from a Colossal Titan that looks like this
to a Colossal Titan that looks like this?
Heck, even the Titan ARMY looks ridiculous! I mean...wow, the CGI is TERRIBLE. I understand that this sort of animation takes time (and lots of it), but the people in charge of the CGI had LOADS of time. THIS IS THE BEST THEY COULD DO?
Oh, but since we're on the subject of stuff that clearly defies expectations, how about stuff that defies logic?
As I addressed in my review of the anime, Titans can't reproduce. They have no reproductive organs (which doesn't explain why the female Titans in the movie have fairly large chests, but that's beside the point).
In one scene of the movie, Eren and one of the movie-exclusive characters (I honestly don't care about her enough to remember her name) are in a destroyed house when they hear a baby crying. They wonder if the baby they hear was a survivor of the attack and go out to investigate before the crying gets louder. And louder. AND LOUDER. And when Eren and insert-movie-exclusive-character-here go to investigate, we get our first look at the baby. We see an eye. And it's a pretty big one at that.
Turns out, it's a Titan BABY.
Yeah.
Because, apparently, Titans can reproduce in this abomination of a movie's universe. This fact TOTALLY contradicts itself, as it was stated in the anime, manga, and earlier in the movie that Titans CAN'T reproduce. SO HOW DID THIS TITAN BABY COME INTO BEING? Did lightning just strike and it appeared? Was it like how the Orcs were created in Lord of the Rings? I mean...HOW THE FLYING FRICK DID THIS BABY COME INTO BEING? TITANS DO NOT HAVE REPRODUCTIVE ORGANS! THIS MAKES NO SENSE! I mean...LOOK AT THIS THING! THIS! IS! NOT! NORMAL!
 |
| OK, in all fairness, Titans aren't normal, but...since when was a Titan BABY considered normal? |
Well, that's going to haunt my nightmares. Keep in mind I'm doing this for YOU GUYS.
Meaning: I'M LOSING MY FREAKING SANITY OVER HERE! SOMEONE HELP!
Actually, you know what? Don't answer my question about when a Titan BABY was considered normal. I don't think I want to know. Let's just move on.
4. Pacing
I watch a few horror movies here and there. It's not my favorite genre (that's not to say I hate horror movies, but I don't necessarily love them, either), but M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense is one of my all time FAVORITE horror movies. However, for those of you who are more familiar with M. Night Shyamalan's more modern day works, like Signs, The Last Airbender, Devil, and After Earth (you know, the movies that no one really likes to talk about), those are the works where the acting is AWFUL and the pacing is just downright SLOW.
This movie made me feel like I was watching a Shyamalan film. And if this movie made me feel like I was watching The Sixth Sense, I wouldn't be making this complaint. The Sixth Sense was an AMAZING movie that I've seen quite a few times (might be watching it this Halloween, but that's beside the point). But this movie was just so unbelievably slow. I mean, I shouldn't end up bored out of my mind within the first TEN MINUTES of the movie. But it takes the Colossal Titan FOREVER to make its grand entrance. I felt like I was just staring at the screen for anywhere from twenty to forty-five minutes before it FINALLY showed. And who knows? Maybe it really was forty-five minutes.
Not only that, but because of the UNBELIEVABLY SLOW pacing in this movie, by the time a fight scene comes up, you're probably already about to fall asleep if you haven't already due to these unnecessary plot points that come up because of the movie-exclusive-characters, and the changes that were made to the not-movie-exclusive-characters make the movie even more slow. I mean...I think I was about to fall asleep (and probably would have) if my friends didn't tell me about the Colossal Titan's grand entrance coming up. And the points I made about pacing lead me into my next problem with the movie.
5. Writing
Before I say anything else, let me say that this wouldn't be as big of a problem for me if it wasn't for one really big reason. And I mean BIG. Why is this a BIG problem? Well...because...
THE IDIOTS WRITING THE MOVIE HAD THE CREATOR OF THE ORIGINAL SOURCE MATERIAL, HAJIME ISAYAMA, ON THEIR TEAM! HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY SCREW THIS UP?
Not only that, but Isayama apparently ASKED for some of the changes to the setting and characters to be made. WHY? WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO US? YOU TURNED EREN INTO A WIMP, DECIDED TO REPLACE LEVI FREAKING ACKERMAN WITH THIS SHIKISHIMA GUY (I really couldn't care less about Shikishima, but...Levi...), AND JUST RUINED EVERYTHING! YOU CREATED THE SOURCE MATERIAL, WORKED ON THE WRITING, FANS PAID BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO COLLECT ALL THE VOLUMES OF THE MANGA AS WELL AS VARIOUS MERCHANDISE, AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY US?
And if you've seen the movie, you'll notice that it's not set in what looks like a post-apocalyptic Germany (note that the apocalypse has not happened and I've never been to Germany), but in Japan. Specifically, a deserted island off the coast of Nagasaki called Hashima, but it has the nickname "Gunkanjima" which literally means "Battleship Island" because the island looks like a ship in the water. As cool as that is...would it really have been that hard to film in Germany? I mean, I've never been, but I'm sure they could find SOMEWHERE in Germany to film it.
Not only that, but the characters say lots of things that you would NEVER BE ABLE TO IMAGINE them saying in the anime or manga. Forgetting the movie-exclusive characters, Eren acts like a total wimp, Mikasa...I can't even talk about her. But the dialog is off. It's possible some things were lost in translation and didn't quite carry over well, but unlikely.
6. Music
I LOVE a good soundtrack. So, when you have awesome songs like 紅蓮の弓矢 (Crimson Bow and Arrow) and 自由の翼 (Wings of Freedom) featured in the TV anime, and more awesome songs like 紅蓮の座標 (I couldn't find a good translation; when I do, I'll edit it in) and 自由の代償 (The Price of Freedom), along with pretty awesome ending songs for the anime, you would think that the music for this movie would be FREAKING AWESOME. Especially when you consider the fact that the guys doing the music for the movie, Shiro Sagisu, got the hit Japanese group, Sekai no Owari (literally: End of the World) to perform the theme songs for the movie.
The theme songs were called "ANTI-HERO" and "SOS." You'd think with titles like that, we'd be bound to get some form of hard rock or something that SOMEWHAT resembled Linked Horizon's sound (they're the group that did the music for the anime).
And...you'd be very wrong, indeed.
First of all, listen to "ANTI-HERO" and tell me if you think for so much as a second that the song belongs in the movie.
Now, listen to "SOS" and tell me if you think that THIS belongs in the movie.
Do these songs fit? AT ALL? Even remotely? I mean...WHY THE FRICK COULDN'T THEY GET LINKED HORIZON?!
I understand that these were Sekai no Owari's first songs that were ENTIRELY in English, so my complaint has nothing to do with that. I like that they're trying and applaud the effort. However, these songs SUCK. I mean...they just don't fit at all. It's pretty bad. I'm hopeful the songs in Part 2 will be better, but on the other hand, I don't want to get my hopes up.
Good G-d I could go on and on, but I think I'll stop there.
So...what do I think of this movie?
0 OUT OF 5
First, I'm rating this out of 5 because there's a second part coming out called Attack on Titan Part 2: End of the World. When I review that one, I'll take both of the ratings and look at the two movies as one whole movie while rating it out of ten.
Why: Well...you can clearly see why this movie sucks from the reasons listed above. There's a lot wrong with it. And while the movie does advertise itself as something that those new to Attack on Titan could watch, it wouldn't leave a good impression with those who were new to it. The writing seems lazy, the CGI is crap, and the fact that they got rid of LEVI FREAKING ACKERMAN, THE MOST POPULAR CHARACTER IN ALL OF ATTACK ON TITAN, AND REPLACED HIM WITH THIS SHIKISHIMA GUY would be enough to make anyone angry.
Look, it's one thing when you have to make adaptations. I get it. Changes have to be made. But...why change the names of so many of our favorite characters? You know, like LEVI FREAKING ACKERMAN?
And before you ask, I'm not going to stop calling him LEVI FREAKING ACKERMAN. He's that badass. He deserves it. Plus, I'm really ticked at how this movie sucks.
Anyway, why change the location? Why change all these names? Why change everything we KNOW AND LOVE ABOUT THE CHARACTERS OF ATTACK ON TITAN? Why change the Titans into some of the most horrible-looking and yet somehow laughable things on the planet? These things are supposed to be SCARY! We're supposed to jump or something when they're on screen; NOT BE WOKEN UP FROM ALMOST FALLING ASLEEP!
OK...there...I'm done. And out of breath. This movie sucks. The only reason I'm planning on watching Part 2 is to see if it will be any better and if it will include my favorite arc in the entire series.
Well, now I have a headache. I'm going to find something to do so I can get rid of my headache and have some more positive thoughts in my head. I'm getting back to loving life, and so should you! See you soon with Anime Monday #11! ~k
Meaning: I'M LOSING MY FREAKING SANITY OVER HERE! SOMEONE HELP!
Actually, you know what? Don't answer my question about when a Titan BABY was considered normal. I don't think I want to know. Let's just move on.
4. Pacing
I watch a few horror movies here and there. It's not my favorite genre (that's not to say I hate horror movies, but I don't necessarily love them, either), but M. Night Shyamalan's The Sixth Sense is one of my all time FAVORITE horror movies. However, for those of you who are more familiar with M. Night Shyamalan's more modern day works, like Signs, The Last Airbender, Devil, and After Earth (you know, the movies that no one really likes to talk about), those are the works where the acting is AWFUL and the pacing is just downright SLOW.
This movie made me feel like I was watching a Shyamalan film. And if this movie made me feel like I was watching The Sixth Sense, I wouldn't be making this complaint. The Sixth Sense was an AMAZING movie that I've seen quite a few times (might be watching it this Halloween, but that's beside the point). But this movie was just so unbelievably slow. I mean, I shouldn't end up bored out of my mind within the first TEN MINUTES of the movie. But it takes the Colossal Titan FOREVER to make its grand entrance. I felt like I was just staring at the screen for anywhere from twenty to forty-five minutes before it FINALLY showed. And who knows? Maybe it really was forty-five minutes.
Not only that, but because of the UNBELIEVABLY SLOW pacing in this movie, by the time a fight scene comes up, you're probably already about to fall asleep if you haven't already due to these unnecessary plot points that come up because of the movie-exclusive-characters, and the changes that were made to the not-movie-exclusive-characters make the movie even more slow. I mean...I think I was about to fall asleep (and probably would have) if my friends didn't tell me about the Colossal Titan's grand entrance coming up. And the points I made about pacing lead me into my next problem with the movie.
5. Writing
Before I say anything else, let me say that this wouldn't be as big of a problem for me if it wasn't for one really big reason. And I mean BIG. Why is this a BIG problem? Well...because...
THE IDIOTS WRITING THE MOVIE HAD THE CREATOR OF THE ORIGINAL SOURCE MATERIAL, HAJIME ISAYAMA, ON THEIR TEAM! HOW COULD YOU POSSIBLY SCREW THIS UP?
Not only that, but Isayama apparently ASKED for some of the changes to the setting and characters to be made. WHY? WHY WOULD YOU DO THIS TO US? YOU TURNED EREN INTO A WIMP, DECIDED TO REPLACE LEVI FREAKING ACKERMAN WITH THIS SHIKISHIMA GUY (I really couldn't care less about Shikishima, but...Levi...), AND JUST RUINED EVERYTHING! YOU CREATED THE SOURCE MATERIAL, WORKED ON THE WRITING, FANS PAID BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TO COLLECT ALL THE VOLUMES OF THE MANGA AS WELL AS VARIOUS MERCHANDISE, AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY US?
And if you've seen the movie, you'll notice that it's not set in what looks like a post-apocalyptic Germany (note that the apocalypse has not happened and I've never been to Germany), but in Japan. Specifically, a deserted island off the coast of Nagasaki called Hashima, but it has the nickname "Gunkanjima" which literally means "Battleship Island" because the island looks like a ship in the water. As cool as that is...would it really have been that hard to film in Germany? I mean, I've never been, but I'm sure they could find SOMEWHERE in Germany to film it.
Not only that, but the characters say lots of things that you would NEVER BE ABLE TO IMAGINE them saying in the anime or manga. Forgetting the movie-exclusive characters, Eren acts like a total wimp, Mikasa...I can't even talk about her. But the dialog is off. It's possible some things were lost in translation and didn't quite carry over well, but unlikely.
6. Music
I LOVE a good soundtrack. So, when you have awesome songs like 紅蓮の弓矢 (Crimson Bow and Arrow) and 自由の翼 (Wings of Freedom) featured in the TV anime, and more awesome songs like 紅蓮の座標 (I couldn't find a good translation; when I do, I'll edit it in) and 自由の代償 (The Price of Freedom), along with pretty awesome ending songs for the anime, you would think that the music for this movie would be FREAKING AWESOME. Especially when you consider the fact that the guys doing the music for the movie, Shiro Sagisu, got the hit Japanese group, Sekai no Owari (literally: End of the World) to perform the theme songs for the movie.
The theme songs were called "ANTI-HERO" and "SOS." You'd think with titles like that, we'd be bound to get some form of hard rock or something that SOMEWHAT resembled Linked Horizon's sound (they're the group that did the music for the anime).
And...you'd be very wrong, indeed.
First of all, listen to "ANTI-HERO" and tell me if you think for so much as a second that the song belongs in the movie.
Now, listen to "SOS" and tell me if you think that THIS belongs in the movie.
Do these songs fit? AT ALL? Even remotely? I mean...WHY THE FRICK COULDN'T THEY GET LINKED HORIZON?!
I understand that these were Sekai no Owari's first songs that were ENTIRELY in English, so my complaint has nothing to do with that. I like that they're trying and applaud the effort. However, these songs SUCK. I mean...they just don't fit at all. It's pretty bad. I'm hopeful the songs in Part 2 will be better, but on the other hand, I don't want to get my hopes up.
Good G-d I could go on and on, but I think I'll stop there.
So...what do I think of this movie?
0 OUT OF 5
First, I'm rating this out of 5 because there's a second part coming out called Attack on Titan Part 2: End of the World. When I review that one, I'll take both of the ratings and look at the two movies as one whole movie while rating it out of ten.
Why: Well...you can clearly see why this movie sucks from the reasons listed above. There's a lot wrong with it. And while the movie does advertise itself as something that those new to Attack on Titan could watch, it wouldn't leave a good impression with those who were new to it. The writing seems lazy, the CGI is crap, and the fact that they got rid of LEVI FREAKING ACKERMAN, THE MOST POPULAR CHARACTER IN ALL OF ATTACK ON TITAN, AND REPLACED HIM WITH THIS SHIKISHIMA GUY would be enough to make anyone angry.
Look, it's one thing when you have to make adaptations. I get it. Changes have to be made. But...why change the names of so many of our favorite characters? You know, like LEVI FREAKING ACKERMAN?
And before you ask, I'm not going to stop calling him LEVI FREAKING ACKERMAN. He's that badass. He deserves it. Plus, I'm really ticked at how this movie sucks.
Anyway, why change the location? Why change all these names? Why change everything we KNOW AND LOVE ABOUT THE CHARACTERS OF ATTACK ON TITAN? Why change the Titans into some of the most horrible-looking and yet somehow laughable things on the planet? These things are supposed to be SCARY! We're supposed to jump or something when they're on screen; NOT BE WOKEN UP FROM ALMOST FALLING ASLEEP!
OK...there...I'm done. And out of breath. This movie sucks. The only reason I'm planning on watching Part 2 is to see if it will be any better and if it will include my favorite arc in the entire series.
Well, now I have a headache. I'm going to find something to do so I can get rid of my headache and have some more positive thoughts in my head. I'm getting back to loving life, and so should you! See you soon with Anime Monday #11! ~k
Hey guys, kanna here. There are no excuses for why this is late...is what I want to say. Unfortunately, due to packing, my summer job, and a few other things, I wasn't able to write much. Also, writers block.
But, never fear! I slapped myself this morning for what an idiot I was being when I had perfect comedic gold right in front of me. It's...
UTA NO PRINCE-SAMA: MAJI LOVE REVOLUTIONS
But, never fear! I slapped myself this morning for what an idiot I was being when I had perfect comedic gold right in front of me. It's...
UTA NO PRINCE-SAMA: MAJI LOVE REVOLUTIONS
 |
| Note that the word "revolutions" is in katakana, the Japanese alphabet used for most English words. I'm sure that there is an actual translation, and the most unreliable translator in the world (Google translate) gave me the word 反乱 (hanran), which technically means rebellion. I guess the words rebellion and revolution are close enough, but... |
OK. Where do I begin with this? Well, in order for you to understand this review, I would suggest that you go and read my review of Uta no Prince-sama: Maji Love 1000% and 2000%. But that's a suggestion.
If you feel like being lazy (nothing wrong with that), here's a run down of the show in the form of bullet points:
So...yeah. That's basically the general gist of it. If you want info on the characters, I suggest (again) reading my UtaPri Maji Love 1000% and 2000% review. You don't have to, but at this point, I highly recommend it.
I guess I should give some visuals, given that hardly anyone can keep the names straight (myself and my friends included). So, let's get to it!
If you feel like being lazy (nothing wrong with that), here's a run down of the show in the form of bullet points:
- MAJI LOVE 1000%
- MEET COMPOSER HARUKA NANAMI
- STARISH IS FORMED; HARUKA NANAMI IS THEIR COMPOSER
- Members
- Otoya Ittoki
- Natsuki Shinomiya
- Masato Hijirikawa
- Ren Jinguji
- Tokiya Ichinose
- Syo Kurusu
- STARISH DEBUT
- note: They're called STARISH because different parts of their names make up the word. So we have Shinomiya Natsuki, Tokiya Ichinose, * instead of 'A' (stay tuned for next season), Ren Jinguji, Ittoki Otoya, Syo Kurusu, and Hijirikawa Masato
- MAJI LOVE 2000%
- QUARTET NIGHT INTRODUCED
- Members
- Reiji Kotobuki
- Ranmaru Kurosaki
- Ai Mikaze
- Camus (pronounced ka-myu)
- NEW MEMBER CECIL AIJIMA JOINS STARISH
- Becomes the 'A' in STARISH
- STARISH WINS UTAPRI AWARD AGAINST HEAVENS (another group; basically side characters)
Haruka Nanami is pretty much irrelevant, as nearly EVERYTHING in this show has to do with the guys. I mean...there's really not much to say about her. At all. It's just...the only defining characteristic she has is that she falls. A lot. Oh, and she's pretty clueless about a lot of things. Including when the guys are trying to confess their feelings to her, which happens quite a bit. She works with both Quartet Night and STARISH this season.
I guess I should give some visuals, given that hardly anyone can keep the names straight (myself and my friends included). So, let's get to it!
 |
| Natsuki Shinomiya |
 |
| Tokiya Ichinose |
 |
| Cecil Aijima |
 |
| Ren Jinguji |
 |
| Otoya Ittoki |
 |
| Syo Kurusu |
 |
| Masato Hijirikawa |
And the members of Quartet Night:
 |
| Reiji Kotobuki |
 |
| Ranmaru Kurosaki |
 |
| Ai Mikaze (note: surprisingly, I couldn't find pictures like the ones above for him. odd, considering his popularity.) |
.full.1498827.jpg) |
| Camus (no last name) |
OK. Now that that's settled, let's get to the plot.
To be honest, there really isn't that much of a plot this season. Hardly any new characters are introduced, but we do get some development on the members Quartet Night. Reiji and Camus are basically the only ones we don't get development on, which is a bit of a letdown. But we do get some interesting development with regards to Ai and Ranmaru.
Ai is actually...an idol robot. Yeah. Apparently, the writers thought Ai=A.I.=Artificial Intelligence.
Huh.
Then again, that's character development you wouldn't have known about unless you had played the games. The other members had their characters...more or less developed. We learned in 2000% that Ranmaru used to be a bassist in some rock band that disbanded for some reason, and Camus is the count of some foreign country called Permafrost. We got to see a little more of Ranmaru's past in this season and how he sometimes struggled keeping his rock side and idol side together. And Reiji...well...
Let's be perfectly honest; he didn't really get any development. At all. And that kinda pissed me off. Sure, in 2000%, Quartet Night was just introduced and all we basically got were just personalities. But while Ranmaru, Ai, and Camus got a lot of character development this season and a bit of last season, Reiji didn't get any.
And I know I said I wouldn't bring up the games in my reviews of adaptations of otome games (and if I didn't say that, I'm saying it now), given that the games are only released in Japan and everything is coming from research, but...THE GAMES GAVE REIJI SO MUCH MORE DEVELOPMENT!
How can I do this without spoiling anything? Okay, the long-ish short version of this is that before Quartet Night debuted, Reiji was a part of another idol group that disbanded due to the attempted suicide of one of the members who wound up in a coma (note that this is never brought up in the series. Whether it will be next season or not, I have no idea). This semi-links to Ai's story which wasn't 100% developed (I'd say somewhere between 10% and 30% developed), but you'd have to play the games in order to understand how, and given I don't want to spoil anymore, I'm just going to stop there.
Anyway, where the last seasons were more...expository, this one got right down to things. The main plot was that there was this Olympics-type event known as Super Star Sports (Triple S for short) and how the host country got to have one of its many artists sing the opening song. So President Shining decided to be a jerk and call STARISH and Quartet Night in and say that they're entering Quartet Night--NOT STARISH--into the competition to pick who sings at the Triple S. And I call this grounds for being a jerk because...well, would you call a bunch of people into a room, tell them about an amazing opportunity, and then says "It's not you"? NO!
So at first, STARISH is just nonchalant about the whole thing, until Cecil points out that this is their chance to debut worldwide and that another opportunity like this won't come again for a while, if at all. So STARISH say "REVOLUTION!" and run into Saotome's office after saying.
Saotome listens to their nearly identical arguments and asks if that's everything they have to say before he says he can't enter them. STARISH asks why and Saotome goes Super Saiyan and screams "REVOLUTION" (take three shots). Then the STARISH members (and Haruka) all say "revolution" one after the other in confusion, and this...really isn't explored in the next episode.
Huh.
Then again, that's character development you wouldn't have known about unless you had played the games. The other members had their characters...more or less developed. We learned in 2000% that Ranmaru used to be a bassist in some rock band that disbanded for some reason, and Camus is the count of some foreign country called Permafrost. We got to see a little more of Ranmaru's past in this season and how he sometimes struggled keeping his rock side and idol side together. And Reiji...well...
Let's be perfectly honest; he didn't really get any development. At all. And that kinda pissed me off. Sure, in 2000%, Quartet Night was just introduced and all we basically got were just personalities. But while Ranmaru, Ai, and Camus got a lot of character development this season and a bit of last season, Reiji didn't get any.
And I know I said I wouldn't bring up the games in my reviews of adaptations of otome games (and if I didn't say that, I'm saying it now), given that the games are only released in Japan and everything is coming from research, but...THE GAMES GAVE REIJI SO MUCH MORE DEVELOPMENT!
How can I do this without spoiling anything? Okay, the long-ish short version of this is that before Quartet Night debuted, Reiji was a part of another idol group that disbanded due to the attempted suicide of one of the members who wound up in a coma (note that this is never brought up in the series. Whether it will be next season or not, I have no idea). This semi-links to Ai's story which wasn't 100% developed (I'd say somewhere between 10% and 30% developed), but you'd have to play the games in order to understand how, and given I don't want to spoil anymore, I'm just going to stop there.
Anyway, where the last seasons were more...expository, this one got right down to things. The main plot was that there was this Olympics-type event known as Super Star Sports (Triple S for short) and how the host country got to have one of its many artists sing the opening song. So President Shining decided to be a jerk and call STARISH and Quartet Night in and say that they're entering Quartet Night--NOT STARISH--into the competition to pick who sings at the Triple S. And I call this grounds for being a jerk because...well, would you call a bunch of people into a room, tell them about an amazing opportunity, and then says "It's not you"? NO!
So at first, STARISH is just nonchalant about the whole thing, until Cecil points out that this is their chance to debut worldwide and that another opportunity like this won't come again for a while, if at all. So STARISH say "REVOLUTION!" and run into Saotome's office after saying.
Saotome listens to their nearly identical arguments and asks if that's everything they have to say before he says he can't enter them. STARISH asks why and Saotome goes Super Saiyan and screams "REVOLUTION" (take three shots). Then the STARISH members (and Haruka) all say "revolution" one after the other in confusion, and this...really isn't explored in the next episode.
So now that that's all been said and done, Shining decides to plan out...cross-units! According to the show, this basically means that members of STARISH would sing with other members that they wouldn't normally sing with.
So Otoya is paired up with Natsuki, Tokiya and Masato are paired up together, and Ren, Syo, and Cecil are all grouped together. The idea here is to give STARISH more publicity through various projects (a rock musical, a cell phone commercial, and singing at some concert), but the members want to use this as a chance to show Shining that they feel they are good enough to enter into the Triple S. So between mediocre songs by STARISH and somewhat decent songs from the members of Quartet Night, even the FREAKING MUSIC, THE THING THAT THIS SERIES IS ABOUT, can't save it.
All right, I'm not being entirely fair. The songs that the members of STARISH sing are actually decent songs. I just think they paired up the wrong people for them. Quartet Night's songs, on the other hand...I give a 50% rating. Why? Because there are four members, and only two of them got good songs that I could listen to over and over again. So let's just go through a brief review of each of the songs that WERE NOT the group songs. If the title is in ALL CAPS, the title was originally in English and not translated. If the title is Japanese, I'll put the Japanese title and the English title.
EMOTIONAL LIFE (Otoya and Natsuki): This was from the third episode of the series. Both have great voices, and the song is great. I love the violin intro before it gets into the electric guitar. It really gives it that classical music and rock music feel. However, these two SHOULD NOT have been paired up.
INNOCENT WIND (Ai Mikaze): This was from the fourth episode of the series and was the first of Quartet Night's solo songs to make its debut into anime. Ai's voice actor, Shouta Aoi, is an AMAZING singer, and I think they released Ai's song first because he's one of the most popular characters from the show. This is a REALLY addicting song and definitely suits Ai's character. And that high note at the end... -sigh- Well, you had to find the full version of the song to truly appreciate his voice. Or just listen to him sing any of his other songs, regardless of if it's from UtaPri or not.
CODE T.V.U (Ren, Syo, Cecil): This was from the fifth episode of the series and...well, as an episode for a music series about a group, it was pretty formulaic. But as for the song...it's an okay song. It's not good, it's not bad. It's just okay. Ren and Syo actually do sound pretty good together. But Cecil...I just can't. I mean, Cecil's voice actor, Kosuke Toriumi, sang the theme in Diabolik Lovers, and while his voice is naturally high-pitched and a little on the nasal side, he can go lower. Which would have sounded SO MUCH BETTER and really harmonized with Ren and Syo. All in all, good song, but Cecil should have been with someone else.
SAINTLY TERRITORY (Camus): This was from the sixth episode. And...as much as I can't stand Camus, I will admit he has a good voice. The song isn't that great in my opinion, but it does fit his character.
ONLY ONE (Ranmaru Kurosaki): This was from the seventh episode where we REALLY dove into Ranmaru's character and backstory. I'll admit, I couldn't stand him in 2000%. There was just something about him I didn't like at all. But after this episode, I started to really enjoy Ranmaru as a character and thought he was pretty awesome. The song is catchy, too, as it combines both elements of the world of a rock band and the world of an idol. The bass is ADDICTING. And Ranmaru's voice is pretty awesome. You can definitely tell that they did a good job of combining rock band music with idol music.
ORIGINAL RESONANCE (Tokiya and Masato): This was from the eighth episode, and HOLY FREAKING CRAP this song was perfect in every single way imaginable. First of all, the intro just hooks you right in. And then when they start singing, it's just ultimate perfection. This is the one pairing that I wouldn't change AT ALL. I just...this song is so amazing, I can't find the words to describe it.
NEVER... (Reiji Kotobuki): This was from the ninth episode, and what else can I say, other than IT SUCKED. I already didn't like Reiji (just too peppy for me and a little...um...I can't really find the word), and not only did the song suck, but the lead-in to the song was pretty bad, too. I mean...it fits what little we know of his character (almost nothing), but it just sounds AWFUL. Not on the level of nails on a chalkboard, but still awful.
We also get a lot of group songs. Most of which are...meh, at best. I mean, for a series that's ABOUT music, the music in this season of UtaPri is pretty lacking compared to the last two. I feel like the people who made the songs for UtaPri, Elements Garden, just decided to ride the popularity from last season and be lazy. I mean, STARISH's group song just SUCKED, whereas Quartet Night's was FREAKING AMAZING.
There was also a plot twist in the last episode of the season, but what really pissed me off about it was how they said "See you next season" at the end of the episode, before a fourth season was even announced. What can they possibly make a fourth season out of, anyway?
So, how do I rate this season? Um...well, it's too difficult for me to rate by number, so I'll just say it was...half-decent.
Why: The music isn't that great. I mean, it's hard to be proud of a series ABOUT music when you only have THREE good songs in the entire series.
The animation has slip-ups, especially during the ending credits, so the animation isn't great, either. I mean, watch these credits. REALLY watch them. Because...well...just watch.
Now TO BE FAIR, the song is actually a pretty decent song. It doesn't suck. They say "REVOLUTIONS" so many times that you could be drunk by the end of the song (and that's if you listen to the full version). But the animation is AWFUL. I mean, there are some parts where STARISH's dance movements look almost robotic; as if they're from a video game. Which, if video-game style animation was what they were going for, would be great. But it's not.
What's interesting, though, is that the song used for the opening theme of the first episode isn't sung by Tokiya's voice actor, Mamoru Miyano, the guy who sang the opening themes for the previous seasons. Nope, it's by the amazing members of Quartet Night, and it's called (and the style of the title is really weird, so I'm just going to put it in quotes) "The dice are cast." While I didn't like it at first, it started to grow on me after a couple listens. The animation isn't that great during it, and their dancing does seem pretty robotic, but then I discovered why the animation SUCKED in SO MANY SCENES. It's because the animators blew ALL THEIR MONEY on...this:
That's right. The animators blew ALL THEIR MONEY on the video for Camus's song, SAINTLY TERRITORY. While the video isn't that great (actually, that's an understatement; it's pretty bad), the animation is the best animation you're going to get throughout...basically the whole season.
STARISH and Quartet Night actually do have a song that they sing together, called GOLDEN☆STAR. And, guess what? It's not that great, either. Which is a shame, because you have some AMAZING voices singing together for the first (and quite possibly only, unless you go to the live shows or play the games) time in the anime, and it just doesn't sound that great. I'm not really sure what I was expecting, but this definitely wasn't it.
So Otoya is paired up with Natsuki, Tokiya and Masato are paired up together, and Ren, Syo, and Cecil are all grouped together. The idea here is to give STARISH more publicity through various projects (a rock musical, a cell phone commercial, and singing at some concert), but the members want to use this as a chance to show Shining that they feel they are good enough to enter into the Triple S. So between mediocre songs by STARISH and somewhat decent songs from the members of Quartet Night, even the FREAKING MUSIC, THE THING THAT THIS SERIES IS ABOUT, can't save it.
All right, I'm not being entirely fair. The songs that the members of STARISH sing are actually decent songs. I just think they paired up the wrong people for them. Quartet Night's songs, on the other hand...I give a 50% rating. Why? Because there are four members, and only two of them got good songs that I could listen to over and over again. So let's just go through a brief review of each of the songs that WERE NOT the group songs. If the title is in ALL CAPS, the title was originally in English and not translated. If the title is Japanese, I'll put the Japanese title and the English title.
EMOTIONAL LIFE (Otoya and Natsuki): This was from the third episode of the series. Both have great voices, and the song is great. I love the violin intro before it gets into the electric guitar. It really gives it that classical music and rock music feel. However, these two SHOULD NOT have been paired up.
INNOCENT WIND (Ai Mikaze): This was from the fourth episode of the series and was the first of Quartet Night's solo songs to make its debut into anime. Ai's voice actor, Shouta Aoi, is an AMAZING singer, and I think they released Ai's song first because he's one of the most popular characters from the show. This is a REALLY addicting song and definitely suits Ai's character. And that high note at the end... -sigh- Well, you had to find the full version of the song to truly appreciate his voice. Or just listen to him sing any of his other songs, regardless of if it's from UtaPri or not.
CODE T.V.U (Ren, Syo, Cecil): This was from the fifth episode of the series and...well, as an episode for a music series about a group, it was pretty formulaic. But as for the song...it's an okay song. It's not good, it's not bad. It's just okay. Ren and Syo actually do sound pretty good together. But Cecil...I just can't. I mean, Cecil's voice actor, Kosuke Toriumi, sang the theme in Diabolik Lovers, and while his voice is naturally high-pitched and a little on the nasal side, he can go lower. Which would have sounded SO MUCH BETTER and really harmonized with Ren and Syo. All in all, good song, but Cecil should have been with someone else.
SAINTLY TERRITORY (Camus): This was from the sixth episode. And...as much as I can't stand Camus, I will admit he has a good voice. The song isn't that great in my opinion, but it does fit his character.
ONLY ONE (Ranmaru Kurosaki): This was from the seventh episode where we REALLY dove into Ranmaru's character and backstory. I'll admit, I couldn't stand him in 2000%. There was just something about him I didn't like at all. But after this episode, I started to really enjoy Ranmaru as a character and thought he was pretty awesome. The song is catchy, too, as it combines both elements of the world of a rock band and the world of an idol. The bass is ADDICTING. And Ranmaru's voice is pretty awesome. You can definitely tell that they did a good job of combining rock band music with idol music.
ORIGINAL RESONANCE (Tokiya and Masato): This was from the eighth episode, and HOLY FREAKING CRAP this song was perfect in every single way imaginable. First of all, the intro just hooks you right in. And then when they start singing, it's just ultimate perfection. This is the one pairing that I wouldn't change AT ALL. I just...this song is so amazing, I can't find the words to describe it.
NEVER... (Reiji Kotobuki): This was from the ninth episode, and what else can I say, other than IT SUCKED. I already didn't like Reiji (just too peppy for me and a little...um...I can't really find the word), and not only did the song suck, but the lead-in to the song was pretty bad, too. I mean...it fits what little we know of his character (almost nothing), but it just sounds AWFUL. Not on the level of nails on a chalkboard, but still awful.
We also get a lot of group songs. Most of which are...meh, at best. I mean, for a series that's ABOUT music, the music in this season of UtaPri is pretty lacking compared to the last two. I feel like the people who made the songs for UtaPri, Elements Garden, just decided to ride the popularity from last season and be lazy. I mean, STARISH's group song just SUCKED, whereas Quartet Night's was FREAKING AMAZING.
There was also a plot twist in the last episode of the season, but what really pissed me off about it was how they said "See you next season" at the end of the episode, before a fourth season was even announced. What can they possibly make a fourth season out of, anyway?
So, how do I rate this season? Um...well, it's too difficult for me to rate by number, so I'll just say it was...half-decent.
Why: The music isn't that great. I mean, it's hard to be proud of a series ABOUT music when you only have THREE good songs in the entire series.
The animation has slip-ups, especially during the ending credits, so the animation isn't great, either. I mean, watch these credits. REALLY watch them. Because...well...just watch.
Now TO BE FAIR, the song is actually a pretty decent song. It doesn't suck. They say "REVOLUTIONS" so many times that you could be drunk by the end of the song (and that's if you listen to the full version). But the animation is AWFUL. I mean, there are some parts where STARISH's dance movements look almost robotic; as if they're from a video game. Which, if video-game style animation was what they were going for, would be great. But it's not.
What's interesting, though, is that the song used for the opening theme of the first episode isn't sung by Tokiya's voice actor, Mamoru Miyano, the guy who sang the opening themes for the previous seasons. Nope, it's by the amazing members of Quartet Night, and it's called (and the style of the title is really weird, so I'm just going to put it in quotes) "The dice are cast." While I didn't like it at first, it started to grow on me after a couple listens. The animation isn't that great during it, and their dancing does seem pretty robotic, but then I discovered why the animation SUCKED in SO MANY SCENES. It's because the animators blew ALL THEIR MONEY on...this:
That's right. The animators blew ALL THEIR MONEY on the video for Camus's song, SAINTLY TERRITORY. While the video isn't that great (actually, that's an understatement; it's pretty bad), the animation is the best animation you're going to get throughout...basically the whole season.
STARISH and Quartet Night actually do have a song that they sing together, called GOLDEN☆STAR. And, guess what? It's not that great, either. Which is a shame, because you have some AMAZING voices singing together for the first (and quite possibly only, unless you go to the live shows or play the games) time in the anime, and it just doesn't sound that great. I'm not really sure what I was expecting, but this definitely wasn't it.
Quartet Night did, however, get a group song. While it's not as good as ポワゾンKISS (Poison KISS) from 2000%, it is a pretty good song and I like it almost as much as ポワゾンKISS (Poison KISS). They start out a capella, before the music comes in, and the song just sucks you right in. I actually like this better than STARISH's group song, マジLOVEレボリュウションズ (Maji Love REVOLUTIONS).
This season may have revolved more around Quartet Night than STARISH, but I still felt as if more time and effort could have been spent on STARISH's songs, and the animation. Haruka also managed to become more annoying this season, something I honestly didn't think was possible.
I'd love to say that the music makes up for the somewhat sloppy animation, but it doesn't. When you like only three or four songs from the entire series, it's a little hard to say that the music makes up for the crappy animation. I just hope the writers and animators don't ride that popularity high for too long. It's making them lazy and making the show become more and more formulaic.
Well...that's it. In the meantime, I'm off to get ready for Anime Mondays #10. What is it? Well, I'll give you two hints:
1. "angriff auf die Titanen"
2.
 |
| OK, if this picture doesn't give anything away, I don't know what will. |
And that's all you're going to get from me! I'll do my best to make this one a video, but given that footage is pretty hard to find, it will either be me just talking on camera the whole time with bits of the anime edited in, or a written review. Look forward to it!
Loving life :)
~k
Hey guys, kanna here! I can't believe we're almost at double digit Anime Mondays! Can you? I'm so excited for Anime Mondays #10! I'm planning something special for you guys, but I can't tell you what it is!
Today we're delving back into the realm of girly anime. However, it was a guy who introduced me to this. So I guess it's a little guy-friendly? Whatever, let's just dive right in to Puella Magi Madoka Magica!
Before I put up the poster for this, I'm just going to say if you think that this is a long title...you haven't seen anything yet. I'll be reviewing the MOTHER of long titles later on in Anime Mondays. It's not the one celebrating double digits, I can tell you that much.
Now, the poster:
Today we're delving back into the realm of girly anime. However, it was a guy who introduced me to this. So I guess it's a little guy-friendly? Whatever, let's just dive right in to Puella Magi Madoka Magica!
Before I put up the poster for this, I'm just going to say if you think that this is a long title...you haven't seen anything yet. I'll be reviewing the MOTHER of long titles later on in Anime Mondays. It's not the one celebrating double digits, I can tell you that much.
Now, the poster:
Puella Magi Madoka Magica is quite different from the past anime I've reviewed. Why? Well, this one started out as an anime before it became a manga or video game. There was no source material for this to be adapted from. So the production of this is actually quite unique.
When Akiyuki Shinbo was collaborating with Aniplex producer Atsuhiro Iwakami on Hidamari Sketch and Bakemonogatari, Shinbo expressed the idea that he wanted to create a new "magical girl" series. This allowed for the development of Puella Magi Madoka Magica. However, during the early planning stages, Iwakami decided that he didn't want to adapt an already existing work, which gave Shinbo more freedom in his directional style. This was good, because Shinbo already had directed a lot of anime, such as Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha.
Another idea that Iwakami had was to appeal to a wider audience than the usual demographic for "magical girl" anime. The intent was for the series to appeal to "the general anime fan." So Shinbo called in Gen Urobuchi to work as a scriptwriter and Ume Aoki to work as a character designer. Shinbo worked as the producer.
There's a little more background, but I'll get into it once we get to my thoughts on the anime.
For now, plot!
The story is set in the fictional city of Mitakihara, Japan, and revolves around a middle-school girl named Madoka Kaname. She and her friend, Sayaka Miki, encounter a cat-like alien creature named Kyubey. He looks like this:
 |
| Adorable, right? Um...let's just say looks can be deceiving and leave it at that. |
Kyubey offers the girls a contract where the girls can have any wish granted in exchange for receiving magical girl powers and fighting against witches. Eventually, the girls are joined by Homura Akemi, Mami Tomoe, and Kyoko Sakura, as the two girls learn of the responsibilities that come with being a magical girl.
After a while, however, Sayaka and Madoka learn that the life of a magical girl is filled with danger, anguish, suffering, and despair. Not only that, but there was one kind of important thing that Kyubey "forgot" to mention when the contract was made. Magical girls give up their souls to form their Soul Gems, the source of their magic. However, when those gems become too tainted with despair or sadness, the magical girls become the very witches they fight against.
There really isn't much more I can say about the plot without giving anything away, and this is a relatively short series, so it's more than likely that this will be one of my shorter Anime Mondays.
However...Puella Magi Madoka Magica did get a movie in 2011. Well, it was technically two movies that were meant to serve as a recap to the overall series. Sort of like Attack on Titan Part 1: Crimson Bow and Arrow and Attack on Titan Part 2: Wings of Freedom. Except while those movies had twenty-five episodes and a handful of OVA to cover, the two-part Puella Magi Madoka Magica movies only had twelve episodes and no OVA to cover.
Note: I don't know if the two-part Attack on Titan compilation movies actually covered the OVA or not. I haven't found subbed versions of either movie yet.
Anyway, the compilation movies were actually a whole SERIES titled Puella Magi Madoka Magica: The Movie. The first film in the series was called Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Beginnings and covers the first half of the series. The second film of the series, Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Eternal, covered the second half of the series. Both movies were released in October 2012. This film series mainly served as a recap for the anime, so the fact that there was redone voice acting and newly animated footage in these movies was a bit of a surprise. Clearly, the writers didn't take the lazy approach and went all out.
Get ready for a shocker, though. A year later, a third film was released, titled Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Rebellion. This film was an all new, 100% original work that included a manga adaptation by Hanokage. I just read the manga last night, and to be honest...I wasn't that impressed. I mean, the art was great, but I just felt that there was something missing and I couldn't figure out what it was. Anyway, I would watch the series or the other two movies before watching this one, because it's the only way you'll understand what's going on. It's important to know who the characters are and what the overall plot is. Otherwise, you'll be completely lost.
So...how would I rate this anime?
Rating: 10/10
Why: First off, let me say I'm not really into girly anime series. I can be pretty picky about them. I can't really say what my criteria would be for a "good" girly anime, but I can say that it's typically something I wouldn't watch on my own time. If I had friends who were watching a girly anime, chances are I'd probably join them for it. And, no, I'm not going to go over what I classify as a girly anime, because then I'd be forced to pick apart EVERY SINGLE SERIES I'VE SEEN.
I'd heard of Puella Magi Madoka Magica before, but never really gave it much thought. Before I even saw the series, I thought it was something kind of...for lack of a better word, childish. The only familiarity I'd had with the magical girl genre of anime was Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura. And while I liked those, they were mainly for little kids (well...except for the later seasons of Sailor Moon that never got an English dub).
So, a few months ago, one of my friends decided we'd watch Puella Magi Madoka Magica the Movie: Rebellion with one of our other friends. But he said that we had to watch the series first. At first, I did so reluctantly, but as the series went further along, the more I realized that this wasn't a childish series AT ALL. In fact, you could say it was geared towards teenagers or even young adults. There were TONS of dark elements in the series, which was very unusual for a magical girl anime. Mainly because NO ONE WATCHING THE SERIES EXPECTED THIS AT ALL.
The way that the series was promoted was pure genius. I'll talk about why as soon as I provide a little more background as to how the darker elements came into play. All Iwakami suggested that Urobuchi do during the pre-writing phase was to make the storyline "heavy." Shinbo, however, went a little further in detail and specified that the series should contain extensive amounts of blood and violence, and even that some of the magical girls get killed off throughout the series; something very unusual for magical girl anime.
One of the objectives for the script was for it to contrast with the way the anime was marketed. The series was planned to be advertised in a manner that would deliberately conceal its dark undertones. Things like the title logo for the anime were rendered using rounded fonts that would appear relatively harmless to viewers. Fans following the production of the anime were further misled when Urobuchi tried to convince his Twitter followers that the plot of the anime was innocent and lighthearted. Why was this? Because Shinbo wanted all the dark elements to come as a complete surprise to the viewers. And it worked. Pure genius. Just saying.
The overall plot of the anime is pure genius. It deconstructs the magical girl genre by taking elements from typical magical girl anime that were either troubling or overlooked. Not only that, but it added a level of depth and complexity to the magical girl genre as a whole that may be impossible to recreate. The series even found its way to appeal to a male demographic, which was even more unusual for a magical girl series. Some say that the series can attribute its popularity to said male demographic.
So, it's at this point where I'll say that "girly" clearly isn't the right word, even though that was my first thought of the anime before I even saw it. Sorry about that.
The animation is absolutely incredible. The fight scenes are amazing and you can tell that the animation department isn't holding back at all. The character designs are amazing, and Kyubey is just ADORABLE. The voice actors do a pretty good job, too. The music is also amazing, so even if you decide not to watch this anime, at least check out the soundtrack. You won't be disappointed.
Next time on Anime Monday #9: WE'RE FINALLY GETTING TO THE BAD ANIME! And boy...is it going to hurt.
Hey guys, kanna here.
So, I know you're all expecting a review of Puella Madoka Magica for this week. And in video format. There's a reason for why this isn't what I promised.
I stumbled across a fairly messed up anime. One that has had more than a few of its clips earn a spot on my "Biggest WTF Moments in Anime" list (as for whether or not any are on my "Top 10 Biggest WTF Moments in Anime" list...that remains to be seen). Ladies and gents, allow me to introduce you to...Claymore.
Claymore is one of those few series that I honestly don't know how to describe. I mean, it's not good, it's not bad, but it's...well...pretty violent. And bloody. This makes Higurashi look like a kid's show. And, to be honest, I'm not sure if that's a good thing. I mean, there are probably LOTS of anime that make Higurashi look like a show for kids. But this one...I'm honestly not sure what to say about it.
Well, might as well start this off in my usual format. Background!
So, Claymore started out as a manga written and illustrated by Norihiro Yagi. It premiered in Monthly Shonen Jump in the May 2001 issue, and...well, let's just say it got traded around quite a bit. See, when Monthly Shonen Jump got cancelled after six years (June 2007), the manga got moved to Weekly Shonen Jump where it was published monthly. Why it got a monthly release in a magazine called Weekly Shonen Jump is anybody's guess.
In November 2007, Jump Square was introduced, and Claymore was moved to it. Individual chapters were published in tankobon volumes by Shueisha, and by June 2014, there were a total of 26 volumes. This concluded the main plot.
An anime series based on the manga was produced by Madhouse and directed by Hiroyuki Tanaka that aired in April 2007. It didn't last for very long, considering it was only twenty-six episodes, based off the first eleven volumes of the manga, finished airing in September 2007, AND didn't get a second season. There is a reason for that, but I'll get to it later.
Anyway, plot.
The plot isn't really confusing, but it's not really explained well in the first episode. I'd say you could skip the first episode, but there are a few key points. At any rate, you need to understand the kind of universe that Claymore is set in. Because...it's actually one of the more fascinating aspects of the anime.
Claymore is set on a fictional island. The music sometimes reminds me of something you'd hear in Scotland or Ireland, but given I haven't been to either of those places, I can't really say for a fact that it takes place there. It's probably just a coincidence.
Getting back to the point.
Claymore is set on a fictional island where humans are constantly attacked by creatures known as Yoma. A yoma is a humanoid shape-shifter that...well, what else but feeds on humans? Entire villages have been massacred by yoma. However, balance is maintained by a mysterious group known simply as The Organization. Yeah...that's more than a little fishy. Back to the point; The Organization is a group that creates female Yoma-human hybrid warriors that eventually became known as Claymores (probably due to their Claymore swords). The warriors wear armored uniforms and carry giant Claymore swords.
Like the Yoma they fight, Claymores are also powered by a demonic energy known as Yoki.
So, the story revolves around a Claymore named Clare. She's a Claymore who starts to travel with a human boy named Raki, who she "adopted" when he was exiled from his home village. She kept trying to ditch him every time they reached a new village, but he wasn't having it. And...that's basically about it. Raki travels around with Clare as she fights Yoma.
OK, there are more than a few story arcs thrown around. The first one introduces Clare and Raki, and the second talks about a warrior named Teresa and the young girl she saved from Yoma - Clare. This arc ends with their tragic encounter with Priscilla.
The third arc introduces other Claymores in the present day and is called the "Slashers" arc. It's then followed by the "Gravestones" arc, which introduces another Claymore.
The last two arcs are "The Witch's Maw" arc, where we meet MORE Claymores, and the "Northern Campaign" arc, where we meet more Claymores and two...I'm not really sure what they are, so we'll just say they're two other characters.
So let's talk about the Yoma.
These creatures are...well, they're not Titans, I can tell you that much. But remember how I said that the Titans were actually terrifying? These...GOOD G-D WHERE DO I BEGIN?
For starters, these things are shape-shifters and often take on the form of humans. In other words, it's a decent cover for them, because not only can they live among humans unnoticed, but they can also easily access a food supply. And boy oh boy are you going to get a kick out of this bit...
Turns out, Yoma are created by The Organization! Yeah...apparently, The Organization creates Yoma by rounding up orphan boys and sending them to the north, while the girls are sent east to become Claymores. I won't go into all the details, because that bit is from the manga and they didn't really mention it in the anime.
Anyway, a typical Yoma is the main source of revenue for The Organization. These Yoma are relatively week, as opposed to their flying and Awakened kin. They tend to vary in skin color and build, but they are always muscular and have long torsos.
Again, there's more, but they touch more on this in the manga than the actual anime. And given this blog is called Anime Mondays...
Claymores possess Yoki energy, as they have consumed the flesh and blood of a Yoma to become the warriors they are. So they're half human, and armed with their extensive martial arts training and the ability to release Yoki energy in various amounts. There are limits to this, which the anime showcases quite well, by showing us that Claymores, too, will eventually succumb to their Yoma sides and lose their humanity.
When a Claymore releases over 80% of their Yoki energy, not only has their physique completely changed, but they are unable to revert back to their human forms. At this point, it's only a matter of time before the human mind goes as well. However, this can also happen the more that a Claymore uses her Yoki powers. In most cases, though, a Claymore will lose her human mind and become a super-predator known as an Awakened Being through a process known as "Awakening."
Anyway, my thoughts: um...I'm giving this a *shrug* out of 10
Why: Well, this anime isn't good. It's not bad, but it's not good. I'd say I'd give it a 5 out of 10, but I feel like I just can't rate it properly. There are a few reasons why, and while the bad points do outweigh the good points, I still find the anime interesting in...some way. Not really sure what way yet.
My first problem with this anime is that ALL THE CHARACTERS LOOK THE SAME. I mean it. EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER CHARACTER. For example, you have one of the Claymores, Noel
And another Claymore, Priscilla.
OK, this might be a bad example. But let me put this into perspective so that I can try to make sense of this for you guys. When you're creating a manga, you want to base your character designs off of a basic model. However, it's important when using that model to give each character distinguishing physical characteristics. For example, one character might have bigger eyes, another character might have a rounder face, and the list goes on.
With Claymore, this doesn't exist. The only thing that distinguishes the Claymores from each other is - on occasion - their hair. And most of the time, even their hair looks the same! It could be because all the scenes are done with the same color scheme and that makes it hard to tell them apart from each other, but even then, WHY COULDN'T THEY JUST USE A DIFFERENT COLOR SCHEME?
The music is pretty nice. I can't say whether it fits or not, but it's great music. The opening is nice. It's by a group called Nightmare and the song is called "Raison d'etre." I'm not really sure what that means, so if any of my French speaking readers want to translate that for me, that would be great.
The ending song has a Japanese title, "断罪の花: Guilty Sky," which literally means "Conviction's Flower." It's by J-Pop singer, Riyu Kosaka, who some of you might recognize as a former member of the group BeForU, which did work on Dance Dance Revolution: SuperNOVA, or from her solo work from the same game.
The animation is pretty good...when it wants to be. Don't get me wrong, there are some parts where the animation is great (for an anime from the early to mid 2000s). It looks interesting; almost vintage in some areas. Again, however, the color scheme brings up a problem. Not only that, but the fight scenes are next to IMPOSSIBLE to understand on occasion, which makes them...not very interesting. Sometimes, the fight scenes are great to watch and the animation is amazing. Other times, though, the animators get too focused on showing off a character's speed and/or abilities, and show the scenes either in close ups, or the animation just gets sloppy and the scene becomes hard to follow.
One aspect of the animation that I REALLY enjoyed, however, is the transformation that...well, I'm just going to post a spoiler warning right here. If you want to be spoiled, by all means, scroll past the picture. If not, then go watch the series and then come back. The blog will be waiting and ready.
In the second story arc, we meet the No. 1 ranked Claymore at the time, Teresa, and a young Clare (not yet a Claymore) in a flashback. We learn that Teresa had saved Clare, but during their travels, Teresa had killed a human; a huge no-no in The Organization. The Organization targeted Teresa for execution, but Teresa realized that she had to live on for Clare, and killed the warriors sent to execute her.
Shortly after that, four more warriors were sent to execute her. These warriors were Priscilla (No. 2), Irene (No. 3), Noel (No. 4), and Sophia (No. 5). Priscilla was unique in that she was able to fight off Yoma without releasing any of her Yoki energy. However, the warriors were easily defeated. Teresa considered killing Priscilla, but noticed the incredible potential she possessed. Because Clare softened Teresa's warrior heart, Teresa let Priscilla live, and left with Clare in tow.
Priscilla wasn't having any of this. Her idealist views of "the good guys always win" were shattered. She released over 80% of her Yoki energy, pursued, and attacked Teresa. Because Priscilla was able to fight off Yoma without releasing so much as 10% of her Yoki energy, she never had the proper training necessary to learn how to control her Yoki power.
Despite the 80% that Priscilla released in contrast to the 10% that Teresa released, Priscilla still lost to Teresa and was unable to revert back to her original, human form. Having passed her limit, Priscilla begged Teresa to kill her before she fully Awakened. Teresa agreed and as she was about to behead Priscilla, Priscilla saw this as a chance to attack and cut off Teresa's hands before decapitating her. And then she Awakened. And BY G-D, IS THAT TRANSFORMATION INCREDIBLE. SOME OF THE BEST ANIMATION IN THE ENTIRE SERIES.
Just don't watch the video below if you're squeamish. Because it's bloody. And violent.
Good G-d...great animation, but BOY was that bloody. And violent.
Now, remember back when I said how this anime didn't get a second season and was fairly short, despite the amount of manga? Well, there's a reason for that, which I'll get into right...now!
OK, I may have kinda-sorta lied about there being a reason for the lack of a second season. The truth is that the anime only adapted the use of the first eleven volumes of manga for the first twenty-four episodes, and then wrote a different ending for the final two episodes. Many people have speculated that this is why there was no second season. And...given the way the anime ended, it's hard to say whether it could have benefited from a second season.
On one hand, the ending left a lot of unanswered questions and maybe left some fans wanting more. On the other hand, the ending did answer a lot and let the fans speculate on what may have become of the Claymores and what their future conflicts might be. Given the number of years that have gone by, it's unlikely a second season will happen, but I wouldn't call it impossible.
Next Anime Monday: Puella Madoka Magica!!!!
So, I know you're all expecting a review of Puella Madoka Magica for this week. And in video format. There's a reason for why this isn't what I promised.
I stumbled across a fairly messed up anime. One that has had more than a few of its clips earn a spot on my "Biggest WTF Moments in Anime" list (as for whether or not any are on my "Top 10 Biggest WTF Moments in Anime" list...that remains to be seen). Ladies and gents, allow me to introduce you to...Claymore.
Well, might as well start this off in my usual format. Background!
So, Claymore started out as a manga written and illustrated by Norihiro Yagi. It premiered in Monthly Shonen Jump in the May 2001 issue, and...well, let's just say it got traded around quite a bit. See, when Monthly Shonen Jump got cancelled after six years (June 2007), the manga got moved to Weekly Shonen Jump where it was published monthly. Why it got a monthly release in a magazine called Weekly Shonen Jump is anybody's guess.
In November 2007, Jump Square was introduced, and Claymore was moved to it. Individual chapters were published in tankobon volumes by Shueisha, and by June 2014, there were a total of 26 volumes. This concluded the main plot.
An anime series based on the manga was produced by Madhouse and directed by Hiroyuki Tanaka that aired in April 2007. It didn't last for very long, considering it was only twenty-six episodes, based off the first eleven volumes of the manga, finished airing in September 2007, AND didn't get a second season. There is a reason for that, but I'll get to it later.
Anyway, plot.
The plot isn't really confusing, but it's not really explained well in the first episode. I'd say you could skip the first episode, but there are a few key points. At any rate, you need to understand the kind of universe that Claymore is set in. Because...it's actually one of the more fascinating aspects of the anime.
Claymore is set on a fictional island. The music sometimes reminds me of something you'd hear in Scotland or Ireland, but given I haven't been to either of those places, I can't really say for a fact that it takes place there. It's probably just a coincidence.
Getting back to the point.
Claymore is set on a fictional island where humans are constantly attacked by creatures known as Yoma. A yoma is a humanoid shape-shifter that...well, what else but feeds on humans? Entire villages have been massacred by yoma. However, balance is maintained by a mysterious group known simply as The Organization. Yeah...that's more than a little fishy. Back to the point; The Organization is a group that creates female Yoma-human hybrid warriors that eventually became known as Claymores (probably due to their Claymore swords). The warriors wear armored uniforms and carry giant Claymore swords.
Like the Yoma they fight, Claymores are also powered by a demonic energy known as Yoki.
So, the story revolves around a Claymore named Clare. She's a Claymore who starts to travel with a human boy named Raki, who she "adopted" when he was exiled from his home village. She kept trying to ditch him every time they reached a new village, but he wasn't having it. And...that's basically about it. Raki travels around with Clare as she fights Yoma.
OK, there are more than a few story arcs thrown around. The first one introduces Clare and Raki, and the second talks about a warrior named Teresa and the young girl she saved from Yoma - Clare. This arc ends with their tragic encounter with Priscilla.
The third arc introduces other Claymores in the present day and is called the "Slashers" arc. It's then followed by the "Gravestones" arc, which introduces another Claymore.
The last two arcs are "The Witch's Maw" arc, where we meet MORE Claymores, and the "Northern Campaign" arc, where we meet more Claymores and two...I'm not really sure what they are, so we'll just say they're two other characters.
So let's talk about the Yoma.
.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20101216073751) |
| A winged Yoma. One of the many types of Yoma. |
These creatures are...well, they're not Titans, I can tell you that much. But remember how I said that the Titans were actually terrifying? These...GOOD G-D WHERE DO I BEGIN?
For starters, these things are shape-shifters and often take on the form of humans. In other words, it's a decent cover for them, because not only can they live among humans unnoticed, but they can also easily access a food supply. And boy oh boy are you going to get a kick out of this bit...
Turns out, Yoma are created by The Organization! Yeah...apparently, The Organization creates Yoma by rounding up orphan boys and sending them to the north, while the girls are sent east to become Claymores. I won't go into all the details, because that bit is from the manga and they didn't really mention it in the anime.
Anyway, a typical Yoma is the main source of revenue for The Organization. These Yoma are relatively week, as opposed to their flying and Awakened kin. They tend to vary in skin color and build, but they are always muscular and have long torsos.
Again, there's more, but they touch more on this in the manga than the actual anime. And given this blog is called Anime Mondays...
Claymores possess Yoki energy, as they have consumed the flesh and blood of a Yoma to become the warriors they are. So they're half human, and armed with their extensive martial arts training and the ability to release Yoki energy in various amounts. There are limits to this, which the anime showcases quite well, by showing us that Claymores, too, will eventually succumb to their Yoma sides and lose their humanity.
When a Claymore releases over 80% of their Yoki energy, not only has their physique completely changed, but they are unable to revert back to their human forms. At this point, it's only a matter of time before the human mind goes as well. However, this can also happen the more that a Claymore uses her Yoki powers. In most cases, though, a Claymore will lose her human mind and become a super-predator known as an Awakened Being through a process known as "Awakening."
Anyway, my thoughts: um...I'm giving this a *shrug* out of 10
Why: Well, this anime isn't good. It's not bad, but it's not good. I'd say I'd give it a 5 out of 10, but I feel like I just can't rate it properly. There are a few reasons why, and while the bad points do outweigh the good points, I still find the anime interesting in...some way. Not really sure what way yet.
My first problem with this anime is that ALL THE CHARACTERS LOOK THE SAME. I mean it. EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER LOOKS LIKE ANOTHER CHARACTER. For example, you have one of the Claymores, Noel
 |
| Noel |
 |
| Priscilla |
With Claymore, this doesn't exist. The only thing that distinguishes the Claymores from each other is - on occasion - their hair. And most of the time, even their hair looks the same! It could be because all the scenes are done with the same color scheme and that makes it hard to tell them apart from each other, but even then, WHY COULDN'T THEY JUST USE A DIFFERENT COLOR SCHEME?
The music is pretty nice. I can't say whether it fits or not, but it's great music. The opening is nice. It's by a group called Nightmare and the song is called "Raison d'etre." I'm not really sure what that means, so if any of my French speaking readers want to translate that for me, that would be great.
The ending song has a Japanese title, "断罪の花: Guilty Sky," which literally means "Conviction's Flower." It's by J-Pop singer, Riyu Kosaka, who some of you might recognize as a former member of the group BeForU, which did work on Dance Dance Revolution: SuperNOVA, or from her solo work from the same game.
The animation is pretty good...when it wants to be. Don't get me wrong, there are some parts where the animation is great (for an anime from the early to mid 2000s). It looks interesting; almost vintage in some areas. Again, however, the color scheme brings up a problem. Not only that, but the fight scenes are next to IMPOSSIBLE to understand on occasion, which makes them...not very interesting. Sometimes, the fight scenes are great to watch and the animation is amazing. Other times, though, the animators get too focused on showing off a character's speed and/or abilities, and show the scenes either in close ups, or the animation just gets sloppy and the scene becomes hard to follow.
One aspect of the animation that I REALLY enjoyed, however, is the transformation that...well, I'm just going to post a spoiler warning right here. If you want to be spoiled, by all means, scroll past the picture. If not, then go watch the series and then come back. The blog will be waiting and ready.
 |
| I love this meme :) I think I'll start using it from now on |
Shortly after that, four more warriors were sent to execute her. These warriors were Priscilla (No. 2), Irene (No. 3), Noel (No. 4), and Sophia (No. 5). Priscilla was unique in that she was able to fight off Yoma without releasing any of her Yoki energy. However, the warriors were easily defeated. Teresa considered killing Priscilla, but noticed the incredible potential she possessed. Because Clare softened Teresa's warrior heart, Teresa let Priscilla live, and left with Clare in tow.
Priscilla wasn't having any of this. Her idealist views of "the good guys always win" were shattered. She released over 80% of her Yoki energy, pursued, and attacked Teresa. Because Priscilla was able to fight off Yoma without releasing so much as 10% of her Yoki energy, she never had the proper training necessary to learn how to control her Yoki power.
Despite the 80% that Priscilla released in contrast to the 10% that Teresa released, Priscilla still lost to Teresa and was unable to revert back to her original, human form. Having passed her limit, Priscilla begged Teresa to kill her before she fully Awakened. Teresa agreed and as she was about to behead Priscilla, Priscilla saw this as a chance to attack and cut off Teresa's hands before decapitating her. And then she Awakened. And BY G-D, IS THAT TRANSFORMATION INCREDIBLE. SOME OF THE BEST ANIMATION IN THE ENTIRE SERIES.
Just don't watch the video below if you're squeamish. Because it's bloody. And violent.
Good G-d...great animation, but BOY was that bloody. And violent.
Now, remember back when I said how this anime didn't get a second season and was fairly short, despite the amount of manga? Well, there's a reason for that, which I'll get into right...now!
OK, I may have kinda-sorta lied about there being a reason for the lack of a second season. The truth is that the anime only adapted the use of the first eleven volumes of manga for the first twenty-four episodes, and then wrote a different ending for the final two episodes. Many people have speculated that this is why there was no second season. And...given the way the anime ended, it's hard to say whether it could have benefited from a second season.
On one hand, the ending left a lot of unanswered questions and maybe left some fans wanting more. On the other hand, the ending did answer a lot and let the fans speculate on what may have become of the Claymores and what their future conflicts might be. Given the number of years that have gone by, it's unlikely a second season will happen, but I wouldn't call it impossible.
Next Anime Monday: Puella Madoka Magica!!!!
