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Archive for October 2017
Hey guys, kanna here. And...HAPPY THIRD ANNIVERSARY TO KANNA'S CAFE AND ANIME MONDAYS!
THE CROWD GOES CRAZY!
...or not.
Seriously, guys, I get that three years isn't as big as, say, five, but still.
Anyway, let's take a look at what we have.
Too gory...too creepy...I'm not reviewing that until the fifth anniversary...hm, what do we have here? An anime about a secret task force that hunts vampires, ghouls, and other supernatural creatures that threaten England? Sounds like a crossover between Black Butler and Tokyo Ghoul (even though neither of those had aired when this anime was released), but I'll take it! This is...Hellsing.
So, where to begin? Background, I guess. This anime has quite an interesting history behind it.
Hellsing was originally a manga written and illustrated by Kouta Hirano. It ran from 1997 to 2008. Eleven years...not bad. I know some series that have had runs longer than that (Bleach, Naruto...why is it that I can only think of the ones I don't like?), but eleven years is still pretty impressive. There was a prequel, called Hellsing: The Dawn, as well as a side story and prototype manga featuring Kouta's old works and the characters' prototypes.
I guess Kouta really wanted to make sure he got EVERY SINGLE DETAIL about the characters written in and to tie up any loose ends. Were there any? I don't know; I haven't read the manga. It's on my to-read list, but I keep skipping over it to read more of Attack on Titan and Black Butler. I'll get around to it...eventually.
Anyway, the anime premiered in Japan in October 2001 and ran until January 2002. We'll ignore the OVA, as it was more than one episode , and this review can only be so long. Anyway, this anime was produced by a company called Gonzo. If you haven't heard of them, you've probably heard of some of the work they produced; such as Full Metal Panic!, Chrono Crusade, Rosario + Vampire (both seasons), and Blade & Soul.
Hellsing was directed by Umanosuke Iida. If you don't recognize his name, chances are you'll recognize some of the stuff he worked on, like the in-between animation in Nausicaä Valley of the Wind and assistant directing Castle in the Sky. You're probably wondering why we haven't seen more from him. Unfortunately, Iida passed away from lung cancer seven years ago at the age of 49.
A moment of silence for Mr. Iida. RIP sir. You are, and will continue to be, missed.
Ok, on with the rest of the review.
The anime was based on the manga, but used a screenplay written by Chiaki J. Konaka (it's a long story why he has a middle initial when Japanese people don't have a middle name or use a middle initial). It was actually quite different from the manga in terms of plot, but it used some of the same characters and similar character designs. The series ran for thirteen episodes. There was an OVA called Hellsing Ultimate that was released in 2006, and it ran for ten episodes until 2012...doesn't make much sense, but ok. The OVA followed the manga's storyline more than the original series did. You've probably heard of Hellsing Ultimate thanks to the guys over at TeamFourStar, who created Hellsing Ultimate Abridged (which is definitely worth the watch; you won't be disappointed).
Enough talk about that. Let's get to the good stuff: plot!
Hellsing is named after and centered around the Royal Order of Protestant Knights, led by Abraham Van Hellsing. Their mission is to search for and destroy the undead and other supernatural forces of evil that threaten the queen and the country. Currently, the organization is led by Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing (not sure why they use "sir" when the character is a female, but ok), a woman who inherited the leadership role of Hellsing after the death of her father. By the way, get used to these names being a mouthful. I'm not sure what the writers were thinking with such long names, but we have to go with it, so...yeah.
Anyway, Integra witnessed the death of her father (we never learned his name), which turned her from a shy, innocent girl into a deadly force. She leads the organization with the help of the Hellsing family butler, Walter C. Domez, someone whose bad side you do NOT want to get on, and Alucard. Alucard is the original and most powerful vampire in his own right, but he swore loyalty to the Hellsing family after being defeated by Abraham one hundred years before the story takes place. The group is later joined by former police officer Seras Victoria, who became a vampire thanks to Alucard.
You would think that this is just about fighting and the adventures the group go on together. Well, we're missing a pretty important piece of the plot: the conflict.
While the number of incidents involving the undead and the supernatural escalate in England and all around the world, Integra discovers that there are remnants of a Nazi group called Millennium, whose intention is to revive Nazi Germany through creating an army of vampires. This leads to a HUGE, apocalyptic, three-sided conflict in London between Millennium, Hellsing, and Hellsing's bitter rival organization, the Vatican section XIII Iscariot. Millennium's true objective is revealed: to destroy the vampire lord, Alucard, and end a feud that began during WWII.
So, rating: 10 out of freaking 10
Yeah, I bet you were expecting a bad review, weren't you? Surprise!
Why: First off, this isn't your typical vampire anime. Be glad it's not Diabolik Lovers or Rosario + Vampire. This anime is actually a little similar to the hit long-running TV series, Supernatural, now that I think about it. I can't help but wonder if the writers of Supernatural got some of their ideas from Hellsing. It would be pretty cool if they did.
The fact that this anime tied itself to an actual, historical event is pretty cool. The X-Men movies did this (most of the time), and it's just something that I think is cool. When something is tied to a historical event and it's done right (meaning the people behind the show or movie did their research), it's awesome.
The animation is decent, the characters are well developed, and I think the music is pretty good, too. I know people who don't like anime that much, but when I introduced them to this series, they LOVED it. Did they watch more anime after it? No (😞), but at least they liked Hellsing!
I think the one downside this anime has is that it was only twelve episodes. I think they could have done a lot more, especially given the popularity of it. But that's not enough to give it half a point down or even a full point. So I'm sticking to my rating.
If you're not a fan of horror, gore, or anything like that, I wouldn't recommend it. However, if you like Supernatural or other horror-ish/gory series you'll probably like this.
Well, happy third anniversary to the cafe and happy Halloween! See you next time for Anime Mondays in November! ~k
THE CROWD GOES CRAZY!
...or not.
Seriously, guys, I get that three years isn't as big as, say, five, but still.
Anyway, let's take a look at what we have.
Too gory...too creepy...I'm not reviewing that until the fifth anniversary...hm, what do we have here? An anime about a secret task force that hunts vampires, ghouls, and other supernatural creatures that threaten England? Sounds like a crossover between Black Butler and Tokyo Ghoul (even though neither of those had aired when this anime was released), but I'll take it! This is...Hellsing.
So, where to begin? Background, I guess. This anime has quite an interesting history behind it.
Hellsing was originally a manga written and illustrated by Kouta Hirano. It ran from 1997 to 2008. Eleven years...not bad. I know some series that have had runs longer than that (Bleach, Naruto...why is it that I can only think of the ones I don't like?), but eleven years is still pretty impressive. There was a prequel, called Hellsing: The Dawn, as well as a side story and prototype manga featuring Kouta's old works and the characters' prototypes.
I guess Kouta really wanted to make sure he got EVERY SINGLE DETAIL about the characters written in and to tie up any loose ends. Were there any? I don't know; I haven't read the manga. It's on my to-read list, but I keep skipping over it to read more of Attack on Titan and Black Butler. I'll get around to it...eventually.
Anyway, the anime premiered in Japan in October 2001 and ran until January 2002. We'll ignore the OVA, as it was more than one episode , and this review can only be so long. Anyway, this anime was produced by a company called Gonzo. If you haven't heard of them, you've probably heard of some of the work they produced; such as Full Metal Panic!, Chrono Crusade, Rosario + Vampire (both seasons), and Blade & Soul.
Hellsing was directed by Umanosuke Iida. If you don't recognize his name, chances are you'll recognize some of the stuff he worked on, like the in-between animation in Nausicaä Valley of the Wind and assistant directing Castle in the Sky. You're probably wondering why we haven't seen more from him. Unfortunately, Iida passed away from lung cancer seven years ago at the age of 49.
A moment of silence for Mr. Iida. RIP sir. You are, and will continue to be, missed.
Ok, on with the rest of the review.
The anime was based on the manga, but used a screenplay written by Chiaki J. Konaka (it's a long story why he has a middle initial when Japanese people don't have a middle name or use a middle initial). It was actually quite different from the manga in terms of plot, but it used some of the same characters and similar character designs. The series ran for thirteen episodes. There was an OVA called Hellsing Ultimate that was released in 2006, and it ran for ten episodes until 2012...doesn't make much sense, but ok. The OVA followed the manga's storyline more than the original series did. You've probably heard of Hellsing Ultimate thanks to the guys over at TeamFourStar, who created Hellsing Ultimate Abridged (which is definitely worth the watch; you won't be disappointed).
Enough talk about that. Let's get to the good stuff: plot!
Hellsing is named after and centered around the Royal Order of Protestant Knights, led by Abraham Van Hellsing. Their mission is to search for and destroy the undead and other supernatural forces of evil that threaten the queen and the country. Currently, the organization is led by Sir Integra Fairbrook Wingates Hellsing (not sure why they use "sir" when the character is a female, but ok), a woman who inherited the leadership role of Hellsing after the death of her father. By the way, get used to these names being a mouthful. I'm not sure what the writers were thinking with such long names, but we have to go with it, so...yeah.
Anyway, Integra witnessed the death of her father (we never learned his name), which turned her from a shy, innocent girl into a deadly force. She leads the organization with the help of the Hellsing family butler, Walter C. Domez, someone whose bad side you do NOT want to get on, and Alucard. Alucard is the original and most powerful vampire in his own right, but he swore loyalty to the Hellsing family after being defeated by Abraham one hundred years before the story takes place. The group is later joined by former police officer Seras Victoria, who became a vampire thanks to Alucard.
You would think that this is just about fighting and the adventures the group go on together. Well, we're missing a pretty important piece of the plot: the conflict.
While the number of incidents involving the undead and the supernatural escalate in England and all around the world, Integra discovers that there are remnants of a Nazi group called Millennium, whose intention is to revive Nazi Germany through creating an army of vampires. This leads to a HUGE, apocalyptic, three-sided conflict in London between Millennium, Hellsing, and Hellsing's bitter rival organization, the Vatican section XIII Iscariot. Millennium's true objective is revealed: to destroy the vampire lord, Alucard, and end a feud that began during WWII.
So, rating: 10 out of freaking 10
Yeah, I bet you were expecting a bad review, weren't you? Surprise!
Why: First off, this isn't your typical vampire anime. Be glad it's not Diabolik Lovers or Rosario + Vampire. This anime is actually a little similar to the hit long-running TV series, Supernatural, now that I think about it. I can't help but wonder if the writers of Supernatural got some of their ideas from Hellsing. It would be pretty cool if they did.
The fact that this anime tied itself to an actual, historical event is pretty cool. The X-Men movies did this (most of the time), and it's just something that I think is cool. When something is tied to a historical event and it's done right (meaning the people behind the show or movie did their research), it's awesome.
The animation is decent, the characters are well developed, and I think the music is pretty good, too. I know people who don't like anime that much, but when I introduced them to this series, they LOVED it. Did they watch more anime after it? No (😞), but at least they liked Hellsing!
I think the one downside this anime has is that it was only twelve episodes. I think they could have done a lot more, especially given the popularity of it. But that's not enough to give it half a point down or even a full point. So I'm sticking to my rating.
If you're not a fan of horror, gore, or anything like that, I wouldn't recommend it. However, if you like Supernatural or other horror-ish/gory series you'll probably like this.
Well, happy third anniversary to the cafe and happy Halloween! See you next time for Anime Mondays in November! ~k
Hey guys, kanna here. And welcome to Halloween month!
Ok, seriously, we need a better name for this month, given that the theme is horror/supernatural anime. I'm open to ideas.
We're kicking off the month with the live action adaptation of Tokyo Ghoul! Let's do this!
I'll give a little background on Tokyo Ghoul, as I had planned on reviewing the anime, but suffered a major writer's block on it, so I couldn't write a decent review of it.
Tokyo Ghoul was based off of a manga series written by Sui Ishida, who you might recognize from...wow, that's pretty much all you'll recognize him from. Kinda sucks for him, don't you think?
Anyway, Tokyo Ghoul ran from September 2011 to September 2014. In 2014, a sequel titled Tokyo Ghoul:re was serialized, and in October of that same year, a prequel titled Tokyo Ghoul Jack ran online.
Between July and September 2014, a 12-episode anime series of the same name aired in Japan. In 2015, an original story meant to serve as a second season was released, titled Tokyo Ghoul √A (pronounced Tokyo Ghoul: Root A). A third season, Tokyo Ghoul:re (I'm not sure why it's called that, but maybe it's because it's following that part of the manga? I don't know), was announced October 5, 2017, and is set to air sometime next year (no official date has been announced yet as of the time I'm writing this).
Wow...next year's anime series will have a TON of competition. Between the new season of Sword Art Online, Sword Art Online's spin-off series, Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card-hen, and others, there's going to be a ton of competition. It's up to us viewers to see who will come out on top.
Moving on.
The story of Tokyo Ghoul is set in an alternate reality where ghouls (creatures kind of like vampires, but instead of blood, they live off of human flesh) live among humans and hide their secret. Our protagonist is Ken Kaneki, a high school student who goes out with fellow student Rize Kamishiro on a date. Rize reveals herself to be a ghoul, and nearly kills Ken. A beam fell down, killed Rize, and knocked out Ken to the point of near-death. During the surgery Ken went through in order to survive, some of Rize's organs were put inside him, turning him into a half-ghoul. He then has to go through his life while keeping his ghoul identity under wraps.
And...there's your background. Now for the live action adaptation.
So...where to begin? I mean, I already gave you guys background. So...let's talk about the movie's background.
The movie first premiered in the US at Anime Expo in Los Angeles, California, on July 3. They also did a live stream of the movie on YouTube a few weeks later (I think it was a few weeks), where the director, Kentaro Hagiwara, and a couple of the actors (I don't remember who) were in attendance to answer questions from the fans.
I don't remember what date it was, but I do remember that I didn't attend the live stream because it was at 4 in the morning in my time zone (I think that that was around 8 PM in Japan). As much as I love anime and as curious as I was about this adaptation, there was no way I would get up at 4 AM to watch a live action adaptation. Sorry, guys. I really wanted to attend the live stream, but I just couldn't bring myself to set an alarm for 4 AM.
Have I mentioned that I HATE big time differences (ones that are over 13 hours)?
Moving on.
NOTE: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ON. IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE ANIME OR THE LIVE ACTION MOVIE OR READ THE MANGA, STEP AWAY, DO ONE OF THOSE THINGS, AND COME BACK. THIS POST WILL BE WAITING. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. SPOILERS AHEAD. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
We have some actors who are pretty well-known in Japan, but I'm not sure of how well-known they are internationally. Our protagonist, Ken Kaneki, is played by Masataka Kubota. You might recognize him from the TV drama adaptation of Death Note, where he played Light Yagami. He was in other movies and TV dramas, but I think this is his first lead role in a movie. I could be wrong, though.
Fumika Shimizu plays Touka Kirishima, a ghoul who helps Ken get adjusted to life as a half-ghoul. If you've seen Kamen Rider Fourze, you'll recognize her from her role as Yuki Jojima, which was her first major role.
We have a somewhat internationally well-known actress playing Rize Kamishiro, our ghoul whose organs turn Ken into a half-ghoul, and her name is Yu Aoi. You might recognize her from the live action adaptation of Rurouni Kenshin. She had other roles, but that's the first one that comes to mind for me.
As for the rest of the actors and actresses, I haven't heard of them. That doesn't mean they aren't internationally well-known or not famous in Japan, it just means I either a) haven't seen anything they've been in, or b) if I have seen things they've been in, I didn't know who those actors and actresses were.
Moving right along.
The background of the movie is pretty similar to the background of the anime, so we're going to skip over that for two reasons. One, I don't want to spoil it for you, as this is only in theaters for a limited time (a week, I think). Two, I honestly don't want this to seem like something you can just find on Wiki or whatever. I want this to be a well-written, unbiased, review. If the movie were online, then I would completely spoil it for you guys. But I won't do that this time.
Effects: The effects are...decent. Granted, no film is perfect, but I honestly feel like the effects could have been a lot better. Sometimes, they looked really convincing; almost believable, even. Other times, they were just meh. The movie really capitalizes on the fact that ghouls eat human flesh, so the violence tends to overshadow other important elements of the movie. The ghouls' eyes, which look different from human eyes, don't look too fake, and the kagune (the ghouls' powerful appendages) look pretty decent. Not only that, but (spoiler) the mask that Ken wears at the end of the movie looks pretty darn close to the mask from the anime and manga. It's really impressive.
Scariness: This movie is less horror and more about the gore. While it is scary in some aspects, it really emphasizes on the blood, guts, and gore. I think it's probably because the ghouls consume human flesh to survive. With that being said, the level of scariness in this is pretty low. If you were to rate this movie on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being not scary at all and 10 being the stuff of H.R. Giger's nightmares, I'd give this a somewhere between a 3 and a 5. I won't say that this can't call itself a horror movie, but at the same time, I feel like it just isn't that scary. I will admit, there were a couple of moments where I had to cover my eyes, but overall, it wasn't super scary.
Violence: I talked about this mostly in the scary section, but I'll address it again. This movie was CRAZY-VIOLENT. Seriously. I mean, the fight-scenes were well choreographed, but talk about bloody! The lead guy from the CCG (Commission of Counter Ghoul; the task force used to hunt and kill ghouls) with the weird hair, Kureo Mado, was downright brutal when he killed ghouls! He actually used kagune he took from other ghouls against them, and developed a kagune-like weapon that he just carries around in a FREAKING BRIEFCASE! I was very impressed by the fight scenes, and the one between Ken and Amon, the other CCG guy, was really well-done. I'm curious as to whether or not they had stunt doubles. Hm...
Characters/acting: This is a downfall of the movie, in my opinion. While there aren't any movie-exclusive characters (thank G-D) and all our favorites are there, I feel that the character development was overshadowed by all the violence, gore, and the film trying to be somewhat scary. The acting was good, but like I said before, the character development was overshadowed. As an audience, we want to know Ken's internal thoughts of him transforming into a half-ghoul. We want to feel his fear. We want to be able to connect with him on some level. And the anime gave us that. This movie, on the other hand...not so much. I could think of better actors for some of the characters. Not all, but some. I think Beat Takeshi would have made a better Yoshimura than the guy who played him in the movie, Kunio Murai. That's just my opinion, though. The guy who played Yoshimura was good, I just think Beat Takeshi would have been better.
Writing: For those of you who have read the manga, you'll be happy to find out that this movie followed the first three volumes of the manga. Not only that, but it stayed true to the manga and anime. Sure, some scenes were shuffled around or compressed, but that's to be expected with a film adaptation. There's only so much you can fit into two hours, or even a little over two hours. However, that doesn't excuse the lack of character development, insight into Ken's thoughts of his transformation into a ghoul, or...insight into any of the characters, really. I feel like the most insight we got was into Rize Kamishiro, and she was killed off at the beginning of the movie (not a huge spoiler, but it is a spoiler). So...yeah.
Music: The music was actually pretty good. I was NOT expecting to like it as much as I did. The composer for the movie was Don Davis, who is best known for his work on The Matrix movies. The theme song for the movie is "Banka" by RADWIMPS and guitarist Yojiro Noda, under his stage name, illion. It's a pretty good song. While I don't have it on my iPod (yet), I think the soundtrack is definitely worth a listen. Don Davis isn't John Williams or Hans Zimmer, but there's no denying that he's talented.
So...rating. Boy, was I dreading this part. Um...8 out of 10.
Why: Most of my reasons above, but there are some other things. Aside from the lack of character development and the effects being just decent instead of good, or even great, this movie just seems like it's something to get people who haven't seen Tokyo Ghoul into it. Nothing wrong with that, but for those of us who have seen Tokyo Ghoul, not only does it feel like a repeat, but there isn't a ton of nostalgic value. It did leave me wanting a sequel, which I hope will happen. Overall, I think the movie could have been a lot better.
In addition, I think the casting could have been better. I can't really explain why, but I feel like if they wanted to release this movie to an international audience, they should have gotten more internationally-known actors and actresses, like Beat Takeshi. Masataka Kubota and Fumika Shimizu aren't that well-known internationally unless you've seen things they've been in. I'm probably one of a small amount of people in the United States who watches Kamen Rider (I stopped for a period of time...big mistake on my part because I now have a crap ton to catch up on), and I don't know how many people have seen the Death Note TV drama. While I don't have an ideal cast in mind (yet), I do think there are better actors and actresses that would have fit some of the characters more.
Well, that's my review of the live action Tokyo Ghoul! Stay tuned for the third anniversary special, which is going to be a surprise! ~k
Ok, seriously, we need a better name for this month, given that the theme is horror/supernatural anime. I'm open to ideas.
 |
| Totoro wishes everyone a happy Halloween! |
NO PICTURE OF TOKYO GHOUL BECAUSE BLOGGER WANTS TO BE A PAIN AND NOT LET ME PUT ONE. *SIGH*
I'll give a little background on Tokyo Ghoul, as I had planned on reviewing the anime, but suffered a major writer's block on it, so I couldn't write a decent review of it.
Tokyo Ghoul was based off of a manga series written by Sui Ishida, who you might recognize from...wow, that's pretty much all you'll recognize him from. Kinda sucks for him, don't you think?
Anyway, Tokyo Ghoul ran from September 2011 to September 2014. In 2014, a sequel titled Tokyo Ghoul:re was serialized, and in October of that same year, a prequel titled Tokyo Ghoul Jack ran online.
Between July and September 2014, a 12-episode anime series of the same name aired in Japan. In 2015, an original story meant to serve as a second season was released, titled Tokyo Ghoul √A (pronounced Tokyo Ghoul: Root A). A third season, Tokyo Ghoul:re (I'm not sure why it's called that, but maybe it's because it's following that part of the manga? I don't know), was announced October 5, 2017, and is set to air sometime next year (no official date has been announced yet as of the time I'm writing this).
Wow...next year's anime series will have a TON of competition. Between the new season of Sword Art Online, Sword Art Online's spin-off series, Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card-hen, and others, there's going to be a ton of competition. It's up to us viewers to see who will come out on top.
Moving on.
The story of Tokyo Ghoul is set in an alternate reality where ghouls (creatures kind of like vampires, but instead of blood, they live off of human flesh) live among humans and hide their secret. Our protagonist is Ken Kaneki, a high school student who goes out with fellow student Rize Kamishiro on a date. Rize reveals herself to be a ghoul, and nearly kills Ken. A beam fell down, killed Rize, and knocked out Ken to the point of near-death. During the surgery Ken went through in order to survive, some of Rize's organs were put inside him, turning him into a half-ghoul. He then has to go through his life while keeping his ghoul identity under wraps.
And...there's your background. Now for the live action adaptation.
So...where to begin? I mean, I already gave you guys background. So...let's talk about the movie's background.
The movie first premiered in the US at Anime Expo in Los Angeles, California, on July 3. They also did a live stream of the movie on YouTube a few weeks later (I think it was a few weeks), where the director, Kentaro Hagiwara, and a couple of the actors (I don't remember who) were in attendance to answer questions from the fans.
I don't remember what date it was, but I do remember that I didn't attend the live stream because it was at 4 in the morning in my time zone (I think that that was around 8 PM in Japan). As much as I love anime and as curious as I was about this adaptation, there was no way I would get up at 4 AM to watch a live action adaptation. Sorry, guys. I really wanted to attend the live stream, but I just couldn't bring myself to set an alarm for 4 AM.
Have I mentioned that I HATE big time differences (ones that are over 13 hours)?
Moving on.
NOTE: THERE WILL BE SPOILERS FROM THIS POINT ON. IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE ANIME OR THE LIVE ACTION MOVIE OR READ THE MANGA, STEP AWAY, DO ONE OF THOSE THINGS, AND COME BACK. THIS POST WILL BE WAITING. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. SPOILERS AHEAD. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
We have some actors who are pretty well-known in Japan, but I'm not sure of how well-known they are internationally. Our protagonist, Ken Kaneki, is played by Masataka Kubota. You might recognize him from the TV drama adaptation of Death Note, where he played Light Yagami. He was in other movies and TV dramas, but I think this is his first lead role in a movie. I could be wrong, though.
Fumika Shimizu plays Touka Kirishima, a ghoul who helps Ken get adjusted to life as a half-ghoul. If you've seen Kamen Rider Fourze, you'll recognize her from her role as Yuki Jojima, which was her first major role.
We have a somewhat internationally well-known actress playing Rize Kamishiro, our ghoul whose organs turn Ken into a half-ghoul, and her name is Yu Aoi. You might recognize her from the live action adaptation of Rurouni Kenshin. She had other roles, but that's the first one that comes to mind for me.
As for the rest of the actors and actresses, I haven't heard of them. That doesn't mean they aren't internationally well-known or not famous in Japan, it just means I either a) haven't seen anything they've been in, or b) if I have seen things they've been in, I didn't know who those actors and actresses were.
Moving right along.
The background of the movie is pretty similar to the background of the anime, so we're going to skip over that for two reasons. One, I don't want to spoil it for you, as this is only in theaters for a limited time (a week, I think). Two, I honestly don't want this to seem like something you can just find on Wiki or whatever. I want this to be a well-written, unbiased, review. If the movie were online, then I would completely spoil it for you guys. But I won't do that this time.
Effects: The effects are...decent. Granted, no film is perfect, but I honestly feel like the effects could have been a lot better. Sometimes, they looked really convincing; almost believable, even. Other times, they were just meh. The movie really capitalizes on the fact that ghouls eat human flesh, so the violence tends to overshadow other important elements of the movie. The ghouls' eyes, which look different from human eyes, don't look too fake, and the kagune (the ghouls' powerful appendages) look pretty decent. Not only that, but (spoiler) the mask that Ken wears at the end of the movie looks pretty darn close to the mask from the anime and manga. It's really impressive.
Scariness: This movie is less horror and more about the gore. While it is scary in some aspects, it really emphasizes on the blood, guts, and gore. I think it's probably because the ghouls consume human flesh to survive. With that being said, the level of scariness in this is pretty low. If you were to rate this movie on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being not scary at all and 10 being the stuff of H.R. Giger's nightmares, I'd give this a somewhere between a 3 and a 5. I won't say that this can't call itself a horror movie, but at the same time, I feel like it just isn't that scary. I will admit, there were a couple of moments where I had to cover my eyes, but overall, it wasn't super scary.
Violence: I talked about this mostly in the scary section, but I'll address it again. This movie was CRAZY-VIOLENT. Seriously. I mean, the fight-scenes were well choreographed, but talk about bloody! The lead guy from the CCG (Commission of Counter Ghoul; the task force used to hunt and kill ghouls) with the weird hair, Kureo Mado, was downright brutal when he killed ghouls! He actually used kagune he took from other ghouls against them, and developed a kagune-like weapon that he just carries around in a FREAKING BRIEFCASE! I was very impressed by the fight scenes, and the one between Ken and Amon, the other CCG guy, was really well-done. I'm curious as to whether or not they had stunt doubles. Hm...
Characters/acting: This is a downfall of the movie, in my opinion. While there aren't any movie-exclusive characters (thank G-D) and all our favorites are there, I feel that the character development was overshadowed by all the violence, gore, and the film trying to be somewhat scary. The acting was good, but like I said before, the character development was overshadowed. As an audience, we want to know Ken's internal thoughts of him transforming into a half-ghoul. We want to feel his fear. We want to be able to connect with him on some level. And the anime gave us that. This movie, on the other hand...not so much. I could think of better actors for some of the characters. Not all, but some. I think Beat Takeshi would have made a better Yoshimura than the guy who played him in the movie, Kunio Murai. That's just my opinion, though. The guy who played Yoshimura was good, I just think Beat Takeshi would have been better.
Writing: For those of you who have read the manga, you'll be happy to find out that this movie followed the first three volumes of the manga. Not only that, but it stayed true to the manga and anime. Sure, some scenes were shuffled around or compressed, but that's to be expected with a film adaptation. There's only so much you can fit into two hours, or even a little over two hours. However, that doesn't excuse the lack of character development, insight into Ken's thoughts of his transformation into a ghoul, or...insight into any of the characters, really. I feel like the most insight we got was into Rize Kamishiro, and she was killed off at the beginning of the movie (not a huge spoiler, but it is a spoiler). So...yeah.
Music: The music was actually pretty good. I was NOT expecting to like it as much as I did. The composer for the movie was Don Davis, who is best known for his work on The Matrix movies. The theme song for the movie is "Banka" by RADWIMPS and guitarist Yojiro Noda, under his stage name, illion. It's a pretty good song. While I don't have it on my iPod (yet), I think the soundtrack is definitely worth a listen. Don Davis isn't John Williams or Hans Zimmer, but there's no denying that he's talented.
So...rating. Boy, was I dreading this part. Um...8 out of 10.
Why: Most of my reasons above, but there are some other things. Aside from the lack of character development and the effects being just decent instead of good, or even great, this movie just seems like it's something to get people who haven't seen Tokyo Ghoul into it. Nothing wrong with that, but for those of us who have seen Tokyo Ghoul, not only does it feel like a repeat, but there isn't a ton of nostalgic value. It did leave me wanting a sequel, which I hope will happen. Overall, I think the movie could have been a lot better.
In addition, I think the casting could have been better. I can't really explain why, but I feel like if they wanted to release this movie to an international audience, they should have gotten more internationally-known actors and actresses, like Beat Takeshi. Masataka Kubota and Fumika Shimizu aren't that well-known internationally unless you've seen things they've been in. I'm probably one of a small amount of people in the United States who watches Kamen Rider (I stopped for a period of time...big mistake on my part because I now have a crap ton to catch up on), and I don't know how many people have seen the Death Note TV drama. While I don't have an ideal cast in mind (yet), I do think there are better actors and actresses that would have fit some of the characters more.
Well, that's my review of the live action Tokyo Ghoul! Stay tuned for the third anniversary special, which is going to be a surprise! ~k
Hey guys, kanna here! And guess who saw No Game No Life: Zero? ME!!! I'm pretty happy about it.
Anyway, this isn't going to count as part of my Halloween line up because it's not horror, and while it could be considered supernatural, I just don't think it quite fits the supernatural genre entirely. But hey, that's just my opinion.
I saw this movie with one of my best friends (and fellow blogger), Chibi Dragon. You should check out her blog; she is an AMAZING writer. She reviews anime, movies, and video games. She also sometimes live streams her games on twitch (I don't have the link for it, but when I get the link, I'll edit this post and put it in).
Anyway, where to begin. Um...background, I guess, considering that's what the movie started off with. Seriously, we got 19 minutes of behind the scenes footage and background on the movie COMBINED. Not that that's a bad thing; the behind the scenes stuff was actually pretty interesting.
So, background:
No Game No Life started out as a series of light novels published between 2012 and 2016 that were written by Yuu Kamiya. In 2013, Yuu and his wife adapted the novels into a manga series. That same year, an anime adaptation produced by Madhouse was announced. That anime adaptation aired in 2014 and was twelve episodes.
Fast forward to 2016, when the movie (at the time, untitled, I think) was announced. It was then named No Game No Life: 0 and released in Japan on July 15, 2017. This movie is based on the sixth volume of the light novel series.
So, with that said, let's dive into Disboard (before it became known as Disboard)! This is No Game No Life: 0!
So, before our movie even starts, we get some background on what No Game No Life is (which I just gave you). We learn what it's about, which I'll address when I review the anime...eventually. Yeah, I know I'm doing things a little out of order. I'll try to make sure that this doesn't happen again.
Anyway, after we learn about what No Game No Life is about, we get some behind the scenes stuff with the director and all the voice actors who returned to voice characters that were related to the characters they previously voiced. And this is also where I questioned Chibi Dragon if we were even at the right showing, because the interview was with the voice actors from the English dub, and we got tickets for the subbed showing. You would think that for a subbed showing, you would have behind the scenes stuff with the Japanese cast and crew. So I was really confused.
Lucky for us, we were at the right showing. Yay! Although, the theater wasn't as crowded as we thought it would be. When Chibi Dragon and I saw Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale, that theater was PACKED. And this one only had maybe half of the theater, if that. I don't get it.
Moving on.
After that behind the scenes stuff with the voice actors from the English dub and the director for the English dubbed movie, the movie finally started. And, boy, were we excited.
The story is set 6000 years ago; before the main series even started. It details the Great War, a seemingly never-ending war between all the races in Disboard (the world No Game No Life is set in), and humanity is forced to live underground in order to survive. Sounds like a pretty cool story, right?
The movie revolves around an eighteen-year-old boy named Riku, who wants to ensure the survival of the human race, even if it means sacrificing their lives. He meets Schwi (I'm not sure if the spelling of that is right...anyway, it's pronounced Shoo-vee), an Ex-Machina (the Android race of Disboard), and wants to kill her at first. However, when she explains that she was cut off from the Cluster collective and isn't a threat, he ultimately takes her under his wing. So now the majority of the entire film revolves around the relationship between Riku and Schwi. And their relationship provides all the feels you could ever want from this movie. There's humor, heartwarming stuff, and even some of the most tearjerking stuff you could imagine. Seriously, bring tissues to this movie. You will probably cry.
There are a couple of characters who might look familiar to those who have seen No Game No Life: Corone Dola and Jibril. Let's start with Korone.
Corone Dola is (and this isn't really a spoiler, because if you've seen No Game No Life, you'll be able to see the resemblance) Stephanie Dola's ancestor. She has a bit of a big sister personality and is the one who leads the humans. This ancestral link then leads to the question, "Are Riku and Schwi the ancestors of Sora and Shiro? Are Sora and Shiro reincarnates of Riku and Schwi?" There are a lot of theories out there.
Let's talk about Jibril. Jibril is a Flügel, a race that has the appearance of angels, but whose personalities are far from angels. Jibril is every bit as demonic in both personality and fighting style in this movie. Think about Yondu's line from the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie; the one about being pretty as an angel, but "sure as h**l ain't one," and you'd get Jibril. The final battle of the film is her versus Schwi and the results aren't pretty at all. I won't say much more than that.
Overall, No Game No Life: Zero was freaking AWESOME. I highly recommend it. The animation is beautiful, the music is amazing, the character designs are great, and the storyline is good. While it might seem like a typical hero's sacrificial journey, it's so much more than that, and it's played out in a fashion that you actually can get invested in. If you're looking for a good anime movie to see on the big screen, then this one is for you. Chibi Dragon and I saw the subtitled version, but there is a dubbed version playing tomorrow (Oct. 8), and that's the last chance you'll get to see this movie before it comes out on DVD.
The one thing I was let down by with this movie (aside from the confusion about the behind the scenes with the English dub cast and crew) was that there wasn't an after credits scene promising more No Game No Life. Even so, I still give this movie a solid 10/10.
Well, that's it! Stay tuned for my first of probably two Halloween reviews, which will either be Hellsing or the live action adaptation of Tokyo Ghoul! ~k
Anyway, this isn't going to count as part of my Halloween line up because it's not horror, and while it could be considered supernatural, I just don't think it quite fits the supernatural genre entirely. But hey, that's just my opinion.
I saw this movie with one of my best friends (and fellow blogger), Chibi Dragon. You should check out her blog; she is an AMAZING writer. She reviews anime, movies, and video games. She also sometimes live streams her games on twitch (I don't have the link for it, but when I get the link, I'll edit this post and put it in).
Anyway, where to begin. Um...background, I guess, considering that's what the movie started off with. Seriously, we got 19 minutes of behind the scenes footage and background on the movie COMBINED. Not that that's a bad thing; the behind the scenes stuff was actually pretty interesting.
So, background:
No Game No Life started out as a series of light novels published between 2012 and 2016 that were written by Yuu Kamiya. In 2013, Yuu and his wife adapted the novels into a manga series. That same year, an anime adaptation produced by Madhouse was announced. That anime adaptation aired in 2014 and was twelve episodes.
Fast forward to 2016, when the movie (at the time, untitled, I think) was announced. It was then named No Game No Life: 0 and released in Japan on July 15, 2017. This movie is based on the sixth volume of the light novel series.
So, with that said, let's dive into Disboard (before it became known as Disboard)! This is No Game No Life: 0!
So, before our movie even starts, we get some background on what No Game No Life is (which I just gave you). We learn what it's about, which I'll address when I review the anime...eventually. Yeah, I know I'm doing things a little out of order. I'll try to make sure that this doesn't happen again.
Anyway, after we learn about what No Game No Life is about, we get some behind the scenes stuff with the director and all the voice actors who returned to voice characters that were related to the characters they previously voiced. And this is also where I questioned Chibi Dragon if we were even at the right showing, because the interview was with the voice actors from the English dub, and we got tickets for the subbed showing. You would think that for a subbed showing, you would have behind the scenes stuff with the Japanese cast and crew. So I was really confused.
Lucky for us, we were at the right showing. Yay! Although, the theater wasn't as crowded as we thought it would be. When Chibi Dragon and I saw Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale, that theater was PACKED. And this one only had maybe half of the theater, if that. I don't get it.
Moving on.
After that behind the scenes stuff with the voice actors from the English dub and the director for the English dubbed movie, the movie finally started. And, boy, were we excited.
The story is set 6000 years ago; before the main series even started. It details the Great War, a seemingly never-ending war between all the races in Disboard (the world No Game No Life is set in), and humanity is forced to live underground in order to survive. Sounds like a pretty cool story, right?
The movie revolves around an eighteen-year-old boy named Riku, who wants to ensure the survival of the human race, even if it means sacrificing their lives. He meets Schwi (I'm not sure if the spelling of that is right...anyway, it's pronounced Shoo-vee), an Ex-Machina (the Android race of Disboard), and wants to kill her at first. However, when she explains that she was cut off from the Cluster collective and isn't a threat, he ultimately takes her under his wing. So now the majority of the entire film revolves around the relationship between Riku and Schwi. And their relationship provides all the feels you could ever want from this movie. There's humor, heartwarming stuff, and even some of the most tearjerking stuff you could imagine. Seriously, bring tissues to this movie. You will probably cry.
There are a couple of characters who might look familiar to those who have seen No Game No Life: Corone Dola and Jibril. Let's start with Korone.
Corone Dola is (and this isn't really a spoiler, because if you've seen No Game No Life, you'll be able to see the resemblance) Stephanie Dola's ancestor. She has a bit of a big sister personality and is the one who leads the humans. This ancestral link then leads to the question, "Are Riku and Schwi the ancestors of Sora and Shiro? Are Sora and Shiro reincarnates of Riku and Schwi?" There are a lot of theories out there.
Let's talk about Jibril. Jibril is a Flügel, a race that has the appearance of angels, but whose personalities are far from angels. Jibril is every bit as demonic in both personality and fighting style in this movie. Think about Yondu's line from the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie; the one about being pretty as an angel, but "sure as h**l ain't one," and you'd get Jibril. The final battle of the film is her versus Schwi and the results aren't pretty at all. I won't say much more than that.
Overall, No Game No Life: Zero was freaking AWESOME. I highly recommend it. The animation is beautiful, the music is amazing, the character designs are great, and the storyline is good. While it might seem like a typical hero's sacrificial journey, it's so much more than that, and it's played out in a fashion that you actually can get invested in. If you're looking for a good anime movie to see on the big screen, then this one is for you. Chibi Dragon and I saw the subtitled version, but there is a dubbed version playing tomorrow (Oct. 8), and that's the last chance you'll get to see this movie before it comes out on DVD.
The one thing I was let down by with this movie (aside from the confusion about the behind the scenes with the English dub cast and crew) was that there wasn't an after credits scene promising more No Game No Life. Even so, I still give this movie a solid 10/10.
Well, that's it! Stay tuned for my first of probably two Halloween reviews, which will either be Hellsing or the live action adaptation of Tokyo Ghoul! ~k
