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Hey guys, kanna here. Well, you waited. And waited. And waited some more. But, finally...I GET TO REVIEW YU-GI-OH!: THE DARK SIDE OF DIMENSIONS! I FINALLY FOUND THE ENGLISH DUB (it's better than nothing) AND...well, where to begin? Well, get your duel disks on, because it's time to duel!
Ok, a little background.
This is the fourth film in the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise to get a theatrical release (if you count the season 0 movie among those releases), and was released in US theaters on January 27, 2017. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see this movie in theaters, because the internet lied to me. It said the movie would be in theaters for two weeks, when it was really in theaters for only two days. TWO DAYS! NEITHER OF WHICH I COULD GO TO!
*ahem*
You can imagine how upset I was.
Anyway, this wasn't based off of anything in the manga (interesting), so there isn't really any background I can give on this. So...onto the general summary, I guess. There will be spoilers in this, so if you haven't seen the movie, go to this site to watch it, and then come back. Just make sure you're willing to make the time commitment.
Why?
This movie is TWO HOURS AND TEN MINUTES. I promise, I'm not kidding. Remember how the US release of Pyramid of Light was almost an hour and a half and how the US release of Bonds Beyond Time was only an hour (I think the Japanese version was less than that, I don't remember)? I'm not saying the length is a good or bad thing; I'm saying I'm really surprised by it. We'll get to what I think about the movie overall later.
The story is set six months after the main storyline ended. So six months after Yugi and co. said their goodbyes to Yami Yugi/the Pharaoh/Atem. After Yugi's duel against Atem, the seven Millennium Items (puzzle, ring, rod, eye, necklace, scale, and key) were buried underground, never to be seen again.
Or were they?
In the six months that passed, Seto Kaiba has become obsessed with bringing the Pharaoh back to duel against him and prove that he is the best. Because...that's just how Kaiba is. He observes an excavation from the Kaiba Corp. space station (don't ask, I don't get why Kaiba Corp. has a space station, either) as his employees (and Mokuba) look for the Millennium Puzzle.
After some pointlessness, we see Yugi and co. on the roof of their high school during lunch as they talk about their plans for after graduation.
Wait, what?
They're GRADUATING?
Um...okay...
Anyway, Tea is going to study abroad and become a professional dancer, Joey's plans are...undecided (for the most part), Tristan and Bakura's (oh, yeah, Barkura is in this movie) plans aren't really mentioned, and Yugi's plan is to work at his grandpa's game shop, but also design his own games.
Upon their return to class, they spot a new student who looks familiar, but no one can remember his name. They finally remember the student's name is Aigami, but were unsure of why they couldn't remember his name. Strange. I'd post a picture, but Blogger wants to be a pain and not let me.
After school, Yugi is walking with Joey and Tea and looking through his deck. He reminisces about Atem and grieves over the loss of his Egyptian buddy. This is actually kind of emotional, as we can see that after six months, Yugi is still grieving a loss of someone close to him. Closer than a brother. Even Yugi's friends are dealing with the loss. They're there to help him grieve and deal with the loss of his pal. It's actually kind of touching.
Too bad this is interrupted by Aigami getting the ever loving crap kicked out of him by some bullies. Joey jumps off the bridge (I kid you not) and runs to defend the guy. The bullies, aware of Joey's past gang membership, leave Aigami alone, but instruct him to meet them at the Kaiba Corp. construction site that night alone. Aigami tells Yugi and co. that he's fine, and they all go their separate ways.
The next day (I think it's the next day, it's a little hard to tell how much time goes by in this movie), Yugi and co. are at the mall with--holy frick, what happened to Duke Devlin? I mean, I knew the characters were getting redesigned, but Duke Devlin does NOT look like he used to. I can't really describe it.
Anyway, Yugi is reading an article about how a lot of people are mysteriously disappearing without a trace, and Bakura comments that the person responsible could be watching them right then and there. Tea thinks it's his paranoia of having been surrounded by girls constantly (Bakura thinks it's the accent), so he brushes it off. Aigami watches the group from the level above. Um...creepy, much?
Anyway, as Aigami watches the group, he reflects back on a time from where he was originally from, the Plana Realm. This was a realm above the clouds, where there were seven pillars that each depicted a Millennium Item. Children appear and disappear, while Aigami and his sister, Sera, are constantly present.
Aigami reflects further back to a time when he and Sera were in Egypt. They were alone and thirsty and struggling to stay hydrated. However (and you're going to laugh at this next part), Sera keeps calling Aigami "Diva."
*laughs*
I mean...I'm all for respecting names of different cultures, but if this is the name of our villain, then it's going to be really hard to take him seriously. REALLY hard. When I saw this movie, I couldn't help but laugh every time someone mentioned his name. I mean...Diva? Really? Writers, you had all these names you could choose from, and you went with Diva? What the frick were you thinking? Do you know how hard it is to take a villain with that name seriously?
*ahem*
Back in the present, someone named Mani appears and tells Aigami that Kaiba found the Millennium Puzzle. Mani tries to talk Aigami (who I shall now be referring to as Diva, even though it's really ridiculous that the writers gave him that name) out of revenge, but Diva isn't having it. Mani teleports away, while Diva teleports to meet Kaiba in Egypt.
At the mall, Kaiba appears on several screens and shows off his new duel disk. It actually looks pretty cool, but a little too techno for my taste. I liked the original duel disks more. And the duel disks used in season 4 of the original Yu-Gi-Oh! by the guys who worked for Dartz. These...what was Kaiba thinking? I mean, it's one thing to take dueling to the next level. They did that in GX (which sucked, but at least the duel disks still looked like duel disks) and 5D's (where they took it to the extreme by attaching them to motorcycles). This is taking dueling to level infinity. They don't even look like duel disks.
Must. Stop. Criticism. There will be plenty of time for that in the rest of the review.
Back in Egypt, Kaiba arrives in his *laughs* Blue-Eyes White Dragon jet (that will never not be funny). Good to see he's still obsessed with that monster. Not that I don't like dragons, but his obsession is a little...much. Now, if the dragon were Critias (see season 4), I wouldn't have as big of a problem. Why? Because the Blue-Eyes White Dragon jet doesn't look like the original Blue-Eyes White Dragon. That, and his obsession is just nuts.
Anyway, all the pieces of the Millennium Puzzle have been unearthed and are in a high-tech security system that will take 30 minutes to deactivate. Kaiba suggests a duel to pass the time and calls out Aiga--I mean, Diva (I still don't get it, but it's so funny) from the shadows.
Diva emerges and is impressed that Kaiba knew his real name. Kaiba asks how Diva got from Domino City to Egypt so fast, but that question goes unanswered, as a mysterious cube that Diva can control appears and tries to disintegrate Kaiba on the spot. Um...dark, much? I mean, this isn't "going to the Shadow Realm" or "your soul is mine" or anything like that. This is, for real, legit, I kid you not, 真的, someone trying to kill another person in a movie produced by 4kids.
I'll let that sink in for a minute.
Okay, it's been a minute. Has that sunk in? Yes? Ok, good. Let's keep going.
This doesn't work, so Kaiba and Aigami duel each other, and--HOLY FRICK WHAT THE FLYING FRICK HAPPENED TO THE BLUE-EYES WHITE DRAGON? It doesn't look ANYTHING like the original! I knew the monsters were going to get new designs, but...this? THIS? I'm not a fan of it. It doesn't look as badass as the original. I mean, I knew the monsters were going to get new designs. I just didn't think they'd look this...meh. I'm dreading to see what the Dark Magician looks like...
Anyway, this is a whole new style of dueling that I'm pretty sure wouldn't fly in tournaments called Dimension Dueling. Monsters can be summoned without sacrifices, the monsters' attack points can be manipulated by going Super Saiyan (technically, the duelist can manipulate their monsters' attack points by infusing their spirit energy to whatever amount, as long as it doesn't exceed the original attack points, but it seriously looks like they're going Super Saiyan), and there are a whole bunch of other things that basically screw the rules, but I'm not going to go into those. Kaiba uses his usual deck, while Diva uses a Cubic deck.
Well, at least they didn't turn the Rubik's cube into a monster, right?
Not funny? Ok, bad joke.
Anyway, the Cubic monsters look really interesting, and you can tell a lot of effort went into their designs. Their effects are pretty awesome, too. And this would be perfect for a villain whose name was Aigami...but his name isn't Aigami, it's Diva. *laughs*
Ok, enough of that. No more Aigami/Diva jokes. Intentionally, at any rate.
The duel is close, and I mean REALLY close. Diva (that will never not be funny) has Kaiba on the ropes, with only 1000 life points. Just as Diva is about to deal the finishing blow, the security system deactivates, and Mokuba takes the pieces of the Millennium Puzzle as a helicopter comes down and lifts the case into the sky, with Mokuba sitting on top. Diva sees this, and teleports on top of the case and reaches through the glass to grab some of the pieces, before Mokuba headbutts him off of the case. Kaiba says he has what he needs and flies away in his jet.
There's...a lot of other stuff that happens, and it's not that it's not pointless, it's more that I don't want it to take up the entire review. I'll cut to the chase:
Yugi duels Diva and wins, causing Diva to disappear. It's then...well...take a wild guess.
Yugi vs. Kaiba. Like we didn't see that coming. The two duel for the two remaining pieces of the Millennium Puzzle, and Yugi completes the puzzle. Nothing happens. Kaiba, however, refuses to accept that the Pharaoh is really gone for good.
The two continue to duel, and we see a bunch of lame monsters that got renamed and redesigned and don't look all that great. Even the Dark Magician doesn't look all that impressive. I mean, I get that the monsters were all redesigned for the anniversary, and their anniversary editions are being used, but...they don't look good. I mean, maybe they look good on the actual cards (I wouldn't know, I don't have the anniversary editions of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon or the Dark Magician), but in terms of animation, they don't look good.
Anyway, just as Yugi is about to deliver the finishing blow, he and Kaiba hear people screaming as people start disappearing from the audience. Diva returns, now affected by the evil of the Millennium Ring, and...ok, he actually looks pretty terrifying. Diva infused with the evil of the Millennium Ring actually looks pretty cool, and like a villain people would be able to take seriously. Look at this thing:
 |
| Diva infused with the evil of the Millennium Ring |
The duel has now become a Shadow Game, only this time, the duelists' bodies fade away as life points are lost. Again: dark, much? I mean...4kids...
Ok, save it for later.
Diva has reached a point in the duel where he can choose who he wants to defeat, and he chooses Yugi. However, Kaiba redirects the attack to himself, and he disappears. Before he disappears, he asks Yugi to call on the Pharaoh. Yugi puts on the Puzzle, the duel goes on, and eventually, Yugi's body can't take anymore. He can't draw his next card. Just as he collapses, he's suddenly engulfed in a beam of golden light, as Atem, dressed in Yugi's school uniform, appears. He defeats Diva, whose body returns to normal upon defeat.
The audience reappears and we see an unspoken moment between Yugi and Atem, before we cut back. Yugi tells his friends about how he saw Atem, and this piques Kaiba's interest. He acknowledges Yugi as a competent duelist, and Yugi thanks Kaiba for believing in him.
We then get the epilogue during the credits: Yugi gave the graduation speech, Tea left to go study abroad, Joey and Tristain...who knows, and then we get a post-credits scene.
In this scene, Kaiba is in space with a replica of the cube that belonged to Diva. Mokuba warns Kaiba that what he's attempting is dangerous and that the replica hasn't been fully tested yet. The safety precautions have not been ensured. Kaiba says that Mokuba is in charge before he activates the replica of the cube and is transported to the afterlife, where he sees Atem. Atem confidently smiles and they duel.
Rating: um...please don't hate me for this...7.5/10
Why: As we all know, I love Yu-Gi-Oh! as much as the next person. But this movie dragged on. And on. And on. AND ON. I feel like the writers just didn't know where to end the movie.
The redesigns of the monsters look AWFUL. I get that they're supposed to look different, but in terms of the animation, they don't look that great. I mean, the Blue-Eyes White Dragon and the Dark Magician, two of the most iconic monsters in the series, just don't look that impressive.
And speaking of things that aren't impressive...did the writers just get lazy when they came up with some of the names for the monsters? I mean...Apple Magician Girl? Lemon Magician Girl? Marshmacaron? Seriously?!
And speaking of ridiculous names: like I said before, I'm all for respecting names of different cultures. But if your villain goes by the name "Diva," and uses a more villainous alias, like "Aigami," it's going to be pretty hard to take the villain seriously. The only time I actually took Diva seriously was when he was infused with the evil of the Millennium Ring. Other than that, though, that's it.
The animation in general is pretty good, and the storyline executes itself well, even though it goes on FOREVER. I wasn't bored watching the movie by any means, but some movies get to a point where you can't help but want them to end after an hour or an hour and a half.
As for 4kids...this was probably the darkest thing I have ever seen them produce. I mean, I don't think they cut anything out from the original Japanese (of course, I would have to see the original Japanese to find out if they did or not). We had death scenes, torture scenes...things you wouldn't normally get in a 4kids production. I was impressed that 4kids even went this route. Were they trying to appeal to an older demographic? Because if they were, it worked.
The nostalgia factor was definitely there, because they got all the original voice actors to come back. We had Dan Green, Wayne Grayson, Eric Stuart, etc. all come back to voice their characters. I can't help but wonder...what if Marik came back into the picture for this movie? I know Jonathan Todd Ross has retired from voice acting, but I think it would have been interesting to see Marik return in some form. He'd certainly make a better villain than Diva, that's for sure.
Well, that's my review of Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Dark Side of Dimensions. Hope you enjoyed it!
I don't know about you, but I'm feeling 22~
Happy birthday to me!
Hey guys kanna here. Welcome to the first Anime Monday of 2017! I would have put this up sooner, but I had no computer access, because I was out of town and couldn't take my laptop with me. If they still had the Blogger app for iPad, I would have used that, but they don't. Oy vey...
Anyway, I'm out of words. I mean...the last half of UtaPri was just explosive. I had no idea what to expect. I thought I was going to be bored out of my mind because of the first half of the season. The music wasn't anything to brag about, the plot was...poorly executed, for lack of better phrasing, and do we need to COUNT the number of innuendos?
Look, UtaPri has good music. It hadn't let me down...until this season. The genres of songs weren't what their characters would usually sing (don't get me started on Ren's song...that was probably the worst one of this season), which can sometimes be a good thing. It's good to have singers try different genres of music every now and then. But...these changes have to make sense. I can't imagine Ren singing a song where his precious sax isn't the featured instrument, I can't imagine Otoya singing a song about stuff that isn't all sunshine and happiness, and I can't imagine QUARTET NIGHT singing a pop song about their bond. None. Of. It. FITS!
The three songs where it kind of works (in terms of the duet projects) are Mighty Aura (Tokiya and Eiiji), JUSTICE IMPULSE (Syo and Yamato), and LASTING ONENESS (Masato and Kira). Although that could be because the singers stuck to the genres they were good at and good for their characters.
Aside from that one song that QUARTET NIGHT did in the second episode of the season (it wasn't good enough for me to remember the name), QUARTET NIGHT did NOT disappoint. The song they sang at the Triple S Decisive concert, G-d's S.T.A.R, was AMAZING, and probably my favorite song of the three that were performed at the concert. Then again, QUARTET NIGHT is my favorite group of the three (HEAVENS, STARISH, and QUARTET NIGHT), so my opinion is a little biased.
This season was primarily HEAVENS focused, unlike last season, which focused more on QUARTET NIGHT. We really got to know the members of HEAVENS, which was great...to an extent. I couldn't stand Van Kiryuin or Eiichi Otori. The other members were just ok, except for Kira, who is officially my favorite member of HEAVENS. Anyway, the members of HEAVENS (now that I can name them all), are Yamato Hyuuga, Eiiji Otori, Shion Amakusa, Van Kiryuin, Eiichi Otori, Nagi Mikado, and Kira Sumeragi.
Music-wise, there really wasn't anything to brag about. They didn't play the good music until towards the end of the season, which really sucked and probably lost a good amount of viewers. I feel the people who did the music for this season were riding the popularity train from the previous seasons, got lazy, and by the time they realized they were producing crap, it was too late, so they could only give us 5 good songs in the second half of the season.
That's right, five. I'm thankful it wasn't zero. Those songs were (in order of appearance): Lasting Oneness (Masato and Kira), NEXT DOOR (Otoya and Eiichi), G-d's S.T.A.R (QUARTET NIGHT), Immortal Inferno (HEAVENS), and WE ARE STARISH!! (STARISH).
The interesting thing about the last episode was that unlike the previous seasons, the song that was performed in the big performance thing wasn't the ending song. It was an entirely new song, which was WE ARE STARISH!!. Don't get me wrong, they still sang the ending song (in its entirety) after they sang WE ARE STARISH!!, but I thought it was interesting that they did that.
The animation...don't get me started. It was awful. A lot of the characters' movements look like CGI. Which isn't always a bad thing...it just has to look good. This did NOT look good.
Lastly (and this is a spoiler, so if you want to be spoiled, read ahead; otherwise, go watch it), the ending. Good freaking G-d, the ending. It was...predictable. Granted, we got some great music out of it, but it was still predictable. STARISH won the opportunity to be the opening artist at the Triple S concert. Let's be honest: we all saw that coming.
After the credits of the last episode, they advertised a live concert featuring the voice actors from all three groups. But that's not the worst part. No. There's nothing wrong with advertising a live concert, and I'm kind of looking forward to this one. If I was in Japan and got tickets, I'd probably be one of the many screaming fans in the audience.
The worst part is when they tease us with a new anime project. We have no idea what it is, no rumors or anything to go off of, nothing. I don't understand why. They don't even get all cocky with a "see you next season" or anything like that. It makes no sense. I mean, it's great that they're starting a new animation project. Just tell us what it is for Pete's sake!
So, rating of Legend Star: um...wow, this is really tough. 5/10 (until someone has a legitimate argument for a different rating)?
Why: The first half of the season (or series, if it's just one season) of any anime is (in my opinion) the most important. It gives viewers an idea of what kind of anime to expect, and with musical anime like UtaPri, it tells us what kind of music to look forward to.
The first half of the anime did NOT deliver at all. I have a feeling that Legend Star lost a lot of viewers because of the first half of the season. The music wasn't good, the writing was laughable at best, and do we even need to count the innuendos?
The second half of the anime, however, delivered where the first half didn't. We had great music, great character development, and little to no innuendos. The only part that was a little lackluster for me was the animation, but I'm willing to let that slide a little.
The opening wasn't that great, and it took me multiple listens to the ending for me to say, "Wow, I like this song." It wasn't great, but it was a decent song.
Well, those are my final thoughts on UtaPri: Maji LOVE Legend Star. Look forward to next Anime Monday, where I review...oh, dear G-d, no.
No, no, no. I'm not subjecting myself to torture again. I'll lose my sanity. There has to be something here on my list of anime I'm planning on reviewing. Hm...well, it is January. And...that has absolutely nothing to do with anything! I can't even contact that one guy I kinda-sorta know (he's a friend of a relative of mine) for a live video chat! G-D WHY DO I HAVE TO SUBJECT MYSELF TO SUCH TORTURE?!
Happy birthday to me!
Hey guys kanna here. Welcome to the first Anime Monday of 2017! I would have put this up sooner, but I had no computer access, because I was out of town and couldn't take my laptop with me. If they still had the Blogger app for iPad, I would have used that, but they don't. Oy vey...
Anyway, I'm out of words. I mean...the last half of UtaPri was just explosive. I had no idea what to expect. I thought I was going to be bored out of my mind because of the first half of the season. The music wasn't anything to brag about, the plot was...poorly executed, for lack of better phrasing, and do we need to COUNT the number of innuendos?
Look, UtaPri has good music. It hadn't let me down...until this season. The genres of songs weren't what their characters would usually sing (don't get me started on Ren's song...that was probably the worst one of this season), which can sometimes be a good thing. It's good to have singers try different genres of music every now and then. But...these changes have to make sense. I can't imagine Ren singing a song where his precious sax isn't the featured instrument, I can't imagine Otoya singing a song about stuff that isn't all sunshine and happiness, and I can't imagine QUARTET NIGHT singing a pop song about their bond. None. Of. It. FITS!
The three songs where it kind of works (in terms of the duet projects) are Mighty Aura (Tokiya and Eiiji), JUSTICE IMPULSE (Syo and Yamato), and LASTING ONENESS (Masato and Kira). Although that could be because the singers stuck to the genres they were good at and good for their characters.
Aside from that one song that QUARTET NIGHT did in the second episode of the season (it wasn't good enough for me to remember the name), QUARTET NIGHT did NOT disappoint. The song they sang at the Triple S Decisive concert, G-d's S.T.A.R, was AMAZING, and probably my favorite song of the three that were performed at the concert. Then again, QUARTET NIGHT is my favorite group of the three (HEAVENS, STARISH, and QUARTET NIGHT), so my opinion is a little biased.
This season was primarily HEAVENS focused, unlike last season, which focused more on QUARTET NIGHT. We really got to know the members of HEAVENS, which was great...to an extent. I couldn't stand Van Kiryuin or Eiichi Otori. The other members were just ok, except for Kira, who is officially my favorite member of HEAVENS. Anyway, the members of HEAVENS (now that I can name them all), are Yamato Hyuuga, Eiiji Otori, Shion Amakusa, Van Kiryuin, Eiichi Otori, Nagi Mikado, and Kira Sumeragi.
Music-wise, there really wasn't anything to brag about. They didn't play the good music until towards the end of the season, which really sucked and probably lost a good amount of viewers. I feel the people who did the music for this season were riding the popularity train from the previous seasons, got lazy, and by the time they realized they were producing crap, it was too late, so they could only give us 5 good songs in the second half of the season.
That's right, five. I'm thankful it wasn't zero. Those songs were (in order of appearance): Lasting Oneness (Masato and Kira), NEXT DOOR (Otoya and Eiichi), G-d's S.T.A.R (QUARTET NIGHT), Immortal Inferno (HEAVENS), and WE ARE STARISH!! (STARISH).
The interesting thing about the last episode was that unlike the previous seasons, the song that was performed in the big performance thing wasn't the ending song. It was an entirely new song, which was WE ARE STARISH!!. Don't get me wrong, they still sang the ending song (in its entirety) after they sang WE ARE STARISH!!, but I thought it was interesting that they did that.
The animation...don't get me started. It was awful. A lot of the characters' movements look like CGI. Which isn't always a bad thing...it just has to look good. This did NOT look good.
Lastly (and this is a spoiler, so if you want to be spoiled, read ahead; otherwise, go watch it), the ending. Good freaking G-d, the ending. It was...predictable. Granted, we got some great music out of it, but it was still predictable. STARISH won the opportunity to be the opening artist at the Triple S concert. Let's be honest: we all saw that coming.
After the credits of the last episode, they advertised a live concert featuring the voice actors from all three groups. But that's not the worst part. No. There's nothing wrong with advertising a live concert, and I'm kind of looking forward to this one. If I was in Japan and got tickets, I'd probably be one of the many screaming fans in the audience.
The worst part is when they tease us with a new anime project. We have no idea what it is, no rumors or anything to go off of, nothing. I don't understand why. They don't even get all cocky with a "see you next season" or anything like that. It makes no sense. I mean, it's great that they're starting a new animation project. Just tell us what it is for Pete's sake!
So, rating of Legend Star: um...wow, this is really tough. 5/10 (until someone has a legitimate argument for a different rating)?
Why: The first half of the season (or series, if it's just one season) of any anime is (in my opinion) the most important. It gives viewers an idea of what kind of anime to expect, and with musical anime like UtaPri, it tells us what kind of music to look forward to.
The first half of the anime did NOT deliver at all. I have a feeling that Legend Star lost a lot of viewers because of the first half of the season. The music wasn't good, the writing was laughable at best, and do we even need to count the innuendos?
The second half of the anime, however, delivered where the first half didn't. We had great music, great character development, and little to no innuendos. The only part that was a little lackluster for me was the animation, but I'm willing to let that slide a little.
The opening wasn't that great, and it took me multiple listens to the ending for me to say, "Wow, I like this song." It wasn't great, but it was a decent song.
Well, those are my final thoughts on UtaPri: Maji LOVE Legend Star. Look forward to next Anime Monday, where I review...oh, dear G-d, no.
No, no, no. I'm not subjecting myself to torture again. I'll lose my sanity. There has to be something here on my list of anime I'm planning on reviewing. Hm...well, it is January. And...that has absolutely nothing to do with anything! I can't even contact that one guy I kinda-sorta know (he's a friend of a relative of mine) for a live video chat! G-D WHY DO I HAVE TO SUBJECT MYSELF TO SUCH TORTURE?!
Hey guys, kanna here. This one is going to be relatively short. Final exams are coming up soon, and I'm not sure if I'll be able to get more Anime Mondays out before my final exams. I'll do my best, but I make no promises.
Let's talk about songs from musical anime. More specifically, my personal Top Ten from UtaPri.
First off, I'd like to start by saying that David Letterman makes this look so easy. Then again, he has a team of writers working for him who go out and survey people. Here at kanna's Cafe, it's all me. I have no one to talk to or bounce things off of. It's not like I can go to someone and say, "Hey, what do you think of this?" and they'll say, "Oh, I think...". No, it's all me. I don't mind, but these Top Ten lists are hard when you don't have anyone to talk to or survey for their opinions. Just saying.
This list is will have an honorable mentions section, and there are some songs that I like that won't be included in the list (just like my last Top Ten list).
Additionally, some of the song titles will be in Japanese. What I'll do is put the Japanese title with the English title in parentheses, as well as the name of the singer or group that sings each song.
Two last things: This list is also based off of what I could find on YouTube and DailyMotion. The songs that I couldn't find but wanted to include will be in the Honorable Mentions section. Lastly, if I couldn't find the full version of a song you wanted, just comment below, and I'll look for it on another site and post the link for the song.
Let's get started!
#10: 七色のコンパス (Seven-Colored Compass) - Maji LOVE 1000% - Tokiya Ichinose
This song is sung by Tokiya Ichinose in Uta no Prince-sama Maji LOVE 1000%. If you want to go by voice actor names, Tokiya's voice actor is Mamoru Miyano. This song was featured in episodes 1 and 7.
Why #10: I LOVE Mamoru Miyano. I'm a huge fan of his. But this song...just isn't one of my favorites from this season of UtaPri. Don't get me wrong, it sounds great (nothing less from Mamoru Miyano). But I feel that this just doesn't measure up to the other songs in the first season of UtaPri.
Speaking of the first season of UtaPri...
#9: マジLOVE1000% (Maji Love 1000%) - Maji LOVE 1000% - STARISH
Note: I'm pretty sure Maji means "serious" or "real," but I'm not 1000% (tee hee...1000%...and it's the name of the series...okay, bad joke) sure.
This song is sung by all the members of STARISH from the first season of UtaPri. In other words, this version was sung without Cecil, who (spoiler) doesn't join STARISH until the second season of the anime. We have Natsuki Shinomiya (Kishou Taniyama), Tokiya Ichinose (Mamoru Miyano), Ren Jinguji (Junichi Suwabe), Otoya Ittoki (Takuma Terashima), Syo Kurusu (Hiro Shimono) and Masato Hijirikawa (Kenichi Suzumura). I would have included the Rainbow version, which has all seven members, but that one sounds pretty much the same. The only difference is that Cecil is the one who introduces the song. Yeah. He only gets ONE LINE in the entire song. I understand why, but they couldn't have adapted the lyrics? Really?
Why #9: I wanted to put this higher on the list. Really, I did. But when you compare this to the songs from the other seasons that came out, I just felt that this song wasn't as good as the others. Not only that, but I feel that the lyrics are a little...lazy? I mean, each character literally names their character song in this song in the second half. It's like the writers couldn't think of anything and said, "Hey, let's just have them name their character songs. It doesn't matter how it fits in; we'll make it work!".
#8: マジLOVEレボリューションズ (Maji LOVE Revolutions) - Maji LOVE Revolutions - STARISH
#5: Original Resonance - Maji LOVE Revolutions - Masato Hijirikawa and Tokiya Ichinose
Sorry for the lack of video, guys. Blame YouTube.
#3: HE★VENS GATE - Maji LOVE 2000% - HEAVENS (as a 3-member group)
As you probably guessed, this isn't the full song. And, as you probably guessed again, I couldn't have this list all be songs by the members of STARISH. This song is sung by HE★VENS before they became a seven member group.
Why #3: THIS SONG IS FREAKING EXPLOSIVE. I don't think I can stress that enough. It's a kinda-sorta-rock-ish song that just leaves you breathless by the end. The voice actors are perfect (again, who knew Daisuke Ono could sing?) and the lyrics have great meaning. This is better than the seven-member version (in my opinion). But there are two songs that top this one.
#2: ポワゾンKISS (Poison KISS) Uta no Prince-sama Maji LOVE 2000% - Quartet Night
Let's talk about songs from musical anime. More specifically, my personal Top Ten from UtaPri.
First off, I'd like to start by saying that David Letterman makes this look so easy. Then again, he has a team of writers working for him who go out and survey people. Here at kanna's Cafe, it's all me. I have no one to talk to or bounce things off of. It's not like I can go to someone and say, "Hey, what do you think of this?" and they'll say, "Oh, I think...". No, it's all me. I don't mind, but these Top Ten lists are hard when you don't have anyone to talk to or survey for their opinions. Just saying.
This list is will have an honorable mentions section, and there are some songs that I like that won't be included in the list (just like my last Top Ten list).
Additionally, some of the song titles will be in Japanese. What I'll do is put the Japanese title with the English title in parentheses, as well as the name of the singer or group that sings each song.
Two last things: This list is also based off of what I could find on YouTube and DailyMotion. The songs that I couldn't find but wanted to include will be in the Honorable Mentions section. Lastly, if I couldn't find the full version of a song you wanted, just comment below, and I'll look for it on another site and post the link for the song.
Let's get started!
#10: 七色のコンパス (Seven-Colored Compass) - Maji LOVE 1000% - Tokiya Ichinose
Why #10: I LOVE Mamoru Miyano. I'm a huge fan of his. But this song...just isn't one of my favorites from this season of UtaPri. Don't get me wrong, it sounds great (nothing less from Mamoru Miyano). But I feel that this just doesn't measure up to the other songs in the first season of UtaPri.
Speaking of the first season of UtaPri...
#9: マジLOVE1000% (Maji Love 1000%) - Maji LOVE 1000% - STARISH
Note: I'm pretty sure Maji means "serious" or "real," but I'm not 1000% (tee hee...1000%...and it's the name of the series...okay, bad joke) sure.
This song is sung by all the members of STARISH from the first season of UtaPri. In other words, this version was sung without Cecil, who (spoiler) doesn't join STARISH until the second season of the anime. We have Natsuki Shinomiya (Kishou Taniyama), Tokiya Ichinose (Mamoru Miyano), Ren Jinguji (Junichi Suwabe), Otoya Ittoki (Takuma Terashima), Syo Kurusu (Hiro Shimono) and Masato Hijirikawa (Kenichi Suzumura). I would have included the Rainbow version, which has all seven members, but that one sounds pretty much the same. The only difference is that Cecil is the one who introduces the song. Yeah. He only gets ONE LINE in the entire song. I understand why, but they couldn't have adapted the lyrics? Really?
Why #9: I wanted to put this higher on the list. Really, I did. But when you compare this to the songs from the other seasons that came out, I just felt that this song wasn't as good as the others. Not only that, but I feel that the lyrics are a little...lazy? I mean, each character literally names their character song in this song in the second half. It's like the writers couldn't think of anything and said, "Hey, let's just have them name their character songs. It doesn't matter how it fits in; we'll make it work!".
#8: マジLOVEレボリューションズ (Maji LOVE Revolutions) - Maji LOVE Revolutions - STARISH
This song, unlike "Maji Love 1000%" is sung by all the members of STARISH, plus Cecil, who joined STARISH in Maji Love 2000%. So our seven member group is finally complete. Cecil is voiced by Kosuke Toriumi.
Why #8: This song is actually pretty catchy, but they say "revolution" so many times, it makes you start thinking of that Beatles song, "Revolution." It's a good follow up to "Maji Love 2000%," which wasn't as catchy (actually, now that I think about it, "Maji Love 2000%" wasn't catchy at all). And as much as I want to put this higher on the list, the character songs from this season, as well as the other seasons, are better.
#7: 愛のREINCARNATION (Reincarnation of Love) - Maji LOVE 2000% - Cecil Aijima
Why #6: This is a kinda-sorta ballad. I think. I'm not sure what genre of music it falls under, so I'm going with ballad. This song was better than Tokiya's other song, "Seven-Colored Compass," in my opinion. Mamoru Miyano has a great voice, and I feel like it was being underused in "Seven-Colored Compass." However, Tokiya has other songs where he really shines. In fact, the other song where he really gets to show his stuff is #5 on this list.
#7: 愛のREINCARNATION (Reincarnation of Love) - Maji LOVE 2000% - Cecil Aijima
First off, I'd like to point out that this IS NOT the full song. However, it might as well be, because we barely hear the beginning part. Seriously, the beginning part is super faint...anyway, this song is sung by Cecil before he became a member of STARISH. I wouldn't call it his character song (that's a different song that may or may not be on this list, we'll see), though.
Why #7: I'm...not that big of a fan of ballads. Some I like, some I don't. I'm pretty picky about it. But this ballad somehow found its way into my heart on the first listen. I can't explain it. Maybe it was the meaning of the lyrics, maybe it was Kosuke Toriumi's voice (I still don't get how he could sound so good on this song and so bad on "Mr. Sadistic Night"), I don't know. However, there are better ballads in the series, and that's why this gets the #7 spot.
#6: Crystal Time - Maji LOVE 2000% - Tokiya Ichinose
#5: Original Resonance - Maji LOVE Revolutions - Masato Hijirikawa and Tokiya Ichinose
Sorry for the lack of video, guys. Blame YouTube.
This song was part of a cross-unit project that paired up Masato and Tokiya in Maji LOVE Revolutions.
Why #5: This is where Tokiya really gets to show his stuff. Mamoru Miyano and Kenichi Suzumura (Masato's voice actor), really shine together here. Their voices match up and they sound amazing together. Masato's songs are great, and while this isn't individually sung by him, it is one of my favorite songs from the series that has Masato in it.
And speaking of Masato...
#4: Lasting Oneness - Maji LOVE Legend Star - Masato Hijirikawa and Kira Sumeragi
This song was sung as part of the duet project that STARISH and HEAVENS had to take part in. It was one of the few songs from this season that I actually liked.
Why #4: Again, Kenichi Suzumura's voice matches up perfectly well with Daisuke Ono (Kira Sumeragi's voice actor). And if you recognize Daisuke Ono's name, you might be just as shocked as I was to find out that he was also the voice of Sebastian in Black Butler. Who knew he could sing? I sure didn't. Anyway, I feel that out of all the members of STARISH, Kenichi Suzumura's voice is the most versatile. He can sing almost anything. However, this is #4, because Revolutions, 2000%, and 1000% have better songs. Like I said, this was one of the few songs from this season that I actually liked (so far...the other episodes haven't aired yet).
#3: HE★VENS GATE - Maji LOVE 2000% - HEAVENS (as a 3-member group)
Why #3: THIS SONG IS FREAKING EXPLOSIVE. I don't think I can stress that enough. It's a kinda-sorta-rock-ish song that just leaves you breathless by the end. The voice actors are perfect (again, who knew Daisuke Ono could sing?) and the lyrics have great meaning. This is better than the seven-member version (in my opinion). But there are two songs that top this one.
#2: ポワゾンKISS (Poison KISS) Uta no Prince-sama Maji LOVE 2000% - Quartet Night
Poison KISS (not the full version)
Why #2: It wouldn't feel right having this be all STARISH and HEAVENS. Quartet Night is my favorite group out of the three of them (STARISH, HEAVENS, Quartet Night). This song is actually our introduction to Quartet Night, and they sing it in the first episode of 2000%. The members of Quartet Night are Reiji Kotobuki (Morikubo Showtaro), Ai Mikaze (Aoi Shouta), Ranmaru Kurosaki (Tatsuhisa Suzuki), and Camus (Tomoaki Maeno). As far as introduction songs go, this one is probably my favorite.
Before we get to our #1 song, let's take a look at the honorable mentions. Please note I wasn't able to get the full versions for all the songs. Also note that the ones that have subtitles are subtitled in languages that aren't English. The important thing here is to listen to the songs and enjoy them.
- Orange Rhapsody - Maji LOVE 2000% - Ren Jinguji
- Knocking on the Mind - Maji LOVE 1000% - Masato Hijirikawa
- 夢追人へのSymphony (Dreamer's Symphony) - Maji LOVE 2000% - STARISH (7 members)
- 未来地図 (Map of the Future) - Maji LOVE 1000% - STARISH (6 members)
- マジLOVE1000% -RAINBOW STAR ver.- (Maji LOVE 1000% -RAINBOW STAR ver.) - STARISH (7 members)
- 男気全開Go! Fight!! (Full-Throttle Chivalrous Spirit Go! Fight!!) - Maji LOVE 1000% - Syo Kurusu
- 星のファンタジア (Fantasia of the Stars) - Maji LOVE 2000% - Cecil Aijima
- Only One - Maji LOVE Revolutions - Ranmaru Kurosaki
- Heavens Gate -Beginning of the Legend- - Maji LOVE Revolutions - HEAVENS (7 members)
- Smile Magic - Maji LOVE 2000% - Otoya Ittoki
And the #1 song from UtaPri is...
What, no drum roll? Seriously, guys? Do I have to do EVERYTHING myself? Fine. No drum roll. The #1 song from UtaPri is...
I would like to apologize once again for the lack of video. Blame YouTube.
Why #1: First off, I may or may not have a HUGE celebrity crush on the guy who sings this song, Shouta Aoi. Looks aside, his voice is AMAZING. As for the song itself, it grabs you right away from the beginning, and Shouta's voice keeps you hooked. The meaning behind the lyrics is great, too, and I feel like this is one of those songs that only Shouta could sing. I don't think any of the other voice actors from UtaPri could pull this off. Maybe Kenichi Suzumura, considering how versatile his voice is, but that's about it.
My favorite line in the song is "翼が欲しかった 冷たいハートじゃなくそんなボクへと 君は羽根(うた)を…" which roughly means "I’d wished for wings, not a frozen heart You gave feathers of song to someone like me…". But that's not even the best part of the song. The chorus is FANTASTIC and Shouta's voice really shines at the end when he sings, "「ありがとう、傍にいてくれて…」," which means "Thank you for being by my side." I mean, that high note just...I can't even put it into words. It really allows Shouta's voice to shine, because his high notes are what he's known for (among other aspects of his voice).
Well, those are my top ten songs from all four seasons of UtaPri. If I didn't mention your favorite, I'm sorry. I'm curious as to what your favorite songs from all four seasons of UtaPri are, however, so leave a comment telling me what some of them are!
As for which season has the best music...well...that's up for debate. Personally, I think it's a tie between Maji LOVE 1000% and Maji LOVE Revolutions. Guys who don't want to watch this anime but are curious about the music: listen to these songs. I think you'll really like "Only One" and "男気全開Go! Fight!!". Like I said in my reviews of Maji LOVE 1000% and Maji LOVE 2000%, guys should at least check out the music.
EDIT 12/19/16: Now that the twelfth episode of UtaPri: Maji LOVE Legend Star has aired, I would like to add two more songs to the honorable mentions list. They are:
Hey guys, kanna here. Well, after going through the excitement of episodes 39-43 of Pokémon XY&Z, it's time we wrapped up the series with episodes 44-47.
Not much really happens in episode 44, except for everyone rebuilding Lumiose City. Clemont fixes Clembot, but its memories are gone because he kinda-sorta died (see previous post). A challenger comes in, wanting to challenge the Lumiose City Gym and won't battle anyone but Clembot for a rematch. Despite the fact that Clembot needs assistance with battles, the challenge takes place and the challenger gets his Gym Badge. Yay...? This was basically a filler episode, I think.
The next episode is a Serena focused episode. If you remember the beginning of the series, Serena went on her journey because she didn't want to become a Rhyhorn racer like her mom, and decided to become a Pokémon Performer. To cheer up the citizens of Lumiose City, she decides to put on a showcase with her friend and rival, Shauna. Jessie, in disguise, also joins in the showcase.
After the showcase, Serena has thoughts about her path going forward and she doesn't know what to do. Her mom arrives in Lumiose City, and Serena spends the night at the hotel with her mom as she thinks about what she wants to do going forward. Her mom decided not to keep her at home to be a Rhyhorn racer, so Serena wasn't sure what she wanted to do going forward.
The day after, Serena's mom leaves. We then find out the paths that Shauna, Trevor, Tierno, and Sawyer have chosen, before Ash suggests to Serena that they have a battle: Pikachu vs. Braixen. During the battle, Serena comes to a decision. She calls Palermo, Kalos Queen Aria's manager (?), who had previously offered to take Serena under her wing and mentor her so she could become Kalos Queen.
Serena declines the offer and reveals to Palermo that she wants to go places other than the Kalos region and thinks that she would behave like a spoiled child if she went with Palermo. Palermo reveals that this was her intention and that Serena was the first person to turn down her invitation. Serena reveals that she has no destination in mind at the moment, but then Palermo suggests that she go to the Hoenn region, where they have Pokémon Contests, and show her Pokémon off there.
Serena reveals her plan to Ash and co., who wish her the best.
The next episode is definitely on the more emotional side of things.
Ash releases Numelgon--I mean Goodra--back to its home, the wetlands. It's a pretty emotional goodbye. Even little Dedenne is in tears over it. It really kind of sucks that they had to release Goodra, but I understand why they did it.
After leaving the wetlands, Greninja jumps out of its pokéball and suddenly, a vine...ivy...thing from when the mind controlled Zygarde attacked Lumiose City comes up from underground. Greninja manages to destroy it by becoming Ash-Greninja, but we then find out why the vines are still coming up. One of Team Flare's members, Xerosic (I have no idea what his name is in the English dub, but this is how the subs refer to him, so we're going with it), wants to revive Team Flare and re-obtain Zygarde's power to get the world Lysandre wanted. He kidnapped a few Zygarde cells, as well.
Clemont gets kidnapped and Ash has Greninja follow the van...truck...thing that has Clemont. Xerosic reveals his sinister plan: he wants to reform Team Flare by brainwashing humans, and Clemont will be his first "member." Clemont gives up and asks to wipe his glasses as a last request. This is granted.
Cut back to Serena, Ash, and Bonnie. Ash continues to see through Greninja's eyes what's going on, and it's basically a game of cat and mouse, until they finally manage to catch up with the truck...van...thing that can apparently fly and turn invisible. Greninja manages to get them on board, and they climb inside the thing.
They see Clemont, but Xerosic is there, as well. He orders Clemont to go after Ash and the others, before Clemont reveals that Xerosic's plan was a failure. When Clemont went to wipe his glasses, he attached a device that...you know what? It's basically techno-babble from here, so I'm just going to move on. Point is, Xerosic's plan didn't work.
Ash and Clemont battle against Xerosic, who loses in the end. He then decides to (I'm not kidding here), jump out of the plane without a parachute. But Clemont manages to catch him with the Aipom Arm (one of his inventions) and Xerosic is later arrested by Officer Jenny. All seems well and good, until another vine comes out of nowhere and is about to attack Bonnie. A green light slices through the object, cutting it in two. The smoke clears, and...it's Squishy!
Bonnie hugs Squishy, but now isn't the time for a happy reunion, as Squishy asks Greninja to come with it. Greninja follows Squishy, and Greninja is followed by Ash and co., where they see Zygarde in its 50% forme. Zygarde and Squishy use telepathy to explain that the vines...ivies...whatever that were coming up throughout Kalos originated from negative energy deep within the land. What Zygarde destroyed was only the surface.
However, the wound from the incident with Team Flare caused was deep, and Squishy and Zygarde's 50% forme have been wiping out the vines scattered throughout Kalos one by one. You'd think this is easy, right?
You'd be wrong. Very wrong indeed. Pinpointing the location of the negative energy is a difficult task, even for Zygarde, but for whatever reason, Gekkouga--I mean Greninja--is able to see the negative energy. Zygarde asks for Greninja's help, but everyone realizes that this means they'd have to say goodbye to Greninja.
Ash asks Greninja what it wants to do, but it's unspoken that Greninja wants to help Zygarde. They can't have another incident like the one Team Flare caused happen again. After some sentimental stuff about how their meeting might have been fate, Ash wonders if it all led up to this moment in time.
In the end, Greninja decides to go with Zygarde, and the two share a pretty emotional goodbye. I mean it. They hug and everything. It's not as sad as when Ash released Charizard to the Charicific Valley, but it's still pretty emotional.
Squishy tells Bonnie it might be a while before they see each other again, but Bonnie understands and says that when she becomes a Pokémon Trainer, she'll find Squishy and they'll go on another adventure together. Everyone says goodbye to Gekkouga--I mean Greninja--and we go on to the next (and final) episode.
In the last episode of the series, this is the one where everyone goes their separate ways. Serena is off to Hoenn to participate in Pokémon Contests, Clemont is going to stay in Kalos with Bonnie, and Ash is heading back to the Kanto region. The only one who hasn't quite come to terms with all these goodbyes is Dedenne, as it's still a young Pokémon.
When everyone gets to the airport, all the Pokémon say goodbye to each other, but Dedenne throws a fit and runs away. Bonnie explains that she feels the same way as Dedenne, but understands that everyone has their own dreams they want to follow and tells Dedenne that her dream is to become a Pokémon Trainer, with Dedenne as her partner. Dedenne jumps out of hiding and right into Bonnie's arms.
All right, so after that, it's time for Serena's flight to Hoenn. Everyone says their goodbyes to her, but Serena has one last request from Ash. She goes up the escalator that's going down, and (I'm not kidding here) kisses Ash.
Okay, to be fair, that was more implied if anything. But if you saw the looks on Clemont and Bonnie's faces afterwards, then you could be pretty sure that they kissed.
Serena then heads off to her flight, and everyone says their goodbyes. It seems as if Ash has a lot of time, since his flight isn't until the evening. So Clemont suggests they have a battle: Bunnelby vs. Pikachu. And...that's kind of where it ends.
We get this little montage of flashbacks and what the characters are doing currently (including Goodra and Greninja), before Ash finally arrives in his hometown.
Thoughts: I WAS NOT READY FOR THIS SERIES TO END.
Seriously. It was that good. The animation was great, the writing was excellent...I feel like I could go on and on about how amazing this series was. Both XY and XY&Z were fantastic. When the final episode aired and I saw it (granted, it hasn't aired in the US yet, so I saw it with English subtitles), I was almost in tears because I wasn't ready for it to end.
There were so many twists and turns. I didn't expect for Ash to release Greninja, let alone for the idea to even come up. This series was emotional, and you could connect with each of the characters on an emotional level.
Well, see you guys next time! ~k
Not much really happens in episode 44, except for everyone rebuilding Lumiose City. Clemont fixes Clembot, but its memories are gone because he kinda-sorta died (see previous post). A challenger comes in, wanting to challenge the Lumiose City Gym and won't battle anyone but Clembot for a rematch. Despite the fact that Clembot needs assistance with battles, the challenge takes place and the challenger gets his Gym Badge. Yay...? This was basically a filler episode, I think.
The next episode is a Serena focused episode. If you remember the beginning of the series, Serena went on her journey because she didn't want to become a Rhyhorn racer like her mom, and decided to become a Pokémon Performer. To cheer up the citizens of Lumiose City, she decides to put on a showcase with her friend and rival, Shauna. Jessie, in disguise, also joins in the showcase.
After the showcase, Serena has thoughts about her path going forward and she doesn't know what to do. Her mom arrives in Lumiose City, and Serena spends the night at the hotel with her mom as she thinks about what she wants to do going forward. Her mom decided not to keep her at home to be a Rhyhorn racer, so Serena wasn't sure what she wanted to do going forward.
The day after, Serena's mom leaves. We then find out the paths that Shauna, Trevor, Tierno, and Sawyer have chosen, before Ash suggests to Serena that they have a battle: Pikachu vs. Braixen. During the battle, Serena comes to a decision. She calls Palermo, Kalos Queen Aria's manager (?), who had previously offered to take Serena under her wing and mentor her so she could become Kalos Queen.
Serena declines the offer and reveals to Palermo that she wants to go places other than the Kalos region and thinks that she would behave like a spoiled child if she went with Palermo. Palermo reveals that this was her intention and that Serena was the first person to turn down her invitation. Serena reveals that she has no destination in mind at the moment, but then Palermo suggests that she go to the Hoenn region, where they have Pokémon Contests, and show her Pokémon off there.
Serena reveals her plan to Ash and co., who wish her the best.
The next episode is definitely on the more emotional side of things.
Ash releases Numelgon--I mean Goodra--back to its home, the wetlands. It's a pretty emotional goodbye. Even little Dedenne is in tears over it. It really kind of sucks that they had to release Goodra, but I understand why they did it.
After leaving the wetlands, Greninja jumps out of its pokéball and suddenly, a vine...ivy...thing from when the mind controlled Zygarde attacked Lumiose City comes up from underground. Greninja manages to destroy it by becoming Ash-Greninja, but we then find out why the vines are still coming up. One of Team Flare's members, Xerosic (I have no idea what his name is in the English dub, but this is how the subs refer to him, so we're going with it), wants to revive Team Flare and re-obtain Zygarde's power to get the world Lysandre wanted. He kidnapped a few Zygarde cells, as well.
Clemont gets kidnapped and Ash has Greninja follow the van...truck...thing that has Clemont. Xerosic reveals his sinister plan: he wants to reform Team Flare by brainwashing humans, and Clemont will be his first "member." Clemont gives up and asks to wipe his glasses as a last request. This is granted.
Cut back to Serena, Ash, and Bonnie. Ash continues to see through Greninja's eyes what's going on, and it's basically a game of cat and mouse, until they finally manage to catch up with the truck...van...thing that can apparently fly and turn invisible. Greninja manages to get them on board, and they climb inside the thing.
They see Clemont, but Xerosic is there, as well. He orders Clemont to go after Ash and the others, before Clemont reveals that Xerosic's plan was a failure. When Clemont went to wipe his glasses, he attached a device that...you know what? It's basically techno-babble from here, so I'm just going to move on. Point is, Xerosic's plan didn't work.
Ash and Clemont battle against Xerosic, who loses in the end. He then decides to (I'm not kidding here), jump out of the plane without a parachute. But Clemont manages to catch him with the Aipom Arm (one of his inventions) and Xerosic is later arrested by Officer Jenny. All seems well and good, until another vine comes out of nowhere and is about to attack Bonnie. A green light slices through the object, cutting it in two. The smoke clears, and...it's Squishy!
Bonnie hugs Squishy, but now isn't the time for a happy reunion, as Squishy asks Greninja to come with it. Greninja follows Squishy, and Greninja is followed by Ash and co., where they see Zygarde in its 50% forme. Zygarde and Squishy use telepathy to explain that the vines...ivies...whatever that were coming up throughout Kalos originated from negative energy deep within the land. What Zygarde destroyed was only the surface.
However, the wound from the incident with Team Flare caused was deep, and Squishy and Zygarde's 50% forme have been wiping out the vines scattered throughout Kalos one by one. You'd think this is easy, right?
You'd be wrong. Very wrong indeed. Pinpointing the location of the negative energy is a difficult task, even for Zygarde, but for whatever reason, Gekkouga--I mean Greninja--is able to see the negative energy. Zygarde asks for Greninja's help, but everyone realizes that this means they'd have to say goodbye to Greninja.
Ash asks Greninja what it wants to do, but it's unspoken that Greninja wants to help Zygarde. They can't have another incident like the one Team Flare caused happen again. After some sentimental stuff about how their meeting might have been fate, Ash wonders if it all led up to this moment in time.
In the end, Greninja decides to go with Zygarde, and the two share a pretty emotional goodbye. I mean it. They hug and everything. It's not as sad as when Ash released Charizard to the Charicific Valley, but it's still pretty emotional.
Squishy tells Bonnie it might be a while before they see each other again, but Bonnie understands and says that when she becomes a Pokémon Trainer, she'll find Squishy and they'll go on another adventure together. Everyone says goodbye to Gekkouga--I mean Greninja--and we go on to the next (and final) episode.
In the last episode of the series, this is the one where everyone goes their separate ways. Serena is off to Hoenn to participate in Pokémon Contests, Clemont is going to stay in Kalos with Bonnie, and Ash is heading back to the Kanto region. The only one who hasn't quite come to terms with all these goodbyes is Dedenne, as it's still a young Pokémon.
When everyone gets to the airport, all the Pokémon say goodbye to each other, but Dedenne throws a fit and runs away. Bonnie explains that she feels the same way as Dedenne, but understands that everyone has their own dreams they want to follow and tells Dedenne that her dream is to become a Pokémon Trainer, with Dedenne as her partner. Dedenne jumps out of hiding and right into Bonnie's arms.
All right, so after that, it's time for Serena's flight to Hoenn. Everyone says their goodbyes to her, but Serena has one last request from Ash. She goes up the escalator that's going down, and (I'm not kidding here) kisses Ash.
Okay, to be fair, that was more implied if anything. But if you saw the looks on Clemont and Bonnie's faces afterwards, then you could be pretty sure that they kissed.
Serena then heads off to her flight, and everyone says their goodbyes. It seems as if Ash has a lot of time, since his flight isn't until the evening. So Clemont suggests they have a battle: Bunnelby vs. Pikachu. And...that's kind of where it ends.
We get this little montage of flashbacks and what the characters are doing currently (including Goodra and Greninja), before Ash finally arrives in his hometown.
Thoughts: I WAS NOT READY FOR THIS SERIES TO END.
Seriously. It was that good. The animation was great, the writing was excellent...I feel like I could go on and on about how amazing this series was. Both XY and XY&Z were fantastic. When the final episode aired and I saw it (granted, it hasn't aired in the US yet, so I saw it with English subtitles), I was almost in tears because I wasn't ready for it to end.
There were so many twists and turns. I didn't expect for Ash to release Greninja, let alone for the idea to even come up. This series was emotional, and you could connect with each of the characters on an emotional level.
Well, see you guys next time! ~k
Hey guys, kanna here. Well, now that this season of Pokémon has concluded, it's time for me to give it what it deserves. Let's get started!
I'll be talking about the tail end of the series (episodes 39-47). Because this is so many episodes, I'm making this two parts. So this post will cover episodes 39-43, and the next will cover 44-47. Not that the rest of the series isn't important, but I feel that these last few episodes were the highlight of this season of Pokémon. Additionally, I'll be using the names of the characters and Pokémon that are used in the English dub and the games. I feel it will make things less confusing. However, if I slip up, I slip up. I'll correct it.
So, after a long and intense battle against Alain in the final round of the Pokémon League, Ash lost (again). I have to ask: is it statistically impossible for this kid to win a Pokémon League? It seems like there's some mathematical formula the writers are following to make it so that he loses every single time. I just...ugh! Writers, sometimes you make no sense.
Anyway, after a long battle against Alain, these vines...ivies...whatever come out of nowhere and start destroying everything in sight. A Zygarde in its 50% forme
created by merging Z-2 (one of the sentient cells to form Zygarde) along with other Zygarde cells
wreaks havoc on Lumiose City as it's controlled by Team Flare. Squishy (aka Z-1) merges with other Zygarde cells to form Zygarde's 10% forme (I don't know why the spelling is the way it is), which takes the form of a large dog for some reason (don't ask; I don't get it, either. Also, sorry I can't put a picture...stupid Blogger).
Meanwhile, Ash gets kidnapped by Team Flare and he and Alain find out that Alain was being used by Team Flare's boss, Lysandre, the entire time. Lysandre tries to use the same energy that controlled Z-2 (aka Mega Evolution energy) to control the power of the Bond Phenomenon between Ash and Gekkouga--I mean Greninja (told you there would be slip ups). However, he fails in this, and Ash is set free thanks to the Bond Phenomenon between him and Gek--I mean Greninja. This is REALLY hard.
Ash and co. find out that Puni-chan--I mean Squishy...G-d this is hard--is actually Zygarde. Alain decides to join forces with Ash and fight Lysandre. However, just when things seem to be taking a turn for the worst, Malva (I might have her name wrong, but that's how I think it's spelled; in the Japanese version, it's Pachira), a member of Team Flare, turns against Lysandre. She didn't realize that he wanted to destroy the world, and wants to put her faith in Ash and Alain. So the fight becomes three on one.
Cut to Serena, Bonnie, and Clemont. They're fighting off Team Flare admins to regain control over the Lumiose Gym, when they're joined by Prof. Sycamore, Blaziken Mask, and Mega Blaziken. Bonnie goes after Squishy, because she can "sense" (I'm using that super loosely) Squishy is losing. Clemont leaves to go and take back his gym with Clembot, and the two manage to take the gym back, but not without great sacrifice.
Yep, Clembot sacrifices himself to destroy the machine controlling Z-2. While I'm sure there are a million other ways this could have been done, it was actually pretty sad for Clemont to sacrifice his invention. The two actually share a pretty emotional moment before Clemont is forced to push the button that will ultimately destroy Clembot.
Squishy tries to communicate with the mind-controlled Z-2, but Z-2 can't hear anything because of the mind control. Eventually, Squishy ends up transforming into Zygarde's 50% form, which looks like the Zygarde we all know and love. This is exactly what Team Flare wants. They brainwash Squishy, and both Z-2 and Squishy start wreaking havoc on Lumiose City.
Serena, Mairin, and Prof. Sycamore infiltrate the Team Flare Laboratory with the help of the Hoenn League Champion, Steven Stone and Team Rocket. They rescue Mairin's Harimaron--I mean Chespin--who is still asleep and glowing green. Well, that can't be a good thing.
Cut back to Bonnie, who has gone after the mind-controlled Squishy with Mega Blaziken and Blaziken Mask. Upon finding Squishy, she shouts at it and says stuff like "You don't really want to do these things, do you?"
Unfortunately, this doesn't work and Bonnie is nearly killed by an attack from Squishy, until she is saved by Blaziken Mask. She continues to try to reach Squishy, but ends up falling to her hands and knees in tears. In one last attempt, she sings Squishy's song, and through the power of love, is able to break Squishy's mind-control. I couldn't make that up if I tried.
OK, maybe it wasn't the power of love. But that's what I'm going with, because...I have no other explanation. They don't share a Bond Phenomenon like Ash and Greninja do, so I'm going with the whole "power of love" thing (as cheesy as it is).
For the record, it's probably going to be better in the original Japanese than the English dub. The English dub of episodes 42-47 haven't aired in the US yet.
Ash, Malva, and Alain defeat Lysandre, who says that this won't be the end of his plan, and he (I'm not kidding here) falls off the edge of Prism Tower. I really wonder how they're going to handle this in the English dub. I mean, it's not like they show people falling off of tall buildings to their untimely demise in kids shows. Right?
Um...following that, Ash and Alain go to Clemont at the Lumiose City Gym, as he grieves over the loss of Clembot. He regains his resolve and rejoins the fight. They all board this giant helicopter...thing.
We cut back to Serena, Mairin, Steven Stone, and Prof. Sycamore, who are trying to...I'm not really sure what, but there's this crystal in the room that emits the same energy as Mega Stones during Mega Evolution. Mairin's Chespin gets absorbed by the crystal, and it comes to life. Serena, Mairin, Steven Stone, and Prof. Sycamore manage to escape the laboratory, but the crystal transforms into a giant crystal Zygarde (the English subs from the original Japanese referred to this as a megalith. I'm not sure what they'll do in the English dub).
Meanwhile, Bonnie and Squishy encounter Z-2, who still has hatred towards humans after being mind-controlled and forced to wreak havoc on the city. Squishy urges Z-2 to give the humans a chance, so Z-2 joins Bonnie, Blaziken, and Blaziken Mask as it observes the humans' attempt to defeat Lysandre.
The giant crystal Zygarde starts heading to Anistar City, home of psychic Gym Leader Olympia, who issues a psychic call (don't ask). All hope seems lost until our heroes are reunited with the Kalos League Champion, Diantha, as well as the gym leaders. Everyone makes a pathway for Ash and Alain to get through so they can get inside the crystal Zygarde and get Mairin's Chespin out. They do, and everyone attacks the crystal Zygarde, just to make sure it's down for good.
Unfortunately, this doesn't work, as Lysandre survived the fall (no, I don't get it) and the device he wears around his wrist is what's controlling the crystal Zygarde. It continues to advance and attack, and ultimately knocks our heroes and everyone else to the ground. Blaziken Mask's identity is revealed to be Clemont and Bonnie's father.
Z-2 comes to the realization that there are good humans in the world and it needs to believe in them. So Z-2 and Squishy join together with every Zygarde cell in the world to form Zygarde's 100% forme (sorry for the lack of a picture...apparently Blogger will cooperate with some pictures and not with others). Zygarde defeats Lysandre. Rather, it kills Lysandre (I'm really not sure how they'll do this in the English dub), and Lumiose City is left to rebuild and ultimately start over.
Thoughts: I freaking loved these episodes. I was a little sad because this conflict meant that we were drawing close to the end of the series, and this is arguably one of the best series since the Diamond and Pearl era. I'm sorry, but Black and White sucked. This definitely made up for it. Diamond and Pearl was just okay, Black and White sucked, but XY and XY&Z were ultimately the best since Diamond and Pearl.
The animation is fantastic, and while it does feel like the "Ash-Greninja Show," we see almost all the Pokémon helping out. The "bond phenomenon" is an interesting concept that had never been done before in Pokémon. While it isn't explained how it differs from Mega Evolution, other than the fact that it doesn't need a Mega Stone or a Key Stone, it's still an interesting concept that I wish the writers had delved a little deeper into.
Overall, these were some of the best episodes in all of XY and XY&Z. See you guys in part 2, where I talk about episodes 44-47.
I'll be talking about the tail end of the series (episodes 39-47). Because this is so many episodes, I'm making this two parts. So this post will cover episodes 39-43, and the next will cover 44-47. Not that the rest of the series isn't important, but I feel that these last few episodes were the highlight of this season of Pokémon. Additionally, I'll be using the names of the characters and Pokémon that are used in the English dub and the games. I feel it will make things less confusing. However, if I slip up, I slip up. I'll correct it.
So, after a long and intense battle against Alain in the final round of the Pokémon League, Ash lost (again). I have to ask: is it statistically impossible for this kid to win a Pokémon League? It seems like there's some mathematical formula the writers are following to make it so that he loses every single time. I just...ugh! Writers, sometimes you make no sense.
Anyway, after a long battle against Alain, these vines...ivies...whatever come out of nowhere and start destroying everything in sight. A Zygarde in its 50% forme
 |
| Zygarde 50% forme |
 |
| Zygarde Cell |
 |
| Zygarde Core (this is Squishy) |
Meanwhile, Ash gets kidnapped by Team Flare and he and Alain find out that Alain was being used by Team Flare's boss, Lysandre, the entire time. Lysandre tries to use the same energy that controlled Z-2 (aka Mega Evolution energy) to control the power of the Bond Phenomenon between Ash and Gekkouga--I mean Greninja (told you there would be slip ups). However, he fails in this, and Ash is set free thanks to the Bond Phenomenon between him and Gek--I mean Greninja. This is REALLY hard.
Ash and co. find out that Puni-chan--I mean Squishy...G-d this is hard--is actually Zygarde. Alain decides to join forces with Ash and fight Lysandre. However, just when things seem to be taking a turn for the worst, Malva (I might have her name wrong, but that's how I think it's spelled; in the Japanese version, it's Pachira), a member of Team Flare, turns against Lysandre. She didn't realize that he wanted to destroy the world, and wants to put her faith in Ash and Alain. So the fight becomes three on one.
Cut to Serena, Bonnie, and Clemont. They're fighting off Team Flare admins to regain control over the Lumiose Gym, when they're joined by Prof. Sycamore, Blaziken Mask, and Mega Blaziken. Bonnie goes after Squishy, because she can "sense" (I'm using that super loosely) Squishy is losing. Clemont leaves to go and take back his gym with Clembot, and the two manage to take the gym back, but not without great sacrifice.
Yep, Clembot sacrifices himself to destroy the machine controlling Z-2. While I'm sure there are a million other ways this could have been done, it was actually pretty sad for Clemont to sacrifice his invention. The two actually share a pretty emotional moment before Clemont is forced to push the button that will ultimately destroy Clembot.
Squishy tries to communicate with the mind-controlled Z-2, but Z-2 can't hear anything because of the mind control. Eventually, Squishy ends up transforming into Zygarde's 50% form, which looks like the Zygarde we all know and love. This is exactly what Team Flare wants. They brainwash Squishy, and both Z-2 and Squishy start wreaking havoc on Lumiose City.
Serena, Mairin, and Prof. Sycamore infiltrate the Team Flare Laboratory with the help of the Hoenn League Champion, Steven Stone and Team Rocket. They rescue Mairin's Harimaron--I mean Chespin--who is still asleep and glowing green. Well, that can't be a good thing.
Cut back to Bonnie, who has gone after the mind-controlled Squishy with Mega Blaziken and Blaziken Mask. Upon finding Squishy, she shouts at it and says stuff like "You don't really want to do these things, do you?"
Unfortunately, this doesn't work and Bonnie is nearly killed by an attack from Squishy, until she is saved by Blaziken Mask. She continues to try to reach Squishy, but ends up falling to her hands and knees in tears. In one last attempt, she sings Squishy's song, and through the power of love, is able to break Squishy's mind-control. I couldn't make that up if I tried.
OK, maybe it wasn't the power of love. But that's what I'm going with, because...I have no other explanation. They don't share a Bond Phenomenon like Ash and Greninja do, so I'm going with the whole "power of love" thing (as cheesy as it is).
For the record, it's probably going to be better in the original Japanese than the English dub. The English dub of episodes 42-47 haven't aired in the US yet.
Ash, Malva, and Alain defeat Lysandre, who says that this won't be the end of his plan, and he (I'm not kidding here) falls off the edge of Prism Tower. I really wonder how they're going to handle this in the English dub. I mean, it's not like they show people falling off of tall buildings to their untimely demise in kids shows. Right?
Um...following that, Ash and Alain go to Clemont at the Lumiose City Gym, as he grieves over the loss of Clembot. He regains his resolve and rejoins the fight. They all board this giant helicopter...thing.
We cut back to Serena, Mairin, Steven Stone, and Prof. Sycamore, who are trying to...I'm not really sure what, but there's this crystal in the room that emits the same energy as Mega Stones during Mega Evolution. Mairin's Chespin gets absorbed by the crystal, and it comes to life. Serena, Mairin, Steven Stone, and Prof. Sycamore manage to escape the laboratory, but the crystal transforms into a giant crystal Zygarde (the English subs from the original Japanese referred to this as a megalith. I'm not sure what they'll do in the English dub).
Meanwhile, Bonnie and Squishy encounter Z-2, who still has hatred towards humans after being mind-controlled and forced to wreak havoc on the city. Squishy urges Z-2 to give the humans a chance, so Z-2 joins Bonnie, Blaziken, and Blaziken Mask as it observes the humans' attempt to defeat Lysandre.
The giant crystal Zygarde starts heading to Anistar City, home of psychic Gym Leader Olympia, who issues a psychic call (don't ask). All hope seems lost until our heroes are reunited with the Kalos League Champion, Diantha, as well as the gym leaders. Everyone makes a pathway for Ash and Alain to get through so they can get inside the crystal Zygarde and get Mairin's Chespin out. They do, and everyone attacks the crystal Zygarde, just to make sure it's down for good.
Unfortunately, this doesn't work, as Lysandre survived the fall (no, I don't get it) and the device he wears around his wrist is what's controlling the crystal Zygarde. It continues to advance and attack, and ultimately knocks our heroes and everyone else to the ground. Blaziken Mask's identity is revealed to be Clemont and Bonnie's father.
Z-2 comes to the realization that there are good humans in the world and it needs to believe in them. So Z-2 and Squishy join together with every Zygarde cell in the world to form Zygarde's 100% forme (sorry for the lack of a picture...apparently Blogger will cooperate with some pictures and not with others). Zygarde defeats Lysandre. Rather, it kills Lysandre (I'm really not sure how they'll do this in the English dub), and Lumiose City is left to rebuild and ultimately start over.
Thoughts: I freaking loved these episodes. I was a little sad because this conflict meant that we were drawing close to the end of the series, and this is arguably one of the best series since the Diamond and Pearl era. I'm sorry, but Black and White sucked. This definitely made up for it. Diamond and Pearl was just okay, Black and White sucked, but XY and XY&Z were ultimately the best since Diamond and Pearl.
The animation is fantastic, and while it does feel like the "Ash-Greninja Show," we see almost all the Pokémon helping out. The "bond phenomenon" is an interesting concept that had never been done before in Pokémon. While it isn't explained how it differs from Mega Evolution, other than the fact that it doesn't need a Mega Stone or a Key Stone, it's still an interesting concept that I wish the writers had delved a little deeper into.
Overall, these were some of the best episodes in all of XY and XY&Z. See you guys in part 2, where I talk about episodes 44-47.
Hey guys, kanna here. And...
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
I was originally going to have Pennywise (for those who don't know, Pennywise is the clown from It) greet you all with a happy Halloween, but in light of the clown incidents that have been going on here in the U.S. (no, I don't understand it), I decided not to.
Well, it's Halloween, meaning I have to review a horror anime. But not only is it Halloween, it's the two year anniversary of Anime Mondays! So this review has to be special!
Today, we're talking about...well...a series where I'm only going to use its Japanese name. Why? Well...the word "jigoku" is Japanese for a word that could cause a lot of religious controversy, which is typically something I try to avoid (actually, I try to avoid causing any kind of controversy, but that's beside the point). But, I've decided to give in and review it anyway. Let's go!
Not much to say development wise, so we'll jump straight to the plot.
There is a website called...okay, you know what? I can't keep censoring the word by only using its Japanese name. It's just making me too confused. The word is...H**l. There. Happy? I censored it in a way where I can avoid religious controversy (I think).
Anyway, there is a rumor/legend of a website called H**l Correspondence, which can only be accessed at midnight. You type in someone's name, and a girl known as "H**l Girl" will take that person straight to H**l.
However, according to the series (and I guess real life, if you believe in karma), to curse a person is to dig two graves. So, when the person who sent the other guy to H**l dies, they will go to H**l, as well.
This series doesn't really have a set order until the eighth episode of the first season. Each episode is basically the same: character has a problem caused by someone, they try to deal with it and can't, and use H**l Correspondence.
If only H**l Correspondence were that simple. When someone's name is typed in, the person who typed in their antagonist's name is taken to what is simply known as the Twilight Realm, where H**l Girl, Ai Enma, resides with her companions, Ren, Wanyuudo, Hone-Onna, Kikuri (we don't meet her until season 2) and Yamawaro (we don't meet him until season 3).
The person receives a black straw doll with a red string tied around its neck. All the person has to do is pull the string, and their antagonist is taken straight to H**l. The decision of whether or not to pull the string rests with the person who typed in the name of their antagonist.
So, yeah. The series is pretty formulaic at first.
Character A is being put through a literal H**l by Character B, Character A uses H**l Correspondence receives the doll, Character A debates whether or not to use it, something happens that ultimately makes Character A pull the string, and H**l Girl and her companions torment Character B, before H**l Girl ferries him/her to H**l. Things seemingly get better for Character A, who then receives a crest-shaped mark on their chest to serve as an eternal reminder of his/her decision and that when he/she dies, H**l Girl will ferry his/her soul to H**l, too.
It's not until the eighth episode of the first season where we meet people who try to interfere with H**l Girl, but we later learn that H**l Correspondence didn't just exist in modern times, but it has been around since before the internet was even invented. We learn more about Ai and that the cycle of hate isn't something that can be interfered with.
This is going to be one of my shorter reviews, because I don't have a ton of time on my hands right now, and the series itself is pretty formulaic.
Rating: 3/10
Why: THIS ISN'T SCARY! You'd think an anime about a girl who takes people's souls to H**l would be downright terrifying! Which it is...in the live action version. But we're talking about the anime in this, and in all three seasons, there is nothing scary that happens. Nothing.
Okay, correction. There is ONE KIND OF scary thing. Kikuri, who we meet in season 2, is actually kind of creepy. She's so childlike and so creepy at the same time, it's actually a little disturbing. We later find out (spoiler) she's actually a vessel for the god of H**l, who takes the form of a spider (I hate spiders...*shudders*). So there's one scene where (I couldn't make this up if I tried) Kikuri grows a third eye, her head falls right off of her body and grows spider legs and starts walking. I'll admit, that's kind of creepy.
Other than that, though, there is NOTHING scary in this anime. Now, you could argue and say that the torment that Ai and her companions put the antagonists of each episode through is kind of scary in the later seasons. And it is...to an extent. I feel like the creators of this anime are like most American horror movie makers: they're trying too hard to be scary.
The music is great, and possibly the only redeeming thing about this series to make its fear factor go up just a little bit. Each track sounds great and fits right in with the scene. I especially love this scene's music where Ai tells us that we will know her wrath. Believe it or not, this scene was actually a tad scarier in the English dub than the Japanese. But that might have just been the voice acting. For example (this is towards the end of the first season, so spoiler alert):
If you want to have a good scare, watch the live action version of this anime. Trust me, it's MUCH better than this, and it's actually scary. I mean, the third episode of the live action...well, don't listen to me talk about it. If you want a good scare for Halloween, watch the live action adaptation.
Hey guys, kanna here. And welcome to your second Anime Monday of Halloween Month! I'm still looking for a good name for this, so suggestions are welcome. If nothing clicks, at least let me know (please).
Today's anime that we'll be taking a look at is a little bizarre, but that's to be expected for Halloween. We're looking at supernatural/horror anime this whole month. And this one is a little more on the supernatural side...with a few bits of creepiness thrown in. This is...Parasyte -the maxim-.
One night, worm-like creatures known as parasites (by the way, don't ask about the spelling for this series, I have no idea why it's like that) come to Earth and start taking over the brains of most of the humans. One parasite tries to get into Shinichi's brain by entering through Shinichi's ear.
However, Shinichi is wearing headphones, so the parasite then tries entering by burrowing through Shinichi's right arm. Shinichi feels this, and manages to stop the parasite before it reaches his brain. This results in the parasite taking residence in Shinichi's right hand and both his brain and the parasite's being able to retain their own intellect and personality.
Shinichi has to learn how to coexist with the parasite that now resides in his body and has a mind of its own, so he names it Migi (the Japanese word for right--as in the direction). This causes several problems for Shinichi, however, because other parasites who have managed to successfully take over human brains realize that Shinichi's brain is still intact try to kill him and Migi.
Shinichi eventually feels compelled to fight against these other parasites with the help of Migi (who doesn't feel emotions...pretty much anything, so he just goes along with Shinichi because he doesn't really have a choice).
Much like a superhero with a secret identity, Shinichi has to come up with all kinds of excuses to explain his parasite-fighting. Eventually, he starts to form a somewhat-one-sided bond with Migi as the two fight off the parasites so that Shinichi isn't used as a lab experiment or anything like that.
Rating: um...wow, this one is actually really hard to give a proper rating. I guess I'd have to say 5/10, but that's not really a rating I'm proud of. Help?
Why: First off, it's Madhouse, so most of their anime series are hit or miss. And...while I feel like this was more on the miss side of things, it's not entirely Madhouse's fault.
Sure, the animation could be better in some areas, and the fight scenes are incredibly hard to follow, but most of the fault for why it's more of a miss than a hit lies with the overall storyline, which the anime adapted from the manga.
It's not that it's a bad storyline, it just...isn't executed well. I don't know why; it's a relatively simple storyline. I don't understand how they couldn't properly execute it. I mean, the idea of aliens taking over people's bodies has been used countless times in TV and movies (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, anyone?), so you'd think this would be an easy storyline to execute. But, no. It didn't carry over.
The story can't seem to decide what genre it wants to be: romance, sci-fi, horror...it's too confusing. The character development is all over the place. I just...it's hard to really describe what's wrong with this show, other than I consider it overrated.
I will say this, though. The opening, "Let Me Hear," by Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas, is pretty awesome. It's their first (and I think only) song that's almost entirely in English, and while their English does need some work, it's an overall good effort, and I applaud them for trying. I didn't think I'd like the song, considering it's a heavy metal song, and I don't really like heavy metal. I don't hate it; it's just not my favorite genre and I'm kind of picky about it. The ending, "It's the Right Time," by Daichi Miura, was just okay. Not good, not bad, just okay.
Overall, if you're into psychological/sci-fi/kinda-sorta-horror thrillers, then this anime is for you. If not, I'd suggest checking out a different anime this month.
Sorry this was on the shorter side of things...I'll try to make my Anime Mondays for this month longer, promise!
Leave suggestions for next week's Anime Monday in the comments! It must be horror/supernatural! ~k
Today's anime that we'll be taking a look at is a little bizarre, but that's to be expected for Halloween. We're looking at supernatural/horror anime this whole month. And this one is a little more on the supernatural side...with a few bits of creepiness thrown in. This is...Parasyte -the maxim-.
So, let's talk about development.
Parasyte -the maxim- started out as a sci-fi/horror manga series written and illustrated by Hitoshi Iwaaki. And...that's really all you need to know. The manga series was so popular that it got an anime adaptation produced by Madhouse, and that aired from October 9, 2014 to March 26, 2015. Again, pretty much all you need to know.
So, unfortunately, like Rosario + Vampire, this review is going to be on the shorter side of things. I know I promised a longer one, and I'll do my best to make it longer, but I make no promises.
Anyway, the series revolves around a high school student named Shinichi Izumi. He lives with his parents in a quiet neighborhood in Tokyo, and lives a normal, human life. He goes to school, has friends...things couldn't be more peaceful, right?
WRONG. If things were peaceful, we wouldn't have this series, would we?
One night, worm-like creatures known as parasites (by the way, don't ask about the spelling for this series, I have no idea why it's like that) come to Earth and start taking over the brains of most of the humans. One parasite tries to get into Shinichi's brain by entering through Shinichi's ear.
However, Shinichi is wearing headphones, so the parasite then tries entering by burrowing through Shinichi's right arm. Shinichi feels this, and manages to stop the parasite before it reaches his brain. This results in the parasite taking residence in Shinichi's right hand and both his brain and the parasite's being able to retain their own intellect and personality.
Shinichi has to learn how to coexist with the parasite that now resides in his body and has a mind of its own, so he names it Migi (the Japanese word for right--as in the direction). This causes several problems for Shinichi, however, because other parasites who have managed to successfully take over human brains realize that Shinichi's brain is still intact try to kill him and Migi.
Shinichi eventually feels compelled to fight against these other parasites with the help of Migi (who doesn't feel emotions...pretty much anything, so he just goes along with Shinichi because he doesn't really have a choice).
Much like a superhero with a secret identity, Shinichi has to come up with all kinds of excuses to explain his parasite-fighting. Eventually, he starts to form a somewhat-one-sided bond with Migi as the two fight off the parasites so that Shinichi isn't used as a lab experiment or anything like that.
Rating: um...wow, this one is actually really hard to give a proper rating. I guess I'd have to say 5/10, but that's not really a rating I'm proud of. Help?
Why: First off, it's Madhouse, so most of their anime series are hit or miss. And...while I feel like this was more on the miss side of things, it's not entirely Madhouse's fault.
Sure, the animation could be better in some areas, and the fight scenes are incredibly hard to follow, but most of the fault for why it's more of a miss than a hit lies with the overall storyline, which the anime adapted from the manga.
It's not that it's a bad storyline, it just...isn't executed well. I don't know why; it's a relatively simple storyline. I don't understand how they couldn't properly execute it. I mean, the idea of aliens taking over people's bodies has been used countless times in TV and movies (Invasion of the Body Snatchers, anyone?), so you'd think this would be an easy storyline to execute. But, no. It didn't carry over.
The story can't seem to decide what genre it wants to be: romance, sci-fi, horror...it's too confusing. The character development is all over the place. I just...it's hard to really describe what's wrong with this show, other than I consider it overrated.
I will say this, though. The opening, "Let Me Hear," by Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas, is pretty awesome. It's their first (and I think only) song that's almost entirely in English, and while their English does need some work, it's an overall good effort, and I applaud them for trying. I didn't think I'd like the song, considering it's a heavy metal song, and I don't really like heavy metal. I don't hate it; it's just not my favorite genre and I'm kind of picky about it. The ending, "It's the Right Time," by Daichi Miura, was just okay. Not good, not bad, just okay.
Overall, if you're into psychological/sci-fi/kinda-sorta-horror thrillers, then this anime is for you. If not, I'd suggest checking out a different anime this month.
Sorry this was on the shorter side of things...I'll try to make my Anime Mondays for this month longer, promise!
Leave suggestions for next week's Anime Monday in the comments! It must be horror/supernatural! ~k
