Category Archives: Animated Movies

Look Back Review

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I remember reading the manga for this a while back. It’s a pretty fun story although with this writer you are always expecting some kind of a sad twist. All in all this may not be very long at a little under an hour but it tells a complete story and the ending is reasonably satisfying. It was definitely really faithful to the artstyle and atmosphere that the original manga had going for it.

There are really two main characters in the special. First up is Fujino who has always been really good at drawing. She writes little manga strips for the local school newspaper and people always talk about how she could go pro someday. She takes this for granted quite a bit and loves all of the fame but eventually she finds out that she isn’t the best artist. There’s another girl at the school named Kyomoto who draws incredible backgrounds and her shading is on point. This girl is a complete shut-in who never even steps foot outside and yet she is this good. Fujino decides to really grind hard in order to improve her skills but will it really be enough?

As the main character with the most focus, Fujino does a good job of holding up the story. She can be a little full of herself and isn’t always the nicest character but that makes her a fun lead. She’s not good at really expressing herself and will often put on a really tough act as a front. We do see that she had a lot of friends though so her big personality worked well in social settings. Ultimately she experiences a lot of loss and hardship throughout the movie but always manages to get back up. So she may not have been perfect but she is someone you’d want to have as an ally.

Then we have Kyomoto who is a lot more quiet. She has a hard time talking to anybody at all and can definitely be socially awkward. Fujino helps get Kyomoto out of her shell but to an extent Kyomoto still has to get confidence on her own. That’s not really something that anyone else can give you automatically. Kyomoto is content to be the background person who doesn’t really get any recognition. The only real decision Kyomoto makes for herself is when she decides to go to College to learn art even though Fujino keeps telling her it’s a bad idea. It is good that Kyomoto finally made a choice though.

Was it the right one? Well that’s really hard to say. I think Fujino made some good points about how a degree in art doesn’t often help much at all but there are authors and artists who say it was beneficial. So in the end you don’t really know and it’s always important not to use hindsight afterwards to decide. Kyomoto may not have really been my kind of character as much as Fujino since I tend to like the loud, more active characters more. Still it was a nice friendship.

We also briefly do get to see the second timeline where the characters made a different choice. That timeline is naturally a lot better than the main one but alternate realities always tend to appear that way. It was cool to see what might have been but you definitely don’t want to dwell on it too much. I would say the movie has some themes about moving on mixed into all of this. At least that was my main takeaway from this. When bad things happen you just have to keep moving forward.

The animation definitely kept making me think of Chainsaw Man because the author has a very distinct look to the characters where they all look like they never get any sleep. There is something unnerving about all of the designs and that translates pretty well here. Naturally there isn’t much in the way of action scenes here but in general the animation looks solid. The colors aren’t as striking as your average anime as they usually try to make the more mainstream productions a lot more faded for the general audience. It all works well enough with what they’re going for. I was impressed with how well they changed the style for the mini animations inside of the story. That was definitely cool.

Drawing is always one of those skills that looks like a total blast but is really hard to get good at. So I can always appreciate the hard work that goes into being a creator. It was nice to see some quick step by steps in the drawings here like at the very end although of course there isn’t enough time to go into too much detail. It’s a huge commitment and the movie did a good job of showing just how much the characters were missing out on by honing their skills. You really do end up sacrificing just about all of your social life for this.

Overall, This is a pretty short production so at the end of the day it’s not like there is really a ton to go into here. It’s really about a fleeting friendship between two characters where they created memories that they will never forget. Sad moments aside, it’s pretty uplifting for most of the run. I have no issues with the writing or pacing. It’s an easy title to recommend to anyone as well because the storyline is easy to digest and the characters are nice enough. There was a cameo for another one of the writer’s works in the movie theater scene so I look forward to that one getting adapted some day. Hopefully it won’t be too much of a wait.

Overall 7/10

Transformers One Review

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All right it’s time for the big origin film that came out recently for Transformers. This one is a film I definitely saw a lot of leading up to the release. People were ready for a full theatrical film without any humans running around. It’s a pretty good film, I had a fun time with it. The action scenes get intense by the end and of course it’s always fun to see Optimus Prime in action. I would definitely be up for a sequel at some point, particularly since the film is at its best when the main character is in Prime mode.

The film starts off by introducing us to Optimus and Megatron but back when they were known by their former names. They work as miners who help excavate and keep the planet running. It’s not a very glamorous job to say the least and most people don’t think too highly of miners either way. These bots don’t have a transformation cog so they are seen as a bit inferior. Prime wants to change this and figures on entering the big race with Megatron which doesn’t go great, but they do get close to winning at one point. This gets them in trouble and sends them deeper into the planet, but there they find out about a conspiracy that could shake the entire planet to its core. Cybertronian history will never be the same.

Since this is a prequel of course we know that Prime and Megatron will be okay. No matter if it’s a new continuity or working to fit in with some others, they wouldn’t bump them off early. The main draw of the story is instead seeing how they used to be friends and what wedged them apart. If you’re watching for this, then you may be disappointed to see that Megatron’s arc happens rather quickly. He isn’t allowed to make quite as much sense as he could which is unfortunate because I would argue that he should be neck and neck with Prime in terms of rationale. Prime takes the soft approach while Megatron goes ultra aggressive. That’s more in line with what I was expecting but it didn’t exactly play out like that.

Megatron is still a fun character though once he enters Megatron mode. I didn’t care for his original personality quite so much, same with Prime’s. The characters are just so much cooler once they enter their main modes. Megatron really deals a lot of damage and throw himself into every fight. That’s great and he really has a savage fighting style. This is one of those continuities where he does appear to be a solid step below Prime in terms of power level but I could definitely see him getting a power up if we ever get Transformers Two.

Naturally once he enters Prime mode, Optimus is the great lead that you always expect to see. He has a commanding presence and is an absolute force on the battlefield. I like his fighting style and the guy was taking on a whole squad and making it look easy. That’s why he is the face of the Autobots, you wouldn’t want anyone else to be taking up that role. The film has a small cast but it works out when you have tow characters like this.

Bumblebee is okay, I’ve seen worse portrayals of him. The constant talking is fine but I don’t feel like he got very clever lines. I’d like to see them touch up his wit just a tad in a future installment. I do like that his fighting skills are legit though. As the scout he should really be able to rough up his opponents so I really appreciated that. Meanwhile Elita looked really solid from the jump. She talks tough the whole time and always delivers on the banter. She’s also not just a big mouth, when it came time for the serious fights she held her own and then some. She is really portrayed as one of the strongest characters and it’s impressive.

On the villain’s side, Soundwave and Shockwave don’t get much to do. Fans of the former should still be okay but Shockwave fans are going to have a brutal time because I would argue he looks flat out bad. I was satisfied with Starscream’s role though. Sure he’s not taking big wins or anything like that but I thought the role was fitting for his character and it’s not like it was a bad role. He’s a big fish in a small pond but can’t keep up with the top tiers. That sounds about right to me.

Airachnid gets a lot of the hype for the villains. It’s a shame that the final fight is so short because she was dominating otherwise. Definitely a really fun addition and you always like to see a villain who is absolutely ruthless and just mows down all of the fighters in her way. Given how impressive she was, I do think she should have been allowed to put up more of a fight in the climax.

Alpha Trion’s okay but not really my favorite character. He talks tough and is useful but when the chips are down he folds rather quickly. I would have liked a better showcase of his abilities despite how old the guy is. Sentinel Prime is a pretty fun character though. He’s always got some fun lines. The guy is about as fake as Booster Gold with the paparazzi but that’s part of what makes the character work. You really can’t take what he says seriously but the guy is still a very powerful warrior.

The animation in the film is pretty good. I’m not a big fan of the character designs for the most part from the second half but I like basically all of the upgraded modes. That means we should be in good shape for the sequel. The fights are solid and fast paced which is really the important part here. The soundtrack’s pretty decent as well although I don’t feel like any of the songs were super misleading. So on a technical level the film holds its own and the pacing is good so it never drags on.

The film’s biggest weakness I’d say is that the first half is just not as engaging. We really just want to get to the meat and potatoes of the story so the first half feels a bit long when it is setting up the stage. I think you could have easily chopped a lot of that and instead used it to really start showing the subtle differences in Megatron and Prime’s ideologies. We saw the difference in their personalities but this is a bit different. It might also just come down to writing.

The concept isn’t bad with the first half being like a buddy cop film and the second half gets serious. The movie just isn’t all that funny to me. At no point is it ever cringey or anything though so I’m super appreciative of that. The second half just feels like a true jump in quality to me, particularly since I really enjoy the lore and seeing what all of the robots were doing in the past. It’s why I think a sequel would be particularly strong since it can really jump into all of this without having to set anything up.

Overall, Transformers One succeeds in its job as being a fun film that you can check out at any time. It’s got a good balance of action and adventure the whole time so fans of either side should have a good time. The movie definitely set up the stage for quite a few future events should they want to continue here and the cast was also extended by the end. There are a whole lot of directions to take the series, they just gotta pick one and commit to it. The sooner they do, the sooner we can get our next animated film in the works.

Overall 7/10

Frankenweenie Review

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Oh man when the trailer for this film first stopped I was making fun of the title for ages. I just couldn’t get enough of it. Every time I would see it I kept on laughing because it sounds like one of those titles you’d use to make fun of Frankenstein or something. Still, it was interesting to have this spin on things although that does mean a dog has to die as part of the plot which is always extremely dangerous at best. I definitely do not recommend this story tactic to any aspiring writers out there.

The film introduces us to Victor who is a kid who loves Kaiju films and basically working by himself. He makes a whole homemade film where his dog Sparky plays the role of the lead Kaiju who takes down Rodan. It’s all pretty wholesome but his parents worry that he may not turn out right since he has no real friends. They don’t have much time to ponder this though, as Sparky is destroyed a few days later. Aside from there now being 0 chance that Victor will ever try outdoor activities like Baseball again, the parents know that this will change Victor. Learning loss is a tough lesson….and yet Victor uses his genius to bring Sparky back to life. Why lose someone when you can just keep them alive right? I mean it makes a certain amount of sense you have to admit. This may have more side effects than he is thinking though.

I appreciate the fact that Sparky doesn’t randomly turn super evil or anything when he’s revived though. It’s always a bit suspect when the process of being reanimated suddenly makes the character go crazy. I know it’s like a cautionary tale of why you shouldn’t bring people back from the dead but on a logical level it never really made much sense. The best explanation is when the soul itself has already moved on because you took too long, then it being a mindless zombie is fine I suppose.

This movie actually doesn’t really go in that direction though. Sure it’s sort of implied you shouldn’t mess with the dead with how the other creatures start acting, yet the ending doubles down on Victor making the right move. So the lesson is really to just make sure you only bring back those who are really kind and dependable. That’s a moral I can absolutely get behind so I have no real issues there. The ending is solid and the film actually had some pretty good battles as well. Sparky ultimately does seem a little outmatched for most of them but he always fights bravely so I can definitely respect that.

Sparky is a fun character all the way around. The death in the beginning is still rough but at least this is one rare case where stop motion works in the film’s favor. It helps to lessen the impact a bit and at least the whole thing is quick. It doesn’t make things as drastic as it could have been otherwise. I will still go on the record to say that stop motion is one of the worst styles of animation though. While the story is good, the film does not look good visually at all.

The style almost feels intentionally ugly to a degree for a while there. The characters tend to be missing teeth and/or sleep and nobody really appears as they should be. It may work to an extent with the spooky vibe they are going for but give me a traditional animation style any day and that would absolutely be better in every way. I think it would have also helped this movie as well since it gives some support to the rest of the movie. Solid animation can get you more involved after all.

Without that, well this is mainly a story involving a bunch of kids and most of them tend to be on the annoying side. Edgar is basically around to blackmail Victor and the rest of the kids are doing their best for the science experiments but don’t look great. Victor is really the only super genius around here and without him the others could have a closer fight. I did like the science teacher though. He had a good amount of aura and actually knew what he was talking about which was nice.

Most of the adults feel like they are basically powerless the whole time so it was nice to have someone who was in charge. Even Victor’s own father allows himself to be held back when Victor is trapped in a burning building. I think that’s the moment you really have to break free and make a move even if it means breaking the law right then and there. Fortunately things work out but even so it was not his best moment. In general the movie does a good job of keeping the stakes pretty high the whole time. You always think that some of the characters could be in danger and of course Sparky is in the most trouble based on whichever message the film is trying to sell you.

Overall, I thought this was a fun film. The stop motion and lack of interesting characters does keep it from going further though. As far as these kind of films go, Coraline and 9 are both a lot more interesting. This one doesn’t really have the same level of depth or pure story telling that it can compete with. It’s less about it making mistakes and more about it just not having enough ammo to reach the next level. It’s a fairly basic story at the end of the day without a lot of fluff to try and extend it. In a way I suppose you could probably even give kudos for that as well since I’m sure it would have been a tempting thing to do. If you enjoy the idea of a dog back from the grave then you should check it out. The film does make sure to spend some time with Sparky having his antics and even making a friend. It’s a film that maintains a strange atmosphere but I would say it leans more on being happy than being sad so don’t worry about this one being a tearjerker.

Overall 6/10

Sword Art Online Progressive: Scherzo of Deep Night Review

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It’s time to go back into the world of Sword Art Online, one of the greatest franchises of all time. The movies have stuck around with the first arc which is a smart decision since that is still one of the greatest individual arcs in anime history. It’s a great movie with stellar animation and a top tier soundtrack the whole time. You won’t want to miss out on this one as Kirito continues to show why his skills are the real deal.

The movie opens up with Kirito and Asuna taking down the powerful floor 4 boss. The heroes all decide to celebrate and since it’s almost the end of the year, both of the big competitive guilds will even team up for the party. It’s pretty unheard of but that’s a good thing. After all, the players in the Sword Art Online game are literally trapped within it. There is no way out of the game and if you die here, then you die in real life. The only way to end this curse is to clear all 100 floors of the game. It’s an extremely difficult task but it’s one that may even turn impossible if the groups start fighting among each other. Unfortunately there are some villains who are aiming for this. Information leaks that the 5th floor boss drops a legendary guild flag which would completely flip the balance of power. Now one guild may be gunning for that and skipping the party. There is only one way to stop this, Kirito will have to take the boss down and claim the flag but he’ll need to assemble a powerful group of trust worthy fighters. He only has a few hours to do this though.

When you think of the ideal movie, you’re often thinking of something that has a considerable amount of action, top tier character development, and a film that just looks great. Well, this one hits all the boxes and continues Sword Art Online’s streak of having absolutely amazing films. It’s why you can never really count the franchise out, at any point it can just deliver an absolutely insane level of hype. The fact that it’s an AU/prequel doesn’t even phase you because you’re having too much fun here.

Asuna is still more the main character than Kirito since this is in the progressive verse and she looks real good. She has come a long way in her fighting abilities and finally has a more offensive style here. She holds her own against the bosses, Argo, and even her old friend. At times Asuna still has fairly low confidence that can cause her to downplay herself but when the chips are down she definitely shows up. I liked that she came up with a plan of her own to get the rapier back and she also had really clutch moments against the villains. Once in a hostage situation and in another case to prevent a 2 v 1.

It helps that Asuna is a super pleasant person in general so you’re always rooting for her. She is a great character and it’s even fun getting flashbacks of her playing the Tekken homage with her friend. Sword Art Online is one of the few titles where it had an A+ romance for the whole franchise and this movie does well with that too. There isn’t a lot of time for romance here but the beginnings of it are still present and definitely work well.

Meanwhile Kirito looks great as always. He’s the top player that most fear but all respect. When he’s on the stage people can talk tough but nobody is about to fight him. The only exceptions to this are the Laughing Coffin members and unfortunately the film doesn’t give us a fight with them yet. That part was too bad because there are two different times in the film that the matchup is teased but doesn’t deliver. I feel like they are really setting them up to be the big villains in a third film but giving us a small fight here wouldn’t have hurt. That’s probably my only nitpick, teasing the fight twice was just too much. I wanted to see Kirito absolutely waste those guys. I have no doubts on his victory. Even 2 against 1 he would have been too much for them there.

In terms of personality the film also did Kirito justice with how he’s super knowledgeable and tough but not a showoff or anything like that. He may not be the smoothest with day to day interactions but still holds himself well. He’s a charismatic guy and has made quite a few friends. It’s impressive stuff and he definitely holds his part of the film.

Argo gets a rather big role here which was surprising, but nice to see. She doesn’t get as many moments in the spotlight as the other supporting characters but was definitely very important in the Aincrad arc. She knew how to get info and could hold her own in a fight. We rarely ever see her fight so that was another pretty fun thing. She has Wolverine claws and everything. I think it’s clear that she’s not quite as tough as Asuna or Kirito but the fact that she is really fast definitely helps her to avoid traps and such.

Mito also returns from the last film and has a good role here. It’s not a super big one but it’s definitely a critical role as the heroes would have had casualties without her. Her fighting style is still a whole lot of fun to watch and that long whip of hers also means that she can strike at foes from any range. It’s pretty much a direct counter to the final boss of the film. It’s nice to still see Mito mainly being a loner but I wouldn’t be opposed to her joining Kirito and Asuna to make their team a trio. At that point they could really start thinking about soloing more bosses.

Of course I mentioned before but the graphics are super top tier here. There are different fights in the movie and they all look amazing. The final boss definitely has the most spectacle but I would say the best fight in the film was Asuna vs Mito. I always like human vs human type fights because you can really focus on the choreography there. You see all the tactics, expert fighting moves, etc. I really had absolutely no complaints there. Then of course the soundtrack is super awesome as always for the franchise.

In particular the standout theme was for the final boss. What I liked is that it felt completely like a sci-fi boss theme. I’ve been listening to it on repeat for a while now. The boss also has full mechanics and everything that were incorporated into the film like the heroes having to jump over the shockwaves and targeting the circles. Everything about it felt like the people behind the story had really played video games before. It felt like the most accurate boss fight I’ve seen out of any of the movies and of course it’s a great bonus that the whole thing looked spectacular.

When it comes to Sword Art Online your main worry is always that there will be some fanservice or iffy moments but this movie mainly manages to steer clear. There are some super mild stuff but for the most part the movie knows that it’s elite and isn’t bothering with any of that. That’s a massive W in my book I gotta say. There are enough fights to keep the movie moving at a fast pace but of course you also have the drama with the guilds that is fun. The movie makes sure to balance it all while reminding you that at the end of the day this is still a story about Kirito and Asuna. They take the main focus and rightfully so. Without them there wouldn’t be a story after all.

Overall, I highly recommend this film. It’s an extremely epic story and one that you don’t really need any former context to get into. You can just jump into this movie and the story is masterfully told so you won’t be lost or anything like that. You can just sit back and let the narrative guide you. The technical elements are incredible as well and I definitely can’t wait until the next movie. It’s already been 2 years which is a super long wait. The movie industry just isn’t the same without Sword Art Online at the ready.

Overall 9/10

NiNoKuni Review

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It’s time to check out one of the movies based on a Level 5 title. It’s always fun to see one of their titles get the big screen treatment. Naturally you can’t ever squeeze a whole RPG into a single movie without losing critical details but it’s still fun to see the attempt. Although in this case they went with an original story so in a way you get to see a pocket size version. It works pretty well even if the film does have some logic issues as it goes on. There is still plenty of action and fun to be had here.

The film start off by introducing us to Haru, Yu, and Kotona. The three of them are good friends and the jaded part of you thinks a love triangle is being primed right away but look, sometimes the characters are all just friends and it works. I clung to that but my hopes were dashed when it turns out that Yu is in love with Kotona despite her being together with Haru already. Yu tries to cope with this as best he can and he already has it tough since his legs don’t work. One day, Kotona is attacked by a mysterious being from another dimension and she gets stabbed. Making matters worse is that Haru panics and the three of them get run over by a truck. Fortunately this was the Isekai truck and Haru/Yu wake up in a whole new world. In this world there is a lady named Princess Astrid who looks just like Kotona and she is plagued by a mysterious curse. Perhaps saving her will help Kotona out?

Okay so this is a pretty nice set up. They actually save the princess from the curse rather easily. A bit too easily to be honest, I know Yu is basically the chosen one here but I wasn’t sure about why he was able to just grab the sword like that. We get some twists near the end but I wouldn’t say they fully answer this. Yu is a solid character throughout though and easily the best one in the film. He knows to hold himself back in the real world and would never let Kotona know what he’s thinking. He fights against his best friend Haru in order to save lives and always makes the right calls.

He does sometimes know a bit too much though like when he decided to jump into the flames because attempting to destroy yourself is one way to travel across worlds. There’s no real way he could have known that and it’s way too risky to try and attempt on purpose. Realistically with most Isekai rules that would not have worked and he would have died. There’s a TV trope for this, I forget the name but basically it’s when an objectively wrong decision has a positive outcome and everyone in context just takes it in stride. There are constant moments like this where characters make massive leaps in logic and jut so happen to be correct.

Another big one is Haru at the end when he somehow figures out the final twist. There’s no way he should have figured that out. In fact, your first guess would be many other theories. We know it’s right just from how the narrative is presented but otherwise I would usually assume that he was completely off base. After all, there were no time/reality issues the way there should have been with how long this twist was in play. So I still have some doubts on the logic and that’s after seeing everything from a cosmic viewer point of view.

Then on the flip side, you have characters making the worst possible assumptions that make no sense. So midway through the film, Kotona gets sick again and so Haru jumps to the conclusion that obviously it’s because the heroes saved Astrid. One massive problem with this though, Astrid and Kotona had both been about to die before. Kotona only lived because they saved Astrid. So the natural conclusion here is that their lives are connected. If Astrid is alive then Kotona is alive and if one dies then the other will die. Somehow Haru twisted this to be the opposite, that only one could be alive. That makes no sense if you stop to think about how any of this works. They already know there are multiple duplicates.

I think the problem here is that this is the main reason why Haru and Yu end up having to fight and it seems forced. Even Haru saying that the world doesn’t matter or that it’s a dream doesn’t really make any sense. That’s just massive amounts of cope from Haru the whole time. I also felt like he just wasn’t a true friend with how quick he was to turn against Yu in the opening scene. There are different moments in the film where he seems jealous of Yu as well. I think this would have been expanded way more in a video game but for the movie there just wasn’t a whole lot of time. Ultimately I would say I just didn’t like Haru here. He gets better by the end but just wasn’t as heroic as you would expect.

While Yu is more likable, I do think he should have lost the fight though. Haru’s armor is said to multiply his strength multiple times over while Yu didn’t seem to be all that strong. Yu was having trouble against grunts while Haru was tossing them through walls. You’d think that difference in power would appear during the battles as well. Ultimately I suppose it was just a skill issue and Yu was the better fighter.

The main villain doesn’t have a whole lot going for him but he’s not bad. I appreciate that we got a good fight with him at the end. The fact that he was taking on all of the heroes at once was impressive. They even had a good formation at one point with Astrid firing projectiles from the back while Haru distracted him up front. The guy was just too strong. The movie has several climaxes and the final fight lasts for a good while so it definitely knew how to end on a solid note.

I also thought the heroines were solid. While Kotona doesn’t get quite as much to do, she seems like a nice person by all accounts and is considerate to Yu. Astrid can actually fight which is great. She’s probably a little too quick to try and throw her life away though like when she tried to convince Yu to murder her. Astrid needed to think this through for a moment and how her kingdom would quickly be branding Yu as a traitor for life. Additionally it’s not like that would help Kotona and the fact that anybody thought that for an instant is still crazy.

There is a little plot armor with how the heroes had to escape from the monster in the human world though. It’s way stronger and faster but sometimes gets hurt by normal objects. I don’t think its power level was very well defined here. Also, couldn’t Haru just jump into that guy’s sword to trigger the teleportation? It seems like he and Yu are functionally immortal due to that system. Although I still wonder exactly how that works. The first time it directly rewrote reality with Kotona never being hit by the car or stabbed, she even lost her memory but a day passed. Then the next time, more time passed but this time the events actually happened. The way time rewrites didn’t seem very consistent.

The animation was reasonably good here. It’s nothing that could compete with the average weekly anime of course but for a movie it’s not bad. I was glad we at least got some quick moving fight scenes and the glowing sword was good. The soundtrack is also decent. It was nostalgic hearing some of the classic tunes from the video games that I’ve played. That always makes for a good time all around.

Overall, This was a pretty good film. I did have a large number of issues with the writing as a whole as some plotlines just didn’t feel very well thought out, nor do the characters. At the end of the day though, it does still hold your interest the whole time which is the important thing. Additionally, the ending is solid in some ways (Mainly Yu’s part) but a bit less satisfying in others. (Never a big fan of amnesia) This is a film I could recommend to anyone as a fun adventure film though and due to how the rules work/don’t work it gives you a lot to think about. It’s the kind of film that leaves a whole lot to be discussed.

Overall 7/10

Fruits Basket: Prelude Review

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It’s time to go back into the world of Fruits Basket. Back in the manga days I was always pretty tough on this one. I remember it being one of my least favorite Shojo titles. The anime helped me like the series more although I would say it still has some key issues that never really went away. This film does a quick abridged version of the movie and then goes into the prequel part. As a result, neither section is quite as long as you might have expected here. It all goes by fairly quick so the pacing is on point. Of course you already know how the story will end so there isn’t a whole lot of suspense in there.

For the recap part, it’s basically the Kyo show as we see him introduced as a lonely kid who was really on his own. Then he met Tohru’s mom Kyoko and finally had someone he could talk to outside of his Dojo master. The two got along well but one day Kyoko was destroyed by incoming traffic and Kyo had the chance to save her but hesitated because of his curse. This curse transforms him into a cat or sometimes a raging monster if he touches a girl and he didn’t want the world to know. I do think if he had more time he would have grabbed her but in the split second he couldn’t react. So this is why he tries to put some distance between him and Tohru.

But this is a romance title so you can probably guess how that went! It’s pretty interesting to see the whole show condensed like this. At the end of the day the core show is about the two of them getting together so this one cuts the fluff and just gets right to it. The way it arranges the scenes can sometimes be a bit odd as it is not trying to be chronological at all. Still it’s not a bad setup. I feel as always that romance dramas are a bit tougher to make elite compared to romance comedies but it works well enough.

Kyo and Tohru just don’ have close to the same level of banter as your average romantic leads. They get a quick minute again at the very end of the film and even there you’re just not ready for a whole show about them. Nothing wrong with their romance, at least from this movie but they just aren’t super interesting. It would really all come down to the main segment.

In the prequel, we see how Kyoko met Katsuya before nature destroyed him. Kyoko was a tough kid who was a super rebel in part due to being around negative influences and her parents not doing a thing to help her. She was in a tough spot at all times. One day the parents have had enough and kick her out and the school is about to do the same when she meets one of the assistant teachers, Katsuya. That begins their romance.

Now the obvious issue from the jump here is there is a fairly big age gap going on. I don’t think the film makes it clear just how big but you can use logical deductions from him being an assistant teacher and her being a student. At the end of the day, my stance has always been that age gaps lower the percentage of the relationship working out and the bigger the gap, the more likely it will fail. I can’t really say I would support this romance at all to be honest and even aside from all that, a teacher and a student is rather messy.

This may sound like it’s my same old speech but it would work so much better as friends. He could just be a nice guy getting her out of a real sticky situation and helping her to appreciate life more. Then after that she would be able to stop being a rebel and really come into her own. That would have been a whole lot better. Well, at the very least he did end up being a nice guy the whole time. He told off her parents who the film shows to be as petty as possible. The fact that they called her just to remind her that she’s disowned after Katsuya died was crazy stuff.

Katsuya dying to a random cold is pretty effective since it makes the whole thing more sudden. What I would have liked to have seen more of was Kyoko once she was happy again though. We know from Tohru’s memories that they had a lot of good times before she passed on but we don’t get to see almost any of them. Instead it’s mostly about how depressed she was for a while there and then the film starts to wrap up. It’s as if the happy moments always have to go on a speed run to the next tragedy to occur.

In a way that’s the Fruits Basket way though. It felt like bad things were constantly happening to the characters and they couldn’t really escape their fate. As soon as they began to move forward and make a difference, something would happen like clockwork. The series could be quite unrelenting like that.

The animation is reasonably good. There’s not really anything for it to show off though so it’s a bit hard to say. I thought the motorcycles looked really sleek the whole time though so that was cool. Meanwhile the soundtrack is more on the subdued side. I can’t think of any tunes that super stuck out here.

At the end of the day, this is more of a low key story that has to stand on its own without many technical elements to help it out. It’s not bad but I also wouldn’t say it’s all that good. There really isn’t any replay value and the best parts are the ones being recapped from the show so you just want to go through that anime again. Yuki for example has some of the best scenes here like when he really takes it to Kyo. You sort of wish he would have been in more of the movie. If you want a lot of drama then this is the film for you but it doesn’t always leave a lot of room for fun.

Overall, Fruits Basket: Prelude is definitely very dramatic. It’s absolutely got the kind of tone that you would think about you picture the series. This doesn’t always work in its favor though. I feel like this movie doesn’t have much of a hook since a lot of it is old footage and as a result the prequel origin doesn’t have a whole lot of time to itself. We could have used the extra time to show the main characters hanging out and having some good times. It could have been more of a break from how everything would always go wrong for Kyoko in the end. So this is an interesting film but unless you are a mega Fruits Basket fan, you can probably skip this one.

Overall 5/10

Blue Giant Review

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First up I have to say that the movie poster is incredibly impressive. This looks really sharp all the way through. I just read through the manga recently so it’s pretty fun to be going through the adventure again in an animated format. Naturally the task of taking on such a big manga series in one film is a pretty intense one so there would have to be some cuts. This is inevitable in pretty much any adaption and I can say that the film does a good job. While I tend to prefer the manga version in nearly every change/divergence, I do think the movie had the much stronger ending. It’s an ending I had been expecting to occur in the manga as some kind of twist but then it just never showed up. So the movie gets some serious props there.

The film starts off with introducing us to a boy named Dai who declares that he will be the best Jazz musician in the world. Jazz is something that he takes incredibly serious. Dai considers it to be the most intense kind of music and so he bets his life on this. He leaves home with some pocket money courtesy of his older brother and heads off to Tokyo. He must now find a way to play Jazz and earn some money because he can’t freeload off his friend Tamada forever. Dai meets an expert pianist named Yukinori who has some sweet skills but is not always the friendliest guy around. They still need a drummer though which is where Tamada comes in but of course the guy is a total rookie. Does he have what it takes to help them out?

So the movie is skipping everything before the Tokyo adventure although we get some moments as flashbacks. I think this makes sense since Tokyo is the heart of the journey. As for what the big change at the end of the movie is, I can’t say that so you’ll need to watch it for yourself. What I can say is that you will be listening to a whole lot of Jazz here which is definitely the point. In the manga there are a lot of speed lines but you can’t really picture it in the same way. Now we know the author’s intent. I thought they did a good job but of course I don’t know much about Jazz. To me it sounded really good though and it can definitely be a calming piece.

If I had any slight nitpick it would be that Dai doesn’t sound quite as loud as I was expecting. In the manga there is a big emphasis each time he plays on how loud his style of Jazz is and it absolutely blows everyone away. In the movie it’s just not super loud like that but maybe I would need to hear a normal jazz song with standard volume to really see. As a casual, I was entertained by all of the music which is the point though. Even in universe Dai wants to be able to play for everyone, including people who have no idea what Jazz even is after all so that makes sense.

Dai is a fun main character. I would say in the movie they make it more of a shared lead compared to the manga though. Tamada and Yukinori really go blow for blow with Dai in terms of screen time. Dai can almost seem a bit colder in this version as he is quick to let everyone be by themselves to work out their problems. It’s a far cry from the average main character who always wants to cheer everyone up. Dai has absolute confidence though which is important for the position. For example a tone point he explains how whenever he plays, he plays believing that he is the best in the world and that’s how every athlete has to be. He leads by example in that way.

As for Yukinori, I would say he is toned down to be less of a jerk in this version. So he still has his edge but he isn’t seen nearly as crazy. He’s still the best character I would say. He’s always a lot of fun and his skills are definitely the real deal. It makes sense since he has been playing for over 10 years by this point. His skills should be that much better than everyone else’s. He goes through a lot in the movie but never gives up on his piano.

Then we have Tamada who definitely has the toughest time here during the concerts. He has to try and learn really fast the whole time. Perhaps a bit too fast relative to the other two characters but at least they do show that he is still making a lot of mistakes. He is improving but isn’t going to be an overnight sensation which makes sense. The guy was really nice to let Dai stay over for so long too so he’s easy to root for. He’s a very down to Earth character who really enjoys music and gets really engaged with whatever he is doing.

The supporting characters generally don’t have as much time to do things. The movie is around 2 hours which is definitely impressive but that also just shows you how much ground there is to cover here. The characters have to play through a bunch of shows after all and are always on the move. The lady who let them play at her bar was definitely solid though. I liked the owner of the number one jazz spot in the world because he hasn’t fully succumbed to being old. He decides to give Yukinori a chance which was definitely cool.

The main characters get to meet a whole lot of helpful people and it’s nice to see just how pleasant everyone is. You don’t have a bunch of random bullies running around or anything like that. All of the people here just want Jazz to continue growing and so they are doing their best to support the up and coming musicians. It does feel like succeeding on Jazz will be a tremendously hard job and one that will not work out for most but you hope Dai will be able to pull it off. Being on your own is absolutely a lot tougher than when you’re in a band after all.

The animation style isn’t my favorite though. There is a lot of CG for the musical scenes and while they use a lot of trippy effects to make things more exciting, there is also a lot of recycled footage in those. It’s certainly artistic and I think the approach in general is clever to keep people interested for those who are not super into music. I just think a more standard style would have worked a little better. Either way the soundtrack is certainly good and so is the writing. It’s a fairly low key kind of film but one that keeps your attention all the way through.

Overall, Blue Giant is a pretty good movie. It’s one of those titles that can easily appeal to just about anyone. It’s pretty inoffensive and is just about a group of characters trying to do well and move up in the world. It’s definitely an emotional film as well without trying to overplay that card. Not every film needs to be a smash hit or the next sensation after all. It may sound like a back handed complement but sometimes you just want a fairly simple film that will give you a good time. It never drags on or anything and while there is a plot, it’s really all just a vehicle to be listening to really nice music. So all in all, it’s a quality title and I hope it gets a sequel at some point. I’m definitely up for hearing some more jazz.

Overall 7/10

5 Centimeters per Second Review

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You ever wonder how fast you are moving per second? It’s not something I generally think about all that much but I tend to rock back and forth as I write reviews so I like to think I am moving more than 5 Centimeters per second. This film is a pretty fun romance title either way. Fun may not sound like the right word because it’s going for a twinge of tragedy the whole time but I liked the vibes and the animation was solid. I thought it was a good time and it managed to avoid the usual romance tragedy tropes like someone getting hit by a truck or falling into a coma. This felt more like a natural way for a romance to go tragically.

The movie is divided into three segments. Initially I figured this was going full anthology style and didn’t realize it was the same guy in the second special until around halfway through when he started being on the phone. It’s a pretty interesting look at a relationship through the ages and again I would say it’s handled well. When achieved, a doomed romance plot like this can be super interesting. It’s also just easy to mess up so I wouldn’t generally recommend that a film tries this. Only the elite can make it so the whole thing isn’t overly melodramatic and such.

The first segment introduces us to Takaki and Akari. The two of them have been best friends through school but one day Akari has to move away. They’re both still fairly young at this point and there were no cell phones so it’s hard to find a time to meet up. Still, they make plans for Takaki to visit her. It’s a trip that takes several hours as he is supposed to arrive there by 7 and leaves in the very early afternoon. Unfortunately a snow storm hits which starts causing many delays. Will he still be able to make it in time? Will she still be there when he arrives? The worries and tension begin to add up.

This segment likes to flash back and forth to the past and present a whole lot. It can maybe be slightly overdone at times but it does show how quickly they bonded. The tough part is their age because if they were grown ups Takaki could have just moved over there or something. Instead, they have to rely on letters and that takes up a ton of effort. It’s hard to imagine a relationship staying strong purely over mail like that for such a long period of time. Ultimately you want to be able to see and hear the person. It’s why pen pal relationships are always treated like such a big deal, because they really are rare. At least they did get to meet once though, even if it took a great deal of effort.

The second segment takes place years later as a girl named Kanae falls for Takaki. The problem for her is that he just doesn’t see her in that way. He’s always a little scattered and on his phone. He’s very kind to her but it’s in a professional way. So Kanae wants to work up the courage to ask him out and to do this she will need to improve her surfing abilities. Will she be able to break through Takaki’s generational bond with Akari or will it be game over for her?

It’s a fun follow up and in a way the film does a great job of stacking the deck against Kanae. Not only does she have to face her fears to be with Takaki but at the same time the audience is also rooting against her since most people will be rooting for Akari to get with Takaki. So we have a rare moment of everyone in and out of universe being against her. (Well in universe nobody really cares so it might be more accurate to say that nobody’s really on her side since she doesn’t really tell her family either) It helps to make Kanae’s struggle all the tougher. Ultimately this is a bit more of a generic romance type story compared to the first and last segments though. It’s solid enough but doesn’t really stand out. I guess the strongest part to me is that Takaki is still so dedicated to Akari even though it has been so long.

In the final segment, we see Takaki as a grownup. He finally gave up on waiting to an extent and has a girlfriend now. The problem is that he’s still not over Akari so that’s really not cool. Remember, if you can’t get over someone then you have to solve that on your own. Entering into a relationship to speed this up is called rebounding and it’s not cool. I sort of figured this was Kanae as the girlfriend but the movie never really alluded to this at all so I suppose it probably wasn’t. The special mentions that Takaki and this new girl have texted over 1000 times and are still not very close so that’s rough.

1000 texts can happen rather quickly as it is. You can easily hit 20-30 texts in a day with a friend so I imagine with a girlfriend you’re talking more like 50-100. Still, Takaki not being complete with his feelings was definitely disappointing. Ultimately Akari moved on and got married. She still thinks about Takaki but you don’t get the feeling that it’s in a what if perspective and she’s just hoping that he’s okay. Her wondering if she should have told him about the wedding or not is more for closure on his end I would say. Ultimately, it would have been good if they held out for each other but it’s been years and she had been doing all the work. Without any extra context, I feel like it is Takaki who dropped the ball.

I would even say the final scene symbolizes this a bit when the train appears and the characters turn around. Takaki stays there, hoping to see Akari because he’s still trapped in the past while Akari had kept on going because she would no longer look back. Takaki realizing that she moved on helps him to move on as well but I would say as always Akari was leading the charge here. She was always progressing and you just like to see that. So yeah the ending’s not the happiest one out there but the process of getting over a long love is a story you don’t see very often.

It feels like most films are about just continuing to try until the two characters end up together or finding someone else and getting together. Sometimes your love doesn’t work out and showing people how to move on is important. It was long enough where I would call this a love and not a crush either. Takaki better be sure he has really moved on this time before getting a girlfriend though because he really can’t afford to be making any more mistakes.

The animation is pretty solid here and it’s definitely aged well. I liked a lot of the different shots here like the cherry tree and the night sky. It’s all very smooth and it’s the kind of animation style that will continue to age well throughout the years. I certainly have no doubts about that. The soundtrack is more on the forgettable side, I couldn’t really tell you any of the tracks by memory. I want to say it worked well enough in the scenes though and for the most part this is a quiet film anyway. It’s more about the writing than anything else.

Overall, 5 Centimeters per Second is a pretty good movie. It’s a low key romance film that has a lot of build up the whole time and shows that even a passionate romance may not always stand the test of time. Sometimes the circumstances and situation just weren’t right so it ends up being doomed to fail. This can happen even without either of the characters being malicious in any way. Give me a realistic relationship fail over one of those cheesy rushed romances that makes no sense any day. The movie itself is also super short so it doesn’t take long to go through. I’d definitely recommend checking it out.

Overall 7/10

The Road to El Dorado Review

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The Road to El Dorado is one of those animated films that is fairly fast paced with a lot going on at all times. This really frantic style of animation definitely works really well and it’s important to continue to use it a lot when you’ve got a film that is hand drawn. The reason is, it allows you to show off why it is the best form of animation. You just don’t have quite the same amount of moving parts in another kind of animation style. So here your interest is always captured by what’s happening on screen. I do feel like the film doesn’t keep up with the strongest animated pictures but works well enough as a pretty solid adventure.

We are introduced to the two brothers Miguel and Tulio who are good at scamming people. They just finished another scam operation and got a map to the lost city of El Dorado! They manage to make it to this city of gold and even meet a nice lady named Chel who tags along with them. Some hijinx occur and the village elders believe the two to be gods. This is a solid opportunity for Miguel and Tulio so they really lean into this. They convince the village to stop performing human sacrifices and really start changing all of the old traditions. This does lead the elders to be rather suspicious. Are these two really the gods they claim to be? Miguel and Tulio better start thinking about an exit strategy.

That’s probably their biggest mistake to be honest. If we’re being honest the ruse was never going to last forever. At some point it was going to be discovered and so they should have been ready for it. Unfortunately they really weren’t until it was too late. The most annoying part of the story is when we finally get to the big fight between the main two. I expected it would be over the main heroine initially and in a way it is, but not in the usual sense. Tulio talks about leaving with Chel as just the two of them which hurts Miguel. I thought that whole scene was extremely forced. Why would that even be something you say and why before you have actually left the kingdom. You’re going to need all 3 of you no matter what the end game plan is. So that was definitely very annoying.

It also just felt out of character but that leads to a lot of petty dialogue and disagreements between the two for a while. So for the record, I blame everything on Tulio here, everything after that is basically retaliation. Yes, it was super annoying retaliation but he didn’t start it at least. It seems like the movie needed some way to break the two apart and I am glad that it didn’t become one of those big love triangles. That said, it still could have been done smoother. Plus you have the corrupt priest Tzekel as a villain already so you could have used him to trick the main duo.

Tzekel is one of those villains who almost didn’t go all the way crazy. Basically he just didn’t think the main two were legit (They weren’t) and he felt like they were changing all of the traditions. They probably could have thrown him a bone and he would have been happy to serve. They just didn’t play up to his ego here. You could make the case that he would have gone evil anyway since the guy was always shady but it’s hard to say for sure. Either way the heroes did good in stopping the sacrifices and everything like that.

Chel is a nice heroine. She actually does contribute when the fighting starts and never just runs off to save herself. I can definitely appreciate that quite a bit. You’re not going to see her fainting or panicking. She already has good street, well I suppose jungle smarts about her. Then you have the horse Altivo who is a fun character. His role may not be as big as some of the other horse characters in these animated movies but he still makes a difference when it counts..

As for the main two, Miguel and Tulio are more fun than likable at times. I like their energy and they always have some good banter. They do tend to lose focus at times though. Look they came here for the gold, not for status, women, food, drink, or anything like that. If they just locked in and didn’t get too greedy then this could have been a very short film. Imagine if after their debut they said that they needed a ride out for celestial business? There are a lot of ways they could have tricked the priest and the other characters. Especially in the start when they had no idea what was going on. Obviously the longer you wait, the more you’re in danger.

I don’t really remember the soundtrack to the movie so I want to say none of the tracks really stuck out to me. Nothing bad as far as I remember but I suppose it was more on the generic side. At least the animation was really solid so that covers the bases on the technical stuff. The final boss does start to get into one of those “I’m huge!” areas which is unfortunate but at this point I suppose that’s the case for almost all of the climaxes nowadays. Most writers still think that making a villain huge is automatically a big W and super impressive.

This isn’t an action film first and foremost though so it’s not a really bad thing or anything. We still get a lot of chase scenes and everything. I also liked the sport that they played early on. The rules were pretty fun and there was a lot going on. I wouldn’t have minded seeing more of that only this time without the main characters cheating the whole time. Lets just see what the characters have got even if they lose big time. In a way maybe the film could have stood to have had more scenes of them just hanging out. The storyline is rather straight forward and it’s not like the film is very long. That’s part of why the review is very straight forward too. There’s not a whole lot to really discuss or unpack next to other titles. So I say you lean into that and just have more time with the heroes exploring. Maybe make it a bit longer before they actually bump into anyone so they are just exploring the mysterious island.

Overall, The Road to El Dorado is a pretty fun film. It does end a bit abruptly and I’m not really super thrilled with how it ended but it’s not bad. It just feels more like one character was forced into a decision rather than choosing it himself. It’s a small thing but it does have a big impact if you ask me. Either way if you like the jungle backdrop or in general are just looking forward to a fun film with a lot of banter, you should check this one out. After all how many other films have a setting quite like this one right?

Overall 7/10

The Christmas Tree Review

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It’s time for a film about criminal negligence. It’s all well and good to use your money to help the poor and support local orphanages but what’s not cool is being manipulated without your knowledge. That’s exactly what happens here though and some basic checks could have helped to prevent that. The movie has a good story to tell even if it is fairly low budget in just about every department.

The movie starts by introducing us to a corrupt orphanage led by Mavilda. She does her best to make sure the kids are not happy and this way she keeps all of the money to herself. The mayor donates a ton of money into the orphanage from the town every year and is happy to be helping out so much but what he doesn’t realize is that it’s not helping out at all. He’s being played for a Grade A sucker the entire time! Noooooo, but yes that’s what is going on. One day, Judy and her family move into town. Her husband Ray has a new job that is quite far though so they will not be living together. Judy can now have her kids stay at the orphanage and she will work as an assistant.

What about the Christmas tree? Well, the one thing that keeps the kids hopes alive is a big tree that they call Mrs. Hopewell. It is a powerful tree that has withstood the test of time. It’s not one of those mini trees that will succumb to the elements. Unfortunately, Mavilda may be chopping it down just to spite the kids. Can Judy stop this abuse of power or will she be too timid to do anything about it?

The fact of the matter is that Mavilda is a complete villain here. Not one of those half hearted ones or anything like that. She is straight up doing her best to torment the kids at every turn and yet nobody is doing anything about it. That’s definitely the biggest plot point that makes no sense. Someone should have figured out something and that someone is the mayor. Like I said before about negligence, considering all of the money that is being funneled into this operation, he really should have been doing something. The fact that he just takes Mavilda at her word each time is crazy. What happened to full home inspections?

The mayor ends up being one of the worst characters here by default because of this. I don’t actually blame the orphans much because what are a bunch of kids gonna do? Yeah they probably could have lodged some complaints or done things of that nature, but again they are very little kids. I’m not sure it’s right to be putting the burden on them to correct this whole mess. I am going to take a shot at Ray here for a bit. How do you move somewhere brand new and then say you have to leave your wife alone for 6 months. Really? That’s absolutely crazy before you’ve really had a chance to scope the place out. At the very least you need to make sure there aren’t any mean characters who will treat Judy poorly.

Then Judy is more of a timid character which isn’t going to work well. She puts up with a ton of absolute disrespect the entire time. This is where you need to have more self respect. It’s obvious that Mavilda is overstepping her bounds so Judy should have gone straight to the mayor a whole lot sooner. Like when Mavilda canceled the shopping trick, that was an obvious abuse of power since the mayor was just there with the money. I would have liked Judy to have had more agency the whole time.

Instead the kids really have to get the job done. Lily and Pappy work with the other kids to send someone to go get Santa. It’s a smart move I have to admit because Santa is probably the only one who can really stop Mavilda at this rate. He has super powers and a whole army after all. Don’t expect a big action sequence or anything like that but we do have lightning on the way.

All in all, we get a happy ending here and everything but the problems lasted a lot longer than they needed to. It’s important to be able to fight back against the darkness and that’s something these characters had not yet figured out. It’s still crazy to think that Mavilda was wasting this money for so many years on gambling and nobody found out. That’s just nuts and it’s not like she was all alone the whole time either. She was playing with other people and even had a friend who is a thief. So nobody squealed and people would just show up with extra money and there were no questions asked? This whole town needs some work.

The animation is definitely on the rough side here, there’s no getting around that. The characters are often off model and an animation student would probably find over 100 errors by the time they are watching this. It’s clearly not a super professional product so it doesn’t exactly win any awards on this front. On the other hand, the story isn’t the most developed and the writing is only okay so this does fit the rest of the special. These all may sound more like insults than complements but in a way that’s fine. This isn’t trying to become some kind of super deep picture.

It’s just a fun little Christmas story for all ages. It doesn’t have any crude humor or annoying jokes either. The reason I enjoyed it is because it’s just a harmless little film. I would say that the short run time helps the replay value quite a bit. I could watch this special right now and not be bored in the slightest. That’s why it is good, I actually have a good time with it. Just have some snacks and you can joke around with the movie. All of the characters may frustrate you because none of them show any initiative and the villain gets off too easily….but hey you can’t win them all. Better luck next time and at least going forward the orphanage should be considerably better.

Overall, The Christmas Tree is a fun film. I had a good time with it despite the limitations on the budget. In fact, in some ways they sort of help because the film leans into this so hard that it becomes part comedy. I don’t think it was intentional of course but that’s how rough the animation is. You don’t really see very many films like this nowadays. So you should definitely watch it as a relic of its time. It’s got wholesome messages to be read and an actual villain. You are getting the full experience here so there’s no reason to skip out on it. Especially with how short it is. You will be done in no time.

Overall 6/10