Category Archives: Animated Movie Reviews

The Halloween Tree Review

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Now it’s time to look at a film that’s rather obscure. At the very least I hadn’t heard of this one before and I like to think that I’ve heard of all the big ones. It’s an interesting enough story about Halloween and getting the characters to think more about the meaning behind their costumes. It’s held back a little by the fact that the characters are fairly weak though. It’s a decently good movie but not one that you’ll want to be checking out except if you’re just looking for something new to watch.

The story starts with 4 kids getting ready to go trick or treating. They’re all close friends and this is one of the days they really look forward to. Unfortunately the 5th friend, Pip, doesn’t end up appearing. They head to his house just in time to see him being loaded into an ambulance with a note that he’ll try to meet them later. They don’t buy that because the situation looks serious but then a see-through version of Pip runs into a haunted house. The heroes chase after him and meet a mysterious guy named Moundshroud who is trying to go after Pip for some reason. This guy seems shady but is their only hope in chasing Pip through time. They form a reluctant team to find Pip, but what is really going on here?

Right away I have to say that I wasn’t expecting the team-up so that was an interesting twist. Moundshroud isn’t even pretending to be a good guy, he’s basically just an antagonist that they have to work with because he’s the only one who has the abilities needed to get to Pip. The kids never really think of a plan to take him out with though so they are forced to go with whatever he bargains with. The ending is actually a bit more dire than you may have expected. Yes, a year isn’t too crazy in the grand scheme of things but that was still more than what I would have estimated.

It’s hard to say how much of this was all a part of Moundshroud’s plan. Did he set everything up for the whole film or was he actually panicking to try and catch up to Pip? His abilities seemed rather vague but the guy seemed to have many methods to grab Pip if he really wanted to pull that off. Also Pip gets a lot of credit for being a quick study. Not only did he figure out how to time travel with his pumpkin but he was able to master using a witch’s broom with no instructions. The guy was known as the captain of the friend group and you can definitely see why that was the case. He always has the upper hand and just seems like a fun guy.

It’s too bad we didn’t get to see him as a human for very long though. Or at least as a member of the living I should say. My main issue with the film is that the other 4 kids just weren’t that interesting and I think Pip could have changed that. It’s not like this is an action movie so I wouldn’t be expecting a lot of awesome one liners but Pip would definitely have more confidence. The other 4 just weren’t ready for this adventure.

They’re little kids of course so I won’t be too harsh but you can tell that they were nervous the whole time. The girl was riding a bike the whole time and yet the other could catch her on foot. It shows how none of them had a whole lot of power and probably should have called in the grownups to help with Pip. For the most part the adults never really did much here though, this was really an adventure for the kids. I will give them some respect for going after Pip and surpassing their fears. They may have been scared, but they didn’t let that control them and that is absolutely important.

The animation is pretty good. I tend to enjoy this style so even though it is a bit older, it works well for me. This is far from being a big budget production or anything like that but it is really smooth which is what counts above everything else. The writing is also passable, it is trying to range from being educational to being entertaining. It hits the balance well enough, sort of reminds me of an after school special. It’s also not that long so it’s not like the film ever drags out.

In the film the characters essentially go throughout time to meet up with the people that inspired each costume. The Mummy for example was an easy one as the characters got to go to Egypt and see the burial process. The witch one also showed how apparently geniuses were known as witches. Yeah they had to take some liberties with that one. It’s a fun setup and gives time for each character to get some more screentime.

Tom easily gets the most screentime from the kids. He’s doing his best to fit in for Pip but was never the leader and just doesn’t have that natural confidence. He gets a good heart to heart talk with Pip though and is ultimately a decent character. None of them were bad characters really, they were doing their best to hang in there the whole time no matter how scary it all got.

I think this could have even worked as a fun TV show. You could have the characters basically learning the origins behind each monster design and tradition over the course of a season. Each episode they would get closer to saving Pip. There might be a little repetition there but the setup absolutely feels tailor made for a show.

Overall, This is one of those titles that is pretty harmless all around. I had no serious issues and it felt like the pacing was good. The movie just lacked a real hook to keep things interesting. It’s always a bit harder to review something like that. It never crosses the bar of absolutely being boring though which is why I give it a positive score. It is still a good movie through and through and it’s one that I would recommend to parents who want something fun for their kids. It may not have the same impact to you as a grown up but is still there if you want to watch a non-slasher film about Halloween.

Overall 6/10

Monster Hunter: Legends of the Guild Review

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Monster Hunter is one of those titles where the appeal is really obvious. The world takes place in a land where monsters roam the Earth and every adventure is going to be guaranteed to have some good tension. The film tries to walk you through one of those missions but doesn’t really match any of that intensity from the jump. It’s not like you absolutely had to make this ultra action packed or anything like that but you can’t help but feel a bit disappointed by the end of it. It’s a good film that leaves a lot of missed opportunities around the board.

The film starts off with some cocky hunters talking about how easy it will be to take down an elder dragon. A jaded skeptic tells them that it won’t be so easy as he recalls a time where he had to take one out as a rookie. The rest of the movie is this flashback so sadly we don’t get to see the big fight in the present. At first I thought it was going to go back to the present around the halfway point but that just wasn’t in the cards this time.

Aiden grew up as a kid who really wanted to be a monster hunter. He was in a fairly small village though so they didn’t have the resources or tools for something like that. Aiden did his best though and actually gained the trust of his fellow villagers but runs into a master hunter named Julius. Julius explains that the elder dragon Lunastra is approaching and will destroy everything in its path. The whole village needs to evacuate. The villagers don’t listen though and Aiden convinces Julius to stay and fight along with a few other hunters. Will they regret this?

Now I get wanting to fight a dragon because these are monster hunters. That said, it’s a bit odd for Julius to be convinced so easily. He would know best if this is a monster that can actually be defeated. Based on his initial reaction, this wouldn’t even be close to a full fight. So I feel like no amount of emotional pleas would sway him. Additionally, his mission is to warn all of the villages of the impending attack so by staying here to fight, those villages won’t have any advanced warning if he fails. There are a ton of risks at play here.

Logically you would expect a monster hunter to be able to take on just about any monster but if even a master can’t, I don’t think Aiden would really be making much of a dent here. We do have some brief backstory hunts for Julius which also helps him sympathize with the kid though. Ultimately Julius is a pretty solid character. He has experience and has been fighting for a long time so the guy clearly knows what he is doing.

The other hunters who show up are pretty solid as well. Nadia has worked with Julius in the past and so the two have a lot of banter going on throughout the film. I’m always up for some quality banter so that was pretty fun. She also helps to calm Julius down when the guy is getting a little too agitated. Then we have Mae who is a solid hunter as well.

She is more interested in the research parts of being a hunter. She has a whole logbook and everything while still getting the job done. It’s clear that she is less experienced than Nadia though and still had a lot of hunting ahead of her. Her fighting style is fairly nimble so it’s hard for monsters to land a hit on her. Finally there is Ravi who is more of a builder but knows how to fight in a pinch. The guy really wanted no part of this fight but is essentially guilt tripped into it. This certainly isn’t the most imposing group of monster hunters to have been assembled but they will have to be enough to win.

As for Aiden, I have to deduct points from the guy for some of his mistakes. Look, the kid’s a rookie so I’m expecting some errors here and there. That said, it’s the kinds of errors that he makes which are a problem. There’s one scene where he doesn’t nail down the net because he just didn’t know that it was necessary. As a guy who professes to being a major hunter fan, that didn’t make a whole lot of sense. You can make some mistakes, but that’s not one of them.

He knows that the village is at risk so he should be carefully listening to all orders. It felt like his character wasn’t always consistent and that made him more annoying than he needed to be. In general the cast wasn’t all that bad but it does help to have a strong lead. Relying on supporting characters doesn’t work as well.

It also means that the film can’t jump into the big action scenes right away because we have a rookie to deal with. I think the power levels in this verse tend to be lower so the humans often have to use traps and such but I’d prefer a good ole fashioned fight.

In terms of the graphics, they’re only okay. This animation style isn’t the kind that ages super well unless you put a lot of money into it. The fights are okay when they happen but there is never a lot of fast movement here. As for the soundtrack, it’s more on the generic side. Nothing that will really catch your eye. The film also squeezes in some crude humor for some random reason. Nothing about this is a top shelf product.

At the same time, it’s still easy to follow the story and it’s fun enough. I do like the general world that the story is taking place in and I also appreciated that the villagers were at least a little reasonable. In other stories they might just start yelling and throwing a fuss. Instead they agreed to evacuate if Aiden gave the order and I was glad that they’d at least listen to one of their own.

Overall, This is a very forgettable film. It doesn’t really take advantage of what makes the series so interesting in the first place. There should have been more monster battles, flashier visuals, etc. That’s what you’re looking for in a title like this. As it stands, this will hold your attention but it’s really not going to do much more than that. Show this to someone who wants a quick film to watch while eating lunch but otherwise get them into the main games instead.

Overall 6/10

Persona 3 The Movie: #4 Winter of Rebirth Review

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It’s time for the end of the Persona journey. It’s definitely been fun to get to experience the story all the way from the beginning. The Persona games are super long so it makes sense that you would need 4 movies to tell the story. There isn’t as much action as you would expect for a while there but they make up for it with the climax which may be the longest action piece out of the 4 films. Hard to say if that’s the case for sure but it felt like it. This one ends the series off on a good note.

The film starts right where the last one ended off with Aegis being defeated by Ryoji. He informs Makoto that humanity is doomed. Ryoji is essentially death incarnate and the herald of Nyx. Makoto can choose to destroy Ryoji which will wipe the memories of everyone on Earth so they don’t have to dread their final 2 months and can live normally. Makoto doesn’t want to do this though and the rest of his team are also hesitant. Although Makoto is explicitly the only one who has the power to do this so he gets the final say. He just spends his final days zoning out until a visitor from another realm shows up. Can she snap him out of it?

I would say the main annoying thing about this plot is how everybody just gives up. They’ve all been through a lot of difficult challenges before so why is this any different? It feels like they all take Ryoji at face value about how invincible Nyx is and just don’t want to fight. I would even say they shouldn’t believe that destroying him would be pointless. I would have liked to see the heroes continue to fight and stay in denial if that’s what it took to keep their spirits up. At the very least they cannot just give up because that is the absolute worst thing that you can do. You have to keep on fighting for every inch for as long as it takes.

The only one who I won’t give any shade to is Aegis. She fought as hard as she could immediately and is written out for part of the film due to being broken. Otherwise she was not just giving up without a fight and if anything was dismayed to find out that the others didn’t share her energy. Aegis was ready to fight to the bitter end and that’s exactly how it should be. It’s just too bad that her sheer firepower isn’t enough to take on these big threats.

Elizabeth is the secret MVP to the film. She shows up and decides to help Makoto out even though it’s not like this was something that she needed to do. She simply decided that it’s something that she wanted to do and that is what really makes her role even more heroic. She helps Makoto see how much fun it is to simply be alive and spurs on the heroes’ final defense. Without her they would have continued to just go through the motions and lose without a fight.

Makoto may be the main character but he was pretty passive up to this point. His character is probably one that works a bit better in the game where you have hours upon hours of him doing the right things and hanging in there. I’d say what hurts him in the films is it feels like he gets depressed in every installment. I thought that film 3 would be the last time it happened until this one came in. Again, there just wasn’t a good enough reason for me on why the heroes would just accept that they couldn’t win this fight. Never trust a monologuing villain.

The animation is pretty solid as always. You could make the case for this being the best looking out of the 4 films. They really went all out with the shading and various camera angles. The final fights all look great and it is definitely a very chaotic fight. The colors are good and it’s also nice to still see the humans fighting alongside their Personas. It just makes the battles feel more personal and it is always satisfying when the humans actually land good hits in.

It was too bad that we didn’t get to see much of a fight against the enemy persona users in the last film so this time they get more of a full fight. They don’t last long against the heroes by this point in the series but I was glad that they weren’t just offscreen or anything like that. Now that would have definitely been a little disappointing. As for the final boss, Nyx is pretty impressive but doesn’t have enough time to have too much of a character. More of a final boss obstacle than a character one. Ryoji has to suffice as far as the character part goes and he looks good.

I would say he just works better as a villain than a hero with how he’s always smirking and looking like he is in control of things. That is exactly how you want your villains to act. For the heroes I have to give most of them a failing grade this time though. The kid and the dog are ironically the only ones really holding it together. Yukari and Junpei probably look the worst out of the group. Yukari goes into complete depression mode where she hides in her room while Junpei starts picking fights. Not very productive things to do when the world is ending.

Mitsuru, Akihiko, and Fuuka are mainly just staying quiet the whole time as they try and process the situation. Even though they also feel rather defeated, at least they aren’t just putting that out there. If you feel like throwing in the towel that’s one thing, but at least you can make sure not to bring anyone down with you. I’d say that’s one of the key differences between this group and the first one.

As always the soundtrack is also really good. I was still waiting for my favorite theme to show up but I suppose it might have clashed with the tone. Either way you have a good amount of action tunes in here and Persona music has a whole lot of range. This film is taking a more somber approach and the music is able to match that. It’s definitely a creative approach to ending a movie series as the final film will usually be a whole lot more lively and action packed. I guess that just didn’t work out here based on how the game was structured as well.

Overall, I’d definitely recommend checking this one out. You’ll be pretty lost if you skipped the first 3 films and of course if you watched those, why would you skip this one right? It’s a solid action title with a lot of introspection. The main characters may not look all that good here but sometimes it is hard to keep up with how high the stakes get. These guys just weren’t ready for all of that this time. As for the ending itself, I tend to interpret it as more of a happy one similar to Saint Seiya. The mission was accomplished, everyone is doing well and now the crew can all have a lot of other adventures going forward. I picture them all moving past this experience but I can see there being a lot of different theories on this. It would absolutely change the tone if the ending was more on the negative side but even on that end then you can pick a sub theory that makes it positive again. I do like when you can really speculate on an ending so that’s another point in the film’s favor.

Overall 7/10

Persona 3 The Movie: No. 3, Falling Down Review

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This third Persona 3 film definitely feels like the craziest one in some ways while also being the most slice of life. Sounds like a contradiction eh? Well we really start right away with the heroes having their final confrontation with the villains that appeared in the last film and all of the shadows were taken down essentially off screen. The threat is over and our heroes have made it to a new era of peace. That’s essentially how this film starts off so most of it is the after party. Makoto is wondering what to do next and starts drifting away from the rest of the team while a mysterious transfer student shows up and decides to be his new friend. What is going on?

I’m betting that the film just had to skip a lot of the mid parts of the game in order to get to the next events or at least that’s what it felt like to me. Not a bad thing by any means but the cutting felt more apparent. I would have liked to have seen more of the intro fight though because it was looking real interesting. I’d say there is a bit less action here than in the last film but it may have just felt like that. The movie is also a bit shorter than the last one so it may be a by default kind of thing.

The opening fight was probably the best out of the 3 films so far and it was nice seeing the whole gang get in on the action. The group is really big by this point but they still all get to have their moments. Throw in a mini climax right after that with a big betrayal and it’s like the film started out with its climax. After that there is a lull until the end so how much you like this film will depend on how much you enjoy the shenanigans in the middle.

I will say that the middle could be a bit choppy at times. I feel like Makoto going through a depression arc again was a bit repetitive. It was already foreshadowed last time with him wondering what would happen when the shadows were gone so I figured he had gotten past that. I suppose instead he had secretly been dreading it the whole time. This time the arc is seemingly over for real so that’s a good thing. Makoto was really holding them back but at least this time the others were holding their own.

Each film tends to pick 2 of the friends to get their big moments and this time I would say it was Junpei and Kirijo. You could make a case for Aigis as well though. The kid and dog from the last film definitely get the shaft though. For Junpei his big character arc is about how he is in love with one of the villains, Chidori. So he doesn’t want the team to be too harsh on her even when she was actively trying to murder them. I’m always up for a good romance but I think it was a bit much to be stopping his allies when she was absolutely evil. You could say that she was manipulated a bit and her mind isn’t quite right but those do come down to being excuses.

Junpei was captured and then severely injured during the film. It was really not his best appearance and he was also unsure of how to help Makoto when the guy was going through a lot. You need a better friend than Junpei. Kirijo spends a lot of the film being depressed because of events that happened near the beginning. I give her credit for trying to handle this internally and not making a big deal out of it. It’s certainly not the healthiest approach but she is trying to move forward in the best way that she knows. I can definitely respect that and she doesn’t hesitate when it comes time to fight. That’s something the others can really learn from.

Aigis has to deal with the fact that her mission is seemingly over and she handles it better than Makoto. She is determined to keep moving forward and stays by Makoto’s side. This makes for some pretty effective comedic scenes and she has really earned her spot among the group. As a robot her one weakness is being controlled by others so hopefully she can get more security soon. Aigis is a determined fighter though and even at the end of the film she is the first one to act. If only the others had taken her warnings more seriously.

So how about this new mysterious kid named Ryoji? Depending on what you’re expecting from the character I’d say that the film tipped its hand a little too quickly. I mean it all just feels very obvious on where they were taking his character but I guess I have watched a lot of anime before. He seems like a nice enough guy but the nonstop flirting can be really obnoxious. Definitely the kind of character that you wouldn’t want to take too seriously or he’ll just be upsetting the whole time. He should be playing a big role in the next film though and I expect he will look a lot better there.

The soundtrack is great as always. Persona always has really good tunes and this one doesn’t disappoint. They are forced to use action themes even for comedic moments like being stuck at the hot springs since a lot of the film isn’t in a tense situation. It works pretty well though and the film largely avoided having too much fanservice there. There was definitely still some though which is why you never want to follow up a beach adventure with a trip to the hot springs. That’s really just asking for trouble if you ask me.

I already talked about this before but to enjoy this film you are really going to need to like the characters. A lot of the film is about them going on a field trip, working part time jobs, etc. It’s not going to work for you if you just want the climax to happen right away so just don’t go in with that mindset. I’d probably have trimmed down the side quest stuff a little bit but it doesn’t seriously drag on. You’ll just feel some second hand embarrassment from the stoic Makoto doing all of these little tasks while presumably his friends are watching and wondering what’s going on. It would be odd for a friend to stop talking to you and then you see him hanging out with someone new and having a bunch of goofy adventures.

Overall, This was a pretty fun film. It’s really not what I was expecting with this next part. I suppose in the game it would be the calm before the storm but I wonder if this was really expanded or they cut out a lot of bosses in the middle. In theory even the calm parts would have had some night sections right? It may not have been as action packed as I may have hoped but I’m invested in the characters enough where the slice of life was still good. If anything it’s almost a bit foreboding where you are waiting for something to happen. There were a good amount of twists and turns here as well as a real body count so it’s not like the stakes got lower. These characters got to have a little more fun than most main character groups though so that’s a W in their corner. As long as you enjoy a good slice of life with some action then I’d definitely recommend this one.

Overall 7/10

Persona 3 The Movie: #2 Midsummer Knight’s Dream Review

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It’s time for the next Persona installment! This one covers a whole lot of ground as we get more characters added to the main crew and some villains even show up. There’s also a good amount of lore here so it’s safe to say that we’re totally done with the prologue. If you enjoyed the first film then you’ll definitely like this one as it takes things to the next level.

The film starts off with the heroes taking care of a particularly devious boss that was trying to use its charm ability on the heroes. The heroes are finally able to hold their own at least a little bit without Makoto. While he was out getting charmed they were actually landing blows and dealing damage. I also wonder how long he and Yukari were under the mind control. In theory it couldn’t have been more than a few minutes or the rest of the team would have been crushed but the enemy certainly wasn’t rushing them.

Still, things have been looking up for Makoto. He has been showing more emotion lately and is really getting along with the rest of the team. That seems like a good thing at first but then some doubts begin to creep in. What will he do once the monsters are all gone? The heroes are ultimately fighting to save the world and remove this demonic hour but will Makoto go back to being a loner with no friends? That’s something that he is really going to have to contend with.

So it’s not all sunshine and flowers for Makoto this time. I admit that I do miss his more emotionless self to a degree but his character was always going to go this way in the long run. Persona isn’t the kind of title that even considers having static characters. It would go against the entire concept of the series. Likewise this movie isn’t quite as mysterious as the first film now that we’re actually getting answers to different questions like what is the 25th hour, who created the demons, etc. We even have main villains to take care of now.

So in the place of mystery we have more action and character development this time around. It’s a pretty fair trade off. The stakes are higher here as we’ve got an actual body count. The heroes are always fighting around death with how powerful the demons get but at least there are a lot of them so they can back each other up. It still feels like the others can’t fight near the level of Makoto but at least they are doing something compared to film 1 where they were borderline hostages the whole time.

I also have to give Yukari a lot of credit in particular here. She has gotten over her doubts and is a proud fighter with the rest of the team now. She no longer has any hesitations about combat and is right there on the front lines. Now her main threat is Aigis, one of the newer members of the group who is always hanging around Makoto. That’s naturally going to be a point of tension throughout.

Aigis quickly becomes one of the best characters though and as far as this film goes she was my favorite. It’s great to have someone who can effectively fight the demons even without her Persona. She is 100% focused on the mission and has a very emotionless style to her like Makoto. Aigis is helpful right from the start and doesn’t need any time to adjust to what is going on. Of course in a sense that’s because she is essentially a weapon. So in a way you could say she was literally built for this kind of job.

This movie also introduces a dog who gets to be part of the main group. I gotta admit, I’m not a big fan of including any animals with the group. This is naturally way too dangerous for any pup like this. The dog does a good job of quickly learning how to summon a Persona and everything but I still think that’s a bit much. No way to ensure his safety while protecting everyone else.

Then you have a little kid named Ken who also joins up. Even this is stretching things because he’s so young. It also turns out that he has a chip on his shoulder and some very personal reasons for wanting to help out. This leads to a pretty intense confrontation later on. I have to give Ken some props for actually wanting to take care of things on his own. It certainly wasn’t the heroic thing to do but yeah he was really taking care of business.

Finally we also have Shinjiro also joins up. He was briefly in the first film but did not want to get involved with the team. Well, they’re closing in on the goal now and convince him to help out. The guy doesn’t have a whole lot of time left though as he has a hard time controlling his abilities. There is a kind of medication that he can take in order to stave off the effects but it’s definitely more of a short term fix and not something that he can rely on forever.

He absolutely has the most tragic plot from all of the characters. It would just be hard for anyone to move on from what he did in the past and it’s easy to see why he doesn’t know how to atone. Saving the world from the demons would be a good start of course but if he messes up then he could easily just end up making things worse for everyone which would defeat the entire point. Still, I ended up liking the guy quite a bit. He was dealt a rough hand in life but played it as well as he could.

The older members get a little less to do this time. Fuuko, Kirijo, and Junpei are around the whole time but don’t have particularly big plots here. Fuuko and Junpei got their big plots in the first movie and I feel like Kirijo will get more of a focus later on. Of course we will also have to make time for the 3 new villains. These characters haven’t gotten a whole lot to do yet but they have made their goals clear. They want the dark hour to continue forever and so they aim to stop the heroes from destroying the final demons. I believe the heroes have beaten 7/12 of the dark captains needed to end the demons once and for all. So they are pretty close at this point.

The villains definitely have a lot of potential. In a title like this it’s always fun to have a dark mirror where the villains use the same kind of power sets but for their own purposes. There are only 3 of them though so for now it feels like the heroes should be able to crush them rather easily. We’ll see if they just have busted units though. In the quick skirmish their main monster seemed tough but it was too quick to call this a proper fight.

The animation was definitely solid as you would expect. The character designs are on point and the film also had a lot of great music. Persona is definitely really good at that and the movie doesn’t disappoint. There is a bit of fanservice this time around between the beach and the opening scene. Nothing too crazy but Persona had been pretty good about avoiding this before now so hopefully it can stay rather light the whole time. I’m here for the action!

In general though I’d say the movies have been good about not being too extreme. The topics are serious and the characters can take some big injuries but it never gets to the point where it feels like the film is being too try hard about the violence. It’s more like a standard shonen I’d say. At least up to this part and again, we still have the serious themes and tragic backstories so it’s not like this one’s all fun and games. I’d say that it is probably happier than the first film overall but that might be debatable.

Overall, I look forward to seeing where the next film goes. In theory Makoto should be past the biggest doubts now so I don’t expect any more backsliding from him. Additionally the other characters should all be pulling their weight without a doubt. The team is just so big by this point so they should be rolling past a lot of fighters. Naturally the last bosses will be the strongest ones but the team is up for the task. As long as you like a good supernatural action film then you will enjoy this film as well. It’s just very strong all around.

Overall 7/10

Persona 3 The Movie: No. 1, Spring of Birth Review

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It’s time to delve back into the world of Persona! I really didn’t know much about Persona 3 except for the song “It’s Going Down Now” which is absolutely generational. Unfortunately that song isn’t in this film but it still has a lot of fun tunes throughout. The movie is really fast paced so you have to keep up with it but this makes for a good watch from start to finish. It also ends off in a way where you know that the adventure is just starting.

The story starts off by introducing us to Makoto who is one of the most emotionless characters you’ll ever see. He’s walking through town when people start turning into coffins. He doesn’t have time to care about that though as he’s on the way to his dorm. When he gets there, a girl points a gun at him and Makoto just shakes his head as he gets to his room. Unfortunately giant monsters are trying to tear the place down so the ladies ask him to help out. This involves shooting himself with a gun that allows him to summon demonic entities known as Persona to help him fight. Makoto is now on a team known as SEES which fights back against these demons. Makoto will help out…because why not?

Now obviously there is a reason for his lack of emotion and the film gives us a few quick flashbacks to his past. Nothing substantive yet though, we’ll likely be getting that in the sequels. This one is really about having Makoto slowly open up to the characters around him. A part of me is going to miss how emotionless he was though. The fact that he was taking everything in stride was just really funny and I wish more characters were like that. There is a time for panicking after all but most characters abuse it.

I also like to think that the lack of emotion is part of why he is so strong. The other characters tend to get knocked around real quickly and don’t re-summon their monsters too quickly. Makoto just spam summons the Personas over and over again. This drains your soul/willpower so it’s risky but he wasn’t worried about that. Without Makoto the rest of the characters could have been crushed more than once. Which….is a knock against the others.

I’m no stranger to the concept of “The Chosen One” but it’s a bit of a stretch on just how weak the others are. It’s hard to see how they have survived at all without Makoto. They are unable to beat even a single boss without him. It seems like they never had to deal with bosses before Makoto showed up with how surprised they were though. So maybe in a way this loops around to all being Makoto’s fault. This may just be a pacing issue and with more time they could have shown off the other fighters a bit more.

The most unintentionally funny one is when the final member (for now) joins the group. Fuuko is a really shy girl who got picked on a lot and by the end of the film finally gets to fight. The problem is that she loses her first fight and seemingly her Persona’s only ability is to make a barrier which can delay the inevitable. Usually you’d expect the new character to do well in a TV show but I guess those rules don’t apply to a movie. So Makoto still had to save her even if she did help out in a support role.

I also want to see Fuuko standing up for herself more. In this case the bully saw the light and stopped picking on her but we haven’t gotten to see Fuuko confront anyone yet. It’s good that she is a really nice person but it definitely should not come at the expense of defending herself. You always have to continue to fight back and hold some kind of boundaries. Takeba is another character who is rather timid but in a very different way. She is tough around other characters but it’s more of a mask that drops when she is up against the monsters.

Takeba tends to annoy me more than Fuuko because she should be a pro by now. I do get how it would be hard to shoot yourself even if you know that it’s not a real gun though. The others are probably a bit weirder for accepting it so easily. At least Takeba is past all of that now so she should be looking better and better as the films go on. Panicking and nearly shooting Makoto was just not a good look for her.

Kirijo is one of the more disappointing ones when it comes to combat. It’s a bit of a clash in expectations because when she’s first introduced you get the feeling that this character is a bigshot. It turns out that she is another support type fighter so you don’t really see her on the frontlines. I think that was a mistake, we don’t need more support fighters. So she doesn’t really fight at all and loses off screen to her first big opponent. Just not a great showing at all. Yes at this point Makoto is really carrying the team. The others are still fun characters but in a fight they aren’t pulling their weight.

Junpei is at least another fighter on the group although he doesn’t have a ton of experience yet. In fact he is brand new to the game and immediately gets jealous of Makoto for outshining him in all areas. I was worried this would be a big plotline but it seems like the guy has calmed down for now. The stakes are too high for any infighting right now. Junpei’s the classic overconfident kind of guy so until he is able to back up the tough talk, he will be in hot water.

Akihiko is the final main member of the strike force. At least he actually seems to be powerful. The opponent was just a really bad matchup for him with how he could become immune to the elements. Without that then this would have been a very different fight. The electricity looked really sharp and he was also able to re-summon his Persona a lot. Hopefully he’ll continue to be on the front lines for future fights.

The animation is pretty sharp all the way through. I like the way they would do the colors for the characters’ hair and the fights were solid. I wouldn’t call this a high-end production or anything like that but it flows well. The songs are also really good like I mentioned before. They may not have brought out the A tier songs yet but you know that they are around. This film had a lot to cover with the character intros and nonstop action so the next one will hopefully be able to match that. In theory we need the nonstop fighting to continue in order to see more fun battle tracks.

That said, it’ll be hard for the sequel to capture the same intrigue and mystery that this one had. The film hasn’t really been addressing any questions yet so Makoto is just as lost as anyone else. Of course he’s not the kind of guy to ask about the details anyway. All you need to know is that monsters come out during an extra hour of the day that only specific people can see. It’s an interesting premise and that’s really all you need some times. With that I’ve got a good basis for the fights and there are always the classic mystery characters who appear in visions and meanwhiles. The film even had some post credit scenes which was cool.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this film. Whether you are familiar with Persona or not, it makes for a good action title. There is a lot of suspense here and the writing is good. The film’s also not very long so it really breezes right by you. It may not feel like a complete adventure but that’s normal for a part 1. It just means that you have to stick around so this will be an investment. You’ll be able to truly see just how solid it is once you have finished all of the films.

Overall 7/10

Monsters University Review

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I can barely believe that Monsters University came out over 10 years ago. To me this feels like it was just the other day as I still lump it in with the modern prequel/sequel craze that’s taken over. Well, I can say this one wasn’t a cash grab as it actually works really well as a prequel. I’d even say that it beats the original one. Perhaps that’s a bit of recency bias but the whole movie goes by really quickly and has no real weaknesses. I was entertained the whole way through and the character cast is small but strong.

The movie centers around Mike who wants to be a great scarer. He got to see a professional in action when he was a kid and that has inspired him to choose this career choice. Unfortunately Mike is a rather small monster who doesn’t look very imposing. In order to be a scarer, you have to be able to scare kids under any circumstances. Can Mike really get around this issue? He studies his butt off but it never seems to make a difference. Meanwhile Sully is from a family of elite scarers and is a scary looking bear monster. He doesn’t study at all and yet he still looks scary. Both characters will have to reluctantly team up in order to win the annual scare tournament.

There are a lot of positive things to say about the film but the first one is how it’s realistic about Mike’s situation. A lesser film would have gone the cheesy route and just had him train until everyone found him to be really scary. It might be a fun way to end the film but it wouldn’t make a lot of sense. While Mike does improve on his technique, the film is consistent in showing that he will just never be as scary as some of the other monsters and that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. He’s just going to need to look into some different careers or maybe get creative and do some things to help make him scarier. That could have worked as an alternative ending where he gets a mech suit or something.

Mike is a fun character either way and I enjoyed his banter with Sully. Mike never really backs down which is nice to see. He may not be the toughest monster on the block but he’s not going to be pushed around either. He gets a good share of victories thanks to his book smarts as well. Meanwhile Sully starts out as more of a total slacker but starts to really try later on. It takes a while for the lessons to really sink in though as he initially just goes through the motions without really believing it. Ironically the moment where he decides to break some rules is when he really became part of the team. To be clear, breaking the rules was not a good thing. Even if you do that to help another person out, cheating is still cheating.

Sully learned a lot throughout the film and so that made for a good character arc. If there were any weak characters, well I guess they would be the rest of the team. I think you could have written the film in a way where there would be less teammates even if they did contribute to the character arcs of both Mike and Sully. They had to learn how to work with other characters who seemingly had no potential. I would have preferred for the other characters to have locked in a bit more though. It didn’t feel like they were super determined to succeed. Almost like this was just a mild hobby for them but not something that they were staking everything on.

Meanwhile we had a few antagonists here. First up was the cool Omega club. Those guys were fun and I thought they were handled well. The film kept itself from making them too extreme. Yes they were jerks and humiliating the main characters but they didn’t cross the bridge into being totally evil or anything. Just the normal amount of school bullying that you would expect.

Likewise the principal is abusing her power to be sure and being rather petty in how she handles Mike & Sully, but isn’t trying to beat them up or anything like that. You can also absolutely understand why she was upset since they broke a really precious heirloom to her. You probably should have expected it to be broken at some point though. This is a school for monsters after all….

The animation is pretty solid throughout the film. It’s not exactly going to be winning any awards of standing out a ton but the style works well enough for the film. I enjoyed the glow in the dark challenge as the heroes had to try and dodge some sticky spikes that would slow them down. This isn’t exactly an action film so it doesn’t get to show off with fight scenes but this would be the closest thing to that. There isn’t much of a soundtrack this time around either so I wouldn’t expect any big tunes.

The film’s a little too short to show us all of the tournament rounds but the ones that we did get were pretty fun. I liked the challenge of sneaking up on the librarian and of course the final battle was pretty good with the scares. The twist in there even surprised me when it first happened. The movie handles itself beautifully both in how it sets up the main film and how it works as a stand alone title. You don’t need to have seen Monsters Inc. to be able to appreciate this one.

No film is going to be perfect on the humor but the jokes we get tend to be pretty decent. There is a rushed romance at the end that’ll make you cringe and generally I thought the teammates were not funny. Outside of that, the jokes hold their own. As long as you enjoy Mike and Sully then you’re in a good spot here since their gags tend to be a blast with each one easily being triggered by the other.

Overall, Monsters University was pretty fun. I had a better time with it than I expected. It’s not like I thought it would be a bad film or anything like that but I guess I expected it to be a little less focused. More of a fun prequel with the cast messing around as opposed to actually being rather serious and having a tight story. The school background can be hit or miss in these films but this one worked really well. If you haven’t seen the film yet then I would definitely recommend changing that.

Overall 7/10

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Review

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Demon Slayer continues to dominate the box office every time it appears. People have really been enjoying the action here and I look forward to the next two films seeing similar success. Ultimately this one lives up to the hype of essentially being 2+ hours of nonstop action as the only breaks are with the various sob stories. While I wouldn’t put it above Mugen Train and its masterful climax, this one is very close.

The movie starts off with all of the slayers falling into Mugen’s trap. His infinity castle comes with an infinite amount of demons in addition to the last of the upper ranks. The heroes must try and destroy the immortal Muzan while he is still weakened from the various poisons. The most difficult part will be in tracking him down though. The guy could be anywhere in this labyrinth and the heroes have to keep their guards up at all times. A single misstep and it will mean their end.

As this is just the first part of a 3 part saga, you should expect a lot of characters to get the shaft. Most of the various Hashira appear but only two of them actually get big fights in this one. Fortunately for Tanjiro he gets to step into one of the fights so the main character will not be absent from the proceedings. If you tend to be a plot first kind of guy then the film might end up lacking for you but know that the true story of any title is hidden within each blade clash.

There are 3 main plots in the film. First up is Shinobu against Doma. Doma is the 2nd strongest of the Upper Rank demons and generally you would need two Hashira ranking fighters from the heroes to go up against one of these. Shinobu has never been known for her raw power either as she strikes with poisons. Unfortunately upper ranks are pretty resistant to such tactics. This battle is all about Shinobu trying to find a way to stop Doma and to avenge her elder sister who fell prey to him in the past.

Each fight in the film tends to follow the same pattern of fight, then origin story before the climax. Doma’s is certainly not about making him look sympathetic at all but showing just how desperate the humans around him can be. They were desperate to find easy answers instead of just realizing that the real world doesn’t work like that. Meanwhile Shinobu got a brief backstory but just to explain why the fight was so personal. Doma is one of the creepier villains with how sadistic he is so that’s a lot or Shinobu to have to deal with.

The fight is super solid although it does feel like Doma is toying with her for most of it. If he got serious, she would seemingly not be much of a threat to him. The movie definitely establishes why Doma is such a big threat but Shinobu does good the whole time and never gives up. She really did justice to her title as a Hashira. The rest of the characters would have been proud.

Then in the second fight we have Zenitsu going up against Upper Rank 6, Kaigaku. On the surface this should be a stomp in the demon’s favor because Zenitsu is several ranks below a Hashira. He is hoping that Kaigaku’s lack of skill will be the difference here. Naturally this also involves a backstory and a lot of personal feelings all the way. Kaigaku is another guy who isn’t really meant to be sympathetic and you can appreciate that for a villain. That being said, it wasn’t surprising that he didn’t care when Zenitsu tries telling him about their old mentor.

The guy’s a demon, I bet he stopped caring many years ago. I did like his design though and the fight was definitely real intense. Zenitsu is also someone who may seem out of character to people who watched the anime. Usually he is the comic relief character who is always panicking but this fight is an exception. He looks tough from the start and really does great. I like the idea of someone being able to lock in for the most important fight of his life. If not then, when would you ever be able to gather up the courage right? This was a good way to cap off Zenitsu’s combat career but hopefully he’ll show up more soon.

This film’s really about the finial fight though and that’s where the hype was coming from. Akaza shows up once more as Upper 3 to take down Giyu and Tanjiro. It’s clear from the start that only Giyu has a chance and yet it’s tough to defeat someone who has infinite stamina. The longer a fight drags out, the more a demon gets the advantage. No sunlight will be making it into the castle either so that makes things even more difficult. The fight is the longest out of the bunch and really has a top tier animation budget behind it.

We get to see different power ups from the heroes as well as Akaza while the fight is underway. It was nice to see Tanjiro improve as he was mostly just a liability for the start of the fight. He means well though and I would say that Tanjiro is definitely a quality main character all the way. Even in this film which is more about showing each member of the cast, you can tell that Tanjiro is the main character. He has the big emotional flashback near the end and gets the big power up after all.

Akaza is the only villain with a sad backstory. It does a good job of not absolving Akaza’s crimes in it though. A lot of what happened to him is directly the guy’s fault after all. He made some really big mistakes and paid quite heavily for them. Ultimately he was probably the most dangerous of the villains, I dare say I would put him above Upper 1 and Upper 2. Fans may disagree on that based on the ranking system itself but nobody had Akaza’s sheer adaptation.

As for Giyu, he continues to be one of the best characters in the series. He’s certainly not big on showing emotions but doesn’t let it dull his blade. He does get annoyed when Tanjiro ruins the element of surprise but I get it. Tanjiro could have gotten a clean kill there instead of showing off. Sometimes when the stakes are so high you need to go for the sneak shot. It may not seem super honorable and all but this is a fight to the death with demons.

I was surprised that the film didn’t end with more of a cliffhanger though. I would have had a quick ending with Inosuke joining a fight or something like that. I guess the one catch to a part 1 fight like this is that some characters really didn’t get to do anything. It’s probably why we had almost 20 minutes at the start of the film to show everyone fighting off a bunch of demons. That was definitely an intense opener and I’ll take those crumbs until we get the next two films.

The animation is top tier as you would expect. The colors are incredible and the choreography is great. Ufotable is still one of the best animation companies of our generation and they do not hold back with all of these battles. This title does get pretty violent at times so I would say to keep this in mind if you’re not too good with violence. There is a high body count particularly thanks to the backstories and the humans tend to meet rather painful ends. There is also a random scene of a bear getting murdered that could have been cut. We already knew understood the concept of hiding aura so that could have been done a different way.

I would say that generally the film doesn’t linger on any one kill for too long. It’s probably a bit borderline though, the kind of title where just a bit more would probably have started to affect the score somewhat. You never want to go full Attack on Titan after all but at least we didn’t have people begging for their lives while being eaten or anything like that. This one is still more of a battle Shonen first and foremost. The soundtrack is also pretty good with a solid amount of variety and a good Akaza remix. I was listening to some of the tunes while writing this review and will continue to check some of the others out as I go forward.

Overall, I would definitely recommend checking this film out. As long as you enjoy good fight scenes then you’ll have a real blast here. The only context you need is given during the battles and honestly it’s always clear who the hero and villains are. This isn’t one of those titles like Netflix’s DMC series where they’re trying to make the demons sympathetic. The demons are self explanatorily evil and the humans have to wipe them out so nobody else gets hurt. From there you can just enjoy the excellent choreography and maybe it’ll inspire you to go back and check out the previous seasons of the anime.

Overall 8/10

The Aristocats Review

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It’s time for a classic film about danger and true love. I’d say it’s a good adventure overall but definitely more forgettable than a lot of its rivals. The movie doesn’t really make any big mistakes but just doesn’t have as many strengths as you would normally expect. So you’ll be kept entertained but give it a few weeks and this one will be a distant memory.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Duchess and her three kittens. They live a nice life as they are owned by an incredibly rich woman who really loves them. In fact she intends to leave a massive amount of her will to the cats. Unfortunately her butler Edgar finds out about this and decides to destroy the cats. One night he kidnaps them and strands the cats many miles away from home. They aren’t exactly used to the outside world though and now their only hope is to rely on a strong cat named Thomas. Thomas certainly seems to know what he is doing but can they really trust him?

You’ve got a bigger cast here than you might expect. Thomas has a few friends, then you have a subplot with two dogs, another plot with a mouse, and of course there are 4 main cats. The movie is pretty short too so you shouldn’t expect these characters to do too much. It’s fairly stuffed so the pacing is pretty good but the film probably could have stood to shrunk the cast and give them bigger roles. Well, ultimately it works out well enough.

I would say the surprise hit here is the main villain Edgar. The guy wants to be rich and is willing to do anything towards this goal. He’s an evil villain through and through but has quite a lot of power. Not only is he able to overcome the two dogs who were trying to get him but at the end of the film he is fighting off a 1 vs 5-6 and somehow holds his own. That’s not an easy feat and Edgar doesn’t give up right to the very end. He has no tearful backstory or secret origins here. The guy is just super selfish and that simple motive works this time.

In part he also stands out because there just isn’t much to the main characters. For example Dutchess’ 3 kids don’t have a whole lot to do. You have the guy who wants to be a tough street cat, the girl who loves romance and tries to act dignified, as well as the third kitten who never got much of a personality. They are a little too young to really contribute to the plot and for the most part are just here to slow down Duchess. You could say they fit the role of being the cute characters but don’t really do anything beyond that which is unfortunate.

Duchess is a decent enough character but gives in to the romance a little too quickly. Thomas starts flirting with her almost immediately and Duchess seems charmed right away. You know I’m always more of a fan of the slow burn kind of romance. A romance moving this quickly with a guy who clearly seems like a player doesn’t make for the strongest romance. It’s not a massive part of the story but I do think it should have been earned more. Maybe we see them start to get closer after he saves her from Edgar or something like that.

As for Thomas, well I appreciate his confidence. He knows just about everyone and has made a lot of friends. It’s easy to see why he has so much confidence. The guy has been very successful throughout his life and is the kind of character that you want in his corner. Since his kind of character is fairly well known, the film doesn’t have to flesh it out too much and you immediately have a good feel for the character. It’s a fairly clever way of writing the character.

I’d say he would have really shined if there was more banter between the characters though. That’s where someone like Thomas would have really gotten to shine. Without that element it just feels like the film is missing something. His friends help to establish Thomas’ background a bit but even then they don’t get to appear a ton either. They help by the climax though and still have more of a role than the mouse. The mouse was a good friend to Duchess so you appreciate his efforts though. He jumped into situations that were pretty dangerous for him and took a lot of risks to save the day.

Finally we have the subplot with the two dogs. It was probably the funniest plot in the film even if the jokes could be a little limited. Basically you have the leader and his super loyal follower as they get into a lot of shenanigans. They still couldn’t even defeat Edgar so it’s not like they are super strong but they do their best. Their humor style is either something you like or you don’t though as the leader is constantly bashing his friend who just sits there and takes it the whole time. Ultimately they are good friends but the leader probably wouldn’t admit it. I liked the dynamic well enough but I would have liked the leader to have been a little stronger. Yeah that’s part of the joke but still it would have been since to have seen them get some more solid wins.

The music is definitely forgettable though. None of the songs are particularly strong and this sounds the way you would expect some musicals to sound like. There isn’t much soul behind the tunes and it all sounds like free domain type of music. A song should really have some strong emotions behind it along with a fast beat. None of these songs are ones that will get stuck in your head and you certainly won’t be singing them. That’s an L in my book.

The animation isn’t bad. Fairly standard stuff but certainly nothing bad. You have a lot of movement here throughout the adventure and even some fight scenes. I may even say this was the strongest part of the movie because it was going all out the whole time. It may be the most memorable part of the film overall and part of what would give it some replay value. At the end of the day that’s the position the film is in. I could easily see it again at any time but it’s like eating a sandwich. It doesn’t really do anything for you and just gives you a fun enough time during the experience.

Overall, If you like animated films like this then I would recommend The Aristocats. It doesn’t do anything new or different with the genre but brings you all of the familiar elements that you have come to expect. As long as you enter the film with reasonable expectations then I think you’ll have a good time here. If they decide to make a remake of this someday, I’d say to cut out the songs and just spend more time on the actual adventure. Have them pass different towns with strange traditions and make every part of the film more memorable. It wouldn’t be a super hard thing to do and that would be an improvement here.

Overall 6/10

Cats Don’t Dance Review

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It’s time for a classic animated film. I wouldn’t say that it ever got all that big since I don’t really remember it. I may have been in the wrong circles though. It’s a perfectly pleasant film but one that seemed to really lack a hook the whole time. By the time it ends you feel like the film never had much of a high point. So it is a good adventure from start to finish but it never really stuck out.

The film begins by introducing us to a cat named Danny who is really excited to make his big debut into Hollywood. He’s always wanted to be a huge star and knows that he has what it takes. Animals and humans have long collaborated on a bunch of movies in Hollywood. What Danny doesn’t realize is that this is a two tiered system where humans get all of the money and credit while animals get the worst roles without any of the accolades. Danny may be able to change this but he will have to get past the number 1 human prodigy….a little girl named Darla.

Now one question I did have about the whole premise here is how Danny didn’t know about the animals having such a small role. I figure as a big Hollywood fan he would probably have realized that from watching the movie? It sounded like very few animals ever got big roles so that seems like it would have been noticeable. I think the film should have made it so they have decently large roles but just don’t get much money. That would have made a lot more sense on why he wouldn’t have realized this.

Maybe Danny just didn’t actually watch many actual Hollywood films. He did mention at one point that things were different in his hometown so perhaps he mostly just saw local stuff and figured it would be the same in Hollywood. There are ways you could answer this but I was pretty skeptical. Danny’s a good main character though. It takes a lot to get him to start doubting himself near the end but before that he fights as hard as he could. He does inspire a lot of the other characters including Sawyer so without him things never would have changed.

Naturally I didn’t think the romance worked all that well though. It’s a bit rushed especially considering what a rocky start they had. He really put her in a lot of jams without realizing it at first. Sawyer was also pretty content with her situation initially so it’s not like she was coming from a bad situation. All in all Sawyer was a quality character as well. I would have preferred if she had kept more of the fire she had in the first scene but overall still looked good. She just mellowed out rather quickly.

One character who did not lose any of her edge was Darla though. She was really determined to be the heel the whole time. It’s easy to see why it would be tough for her to change since it looks like the entire world was really spoiling her the whole time. The movie’s director and staff were downright scared of her. Then she has a huge bodyguard named Max who can beat up anyone in her way.

Darla was quite literally the star of every show in Hollywood after all. If they ever made a sequel, I could see her returning as a villain. She’s clearly no hero yet by the end of the film. We also get a timeskip where we see that the animals have really overtaken the humans near completely as they star in all of the movies. So there are a lot of interesting things you could do with a sequel. That might not be the direction they go with though but it’s an idea.

The music was one of the strong points of the film and was actually a bit better than the average musical. It’s all pretty fast paced with a whole lot of instruments going on. It reminded me a bit of Aladdin at times. The opening song about Hollywood may have been my favorite one but in general they were strong.

The songs also match the really fast paced, crazy action of the animation. It’s all very expressive and the kind of animation style that you miss from the old days. You could probably watch the movie on mute and generally understand each of the characters personalities. That’s always a good sign on the animation front. There are a lot of strong colors and they didn’t spare any expense here.

The ending is a bit sudden which isn’t all that rare for these classic animated films. The idea seemed to be to tell a good story and get a message across, then just end real quick. The film is shorter than half an hour so there isn’t a whole lot of time. While the story is good, I do think having the film be a little bit longer could have helped give it that hook I was talking about earlier.

That or make the characters stand out more. While I thought that the characters were good, none of them quite have enough character to make them pop out the way someone like Aladdin does. You just aren’t going to remember these characters too well by the end. It doesn’t take away from their quality at all but it can be the difference between a good film and a very good one.

Overall, I would recommend checking this film out. It is a fun film and there are no serious weaknesses to it. It’s a very safe film and one that anybody could watch at any time. The pacing is good and there is a solid amount of replay value. The messages hold up as well as the technical aspects, that’s just about where its limit is. Maybe throwing in more of a real fight against Darla could have helped. Doesn’t have to be a physical one but maybe a fight of ideals or something. That might have helped give the film some extra closure. These re all fairly minor points though, we’re just talking about the difference of a single star. As long as the film is a good one, that’s still the most important part.

Overall 6/10