Tag Archives: Animals

Flow Review

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It’s time for an animated film that takes a very different approach compared to the average title. There is no dialogue here as the film follows a bunch of animals who are doing their best to survive as the world is thrown into chaos. It’s a very calm film and while it may not be one that you would watch too often, it’s definitely interesting enough to be a good movie.

The film mainly focuses on a cat that seems a little inexperienced as he wanders through the forest. He runs away from some dogs and is generally leading an ordinary life when suddenly the water levels begin to rise. The planet is changing quickly as the floods gain headway and it looks like all of creation will soon be underwater. The cat will have to team up with these other animals if they are to survive but can they all put aside their differences here? The animal food chain could become an issue.

One thing I really appreciate about the film from the jump is that it doesn’t go out of its way to explain things. That also makes a lot of sense because there are no humans here for exposition. This way you get to really think for yourself on why this is happening. Is some cosmic being trying to wipe out all life on the planet? If this something that just happens every generation on this world? Were the humans extinct first or are they also surviving all of this? By the end you won’t really have any answers and so you get to just think of all the possibilities.

I do like the idea of the humans being wiped out while the animals remain. They should be more resilient in a lot of ways after all but at the same time I wouldn’t say that these animals seem very street smart. Most of them don’t seem to be used to being on their own so much but I guess this kind of event is pretty drastic. As the film goes on we get to see their true characters. Some animals are willing to team up and be good sports while others ultimately decide to turn to their wild side.

In particular the biggest contrast is with the dogs. The main dog is a really nice guy who just wants to help out. He may seem a bit oblivious at times but he has a good heart and this shines through the whole time. Meanwhile his dog friends are not quite as solid and they appear as selfish and scatter brained. It’s not that they are openly antagonistic but they seem to really just be normal dogs who are led by their instincts while the main one was able to move past this to recognize an urgent situation and react appropriately. Naturally he was the standout character here.

The cat was also a lot of fun though. He was really doing a whole lot to try and survive which is tough since he is smaller than just about all of the other animals. He nearly dies on many occasions and ultimately has to live with the knowledge that another flood could come at any time. The cat did make some good friends through the journey though so at least he won’t be all alone anymore.

A Capybara was another one of the main characters and it was nice to see him. These animals already have a strong reputation for getting along with basically every other kind of animal out there so it makes sense that he would be one of the big peace negotiators right from the start. He tends to sleep a lot and take everything in a very calm manner. Definitely the opposite of the Lemur who was panicking and stressed out the whole time. If you’re always stressed in a situation like this then you are definitely going to be in rough shape by the end of it. The Capybara really had the right idea of it here.

Then you have the big bird who looked rather intimidating at first but he was ready to defend the cat as needed. He certainly took some heavy blows from the rest of his clan as a result but he was a good hero. His injury remains throughout the movie which was probably the film’s way of nerfing him since otherwise he would have the easiest time in this situation. The floods are bad to be sure but when you can fly then it opens up the options a whole lot. The others are all relegated to staying on different boats as they go through.

So there is a good amount of danger but the film also balances it well so none of the animals are getting seriously hurt the whole time. The only main death of sorts here is handled in a very stylized way which was good so it wouldn’t really hurt the overall story. You could also make the case that it wasn’t really a death since again you have a lot of interpretive options here.

The animation is solid. It’s not going for a super detailed look and instead looks more arcade/streamlined style which works well here. The characters are all very expressive and the environmental effects are good. I definitely had no real issues here. The soundtrack is more on the forgettable side but this is going for a very natural feel. Having some hard rock themes or really hype tracks would likely have felt a little off. It would be worth it of course but I understand why the film wouldn’t have gone in that route.

A cliffhanger would have been cool but again this isn’t really that kind of film. This is one of those movies that you can just enjoy in a relaxing way. There is danger and such but you have a feeling that things will work out along the way. If they ever did come up with more films then I would check them out and this is also the kind of film you could easily recommend to anyone without any reservations.

Overall, Flow is a good movie. I am the kind of guy who likes a good amount of dialogue to really shake things up so that would have given this film a boost but it doesn’t really make any mistakes. I think it takes the concept of a wordless film about as far as it can go. You still get a good sense of the various characters and their personalities while also being able to understand the interesting plot. My view will always be that dialogue would further improve the film but that just wasn’t the artistic vision this time. If you like a good film about animals then I would definitely recommend checking this one out.

Overall 6/10

Yuzu the Pet Vet Review

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Yuzu the Pet Vet is definitely one of the most emotional manga titles around. It deals heavily with animals appearing in every chapter since that’s a big part of the plot so you can probably guess where this is going. The series is meant to be a fairly light hearted, but cautionary tale on how hard it is to raise pets but unfortunately that means showing us examples of lots of bad owners and so there are a lot of dogs that get injured in this one. I’d definitely say to give it a skip if you have a pet or even in general to be honest since there are just too many pets in harm’s way here.

The series starts off with Yuzu moving to her uncle’s place because her mother is very ill. Yuzu’s mom has been in and out of the hospital for a while now but it seems extra serious this time so Yuzu’s not in a great mood. Her uncle is an animal doctor and he treats all kinds of patients. He wants her to help out while she’s around the house but the problem is that she is terrified of animals. The more she helps her uncle, the more she starts to get comfortable around them though. Who knows, maybe she can even become a proper pet vet someday?

The cast is very small here because this really is an episodic kind of series. The only constant characters are Yuzu’s uncle, mother, and the dog Sora. Even Yuzu’s best friend only appears for around 2 pages in the whole series which is pretty crazy. It’s too bad because she seemed like a high quality character and yet there isn’t anything to say about her because that was just way too short of a period. What can you really talk about with a character who has appeared so briefly? I’ll tell you…nothing! That’s all there is to say there. Definitely a wasted opportunity.

As for Yuzu, well of course she’s not great when starting out but she does improve as the series goes on. She gradually learns how to be nice to animals and by the end of the series she is the one with the wise sayings keeping the other kids in their place. She really came very far by the end and I can definitely appreciate that. That being said, as a kid there’s still only so much that she can do to help. At the end of the day the Uncle still has to take center stage when the going gets tough. Once Yuzu is grown up I’m confident she will really be helping in the pet vet business.

I can’t ask much more out of a kid for now and it’s better to be scared of animals than to be mean to them. Even during the pre arc she never tried anything like that so I appreciated this. Her uncle is a solid character. He can definitely be a bit short tempered with the kids and gets super strict but considering how high stakes a pet’s life is, it’s the right move. I can definitely respect that extra fire he has. You need that in order to convince people that you’re on the right side. His advice is always correct to so that’s an important thing to keep in mind. Without him the town would definitely be finished since it seems like there are no other big pet doctors around.

Meanwhile Yuzu’s mom is a solid character. Her main issue is that she can try a little too hard to do everything at once and it often ends up with her getting even sicker. There comes a time where you have to know your limits and that’s her moral by the end. She still helps Yuzu out around the vet once in a while but makes sure not to over tax herself which is important. It’ll be nice to see her as a main character once she’s all better.

I should note that the uncle has a pet dog named Sora who is always around. He’s a bit of a mean pup though as he is always trying to bite Yuzu and cause problems. Not the best first experience for someone who is already scared of animals. Sora gradually becomes nicer and less violent as the series goes on. By the end I would say that they really are good friends.

The art is very clear here. I would say the quality is surprisingly high overall and there is never any moment where you are wondering what is going on. The artist does a good job here. Sure, there are no action scenes so it’s not going to be as difficult to keep things clear as with another manga but it still deserves some good props for pulling that off. It makes going through the volumes real easy.

Of course the only thing that makes going through them hard is how sad most of the stories are. Basically how things play out is usually the owner is being an accidental jerk and neglecting the dog. The dog gets sick so then they head over to the uncle’s place where he fixes up the dog. On a high level that’s usually how this goes and so the rough part is always the first half. For one reason or another the owner will usually say that he or she doesn’t want to go through with any operations or see the doctor. Usually the owner is convinced that his puppy will be okay and so the dog has to put up with a lot until he’s at the doctor’s.

The series also tries to teach us about loss so lets just say that not every animal survives here. Another big no no when you think about it. I don’t want to see any animals dying or even hearing about it. Again the series may be about animals but you don’t have to go this far with it. Having animals get injured or get super sick is just way too sad. The manga should have been about healing them before they get sick. Like have one of them get the ability of foresight and that would have been cool. Sure, the manga is slightly not realistic but you can still teach a lot of lessons to the kids reading the series. I think that would work really well and there aren’t many alternatives. Sure you could make the series about robotic animals I guess…but I feel like that would probably be a hard sell. I don’t see it working as smoothly as you might assume even though I would be all for it.

At the end of the day one of the biggest issues here is that you just won’t have any fun. Sure the chapters usually end on a positive note but only after you’ve been completely beaten emotionally. It’s hard to enjoy the payoff by that point. It’s like when you fall off a bike and injure your knee. Sure, it feels good when you get up and make it home, but the bump still stings. That’s what every chapter is like here and since having fun is one of the main objectives here, there’s just no way this would end up being a quality title. There isn’t really any good reasons to check this one out at the end of the day. I would recommend a ton of manga way higher.


Overall, The series is fairly short at 7 volumes and since it’s episodic by nature that makes it feel even shorter. The volumes are mainly all stand alones and even most of the adventures stop at just one chapter. So it’s not like the sagas are long either. Whether you like the series or not will depend completely on how much you enjoy the premise and the stories that are included here. Ultimately they didn’t do the trick for me. Even though the stories are about helping the animal in the end, the animal always had to go through a lot first which was no good. That’s what the series really should have avoided even if it means changing the premise of the series altogether. At the same time I think you could have pulled this off without injuring any animals. Have the missions be a little more low stakes and it all could have worked out.

Overall 1/10

Beastars Review

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Beastars is a manga that really didn’t work for me even by the end. You could probably guess that things were going to be dicey as soon as you saw the cover since this is a manga all about animals and it takes place in a gritty world. So animal violence is going to happen here right off the bat. The animals walk and talk like humans but at the end of the day they still look like animals and so with their losing limbs and being bumped off, the series never stood a chance. Ultimately this one should have just stuck to using human characters but the level of grit here would have doomed it anyway.

The series follows Legoshi, a wolf who lives in a world where carnivores and herbivores have a very strained peace. After all carnivores eat herbivores which comes down to their very nature and yet they have to try going to school together and getting through life. There are those who believe both groups should be completely segregated and others who want to keep them together. There is always a “Beastar” around who acts as a symbol of peace and hope among the species. The goal for those attending school is to hopefully become the next Beastar. Legoshi isn’t super interested in that being his end goal though and just wants to get through school. As the series goes on his goals certainly change though and a lot happens.

So first up we have what I would consider is more of the pre arc. We are introduced to how the world is and Legoshi gets to meet with different characters. Initially he isn’t too aware of all that goes on with the tensions between the species beyond the basics but then he meets a rabbit known as Haru who he gets interested in. The thing is he’s a wolf so naturally there are a lot of stigmas against herbivores being together with carnivores. The relationship will have a tough time forming and this also starts to make him hyper sensitive to carnivores that badmouth herbivores or who want to eat them.

This really becomes the foundation for his desire to change the world a bit. He would ideally like everyone to be in control of themselves so all the species could get along but it won’t be easy since he himself has a tough time controlling his natural instincts as well. It’s not as easy as just deciding he won’t eat the other animals and he has to work hard at it. He ends up joining the drama club which is a good way to mingle with the others and decide what to do. Unfortunately an animal is eaten and it seems to have been done by one of his classmates. Figuring out who did this is top priority since that’s a taboo that can’t be ignored but it’s not an easy mystery to solve either. The answer to this question could even get a little tricky for him since he knows most of his classmates. So it’s going to be emotional no matter who it is.

It’s a pretty tense environment all around and the series sets the tone early as we’re also introduced to a black market where animals basically sell themselves to the carnivores. This way they’re eaten on their own terms and also make some money out of it. It’s definitely a very dark look at how grim this world can really be for them. At the end of the day it doesn’t offer a big hope of finding a magical solution like in Animal Land. This series does start to get more and more supernatural by the end but for the most part it’s very realistic.

So much so that it’s a really big moment when someone pulls out a gun for the first time. You just never forgot that because it was a big turning point in the series. From here on out we would have gangs and a lot of other action coming up. I wouldn’t say the series ever becomes a full action but the final arc definitely does have a lot of fighting in it. Even by the end most characters would have trouble with a gun so personally I think more fighters should carry one.

Where the series really drops off early though is how gritty it is. You feel like the author gets away with a lot because they’re animals and he uses this as an excuse to take a really intense look at humanity. The themes here are things that you wouldn’t ordinarily see in any title like this. Some may appreciate the boldness for the series but for me it just means that you won’t be having very much fun here at all. When things aren’t being gritty or over the top violent then you have characters talking about love and getting together or animal fun facts that are usually more detailed than they would need to be. This is the kind of world you would not want to live in because your odds of getting out in one piece aren’t great.

The author should get a lot of props for building such a detailed world and figuring out the ground rules but that’s really where the props would end. You have characters sleeping around, getting arms hacked off, and others who are eating each other. It just feels like the world is way grimmer than it ought to be and even by the end I wouldn’t say it’s all very hopeful. Sure there may be a bit of a temporary solution that will help things out but from what we’ve seen it won’t last and it won’t be enough. A common theme in the manga is that this divide will always exist and the animals just have to keep living and surviving as best they can.

So even without the animal violence I’m not sure this would get more than 1 star. Imagining the series with all humans instead, it would still be super dark and violent the whole time with a bunch of very unfortunate characters. I do think it would be toned down somewhat but enough to make this a good title? I don’t see it. Best bet would be to have turned this into more of a true action manga like the final arc and then you have a chance.

As for the artwork, it’s going for a very realistic/detailed look. It actually worked decently well, I would say the art is good. It may not be my favorite style but the action scenes are clear and you’ll never mix up the characters so that’s important. You can easily read through the whole adventure without any issues. There’s usually a lot of text so the average volume will take longer than most but with the artwork it’s always clear.

While part 1 of the story is really about the school days, eventually Legoshi goes out into the real world. He has to try and get a job and interact with everyone outside of the sheltered school life. It was interesting to see him in a new setting and it felt like a whole new saga in the manga. Sort of like your classic Shonen Jump timeskip and it always makes for a very effective tool to get the character in a new setting. You can flush out the old cast and bring in a bunch of newer ones. This would also send the series more into its action setting. Even the fight scenes you won’t enjoy as much as the average one since they are still animals fighting which takes away from the whole thing but I’ll take it over exploring the black market.

This eventually leads us to the final part of the story where we get a true main villain, Melon. He has a pretty tragic backstory as you could probably guess and his thing is that he’s super insane. He basically wants to create as much chaos as possible and really put the world on its head. If he has his way the world will revert back to a jungle where only the strongest survive and everything is settled through combat. Naturally that means he has to be taken down and so the Beastar is ready to fight but Legoshi may have to step in as well. It’s actually impressive how well Melon does because at the end of the day he is still one guy. So if a few animals ganged up they could probably beat him but it’s always easier said than done since nobody wants to be the guy who is bumped off.

We even get a tournament at the end of the series although unfortunately this is where the series starts to rush towards the ending at full speed. It’s too bad because I was looking forward to getting through the whole competition. The first round was actually intense with a very long explosives battle that had a lot of strategy and good defensive feats for Legoshi. The second round started to look very solid as well even if Legoshi was holding his punches a lot since he was fighting a lady but then the rest is basically skipped.

We do get a lot of action either way though which works out and some twists near the end. Beastars may not have ended up being a winner for me but a whole lot definitely ended up happening and it’s a very memorable manga. You aren’t likely to forget it in the end because the title/setting is very unique. It’s a manga that is taking things in a very different direction from most. For me that’s for the best since you want to keep animals as far out of the rotation as possible. You may end up being very memorable but in the end it’s just not worth it.

Now lets talk about the characters in more detail. First up we have Legoshi and I can’t say I liked him too much as the lead. First off he can be way too timid with Haru which often leads to him running around and keeping her in the dark. He’s also too oblivious to romance which leads to the series needing to have a lot of conversations about it as they basically teach him how it works. His self control isn’t very good with how often he needs crazy strict training programs and pep talks to move forward.

A lot of the series is about how this is all biological so it’s hard to resist the natural urges but it’s just way too tough. He isn’t able to do a whole lot on his own there. It’s good that he had a solid mentor in Gohin who helped show him the way. Now that guy ended up being one of the best characters here without a doubt. He’s actively making a difference in the world by helping animals overcome their hunger and protecting anyone he sees. He also trains Legoshi a whole lot which directly helps a whole lot of characters that exist within the world.

Jack is more of a minor character but he really works as a very loyal friend to Legoshi. It’s good to have someone like that in your corner who can give you a pep talk when you’re feeling down. I’d say he ends up helping a whole lot in that way. He may not be ready to tackle the more serious elements of the world but he keeps Legoshi grounded in that sense.
Haru is the main heroine here and initially she is very much a free spirit but in all the wrong ways. She can’t really find much satisfaction or purpose in her life so she started sleeping around but gradually met Legoshi and changed her ways. At that point things would always be very complicated for her since he had a tendency to vanish all the time and show up out of the blue. As a result her role in the series can also be a bit sporadic as she will go long periods of time without appearing. I can’t say that I ever became a fan of hers though. Even by the end she was close to letting one of the villains eat her on a whim. Her lack of a survival instinct would really hurt her at different points.

Yahya on the other hand is easily a highlight of the series. The guy is a top fighter and it’s easy to see how he became the Beastar. That’s not to say that he is a big hero though, In fact he has his dark secrets as well and there is one disturbing scene where we find out what he uses as fertilizer for his plants. He basically became an extremist in his pursuit of Justice. He still helps a whole lot of people out but uses some rather murky methods to do it. It was just nice to see someone trying to make a difference though and he did get lots of results. In fact he even took out Melon quite easily initially. Unfortunately Legoshi ruined it which was a low moment for his character.

Gosha is Legoshi’s grandfather and has done a good job of just living his life and not letting things get to him. His family had a really tragic turn in life but he’s done his best to stick it out and look out for Legoshi when he can. His acid makes him a very dangerous fighter if he ever wanted to cause a lot of chaos. The others should consider themselves lucky that he is a pacifist although he will act if Legoshi is in trouble. I liked him well enough and it was nice to have a calm character to balance out the rest. Almost nothing would faze this guy.

Then there is Louis who you could consider the main rival of the series. He’s really popular at school and the favorite to be one the next Beastar. He has a ton of confidence and doesn’t back down from Carnivores. He’s a deer so that puts him at a physical disadvantage in a fight which he is well aware of but he works hard to get around that. He can fight his battles with intellect and resources. When that doesn’t work he pulls out the gun and so people don’t really mess with him.  He gets to see even more of the world than Legoshi for a while due to his joining a gang of lions. He definitely got even tougher with them and ultimately does a whole lot of work in the shadows.

His father Ogma was always a fun character. His screen time is a lot more limited to be sure but he definitely makes the most of it in every occasion. The guy has a hard time sharing his feelings due to having to be emotionless and cold as the head of his company. Louis isn’t great at dealing with him either so the two are often at a bit of a crossroads. It can be tense but that’s why their scenes are always fun.

Juno is a wolf who usually has a lot of bad luck in who she goes after. Initially she wants to go out with Legoshi since society dictates that you date within your species but he’s not interested and then she goes after Louis but he’s got a fiancé so it’s all rather tough on her. I like her boldness though and she does fight hard for who she wants. Not the type of character who just throws in the towel really quick.

Bill is more of an annoying character because he doesn’t have a lot of willpower and he’s really okay with going to the black market. Not the guy you would really trust too much if he starts to get hungry. By the end he gets some development but he had a really rough start that is hard to forget. Then you’ve got Riz who is one of the most unlikable characters in the series. He likes to justify things a whole lot but ultimately they’re just excuses. He’s someone you’re just hoping will get taken out the whole time.

Then you have the main villain Melon. He’s okay, Melon is one of those characters who wants to watch the world burn and is super crazy the whole time. I feel like the heroes should have been able to stop him way sooner since I wouldn’t say that he’s a top tier threat or anything though. He can use the soul animal ability and he is quick but scenes like where he is threatening the lions are a bit much to me. They should absolutely be able to crush him with sheer numbers and the fact that they just let him boss them around the whole time is absolutely crazy. He openly mocks them and does his best to make their lives a living nightmare so they really have nothing to lose.

It’s why I ended up not being a big fan of the Shishigumi. Those guys can’t stand up for themselves and are too eager to be led all the time. They need to stand up for themselves and fight hard instead of always waiting to have someone lead them around. That’s absolutely not the best path for them and they have the muscle to be able to fight on their own. That would have helped their characters immensely, make them a full threat. You can’t help but think that all of the other groups in the final tournament look more impressive as a result since they don’t take orders from other people or get infiltrated so easily.

I did like that we were introduced to astral forms and basically supernatural super forms to help make any animal more of a threat. It was a good way to increase the power levels. It may have been a bit of a vague mechanic but I thought that it worked out pretty well. Legoshi could have used a much cooler super form though as I didn’t care for this one’s design much. It made sense for his psyche but it’s just not as threatening as it could have been. In a way it’s rough for Legoshi because throughout the series he trains really hard physically and mentally but rarely gets the definitive wins that you would expect. Often times he is outclassed physically or needs help even though you feel like he puts in more work than his opponents.

If the series focused more on the battles and this supernatural angle over the hyper realism then that would have at least salvaged some things. Focus it more on the Shonen elements and you’re good. Even in terms of dialogue it would help be an improvement if the characters were talking more like normal people. I think a more confident main character instead of Legoshi would have been a good idea as well since even by the end of the series he’s fairly timid.

Overall, Beastars gets a point for putting in a lot of effort but that’s about it. It basically runs into just about every issue I could possibly have with a title. It’s overly violent, has a ton of animal violence, gets really gritty, the romance is no good, and we even have characters running around having affairs. It pretty much avoids the fanservice issue since they’re all animals at least. At the end of the day I wouldn’t recommend the title. If you want something with a lot of novelty value for being unique then you should check out Law of Ueki instead for how to make a power like “Trash into Trees” very effective. Now that’s a title that is hype and stays that way the whole time.

Overall 1/10

Beastars

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Beastars definitely became quite the hit a few years ago. That title was everywhere before eventually vanishing. The animal world is certainly brutal in this world. It’s not quite ready to get to the next level just yet but I’ll have a review for this series as soon as it’s finished.

Overall 3/10

Children Who Chase Lost Voices Review

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I definitely didn’t know what to expect when I started this film. I didn’t know anything about it, from the plot to the characters. Unfortunately, the film wasn’t a pleasant surprise and certainly fell way below what I would have expected from it. It’s a shame since the film could have been good if it just had a better all around staff. The end product is just rather boring and aimless. It drags on and on and on.

Asuna is an everyday kid who knows how to take care of herself. She performs all of the chores and keeps her house in order since her Mom is typically out. One day, she witnesses a battle between a mysterious kid and a giant monster. They quickly become friends, but the kid is murdered soon after. Asuna doesn’t know what’s going on, but then the kid’s younger brother Shin shows up. He wants her crystal so one thing leads to another and she jumps through a portal with him to another world. Her substitute teacher, Ryuji, decides to come as well while he lets his comrades murder a poor monster that chose the wrong place to hang out. Despite realizing that Ryuji is a murderer who sold out his comrades and is keeping her prisoner, Asuna doesn’t take it personally. She hopes they can still be friends, but what is she even doing here anymore?

The film’s pretty aimless as I mentioned. Ryuji’s here to bring his wife back to life. If he can murder enough people, maybe he can get into the under world and find her. Of course, it won’t be so easy, but he is ready and willing to sacrifice Asuna to do this. Shin wants to help his corrupt village get their pendent back and is ready to murder everyone to do this as well. Asuna is really just here for the thrills and maybe she can see the dead kid again this way. There are no likable characters here and once again it is a story where you just feel bad for the animals. They didn’t ask for this, but the humans are always picking on them anyway.

What makes Asuna unlikable is the fact that she hangs out with Ryuji after everything he did. She seems completely oblivious to life in general and makes all of the wrong decisions. She is supremely annoying and grating to watch and if she even had a sliver of personality then she would have been a far better character. Even if the personality made her a jerk, at least it’s be something. She’s like a blank slip of paper in this one. Ryuji is evil even if the film doesn’t always try to portray it that way. I couldn’t sympathize with him one bit even if his goal is one that I typically don’t mind for villains. If he wants to do this, then he should go all the way and accept his role as a villain. The fact that the movie portrays him to still be a decent guy otherwise is just annoying and I didn’t buy it.

Shin’s also pretty generic. At least he helped out when it counted, but he’s just soooo weak. How could he let himself get one shotted so many times in one film? It was particularly embarrassing when he tried to stop Ryuji, but couldn’t. The film went out of its way to mock the concept of a child hero as he thought he was a great warrior, but ended up just being a kid in the end. It was easy for Ryuji to take him down. There weren’t any other real characters here aside from random villagers and Asuna’s human friend. They didn’t get to really do anything.

I’d say that the film was just too long. You’ll get bored after a little while and the fantasy elements take too long to really turn into anything tangible. The nightcrawler things were interesting as they suddenly showed up and kidnapped Asuna. More creatures like that could have been fun, but the sad fact is that the majority of them were animals that couldn’t fight and just existed to get slaughtered by the humans. The animal violence is naturally a huge reason why the film was really bad. They gunned down an animal for no good reason and this was the government. It’s all rather vague which is supposed to be interesting, but I wasn’t invested enough to care. Why does the government want this mystical land and how do people know about it? Why have they not sealed off the exits so the fantasy people don’t just come to the human world whenever they want? You can wait for the answers, but they’ll never come. It was always surprising when someone would get slashed and blood would appear. It always felt a little out of place, but it’s not excessive or anything. I wouldn’t really count it as a negative, but the animal part makes that irrelevant anyway.

The first thing you’ll notice is that the animation isn’t all that good. It’s not bad, but it has that soulless look that you may have come to expect from Westernized anime or as I like to call them “General audience” anime. It’s something that can be hard to describe, but it’s just a style. Look at Spirited Away or this film and then look at the latest DBZ or Naruto film. The latter you can instantly tell is an awesome anime film while the former titles look more see through and American. However you describe the difference, I always prefer the latter. It just looks a whole lot better. This film still looks decent by American standards though. We do get some action scenes here and I suppose the animation tries its best, but it certainly doesn’t do much to help the film. Likewise with the soundtrack as there aren’t any interesting themes here. I can’t say that I’m very surprised though. Not too much of a knock on the film, but you wouldn’t expect it to have any cool tunes. That’s just the kind of film it is.

Overall, Children Who Chase Lost Voices was absolutely a flop. Animal Violence + Annoying characters is always going to equal a loss in the end. The film was way too long and just got to be boring by the end. You’d definitely be changing the channel if this ever comes on TV again. None of the monsters were all that impressive when it comes to their power and the ending is like another laugh to the viewers. It seems to be a running gag that the heroine loves to go back to Earth and act like the whole thing never happened in the end. It was fitting for this film though since we’ll all just try to move on from this title. It’s definitely not one that I’d recommend. You should go watch a Dragon Ball Z film instead.

Overall 3/10

The Jungle Book Review

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It’s time to finally get to the Jungle Book review. This film got a lot of recognition for its superb CGI and how realistic the animals ended up looking. They definitely do look pretty sharp and I’ll give the film a lot of kudos for its effects. Despite being a film with a lot of animals around and having a kid as the main character, Jungle Book did pretty well for itself. Honestly, the film would have been even better if Mowgli was older, but that’s for the sequel.

Mowgli is a kid who was raised in the forest. As such, he is used to being around animals instead of humans. Unfortunately, Shere Khan doesn’t approve of this. He faced a human once and lost his eye so now he thinks that all humans are evil. Honestly, most of the humans probably would come to the forest with the intent to do the animals harm, but Mowgli is too young for any of that. Mowgli is forced to go on the run when his clan is taken over by Shere Khan so now he must find some reinforcements and stop Khan before anyone gets hurt. He’ll need the help of a friendly bear, a panther, and a host of other animals who are around the bend. Mowgli is not a bad character, but I still think that kids can’t really hold their own films effectively. It’s just too hard to take him seriously. The scenes of him roaring, running around, or getting stung by bees all rank among the lower moments of the film. It’s really the side characters who do a good job of showing us why this film is good.

Take Baloo for example. He’s the best character in the film and since he is a bear, the guy is also a threat to the villains. A Bear would probably lose to a Lion in real life if they fought….but it would be very close. Both of them can conceivably defeat the other. Shere Khan is a tiger so then this helps Baloo’s case, but this bear isn’t a fighter anyway so that minimizes the advantage. Baloo is all about making equal partnerships and he’s a reasonable fellow. He’s a great friend to have around and he added some nice humor to the film. If he was intended to be the fan favorite all along, then the film definitely did a good job of making him a likable character.

Bagheera is the main Panther and the one who raised Mowgli ever since he was a kid. He’ll remind you of the main Panther from Animal Land and you can really draw a lot of similarities between this and that series. That one is a lot more extreme with the violence though and I don’t actually recommend it. It also got pretty supernatural by the end with all of the Chimeras running around and being as strong as Kaiju. That was certainly crazy. Bagheera may not be the absolute strongest animal here, but he’s a good all around fighter. I’d say that he seems to be a little stronger than the wolves, but not quite as powerful as the tigers. Bagheera is definitely one of the more likable characters in the film and while he may not be great at working with others, he learns to be a team player in the end.

Shere Khan is a great villain and he certainly makes his presence felt. I do think it was a little iffy how easily he defeated the Wolves though. They had numbers on their side and the leader shouldn’t have allowed himself to be taken out so easily. It’s a classic example of why arrogance leads to a fall. The Wolf wanted to show that he was in control of the situation so he lay down and pretended to be at ease. This made Khan’s plan all the easier. Khan would have won anyway, but I like to think that a prolonged fight against the whole clan would have been far too difficult, even for him. Khan is definitely persistent and you have to give him credit for never giving up. He never went down without a fight.

Kaa is another villain who got a big scene in the trailers, but didn’t actually do all that much in the film. She really got a glorified cameo if anything. Her illusion abilities are certainly handy, but in a fight she is clearly outmatched against the rest of the characters. The main character is one of the only people that she can defeat although to be fair, he’s the only one that she needs to eat in order to end the adventure.

If the film has any weakness, it’s that it can drag a little bit at certain points. For example, the escapade over to the Baboons. The plot didn’t really add anything to the movie and I never really care for the monkeys. It was impressive just how large the King was and the chase scene was cool, but it just felt like filler. The heroes were also so vastly outnumbered that it was just hard to see how they escaped from that plight without more serious injuries. I didn’t want any more bee injuries though because that always looks pretty gross so Monkeys were preferable. I also would have loved it if the film had taken place in the city, but then it’d be a completely different film right?

The writing was good, which always goes a long way in these movies. Bad writing would have made this film quite sad. I can’t say that I really recall there being much of a soundtrack in this film. That would have been pretty neat, but it wasn’t a bad soundtrack at any rate. I think there were some generic danger and action themes in there somewhere. As mentioned before, the graphics are pretty realistic. I prefer more fantasy esque graphics of course, but this wasn’t supposed to be that kind of movie anyway. As far as realistic animals go, Jungle Book did a really good job.

Overall, The Jungle Book is a good film. You’ll definitely get some Lion King vibes from the main villain and the scene where he “befriends” the cubs as a threat to the Mom is certainly familiar. Shere Khan definitely made for an epic villain. This is the kind of film that can definitely stand on its own without a sequel, but a sequel certainly wouldn’t hurt. There is definitely a lot that they can do with this series, but there are also a lot of ways that it can jump the fence. The writers will have to be careful how they handle this. I’d recommend checking out the film. There may be some scenes that drag on and Mowgli isn’t all that good, but by and large this is a solid film. The positives clearly outweigh the negatives and that’s always the important part. I think this film would have easily gotten a 7 if the main character had just been a little older, but that’s how it goes sometimes.

Overall 6/10