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Post by Neko Bazu on Mar 30, 2007 11:17:02 GMT -1
ONLY YESTERDAY A film that's rather different from the more typical Studio Ghibli output, Only Yesterday tells the tale of a twenty-something office worker by the name of Taeko, a woman at a crossroads in her life. Taking a trip to the countryside, she reflects upon her life, and particularly her childhood, pondering what's happened to her dreams and whether she could truly consider herself a contented soul. Although, as always the animation is beautiful, and the contrasting colour schemes work well to differentiate the past from the present, the film lacks the charm of other Ghibli productions. Although it does provide insight into both the pressures of growing up and the issues regarding growing older, the film seems way too ponderous. Perhaps the fact that it has only recently been released in the UK, and that on the back of Ghibli's other successes suggest that it has a limited appeal. That said, the final sequence of the film which runs with the closing credits does provide one of those great signature Ghibli moments, providing a moving and perfectly judged, if somewhat inevitable climax. 6/10 Must admit, I hadn't even heard of that one... Guess it just shows, you can depend on the anime community to promote the good stuff and ignore the rest! ;D
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Post by Neko Bazu on Apr 18, 2007 18:58:34 GMT -1
Byosoku 5 centimeter - OukashouOukashou is part one of a three-part film being released this month (each part is approximately half an hour long), and I've just finished watching it. I wanted to put my review up right now, because I'm afraid this feeling will slip away otherwise. This is anime. That is the best summary I can offer. The artwork is amazing. The characters are of a quality that even the likes of Studio Ghibli would flaunt with pride, and the backgrounds are breathtakingly beautiful. I honestly cannot do justice to describe them in words, and even screenshots seem flat. When you're actually watching it, it's just... it's like life has been breathed into it. The characters are of the breed you can't help but immediately fall in love with and empathise with. There's no outrageous personalities here; they're just two adolescents in love, separated by distance. It's something we can all imagine - maybe even identify with - and it's brought across beautifully. You don't even have to consider what the characters might be feeling like, because you're feeling it too. When they hurt, you hurt. When they're happy, you shed a tear of joy with them. Anxiety, frustration, feeling distraught and elated; they all carry out of the screen and into you. The story is touching and genuinely moving, and brought a wavery smile to my face at the end - God knows I only had things to smile at, but the tears wanted to fall at the same time. I couldn't praise this enough. I cannot think of enough words to describe how wonderful this is. Nothing is perfect, but this would get my nomination for the closest thing to it in any poll. It's available for download now (I can send torrents to people who want them, and am planning to upload it later), and I strongly urge you to go and look at it. 10/10, no questions asked. Just sat and watched this again, and I stand by everything I said above and more. It's the only thing I've ever watched to make me cry tears of happiness, and it's done it twice. I paid much more attention to the artwork this time, and it's just incredible - the backgrounds could've been done by a professional artist (as opposed to animator), they're that good. Taking some examples found online: Countryside: Town: Train station: Classroom - look at the sunlight! I still can't find any flaws with it at all - I know saying that sort of thing builds it up to the point of risking a let-down, but it's the honest truth. It's on youtube now (search for Byousoku), though the video quality is greatly diminished, so for full effect, I strongly recommend downloading it. If anyone can't use torrents or are just too lazy to, I'll find a site to upload it to so you can take it from there.
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Post by Neko Bazu on May 8, 2007 20:28:48 GMT -1
Peacemaker Kurogane (2003)
"Are you willing to give up your humanity to take up the sword?"
Peacemaker is a 24-episode series set in 1864, the Meiji period of Japan, when the country was on the verge of falling into turmoil over whether or not they should accept outsiders' influence (such as the US) or remain an insular nation. The story focuses in particular on a young boy named Tetsunosuke Ichimura and his older brother, Tatsunosuke. After his parents are killed in front of him, Tetsu vows to become stronger and take revenge - and joins the Shinsengumi, a clan of warriors, to fulfil this goal.
The story itself delves into Japan's history and portrays clearly what a turbulent time this was, with rival factions fighting for global contact, insularity, or just fighting to keep peace. The Shinsengumi fall into the latter group, though when a 15-year old Tetsu joins them they're embroiled in an attritional war with the Choushuu clan, an insular group (and as best I'm aware, at least this aspect of the story is historically accurate, broadly speaking).
The series is often portrayed as being a gorefest, but while it holds the unofficial fan-record for the most blood spilled with a single sword-swipe (with good reason), it has much more to it than the label 'gorefest' would suggest. Indeed, there are few real battles during the series, though those included are satisfyingly brutal - the real focus tends to be on character development, and it is here that the series finds most fans. While for a couple of episodes toward the middle, the series drags agonisingly slowly (the bane of many series), the rest more than makes up for it, especially the climatic final battle, when... well, that'd be a spoiler.
Some of the characters are criminally underused, however (such as the cowboy from the US), which somewhat lets the series down, and others have loose ends not quite tied up (such as Okita and Suzu). Overall, though, the plot and characters are sound, and there are enough sharp twists and sudden drama along the way to keep one's interest. This is also a series that, mercifully, isn't afraid to use a popular character's death as a plot device, and also manages to show a striking difference between intentionally bad people and those caught up willingly but naively (which left me feeling gut-wrenchingly sorry for one of the 'villains' toward the end).
On a more critical note, the animation is largely standard fare, though effects such as smoke, fire and clouds are of worthy note for those interested in such aspects, and the music is fantastic - from atmospheric battle music to tracks portraying utter terror to the electric guitar version of the Can-Can during a daft race, every track is a winner (honestly, it's worth watching just to hear that last one).
Voice-acting? Well, aside from a nasty habit of most of the women having southern drawls, the acting is pretty damn good, featuring names in the English dub such as Greg Ayres (Macross, Saiyuki, DN Angel), Luci Christian (Macross, Chrono Crusade, DN Angel), Braden Hunt (Full Metal Panic, Saiyuki), Kevin Corn (DN Angel, Saiyuki) and John Gremillion (Macross, DN Angel, Full Metal Panic), who all put in performances ranging from good to well above average, though others such as Mike Macrae (playing Toshizo Hijikata) fall a little flat.
I may have come across as being somewhat critical above, but the truth is this is a good series which justifies its wide fanbase, with characters that are easy to like or love/hate, an interesting story that doesn't tie you in circles trying to be clever and an ending that is admittedly deflating, but in a good way - while the heroes get their happy ever after, some others are left out in the cold, and this is portrayed in a truly touching way.
The one thing I want to know, is what the hell is with that damn cat?!
Overall, 7/10
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Post by Neko Bazu on Aug 31, 2007 13:27:33 GMT -1
Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni ("When Cicadas Cry")
If you're into horror and mystery, this is a great series to check out. It's one of the most messed-up things I've watched in a while - it opens up with the lead 14 year-old character halfway through murdering two of his female friends with a baseball bat - but it is brilliant on all levels.
Without giving too much away, the series revolves around a small rural Japanese town, which has a curse upon it - every year, at the time of the Wataganashi festival, one person gets murdered and another disappears without trace; in each case, these are people who the town's guardian God, Oyashiro-sama, could perceive to be enemies of the town. The story picks up the day before Wataganashi, and tells of what comes around that year. The story is played out several times over, each time coming to a different conclusion, before people finally begin to learn from their mistakes. Set out with four "question" arcs and two "answer" arcs (the latter of which clear up the question arcs), it is initially confusing, but immensely satisfying once everything clicks into place (though several questions are left open-ended, for fans to speculate about).
For mystery fans, there is a lot to ponder over and draw conclusions from, though you're thrown a large amount of red herrings along the way. For horror fans, there's plenty of nasty moments too, including fingernails being ripped off, people clawing their own throats out and people with maggots crawling through their bloodstream, as well as murders with baseball bats, machetes and various other nasty implements (the one arc featuring child abuse is notably difficult to watch too). The fact that all this is carried out by children ranging from 10-15 years old only adds to the disturbance. Around all of this, they still find time to throw in a couple of romance plots and ask questions about what friendship means too, following the tradition of great anime series offering entertainment and providing lots to muse over too.
The voice-acting is great, the animation is among the best I've seen for a long time, and the development of each character is superb - even up to the last few episodes, certain facts about the lead cast are hidden, but by then you feel like you know everything about them, adding to the surprise when these facts are revealed. The series has a habit of sharply switching between happy scenes and - at times - genuinely frightening scenes, and the animators and voice-actors all contribute to this effect too, with dramatic changes of personality in the characters both visible and audible in some of the creepiest ways I've seen.
The background music also contributes well to all scenes throughout the anime (be they happy, melancholy or brutal), but is noticable only in that it isn't over-used - it really is atmospheric, instead of distracting.
The series is well worth an 8/10 vote, for me, and I only hope the second season lives up to the first.
Incidentally, the intro credits provide a good idea of what I mean when I say the story flips from mood to mood sharply...
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Post by Travis on Oct 9, 2007 11:12:10 GMT -1
NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND
Hayao Miyazaki's second feature as a director was an adaptation of his own bestselling manga, and was the film that helped launch Studio Ghibli. Appropriately, Miyazaki set a high benchmark, and laid something of a template of what was to follow with this strikingly imaginative tale.
The story is that of Princess Nausicaa, and her seaside kingdom, The Valley Of The Wind. A thousand years on from a great war, Nausicaa and her people are engaged in a constant struggle against the steadily encroaching poisonous jungle that the war left behind, and also those creatures who inhabit it.
As with the majority of Ghibli releases, the hero of the piece is a girl - Miyazaki et al can certainly never stand accused of being misogynists - and the fantastical nature of the worlds explored are on a par with almost everything else that's followed. Environmental degradation, and the need to strive to find a balance between nature and humanity stands as the key message of the tale, and in that respect it could be considered almost be considered a sister piece, for Miyazaki's later epic, Princess Mononoke.
8/10
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Post by Dr LuKas on Oct 9, 2007 11:30:30 GMT -1
(do another movie quiz Trav)
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Post by Travis on Oct 9, 2007 11:44:17 GMT -1
(do another movie quiz Trav) I was rather hoping such a quiz would go on a rotational basis!! No plans for one of your own then Lucas?
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Post by addicted2venos on Oct 9, 2007 11:45:08 GMT -1
(do another movie quiz Trav) I was rather hoping such a quiz would go on a rotational basis!! No plans for one of your own then Lucas? Since you've been made mod, you've gotten so lazy!! ;D
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Post by Dr LuKas on Oct 9, 2007 11:48:34 GMT -1
(do another movie quiz Trav) I was rather hoping such a quiz would go on a rotational basis!! No plans for one of your own then Lucas? Well I'd do a funk quiz but y'know, kinda.... don't make me call you funktards. ;D I'm not sure if I'm good enough to do a movie quiz............................
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Post by Travis on Oct 9, 2007 11:55:35 GMT -1
I was rather hoping such a quiz would go on a rotational basis!! No plans for one of your own then Lucas? Well I'd do a funk quiz but y'know, kinda.... don't make me call you funktards. ;D I'm not sure if I'm good enough to do a movie quiz............................ If all else fails, or you're not sure about something, check the IMdb!
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Post by Dr LuKas on Oct 9, 2007 11:58:12 GMT -1
What's the name of Bill friend on his excellent adventure? ;D
You see, you're the master.
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Post by Travis on Oct 9, 2007 12:09:34 GMT -1
What's the name of Bill friend on his excellent adventure? ;D You see, you're the master. Well it was a brave try Lucas!! ;D Do you have any ideas at least?
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Post by Dr LuKas on Oct 9, 2007 12:14:31 GMT -1
For movie questions..... I'd focus too much on a specific type of film, I'm not that good with coming up with questions, it would have to be on something I know really well better than the vast vast majority of people..
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Post by Travis on Oct 9, 2007 12:39:42 GMT -1
Hmmm....I'll have to have a think, though we actually need more than a couple of entrants ideally.
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Post by jh1980 on Oct 9, 2007 12:45:39 GMT -1
Hmmm....I'll have to have a think, though we actually need more than a couple of entrants ideally. I'll have a go entering if it's not stupidly hard... though I'm not much good tbh. I know what I know, to be obvious lol!
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Post by Dr LuKas on Oct 9, 2007 12:50:40 GMT -1
Jules what's the name of the time traveling kid in the Back to The Future movies? (bonus question which funky person played small roles in 2 and 3)
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Post by jh1980 on Oct 9, 2007 12:56:43 GMT -1
Jules what's the name of the time traveling kid in the Back to The Future movies? (bonus question which funky person played small roles in 2 and 3) Is that not Marty McFly? He's got a lot to answer for, that kid! ;D
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Post by Dr LuKas on Oct 9, 2007 13:01:55 GMT -1
Yes! You're ready. (the funky person by the way was Flea the best Australian bassist I know.)
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Post by jh1980 on Oct 9, 2007 13:06:19 GMT -1
Yes! You're ready. (the funky person by the way was Flea the best Australian bassist I know.) Woop woop! Flea was in those films?! Not seen them for years. Indeed, he is arguably in the top 3 bass players who've ever lived...!
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Post by Dr LuKas on Oct 9, 2007 13:09:26 GMT -1
Yeah he has had quite a few small roles in films, Anthony too but mainly just in the early 90s.
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