I agree with this. Sure, it left a lot unexplained, but it got just enough done and the ending was really classy, and in a way, I like that it left you wondering and trying to fill in some of the blanks for yourself. The overall ride of the series was so good that I can easily forgive it for not having all the details and answers. When it comes to the actual films, I think I'm a far more savage to them than either you or Teo are, in fact here's my review I just found from a while back:
Good review, Sarah, though the score was little more generous than I was expecting. The problem with these Eden films was that they kept adding superfluous plot elements while neglecting everything that the series already had in abundance to explore. Not only that, the superfluous plot strands it did add were dealt with so rapidly I don't think it was humanly possible to keep up, Kamiyama's plotting is simply all over the gaff!
I mean who was that old lady doing the 'poignant stare' look, in the hospital at the end (it's not a spoiler, as it's absolutely random and not related to anything in the movie at all!), and if I'm not mistaken wasn't there one selecao that we were never even introduced to?
And Mr. Outsiders Granddaughters? What...Why....How...
I genuinely would like to know the answers to these questions. It's almost as if by the end, the movie had lost the plot to such an extent that Kamiyama was forgetting which characters were even in script and which weren't!
I found Mr. Outsiders "revelation" to be a let down to say the least, in fact...I cant even remember anything about it other than
he was some old taxi driver?
. I found Takizawa's family revelations to be just as pointless other than giving Saki an excuse to say "He will leave me now"....oh wait it didn't, she just said it for no other possible reason than to be annoyingly and unreasonably melancholic.
The film was so desperate to portray Takizawa as some kind of modern day Jesus, making the ultimate sacrifice for mankind. Now, I like Taki, so that wouldn't have been a problem....except, I couldn't bloody work out what "sacrifice" he was even making!
And then the ending.....
Hero runs off into the distance, he might be back, he might not, but there he goes... running......for no reason whatsoever, once again)
There's cheesy....and then there's just plain lazy.
Anyway, I too can't help wondering what it would have been like if Kamiyama had made it a proper 20 plus episode series. I think Kamiyama's the master of the anime TV series, but he's like a fish out of water when it comes to feature length productions.
Word of advice to casual fans: Watch the series, enjoy it and then resist the temptation of ever watching these movies
Space Adventure Cobra
5/10
Really odd, trippy and average movie
First off, I will admit, for its time, the animation is fantastic. Movement is very fluied and the action scenes were also pretty impressive. Some of the backgrounds were nicely done aswell. Second some of the fight scenes were fun to watch and well choreographed.
One of my biggest gripes is the uneven pacing. For the first half hour the plot moved waaaay to fast, then after is going sooooooo slooooow! Towards the end i just wanted it to finish!!!! Also the narrative was all over the place! One minute He'll be talking to some women, then she'll be on some electrical looking horse! What? After a while i really lost interest in the plot as it just tried to be to complex.
The overall style and plot of the movie was just weird! weird looking characters and trippy scenes that cant be taken seriously and looked strange. it was a little overwhelming and put me off slightly. I can't really talk because i love Panty and Stocking and i also liked Dead Leaves, they were also weird, but they were trippy and fun and didn't take themselves seriously. SAC tries really hard to be serious but in doing so kind of flops!
Overall, an average film which is trippy, weird and a plot thats all over the place. I can't complain much as i only paid £2 for this, but still it could have been better.
You can probably tell my thoughts on the subject from my avatar, but I think the Royal Sisters arc was pretty convoluted to begin with and their attempt to condense it down into a feature film was not entirely successful. I actually think it flows well enough and certain elements of the film do improve on other versions of the story, but characterisation of the three sisters is awkward at best, and I'd be lying if I said I took to Cobra the first time I saw it. I also haven't seen the current UK release, so I couldn't comment on how coherent the script is, compared to the old Yello dub version.
There is a parallel universe (warped time-space) where people from other universes have been mixed up and put together. They are: Tatsuhiro Satou (from Welcome to the NHK), Nyuu (from Elfen Lied), Kyoko Otonashi (from Maison Ikkoku), a little monkey from an old anime (can't remember the names). It may seem I've been caught up there too, but it's another self, not me.
Overall impression: it's a fine series. Some average episodes, some good and really good ones. I didn't like how they developed the main story: it has been dealt with mainly in the second half and with some weird or unneeded twists (Kyoko is the cover for the cousin of Ritsuko Akagi... come on!). Besides these critics it has been an enjoyable show, after the end of each episode I felt the need to continue, this is the most important quality about each show after all.
Best character: Hiroyasu Ueda, of course. Because he is a pastry chef and (R15 spoiler) he ends up with the girl with big boobs .
Some time ago I watched Princess Lover, which I thought was a creative hedging of bets. It was a title spread over many genres so as to appeal to as many demographics as possible, and it failed dismally. So now how do I approach Angel Beats? Certainly it follows a similar strategy, being a mash-up of high school comedy, action adventure and spiritual introspection. The difference is that the mixture is a cohesive one, with none of the cynicism found in Princess Lover.
In short, it’s good.
No, scratch that, it is brilliant. It’s wonderfully animated to the point where I could scarcely believe I was watching a television production. For instance, in a scene where the rock band performs, the lead guitarist can be seen strumming each individual note of her song instead of repeating a set animation cycle over and over again. Likewise, the drummer can be seen using her entire drum kit during the song. I especially liked how she had to stretch over to hit her snares. (Yes, I am that easily impressed!) Elsewhere, movements remain fluid: you really are getting the full 24 frames per second here. Couple this with intricately detailed backgrounds, and in terms of animation you’re on to a winner.
The producers don’t skimp on the music either. Music plays its part well in highlighting the perils and the ecstasy of battles fought by those who cannot die. It also complements the sense of loss and sadness of those forced to come to terms with their otherworldly experience in their quest for understanding and, ultimately, closure. Then there’s the staying power of the songs. I’m still humming the opening bars of the opening theme, “My Soul, Your Beats!” to myself. Listening to “Ichiban no Takaramono” still makes me mist up. “Crow Song” with its rocking beat still gets me tapping my toes.
Finally we have the quality writing, which has fun with the characters and the setting while never forgetting their tragic underpinnings. Better still, whether the show was in high comedy mode of heart-rending drama mode, or even action-packed mode, none felt out of place and all were equally effective in their tasks. Put all this together, and it possesses that "just one more episode" appeal all the way to the saddest happy ending I’ve ever encountered.
The only criticism I have here has nothing to do with the series itself; it has to do with the way Sentai sells it. The back of the blu-ray cover reads as follows:
It sucks being dead. It sucks even more to be trapped in a surreal afterlife where you're caught between the living and the dead - where a mysterious, violent Angel is trying to pull you over to... somewhere. What do you do? Well, if you're this group of rough-and-tumble teens, you grab every weapon you can get your hands on and give Heaven hell!
The wording makes this out to be some irreverent action comedy. Fair enough, I suppose, but where’s the mention of the bittersweet drama in all of this? Why do Sentai feel compelled to omit this very important aspect of the show from its product description? Do they feel that the average anime collector would be intimidated by it and move on to a more action-orientated anime that isn’t “bogged down” by such sentimental nonsense? Do they really think I’m that shallow?
Not that any of that affects the overall quality of the show. In the end, watching this — nay, experiencing this — was a joy, an unequivocal, unmitigated joy. So I guess then that I liked it.
The Diary of Anne Frank-A 1995 remake of the 1979 movie of the same name,not much point going into to much detail as i,m sure we are all familiar with this tragic true life story,a very well made movie and deals with the subject matter very well,we all know the tragic events of this story and how it ended for poor Anne and her family and friends,but the film is also uplifting and shows how strong the human spirit is when pushed to the limit.The film ends with there capture,and it does not go on to dramatize the horrific aftermath of there capture.A excellent movie with solid animation and some fine character design and nice music that fits on with the atmosphere of the movie,powerful and thought provoking but never just feels like a history lesson,this is a top class movie,not one just for the history buffs,this is a move i think everyone should at least see once.8/10
[/quote]
Heh, quite. In a weird way, I totally agree with your score of 2/10, despite basically enjoying the series. Can you have a "good" 2/10? The show was incredibly cramped in a 12 ep run I thought, but I still think there was just enough in the concept of Akuto's role and attitude (as well as the inevitable consequences of his efforts to clear his name) to limp the show over the finish line to a smattering of applause.
Forum was giving me no end of trouble trying to put this all into one post for some reason (edit: OK, it's still doing something similar. See at the end of the quoted passage where it says "e/quote]"? The forum software kept on adding that into this section and really messing with the formatting when I had multiple quotations going on. It has also randomly added in an extra [/quote] in my post above. Anyone with any ideas?)
Yakumo said:
Angel Beats!
The producers don’t skimp on the music either. Music plays its part well in highlighting the perils and the ecstasy of battles fought by those who cannot die. It also complements the sense of loss and sadness of those forced to come to terms with their otherworldly experience in their quest for understanding and, ultimately, closure. Then there’s the staying power of the songs. I’m still humming the opening bars of the opening theme, “My Soul, Your Beats!” to myself. Listening to “Ichiban no Takaramono” still makes me mist up. “Crow Song” with its rocking beat still gets me tapping my toes.e/quoteng/quote]
I would go even further than this. I think the music defined AB!. Little Braver is probably my most listened to track, but I agree about Ichiban no Takaramono ("Goodbye Days" just about my favorite episode, ahead of "Alive"). Great show, really nice write up.
Shigurui Death Frenzy
9.5/10
This is my second time watching this series. Watched it back in 2010 on DVD by rental. Bought it a couple of weeks ago on Blu-ray to check it out again.
This anime is superb! A visual marsterpiece!
First the story. While the story does move slow, It is well thought out and makes you eager to know what is going to happen. Some people may be put off by the pacing, but if you stick with it, you will NOT be dissapointed!
Secondly, The art style. The art style is some of the best I've seen in an anime. Nicely done CGI, fantastic use of colours for backgrounds and for the overall mood of the series, Very detailed fight scenes, great character designs and the list goes on. Studio Madhouse have done a fantastic job! This clearly had a good budget.
As i mentioned the fight scenes, If you want some Over the top fights similar to Samurai Champloo or Afro Samurai, You might be dissapointed. WHile there a few fights scenes, this isnt exactly a heavy fighting show as it is more of a drama, character driven anime. Plus all the fights are still shots instead of being fully animated, However they short, intense and very detailed compared to when other shows use still shots (Fairy Tail still shots are awful)
I would'nt do this review justice if i didnt mention the blood. This is a VERY violent show. There is decapitations, to disembowelment to cutting off nipples! 0_o Yeah this really isnt for the weak hearted. If you like bloody shows you'll love this!
Overall a great deep, dark and thought provoking series with gallons of blood, fantastic art style, good characters and an overall creepy and awesome mood. One of Manga ent. most overlooked shows! Check it out....If you can stomach it!
Shigurui Death Frenzy
9.5/10
This is my second time watching this series. Watched it back in 2010 on DVD by rental. Bought it a couple of weeks ago on Blu-ray to check it out again.
This anime is superb! A visual marsterpiece!
First the story. While the story does move slow, It is well thought out and makes you eager to know what is going to happen. Some people may be put off by the pacing, but if you stick with it, you will NOT be dissapointed!
Secondly, The art style. The art style is some of the best I've seen in an anime. Nicely done CGI, fantastic use of colours for backgrounds and for the overall mood of the series, Very detailed fight scenes, great character designs and the list goes on. Studio Madhouse have done a fantastic job! This clearly had a good budget.
As i mentioned the fight scenes, If you want some Over the top fights similar to Samurai Champloo or Afro Samurai, You might be dissapointed. WHile there a few fights scenes, this isnt exactly a heavy fighting show as it is more of a drama, character driven anime. Plus all the fights are still shots instead of being fully animated, However they short, intense and very detailed compared to when other shows use still shots (Fairy Tail still shots are awful)
I would'nt do this review justice if i didnt mention the blood. This is a VERY violent show. There is decapitations, to disembowelment to cutting off nipples! 0_o Yeah this really isnt for the weak hearted. If you like bloody shows you'll love this!
Overall a great deep, dark and thought provoking series with gallons of blood, fantastic art style, good characters and an overall creepy and awesome mood. One of Manga ent. most overlooked shows! Check it out....If you can stomach it!
I saw this when it was airing but i was kinda disapointed cause i was expecting something not so slow. I did enjoy the anime in its all but my expectations didnt let me enjoy it even more. I have to watch the dvds one of these days and know that i know what to expect, I might enjoy more than ever cause i love samurai stuff.
Mardock Scramble The First Compression 9/10
Can't wait for the next one, absolutely loved it. The only one thing I didn't like was the CG cars, thought they looked quite poor, pity they didn't cell shade them but that is a very minor gripe.
First off the series has aged which I can forgive, I didn't like the narrator his talking was putting me to sleep, and the series was a lil hard to follow at times but some times I could understand what was going on and I got confessed on why some characters changed there minds and sides sometimes at the drop of a hat,
I can see potential in this series I really do, if they kept it more intense and and more clear on a few things I'd be even more in to the series. gundam wing was my first gundam series and seed was my second * which was a rip off of wing* but near the end of the series was getting better and better.
The main characters are stereotypes you have
The silent type who dose his mission to the end
The warrior type who'll fight with honour
The layback type
The caring brains of the group
And the type who has a personality of cardboard
You can see these types in most gundam series lol
The movie was a huge improvement and the animation got better and I'l say it was a good way to end the series
Ozu is my new hero. I really liked this series and its weird art style that mixes old character designs, photos and so on. The story is interesting with its take on the "what if?" theme. The writers succeeded in conveying a wide range of emotions and keeping the show fluid. Another plus is that it brought back many memories of my school times. There are a lot of classy touches as well (the hamster wheel!). My only complaint is on how it ended, it was pretty standard and predictable. I was hoping for an epic win by Ozu, condemning all the others to total doom.
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