RebelNotorious
Student Council President
It is available on HiDive, tho only in the US but if you have a VPN then you’re golden.
Sadly it’s out of print now and a second hand copy will cost you a kidney, which is probably due to a low print run.
Rate the last anime you watched out of 10
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Geriatric hedgehog
Pokémon Master
Ah well, I'd like to keep both kidneys so I guess I'll just work through everything I have accumulated to watch for now and keep hoping someday someone will release it in the UK!
Dan
Stand User
City Hunter Shinjuku Private Eyes - 7/10
I've only ever seen City Hunter the Motion Picture and i really enjoyed that so have always wanted to see more and still have .357 Magnum and Secret Service sat on my shelf. The only thing that puts me off is the perverted nature of the character, it does nothing for me at all and I always think how good this show could be without those moments (I know others will like it but its just my opinion) and I though this movie was the same, a great action car chase intro and then we got a lot of those moments for the next 20mins or so and I felt it really slowed down the pace. It picked up after this and its these moments (when it takes itself seriously I think this show really shines, the dodgy 3d drone aside it was really well aminated action ending too. Overall I liked this and will be keeping it. If only I could make my own cut
Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still - 7/10
I've put off writing this for a couple of days to let it sink in and decide what I really thought. What I did like was the standard of the animation, it was top notch. Some of the scenes in this wowed me. The action was great and the scale of the robots was immense. I honestly felt this had a completely different vibe to any anime I'd seen before, so much so I didn't really feel like I was watching an anime (hopefully that makes sense). Maybe it was the soundtrack, it gave it such an epic scale but not something I feel i've heard in anime before. This was probably the right mecha show for me, very little mecha and did leave me questioning at times why its called Giant Robo and not something else. I'll talk about a big thing I didn't like below, but don't want to spoil it for anyone so will hide it. On the dub I ended up switching to the newer dub in after the first episode, it was a little too crazy at times for me and I was wondering what the hell was going on come the end of the first ep
I've only ever seen City Hunter the Motion Picture and i really enjoyed that so have always wanted to see more and still have .357 Magnum and Secret Service sat on my shelf. The only thing that puts me off is the perverted nature of the character, it does nothing for me at all and I always think how good this show could be without those moments (I know others will like it but its just my opinion) and I though this movie was the same, a great action car chase intro and then we got a lot of those moments for the next 20mins or so and I felt it really slowed down the pace. It picked up after this and its these moments (when it takes itself seriously I think this show really shines, the dodgy 3d drone aside it was really well aminated action ending too. Overall I liked this and will be keeping it. If only I could make my own cut
Giant Robo: The Day the Earth Stood Still - 7/10
I've put off writing this for a couple of days to let it sink in and decide what I really thought. What I did like was the standard of the animation, it was top notch. Some of the scenes in this wowed me. The action was great and the scale of the robots was immense. I honestly felt this had a completely different vibe to any anime I'd seen before, so much so I didn't really feel like I was watching an anime (hopefully that makes sense). Maybe it was the soundtrack, it gave it such an epic scale but not something I feel i've heard in anime before. This was probably the right mecha show for me, very little mecha and did leave me questioning at times why its called Giant Robo and not something else. I'll talk about a big thing I didn't like below, but don't want to spoil it for anyone so will hide it. On the dub I ended up switching to the newer dub in after the first episode, it was a little too crazy at times for me and I was wondering what the hell was going on come the end of the first ep
I really didn't like the ending, it just made it all feel pointless to me. Genya's whole mission could have been stopped if his father had just muttered a few more words to him. It something that's bugged me before in the live action movie Hero when iirc the whole point is to murder the emperor, they get there find out why he's doing what he does, realise they can't kill him and all have to die... I really don't like plots like that so that kinda spoiled it for me.
Dai
Death Scythe
Momotaro: Sacred Sailors
Oh jeez, where do I even start with a film that has such a difficult history? While not technically the first anime, this was the first feature-length anime film. And it's WWII propaganda. There are two ways to approach a film like this: as a piece of entertainment or a historical artefact. Depending on which you opt for, you'll have two very different experiences.
Viewed in isolation, purely on its own narrative merits as a piece of entertainment, Momotaro doesn't hold up. That's not necessarily a failure on its part because its primary aim is to indoctrinate as much as entertain, but there's not much left for an audience where the propaganda aspect is anachronistic. Also, the expectations for an animated film have changed so much in the decades since. The Disney influence on this film is obvious, and that extends beyond the animation style. When you think of early US animation, the likes of Snow White or Bambi are the ones that come to mind, but between Warner's Merrie Melodies and the likes of Saludos Amigos it was just as common for them to just be a string of song-and-dance routines. Momotaro sits somewhere in the middle. Very little happens narratively for the first hour of this 75-minute movie, with the emphasis being more on songs until the assault on the subtly named Devil's Island begins. The strong nationalistic angle of these songs makes for uncomfortable viewing, especially the one where the army teach the alphabet to a village of 'savages', which was clearly intended to have children singing along.
If you view Momotaro as an artistic work, however, there's more to appreciate. This was decades before Tezuka defined the signature look of anime, and it offers a glimpse into a different evolutionary path that could have been. As Japan's first animated feature, it's not only surprisingly accomplished, it uses advanced techniques that would all but disappear until long after. Most striking are the depth-of-field effects, which must have required a multi-layered rostrum. There's also complex parallax scrolling, characters moving in and out of shadow, and one stunning shot at a waterfall where it transitions from one painted background, through a fully animated camera angle shift, to a different painted background. The overall atmosphere of the visuals also changes drastically in the final 15 minutes, taking on more realistic lighting while the paratroopers wait inside the plane.
The overall feel of motion is completely different from the stylised look of later anime. There's a realistic sense of weight to much of it, undermined only by the languid smoothness of having such a high sheet count throughout. Particularly impressive is the attention paid to air flow on fabric, with the collars of sailor suits catching the wind, and parachutes filling and collapsing in a convincing manner.
This is a hard one to give a score out of ten. If you watch it for entertainment, it's a 3/10. If you watch it with an academic eye, it's a 7/10.
Oh jeez, where do I even start with a film that has such a difficult history? While not technically the first anime, this was the first feature-length anime film. And it's WWII propaganda. There are two ways to approach a film like this: as a piece of entertainment or a historical artefact. Depending on which you opt for, you'll have two very different experiences.
Viewed in isolation, purely on its own narrative merits as a piece of entertainment, Momotaro doesn't hold up. That's not necessarily a failure on its part because its primary aim is to indoctrinate as much as entertain, but there's not much left for an audience where the propaganda aspect is anachronistic. Also, the expectations for an animated film have changed so much in the decades since. The Disney influence on this film is obvious, and that extends beyond the animation style. When you think of early US animation, the likes of Snow White or Bambi are the ones that come to mind, but between Warner's Merrie Melodies and the likes of Saludos Amigos it was just as common for them to just be a string of song-and-dance routines. Momotaro sits somewhere in the middle. Very little happens narratively for the first hour of this 75-minute movie, with the emphasis being more on songs until the assault on the subtly named Devil's Island begins. The strong nationalistic angle of these songs makes for uncomfortable viewing, especially the one where the army teach the alphabet to a village of 'savages', which was clearly intended to have children singing along.
If you view Momotaro as an artistic work, however, there's more to appreciate. This was decades before Tezuka defined the signature look of anime, and it offers a glimpse into a different evolutionary path that could have been. As Japan's first animated feature, it's not only surprisingly accomplished, it uses advanced techniques that would all but disappear until long after. Most striking are the depth-of-field effects, which must have required a multi-layered rostrum. There's also complex parallax scrolling, characters moving in and out of shadow, and one stunning shot at a waterfall where it transitions from one painted background, through a fully animated camera angle shift, to a different painted background. The overall atmosphere of the visuals also changes drastically in the final 15 minutes, taking on more realistic lighting while the paratroopers wait inside the plane.
The overall feel of motion is completely different from the stylised look of later anime. There's a realistic sense of weight to much of it, undermined only by the languid smoothness of having such a high sheet count throughout. Particularly impressive is the attention paid to air flow on fabric, with the collars of sailor suits catching the wind, and parachutes filling and collapsing in a convincing manner.
This is a hard one to give a score out of ten. If you watch it for entertainment, it's a 3/10. If you watch it with an academic eye, it's a 7/10.
I have AL's release of it in my collection, and I've watched it twice, the second time for last year's anime war film simulwatch.
It remains the only entry on MyAnimeList that I won't give a score for, precisely because of the difficulty in approaching that.
Have you seen the accompanying short film, The Spider and the Tulip, out of curiosity?
Geriatric hedgehog
Pokémon Master
Thanks for the excellent write up - I've been avoiding watching this so far on the assumption of it being more academic than entertaining. Now I know to give it a pass as with a restricted time schedule I definitely need to have entertainment value (& escapism!) to anything with academic/artistic merit and not just the latter!
Dai
Death Scythe
No, just the main feature. Momotaro is on Screen Anime's rotation this month, but they didn't include any supplemental material aside from a trailer.
WMD
Guild Member
Lol yeah I expected that film to be better. It wont be one I watch again.Mai Mai Miracle
I watched this this afternoozzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
/10
WMD
Guild Member
That sits in the exact same bracket of films I thought would be better and I wont watch again!
It's funny how it can work out and not be sure why sometimes. Some films I watch endlessly on repeat and never be bored even when I know th inside out! (A silent voice, Your Name, Avengers Endgame, Bolt) but some you watch once and go Nah...not again.
RadFemHedonist
Mad Scientist
[snaps awake]
Yeah... Me neither...
That's Princess Arete crossed off the list. (Like it was ever on it.)
I loved Princess Arete but have yet to finish watching Mai Mai Miracle after buying it via the Kickstarter years ago! Arete spoke to me and my depression the way Evangelion does for many (myself included lol).
That's two films by Sunao Katabuchi that I've sat through now (Mai Mai and In This Corner of the World), and by the end of both I was left wondering what the point of them was even supposed to be. And yet In This Corner of the World in particular certainly has a lot of fans.
In any case, I won't be completing the Katabuchi hat-trick with Arete. It's pretty incredible to think that he was director of a gun-toting action show like Black Lagoon.
Also, it's taken me far too long to chime in with this:
And you're more than entitled to that, dude; it's not like you just p*ssed on it without any reason or anything.
It's a difficult one, isn't it, Flowers of Evil? I mean, it is a very uncomfortable watch, exactly as you say, it looks pretty grotesque, Nakamura is an abusive and manipulative sadist, Takao is a spineless worm, and yet... you kind of can't look away, like it preys upon your most morbid curiosity, appropriately enough.
I feel like it was definitely worth seeing, but I'm really not sure what would ever draw me back to watch it again; it's just too harrowing. The lack of a proper conclusion certainly doesn't help, of course.
WMD
Guild Member
Well that's a surprise to find out. I love Black Lagoon and would never have assumed it was the same person!
Yeah it's a weird one as I realise it's made to be as uncomfortable as possible but even knowing that I really struggled with it. The lack of conclusion was also a big factor by the end. The big classroom scene at the shows mid point was really cathartic and well done but the way the show meandered to its end was tough.
I dont regret watching it as such. It was unique and an experience but I wont be putting myself through that one again!
Dai
Death Scythe
Gundam: The Origin
The Universal Century Gundam timeline has always had an air of Game of Thrones in space (or more accurately the other way around, since Tomino was doing this decades before Martin). Nowhere is this more clearly felt than in Gundam: The Origin. By setting the bulk of the story in a time of relative peace, we see the political machinations, plotting, and betrayals come to the fore. It's riveting stuff, sprawling across an interplanetary stage. While Casval/Edouard/Char/Quattro (seriously, how many names does this guy have?) is the main focus, plenty of time is spent fleshing out many other familiar faces from the One Year War. It's nice to see some of the women finally have their time in the spotlight too, especially Sayla and Hamon, who were somewhat underserved by the original series and receive some memorable scenes here. And more Ramba Ral is always a good thing.
The one thing that confused me a bit was the tone. The screenplay could easily be played deathly straight in classic Tomino fashion, but the character animation is strangely theatrical, with the Zabis chewing the scenery like pantomime villains. This is primarily the case in the first chapter, and is toned down in later chapters, which instead offload the humour to more minor characters to better effect. I get the impression that the director realised they'd overdone it in that first chapter and quickly course-corrected.
When war finally breaks out, it does so in epic fashion. Seeing a fleet battle where only one side has mobile suits makes it clear what a disruptive technology they are, and why ships keep to the rear in most subsequent engagements. These are some of the best large-scale battle scenes in anime, right up there with Yamato 2199/2202 and Legend of Galactic Heroes.
Prequels can feel redundant sometimes, but The Origin never suffers from this problem. It's essential viewing for anyone with an interest in Gundam.
9/10
The Universal Century Gundam timeline has always had an air of Game of Thrones in space (or more accurately the other way around, since Tomino was doing this decades before Martin). Nowhere is this more clearly felt than in Gundam: The Origin. By setting the bulk of the story in a time of relative peace, we see the political machinations, plotting, and betrayals come to the fore. It's riveting stuff, sprawling across an interplanetary stage. While Casval/Edouard/Char/Quattro (seriously, how many names does this guy have?) is the main focus, plenty of time is spent fleshing out many other familiar faces from the One Year War. It's nice to see some of the women finally have their time in the spotlight too, especially Sayla and Hamon, who were somewhat underserved by the original series and receive some memorable scenes here. And more Ramba Ral is always a good thing.
The one thing that confused me a bit was the tone. The screenplay could easily be played deathly straight in classic Tomino fashion, but the character animation is strangely theatrical, with the Zabis chewing the scenery like pantomime villains. This is primarily the case in the first chapter, and is toned down in later chapters, which instead offload the humour to more minor characters to better effect. I get the impression that the director realised they'd overdone it in that first chapter and quickly course-corrected.
When war finally breaks out, it does so in epic fashion. Seeing a fleet battle where only one side has mobile suits makes it clear what a disruptive technology they are, and why ships keep to the rear in most subsequent engagements. These are some of the best large-scale battle scenes in anime, right up there with Yamato 2199/2202 and Legend of Galactic Heroes.
Prequels can feel redundant sometimes, but The Origin never suffers from this problem. It's essential viewing for anyone with an interest in Gundam.
9/10
Geriatric hedgehog
Pokémon Master
I loved In this Corner of the World! It definitely brought a tear to my eye. But Mai mai, yeah no, didn't work for me. I think I watched in two or three sittings, just out of respect for how much I enjoyed the former, but won't be revisiting.
That sounds right up my street, so let's see, maybe someday I may get around to it.
Geriatric hedgehog
Pokémon Master
Randomly, I've never really gotten into Gundam, but how or where would you advise a newcomer to start with this sprawling franchise? I sort of watched unicorn, though ended up sleeping through a lot of it as was watching very late at night so doubt very much I got much out of that watch...
WMD
Guild Member
That's a good question. Dont know how much you know about Gundam so apologies of this is all obvious to you. Theres main timeline shows and alternate reality shows. Main timeline shows are worth watching in timeline order (in my opinion). Origin is a good starting point but you do get more from it if you've seen the original series first. Thunderbolt: December Sky is also a good watch and is a stand alone 70min film so a good way to dip your toe in and see how you feel.
On balance some the alternate timeline stuff is a good place to start as each series is a stand alone piece. Iron blooded Orphans is my favourite of those (I've seen) 00 is also good.
D1tchd1gger
Shrine Maiden
Yeah, not the best film I've seen. Here's what I wrote in the viewing journal:
Has similar elements to Totoro. Similar time period, girl from big city coming to the country and (possible) magical things happening, but doesn't really do anything with them and then other stuff happens that also don't really go anywhere.
Bonus points for having archaeologists in it though
I'm going to be one of those people and say read the manga. The film cut a load of stuff relevant to the central relationship, plus there's a load of extra information on the things mentioned either in notes in the margin or little illustrations.
Unless you found the SOL nature of the film boring, which very much follows the manga.
Reminds me, I need to get round to watching the extended version, which I noticed in a post the other day, is the longest anime film ever!