Asura
Initially, the new art style was quite off putting for me, but I soon got used to it, and I have to say that it really gave the film an edge in its portrayal of the gloomy landscapes and battered and bruised skin that was such a huge part of the movie.
The plot itself was enjoyable, and I never got the feeling that I knew what was going to happen beyond the next scene, which made for a great watch - full of suspense. None of the characters felt cliched, which was another breath of fresh air. Kinya Kitaōji's VA work as the monk was great, really forceful and the moment when the monk cuts his own arm off was very powerful.
8/10
Wolf Children
This was a great movie. Halfway through, I thought it could have been one of the best standalone feature films that I've seen; sadly the slightly lackluster ending took a bit of the shine off it for me.
Some of the sequences were absolutely breathtaking, and so beautiful that they brought a tear to my eye. The scene with Hana running in the snow with the children was one, Ame's education about the forest was another lovely moment.
Ookami's death and Hana's reaction was an amazingly powerful scene. Even thinking back to it now gives me a feeling like being punched in the stomach!
The titular wolf children were predictably adorable, Yuki in particular, as the mischievous yet angelic bundle of energy. Her antics generated plenty of laughs.
Sadly the ending felt a little telegraphed to me when Sohei said "A wolf did it", it seemed obvious what would happen between him and Yuki. Hana and Ame's development felt a bit off, too. One minute Ame is promising to not go into the forest as he sees how upset Hana is, then he suddenly becomes silent and unresponsive. When Hana chased after him, the ending with him rescuing her after a fall became all too predictable.
All in all, this was a great family film, with amazing visual sequences and a well-woven story that suffers from frayed edges towards the end. It was still a blast to watch, and I can't fault it's ability to tug at the heartstrings.
8.5/10
Tiger and Bunny: The Beginning
As a T&B newbie I wasn't really sure what to expect from this - I'd read a lot of posts by people that said they were underwhelmed by it, so I was worried I might be put off the series before I'd even watched any of it.
Thankfully this wasn't the case - I really, really enjoyed the movie. Perhaps it's because I hadn't seen any of the series beforehand, but the characters and their interactions were hilarious, over-the-top and just fun. After the previous two films played on tender emotions, this was a real barnstormer for just sitting back and enjoying. The story wasn't particularly complicated, which allowed the jokes and parodies to take center stage when they needed to. I'm already looking forward to watching the series to see more of the heroes' trials and tribulations!
I do think the film went on for maybe ten to fifteen minutes too long - some of the final battle's chase scenes could have been shaved off, in my opinion.
Nonetheless this was an extremely fun introduction to the series for me, and I'll definitely pick up part one when it comes out next year - if the movie was designed to convert people who hadn't dipped into T&B already, it's certainly worked on me!
8/10