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silverthunder) wrote2007-05-28 08:38 am
silverthunder) wrote2007-05-28 08:38 am
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Reviews and stuff
I love this song. And the anime that goes with it. Thanks to ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
herongale for bringing it to my attention (I find most of the series she recs are fantastic).
Since today is a day off for me, I'm going to try and do some reviews for a bunch of things I've finished watching but haven't had time to set my thoughts down for.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
It took me a couple of tries to get into this series. For one thing, I didn't understand at first that the whole thing is completely out of order. The first episode confused me thoroughly. Butfadedjae had recced it to me, and I wanted to give it a proper chance. I'm glad I did, even though it was one of the most bizarre series I've ever seen. Haruhi herself is completely insane (but NOT). The rest of the characters are also pretty off their rockers, with the exception of one. Which reminds me a lot of Ouran High School Host Club, and that's amusing because the sane character in Ouran was called Haruhi and in this series that's the name of the leader of the crazies. Kyon makes the perfect narrator in this case, because his practical no-nonsense approach to everything makes his descriptions of the - well, nonsense - going on around him a really great balancing force. I've never seen a series like this one before.
Whether that's a good thing or bad thing, I'll leave up to everyone to decide for themselves.
Zettai Shounen
This series wasn't recced to me at all. Cody was randomly looking through a list of anime and found it. He wasn't interested, but I was. This is exactly the kind of thing I enjoy: fantasy with a hint of mystery and enough real life relations to keep it grounded. Actually, I thought the first half of the series was brilliant. We have a main character hanging on the verge of adulthood - the fantastical and the 'real' moments in the series seem to represent the two sides of the fence. On one, eternal childhood. On the other, growth. The odd thing about this character is that he has such a passive personality that he seems to want to leave this decision to others rather than make it himself. He lingers in the places of his childhood (complete with "imaginary friend") but hovers on the edge of the stage where other characters are awkwardly fumbling through relations with each other. In the end, he's so firmly involved in both that you're really not sure which way he's going to go (but you know which choice is right).
The second half of the series was not so appealing to me, although I can see what it's getting at. The characters were less charismatic and sympathetic somehow, and the fantastical plot got a bit stale. When it was a vague phenomenon that only a few people could confirm, it felt more exciting. When it became something everyone could see, it lost its mystery.
Give that the first half of the series can stand alone, I think I'd stick with just watching that one.
Onegai Twins
I actually enjoyed this one, and that's odd for me because it's really geared more towards guys (fanservice-wise) and I usually find those don't appeal to me much. Somehow the characters were really sweet and funny, and it had a real feel-good plotline and ending. I'll admit the almost-incest was iffy, but it didn't ruin the series at all. Very cute. I don't have a lot to say about it, but it was fun.
Princess Tutu
I did talk a little about this one already... It's a story with a fairy tale format, complete with a narrator who looks like a really creepy puppet. The main character is actually a duck who takes the form of a girl and can turn into Princess Tutu, who uses dance to collect the pieces of a Prince's heart and return them to him. The catch? When she confesses her feelings for the Prince, she is destined to disappear in a flash of light. The story leads us towards this conclusion with the narrator determined to bring us the tragedy he so desperately wants.
This series is also a little odd. What's happened is that the author of the original story (a story of a Prince fighting a monster raven) had died before he could finish it. The raven grew annoyed with the endless battle and flew out of the story. To follow and seal the raven, the Prince broke apart his own heart. Now with the story blending into real life, some things have become quite odd, but people don't seem to notice. Meanwhile, the author is still hovering around, hoping to finish his story with the help of the little duck he brought in as Princess Tutu.
The first half of the series follows the storyline the author wanted very closely. Princess Tutu is to rescue the Prince from the Raven, after his Knight falls in battle attempting to do the same. This of course involves her passionate confession, and sacrifice. The characters begin to fight their assigned roles as you get further in and they start to realize what is happening. The ending is not what you'd expect at all. But I don't want to spoil too much, because I think if you find this description interesting, you should watch the show.
One of the main reasons I found this series so endearing is that it fights against a belief some still cling to (much like the author): that a story is only meaningful if the ending is tragic or bittersweet or confusing - or anything but happy, really. The characters in Princess Tutu fight against what seems like an unalterable fate to try and claim their happy ending. Such an ending is full of meaning to them, even if it would displease the author. In this case, it is the tragedy which is cliche.
I enjoyed the whole thing very much, despite the oddness of it. Highly recommended.
Pretear
Here's another magical girl series, and one that breaks the genre a little. It's got a sparkly transformation sequence and pretty costumes, yes, but it's got a solid plot and some great comedic value. The series is short (perhaps this is for the best, although I wish I could've had more to watch) but a lot happens during the course of it.
Like Princess Tutu, this story follows a fairy tale, but very loosely. Pretear is based on Snow White, and the theme of jealousy shows up often. It also explores the feelings of its characters without much prejudice for what their role might be.
One of the things that I have to mention enjoying about this series was its female lead. Himeno was a character of great strength and great weakness, sometimes both at once, and her strengths often arose from her weakness. She had a great charismatic air to her.
I think I mentioned in another post that this series explored the combining of the masculine and feminine as a singular power. One without the other is not useful. Takako as Fenrir represents the feminine alone - it is powerful, but it is chaotic, and it seems to consume her. The Knights represent the masculine alone - they have focus, but their power is weak. When Himeno prets with one of them, we have the combining of the masculine and feminine: a strong, focussed force.
Pretear is a magical girl anime through and through, but it's got enough life of its own to stand alone and add some spark to the genre. I very much enjoyed this series.
Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End
I actually went and saw this on Thursday, which is when it started here (the crowd was, surprisingly enough, not too bad). It was a good movie. Very entertaining, which is exactly what you want in a movie. I tend to judge a movie based on how many times I check my watch while it's playing. This one was almost three hours long, and I didn't check my watch once (in comparison to the second movie, where I checked it multiple times) until the end.
Like most people, I wouldn't call this a piece of art, but it sure was a lot of fun. I enjoyed this trilogy more than, say, X-Men (which I also liked) or Spiderman (I didn't even see the third one) - but then, that's a matter of personal taste.
With most action movies, I get very easily annoyed with the female lead. She's often useless, generally there to be rescued, and even if she starts out promising, usually ends up disapointing me in the end by acting like a twat or doing something stupid and causing trouble to everyone else. Elizabeth Swan was more enigmatic and driven, and did more rescuing than being rescued. The one thing I didn't like was the ending (highlight to read if you want spoilers or have seen the movie already) - I would've thought she'd be more suited to becoming a pirate captain than someone who passively waits for her lover to return. Not to say she wouldn't wait, but based on how her character was developed, I'd think she'd be off doing things while she waited. Oh well. She was still a huge step up from most females in action movies (or even a lot of other movies) these days.
That said, I loved the ending of the movie. Naturally it leaves it open for more (yeah, as if they'd let the franchise drop if there was a chance to make more money), but there's enough closure to satisfy me. Plus, it wasn't what I'd expected. I really did enjoy it.
And... I think that's it for reviews. For now.
herongale for bringing it to my attention (I find most of the series she recs are fantastic).Since today is a day off for me, I'm going to try and do some reviews for a bunch of things I've finished watching but haven't had time to set my thoughts down for.
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
It took me a couple of tries to get into this series. For one thing, I didn't understand at first that the whole thing is completely out of order. The first episode confused me thoroughly. But
fadedjae had recced it to me, and I wanted to give it a proper chance. I'm glad I did, even though it was one of the most bizarre series I've ever seen. Haruhi herself is completely insane (but NOT). The rest of the characters are also pretty off their rockers, with the exception of one. Which reminds me a lot of Ouran High School Host Club, and that's amusing because the sane character in Ouran was called Haruhi and in this series that's the name of the leader of the crazies. Kyon makes the perfect narrator in this case, because his practical no-nonsense approach to everything makes his descriptions of the - well, nonsense - going on around him a really great balancing force. I've never seen a series like this one before.Whether that's a good thing or bad thing, I'll leave up to everyone to decide for themselves.
Zettai Shounen
This series wasn't recced to me at all. Cody was randomly looking through a list of anime and found it. He wasn't interested, but I was. This is exactly the kind of thing I enjoy: fantasy with a hint of mystery and enough real life relations to keep it grounded. Actually, I thought the first half of the series was brilliant. We have a main character hanging on the verge of adulthood - the fantastical and the 'real' moments in the series seem to represent the two sides of the fence. On one, eternal childhood. On the other, growth. The odd thing about this character is that he has such a passive personality that he seems to want to leave this decision to others rather than make it himself. He lingers in the places of his childhood (complete with "imaginary friend") but hovers on the edge of the stage where other characters are awkwardly fumbling through relations with each other. In the end, he's so firmly involved in both that you're really not sure which way he's going to go (but you know which choice is right).
The second half of the series was not so appealing to me, although I can see what it's getting at. The characters were less charismatic and sympathetic somehow, and the fantastical plot got a bit stale. When it was a vague phenomenon that only a few people could confirm, it felt more exciting. When it became something everyone could see, it lost its mystery.
Give that the first half of the series can stand alone, I think I'd stick with just watching that one.
Onegai Twins
I actually enjoyed this one, and that's odd for me because it's really geared more towards guys (fanservice-wise) and I usually find those don't appeal to me much. Somehow the characters were really sweet and funny, and it had a real feel-good plotline and ending. I'll admit the almost-incest was iffy, but it didn't ruin the series at all. Very cute. I don't have a lot to say about it, but it was fun.
Princess Tutu
I did talk a little about this one already... It's a story with a fairy tale format, complete with a narrator who looks like a really creepy puppet. The main character is actually a duck who takes the form of a girl and can turn into Princess Tutu, who uses dance to collect the pieces of a Prince's heart and return them to him. The catch? When she confesses her feelings for the Prince, she is destined to disappear in a flash of light. The story leads us towards this conclusion with the narrator determined to bring us the tragedy he so desperately wants.
This series is also a little odd. What's happened is that the author of the original story (a story of a Prince fighting a monster raven) had died before he could finish it. The raven grew annoyed with the endless battle and flew out of the story. To follow and seal the raven, the Prince broke apart his own heart. Now with the story blending into real life, some things have become quite odd, but people don't seem to notice. Meanwhile, the author is still hovering around, hoping to finish his story with the help of the little duck he brought in as Princess Tutu.
The first half of the series follows the storyline the author wanted very closely. Princess Tutu is to rescue the Prince from the Raven, after his Knight falls in battle attempting to do the same. This of course involves her passionate confession, and sacrifice. The characters begin to fight their assigned roles as you get further in and they start to realize what is happening. The ending is not what you'd expect at all. But I don't want to spoil too much, because I think if you find this description interesting, you should watch the show.
One of the main reasons I found this series so endearing is that it fights against a belief some still cling to (much like the author): that a story is only meaningful if the ending is tragic or bittersweet or confusing - or anything but happy, really. The characters in Princess Tutu fight against what seems like an unalterable fate to try and claim their happy ending. Such an ending is full of meaning to them, even if it would displease the author. In this case, it is the tragedy which is cliche.
I enjoyed the whole thing very much, despite the oddness of it. Highly recommended.
Pretear
Here's another magical girl series, and one that breaks the genre a little. It's got a sparkly transformation sequence and pretty costumes, yes, but it's got a solid plot and some great comedic value. The series is short (perhaps this is for the best, although I wish I could've had more to watch) but a lot happens during the course of it.
Like Princess Tutu, this story follows a fairy tale, but very loosely. Pretear is based on Snow White, and the theme of jealousy shows up often. It also explores the feelings of its characters without much prejudice for what their role might be.
One of the things that I have to mention enjoying about this series was its female lead. Himeno was a character of great strength and great weakness, sometimes both at once, and her strengths often arose from her weakness. She had a great charismatic air to her.
I think I mentioned in another post that this series explored the combining of the masculine and feminine as a singular power. One without the other is not useful. Takako as Fenrir represents the feminine alone - it is powerful, but it is chaotic, and it seems to consume her. The Knights represent the masculine alone - they have focus, but their power is weak. When Himeno prets with one of them, we have the combining of the masculine and feminine: a strong, focussed force.
Pretear is a magical girl anime through and through, but it's got enough life of its own to stand alone and add some spark to the genre. I very much enjoyed this series.
Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End
I actually went and saw this on Thursday, which is when it started here (the crowd was, surprisingly enough, not too bad). It was a good movie. Very entertaining, which is exactly what you want in a movie. I tend to judge a movie based on how many times I check my watch while it's playing. This one was almost three hours long, and I didn't check my watch once (in comparison to the second movie, where I checked it multiple times) until the end.
Like most people, I wouldn't call this a piece of art, but it sure was a lot of fun. I enjoyed this trilogy more than, say, X-Men (which I also liked) or Spiderman (I didn't even see the third one) - but then, that's a matter of personal taste.
With most action movies, I get very easily annoyed with the female lead. She's often useless, generally there to be rescued, and even if she starts out promising, usually ends up disapointing me in the end by acting like a twat or doing something stupid and causing trouble to everyone else. Elizabeth Swan was more enigmatic and driven, and did more rescuing than being rescued. The one thing I didn't like was the ending (highlight to read if you want spoilers or have seen the movie already) - I would've thought she'd be more suited to becoming a pirate captain than someone who passively waits for her lover to return. Not to say she wouldn't wait, but based on how her character was developed, I'd think she'd be off doing things while she waited. Oh well. She was still a huge step up from most females in action movies (or even a lot of other movies) these days.
That said, I loved the ending of the movie. Naturally it leaves it open for more (yeah, as if they'd let the franchise drop if there was a chance to make more money), but there's enough closure to satisfy me. Plus, it wasn't what I'd expected. I really did enjoy it.
And... I think that's it for reviews. For now.
no subject
I do agree that it could have everything that one could want, but it should have. It was almost three hours long!
I must respectfully disagree with you on Elizabeth Swan. The most annoying thing for me? She looked like she hadn't been stuck on a ship for God knows how long. Her teeth and skin were perfect. While all of the characters looked worn and torn, she would just have a bit of dirt on her. Still a typical female action lead.
The leadership was a bit better, but hardly believable. I couldn't take her seriously because of the above. I'm still a bit torn about it, revealed what she was all about, which is fine. I didn't expect much more than that.
I hope they don't make a fourth! But it was so open-ended and set up nicely. Ugh.
Anyway, LJ sucks for this kind of discussion. Take care, dude.
no subject
All I'm saying is that in terms of character, it's a step up from most action films. Which is not saying much. But it's something. I didn't cringe watching her onscreen. The way females are portrayed tends to ruin action films for me. I'm not a big fan of those movies most of the time, and when I am, the characters I care most about are never female. I actually liked Elizabeth. So for me, it's a step in the right direction.
There were a number of holes, and the movie wasn't always consistent. The storytelling lacked in places. But it kept me entertained for three hours, so it was worth the price of the ticket. And I'll refer to it as a good movie. After all, what else is a movie supposed to do besides entertain you?
no subject
I don't think it is a step up. First, there is the way she is treated by the male characters. She is made to strip down while the others are not. Second, she is installed in a leadership position. Not by her own engineering. Third, her motivational speech is just that. Motivational. That's not out of the realm of a female action character.
Also, look at the other female characters. Madam Chen is a typical oriental stereotype. Calypso, is trapped by men until given her freedom by men. All the other female characters are prostitutes or concubines.
It's Disney. They're in the business of sanitizing. Swan comes off better. I'm glad that you take comfort in her role.
It wasn't as good as the first, but it did have it's moments. The Keith Richards cameo was great.
no subject
I agree that the first movie was the best one. This one wasn't bad, though.
no subject
It was okay. Remember Cradle 2 the Grave? I loved it, but the girl fight pissed me off. Their hair didn't even fall out of place!! Dear Lord.
no subject
How could I forget Cradle 2 the Grave? That girl fight was so annoying. The rest of the movie was fun, but that part was just ridiculous.
Heh. :D
no subject
At least if they're going to cater to fanboys, they're willing to cater to fangirls too. ;)