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Sep 18, 2016
"The camera has been watching."
"The countless acts of human folly and brutality on countless battlefields..."
"The camera has been watching."
I have recently seen the series a second time, ten years after I watched it originally. I remember the series growing very slowly on me, ending with a big twist.
By the time I watched it the second time, I matured a bit. I have noticed a lot more nuance than the first time, despite the ten year gap. I laughed and I cried when watching the show both times. I can recommend it even to mature viewers who have no contact with anime as a medium.
This
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show has perfectly portrayed the ideological clash of motivated individuals working in a conservative environment led by bureaucrats. It's not unlike the feeling you have when working within a company. You can understand both sides. None of them are in the right - there is no right or wrong. There is simply circumstance.
The helpless journalists, snapping their cameras away despite the media caring solely about about the juiciest of news. The people, dis-attached from the westerns media and institutions, trying to go on with their daily lives. It all feels all too real to me.
I have watched countless shows repeat the same old tricks. This one stands out from the rest. It's not about escapism. It's a simple story set within our modern times, where the protagonist is a helpless spectator, just like we are. The whole show takes place from the perspective of the camera. We're on ground level with all of the participants. It's a unique perspective.
A big point made by this show is that the act of witnessing an event makes a difference. This gives meaning to the life and job of a photo-journalist, the protagonist. At the same time, the viewer feels part of this as well, being a witness to the events of the story.
Another significance of the show is having a very good female character. She's defined by her job and personality much more than her gender.
The english dub is instrumental in enjoying this kind of show. The narration done by Taylor Henry gave the show a really good atmosphere. His calm voice made the show really enjoyable. Anything narrated by him would feel like something special. I highly recommend the dub, it allows for you to enjoy the art of the show to the fullest.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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Nov 29, 2015
"When Marnie was there" is truly a beautiful film, as expected from the renowned Studio Ghibli. It doesn't overstep its boundaries and tries to tell a very simple story using extremely detailed characters and art, subtle classical music, and cinematography. It's a good family film, which I can recommend to anyone who has a human heart, from the ages 3 to 99.
The most obvious feature of this film is the beautiful art. This point doesn't need to be expanded upon. Any description will fail to convey the charm of the beauty of every scene of the movie. All of the backgrounds are detailed and full
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of life. This gives the film a very real feel.
What plays a much more important role in the realism are the characters. Those featured in this film are few but well thought out. The main character acts in a lot of ways like a real person. The creators have included very subtle gestures using the eyes, face and hands to truly bring Anna to life. Her behaviour is very realistic for a child of her age. I personally could put myself in her shoes. Awkward moments felt truly awkward, and I instantly remembered the moments when I acted the same way as Anna.
The character of Marnie was purposefully left a little bit mysterious and unreal, to reflect the fact that she was in fact a memory. The atmosphere changes significantly whenever she's on screen. This was achieved using music, clever cinematographic play, and art. All of those had been well thought out to create a mysterious dreamy feeling of uncertainty as to who Marnie truly is. The memories of her slowly come together to form a coherent whole, and we truly understand this person.
The supporting cast is more or less left intentionally blank. However lacking in detail they might be, the entire cast is composed of characters one might find within one's own acquaintances and family. They all seem very real, and this is achieved using a minimum of dialogue and gestures. The random children from preschool act and sound exactly how one would expect them to, as do the teenagers, parents, and random people from the village.
Most of the cast is female. This is perhaps an overlooked, but important fact that should be pointed out.
The music and sound effects don't stand out too much, but that is for the better. Nowhere in the film does the music or the art overwhelm what's most important: what are the characters saying, doing, and feeling. The sound and graphic design is so detailed and subtle, that it allows to immerse yourself in the world of this story.
All in all, the film feels extremely real and subtle. It's not trying to overwhelm you with emotions and flashing CGI. It charms the viewer by showing a world which feels more real than our own.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Jul 25, 2015
The manga was great at the beginning. The ideas for different kinds of bread were fresh and interesting. The characters seemed alright. The reactions to the bread were also unique to this manga and provided some comic relief.
After a while, you will notice that the characters have absolutely no development. Most of the characters are in fact reduced to observers, and the MC is an undefeated champion with absolutely no personality.
The bread ideas became more and more ridiculous and unreal, to the point of being completely disjointed from reality. And as the funny reactions became more and more ridiculous, they started to seem forced
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and unnecessary.
Near the final chapters, it's apparent that the manga was axed and had to be brought to a sudden and unsatisfactory end.
The manga would have greatly benefited from proper planning: it should have been much shorter, the side characters should have been much less passive, and the reactions should have not become the center point of the manga.
Reviewer’s Rating: 4
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Jul 25, 2015
The story is set in a school, because that's the easiest way to start a story nowadays. The MC is an overpowered alpha fantasy, surrounded with a harem of school girls. The only male character is a spineless shrimp who serves mostly for exposure - being amazed by the MC and explaining what's going on.
At some point, the story enters a series of tournaments. This is convenient for the writer, because a commentator can narrate the whole thing, and the setting provides enough confrontations between players. But that becomes extremely boring after a while.
This manga seems extremely similar to Yakitate!Japan in many respects.
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However, as much as both of these manga follow the exact same patterns, Yakitate Japan at least doesn't treat itself seriously, and allows for a bit of ridiculous humour in every arc.
Gamble Fish does nothing of the sort. Instead, it contains ecchi fanservice. That would be perhaps a good point if the art style was anything beyond average.
The art style is nothing to write home about.
Reviewer’s Rating: 3
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Jul 2, 2015
The story starts off really well. Up until a certain point, everything is really perfect.
At the very beginning, our main cast, some kind of Adam and Eve of a new world, are introduced. Then we have a timeskip. Suddenly we follow the son of the first main character for almost the entirety of the story. We learn that the child from the first chapters grew up to become a Mafioso.
The naiveté of the main character slowly crumbles away as he faces harsh reality. We see some really well executed death, despair, hopelessness. Eliah starts to learn to fight for himself and others. As
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he starts to gain control over his life, he becomes the same kind of person he had to combat up until now. Drugs, violence, revenge are what lead him to destroy the happiness of the very same people he fights for.
But then, the story starts to saturate with fight scenes. Deaths no longer matter. Along the way, so do the characters. The MC becomes a guy with a gun fighting because... who knows? No-one explains his motives.
His only driving force is the wish to save his sister. In the end, this arc was utterly useless and contributed absolutely nothing to both the story and the characters. The grand finale itself erased almost everything that happened.
The acton is full of asspulls. The ideological talk is full of some simplistic ethnic division of the world. The fights start to follow a pattern: almost all freshly introduced minor characters die immediately, sliced like ham by evil drones.
I would have liked to see the story continue in the direction it took in the beginning.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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