Back to artist-retired's Profile artist-retired's Profile

When something says "World" most people's expectations are probably that of something grand in scale or more important. This movie more or less uses it as window dressing and is at times too busy being something else entirely.

Based on the big Shonen Jump series, My Hero Academia, comes its third theatrical outing. And from the title, World Heroes Mission, one would assume it should be more global in scale... thats not really the case for the most part.
The main plot is set around a mysterious terrorist organization named "Humarise" with plans to rid the world of the series staple ability "Quirks" and their users ... with the use of bombs set up around the world. The main trio from the series, Izuku Midoriya, Katsuki Bakugo, and Shoto Todoroki come along with their classmates, divided into teams with other professional heroes from both their home in Japan and around the globe to stop Humarise. However, Midoriya and the movies original main character, Rody Soul, get caught up into an incident that the police of the country of Otheon declare Midoriya a criminal!

Said incident, where briefcases get swapped, where I believe even the script of the movie gets swapped, as instead of a world sprawling action rescue mission, we mostly get a second act that goes about as a buddy roadtrip with Midoriya and Rody. And there's nothing wrong with that, I personally find it does the original character alot of service. Roy is a very entertaining character and even endearing, a very expressive person with a cute little bird mascot like being called Pino. But it does come at a cost of anything substantial for the "world" part of the movie.
Every once in a while we get to see the other heroes in action, including alot of the cast from the series, Ochaco, Froppy, Fatgum, Endeavor, Hawks, etc and they and their scenes are entirely just for action set pieces, not even anything for the movie exclusive heroes (Including a paper thin Pharoah looking guy, I really wanted to know more about him, but got nothing).
Same can be said about the villains too. I don't if I just didn't pay attention enough or something, but if it wasn't for this nice little booklet I got at the theater, I wouldn't even have known any names whatsoever expect for the main villain, but honestly most of the villains might have been left entirely nameless cause there's no development for them at all, Rody got all of that, even Bakugo and Todoroki get get nothing except fights.

At the very least the movie treats you to very spectacular action scenes, not too many down time moments for the first and third acts of the film. Personally I found that Bakugos fight in the third was pretty brutal, I halfway expected him to get help midway through, while Todoroki doesn't really have anything different to display from what has been shown in the anime and manga. And Midoriyas fight was, to put it as basic as I can, rubber banding himself at the main villain. But yeah, the animation was pretty top notch for the majority of the film, with a very fun and entertaining chase scene at the beginning.

But I really have to put more into how disappointed I was with the set up. There was so much with Rody and the fictional city of Otheon and despite how much I liked Rody, there was nothing substantial from the rest of the world or other original heroes and villains that I have to wonder why was the movie even called "World Heroes Mission?"
Even Midoriya was pretty flat and bland in this movie.
At least to go alot with the animation, the music was pretty good, though mostly slight remixes of themes from the anime (Yes, You Say Run is played in the final fight too), and I personally saw the English dub, for anyone like myself that enjoys the dub, its well done here too.

Overall:
+ Good Animation
+ Good action scenes, especially Bakugos fight and the first acts chase scene.
+ Rody Soul is very enjoyable character that's easy to care about.
- Doesn't live up to the title, almost feels misleading.
- Villains are basically nameless nobodies to get beaten up.
- Original world heroes get nothing in this movie.
- Everyone that wasn't Rody was either just there for action scenes or don't get any development.

I'm going to be perfectly honest, as children television shows go, particularly anime, Digimon is one of the best examples of going well beyond just selling the audience a silly toy or other apparels. In comparison to the obvious "inspiration" that is Pokemon, it was clear Digimon's story had far more thought put into it, but there are reasons to why Pokemon is more relevant than Digimon in today's pop culture, but this isn't the place to talk about that.

In a "surprising" announcement made over a year ago, Toei animation confirmed another Digimon series in the works. The real surprise, however, was that this new ... series is to be a direct sequel to Digimon Adventure 02.


I'll be honest, after the disaster that was both Sailor Moon Crystal and Dragonball Super, my expectations were tempered to lesser extend than what my inner child wanted to be excited about. More and more teasers started to come out, the character designs were revealed, and fans became staved for more. Initially I was a bit disappointed in the new designs (Not the digimon though, they look true to the original and better than they ever did), the human cast was stricken with many called "Same face" syndrome.

It didn't help that like Sailor Moon Crystal, Digimon Tri was also pushed back and was changed into a different format, to be released as movies instead of a new tv series. More and more I started to doubt this new project, something to be a cash grab on the series' 15th anniversary.



Then it finally came out yesterday, to most countries thanks to Crunchyroll's surprise announcement of streaming it on their service.


All of my previous fears were immediately put to rest, the more I watched, the more apparent that unlike Toei's other failures, this one was indeed something for all of the "digidestined" of the world, something worth the wait and hits squarely right in the childhood with great care and attention.

Set three years after 02, Tri picks up at the cast currently going through their highschool years. (I'm going to refer to the character's original Japanese names, sorry Foxbox generation, though the names aren't too radically different) Taichi (Tai) is still playing soccer, Yamato (Matt) broke up; with his band and made a new one with one only a highschool boy would think up, Sora (Sora, see what I mean) is apparently still dating Yamato, Koushiro (Izzy, okay this one was a bit sketchy) is still the computer wiz we all still loved (Who even creates a set of goggles for Taichi that have plot relevance now), Jo (Joe) is still studying his ass off but even has a girlfriend now that we don't get to see (Don't worry, even the cast themselves are questioning this declaration), Mimi (Mimi... lol) still gallivanting in North America but manages to make it back in time for the this new series, Hikari (Kari) is more of older sister to Taichi rather than a younger one, though Taichi is still a bit immature it only makes my observation more solid, and Takeru (TK) who's more or less still the same, bit of a lady killer as Hikari points out (Why aren't they dating yet?). And there's a new digidestined, who I will not spoil though it's very obvious but isn't revealed until the last part of the movie (Or four part anime that Crunchyroll decided to it split up into).

Not one character acts completely out of character, everyone is how they have been 15 years ago and Tri goes far beyond the call to stay in continuity (There's a few retcons that seem to be brewing, but as a fan of digimon that witnessed the end of 02, I hope they do). The character banter is just like old times, Koushiro still goes into his own world when speaking tech, Mimi is still a bit bratty and over enthusiast, and Taichi and Yamato still get at each other's throats. The only thing that feels off is that Taichi kinda worries about things that we would expect coming from Yamato, it's feels so contrived. Speaking of which, Tri kinda goes out of it's way to be too nostalgic at times.

The conflict between Taichi and Yamato just feels incredibly forced, like there was some sort of nostalgia quota that needed to be filled. Sure they fought in the past, but here it seems like it's only here to fill in time. The pacing itself is a bit on the slow side compared to the original series, but I feel like it's like this to enforce the change to the cast and tone of this season of Digimon. It's got a slice of life pacing going on and even feels like one too, but when the digimon finally come in, the pacing gets only a little bit faster.


One of the things I was worried most for was the quality of the animation, Toei isn't exactly known for their stellar craftsmanship in this category, and given the state of Sailor Moon Crystal and Dragonball Super, I had all more reason to be more than concerned. While it's nothing particularly breath taking, especially as a movie release, it's still far above what the television series had reached. The Digimon designs are true to the originals, and even the previously mentioned "Same face" syndrome worry is mitigated with each character having more nuanced expressions in animated form and subtle differences. The animation does appear to be a bit more jerky in action scenes making it more apparent that the project has a television show budget and was originally produced to be one, but it's nothing worth taking points off from, it's very exciting and dynamic and that's all we want after all (And not that chicken scratch they call animation on Dragonball Super).


Digimon Adventure Tri started as something I was worried about, but the end project fills me with hope for the next 5 installments. The amount of heart warming fanservice and attention the small details will more than satisfy all old fans and old fans only, but be honest, this is story only for the digidestined of the world, just how we wanted it to be...

"She'll take it all and leave you wanting more," that is a quote I found on the retail box set of the this anime, and that latter half of this quote couldn't be more true.

STORY: This is the latest addition to one of Japan's longest running anime franchises, Lupin the Third. This anime attempts to show the series in a new light as something more of a dark and gritty prequel story to the franchise that apparently reveals Fujiko Mine's past. With the spotlight aimed centered on Fujiko Mine, thievery's leading lady in anime. The sexy seductress that steals everything she can finally has her ... back story split wide open in this heavily stylized and sexy episodic saga, and her latest heist? To steal your time and expectations.

It would be bad to jump straight into the flaws immediately, but I'll say this for now: if you compared this one to the past series, it's ultimately hit and miss for the most part. Instead, I want to stay positive and just talk about the characters first, even if most people into anime should know by now. There's the titular character, not Lupin just yet, Fujiko Mine. A thief who wants nothing more to shower herself in the riches that the world can offer, who's past has been one for grabs for decades. The writer of the overlooked Michiko to Hatchin has decided give it a shot to create one for us to watch unfold... Or maybe not what we're expecting it to unfold.
I'll go into that one in a bit, I still have to talk about the rest of the cast. Obviously there's Lupin himself, a thief who's a thief for the thrill of it-Actually you should know who the hell he is even if you haven't watched any of the series beforehand. He doesn't really have much of a character in this series, rather, he's more like a force of nature, a plot device really. He's still the fun thief we all know and love, he's just appropriately taken a slightly more farther back seat in the story. Although once in a while he steals the spotlight as one would expect a thief of his caliber (Even if it's limelight stolen from the Fujiko herself, the main topic of this particular series).

The rest of the gang is here too, like Daisuke Jigen who is probably the best (My favorite) thing about this anime in my all so humble opinion. Okay, there's some bias in that of course, but he has the most favorable, if somewhat minimal, development in the series and is the most likable by far. Goemon Ishikawa, like Lupin, is also more like a plot device than a character, simply there for conflict and cutting "useless objects." But that's okay, he's not the core focus of the series. And of course, I can't forget Zenigata who has been transformed from bumbling nitwit into a gritty, serious, and even competent police officer. This change isn't bad at all though, just something that fits more with the darker tone of this series.
There's one more character in the cast who gets a lot of spotlight and a lot of the problems with this series. Zenigata's new devoted assistant, Oscar, a strange alien from the world of Yaoi and BL craziness. I'm exaggerating a bit, but he ultimately feels out of place in the world of Lupin the Third, even with the change in overall tone to the series, he'll feel like an invader from the planet Junjou Romantica.

True to the series' nature, Fujiko Mine is mostly an episodic fare but with a underlying plot that ultimately takes over by the end of the anime. These episodes vary from quality that can match with the original series to some unfortunate writing that's connected to the main plot line. If I had to pick out single episodes that I'd recommend to watch alone if you aren't interested in the series as a whole, then episodes 1, 2, 5, 7, and 9 will satisfy your Lupin itch with a new coat of paint (Though episode 9 contains details to the main plot, so you can take or leave that one) which most of them involves Jigen in some way or another. I just don't know, he just brings something to the anime that really clicks with me for whatever reason.
Anyway, my problem with the main plot? Without trying to spoil anything, let me just say that despite this series sells itself as Fujiko's back story, don't expect it fulfill that promise the way you'd expect it to be. That and Oscar.
Oscar seriously feels like he doesn't belong in the series and his character arc goes nowhere! Taking up way too much time that Fujiko could have used for herself. The biggest problem with the series is just how unsatisfying it ends up being, but it's certainly not a waste of time especially because of the those 5 episodes alone. I still recommend watching it and it's still ends up being something special.

ANIMATION/ART: Here is where the biggest difference this series has when compared to the older series. Probably the biggest draw to me this series has for me is that Takeshi Koike is the character designer and animation directer, one of the main forces behind the likes of Redline and he doesn't disappoint at all. Giving the Lupin franchise a brand new look, it is displayed as a stylized work of art with a new gritty and dark edge the series has never known. Especially the 90 sec opener, I couldn't help myself to not skip it and it had become one of my favorite things about this anime. Unfortunately I have to take away two point from a perfect score due to two main flaws: The uneven animation and the absolute redundancy of the Fujiko's nudity. Her nudity isn't done in a way that most ecchi anime flaunt their characters about, it's very artsy at it's best but overdone to the point where you'd think the animators had to fulfill a quota.

SOUND: Possibly the best thing about Fujiko is it's audio department. From the 90 sec spoken only opening (Both in Japanese and English, yes funimation is still dubbing over openings... I guess, it's not sung in either language though), to the catchy ending theme song. There's only ear candy to be had here. Even the english dub manages to impress, with arguably Michelle Ruff's (Rukia from Bleach, Yoko from Gurren Lagann) best performance to date. I'd dare to say it was better than the japanese performance, but that's my own personal preferences talking there. The one deep scratch in this otherwise flawless category is Sonny Strait's Lupin. In this anime, Lupin is much less cartoony and silly (He's still bit of a goofball though) and more dirty, more gritty. But Sonny plays it straight (Pfft) and gives us what we're used to in the original. You'll get used to it eventually, but it's still a lackluster element in the end.

OVERALL:
The Good:
+ A new twist on a familiar franchise.
+ Great episodes that rival with the old Lupin.
+ The gritty new art direction and opening animation.
+ Daisuke Jigen.
+ Just about all of the audio, especially Michelle Ruff's performance as Fujiko Mine.

The Bad:
- The main plot's conclusion.
- Oscar
- The uneven animation.
- Sonny Straight's Lupin.

A single question remains, who asked for Fujiko's past story anyway? I want to know Lupin's a little more, but I'd rather stay away for now in the case that I might get led astray again.

"We love it when big anime companies repackage the same damn thing in a more consumable product instead of getting more of we loved!" -said no anime fan ever, but in all honestly I'm willing to give this one some incredible leeway... Yes I am a fervent fanboy of this particular series, but at least this one manages to give it's fans so much more than most of the same breed has done in the past.

*coughberserkcoughrurounikenshincough*

Tiger & Bunny The Beginning is, to sum it up simply, a directors cut of episodes 1 and 2 with a lost episode included. Not an actual lost episode, but ... something that would've appeared to be a planned to be an ova rather than a part of a longer running feature. And by directors cut I mean this movie offers more content to these episodes, to the point of showing brand new material with mixed in with the old.
Fans are sure appreciate this, though the issue here is, this is still just a recap of the first two episode, in fact it's really just a re-airing of the those episodes in order. Meaning that the first 40-50 minutes of the movie is stuff that isn't terribly different from the tv series.

So, with that out of the way, what new's to experience in this movie? A little bit of detail into Kotetsu's internal anguish with the lost of his wife, an event that happened before the series starting point. It doesn't struggle him with grief (As that would make him into a rather unenjoyable character), but it sheds some light on him and makes him an even more relate-able and sympathetic character (And thankfully gives me some material to fight back the crazier fujoshi fans with). Unfortunately for Barnaby, we're stuck with the beginning's less likable pre-good character development. Which isn't all that bad, that just means we get more of the great banter between them.
But with even more good news, the side characters get a lot more screen time in this than they normally would in the series. Even Rock Bison, who until this movie, gets some more details revealed like what is his powers exactly.

Production wise, this is barely an update of the tv series, even the new material looks as good as the better parts of the series. Which isn't in any way to talk it down, the tv series was competently well made and so is this.

So at this point you're probably wondering what the rest of the movie unfolds out to be. The new material doesn't come in until pass the halfway point of the movie (Though the villain has a small cameo earlier in the film). Basically it's like this: A Next with teleporting powers has come to Stern City to steal a valuable object and the whole gang has to stop him in an amusement park. Plays out like a Saturday morning superhero episode plot, which we expect it to. The villain is pretty crafty with his powers and is pretty enjoyable to watch him outwit everyone with admittedly useful powers (Useful in a way that Origami Cyclone wishes his was). And the conclusion is while predicable, is written well enough to rank up with the best of the solo episodes of Tiger&Bunny.

It's just unfortunate that I have to say that it still doesn't quite deserve to have a movie made just for it. It would've worked out better as an ova or material for one or two episodes of a second season. But despite knowing what that was going to be, this was still a much better end product I expected it to be and I have high hopes for the second movie where apparently some big shit is going down.

Everyone loves a good fairy tail, and most fairy tails often have darker origins than what anyone would suspect. This movie goes dark with a fairy tail back drop that tackles some interesting ideas but doesn't have the proper time to explore them thoroughly enough.

*WARNING, this review is from the perspective of someone who has not read the original manga.*

STORY: Mass disease is a damn frightening thought, no doubts about that. But one that turns you to stone? Oh shit! Talk about being "stoned to death."

..................................................................................

Ahem, anyways King of Thorns is a 110 minute movie made by Sunrise based on a manga series of the ... same name. And I'll go ahead and be honest and say that I really enjoyed myself with this movie, or rather I enjoyed thinking about what ideas this movie offered.
It begins with a mass media coverage of a virus called Medusa causing people to turn to stone in a mere 12 days, easily setting in a sense of dread for just about everyone in the world. While others will die eventually, a select group of people will be put into a cryogenic sleep at a castle like structure with the hope of a world cured of Medusa. Unfortunately they wake up prematurely to a new nightmare.
King of Thorns mostly works as a B-grade horror survival flick with some sci-fi properties. Many horrific beasts kill and slaughter the vast majority of the people that were asleep, leaving only a select few to fend against the monsters and escape from the castle.

The people among the survivors are as followed; Kasumi Ishiki, the main character of this movie and a shy and timid bespectacled young girl who lost her parents to Medusa leaving her and her twin sister to care for their selves. Marco Owen, your action super star and a criminal who won his way in through chance to be among those who will be in cryogenic sleep and knows more about what's going on than he's letting on. Ron Portman, an american police officer who also will be constantly bickering with his opposite on the justice system. Timothy Laisenbach, a young boy who can't help but to compare their dangerous situation to a video game he played. Katherine Turner, a woman who treats Timothy as her own child as he reminds her of her own child while providing the fairy tail back drop for this dark tale and several others that die soon after the massacre. Each of these characters have their own reasons for surviving, some more so than others, but each has their own compelling story behind them. Or at least I would think so...

The major problem with King of Thorns is a simple one: The lack of sufficient time. The lack of time to thoroughly explain certain plot points. The lack of time to put more development into the main group of characters, save for Kasumi and Marco, they get the bulk of the character development and screen time. And the lack of time put into details about certain plot points that will be left hanging. Surely what time it has is used as well as it could have been used, with the plot never derailing from it's focus or never stopping the pace to show decent action scenes, but this movie would have benefited more by being adapted into a 12 episode series instead.
Which leads into my second biggest grip about this movie, certain scenes were made in a way to prepare for the story's strongest point, a plot twist. Said plot twist makes this movies plot points tie into something unexpected but at the same time not something that was pulled out of no where making it plausible within the context of the film and not wasting any of the setups. Mainly because this movie makes sure you will see where all of it's scenes lead to, by practicably bashing your head in with hints and information. You will still need to pay attention without a doubt, but the lead up works like a double edged sword, making you anxious for what's to come and irritating you by making sure you see it coming and reminding you constantly.

There are some other nit picks I have with this movie (Like how Marco is a pro at doing the impossible), but the ideas and the plot twist at the end makes this a movie one I'd recommend, for at least the interesting ideas it comes up with.

ANIMATION: With Sunrise in charge of production, you can expect some nicely done and consistent animation with some really bad forced in 3D animation as well. The 3D parts are completely unneeded and will only take you out of the movie if it annoys you as much as it did me. The character design are good and well diverse, as diverse the world's population (Fortunately with a male teenager absent, we have more than enough of those in anime anyway).

SOUND: The background music is used effectively, and works wonders with the fairy tail back drop the story uses. While I didn't listen to the Japanese audio, I watched the new english dub by Funimation and they did solid job for the most part. While Brina Palencia does wonders for role as Kasumi with Patrick Seitz not falling behind her as Marco, Bob Carter is probably the weakest link in a dub that is filled with some awkward accents.

OVERALL:
The Mixed:
+/- Interesting ideas within. / Doesn't spend much time with needed explanations on certain plot details.
+/- Decent cast of characters. / Only the main leads get the most attention.
+/- Great plot twist at the end. / Practicably holds your hand and guides you to it by constantly remaining you how it gets there in the first place.
+/- Good english dub. / Dub is filled with accents that aren't particularly great.
+/- Good animation. / 3D animation that is obviously used to save on production.


The Bad:
- Marco performs the impossible on a regular basis.

I'd honestly would rather have a zombie apocalypse than face a crisis that can wipe out the human race, because at least we're ready for that since we get remained of how to act in a situation like that with all of the movies remaining us how not to act. Sorta how this movie shows you what to expect at the end...

After blood baths and shocking deaths (Well not all too shocking but you get it right?), it's nice to get insight into the "ghost girl" and what troubles her past was filled with.

*This review is written in a way that only those who have seen the anime should read on, there could be spoilers especially if you have yet to get past episode 4 of the series. Also, if I have seem to be forgetting something about the series or have gotten something wrong, please feel free to correct me.*

This ova is the prequel to 2012's only, I'm really really sure of this, horror anime ... Another. This ova shows a little more into the main female character of series, Misaki Mei, showing what had happened to her twin sister, Misaki Fujioka. This ova is what I'd like to call an additional desert, something to snack on after you're done with the main meal, yet not something entirely required immediately (Unless you are one of those who just can't help yourself and want more) and this ova certainly does the trick.

The main point of the ova is to get you acquainted with Misaki's, I mean Mei's (I'm too used to just calling her Misaki) past, what she had gone through, her unexpected turns in life, and of course, her twin sister. And this does not squander on anything else, it's all about Mei and her sister. They were separated and barely get to see each other, one lives with their aunt (Whom Mei calls her mother) and the other remains with their parents. Naturally they try to see each other from time to time, showing the viewer how close they are as sisters, and it's done so well that it'll really make you dread what you and Mei will know what is going to happen to the other.

Which, to those who are heavily expecting something extremely traumatic, something to really quench your blood thirst that the anime series offered plentifully, well dash your hopes away now. Not to spoil anything, but the death of Mei's sister is rather ordinary, tragic, but nothing spectacular.

However, I'm totally fine with this, the main point was to establish the sister's relationship and it does it perfectly, to point that you'll get depressed when it does happen (Or at least I did...) because of how heartwarming it is of how close the two were. Though I will admit I was disappointed by the lack of a disastrous death, though it is still clear how disastrous it is to Mei herself.

The animation and sound isn't any upgrade of the anime, though it is more animated than what the series usually is, and there is also a bath scene with the twins, which of course is totally unnecessary but then again the series itself has its own share of pointlessness, so like two twins, it shares it's unashamed fan-service.

Ultimately, the ova is not what you should expect of it concerning bloody finales. Yet it offers a much needed development of Misaki Mei who is practicably an emotionless doll herself in the series and accomplishes what it sets out to.

The standard shonen jump series based movie often have an original story written entirely just for the occasion. . . Or yearly routine, but having a movie based on one of the series many story arcs is either playing it safe with material fans already know of, or it's just simply being lazy. . . And the Yorozuya knows all too well about laziness.

STORY: Gintama Shinyaku Benizakura-hen is the first (And mostly the only) movie for the Gintama franchise, I movie that adapts one of the series' most famous arcs, the Benizakura arc. . . Or more accurately, rehashes the Benizakura arc giving it a ... fresh coat of better animation and a smaller running time than what it took for the anime to get through with it. And in Gintama fashion, the main cast of characters themselves ridicule the idea of the movie ultimately being a rehash, in fact the movie does not care to admit it, the word rehash is even in the title!
But for those who have never read or watched the series, I honestly would not suggest to use this movie as a starting point because despite that Gintama is predominately a comedy series this movie showcases the series in a much more serious light than how it really is. Not that I'm saying that Gintama isn't serious, it is from time to time, it's just this movie will give first time viewers a dead wrong impression of the what the series mood is.

So ultimately this movie is really for the crowd that were already into the series to begin with, so how does it fare with that in mind to people who are already fans of the franchise? Honestly, the movie plays out like any other shonen jump series movie, bad guy stirs up trouble like killing someone, stealing something or causes some kind of troubling commotion. And this movie is three for three, it starts out with one of the series' regular recurring characters losing in a fight with the main antagonist of the film, Nizo, a character that had showed up in a episode prior to the arc that this movie is based on. His reasons for doing so is so that the main antagonist(Of the series, not the film) will recognize him as an equal of sorts, which for to really happen, any gintama fan will tell you he will also need to defeat the main protagonist of the series, Gintoki Sakata, in order for that to happen. Nizo is also using the movie's namesake item, the Benizakura (Or awesome cherry blossom in the english dub... I'll get to that in a bit), a sword with a mind of it's own that infects it's wielder like a parasite slowly turning the user into some sort of 90's sci fi cyborg monster.

And with the main antagonist out of way, I need to talk about the series main trio, the Yorozuya itself. Gintoki Sakata, the dead eye'd, silver haired jack of all trades with an obsession with sweets and shonen jump, if he wasn't the same as he is in the series, then this movie would have some serious problems. Shinpachi Shimura, the straight man with a tendency of being the butt end of every joke, and Kagura, the young alien girl who the opposite of your typical shonen heroine. I want to speak of the group's comedic triumphs, but as I stated above the movie goes into a more serious tone than what the series is famous for, which, for anyone who has read the manga and watched as the anime adds more to the comedy, don't expect the movie to add too much humor, the most you'll get is two jokes, funny jokes mind you, about Warner Bros at the beginning and end of the movie. Like-wise with the jokes, hardly any of the various characters of the series make it into the movie. Granted that the arc that this movie is based on is set pretty far back in the series (Episodes 58-61 and manga chapters 89-97), it is still disappointing to see so little of the recurring characters, especially the shinsengumi.

But to be fair with it's serious tone, the movie displays great action scenes between the antagonist and Gintoki (Though it is almost entirely rehashed from the anime) and ends on a flashy and bloody final battle. And at the very least, if they really had to remake an arc into a movie, they hardly could have chose better.

ANIMATION: It's a constant step up from the tv series that hardly lowers the quality with no signs of characters going off model, and that is all it really is, just a step up from the tv series and it doesn't look quite as great as most shonen series movies do. And despite how well the fight scenes look, except the final battle towards the very end of the movie, it is clearly just a more polished up version of the tv series, but at least that's exactly what we should expect from a rehash.

SOUND: The background is almost entirely just the soundtrack from the tv series, save for the song that play during the final battle of the movie, Bakuchi Dancer by DOES which is a pretty rockin' song. The japanese cast of course is still as great as ever, there's no performance better than Tomokazu Sugita's Gintoki, not even the english dub by Sentai Filmworks (With bad lip flap and all).
The english dub is decent, some performances are befitting of the character they play like Luci Christian's Kagura, most are half and half like Chris Patton's Gintoki Sakata, which he gets the mannerism down and surprisingly does well, but lacks greatly went it comes down to fight scenes, and then there ones that are just flat out disastrous, Mark Laskowski's performance of Shinpachi is one of those ear bleeding performances that makes me want to file a lawsuit for assault especially since he gets the majority of the lines.
Outside of the questionable performances are some very odd translation decisions, like for example the sword Benizakura is literally called The Awesome Cherry Blossom while the honorifics are kept in the english dub like -chan or -san making a lot of the character exchanges sound incredibly awkward and out of place in the english dub.
The english dub is ultimately hit and miss, but could have been worse, they could have gotten Steven Foster to work on it. . . Brrrrrrrr.

OVERALL:
The Good:
+ Animation is a step up from the tv series.
+ Good action scenes

Mixed:
+/- English dub has some competent performances like Luci Christian's Kagura. / Some like Shinpachi's performance nearly ruin the entire experience.
+/- Remake of one of the series most famous story arcs. / Rehash of a story arc rather than being an original story.

The Bad:
- Too serious for a series that hardly ever takes itself seriously.
- Too little of the side characters from the tv series hardly make an appearance outside of the last scene during the credits.

Despite my complain about it's serious nature, I did enjoy myself watching it, both the english and japanese voice overs. But if Sentai Filmworks decides to dub over the tv series, I'd be a bit worried.

If you can somehow, in some way that is not life threatening, remove your stomach from the rest of your body and sit right next to you, then this anime is a bizarre treat. . . Or at least I wanted to say that. . . .

It's quite a feat to be both an intriguing and somewhat fresh look at the highschool romance genre and physically sickening at the same time, Nazo no Kanojo X is a rare case of doing something different yet doing something that immediately pushes you away, literally.

It's starts out with Akira Tsubaki wondering about how his first girlfriend will be ... like, and that's when Mikoto Urabe comes in. Mikoto is the new transfer student at Akira's class and is far from being an average and typical school kid, from randomly bursting out laughing in the middle of class to sleeping face flat on her school desk in between classes, she easily becomes what the class now considers her, a straight up weirdo. Then one day. . . Why do I feel queasy. . . .
Okay, I need to get this done and over with. This is the ultimate deciding factor of the show, one day as school ends for the day, Akira finds Mikoto asleep and unaware of class ending for that day. He wakes her up, with drool slowly pouring down her mouth, and proceeds to leave leaving a wide eyed Akira staring at what she left behind. . . and for some reason. . . Licks it up. . . .

Now here's the thing, that's disgusting, Even though the anime does start off showing that Akira has some kind of fixation on liquid in general, it still churns my stomach in a way that tells me that watching this isn't a good idea for my physical health. But I tried to be open minded enough to almost look past that, especially since the show really is delightful in an offbeat way and shows it can be really something different. . . But, damn. . . It's an entry hazard of epic proportions.

Which is also a shame too, visually the anime is fascinating. It goes for an old school look and the imagery is bizarre, a bizarrely delightful kind that can hook you in alone. Heck the music is more busy focusing on the oddity of the show and wants you to ignore the umm, drool, and instead want you to pay attention the strange and weird (Also, Mitoko's voice actor is a really unique choice by, instead of a typical high pitched voice, it's a lot deeper than you'd expect).

Which is married by unexpected (Though in hindsight is a bit cliched) turns in the development of the central characters. Akira becomes quite addicted to Mikoto's... saliva to the point of having withdrawn symptoms and requires more of Mikoto's. . . Saliva on a regular basis. And by the end of the first episode, the shows keeps up with it's promise of it's title and they become a couple. . . right after Mikoto. . . UGh, vomits a pool of saliva (I'm over exaggerating of course) over the sudden and different way she wants Akira to confess to her, with talks of who and who is still a virgin. . . It's just her way of being surprised. . . .

Okay, I'm not going to blame anyone on wanting to past this up and never look back, especially with how the episode ends. But it's totally something out there and different with a genre that loves to stick with the usual cliches. This is a show that's trying to do something different, but one of it's methods is a clear deal breaker.
A deal breaker, that honestly, would make this anime a whole deal better if the drool was never a part of the premise. In the second episode there are already hints of the plot starting to get loose at the stitches. Clearly we hear that Mikoto's drool isn't anything special, yet she produces a special kind of drool that, umm, gets you horny? It's something along those lines, and it's one of two things that are immediately pointless. The other being Mikoto's hobby(?), keeping a pair of scissors in her underwear for occasions when she cuts up paper into those paper cut out ornaments. I can hardly see where that "talent" will have any importance, other than to flash Mikoto's panties (Though she mentions that she doesn't mind Akira seeing them, at least she doesn't get all embarrassed about). Trying to do something different is fine, but having pointless quirks isn't a way to do it.

However if you can manage not to lose your lunch (Terrible way to put it, ugh, I apologize for the bad imagery), then Nazo no Kanojo X might end up being something totally strange in a delightful way, or become a new way to over sexualize something and go down a bizarro path into obscurity (The ending theme song kinda fetishises drool coming down a girls mouth), unfortunately I will never see where it'll lead up to.

Clearly this anime requires an acquired taste so to speak. The romance itself is very competent but the premise and subject matter however completely holds the anime back from the part of it that deserves praise, but with each episode more and more focus goes towards the drool (Like for example: Mikoto can "transfer" her feelings via saliva, the underlining purpose is great as it invokes a bond you can see between the main couple that needs no words. . . But it's revolting on the surface and becomes less "special" with the introduction of another person who's saliva is also "special").

Either way, you'll need to stomach the premise out before going any further, I wish you good luck because it had me beat. . . Now excuse while I go grab some tums or something. . . Ugh. . . .

Sometimes tragedies are unavoidable, sometimes they are necessary to get a point across. Another accomplishes that with as many victims as it needs, though the results can be a bit on the brainless side when the cast is a bunch of school kids.

STORY: I think it's about time to put something next to the Higurashi series in terms of being a successful horror anime, no Another isn't scary though neither was Higurashi, but Another functions extremely well as a horror story despite some hic ups here and there. Another is 2012's first and maybe only horror anime to come out, but damn, it's a blessing ... that it didn't end up like it's blood soaked victims and becomes one of 2012's better series.

Another is about Koichi Sasakibara who goes to live with his aunt and grandparents in the small town of Yomiyama which hosts his new particular school, where his mother grew up while his father goes on a trip to India. Though his arrival to school is delayed by a medical problem and has to go to the hospital. There he meets Misaki Mei and there is where it all begins, from random deaths to getting to know your fellow "nonexistent", and a tragedy that occurs yearly that takes the lives of those in classroom 9-3. Sasakibara will be going through a lot with the viewers in tow.

By the viewer going through some trials I mean the anime takes it time building up to one of the biggest reveals in the show, it's really jarring on one's patience and even frustrating as everything around the oblivious main character that happens just makes you want to slap him silly, and Misaki Mei herself doesn't help other than lead you to believe in the misleading (I wonder who's dead, it may seem obvious but it actually isn't what you'd think, making it into a great twist), making it almost a red herring in a way.
Misaki herself is the biggest source of the anime's vagueness and it's biggest turn of events. But her personally, a very stoic one to the point of being a stiff (But metaphorical and literal if you count the animation) and an emotionless robot, can easily pull you out of tense heavy scenes with her lack of reaction, she only truly emotes well towards the end of the show.
But by the halfway point, Misaki and Sasakibara become something of an unofficial couple, and their relationship will make you want to root for them, especially for what their future has in store. The anime doesn't put too much focus on their relationship as a couple like how a romance anime would do, but thankfully stays on track with the initial story with this relationship being a very strong character growth for the both of them.

And speaking of some faulty characterizations, the class itself, with the exception of some of the individuals stepping up to bigger role from being background characters, is a big bunch of idiots, or at least where the series first big reveal is concerned as their decision for handling their calamity is borderline retarded.
But when everything falls apart, their panicked states and desperate actions become fascinating to watch, especially during the series explosive end.

The show is not for the faint of heart, the death scenes are usually very brutal, especially the first surprising one, blood is no stranger in Another.
Even with all of the death and blood coming from everywhere, the anime somehow manages to crowbar in one of anime's biggest and most irritating cliches: the beach episode... Yep, though it end with another death, this is something that obviously had no place to offer other than fan service.
And very, very occasionally, the show actually has a brief sense of humor, especially in one very bizarre day dream Sasakibara has (One that could actually happen in context of the show).

The show also has a couple of bad habits like withdrawing important stuff until the end that really needed to have been mentioned sooner otherwise would seem like it was made up right on the spot, even though one moment is actually hinted at throughout the entire anime, making the final twist quite the eye opener.
Not to mention a few cliches, like for example: When a huge reveal is about to be uncovered, right at the very second it gets into it, the show is interrupted and said reveal get postponed, and sometimes postpones into the next episode, and, during the beginning of the series, the anime obnoxiously throws in completely random shots of creepy looking dolls, but it's not totally annoying and when it's gone it's definitely not missed.

But overall, Another is an effective horror story, the set ups, the tone, and especially the audio is all great. It's a series that grows better with each episode, even with it's cringe worthy moments both good ones and bad ones, Another becomes one of anime's few true horror series.

ANIMATION: P.A. Works, the guy responsible for series such as Angel Beats and Clannad have once again prove themselves to be quite the talented group of artists. Everything looks extremely dark and gloomy, making the visual experience one for the horror books. The character designs are diverse and distinctive (The character designs are done by Noizi Ito, the same person who did the designs for The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya and Shakugan no Shana) so overall there's nothing dull or boring to look at that's not unintentional. However, when actual movement is in talks, it is mostly severely lacking as there is little to almost no movement at all, some episodes even start off with a still frame that can last for minutes. But when the gruesome deaths come around, expect no corner cutting, it's done in horrific detail.

SOUND: As with the animation, it's sounds as creepy and spooky as any good horror story should, as it ties up the strings called the atmosphere of the anime quite nicely. But my only complaint is the opening theme, an out of place pop song by Annabel, though is still a decent song anyway.
Voice acting is decent too.

OVERALL:

The Good:
+ Great atmosphere, very creepy and well set up.
+ Initial episodes lead up a very good twist and the series improves from there on.
+ The growing relationship between the main characters is one that makes you want to cheer them on.

The Mixed:
+/- Good character designs and an overall dark and gloomy feel that matches perfectly with the atmosphere / Limited animation all around.
+/- The audio greatly reinforces the overall feel of the anime. / The anime sometimes over uses it to compensate ordinary scenes.
+/- Misaki grows from being a plot device and into major character. / Her personality can take you out of the gruesome scenes when the most she emotes is an annoyed look.

The Bad:
- The beginning can be quite a strain on one's patience.
- The actions of the class of 9-3 are mostly big helpings of stupidity and frustration.
- A beach episode, in a horror anime... Seriously?

There is one thing I'm seriously hoping that doesn't occur, countless sequels. This is pretty much the Final Destination of anime, though I hope it won't become that literally with mediocre sequel after sequel.

The existence of .Hack//Quantum immediately brings up the question: How many damn times will Namco Bandai rehash the same story in the same franchise?

STORY: Once upon a time, there was a video game company that made a really popular online game called The World (Though in the real world, the game that is housed within the game has a very questionable popularity, as in does anyone really care for .hack anymore?), the game was an incredibly flawed game where hacking is the only way to do any cool shit, and strange phenomenons that cause people in real life fall unconscious into a coma like state, ... no law suits were filed.
Years later, The World R:X is released, where it continued the broken programming of it's earlier version along with player vs player fights being the most prominent way to play, or just go around and kill other players which inspired others to become player killer killers... Go, just go...Just go with it. More queer phenomenons occur and more people end up in coma like states, still no law suits were filed and the The World continues to be extremely popular (In the franchise's world mind you).

A few more years later, The World is still very popular and everything seems okay, not much hacking and people actually playing it like any other MMO like World of Warcraft, until a little kitty cat decides to fuck shit up, and the rest as they say is history, and you know what else they say? History repeats itself.
.Hack//Quantum is exactly that, the usual .hack story retold again but in a more compact space. If you had already played through one of the games, watched through one the anime series or read through one the manga adaptations, then chances are that the feeling dejavu is going to hit you like a brick, right smack in the face leaving a stinging feeling that is all too familiar.

But it's time to look past the story rehashing and time to look at what they did with the characters this time around, which to be honest I rather like the central group of characters this time around, Asumi (Sakuya), Eri (Mary), and Iori (Tobias) who's video game designs are, except for Eri her's is more of remixed design, gender swapped versions of existing characters from earlier .hack series. Sakuya is a spunky go getter, something like a typical male shonen lead, Tobias is a knightly fancy looking warrior yet dresses like slob in real life and Mary is a proper like student, the kind that would only play a MMO if invited by a friend. They're nothing exciting, especially alone, but they work well together as a believable group of friends.

And the main story they're a part of, other than what I initially criticized it for, is a pretty enjoyable story centering a character named Hermit, who is a walking talking cat like Mia from the earlier .hack entries, who is involved with a dark area of the game that causes players to fall unconscious and the three players I spoke of have to find someway to save them.

There's nothing bad or terrible in particular with this .hack or it's story, and it should be treated as a bite sized offering of what .hack is about, but if you are going into this being familiar with the franchise, then there is truly nothing new offered, and I still can't get over how the in-series game is still around given it's history, I mean if the company regrouped into a different one with a name change, sure, it would have been believable (The perfect real life example for anime fans for this would be ADV's transformation into Sentai Filmworks, it worked for them pretty well), but if they see that story not being broke, then I guess there's no point of fixing it.

ANIMATION: I'm pretty sure that Bandai could have had enough money to pay for new writers, because the budget for the animation really shows. Very detailed and clean, this is the best the series has looked by far as animation is considered. Giant dragons, giant magical attacks, oh my! Even the fan service scenes with the hot springs are forgivable with the best snow rendering I've ever seen.

SOUND: Absolutely nothing stands out, that's both good and bad. And either language, english or japanese, are just as good to listen to. Though I find it strange that Funimation is the one that pick this up for an english dub, usually Bandai picks them up... Oh right, nevermind.

OVERALL:
The Good:
+ Stellar animation.

The Mixed:
+/- .Hack in a nutshell. / It's the same story that every .Hack went with for years.
+/- The cast is likable. / They're nothing special to write home about.

I do like the .Hack series as much as the next guy... Well more than the next guy because he's among the people who stopped caring for the franchise but, there really needs to be innovation with the .Hack franchise or it'll simply be forgotten by time. A video game reboot or something is in order, same old same old isn't going to cut it forever.