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diff --git a/content/reviews/anime_manga/_index.md b/content/reviews/anime_manga/_index.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e098604 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/reviews/anime_manga/_index.md @@ -0,0 +1,16 @@ ++++ +title = "Anime and manga reviews" +author = ["Michał Sapka"] +categories = ["reviews"] +draft = false +weight = 2001 +image_dir = "reviews/screenshots" +image_max_width = 765 +abstract = "Reviews of amime and manga" +reviewSection = ["Anime movies", "Anime TV series", "Anime OAV series"] ++++ + +## Anime and manga reviews {#anime-and-manga-reviews} + +I used to be a full-on weaboo, but kinda lost interest. +Manga and anime are too mainstream for my taste. diff --git a/content/reviews/anime_manga/attack_on_titan_anime.md b/content/reviews/anime_manga/attack_on_titan_anime.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0242441 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/reviews/anime_manga/attack_on_titan_anime.md @@ -0,0 +1,82 @@ ++++ +title = "Attack on Titan (2013-2023)" +author = ["Michał Sapka"] +date = 2024-06-09T17:10:00+02:00 +categories = ["reviews"] +draft = false +weight = 2003 +image_dir = "reviews/screenshots" +image_max_width = 765 +abstract = "My review of the anime" +rating = 3.5 +image = "reviews/covers/attack-on-titan.jpg" +reviewSection = ["Anime TV series"] +aliases = ["/brain-rot/anime/attack_on_titan_anime/"] ++++ + +_Attack on Titan_ may very well be the defining anime of this decade. +It started as a huge hit, then it faded into obscurity, just to return with a huge bang and end with huge disappointment. + +The premise is quite interesting: +pre-industrial age; humanity is close to extension, locked behind gigantic walls. +Outside lives the biggest threat man has ever faced - Titans. +Race of gigantic, humanoid beasts whose only purpose in life is to attack and devour humans. +We meet our main heroes - Eren, Mikasa, and Armin, just before the Titans breach one of the walls. + +The following 4 seasons differ in quality. + +The first one is interesting, but suffers from terrible narration where we are constantly interrupted by internal monologues. +We either learn what we already know, or random ideas are thrown at us. +The second one has no idea what it wants to be, and this is where viewership dropped sharply. +Then came the third one. +It seems to continue to downward trend from s2, but halfway through everything changes. +Without spoiling anything, _AoT_ stops being dumb fun and seems to become an intelligent commentary on human condition. +Before that, I was watching the series because I had nothing better to do. +After _this_ scene I instantly became invested and shocked. +Then the fourth came out, developing on what made the third great. +I was close to calling this a great series, but unfortunately it's all thrown out the window with the 2.5 hours long finale, which is almost entirerly one, long fight. +So much potential, such great buildup. +All wasted in the name of a boring action scene. +I don't remember when was the last time I felt so betrayed. + +The great part of _AoT_ takes a lot from history and great fiction like Dune. +We're seeing great idea one after another. +The story is full of interesting twists. +By the end, it's all meaningless. + +Story-wise, the only two redeeming qualities of this series are personal journeys of Eren and Gabi (introduced in S4). +Only their stories interest me. +Not that there is anything bad about the rest of the characters, they are ok[^fn:1]. +Run-of-the-mill anime characters. + +Yes, the series looks and sound pretty. +It's full of nicely animated action scenes. +But I can't stop comparing it to _Evangelion_. + +Both series start cool, but are not memorable. +Then they develop into marvels, pure greatest. +But _NGE_ never stopped being great. +After it gained actual meat, it developed it culminating in the greatest movie I've ever experienced. +Full of story, drama, meaning, and emotions. + +_AoT_ ends in _Iron Man 3_ - a prolonged, boring fight scene. + +And while the scenes shown during end credits return the series on its track, it changes nothing. +They nicely connect and develop the great ideas behind the _golden era of AoT_, but they should not be the one good part! +The ending should be it, as the way it happened is I wasted 2.5 hours filled with boredom. + +_AoT_ could have been great, but it is not. +It's an ok action series with huge unresolved ambitions. +If it was just a dumb action show, then ok - I would have some fun, then forget it. +It would fail in comparison of other shows we see now, like Jujtsu Kaisen, but it would be very much ok. +Unfortunately with added ambition, it ends in a huge disappointment. + +It was very close, everything was going great. +And then it hits a wall. + +[^fn:1]: Except of Armin who single handely ruins the first few seasons. + He is the character who is able to calculate probability to 4 decimal places. + I see this kind of characters all around modern anime, and every time I have to roll my eyes. + Remember how _Big Bang Theory_ was often describes at how "dumb people think smart people are"? + Yeah, that's Armin. + The same kind of bullshit ruined shows like Kaji or Code Geass for me. diff --git a/content/reviews/anime_manga/dragon-ball-super-super-hero-2022.md b/content/reviews/anime_manga/dragon-ball-super-super-hero-2022.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e3b5186 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/reviews/anime_manga/dragon-ball-super-super-hero-2022.md @@ -0,0 +1,78 @@ ++++ +title = "Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero (2022)" +author = ["Michał Sapka"] +date = 2024-05-08T23:20:00+02:00 +categories = ["reviews"] +draft = false +weight = 2002 +image_dir = "reviews/screenshots" +image_max_width = 765 +rating = 1.25 +reviewSection = ["Anime movies"] +abstract = "My mirco reviview of the 2022 Dragon Ball movie" +image = "reviews/covers/db-superhero.jpg" +aliases = ["/brain-rot/anime/dragon-ball/dragon-ball-super-super-hero-2022/"] ++++ + +Even though I was raised on _Dragon Ball_ and I adore it up to this day, _Super_ was a huge letdown. +It played as a washed-out version of _Z_ - there was no tension, the new characters were bland, and it was simply boring. +The fact the only not-terrible part of the series was one huge tournament didn't help. +Just give me an adventure! + +I also can not say I enjoyed Dragon Ball movies. +There are a few enjoyable, but most of the time they are either bad or incredibly bad. +They try to condense interesting story lines into a few dozen minutes, failing miserably. +Say what you will about pacing, but Toriyama sure knew how to build tension over a hundred episode fight. + +And therefore we are here, the _Super Hero_ movie. +It's the last Toryiama's Dragon Ball. +I expected nothing and still left disappointed. + +The story exists, which is nice. +We're after the last _Broly_ movie. +Red Ribbon army still exists, and they want to take over the world again. +Goku and Vegeta are training, so they won't help. +It's all up to Picollo, Androids and the young Sayians to save the day. + +Who is the main enemy this time? +A new Cell. +Yes, Red Ribbon's latest acquaintance happens to be a genius capable of creating a better Cell, Cell Max. +And this is where the good things about this movie end. + +Remember Cell's saga? +It was long, it was interesting. +It gave us Android 18. +It was full of development, horror and surprises. +None of this is present here. +The new Cell looks worse than the original, doesn't have any forms nor any spoken lines. + +Moreover, the animation is terrible. +Yes, CGI looks great when still, but when we start to see any fight it becomes unwatchable. +It's the kind of CGI that is not bad per-se, but still obvious. +It's clear that what we're seeing here is made by a soulless computer. +They don't even try to hide it with constant camera shifts. +CGI can look great, but here it looks lazy. + +So, wasted Cell and bad animation. +Do we get anything instead? +We do - a lot of fan service. +We meet people from all other series and hear about even more. +We see return of figting Gohan and a few thinks we've been waiting for since the 90s. +It's fitting, as we're decades into Dragon Ball. +The problem is that they are just there and if they weren't, there would be difference. +Those cute scenes try to mask absence of anything new and interesting. + +Unfortunately, we also see Shenron. +In the old series, every time he was summoned, it was a spectacle and a memorable moment. +With each occurrence however the characters stop treating him as a force, but more of a goof ball. +Yes, the first wish we see him fulfilling was creation of pantyhose, but it was part of the plot. +Here? +Here Bulma uses him for butt-lift and wrinkle removal, as he became useless. + +And this sadly summarizes all modern Dragon Ball. +It's a low effort, forced return of an old legend. +It should stay were it was. +And this movie is one of the worst parts of _Super_. +It's not **as** bad as Gohan's[^fn:1] whistle-dance, but the fact that it's not the worst of DB doesn't save it from being a insulting goodbye to the Dragon Ball world. + +[^fn:1]: I've been told that _Dragon Ball Z Movie 4_ has its share of fans, but I've got no idea how. diff --git a/content/reviews/anime_manga/mobile-police-patlabor-the-early-days.md b/content/reviews/anime_manga/mobile-police-patlabor-the-early-days.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a6d4de3 --- /dev/null +++ b/content/reviews/anime_manga/mobile-police-patlabor-the-early-days.md @@ -0,0 +1,68 @@ ++++ +title = "Mobile Police Patlabor: The Early Days (1989)" +author = ["Michał Sapka"] +date = 2024-05-06T22:38:00+02:00 +categories = ["reviews"] +draft = false +weight = 2004 +image_dir = "reviews/screenshots" +image_max_width = 765 +abstract = "My review of the OAV" +rating = 3.75 +image = "reviews/covers/patlabor-early-days.jpg" +reviewSection = ["Anime OAV series"] +related = ["Patlabor movie timeline"] +relatedName = "Early Days OAV" +aliases = ["/brain-rot/anime/patlabor/mobile-police-patlabor-the-early-days/"] ++++ + +_Mobile Police Patlabor_ is a 7 episodes long OAV series which serves as an introduction to the more widely known movies. +The subtitle (_The Early Days_) says it all, as it depicts the humble beginnings of Special Vehicles Unit 2 (SV2), which we will follow in the later installments. +Think: the first few episodes of _The Wire_. +We see how they are preparing their base of operation, how they receive their Labors, and so on. +And that's pretty much all that's here. +No grand ideas (like in _Movie Two_), not even an attempt at those. +All we see is how the Unit starts and their first few cases. + +It's only this, but it never sets up itself to be anything more. +Not everything needs to be full of difficult questions and even harder answers. +_Early Days_ on its own is cool if you're deeply into Mecha, but I am not. +For me, this OAV is _only_ an addition to the Movies. + +But it changed how I look at the first movie. +I was not sure what it actually was all about. +Was it pro-technology? +Was it a warning? +Well, the opening here is a love song sung by one of the pilots towards her Patlabor (named Alfons). +Yep, it seems Patlabor was techno-fetishist all along. +Nothing here prepares us for _Movie 2_, but it makes the first movie better. + +The seven episodes here are, in order: + +- the start of SV2, and we get to know Noa (who is one of the main characters in _Movie 1_), +- mission to protect the mayor, +- underwater monster story (sic!), +- hostage situation, +- ghost story (sic! again) while the unit is on vacation (with mandatory hot spring scenes), +- the plot of second movie, but without the smart parts, +- a long chase scene. + +It's all light-hearted and more often than not a bit goofy. + +Technically, this is a very pretty anime, +The movies follow the style we see here, with bigger budgets though. +But what we see here is a great, old-school animation. +OAVs tend to look better than TV series, and this one is no exception. + +My gripes with the OAV are more with my expectations than with the _Early Days_ themselves. +It fulfills its aspiration to be a nice, short series. +Nothing here even points towards bigger ambitions. +But I saw it after _Palabor 2: Movie_ which was intelligent up to a fault. +And even though I deeply enjoyed every minute, it's not what I came for. + +So, if you liked _Movie 1_ and want more - sure, this series gets my thumbs up (and therefore rating). +But if the _Movie 2_ floored you but left hungry, don't expect this series to come anywhere that level of ambition nor quality. + +{{< image class="centered" file="patlabor-early-days-1.jpg" >}} +We've got regular mecha fights! +{{< /image >}} diff --git a/content/reviews/anime_manga/patlabor-2-the-movie.md b/content/reviews/anime_manga/patlabor-2-the-movie.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8d1931f --- /dev/null +++ b/content/reviews/anime_manga/patlabor-2-the-movie.md @@ -0,0 +1,126 @@ ++++ +title = "Patlabor 2: The Movie (1993)" +author = ["Michał Sapka"] +date = 2024-04-26T22:08:00+02:00 +categories = ["reviews"] +draft = false +weight = 2006 +image_dir = "reviews/screenshots" +image_max_width = 765 +abstract = "My review of a masterpiece" +rating = 5 +image = "reviews/covers/patlabor-2-movie.jpg" +related = ["Patlabor movie timeline"] +relatedName = "2: Movie" +aliases = ["/brain-rot/anime/patlabor/patlabor-2-the-movie/"] +reviewSection = ["Anime movies"] ++++ + +Ok, this one is a difficult movie to write about. +For a _gajin_ it may come as a visually beautiful, but very convoluted movie. +But inside, it's deeply rooted in Japan's history and one needs to understand a few facts before truly appreciating it. +So, before talking about the movie, allow me to take a brief jump into history territory. + +After loosing World War II, Japan was under the USA's occupation. +Their post-war constitution ha a very important "Article 9" under which Japan was allowed to have defense military force, but it was to be never deployed on foreign soil. +After few changes, the defense force became Japanese Self-Defense Force, the _JSDF_. +Decades pass and the population kind of forgot about the WWII. +Mind you, Nagasaki and Hiroshima lives in their mindset, but war becomes something that was in the past. +In June 1992, the National Diet passed a UN Peacekeeping Cooperation Law which permitted the JSDF to participate in UN medicalonal Diet passed a UN Peacekeeping Cooperation Law which permitted the JSDF to participate in UN medical, refugee repatriation, logistical support, infrastructural reconstruction, election-monitoring, and policing operations under strictly limited conditions[^fn:1]. + +Amongst part of Japanese population it was seen as a dangerous precedence. +JSDF was, in fact, deployed on foreign soil. +Both creators of _Patlbor_, Mamoru Oshii and Kazunori Itō were vocal opponents of this decision. +_Patlabor 2: The Movie_ should be seen as their manifesto. + +So, knowing this I have to say: _Patlabor 2: The Movie_ is amongst the greatest movies I've ever seen. +I always say that for me, SciFi for SciFi sake is boring; it can be elevated by using the setting as a mean to tell a human story. +What's more, I like SciFi movies that are not action-fests. +And for both of those measures _Patlabor 2: The Movie_ **excels** all expectations. + +It is also a huge step-up from _Patlabor: The Movie_. +While that one had huge potential, but came out lacking in both, substance and form, the _2_ is a gigantic step. +There were only 4 years between release dates, but I am floored. + +Ok, back to the movie itself. +It's 2002, 3 years after the events of _Patlabor: The Movie_. +Yokohama Bay Bridge is destroyed by a missile shot from a variation of F-16 Fighter. +JASDF (Japan Air Self-Defense Force) is blamed for the attack, and a result JSDF is ready to deploy forces all over Tokyo. +Japan is close to martial law. + +{{< image class="centered" file="patlabor-2-movie-0001.jpg" >}} +Don't get used to the old main characters. +They are barerly here. +{{< /image >}} + +{{< image class="centered" file="patlabor-2-movie-0002.jpg" >}} +Even the trickiest of perspectives are spot on. +{{< /image >}} + +{{< image class="centered" file="patlabor-2-movie-0003.jpg" >}} +Not much for mecha fans, but quite a lot for aviation fans. +{{< /image >}} + +One thing to get straight of the way: there's not much of Labors here to be seen. +I think there are more shots of fighters and tanks, than there are of the mechs. +This _not_ a mecha anime even though it is set in a mecha world. +It's also not an action movie, as most of the scenes are two/three people talking. +_P2TM_ requires significant attention, as it's all about those dialogues. +The message is more said than shown and it may be not to your liking. +Anime is mostly known for imaginative fight scenes and fan service. +This not that kind of movie. +It's slow and methodical. + +But there are action scenes, and they are glorious. +_PTM_ was looking great; _P2TM_ sets incredible standards that are often unmatched even today. +I found it interesting, that the first portion of the movie uses very small color palette - everything is overblown, like in full sun, or lighted by fluorescent lamp. +People look more like cyborgs than living things. +Then, when authors start conveying their message, it all changes - the palette broadens and characters even get some tam. +Subtle and effective. +The city look incredible, the machines look amazing and characters no longer have perspective problems (like they had in _PTM_). +Overall, the presentation is perfect. +Unfortunately the style here seems mostly abandoned. +It's _distinctly_ Oshii and _Production IG_. +Anime no longer looks like this movie. + +The only nitpick I can find when it comes to the visual aspect is that in a few scenes the snow looks bad. +That's all. + +{{< image class="centered" file="patlabor-2-movie-0004.jpg" >}} +This made me feel things. +I'd give a lot for such audio setup. +It even has a great CD transport! +{{< /image >}} + +{{< image class="centered" file="patlabor-2-movie-0005.jpg" >}} +Basset, reporting in. +{{< /image >}} + +The music is great. +It's not _Ghost in the Shell_ but Kenji Kawaii is a master of his craft. + +The only negative I can find is the main villain. +He is absent from most of his movie and his motivations are hidden until the very last few scenes. +His work is ever-present, but he is not here... which is fitting. +Oshii said that the "evil" character here is himself. +Everything the villain say is what the director thinks. + +_Patlabor 2: The Movie_ is a masterpiece. +Oshii is one of the most brilliant directors in history, and this movie is one of his magnum opuses[^fn:2]. +It's not only something **every** fan of anime should watch but everyone who enjoys cinematography. +It's smart, beautiful and haunting. +It is also a very strong anti-war manifest. +It dares to put a mirror in front of our faces and _as of this_ type of movie, I fail to find any real flaw. + +{{< image class="centered" file="patlabor-2-movie-0006.jpg" >}} +There's some eye candy here. +{{< /image >}} + +\#+begin_image +It's not there are no mechs here. +They are, in very small doses. +\#+end_img-c + +[^fn:1]: Source: [Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Self-Defense_Forces#Peacekeeping) +[^fn:2]: How many directors have achiever greatness on a few occasions? + Oshii certainly did! diff --git a/content/reviews/anime_manga/patlabor-the-movie.md b/content/reviews/anime_manga/patlabor-the-movie.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5b7f88d --- /dev/null +++ b/content/reviews/anime_manga/patlabor-the-movie.md @@ -0,0 +1,94 @@ ++++ +title = "Patlabor: The Movie (1989)" +author = ["Michał Sapka"] +date = 2024-04-11T21:01:00+02:00 +categories = ["reviews"] +draft = false +weight = 2005 +image_dir = "reviews/screenshots" +image_max_width = 765 +abstract = "The proto-GITS is still very nice!" +aliases = ["/blog/patlabor-the-movie", "//brain-rot/patlabor/patlabor-the-movie", "/brain-rot/anime/patlabor-the-movie/"] +rating = 3.75 +image = "reviews/covers/patlabor-1-movie.jpg" +related = ["Patlabor movie timeline"] +relatedName = "The Movie" +reviewSection = ["Anime movies"] ++++ + +There was a time when _Patlabor_ was an established name. + +It was huge, it had _Mamoru Oshii_.Now, sadly, it's mostly forgotten. +_Patlabor: The Movie_ is the first from the universe. +I'll cover the following two soon, as thiis is my rewatch after decades. + +The story takes place in the distant future of 1999. +Manual labor is aided by Labors, huge exoskeletons. +Tokyo is undergoing a huge project, where old suburbs are demolished and artificial island are created on the coast. +Some Labors are going berserk, destroying everything on their paths despite being unmanned. + +Let's start with the visual feast. +The movie looks stunning! +Yes, later movies from IG top what we see here, and sometimes the faces may look weird. +It's not perfect. +But if we would simply tell ourselves that this style of animations is the peak and let's just try to maintain the quality, I'd be more than happy. +The way this 35-year-old movie looks is a testament to the power of manual drawings. +The design, the camera work, the coloring - I loved every second. + +Another cute thing I've noticed: _The Movie_ is an Oshii-type of movie. +It came in this short period, where _anime_ was treating western culture as something alien and cool. +We're seeing this in Jin-Roh, Evangelion, GITS, and many others. +Here we've got the Bible. + +But this also shows the biggest problem of _Patlabor: The Movie_: it is shallow. +On surface level, we've got everything one could ever want: Unabomber-style genius on a quest to stop progress at all cost. +We're seeing how _old_ is discarded in the name of progress. +We've also got a huge computer system which is maintained without deep understanding of how it works. +Basically, 1999 is like 2024. +But none of this is really developed. +The main characters never stop and think, that maybe the world is not going the best route? +Eiichi Hoba, the aforementioned Unabomber, is just a plot device: the viewer is also never confronted with his viewpoint. + +As it stands, _The Movie's_ story is disjointed: +on one side we've got the real and interesting question. +On the other, no one looks for answers and just accepts the risks of unconstrained growth. +But maybe this was the point? +We're seeing the same today: the world is ending, and most people are racing to be the last one to shut down the lights. +It is scary how believable this is. +Even the main threat is solved by a software rollback... + +_Patlabor: The Movie_ is good on its own, but it suffers from being the proto Ghost in the Shell. +It's not near as good, nor is it as good as its sequel. +But taking it at face value is really solid. +I had huge fun rewatching it, but left unsatisfied for sophisticated sociopsychological treat Oshii is known for. + +My rating is 3.75/5 + +{{< image class="centered" file="patlabor-movie-1-0001.jpg" >}} +Sucide is painless... +{{< /image >}} + +{{< image class="centered" file="patlabor-movie-1-0002.jpg" >}} +...It brings on many changes +{{< /image >}} + +{{< image class="centered" file="patlabor-movie-1-0003.jpg" >}} +For a mecha anime, we've got a lot of people talking in different rooms +{{< /image >}} + +{{< image class="centered" file="patlabor-movie-1-0004.jpg" >}} +Have I mentioned thast this movie looks stunning? +{{< /image >}} + +{{< image class="centered" file="patlabor-movie-1-0005.jpg" >}} +S-T-U-N-N-I-N-G +{{< /image >}} + +{{< image class="centered" file="patlabor-movie-1-0006.jpg" >}} +It always amazes me how many anime shows older guys in their undergarments. +I get, that Japan gets extremely hot during summer, but is it real that frequent? +{{< /image >}} + +{{< image class="centered" file="patlabor-movie-1-0008.jpg" >}} +One of many GITS-style scenes. +{{< /image >}} |