“Book” Your Cruise

July 7th, 2022 in Anime, Movies by

I am worried about this series. I mean, initially, “Black Butler” was one of the meanest and cruelest series I had ever seen, where harsh justice is dispensed right and left and anyone who dares to entrammel the relationship between Sebastian and Ciel had best bring their A++ game; otherwise, they will crash and burn and experience 99 degrees of unpleasantness. And get stuck with the bill! But for this movie go-around, we get “Book of the Atlantic”. (more…)

A “Giant” Mistake

June 9th, 2022 in Movies by

I didn’t know what I was getting into when I watched this anime movie. I had seen a couple of series set on an island, one being a group of girls having to survive until help came in, another about a group of people who survive a plane crash, but in another land in another land, and this one started off in the same direction, but when you are greeted with the Japanese title first, then you get blindsided by Kyochu Retto”, not knowing the English title (“The Island of Giant Insects”), but there you go. (more…)

January 6th, 2022 in Anime, Movies by

As is my normal complaint, I know that there are a ton more anime movies out there, but for whatever reason, rarely do they get to our sunny shores and then, then make themselves nearly impossible to get, short of some Fathom Event (where you can pay $12.50 or $15 or $20 to see their offering). So, whenever one does seem to get uncovered, I will watch it and let the chips fall where they may, as was the case for “Napping Princess: The Story of the Unknown Me”  (“Hirune Hime: Shiranai Watashi no Monogatari”). (more…)

Because “The Night”

September 9th, 2021 in Anime, Movies by

One the one hand, I personally enjoy realistically rendered anime. It is far too easy to fall into tropes and traps when you deal with a ‘traditional’ anime style, so when it is more like-life (let me direct you towards “Basilisk”, one fantastic-looking anime), I glom onto it. However, I do not dismiss the experimental; especially when there is a compelling story behind it (let me direct you towards “Dead Leaves”, one imaginative and strikingly insane anime.) (more…)

“In This Corner”….

April 15th, 2021 in Anime, General Reviews, Movies by

I feel that I will never understand the magnitude on the Japanese psyche regarding WWII and the dropping of the bombs. It permeates every fiber of their being and colors almost everything they do, consciously and unconsciously, even so many years after the events. We have another film that looks at the war experience, but it is done in a different manner. The inevitable comparisons between “Grave of the Fireflies” and this one, “In This Corner of the World” (“Kono Sekai no Katasumi ni”) will happen, as both are depressing, but the latter approaches it in a more hopeful, but less natural-looking, manner. (more…)

“Collection” Agency

February 18th, 2021 in Anime, Movies by

As with any movie that comes from a successful series, I am leery that it might be just might be a recap of the series, put in movie form, for those folks who are too lazy to plunk themselves down and watch the whole thing, from a company that wants to make some quick money for fans who are too gullible to take a second look at things. And I will be saying this plaint again and again until I am proven demonstrably wrong. I have gotten close, but not with any consistency. Yet, “Kantai Collection: The Movie” (and couldn’t you come up with a slightly better title than that?) does try to move events along, basing it off of that which we have already seen in the series and that which we already know, to tell a different tale. Of sorts. (more…)

Not Drawn to “Scale”

February 11th, 2021 in Anime, General Reviews, Movies by

“Sword Art Online” has been one of the more interesting series (and now franchises) of the past half-dozen years. As with any movie that comes from a successful series, I am leery that it might be just might be a recap of the series, put in movie form, for those folks who are too lazy to plunk themselves down and watch the whole thing, from a company that wants to make some quick money. Yes, they did do that in 2013, calling it the “Extra Edition”, so I was a little more assured that this one would be a real movie and not just a Season Two Recap. This brings us to “Sword Art Online The Movie: Ordinal Scale”. Now, it would help to understand what an ‘ordinal scale’ is. (more…)

I Call a “Redo”

September 24th, 2020 in Anime, Movies by

I must be the dumbest sack of doorknobs out there. Why do I torture myself? I have potentially been chasing this franchise down longer than “Code Geass: Akito”, yet I am not half as whiny about it as I should be. This popped up at AX 17, so I grabbed a showing of “Evangelion 3.33: You Can (Not) Redo”. What a pile of noise! (more…)

I’ll Take the “Blame”

September 17th, 2020 in Anime, General Reviews, Movies by

It’s an anime movie. I am at least finding them a bit more often than in the past, but they still come out in a dribble, compared to other offerings. This is an odd one, more so for the apparent CG than the plot, which smells rather “Matrix”-y. This is “Blame!” (“Buramu!”). (more…)

Short Run Series XXII – If You See the “Dragon” Fly

March 26th, 2020 in Anime, Movies, Short Run Series by

I once mentioned (and frequently do so) that you can find an anime on almost any topic. This one is really strange, “The Dragon Dentist“ (“Ryū no Haisha”). It takes place in an alternate universe, a time when dragons existed and did take to the skies. (more…)