Jeoffrey

At the start this looked like quite an interesting and peculiar show, though I wondered how much this 2018 Netflix series would have in common with the original 1985 Filmation show (although I have not seen the eighties She-Ra: Princess of Power so it is difficult to say). What I like about this version is the depth of the narrative, in particular all the mystery surrounding the "First Ones". The planet's various essences and the way they maintain harmony are also quite interesting - kind of like the sci-fi anime series Avatar: The Last Airbender. This first season also reminded me of Superman (as the heroine has her own Fortress of Solitude after all), and of course Star Wars (the original trilogy), perhaps because of the way the main female protagonist is conflicted about completing her training and the attachments she has to others. Likewise, the relationship between Adora and Catra is very compelling, turbulent, and complicated, which I enjoyed to a certain extent even if I am still kind of unsure exactly what I think of this couple. I am not really crazy about some of the other characters like the other two from the main trio (Glimmer and Bow) although I think that could change in the next season. The characters I was most invested in were Shadow Weaver, Hordak, and Sea Hawk. I did not particularly like some of the other princesses (Perfuma, Mermista) and do not think they are going to change much, although I think it will be interesting to see how the charming and reckless mad scientist Entrapta develops. Of course, there is a talking unicorn with rainbow wings who considers freeing the other horses, and I had to face-palm the moment he appeared! Well, I am off to watch the next season because this got me quite intrigued. This show is a fine science fantasy that has a lot to offer, it is also very strange at times and I am still not sure if I am completely into it... 6.4/10.

Is Studio Trigger presenting an X-Men anime series? Or maybe it is called Beastmen? Well, actually they ended up calling it Brand New Animal! Welcome to Zootopia, a city full of animals... Not again! Well, welcome to Anima City, a city full of animals that are not exactly animals... It depends a lot on how much you like the Trigger animation studio because this show is full of their famous trademark style. Michiru is another classic Trigger main female protagonist in the vein of the protagonists in Kill la Kill, Space Patrol Luluco and Little Witch Academia. The animation is very creative, uniquely colorful, and dynamic. It features a well-thought-out and entertaining narrative with a very intense, almost over-the-top conclusion that was right up my street. Is there, however, something that I think makes this a significantly above-average show that pushes what I would perhaps expect from this studio to new levels? Nah. I do like the productions by Studio Trigger, how they produce everything in a dynamic and visually interesting way. When I compare it to a lot of other anime series, BNA: Brand New Animal is based on some really good ideas, it is designed well, and has a great ending. The fact that I like Trigger's trademark animation style and also the excellent soundtrack makes it fun to watch. However, perhaps Studio Trigger’s productions are starting to all look a bit samey? This is the first time I am in a situation where that question has really bothered me and that is not a good thing... Well, all right, I did enjoy it, even though it took a little longer than usual for me to get into and relate to the main protagonist and other characters, and I am going to add some extra points for the last two episodes, which were great and had one really great twist (even if it was an absolute dog of a clichéd plot twist, or rather a three-headed wolf beastman of a...). 7/10.

At this point, it is probably quite clear who gave me the heads-up regarding this anime series, so this review (my first review of a hentai anime) is down to my colleague and friend Honza135, who can write about animated porn as if it were the most sophisticated and romantic work he has ever seen... The funny thing is that some of the things Honza135 wrote about did not really catch my attention although I then discovered other elements in the show that made me rate it as a slightly above average anime series. I will agree that it has quite an interesting narrative considering it’s animated pornography, it is not simply there as a set-up for the main guy to be able to fall into the arms of yet another girl. I think that if you took out all the sex scenes, and developed the show more carefully, the basic framework of the show could work as at least an average fantasy anime series. As far as eroticism is concerned, at first, I found the sex scenes quite boring (having sex in only one position does not do it for me) and short. Although the scenes gradually got better as they were longer, more sensual, and explicit in nature, and later they even show sex in different positions which I like (in real life and on-screen). I really enjoyed the originality of how the anime’s creators managed to get the main male protagonist into the panties of yet another female protagonist. I do not mean using the now-legendary one-liner, "You came into the men's bedroom, so you have to know what is going to happen next..." because that would definitely not hold up in court. I mean the storyline involving the blonde noblewoman with "side effects'', or the possessed nun, and I found the reason why the witch wanted a certain ingredient in her potion quite amusing. That was definitely more amusing than the gratuitous and stupid slapstick comedy, like in the scene Honza135 mentions "where she grabs him by the ear and drags him through the house" which made me want to just bang my head against the wall, because it was absolutely ridiculous and appallingly bad. Apart from the simplistic slapstick comedy scenes, the animation was quite charming and enjoyable due to the fact I like that art style. As for the girls, they were quite cute, they were pretty, although I did not have a favorite (except maybe the aforementioned witch, who struck me as quite sexy with her dark mysterious vibes, although SPOILER, unfortunately, she was not next in row, end of SPOILER) or any special fondness for the girls with ponytails (if I did, I would not have dropped Gonna Be the Twin-Tail!!). However, all in all, I thought it was a very good show and the main male protagonist seemed pretty cool most of the time. He never fails to miss any opportunity, and so I would say he is a healthy young man, although I understand it would have been better for all the romantic souls out there if, for example, the end of the second episode was moved to the end of the whole anime series... 7/10.

I thought to myself, why not indulge in a little bit of retro throwback in the morning and watch something that is as old as I am? I happened to stumble upon this little movie while browsing one of the anime sites, and I am not gonna lie, I was pulled in by the poster... However, the movie is nothing special, the narrative is pretty far-fetched, as is the main male protagonist, although it is still watchable. The main male protagonist is actually quite lovable, and the eighties were a time when ecchi was not just a bunch of stupid unexpected shots and random, supposedly erotic situations. There is some real eroticism going on in this particular movie. Anyway, it did not do anything for me except that I now know that in space cats and dogs can be quite fond of each other and, once again love wins the day. 4.3/10.

The coronavirus pandemic afforded me the luxury of time to start catching up on leftovers from previous years, so after the recent heads-up on the interesting Yakushiji Ryouko no Kaiki Jikenbo, I figured it was time to check out some more of Grek1's recommendations, this time from AkiCon 2018. I am not exactly sure why I picked I My Me! Strawberry Eggs, perhaps it was because I was intrigued by Grek's reference to SJW and could not understand how he meant it, although now I pretty much get it... I started watching the first couple of episodes and thought that someone like me, who is familiar with the three most famous cross-dressing movies (Some Like It Hot, Tootsie, and Mrs. Doubtfire) could not have been very shocked by anything in this show. Wrong! Anyway, it also reminded me of some other movies and anime series, like Ranma ½, Great Teacher Onizuka, or even Fack ju Göhte/Suck Me Shakespeer... At first, this anime series seems like a really crazy, wacky, goofy fun comedy and probably the closest thing to the aforementioned Tootsie. This is nothing out of the ordinary for someone who has seen anime shows like this before, although what is interesting is the setting, the jokes are just insane, plus, it has a promising plot twist. From the second half of the season, specifically from the eighth episode onwards, this anime series starts to come into its own, and there is a lot of food for thought. Gender discrimination (and all the prejudices associated with it) is the first interesting subject matter which features throughout most of the season, and this theme is brought to a head in the eighth episode, and perhaps surprisingly, rebellion against this obvious injustice is resolved quite logically for the school and its students. It seems surprising how an anime series that is this crazy can suddenly deal with the subject matter in a completely serious and natural way, say what needs to be said, and more or less resolve everything to my complete satisfaction. Then comes something even the most hardened SJW would not expect - understandable defiance with a reasonable attitude, outlining the problem in a different way to how it is perhaps done usually - I had a pretty good feeling about this episode... Then, it just keeps on going! They tackle the anguishes of adolescent romantic relationships, with the storyline being pretty clichéd. However, in the end, I was still left stunned with only one question in my mind - what is actually unacceptable in the context of romance, and therefore love? The ending itself was perfectly acceptable and satisfying according to my own established standards. However, the question remained, as well as the thought of whether this was really the best ending... This anime was a pleasant surprise that scored points with me in just about everything it set out to achieve. Very entertaining, interesting romantic relationships, lots of ambiguous issues, and well-thought-out solutions. It still resonates with me now... The characters were very good, Fujio and Akira (plus Kuzuha actually), were very believable and probably the most normal in the whole anime series. However, the most interesting character was definitely the landlady with her special training and motorbike, who adds another dimension to the narrative during her last conversation with the headmistress (and causes me to imagine another narrative - a prequel, which I would now like to see...). If it all were just a silly comedy, like the first few episodes, I would have rated it as slightly above average, knowing I found it quite entertaining. However, thanks to all the interesting implications, now I do not even know who I am, yet feel I have just watched something that was very good! Run, Fuko, run!  8.3/10.

A cross-dressing James Bond? Kind of... Ryouko is a very strong character who has a few things in common with 007, it is also quite an action-packed show much like the Bond movies and also over the top at times, so I guess so. The Japanese X-Files? Yes and no. Sure, this is science fiction inspired by Japanese mythology and there is an esoteric and supernatural vibe to the investigation of the criminal cases, however, there are no aliens which is the first thing you think of whenever The X-Files are mentioned. So what exactly is this show? It is better than the usual supernatural whodunit, dominated by a main female protagonist who you are either going to love because she is the archetypal perfect, sexy woman I think a lot of grown-up men (say aged thirty and over) see her as, or you are going to be deeply offended as her character is cold, calculating and overconfident, which some men are afraid of (especially those who consider their ideal woman to be a cute, ditzy little girl they can control and boss about). I find myself more in the former category. In other words, Ryouko is a mature, strong, empowered woman, and there are a lot of strong, confident, sexy women out there in the real world. Add to this the fact that the main male character can in many ways be described as "just a sidekick" and the male ego takes another significant blow. On the other hand, I can relate to Izumida in many ways as he is a nice, kind, and loyal sort of guy, he is also not to be taken for a fool, and he is sometimes quite cool and I kind of get what the main female protagonist sees in him. So the central duo seems a bit unbalanced, although gradually, as the situation gets more complicated, it changes and the lines are a bit blurred. What I also like is the finále, which partly shows the way some of the cases are interrelated. Some of the enemies are not going to be forgotten and it makes sense why: for example, a whole episode was devoted to weird parasitic trees or an armored centipede... I thought this was a quite good show and if I had to sum it up in one sentence, this is what I would say. So thanks to Grek1 for his recommendation in his Youtube show Anime Cirkus, which partially compensated for the absence of another crime drama anime series The Millionaire Detective - Balance: UNLIMITED from this year's schedule... 6/10.

Originally the storyline looked good and the beginning was acceptable, and a lot of people were comparing it to Hello World (probably because it was the last sci-fi anime movie they had seen...) in the reviews section of some anime sites. Personally, it reminded me more of a weird mix of Upside Down and Terminator. Unfortunately, from a certain point on, say the moment when Kotori is "resolved", it turns into a confusing action movie without any real depth, and all the good ideas and things that made it interesting just go right down the toilet and even the finále itself does not redeem it. Something that starts out quite interesting becomes just another pretty cheesy action movie, trying to shock the audience as much as possible. The overall impression is that of a "shitfest" and I really was bored. Well, that is quite a shame, because I could have ignored the mediocre CGI animation and the forgettable soundtrack, however, if you consider it a good idea to deal with two related, intertwined, intimately linked people joined at the hip, by beating the shit out of them… then you probably do not deserve my approval... 4/10.

It was a big surprise for me that they were able to produce such a good animated movie in Mexico. The animation is creative, colorful, and quite charming - in other words, it is very watchable (I could ignore the occasional slightly poor CGI). The soundtrack is also really good. There is no real need for any complex characters as it is a simple fairy-tale adventure and it has quite a good narrative that makes sense, has good concepts and ideas, and is also well-executed... In other words, it is a really quite interesting movie! Of course, some storylines are rather clumsily resolved, and sometimes I thought that it really could have done with some tweaking at certain points... However, all that really matters are my feelings right now, and I still feel really positive after watching it a second time. 7/10.

Brutality, fatalities... a ton of gore, a ton of legendary catchphrases - in other words, exactly what you expect from Mortal Kombat. I think this is definitely the best adaptation of this video game franchise (so far), which includes everything important from the game, is properly brutal and gory, including the breaking and crushing of bones, slicing and dicing, ripping off heads, and tearing out spines... Plus, most of the "brutality" and "fatalities" are so beautifully and iconically done that a fan of the video game franchise is really going to enjoy it. The animation is also great and the only thing missing, which would make it perfect is an iconic theme song... However, I still think it is awesome! "Finish him" 8.8/10.

What have I just watched, and what is the best way to describe it? I am thinking of something like it was a weird mix of Steins; Gate meets The Matrix... However, that might make it sound like it is quite an original science fiction movie! Well, to be perfectly honest, it is and it is not... Some of the ideas are really very interesting, and have given my imagination quite a workout, although I could not embrace all of it one hundred percent. There were just some things that just kind of rubbed me up the wrong way, and I had a few questions that needed answers, because some stuff really did not make sense. However, it is still a decent movie, although the animation is as inconsistent as the whole world of anime. Some of the scenes look gorgeous, colorful and spell-binding, however, at other times some things appear artificial and flawed (some movements and special effects) when the animation depends on the CGI too much... The soundtrack functions exactly as it should in most cases, except perhaps for one song that I thought did not quite work for me at one point. I like the main couple, although most characters are certainly not that memorable, they just get the job done. So, what about the emotional aspect? In most cases I was impressed by the movie’s intensity and sentimental vibe, sometimes the mood was nice, sometimes pleasantly romantic, and sometimes dramatic and sad, although, in my opinion, in some parts, they over-egged the proverbial pudding...In the end, it makes for an interesting movie that held my attention, although the overall impression of it all are so - strange. 6/10.