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shhhspeaker
Reviews
Mahô sensei Negima! (2005)
I still haven't decided on whether I like this anime or not.
At first I expected something like "Azumanga Daioh" or "Love Hina", something lacking in dialogue but packing in fun. They introduce only mere crumbs of a serious plot but completely leave it in the dark and it's episode after episode of fluffy magic and being introduced to the large cast of characters, even those that don't really matter and lack roles bigger than being just background objects fill ins or single exclamatory lines.
I'm someone who if there's a dialogue, I want to see it I am turned off to unnecessary chiss miss. It's an unreasonable tease. I dislike how they beat around the bush so badly, give you a few minutes or less of an actual dialogue to let you know that there is indeed one lurking about, then it's back to silly fun and games. It generally can't keep a straight face.
I don't feel that I will ever want to run through this series twice like with most of the animes that I own, but will hang onto the DVDs I have purchased in case of a change of heart. I am currently on the dub release in Amerika, so I will most likely edit my comment in the future because the series is still being released (DVD 4 comes out in the coming month).
Wolf's Rain (2003)
This series is not a disappointment.
I enjoy this adventurous suspenseful drama, but one flaw can be said. That they stray off of the course of the storyline way too many times to focus in on each of the main characters and other trite matters. "Wolf's Rain DVD 4" is nothing but replays, recollections of the series thus far from the view of the main characters, each handing down a commentary on their own personal episodes. I would say that they read too much into the things they encounter during their journey, and can spend half to entire episodes on something that doesn't even have to do with the main event.
It appears as if they are walking towards the end, but would tend to break often and dilly-dally then start up again. But I can see how the creators might have done this intentionally, for the audience to see how intense this journey was which could have gone on for what might've been years.
All in all it is fair, there are always new encounters and sights along the way, making every minute of it enjoyable despite the sidetrackings. The story manages to keep a steady tempo throughout each scene, whether stagnant or flowing which is difficult to do, which is why most rivaling animes lack this in their story-telling.
The Grudge (2004)
I did myself a good deed by not seeing this film.
I am quite tired of the American film industry's miserable attempts at remaking foreign films. It shows they really do lack the creativity and insight that the Japanese film industry has, and coming up with their own scripts is just asking too much. Sequel this sequel that, remakes and replays is what the American film industry has funneled down to.
One of a few things that kept me away from wasting my time on a bad film were the CGI characters. CGI is understandable in most cases where a human cannot act in place of a certain fictional character, but I see the American film industry would rather crutch than do the homework. What made some great horrors so intimidating is that the creatures lurking about were not computer-generated stand-ins.
I encourage everyone to watch the original "Ju-on: The Grudge", also recently released by Lions Gate Films "Ju-on: The Grudge 2". "Ju-on: The Curse" and its sequel "Ju-on: The Curse 2" (which is more of a continuation of its predecessor rather than a sequel) has not yet been released in the states, and was aired only on Japanese television but is available on (import) DVD.
Gilgamesh (2003)
Excellent!
The concept of outer space and battle mobile suits is severely wearing itself out, it's a breath of fresh air to see something new and original that does not revolve around machines. This anime does not have the flaws that most animes carry, with a new style and idea that makes this an original project.
Each episode gets right to it - There are no unnecessary scenes and everything is a contributing factor to the story being told. I enjoy how you can get to know the characters without straying from the plot to focus in on their personal lives. The timing is great, it does not stay on one scene for too long, keeping your interest and at the same time not cutting out any details.
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
This film isn't worth the ratings it got.
I personally am not a fan of god-dodding, where the filmmaker creates far-fetched situations in which the main character miraculously lives through various ordeals unscathed. This film is poor in how again and again, the main character escapes not based on her spirit but because she is special and favored by the filmmaker thus automatically given passage to the next scene of the movie because of a fluke or good luck.
I feel Quentin Tarantino cut a side character out of the story and centered the script on someone based off of favoritism. I can see the real story taking place elsewhere as I watch this film, it is squeezed out of the script, no longer the focus. I am missing the big picture to watch this character be turned into a hero because of the filmmaker's power to get her through her trials, not her.