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If Zootopia Was An Anime (NSFW!)
Nov. 27th, 2018 01:27 pmSo someone decided to do a shot for shot remake of the Naturist Club scene from Zootopia. Fortunately nothing is showing... Technically.
Quick Reviews: The Martian, Big Hero 6.
Nov. 10th, 2014 08:06 amThe Martian, by Andy Weir: In this debut novel by the creator of the webcomic Casey And Andy, potty mouthed astronaut Mark Watney finds himself the only living soul on Mars (aside from some fortuitous potatoes), after a chain of events force the rest of his landing team to abandon him for dead when a massive dust storm interrupts their mission.
Review: This manages to be a rarity, a rock hard science fiction novel that's also gripping and with good characters. Almost all the science checks out and Mark is a fun guy to listen to as he bitches and MacGuyver's his own survival, trying to stay alive for the four years until the next mission can reach him.
Highly Recommended.
Big Hero 6: Fourteen year old genius inventor Hiro Hameda must find out who a mysterious man in a Kabuki mask is who is menacing his hometown of San Frantokyo, with the help an inflatable medical robot built by his late brother Tadashi, and the local "Nerd Lab" at a nearby university.
Review: From a silly premise this Anime Meets Marvel/Disney/Pixar is surprisingly deep, with the grief of a loved one's loss driving Hiro and the villain into questionable actions. The members of the "Nerd LAb" are less well developed, but once I realized Disney was deliberately doing their own version of an anime Super Sentai "Science Team" I got into it.
And good lord the set designers went whacko creating this crossover between Tokyo and San Francisco.
Recommended.
Review: This manages to be a rarity, a rock hard science fiction novel that's also gripping and with good characters. Almost all the science checks out and Mark is a fun guy to listen to as he bitches and MacGuyver's his own survival, trying to stay alive for the four years until the next mission can reach him.
Highly Recommended.
Big Hero 6: Fourteen year old genius inventor Hiro Hameda must find out who a mysterious man in a Kabuki mask is who is menacing his hometown of San Frantokyo, with the help an inflatable medical robot built by his late brother Tadashi, and the local "Nerd Lab" at a nearby university.
Review: From a silly premise this Anime Meets Marvel/Disney/Pixar is surprisingly deep, with the grief of a loved one's loss driving Hiro and the villain into questionable actions. The members of the "Nerd LAb" are less well developed, but once I realized Disney was deliberately doing their own version of an anime Super Sentai "Science Team" I got into it.
And good lord the set designers went whacko creating this crossover between Tokyo and San Francisco.
Recommended.
AKICIF: Anime about Elderly Care?
Sep. 17th, 2014 09:39 amI'm trying to remember the title of an anime movie that was shown several times on the Sci-Fi Channel back when they had a Saturday Morning Anime line up. The premise was one of those "only in Japan" things, where a highly robotized hospital bed was caring for a very elderly man, and through the actions of a candy striper and some retired computer programmers accidentally give it sentience and it takes its patient on a wild ride through Japan, trying to get the old man to a the beach to relive some happy memories he had of his wife, modifying itself into a tank along the way.
It was probably a satire of attempts in Japan to introduce robots into elderly care at the time.
It was probably a satire of attempts in Japan to introduce robots into elderly care at the time.
Summer Wars:
"Please, tell me you didn't break the Internet."
Summary: Kenji, a certified eleventh grade math genius and junior administrator for OZ, a virtual Second Life type world where much of private and government administration is done these days, gets roped into going with his crush Sasuke to her family's big weekend birthday bash for her 90 year old grandmother. After meeting with her extended family at the ancient castle that's all that's left of their family wealth, he gets a mysterious math problem e-mailed to his cell phone. He manages to solve it, which unfortunately allows a virus-like AI called "Love Machine" to break through OZ's security and start taking control of millions of user accounts.
Review: This is what you get when a family drama meet Wargames and it works. The family in their castle is a microcosm for the greater virtual world of OZ and its community, both of them messy and complicated and difficult to organize, but when faced with a dire problem willing to put their shoulders together and come together to find a solution.
Mind you, there are a couple of points when you want to strangle a couple of Sasuke's family, especially the her uncle the cop, but every family has a guy like that.
Recommended.
Tokyo Godfathers
"The baby? A gift from God."
Summary: On Christmas Day in the slums of Tokyo, three homeless people, Gin, a bitter middle-aged man, Hana, an ex-drag queen and Miyuki, a sixteen year-old girl, find a baby abandoned in the garbage and go on a wandering quest through the streets to return her to her parents.
Review: Even for an anime, which tackle a wider variety of subjects than their more cautious Western counterparts, this is a pretty odd and very adult movie. Inspired by director John Ford's The Three Godfathers, Tokyo Godfathers takes a sharp look at Japan's homeless, and what makes them slip through the cracks of society to fall to the bottom, to be cold and hungry at best and randomly abused at worst, but mostly ignored.
That said, it's not a humorless movie. The drama is strong but so is the comedy as Gin, Hana and Muyuki bitch at each other even as they come together to search for the baby's parents. That and it is a Christmas movie, which gives the scriptwriters excuse to pile coincidence upon coincidence as the three conduct their search, justified by the time of year and their almost literal Mission From God. But the coincidences are (mostly) plausible, with only one outright miracle, besides the baby herself of course.
Recommended.
"Please, tell me you didn't break the Internet."
Summary: Kenji, a certified eleventh grade math genius and junior administrator for OZ, a virtual Second Life type world where much of private and government administration is done these days, gets roped into going with his crush Sasuke to her family's big weekend birthday bash for her 90 year old grandmother. After meeting with her extended family at the ancient castle that's all that's left of their family wealth, he gets a mysterious math problem e-mailed to his cell phone. He manages to solve it, which unfortunately allows a virus-like AI called "Love Machine" to break through OZ's security and start taking control of millions of user accounts.
Review: This is what you get when a family drama meet Wargames and it works. The family in their castle is a microcosm for the greater virtual world of OZ and its community, both of them messy and complicated and difficult to organize, but when faced with a dire problem willing to put their shoulders together and come together to find a solution.
Mind you, there are a couple of points when you want to strangle a couple of Sasuke's family, especially the her uncle the cop, but every family has a guy like that.
Recommended.
Tokyo Godfathers
"The baby? A gift from God."
Summary: On Christmas Day in the slums of Tokyo, three homeless people, Gin, a bitter middle-aged man, Hana, an ex-drag queen and Miyuki, a sixteen year-old girl, find a baby abandoned in the garbage and go on a wandering quest through the streets to return her to her parents.
Review: Even for an anime, which tackle a wider variety of subjects than their more cautious Western counterparts, this is a pretty odd and very adult movie. Inspired by director John Ford's The Three Godfathers, Tokyo Godfathers takes a sharp look at Japan's homeless, and what makes them slip through the cracks of society to fall to the bottom, to be cold and hungry at best and randomly abused at worst, but mostly ignored.
That said, it's not a humorless movie. The drama is strong but so is the comedy as Gin, Hana and Muyuki bitch at each other even as they come together to search for the baby's parents. That and it is a Christmas movie, which gives the scriptwriters excuse to pile coincidence upon coincidence as the three conduct their search, justified by the time of year and their almost literal Mission From God. But the coincidences are (mostly) plausible, with only one outright miracle, besides the baby herself of course.
Recommended.
Summary: Two years after defeating the threat of Meteor, Cloud Strife is running a courier service while humanity rebuilds. Unfortunately a mysterious disease called "Geostigma" is running through population, causing many to fall ill. Then a trio of white haired man appear, on a search for their "Mother".
Review: I'd say that the main complaint about this movie is that it's completely incoherent if you've never played the original Final Fantasy VII computer game. Except that even if you did play it it's still incomprehensible. Actually a better description would be "Fight scenes with some plot thrown in" to the point that the final battle is an epic forty-five minutes long (and this is a film that's only about an hour and a half.)
Damn it's pretty though.
Review: I'd say that the main complaint about this movie is that it's completely incoherent if you've never played the original Final Fantasy VII computer game. Except that even if you did play it it's still incomprehensible. Actually a better description would be "Fight scenes with some plot thrown in" to the point that the final battle is an epic forty-five minutes long (and this is a film that's only about an hour and a half.)
Damn it's pretty though.
But make him a blond? Seriously?
Talk About Badass Bookworms
Jul. 15th, 2011 06:45 pmLibrary War, a Japanese light novel/anime about fighting censorship, by quite literally fighting censorship.
I hope it's bittorrented somewhere....
I hope it's bittorrented somewhere....
Behold the Power of Cheese
Jul. 6th, 2011 07:26 pmCourtesy of ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
allah_sulu I am now in possession of a bootleg copy of the big (relatively) budget, live action Toho Studios remake of the classic anime Space Battleship Yamato. Thanks, dude!
Hoo boy, the Five Minute Review of this one is going to be fun.
allah_sulu I am now in possession of a bootleg copy of the big (relatively) budget, live action Toho Studios remake of the classic anime Space Battleship Yamato. Thanks, dude!Hoo boy, the Five Minute Review of this one is going to be fun.
Review: Speed Racer (2008), Spoilers
Aug. 1st, 2010 08:52 amSummary: In an alternate world where automotive racing is such Serious Business that it makes the World Cup look like a backyard scrimmage, Speed Racer (Emile Hirsh) is ready to take his place as the greatest driver on the planet. But even as the forces of corporate greed that control the World Racing League threaten to bring him down, his real battle is with the shadow of his late brother Rex Racer (WhoUnbenownstToSpeedIsReallyTheMysteriousRacerX).
( Oh, SPEED! )
( Oh, SPEED! )
Avatards Rejoice!
Jul. 21st, 2010 02:15 pmA sequel series to Avatar, the Last Airbender has been given the green light by Nickelodeon. It's set 70 years after the original series and centers on the new Avatar, in a "steampunk" city (though that's no suprise given the tech advances that the Fire Nation had in the original show).
If there's any justice in the universe, somewhere in the town there'll be a very old Sokka running a tinker's shop.
If there's any justice in the universe, somewhere in the town there'll be a very old Sokka running a tinker's shop.
Cartoon Brew is reporting that Peter Fernandez, the voice of Speed Racer in the original American dub of the classic cartoon, passed away yesterday. Aside from the doing the voice of Speed his was heaviliy involved in voice directing and many other aspects of the animation industry, and had a cameo in the live action Speed Racer movie.
Well, there goes another childhood icon, even if I never knew his name. Do you think Otakon might give him a mention in the opening ceremonies,jvowles?
Well, there goes another childhood icon, even if I never knew his name. Do you think Otakon might give him a mention in the opening ceremonies,
jvowles?Carl Macek 1951-2010
Apr. 19th, 2010 08:35 amCarl Macek, producer of Robotech and promoter of several other anime series imported to the United States, died Saturday of a heart attack.
Anime fans can argue about his accomplishments, particularly mashing together three completely unrelated anime series (two of which were relatively obscure even in their own country) into one generational epic. It can't be denied however, that he laid a great deal of the groundwork for the explosion of interest in Japanese animation in the late 80's and early 90's.
Anime fans can argue about his accomplishments, particularly mashing together three completely unrelated anime series (two of which were relatively obscure even in their own country) into one generational epic. It can't be denied however, that he laid a great deal of the groundwork for the explosion of interest in Japanese animation in the late 80's and early 90's.
Quickie Reviews (some spoilers)
Dec. 30th, 2009 03:39 amShirotsugh: Y'know, on paper it didn't look so big.
Marty: Ideas grow: sometimes bigger than life.
Wings of Honnemaise (Royal Space Force): In an intricately thought out alternate universe, a slacker in a joke of a military force finds himself inspired by a young evangelist to become his world's first astronaut.
This is a re-viewing for me. I hadn't watched this several years and had forgotten just how good it is. Basically what Miyazaki does for airplanes this film does for rockets. The sheer amount of world building done by the animation team is nothing short of amazing. Almost everything from the aircraft to the rocket (admittedly just an R-7 with a nice paint job) to the spoons is obviously not of Earth and yet practical looking. The only false note in the entire thing is Shirotsugh's aborted rape attempt in the second act, which is confounding given his established personality (and the female lead's reaction equally so).
Young Fred: Don't pull that lever!
Ringo: Can't help it. I'm a born "Lever-puller".
Yellow Submarine: Watched this again in honor of finally getting Beatles Rock Band. It's still trippy, theBeatles voice actors' Liverpudlian dialog is damned near incomprehensible even without considering the wordplay, but it's stuffed wall-to-wall with Beatles songs, which is all you really need. Great fun.
Ed Sullivan: Ladies and gentlemen, The Beatles!
The Beatles, Rock Band: This is probably the most highly anticipated game this holiday season short of CoD: Modern Warfare 2, and it lives up the hype mostly. Basically you follow the arc of their career from the early days in the Cavern Club to their final rooftop concert, in lovely custom animated scenes, as opposed to the generic strumming of the standard Rock Band and Guitar Hero performances. Especially interesting is the middle to late section, which pays out in their Abbey Road studio period. Knowing how dull that would look if done straight, the game designers set each song in an individualized "dreamscape", from etheral fields to a vastly trippy version of "I am the Walrus" (which comes across as one of those music video ideas that musicians regret much later in their careers).
If there's a knock on this game, it is short. While there are forty-five songs on the disc, it's important to remember that on average they're each just three minutes long. I blew through them all and earned the "Hard Day's Night" achievement in less than a day. This compensated by being able to buy the remaining songs on the "Revolver", "Rubber Soul" and "Abbey Road" albums as DLC, but if you don't feel like spending more money you're out of luck until the inevitable "Beatles RB 2".
Of special note is the unlockbable content, with such gems as the Beatles first Christmas album to their fan club, a video of their rehearsal prior to their first Ed Sullivan appearance, and raw footage of them noodling about doing interviews on a train leaving Washington DC after their first US concert among other things.
Marty: Ideas grow: sometimes bigger than life.
Wings of Honnemaise (Royal Space Force): In an intricately thought out alternate universe, a slacker in a joke of a military force finds himself inspired by a young evangelist to become his world's first astronaut.
This is a re-viewing for me. I hadn't watched this several years and had forgotten just how good it is. Basically what Miyazaki does for airplanes this film does for rockets. The sheer amount of world building done by the animation team is nothing short of amazing. Almost everything from the aircraft to the rocket (admittedly just an R-7 with a nice paint job) to the spoons is obviously not of Earth and yet practical looking. The only false note in the entire thing is Shirotsugh's aborted rape attempt in the second act, which is confounding given his established personality (and the female lead's reaction equally so).
Young Fred: Don't pull that lever!
Ringo: Can't help it. I'm a born "Lever-puller".
Yellow Submarine: Watched this again in honor of finally getting Beatles Rock Band. It's still trippy, the
Ed Sullivan: Ladies and gentlemen, The Beatles!
The Beatles, Rock Band: This is probably the most highly anticipated game this holiday season short of CoD: Modern Warfare 2, and it lives up the hype mostly. Basically you follow the arc of their career from the early days in the Cavern Club to their final rooftop concert, in lovely custom animated scenes, as opposed to the generic strumming of the standard Rock Band and Guitar Hero performances. Especially interesting is the middle to late section, which pays out in their Abbey Road studio period. Knowing how dull that would look if done straight, the game designers set each song in an individualized "dreamscape", from etheral fields to a vastly trippy version of "I am the Walrus" (which comes across as one of those music video ideas that musicians regret much later in their careers).
If there's a knock on this game, it is short. While there are forty-five songs on the disc, it's important to remember that on average they're each just three minutes long. I blew through them all and earned the "Hard Day's Night" achievement in less than a day. This compensated by being able to buy the remaining songs on the "Revolver", "Rubber Soul" and "Abbey Road" albums as DLC, but if you don't feel like spending more money you're out of luck until the inevitable "Beatles RB 2".
Of special note is the unlockbable content, with such gems as the Beatles first Christmas album to their fan club, a video of their rehearsal prior to their first Ed Sullivan appearance, and raw footage of them noodling about doing interviews on a train leaving Washington DC after their first US concert among other things.
And on a less mopey note
Aug. 10th, 2009 07:30 pmLilo and Stitch, the anime version.
Assuming Lilo isn't Lilo, but a kid living on Hokkaido who's mom has run off. And yet Stitch still knows the meaning of "Ohana". And Jumbo and Pleakley are even more gay than the were in the American series.
Next up (if I can find it) the French version of the Power Rangers (no, seriously).
Assuming Lilo isn't Lilo, but a kid living on Hokkaido who's mom has run off. And yet Stitch still knows the meaning of "Ohana". And Jumbo and Pleakley are even more gay than the were in the American series.
Next up (if I can find it) the French version of the Power Rangers (no, seriously).
Quick Review: Gunbuster
Jul. 24th, 2009 03:12 amSummary: As mankind attempts to defend itself against the rising threat of a nameless alien enemy, young mecha pilot Noriko finds herself at the center of the conflict. But even as she fight's for Earth's safety, she finds herself increasingly cut off as time dilation effects from near light speed conflicts keeps her in her teens while the rest of the world ages.
Review: "Average Mecha Show (with an extra helping of boob jiggle) meets The Forever War"
Oh, and it says something about the arms race in this series that it would make E.E. "Doc" Smith go, "Dude, that's a little over the top. Srsly."
Review: "Average Mecha Show (with an extra helping of boob jiggle) meets The Forever War"
Oh, and it says something about the arms race in this series that it would make E.E. "Doc" Smith go, "Dude, that's a little over the top. Srsly."
Just thinking about some of the comments I've seen on other folks' postings of the video, about either going "SQUEE!" or their hearts catching in their throats when that big old ship climbs out of the water. I felt it to, and I'm sufficiently self-critical to wonder why
Because, let's face it, Star Blazers was an odd duck. A bowdlerized version of a Japanese cartoon, which did its damnedest to cut out onscreen deaths while warning us at the end of each episode that there were X number of days left before every person on planet Earth died horribly of radiation poisoning.
It gets even weirder when you look at the source material, a cartoon melodrama that cheerfully takes one of the greatest symbols of WWII (an event that most Japanese histories mark off as "It wasn't our fault!") and resurrects it to turn their nation's greatest defeat into a chance for a new victory. Which, regularly, celebrated the same Japanese fighting spirit that got most of its male population slaughtered from the mid-1930's to 1945. Why the hell would I feel my heart skip a beat seeing that ship rise out of the water and take off into space in glorious CGI?
Why? Because twelve-year old me knew better to worry about that crap and just enjoyed watching the cartoon. Because battleships flying in space are inherently cool.
Because, let's face it, Star Blazers was an odd duck. A bowdlerized version of a Japanese cartoon, which did its damnedest to cut out onscreen deaths while warning us at the end of each episode that there were X number of days left before every person on planet Earth died horribly of radiation poisoning.
It gets even weirder when you look at the source material, a cartoon melodrama that cheerfully takes one of the greatest symbols of WWII (an event that most Japanese histories mark off as "It wasn't our fault!") and resurrects it to turn their nation's greatest defeat into a chance for a new victory. Which, regularly, celebrated the same Japanese fighting spirit that got most of its male population slaughtered from the mid-1930's to 1945. Why the hell would I feel my heart skip a beat seeing that ship rise out of the water and take off into space in glorious CGI?
Why? Because twelve-year old me knew better to worry about that crap and just enjoyed watching the cartoon. Because battleships flying in space are inherently cool.
