Anime Reviews

[toei]

The Man Who Stole the Sun mostly seems to get mostly Dr. Strangelove comparisons. There aren't a ton of movies like it. I know the same director made a movie called the Youth Killer, but I haven't watched it yet.

As far as OVs, beyond the obvious stuff (ie Miike), have you seen Yakuza in Love? It's a messed up kind of gangster tragedy / love story with comical aspects. I thought it was great. Oh, have you seen Postman Blues? Actually a very fun, fast-moving movie with some clever touches. But I'm not as much into horror, so there's probably nothing I can recommend that you haven't seen or heard of as far as that goes.

I'm not actually a fan of Seijun Suzuki, but just to be clear, who are the other '50s & '60s avant-garde directors you're referring to? Nagisa Oshima, Yoshida, those New Wave people? Or Shuji Terayama? Because most of their movies honestly aren't all that watchable to me. I like surreal and experimental, but I still need a narrative thread to keep me interested. One very New Wave film I did like is Evil Spirits of Japan. It's about a cop and a yakuza, played by the same actor, who trade places. The movie deliberately confuses us as to who is who, until even they don't seem to know. There's also random interludes where a hippy sings comedy songs in front of people in the street. It just feels more structured than something like Throw Your Books and Rally in the Streets, enough for me to get behind.

And the borderless action films were not really yakuza films, they were about hitmen and other Western cinema-inspired characters that had no real-world presence in Japan. I honestly don't think they were all that avant-garde or clever. They were trying to be film noir, spy movies, and so on. They're really mostly derivative, with just the smallest touch of humor and originality. Toei started making films about actual yakuza in the '60s with the ninkyo stuff, which were really polar opposites by trying to be as traditionally Japanese as possible, then the more realistic, gritty yakuza movies arrived in the '70s, which are what I really love. Things mostly went to shit in the '80s with all those bloated, flavorless Kudokawa productions and whatnot, and V-Cinema brought it back in the '90s. Now it's mostly boring again. Those are generalizations, of course - there were still great movies in the '80s, like The Fall Guy, but overall it's true.

[loempiavreter]

Sept 5, 2018 23:43:52 GMT -5 toei said:

The Man Who Stole the Sun mostly seems to get mostly Dr. Strangelove comparisons. There aren't a ton of movies like it. I know the same director made a movie called the Youth Killer, but I haven't watched it yet.

As far as OVs, beyond the obvious stuff (ie Miike), have you seen Yakuza in Love? It's a messed up kind of gangster tragedy / love story with comical aspects. I thought it was great. Oh, have you seen Postman Blues? Actually a very fun, fast-moving movie with some clever touches. But I'm not as much into horror, so there's probably nothing I can recommend that you haven't seen or heard of as far as that goes.

I'm not actually a fan of Seijun Suzuki, but just to be clear, who are the other '50s & '60s avant-garde directors you're referring to? Nagisa Oshima, Yoshida, those New Wave people? Or Shuji Terayama? Because most of their movies honestly aren't all that watchable to me. I like surreal and experimental, but I still need a narrative thread to keep me interested. One very New Wave film I did like is Evil Spirits of Japan. It's about a cop and a yakuza, played by the same actor, who trade places. The movie deliberately confuses us as to who is who, until even they don't seem to know. There's also random interludes where a hippy sings comedy songs in front of people in the street. It just feels more structured than something like Throw Your Books and Rally in the Streets, enough for me to get behind.

And the borderless action films were not really yakuza films, they were about hitmen and other Western cinema-inspired characters that had no real-world presence in Japan. I honestly don't think they were all that avant-garde or clever. They were trying to be film noir, spy movies, and so on. They're really mostly derivative, with just the smallest touch of humor and originality. Toei started making films about actual yakuza in the '60s with the ninkyo stuff, which were really polar opposites by trying to be as traditionally Japanese as possible, then the more realistic, gritty yakuza movies arrived in the '70s, which are what I really love. Things mostly went to shit in the '80s with all those bloated, flavorless Kudokawa productions and whatnot, and V-Cinema brought it back in the '90s. Now it's mostly boring again. Those are generalizations, of course - there were still great movies in the '80s, like The Fall Guy, but overall it's true.

I have seen Postman Blues, which was cool, i have not seen yakuza in love, and evil dpiriys of japan, noted on both! Thanks.

Yes mostly the new wave and ATG guys Hiroshi Teshigahara (pitfall, woman in the dunes, face of another), Yoshishige Yoshida (Eros+Massacre), def some Oshima but not all (my favorite is actually Japanese Summer: Double Suicide, a hreat post apocalypse psychedelic meta crime piece, followed by Death By hanging) and Funeral parade of roses obviously. Granted not the most obscure. But i do like some surreal shlock too from the 60s, horrors of malformed man, for example.

Not sure why you list Yoshida as troublesome narrative, eros+massacre is one of my favorite narraritive structures in film.

I have to say that i never really enjoyed the ninkyo eiga/yakuza flicks so much and preffered borderless action flicks. I had a hard time getting through Gangster VIP and Battle without honor and humanity. I prefer the Melville qualities of the borderless action film flicks.

Im actually not much into horror, only cosmic and body horror.

Oh don't get me wrong Suzuki is def not an avant garde, director. More of an Modernist. Making the most of those western cinema-like scripts by adding his language of cinematic cool. But i have to say the narrative of Branded to Kill is the only one (pre-taisho trilogy) that's quite avant garde, i never took notice how dream-like it's narrative was, i took the rules of that world for granted, but after watching it for the x time i really began seeing the fever dream qualities of it. The movie really convinced me of it's kafka-esque qualities as real world antics, and for that i applaud it.

The Man Whole Stole The Sun is great, it's taxi driver
meets dr strangelove as a psychedelic trip. Written by Jonathan Schrader (brother of Paul, taxi driver), felt that the japanese where the only one who should make the film, so he passed in on to Japan.

[toei]

My basic understanding of Suzuki's method from reading interviews is that he would get bored with the scripts Nikkatsu were assigning to him and just change or add some scenes based on his current whims. So, like you, I get the sense that he was mostly overrated, though he did some clever things with colors (as in A Tattooed Life) and camera placements that inspired directors I like, like Kauhiko Yamaguchi. That said, his later, post-Nikkatsu movies are all the way surreal, and hard to make sense of at all.

You're probably right about Yoshida. I mentioned him just because he's one of the better-known directors associated with that movement, but the one movie of his I've tried watching, Escape from Japan, wasn't incoherent, just ineffective. I've definitely seen that disregard for narrative with many Oshima movies (The Man Who Left His Will on Film, that sort of stuff), and Teruyama.

It seems we have almost completely opposite tastes overall. Teruo Ishii (who made Horrors of Malformed Men) is one of the only Toei directors I can't stand (although he's really candid and down-to-earth in interviews, so he seems like a cool person), I can't sit through borderless action films, hate HP Lovecraft & cosmic horror, and I live for Kinji Fukusaku, jitsuroku yakuza movies and almost everything else Toei did in the '70s (ie sukeban movies and so on). Ninkyo is hit-or-miss for me. The worse ones are those with very rigid morals, where the "good" yakuza is incredibly nice and selfless, while the "bad" yakuzas are ridiculous evil caricatures. Those that are a bit more realistic can be great, though.

At least we agree on The Man Who Stole the Sun! It's got a very strange rhythm - for a long time, you're leisurely watching this schoolteacher build a nuclear bomb every night, and you have no idea why, but he seems like a cool guy (if a bit depressed / subtly suicidal), and his antics are entertaining. And that scene where he steal plutonium (or whatever it was) is very stylish and funky, so much so that I didn't really internalize that he shot some security guards. But things take a more urgent turn in the second part. It's like a reverse thriller; in almost any other movie, Bunta Sugawara's dogged cop character would've been the protagonist, and the schoolteacher would have been the mysterious villain you don't see until the end.

[loempiavreter]

Sept 6, 2018 11:15:45 GMT -5 toei said:

My basic understanding of Suzuki's method from reading interviews is that he would get bored with the scripts Nikkatsu were assigning to him and just change or add some scenes based on his current whims. So, like you, I get the sense that he was mostly overrated, though he did some clever things with colors (as in A Tattooed Life) and camera placements that inspired directors I like, like Kauhiko Yamaguchi. That said, his later, post-Nikkatsu movies are all the way surreal, and hard to make sense of at all.

You're probably right about Yoshida. I mentioned him just because he's one of the better-known directors associated with that movement, but the one movie of his I've tried watching, Escape from Japan, wasn't incoherent, just ineffective. I've definitely seen that disregard for narrative with many Oshima movies (The Man Who Left His Will on Film, that sort of stuff), and Teruyama.

It seems we have almost completely opposite tastes overall. Teruo Ishii (who made Horrors of Malformed Men) is one of the only Toei directors I can't stand (although he's really candid and down-to-earth in interviews, so he seems like a cool person), I can't sit through borderless action films, hate HP Lovecraft & cosmic horror, and I live for Kinji Fukusaku, jitsuroku yakuza movies and almost everything else Toei did in the '70s (ie sukeban movies and so on). Ninkyo is hit-or-miss for me. The worse ones are those with very rigid morals, where the "good" yakuza is incredibly nice and selfless, while the "bad" yakuzas are ridiculous evil caricatures. Those that are a bit more realistic can be great, though.

At least we agree on The Man Who Stole the Sun! It's got a very strange rhythm - for a long time, you're leisurely watching this schoolteacher build a nuclear bomb every night, and you have no idea why, but he seems like a cool guy (if a bit depressed / subtly suicidal), and his antics are entertaining. And that scene where he steal plutonium (or whatever it was) is very stylish and funky, so much so that I didn't really internalize that he shot some security guards. But things take a more urgent turn in the second part. It's like a reverse thriller; in almost any other movie, Bunta Sugawara's dogged cop character would've been the protagonist, and the schoolteacher would have been the mysterious villain you don't see until the end.

Haha yeah we have the polar opposite taste, tried to get through Battle Without Honor and Humanity again... but bruv the shaky cam footage and badly dressed Yakuza is not my thing I guess (although I get a sense that the people at Narcos and maybe City of God watched it as well... i only dug City of God though), nice arrowfilms box set though. I'm not a big fan of realism... I have trouble getting Through Kitano's yakuza stuff. Def diggin Teruo Ishii, Blind Woman's Curse and such.

Don't get me wrong i def dig Seijun Suzuki, just feels it's an understatement that he is the ONLY wild maverick. And i really dig his early borderless, especially Underground Lady (that dollhouse scene was great), Take Aim At The Police Van, Youth of The Beast... Melville charm right there. And Pistol Opera was pop art fun, has it's pacing problems. Kagero-Za and Yumeji are masterpieces imo, Zigeunerweizerin didn't think much of that one.

My favorite Miike is Gozu, I might already guess that's not one of your top Miike's haha. Also have a love for Dead Or Alive 2 for it tricking the audience into a Yakuza flick but getting a Wim Wenders slowburner (i love having contempt for viewers, and not giving what they want).
Cops vs Thugs (Kinji Fukusaku), Wolf Guy, Female Prisoner Scorpion box.
And i mostly dig the more pulpy exploitation trash like Yakuza Wolf, The Street Fighter Series, 13 steps of Maki, Wolf Guy, Scorpion etc. etc.

But you dig the 70s stuff from toei, Female Prisoner Scorpion series?

[toei]

Female Prisoner Scorpion has a lot of fascinating scenes, especially the second (Jailhouse 41) - it has maybe my favorite ending ever, and that scene in the bus where Meiko Kaji sees her fellow convicts trapped in fishermen's net and being torment by a mob of villagers is insanely good, but I don't find that they quite gel together as movies for me. Part of it is that I don't like the nearly-silent protagonist thing - I can't even sit through the 3rd movie, despite, again, a lot of stylish moments and great shots. But Shinya Ito is definitely a very talented director. I like some of those karate movies. Sister Street Fighter - Hanging by a Thread is the best one, IMO, because it brings so many things in - parody of a Japanese studio, discrimination, serious drama, comedy that actually works, and wild, energetic action scenes, all with the crazy pace of 70s Toei at its best. Haven't seen Gozu yet. The first two DOAs were great, though I actually did prefer the wild yakuza beginning of 2 to the rest. Have you seen Miike's Young Thugs 2? The whole movie has that same sort of slow, bittersweet look at a rough Osaka childhood.
And the Way to Fight is amazing, but I don't know if you'd like it.

I feel that cinema has to be things to work for me: hyper-realistic, or hyper-creative. Most movies are neither, but Japanese cinema at its prime has a lot of both. I'm also drawn to the chaotic and anti-authority energy of '70s Toei. I love handheld cameras when they're used well (ie to put you in the middle of things), and the fast-pace, intensity, anger, and intelligence of Fukusaku's yakuza movies. I even dig those suits. I wouldn't say Kitano's realistic, though. He has this conceit where his enemies just stare blankly at Kitano's character until he shoots them, without resisting at all. That's the opposite of Fukusaku, where everybody always struggles to survive. Two movies of his I did like were Kids Return and Fireworks. The latter's got the usual Kitano style to a degree - ie long, static frontal shots and fractured narrative - but I felt that it worked this time around.

[loempiavreter]

Sept 8, 2018 13:15:24 GMT -5 toei said:

Female Prisoner Scorpion has a lot of fascinating scenes, especially the second (Jailhouse 41) - it has maybe my favorite ending ever, and that scene in the bus where Meiko Kaji sees her fellow convicts trapped in fishermen's net and being torment by a mob of villagers is insanely good, but I don't find that they quite gel together as movies for me. Part of it is that I don't like the nearly-silent protagonist thing - I can't even sit through the 3rd movie, despite, again, a lot of stylish moments and great shots. But Shinya Ito is definitely a very talented director. I like some of those karate movies. Sister Street Fighter - Hanging by a Thread is the best one, IMO, because it brings so many things in - parody of a Japanese studio, discrimination, serious drama, comedy that actually works, and wild, energetic action scenes, all with the crazy pace of 70s Toei at its best. Haven't seen Gozu yet. The first two DOAs were great, though I actually did prefer the wild yakuza beginning of 2 to the rest. Have you seen Miike's Young Thugs 2? The whole movie has that same sort of slow, bittersweet look at a rough Osaka childhood.
And the Way to Fight is amazing, but I don't know if you'd like it.

I like Young Thugs Nostalgia, I have not seen The Way To Fight. But for example the Black Society Trilogy, I kinda thought the first 2 entry's where mediocre (I liked what they tried to do with second one, but didn't connect with me)... while the last one was fantastic.

I actually love Hana-bi and Kids Return (and Scene at the Sea). I was more talking about Brother, Sonatine and the Outrage series.

[toei]

Well, we agree on that, too. I don't like Kitano's yakuza movies much. For me it's mostly the very static nature of the early ones, as well as Kitano always writing himself as sort of superhuman. Remember that scene in Brother when he first meets Omar Epps? He slowly bends over, picks up a bottle, and smashes it on Epps' head, without Epps doing anything to defend himself. Let's be real, here; there's no way Kitano can take Omar Epps in a fight, so the only way he can make himself look badass is by having his opponents freeze during every altercation. There's even a blooper on the American Hana-Bi DVD where the other actor keeps accidentally shooting Kitano before Kitano shoots him, because the scene as written makes no sense (but that movie is great in other ways). With Outrage, I just thought the pace at which yakuzas turned against each other was absolutely ridiculous. After a while, every single scene is a double-crossing murder, which is boring and absurd. Organized crime would have faded long ago if they actually betrayed each other at that rhythm. It's almost like he wanted to make a slasher where everyone is the villain.

The last Black Society was... Ley Lines? Yeah, that was good, but not amazing to me. Rainy Dog didn't connect with me either, but that's largely because I don't like movies that are mostly devoid of dialogues. I loved the first, though, despite a ton of really questionable shit going on. I felt it was the earliest example of Miike going all-out. Some of his earlier movies have some funny / crazy stuff going on, but they're more typical overall.

[edmonddantes]

So recently, a friend showed me a recent-ish anime called Inuyashiki. No, it has nothing to do with Rumiko Takahashi's fantasy series despite the similar title--that confused me at first.

Inuyashiki is something I wish more anime were--aimed at old people. It's basically about an old man who, at the lowest moment of his life, gains superpowers.

One thing I do notice tho.... the writer seems to really hate teenagers and otaku in particular. The main villain (a teen who gets the same superpowers as our hero--at the same time, in fact)--is basically a distillation of what most people think Otaku are like. I can't say this is a criticism tho as I've met these sorts of fanboys, and like I said, there is something nice about anime for old people.

Also, episode 3 is odd. Like "did we just step into a completely different anime?" odd.

....

However, I also got hit by wanting to watch something nostalgic-but-new. As in, something that would've existed back when I first got into anime but which I somehow didn't see at the time.

I watched a video that mentioned Disney's Atlantis and it led me to deciding to try Nadia: The Secret of Blue Water since I had once heard a Kimba/Lion King-esque conspiracy theory linking the two (essentially claiming Disney's movie was an unofficial adaptation of Nadia).

... Whoever made that theory is full of B.S. as so far Nadia isn't that much like Disney's Atlantis at all.

You know what it DOES weirdly remind me of though? The first two eps in particular felt very... Pokemon-ish. It's in small ways (that probably stand out more because I watched it in Japanese and so Jean really sounds like Satoshi/Ash Ketchum) but it's there. It kinda makes me wonder if Nadia staff went to work on Pokemon later on.

Ep 3 even has a dude who says "always remember, there are two kinds of people in the world"... which anyone who has seen Pokemon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea will recognize immediately.

However, after episode four the show goes on a completely different tack, where they suddenly meet Captain Henry Gloval of the SDF-1... errr, sorry, Captain Nemo of the Nautilus (seriously why DOES Gloval of Robotech/Macross pop up in so many anime and video games? He's even in freaking Xenogears! It's not just the uniform either), after which... well I'm six eps in and let's say, its now nothing like Pokemon, except maybe one of the movies.

None of this is criticism, BTW... I marathoned six episodes because I just couldn't get enough, and now I need more dammit. MORE MORE MORE.

....

Also I've been reading Sherlock Holmes, and that makes me want to check out another nostalgic anime, one that had Miyazaki involvement. Three guesses what I'm talking about.

[silentstorm]

So i finally started reading Goblin Slayer, i had heard great things about it for a long while, before the anime was finally announced, but never got around to it before.

And then i quickly devoured everything, you know anime like Ninja Scroll and Hellsing that are violent and have badass protagonists?

Well, this manga, and the anime i assume, has exactly what you need, even if Goblin Slayer isn't OP like Alucard and relies more on being resourceful.

Also, some people may have heard about the slaughter and rape scenes from the start, but the start is really the worst the series gets to, with only a few mentions of it afterwards, even if the violence never goes away, i guess they wanted to establish the villains as being, well, the scum of the Earth at the start.

What you are left with then is a brutal badass series about a guy just killing the living shit out of goblins and other things while basically being the closest thing to fantasy anime Batman/Iron Man you can find.

And, since i know some people really dislike this here, yes, there are cute designs for some characters, particularly the female characters, but make no mistake, if someone likes shows like Hellsing, they should certainly check Goblin Slayer out.

On a random note, i think Goblin Slayer is more fun and better than Hellsing and many other hard men/dark action series out there, mostly because, holy shit, the main character is not invencible, he is not the only competent character, happy things can happen alongside happy characters being able to exist, and the main character isn't a rampaging asshole for no regards to any other being's life...as long as said being isn't a goblin that is, in which case the guy will do everything he can to kill the damn goblin.

[chronotigger65]

Earlier last week, after a handful of months, I finally managed to finished watching Yu Yu Hakusho. Pretty much my longest series I have. Now question is what to watch next.

[toei]

Oct 27, 2018 13:44:02 GMT -5 chronotigger65 said:

Earlier last week, after a handful of months, I finally managed to finished watching Yu Yu Hakusho. Pretty much my longest series I have. Now question is what to watch next.

What did you think of it?

[edmonddantes]

So... anyone familiar with Tokyo Babylon, tell me something. I've only ever seen the two OVAs (which I quite enjoy) but...

Is Subaru Sumeragi a woman pretending to be a man, or just a really effeminate guy? I would suspect the latter except that "he" also has a love interest of sorts who is also clearly male (though even that isn't an indicator since, well, Clamp doesn't mind same-sex relationships).

I dun have the cash to buy the manga volumes right now... which sucks, because I honestly like the premise.

[kaoru]

Subaru is a guy.

[edmonddantes]

Well, that clears that up.

I just started reading a manga called Berserk. What led me to it was this old Happy Video Game Nerd review of a Dreamcast spinoff game which... well, he had some problems but still called the game somewhat enjoyable, so I kinda feel like picking it up if I can get it cheap.

[Snake]

Oct 27, 2018 13:44:02 GMT -5 chronotigger65 said:

Earlier last week, after a handful of months, I finally managed to finished watching Yu Yu Hakusho. Pretty much my longest series I have. Now question is what to watch next.

Hunter X Hunter, if you haven't seen it yet; since it is Togashi's story after he got tired of doing Yu Yu Hakusho.  I recommend the series that first released in 1999.  It's closer in tone to the original manga.

If you want to stick to '90s fare, Berserk, Slam Dunk, Louie the Rune Warrior/Maho Senshi Louie, Hikaro no Go, Prince of Tennis, Jojo's Bizarre Adventure OVA's, and Escaflowne are all great.  Of the newer stuff if you haven't watched it yet: Re:Zero, Goblin Slayer, Haikyuu!!!, and all the current Jojo's Bizarre Adventure.