The Winter 2023 Anime Season. The Winter 2023 Anime Season Never Changes Part 2

(If you like what you see, you can go to camseyeview.biz to see more of my work on video game reviews, editorials, lists, Kickstarters, developer interviews, and review/talk about animated films. If you would like, consider contributing to my Patreon at patreon.com/camseyeview. It would help support my work, and keep the website up. Thanks for checking out my work, and I hope you like this editorial!)

Here we are with Part 2 of the Winter 2023 Anime Season Impressions! If you have not seen Part 1, then please do so, since I covered the anime in that part that won’t show up here. This is definitely the area where the Winter 2023 strides with so many titles in this batch showing the best of the season. Now then, let’s get started. 

Fantasy/Isekai

Chillin’ in My 30s after Getting Fired from the Demon King Army (Crunchyroll)

You ever see a show just bail on its own title/premise so quickly it breaks the sound barrier? Yeah, this is one of those shows. This is based on the novels by Rokujuyon Okazawa. The anime adaptation is directed by Fumitoshi Oizaki, who directed last spring season’s Deaimon, written by Hitomi Amamiya, and produced by Encourage Films. If this anime is supposed to be about relaxing after getting fired from your overdemanding job, then why revert to a power fantasy anime? If the lead is having to do stuff that isn’t just relaxing, then that’s not really relaxing. Sure, they couldn’t make a show where all he does is relax and just help out around the village. They were probably worried that people would get bored, but due to how bad the entertainment industry is, novels, manga, and anime aren’t given time to be good, which sucks since it doesn’t all have to be bad. To be fair to this show though, it isn’t the worst of the season. It has some charm and humor about itself, and it at the very least seems to be pro-worker’s rights. It just suffers from a premise that isn’t all that different from other fantasy shows, a female lead that flip-flops between anime figurine fodder and a self-reliant and competent hero, and world-building that isn’t all that impressive. In a weaker season, this could have been a better title, but it sits in my bottom five for right now. 

Farming Life in Another World (HiDive)

I know video games have made farming a genre, but for some reason, anime has continued to struggle with this concept. This is based on the novel series by Kinosuke Saito. The adaptation is directed by Ryoichi Kuraya, written by Touko Machida, and produced by Zero-G. At the very least, this is better than Chillin’ in My 30s because it actually commits to its plot. It’s literally about a guy who starts a farming life in a fantasy world. No demon lord or saving the world. Granted, it has the harem element pretty early on by the 3rd episode, but it is at least trying to have some comedic personality, be about growing crops, and what you need to do to get into farming life. It’s still fairly boring though, with everyone having basically the same personality. It still should be focusing more on the details of growing certain plants and such, but overall, it’s fine. Just a low-key anime that isn’t the worst of the season. There are way more frustrating anime out this season that are more of a chore to watch than this one.  

The Fire Hunter (Crunchyroll)

It’s a shame this anime is the other poster child for the possibility that the anime industry really needs to take a moment and stop crafting so many hot messes. Consider this one of winter 2023’s biggest disappointments. Based on the novels by Rieko Hinata, this adaptation is written by  Mamoru Oshii, directed by Junji Nishimura, and produced by Signal MD. Listen, I know Oshii loves to make really dense scripts, and the fact that much of this show is focused more on the lore, history, politics, and world-building than the actual characters, is a sign of such. It’s a fascinating world about how humans can become easily combustible in the presence of fire, and now have to use a special liquid farmed from beasts to do things like light special fires and fuel their vehicles. This show has a lot going for it, and once again, it feels like it is an adaptation issue that the storytelling is so dense and easy to glaze over, due to how much people go on and on talking about the history of the world. Like, some world-building and exposition is needed, but not the entire script. It left a sour taste after watching the first three episodes, and from what I have seen from the episodes past that point, nothing is changing, but if you like the show that’s cool. Not every show will be for everyone, but if a majority of people are already turning away from it due to its choppy and wonky animation and dense storytelling more interested in background stuff than actually being about the characters, then that’s a bad sign. It’s a shame, but if this show wasn’t so committed to Oshii and his team’s worst aspects as a creative, then maybe people wouldn’t be ready to leave the show. Also, just because the source material has an explanation, if they weren’t able to give a clear answer in the anime adaptation, then that’s on the anime, not the audience members being confused or their eyes glazing over due to their being too much dialogue on which to focus. 

The Tale of Outcasts (Crunchyroll) 

Yeah, it sucks this show is coming out a season before much better alternatives of this type of story will be coming out in the next anime season this year. This is based on the manga series by Makoto Hoshino. It’s directed by Yasutaka Yamamoto, written by Kenichi Yamashita, and produced by Ashi Productions. The biggest problem this show has is its tone. It wants to be both a dark fantasy with a romantic escape for its young lead who makes a deal with a demon to trade her eyesight for his protection, and then lightweight at times with super quirky moments that don’t really mesh well with the rest of the show’s much darker storyline. The animation is fine and some of the action scenes are decent, but the design of our main demon bugs me due to his demon form, and the first episode is a really rough sit. Maybe some fans will find time to watch it, but most will be waiting to see the second season of The Ancient Magus Bride or  Sacrificial Princess and The King of Beasts in the spring season. 

Saving 80,000 Gold in Another World  for My Retirement (Crunchyroll) 

When an anime has a very creative premise, how much are you willing to tolerate its rougher edges? This is based on the novels by Funa. The anime adaptation is directed by Hiroshi Tamada, written by Akihiko Inari, and produced by Felix Films. There is some admiration to be had with how this is an isekai where our lead can travel to and from the real world and the fantasy world that she ends up in. The premise itself has some fun and creative opportunities, and I have heard some positive reviews of the light novels on which this show is based. Still, either a wonky adaptation, or what feels like a slow burn to see where this story goes, frankly hurts its chances to watch past episode 3. The second episode is more real-world prep for the lead to head back into the fantasy world, and the fantasy world seems more like a pseudo road trip than her figuring out how to make enough money to save for her retirement. It does feel more interested in the world-building and character dynamics than the antics of raising enough money to retire easily, but the execution feels uneven. Doesn’t help that the animation isn’t great, and there are definitely some aspects of the show that will maybe rub people the wrong way. Still, it at least has something going for it than most isekai that come out every season. It might not reach the heights of the best ones from this season, but it still deserves some admiration for its twists on the formula.

Kaina of the Great Snow Sea (Crunchyroll)

It’s rather bizarre how this season has brought us two slow-burn original fantasy series, and that’s pretty neat. This is an original anime that is produced at Polygon Pictures. It’s directed by Hiroaki Ando and written by Sadayuki Murai and Tetsuya Yamada. While the CGI is the usual Polygon Pictures fare, they are improving upon their use of CGI animation, and boy howdy did they craft a really cool and unusual world. It’s definitely a pro-environmental world due to how everything is set up with this canopy made by giant tree-like entities. Luckily, the characters are likable and compelling enough so far by episode three to give you, the viewer, enough to want to see more past the third episode. Granted, it’s one of those shows that takes three episodes to get the ball rolling, but if you aren’t bothered by that, then you will want to find yourself traversing the snowy seas to see what mysteries are revealed about this world. 

The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady (Crunchyroll) 

Just when you think the isekai genre won’t have something to offer, a show like this comes out of nowhere and makes you remember why the genre can be good. This show is based on the novels by Piero Karasu. The anime adaptation is directed by Shingo Tamaki, written by Wataru Watari, and produced by Diomedea. First off, every other isekai? Take notes on this one. It actually shows you and tells you about its setting, world, and characters without having to resort to big and dense layers of exposition as we learn about the relationship between a princess who can’t use magic in a world where everyone uses magic, and a noble who’s upcoming marriage is broken due to political upheaval and brash decisions made by her ex-fiance. Sure, some parts may or could possibly lean onto more power fantasy aspects of isekais, but with the fact our lead was smart enough to craft something truly original and not just be someone set with a ton of magical powers and no stakes in any fights, it’s a really smart decision made within the story. The one lead makes her own combination of magic and technology to do things that others can do, due to the ability to cast magic. The show is also willing to let the characters be characters, and not just cheap promotional material for the merchandise. It’s also a gorgeous show, due to how much the team and production committee were obviously working on the same level as one another. With its visually splendid animation, complex characters, intriguing world, and killer music, this is easily in the running for one of the best anime of the season and an early contender so far for best isekai of the year. Well, it’s the best one next to another show you will see the impressions of soon. 

Other

Sugar Apple Fairy Tale (Crunchyroll) 

CW: topics and themes of slavery

Consider this to be one of the more loaded anime of the season that absolutely doesn’t sound like it would be a dark fantasy, but some spin-off of the Strawberry Shortcake franchise. This is based on the novels by Miri Mikawa. The director of this adaptation is Yohei Suzuki, written by Seishi Minakami, and produced by J.C. Staff. By the opening of the show and its cute, well-crafted animation, you think this would be something super, pardon the pun, cloyingly sweet, but it really isn’t. It’s rather impressive how this show is able to balance out its nuanced world with flawed humans. The slavery angle is handled better here than most, which is scary that hey, anime can actually tackle this topic and not be absolutely terrible at it. It’s not perfect though, and some parts can be a touch uncomfortable to watch. Still, the show does a good job of mixing all of the lore, world-building, drama, and character development into a show that will be a bit clunky, but an overall intriguing experience. 

Ippon Again! (HiDive)

It wouldn’t be an anime season if we didn’t have a show about a group of girls getting into some kind of sport or hobby. This is based on the manga series by Yu Muraoka. The adaptation is directed by Ken Ogiwara, written by Aya Satsuki, and produced by Bakken Record. It feels surprising to me that, as far as I’m aware, there aren’t that many anime about judo. You think with such a strategic and compelling sport, they would find ways to make it creative, but Ippon Again! It definitely aims for a slice-of-life and coming-of-age story about our characters taking the wheel and forming a judo club in their high school. It does the right thing and focuses on the drive our characters have for the sport and for their growing friendship to go the distance to win the nationals in judo. The animation itself looks good, but can be a bit clunky here and there. Otherwise,  it’s nice to start the year with a really charming and good sports anime, which isn’t always a given every year. 

Revenger (Crunchyroll)

This season has been chock full of original anime this season, and this is one of them. It’s produced by Ajia-do Animation Works, but is directed by Masaya Fujimori, and written by Renji Oki and famous writer Gen Urobochi. The adventure we set off on with this one has a real solid hook to it about an ex-samurai who is being chased by the government for murdering an important figure. He joins up with a group of hitmen who take down corrupt individuals and while it might not be the most original show in a lot of ways, it all comes down to execution. With its focus on the inner politics of our leads, the world around them is kept interesting and the action is well animated and the characters have a certain charm to them. As long as they can keep it in the same ballpark of being able to combine both a compelling narrative and action, then it can very much be one of winter’s best shows. 

Buddy Daddies (Crunchyroll)

Let’s get this out of the way first, this isn’t a rip-off or clone of Spy X Family. It is able to stand on its own. This is an original anime that is produced at one of the best animation studios right now, P.A. Works. It’s directed by Yoshiyuki Asai and written by Vio Shimokura and Yuko Kakihara. Yeah, the premise can sound similar to Spy X Family, due to how it’s an action comedy with a found family hook of two assassins who live under one roof who accidently encounter a little girl who may or may not be the daughter of one of the two hitmen. What it does do well is accomplish some high-octane action mixed with some very goofy hitmen who have to deal with 2023’s first extremely adorable kid character of the year. It doesn’t just rest on the dynamic of two dangerous individuals taking care of a super child-like, well, child. It does give everyone rather depressing backstories and how even though they are fairly different from one another, they all come together cohesively as a family. It has P.A. Works stellar animation, some sweet comedic timing, and touching moments that make this show a great alternative while we wait for Spy X Family Season 2. 

Campfire Cooking in Another World With My Absurd Skill (Crunchyroll)

It’s always nice to be happy when a show you are looking forward to is actually really good and just a blast to watch for three episodes. This is based on the light novel series by Ren Eguchi. It’s directed by Kiyoshi Matsuda, written by Michiko Yotoke, and produced by MAPPA. While most isekais struggle to try and copy, rip off, or be the next Sword Art Online or ReZero, here comes this delightfully unique take on the isekai genre where the lead, in fact, doesn’t want to save the world. Instead, with his superpower of being able to order groceries from his world to the fantasy world, has gained a powerful wolf-like deity who makes a pact with our lead, not because he’s the chosen one, but because he can cook delicious food. It’s a show with a light-hearted sense of humor and some really hilarious set pieces and punchlines with how they keep the story fun and worth investing time into. They even find ways to add in a little dark comedy and quandaries of how they eat certain creatures or even if they can, that adds so much flavor and spice to the overall journey. It’s such a breath of fresh air alongside the other amazing isekai of the season that it’s frankly insulting that this show, Faraway Paladin, The Saint’s Magic is Omnipotent and The Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess, and Genius Young Lady aren’t the guides to how to make proper modern isekai series. Take a good hook, add a well-written script and cast of loveable leads, and a splash of splendid animation, and you have a recipe for success. It’s easily my favorite anime of the season and one I can recommend to anyone. 

Thank you all for checking out my impressions, and if I had to pick my favorite anime of the season to check out, I would watch in no particular order…

Anime Recommendations of Winter 2023: Revenger, Buddy Daddies, Campfire Cooking in Another World with my Absurd Skill, Sugar Apple Fairy Tale, Magical Revolution of the Reincarnated Princess and the Genius Young Lady, Ippon Again, Endo & Kobayashi Live, Giant Beast of Ars, Tomo Chan is a Girl, and Trigun Stampede.

The Other Side of Animation 150: Netflix Godzilla Trilogy Review

(If you like what you see, you can go to camseyeview.biz to see more of my work on video game reviews, editorials, lists, Kickstarters, developer interviews, and review/talk about animated films. If you would like, consider contributing to my Patreon at patreon.com/camseyeview. It would help support my work, and keeps the website up. Thanks for checking out my work, and I hope you like this review!)

As much as I like writing reviews for films, I will say that the one thing that has lost its magic is the discourse of talking about movies that I don’t like. With the current film climate that is focused on being hyperbolic, toxic, nitpick-obsessed, and pedantic about everything for the sake of “comedy”, it ruins talking about movies, because people think that is how you approach movies, when it’s not. Film criticism is wildly subjective, and is never a straight path to whether a film is good or bad. Everyone has different priorities when they look into movies. I wish it was more of a conversation piece, and not a race of who can be the biggest pedantic waste of air that drags down film culture rather than elevating it. I may have had more energy to put into talking about bad movies two or so years ago, but now I don’t. However, to be a good critic, you have to look at a wide range of films from big budget to small budget, action to romance, and theatrical or straight-to-video. So, where do I sit with the Netflix-distributed Godzilla trilogy? The trilogy was directed by Kobun Shizuno and Hiroyuki Seshita, with the screenplay written by Gen Urobuchi. The trilogy of films were made by Polygon Pictures, the studio that animated films and shows like Transformers: Prime, Tron: Uprising, Knights of Sidonia, Blame!, the CGI elements of Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, Star Wars Resistance, and helped Studio Ghibli co-produce Ronia, the Robber’s Daughter. The trilogy came out over the span of 2018, and suffice it to say, there was very little fanfare or warm welcomes after the trilogy was complete. While Netflix might have a promising animation output in 2019 and onwards for feature-animated films, this, to me, was one of their biggest blunders. Why? Read on to find out.

I’m going to review this as one giant review, because the movies themselves feel like an overly long three part OVA special. So, the trilogy takes place in the future at the end of the 20th century. Giant monsters have ravaged Earth to a point where everyone on Earth decides to do the sensible thing and pack up, leave Earth, and try to find a non-monster-filled planet.  That seems a bit drastic, but when one of those monsters is Godzilla, you wouldn’t really want him as your next door neighbor. I mean, he could be a good neighbor, but I’m getting off track. Anyway, the humans were joined by two other alien races, the religious Exif, and the technologically-advanced Bilusaludo. After not finding a planet after years of searching, a young man named Haruo Sakaki, dubbed by Chris Niosi, tries to pull rank and suggest that the current living situation that is 11.9 lightyears away from Earth is not going to be livable for everyone. After a failed scout ship exploded going down to a planet they were looking at, Haruo finds out some prime time information about Godzilla’s weaknesses from an Exif named Metphies, dubbed by Lucien Dodge. Haruo convinces the committee in charge to go back to Earth, retake it from Godzilla, and live there again. They head back to Earth to find that nature has pretty much taken back the entire planet. They encounter ravenous life, a mysterious race of humanoid individuals, and, shocker of shock, Godzilla. Can the humans retake the planet and take down Godzilla? Do the other alien races have ulterior motives? Who are the mysterious beings living on the planet?

So, it was really tough to find a starting point as to what to talk about first. How about the directing and writing? So, what have the directors and the writer of the films worked on? Kobun Shizuno has mostly directed Detective Conan films and the Soul Buster and Knights of Sidonia series. The other director, Hiroyuki Seshita, has mostly worked on Polygon Picture-related properties like Knights of Sidonia and Ajin. So, where does that leave us? Well, let’s talk about the writer of the three films, Gen Urobuchi. He is mostly known for writing the scripts to Fate/Zero and Psycho-Pass. While I have not really seen Psycho-Pass, that other title I mentioned is pretty telling at what kind of movies I should have expected. The three Godzilla films that make up this trilogy are drawn-out, boring, convoluted, and don’t really feel like Godzilla movies. I know Godzilla has had movies that range from the fun monster-fighting romps, to the social commentary side of films, but these three films essentially show off the worst of both Godzilla and anime at the same time. When you think of Godzilla, you think of grand scale destruction, fighting other colossal monsters with their own creative attacks. Now, what are usually the most boring aspects of Godzilla films? The humans! The human/humanoid characters are fairly dull anime archetypes that you see in a lot of anime. You have the angsty young male, the calm-headed best friend, the token female character, the religious nut that has ulterior motives, the war-hungry meathead, and you get the idea. No one is really that interesting, and the story/writing constantly focuses on philosophical elements of living, being on a world ruled by Godzilla, and life, which are just boring as tar.

A story about a planet ruled by Godzilla didn’t need to be this complicated. Why is it so hard to make something with giant monsters just giant monsters and action? I’m not judging this movie by what it’s not, but what we got, and what we get is not interesting. Godzilla isn’t even a major player in any of the three movies. He rarely shows up, and it’s really at the end of each movie. Also, for a film series that takes place on a planet taken back by nature and swarming with giant monsters, the other monsters involved are really boring. They are just these generic-looking rock monsters that don’t look good, and the iconic giant monsters you want to see from Toho are only seen in still frames. You only get, like, three of the iconic Toho monsters, but one is only spoken of, while the other one is Ghidorah, but not the traditional Ghidorah. It’s like this movie was afraid to be a giant monster movie. I know we all make fun of the old Toho monster flicks, but they were very entertaining, because seeing giant monsters fight was, and will always be, entertaining. They even have Mecha Godzilla, but not in the same sense. It could have been interesting, but it was sadly not. That’s the big takeaway from this trilogy, it could have been interesting, but it was drawn out between three films, and the few action scenes that were there, were not enough to save the film’s sluggish and confusing story.

Animation-wise, it’s getting a bit tiring to criticize Japanese CGI animation, because there are good signs of some studios knowing what to do, like Land of the Lustrous, but I didn’t really find anything all that impressive about Godzilla’s CGI. It was fine, everything was animated decently, the action was mostly readable, and when you could tell where the budget went, it looked good. You just see a lot the films reusing character models, and you get the typical clunky anime CGI movements from time to time. Polygon Pictures is getting close to showing how well CGI can work, but a show like the mentioned above Land of the Lustrous does it better.

So, do I like anything about this trilogy? Well, like I said above, the CGI anime is pretty decent. When Godzilla is actually on screen, you do feel his presence, and when he actually does something, it’s a lot of fun. It’s just common knowledge that watching Godzilla blow stuff up and fight actual monsters is a proven good time. The dub script is pretty okay. I don’t really say this will be anyone’s best performances, but they did a good job with reading the scripts given to them.

I think the biggest failure of these films were that they got the wrong team to make them. Godzilla didn’t need to be yet another philosophical think piece, when the most recent live-action Godzilla film was flawed, but way better at tackling such subjects, and had much better action set pieces. If you are a hardcore Godzilla fan and haven’t checked out these films, I wouldn’t recommend it, but if you must see every single film, then check them out. I just couldn’t be bothered to be hyperbolic and angry about these films. The more I hated these films, the more draining it became. They aren’t good movies on their own, and it’s not a good overall story as a trilogy. It wastes opportunities by being a three-part film, doesn’t take as many opportunities with its premise as it should, and shows how far some studios still have to go to make good-looking CGI-focused animation. However, after seeing this trilogy, it made me realize why I like talking about movies I enjoy, so, next time, how about we talk about the smash hit How to Train your Dragon: The Hidden World? Thanks for reading, and let’s keep spreading the support for more positive film conversations and more mature and in-depth film criticism. I hope you all enjoyed the review, and I will see you all next time.

Rating for all Three Films: Blacklist/The Worst

The Other Side of Animation 91: Blame! Review

In my Patema Inverted review, I talked about why universe building is important, and why you don’t really want to be taken out of the film because the world the film takes place in isn’t well defined. Sometimes, you need to take time to explain certain elements, because while the universe building could be seen as padding or exposition, it needs to make sense. However, if your entire film is just world building and set-up for an even bigger story, then you also need to be careful there. On one side of said spectrum, you have Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which talks about the origin/reboots the universe the franchise takes place in. It might be building up to what happens, but you still care about the characters and hate to see what happens. On the bad side of the spectrum, you have the first G.I. Joe live-action film where it’s not really interesting, has a lot of questionable elements, and doesn’t give us what we want until pretty much the end of the film. So, where does the Netflix-exclusive Blame! come into play? Based off the manga series and the online miniseries, Blame! is the first theatrical film adaptation of the property. It was directed by Hiroyuki Seshita, and was produced by Polygon Pictures, a studio well known for its help with CGI/CGI segments of films like Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, the Disney film Valiant, and the upcoming Godzilla: Monster Planet. I didn’t really see a lot of people get excited or talk about this film, and it got me concerned, since when there is no previews or that many articles talking about it, you wonder why that’s the case. Anyway, how is the actual movie? Well, let’s find out.

Blame! takes place in a world where the entire earth is covered in giant metal skyscrapers, and there is barely any organic life left. It sucks to be a human in this world, since humans are considered pests by the security system that they ironically made, and are killed on the spot by the security system if they are spotted. Now, the human race is about to go extinct and live in these little settlements. As the viewer, you follow the lead of the film, Killy, voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch, a wandering individual who comes across one of the human settlements, and decides to help them out with the help of a decayed robot scientist. Can they survive? What will they find? Can they avoid the security system or maybe an even more dangerous threat?

Right off the bat, Blame! does a couple of elements excellently. First off, let’s talk about the animation. CGI anime has been a touch controversial, due to the fact that 2D animation is more loved with this medium than CGI, since CGI in anime has been poorly used before, and is still poorly used. An obvious example of bad CGI anime would be the recent Berserk series, since it looks like they just replaced 2D characters with CGI puppets, and either don’t have the time or the effort to make sure they move fluidly. It’s aggravating, since you can understand that CGI animation might be cheaper and could get more jobs for people in that insane working conditions nightmare known as the anime industry. At the same time, CGI just doesn’t have the soul that 2D has, and it never, will unless they were willing to go the Disney/Pixar level quality route. Blame!, on the other hand, has for the most part, pretty good anime-style CGI. No one comes off as puppet-like, nothing is too floaty or cheap, and it makes the action scenes and overall film fun to watch. You can really tell with something like the recent Berserk series when the camera swings around or moves quickly to try and trick the viewer into not spotting the shoddy animation. It makes watching the series tough since you know how good action anime can be. You feel every shot, punch, and strike that are being given to the enemy and the lead characters.

I think the world building is done pretty well. To me, it stands out, with while being very drab and gray, an interesting concept, since you always hear about how we, as a species can stop overpopulation. Granted, the story does fall into the “the humans forgot to do something, and now the thing we created, wants to kill us” trope, but I could look past that since so many sci-fi-focused products give us that story. I liked that these giant robots that build everything are not bothered by humans, I think it’s scary that there can be killer security robots that can disguise themselves as humans to avoid the barrier keeping the humans safe. I liked how bug-like the security robots moved, and so on. Killy is an interesting character, since he is a cyborg, but he’s left open enough to hopefully see more of him fleshed out in a movie or series. You wonder why this cyborg was made when everything else wants to kill the humans that are still surviving. I will also give Blame! credit, because it pulls off one of the best twists I have seen in not just anime, but animated films. Maybe I could have picked up on it more, but I found the twist to be legit shocking.

However, this film does fail in a lot of areas. For one, this feels like one of those franchise films that are solely made to set up the universe, and then the second film is what you actually get. I say this because the characters outside of Killy, are really boring. I could care less about what happens to this set of humans. You get every single anime/sci-fi trope you can think of. The only two interesting characters are again, Killy, and the scientist that helps them out. By the end of the film, I had a lingering feeling they were expecting this to be super amazing, and either spawn more films, or a TV series. It gets a bit drab to watch, because the characters fight only two types of enemies. They also do that thing where Killy decides to stay behind to kill something horrifying looking so the rest of the human survivors can escape, but don’t show us the actual fight. Like, don’t do that! Don’t cut away from the most interesting character in the entire film. Nothing else besides the world the film introduces to you leaves a huge impression, and that’s a shame, since I could have seen this being one of the great anime action films. I also felt like some of the anime tropes that are in, well, anime are annoying. For example, why does the scientist, when she gets a new body, get heels? And why does the bigger threat in the film (not spoiling it here) have a skirt? I mean, it’s not that it’s attractive when this threat is killing people point blank with the same weapon Killy uses.

Blame! is definitely one of the better animated films to come out this year, but in terms of animated films in general, I personally thought it was just okay. It’s nothing ground breaking, it has its moments, but I can’t see myself watching this movie again. It doesn’t have the full-on staying power that something like Ghibli and Hosoda would create and show off. I can’t really say rent it, since it’s a Netflix exclusive, but if you aren’t done watching the new season of House of Cards or Orange is the New Black, maybe give it a look. Though, if you haven’t seen The Little Prince, then watch that first.  Well, that was fun, and before we start heading into some really good movies, I want to tackle one more middling film that shouldn’t be getting a theatrical release, but it is. Next time, we will look at the Google Play exclusive, A Stork’s Journey. Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed the review, and I will see you all next time.

Rating: Rent it!