A Cold Cup of Winter 2024 Anime Season Impressions

(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 appreciate what I do, 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 enjoy this editorial!)

The Winter 2024 season has been a wild ride of what we have seen coming from an industry that is in dire need of change. It’s a slow change, as we deal with said slow change to the industry and how it treats its animators and seeing the shows that get greenlit. New and returning titles flood the airwaves via Crunchyroll, Netflix, HiDive, and Hulu/Disney+. While there are a few terrible shows this season, it might have the biggest gap between high-quality, mid-quality, low-quality, and terrible shows that I have ever seen. The terrible stuff is vastly smaller than the amount of great stuff, and even the other stuff is from mostly good, fine, to nothing worth talking about. I am going to try and go a little bit of a different route with this editorial since I want to talk about my biggest takeaways of the season. I still watched an array of new non-returning shows per usual, but after a while, with so many shows coming out and so many tending to have the same problems, it’s more interesting to talk about the big takeaways from the season. 

Takeaway #1: Isekai/fantasy shows decided to Step It Up! 

The fantasy/isekai genre can be a very hit-and-miss genre, and more times than not, a lot of the most mediocre shows every season come from this genre. So many want to be the new Re-Zero or whatever big isekai is still big, and that has led to many creatives either missing the point or cannibalizing each other. They all think an overpowered lead and a harem is all that you need instead of interesting characters, worldbuilding, and a compelling story. Whether it’s because the titles getting adapted are getting better or they are picking better properties to adapt, the fantasy/isekai genre was way better this season than usual. Whether it was Delicious in Dungeon, which combined a fantasy dungeon crawler with cooking and environmentalism, The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic and its zany boot camp journey of our lead learning to be a healer, The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey Picking Up Trash’s self-healing journey of discovery and taming monsters, 7th Time Loop’s Edge of Tomorrow style of storytelling with our lead’s backstory of trying to survive and end ups courting the villain in her previous lifespan, Villainess Level 99: I May Be The Hidden Boss, but I’m Not The Demon Lord!’s silly twist on the villainess subgenre with our main character being the hidden boss of the visual novel that wanted to be ignored but then became priority number 1, and you get the idea.  It was refreshing to not have to sit through so much fantasy/isekai stuff that wasn’t male empowerment or just another bog standard experience with no flair. Not that every fantasy/isekai show was good, but…

Takeaway #2: Even middling titles had something of note! 

Something I noticed this season was that I wasn’t finding myself as frustrated or constantly disappointed with the shows I was checking out. Even the more middling experiences had something of note that made them more interesting than most. The Undead Unwanted Adventurer, while needing more time to cook, was a compelling beginning with our hero being revived as a skeleton after a horrific dragon attack in a dungeon. The Strongest Tank takes from the genre of fantasy shows where someone with a specific class from RPGs is seen as inferior, and while I like the base dynamic of our lead’s bond with his sister, these types of shows dive way too much into the harem genre that quickly derails them, and the fact the supposed harem looks to be of young girls is not helping the matter. But the fact our lead was a more defensive character was something we don’t often see with these shows. Too bad the reasoning behind their departure from the hero’s party is never as captivating as the premise should be. Delusional Monthly Magazine was a wild swing-and-miss original property that feels like it could quite pick between being the life of a weird monthly magazine or some globetrotting supernatural adventure. Fluffy Paradise may have been basic and more low-key with its focus on a lead who got turned into a child in a fantasy world, but the fact it captures the love and feeling of just wanting to cuddle and chill with friendly animals makes for an appealing if not urgent watch. Sasaaki and Peeps has a ton of different hooks, such as having an adult male lead obtain a pet bird who happens to be a magical wizard. It is also an odd isekai premise where our lead can traverse between two worlds and then gets enrolled with helping to take down psychics. It is an original idea, but your mileage will vary depending on how much you feel invested with this combination of things. Dr Elise is another isekai where our lead has been reincarnated in a different world multiple times and goes from the real world to the fantasy world once more, and just so happens to be a skilled medic. The show plants an interesting seed of a premise, but doesn’t quite make the landing with the world and character being as compelling as they need to be. Chained Soldier and Tales of the Wedding Rings offer mix-ups with their takes on the fantasy worlds in which they pull us. Tales of the Wedding Rings falls apart due to the harem element taking center stage, leaving the writing and animation to take a hit. With its writing and building up character relationships as our lead is sent on a quest to get a harem due to magic reasons to protect the kingdom, it at least has more going on under the hood than others. Chained Soldier has a mix of action, harem, and ecchi elements with a world where women gain powers to take down monsters, and sexual shenanigans happen on the side. It at least put in the footwork to make the male lead likable, and the dynamics with the women he is staying with are likable enough to not make it just a show where the viewer has to sit through the creative’s BDSM fetish. If you can walk away and say “Hey, I didn’t vibe with it, but I admire what it was doing” then that’s better than walking away feeling like you earned nothing through the experience. Even then…

Takeaway #3: Despite the bloat, some titles are still surprising!

I always love to be surprised by the shows we watch, and I am always going to be down with shows that catch me off-guard with how much I enjoy them. Although it came out a tad late during the seasonal drop, Bang Brave Bravern is a callback to old-school mecha anime, with all of the world-building and political asides mixed with giant robot action and very homoerotic overtones that make for a charming series with some stellar action. The Witch and the Beast offers up a supernatural buddy-cop dynamic between a mage and a woman who must track down the witch who cursed her. We get some stellar action and captivating mysteries as we finally have a killer fantastical mystery anime that I haven’t seen since the summer season last year with Undead Murder Farce. Metallic Rogue is an original anime from Studio Bones, with a cool sci-fi dystopian action show that may be light on the exposition, but heavy on the vibes, likable leads, and killer action. Tis Time for Torture offers a comedic take on a demon general trying to interrogate a princess about her kingdom’s secrets using delicious-looking food and video games to force her to crack under pressure. Mr Villain’s Day Off captures the relatability of trying to have a day off, even when you are a general in an evil army that is constantly at battle with a Power Rangers-like group of heroes. All he wants is to not deal with coworkers, and enjoy time looking at the panda at the zoo. Romance anime gave us a trio of three hits with A Sign of Affection being the best one of the bunch, as we follow the romantic tension between a deaf woman and a guy who wants to be a part of her world. It’s such an endearing and lovable series that shows us the world from her perspective which makes for a heartwarming romantic experience. If you are starving for something similar to My New Boss is Goofy, the more Yaoi-focused Cherry Magic! has a goofy little premise of our lead gaining mind-reading powers due to turning 30 as a virgin, but his dynamic with his coworker who has a crush on our lead is heartfelt, spicy, and is a good follow-up for those that loved My New Boss is Goofy. While the Demon Prince of Momochi House is a bit melodramatic and takes some time to wind up its mystery of the mansion, its inhabitants, and the romance between our leads, the visuals and chemistry between our two leads result in a real solid romance anime. No matter the number of shows released, we tend to get a lot of good ones, but with that said how many anime we get…

Takeaway #4: Why did we get Snack Basue and Gushing Over Magical Girls?

Even though anime companies are willing to sell the rights to every new show during every seasonal drop, we still don’t get every title. It’s funny, because every once in a while, there will be an anime from random seasonal drops that just don’t show up until either way later on some streaming service, or just gets pirated online with folks crafting fan subs for them. Now, to some degree, I get it. Why bring over an anime that may or may not be attached to a show or property that is big or at least more well-known in Japan than the States and why would they think it would do well here? But that seems to be an even smaller case that barely happens. Still, no one can watch all of these shows, especially when you have a total of 50+ shows at times, and it feels like a shotgun approach is taken these days. Bringing over anything and everything no matter if it looks appealing or has any chance of being a hit can be a hit-or-miss propostion. So why do we get titles like Snack Basue, which has no real wide appeal, absurdly cheap-looking animation, and is about a nightlife culture that most fans and viewers aren’t going to know about? I should love this zany weird comedy, but something either doesn’t and won’t translate to an audience not familiar with the style of comedy they are going for, and with the bad animation, the jokes don’t land as well as they should. Gushing Over Magical Girls I can understand a bit more, since everyone loves a good magical girl deconstruction, but when a lot of it is based around BDSM fetish with middle school-aged characters that becomes fairly explicit, it makes you wonder who this is for outside of a very questionable group of folks who would enjoy this type of show. We don’t get Pon no Michi, a show about a group of girls running a mahjong parlor, but we get these two that have a way smaller viewer base. It just makes you wonder where the priorities are, and prompts a discussion about the point of ecchi anime or anime that borderlines on pornography or much more problematic stuff, but that’s a topic for another time. For now, another takeaway I had was…

Takeaway #5: So much violence! 

Something that I noticed between shows like Solo Leveling, Ishura, Sengoku Youko, and Meiji Gekken: 1874 was that the blood and violence levels were higher than usual. Not that they were all at the levels of the stuff you would see in the OVA boom from the late 80s and early 90s, but you normally don’t see this much unless it was something like Attack on Titan. With dismembered limbs, folks getting sliced in half, and you get the idea, they use violence as a means to show how dangerous the world is. Solo Leveling builds up the dangers of the dungeons and leads to training to get stronger with everyone getting slaughtered in the first two episodes. While struggling to balance out its historical and silly anime action beats, Meiji Gekken uses it to show the brutality of war and humans. Ishura delivers a world on the constant brink of war and bloodshed with multiple strong individuals all meeting and or roaming the earth for the next big battle they must overcome to become the main hero. Sengoku Youko uses its violence in its samurai-era setting to show the complexity of war and the conflict between humans and demons through the eyes of our wannabe samurai who joins a human who hates other humans and a kitsune spirit that loves humanity to become stronger. It isn’t just gore for the sake of gore. They are still going to be action shows through and through, but it doesn’t mean they can’t use that violence to elevate the themes and commentary they are bringing to the experience. 

Takeaway #6: The mediocre titles were few and far between! 

Honestly, the really bad titles were few and far between for me this season. There were only two shows I would say were deeply terrible. I already talked about how mediocre and terrible Gushing Over Magical Girls was so I won’t repeat myself here. On the other hand, My Instant Death Ability is So Overpowered is meant to be a parody of the isekai genre. You can see in some small moments how obnoxious, instantly dislikable, and dull the characters are, and how it tries to shove in a lot of the slop you see in bad isekai anime. Either the fans don’t know what a satire/parody is or the team that made it decided to play everything straight when it wasn’t meant to be. It’s a tedious show to sit through and the introduction of a third character who is meant to be the comedy relief is annoying. Yeah, maybe she is meant to be annoying, but if that’s the joke, then you need a better joke. It wasn’t clever or substantial in the way this show needed to be. We can have One Punch Man-style shows with different genres, but they need to be whip-smart and creative. 

So then, that is what I have to say about the Winter 2024 season. Here are the anime I highly recommend checking out on Netflix, Hulu, HiDive, and or Crunchyroll. 

Anime I’d Recommend in no order: Ishura, Solo Leveling, Tis Time for Torture, Delicious in Dungeon, The Witch and the Beast, Metallic Rouge, Sengoku Youko, The Weakest Tamer Began Their Journey Picking Up Trash, Cherry Magic!, A Sign of Affection, 7th Time Loop, VIllainess lvl 99, The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic, Mr. Villain’s Day Off, Bucchigiri?!, Brave Bang Bravern. 

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 WINTER 2023 ANIME SEASON. THE WINTER 2023 ANIME SEASON NEVER CHANGES PART 1

(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!)

Well, it’s time to talk about the Winter Anime Season…again. Honestly, Winter 2023 is kind of a mix of both Winter 2021 and Winter 2022 in terms of quality. There are a lot of really solid titles mixed with a ton of mediocre and trashy anime. It would be more shocking if there were more good, or more worrying if many of them were mediocre. Since I don’t make these until I’ve seen every anime up to at least three episodes or more, it lets me find time to really break down what to take away from them. You really can’t tell if the first episode will be stellar or not. It’s just whether it’s a good first impression or not. Sure, some are going to be just good from the get-go, but that isn’t always the case. A good opening hook can only go so far. Now then, let’s get started. 

COMEDY/ROMANCE

Onimai: I’m Now Your Sister (Crunchyroll)

Content Warning: Lolicon and underaged fanservice

Listen, it’s okay to not adapt certain stories to anime. Especially when it’s from a studio with obvious talent in its animation department. This is based on the manga by Nekotofu. It’s directed by Shingo Fujii, written by Michiko Yotoke, and produced at Studio Bind. Even with all of the faults of this studio’s other show, Jobless Reincarnation, I can at least see why people like that show. It also doesn’t hurt that Studio Bind has some amazing animators and a production pipeline to make it that way. So, why on earth would they pick a project like this when it’s such underage creepy nonsense? Yeah, it’s basically a slice-of-life comedy lolicon show, and if it was just about a brother and sister reconnecting as siblings, then that would be stellar. You can make shows about people reconnecting, but when the brother in this show is forced against his will to be turned into a middle school-aged girl by his intelligent sister, then the problems only start building up from there. You can see when the show is trying to be sweet and sentimental, but when it has to clash with the fanservice and how a lot of the fanservice is drawn to teenagers looking as lewd as possible, I hate it. I can see where more of the positive reviews are coming from, and I disagree with a lot of them, but I can safely say this one isn’t for me.  The show just isn’t good, and hopefully, one day, Studio Bind will make something that won’t make you feel like jumping out of your skin or force you to sit through terrible nonsense to get to the few scraps of good story beats.

The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten (Crunchyroll)

You know, romance doesn’t have to be boring. You wonder if the original author or the people working on the anime knew that or not. This is based on the light novel series by Saeikisan. The anime is directed by Lihua Wang, written by Keiichiro Ochi, and produced by Project No. 9. This show is just nothing. It’s harmless nothing, but it’s just nothing. I get there is supposed to be a budding romance between our two leads who happen to live next to one another and such, but with its flat and soulless animation, and the fact the build-up to whether they will get together or not is not handled well, it makes for a really dull sit. If there is a lo-fi anime romcom this season people are gonna watch, it won’t be this one. There are two that are worth watching more than this one. 

Tomo Chan IS a Girl (Crunchyroll)

It feels good to be more positive from this point on with this category. This is based on the popular manga by Fumita Yanagida. The anime is adapted by Hitoshi Nanba, written by Megumi Shimizu, and produced by Lay-Duce. While on the surface, it’s another ‘boy and girl can’t find the right way to confess to one another’ story, it helps that they go a different direction for the characters. It is annoying that the show sometimes wants to tell a tomboy to be more feminine when the problem isn’t’ that she’s too “masculine”,but it’s also the fact the two don’t have the proper brain cells and social interactive skills to actually know how to confess to one another. Doesn’t help either that the secondary cast members that get thrown into the equation cause chaos with their silly antics for the two love birds. I do wish the animation was better to make the comedy hit harder, but it looks fine, and I can see why people adore this one. I just don’t think I vibe with it as much as others do, and I feel badly about that. Oh well, not everyone is going to like every popular show and popular movie, and that’s alright. Just don’t be malicious about it. Anyway, Tomo Chan IS a Girl is adorable goofy fun with some clunky animation. 

Kubo Won’t Let Me Be Invisible (HiDive)

This is a very cute and silly show. It is based on the manga by Nene Yukimori. The anime adaptation is directed by Kazuomi Koga, written by Yuya Takahashi, and produced by Pine Jam. Alongside Pine Jam’s great expressive animation that they obviously carried over from their work on Do It Yourself, the manga’s simplistic, but emotive art style brings life to another show that may or may not be aping off of the Komi Can’t Communicate bandwagon. Recently, we have been getting many creative ways to tackle social anxiety and feeling invisible in a world where all we do is socialize. It helps here that our two leads are the cutest together anytime they are on screen, which is all of the time. They do enough with the premise to make every sequence refreshing and full of laughs. The chemistry is delightful, and while the romance isn’t fully convincing, if you are looking for a solid cute time, then give this one a watch.

The Ice Guy and His Cool Female Colleague (Crunchyroll)

It shouldn’t feel so refreshing that an anime has young adult leads for the show to focus on, but we are in that situation here. This is based on the manga by Miyuki Tonogawa. It was directed by Mankyu, written by Tomoko Konparu, and produced by Zero-G and Liber. Once again, it feels refreshing that we have a workplace drama/romcom with a fantastical twist to how certain workers are descendants of mystical beings, and how they weave in those parts are not so upfront, and can be used in very literal and metaphorical ways. It’s really sweet and how it gets creative with said mystical powers show off different sides of our male lead. Luckily, the other characters are just as fun and likable to be around. The only downside is I don’t find the romance all that compelling, but I do like their chemistry. With a very low-key atmosphere and a lo-fi bop of an opening, there is a lot to enjoy and find appealing with this show. 

Endo and Kobayashi Live: The Latest on Tsundere Villainess Lieselotte (HiDive)

It’s always refreshing when you get a truly distinct and original take on a certain type of anime series that, no matter any of the faults, you commend it for actually doing something different. This is based on the novels by Suzu Enoshima. The anime is directed by  Fumihiro Yoshimura, written by Tomoko Konparu, and produced by Tezuka Productions. So, what do you get when you take a typical Otome game setting, but combine it with elements of Let’s Plays and God simulation games? This is that anime. It’s amazing that I have yet to see something this creative and how it not only has great jokes, great characters, and a banger premise, but it also pulls back from the premise to let the characters grow. You care about both the human players and the in-game characters. This was just a really pleasant surprise and I’m all for creatives tackling and taking different spins at anime that could really use a shot in the arm. 

ACTION

The Ice Blade Sorcerer Shall Rule the World (Crunchyroll) 

Anime is just getting worse and worse in some regards with shows like this. This is based on the novel series by Nana Mikoshiba. It’s directed and written by Masahiro Takata and produced by Cloud Hearts and Yokohama Animation Laboratory. Maybe if the anime/manga/light novel industry wasn’t so hellbent on pushing everything out at a record pace for maximum profit, maybe, just maybe, we could get shows that are more interesting than this generic hodgepodge of fantasy action elements. You’ve got the school setting, you’ve got the quirky clubs and side characters, you’ve got the power fantasy, you’ve got a basic mystery plot of who our lead actually is and who the big threats might be. All it needed to do was actually either commit to something or stop trying to appeal to every single anime-goer, because when you try to appeal to everyone, then you appeal to no one. It takes a darn good team and creative to come up with something that hits all the right notes for everyone, and sadly, this sure isn’t it. I like some aspects of the show, but due to its lackluster production/visuals, some uncomfortable baiting of multiple types, and no real identity to call its own, this fantasy action show feels like an isekai, but without the isekai aspect, and without the progress of making something compelling. Also, don’t undercut the female characters you are trying to make viewers care about by making them look like lingerie models during the end credits. Makes ya wonder if they see the female characters as characters and not objects. 

Spy Classroom (HiDive)

Well, at least there is something that could have been with this show. This is based on the novels by Takemachi. It’s directed by Keiichiro Kawaguchi, written by Shinichi Inotsume, and produced by Feel. We have a few anime this season that are all about a group of underdog characters who need to prove themselves, and in this case, a bunch of spy academy rejects who team up with a shady leader who trains them to be the best spies they can be. It has the spy espionage post-WW1 setting going for it, but that’s about it. Didn’t really find myself gravitating towards the story or the characters by episode three, and the plot for the first three episodes feels stretched out. There wasn’t much there, and they needed to pad out three episodes. Not that there weren’t any scenes of growth for the characters, but the characters are forgettable and that’s not a good thing due to how many there are of them. They also look more like characters you should see as anime statues than anything else. The decent action and some mystery about the world don’t really keep me wanting to come back for every new episode. Those are the breaks at times. Just wasn’t my cup of tea. 

Ayakashi Triangle (Crunchyroll)

Talk about a tonal and messy situation of trying to make this premise work. This is based on the manga by Kentaro Yabuki of Black Cat and To Love Ru (which he illustrated) fame. It’s directed by Noriaki Akitaya, written by Shogo Yasukawa, and produced by Connect. Listen, it’s ambitious and admirable that a property would love to tackle gender identity with its premises. Gender swap and identity stories are commonplace in anime. It’s not like this is breaking any new taboos or boundaries. It can work and it has happened before. Too bad it’s trying to be a million things at once. It wants to be a shonen action show, it wants to be a yuri bait show, it wants to be an ecchi fanservice show, it wants to be a comedy, it wants to tackle romance through the gender spectrum, and it wants to do all of this at once when it’s not really good at being any of it. It’s too serious to be funny, too comedy driven to be serious, too horny to be low-key, and the romance angle is shot by the fact the show wants to tackle the two lead’s romance, but also be arousing to the viewer. It’s at least trying to be more than it is, but there are simply too many gender-bent anime out there to spend time on one that is not interested in being truly great, or at least great in the non-fanservice department. You can obviously tell where the budget went into this show despite having a slightly higher-than-usual polished look. Who knows what will happen to the show, since it’s one of the few anime this season getting delayed due to the lingering pandemic. Maybe it will get better, but from the four episodes that are out, it hasn’t been impressive. 

The Reincarnation of the Strongest Exorcist in Another World (Crunchyroll)

Can anime actually commit to the bit for once? A lot of anime these days seem unable to commit to the bit. Anyway, this mediocre isekai is based on the novels by Kiichi Kosuzu. The show is directed by Nobuyoshi Nagayama & Ryosuke Shibuya, written by Touko Machida, and produced by Studio Blanc. The one major hook the show has going for it to try and be more interesting than other isekai power fantasies, is how our lead is reborn not just from a different life, but a different region from his home in Japan’s past to a more European location. It results in him having an entirely different magic system that he uses from the rest of the world in which he has been reborn. It should have led to some pretty interesting world-building moments and political intrigue from everyone else in this show’s universe about how this one kid can wield powerful magic, but somehow not be born with the power. Sadly, it boils down to every power fantasy. The lead is stronger than everyone else, some characters hate him in a deeply absurd way, and the lead makes two female friends be the forearm candy to the lead. After watching so many anime buck the natural trend of most power fantasy isekai, you think that would mean everyone else would try harder, and who knows, this could be a bad translation of the source material. It sure as heck feels like it’s rushing to get to certain story beats faster. Anime fans tend to take what they can get even when better stuff is already available to the viewer. Oh well. I liked the demon entities that the lead has in his control, but that’s about it. 

Ningen Fushin: Adventurers Who Don’t Believe in Humanity Will Save the World (Crunchyroll)

I really hate when I feel like I’m going to like a show because of its premise, and then watch the said show and feel underwhelmed by it. This is based on the novels and manga by Shinta Fuji. The series is adapted to animated form by director and writer Itsuki Imazaki and is produced by Geek Toys and Seven. There is a real solid idea of a bunch of adventurers who were rejected by the masses forming their own party to go on adventures and save the land. Heck, there are even comedy versions of this idea with anime like Konosuba. Where this show lacks though is in the execution department. The reasons why these adventurers got rejected by society are absurd and petty, ranging from people not liking the mage for being stronger, an adventuring party thinking they didn’t need their rogue, and one badly handled case of being falsely accused of being a pest. Yeah, this anime wants you to feel for these underdogs, and you as a viewer definitely want to see them grow through the ranks and show the world they weren’t disposable beings, but the way it all unfolds is clunky at best. The dragon girl is probably the best character, which is a shame since she isn’t the lead. They also do that thing where it’s not fully a fantasy world and have things like idols, but then they don’t modernize any other element of the world around them. It’s aggravating since you can see the idea there, and like usual, it could be a bad adaptation, but the anime doesn’t really make me want to buy the manga. I might watch a bit more to see the introduction of another character, but it won’t be high on my priority. 

Reborn to Master the Blade: From Hero-King to Extraordinary Squire (Crunchyroll)

Sometimes, being simply well-made and executing its premise enough with some solid action is all that you need with your isekais to be tolerable and entertaining. This is based on the novel series by Hayaken. The anime is produced by Studio Comet, written by Mitsutaka Hirota, and directed by Naoyuki Kuzuya. What it lacks in polished animation, wanting to fast forward through so much of the story’s plot to get to the leads being older, and trying to horn up the female leads to a very distracting degree that almost cripples the entire show, it does execute its premise better than most isekais. It has solid if clunky political thriller aspects. The story of a king being reincarnated to follow his past goals of becoming a knight are a good-enough twist on the formula, the characters are fairly likable, and the action is obviously where the money was spent the most. If it just didn’t have so much anime nonsense under its belt, it would probably be one of my favorites, but due to how many other isekai or isekai adjacent animate are out this season and do its premise better, it falls short, but it wouldn’t be the worst show to come back to after the three episode rule. 

Giant Beast of Ars (HiDive)

This feels like an anime that’s based on a RPG, but without the terrible production issues of being based on a video game that usually plagues these series. It’s an original anime that’s directed by Akira Oguro, written by Norimitsu Kaiho, and produced at Asahi Productions. While it has some similar elements like humanity fighting against giant beasts and creatures, the world they crafted in the span of three episodes is full of life, personality, and intrigue., That isn’t always a given with original anime, and the action is rock solid as well. It definitely gives you a hook and a reason to keep watching, and it shouldn’t feel refreshing that this show feels like a show and not a marketing tool, but it feels great to watch this and not feel the creeping hands of merchandising yet touch this one. Granted, it’s there, but it never pulls you out of the experience like most anime do. 

Handyman Saitou in Another World (Crunchyroll)

Nothing quite like finding an isekai that is actually distinct and not really an isekai in the traditional sense. This quirk fantasy/isekai/comedy is based on the manga by Kazutomo Ichitomo. It’s directed by Toshiyuki Kubooka, written by Kenta Ihara, and produced by C2C. Honestly, I went into this show blind. The fun idea of a handyman getting sent to a fantasy world isn’t really an isekai. When you think of isekai, it usually boils down to boring mediocre power fantasies aimed at a male demographic, but here, it’s not really any of that. Saitou is basically a rogue/thief who just happens to have his tool kit with him, and the show isn’t really all that interested in telling a story. There is a plot and progression of character arcs and such, but it’s honestly more interested in gags and skits that take place in this fantasy world than telling a grand story. Of course, being a comedy, the comedy can be hit-and-miss, but when it hits, boy do the jokes land. The characters are fairly simplistic, but they have their own depth to them that makes them fun characters to follow. However, sometimes it feels like they had an idea for a joke and it either didn’t translate well or has some missing context to western viewers or just ends with no real punchline. It’s a creative show that’s more along the lines of Cromartie High School and Azumanga Daioh than your typical isekai fare, and I think that’s admirable, to say the least. 

Trigun Stampede (Crunchyroll)

It’s amazing that people ever doubted this incredible studio with what they were going to craft with this new take on the franchise. This is based on the manga and classic anime by Yasuhiro Nightow. This new take is directed by Kenji Muto, written by Tasuro Inamoto, Shin Okashima, and Yoshihisa Ueda, and produced by the best CGI studio in the anime industry, Studio Orange. Yes, the original anime is a classic and should be watched by everyone, but it’s been almost three decades, and it’s okay for people to try a new take on the franchise, because unlike a lot of remakes or reboots of certain franchises, this one is actually good. First off, you get the amazing and perfect CGI animation by Studio Orange combined with the creative western/Mad Max world that the characters live in, and lovable characters. There are some aspects that I wish they didn’t change, but so far, unless this adaptation goes off the rails like the Promised Neverland adaptation, Trigun Stampede is one of the best anime of the Winter 2023 season. Also, the dub is killer with the return of Johnny Yong Bosch as the titular Vash. It’s a great show from beginning to end so far and I don’t care if the mystery from the original isn’t there.

The Other Side of Animation 81: Vampire Hunter D 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. It would help support my work, and keeps the website up. Thanks for checking out my work, and I hope you like this review!)

I am never going to get tired of what I’m about to say, and I will warn you right now that when I see situations like this, I’m going to bring it up again. A movie based off a property like a book, comic book, or whatever should be a good movie first and foremost. This is an argument I hear all the time when people are defending movies like Ratchet & Clank or old school anime films like Akira, in which I am told that I should read the source material first, or they let me know that I just don’t get it. It’s such a flimsy argument that should never be taken seriously. It also doesn’t work as a counter-argument towards criticism aimed at a movie based off a source material, because there are so many movies that are based off source material that are amazing. Do I need to know about the original books to enjoy How to Train your Dragon, Ernest & Celestine, Mary Poppins, The Rabbi’s Cat, Guardians of the Galaxy, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, The Dark Knight, and The Prophet? No! I can watch those movies because they were adapted so well into a movie that I could show these films to anyone, and they would be able to enjoy it without having to read the source material. A movie should be able to be well told and fun, and not require a moviegoer to do what is essentially hours of homework to watch a two hour or so movie. It’s backwards logic, and something that hinders my enjoyment of today’s review, Vampire Hunter D. This was a film released back in 1985, directed by Toyoo Ashida (1986’s Fist of the North Star film, Ultimate Teacher, Grenadier, Batman: Gotham Knight’s In Darkness Dwells section), and was brought over to the states in 1992. One of the more interesting facts about this movie is that the character design was done by Yoshitaka Amano, the same illustrator who has worked on the Final Fantasy franchise. Sadly, a good artist can only go so far in the animation scene. If you don’t have anything else, then what’s the point? Let’s get started.

The plot is essentially Castlevania, but I’ll explain it anyway. An evil vampire has taken the reins in ruling a land that includes a small town. A lone wanderer named D, voiced by John Gremillion, wanders into town, and decides to help the town get out of the evil grasp of the intimidating Count Magnus Lee, voiced by David Wald. Can D stop the evil vampire, and make sure no one is hurt?

I want to be kind to this film, so let us talk about the good elements that this film brings to the table. First off, the character designs. While some of the side characters have that stale anime look, the rest are diverse and memorable. I really do think having such a unique artist like Yoshitaka Amano does give this film some levity. When the film decides to be atmospheric, it really does give you a small chill, with the calm surroundings, dark colors, and super-natural fiends looming around the night sky. For the original release of the film from Streamline to the Sentai Filmworks release, the two English dubs are both pretty solid. I think the Sentai Filmworks release is a tiny bit better, but I’m sure you won’t really care, since the dub for an anime of this time period (1992 for the USA) could have been so much worse.

Now that we got the positives out of the way, let’s breakout the Vampire Killer whip, and take down the negatives that this film offers. First off, good luck enjoying this if you didn’t know one thing about the series, because this film doesn’t ease you in at all into the universe. It really doesn’t explain how this world has old world outfits, use of horse and carriage when combustion engines are around, robotic horses, werewolves, dinosaurs, and so on. There is really no reason this couldn’t have been late 1800s-early 1900s. I think the one element that cements this criticism is this weird hand thing D has. I’m sure the face he has on his hand probably has some kind of explanation, but if this was your first time watching the film, you will be confused and horrified by that thing. The film is also inconsistent with its rules at different points in the story. For example, there is a villain in the film that can bend space and time to avoid damage, like say, getting stabbed by a sword. Well, the villain uses this ability once, and never again. It makes it out like the writers wanted an “oh, snap” moment, but then forgot that the individual has this ability and just let him get his arm cut off, and then his head blown off by the big bad vampire. Some scenes are also not explained or executed well. Like later on in the film, the bad guys obtain a special candle that is dangerous towards vampires. Well, the bad guy that can control space and time attempts to use it on D, but realizes that it’s not the candle that he got in the first place, but a fake. It then turns out another crummy individual in the film somehow swapped the real candle with the fake one. They don’t show how or when he did it, so it means you add another unexplained element to the pile of other unexplained plot elements in this movie. Even on top of all this, I found the film to be boring. You would think this would be an entertaining film with D being a vampire slayer, and taking down a horde of monsters to save a town from Dracula, but it’s not. It might be only 80 minutes long, but it can drag in a lot of places. The characters are also not worth writing about. They are all cookie cutter, and D isn’t even that interesting of a lead character. Sure, there is intrigue in terms of who he is, but I don’t really feel invested to watch him succeed, since he can sometimes come off as too weak in terms of being the lead. Once again, it shows how infuriating the animation industry can be when they decide to take an idea that should work, but screw over the execution and make it a boring pile of mud.

In the end I think Vampire Hunter D suffers from being a bad adaptation with too much of a focus on the fans. While it might be amusing for fans of the franchise, it isn’t an enjoyable sit for the rest of us. I would rather a film be enjoyable to all, than make it for one small group of people. Still, I have seen worse, and Vampire Hunter D might be bad, but it’s not in my top 10 worst animated films bad. I can totally see why people would love the franchise, and think if you are going to check it out, read the manga, and then watch the film. Luckily, we will take a look at the sequel in the near future that definitely does everything better, even if it still falls into a few traps. Well, we have some time before Ghost in the Shell comes out, how about we take a look at Lionsgate’s newest animated offering with Rock Dog? Thanks for reading, and I will see you all next time!

Rating: Lackluster

The Other Side of Animation 33: Japanese Animation Month: Short Peace 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. It would help support my work, and keeps the website up. Thanks for checking out my work, and I hope you like this review!)

WARNING/PARENTAL HEADS UP: There is female nudity and violence in this movie. Parental Discretion is advised. Hope you enjoy the review!

Well, I might as well get another Katsuhiro Otomo film project under Japanese Animation Month. I mean, yes, I will be tackling Hayao Miyazaki and Mamoru Hosoda in the future, but for now, let’s take a look at Otomo’s most recent film project known as Short Peace. This anthology film was released back in 2013, and was brought over to the states by Sentai Filmworks. It got some publicity because one of the shorts, Possessions, was nominated for an Oscar for best animated short. Short Peace includes four different shorts, with an opening animated segment directed by Koji Morimoto (Franken’s Gears segment from Robot Carnival, and Magnetic Rose segment from Memories). The other directors besides Katsuhiro Otomo involved are Hiroaki Ando (Ajin, Five Numbers!, and Digital Juice) and Hajime Katoki (Gundam and Super Robot Wars series). So, how good are these shorts, individually? Well, let’s find out!

While not technically part of the four anthology films, the opening animated sequence from Koji Morimoto has a young girl following a rabbit into a bunch of magical worlds.

The first official short is called Possessions, and is directed by Shuei Morita (Freedom, Kakurenbo: Hide & Seek, Tokyo Ghoul, and Valvrave the Liberator). It’s about a lone traveler taking shelter in an abandoned shrine during a rainstorm. Once inside the shrine, he then has to deal with a group of spirits.

The second short is called Combustible, and is directed by Katsuhiro Otomo himself. Combustible tells the tale of a woman of royalty, and her experience with her childhood friend. It’s a tragic romantic story, which centers around traditions and firefighting in ancient Japan.

The third short is Gambo, which is directed by Hiroaki Ando. It’s probably the most violent of the four shorts, with a giant white bear in ancient Japan, who helps a little girl take care of a red demon that has plagued her village.

The final short is called A Farewell to Weapons. This entry in this anthology is directed by Hajime Katoki. It revolves around a group of men in the distant future that are tasked with destroying robotic tanks that are still lurking around, while finding important items from the past.

So, since these are all individual shorts themed around Japanese culture, how do they all compare? Well, all of them are visually creative, interesting, and impressive on a technical scale. Since this was made in 2013, they used more CGI animation, than the 2D animation with minimal CGI used in Memories. In that film, the CGI was used to help engross you into the world and help out with some of the more technical aspects. Now, usually, I don’t like it when Japan decides to mix 2D with CGI, since it’s always distracting, and never looks good. Sure, the three Berserk films look better than Sin the Movie in terms of 2D animation mixed with CGI, but even after years of technical progression, it’s still obvious to the eyes when they switch between the two. Luckily, in Short Peace, the mixture of 2D and CGI is not horrible. I actually like how fluid it all looks, and while it’s noticeable that there is CGI, it’s balanced out with some really, and I mean really, good art styles. Possessions, Combustible, Gambo, and A Farewell to Weapons are all distinct with Possessions having a beautiful CGI painted look, Combustible looking like those woodblock paintings, Gambo having a rough sketchy style, and A Farewell to Weapons having the more traditional anime that you would recognize. If I had to pick my favorite shorts in terms of overall enjoyability, I would have to choose Possessions and A Farewell to Arms. Possessions feels like a short film made by Mamoru Hosoda or Hayao Miyazaki. It’s charming, and shows what kind of stories can come out of anime when they aren’t catering to the lazy anime tropes we see today. It’s an experience with very little fighting, and that is impressive to me. A Farewell to Weapons is an intense action flick that is based on one of Otomo’s short stories, and has probably one of the most black comedy twist endings that I have ever seen. It really reminds me of the Stink Bomb segment from Memories in terms of endings.

Sadly, I found Gambo and Otomo’s Combustible to be the weaker of the two, but Combustible is definitely the weakest, in terms of shorts. I think the biggest problem with both shorts is that they should have been longer and had more details. Gambo is interesting, but who was Gambo? Was he a God? Was he a spirit? I mean, I can understand Gambo a bit more than Combustible. While elements of Combustible can be thrilling, like the intense firefighting scenes, and seeing what life was like back during that time period, the interaction and connection between the female and male lead is not super strong, and the female lead isn’t interesting. I also found her logic of trying to escape the fire questionable at best. Did she just not want to listen to the guy wanting to save her life?! I want to feel badly for her, but she does herself in by not telling anyone about a fire she started, or getting out of there instead of staying there until the fire got way out of hand. I honestly don’t know if the writers and Otomo wanted to make the final tragic scene something symbolic or not. I always hate saying that Otomo’s segments of these anthology films are the weakest parts, but his “emotional experience over proper storytelling” style does creep up in this film. Not to say you can’t get what is going on, and downright love/adore the unique art style and how it looks like it was all on a scroll, but it’s hard to overlook the narrative problems.

Still, the best part about this movie is that it’s good and very ambitious. In a day and age of CGI animation becoming very similar looking, since most third-party studios want to be the next Disney, DreamWorks, and Pixar, Japan and other countries still want to try out and use different styles, and for the most part, do 2D animation. Short Peace is a great example of both style and ambition to be something different. If you haven’t purchased this movie yet, you definitely should. Even with its shortcomings, it’s still a great watch. Sadly, Japanese Animation Month is over, but that doesn’t mean I am done talking about animated films from Japan, since next time, we take a look at Lupin the 3^rd’s first outing in a movie with The Mystery of Mamo. Thanks for reading my work, I hope you like it, and see you all next time!

Rating: Go see it!

The Other Side of Animation: The Garden of Words Review

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After that grating, obnoxious, and horrible heap of a movie that I previously reviewed, Cool World, it always makes me glad when I get to see something good. Sure, seeing the bad will help improve one’s filmmaking skills and make sure it doesn’t happen again, but sometimes, I just want to watch something that is interesting and something that resonates with me. After watching what the Hollywood entertainment system thinks we like to watch, it’s good to revel in something that at least made you think and be engaged. I just so happened to find a short film that has what I am looking for. Today’s review is of the short film, The Garden of Words. This 48-minute short film was distributed by Toho, and animated by CoMix Wave Films. It was directed by Makoto Shinkai. If Makoto Shinkai sounds familiar, then you have probably seen his films before, since CoMix Wave Films and Makoto have made such well-received films as Voices of a Distant Star, and other films like The Place Promised in Our Early Days, 5 Centimeters Per Second, and Children Who Chase Lost Voices. So, what do I think about this short film? Well, let’s dive in and get started then, shall we?

The Garden of Words centers two humans. The first is a 15-year old male named Takao Akizuki, voiced by Blake Shepard. On a rainy day, he cuts class to go sit in a pavilion in a park to draw shoe designs in his sketch book. One day, he meets an older woman named Yukari Yukino, voiced by Shelley Calene-Black. After a while, they create a bond between one another as friends until they realize that they may have known each other in more ways than one.

So, what is great about this short film? Well, what this film downright immerses you with is its atmosphere. By golly, this film just pulls you into its quiet, wet world. A lot of the time, there is no music or background score playing, and all you hear are the sounds from the areas around the main characters. The many rainy scenes are something right out of a yoga or meditation CD. It also helps that the film is beautifully animated, and while the character designs are, in my opinion, okay, everything else looks amazing. I have read where some people had a problem with how this film was presented and animated, but to me, I wasn’t distracted. While I have some problems with the personalities of the two main characters, I do like the relationship between them. Sometimes, all you need to find is a kindred soul that you can talk to/relate to. Another element that helps pull you into the movie is the beautiful piano score. It’s just gorgeous music to listen to. If you are curious about who wrote the music, it was Daisuke Kashiwa.

With all that said, this film does have problems. The two biggest problems are the character themselves and the running time. The two characters the film follows are not really that interesting, personality-wise. Granted, they are both suffering some form of depression, and you could argue that people display depression in different ways, but I blame the running time for the weak characters. I mean, it’s not like the characters have no personality or interesting things about them, like how the male is a hard worker. But, if the film was a bit longer than 46 minutes, I think we could have gotten more breathing room with the two leads, instead of multiple montages set to the beautiful scenery and musical score. This short film is based off a one-issue manga, but it doesn’t mean they couldn’t flesh things out more. For example, besides the two leads, who are likable in their own ways, everyone else feels petty and mean-spirited. A lot of this comes from the twist in the film, but I don’t want to spoil it for anyone who may have not seen this short yet. Of course, they could just get curious and look up the plot on Wikipedia. I also found the ending to be rushed and overly dramatic. Not that there isn’t some kind of corny enjoyment out of it, but again, a longer running time and a better-paced ending could have fixed so many problems the short film has.

Overall, after a couple of viewings, I ended up really liking The Garden of Words. I still think Makoto Shinkai could have fixed a few problems, but when he really hits the nail on the head, he is truly one of the best talents that Japanese animation can offer. The film itself is about $20, but if you can find it for cheaper, I would definitely recommend it. It has its issues, but it’s one of the more beautiful and atmospheric movies that I have ever seen. Well, we have seen what good Japanese animation can give us, let’s see what the worst of Japanese animation can give us with OVA, Cybernetics Guardian. Thanks for reading, and see you next time!

Rating: Go See It!