Jeoffrey

Ride Your Wave is a very good, emotionally powerful movie, albeit with a few shortcomings. I enjoyed the love story, drama, and the messages the movie wanted to get across. It is an emotionally intense movie that pays tribute to everyday heroism and those who choose to dedicate their lives to saving others. It is also a nice reflection of ordinary life and issues we all have to deal with. It reflects the fact we always have to keep going and somehow ride even the biggest wave that fate sends our way (and it also shows sometimes that it is not easy). The idea of fate permeates the entire narrative, sometimes in a good way, although other times quite predictably, and it is a bit silly. The biggest problem I had with the movie was that there were at least two moments (one at the beginning, one at the end) that were extremely predictable, the atmosphere and the pace of the narrative gave it away, and so the supposedly big plot twist was not at all surprising or had the impact intended. Similarly, one of the intended big twists you learn towards the end is deduced after about five minutes into the movie, and after another twenty, it is blatantly obvious. This predictability means that the big reveal is more of a little reassurance than a dramatic surprise to the attentive viewer. Unfortunately, there was also a moment when I wanted to smack my head against the wall because it was so stupid. SPOILER ALERT. In other words, how stupid do you have to be to decide not to call the police after you have followed a group planning something nefarious, as they lead you to the scene of the crime? Also, someone a tiny bit smarter explicitly urges you to call the police, and instead, you decide to film the people in question on your phone. END OF SPOILERS. I get why that part was there, to get the characters to a certain point important for the next phase of the plot. But even then, the fact that the character filmed it on their phone seemed really stupid. The standard of the animation also varied a lot. First of all, this is not a style I like very much; I thought that the concept of the character depictions especially was very strange. I felt that everyone here had necks that were too long or heads that were too small. In fact, they seemed to be all arms and legs (even though that is still much better and more bearable for the viewer than, say, the characters in the anime shows Welcome to the Ballroom and Dance Dance Danseur). However, this is probably just my problem because I am used to something different in an anime series, although others might consider it a nice, interesting, and distinctive style. Likewise, the colors felt kind of bland and not very good at some points, while it was beautifully strong and expressive at other times. However, it did not always fit what was happening on screen. In truth, there were scenes that were magical, illustrated in great detail, and suited the atmosphere beautifully, alternated with those that were probably not so important for the story. So they felt a bit artificial, strange, and sometimes empty (mostly when the camera was capturing some movement or was supposed to be a moving perspective itself - e.g., a shot from a moving car of a landscape, some surfing scenes and running around the city). The soundtrack was good, and I enjoyed the theme song. As for the characters, I could relate to them, which was probably the main reason I said this is an emotionally strong movie. In other words, I was able to start caring about them and felt like I was going through the story with them. To sum it up, Ride Your Wave is a slightly above-average movie. It has something to say and is worth seeing, but because it has its weaknesses, it did not work as well for me as I would have liked. 6.8/10.

The second season of Ushio & Tora essentially consists of two parts and the opening part was probably the worst of this anime series, I was not too thrilled with the "what happened when everyone forgot about Ushio and Tora" story. However, the conclusion came, and it was quite a rush, and the very last episode was also pretty good. My final impression has remained unchanged. Even if it is not exactly the best out there, Ushio and Tora is still a fairly good above-average action-packed shounen. 7.5/10.

I am rarely this certain of what I am going to award when I am rating a show. Ushio & Tora is a remake of a 1992 original video animation that had good reactions. I have only watched one episode of the OVA, and certainly, the 2015 version has better animation, although the older OVA is much funnier. Still, this new anime series is quite entertaining, mainly because of Toro and his interactions with Ushio, the other characters, and the modern setting. There are also some pretty good action-packed scenes. I appreciate there is no ecchi, which is normally a part of most fantasy anime shows these days, and the story is quite interesting even though it is quite predictable. In other words, this is probably the easiest four stars I have awarded a show in quite a while.

Chip 'n' Dale: Rescue Rangers is a really crazy and surprising spectacle, which I really enjoyed. I seriously never thought there would ever be a movie, that will make me love the Sonic from the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie trailer. Nor did I count on coming across something that even the internet's Rule 34 could not explain. I also could not believe that Disney could produce a movie that is perhaps even more meta than the last Matrix movie. It is almost like a mental sequel to old movies like Howard the Duck or Who Framed Roger Rabbit? as it is similarly distinctive and interestingly rendered. It is a unique combination of live-action and several animation styles plus a rather ordinary message about the importance of friendship. The message works, albeit in its own crazy and original way. It does come across as a little too corny for my taste, but still, it is something worth seeing, especially if, like me, you grew up on the TV series Chip 'n Dale's Rescue Rangers and are now just a cynical adult with a twisted sense of humor. 8/10.

This show managed to convey a meaningful and quite interesting story over only five episodes. On the other hand, the initial introduction of Momo could have been much better. In addition, they could have made the middle of the season much better and shown more about how Momo and Fine's relationship developed. I think it would have probably contributed to creating a much stronger effect during the emotional finale because I would like to have felt a greater connection with them to relate to their story at the end. Likewise, they could have fleshed out the character of Momo's mother a bit more as they did with her uncle (so I could understand her more and not just think of her as a workaholic career woman). I enjoyed the narrative and its subject matter, setting, and general vibe, even though the pacing suffered because of the total running time of the five episodes. The standard of animation was inconsistent, which is quite surprising for a WIT Studio production, although the soundtrack is great. Overall, this is an enjoyable anime series, although it did not quite meet my expectations or probably have the impact the anime's creators intended. Although the opening and the ending were really very good, the middle is rather average, so this particular Vampire will not find more than 7/10 in my Garden.

Initially, I would have awarded this show five stars simply because the ending of the last season of Amphibia deserves it. I have been enjoying every new episode for the last few weeks and wondering which show I am looking forward to more, this or The Owl House, every Sunday. That being said, I just cannot ignore the first half of the season, set in the world of humans, which is only worth 6/10 in my view. The first half of the season is good and has some interesting ideas but lacks the magic of the previous seasons. There is a new setting and some great episodes that focus on further developing the characters and their relationships but that makes it merely ordinary by the standards of this magical TV series. However, the second half of the season is, in my opinion, flawless. The build-up to the season’s finale is an emotional ride that is fun, well crafted, epic, full of new surprises, and full of suspense. There is not much to complain about in the second half, and the last two episodes at least deserve a clear 10/10, in my opinion. However, adding it all up the calculations are clear (10+6) / 2 = 8/10

The second season of The Daily Life of the Immortal King got even more insane, goofier, weirder, more episodic, and much more original. There is a lot to be said for it, but is it better? It has some great episodes and an amazing finale with a great fight that reminded me of the excellent fight between Saitama and Boros, all accompanied by a disaster of apocalyptic proportions. Add to that a lot of brilliant and unexpected ideas, which makes the second season so meta that it manages to make fun of itself, of its production, and you have, for example, an unadulterated insight into how such a show is produced by experimenting with animation. This season even manages to create the atmosphere of what it promises in the title, so there is even an episode that features the OP main male protagonist at a magical school and seems like a slice of life anime show. This anime series delivers well-executed, interesting, and original parodies. There are tons of pop culture references and relevant topical subject matter so you can tell the anime’s creators had a lot of fun with it. However, did I enjoy it more than the first season? At first glance, this season may seem very random. Many plotlines seem disconnected, and their meaning only becomes apparent later, even though, in reality, they are interwoven, well thought out, and sometimes even brilliant. Unfortunately for the average viewer, the line between genius and insanity can be very thin sometimes. Animation-wise it is playful, and musically it is still great and expressive. I see a lot of objective positives, so I keep wondering why my overall impression of this show is that it is not quite as good as the first season. Perhaps there was too much crammed in, and maybe they should have rather fleshed out some of the plotlines a bit more to make a bigger impact. I do think that some of the episodic stories deserved more than one episode, although, at the same time, there was some continuation. On the other hand, I think that I probably would have preferred one clear main plotline anyway, presented much more strongly and vividly, and not drowned out by all the other stuff. There was simply too much going on, and really, less is more. It was an interesting ride. I enjoyed it, although, as I have already hinted, the second season will get 7.5/10, and I am still looking forward to the third season as I am curious to see where the show’s creators take it this time.

Sometimes this show is just stupid, and you have to ignore a lot in the last episode of the first season to comprehend it. In my view, the animators relied too heavily on CGI, and the humor is sometimes too forced, out of place and, unnatural, which disturbs the show's vibe. These are some of the shortcomings that would normally mean the first season of The Daily Life of Immortal King would not get a good rating from me. However, this anime series earned an above-average rating simply because the concept of the OP protagonist is very good. Wang Ling has the kind of power that Anos Voldigoad has, and the screenplay reflects that. Some scenes are funny, and some are totally epic, leaving you really entertained and thinking that this is what a real OP protagonist should look like. The main male protagonist even has his own great background music when he is about to kick off. In addition, the soundtrack, in general, works great. I do not mean simply the cool opening or ending, but also the background music. Besides the aforementioned Wang Ling theme, I liked the song that plays during the best fight scenes. The fight scenes themselves are unstoppable, dynamic, and colorful, the movements are fluid and all the fights are good, especially in the penultimate episode. The overall pacing is good, from the initial quieter, fun, slower pacing where you get used to the characters and the setting to the intense tournament where the atmosphere and suspense really work. In addition, the emotional aspect is good, despite my initial misgivings because, at first, the main love story felt a bit forced, and the main male protagonist was a bit too apathetic. However, it started getting much better as the episodes went on. The anime's creators threw in a few surprises and figured out a way to use the main character's indifference towards others in a seemingly logical way to make it one of the central themes of the whole first season. Initially, I thought it was just a pretty OK show in the style of the anime series mentioned above, The Misfit of Demon King Academy with Anos Voldigoad. Then I was surprised that the anime's creators had it all pretty well thought out in the second half of the season and delivered a top show. The first season gets 7.8/10, and I am very happily going on to watch the second.

Well, I finally finished the fourth season of Hitori no šita: The Outcast. It took me so long mainly because after the first few episodes, I had to force myself to keep going because I did not enjoy the story dedicated to the main male protagonist and his group at all. Even though the last few episodes were interesting, I could not be bothered, really, as I had lost heart somewhere in the middle of the season. There were at least a few action-packed scenes that were good and affected the rating positively, although otherwise, I am awarding a mere 3/10, and I do not know if I can go on, although I hope not to lose any sleep over it.

Fruits Basket: Prelude is a very emotionally strong movie. The atmosphere changes from one moment to the next, and everything is very intense. It is a bittersweet story full of lessons that will strongly resonate with many viewers. Still, I am a little annoyed that the first third of the movie (about thirty minutes) is just a compilation of scenes regarding Kyo and Tohru's relationship from the TV show. Yes, it is very well-put-together compilation that is full of inner monologues and perfectly depicts all the important aspects and nuances of their relationship from start to finish, it is just that there is nothing new that I was not already familiar with. I can, however, admit that it ties in well with the storyline regarding Tohru's parents and that it fits well with the overall concept of the movie and the message it is trying to convey. However, I am still not one-hundred percent convinced that it was entirely necessary within the narrative. Kyoko and Katsuya's story could have easily stood on its own, been just as strong, and perhaps even had more screen time to develop if they had not included the compilation. As it was, while it was also strong, deep, touching, and moving, it managed to convey its message and show everything the viewer (not just of the original anime series) wanted to know. However, it also felt very rushed, almost like a montage of the Kyoko and Katsuya drama. So, while the result is excellent, bringing quite a lot to the table and adding to the overall picture and themes introduced by the anime series, I could not shake the feeling that I did not quite get what I was hoping for from the movie. I think that if the movie's focus had been on Tohru's parents, I would have been more satisfied. But still, this movie is full of really strong emotions, a good message, and well-written characters. It, therefore, does not deserve to be awarded less than 8/10.