There’s something satisfying about an old-fashioned revenge story—seeing justice served and the bad guys getting their just deserts. But what is the price of vengeance? And what sort of culture does it breed? These are some of the questions Mamoru Hosoda explores in his latest film, Scarlet, a reimagining of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Scarlet retains the… Read More Film Review: Scarlet
The universe may be doomed. That’s because the “Plundering Count,” Liam Sera Banfield—with loyal and powerful servants like the A.I. maid Amagi and princess pilot Christiana by his side—is on a mission to put his happiness first, which, as it so happens, means being evil and destroying humanity. Though to be fair, he has good… Read More First Impression: I’m the Evil Lord of an Intergalactic Empire!
Blood is flowing from a sharpened metallic umbrella as our protagonist, Hyoma, watches in disbelief, the inflicted trauma reflected in his eyes. His older brother and sister, members of an order that deals with spirits tied to physical objects, have just been killed by one of them. Cut to the present, where Hyoma disregards the… Read More First Impression: Malevolent Spirits: Monogatari
There are a great many adjectives one could use to describe Sawa: fierce, focused, driven, deadly, merciless, inscrutable, intimidating, and most of all, vengeful—albeit justifiably so, (right?) since she’s the protagonist. But there’s one more key descriptor I must highlight: Sawa is also self-aware. That is, she is fully aware of what she has become.… Read More We Become What We Behold: Joran The Princess of Snow & Blood, Episode 5
If any of us were still wondering if Kino’s Journey -The Beautiful World- was a sequel or a remake, this episode answered it as a reenvisioning of an episode previously animated: “Colosseum – Avengers.” Kino enters a country which she has heard is beautiful and peaceful, but immediately finds herself impressed into a gladiator-style tournament.… Read More Kino’s Journey ~ The Beautiful World ~ Episode 2: Avengers
Two of the shows I’m watching this season are Blue Exorcist: Kyoto Saga and Masamune’s Revenge. While these two shows are vastly different, I noticed something that struck me as similar about a protagonist from each show. Yukio Okumura and Masamune Makabe are both driven by a similar want – to feel equal. Masamune’s desire… Read More Revenge or Love
Two old school anime got me thinking about this topic: Saint Seiya and Riki-Oh: The Wall of Hell. Most of our readers have never heard of the latter title, and it can’t be recommended to most. Riki-Oh is reminiscent of Fist of the North Star in its bloody martial arts violence, and 80’s anime tend not to shy… Read More Examining Old School Anime: The Effects of Tribulation
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