Negative-Tier Reviews (A Letter to Momo)

[Nyangoro]

Well, this took longer than expected.

Damn you video games for being so addicting -_-

I knew I shouldn't have started Dragon's Dogma. I just can't stop!

Here's part two, now excuse me while I go catch up on anime (and then probably play some more Dragon's Dogma).

<><><><><>

INSIDE OF
Perfect Blue

Part II: New Computer and Dead Fish

Welcome to the second part of this superbly written look at Perfect Blue. What can you look forward to in this installment? Rape! Yay! Well, alright, it's not actual rape; but really, it might as well have been. The ironic thing is that for all the series that use rape as a plot device, it's the one with fake rape that uses it best. And because it uses it so well, I get the honor of talking about it at length.... OK, I admit it; I might have been putting this off.

That aside, this part (covering the next thirty minutes of the movie or so) focuses on the buildup that takes place before Mima's brain snaps in half. The scenes are longer and more drawn out than in the opening, builds up the external threat, and makes the internal struggle more obvious (and then blunt as all hell). Kon's patented directorial style a more linear approach during this portion of the movie as well, which you'll see shortly.

She smiles while admitting stupidity? Definitely a former idol.

Carrying over from where we left off, Mima's “Who are you?” question has nicely translated from a very legitimate inquiry to a single line of dialog in need of rehearsal. While she perfects the delivery of this complex sentence, Rumi is busy deciphering the piece of fan mail that bothered the young actress. She explains to her that the fan must be referring to a website called “Mima's Room,” and not implying that he's been getting his stalker on with a pair of military-grade binoculars. Though she seems to understand that there's nothing to worry about, Mima proudly proclaims that she has no clue what her manager is going on about.

Not much of a scene (more like a scene within a scene, to be honest), but it does have one piece of information that the viewers weren't formally told of before now: The fact that Mima is a total noob. Of course, this movie was released in 1997, so computer illiterate people were a bit more common back then than now. Still, from a narrative perspective, this lack of internet knowledge does offer the plot a convenient reason for why Mima didn't know about the site until now. Her having found it while transitioning is important to her struggle, which I'll talk about when it becomes a bit more prominent.

Just put some ice on it, you damn pansy.

That little snippet taken care of, it's time to introduce the actual “actress” variable in the equation. We get good, long scene featuring the two lead characters in the drama series being filmed. We see them acting casually before the camera rolls, then playing out their parts, followed by some more time away from the lens and chatting it up with both the director and the writer of the project, showing us their personalities in the process

Mima gets called onto the set while they prepare for the next take, and she's feeling nervous over the one line of dialog that's been allotted to her. The audience is treated to a surreal moment where she notices the bright lights above her, along with the large collection of faces around her, some idly looking at her, others preoccupied with whatever it is they were supposed to be working on. Our friendly idol stalker even makes a cameo appearance, though Mima doesn't recognize him at all.

But enough of our lead, let's watch the others for a spell. After some fan letters are distributed, Tadokoro and Rumi talk to the director and writer regarding Mima's miniscule role in the play. The writer isn't sure what to do with a pop idol, but Tadokoro tries to convince him that she's a full-time actress.

And now the scene is finally ready to get shot. All the cast gets into positions, and just as they are about to start, a loud bang fills the air off-camera. They all turn to see Tadokoro falling to the floor, hand bloody, and pieces of paper gently gliding down. Part of the message was intact and read: “The next one will be real.” From the progression, it's easy to figure out that what exploded was Mima's fan letter, and that certain fans aren't exactly happy with her transition.

Let's see what we have here. First, the shot being filmed for the drama series. It opens up with the two laughing before the shoot, which is a nice way to distinguish the characters from their career (this movie just loves doing that). This leads into the actual recording, as the two straighten their faces and discuss the possible motive behind a serial killer's modus operandi (cutting off their faces, lovely). This obviously sets it up as a murder mystery, but it's relevancy to Perfect Blue's story won't be seen until a bit later.

Next, Mima's awe at the sight of the film crew. Surely she's familiar with large throngs of people in the audience, but probably less used to having all these people together working on the product. These people aren't here to fawn over her as the audience would, they're here doing their jobs. The side-long glances and indifferent stares only increased how uncomfortable she was in her new role.

Then we come to Tadokoro and the fan letter. When he's talking to the writer to give her a more prominent role, he pleads with the man (like any manager would). This exchange will eventually lead to one of (if not the) most important scenes in the entire film. Now, regarding the letter: Given Uchida's presence, it's safe to assume that the fan letter is meant to be from him. If you don't think he's the dangerous kind of fan yet (for whatever reason), don't worry, you'll see it clear as day later in this post. A light explosive was hidden in it (probably a firecracker of some sort) and exploded, though the message shows us that it's just a scare tactic that isn't meant to cause her actual harm. So yeah, danger levels have definitely taken another step up from threatening faxes.

I'm more surprised that she can already use the mouse to scroll.

The movie cuts to sometime later, with Rumi helping Mima with a brand new computer that she bought recently. Not only does this further support her status as a total noob, but it also helps differentiate Rumi and Tadokoro even more. Rumi is always portrayed as the “parental” manager, whereas Tadokoro is much more down-to-business. Granted, I don't know the typical manager/idol relationship, but I imagine that taking time out of your day to set up one of your employee's computers is a bit more personal than usual.

During all this, Mima asks her what she thinks about the incident the other day, referring to the rigged letter. She pushes the question away with a few basic answers, telling her not to worry about it. Her cold disposition towards what transpired could indicate that she resents Tadokoro for pushing the “actress” issue. It certainly won't be the last time we see these two's differences come into play; and, considering Rumi's emotional attachment to the issue, it's easy to believe that she might hold a grudge.

That's all we get out of that scene, however, since Rumi leaves once everything's up and running. Mima takes the time to try the address written in the fan letter. The website in question actually covers multiple pop idols, “Mima's Room” being one of the many pages therein. It reads like a diary, detailing her days from her point of view. At first, the former idol is amused by how well the person knows her, but as the writer begins listing more and more details (such as the brands of the milk and fish food that she buys, as well which foot she leads with as she departs the train), she becomes more and more frightened as she wonders how they could know all of this. Obviously, the general fear of being stalked plays a role, but “Mima's Room” will slowly begin to carry deeper meaning as we progress through the movie.

Censor bars for your viewing pleasure.

Now here's a scene that doesn't have a whole lot of purpose outside of setup and pacing. It's a scene from the drama series, covering Mima's initial part, along with showing us what happens afterwords: Another murder scene. Not a lot of impact by itself, to be sure; however, this is just Kon slowly feeding us the “other” plot and getting us comfortable with it.

Using the shot from before, the viewers can easily make the connection that this is part of the television series, not the real world. It helps get us used to the fact that scenes from the drama will pop up every now and then. The plot of the show will only be important to the movie towards the end, but naturally, it's just as important that we see that plot line alongside the movie's.

For heaven's sake, man, seek a plastic surgeon asap.

And here we have a hodgepodge of tiny moments orbiting Mima's transition from idol to actress. Starting with the two managers, they are in the middle of an argument regarding whether or not the switch was actually worth it. Tadokoro insists that, even if the amount of work is small, it's still better for her career than continuing as an idol. This also subtly gives us one more piece of information that will be of use later: Rumi used to be a pop idol herself.

The discussion is cut short when the now two-piece idol group CHAM walks in to announce their big success, having finally been able to climb their way into the charts with their latest single. This won't actually be brought up until a little bit later, but I thought I'd mention it here, since this is when it's introduced.

Finally, we have a scene where some of Mima's fans are lamenting over their idol's lackluster acting career. One of them even rhetorically asks if there was anyone who could save Mima from her new field of work. Unfortunately, Uchida also happens to be in the same location as these fans; and as we'll find out, this guy doesn't need any extra motivation.

All of this, again, is just setup for what's to come. The scene with the two managers helps get us ready for the sudden boost in the importance of Mima's character, the scene with CHAM helps solidify the internal conflict in preparation for what happens as a result of said boost in importance, and the scene with the fans sets the stage for Uchida to do his thing. It's about what you would expect at this stage of the movie, and the way everything is incorporated succinctly is one of the movie's major strengths.

And to think, I can buy an HDTV for half that price today.

Time for the paranoia to commence. Mima's traveling to the office, just like she always does; only this time, she's conscious of the foot she uses to step off the train. Reminding her that the stalker seems to know every little thing about her, she panics and runs out of the station, gasping for breath. We get a quick shot of her seeing herself in all of the television displays to make the knowledge of her stalker's presence concrete.

It's a nice little scene that does exactly what it looks like it should. It gets our main character actively thinking about her situation, putting a steady and lingering fear in the back of her head. This is just one part in a list that all transpires at once in order to drive her into a corner and create what we will eventually see towards the end of the movie.

Following that, as she arrives at the station, a particular cutout from the newspaper was taped to the elevator's interior. It reports that Doi, the person who threw cans on stage, was in critical condition after a vehicle ran him down and sped away. Clearly confused and rightfully unnerved by this news, Mima takes a look outside the elevator doors and sees Uchida smiling back at her from the entrance to the building. The elevator doors close, cutting short their staring contest.

The obvious implication is that Uchida is the one responsible for injuring Doi, considering the timing (this took place immediately after the scene asking for Mima's “rescue,” after all). If nothing else, the audience now knows that this character is willing to go to any lengths necessary for the sake of his own, obsessive love. However, this also leads to the one real flaw that bugged me for the former half of the film.

Why are the police never called about this stalking matter? Now, this isn't a huge issue, all things considered, since there isn't any solid evidence to pin on Uchida; but you would think that they would at least try to do something about the problem. Mima just represses it, never bringing up what is definitely a dangerous person. Hell, I wouldn't have minded it if they showed a tiny scene where the police say that they can't do anything about it. At least that would have been something. But, given how well this buildup is executed, I find it hard to get mad at the movie for this peculiarity.

What the hell is wrong with his face?!

Anyway, back to Mima. She walks in (like nothing even happened), and immediately notices her former group members celebrating in the other room. Rumi shows her the charts, and she's thrilled that CHAM managed to make the charts this time. This goes to a short flashback scene with all three of them celebrating a gig that they landed (probably their first). The point of all this is to show us that Mima does, in fact, miss being an idol, despite all that's been going on lately.

Rumi also hands her the latest script, pointing out that there were more lines this time. Just subtle indicator that Mima's character is getting used more and more in the series. The scene shifts to Mima walking down the street, getting solicited by some sort of modeling agency. Just moments after, we hear a loud “Cut!” and realize that it was just another shoot for the drama (Kon is such a trickster). Of course, Uchida is there watching the take as well. Said shoot also sets up the next scene for the television show.

We never do see her parents' reaction. Unfortunate.

A rape scene! Isn't that just great? OK, so the writer plans to break the character's personality through the scene for the sake of the story. Naturally, Rumi has a heart attack over the issue, wondering how Tadokoro could even consider going through with something like that. After arguing, Mima finally tells them that she's willing to do it, since she's not actually getting raped. Though, in spite of her jokes, a few overt visual cues let the audience know that she's not exactly up for the idea. Of course, I'm willing to bet that most actresses would have grievances about those sorts of scenes.

Now, I'm going back to the strength of Mima's prior career. Idols are popular. It only make sense, given that crowds all over the world seem to love pretty girls singing poppy songs. So when someone comes along and creates a story revolving around pop idols (not Kon, by the way; this movie is based on a novel), it wouldn't be surprising for some to just pass it off as catering to the public. However, in this movie, that specific job actually has its own role to play in all of this.

Japanese pop idols are sold to their audiences as innocent, pure, and young women. They haven't been touched by men, are never to be touched by men, and are never to be portrayed in “overly” sexual ways (the definition of “overly” may vary). They are like showy entertainment nuns, in a sense. Therefore, the idea of a pop idol involved in a staged rape for a television show was simply out of the question. Rumi, being a former pop idol herself, understands this at a deeper level than Tadokoro. This one shoot effectively burns the last bridge back to being a pop idol, making it as official as anything else that she will never be an idol again.

Speaking of which, this little segment gives us our first look at Mima hallucinating about her old self. As she's riding the train home, her inner pop idol reflects in the window, bluntly expressing her hatred for this idea. This visual battle inside Mima's head will play a progressively involved role until the very end. We'll also be seeing it again in a little bit.

I... I can't even write a stupid caption for this.

And so we arrive at the scene that most people who've seen this movie probably remember first. You know what, I'm not going to do a play-by-play of this scene. I mean, do I really need to? It's a fake rape scene. It's about as obvious as it gets. Not to mention the fact that I totally don't want to describe this particular scene in any more detail than I absolutely have to. So instead, I'm just going to talk about the importance of this scene and bring up specific details.

To start with, I'd like to draw your attention to the actor who will be playing the part of the rapist. More specifically, I want to point out what he says to Mima before hand: “I'm so sorry.” I like this line. I really, really like this line. It's the perfect way to make us, as viewers, not want to reach through the screen and strangle him, and the perfect way to remind us that this is for a series. Of course, Mima's response is great as well. Her telling him that it's fine only adds to the matter-of-fact nature of this scene, and how professionally she handles it.

Next, we hear the director shout for a second take. Though this was the result of an error beforehand, it still tells the audience that, being a shoot, this process could take numerous takes. Even if it isn't real, going through that pretend scenario over and over again has to suck pretty hard. So yeah, more mental stress during something that was already pretty damn stressful to begin with. They're making it pretty easy for us to believe how Mima's psyche gets to its eventual state during the climax.

Looking at the managers now, we see their reaction to this recording. They aren't exactly thrilled. Rumi bursts into tears and has to leave the booth. Even Tadokoro has a hard time watching his client going through something like this. It's natural that Rumi would have this connection, given her love for both Mima and the idol industry, but it's a really good move to show us Tadokoro in this state. It lets us know that he's not just some douchebag who only cares business, but someone who understands the reality of the field and acts accordingly (no matter how tough it may be).

Lastly, let's talk about the end of this scene. As Mima's eyes become vacant and expressionless (man, this scene is not easy to watch), staring into the set's ever bright stage lights, she imagines herself as an idol and waving to bunch of fans chanting her name. As I mentioned before, this marks the end of her ability to go back to being an idol. It's over. It's finished. She has to give that up forever now. This brief clip embodies that.

"You're tearing me apart, corporate television!"

Time for the final segment in this second part. Tadokoro treats her to dinner and is taken home, tired from an exhausting day of shooting and pretty chipper. Fish food in hand, she moves to the tank, only to find her little friends immobile in the water. It doesn't take her long to realize that they died while she was away, and this fact breaks down the shell she put around herself for the sake of her work. Mima goes into a violent meltdown, acting out her discontent upon whatever pitiable object happened to get in her way. Truly, Tommy Wiseau would have been proud. In this desolation, she shouts out just how much she didn't want to go through with it, but also didn't want to cause trouble for everyone. This is followed by the second appearance of pop idol Mima, showing up in the reflection on the computer screen and laughing about how terrible it was.

Honestly, this is just a really nice touch. Instead of simply breaking down once she got home, Mima needed to be pushed into it. I really like how this character tries to act as professionally as possible, even when she wants to scream. Not only does it make the character more sympathetic, but it makes her a stronger and more human character overall. The fish were already shown before, so it isn't portrayed as a device simply thrown in when it was necessary; and the second appearance of Mima's inner idol further brings the internal struggle to the surface.

At the very end of this section, we see Uchida tending to Mima's Room, identifying him as the person behind it (well, that and the fact that he constantly stalks her). As you can see, this part of the movie was mostly buildup. The relative lack of Kon's tricks are representative of that. In part three, we'll see the speed ramp up as Mima's psyche is tossed further and further into jeopardy, while the external conflict gets some much needed advancement.

[Nyangoro]

At first, I just wanted to write this to fill the gap in between the Perfect Blue segments.

Then, I wanted to write this to spite Paolo since he already commented on the movie in the Berserk thread (i <3 u bro).

But now, having seen the movie, I want to write this because I honestly want to talk about this movie.

And so I'm going to.

Berserk
Golden Age: The High King's Egg

Staff & Notable Cast

• Studio: Studio 4°C (Mind Game, Tekkonkinkreet, Tweeny Witches)
• Director: Toshiyuki Kubooka (Working Through Pain [Batman: Gotham Knight])
• Screenplay: Ichiro Okouchi (Code Geass, Planetes, Turn A Gundam)
• Character Design: Naoyuki Onda (Blassreiter, Ergo Proxy, Gantz)
• Art Director: Yusuke Takeda (Blood, Eden of the East, Ghost in the Shell)
• Animation Director: Naoyuki Onda (Gantz, Hiiro no Kakera, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam)
• Music: Shiro Sagisu (Bleach, Evangelion, The Skull Man)
• Original Creator: Kentarou Miura (Japan, King of Wolves, Oh-Roh Den)
• Guts: Hiroaki Iwanaga
• Griffith: Takahiro Sakurai (Cloud [Final Fantasy VII], Boma [Heat Guy J], Kusuri-uri [Mononoke])
• Casca: Toa Yukinari

Introduction

I'm a big Berserk fan, albeit a fairly new one. I love the story. I love the characters. I love the artwork. I love the scale. I love the lore. I love just about everything other than the manga's slow release schedule. I freely admit that my memory of the Berserk anime is vague, and I am fairly certain that I never actually finished the thing; but nonetheless, I was ecstatic when they announced that a faithful adaptation of the Golden Age arc would hit the silver screen as a trilogy of anime movies.

Hell, I'm pretty sure everybody was excited when they first heard about it. Sure, when the trailers came out, they had some unfortunate CGI undermining the beautiful 2D visuals; but even with that, people were excited to see a faithful rendition on what some consider to be one of the greatest dark fantasy epics out there.

On paper, it looked pretty damn impressive as well. Sure, the director hadn't played the “full” director role very often; but even from something as simple as one of a collection of Batman shorts, Kubooka proved that he knew how to show characters in pain (who else would you want tackling the characters in Berserk?). Okouchi might have made some missteps here and there, but he can do wonders with excellent source material. And save for perhaps the animation director, the rest of the staff was practically a license to print money.

Plot

But enough about what it should be. Let's talk about what it is. This first part of the Golden Age trilogy begins when Griffith first lays eyes on Guts and ends after Guts carries out Griffith's “special order” (trying not to spoil anything). As those who've read the manga should know, that's a lot of stuff to pack into the an eighty-odd movie. Most movies that attempt to condense that much material into such a short time-span end up in the doghouse with Tales at Earthsea and 3D remasters of Ghost in the Shell. So how does this one fare?

Well, in my opinion, it bit the bullet. Hard. I don't just say that as a disgruntled fan of the manga, mind you. I think that the film, as a film, fails. I did not like this movie; and the more I thought on it, the less I liked it. This is the sort of adaptation that not only fails to satisfy fans, but fails to draw in potential fans. Not only that, but just as a movie in its own right, even when I take into consideration that it's the first of three movies, it falls flat on its face.

But still, this puts me in an odd position. For the first time, I'm caught reviewing the adaptation of something that I've already seen the source material for. That's a little uncomfortable, if I'm honest. How do I judge the plot, or anything else related to the original work? I can't just go on what's in the manga, because this is about the adaptation. So, I imagine the best way is for me to talk about how it presents the story (at least, this part of it).

I'll open with what I think does work. Unfortunately, his amounts to one single piece of the puzzle: It's faithfulness to the manga. Now, I supplement that by saying also that it does not respect the manga, but is simply faithful to the parts they do showcase in this movie. What I mean is that what they adapt is what happened in the manga. Sure, they leave out details for the sake of compression, but they don't throw in any major changes (or even especially minor ones, from what I can tell).

However, that's where the good ends, as far as the plot is concerned. What's key to point out, first and foremost, is that the concept of this film can only target preexisting fans of the series. This, in and of itself, is fine. The problem is that if you are targeting, you better be damn sure that they'll like the final, and I don't think that was achieved.

Here's the main thing that I think kills this movie: Context, the framework wherein the story exists and by which the individual is connected to this fake world. This anime has none. It has no context at all. This is bad. This has always been, and will always be, bad. It does not matter if the work is based on something else. Context is absolutely necessary in order for any movie to work properly. We're given no reason to care bout what's going on. From the setup to the payoff, the vapid and vacant experience that's only means of connecting with the audience is through the manga (or, more accurately, knowledge of the manga's plot). But that doesn't work, because it isn't enough for those with that knowledge. They know the true depth of the story that they're watching, and they know that what they're getting isn't doing the source material justice. It's a lose-lose situation.

Take Griffith, for example. The intrigue behind his character is completely lost here. Why? Because we have no reason to be interested in what's he's doing. In the manga, we have two reasons that drive our initial interest in Griffith. First, we see what he becomes at the very beginning of the series. Second, and more importantly, we have a stronger connection to Guts in the manga. By looking through Guts's eyes, Griffith becomes infinitely more interesting to us. Here, we don't have that, because we don't have that connection to Guts. He's just some guy who's really good at swinging his sword around and acting all gung-ho, and that disconnect causes a chain reaction that hinders every single scene this movie has to offer. We have nothing to cling to in this movie.

What we end up getting is little more than a glorified highlight reel. They looked at the manga, picked out a few key scenarios, animated them, and squished them together to form an eighty minute piece of fan masturbation material that doesn't even succeed in that simple goal. The plot's a strung-together collection of moments that neither engages us while it's on, nor excites us for what's to come.

Rating: 1/5

Setting

Despite stomping all over this movie's narrative, they did handle the setting with a bit more competency. In every scene, you do get the feeling that you are watching something that takes place in a fantasy setting. The rulers are appropriately lordly, the princesses expectedly dainty, the plains spread wide, the castles built tall, and the subterfuges decidedly sinister. It all screams high fantasy, and makes strong use of what Miura has provided.

Though, the problems with the plot lead to one problem with the setting. And if you ask me, it's kind of a big one. The world feels too segmented. Each portion of the movie seems like it's only little world among a collection that makes up the whole. It doesn't come across as one contiguous whole, a singular environment. I think that the disjointed nature of the narrative and lack of transitions (which is a separate problem) deny the setting the cohesiveness that it so desperately needs.

Rating: 3/5

Main Characters

Honestly, in this case, the designation of “main character” is given more for screen time than anything else. To that end, Guts and Griffith easily make the cut, and Casca could possibly fit the bill as well. They certainly don't fit the bill when it comes to actual characters though. All of this goes back to the plot (and the production), but that doesn't mean I'm going to give them a pass here. After all, Berserk's characters are really, really good. And yet, this movie doesn't portray that at all.

I'm just going to talk about Guts, because it's from him that the problems with the other two stem. Like I said, we can't connect with Guts in this movie. He's just a tough guy doing tough guy things. We don't know what he's about save for a few fleeting allusions. The audience has no clue why this character is worth following, and they don't do anything to make him leave a big impression (since that would require altering what is in the manga). Hell, we learn more about Guts from the track devoted to him on the score than we do during the actual film.

Still trying to avoid spoilers, let me just talk about the “idea” behind the ending sequence in this first entry in the trilogy. In the manga, it sets into motion Guts's actions for the rest of the Golden Age arc. It's something completely contrary to what he would normally do, which he realized only after he did it. This led him to seek out Griffith, and that resulted in what would inevitably change the nature of their relationship (well, that and a certain plot device). That character struggle has no meaning in the film, because we don't understand the character at the level in the movie (unless one has already read the manga).

Because we don't understand Guts, we don't understand why Griffith is so intriguing. We don't understand why Griffith is s intriguing, so we don't fully understand why Casca and the others are as devoted to him as they are. In essence, the weakness of the main character unravels our connection to the other characters, save for whatever superficial knowledge we already had.

These characters have one saving grace, however. They are emotional. We might not understand their emotions that well, but they certainly have them. Part of that is related to Onda's superb character designs, but even so, you have to use those designs properly in order to get the full effect. It's a shame that these designs are otherwise wasted on these stand-ins for the actual Berserk cast.

Rating: 2/5

Side Characters

Zodd is still alright here, as he carries the same mystery no matter how the rest of the characters act. His role doesn't come until later, but I didn't have a problem with him in this movie. The rest are just empty, whereas their expressiveness once again saves them from being a complete mess. There's a scene involving the son of one of the royal court. You don't see this kid for any more than two scenes, but his face in the second is simply powerful. That being said, these guys still don't have the value that they should, and there really isn't much else to say. True, some of the characters weren't that interesting by this point in the manga, but that only hurts them in this movie.

Rating: 2/5

Artwork

Now to talk about something positive. As I said, Naoyuki Onda's character designs are phenomenal. This is particularly true of their smooth faces that manage to convey a surprising amount of depth. Having seen the way Guts and Griffith look in this, I can think of no better designs for them. Griffith's eyes we done exquisitely, properly conveying his signature glare, a glare that says none are above him.

The scenery is gorgeous as well. The detail in the world is incredible. The immaculate castle is breathtaking, and all of the nature shots are packed full of color. Even something as simple as a stand on the side of the entrance is given more than the needed amount of attention. The setting itself might not come together as it should, but I guarantee you that it's not for lack of trying on the part of the artists who worked on this title.

Then there's the CGI. It's not very good (though I bet most of you already knew that). If the 3D models stood by themselves, instead of replacing existing 2D models when necessary, they might have been alright. But when you put the 2D designs next to the CGI ones, it looks terrible. The difference is so stark that you can always tell when you are looking at the 3D version, as opposed to the 2D ones. That said, they certainly don't ruin the rest of the visuals with their existence.

Rating: 4/5

Animation

It's here where the CGI starts causing problems. It ranges from alright implementation all the way down to appalling. The funny thing is, they spent a lot of time animating these CGI models. The movements are well-realized and much more alive than I would normally expect from a movie like this. They just happened to screw up where they put the CGI.

It's almost insulting, really. They'll use traditional animation alongside 3D animation in the same frame for two human characters. They'll have the character in 2D up close, but when the camera pulls away, it's rendered in CGI. That is, in a word, jarring. It's way to noticeable and distracting for the viewer, pulling them out of the movie and causing them to cock their heads to the side.

When it goes into 2D animation, it's improved, but not by much. That's not to say that it wouldn't have been good if it was all done traditionally, of course. It just happens that they used CGI for almost every scene requiring a good deal of movement, so the scenes leftover for 2D had less ability to prove how good it could have been.

Rating: 2/5

Music

This is easily the greatest thing about this movie, bar none. Sagisu provides a brilliant, epic orchestral number to go along with the high fantasy setting. War marches, smooth pianos, crisp violin, powerful vocals, everything about this soundtrack comes together to form one of the strongest and most fitting soundtracks of the year. Not only that, but the placement of each piece within the movie is simply flawless.

Accompanying it is a wonderful opening by Hirasawa, which brings with it his signature voice, while creating a track that meshes with the rest of the music. On the opposite end, we've got a ballad sung by the pop artist Ai. While one could initially think her unfitting for the movie, what she offers is just as epic in nature as the film itself.

Rating: 5/5

Atmosphere

Despite all the problems that this movie has, it does manage to capture some of the vibe from the Berserk manga. Now, having said that, this is the beginning of the Golden Age arc we're talking about, and that had a purer epic fantasy aura about it than the darker vibe that it arrives at later. Still, a combination of the artistry, music, and setting somehow manage to illicit a very fitting energy, even with the narrative's seeming attempt to stop it in its tracks.

Rating: 4/5

Production

And here's where the movie trips again. While most of its production flaws should be fairly obvious from my previous statements, I still have one to go over: The pacing. I admit, that while I'm not a huge fan of overly fast-pacing, I at least recognize it as a type of pacing. This film, however, doesn't really have any sort of pacing. It shoved the scenes together, rarely providing something as basic as a transition. Sure, it was able to pull one out on occasion, but its much too little to save what little hope was left.

Rating: 1/5

Personal Enjoyment

It should surprise no one that I didn't enjoy watching this film. For the first few minutes, I was watching with careful optimism. I wasn't expecting much, but I was expecting to see something that did a little justice to the franchise. The more I watched, however, the more frustrated I became. I felt like I had been ripped off, and I didn't even have to pay for this movie. I couldn't even call it watered-down. It was nothing but straight water.

Rating: 1/5

Overall

Though some solid artistic and aural merit help salvage the rating, I still can't recommend this movie to anyone. In the end, it's a clip show that animates certain key points in the manga and nothing more. It fails to be a film, and it fails to make good on its concept. Faithful to what it does adapt though it may be, it doesn't adapt enough to make it worth watching for fans of the manga. For those that haven't read the manga, you are much better off just reading that instead.

Overall Rating: 2.5/5 (C)

[Solar]

As someone who's always looking to get into good anime series/movies, I appreciate these posts.

Keep up the good work c:

[Wehrmacht]

i mad

ok bro

seriously speaking though, i would agree that this wasn't really what berserk deserved, and it's not a replacement for the manga in the slightest. I didn't hate it though.

[Nyangoro]

As someone who's always looking to get into good anime series/movies, I appreciate these posts.

Keep up the good work c:

Read the Berserk manga.

Read it right now.

Sure, the first three volumes are kind of weird in that they feel more like a prototype for the series (even though some things do remain in canon).

But once you hit volume four (when Golden Age starts), oh man. And though the artwork isn't as good in Golden Age as it is after, it's still damn fine stuff.

ok bro

seriously speaking though, i would agree that this wasn't really what berserk deserved, and it's not a replacement for the manga in the slightest. I didn't hate it though.

i ain't even gonna deny it

so mad

but i don't know man, i just didn't like what i saw :/

[Wehrmacht]

i ain't even gonna deny it

so mad

but i don't know man, i just didn't like what i saw :/

i think a lot of your complaints are fairly legitimate but...you also have to keep in mind we have 2 more movies. Casca is going to be fleshed out more in the second because of her relationship with Guts and we are going to find out why she is so loyal to griffith (theres a flashback in one of the trailers)

i feel like the side characters like pippin got completely gutted though :(

[Nyangoro]

I thought about that as I went over why I didn't like this film. Normally, I would give the movie the benefit of the doubt, given that there are sequels in the works. However, I think what ultimately led me to put that point aside is the fact that this movie just wasn't all that grounded (like I said). Had Guts been done well, I would have been okay with the rest of the characters (relatively speaking); but since he wasn't, that drew me to the conclusion that the problem lay in the handling of the first movie, not the inherent nature of trilogies.

But this is all just my opinion, of course.

[Space Cowboy]

I watched it myself too last night and it was...interesting.

The constant shift between CGI and 2D animation was very jarring at points, whilst it seemed to work quite well with the big battle scenes, I saw very little need for it for other times, despite my dislike of CGI...they need to choose which they'll go for. I'm starting to have horrific visions of the eclipse and how that'll be handled...not because of what happens during, but how it'll be handled.

The music and atmosphere were by far the best thing about it all. I did particularly like the way the assassination was handled, I have to say. Maybe mostly down to music though.

I don't mind how good these films are though, I'm more interested in how the post-eclipse stuff will be handled.

Not a fan of how the Band of the Hawk were sidelined though.

[Pinwheel]

I felt like this series would've done better as a weekly anime, but I know the costs of that would be tremendous and wouldn't make as much money. It would at least fix the pacing of this movie a bit. The CGI felt like it should've just been used solely for the fights, and that's it. You could see how well animated it was when Griffith and Guts had their duel, that was amazing. Everything that was shown in 2D animation in this was great. CGI really made it hard to look past that though, I agree.

It really did diddly up the character development, and I mean hard. I thought I'd deal when the screen said "Three years later", but I couldn't stand how it basically had Guts saying he wasn't who he used to be and we weren't shown why or when at all. They really diddly up this part of the movie the biggest, if anything.

Music was incredible though, yup.

[Nyangoro]

INSIDE OF
Perfect Blue

Part III: Internet Persona and a Broken Cup

So we've covered the setup and realization of the internal conflict so far. You know what hasn't been given much attention? The external conflict. It's been put to the sidelines for the sake of breaking down the main character. But now that the disillusionment has begun, we can finally get to the “thriller” side of this movie. Not that the psychological side will be ignored, of course. No, no, no; they'll just start working in tandem to provide a powerful climb until the inevitable climax.

In fact, it's here that Kon's attempts to break the audience's mind come out in full force. This is where things start to get confusing, and at a fast pace. All for the sake of putting the audience inside of Mima's psychotic episodes. And as anyone who's seen a Kon movie knows, this director is pretty good at that. Be very afraid.

I'm starting to think these guys are the only actual fans of CHAM!.

So having just witnessed a full outpouring of Mima's grief, we head forward, right into a scene that shows her keeping it all bottled up in front of the camera. This is comprised of glimpses of three separate interviews juxtaposed with a look at a familiar group of fans discussing their own opinion on these recent events. Mima's interviews cover typical actor Q&A after a controversial event like this. She's asked if she had any worries, and she responds that she saw it as an obstacle on the road to becoming an actress. The fans, of course, are looking at it as the de facto fall of Mima as an idol, saying that she's effectively finished.

It's a great scene that really summarizes, in an interesting way, the consequences of going through with the rape scene and the nature of the industry. As I said in the last part, it solidifies Mima's journey down the road to being an actress, while also closing off any lingering desire to step back into the idol spotlight. The fans description of the turmoil that her idol fans must be going through could not be more apt, with things like “That's not the real Mima!” which will become a crucial idea in the coming scenes. We also see Uchida looking quite downtrodden, a fitting representation of what the other just finished discussing.

Dear lord that backgrounds just screams 90s.

But hey, I like jumping back and forth between concepts, so let's return to Mima's battle with her own sanity. As we discover, Mima's having a hard time pulling herself away from her internet biography. In the latest entry, Uchida (who is the page's author, remember) writes up what he imagines Mima's feelings regarding the incident. These are understandably in sync with her actual feelings, but he even goes so far as to take the opportunity to make a desperate plea for help on her behalf. Mima, however, doesn't want her name to be connected to such a statement.

What's rather telling about this is that Mima doesn't have anything against being an actress. In fact, she does want to be an actress. She just so happens to enjoy both, and having to give up one so definitively was a very hard decision. While the industry is what forced her hand, that part is completed. Now, it's her fans (one in particular) that are causing further damage to her mental state. This web page has begun to take on its own identify for Mima.

This identify is the “real” Mima, or the ghostly image of her final pop idol appearance. She pops up here to tell Mima that what she is reading on the screen is her the true Mima, and that she's nothing more than a filthy actress with a tarnished reputation. Pretty cruel for a figment of her imagination, and further signs that the rape scene did more to her psyche than she would like to let on.

He could have just hopped in his car and left, but that would have been easy.

Still, why talk about rape when I could talk about brutal murder? And who's first on the list? None other than Mr. “Hey, let's use the former idol in a pivotal rape scene,” Writer himself. In the parking garage of what I'm assuming is his apartment complex, he pulls into his parking space, currently sporting a bloody piece of paper with the name of the drama on it. He starts to get nervous when he hears noise growing closer and closer. Then, the elevator doors open, revealing a boom box blasting one of CHAM!'s songs (the one from the concert, since it's one of only two that the audience would even recognize). One transition later, the elevator door opens on another floor. The writer's body sits on the floor, covered in blood, with his eyes gouged out.

For the sake of following the movie's progression, the audience only has one thing to connect this murder to: The rape scene. Sure, at this point and in a world where all possibilities exist, it could be unrelated, but we neither would nor should assume that. This has to be related, or it wouldn't be here. So who do we assume did it? Uchida, of course. He's the certifiably obsessed fan who we've been taught to hate since he was first introduced. Why would he do it? Because the writer defiled his precious “Mima-rin.” It's a natural conclusion to reach, and it's half-right, so all the better.

Yeah, Mima, how about we do that thing where you don't run out into traffic?

Mima sees the news in the car ride on the way to a photo shoot. She immediately wonders if the bomb threat and this murder are connected, but since the “world of the movie” doesn't have the same advantage that the audience has, it's just a paranoid conclusion from her paranoid mind (even if it ultimately happens to be true).

On that subject, Tadokoro tells her that she's worrying too much about it and that she needs to keep up her professional smile. Mima practices it in her window's reflection, and catches a glimpse of pop idol Mima staring back at her in another car's reflection. This image disturbs her so much that she actually gets out of the car and stares off in the direction the car went. This, by the way, is the first sign that her visions are becoming a real danger.

I do need to point out a short moment just before the main scene. Fans are talking about the next CHAM! concert, including a post on Mima's Room that claimed she would be joining the other two once again. This shows us that Uchida believes, at the very least, that he can speak for the real Mima. We'll see in the next scene that this is not only untrue, but that he's much further gone than that.

I dunno, CHAM!'s looking pretty slutty themselves.

Here's another scene that moves back and forth between two separate events. It begins with the two remaining idols talking about the shoot that Mima's doing. More accurately, they're talking about how the photographer in question is known for being on the sleazy side. What's amusing here, though, is that the long-haired one says that Mima should have no problem showing herself off in front of the camera. Some insinuate that this implies a little rough water between the two, but given the way she says it, I think she simply means that she's going with what she's heard Mima say during her interviews.

All of this takes place before their concert, and that's where the transitioning begins. The camera jumps between Mima's photo shoot and CHAM!'s performance, all set to the song they are singing. As the shoot goes on, the photographer stays true to his reputation, persuading off more and more articles of clothing. Eventually, this all becomes too much for her to handle, and Mima locks herself in the bathroom (as evidenced by those trying to get her to come out). Within, pop idol Mima haunts her again, telling her that she's going to take the stage, just like she's supposed to.

During the stage show, Uchida is present and has his camera pointed to the stage the entire time, at the spot between the two. In synch with pop idol Mima leaving the real Mima to suffer, the phantom dashes on stage and sings alongside the others. Uchida, apparently witnessing this, looks positively ecstatic at his beloved idol's “return.”

So what does this particular run-in with the phantom tell us? Two things, mostly. First, we learn that this movie uses one image of Mima for everyone. It doesn't matter who is having the hallucination, it will always look the same. This is important to understand, since ignoring the fact will just make it easier for Kon to mess with you. Second, it shows that Uchida's crazed passion has driven him to such a level that he believe his blog to be the true Mima, and that his mind can manifest this belief whenever is necessary.

It's any wonder how this guy doesn't get punched in the face more often.

Here's something that we don't see very often, a scene all about Uchida. I mean, he's obviously been in many scenes throughout the movie, but this is the first time that an entire scene revolves around his actions. After a brief look at Mima's feelings towards the photo shoot, we move to the streets, at a local bookstore. Mima's photo shoot is now out on stands for the world to see, and Uchida isn't the least bit happy about this. So, he snatches the copies out of the hands of those who've picked it up, as well as those on the shelf, and buys every single one of them (this guy has got some money for such a lunatic).

Then, back at his hole in the wall, he's busy writing up the next post for Mima's Room, the pile of photo albums shoved into a corner. “That's not me. She's an imposter!” he writes. Following that, he has a conversation with the object of his affection, his idealized version of Mima (represented by the same ghostly image, naturally), whom he now is fully convinced is the “real” one. In their discussion, he agrees to remove all those who would hurt her name. This movie is certainly not pulling any punches with its views on crazed fans, but I'll save that for part four.

What's wrong? Damn near everything, honestly.

Well that was fun, but it's time for more Mima. Actually, this portion connects something that was largely just an instigator before: The drama. Funny thing about this detective series, it's plot is remarkably similar to the real life story unfolding in front of Mima's eyes, so much that the dialog actually resonates with her and makes her forget she's filming a television show (though her fragile mind is also helping). While this is a pretty convenient element to help confuse both the viewers and the characters, I just can't help but love it thanks to how marvelously it's used.

The piece in question has her questioning whether or not she can even trust herself (clearly something that she's dealing with offset). The actress tells her, in role, that illusions can't be real. However, Mima imagines Uchida watching her with the rest of the spectators at that very moment, distracting her long enough that the take is ruined. How do we know he isn't really there and not just leaving quickly after being spotted? Simple. It's the fact that he's inside the cordoned off section. Someone would have noticed if he was really there. Not to mention that the clothing he's wearing is the same as from her final concert. So, Mima's not just seeing visions of her past self, she's seeing visions of her stalker. All is not well inside her head.

"Stupid sunbeam keeps violating my eyes."

And it's about to get so much worse. See that image up there? It's just Mima waking up. Well, I've spared you in this write-up, but you'd see this scene multiple times in the movie. It also happens to be the main reason why people get their minds twisted into a knot when viewing this film. Because, while this may just be her waking up with a start, it's used after various scenes, and the viewer has to piece together what's a dream and what's real. It's kind of a pain.

Mima, what did I say about the traffic thing?

Now, for the sake of not having to split this into more parts, I'm going to talk about the next barrage of scenes all under one image. I'll indicate when a “wake up” scene occurs and describe what happens throughout the collection. I don't really want to lump so much text under one image, but my hands are tied at the moment.

We begin with a radio session with the members of CHAM!, and Mima heads over to the station to surprise her friends. Inside the recording studio, she sees the two of them through the glass, and they see her as well. Unfortunately, who shows up but the pop idol Mima ghost herself. She smiles broadly before sprinting away, Mima giving chase in what I can only imagine is a desperate attempt to regain control. The chase leads her through and out of the building, taking her into the street. A pair of headlights catch her attention, and she sees a semi bearing down on her, driven by Uchida. The truck's bumper is right in front of her face when....

She wakes up. This is the first “waking” scene. Afterwords, we get a little one-on-one with Mima and Rumi, discussing how she's taking to her new career. Rumi tells her that she's been doing a good job, and that she's gotten quite a bit of approval. Mima's in a bit of an isolated mood though, so Rumi tries to bring out what's troubling her. She asks her if she's being harassed, as she looks at Mima's Room herself, and knows how extreme it's become. She says that it would be best if she didn't look at the web page anymore, but Mima confesses that she fears this alternate persona might be the real Mima, that it's the true personality that she buried inside herself.

That final line carries over as part of the script for another shoot for the drama. It's the same location as before, and Mima is still struggling to separate her problems from the television show's script. After apologizing for holding things up, she catches a glimpse of Uchida out of the corner of her eye, though it's the same situation as with the previous shoot. Once again, the image of him disappears, and the actress is left trying to sort everything out.

She wakes up again, making it the second time. Just as before, it leads into a scene between Rumi and Mima. The disoriented woman questions whether or not their meeting yesterday was real just before shattering the cup in her own hands. After Rumi cleans up her wounds, we see Mima pouring over the web page in a catatonic state, believing that what she read (a trip to Harajuku for some shopping) is what truly happened.

Then, we move to a scene from the drama, where the two detectives posit the truth about the string of murders. The female detective believes that the murderer is an illusion that Mima's character (Takakura Rika) created, and that this illusion has possessed someone so that it may kill in real life. Naturally, the word “possessed” implying that another person has become so caught up in the fantasy that they act it out on those they feel should perish.

The camera pulls away, and the audience discovers that this is latest aired episode of the drama, and that the photographer from earlier is watching (yes, the pairing might be a hint). The man's just sitting at home, lounging away, when he gets a knock on the door from the pizza delivery person. They're acting weird, but he doesn't really think much of it. When he bends down to pick up the box (since the delivery person just left it on the floor), an ice pick finds its way into his left eye. After multiple stabbings, the pizza delivery person climbs atop the fallen photographer and continues plunging the sharp object into the man until her hat falls off, revealing Mima's enraged face as images of the photo shoot flood her mind.

And so arrives the third “wake up” scene. The look on her eyes tells us that she's definitely freaking out over what may or may not have been a dream. Tadokoro calls him and asks her if she's heard the news that the photographer has, in fact, been found murdered; and that the murder weapon is the same type as the one that killed the writer. Not only that, she's horrified to find bloody clothes in the same bag that she saw herself carrying in the earlier blog post. She tries to hurry out the door, but is met by a pack of journalists asking question after question about the incident.

We switch over to studio, where the stage crew is wondering if she's cursed or something. Mima even questions whether she is actually alive or not, and if this is all just some bizarre, posthumous dream. Rumi tries to reassure her, but Mima's called onto the set. In this shot, she has to stand over the body of the person she's just killed (in the drama), while breathing heavily. Unfortunately, she sees the photographer's ruined face in the man, and passes out. This triggers the fourth and final “wake up” scene.

So how do we go about picking a part what actually happened and what didn't? Well, by the end of the movie, it becomes clear what events happened and what events did not. Now, it's still a bit confusing, but knowing those responsible helps sort out all the bizarre moments and cognitive gymnastics that Kong tries to force on us. That being said, I think I'll save that explanation for the conclusion in part four. It just seems more fitting that way.

I see she's already studying for the role of "that emo girl."

Instead, I'll talk a little bit more about Mima's mental condition to close this part out. In short, it's not very good. In fact, the only difference between her and the people who actually killed those people is that Mima wasn't the one doing the killing. All the same, she was just as out-of-it as the other basket cases in this movie.

The woman's seeing visions, locked inside this world of fake idols and creepy stalkers. She pays no mind to any physical harm so long as it provides her a means to connect to reality. And all of this is compounded and enabled by not only her situation, but by her own actions.

It's obvious that she still wants to be an idol, and it's obvious that she doesn't like what she's been forced to do. After all, though she didn't kill the photographer, she certainly fantasized about it. Mima's a walking example of what happens when you try to keep everything bottled up until your only outlet is, well, insanity.

She willfully indulges in Mima's Room and has it set in her mind that this might actually be the true Mima. With every entry she reads, she loses one more foothold. Yet, despite that, she continues to read it, as though it's the life that she wants. The blog is what her life would have been if she had still continued to be and idol, so she eats it up whenever she can. And it's killing her psyche.

Then you've got the drama, which is so similar to her situation that she's snapping. Even something as simple as breathing heavily for the sake of a scene is pulling her back into the limbo that her brain is currently swimming in. The parallels make it impossible for her to tell if it's her thinking these things, or if its her character.

In essence, we've got ourselves a three-way tug-of-war for this person's body: Mima's former self, Mima's current self, and Mima's drama character. No wonder it's so hard for her to keep her act together, and no wonder it's so hard for us to piece together what's happening. Her internal battle with herself was bad enough, now you have to throw in the character she's playing into the mix. This is not a mentally sound individual in any way, shape, or form.

Alright, that just about does it for this segment. Only one more to go: The finale, where everything will come together and (hopefully) make sense. We've got some more deaths and an intense pair of matches in store, as well as the finishing touches on just how alike the drama and Mima's situation are. It's sure to be... something.

[Nyangoro]

From Up on Poppy Hill



Staff & Notable Cast

• Studio: Ghibli (The Cat Returns, Karigurashi no Arrietty, Spirated Away)
• Director: Goro Miyazaki (Tales from Earthsea)
• Screenplay: Hayao Miyazaki (Castle in the Sky, Karigurashi no Arrietty, Spirited Away)
• Character Design: Katsuya Kondo (Kiki's Delivery Service, Ponyo)
• Animation Director: Kitaro Kousaka
• Music: Satoshi Takebe
• Original Creators: Chizuru Takahashi/Tetsurou Sayama
• Umi: Masami Nagasawa (Yuri Aikawa [Detroit Metal City, Narrator [La Maison en Petits Cubes])
• Shun: Junichi Okada (Prince Arren [Tales from Earthsea])

Introduction

Time for the next in the long and steady releases of Ghibli movies, “From Up on Poppy Hill.” Known as “Kokuriko-zaka Kara” in Japan, this work is based on a short, 1980s, historical fiction/slice-of-life drama manga of the same name. As that genre label would imply, this movie is more along the lines of “Whisper of the Heart” than “Princess Mononoke.” More importantly though, this marks the return of Hayao's son, Goro Miyazaki, five years after Tales from Earthsea's premiere (this movie is technically a year old, remember).

Tales from Earthsea was... not good. In fact, I think it had the worst critical reception of any of the studio's feature films. The pacing was sluggish, the plot was uninspired, the characters were boring, and just about everything that wasn't visual fell apart. When I saw it, all I could think of was that it was his attempt at trying to be his father (it's got to be tough trying to live up to that), and failing at it spectacularly. Cut to five years later, and his next movie comes out. It has a completely different theme and any growth that he's achieved in that time span, so let's see how he does this time.

Plot

So what's this movie about? Well, it centers mostly around Umi, an especially mature high school student who sees to a lot of the housework while going to school. She lives with a small collection of her extended family, as her mother is studying in America, and her father was killed after his boat hit a mine during the Korean War (placing the movie itself probably in the early-mid 60s). All's going well, though she still retains her habit of sending up signal flags to help guide her father's boat home.

At school, she finds a poem printed in the school newsletter that seems to be about her flag-raising ritual, which sparks her curiosity. That same day, while the students were eating lunch outside, one of the boys climbed onto the roof and jumped into... some sort of water reserve, I guess (confounded 60s technology). This is, apparently, in protest of the school's old clubhouse being torn down for some new site. This marks the first meeting between Umi and Shun (who's in the journalism club).

And thus begins the parallel story detailing both these two's romance and the efforts to save the clubhouse. I've got to say, it's a very balanced narrative. They aren't all that blended outside of providing a reason to both meet and stay, but the movie spends an equal amount of time on both, moving back and forth between the two comfortably and effortlessly. I appreciate this for the slice-of-life in particular because it does the genre so much justice. It shows multiple events going on at once, and neither is going to slow down just so that the other can be taken care of first. The result feels very natural and does wonders for the storytelling.

Talking about the tales themselves, I'll start with the clubhouse. It's alright, though not amazing. It does a great job of bringing the students together (and thus creating more opportunities to bolster this movie's greatest asset); and for that reason, adds a lot to the movie as a whole. And it feels like there's a sense of danger at times as well, like this is something that these characters are honestly worried about. However, the solution doesn't meet with a lot of resistance, so it ends up feeling like “oh, that was pretty easy.”

Then we have the romance, and I really enjoyed it. The dilemma was interesting, with plenty of twists along the way until we finally get the real deal at the end. Sure, this dilemma is the result of a rather convenient, preexisting connection that the two weren't aware of; but by then, you are so attached to the characters that it doesn't even matter. More than that, however, I was impressed by how subtle the romance is. It isn't thrown in your face like you might expect, but just “happens.” Not only does this fit the two characters so well, but it makes their emotional airings all the stronger.

Rating: 4/5

Setting

Unfortunately, I am neither fifty-years-old, nor am I familiar with 1960s Japan; so I can't guarantee how authentic this setting is (though I could believe that it is). What I can guarantee is that this setting is alive enough to compete with the best of Ghibli's life-filled worlds. This movie is jam-packed with people doing whatever it is they do, and each glimpse into the background of this world provides that much more support for the foreground.

Then, there's the clubhouse. That glorious clubhouse. It's the single most enjoyable locale in the movie. Seeing this hodgepodge of clubs taking up their own little space in this one large environment, and how they interact within it, is just wonderful. The term “structured chaos” comes to mind when I think of it, and the amount of detail and creativity could easily fit an entire television series by itself.

Rating: 5/5

Main Characters

This is easily the best part of the movie for me: The characters. They're amazing, so much fun to watch, and even better, so very likeable. I was instantly endeared by this cast, and routed them on from the very beginning. But this section is about the main characters. There are two this time (two main characters seem to pretty common, or maybe that's just me), Umi and Shun.

As I said, Umi is a teenage girl who is very mature for her age. She prepares meals, does the laundry, and is the one in charge of getting everyone ready to start the day. She behaves in a very adult manner at school as well. Also, though her parents are either dead or away, and while it's clear that it has affected her, it isn't something that haunts her. In that sense, she's very realistic. Umi has, for the most part, gotten over what happened, and her feelings only resurface when it's actually appropriate for them to do so. I found this so refreshing after watching all the typical harem archetypes that are so prevalent in modern anime.

Shun makes up the other half of our romantic pair. I like this guy just as much as I like Umi. He's assertive, yet has times when he's afraid to push an issue. He's reckless, yet also knows how to rein it in. He's willing to ask questions even when it's obvious that he's afraid of the answer. Shun is just a good, honest character that defies stereotypes and says, “Screw it, I think I'll just be human.” He's not Umi's exact opposite, and yet they aren't totally the same. I love the way these two don't appear to be playing roles. They're just people.

Rating: 5/5

Side Characters

These guys tend to fall into stereotypes more easily; but you know, it actually works for them. This is the perfect way to handle characters that you know you aren't going to have enough time for: Give them enough of a quirk/trope to get them noticed, but not enough to make them stand out. It's a wonderful illusion that gives these characters just as much likeability as the main pair, and ultimately gives them just as much reason to be there as them. It makes them feel like part of the world, as well as an enjoyable one.

Rating: 5/5

Artwork

The character design is just like it always is in Ghibli works, so I won't touch on that. Moving on: Just like “Whisper of the Heart,” this isn't a fantasy story, and there are no imaginative creatures or epic scenery to take in. However, what we do get is more beautiful, retro imagery than we could hope for. We see the meager lights at night, the old houses and gardens, the upscale offices, the open waters, and of course the immaculately filthy clubhouse. The clubhouse, by the way, is definitely the visual feast in this movie. The vibrant colors and nailed-together structures within an already old-fashioned interior combine to produce one helluva sight.

Rating: 5/5

Animation

The “traveling camera” effect isn't used much in animation. This is mostly due to it being a pain in the ass and typically not worth the effort most of the time, since a simple panorama would usually suffice. And in this movie, it's not used a whole lot either; but they do show off some scenes at the beginning that use this effect, to give this slice-of-life anime's animation a little more kick, and it really pays off. I always enjoy seeing it in my Japanese cartoons, being as rare as it is.

Of course, this is Ghibli we're talking about. They don't need to do that to have great animation, and the same is true here. I mean, what else is there to say about Ghibli's animation that hasn't already been said to death. Detail, detail, detail. That's what they're known for, and that's what they deliver. From their impeccable in-between work, to the amount of activity on the screen, it's all there and ready for viewer consumption.

Rating: 5/5

Music

Naturally, the music is tied to the period (Japanese music tended to about two decades or so behind American music at the time, as I recall), and features light jazz, soft cabaret, and a stunning ballad. It's also used very deliberately, making normally overpowering music even less so. What you get out of this is a well-integrated score that suits its setting, even if the music itself might be a bit too simple for its own good at times.

Rating: 4/5

Atmosphere

I'm never quite sure how to describe the atmosphere in slice-of-life series/movies. It feels like... life? It's strange, because this movie certainly has a powerful atmosphere, since it wouldn't have drawn me in this much otherwise; but I just can't find words to describe it that aren't incredibly vague. But I guess that's all I can do. I can only describe it as an aura that portrays people... well... living. And to that end, it does a damn fine job.

Rating: 5/5

Production

The writing of this is excellent, paced so well that it never drags and never floors it. Then you've got the voice acting, which felt normal and rarely overexerted itself. And the sound design. Ghibli is so good with their sound design. They use so many little tricks to make it feel like real people doing real things, and this carries over into the animation as well. Simple things, such as two people beating a futon at different intervals, make all the difference.

Rating: 5/5

Personal Enjoyment

This is one of those movies that flew by as I watched it. I was so absorbed in the characters and what was going on that this hour and a half movie felt like a standard episode. I was sad when it was over, because I wanted more film to watch. That said, it was utterly satisfying, and I can easily say I enjoyed it the most of any movie I've seen so far this year.

Rating: 5/5

Overall

In my opinion, the only animated feature Ghibli produced post-2000 that could be better than this is Spirited Away. But regardless, this was easily one of my favorite Ghibli movies in a while, as well as anime movies in general. The pacing is superb, the setting is full of life, the plot is balanced, and the characters are perfect. I don't think I can recommend this movie enough. So yes, Goro Miyazaki did much, much better this time.

Overall Rating: 4.8/5 (A)

[Nyangoro]

INSIDE OF
Perfect Blue

Part IV: Takakura Rika and Kirigoe Mima

Over two months after I started this little project, it's finally finished. You know, next time I do something like this, I'm going to plan it out better. Maybe single posts covering single episodes, or finding away to condense movies into one post. Either way, this definitely took longer than I expected, and I'll have to do something about that in the future.

But right now, it's Perfect Blue time! In the first part, we saw Kon expertly set up the story and characters. In the second, we got a lot more buildup, focusing on the Mima's less-than-ideal transfer into the actress life, while hinting at the more violent conflict to come. In the third, we get right into the murders, all tied to her, and Mima's rapid descent into madness.

Left as close to limbo as one could realistically be, we arrive at the conclusion, where Mima must break free of her own mental quandary before, well, it breaks her. Oh, and also before she gets killed. That'd be a good thing to avoid too.

Well, let's wrap this “analysis” up, shall we?

I personally enjoyed the disinterested look on the man in the hat's face the most.

What better way to start than an important scene like this one? It's here that we learn just how critical the drama's narrative is to understanding how Mima's massive confusion is even possible. We see the same “scene” twice, one through the eyes of Mima, and one as it actually is. The first, through Mima's perspective, they tell us that she uses the character in the drama as an outlet for her murder spree. In the second, via the recording, it's clear that they were actually talking about the story in terms of the drama's plot (naturally).

So, this scene establishes, without a shadow of a doubt, that the events in real life and the events in the drama are so similar that the dialog between the two can be swapped out with as little as name substitution. In just a few minutes, the destruction of her mind becomes all the more believable as both her character and herself are both forced to deal with similar and traumatic experiences.

"Especially you, creepy lady behind the stage."

And with that, the drama's filming is complete. I found this scene so powerful that I could feel the tension lifting off of my shoulders. I mean, like I just said in the last paragraph, this production was a huge burden on Mima's mind. So, finally being able to put that story and character behind her should blow away about half the stress that she'd been feeling until now. Of course, that's assuming she weren't already in a far more concerning mental state. But as everyone who's seen this movie knows, that's exactly the kind of mental state she's in.

You know, that is the longest hallway I've ever seen.

Here to prove that fact is the next scene. Mima bumps into Eri, where she mistakenly calls her by her character name. Now, I'm sure that's a pretty common thing among actors who have been playing their roles for a good while; but when Mima does, it just drives the point home. And in a stroke of bad luck, she even repeats the line that “illusions can't become reality” to her (likely because that was the line that always caused Mima to mess up).

Why is that bad luck? Because our good pal Uchida happens to be marching down the corridor. By now, Eri's left, just as Mima looks back to confirm that statement. Of course, it isn't an illusion this time, it's the real thing.

Ahaha, his poor eyes.

But before we see what happens to Mima, we've got something else to watch first. Oh, and just as a side note, whenever a good director (a la Satoshi Kon) interrupts a veritable kidnapping attempt to show something as seemingly trivial as this, it usually means that it's hinting at something important (and it is, but that's coming up a little later).

Tadokoro and Rumi are congratulating themselves over the completion of Mima's first big role. As they are about to retire for the night, Rumi asks about a new job offer that Tadokoro landed for her. In his response, he tells Rumi that it had a few racy parts in it, but that he couldn't help it.

Seriously, does Japan just not screen hopeful security workers?

And back to Mima, currently fending off a knife-wielding Uchida on the stage where the rape scene took place. During his attempt to reenact said scene (because, no matter what he says, he at least acknowledges that Mima does, in fact, look like Mima) before shoving a knive in her, he reveals some very pertinent information.

1) All of his action are for the sake of protecting who he considers the “real” Mima (pop-idol Mima, basically)

2) He believes that the Mima he is attacking is a fake imposter who's ruining the “real” Mima's image.

3) Someone posing as the “real” Mima sends him regular emails.

4) He is the person who performed the murders.

So... yeah. Bam, right out there in the open. Pretty straightforward delivery too. He just admitted to being the killer. Now we just need to find out who the person sending the emails is. At the moment, though, Mima's got some not dying to do.

Also, was anyone else as creeped out as I was to hear just how high-pitched this guy's voice is?

"No, I just shredded these clothes all by myself."

After another brief chase scene, Mima puts him out-of-commission with a well-placed hammer to the temple. At this point, it's not entirely certain whether he's dead or just unconscious; but, given what we'll see in a bit, he isn't officially killed until later. As an added bonus, Mima hallucinates that stage crew is cheering for her, like it was just another part of the script.

Fortunately, for the viewers, that delusion doesn't last too long. The next thing we see is her stumbling through the hallway, clothing still a mess (which it clearly wouldn't be if the entire thing was a filming session). Rumi finds her and asks her what's wrong. Mima tries to explain and takes her to the stage where Uchida fell, only to discover that he's no longer there. Yet again unsure how much of this is the work of her own paranoid psyche, she goes into a daze while Rumi escorts her home in her car.

When she “wakes up,” she's back in her room, Rumi doing something in the kitchen. She remembers that she needs to call Tadokoro (probably manager/client formalities) and picks up the phone. Pulling the point of view away from Mima for a moment, we cut to Tadokoro's cellphone as it rings inside his pocket. We also see that he's been killed in the same way as the other victims. Adding to the body count, Tadokoro's corpse falls on to Uchida's, which has received an equally similar puncture wound.

Now, with the murderer dead and another body turning up, it's time to bring it all back to the mastermind. And what a deluded mastermind she is.

I'm gonna have to ask you to focus the illusion and not the reflection.

After the failed phone call, Mima looks around and realizes that something is off in her room. The fish are back in the fish tank, alive and kicking. On top of that, the poster of CHAM! she took down at the beginning of the movie is now back on the wall. As out-of-it as she is, Mima still gets that something is wrong here, so she heads over to the curtains and pulls them aside. Just out the screen door is a monorail line, something that was very much not outside of her own Realizing that she's been taken to a recreation of her apartment, a noise from behind catches her attention. She turns around to see...

Pop-idol Mima! Well, actually Rumi, who's taken up the role. Yes, the mastermind behind the killings was none other than her protective manager. Earlier in the movie, during the drama, the characters posited the possibility that the “murderer” was simply an illusion that found some to possess and make real. As we'll see, that line was more than just an interesting notion.

Dammit! No one ever listens to me.

As Rumi is attempting to “become” pop-idol Mima, her true self is only seen through reflections (which will lead to an interesting switch in the final scene of the movie) and anything that breaks the illusion. Here, Rumi has completely assimilated into this persona; and through it, she admits that she's been orchestrating these events (likely only the ones after the rape scene, but that's just my theory).

More important than her confession, RuMima (god I'm clever) decides that if her fans can't do it, then she'll have to get rid of Mima herself. She pulls out her handy ice pick, and the climactic chase scene begins! And it is definitely climactic. It starts in her room and quickly leads to a chase across rooftops before the two of them fall to the street below.

Aside from her reflection show in the last of the screencaps (which also contrasts the difference in grace between her real self and the illusion), the only time her appearance reverted back to Rumi was early on, when Mima was choking her in the room. To me, this says that the image is one that has to be maintained. Otherwise, it falls apart. We'll see this happen again in about... right now, actually.

If pop-idols an death metal ever become one, I think that's a potential look for them.

Trading her ice pick for an umbrella, RuMima lands blow to Mima's side before cornering her in a... uh... I'm sorry, I'm not quite sure what this is. It's definitely set apart from the surrounding wall, and there's a huge glass window at the end (at least I think it's a window). I'm guessing it's some kind of display window (I'm really not familiar with shopping areas at all). RuMima breaks the window and pins Mima against the wall.

In a last-ditch effort to save her own life, Mima manages to knock the wig off her head. As would be expected of someone with a massive identity issue, the now “unmasked” Rumi mindlessly runs after the wig that fell through the window. She reaches the wig, but suffers a major wound to her neck/chest (it's basically right at the collar bone, so it could probably be either or). Stumbling out into the street, she dons the wig again, regaining her RuMima form (albeit much more bloodied).

In her dementia, she mistakes the lights of an oncoming truck for stage lights. However, Mima tackles her at the last second, tumbling onto the road. While the drivers are busy calling the ambulance and freaking out over what just happened, the two of them just lay there as Mima looks up at a new, clear blue sky (maybe the source of the title? I don't know).

Well now you're just bragging.

And now comes the final scene in the movie. It's some time after the incident, and a long-haired (and much more stable) Mima visits the mental institution where her friend and former manager is being held. She even brings flowers for her, which she mistakes for a bouquet from admiring fans. A doctor tells her that, even though “Rumi” occasionally surfaces, the woman is almost always stuck inside that idol persona. This must have been the case for a while, as Mima even says that she likely won't ever talk to her friend again.

She leaves the hospital, overhearing a couple nurses wondering if such a famous actress could possibly be visiting their establishment. Their questioning of her identity, by the way, is the definitive question for this movie, as it calls in to play the entire struggle of her character over the course of the film. To answer that, we witness Mima hop into her car, look at herself in the mirror, and give a triumphant “No, I'm real!” Cue end credits. Well, that was Perfect Blue, thanks for reading and– What do you mean I'm not done yet? Oh for heaven's sake. Fine, fine. Whatever.

OK, so yeah, after all of this, I'm betting that most of you are somewhere between “well that was weird” and “what the actual hell just happened?” That's how Satoshi Kon rolled, after all. Some people just love messing with us, and he did that through some excellent movies. But there's a big difference between “messing with people” and “messing with people well.” Given his critical acclaim, the general consensus seems to be that he does do it well. So how? How does he so successfully torture our feeble, human minds without it simply turning into a chore to watch?

It certainly isn't giving us definitive answers before the climax. Don't get me wrong, Kon gave us a tone of clues to work with, but it's impossible to fit all of those pieces together without the ever-powerful hindsight as our guide. But he still has to keep viewers engaged the first time they watch it, and all the hindsight in the world can't help you when up against something you've never seen before. From both the opening and the general structure of the movie, it's clear that his general film-making abilities are incredible. He sets up his ideas, builds them up, then let's them explode. But that doesn't explain his skill in his signature area of expertise.

I've already covered one reason why Kon is so good at this: Transitioning. On a purely visual level, this is easily the most important weapon in his arsenal. The logical switches between otherwise completely different scenes help ease the viewer into the tangled web that is the minds of Kon's characters. However, as I said, I already went over that. Time to stop beating a dead horse and start beating a perfectly alive one.

There are two other factors to this mind-boggling storytelling. The first: Perspective. In this movie specifically: Mima's perspective. Outside of a glimpse through others every now and then, all of this movie is shot through Mima's own, increasingly deranged point of view. This improves the clashing imagery by giving the unstable visuals a stable platform to bounce around on. Something as simple as an understanding that all of this is happening relative to a particular character helps stave off the frustration of not knowing what's real by at least providing a reason through Mima's frame of reference.

Now, you might be saying to yourself, “But isn't that the case in all visual media? Isn't it only natural that things take place through certain characters' PoVs?” You'd think so, but it's not as cut and dry as that. Nothing in storytelling starts at second nature, and that goes for all storytelling mediums. It's the creator's job to figure out how to do all that he needs to do to make a story work. And that doesn't always require strict adherence to any one perspective.

Take a look at Madoka Magica and Fate/Zero, two recent anime that have multiple characters and a need to bounce between them at regular intervals. They don't often stick to one character for long, and sometimes it doesn't even go through any one character's perspective, but through the scene as a whole. Or, as another recent example, House of Five Leaves, which deliberately analyzes one character (Yaichi) through another (Masanosuke). It's a choice that the director in-charge needs to make when deciding how to handle the story. If he doesn't, then the entire narrative can easily fall apart.

Now the second of these factors is a little more specific: Hints. One of the staples of mystery stories (especially older ones) is that you see the clues along with the person solving the crime, giving you the opportunity to solve them as well. Perfect Blue, on the other hand, uses this idea to placate the reader. It knows you aren't going to figure it out before (or just before) the reveal at the end. If you could, then all the effort put in confusing the viewer would be for nothing, as it works best when you don't know the truth behind the illusions. But again, he can't just give you nothing. The audience would get fed up and walk out of the theatre. He needed to give the mind something to chew on to distract it from the fact that it won't be able to figure it out. And this comes in the form of said hints.

The best and easiest example of this is during all those “wake up” moments in the third part of my little play-by-play. For example, the first two times she “wakes up,” the television repeats the exact same news report, implying that one of those was a dream. Then, during the second time Rumi visits Mima, she tells her that she was over the other day as well, solidifying that both times she visited were real. They're minor, and ultimately pointless clues. However, they serve their purpose in giving the viewers something to think about until the credits role and everything makes sense.

And, well, yeah. That's about it. That's how I think Satoshi Kon managed to make a strong concept into an even stronger movie. Sure, it's got a pretty damning take on fans and obsession with pop culture; but as a whole, this movie is all about one big mind trip and the coincidental events that made it possible. At the end of the day, this movie is easily one of, if not the strongest example of how to make a psychological thriller that's truly psychological. I hope I managed to capture that in this “analysis,” even a little bit. Because dammit, I love this movie.

<><><><><>

This concludes the very first entry into this "Inside Of" experiment of mine. If I'm being honest, I think it could have turned out better. It got a little scatterbrained, and I think I lost the direction I was really trying to go in. This is all because I took way too long to finish it.

I still like the idea, and I plan to do more. However, I'm going to work out a way to trim future installments down to one post. That way, my thoughts should stay more coherent throughout.

Still, feel free to tell me what you think. I can always use feedback :)

[Nyangoro]

Mardock Scramble
The Second Combustion

Staff & Notable Cast

• Studio: GoHands (Cheburashka Arere?, Princess Lover!, Seitokai Yakuindomo)
• Director: Susumu Kudo (Cheburashka Arere?, Hoop Days, Mirage of Blaze)
• Screenplay: Tou Ubukata (Heroic Age, Le Chevalier D’Eon, Fafner: Heaven and Earth)
• Character Design: Jun Nakai (Michiko to Hatchin, The Sacred Blacksmith, Tokyo Majin)
• Art Director: Masanobu Nomura (Blue Drop, Panty & Stocking, Reideen)
• Animation Director: Jun Nakai (Baki the Grappler, Kikaider, The Sacred Blacksmith)
• Music: Conisch (Appleseed XIII, Linebarrels of Iron, Hitohira)
• Original Creator: Tow Ubukata (Heroic Age, Le Chevalier D’Eon)
• Balot: Megumi Hayashibara (Faye [Cowboy Bebop], Rei [Evangelion], Paprika [Paprika])
• Oeufcoque: Norito Yashima
• Boiled: Tsutomu Isobe (Dutch [Black Lagoon], Vega [King of Thorn], Lunge [Monster])
• Shell: Kazuya Nakai (Ryuuji [Ao no Exorcist], Zoro [One Piece], Date Masamune [Sengoku Basara])

Introduction

It's been about a year since I saw Mardock Scramble. During that year, I was waiting impatiently for the sequel. And I'm sure I'll be waiting impatiently until the third movie comes out next year. But anyway, in case you couldn't tell from my feelings on the first movie, I like this series. Really, the only thing I can hope for is that it lives up to my expectations. So, I'm gonna start wasting time and tackle whether or not it does just that.

On a side note, since this is the second of an unfinished trilogy, the scores will be progressive, just like the first movie. What that means is, the score given is based on what I think it will be overall, given how the movies play out.

Plot

In the aftermath of what happened in the first movie, Balot has been injured, with Oeufcoque in very serious condition. Balot wakes up to find herself in a strange place known as Paradise, where she learns more about Oeufcoque and Dr. Easter's past and just why they are so invested in what's going on. Later, the mission to bring Shell down continues, and sees them launching an offensive against the casino he's in charge of.

As the middle part of this trilogy, there's a lot of story buildup and exposition that they needed to take care of in this installment. They really delve into the backstory of this setting and its characters, providing more weight to what you are watching. This was handled mostly in the beginning third of the movie, and while I normally don't like long bouts of exposition, it's made much more tolerable here thanks the connection made in the first movie and a genuinely interesting bit of history.

What really helps give this second movie a lot of momentum is the variety that it displays. You saw this in the first movie, with character-prying courtroom scenes between the action sequences. In the second movie, they add even more to this trilogy's repertoire. In fact, there's very little action at all. When it's not in the wildly different Paradise setting, it's busy teaching our lead character the ways of gambling, followed by a very intimate session of roulette.

And really, that's what you want in the middle part of the story. This is the part in-between the initial rush and the climactic finale, the time when we learn more about what's going on. The characters get deeper, the story ties together more, and the whole pictures begins to come into view.

Rating: 4/5

Setting

Despite the different venues, it's still the same cyberpunk setting as before. Talking heads, talking dolphins, technology manipulating abilities, cauterizing knives, hologram displays, all mixed in with realistic backdrops. The depth of the universe created with this second movie is incredible. You really get a feeling that the story is connected to this world and not just one or two characters.

The casino especially packed a lot of punch. A lot of games and a ton of people populated the place, and it gave off that “sinister and upper class” vibe that they often do, while throwing in all types of sci-fi touches to make it fit. The roulette table saw extra attention in this regard, as hologram markers littered the board, indicating positions and who won.

Rating: 5/5

Main Characters

Oeufcoque is as awesome as ever. Not only do we get to see a disturbing new side to him (one that makes his ever-present optimism even more inspiring), but we get more bolstering of that already loveable character form the very first movie. Furthermore, the scenes from Boiled and Oeufcoque's past worked so well that it made you actually feel for the guy.

Speaking of Boiled, his character developed the most of them all, not through progressive means, though. A good portion of this movie was related to Boiled's past, and how he was affected by the experiments during the war. His cold demeanor doesn't change at all, but the reason for, along with the glimpses of what he once was, make up for that in spades.

Then there's Balot. I still like her as a character overall, and though she does have some fantastic moments in the casino, I found her a bit too whiny for her own good. I'm aware that she's only fifteen, but I find characters caught in their own self-loathing the hardest to make work. Still, her character doesn't suffer greatly from it, and got better as the movie went on.

Shell gets a bit more interesting, since this if the first time we've seen him flustered, but there still isn't a whole lot to go on other tan that he's the cause of all of this.

Rating: 5/5

Side Characters

They aren't bad. They each have their own quirk, but they don't leave the same impact that the five assassins from the first movie left. Similarly, their role in the movie felt rather direct. This may have been true for those five, but they also had the charisma to support. Even the psychotic killer in the first part of the movie was a more generic psychotic than those five.

The best of the side characters is the lady operating the roulette table. Though her discourse is a little on the preachy side, she has the most important things to say to our lead character, and delivers them with a lot of class.

Rating: 3/5

Artwork

GoHands delivers with more of their cleaner and more effect-heavy take at Madhouse's style. The garden in Paradise is one of the most stunning environments I've seen in anime. The bright rainbow colors and the pristine water is just beautiful. Whenever it goes into the darker side of the movie, it really shows with an equally darker direction and sharper contrast.

Rating: 5/5

Animation

Less action than in the previous movie, but the strong animation quality is still there. The motions are fluid and don't hinder the intense visuals. The scene of the mad man cutting off people's arms is particularly gruesome. The best part of the animation was during the casino though. They really took pains to make sure all the deft hand movements were captured, and captured well. From the rolling of the roulette ball to the passing of the cards, everything was smooth and precise.

Rating: 5/5

Music

The solid scoring from the first movie remains, carrying over the same mixture of techno and traditional arrangement. The new tracks are great, and mesh well with the rest of the music. And unless I miss my mark, the ending theme this time around is a glorious rendition of Ave Maria. Even if it's not, it's glorious all the same, managing to take it one step up from the first movie's Amazing Grace. Still, as a whole, it's missing a certain something to make it amazing.

Rating: 4/5

Atmosphere

This series has nailed the gritty-yet-sleek cyberpunk vibe. Even when the designs look slick and polished, the underlying grime is still present in the characters and emotions. I hate using the same reasons to describe this movie as I did the first, but they've carried over the atmosphere marvelously. Going back to the casino, it really does feel like a casino, with people betting their money and getting caught up in the mood.

Rating: 5/5

Production

Barring Balot's inability to get over herself, the writing is strong. Oeufcoque and the roulette hostess give their lines immaculately. The camerawork is solid, and the pacing is mostly strong. Unfortunately, it does drag a little bit towards the beginning, thanks to the sudden character introductions and exposition, but it's nothing that the movie doesn't quickly overcome.

Rating: 4/5

Personal Enjoyment

It should be pretty obvious by now that I love this series. You know you're enjoying something when the cliffhanger ending just makes you more excited. Oeufcoque remains my favorite character, and every time he's on screen, the scene's awesomeness shoots up ten fold. Even Balot's slight dip in this installment didn't take away from how much I enjoyed this movie.

Rating: 5/5

Overall

We've still got one movie left, and with the way it's headed, this is going to be an epic series. My only concern is that I've set my expectations too high for it, but I think I'll hold that to the movie's favor. Sci-fi and/or cyberpunk fans should give this a try. Those looking for a different art style should try it as well. Hell, if you are looking for good anime in general, check it out.

Overall Rating: 4.5/5 (A)

[Space Cowboy]

Glad to see Second Combustion lives up to the first film. Will attempt to get hold of it soon, unfortunately I can't torrent when I'm at home. But I am looking forward to giving this a watch when I can; as you know this is also one of my most anticipated releases of the year too.

[Nyangoro]

First review on the blog!

A Letter to Momo - The Literal Weeaboo

Also the grading scale has changed to be more needlessly complicated. Check it out!

Reviewing Rubric: Final - The Literal Weeaboo