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Reviews
Strange Magic (2015)
Disappointing
I agree with a lot of the points of view from those that liked this title. You don't often find yourself rooting for the bad guy, most people prefer a clear and unambiguous distinction between the good guy and the bad guy, especially in an animated film, with the hero overcoming tremendous odds, progressing to a climactic conclusion where he saves and wins the heart of the fair maiden. Most fairy tales traditionally hold to variations of that theme unless their Greek. To successfully deviate from that traditional format, because it is essentially the opposite of that theme, even though the bad guy becomes the good guy, requires a more progressive character and storyline development, steadily illuminating the evolution of the characters and the storyline to the point where the viewer can relate to both. This film did not do that. I sincerely liked the fact that it tried to convey the possibility that people can change and the idiom, don't judge a book by its cover, but even though they tried, I don't believe that they were successful in a relatable or realistic fashion. Also, I really do like musicals, but musicals, if it is a true musical, change the dynamic of the film. Everything in a musical, from storyline to characters to its musical elements, must flow, not unlike a symphony. They must all blend seamlessly and in an appropriate timely fashion. The musical elements need to occur at optimal moments within the story to accentuate the desired emotional resonance of that moment. Again, this did not occur in this movie. The placement of the musical elements within this film, seem haphazardly inserted and far too often, diminishing the overall effect of their musical contribution to the film.
Sutoraiku uicchîzu (2008)
The negatives and the positives
Warning, this anime, as is the case with a lot of Japanese based anime, has multiple instances throughout, of provocative and lewd imagery. It's unfortunate in most instances because these provocative scenes are most often completely unnecessary to the storyline or character development. Unfortunate is an apt term because a lot of the stories, this one in particular, with these brief but perverse scenes, are wonderfully written, entertaining and some are even inspirational and moving. With the inclusion of these unnecessary scenes, the animation studio loses what could otherwise be a much larger international fanbase. The positive takeaways from this entire series of series, Strike Witches, Brave witches and War witches, is the ability to establish, embrace and nurture friendships with a multitude of individuals from widely varied cultural backgrounds, the establishment of trust, to and from others, to rally with others in pursuit of a noble cause, the development of courage and selflessness in the defense of others (Noblesse oblige), and the determination and dedication to overcome any obstacles that stand in our way no matter how daunting or difficult, and the preservation of the principles that make these goals attainable.