Change Your Image
pinosjan
Reviews
Samurai Chanpurû (2004)
basically doesn't have a story
I watched it, it was decent, entertaining enough to keep watching. But I don't really understand the praise. It doesn't really have any story. Just fragments of it. The rest is fillers, episodic adventures leading nowhere.
I watched it long time ago and nothing really sticks out after all this time, maybe the blind lady, she was badass. Anyway, most I can remember about this anime is that I was disappointed mostly because of the lack of the story.
Wander around, beat some small fry thugs, get food. Wander around, beat some small fry thugs, get food. Wander around, beat some small fry thugs, get food....
Kaubôi bibappu: Cowboy Bebop (1998)
don't get your hopes up
It's a good classic anime but not that great like people suggest. Animation, soundtrack, characters, overall atmosphere - really good. But there's barely any story...
From 20 something episodes we have like 5 or 6 that are actually following the main story. Other episodes feel like fillers. Some are really good fillers, some decent but there's also quite a bit of silly ones.
And the main story - also nothing extraordinary. Spike is being hunted by his former gangster mate. Why? Maybe an old quarrel? It must be related to the flashbacks that they were feeding us this whole time. And that mysterious woman! What does it all mean?
Turns out that nobody knows. It's really not explained. Mysterious women appears all of a sudden, turns out she's pretty boring character, then she dies, we should probably feel something but I felt nothing. Anyway, Spike turns on rage mode and kills everyone. A lot of characters die, there's action and stuff. But why? Why is it all happening? It just doesn't make sense!
GLOW (2017)
The 80's seen from today's point of view
Good writing, story not too optimistic not too pessimistic, just right, likable characters, funny dialogs. Definitely an enjoyable show (this is a rating for seasons 1 and 2, I'm bit scared to watch season 3 due to negative reviews).
What was bit off-putting for me though was that it was looking at the 80's through today's eyes. The creators of this show had the need to remind everyone how racist and sexist everyone was back then. But it was often exaggerated, it felt like stereotypes about stereotypes. Like the white college girl mistaking Ernest, a big black guy, for Taylor, a short mixed-races guy. Or when the Indian lady smells the clothes and says that it smells like racism. Nobody says stuff like that, not in the 80's and not even today, because it doesn't make any sense (how does racism smell?).
Brigsby Bear (2017)
Like having a great dream
I watched this movie on a plane. I usually watch something lighter in case I get interrupted or don't hear well. Brigsby Bear was in the comedy section. Well, although there are few laughs it's not really a comedy (but I'm happy I watched it!). The story is actually pretty dark. However, almost none of the darkness gets through the very positive main character that just loves Brigsby bear (a made up character by his fake dad) and wants to create a movie about him. The storyline might sound silly or boring and maybe they are. But what stunned me about this movie was the feeling I got when I was watching it. It's like having a positive dream where you think of a great melody, poem, statue,... and you have this great feeling about it, like it's the best thing in the world. Then you wake up and (if you remember the dream) realize that the invented thing from the dream is far from perfect. However, the awesome feeling remains. To think that they managed to capture this feeling in a movie is amazing! Very well done.
Big Mouth (2017)
Funny and original but progressively gets more political
The first seasons I laughed a lot and started liking the characters. The story telling was pretty good, no obvious dumb plot holes, interesting character development. I wish I'd seen this kind of show when I was a teen!
However, later in the show it started to be more political (social justice stuff). And of course it was one sided, there was no real opposition to the propagated narratives. The transgender girl and the pansexual girl were the most cool characters while the white straight boys were the biggest morons around. In this regard, the most interesting development was Jay. First, as a straight guy he was portrayed as a dumb and horny animal. Then when he found out that he's a bisexual he somehow became much cooler and nicer (btw sexual orientation is not a character trait). Then there was also questionable stuff around black culture. Missy's cousins making Missy hate herself for not being black enough, that was ridiculous. How about people doing what they want and like instead of behaving according to certain category they supposedly belong to?
Castlevania (2017)
Aimed for a masterpiece... alas missed...
I enjoyed the show, definitely a good show. A lot of people call it a masterpiece. I think it was getting there but missed in the end.
Castlevania basically divides into 2 (similar) shows. Season 1 & 2 is hunting down Dracula. It's engaging and thrilling still not a masterpiece for me though (solid 8/10). Then comes season 3 where they had to come up with a new threat. There was a lot of build up in season 3 which I actually don't mind but then the show must deliver good end....and it didn't. Season 4 was decent on its own (though not that good as people describe it) but the problem was that the previous build up was not addressed in the final season at all. Maybe because it was cut short, anyway it was very disappointing.
So, in season 3 while Trevor & Sypha are doing their own adventure, in the background new threat is arising - bloodthirsty Carmilla and her 3 vampire sisters. They are strong and determined. It looks that they might be a bigger threat than Dracula...? Even more interesting development was the story of Alucard. He was kind of a good guy before, but now faces some heavy emotional damage (love & betrayal). The season is ending with Alucard impaling people on sticks like his merciless father did. Is he turning into a bad guy...? I can't wait for the story to continue...
Ok, now season 4. That Alucard, impaling people on sticks in his free time, is a good guy again, helping some villagers for no obvious reason. It felt like the writers didn't know what to do with that character. And the vampire sisters? 2 find war bothersome so they quit. Lenore was just chilling with Hector. I liked these characters and enjoyed their interaction a lot. Their dialogs were often witty and entertaining. However, Lenore said something irritatingly dumb: there's no diplomacy in war. What? That's the prime time of diplomacy! All the small kingdoms they were talking about, unite them under you! Get allies, sign treaties and such. Or was the plan to just slaughter everyone? That brings me to Carmilla. In previous seasons smart and cunning is in the final season portrayed as crazy and unreasonable. "I just want everything but I have no clue how to get it". In the end it took one (ONE!) attack to take the feared kingdom down. Sure, it was badass Isaac and his horde of monsters but still, it was one attack. If Isaac wasn't slacking around, the final season would have had 4 episodes like the first one. That was definitely underwhelming. And on top of that, we got some philosophical mumbo jumbo from Lenore that was supposed to justify killing herself. No! Why?! Go, have some good time with Hector, have some great love/hate relationship. Instead the show gives us a happy ending for Dracula and Lisa. I don't really care about them! Their romance was in the show for like a half of an episode + are we forgetting that Dracula is a murderous beast, am I supposed to root for this guy?
As for the Trevor & Sypha storyline in season 4 - that was a mess! Generic villain big and scary Death. No development no build up just a cheap shock plot twist - it was Varney! The weakling is actually super strong. Never mind he just got defeated with a special weapon that Trevor found in a rubble by a chance. Btw, why was Varney so desperate to get to the basements in Targoviste? Oh, to find the rare and precious mirror so he can teleport himself to Dracula's castle. Just get there on foot like others did you moron! And guess what, Trevor and Sypha followed you through the mirror and are now kicking your ass. How long was Varney planning this fiasco, hundreds of years? And that Ratko guy, why was he there at all? He didn't like Dracula and sure as hell didn't like Varney, what was his motive to do all that? His presence in this storyline didn't make much sense. However, this war-loving criminal would be a great character in the second storyline helping the vampire sisters. How could the writers miss this? This whole storyline fighting Death felt like a filler. Some of the fight scenes in the castle were dope though.
Catlevania would be a masterpiece if the story tied the sub-stories together in an epic finale. I expected to see the vampire sisters team up with confused, emotionally unstable Alucard (+ Dracula's castle) VS Isaac teaming up with Trevor & Sypha. With possible twists: Lenore betraying her sisters over Hector; nigtcreatures able to think revolting against Isaac and of course Alucard turning good again or becoming neutral. I'm just brainstorming here... Anyway, the final season just seemed like it didn't know what to do with certain characters (mostly Alucard and Lenore) or the story for that matter. Maybe if this was not cut short...
Despite this critique, I did enjoy this show a lot.
Blood of Zeus (2020)
It would be a much better show without the gods interfering
I liked the first episodes when it was mostly about the mortals but the moment the gods took over and mortals became mere paws in their games, the show got boring, the thrill was gone. The lady fighter was interesting at the beginning but became non-existent as the story progressed. And I felt bad for the villain, the gods were absolute jerks to him. And Zeus trying to act cool and fair? He was the absolute worst.
Dota: Dragon's Blood (2021)
There's too much going on!
With a lot of recent movies and TV shows I usually complain about the lack of story, with Dragon's blood I'd say it's too much story. It's like the writers are drinking coffee with energy drinks. Well, weather there's too little story or too much, the result is the same - even the basic things in the world/story are not explained enough. While some of the storylines are easy to follow, other are overly complex and confusing. Often I'm like 'did I miss something?', it feels like I need to read some kind of manual to understand all of this. Also, so many characters speak in riddles.
Other than that, I like the feel of this western anime. Good adventure, not trying to be political, nice soundtrack, good animation.
Hagane no renkinjutsushi (2009)
Imbalanced show
This anime keeps being praised and recommended as one of the best ever. So I watched it and it didn't hit the spot at all. Overall I'd say the show is imbalanced.
First, we have the alchemy. Some sort of "magik" that can create things. Sounds cool, but our main protagonist uses it mostly to create spears and other weapons. Just grab an existing weapon, why waste energy on alchemy? Btw, did Edward learn kung-fu or something like that? Most of his fights are hand-to-hand combat. I thought this show will be about spells and outwitting your oponent. Also, there are guns in this anime world, they seem to be far more superior than most of the alchemy used in the anime. There was one guy though who was OP, the officer who could create infinity fireballs. When it's wet he can't create fire, but oh wait he can create bombs! With a better defense, he could take on all homunculi by himself.
Then we have the homunculi as the villains. First absolutely terrifying. I was wondering how the protagonists will defeat them. Well, in the end the homunculi kind of became lame. Lust has 20 something lives, never mind mister OP is just gonna burn her to death 20+ times. Sloth can survive shot from a tank but then dies by impaling on pointy rocks. Pride first seems all powerful but then it turns out that both light and darkness is a great counter to it's powers. Wrath is a great warrior till the end but doesn't have any extra lives - I thought that was the whole point of homunculi. And finally the original homunculi playing god - his plan fails completely but he plays it cool, having his shield pointlessly destroyed by countless attacks and in the end loses in a fist fight with a wimpy teenager! A god!
Then the show itself feels imbalanced (it relates to the villains) . Up until episode 24 or so, the show was thrilling and exciting. I was genuinely worried for the protagonists. But then as the villains got lame the thrill disappeared and I got the feeling that nothing can happen to the protagonists. One of the worst episodes I've ever watched was when Envy was dying. So much noise and whining. What am I even watching? The final episodes were also bad. Conveniently everyone was out of ammo and energy so everybody just cheered Edward when he beat down god himself. And the deal with Alchemy - I'll give you your brother and your arm back and you will give me your ability to make magic tricks. Wow, that's a pretty good bargain. Maybe they could have done it at the beginning?
Shingeki no Kyojin (2013)
Great manga turned into great anime
The source material - manga - is high quality and the anime as well (not always the case surprisingly). The story is awesome & mind-blowing although you might feel bit depressed after reading/watching it. The anime adds great soundtrack and awesome scenes (e.g. Reiner & Berthold reveal). The only thing that drove me bit crazy - but that applies to anime in general - was the name yelling. Especially for Mikasa - first she was cool and collected, badass character but later got kind of lame because she was constantly yelling Ereh!
Arcane: League of Legends (2021)
Oh the misery, everybody wants to be my enemy!
I find it funny that even the song hints that this show is about teenagers that don't have problems, they create them and then whine about it. Oh, my life is so terrible, the whole world is against me, you don't understand my pain.
My main problem with this show though is that it doesn't have a very good plot and I'm a plotoholic! People say that it has only 9 episodes. Yes, but these are 45 minutes long. All together over 6 hours and we still don't know what the heck is going on: why are the two towns in dispute? How exactly is Zaun struggling (despite being dirty it looks like everyone is having fun there)? Why was Vander fighting on that bridge? What happened between Vander and Silco? What are the origins of the magic? What about the world outside of the two towns? Everything is just hinted. That worked on me for a while, it was a nice tease but I thought that eventually we will learn the full story. But since that never came I conclude that the writers don't actually know any of this and are hoping that hinting will be enough (I guess it is enough since the show is rated that high).
The show is definitely epic, especially from the beginning when the viewer is stunned with the animations. But without a solid plot all the visual and sound epicness in the end feels like a game trailer just showing some cool scenes.
Characters:
Vi - annoying, punches out of everything, that's like her only solution to problems, with this approach she should have been dead long ago - especially in the prison! She just got stronger there, that was ridiculous. (if the writers were any good they would make the prison arc one of the best).
Jynx - ok character, they spent way too much time though on explaining why is she a psycho. And despite that the switch from clumsy but sweet Powder to mental Jynx was not believable. If they just made her psycho from the beginning that would be the best.
Jayce and Hector - good characters, though I was expecting their storyline to explain the magic more.
Medarda - weird character, first she was depicted as a spoiled, cheeky, danger and intrigue loving lady but by the end of the show she is worried and tame. Medarda + Jayce = no chemistry.
Heimerdinger - speaks highly but actually didn't do anything to fight inequality (I think Jayce commented on this even in the show). His visit to Zaun was the most pointless thing in the show.
Other committee members and enforcers - at the beginning of the show portrayed as strong and respected, at the end bunch of unimportant losers.
Caitlin - ok character, her affection to Vi was forced.
Silco - ok character though for a villain he made too many mistakes.
Underground bosses - filler material, why was time wasted on them anyway?
The masked bandit on flying skateboard - great until he took of the mask and started spitting some teenage wisdom. The mystery was gone.
For next seasons please get better writers! This show is stunning on the surface but below it there's not much. It needs more essence!
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
Tries to be original and deep but ends up messy and cringy
Yes, there was a lot going on in this movie but below the superficial layer of craziness going on, the actual plot was a boring, soap opera level, family drama. I mean the villain was a "nobody gets me" teen who just wanted a hug and the major conflicts were resolved by talk no jutsu, first the husband fixed Evelyn who then fixed grandpa and finally Joy. The last 20 minutes of everybody talking and coming to their senses was almost unbearable to watch.
As for the movie's main messages, that was some naive woke stuff (I wonder if this is the reason the movie is praised so much). First the "just be kind" wisdom. Yes, when someone attacks you, just be kind. I'm sure it works. In real life, it doesn't. In the movie they tried to show that it does (the stairway fight) by reducing people to one dimensional creatures, that there's just one hobby or a kink that can make one happy. I'm going to spank this guy and that's all he needs to live a happy, fruitful life. On top of that add teenage level of wisdom such as "we are small and insignificant". These messages were annoying and naive that it absolutely disconnected me from the movie.
It's a bad movie but people will tell you that it's great because of "perspectives".
Free Guy (2021)
Movie about a game from people who don't know anything about games
I watched this movie on the plane and it served its purpose. Some jokes, some action - it was entertaining enough.
What bugged me was the simplistic depiction of gamers - toxic, aggressive, lame in real life. The game "Free city" also seemed pretty boring. What was the objective anyway? And the resolution at the end when they turned the game into peaceful garden of eden like that's the solution to toxicity. Did these guys never hear about Minecraft, Cities Skylines or other builders where players spend thousand of hours of peaceful creating, no destruction in sight? Gaming is not just toxicity you know... It's a pity to see liberal Hollywood repeat the dumb narratives that we kept hearing from the conservatives.