Friday, July 15, 2011

A quick update

So yeah, I haven't reviewed anything in a long time. For the probably 2 people out there who read my reviews, I just figured I'd say something. Mostly it's cause I've not made good progress in anything. Haven't been watching anime lately, playing games that I haven't completed, don't feel substantial enough to review, or just can't really be completed (Civ 5). That and I personally felt my latest reviews weren't anything spectacular - I have no idea what other people think. It can be a bit tough to review positively and entertainingly, since there's not much material. I've been trying to kick things around in my head for what I could do to get some nice new energy into them, but I haven't thought of much yet. There's always the option of doing more of the same and trying to get it to work well again. I also thought of trying something new to get fresh blood pumping, like a massive Doctor Who (2005) retrospective, reviewing each episode, as that's another one of my loves. So yeah, hopefully I can get this rolling again, but I need some kind of spark.

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Game Breaks: Sam and Max: The Complete Collection

You crack me up, little buddy!  


*use fingers with keyboard*

Ah, the point-and-click adventure game.  Back in the day, these games were everywhere, challenging players to think in creative and sometimes downright odd ways to solve puzzles and advance the story.  However, the genre hit a peak in the early 90s and since then has declined sharply, becoming a sparsely-represented genre today.  Both the peak and decline can probably be attributed to the same thing in my opinion - simple gameplay. 

Back in the 90s, the fact that these games used very simple gameplay mechanics probably made them easy to churn out with the technology of the time.  By the same hand however, those simple mechanics are outshined now by the more action packed games that steal the spotlight, so P&C games fail to catch attention.  This would also explain why the games are a popular choice for online flash games, as they can still be made well without many resources.  However, there is still one way these games can stand out, as shown by today's entry, Sam and Max, and that's in the writing.  Perhaps it's because they don't necessarily need the same amount of effort in the game mechanics, but several of these games stand out as particularly great examples of humor in gaming.  With that, let's check out the bizarre, twisted, and hilarious world of Sam and Max. 

To be clear, I'm reviewing the first 3 seasons of the series as done by Telltale Games.  There are some earlier games by Lucasarts, but I'm just looking at the newer stuff. 

To sum up, the games focus on the titular duo of Sam and Max, a pair of freelance crimefighters who usually seem like they should be the ones committing the crimes, not the other way around.  We follow them as they protect their city and the world from the sinister forces of washed-up child stars, crazed talk show hosts, a theme-park styled mafia, and even stranger and more evil villains.  Max is a manic, violent, self-interested rabbity-thing, and Sam is the (slightly) more reasonable straight man of the pair.  Your role is to examine things, talk to people, and use and say the right things in the right places to achieve your ultimate goal of the episode, usually in a pretty roundabout way. 

Gameplay-wise, the games are fine.  I mean, in the P&C genre there's really only so much room to shake things up, so for the most part the game are the typical "find items, talk to people, use X with Y, rinse, repeat."  The main room for difference is in the creativity and complexity of the puzzles, and the series generally finds a nice challenge balance so they're not too easy or just frustrating while also some unique puzzle ideas.  However, the games do slip into the genre's trademark odd sense of logic at times, making a few of the puzzles confusing.  By the third season they seemed more straightforward, though at the same time that could've been me developing the right mindset for these kind of games.  All in all, if you like the genre or puzzle solving, you'll probably have fun with it. 

But really, the gameplay isn't the main attraction here.  It's the dialogue, and this is really some of the best I've seen in a game in a long time.  The humor in this game is top-notch and it covers all kinds of humor: reference jokes, dark humor, general zany humor, some physical slapstick, and some fourth wall breaks as well.  Every episode is absolutely hilarious, with basically every interaction with anything being played for comedy.  Some of the episodes in Season 3 take a decidedly darker turn, but even then the comedy is still at the forefront and honestly some of the funniest moments are there as well.  In all honesty, the series is definitely one of the funniest I've ever played, if not the funniest. 

When it comes to the graphics, they look good.  The first two seasons have a cartoony 3D style and, while it's not anything special, it's nice enough to look at.  The series takes a noteworthy jump in graphics quality going into the third season however.  It's still generally cartoony, but everything is just a much higher level of quality.  The environments tend to be a bit darker, but that fits the overall theme of Season 3, so it's not really a problem. 

The music in this series is pretty good - nice and catchy and really fitting the mood.  It has this jazzy feel to it that really makes it feel like the dated cop show that the game borrows from.  I really liked the opening themes with their upbeat, smooth sounds; always got me going and ready to fend off the newest bizarre menace.  Of real note are some of the musical numbers in the first season.  There are 3 or 4 of these, and almost all of these are hilarious and insanely catchy.  My favorite is probably "Useful to Boot," a song sung by a group of obsolete machines about how they're better than the new stuff.  It's funnier than it sounds and will probably be stuck in your head for a while. 

All in all, the series as a whole is great and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who likes point-and-click adventures or puzzle solving, or anyone who appreciates great humor in games.  Comparing the individual seasons, I'd say the series has generally improved with time, with the later seasons being better in most regards.  After playing a bit of The Devil's Playhouse (Season 3), I got so into it I beat all 5 episodes in a few days.  However, there's a decent amount of continuity between the seasons, so I'd definitely recommend playing them in order. 

Finally, while I don't normally mention specific sites/sales, at the time of writing this there's a sale going on at Telltale Games' website until the end of June where everything is 75% off.  This means you can get the whole collection for only $12.50!  At this price, the only reason the games wouldn't be worth it is if you hate the genre or can't stand humor in your games or something.  Seriously, check it out. 

That's all I've got.  See you next time! 

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Game Breaks: Bayonetta

Modern action games, and really modern games in general, always have to find some balance between visually thrilling cutscenes and solid gameplay.  Obviously the gameplay is the more important element in this equation; without engaging gameplay you're watching a movie at best and struggling through something painful at worst.  Cutscenes do remain important however.  Obviously they tell the story most of the time, but they also are an important part of lending a style and personality to a game that you can't always communicate in in-game events.  And of course adding to the mix are the ways in which cutscenes are made interactive: dialogue choices, Quick-Time Events, etc..., which also have to be balanced well.

In the end, there are few to no games that balance this perfectly and so the end result is that most games end up either heavy or lacking in cinematics.  The current trend in the industry is to start to move away from cutscenes in games, with the thought that they break the immersion and flow of the game.  This is clear in several recent releases, as more and more story is told to you while exploring or in transit.  I, however, remain of the opinion, that cutscene-heavy games can still be very impressive and entertaining, such as the game I'm reviewing today, Bayonetta.

The story of Bayonetta is, admittedly, pretty generic and not that enthralling or interesting.  The plot follows the titular character Bayonetta, a witch who was sealed away for centuries, has amnesia, and is looking for a mysterious, elusive gemstone.  All of those have to be near the top of the list of most commonly used video game plot devices, up there with evil relatives and orphaned heroes.  Also, since witches' powers come from pacts with demons, Bayonetta is both often hunted by the forces of Heaven as well as called to sacrifice these not-so-angelic angels in order to satiate her infernal partners.  On the positive side, Bayonetta has a great sense of humor and the game is rife with both amusing one-liners and references to other Capcom and Sega games.

Now I know what those of you who haven't played the game are wondering - how can a game without an interesting story work well when heavy with cutscenes?  Two words: Awesome style.  Bayonetta was developed by the mind behind the Devil May Cry series, Hideki Kamiya.  If you don't know what this means, it means the game emphasizes Rule of Cool (and sometimes Sexy) first and worry about the rest later.  You're probably thinking this sounds shallow - and really, it is - but that's usually the last thing from your mind when bullets and people are flying through the air, dragons are tearing your enemies apart, and you're bisecting your enemy with a massive chainsaw.  Most of the scenes in this game just pure adrenaline and pure fun and are completely enjoyable.

Gameplay-wise, Bayonetta is primarily a close-quarters action game with a variety of weapons to use similar to its DMC predecessors.  The combat focuses on relatively simple combos consisting mostly of different combinations of 2 buttons as well as heavily emphasizing well-timed dodges which, if performed right, will activate Bulle- I mean, Witch Time, slowing everything down and giving you an great opportunity to hack away at your vulnerable foes.  In addition, as you perform combos and dodge blows without getting hit, your magic gauge will fill and you can pull of devastating Torture Attacks, cinematic attacks that tear your enemies apart.  Everything about the combat flows as smoothly as anything I've ever seen and is an absolute blast to play.  The boss fights are usually on a grand scale and it always feels like a huge feat to bring one down.  It's fast, it's exciting, and most of all it's a lot of fun. 

The game also mixes in short segments of other styles as well, including some driving segments and a rail shooter-esque part.  While not quite as good as the combat segments, they are fairly well done and for the most part pretty enjoyable.  Several of the scenes involve quick-time events as well, and these I had more of a problem with.  A lot of the time the timing for these events felt a bit too strict for me.  I failed a majority of the events the first time, only getting it right when I had already failed once.  This wouldn't bother me so much if they weren't life or death, especially since the level rankings heavily penalize death.  Another notable feature of the game is the difficulty.  On Normal, the game will give an experienced gamer some challenge but it's not too bad.  However, as you unlock the higher difficulties, it becomes quite a struggle to get through the levels.  The highest difficulty, Nonstop Infinite Climax, was one of the harder things I've attempted in a video game recently.  That said, it never really got frustrating; I always felt like I could win fights, it just took a bit more effort to get there.

I played the PS3 version and while for the most part the game ran fine, the loading times were definitely an issue.  The game tends to load when you do do anything - when you pause, when you open the menu, when you get an item for the first time, in addition to in between chapter segments and new locations.  Some of the loading screens give you an empty void to practice in, which is nice at first but when you know most of your go-to combos, it's just more time to kill waiting to load.  I don't think it ruins the game by any means, but it's definitely a notable problem. Also, for the audience who cares about trophies, Bayonetta's Platinum isn't too hard to get and the requirements are generally pretty reasonable without a lot of tedious or insane goals (though you may need an FAQ for finding a few collectibles).

I don't personally give much weight to graphics but I will say that Bayonetta looks amazing.  The designs all look great and I particularly love the designs of the various angels.  They all look very unique and varied but at the same time retain thematic similarities like a sort of sculpted theme to their look or shiny metallic armored parts, which contrasts nicely with the somewhat grotesque, bloody look they get after fighting them for a while.  The details on the various big attacks look spectacular as well.  The backgrounds look good, though I will say some of the city designs are a bit forgettable. 

The music in this game is absolutely great as well.  Most of it very upbeat, fast and catchy and really gets you into the action.  In particular, the game has a rendition of Fly Me to the Moon it uses to accompany any moment of mass awesome that was incredible and really got that song stuck in my head for days.  This is definitely one of those games I would get a soundtrack of if it came at a reasonable price. 

All in all, even though it was a year and a half old by the time I finally got around to playing it, Bayonetta is easily still better than almost any game I've played that's come out since then.  It's a fast-paced, sometimes unforgiving, sometimes silly, and almost always awesome ride.  Admittedly, if you have interest in this game, you've probably already played it.  Still, if you like action games, if you like Devil May Cry, if you like games that don't take themselves too seriously, get this game.  And honestly, if you're just looking for a good game, you probably won't go wrong here either, especially at the discount price it's going for now.  See you next time! 

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

My Anime Thoughts: Eureka Seven

Don't beg for things.  Do it yourself, or you won't get anything.  


Well, I finished my long run of Miyazaki reviews, so now I'm just back to reviewing whatever I happen to watch.  As such, I decided to go with something that had been catching my eye for a long time, Eureka Seven.  I'm a big fan of upbeat action and mecha shows, and this looked like something that would match those interests.  So, what do you get when you combine surfing, giant robots, and the power of love?  Is it a perfect wave or just a disappointing ripple?

Our story opens and we're introduced to the main character Renton, a teenager bored with both his life and the boring town he lives in who dreams of something more.  Sound familiar?  In this case, the something more is to become a great surf- I mean, lifter and maybe even join Gekkostate, an anti-government group of lifters led by Renton's idol Holland, the world's best amateur lifter.  One day, his boring life is upset by a giant robot called an LFO crashing into his room with a mysterious girl as a pilot.  Sound more familiar?  Turns out the girl's name is Eureka (say it Ay-oo-reck-uh; weird, I know) and that she's actually a member of Gekkostate.  The LFO is known as the Nirvash, and is the first LFO ever created. 

When a battle breaks out above Renton's hometown between the government and Gekkostate, Renton is tasked with delivering a final part to the Nirvash - a device called the Amita Drive, said to awaken the Nirvash's true power.  After attaching the part, Renton unknowingly triggers a phenomenon known as the Seven Swell, a massive energy wave that quickly dispatches the remaining government LFOs.  Afterwards, Renton is invited to join Gekkostate.  He quickly learns that life with Gekkostate is not as dreamlike as he thought it would be and a lot of the crew are pretty rude to him.  One good thing has come of it for Renton though: he gets to be with Eureka, who he's fallen head over heels for.  Indeed, Renton is willing to do anything so long as he can be at Eureka's side, protect her, and get a chance to tell her how he really feels. 

The story of Eureka Seven is a romance story first and everything else second.  The budding romance between Renton and Eureka serves as both the centerpiece of the plot and the driving force of almost every other major event of the story.  Because of all this, it's a good thing that the romance in this story is done well.  The relationship is really a romantic view of young love at first sight and the ups and downs encountered in a romance between 2 people who don't even really know what love is.  The romance presented is very idealistic and tame and as such wouldn't be for everyone, but for me that just made it more heartwarming and endearing.  In addition, the show also provides a notable focus on the relationships of other characters some of which are a bit more conflicted and don't always have a happy ending.  All in all, the romance aspect is very charming and fairy tale-esque and will be sure to warm your heart at some point. 

On the other hand, this is a sci-fi mecha show and there are other things going on while our young duo struggle with love.  The other story of Eureka Seven focuses on government schemes and fighting against them, learning about the people and things that make up this world, and eventually focusing on how to protect it from being destroyed of course.  The show starts off slow, with a lot of one shot episodes near the beginning, some of which are pretty dumb or annoying.  It picks up and begins to focus in a little ways into it and really picks up about a third to halfway in and from there on out it's a pretty enjoyable ride. 

That said, it does get pretty confusing near the end with a lot of concepts being thrown around that aren't always explained in clear, concise way.  Even a friend of mine who loves the show said he didn't fully get everything till the third rewatch.  Even so, there's a lot of simple themes present throughout the show about love, sins and regret, and prejudice and acceptance to name a few, and these can help serve as something to hold onto when everything else gets a bit confusing. 

For characters, where better to start than our main duo?  Renton starts off the series weak as a pretty bland, meek, and mostly boring character and while he does get better, throughout the series he maintains this childish feeling of naivete and innocence that helps the romance but doesn't make him particularly likeable.  Get used to the idea of starting weak and getting better, it's everywhere here.  Eureka, for example, starts off as a pretty typical mysterious, quiet, and serious girl.  However, she struggles through a lot of development as she confronts both her own personal identity and her feelings for Renton and she grows into a strong and likeable character. 

Another character who gets better as the show moves on is the leader, Holland.  He starts off as a tough, serious, and generally badass leader, but quickly devolves from badass to jerkass.  As he faces the issues he has with past decisions as well as issues with Eureka, his rudeness transforms into a kind determination and he emerges as a fierce protector of both our main duo and his crew as a whole, as well as my hands-down favorite character.  Talho, another main female character, also displays this rising quality, starting off as annoying and rude and later becoming more serious and kind. 

For our villains of note, we have Dewey Novak and Anemone.  Dewey is a sinister and smooth schemer and a great villain, though he unfortunately doesn't have much story presence until near the end.  Anemone is a girl with similarities to Eureka, though manic and crazy to Eureka's calm seriousness.  She also gets some very touching eleventh-hour development.  A couple of other characters I have to mention are Charles and Ray Beams, a pair of married freelancers.  Though they don't appear in many episodes, they steal the show when they do, with Charles' bombastic but noble nature and Ray's loving and nurturing nature.  They also have some very touching and intense scenes as well.  The other side characters range from enjoyable to forgettable, but for the most part not annoying, except for Eureka's adopted kids.  They spend the first part of the series mostly as annoying brats, and then they're cute at times but mostly just annoying kids. 

When it comes to the art and animation, the show excels.  While it's not quite on the level I'm used to after all those Miyazaki movies, the character designs are nice and unique for the most part and everything moves well.  In keeping with the surfing theme, a lot of the characters have a sort of 70's surfer look to them that is very unique in anime and looks nice for the most part.  Also of note are the mech fights, taking place almost exclusively in the air with surfing robots.  Everything flows amazingly during these fights, with the robots moving quickly and smoothly through the air and lots of laser and missile flurries and quick motions.  They're really a treat for the eyes. 

The music in this series is good, mostly mood fitting background pieces.  In addition, like the designs, there's a retro feel present in the music at times.  The openings are upbeat and nice to listen to, but for the most part are sort of typical.  The exception is the last opening, that starts with a beautiful bit of "Amazing Grace" and builds to a fast paced piece that gets you excited for the episode.  The endings are ok but nothing that drew me in and made me pay attention to them.  The dub cast is good for the most part but has a problem here or there.  JYB's performance as Renton fell a bit short to me, mostly adding to the childish feel he had.  On the other hand, Crispin Freeman and Patrick Seitz both blow their performances away and add a great level of intensity and flair to their characters. 

All in all, Eureka Seven is a fun series with a nice romance, a mostly likeable cast, and great animation, though it does get confusing at times.  If you like upbeat mecha shows or romances with a little more punch, you'll probably like the show.  If you're not a fan of these genres or if you like things a bit more gritty or realistic, then the show's probably not worth the 50-episode investment. 

Sorry if I ran on a bit too long, reviewing a long series will do that to you.  As always, I welcome any recommendations for series and any feedback! 

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Game Breaks: Hotel Dusk Room 215

As I sit here slowly swirling my ginger ale, I think back on what's led me here.  Couple weeks ago I hit the road with nothing to do and a few bills burning a hole in my wallet.  As I stroll into a shop on the way, I give the shelves the once over.  Nothing stands out as rare or impressive; just another run of the mill place, same old song and dance.  I was all set to write the place off but I decided to take one more look.  There in the corner, out of the way, was a piece that a few little birds have told me can carry its own weight: Hotel Dusk Room 215.  I'd been thinking of giving it the once over, and I figured now's as good a time as any.  I get the attention of the guy behind the counter and a few minutes later I'm walking out of the store and everything looks just a little bit brighter.

Now that that bout of film-noir reminiscing is done, you may have a slight idea of what you're in for.  Hotel Dusk is visual novel game for DS released by the small game company Cing who doesn't have much to their names besides this and other similar adventure style games.  I admittedly don't have a whole lot of VN exposure personally - my experience with the genre is limited to the various incarnations of the Ace Attorney series and the recent hit Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors.  However, the VNs I have played can easily rest among my top favorite DS games of all time.  So when I heard that fans of the Ace Attorney series should check out Hotel Dusk, I was eager to give it a try.

Before I dive into the meat of this review, I'll discuss the gameplay.  For those of you who couldn't tell from the name, visual novel games usually don't have much in the way of gameplay.  The gameplay in a visual novel is usually limited to puzzles and similar point and click style segments.  Also mixed in is a bit of "choose-your-own-adventure" flavor dialogue choices where the decisions you make can lead to either game overs or alternate endings.

That said, I feel the puzzles in Hotel Dusk were really weak.  A lot of them felt pretty gimmicky, like they were putting you through the motions of something that could've been shown in a scene.  Yes, I already figured out to combine this item with the other, do I really need to do this little simple segment as well?  And by the 10th time I had to open a door manually it was getting pretty old.  On the other hand, the conversation choices and searching segments were pretty well done and some of them were even a bit tough to figure out.  I'll admit I got my fair share of game overs in this game.  In fact, I was used to gliding through conversations like these pretty easily and got surprised by my first game over.  It's nothing stellar, but it does its job well enough. 

Now for what really matters in a game like this: the story and characters.  Hotel Dusk is a serious and gritty story of Kyle Hyde, a down on his luck ex-cop turned salesman looking for his lost partner.  His boss also makes him do little jobs of finding things, and one of these jobs sends him to the titular hotel.  He gets a room called Wish that's supposed to grant the wishes of whoever stays there.  As he settles in we're introduced one by one to a large cast of characters.  The most notable of these are Louie, a pickpocket Kyle knows from the old days now working at the hotel; Rosa, a sassy middle-aged maid who does most of the work at the hotel; Dunning Smith, the grouchy and rough proprietor of the hotel; and Mila, a mysterious young woman who can't speak and seems to be connected to a lot of what's going on.  As Kyle starts to explore the hotel, he quickly learns that all the guests have pretty big skeletons in their closets and these secrets are tied to all kinds of shady business, possibly even leading Kyle to the partner he's been looking for for so long.

Hotel Dusk's story is pretty standard for a mystery like this, but at the same time it's fairly well written.  Its got its fair share of plot twists and you'll probably be hooked till the end to see how everything is connected.  Some of the reveals are pretty easy to spot coming, but there are some legitimately surprising moments as well.  That said, I do feel that this is probably the weakest VN I've ever played.  This maybe because I had high expectations given my love of the other DS VNs I've played, but the game didn't seem to have the same punch or spark to it.  It was lacking charm when compared to Ace Attorney, and it didn't compare to the suspense or intrigue of 999.  The mystery was pretty good, but the rest of the story didn't quite feel strong enough to carry it.  Maybe I was spoiled by greatness though, and I will say that Hotel Dusk does still have a solid story that stands up pretty well.

When it comes to characters, however, Hotel Dusk left me with quite a bit to be desired.  Because of the more serious and heavy tone the game takes, a lot of the characters come off feeling rude, annoying, or just boring.  Kyle himself has his nicer moments but for the most part is a bit too cold and rough for my tastes.  I did like Louie, he was a pretty upbeat guy who brought some levity to the game.  Most of the rest didn't win any awards with me though - they had there moments here and there not enough to really make me care about them.  A decent amount of them got some eleventh-hour likeability as you learn about their backstories, but it generally didn't make up for the rest of the game.  Kevin in particular can go take a flying leap; God I hated him for most of the game.

When it comes to graphics, the character portraits in Hotel Dusk had this unique black and white handdrawn style to them that I really liked.  It really fit the somewhat noir-esque mystery story and added a lot of style to the game.  There's not much else to say for the graphics, though, with 3d backgrounds that just mediocre.  Still, in a game like this the character portraits are more important than the backgrounds so it comes out all right.  I really liked the music in this game; there's a lot of period-fitting jazz and bluesy tunes that would pep me up or make me get serious and focused.  It really added to the game and helped bring the hotel to life.  On a final and minor note, the ides of holding the DS sideways like a book bugged me a bit.  It didn't feel like a book, it felt like a sideways DS.  It really just felt unnecessary and annoying.

All in all, Hotel Dusk is a solid DS visual novel that while not the best in its field certainly isn't a failure.  If you're interested in these kinds of games its definitely worth looking into, and if you like serious cop mysteries I'd recommend picking it up.  It's going pretty cheap nowadays and for a low price it's definitely worth the money.  That's all for me, see you next time! 

Sunday, May 8, 2011

My Anime Thoughts - Miyazaki Madness: Howl's Moving Castle

"How many aliases do you have?"  "As many as it takes to keep my freedom."


So here we are, at the final movie of the Miyazaki Madness series, Howl's Moving Castle.  (If you want to see my review of Ponyo, look here: http://tinyurl.com/tslponyo)  Following on the tails of what was probably Miyazaki's most critically successful work Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle fell a little flat when compared with that.  While still getting very positive reviews and reception, it got some more mixed reviews as well and is looked at by a lot of people as one of his weaker films.  However, the reception was still mostly positive and the movie was on several "Best of 2005" lists.  It was also a financial success grossing $231.7M, making it one of the most successful Japanese films ever.  So, is Howl's too weak to stand up to the other films, or does it still have that spark of greatness?

The story begins when Sophie, our protagonist, meets the titular wizard Howl on her way to see her sister.  He escorts her there to protect her from rowdy soldiers and blobs in top hats and then proceeds to draw them away.  Later that night at her family's hat shop, she encounters The Witch of the Wastes who, jealous of her encounter with Howl, puts a curse on her and turns her into an elderly woman.  She sets out to find the witch in order to break the curse but on the way she finds Howl's moving castle (or junkheap) to stay the night in and stays there as a cleaning lady.  The castle is also inhabited by Markl, Howl's young apprentice, and Calcifer, a fire demon serving as the heat and power source for the whole castle who has a deep connection to Howl.

As the film progresses we slowly learn about a war going on between 2 nations which seems to be mostly caused by a missing prince.  Given how invaluable magic powers always are to warring armies, all the witches and wizards are being drafted into service by the 2 countries.  Howl, however, wants nothing to do with this; he despises the war and only wants to maintain his freedom.  For the rest of the film, we have a focus on Sophie trying to break her curse while at the same time trying to connect with and protect Howl from both enemies and from himself.  There's also a focus on Howl learning to stop running away and to stand up for himself and those he cares for, as well as putting his selfish ways behind him.

I'm gonna come out and say it: Howl's Moving Castle is in my top 3 Miyazaki films along with Spirited Away and Princess Mononoke.  That said, this is more because of the movie matching up more to my tastes than a lot of his other films and I definitely can't say I feel it's his best.  It definitely has some flaws and I can clearly see why people see it as weaker.

When I think about the plot of HMC, I really see it as a mix of Miyazaki's styles.  It has the adventurous style of films like Mononoke and Nausicaa, while also having the quaint life aspects of films like Kiki and Totoro.  While this means it can have the strengths of both sides, it also means it can have the weaknesses as well.  On the strengths side, HMC has one of the most clearly defined external conflicts of the Miyazaki films and like Mononoke also manages to mix in some good internal conflict as well.  It also has some of Miyazaki's most well done action in my opinion, particularly several great chase scenes. 

Looking at flaws however, some parts of this movie are just really slow, particularly around the beginning and early middle, leaving the end feeling a bit too hectic at times.  In addition, this movie doesn't do the best job explaining things.  Sophie changes frequently between young and old or a mixture without much reason - I assume it has to do with love or self confidence or something, but it's never explicitly stated.  There's another bit near the end I won't get into for spoilers, but it felt sort of hand-waved.  All in all it's clearly no masterpiece but I do feel the plot stands pretty solidly. 

Ah, the characters - I love the characters of this movie.  Well, starting with Sophie though, I feel she's good but not amazing.  She feels a lot like Miyazaki's other heroines; I think they're starting to run together in my mind a bit.  She starts out very quiet and meek but grows and gains a lot of confidence and spunk.  It's sort of the old idea of "through loving you I learned to love myself" kind of thing.  The real show-stealer is Howl though.  His generally flamboyant and upbeat nature is very charming and endearing, though it makes his depressed states that much more annoying.  He's also the one going through most of the character development in the story, addressing his movement from cowardly and selfish to kind and protective and the risks he takes in protecting those important to him.  Another character I absolutely love is Calcifer.  He serves a mostly comedic purpose like Jiji in Kiki - a role he fills well - but at the same time he manages to help drive home a lot of the seriousness of the movie as well.  The rest of the supporting cast is pretty good though pretty typical as well, especially in comparison to other Miyazaki movies.

Well, it's the last time I'll have to say this for a while - It's a Miyazaki movie so of course it looks gorgeous.  The art is incredibly detailed and beautiful, and the animation is well done, smooth and fluid.  Some of Miyzaki's typical outrageous looking character designs are here, particularly the Witch of the Wastes, but they all look very nice.  I also really love the various designs of Howl's monstrous forms.  His lovely scenery is here in full force, from mountainous lakes to fog-covered wastelands to a massive field of flowers - it's a top rate visual feast.  On a final note, I also absolutely love the design of the "castle."  It looks like a walking steampunk scrapheap mixed with a frog or lizard or something with a lot of attention to detail and the movement of all the parts. 

Now normally, music is a bit of an Achilles Heel to me when it comes to reviewing something, especially something without an OP/ED; I'm not the type who pays a lot of attention to the music most of the time.  I will say, however, that I love the main theme of this movie.  It's upbeat and has a very festive, magic feel to it.  It sounds lovely and it fits in very well with all the wondrous things going on in the movie.  A lot of the songs were good as well and always helped fit the mood.   In keeping with tradition Disney is up again for the dub and bringing in the big names for a great dub.  For Sophie, both Emily Mortimer and Jean Simmons do a good job presenting meek youth and aged with spunk respectively.  Christian Bale's quieter tones serve great for the voice of Howl, lending to cheery and serious scenes alike.  The big hit to me, however, was Billy Crystal as Calcifer.  The voice was just perfect for him - he shined was wisecracking and complaining, but he was also exceptional when the fire got small and weak and his voice did as well. 

So yeah, to me Howl's Moving Castle is a great fantasy anime film with a solid plot, amazing characters, and gorgeous art and music.  I can definitely see its flaws and why it's seen as somewhat weaker, but it's definitely worth a watch.  Like most of Miyazaki's movies, it's also one of the best movies to show non-anime fans as well. 

Well, that wraps up Miyazaki Madness!  I really enjoyed it and I hope someone else out there did as well.  Back to just reviewing whatever I happen to watch next, though I'd happily give any recommendations consideration.  See you next time, and I hope everyone had a happy Mother's Day! 

Thursday, May 5, 2011

Game Breaks: Yugioh Tag Force 5

So yeah, this is my attempt to start up reviews of video games since I'm really more of a gamer than an anime fan anyway.  I'd been thinking about doing this for a while but I didn't really just wanna get on here and gush about Portal 2 and now I think I found a game that I'll be able to discuss critically.  A couple things here to note that'll probably be different from later reviews.  1)  I didn't completely finish this game - I got an ending to a story and a credit roll, but not much else.  2)  Like my anime reviews, expect a generally optimistic look, but not here.  I didn't really care for this game too much. 

I want to lead off by saying I really like Yu-Gi-Oh.  I love the anime for the most part - GX got tiresome and Zexal looks pretty gawdawful, but the original and 5D's are pretty good.  I played the game for years; I met a lot of my recent friends through the local tournaments, was pretty good if I do say so myself, and would probably still be playing if interest hadn't died out.  And if you hadn't guessed from the fact I even considered this game, I generally like the video games.  There have been a couple disastrous flops, like Destiny Board Traveler and Wheelie Breakers, but I've liked most of them that I've played.  I've generally stuck with the DS World Championship series and hadn't tried Tag Force until now, so I wanted to see which is the better series. 

So when I started up the story mode and got a bit of a scene about an upcoming tag duel tournament while mentioning the in-show WRGP tournament.  Ok, skipping the older 5D's story, but that's ok - we can't keep covering that over and over.  After a bit of chit-chat, the real game starts... and that's it.  I'm just dropped in a world with no real direction other than "go get people to partner up with you."  And this is my first and perhaps biggest complaint with this game - there's no focus.  This mode is misnamed.  It's not a story mode, it's a sandbox mode.  But you see, good sandbox games like perhaps Infamous have a general plot that arches over everything in addition to the freedom and side missions.  Sure there's the WTGP or whatever, but that wasn't even brought up again until I filled up some random NPC's first heart.  Other than that, it's all just aimless character interaction.

I quickly worked out (without much help from the game) that the general goal is to fill up people's hearts so that they'll partner up to tag duel with you and see short little events.  There's 2 ways to do this: dueling (of course) or a mixture of annoying and boring "conversation" mini-games and giving them gifts.  Here's where you pick your poison - you either get slow (and boring by extension), or just plain boring.  Dueling them fills up a bit of their heart (assuming they're not in a bad mood...) but it's really small and you'd have to duel the same person over and over to fill a heart.  On the other hand, once you can manage a decent flow of money, you can buy lost of gifts and spam conversations while giving gifts to both increase happiness and refill conversation chances per day.  But then, I'm just spending all my time doing boring minigames and not dueling!

I heard you could go faster if you build a Reversal quiz deck for fast dueling, but this leads into another problem, a fatal one for a Yugioh game - getting new cards is A PAIN IN THE ASS.  To be clear, money is not terribly hard to get in this game.  After dueling for a long time I managed to throw together a half-decent Gladiator Beast deck according to advice and dueling a certain opponent was able to rake in DP.  However, the cards are split into tons of packs and the odds of getting the cards you need seem very slim.  The major problem here is the password system.  In the WC games, the passwords cost money but they make getting the cards you need simple.  In TF however, passwords let you rent cards, and while its free you can only have so many at a time depending on level I assume.  I'm level 21 and I can only rent 3! 

I have a couple other problems to mention before I move on.  First off, as the name and previous paragraphs imply, there's a large emphasis on tag dueling.  This is my least favorite part of any Yugioh game, because the AI is usually dumb and you spend half the duel not doing anything.  There's enough single dueling options that I can forgive it though.  Loading times are a pain as well since the game loads all the time.  An install helps a reasonable amount, but it's disabled whenever the system goes into sleep mode (this may be a system problem but I've never encountered it before).  It's also lacking any fun side things like duel puzzles or theme duels found in other games.  It has challenges similar to theme duels but they're easy to forget about in a tab of a ranking screen in a submenu. 

I will say some good things about this game in fairness.  Deck editing is much easier in this game, particularly due to a text search option that makes it a lot easier to search for certain support cards.  In addition, the selection is great and I particularly like the inclusion of anime only cards since it gives you the option to play with these great cards that could never be released in the real game.  The animations for certain monsters are actually impressive and fun to watch at first, and they can be turned off or skipped if you get bored of them. 

The faults far outweigh the good though, and this is the first game in years I've considered trading back in (the last was Shadow the Hedgehog, so yeah, it's been a long time...).  For my money, the WC series will always be the better choice and I look forward to the upcoming release.  However, if you really like Tag Duels and want nothing but lots and lots of dueling from your Yugioh game, or if you only have a PSP and feel a dueling itch, it may be worth your time. 

That's my first game review!  I'm currently playing Hotel Dusk, so maybe I'll get a review of that out later, or maybe I'll dip into my towering backlog.  I hope someone likes this and I'd appreciate any feedback!

Saturday, April 30, 2011

My Anime Thoughts - Miyazaki Madness: Spirited Away

If you forget your name completely, you'll never get home...





The penultimate Miyazaki Madness review is up today, and we've got a real special one here.  This is one of the most critically acclaimed and most loved anime films of all time, possibly the most.  Spirited Away is regarded by some as Miyazaki's masterpiece, and with such an outstanding director that's really saying something.  It's also the only anime film to ever win an Academy Award.  It's been placed highly on several lists of top films, and a sixth of the population of Japan has seen it.  When it was released it was the second highest grossing film in Japanese history and the first film to earn $200 million before opening in the US.  I'm not gonna comment about "does it deserve it" or anything like that, it'd be silly - there's no question about it.  Instead, let's just look at what makes this movie so great. 

While taking a side road on their way to their new house, Chihiro and her family find an old abandoned building they decide to explore to Chihiro's dismay.  After passing through a tunnel and a wide field, they find a deserted marketplace - except for one food stall.  As her parents chow down, Chihiro, scared of getting in trouble, wanders around and discovers a large bathhouse.  Darkness starts to set in and spirits start coming out of the walls and Chihiro's parents gluttony has turned them into pigs.  Lost and alone in this strange world of spirits, Chihiro gets some help from a young man named Haku who tells her that she needs to find a job in the bathhouse or she'll never save her parents or get home.

Upon sneaking into the bathhouse, she meets the crusty, spider-like boiler operator Kamaji and the big-sis-with-attitude mentor Lin.  These two watch out for Chihiro after she gets a job at the bathhouse from the crafty witch Yubaba.  Yubaba takes her name in the deal though, reaming her Sen, and if Chihiro forgets her real name, she'll be stuck in Yubaba's service forever.  Chihiro has to struggle to keep her head above water in this bizarre new world while at the same time trying to find her way out from under Yubaba's thumb and helping Haku to do the same.  She gets some help in this quest from some strange allies, like the dragon-esque River Spirit, a quiet but "generous" spirit known as No-Face, and a little bird and mouse from Yubaba's side.  Throughout this journey, Chihiro grows from a scared, spoiled child to a confident courageous heroine. 

After seeing all of Miyazaki's movies (I've already seen next review's Howl's Moving Castle), I can say firmly that Spirited Away remains my favorite of his movies.  It combines the strengths of several of his movies into one single entity that is strong on all fronts.  The storyline is an example of this - it combines the charming and magical elements of films like Totoro and Kiki while having the solid plot and conflict of Mononoke and Naussica.  This film brings you into one of Miyazaki's most magical worlds, showcasing a wide variety of wondrous and frightening creatures and brightly lit scenery.  The struggle for Chihiro's freedom is interspliced well with other situations and conflicts that all help Chihiro to gain the confidence needed to stand up to Yubaba.  There is a constant feeling of growth in the movie; most of the important characters undergo some level of change and development as the plot progresses.  Similarly, all the events of the story build to the finale as they also help to build up Chihiro.  Whether it's the magic of the world or the struggle and development, there's something great in this plot everyone can enjoy. 

The characters in the film are very well-rounded and most all of them are very likeable.  As said earlier, Chihiro is a heroine who advances leaps and bounds as the movie progresses.  She shows great determination to do whatever it takes to save herself and anyone else she can.  She is flawed - especially near the beginning she shows a lot of fear and weakness - but keeps pushing past the flaws in order to help whoever she can.  Haku is a good guy stuck working for the bad who goes out of his way in risky situations to guide Chihiro, but also needs to be rescued throughout the movie.  He also grows as Chihiro helps him to become warmer and more caring.  Yubaba is an interesting villain; she's a powerful witch but comes off feeling more like a shrewd businessperson.  She doesn't want to hire Chihiro as dead weight at first, but then she doesn't want to let her out of her grip.  A favorite character of mine has always been No-Face.  He feels very mysterious as the movie introduces him and is slowly revealed as a monster, but instead of being dropped as the conflict is resolved, he finds the friend he was looking for in Chihiro and journeys with her as she nears her goal.  The cast is all strong and gets stronger as the movie progresses and they're all endearing on some level. 

The art is as good as any of the other Miyazaki movies and is definitely better in some aspects.  The scenery in this movie is absolutely beautiful - the main areas evoke the feeling of a festival that fits the resort nature of a bathhouse and the supernatural feel of the parading spirits.  And all those spirits have very creative and unique designs straight out of a dream or a nightmare.  The style gets more soothing and relaxing as they leave the island at one point, which fits in that Chihiro is distancing herself from the source of her problems.  The animation is one aspect I feel showed the improvement more than others.  Everything on screen moved so fluidly and so well, particularly some of the larger monsters.  One example that stood out to me was the oh-so-creatively named Stink Spirit, a sludgy creature covered in oozing mud with greasy oils bubbling out of him.  All the movements of both the creature and these substances felt realistic and intricately detailed and lent a crucial feeling of life to the creation.

The soundtrack stood out to me as one of his best, with the music always fitting and adding a lot to the scenes.  The spirit island had this traditional music that sounded very festive and ancient much like the spirits themselves and could even be somewhat intimidating at times.  A lot of the other music felt very uplifting and cheery while being subdued and really fit the overall tone of the film.  The dub cast was, in my opinion, the best Disney has gathered for one of Miyazaki's films, which is interesting as they didn't quite get as much big name talent here.  Daveigh Chase sounded a bit rough as Chihiro but really did being the feel of a scared young child to her performance but still acted well in her composed and serious bits.  Jason Marsden's serious and sometimes cold performance as Haku fit the character very well, and Suzanne Pleshette as Yubaba sounded like a perfect cackling old witch.  Another of the standout performances to me was David Odgen Stiers as Kamaji the boiler worker.  He sounded very crotchety and cranky at first like an old man without time from some brat underfoot, but as Kamaji connected with Chihiro he also provided some very good softspoken and caring lines as well. 

Spirited Away is the best of all of Miyazaki's movies in my opinion and is probably still the best anime movie I've ever seen.  I would enthusiastically recommend this movie to anyone and everyone, and I definitely feel that kids and adults alike will find the movie memorable, enjoyable, and heartwarming.  It deserves all its acclaim and is definitely something to consider for people who have no experience with anime. 

We wrap up Miyazaki Madness next time with Howl's Moving Castle.  (I own this one, so expect it perhaps a bit sooner!)

Friday, April 22, 2011

My Anime Thoughts - Miyazaki Madness: Princess Mononoke

To see with eyes unclouded by hate...






Ah, Princess Mononoke.  Not only is this one of Miyazaki's most loved movies, it is quite possibly one of the most loved animated movies of all time.  Generally, if you ask what Miyazaki's best movie is, Mononoke is one of the 2 possible answers, with Spirited Away being the other.  It's the 4th highest grossing anime movie of all time (all of which were made by Miyazaki), it was in Ebert's top 10 of 1999, it was included in a list of the best 500 movies ever in 1998 by Empire Magazine, and it has received numerous other accolades and awards.  Truly this movie is an anime classic - let's see what makes it one. 

Our story leaps right into the action as a small village is attacked by a demon that looks like a mass of crawling worms.  After our hero Ashitaka strikes it down, the demon is revealed as a dying boar god cursed by a wound from an iron bullet.  Ashitaka was cursed during the battle as well and he leaves his village in order to find the source of the curse that threatens his life.  Along the way he meets a mysterious monk named Jigo and finds out that his curse is fueled by hatred and rage.  Shortly after this he rescues 2 men from a group that was attacked by 2 wolves and a young woman, San, known as Princess Mononoke (Mononoke means monster or spirit) .  He escorts them through a forest full of powerful spirits and brings them safely to Iron Town. 

There he meets the town's leader, the cunning and determined Lady Eboshi.  He also learns that once the town exhausted their supply of iron, they moved to the forest, clearing large sections of it and killing the boar god Nago.  However, Eboshi has also taken in prostitutes and lepers and given them better lives.  Hearing about the forest angers Ashitaka, and later when San invades the village and tries to kill Eboshi, Ashitaka intervenes with his curse's strength and saves them both.  However, he sustains near-fatal wounds and San takes him to the Forest Spirit's spring to heal him. 

While in the forest, he learns that the boars, led by another boar god named Okkoto, are planning to attack Iron Town.  At the same time, Jigo is revealed to be an Imperial mercenary seeking the head of the Forest Spirit for the Emperor's immortality and Eboshi is helping him so her town will be protected from a samurai lord.  A massive battle erupts between the animals and the humans, and during the ensuing chaos Jigo and Eboshi go to hunt the forest spirit.  With both sides facing devastating losses, Ashitaka must find a way to achieve peace for both sides and prevent the ruination of the world. 

Get used to high praise, cause this film excels in most every way.  The story's up first, and it's amazing.  It's a classic battle of good and evil but which side is which isn't always black and white.  For the most part you'll see the side of nature as good and the humans as evil.  However, Eboshi is very sympathetic, taking care of the people society usually overlooks and simply doing what she has to to protect her village.  Likewise, the animals have their bad moments, with their violent rejection of the humans and the times when they turn demonic.  The plot is very predictable, but it is strong enough that this isn't really a problem.  Unlike most of Miyazaki's films, this film has a lot of external conflict but still maintains the internal conflict with San unsure of her place in the world.  The plot is stronger than any of Miyazaki's films I've reviewed so far and is definitely as good as any I've seen in an anime movie. 

Like the story, the characters are all top-notch.  Ashitaka is a great hero - courageous and heroic, serious while remaining idealistic.  He's faced with a life-threatening curse, but instead of worrying or getting depressed, he faces it and tries to find a way to fix it.  He also stands as a bridge connecting both the natural forces and the humans.  San is also an interesting protagonist.  She acts like how you expect a girl raised by wolves to act - fierce and wild - but she also gets confused when she is faced with a good human like Ashitaka.  All the animal gods sound wise but at the same time manage to be intimidating and fearsome.  Eboshi is, as I said, very sympathetic while also suave and intelligent; she's the kind of villain who's always in control.  Jigo also stands out as a well-done "hidden talons" type who knows more than he lets on.  Really, the only characters who annoyed me were the townspeople, but they're pretty minor and easy to ignore. 

Miyazaki's art and animation is always beautiful, and Mononoke is no exception.  It retains the beautiful traditional look even with a bit of computer animation mixed in and everything remains very fluid, particularly the action and the demon effects.  Princess Mononoke in particular shows off one of the things I love most about his work: the backgrounds.  All the scenes in the mountains and the forests show the gorgeous attention to detail that Miyazaki always gives his backgrounds, with some shots looking like they're straight out of paintings.  The one thing that stood out as laughable to me though were the lost limbs.  One man lost his arm with a clean cut from a cannon blast, and there are several arrow decapitations.  It's really laughable and detracts a bit from the action scenes, but not enough that the movie isn't still a visual feast. 

The soundtrack stands out to me as one of the best from his films.  Whenever an action scene rolled around, the music always sounded grand and fast paced; it really got me pumped up for the action scenes and left an impression.  The remaining music was softer and really fit the movie by sounding very natural and traditional.  Disney knocked the dub out of the park again.  Billy Crudup provided a serious air of determination and caring for Ashitaka, and Claire Danes made San sound wild and rough.  Minnie Driver was the stand out role to me, giving Lady Eboshi the perfect air of sophistication, refinement, and cunning.  I even thought Billy Bob Thornton did a good job as Jigo, sounding like a rough old rural monk while still sounding good in the serious moments.  I did have one BIG problem though, and that was Jada Pinkett Smith.  She just was not good in her role.  She sounded far too modern both in tone and dialogue, ruining her character for me. 

Nothing is perfect, and Princess Mononoke certainly has some flaws.  These are minor though compared to the whole package, and Princess Mononoke definitely delivers as a whole.  There's no major area that fails as a whole and the failings are small parts of larger fields.  It deserves all of its acclaim and really is a masterpiece.  Every anime fan should see it, and I'd recommend it to anyone regardless of taste, even people with no anime experience. 

Next time we've got the only anime to win an Academy Award, Spirited Away!

Sunday, April 17, 2011

My Anime Thoughts - Miyazaki Madness: Porco Rosso

I'd rather be a pig than a facist.


Porco Rosso Cover

So, about the movie I'm actually reviewing.  The fifth movie Miyazaki made with Studio Ghibli, Porco Rosso seems to me to get the short end of the stick as far as his movies are concerned.  I certainly rarely see it brought up in anime movie recommendations, and while it seems like it got good reception generally, it seems to be passed over in favor of his other more well-known titles.  There does seem to be one possible reason for this, however: it was actually planned as an in-flight movie, but changed into a full-length film during production.  So does this movie deserve some more acclaim, or should it just be shown on a red-eye into Tokyo?

As the film begins we're introduced to our protagonist, Porco Rosso - a somewhat jaded old ex-WWI fighter pilot with a pig's head.  Yeah.  Anyway, he makes his living these days as a bounty hunter taking in seaplane pirates, and he's one of the best.  The pirates are getting fed up with him, so they bring in an ace from America named Curtis in order to get rid of Porco once and for all.  Around this time we're also introduced to an old friend of Porco's named Gina, a war-widow who's actually carrying a torch for Porco and who Curtis falls for but is ultimately rejected by. 

As Porco's beat-up old plane is starting to show it's age and he heads to Milan to get it repaired.  On the way, Curtis ambushes him and Porco can't take him with his plane acting up like it is.  He gets shot out of the sky but survives and Curtis returns to brag.  Porco continues to Milan and enlists his usual mechanic to fix the ship, though his young granddaughter Fio takes the lead in the repairs, something Porco is uncomfortable with.  She quickly proves her talent and Porco slowly comes to respect her ability. 

There's a catch, however - Porco's a deserter from the Italian Air Force (due to the incoming Fascist government) and the secret police are out to get him.  He barely gets out of Milan safely, but the plane's a bit more crowded as Fio insists on coming along to make sure the plane's working alright.  They return to an ambush by the pirates and later Curtis.  However, Fio sets the pirates straight and reminds them of their honor and also arranges a dogfight between Porco and Curtis to settle things - if Porco wins, Curtis pays his repair bills; if Curtis wins, Fio marries him (o_O).  The dogfight ends in a draw followed by Porco winning an impromptu boxing match, and then everyone high-tails it before the Italian Air Force shows up for Porco.

The story of Porco Rosso is really just alright at best.  One thing that stands out to me is that it doesn't feel like a Miyazaki movie.  Male lead, slight focus on action, not as much charm to it - a lot of things feel off.  This isn't necessarily bad, but I wonder if it suffers because he's out of his element.  There's something of a theme of lost honor and rediscovering that honor, but it isn't done in a particularly intriguing or fascinating way.  A lot remains unexplained as well, most notably the reason for the pig head, as Porco used to be a human named Marco.  It's implied to be connected to the desertion, but it's really unclear.  While I enjoyed the final conflict and found the more real-world approach interesting, as a whole the plot felt lacking.

The character interactions are probably the best part of the movie, and the characters themselves are great for the most part.  Porco is a good lead, while not immediately likeable, shows his nicer side as the movie progresses.  He's clearly haunted by his past and he can't get past it; he really feels like a grizzled vet.  Fio is more of the traditional Miyazaki protagonist, a cheerful, upbeat young girl with attitude who also serves as an inspiration to Porco to remember what honor is about.  Gina is a wise, thoughtful, and capable woman keeping the peace between Porco and the pirates.  On the other hand, there's Curtis, a brash casanova playing up the American stereotype a lot.  He's good for a laugh at the stereotype, but he's annoying the rest of the time. 

Amazing art, what a surprise.  Do I really need to keep saying anything here?  Miyazaki made it, so that means beautiful hand drawn art and unique and charming character designs.  The animation flows well and never skips a beat.  You can always count on Miyazaki's art.

The music was really good in the movie as well.  The dramatic pieces played during the dogfights, the soft and airy tones during Porco's flashback, the soothing song sung by Gina - there are a lot of parts where the music fit perfectly.  And once again, Disney brings in great talent for the dub.  Keaton plays Porco to a tee, playing him gruff and lively most of the time but bringing warmth and compassion when needed.  Kimberly Williams-Paisley brings a lot of energy and confidence to Fio and Susan Egan as Gina sounds very wise and kind.  The rest of the supporting cast gave good performances as well.

In the end, this is probably the weakest of his films that I've seen.  This isn't to say it's necessarily a bad movie, as it has good characters and Miyazaki's gorgeous art, but the plot leaves something to be desired.  I would still recommend it, but not as heartily as I would Miyazaki's other movies. 

Next week, Princess Mononoke, one of his most well-loved films!

Saturday, April 16, 2011

My Anime Thoughts - Miyazaki Madness: Kiki's Delivery Service

Excuse me. But would you like me to deliver it for you?

Kiki's Delivery Service cover

Miyazaki Madness marches on after a bit of a delay, and now it's time for Kiki's Delivery Service.  Kiki's Delivery Service is Miyazaki's 4th movie with Studio Ghibli and was the first movie released under the long-lasting partnership between Ghibli and Disney.  Released in 1989 in Japan, it was very successful, being the highest grossing film of '89 and the best selling DVD in the month it was released.  While it was only released direct-to-video in America, it still received a notable amount of success stateside as well.  So, is this film worthy of all the accolades?

So, as the film begins, Kiki has just recently turned 13 and is preparing to leave home with her cat Jiji to train her magic as is their custom.  Which is good, since her abilities are a bit rough - flying is basically all she can do, and even that's a bit rough.  However, when she finds a town that she's happy with, she finds the welcome somewhat cold and distant, which leaves her feeling like an outsider.  However, she soon finds a kind heart in young Tombo, a boy around her own age who is fascinated by flight, but her previous reception leads to her being somewhat icy towards him at first. 

She soon finds another friend in the baker Osono.  After Kiki helps to return a lost item, Osono is grateful and agrees to let Kiki stay in her spare room provided Kiki helps to mind the bakery occasionally.  It is also here where Kiki finds her inspiration to start a delivery service, and the movie then proceeds to follow Kiki's life in the city as she struggles with her emerging business.  She also has to deal with all kinds of personal struggles throughout the movie, which later take on a tangible presence with Kiki facing the possible loss of her magic powers because of them. 

The plot of Kiki's Delivery Service is, at its core,  a pretty typical, somewhat simple coming of age story.  However, the movie presents this very familiar plot in a fantastic way with a respectable amount of depth.  Throughout the movie, while trying to make a success of her newfound independence, Kiki is also struggling with a lot of internal conflict like her feelings of isolation and notable lack of self confidence.  She also has to try to find out who she is outside of her training and find her own inspiration that gives her a reason to use her powers.  The end result of all this internal conflict is that there's little to nothing as far as external conflict: a couple of problems during deliveries and a climatic event.  In this way it reminds me of Totoro - not a lot of plot-driven drama, but it makes up for it with an emphasis on the characters and their lives presented in an charming way. 

Speaking of characters, the cast of Kiki's Delivery service are all endearing, likeable characters.  However, it does seem to have a pretty small cast, with Kiki, Tombo, and Osono as the main characters and Jiji and Ursula (a painter living in the woods) for supporting cast.  I felt Kiki was a great heroine, a mostly upbeat and cheerful girl who also had some issues and would get serious or depressed at times and mostly came off feeling like a very well-rounded character.  Tombo acted how I would expect a young boy with a crush to act - excitable, energetic and always wanting to impress Kiki.  Osono was great nurturing surrogate mother character; Jiji, while tiringly pessimistic at times, provided some nice comic relief; and Ursula, while not having a large presence in the movie served a nice inspirational role to Kiki.  In the end, most of the cast was only important in how they related to Kiki, but they still were likeable and none were too annoying. 

When it comes to discussing art and animation in this series of reviews, I feel like I'm getting a bit repetitive, but what can I say - Miyazaki's art is consistently amazing.  His traditional hand-drawn style once again lends itself to great character designs and beautiful backgrounds.  The town seems vibrant, the characters all look good, and there's a lot of attention to detail.  All in all it's another feast for the eyes.  The same can be said for animation as well.  All the movement flows really well and there's not a lot of still shots or anything.  Like most of his movies, it's very well put together. 

The music set the mood well with a lot of light and upbeat tunes during the cheerier parts and slower more serious melodies when called for.  I also found that the dubbed songs both in-film and during the credits were well done and sounded a lot better than some I've heard.  However, on the whole it wasn't particularly memorable and nothing really stuck with me.  The dub cast all performed their roles admirably with no weak voices I can think of.  Kirsten Dunst did a great job as Kiki, bringing the right sound for every mood, and Matthew Lawrence sounded just right for an excitable kid like Tombo.  My favorite voice in the dub has to go to Phil Hartman as Jiji.  His voice was perfect for Jiji's snarking personality and brought a lot of charm to the role.

All in all, Kiki's Delivery Service is a great coming of age story with charming characters and beautiful art.  I fully recommend it to anyone looking for a cheery and light-hearted story or just looking for a good anime movie in general.  Be sure to keep an eye out for my next Miyazaki Madness review on one of his more overlooked movies, at least by me: Porco Rosso!

My Anime Thoughts - Miyazaki Madness: My Neighbor Totoro

To-to-ro?  Your name is Totoro?

Totoro cover

For the third installment of Miyazaki Madness, it's time to turn to what is quite possibly Miyazaki's most iconic movie, My Neighbor Totoro.  When someone says Miyazaki, or even anime movies in general for some people, one of the first things that comes to mind is probably this movie.  Totoro himself has also become an incredibly iconic character, featured in the logo of Studio Ghibli and being referenced to or cameoing in multitudes of things (my favorite is the Totoro plush in Toy Story 3).  So, does this iconic movie live up to the hype or is it all growl, no bite?

Our story begins with a father and his two daughters moving out to a slightly run-down old house far out in the country.  When they get there, the two girls, Satsuki and Mei, immediately take to exploring the house and marveling at... well, just about anything, including a rotting support beam.  The strangest things are small, harmless creatures called soot sprites, said to inhabit old empty houses.  They make a mess, but they're shy and they mostly leave the family alone.

We soon find out the girl's mother is in the hospital, though for what is never quite made clear.  The story then continues along with everyday life until, while exploring the nearby forest one day, Mei stumbles upon some small mysterious creatures and eventually a huge version - a gray, furry, sleepy, friendly bear-like spirit that she names Totoro after the sound of its growls.  From here, it mostly just continues with everyday life, sprinkled with some magical moments with Totoro and ending with a bit of drama.

So, for the story.  There really is no story, no plot.  This movie is really just a movie about life and experiences, specifically the magical and wonderful experiences life has to offer through the eyes of a child.  The whole movie revolves around these experiences, both the regular, more routine experiences of everyday life (seen through the excited eyes of a child), and the supernatural and wonderful experiences the girls share with Totoro, and outside of the last 15 minutes or so, there's no actual issues or drama present in the movie.
Do not take this as a negative, however, as Totoro delivers these experiences in such a wonderful and appealing way that feels so magical and amazing that it makes you feel just like a child again.  On one hand you'll be marveling at Totoro and the mystical things he can do, and on the other you'll be connecting with the incredibly realistic events portrayed during the everyday lives of the family.  For Totoro, it's not about the destination but the journey and loving every minute of it.  This may not suit everyone's tastes, but for me it was very enjoyable and fascinating.

For the characters, the main cast consists of the two girls and Totoro.  Both of the main girls are completely charming and adorable while also being very relatable, though for different reasons.  Satsuki really feels like a still-young older sister without a mother around.  She's very responsible and is always looking out for Mei, but still gets excited about little things and can't always handle the things going on in her life.  On the other hand Mei feels like a real toddler/preschooler, constantly amazed by everything going on around her, clinging to her older sister, and not always understanding the seriousness of events or her actions.  They're both great characters that you really come to like and care about.

Totoro is just completely loveable and charming.  He really embodies that sort of whimsy and magic of a child's imagination and feels like a real version of an imaginary friend that you could have all kinds of adventures with as a kid.  The mystique that he and the other creatures bring to the film are really what make it so great and not just a window of everyday life.  The supporting cast, like the girls, also feel incredibly realistic and help to make the film that much more connectable.

The animation is top notch, beautiful hand drawn traditional animation that's in all these movies.  There's a great attention to detail, from the little extra things added to a scene, to the way things move; nothing is overlooked and it lends itself to an amazing visual experience.  Like I said the animation moves as good as anything I've seen and all the little touches are there so that the movie just never looks bad.  It seems to me to be a bit of a jumping point, as Totoro definitely had a better look to it more similar to the later movies than either Nausicaa or Castle did.

When it comes to the music, there's really not much to say as there's not a whole lot of music present in the movie.  This fits the movie very well though IMO, as it's a movie about everyday life and experiences and I just think a frequently present soundtrack would detract from this.  I will note, however, that the English opening song was just bad.  It just sounded a bit too silly and kiddy, even for a lighthearted movie like this.  The dub, as tends to be the case with Disney's dubs, was pretty exceptional.  All the characters brought the right level of emotion to the table and made almost every scene feel just right.  Dakota Fanning and her real life sister Elle Fanning both do great jobs as Satsuki and Mei Kusakabe; their voices seem to have the perfect level of charm and energy while still sounding believable. 

So in the end, My Neighbot Totoro stands out as a memorable, magical experience filled with charming characters, beautiful art, and an amazing feeling of imagination.  It's probably rests pretty firmly as one of my favorite of all of Miyazaki's movies and I really feel that any anime fan should see it at some point, even if just to say they've seen this iconic movie.  I also fully recommend it as a kids movie for anyone not into anime as well.  The movie really lived up to the hype and deserves all it's acclaim.

That's all for today, tune in next time for Miyazaki's next film, Kiki's Delivery Service!  So long!

My Anime Thoughts - Miyazaki Madness: Castle in the Sky

And one day I'll prove it!  I'll discover Laputa!
Castle in the Sky cover

Miyazaki Madness continues everybody!  Took me a while to get to it, what with the new Pokemon release distracting me, but I finally watched it and it's time to review Castle in the Sky!  Castle in the Sky remains one of Miyazaki's most well known and iconic movies, and it's been years since I last saw it.  It was actually the first movie released under the Studio Ghibli.  As it is also one of Miyazaki's oldest movies, does it still have the charms that made it so famous, or have the years left it flying not so high?

As our story opens, an airship is being attacked by pirates in search of a crystal necklace held by a small girl named Sheeta.  During the attack, the girl falls out of the ship, but the crystal, glowing with a mysterious light, saves her from the fall.  She is found unconscious by a young boy named Pazu working with a group of miners, who takes her to his house.  After waking up, she sees a photo of Laputa, the titular castle in the sky.  Pazu explains that his father took the picture and even though most people denounce it as a fake, Pazu believes Laputa exists and is determined to prove it. 

Their peaceful time together is short lived, however, as soon both the original pirates and the government are breathing down their necks to get the crystal.  They manage to escape into a mineshaft, where they learn that Sheeta's crystal is in actuality a crystal of aetherium, an incredibly rare and powerful crystal responsible for keeping Laputa in the air.  Sheeta then reveals to Pazu that she inherited a secret name, one that indicates a connection to Laputa.  Shortly after this, however, the two are kidnapped by the government. 

At the government base, Colonel Muska, our antagonist, reveals to Sheeta the meaning of her name as well as showing her an giant inactive robot with the crest of Laputa on it.  He then threatens to harm Pazu unless she helps them find Laputa so they can discover it's technological secrets.  After being released, Pazu teams up with the pirates in order to rescue Sheeta. 

However, back at the base, the giant robot has been awakened and is now destroying everything in its path while seeking out Sheeta.  It eventually follows her out onto a tower, but seems more interested in protecting her than attacking her.  The robot is eventually destroyed, but by then Pazu is there to rescue Sheeta, though she has lost the pendant.  Now that the government has the key to finding Laputa, Sheeta, Pazu, and the pirates must team up in order to find it first.  

The story of Castle in the Sky is probably it's greatest feature.  While there are no major surprises or shocking plot twists, Castle in the Sky does present a well written, high-spirited, fast-paced adventure.  It feels pretty typical, but it also feels like typical done very right.  All the energy and excitement while searching for Laputa makes you want to find it just as much as the cast and once it is found, Laputa feels like such a mystical place that the payoff was well worth it.  On another note, Castle in the Sky is also much lighter on Miyazaki's typical environmentalist themes, for better or worse, as I didn't even notice any hints of it until 3/4 of the way in, and even then it's not emphasized. 

The characters are more of a mixed bag for me.  I honestly feel that the main leads were just not great in this movie.  Sheeta was not a bad character by any stretch, but in the end she wasn't particularly memorable and fell flat compared to other Miyazaki heroines.  Pazu was a driven, heroic kid, but on the whole he just didn't feel special to me and it felt like he was there mostly cause he found Sheeta.  I did enjoy the supporting cast, like Dola and her pirates.  They provided welcome comic relief while also helping to bring energy to the film.  I also enjoyed slick and suave Colonel Muska, using anyone and anything he could to get what he wanted. 

As is typical Miyazaki fare, the art is beautiful traditional work.  I will admit, however, that it does come off feeling slightly dated at times.  It is by no means drastic, however, and the movie is full of great art.  I feel the need to bring particular attention to the backgrounds, where the level of detail always looked amazing, and the design of the robots - more of a personal thing - which I felt were both perfect for the setting and very unique.  The animation was fluid and looked great, though there were some still shots here and there.  I again point to the robots, as their motions always looked fluid and their awakenings moved smoothly as well.

The music was spectacular, and while I can't say there are any particular tracks that stand out to me, it always brought the feeling of adventure and excitement to me to bring me into the setting.  As far as the dub cast goes, I find my opinion here mirroring that of the characters.  James Van Der Beek really felt off as Pazu, both sounding too old for him as well as talking faster than seemed natural at times.  Anna Paquin performed acceptably as Sheeta, but was perhaps a bit too softspoken and ultimately didn't feel very special.  I did enjoy Cloris Leachman as Dola, feeling she played an eccentric old pirate perfectly, and Mark Hamill as Muska was also great, with Hamill sounding very sinister and sophisticated.  The remaining supporting cast also had good performance in general. 

In conclusion, Castle in the Sky is a well made, well rounded anime film that shined in most areas while being unfortunately brought down for me by some lackluster leads.  This may keep it from being one of Miyazaki's best in my book, but it still remains a great movie for anyone looking for a light-hearted adventure.  I fully recommend it to anyone.  Be sure to tune in to my next review, My Neighbor Totoro!

My Anime Thoughts - Miyazaki Madness: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

There's nothing to fear...

Nausicaa cover

If you've been reading my reviews, you may remember that a couple of weeks ago, I did a double review that included Hayao Miyazaki's latest movie, Ponyo.  After finishing that review, I thought to myself, "I really like Miyazaki's movies, but there's several I haven't seen and several I've only seen like one time a long time ago."  So I decided to throw about 6-7 on my Netflix queue and dedicate a series of reviews to one of the best and most famous directors of anime movies around.  I'll be reviewing them in order of release date and limiting myself to movies made with Studio Ghibli (I don't think he's done much else, just covering myself here from people claiming I'm missing something). 

And with that, I'll go ahead and jump on in to my first review, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind.  Nausicaa is set in a post-apocalyptic world 1000 years after war, particularly due to massive behemoths called Giant Warriors, has destroyed most of the ecosystem as well as crippled human civilization.  The remaining humans now live in fear of two major threats - an ever spreading poisonous jungle called the Toxic Jungle and massive, sometimes violent insects, particularly the enormous Ohmu. 

Our title character, Nausicaa, is a princess of one of the remaining human civilizations, a small peaceful tribe that has settled in the Valley of the Wind.  She believes in peaceful coexistence with both the jungle and the insects and is trying to develop a cure for the jungle's poisons to save her people.  One night, a plane crashes in the valley carrying important cargo for the militaristic Tolmekians from the weaker nation of Pejite that they are occupying.  The cargo turns out to be a dormant Giant Warrior that the Tolmekians plan to use to burn down the jungle despite the warnings from ancient tales.  Now Nausicaa must find a way to stop war from breaking out between the various human groups as well as the insects and stop the destruction of the jungle that is more than the poisonous threat most people see it as. 

The story of Nausicaa is very well done, a well told story of war and peace and the different approaches to human-environment interaction.  On the note of the environment (which is sure to come up a lot in this series of reviews...), I have to say I feel that Miyazaki's typical environmental themes feel much more heavy handed in Nausicaa than they do in a lot of his other movies, though this may be my spotty memory of some of his films.  In the end it doesn't detract from the quality of the story, but it does lead to the story coming off as a bit preachy at times. 

The characters were good enough to serve the story well, but they were nothing amazing or anything.  Nausicaa herself fills a pretty typical role as a pacifistic leader trying to stop wars and killing, and while she fills the role well as a courageous and inspiring leader, she doesn't feel too new or unique.  Asbel, the fighter pilot from Pejite that Nausicaa saves from enraged insects, was a decent character but in the end felt pretty unimportant.  Yupa, the wise sage and mentor character, had a couple of heroic moments but also felt somewhat unimportant by the end.  The warring antagonists stood out, providing a nice contrast to Nausicaa's pacifism and having some generally good intentions behind their actions.  In the end though, Nausicaa is the one carrying the story and she does a pretty good job. 

When it comes to the art, Nausicaa displays Miyazaki's usual beautiful traditional style of animation and is definitely great to look at.  The animation is great as well with a lot of the flying sequences and battles moving very well.  The movie is one of Miyazaki's earliest, however, and the art and animation do feel a bit dated when compared with some of his later works.  There are several scenes with either no movement or very limited movement.  Still, the artwork is really good and definitely pleasing to the eyes. 

The music in the movie did a pretty good job setting the mood, but the individual tracks themselves weren't too memorable for the most part.  There was the recurring, surreal "la la la" chant, but that was more memorable for being a bit weird than anything else.  The dub cast pulled in some big names like Miyazaki's films tend to.  However, like several other aspects of the movie, they felt good but not amazing.  Some roles I liked were Chris Sarandon as Kurotawa, one of the antagonists and Patrick Stewart as Lord Yupa. 
In the end, Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is a great movie I recommend to anyone.  The storyline and art are great, and the other aspects are definitely good enough to make it worth a watch.  It's not one of Miyazaki's best movies, but it's a really good movie worth checking out. 

Join me next time as I review Miyazaki's next movie, Castle in the Sky.

My Anime Thoughts: Space Pirate Captain Harlock

“I wander through the stars freely…  People call me…  Captain Harlock!”

Captain Harlock group shot

All aboard mateys, set sail for grand adventure in this neverending sea of stars!  ... ... Ok, never doing that again.  Anyway, up for review today is the vintage classic, Space Pirate Captain Harlock, an anime from the late 70's about a ragtag group of pirates sailing with only freedom in mind.  Watching Captain Harlock came about due to me wanting to watch something really old, older than anything I've ever watched before, in order to have a new kind of experience.  So, does this show still shine like a golden treasure, or has its shimmer faded with the years?
A couple of disclaimers before I begin.  First, like I said, I've never watched anything this old before.  As such, I have no experience with other things to compare it to and am not sure how it measures up regarding animation.  Secondly, heretical as it may seem, I almost never watch any subs unless a show is airing and a dub has yet to be made.  As such, I have no plans to discuss, the quality of the voice acting in this review, as I have almost no experience in the matter. 
Our story begins in the year 2977.  Life has become so easy for humanity that people have lost any sort of dream or drive and spend all their time on leisure.  Only one man and his crew still retain humanity's spirit - Harlock and the crew of the Arcadia, who have rebelled against the government and, after being declared outlaws, sail the stars with freedom as their only desire.  Harlock's only remaining tie to Earth is Mayu, the daughter of his dear departed friend who he would do anything to protect. 
Humanity's weakened state means that they're in no position to defend themselves when an alien race of plant people that "burn like paper," the Mazone, lay claim to the Earth as their homeland.  Harlock and a scientist named Professor Daiba are the only ones to decipher the message, but no one believes them and the Professor is killed by a Mazone agent.  Seeking revenge, his son Tadashi Daiba joins Harlock as he decides to take Earth's defense into his own hands. 
The story basically continues in the same way for the first half to 2/3 of the series, feeling very much like a kids show with isolated plots about battles with the Mazone or the feeble attempts of SDF Commander Kiruta to capture Harlock.  In the later parts of the show, it starts feeling like a much more mature show, both because it starts to deal with the harsher aspects of war like civilian casualties and the execution of traitors and because of content that seems out of place on a kids show. 
The plot, while laughable at times near the beginning, really comes into its own as the show moves on and transforms into a truly dramatic and moving tale of galactic war.  The characters are pretty bland for the most part though.  On the plus side, Harlock is a great hero: manly, strong, and wise with a clear idea of what he believes and wants to protect.  His friend Tochiro, shown in flashbacks, is an endearing and lovable character who shares Harlocks dreams and puts everything on the line for them.  Commander Kiruta becomes an amazing heroic character in the later episodes, Mayu is an adorable little girl, and Queen Lafresia is a sympathetic and determined villainess.
That may seem like a lot, but there's still a large crew on the Arcadia to account for, and most of them are pretty one dimensional and usually get like one episode of backstory for development.  Daiba is a hot-blooded but sensible teen driven by revenge; Kei is a pretty generic smart action girl; Yattaran is the first mate who likes plastic models;  Miime is a mysterious alien indebted to Harlock who subsists on wine; Doctor Zero is the ship's alcoholic doctor; Masu, the ships cranky cook; and Maji, the engineer.  The rest of the characters were one-offs or were pretty forgettable. 
Artwise, well, it's a series from the 70's.  It's bound to pale compared to newer things.  Still, I thought, considering the age of the show, that the art did a repsectable job and the art was generally nice enough to look at.  My biggest complaint is probably the fact that most of the female designs, particularly the Mazone, look REALLY similar.  For animation, I again refer you to the decade.  The shortcuts taken are pretty obvious most of the time, with lots of still shots, reused footage, and an eye glint effect use so much I swear I counted it like 5 times in one episode. 
The music was really one of the shows stronger points in my opinion.  The show relies primarily on a mixture of grand, sweeping, dramatic songs and slower, more resonant, ballad-esque tunes.  They really set the mood with great effect and though there aren't a lot of different songs and a decent amount of remixes, the repetition helps to make the songs more memorable and catchy.  Both the opening and ending favor the slower ballads and they both get get you in the moods openings and endings should.  I found the opening in particular very catchy and couldn't resist humming along as the series progressed. 
Wrapping up, this isn't a show for everyone.  It definitely has some notable flaws, like the dated art and animation, the shallower early plot, and a lot of bland characters, and it requires an interest in the traditional kind of sci-fi, with long space voyages, alien planets, and lots of ship battles.  If you like that kind of sci-fi though, this story of a great war with a memorable soundtrack may just be worth checking out. 
P.S. :  I've got a plan for a series of reviews coming up next, and my next one will probably be up real soon, so look forward to that!