Hmm...I remember catching this on Cable several years ago, but it just didn't catch my attention. The story sounds interesting, but the pace of what I managed to see was just too slow for my taste, and the violence was a little much. Funny, seeing as I actually liked Patlabor: WXIII...
Thanks for the review, Gramps--people need to remember the '60s, or else we'll keep making the same mistakes.
To tell the truth I'm surprised by the vote of approval Oji-san, nearly every other review I've looked up on it has panned this work for being "dull"/"slow", "predictable", while at other times trying too hard to "get its viewer to think", it's because of that (and because of my experience with another work known as "Real Drive") that I was beginning to lose faith in I.G., but heck if you think it's worth it, I'm willing to give it a go, I certainly liked the premise to begin with.
Since this isn't an action flick, your view of pacing depends on expectations. I suppose some might see a political / psychological thriller combined with an awkward relationship story as slow. It's set in an alternative time-line to the political unrest in 60s post- post-war Japan, which had its real share of protests/riots.
Not to mention typical Japanese denials, there were several "communist" protests by students at Tokyo U in the 1960s, and because of it, the College staff kicked out a whole group of students who they thought were involved, which ended up including one whom had been over a 1000 miles away at the time visiting his parents at the time a certain protest had taken place.
To maintain their image, they never admitted their obvious mistake, and that student suffered because of it.
I loved the whole opening witt the red riding hood. But those giant robot suite they wore I just found like the animators were thinking "hmm how big can we make these suites without it becoming mecha? who cares *draw draw draw*" This anime I wasn't a fan of. Maybe I should give it a second shot but I just was bored with it.
The suits didn't bug me. They're designed to protect the riot police from rocks, bullets, and Molotov cocktails using 60s pre-Kevlar technology. They aren't powered, just big, bulky, movement-slowing full-body protection. Reminded me of more of a western European knight's armor or full Japanese Samurai armor. Or a bomb disposal suit (see "The Hurt Locker"?)
Oshii's live-action "Stray Dog" gives a brief look at suit.
I turned of ratings as an experiment to see if it provoked more comments.
Have you seen any of those live action movies Jii-san? I kind of enjoyed Stray Dog a little but Red Spectacles was a bit too much. Its hard to imagine that they are from the same director as Angel's Egg or Gits haha. Honestly what was he thinking?
Yes, I watched both, which are available in US with English subs. I mentioned them only because they are also set in this alternate 1960s "Kerberos" world (Oshii calls them a trilogy.) I recommend neither. As I said, "Red Spectacles" made me think Oshii wanted to try a Feilini-eque film in the same way "Interiors" was Woody Allen's way of channelling Bergman.
I agree. The impression I have is that after assisting Oshii (and Otomo) on several movies, this was to be his debut as a feature film director. I thought it was outstanding. And yet afterwards he returned to design and key animation. I guess he didn't like directing and prefers drawing.
He's assisted Tezuka, Otomo, Miyazaki, Kawajiri, Kawamori, Oshii and Kon. Clearly the top directors respect his abilities.
We desert dwellers are always a sucker for trees. (We have a "wow, green!" mentality that puzzles our visitors from back east, who apparently see trees all the time and think them quite ordinary. (Really, they just block the view :)
Last autumn, I made several trips to high country to catch some fall foliage for a change.
Not interested... Watching an anime, is not something I do just for the action, or gore... Hell, I don't watch much of anything for action, and I avoid gore, because frankly, it's sickening to enjoy watching something as barbaric as that.
For me, an anime has to either be a puzzle, or have deep characters, and typically an overall well written script. I won't watch an anime
"only for the attention to detail in some of the scenes(where guys get shot up etc). "
This isn't an anime just about the gore/action etc. I just think it's worth the watch for that alone, nevermind the great TRUE retelling of The Big Bad Wolf. The undertones of a secretive government and all the evil that comes from that...
It's an intense movie to say the least. I also said, "if only", but I thank you for taking what I posted out of context.
"I just think it's worth the watch for that alone"
I don't find any redeeming qualities in that, but you're also right, I did take that "if only" out of context, but I was emphasizing that if only for those things, doesn't convince me. If you'd said if only for the undertones of a secretive government, or something like that, then I may have felt more inclined, however you failed to convince me by suggesting that the traits that I don't like, are worth watching an anime for.
It's worth watching "if only" for those traits. You're over-analyzing this, I'm not meant to be a goddamn car salesman here. I'm not a representative of Bandai Visual trying to hawk his company's wares. Your comment about me finding the certain scenes "barbaric" was funny.
Protip: Brutality is human nature, it's not going away anytime soon. If you want something soft and cuddly this definitely isn't the movie for you. If you want a puzzle get a Rubik's cube. I could go on...
Well, I guess I spent 8 minutes talking and buried the lead :(
This is a character story of two people caught in a complex political climate. Fuse is part of a brutal riot suppression unit. Rei is just as trapped in her own world. Both are being watched, used and betrayed. It's a tragedy, not about violence, but I couldn't recommend it w/o cautioning that it has some violence. I did recommend it strongly.
At the beginning and end of Jii-san's reviews, there are always the title of the anime as well as the distributer on the screen. Also during the clips shown from the anime.
As TheItchinader said, I almost always put a "music video" style tag at the start & end that includes the title and the US distributor (if any.) I only forgot to add that text once.
I rarely go into detail about a dub unless something really impressed me or really bugged me. For some reason in this case I did mention Ocean studio, which I almost never do, because they surprised on the up-side. #t=493
Just read all the other comments...
HAHAHA. Experiment.
Also, you get a 4 star, you did meander away from "the meat"[awesome pun] Old Man...But I'm favving the vid anyway.
This is one of the hidden achievements in storytelling.
lusulpher 2 years ago
Ratings disabled?
And I can't state how amazing this anime was to me.
It's dark, haunting, brutal, surreal...EXACTLY how I love them!
It combined all the best elements of Cowboy Bebop, Evangelion and Ghost In The Shell. But also had the Akira meets Wolf's Rain vibe.
It is a masterpiece in comparison to ALL films. Lolita, Pan's Labyrinth and American Beauty kept coming to mind.
It's about a man finding his soul, IF IT HAD EXISTED. WATCH IT!!!!
I also thought I was a wolf for a week. ]:D-
lusulpher 2 years ago
i love your reviews, but the sound is always so fuzzy, it makes watching your videos rather unpleasent
foottothenuts 2 years ago
Hmm...I remember catching this on Cable several years ago, but it just didn't catch my attention. The story sounds interesting, but the pace of what I managed to see was just too slow for my taste, and the violence was a little much. Funny, seeing as I actually liked Patlabor: WXIII...
Thanks for the review, Gramps--people need to remember the '60s, or else we'll keep making the same mistakes.
Levitz9 2 years ago
To tell the truth I'm surprised by the vote of approval Oji-san, nearly every other review I've looked up on it has panned this work for being "dull"/"slow", "predictable", while at other times trying too hard to "get its viewer to think", it's because of that (and because of my experience with another work known as "Real Drive") that I was beginning to lose faith in I.G., but heck if you think it's worth it, I'm willing to give it a go, I certainly liked the premise to begin with.
Alaskaslim 2 years ago
Since this isn't an action flick, your view of pacing depends on expectations. I suppose some might see a political / psychological thriller combined with an awkward relationship story as slow. It's set in an alternative time-line to the political unrest in 60s post- post-war Japan, which had its real share of protests/riots.
GrumpyJiisan 2 years ago
Not to mention typical Japanese denials, there were several "communist" protests by students at Tokyo U in the 1960s, and because of it, the College staff kicked out a whole group of students who they thought were involved, which ended up including one whom had been over a 1000 miles away at the time visiting his parents at the time a certain protest had taken place.
To maintain their image, they never admitted their obvious mistake, and that student suffered because of it.
Alaskaslim 2 years ago
I loved the whole opening witt the red riding hood. But those giant robot suite they wore I just found like the animators were thinking "hmm how big can we make these suites without it becoming mecha? who cares *draw draw draw*" This anime I wasn't a fan of. Maybe I should give it a second shot but I just was bored with it.
Also why did you disable our ratings?
animeindoorsir 2 years ago
The suits didn't bug me. They're designed to protect the riot police from rocks, bullets, and Molotov cocktails using 60s pre-Kevlar technology. They aren't powered, just big, bulky, movement-slowing full-body protection. Reminded me of more of a western European knight's armor or full Japanese Samurai armor. Or a bomb disposal suit (see "The Hurt Locker"?)
Oshii's live-action "Stray Dog" gives a brief look at suit.
I turned of ratings as an experiment to see if it provoked more comments.
GrumpyJiisan 2 years ago
Would I be cliché in saying "Super-Nazi Storm Troopers"? B)
Alaskaslim 2 years ago
Have you seen any of those live action movies Jii-san? I kind of enjoyed Stray Dog a little but Red Spectacles was a bit too much. Its hard to imagine that they are from the same director as Angel's Egg or Gits haha. Honestly what was he thinking?
SteppingWind 2 years ago
Yes, I watched both, which are available in US with English subs. I mentioned them only because they are also set in this alternate 1960s "Kerberos" world (Oshii calls them a trilogy.) I recommend neither. As I said, "Red Spectacles" made me think Oshii wanted to try a Feilini-eque film in the same way "Interiors" was Woody Allen's way of channelling Bergman.
GrumpyJiisan 2 years ago
Okiura is a good animator as well.
mizouyuu 2 years ago
I agree. The impression I have is that after assisting Oshii (and Otomo) on several movies, this was to be his debut as a feature film director. I thought it was outstanding. And yet afterwards he returned to design and key animation. I guess he didn't like directing and prefers drawing.
He's assisted Tezuka, Otomo, Miyazaki, Kawajiri, Kawamori, Oshii and Kon. Clearly the top directors respect his abilities.
GrumpyJiisan 2 years ago
Really beatiful place in this review
Hoffyman 2 years ago
We desert dwellers are always a sucker for trees. (We have a "wow, green!" mentality that puzzles our visitors from back east, who apparently see trees all the time and think them quite ordinary. (Really, they just block the view :)
Last autumn, I made several trips to high country to catch some fall foliage for a change.
GrumpyJiisan 2 years ago
sad... this anime seems dark -.-
TheReasonWhyGuy 2 years ago
@TheReasonWhyGuy
It's incredibly dark...
One of my favorite anime. Definitely worth watching, if only for the attention to detail in some of the scenes(where guys get shot up etc).
Starfishlandlol 2 years ago
Not interested... Watching an anime, is not something I do just for the action, or gore... Hell, I don't watch much of anything for action, and I avoid gore, because frankly, it's sickening to enjoy watching something as barbaric as that.
For me, an anime has to either be a puzzle, or have deep characters, and typically an overall well written script. I won't watch an anime
"only for the attention to detail in some of the scenes(where guys get shot up etc). "
That's a bullshit reason for me
TheReasonWhyGuy 2 years ago
@TheReasonWhyGuy
This isn't an anime just about the gore/action etc. I just think it's worth the watch for that alone, nevermind the great TRUE retelling of The Big Bad Wolf. The undertones of a secretive government and all the evil that comes from that...
It's an intense movie to say the least. I also said, "if only", but I thank you for taking what I posted out of context.
Starfishlandlol 2 years ago
"I just think it's worth the watch for that alone"
I don't find any redeeming qualities in that, but you're also right, I did take that "if only" out of context, but I was emphasizing that if only for those things, doesn't convince me. If you'd said if only for the undertones of a secretive government, or something like that, then I may have felt more inclined, however you failed to convince me by suggesting that the traits that I don't like, are worth watching an anime for.
TheReasonWhyGuy 2 years ago
@TheReasonWhyGuy
It's worth watching "if only" for those traits. You're over-analyzing this, I'm not meant to be a goddamn car salesman here. I'm not a representative of Bandai Visual trying to hawk his company's wares. Your comment about me finding the certain scenes "barbaric" was funny.
Protip: Brutality is human nature, it's not going away anytime soon. If you want something soft and cuddly this definitely isn't the movie for you. If you want a puzzle get a Rubik's cube. I could go on...
Starfishlandlol 2 years ago
Well, I guess I spent 8 minutes talking and buried the lead :(
This is a character story of two people caught in a complex political climate. Fuse is part of a brutal riot suppression unit. Rei is just as trapped in her own world. Both are being watched, used and betrayed. It's a tragedy, not about violence, but I couldn't recommend it w/o cautioning that it has some violence. I did recommend it strongly.
GrumpyJiisan 2 years ago
You forgot to mention who's distributing it and who the dub is by.
bigred2989 2 years ago
At the beginning and end of Jii-san's reviews, there are always the title of the anime as well as the distributer on the screen. Also during the clips shown from the anime.
TheItchinader 2 years ago
As TheItchinader said, I almost always put a "music video" style tag at the start & end that includes the title and the US distributor (if any.) I only forgot to add that text once.
I rarely go into detail about a dub unless something really impressed me or really bugged me. For some reason in this case I did mention Ocean studio, which I almost never do, because they surprised on the up-side. #t=493
GrumpyJiisan 2 years ago