ANIME REVIEW: Paprika
Monday, September 24, 2007
Wow, two posts in one day! That's crazy! Well, I just watched Paprika, and in the spirit of my new review section, I figured it might as well get a review too. So, here we go!
Title: Paprika
Genre: Psychological Drama
Episodes: 1 movie
Year: 2007
Animation
Alright, the animation in Paprika really is interesting. The actual design itself isn't too out of the ordinary, and will look just like your average anime movie. However, once the movie starts getting wierd, which it does fairly early on, it will remind you of Alice in Wonderland, only with more mature content.
The movie makes use of interesting effects, but they don't show up too often. However, the way the movie is done will make you feel strange while watching it. Scenes that would seem scary to the characters may seem scary to you, but not in the "Ahhhh!" way. Really, there's no way to describe it. I can only imagine that watching this on a home theatre with surround sound wpould immerse you further, and that would truly be something to experience.
The only thing I don't like about the animation, and this is purely preference, is the seemingly old style of animation used in it. It doesn't look like its from the 70's or anything, but it doesn't seem like it was made this year, either. But, I won't deduct points based on this, simply because it is my own preference, as I said.
23 / 25
Storyline
So, now the story of Paprika. Oh boy, where to start. I don't want to spoil it too much for anyone, but the movie seems to take place in a very near-future, and is based on a new scientific discovery. The plot revolves around the theft of some prototypes, and the developing team trying to get it back.
The movie's main focus is on the concept of dreams, and how they can affect reality. It deals with many hypotheticals on this topic, and deals with the philosophical approach very well. It really is an interesting theme to learn about, and you will probably not leave this movie without taking one side of the argument presented in this anime or the other, or one completely of your own. If you can follow the whole thing, you are in for a treat.
28 / 30
Characters
Characters play a major role in the plot and its development, and more importantly, on the analysis of the main theme of the movie.
The team that developed the new invention are the main focus of the movie, as they try to find the thief who stole the prototype. The other character, Paprika, after which the movie is named, is somewhat of a strange one. The only complaint I have is that they never explain Paprika, which I felt really needed explaining.
21 / 30
Music
The music used in Paprika is top-notch. The opening song while Paprika is dancing around in unexplainable ways sets the tone for the strangeness that is to come. The song isn't strange itself, but it seems to somehow fit Paprika's happy-go-lucky attitude.
Throughout, you'll hear a standard fare of thrilling music, and bouncy tunes, and in particularly fitting scenes, music that will remind you of the opening, but with more excitement. The music just never seems to go wrong.
15 / 15
GRAND TOTAL: 86 / 100
**As you'll notice, I removed the "Suitable Length" category for this review, since it is a movie, and has little relevance. Instead, I added its value to "Animation", which in a full-length movie is usually more important as compared to an ongoing series. I hope everyone sees why I made this change.
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ANIME REVIEW: Kino's Journey
Friday, September 21, 2007
Ok, here's marathon review #2: Kino no Tabi (Kino's Journey).
Title: Kino's Journey (Kino no Tabi)
Genre: Adventure
Episodes: 13
Year: 2003
Animation
Kino's Journey has an animation style all its own. The characters all look just a little different than you're used to, but not so much as to look bad, just unique. The backgrounds vary in this anime, from being very detailed and picturesque, to being sketchy. However, the latter is only used when the background is an unimportant part of what is going on. When Kino is driving around, finding new places, detail is important. When dramatic scenes are unfolding, and memories are being revealed, the focus is on the dialogue, and so the background becomes less important.
When the detail is present, it is abundant. All of the countries Kino visits have their own unique feel to them, and the attentions to detail is what makes them so nice to look at. You'll rarely find a scene where you really hate what the place looks like.
14 / 15
Storyline
The storyline of Kino's Journey is definitely a unique one. Kino is a traveler, with her partner Hermes, and they travel to many different countries learning as much as she can about the world. Each country she visits is unique in its own way, and each time she comes away having learned something new.
The anime goes through several different countries in Kino's world, and uses Kino's inquisitive nature as a way to describe the history of each country, and why things turned out the way they did. This allows for a very fleshed-out world. The only thing that doesn't make sense is how little connection each country seems to have with each other. Sometimes, it seems like Kino is visiting a neighboring country, Sometimes, though, she might as well be visiting another planet, where conditions are almost exactly the opposite.
Quite possibly the best part about this anime is how it uses Kino's different experiences to analyze quite deeply many philosophical questions that can be applied to our society as well. Oftentimes, these themes are presented as extremes of topics we are familar with, such as morality and democracy. You can't come away from Kino's Journey without having put a little thought into each of the themes presented, and whether or not you form an opinion on them is irrelevent. Kino's Journey sets out to make the viewers think, and I guarantee you, it will. And it will do so better than most other animes, especially considering how many different ideas are explored.
29 / 30
Characters
Kino's Journey features a huge cast of characters, but because of the nature of the anime, most are temporary characters who Kino happens to meet on her travels.
Kino is best described as an optimistic realist. She keeps a positive outlook on life, and she deals with situations seemingly coldly. She doesn't have time nor desire to be compassionate, unless there's a good reason for it. But, this unreactive personality allows her to look at the different countries' policies from a neutral stance.
Hermes, Kino's traveling partner, is quite a strange one. However, his purpose in the anime is to allow Kino to discuss the different ideas they are exposed to. While Kino is optimistic and realistic, Hermes is more of the philosophical character; he is Kino's foil as a character. These two seemingly opposed personalities means that a theme can be explored from different angles, but they can still come to an agreement on some issues. This is an important part of Hermes' character. He also serves to a lesser extent as comic relief, but not enough to throw off the serious tone of the anime.
Temporary characters in the anime all play a very specific role, usually tied directly into the theme of their particular episode. These characters vary greatly, and offer Kino the chance to question the theme being analyzed, to learn more about the situation so as to have a good opinion on it when the episode is finished. In these roles, the temporary characters are often made very well, but some can be a bit on the unrealistic side. Sometimes, this is story-related. Sometimes, unfortunately, its just the way the character had to be to fit the role.
The only thing to be said about Kino's Journey is that there seems to be little character development across the episodes. Obviously, the temporary characters are going to show noticable change, because they're only there for one, or maybe two episodes. However, the main characters, Kino and Hermes, seem to go through the whole series unchanged. They have new experiences, they learn all sorts of new things, but they always seem to be the same. In an anime like this, I would deem development as an important issue, and I just don't see it in Kino's Journey, unfortunately.
23 / 30
Music
Music in Kino's Journey is done very well. The opening and ending themes will really grow on you, and stick in your mind. The music used in the anime itself is usually more subtle, and though you might not notice it directly, it almost always enhances the feeling of the situation.
One interesting thing you'll notice in this anime is the usage of silence to emphasize something important. It happens quite often, and usually one would expect very dramatic sound in the background. Here, often, the music is made apparent right up until that moment, at which it all cuts out, and all you hear is the dialogue. It has a surprisingly powerful effect, even though it happens more than a couple times in the anime.
13 / 15
Suitable Length
Kino's Journey spans 13 episodes, and currently has two small OVA movies and an extra episode, dubbed "Episode 0". The thing about Kino's Journey is that, since each episode is seemingly disconnected from the others, there is technically infinite possibility for episodes, as each one could introduce a whole new country with new ideas to analyze. However, if it was too much longer, Kino's Journey could very well feel like its drawn out. Kino's Journey may never end, but the anime has to eventually, and 13 episodes does give the anime time to examine many major themes. It also makes it of perfect marathon size, as well, for you marathoners out there!
8 / 10
GRAND TOTAL: 87 / 100
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ANIME REVIEW: Xenosaga: The Animation
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Alright, this is going to be the first of what I hope to be many anime reviews on my blog. This idea started along with the idea for me to have an anime marathon at least twice a month this year. Today was the first one, and you guessed it, Xenosaga was the anime. So, let's get down to reviewing.
Title: Xenosaga: The Animation
Genre: Science Fiction
Episodes: 12
Year: 2005
Animation
The animation quality in Xenosaga: The Animation, overall, is fairly good. You'll have all the usual assortment of lasers, missiles, explosions, mechs, and all that stuff that we all love and done the way we like it. In addtion, the anime makes extensive use of 3d techniques meshed with 2d animation throughout the anime, mostly for ships and aliens known as Gnosis.
There are parts in the anime where it seems like there just isn't enough frames to the animation, but they are few, and even if you do notice them, it doesn't really detract from the scene anyway.
Backgrounds are all well done, and in many cases directly reflect the areas seen in the video game on which this anime is based. For those of you who played the game, this will bring you back to some of the defining points in the video game, and the attention to detail is top notch on the animators' parts.
Overall, this anime has some very impressive scenes that sometimes look too good to be true, and the few flaws that one might notice are negligible.
13 / 15
Storyline
The storyline of Xenosaga is one of the main reasons the anime was made after the game. The complex and involving plotline makes a great story, and so the anime was made in order to present the story without interruptions like random battles and leveling up.
The anime had to make some moderate changes to compact the game into 12 episodes, but anyone who hasn't played the game won't need to worry about that. Xenosaga incorporates many overarching themes into the story, one of the biggest being what the definition of humanity is and how we fit into society and the universe in general.
Watching this anime doesn't mean you have to pay attention to these big themes, though, because it will be difficult as it is to keep track of what is going on with each character. If there's one thing that Xenosaga did wrong, its that the storyline can be very hard to keep up with if you don't keep your focus pretty much all the time. Though, the anime does better to explain things than the game.
Overall, its a really good, albeit somewhat confusing, story.
22 / 30
Characters
The characters of Xenosaga: The Animation are characters you will definitely grow attached to. From the main character Shion all the way down to the seemingly unimportant characters, each of them contributes to the story in their own ways, some of which have more impact than you might think.
The anime also does very well for giving appropriate backstory for characters so that the watcher can understand the actions taken by those characters. When at one time it seems odd or out of character, later you find out something that explains why it all happened. Considering how short this anime is, that is an impressive feat for how many characters there are.
Apart from backstory, the anime makes many self-references that remind you of events in previous episodes that are relevant at the time, and these are often pulled off with considerable emotional effect.
Even someone who hasn't played the game will come to appreciate the amount of characterization present in Xenosaga. And for those of you who have, you have all the more reason to look forward to certain scenes!
25 / 30
Music
The music in Xenosaga is likewise very fitting for the various different situations. When something is supposed to be dramatic, the action theme keeps you on the edge of your seat. During a few of the sad and emotional scenes, the music combined with the dialogue was almost enough to bring a tear to my eye, honestly.
This game didn't make use of any of the music from the series, and that is divided with me. I loved the game music, but the music used in the anime is at least as good. Those of you looking for music from the series will be disappointed in that way, but the music that is used more than makes up for it.
12 / 15
Suitable Length
So, at 12 episodes, is Xenosaga too long or short? I, being a fan of Xenosaga, would have loved to see it be longer, and elaborate more on the history. However, for people who are new to it, that may have bogged down the series with too much information and not enough action. At 12 episodes, the anime covers just about all of the game plus some extra.
I don't think they could have done that in any less, because every episode dealt directly with plot and character progression. It could have been made into a 26 episode anime and still have worked in enough material, but it would have been less accessible, and the plot may have become too overbearing. So, the length is a good balance between plot development and accessibility. That makes it good in my books.
Now, as far as sequels. I would love to see animes for Xenosaga Episodes II and III (this anime only covers Episode I). The likelihood of that is not high, but we can always hope, right? Having an anime series cover each Episode would allow the writers to develop more on characters and story, much like Xenosaga: The Animation was able to do for Episode I.
9 / 10
GRAND TOTAL: 81 / 100
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