Review - Animal Farm (1954)

 A somewhat mild bastardization of the original book by Orwell. This film was was funded in part by the CIA, and I attribute that to the reasons why multiple part of Orwell's original message of the book, including its ending, were changed from the film. While the film has its moments, while the animation is beautiful, and the music compelling, unfortunately the changes in plot cannot be overlooked. It changes the message completely from the original critique Orwell made, and transforms it into a propaganda film that attempts to portray the animal's situation with Jones as potentially better than where they ended up. And that any attempt of rebellion against an oppressive society would necessarily doom them to the same fate. If you wish to experience this story in its best form, please read the book or if you must, listen to an audiobook. In that way you can experience the actual message Orwell was attempting to give you, not what the CIA wants you to think Orwell meant. The film is not worth watching. But I also find it the height of irony that a book that gives a critique of Authoritarianism was turned into propaganda by an actual government agency.

Rating: 5/10

Review - Jigoku Shoujo Mitsuganae

 

The third season of jigoku shoujo, is, unfortunately.... a disappointment. Not bad, but disappointing. It is incredibly hard to live up to the impeccable job that the previous two seasons did, and so, I wasn't expecting that this season would be necessarily better than the prior ones, however I was hoping for at least something similar in quality to the first show, and unfortunately it cannot deliver even in that regards. If you haven't seen the prior seasons well, you should, they are amazing. That being said, the issues with this season can be broken down into a few primary sections.

Review - Little Witch Academia

 

While I am always very critical of shows released by Netflix, especially anime, I am also fair especially in regards to shows it produces that do work well, and I am the first to admit this is one of them. Little Witch Academia creates a very compelling world that can provide for a very interesting and enjoyable watching experience. That combined with interesting and unique visuals (which can be a hit or miss whether or not a Netflix anime will receive the "copy/paste" style or something unique), and a very competently made soundtrack provides a show with what I consider to be a slightly above average quality.

Review - JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken Part 6: Stone Ocean

 

    

Jojo is an anime which is known for its eccentric art style, it's over the top characters, and overall bizzareness. Sadly, Stone Ocean experienced what I call getting "Netflixed". What do I mean by this? Well, in essence, getting Netflixed means getting watered down to a diluted version of its former self. Like many Netflix shows, Stone Ocean relies on an overabundance of poor CGI in addition to bad animation. It is hard to believe, given the extremely slow release date and batch release of this show when compared to previous Jojo parts, that it somehow was released at a lower animation quality than perhaps even part 1 had. Compared to the absolutely stunning visual style and animation of part 4, and the extremely detailed art of part 5, part 6 is a shell of its former self. The CGI sticks out like a sore thumb and is painfully noticeable (Good CGI ought to be subtle). Additional cut corners include not drawing full background characters (instead opting for silhouettes which clash with the established art style), and a generic bastardization of the background art compared to other seasons, such as generic sky, buildings, etc.

Review - Cyberpunk: Edgerunners

 I do not ever have high hopes for Netflix adaptations, because a lot of their shows tend to be watered down content. Likewise, I did not have high hopes considered the game it is based on really had a poor release. However I was pleasantly surprised when I found in this show, not only the pristine visuals/animation of studio trigger, but also a fairly competent plotline. At least for me, not only does this series question the idea of humanity itself, but it also really has a successful utilization of the tragic hero. The worldbuilding is quite realistic in my opinion - you'll see a lot of small details if you pay attention which really adds to the life of the world they live in. The plot was fairly well written in regards to pacing, you can finish this in an afternoon if you have time, and it doesn't feel like the story was rushed either.

Review - Shiki

 

I to be honest, was not expecting to write a review of Shiki, but having not been able to stop watching it and binging it to completion within a day, I could not stop myself.

Review - Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu

 Legend of the Galactic Heroes is a tale told on on a scale unparalleled compared to that of many other plots. It displays an intellectualism not seen by many other shows in its complex use of strategy and analysis of political ideologies.

Review - Serial Experiments Lain

     

It's not particularly common for an artform to completely overturn the generally used portrayals and accepted principles of it's form in order to innovate. However when it does happen, the results are always polarizing. Either it becomes a resounding success, or a complete failure. Serial Experiments Lain is an example of *why* innovation is a good thing. And its critical success ought to make that clear.

Review - Black Clover

 In my opinion, Black Clover is a fairly overrated anime which has major issues in many different aspects of its production. Having watched it until it's completion it was a huge disappointment for me, considering that the original idea sounded intriguing. I've also heard the manga is much better (though at the time of writing I've not read it), so I'm rather miffed that they studio put this low a quality into what probably was a fairly decent series.