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Ah, the revenge epic. I really wanted to be engaged with this one. Truly. Hearing and seeing Tsuda get to fully engage his unhinged gangster range was absolutely electric and Daisuke Ono was wonderful, albeit brief. Takashi Kondo and Takuhiro Sakurai were perfect, bringing their A game. The OP was solid, I'll have to look who it was, but it sounds like the same folks who did the Psycho Pass OP which was a banger. The music and sound overall is tastefully done. My favorite character was Corteo.

The writing is pretty middle of the road and the animated action, while prevalent, doesn't mask the dull ... cliche writing. The characters are pretty uniformly one dimensional and unfortunately forgettable. Additionally, 'the knife is better than the gun' trope used often in this, is ridiculous; especially given the time frame they placed the series. It's supposed to be America and its a known fact that organized crime love some guns. No one would bring a knife to a gunfight and win in America. Just saying the facts here 🤷‍♀️

Another nitpick that struck me throughout is that everyone has either a 1911 or Thompson in this. I do think I saw at leasf one rifle and a single Colt (in the finale) but they never appeared outside of that singular ep. There were a lot more contemporary guns available and in use during this era so this came off as a bit lazy to me, even if the gun itself was drawn very detailed. But maybe since I'm so used to seeing more firearm selection in my revenge filled vioence (coughJohnWickcoughGodfathercough) this was starkly different, so the lack of variety really stood out and kinda irked me.

In universe they state the setting is in America during the prohibition era in the Unites states (1920s-30s) involving Italian organized crime families. In this way of art mimicking life, this very much felt like a protrayal of the real families Scaroni, Serianni, and Gagliardo who were the most predominant in North America for smuggling contraband alchohol from places like Guelph, Toronto, and Ontario, Canada into the states of Illinois (to the Chicgao crime family) and Michigan (to the Purple Gang in Detroit) of the USA through the 'rum row' routes establisted by earlier French ships and later used during the French Connection.

But the overt very Japanese themes shoehorned into an Italian culture living in an American/Canadian backdrop was pretty painful to experience in so many ways. I couldn't shake the crude exotic occidental view by a foreign eye; much akin to Banana Fish, Baccano, and JoJo pt 6: Stone Ocean, so I didn't find this series exceptionally entertaining unfortunately.

Corteo killing Fango was brutal. I really enjoyed how they balanced the scene with the skipping record to mimic Corteo's mental instability and felt it was a more believable representation of an individual having a breakdown that I'd seen in a while. The overabundance of oi karra ( おいこら ) from so many characters throughout the series was probably my favorite part, as weird as that sounds. Delinquent slang is probably one my most loved aspects of japanese anime, though its usually lost in translation if you're not familiar with the language. The rolling r's with the nasal throat projection when speaking slang always sounds like angry toads during mating season lol

This action filled drama stacked with a veteran voice cast was ultimately underwhelming as it fizzled into it's anticlimactic ambiguous end. There isn't enough substance imo to leave a lasting impression since there hasn't been much done here that hasn't been done before. 6/10

As a finale, not sure if you're interested or not buuuut...
for anime, if you're into blood soaked revenge in an enthralling story I'd suggest Kidou Senshi Gundam: The Origin, Lady Snowblood (manga), Blade of the Immortal, JoJo pt5: Golden Wind, Blue Eyed Samurai, and Dororo.

For stories about getting even/ back what was lost (but not nesseraily through revenge) with an engaging large cast I'd suggest: Durarara, Trigun (and Trigun Stampede), Blood Blockade Battlefront, Fullmetal Alchemist (and Brotherhood) and The Great Pretender. A few of these have fantasy and magic involved, however.

For the real life gangsters and their exploits worth learning about I'd look up: Rocco Perri, Purple Gang, Chicago Outfit and the Unione Corse. They're much more interesting since they're actual people who lived and their true stories are what some animes are losely based on.

Real life but fictional suggestions: Miller's Crossing, Gangster #1, The Godfather pt 1-2, Sympathy For Lady Vengeance, Boardwalk Empire, Gangs of New York, Lady Snowblood 1-2, Peaky Blinders, Justified, Road to Perdition.

Ash and Eiji's dynamic is the best part of Banana Fish. And it's not because of the romantic subtext, it's the emphasis on the struggles they face together. The connection between these two is both intimate and emotional without being sexual or sensual, which is one of the strongest elements that carries the show.

Unfortunately, for me it couldn't mask the fact that the story was essentially a shoujo about Japanese yakuza gussied up to look exoticly American in a drug filled 80's-ish backdrop. As much as I wanted to immerse myself in the world, it's incredibly flawed. As escapism for young women (and men) not ... from America, it might be okay, but being someone from here I could tell this was very much occidental and found it off-putting. Additionally the damsel in distress routine gets old pretty quickly and I found myself struggling around the 15-19 episode mark to finish the show.

Thankfully there are a lot of interesting characters sprinkled throughout the show and their interactions with one another make up for the story flaws. Banana Fish adeptly characterizes the important ones in a short amount of time and consistently develops them throughout the narrative. I have a few qualms about how flat Eiji and Dino Golzine were but ultimately it was Ash that tipped the scales in my criticism of characters.

Ash has far too many advanced abilities to the point they become contradictory in numerous situations. The uneven power balance stifles the show to the point the high stakes become less and less believable due to the ludicrous amount of plot armor. Ash's character needs counterbalancing greatness with a deficiency elsewhere, besides Eiji. It's a great way to explore a character’s resolve, through their willingness, or unwillingness to ameliorate their weaknesses. Now we see this executed later on when Eiji rises to fill that role in Ash's narrative to be the emotional weaknesses and counter balance, but it doesn't dismiss the prior missteps or even the scales enough in my opinion.

Lastly, it was just really peculiar that 85% of the male characters were either attracted to or were open to receiving and reciprocating flirting and engaging in homerotic situations with Ash. And while I enjoyed the fact he was able to weaponize this as a skill, it was a bit overkill after a while. Like I get it, the guys a bishounen, but no one has that much game can we move on?

I felt like this movie is much much darker than your usual Ghibli, showcasing a considerable amount of horror elements and themes. It's dense with metaphors and symbolism while considerably messy with its abundance of surreal imagery and sound.

Personally I found the departure from his other works and the introspective nature of this film both bold and essential for Miyazaki in his long enduring career. In a lot of ways I kept feeling like Miyazaki was echoing Hideaki Anno and his modus operondi of choosing reality over fantasy/fiction in his works. The Japanese title " How will you live? " is much better ... fitting with the question it poses; will you live for the future or turn away from reality and all its hard truths and ugliness for safety and comfort of the past?

The Key Animator, Takeshi Honda, really has taken my breathe away with this film and in a way leaves more of an impact due to how the influence of his animation shapes the film more than Miyazaki's direction imo. If you're familiar with Honda's previous work as Key or Chief Animation in the Evangelion movies, Inu-ou, FMAB, Tatami Galaxy and Dragon Dentist; his trademark style reskinned with Miyazaki hallmarks is fresh while still evoking a wildly familiar feeling at the same time. At certain points whenever Himi intersected with Mahito in the animations it almost felt like it was Masaaki Yuasa that was directing and less Miyazaki. I felt my little grey cells at least three separate times go "Yuasa is that you!?" This of course is attributed to Honda, and I'm still feeling kind of awestruck at the dynamic between these two on the finished product.

I think this is a work that needs to be rewatched multiple times to grasp everything due to its dense nature. There's a lot to ingest and while I love a good avant-garde, even if I'm not prepared for one, this film will not be as well received as his others. Overall I can see some people expecting to see the usual Ghibli fare finding this one confusing and difficult.

I generally like Makoto Shinkai, he's figured out a formula that works with being relatable to Japanese audiences while including greats visuals, soothing music and playful yet keen cinematography in his work.

This coming of age story is filled with themes of self sacrifice and convey a tragic tale of loss and fear in the backdrop of the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake. It's about accepting your place in the world and fulfilling your duty to society, even if it means sacrificing something important. I can see this ultimately jibing with his central audience as Japan is a collective, rather than individualistic, society, where self-sacrifice for the ... greater good is expected.

The interactions with Suzume and Daijin made me deeply uncomfortable to the point I had to pause the movie around the 1:20 mark. Taking a short break to return right before the dramatic fallout was ill-fated, yet I knew a clash was inevitable between the aunt and Suzume. I guess I wished I had just pushed through till after their fight to take a break because I was just very unhappy for the rest of the film. Personally overall I interpreted the ambiance and atmosphere to carry this movie a lot more than the character development and romance.

Suzume is pretty par the course for its creator however, and while it's good, I am doubtful I would rewatch this ever again. I've seen a fair amount of Shinkai's work up to now and found it kind of fun that one of his other works, Weathering With You is kind of like the antithesis to Suzume. It's the polar opposite in that Weathering With You is about defying fate and choosing love over duty, destiny, and society which ironicly, a lot of Japanese audiences found alienating. If you're interested in his other work I've listed some of the others I've watched below with scores.

Voices of a Distant Star 8
5cm Per Second 8
Your Name 10
Weathering With You 7
Suzume 7

Tackling the reality that people actually die in real life can be an interesting focus, considering that all of this could happen to literally anyone at any time. Stories revolving the realization and process of death should be very moving, at least to those who have never experienced this type of thing and to those who have an affinity for these type of shows which should be cathartic.

I am of the latter persuasion and dealing with grief is definitely my wheelhouse. You might even say I have an unhealthy obsession with it. Unfortunately this 2 hour forced cliché dumster fire is neither cathartic nor pleasant; ... if you're interested in viewing themes of coming to terms with death executed masterfully in an anime I would suggest viewing Grave of the Fireflies, the series Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 or Magical Shopping Arcade Abenoboshi, not this movie.

NGL, 5 minutes into this and my eyes were already rolling out of my head. Predictable generic mediocre overplayed sobstory: The movie. This is literally Jarmush's 1991 Night on Earth, the Helsinki Cab.

I doubt an individual who is aware of how fragile human existence is can find this work enlightening or moving, much less feel a sudden ephiony over such work. I found it callow and unsophisticated as another one of those fantastical self-insert type of "entertainment" pieces of media serving only those who are proficiently unaware of how life works.

The characters felt one dimensional, leaving much to be desired. In multiple instances I found myself distanced; unable to immerse myself due to the inability to relate to them. They don't feel like authentic realistic people at all. The exchanges between the two feel more often than not, forced and unnatural.

At least in Your Lie In April they broaden the dialogue to include music, these two only talk about death (rigidly, like beating a dead horse) the entirety of the run time of their relationship and didn't feel like genuine conversations one would have. This is especially the case with the concept of the fear of death that was partially addressed at the hour and a half mark, the potential this movie had was utterly wasted and it doesn't seem to care.

Maybe if this was given a show format there could be time to expand and grow the characters and hopefully their interactions and dialogue could be handled better. As someone who's experienced someone ripped from their life by the clutches of violence, I found myself shaking my head with disdain over the "twist" its ensuing fallout and the process of moving on post credit scene. The movies forceful attempts to hammer home that I should empathize with these 2 cookie cutter protagonists left me empty. I never felt moved, sad, or even angry.

The themes of loss and the pursuit of closure when intermixed with a genre ie. sci-fi, romance, or fantasy when executed correctly; are one of the most powerful and beautiful ways to convey life. So it bothers me terribly when the industry reduces raw heartfelt emotions to cheap ploys and force feed me crying teenagers and cliche death throes.

I think this is why I'm super picky about watching certain things of this nature as well. I still haven't watched Death Parade, A Place Further Than The Universe and a handful of others because I'm banking on them to be bangers. So I save them for a day I know I'll probably need a good cathartic cry or a full free day to reflect on the media I consumed.

Not being faithful to the tragedies that befall the female leads is what infuriates me about these kinds of movies. It makes a mockery of people who have had difficult and tragic things happen to them and they're being used as plot points to tell an unfaithful rendition for the sake of 'entertainment' and its unflattering.

At least if they were truthful and honest in the depictions ( citing again Graveyard of Fireflies or HBOs Chernobyl as perfect examples ) or the character died before the start of the program and the work is just showing the fallout after. I would even buy the use of an improbable element at play like they were eaten by monsters or invisible xyz, I would be absolutely inclined to get behind it. But this...This is absurd misrepresentation and borderline pandering.

Captain Harlock Arcadia of My Youth: SSX Endless Orbit
This review covers my thoughts of my rewatch of a dramatic legendary sci-fi space opera. Interwoven stories of loss, hope, and rebellion set the stage for the Captain Harlock crew. There are battles waged in the name of masculine honor, love, and above all freedom from opression in their search for Arcadia, a planet without war, and also the namesake for their space battleship.

I think this is a good ease into the Harlock franchise due to its much lighter tone and less grounded science-fiction themes. Alternatively, the very same elements hit fast and heavy in the darker ... OG Space Pirate Captain Harlock which is what you would watch after this series if you're following event timeline watch order.

SSX ENDLESS ORBIT revels in character backstories and the fight for a better tomorrow with their rag tag crew shaped by fate to battle against the evil Illumidas and Mr. Zone. The villains in SSX imo are a stepdown; as the main antagonist, Mr. Zone doesn't command the same ominous presence of Queen Rafflesia from the 1978 show but that doesn't make the show any less entertaining.

If you enjoy Gurren Lagann's super manly honor themes, humor, and its crew fight against its oppressors to reach for the sky; the Captain Harlock franchise will be in your wheelhouse. GL pretty much emulates all of the elements of Harlock but with newer animation and less people dying lol


Other reccomendations if you liked SSX ENDLESS ORBIT:
• Captain Harlock 1978
• Queen Emeraldas
• Martain Successor Nadesico
• Gurren Lagann
• Cowboy Bebop
• Macross: Do You Remember Love?
• Prime Rose

On the last day of October I reccomend Demon Prince Enma.

Demons are escaping from the underworld, and causing much havoc on the human population. Possessing both human bodies and artifacts alike, the demons are inconspicuously forcing people to commit grotesque murders. The task of exterminating the offenders lies with Demon Prince Enma, snow wielding Yukihime, an information gathering kappa, Kapaeru, and the talking witch hat Shapoji. This is the darker adult targeted version of the Prince Enma animated series. It hits a lot of the same morbid tones with tinges of lighter banter between the trio much like Requiem from the Darkness and the 1996 ... Black Jack: The Movie. If your familiar with Go Nagai work, you won't be disappointed.

If you've read or talked to me at length about the type of anime that I enjoy most; more often than not they involve: unusual story structure, are visually dense, involve supernatural or Japanese folklore, and require multiple viewings. ( and the ocassional purposely uneven pacing, but that doesn't apply here. ) Heavenly Delusion provides a lot of these things and since I'm fairly sure a lot of people will cover the relationships and narrative, I'm going to write about some of the psychological/ body horror aspects and the mythology.

The mythology is sprinkled throughout, revolving mostly around the cult and the bioengineered children, yet ... providing another fascinating layer of world building and intrigue.

The name Hiruko calls back to the Japanese god, Hiruko/Ebisu. They are the first deformed child of creation deities Izanagi and Izanami, from the historical Shinto texts Kojiki, and Nihon shoki. (the boneless leech description of Hiruko also coincides with the visual similarities of the legless "babies" in the nursery when Tokio and Kuku break into the facility.)

Often cited as the God of 'Otherness' due to his deformity and death+rejection by his divine parents, Hiruko's use as the children's "true" name parallels each child's eventual transformation beyond what is normal and considered natural by societal standards; its both nuanced and cleverly executed here. These two creation dieties are again later referenced in the painting parting the sea in Shino Kaminaka's office. In this setting they can be seen as both creators for divinity (and a new society) as well as harbingers for death (for their unwanted child.) These are just a few examples of small subtle details that are littered through the work. Each give added depth and make me love it that much more with every rewatch.

That being said, the threat of death should go hand in hand in post apocalyptic series and Heavenly Delusion is no exception to this. But what really gets me about this show, is that there are so many things much worse than death that can happen to you there.

Imagine the intense waves of terror as the last moments you remember are of being absorbed by a giant half invisible caterpillar before being forcefully ripped from the rest of your body. But then there's the feeling of waking up from that and not seeing yourself due to an invasive body modification. That elicits a very different yet specific kind of fear from the previous one. Like I didn't even fathom the idea of nonconsentual body swapping until I saw it on-screen. Or being dismembered by gigantic alien steel teeth unceremoniously while you writhe in painful hallucinations? No thanks.

And all of that's not even broaching the desecration of a loved ones body while being trapped within and bombarded with tangled emotions by both parties. It is not only visceral, but frightening beyond words on so many levels.

The complexity and aftermath of all of that plus that last scene had me filled with trepidation about how the rest of the series would go. On my first watch I was so unwilling to accept that Kiruko so easily compartmentalized the trauma. It was in that I went looking for answers and ended up picking up the manga and rewatching the series again. And because of that I grew to appreciate just how strong Kiruko really is throughout this whole story. Their ability to adapt yet still retain that fragile tenderness and want so desperately to retain and protect that innocence in Maru is riveting.

This series is overall a refreshing sci-fi mystery chock full of effective visual storytelling with symbolism and piercing body horror. It also helps that the atmosphere is effortlessly immersable and grounded, making it easy to pick up the ever evolving dual storylines as the show progresses and for rewatches after.

Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto

In remberence of the writer Sano Nami, who passed on August 5th this year at the mere age of 36. She was diagnosed with cancer one month prior to her passing and Sakamoto was her debut series that aired in 2016 by Sentai Filmworks / Studio DEEN.

Series is a mix of gag and swag humor revolving around Sakamoto; an ikemen in HS striving for comprehension of human interaction and social structure in the most stylish way possible. In each story segment, Sakamoto solves some sort of problem, which becomes a lesson his antagonists have to learn. It's very Mundane Made Awesome ... and a good pallette cleanser if you watch a lot of heavier material and need something to break up the cycle.

"Every man wants to be like him and women named their vibrators after him.."

What if Bruce Wayne decided to become a Japanese detective in a buddy cop drama? Would he buy entire buildings before blowing them up? How about dissolving a hostage situation w/ an all male idol LIVE so the hostages over take their captor? Do you like Scooby Doo endings? If any of this sounds entertaining you might enjoy Balance Unlimited: Millionaire Detective.

And as if that were not enough theres a mid-season development where we find out Bruce Wayne's/MCs real motive for becoming a Japanese gumshoe is to find out who killed his mother!! ( my guess is in an alley during Christmas with a gun. ) ... Other plots are involved but you'll have to watch.

Show is fun, but not too heavy. Similar vibes to Kubuchiko Sherlock, Tiger & Bunny, Baccano, The Great Pretender, Durarara! Buddy Daddies