Here is Greenwood Review

Plot: Kazuya Hasukawa has enrolled in the prestigious all-boys Ryukuto Academy and is placed in the infamous Greenwood dormitory, known for having odd students living there (Like a guy who carries around a motorcycle in the dorms because there’s no garage….and yes, he carries it. Like a sack of potatoes.) The reason that Hasukawa has entered into this school is to avoid living at home. He claims at first that it’s because he doesn’t want to basically be a third wheel in a household with his older brother since he recently got married and continues to live in the same house. However, it’s later revealed that he’s in love with his brother’s wife and can’t stand to live in the same house with the two of them because of that.

Now Hasukawa has to deal with his family as well as the students living in Greenwood.

Breakdown: Damn it’s hard to find slice-of-life shows that have male casts.

No, I’m not including sports themed anime, and I’m iffy about including reverse harems. I mean actual slice-of-life. It’s a genre very much saturated with shows featuring all (or mostly) female casts aimed at girls. In fact, if there is a boy in there he’s usually either a target for abuse, a token guy who’s completely forgettable or a love interest. I can’t even think of one that meets the criteria that has an all-male cast besides what I’m featuring today. I’m sure there are some, but I very rarely come across them in my watchings.

It’s pretty refreshing actually. While I do tend to enjoy many slice-of-life shows, I won’t deny that many of them are hard to relate to because the girls seem to look and act more like they’re young children than the teenagers they supposedly are. And it seems alienating to the guys out there. I’m certain a bunch of all-girl slice-of-life shows can be enjoyed by any gender, but the boys need some limelight sometimes.

Did they get it?

Very much so, in my opinion.

Yes, finally another lost gem in OVA town. Here is Greenwood is a show I was skeptical about. It didn’t seem to have anything special going for it in the first chunk of episode one, but the show quickly grows on you, and you soon come to love all of the characters and their antics. This is especially impressive as this is a mere six episode series.

Don’t be fooled by the plot either. The series isn’t centered too much on Hasukawa. There are four other main characters that the show puts focus on.

Shinobu is our resident cool, strong silent type. He tends to offer mature and sometimes blunt advice to the boys when they get into binds. His main shtick isn’t so much his. He has a sister who hates his guts and is completely obsessed with making him look bad. And when I say “obsessed,” I mean she’s perfectly fine with kidnapping kids and holding them hostage merely to force Shinobu into doing something embarrassing and catching it on video. The real joke with that is that Shinobu doesn’t take her seriously at all and takes every opportunity to (cooly) tease her.

Mitsuru is the resident ladies man, though it’s not like you see that much considering they go to an all-boys school. Otherwise, Mitsuru is the troublemaker of the group, but is actually pretty mature and older-brother-like to the group as well.

Shun is Hasukawa’s roommate and the focus of a lot of the comedy when he’s on screen. In fact, he’s the focus of the main joke of the first half of episode one. Shun looks very feminine, so they play a prank on Hasukawa utilizing this. Much of the jokes involving Shun involve his feminine looks and mannerisms. His little brother actually looks and acts more like a girl than he does. I realize that this aspect has not aged well, but I don’t think any of the humor in this realm is particularly offensive. I might not be the perfect person to judge that, though, so take my view with a grain of salt. He’s fairly immature and blunt and especially likes teasing Hasukawa.

Hasukawa himself is a bit abrasive, but he grows on you. He just tends to be too serious and grumpy.

All of the characters have great chemistry, exchange good banter, and they click very well very quickly.

The comedy hits the mark quite often. There aren’t that many instances of stale or cliché humor, which is pretty impressive for a show made in 1991 (and finished airing in 1993. Wow.) And there are heartwarming moments every now and then.

I will mention something that’s not really a negative but moreso a point of confusion. You quickly fall under the impression that this show is more or less a full-on comedy show for the majority of it. You get that idea because little to nothing happens for most of the runtime that is serious at all. Then the last two episodes show up and they’re almost entirely drama/romance. It’s kinda jarring.

However, despite the drastic and sudden tone shift, it’s honestly not a bad point because the final two episodes are handled fairly well. It’s a two-parter (considering most of the show has been more or less episodic so far) that focuses on Hasukawa meeting with an old friend of Mitsuru named Miya Igarashi who has fallen into some trouble with a gang. He falls in love with her, but it turns out that she has a very caring boyfriend.

The arc is very interesting and even suspenseful because you’re really rooting for him to finally break free of his attachment to his brother’s wife, Sumire, and be together with someone actually appropriate who seems to like him back.

The boyfriend in question is one who is a long-standing childhood friend adored by her mother and is seemingly so kind and perfect that you know practically from the first scene that there has to be something wrong with him.

And there is. That’s basically the one big problem I had with the ending. Spoilertown.

They could’ve just worked it out maturely, had Tenma hurt but understanding and still be a good friend to Igarashi and maybe even Hasukawa, but as predicted, the boyfriend, Tenma, just turns out to be a controlling jerk. He does seem to care about Igarashi, but he seems to care more about his stance in Igarashi’s life and family than he does her as a person. He hides a letter from Hasukawa to Igarashi to keep them apart, and when Igarashi admits to Tenma that she loves Hasukawa, his exact words are ‘Really? So what?’ So yeah, he turns out to be a complete jackass that you don’t care ends up getting dumped in the end.

End of spoilertown.

Art and Animation: The art is okay, nothing special. But the color palette is kinda ugly. Maybe it’s just poor aging but the colors seem washed out, and many of color choices just seem awful. Hasukawa was actually distracting me with his apple-red hair and peach-pink eyes. The animation is done by Studio Pierrot and it’s just as eh as you’d think an early Pierrot would usually be. Luckily SOLs don’t require much in terms of animation, but it’s still shaky, jumpy, and you can see several spots where they cut corners like their infamous stillshots.

Music: Nothing really special, but it was kinda catchy.

Voice Acting: Japanese (Though apparently this OVA has two different English dubs, one by TAJ and another by Bang Zoom! Entertainment.) Everyone was very good and fitting in their roles.

Nozomu Sasaki, voice of Hasukawa, was the voice of Yusuke from Yu Yu Hakusho and Shadi from Yu-Gi-Oh.

Chika Sakamoto sounds just right as Shun. Chika also voiced Nuriko from Fushigi Yuugi.

Mitsuo Imata, Mitsuru, also voiced Cyborg 008 in Cyborg 009.

Finally, Toshihiko Seki, Shinobu, also voiced Legato from Trigun, Watari from Yami no Matsuei and Iruka from Naruto.

Bottom Line: This is a great and funny OVA that I would gladly watch again. It’s a bit old, which may put off some people, but I personally like it. Like I’ve said before, I’m a bit of a sucker for the older art styles and just older titles in general. They just create a homey atmosphere. The show has a little bit of everything for everyone. There’s even a fantasy adventure plotline wonderfully stitched into the show as a movie some of their classmates are filming. At six episodes, there’s really no reason not to give it a shot, and I gladly recommend it.

Additional Information and Notes: Here is Greenwood was directed and written by Tomomi Mochizuki. It was produced by Studio Pierrot, and while the dub was originally made by Media Blasters, it is currently not licensed in America.

Episodes: 6

Year: 1991-1993

Recommended Audience: There’s completely censored nudity once or twice in the bath. One slightly off-putting plotline involving Shun’s younger brother in terms of very light hints of pedophilia. Other than that, nothing really. 8+

Animating Halloween: Noctober/Episode One-Derland | Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun

Plot: Nene longingly yearns for love. She’s so desperate to tell the boy she likes about her feelings that she seeks out a wish-granting ghost in the girl’s bathroom. The ritual summon him – yes, him – works! But Nene has to face the reality that sometimes what you wish for most isn’t what you truly want.

Breakdown: While I had flitted around checking this series out for a while, it wasn’t until GlitterInformer suggested I check it out for Animating Halloween that I finally decided to sit down and watch it, and I’m glad I did.

Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun isn’t technically a horror show, but it is supernatural, is a ghost story and has some really interesting visuals that come off as horror-esque.

Overall, however, it’s a comedy show, and pretty funny one at that. Hanako is funny and sweet, and Nene was…..tolerable. She had some funny moments, but she was pretty annoying a good chunk of the time.

The setup was kinda cliché, but I like how Hanako was more about helping her confront her problem than just granting her wish. I also thought it was interesting for Nene to realize that she was more concerned about getting a cute boy to like her than it was that she was in love with that specific boy.

We do get a kinda scary interaction with a ‘mermaid’ who is summoned because of Nene’s mistake and insistence on getting her crush to like her, plus we get a glimpse of a slightly creepier Hanako and a fight between the two.

I really love the art for this show. It’s very sharp and stylistic with some amazing shots. I adore the gorgeous colors. It has a very manga-esque style to its animation, if that makes any sense. Lots of panels appearing on screen and intersections.

The music was alright, but nothing really stuck with me so far. The OP was the best of it all.

Verdict:

Toilet-Bound Hanako-Kun is definitely a lot better than its crappy (pun intended) name would suggest. I had a lot of fun with it, and I look forward to watching more.

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Episode One-Derland | Haven’t You Heard? I’m Sakamoto

Plot: If perfection exists, it’s personified as Sakamoto. He’s gorgeous, gets perfect grades, is extremely athletic, oozes charm and has pretty much everything go in his favor. Even when jealous classmates try to take him down, he easily comes out on top with style.

Breakdown: This series was suggested to me a while back, and I’m happy to report that I enjoyed the first episode very much. It’s a pretty unique premise – amping up the idea of this perfect golden hot guy character to insane levels and being so over-the-top with him that it’s actually very funny.

The world was easy to build and the characters just as easy to introduce. They seem like largely one-off characters besides Sakamoto, though, as it seems to be a repeating cycle of ‘Rrrgh I hate Sakamoto because he’s so perfect and gets all the attention. I will sabotage him!’ *sabotage fails* ‘I now love Sakamoto!’

I did think this episode had the most boring opening scene I’ve seen in a long time. Just having a faraway shot of three boys bouncing a ball back and forth with the most minimal animation they can muster as they talk about Sakamoto for about two minutes. What’s even worse is this is a running gag….

Sakamoto, as a character, is obviously super cool and exaggerated. He does everything with this flair that would otherwise come off as odd in other shows, but everyone fawns over here. He is truly perfect, and that makes for some great comedy

However……..that’s also my main concern with this show.

This series is 13 episodes long, and each episode seemingly has two stories in it. I don’t think this premise is strong enough to uphold 13 (technically kinda 26 I guess) episodes. It’s funny to see Sakamoto perfect himself out of so many situations and see how the sabotage/challenges of his fellow classmates fails over and over, but he’s too perfect. I already know he’ll come out on top in every situation without even trying. Part of the fun is figuring out how he’ll get out of it, but you still know he inevitably will.

How many times can you see him stylishly do something amazing before it gets old?

And how long can a character who is seemingly perfect from all angles carry a show? He’ll certainly never grow or have challenges to overcome, so the entire series is reliant on his shtick being strong enough to carry 13 episodes/26 stories, and I’m really unsure about that. Some of the situations are quite funny even without him, like the plot with the bee, but Sakamoto’s the main focus, so it’s iffy.

The art and animation are quite nice, even if those faraway shots make me think they’re cutting corners to save money for the more complex animation, which is fine. Sakamoto’s scenes have to be as stylish and sleek as possible.

The music was also fairly unique and pretty nice.

Verdict:

Still unsure as to how much fuel this sparse plot can power this series for, but I enjoyed myself quite a bit in this opening episode, so I look forward to continuing it.

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Episode One-Derland (Cartoons) Mighty Magiswords

Plot: Warriors for hire, the clumsy sibling team of Vambre and Prohyas, trek out on quests as they collect magiswords – powerful swords of an endless array of shapes, sizes and powers.

Breakdown: I hate that this disappointed me as much as it did.

I had heard a decent amount of good chatter about this show before I finally gave it a watch, and….I just….I didn’t enjoy myself.

My first impression of Mighty Magiswords is that it’s one of those shows that tries too hard, and, as a result, it ends up just basically being a lot of noise. All of the characters are loud and have overly exaggerated mannerisms. Normally, I wouldn’t have much of an issue with that, these are cartoons after all, but everything goes at such a breakneck pace that you can’t really absorb the jokes when they come along. Some of the jokes hit with me, but everything else was like driveby comedy.

I honestly had such difficulty following along properly that I couldn’t even absorb the main characters names, which is especially odd because the theme song is one of those ‘explain the plot’ songs. I had to look at the Wiki to get their names jotted down. At least I remembered enough to make a suitable plot synopsis.

The hook of the magiswords is interesting, and I can see where the concept would make for a lot of comedy, but I can also see this shtick getting old fast. Basically, magiswords are a grab bag of pretty much any power they can think of from completely useless, like tomatoes and bacon powers, to somewhat good like making your arms super muscular.

The main characters seemingly already have a plethora of these swords that they can wield whenever they please, though it’s impossible to know exactly which ones they have. There was one battle in this episode, and they were whipping out magiswords with chewed bubblegum powers, laser pointers and even frog missiles.

In some ways, this show is kinda reminiscent of old, old, OLD cartoons where they’d pretty much just pull the world and everything in it out of their asses while they do kooky shit and bounce around, but in many others it reminds me of some irritating modern shows, like The Mighty B!, and that’s not a good thing.

Maybe I’m just an old curmudgeon who can’t find a taste for these mile-a-minute insane shows that rely heavily on randomness and yelling for their comedy, but this one just didn’t hit with me.

The art is alright, though there’s not a lot to make it stand out much. I do like that they made Vambre at least a little curvy and stocky instead of being overly stick-ified, but that’s really all the notably positive stuff I have to say in the realm of the art and animation.

I didn’t even really notice the music too much. That was another thing that just kinda got swept up in the rushing waters of this show.

Verdict:

I can see how some people might like this series, and maybe I’m just missing something, though I’m certainly not the first person to have these criticisms. As far as I can see, it’s just not my cup of tea.

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Memories Episode 2: Stink Bomb Review

Plot: Nobuo Tanaka has a cold that he just can’t shake. He goes to the clinic to get a shot for his illness, but nothing seems to help. Some coworkers at the pharmaceutical development company in which he works suggest that he try an experimental drug for colds that their associate has samples of in his office. After he takes one, he falls asleep on the couch in the break room. Hours later, Nobuo wakes up and finds everyone in the building has passed out.

After triggering the emergency accident alarm, he’s contacted by the higher ups at the company who tell him to gather the pills and some documents and meet them in Tokyo immediately.

The drug that Nobuo took was actually a secret experimental drug that they were contracted to make by the government to use as protection against biological weapons, but it seems to have counteracted badly with the shot he received earlier. While this seems like an easily fixed mistake, it’s soon discovered that the mass wave of unconsciousness is caused by a smell Nobuo is giving off, and it’s so strong that he leaves a wake of unconscious bodies wherever he goes.

They have only two options; find some way to contain his stench and bring him in alive or find some way to kill him.

Breakdown: I kept hearing about how the other two episodes of Memories were nowhere near as strong as the first entry, and this episode supports that.

I don’t know what to make of this segment, really. They don’t even tell you if the people are falling unconscious or dying. The episode is mostly comedic, especially if the music is any indication, so I’d assume they’re just passed out, but they never say one way or another.

That’s one of the reasons why this segment feels like it doesn’t have much tension. People were dying and hallucinating in the first episode. They were locked in a mysterious haunted hologram within a living pile of space debris, tormented by images of their past and warped visions of their desires, luring them into doing what a shadow of a ghost wanted them to do.

This one has people supposedly just passing out due to the stank of a guy’s chemical sweat. It’s still a crisis, and who knows when or if these people will ever wake up, but it still doesn’t have anywhere near the level of impact that the first episode had, which is weird considering the magnitude of attack with which they chose to strike down Nobuo.

It is beyond insane what they do to try to kill this one person. Granted, they can’t get near him due to the stench, which is so strong it can pierce through gas masks and ventilators, but then they have to up the ante. The stench is somehow so powerful that it even affects electronics. They either go haywire or become disabled. Snipers in the area couldn’t get a clear shot because their electronic scopes were screwing up.

Then they try even more powerful munitions like a slue of attack helicopters with missiles, ground to air missiles, tanks, machine guns, battleships, even liquid nitrogen machines, and they all fail to hit him. You’d think one would hit close enough to kill him, even if it wasn’t a direct hit, but nope. The worst he gets is a little frayed jacket and some dirt on his pants.

At a certain point, you’d think they’d realize that the smell is causing the electronic disturbances and stop attacking him with anything that relies on anything remotely electronic (they do have non-electronic sniper rifles, guys) but nope. Up until the very ending they’re using electronic devices and machines, mech suits no less, to contain him.

By the way, during this whole onslaught, Nobuo’s riding a motor scooter….Yep. It craps out near the end, but he rides it the whole way without issue, and it’s more implied that the scooter probably died from the damage it received during the attack than the stink off of Nobuo.

They also realize something else about this chemical early on, something that was told to them by the company’s higher ups – the stink gets worse and more powerful as Nobuo gets increasingly stressed and starts to sweat more. So they decide scaring the living hell out of him by confronting him with a darkened sky of attack helicopters and missiles is a great idea. Good job, guys.

No joke, this whole thing might’ve been resolved with gentle words, some kindness and care, but they’d rather blow shit up with complete disregard as to the innocent people they might be killing in droves in the process.

Also, for some strange reason, this smell prompts the spontaneous growth of plants and flowers. They never say why.

The ending is very predictable. It seems like it’s an anti-climax because Nobuo gets so panicked after being cornered by the aforementioned mechs that he causes a massive breakdown in electronics in the area. They quick cut and show that Nobuo was…killed? They find his jacket, and that’s all we see. They also make it very clear that these mech suits, for no reason, have the ability to tint the helmets and mask the person inside.

Everyone’s clamoring after stopping the stink, and they bring in the American soldier in the mech suit to congratulate him. He hands over the suitcase with the sample, clears the tint from the helmet and reveals that he’s actually Nobuo and the stench is still with him, just contained in the mech. Everyone panics as Nobuo ejects himself from the mech suit and releases the stink, supposedly damning everyone in the world to coma-dom.

Not only is this ending predictable, because otherwise it would be anti-climactic and make no sense, but it also….makes no sense.

If Nobuo had a massive electronic-killing panic attack, how did the mech still work after the breakdown? How did it work with him inside it?

How did no one get a confirmed kill? They really just saw his jacket and were like ‘he ded’?

I assume his breakdown knocked out at least one of the mech guys so he could take his suit, but why did the other mech guys get away unscathed? How did they not notice one of their own wasn’t who he said he was?

How did Nobuo get all the way into the command center without alerting anyone to who he was? Why did they not force him to take the suit off before going in? Or at least clear the tint? How did Nobuo know how to use the mech suit?

Why did it never occur to him that the smell was coming from him? You can literally see the gas emanating from him.

Why did he completely ignore the advice of his grandma? She’s yelling to him from a helicopter begging him to go to the mountains instead of Tokyo, and it’s like he never even considers it. Why even have that scene in there then?

All in all, this is an interesting concept, but it’s one of those movies where I can’t help but be put off by how little sense it all makes. The tone is silly but is still trying to seem like there’s a lot on the line. Nobuo’s a dumbass, but he’s not entertaining enough to be memorable. It’s just a confused movie.

Great soundtrack, though.

Additional Information and Notes: Memories – Stink Bomb was directed by Tensai Okamura, who also directed Kikaider, Wolf’s Rain and Blue Exorcist. It was written by Katsuhiro Otomo, who also did the screenplays for Metropolis and Steamboy. It was produced by Madhouse, the one segment of the movie not to be produced by Studio 4°C, and it is currently licensed in the US by Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Runtime: 37 Minutes

Year: 1995

Recommended Audience: If these people are dying, then there’s mass murder/death. Lots of ridiculous explosive violence, but no blood. 8+

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Animating Halloween: Monster House Review

Plot: DJ is obsessed with watching the house of his scary next-door neighbor, Mr. Nebbercracker. He goes insane with rage at everyone who dares set one foot on his yard or get anywhere near his house. When DJ accidentally ‘kills’ Mr. Nebbercracker, he believes his spirit went on to haunt his house, nabbing up anyone who gets near. DJ, his best friend, Chowder, and a local girl named Jenny team up to stop the house, but the situation is far more complicated than they ever anticipated.

Breakdown: Making horror movies for kids is a tricky area. You can’t put in anything ‘too scary’ or else the parents will get up in arms. You can’t tone it down too much or else the movie will be boring, even for kids.

Gentle middlegrounds are hard to find, and this one hits the mark quite well.

I watch Monster House every year on Halloween, but it’s one of those movies that I mostly forget unless it’s the Halloween season. Sometimes, I even forget it until I randomly see it on TV for Halloween.

It was strange to me because I always enjoy this movie whenever I watch it, and it wasn’t until I watched it for the review that I realized why I probably let it slip my mind whenever it’s not Halloween – this movie has very irritating characters.

Granted, they are ‘realistic’ tweenagers, teenagers and adults, but there’s no one in this movie that’s even slightly likable until the last 15 minutes or so.

Let’s go down the line –

DJ is one of those kids who wants desperately to be treated as a mature adult, but still does a lot of immature things. He’s obsessed with Mr. Nebbercracker because of his harsh behavior and the creepy urban legend that he killed his wife and ate her. DJ is probably the least annoying, but that’s not saying much.

His parents, while only getting brief screentime, also don’t get a good light shed on them. They’re mostly harmless, but then we see that his father refuses to show DJ any affection, fighting his wife against telling him he loves him before he leaves on a trip or giving him a hug goodbye. Then we get a completely serious implication that his mother wouldn’t care if she accidentally killed him.

She believes she backed into DJ with the car, and his father fully implies she wouldn’t care if she did.

Then we have Chowder, who is just obnoxious. He’s the typical comic relief immature best friend. Almost all of his scenes involve him being incredibly annoying in some way.

For good measure, we have Jenny or the obligatory love interest who is literally thrown into the story. She doesn’t even live in their neighborhood nor had the two boys met her before the story began. She’s an alright character, but not only is she clearly just meant to be a love interest for the boys (though obviously meant for DJ because since when does the sidekick get the girl?) she says stuff like “Are you mentally challenged?…Because, if you are, I’m certified to teach you baseball!” to them upon first meeting.

There’s Zee, who is the bitchy punk rocker babysitter who loves to torment DJ.

Then we have her boyfriend, Bones, who’s even more of a prick than she is. During his screentime, he does such charming things as getting drunk, ripping apart DJ’s stuffed bunny rabbit, and getting pissy that Zee doesn’t want to fool around with him.

Following them, we have Skull, a local gamer who is about as typical as any depiction of a gamer since The Wizard. He’s obsessed with video games, is a complete jerk and is so into his games that he can play them without looking and talks smack to them.

After that, there’s the police. There’s the veteran cop who laughs at the kids claims of there being something wrong with the house, but eventually tries to arrest them for minor offenses toward a vacant house.

Then there’s his partner, a rookie cop who is one of those types who gets way too into it and is fully drunk on the power before he even gets his feet wet. It’s scary how he treats these kids, too. He’s gleefully happy to take them in, taunts them as if they’re adult criminals and will swing his gun around like it’s not even there.

The only characters left to address are Mr. Nebbercracker and his wife. Mr. Nebbercracker is meant to be a scary, mean old man, but in the last 20 minutes or so, you realize he wasn’t being this way to be a jerk. He was actually trying to protect everyone.

His wife was a bitch who only had a soft spot for him, but it’s understandable that she is so defensive given her backstory.

I won’t go any further to avoid spoilers, even though this movie is old enough to warrant them. I think the twist is a good chunk of the fun.

I will ask a couple of spoiler-y questions, though. Be warned until the list is over.

1 – Constance fell into the cement for the foundation……and…..Horace just built…over her? Why didn’t he dig her out? Why would he ever feel comfortable building a house on his wife’s remains?

2 – Considering how thin the cement was over Constance’s remains, I feel like that wouldn’t have even been enough to kill her. Certainly Horace should have been able to save her.

3 – The house was haunted by her spirit since her corpse was in the foundation, yet when the house actually uprooted itself and started traveling all over town, the spirit didn’t leave it. If it was detached from the foundation, I don’t really see why the house itself was still haunted.

4 – This is from earlier in the movie, but if you had a guy who was clearly not dead and was only suffering from a heart attack or something, why would you treat the guy like a corpse? They don’t give him medical attention or anything. The plop him on a gurney, don’t even put him in a body bag or cover him up, and let his arm dangle and drag the ground. Even if they thought he was dead, you don’t treat patients like that.

Outside of that, this is still a great horror movie for all ages. The scares are effective for kids and adults alike, and some of the visuals are wonderfully done.

The backstory was well-written, and I was legitimately happy for everyone in the end. I only wish they all, barring Nebbercracker for obvious reasons, could’ve been more likable from the start so I could really get emotionally invested.

The art and animation is where some people falter on this movie, and I can see why. It’s a strange amalgamation of motion capture and clay-like CGI animation. The heads are super big, the hair doesn’t move at all, and some of the movements are surreal when coupled with the animation. The movements of the arms and bodies will be fine, but then the heads will just seem strange.

The music was also nice. Even though nothing stood out as being fantastic, it was a very fitting soundtrack that melded well with the ambiance.

Monster House has been getting very positive reviews every since its release….but check out the reviews on Common Sense Media. Remember how I said horror movies for kids might get parents up in arms? These reviewers have their parental arms fully up.

They bitch about the littlest things like one character saying ‘I stole drugs for you!’ when the ‘drugs’ were bottles of cold medicine…meant to knock out a sentient house, or saying ‘kiss my butt’ or ‘moron.’ All of these reviews amount to a one-star rating.

One reviewer said this movie scared their two-year-old kid…..THEIR TWO-YEAR-OLD KID.

You let your two-friggin’-year-old kid watch a horror movie – I don’t give a crap if it’s meant for kids, it’s still a damn horror movie. And it’s rated PG, meaning it’s already meant for an older audience than friggin’ two-year-olds.

The icing on the cake – they complained about the fact that there was a creepy monster house that eats people………IT’S…..THE….ENTIRE….TITLE….OF….THE…..MOVIE.

MONSTER. HOUSE. It could not be clearer if they called it ‘Scary Goddamn Morphing Monster House That Eats People and Also a Movie Your Two-Year-Old Probably Shouldn’t Watch.’ I bet your two-year-old can read better than you.

It borderlines between PG and PG-13. I agree it probably could’ve garnered a PG-13 rating, but, honestly, PG also suits it just fine. Just talk to your kids about the questionable stuff, if necessary, and if they aren’t ready for horror movies, don’t let them watch it….hence the Parental Guidance suggested thing.

I believe people of all ages will get enjoyment out of this movie, especially around Halloween considering it’s both a great animated horror movie and it’s set around Halloween. I do applaud it for having realistic characters, but I just wish they had been more likable.

Also, just for the sake of the people on Common Sense Media, yes, people get gobbled up, but the ending assures us that they all lived. Dumbass Bones even got to keep his stupid kite.

Recommended Audience: I already basically went over this, but I’d say 10+

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Amnesia OVA Review

Plot: In an unspecified reality, the employees of Meido no Hitsuji try to keep up with the competition of a local cafe by spending the week coming up with various fairs, shows and hooks to bring in customers.

Breakdown: This is one of the those OVAs meant for nothing but a little splash of post-anime humor, and it works pretty well. It’s a short one episode OVA, but it was still fun. It was nice to see the whole cast get to play off of each other for a change. They didn’t get to do that much in the anime. They have good chemistry with each other, which makes this somewhat sad because the entire time I was thinking we could’ve had more moments and fun like this in the actual series.

Ukyo even gets a fairly big part despite the fact that he’s just a regular customer and not an employee. It was nice to see him happier for once.

The gags are fairly funny, especially when Kent tries to be a waiter and when they put on the Gentlemen of Justice show, which was basically a nod to Super Sentai complete with their respective colors and card suits playing a part.

Heroine’s role was very small THANK GOD, so that made it much more pleasant to watch too. It’s not clear what world she’s in because all of the guys seem to have a thing for her, and they all appear to realize this about the others as well because they work together to play a prank on Ukyo for getting closer to Heroine. It seems like, because of the scene at the ending, that it may be Shin’s world, the heart arc, but the guys are acting too differently, and him calling her an idiot isn’t proof that he’s her boyfriend here……and I cannot believe I seriously said that.

It’s possible she’s in a different reality where she’s not dating anyone, but that doesn’t fit the anime. It’s definitely not her reality because she still has no memories.

The ending theme was different, which was to reflect the different tone. It was a nice enough song.

Bottomline: This was a short yet fun OVA that lets all of the boys shine together and have some fun, which was really tragically missing from the anime.

Recommended Audience: Nothing objectionable. E for everyone.

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Episode One-Derland (Cartoons): We Bare Bears

Plot: Three brothers, a grizzly bear, a panda bear and a polar bear, try to meld into modern human society.

Breakdown: This series makes me smile.

This is another one of those shows that I’ve caught in passing, and every time I’ve watched it I’ve been thoroughly entertained. The characters are charming (especially Ice Bear), the humor’s both low-key and energetic, and it’s just a fun time in every episode. It’s the type of show that you can watch when you just want to sit back, relax and have some laughs.

For this Episode One-Derland, I watched both the pilot episode and the official first episode. Both were very funny and properly met all of the criteria of a first episode. The characters are firmly established early on with dialogue and situations that allows their personalities to shine through without being in-your-face with exposition.

Grizz is the oldest brother, and he typically takes the lead in every situation they’re in. He’s the loudest and, truth be told, the most annoying, but his antics can also be the source of a lot of fun.

Panda is slightly neurotic and obsessed with his phone and the Internet.

Ice Bear is the coolest character (Oh yeah, enjoy that pun.) He barely (more puns?) says anything, but he delivers the funniest lines just by doling out one-liners usually starting with ‘Ice Bear.’ He is the most tolerable character to ever speak in third person, and he’s voiced by Demitri Martin. It’s a match made in heaven.

Their world is also established quite well. No one really takes note of the fact that they’re bears, and the public is usually only reacting to their personalities or whatever shenanigans they’re getting themselves into.

In terms of story, the pilot episode centers on cheering up Panda after he breaks up with his internet girlfriend. They decide to get him some ice cream by crashing a kids’ birthday party. While the ending of the party plot makes no sense, it had a lot of funny moments and ended with Panda realizing he needs space away from his ex when she tries to get him back. Admittedly, he seemed clingy, so it’s probably best for both of them. The episode doesn’t center on the relationship at all, but the bare bones of information flashed to us is enough for us to sympathize and move the plot forward.

The actual first episode is about the brothers having their backpack of stuff stolen at the basketball court after playing a game. They lose Grizz’s wallet, Panda’s phone (so he’s obviously freaked out) and Ice Bear’s ninja stars (That he bought legally). The rest of the story is about them tracking down the culprit. The ending twist was great and really threw me for a loop. There are many funny moments throughout this episode, but I’ll admit I was more partial to the pilot.

Verdict:

I will probably binge watch the rest of the series now. Ice Bear would approve.

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Aardman’s Clay: Wallace and Gromit – Curse of the Were-Rabbit Review

Plot: Wallace and his dog, Gromit, live in a town where vegetables are everything. They live to grow, care for, eat, and display their veggies, all building up to an annual vegetable competition. Wallace and Gromit run an anti-pest (though mostly bunny) company that humanely captures pests and protects the vegetables of the town.

One night, Wallace gets the idea to stop the bunny plague once and for all by using a mind-altering device to eliminate obsessive thoughts about veggies from their minds. It seems to work, but, in the process, they created a monster….a veggie destroying were-rabbit.

Breakdown: Okay, so yes, the plot does sound very silly, but it’s supposed to.

This was my first ever venture into the Wallace and Gromit series. I’ve heard about it several times in the past, but never actually watched the movie, TV series or played the game….Even though I have the game (from a Humble Bundle).

Curse of the Were-Rabbit is a very entertaining and fun movie that, while not making me bust a gut, did have me smiling and laughing out loud numerous times. It has a very unique style and sense of humor that I thoroughly enjoyed, even if some things about the movie irked me.

For example, I think Gromit deserved a bit more of a hurrah for all the stuff he did over the course of the movie, which is damn near everything. While Wallace is certainly useful as an inventor and bunny catcher, there’s no denying that Gromit does a hell of a lot more in this movie. In addition to being the only one who is effective against the were-rabbit, he also basically waits on Wallace hand and foot with Wallace only barely giving Gromit his props here and there. Not to mention it was Wallace’s invention that started the were-rabbit fiasco in the first place.

Also, I get that he had good intentions, but if the rabbits stopped being a problem, wouldn’t they be out of a job?

The overall unraveling of events were fairly predictable. I knew from the instant they used that machine what the ‘plot twist’ would be.

Ending spoilers. Finally, they give no explanation as to why Wallace turns back at the end. He saves Gromit from falling to his death, turns back into a human and the curse just seems to go away. He didn’t get shot with the golden carrot, so I just have no clue how or why Wallace was cured of this problem…..because he ‘died’ and was seemingly revived by the smell of cheese?….If so, that is really silly.

End of spoilers.

All in all, I really enjoyed this movie and I look forward to playing the game seeing as how I’ve had it on Steam for like three years and never got around to playing it. *cough*

Recommended Audience: There is quite a bit if innuendo, though some of it might be my filthy mind playing tricks on me. Like that scene where Totty is showing Wallace her giant carrot. Dear God, the things she says can easily be turned into dirty talk. Other than that, though, really nothing to bother with. 6+

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Coicent Review

Plot: Shinichi is heading to a local festival where he runs into a weird white deer who steals his backpack and leads him jumping all over town. In the process, they save the life of a girl who fell from a building and has never been outside. They have a wonderful day together at the festival as the girl, nicknamed ‘Toto’ experiences many new things. However, Toto is not what she appears to be, and their problems are only beginning.

Breakdown: Coicent was the other feature coupled with Five Numbers! Unlike Five Numbers!, though, I really believe this was just long enough to tell its story properly without leaving me feeling a little disappointed. Granted, that’s not to say I don’t wish they had built on it. I really do, especially Toto’s origins, but it’s fine in a short story format.

Shinichi is a really kind and genuine person. While, at first, it seems like he just wants a cute girlfriend, you can tell he truly grew to care deeply for Toto even in the short amount of time they spent together.

Toto is a very likable and sweet girl. Her situation is sad, but she has many hopes and dreams. She can also be kickass when the occasion calls for it.

I don’t know exactly what she is, though. I believe I can go through this without spoiling everything since it was shown in the beginning, but Toto is really an….android? That’s my best guess. She controls her appearance through holograms or something like that. This just begs the question of how can this short really end up happily? Even if it does, she’s still an android, which means she’d never age and could never legitimately be with Shinichi.

But since I don’t know the specifics of her existence, I can’t be certain.

In the end, this is a really nice short romantic sci-fi comedy. Toto and Shinichi have great chemistry, the OVA has wonderful pacing, writing, music, scenery, art and animation. The animation is all done in CGI like Five Numbers!, but it seems more polished with better human animation. Though I’m fine with a short OVA, I’d love to see a longer version of a story like this.

Additional Information and Notes: Coicent was directed and written by Shuhei Morita, who also directed Tokyo Ghoul and wrote and directed Kakurenbo: Hide and Seek. It was produced by Sunrise, and it is currently licensed in English by Sentai Fimworks.

Runtime: 11 minutes.

Year: 2011

Recommended Audience: There’s some violence, but nothing graphic, no sex, nudity, swearing etc. 5+

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