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First Impressions Reviews

Netflix First Impressions – Hi Score Girl

It’s 1991 and the heyday of the 2D fighting game boom. Sixth-grader Haruo spends practically his entire day at an arcade in the seedy part of town, oblivious to the world around him. However, one day at his usual arcade, he encounters Akira, his female classmate with good grades and money. She may look out of place at the arcade, but she is actually a top-class gamer. Akira completely outmatches Haruo in one Street Fighter II round after another, and their relationship develops from this unlikely encounter. – ANN

Streaming: Netflix

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Haruo considers himself a pretty avid gamer. His current favorite is Street Fighter II, which he plays endlessly at the local arcade. Though he typically dominates the standings, one afternoon he suddenly starts suffering one defeat after another. Who could his new opponent be? Surprisingly, it’s his classmate Akira Ono – a quiet, refined classmate of his whose grades outshine Haruo’s by a mile. Haruo simply can’t stand being outclassed by someone who’s so clearly not the gamer “type.”

Haruo and Akira start to encounter one-another around town more often, where Akira continues to impress with her unusually good gaming skills, as well as her ability to shut down naysayers with her fists. After the kids find themselves sharing a Final Fight gaming cabinet after escaping a sudden rainstorm, Haruo begins to realize the extent of Akira’s gaming knowledge, as well as her inability to suffer fools during a heated co-op session. Though Haruo is still sore about his many fighting game losses, he begins to think he may be gaining a new friend in Akira.

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First Impressions Reviews

Netflix First Impressions – Forest of Piano

Kai was born as the son of a prostitute and he’s been playing the abandoned piano in the forest near his home ever since he was young. Shūhei, on the other hand, was practically breast-fed by the piano as the son of a family of prestigious pianists. Yet it is their common bond with the piano that eventually intertwines their paths in life. – ANN

Streaming: Netflix

Episodes: 12

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: Shuhei transfers into his new elementary school class. Almost immediately the class bullies begin to pick on him because he plays the piano – something seen as effeminate. Kai, one of Shuhei’s classmates, is also a frequent target of the bullies, due to his family situation; his mother works in the sex industry and Kai’s father is not in the picture. He does have an interest in the piano, and offers to show Shuhei his piano; a piano sitting in the forest that’s rumored to be both broken and haunted.

Only Kai seems to have the ability to produce sound from the mysterious piano, which puzzles Shuhei, who’s been taking piano lessons since he was a small child. The bullies don’t believe Shuhei’s far-fetched story about Kai’s talent and continue to pick on him. Ajino-Sensei, the school music teacher, catches wind of the tale and wonders if it might have some truth to it. He used to be a famous pianist until he injured himself in a car accident, and got rid of his special piano when he realized he’d no longer be able to play it. But perhaps now the piano has chosen a new master.

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Anime Reviews Film Reviews Reviews

Anime Review – Mirai

A family is living in a small house in an obscure corner of a certain city—in that house lives the family’s spoiled four-year-old boy Kun-chan. When Kun-chan gets a little sister named Mirai, he feels that his new sister stole his parents’ love from him, and is overwhelmed by many experiences he undergoes for the first time in his life. In the midst of it all, he meets an older version of Mirai, who has come from the future. – ANN

Release: Limited Theatrical Release. Available to pre-order on Blu-ray and DVD.

Source: Original

Review: Please be aware that this review contains some plot and thematic spoilers for the film.

Change is difficult for us all, but as adults its inevitability is already mostly a known quantity even if its specific form almost never is. For young children, though, each change, no matter how small, can seem like a drastic upheaval. Just when they’re starting to learn their world’s rules, that world might change and transform into some new state of existence. As we grow older we begin to forget how unfamiliar and drastic these feelings are, and this is something that I think about quite a bit. Though we might grumble at the toddler throwing a tantrum in Target, we ought to consider the tools we’ve developed to handle the negative emotional waves that crash over our psyche, and understand that we didn’t always have access to those when we were their age.

Mirai is a film that demonstrates deep compassion and empathy towards children who are beginning to embark on the exhilarating and terrifying “firsts” that many of us encounter early in our lives. Kun-chan, the little boy at the center of the movie’s story, undergoes a very strenuous emotional journey during which he comes to realize the importance of the role he plays in his family, as well as the connections he has with its various other members, some of whom he never had the chance to meet.

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First Impressions Reviews

Netflix First Impressions – Back Street Girls: Gokudols

Three young yakuza members screwed up really big, causing their boss losing millions. Contrary to yakuza traditions, their boss did not want their little fingers chopped off, for doing so would not bring his money back anyway. Instead he sent them to Thailand for extensive plastic surgery (transgender included) and then promoted them as an idol group. Their careers become so successful that most of their fans know absolutely nothing about their true identities. On the other hand, the three often feel frustrated for having to live two lives on and off stage. – ANN

Streaming: Netflix

Episodes: 10

Source: Manga

Episode Summary: A conflict between two rival factions of the Yakuza goes very wrong, and three young members of the organization are to blame. Rather than demand a more traditional demonstration of atonement, their boss gives them one option that doesn’t involve death or dismemberment: travel immediately to Thailand, undergo sex reassignment surgery, and make back the organization’s lost funds by forming an idol group.

Though the three turn out to have the right “look” upon their return, their inner attitudes still need some fine-tuning before making prime-time strides. They undergo brainwashing by watching hour upon hour of idol performance videos, and their boss hires a famous manager to whip them into shape. Considering their origins, the manager’s typical tricks don’t work to inspire his new charges. Once he identifies their rough origins, though, a few choice words and they’re able to get into character. Still, their former lives manifest from time-to-time; perhaps this is just the fate of the Gokudols.

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Approaching a Netflix Backlog

Those of you who know me know that I’m certainly a fan of anime simulcasts, since they’ve made anime accessible for many more people around the world. One aspect of the viewing process, though, is learning about and adapting to each outlet’s specific aspects and quirks. Funimation has primarily done simul-dubs as of late, meaning there’s a slight delay in the episodes that they’ve chosen for that process (I’m frankly surprised that there’s not more of a delay – they certainly have the process optimized at this point). HIDIVE’s player has a few quirks (I wish I could figure out how to make it stop defaulting to Portuguese subtitles every time I log in!) and the way it’s set up makes it a bit more difficult to take good screen captures. Amazon Prime doesn’t have a great way to access their anime in one place – you have to know what series you’re looking for ahead of time and search for it. It’s an interesting process learning how to adapt and keep track of your watch list if, like me, you’re watching anime at many of these sites at one time.

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Anime Reviews Film Reviews Reviews

Anime Review – Liz and the Blue Bird

Mizore Yoroizuka and Nozomi Kasaki are a pair of best friends in their final year of high school. They’re both obsessed with the school’s brass band club. With Mizore on the oboe and Nozomi on the flute, they spend their days in happiness–until the club begins to practice songs inspired by the fairy tale Liz und ein Blauer Vogel (Liz and the Blue Bird). Immersed in this story, Mizore and Nozomi begin to realize that there may be no such thing as being together forever. – ANN

Release: Limited Theatrical Release. Available on Disc from Shout! Factory in March, 2019.

Source: Spinoff of Sound Euphonium

Episodes: 1 (film)

Review: Please be aware, this review contains spoilers of the film, as well as of season 2 of Sound! Euphonium.

It’s often said that, if you truly love someone, you need to be willing to let them go. The other half of the saying suggests that if the relationship was meant to be, then person you love will eventually return to you. But what about the sometimes transient relationships that arise out of a particular moment’s necessity? There’s nothing that says friendships built around shared employment, a similar class schedule, or even an after-school club membership can’t last well beyond the time and place of their creation. But more often than not, it seems as though once the experience has ended and the opportunity for shared strife is gone, a relationship that may have seemed rock-solid suddenly might start to lose its context and fade away.

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Previews Reviews

Winter 2019 Anime – What I’m Looking Forward To

It’s that time again – time to look ahead at the wonderful potential of the season to come. Once again the Northern Hemisphere, and specifically my part of the United States, is entering into a snowy deep-freeze. While there’s little reason to brave the outdoors (unless you like skiing, ice-fishing, sledding, or skating… which I don’t), it’s a great time to stay in the house under a blanket, watching all the wonderful animated content that Japan has to offer.

As usual, I want to be clear in stating that this is just a preview; aside from sequels or anime for which I’ve experienced the source material, I don’t have much to base my opinions on other that my sense for what I might personally like. I’m usually disappointed by a few of my picks, and there are often several anime that fly completely under my radar, but which later turn out to be favorites. Much like the week between Christmas and New Year’s, the time between anticipating new anime and finding out about its reality is a magical time of being suspended in a state of perpetual possibilities. Whether it pans out exactly as anticipated is probably not even that important, to be honest.

Note: As with my previous posts on this subject, I’m using the Western (English) titles when possible, though those sometimes don’t solidify until after simulcasts are announced.

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Autumn 2018 First Impressions – Shorts

The honeymoon phase is great!

Hello, friends! While I’ve decided not to tackle sequels this season for various reasons (lack of time being one of them, relative difficulty being another; I’d also rather not get Index or SAO fans after me), I wanted to poke around this season’s short anime.

Shorts are always kind of a mixed bag. While there are some shorts I’ve really enjoyed, their short run-time often feels like a sample rather than a meal. For the purposes of this post, I’ll be watching 2-3 episodes (or more) of each, so that I can ensure I’ll have enough material to work with. Though some anime series are accompanied by more gag-focused shorts, I’ll only be watching original short-form anime for this post.

Himote House

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Original

Summary: Tae is about to experience one of her dreams – living in Tokyo as an adult. In order to make this dream a reality, she’s sharing a living space with three sisters and another former classmate. Tae is outgoing and has no trouble settling into the home, but there’s one minor detail that she didn’t know about ahead of time – in addition to their different personalities and style-sense, all of her new roommates also harbor within them special abilities. One can stop time, another can shoot energy beams, and there’s even a young woman who can duplicate the abilities of other powerful individuals. Tae feels like the odd-one-out… until she discovers a special ability of her own.

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Autumn 2018 First Impressions – Voice of Fox

Hu Li is a poor but talented high school boy. He is a “ghost” singer/songwriter for the popular and narcissistic boy idol Kong Que, who is very handsome but can barely sing. Hu always wears a fox mask to hide his large facial scar caused by a traffic accident. He also uses a screen name “Mr. Fox” to publish his music online. – ANN

Streaming: Crunchyroll

Episodes: 12

Source: Comic

Episode Summary: Hu Li is a typical, unassuming young man. He holds down several odd-jobs to scrape by and watches those with fame and fortune from afar. But Hu Li has some interesting secrets. He’s a talented singer and songwriter who posts his creations online under a fox-masked pseudonym. He’s also the voice of a popular idol, the attractive Kong Que – a man with a pretty face but without the talent to go along with it.

Kong Que and Hu Li have an arrangement – Hu Li provides the live vocals for Kon Que, and together they create the perfect idol. A clause in Hu Li’s contracts is that no one can find out the nature of this secret, but after receiving a mysterious email one night, Hu Li realizes that someone is watching his every move.

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First Impressions Reviews

Autumn 2018 First Impressions – Gakuen Basara: Samurai High School

The suspension of student council president, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, has created a power vacuum at Basara Academy. Now, Date Masamune and Sanada Yukimura find themselves vying for the top spot. But they aren’t the only ones with their eyes on the prize. – HIDIVE

Streaming: HIDIVE

Episodes: 12

Source: Game Series

Episode Summary: It’s election season at Basara High School, and the primary candidates are feverishly trying to drum up support as they work to replace the displaced student council president. The rivalries have even filtered down into some of the sports clubs, as the soccer team and baseball team fight over who has ownership of the practice field. As the argument gets even more heated, club leaders Date Masamune and Sanada Yukimura decide to work things out the way they know best – through sports.

Their hot-blooded kickball game exists as a bit of a proxy war for the larger conflicts going on throughout the school. Candidates Tokugawa and Mitsunari use the event as a campaign opportunity as both teams prevent one-another from scoring any points. As the sun sets, Yukimura and Masamune go one-on-one to decide the victor, and with his master’s guidance Yukimura comes out on top. The competition is quickly made moot, however, as headmaster Oda Nobunaga puts an end to the game (and the entire playing field).

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