Sunday, 28 May 2017

What Are You Watching? (May, 2017)

Ok, this is going to be kind of like a favourites. So, on the last Sunday of every month (hopefully) I shall write a post all about the things I have watched whether they are new, old, weird and/or wonderful. I'm going to split them up into two sections: TV and Film. Although let's face it the TV is just going to be anime isn't it? I'll try to watch english spoken programming too ok? .......that isn't Buffy or Firefly. Hopefully it will help me track of my watching too, which will be helpful.

TV
  • I have finally finished Fairy Tail. It only took me four months to finish the 300 (round about) episode long show and to make it even better the new film came out a few days after I finished it! How lucky was that? Full of funny characters that I got very attached to and story arc after story arc that was interesting and kept my attention. This is the longest anime I have watched and honestly I'm beyond glad that I took the time to do so. 
  • Assassination Classroom - A very funny anime indeed. It is very intertextual of other anime shows which I love. The characters are loveable and the plot is very interesting and enjoyable. An extremely fun and easy to watch show that I shall miss, and probably re-watch at some point as it is only 47 episodes long for the main plot. 
  • Say "I Love You" - A super short anime series about love. My favourite genre next to magical adventures. The characters are fun yet insanely frustrating. It's very gooey romantic, so if that isn't to your taste then maybe stay clear as that's kind of all there is to this. There are themes of friendship and personal development but all of that comes out of the theme of love which enters the series. Possibly my new favourite romance anime (sorry, My Little Monster)
Film
  • Voices of a Distant Star (2002, Shinkai) - A short film that discusses relationships and time, and how that can take its toll on that relationship and the people. It is sci-fi meets teen-romance and I love it. Honestly, my favourite anime director at the moment.
  • Tales from Earthsea (2006, Miyazaki) - Perhaps my least favourite of the Ghibli films I have watched (I've watched most of them) but still very high on the list of films that I have seen. Adventurous and spiritual, magical even. 
  • Whisper of the Heart (1995, Kondo) - I love this one. Studio Ghibli you put cats into everything and I love it! A tale about love and discovering your future, very sweet and heart warming. 
  • Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry (2017, Minamikawa) - I loved it, very funny yet did not give me the closure that I wanted from the supposed final anime instalment to the series (yeah right). Classic characters that I have come to love in a new setting and a whole new adventure. 
  • Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 (2017, Gunn) - If you want to know my thoughts I did a review a couple of weeks ago that you can read here - http://galaxysearcher.blogspot.co.uk/2017/05/guardians-of-galaxy-vol2-2017-gunn.html 
  • Snatch (2000, Ritchie) - A pretty good film, funny at moments and absolutely killer cinematography. Confirming my thought that Guy Ritchie is indeed the UK's answer to Bad Luhrmann (whom I adore as a filmmaker). Would recommend. 
  • A Silent Voice (2017, Yamada) - It's beautifully animated and has a heartwarming story, what more could you want. A narrative about transformation, forgiveness and friendship. Truly beautiful and will make you cry. Probably my favourite film of the month (review will be up next Sunday).
Thank you for reading, hopefully this has given you some good material to watch next month. Keep an eye on this blog as there is going to weekly posts up every Sunday at 7pm (UK time)! Have a nice week, and tell me in the comments what you have been watching this past month!

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Sunday, 21 May 2017

Is Eromanga Sensei ok?

  Let's start out by saying that I love this anime even with its slightly troubling themes but honestly it is hilarious and makes me laugh out loud.
  So now, let's begin with my issues with it. There are very strong themes of incest especially now that we are 6 episodes in. In addition to this there is a lot of sexual themes surrounding very young characters (I think around the age of middle schoolers from comparisons with other anime character designs). To some these themes would put them off immediately and I understand that. Themes such as these can create a lot of hate towards the creator, the show and its fans somewhat unnecessarily. Just because one watches something doesn't mean that they do it. I began watching the show because I wanted something that had started recently with few episodes, possibly a simulcast, as a break from Fairy Tail as I had been watching it non-stop (pretty much) since February. I went in blind and just enjoyed the first episode so carried on watching. Neither of the themes are taken seriously, as it is a satire of the situation, it is simply there for comedic effect. Although I have no real issue with the incest as I just see it as a joke not to be treated seriously but I do have an issue with the sexualisation of young girls from a feminist or even just a female perspective. Women in anime are very sexualised in their design and that becomes troubling when the characters start to get younger and younger. I don't think it helps at all with the way modern society across the world treat women. Women in media are so sexualised and it makes people think it's ok to behave like that towards women in reality, when it simply isn't. This is my only issue with anime (although really it's media in general) and this one specifically. 
  However, even with its strange and somewhat inappropriate themes one must remember that it is anime. It is fiction. It isn't based on truth, although one would be slightly ignorant to think that it doesn't happen anywhere in the world. This show is a comedy, somewhat a satire of the situation. It is made to make you laugh and cringe slightly. Yes, it is strange as no Western show would take on these themes in such a humorous light but you're not watching a western show are you? I would not recommend this show to someone that has never watched anime before but to someone that enjoys 'slice-of-life' satire-esque comedy they would probably enjoy it. I believe that one should enjoy watching and not take it too seriously as it wasn't made to be taken seriously. Although, I don't think it helps women very much it does discuss female sexuality in a positive light (whereas a large amount of media seem to suggest that women don't think about sex at all) but from the perspective of the age of the female characters I'm brought back to questioning how appropriate that is.

Ok, that is my thoughts for now on the slightly controversial Eromanga Sensei currently being simulcast on Crunchyroll. 

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P.S. This isn't sponsored and all thoughts are my own but if Crunchyroll wanted to sponsor me I'd totally be up for that. 
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Sunday, 7 May 2017

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 (2017, Gunn)

So, urm, I liked it but it is nowhere near as good as the first one. It simply fell into the realm of sequels I probably won't bother watching again unfortunately. It is funny, although the jokes are very similar if not the same as the last one, so just lacking originality of which the original had buckets of. The acting is good, the CGI at times is honestly just awful, and the plot is actually quite different although I wouldn't say unique.
In this volume of Guardians of the Galaxy we get to learn more about Peter Quill's (StarLord) father, and although this is the main plot there are side plots that concern the other characters that are honestly very, if not more, interesting. But, Quill is the main character so obviously his plot will be the main one. We learn more about Gamorrah, and Rocket (whom is honestly my favourite character). We also get introduced to some very gold people that could probably do without even being in the movie at all if it weren't for a very funny moment with a carpet.
Honestly, I did enjoy the film and would happily recommend it to people that enjoyed the first one. However, I would just say that one should not get their hopes to high as it just simply isn't as fresh and shiny as the first one. The music selection isn't as good, they overplay jokes that are already in the first one, and the main plot is honestly not the most interesting (they certainly could have gotten it under two hours). Overall, I feel conflicted about whether I really like it that much or not and I think this review shows that. Y'know actually just save your money and watch the original its much better and you can watch it in bed.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

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