Zíza

After all the praise, exaltation to the heavens, I was most likely expecting the impossible, and that's why I ended up completely disappointed after watching it. I was expecting something new, not innovative, but new for Makoto Shinkai. But alas, I got nothing of the sort. Again, it's nicely animated, the sky, the trains; the touching story of a boy and a girl... It's also cheerful and playful. But I don't think it's the miracle that everyone's making it out to be... Of course, if it were the first Shinkai I'd seen, I could understand the fascination; but for me it's just another Shinkai in a series of fairly similar films, so I can't rate it better than 3 stars.

I've seen the movie a few times now and I always get a craving for it again after a while. It's enjoyable, the characters are likable, I like the format too. I enjoy it. This is the perfect romantic comedy for me. I kind of wonder how the creators would handle it in this day and age of social media. I would love to see a movie like this.

Even in my dreams, I could still hear: “Ore no ta" and then the sound of a card being played. X-D It's not bad, the main character is quite interesting, the enemies aren't boring, there's more than enough friendship, dark/bad past too, saving the world – that's what it's all about, but the main thing is not to blow up your friends :-) It was quite fun to watch, it's actually my first Yu-Gi-Oh! themed series and the disappointment didn't come, on the contrary it was quite a pleasant surprise, I thought it would be on the level of Beyblade and it wasn't. Prejudices suck ^^ Plus it has excellent graphics that are never tiring to look at, and fights that all start almost the same, but then take a different path (sometimes diametrically :D) and the ending... you almost know for sure who will win, or to put it another way: who can afford to win for the moment, to suit the creators' “cards" :-))

This was one of the shows of the 2010 fall season that had me looking forward to every episode. The story may not be the most original, nor the characters, but I was still entertained, not bored, and didn't have to roll my eyes at the silly dialogue. I liked the idea. And the execution. I'm satisfied. The animation suited it nicely too – I liked Zakuro a lot. It's really such a nice, relaxing anime. Plus the chanting of the four was always great to hear :-) And I was really amused by the ending – the way the kids trotted in and ratted them out; I really laughed.

A ridiculous movie saying how that Dōgen is great and zazen is even better, and people are generally stupid... A boring movie about Dōgen's life, which of course takes its liberties, with a couple of actors that have a big name in Japan. And it’s precisely those actors who only bark or fail to make an impression, or who have no point or purpose for the film, its story, or its development. The film, in a certain episodic way, tells the story of a monk's life (his mama said go be a Buddhist, so he didn't dawdle and just went). And it's incredibly boring. And it has an astonishingly long running time for all that boredom; I was wishing he would die halfway through the film, and even that dying took an awfully long time. Anyway, every Japanologist knows that Dōgen died doing zazen, so we were just waiting to see which one. :-D I don't know, while I was watching it I was almost disgusted by the film’s pandering, its representation, and what it was trying to say. I understand why it got such a rating on FilmBooster (or anywhere else), but for me it was just a weak thing I was incredibly bored with. You’re better off reading his biography for the hundredth time. The part in China was the most boring part, when he went back to Japan, at least it was a change, I was like “great, it's going to get interesting", and it probably was for a bit. A little bit.

I'm beginning to think that if I can count on anyone, it's Suzuki Ryohei. He always grasps and plays his character so interestingly that I can't help but enjoy his performance every time. Those who know Lupin the Third and even his immortal rival Zenigata can guess what's in store for him. Ever wonder what Zenigata actually does when Lupin isn't sending his theft reports to the police? That's what this special is about. It's not a brilliant whodunit, nor is it an action-packed shoot-em-up full of car chases, it's just a light-hearted romp where a hastily assembled team follows the trail left by Mr. Question. At the end of every one of these clues, there's an explosion. A classic Japanese crime/light-comedy... Nobody shines like Suzuki. I'm certain of it now.

Zenigata is simply a likeable character (especially as played by Suzuki Ryohei), an indomitable soul of law and justice. Such a classic detective story and one detective who does things a little differently, but that doesn't mean he's anything special (except in his persistence and slight obtuseness, though we could easily call it straightforwardness). An okay short series, but I liked the previous four episodes a bit better – it must be because of the other partner; after all, Miura Takahiro is a better actor than Maeda Atsuko, who didn't really fit here.

For the first two episodes or so I thought, that’s a main character, such a total psycho. That label stuck with him, a label no one would unpeel from him for the entire series. And that Ken'ichi played him perfectly. But then I got bored. It was so stereotypical. And some of the scenes went on too long. Plus, it seems like the Japanese don't know how to handle a camera. For a while I didn't know whether to sympathize with him or wish him dead. Even now I don't know. But for the idea it carries, for the last few episodes where some parts really spoke to me and I really enjoyed them, and for the last episode where it showed what we might call a parallel universe, I give it 4 stars. But I hesitated because I really didn't want to see a screaming, drooling Futaro sometimes; it gets old. BOOM

The first two episodes or so weren't that great, but eventually it picked up the pace and made you wonder what would happen next. The series consists of different episodes where Mao digs around in the bodies so much that he eventually figures out how the owners died. Fortunately, the entire series is interspersed with the story of Mao and her motivation for wanting to work as a pathologist. Takei Emi's acting was decent, she basically played a similar character to the one in Otenki onee-san, only she was a bit more human, making her more sympathetic to the viewer. The supporting characters were mostly the usual shrubbery to fill in the plot and the background, but it wasn't anything annoying, and occasionally something interesting came out of it. Sasaki Kuranosuke really dialed up the Osaka dialect until after a while it was impossible to listen to in the midst of all the Tokyo-ese. Maya Miki portrayed a character with an interesting personality that was fully revealed at the end, and I have to admit that it was a bit of a surprise for me, I was expecting something a bit different. The series is eight episodes long, so it's over before it gets really boring. :-D But it had something to it, and it certainly won't hurt to check it out.

It all looks awfully cool. Bullies with tough talk, but they've got pain, grief, sensitivity hidden inside. Wow, girls' knees buckle, guys pat them on the back, "Hi five, Low five", cool, let's keep going, let's go kill zombies to pay off the debt, yeah, yeah, even cooler. Well, we need to add someone to the party, two guys smacks of shōnen-ai, so the third to the party will be a girl (who ends up, poor thing – probably fanservice? – showered with a little shōjo-ai). Yeah, yeah. But it's gotta be that naive Pollyanna who awakens the core of each of them, you know, so that they have someone to sort of protect and yell at sometimes. It's not bad to watch, it's perfectly watchable, except that you might – maybe – occasionally grimace at the would-be terribly moving and crucial scenes or speeches. To kill or not kill a friend? I'd say kill, rake in the cash and have tea, but I guess I’m just a bit too fond of living. It's just such a bland, dull animation with everyone looking horribly pointy and freshly released from Buchenwald. The music didn't stand out to me, neither the opening theme nor the ending, nothing, which means it wasn't anything special. Maybe it has a nice facade, maybe the story sounds interesting, but it's not that well crafted. Such a pity. The manga might be better, but I'm not going to try it. Bottom line, I’m giving it a better 2 stars for the fact that I wasn't even that bored with it. P.S.: Watch 11 episodes and you have, let's say, a complete story, watch 13 and you might as well continue with reading it...