The last thing we watched, cartoon/animu edition

[BrawlMan]

Batman: Year One - I never read the comic, but I know this is a 1-to-1 adaption. The voice acting is great, and the animation is good. The movie definitely has the noir quality of the comic to match. I forgot that this movie released about the same time as Arkham City. Most of the voice actors here, voiced in the game too. While this is a story with Batman, he is not the main character. Jim Gordon is. Interesting...and I like it. Definitely was not expecting Gordon to have a brief affair with a fellow co-worker and cheat on his wife. At least he came clean, and his wife forgives him. Who wrote this story originally? <checks notes> Oh right...Frank Miller...the douche.

My only complaint is DC did that thing at the time where all of the vehicles are CGI. It's lazy, distracting, and does not mesh with the glorious 2D art. I know a lot of early DC Animation movies are guilty of this. It reeks of rushing a product out, and only makes poor animation decisions age worst. The cars should have just been hand drawn. This is why you take your time. With that said, the action is great and you can feel the panels come to life.

In addition, the Blu-ray has a 15 minute bonus short of Catwoman. Be sure to watch that afterward for a sweet bonus. Some nice action and suspense with a little twist at the end.

 

[Gordon_4]

Batman: Year One - I never read the comic, but I know this is a 1-to-1 adaption. The voice is acting great, and the animation is good. The movie definitely has the noir quality of the comic to match. I forgot that this movie released about the same time as Arkham City. Most of the voice actors here, voiced in the game too. While this is a story with Batman, he is not the main character. Jim Gordon is. Interesting...and I like it. Defintely was not expecting Gordon to have a brief affair with a fellow co-worker and cheat on his wife. At least he came clean, and his wife forgives him. Who wrote this story originally? <checks notes> Oh right...Frank Miller...the douche.

My only complaint is DC did that thing at the time where all of the vehicles are CGI. It's lazy, distracting, and does not mesh with the glorious 2D art. I know a lot of early DC Animation movies are guilty of this. It reeks of rushing a product out, and only makes poor animation decisions age worst. The cars should have just been hand drawn. This is why you take your time. With that said, the action is great and you can feel the panels come to life.

In addition, the Blu-ray has a 15 bonus short of Catwoman. Be sure to watch that afterward for a sweet bonus. Some nice action and suspense with a little twist at the end.

Yeah but Batman Year One was done before Miller really went nuts. It’s got some early warning signs but by and large none of it is a detriment to the overall story.

 

[BrawlMan]

Yeah but Batman Year One was done before Miller really went nuts. It’s got some early warning signs but by and large none of it is a detriment to the overall story.

So I've heard. The best thing that could happen.

 

[BrawlMan]

Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders - Fun 1960s Batman in animated form. Featuring Adam West reprising his role. If you want fun, goofy Batman, you came to the right movie. Adam West does well and shows the man knows how to act. Some people still underestimate him; especially when he can do sinister. Surprisingly creepy. Everyone on this production gave it their and were clearly having fun. Not much else to say, other than liking the movie.

This and Batman vs. Two Face are the last Batman projects he did before passing. I'll watch Batman vs. Two Face when I get home from work.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders - Fun 1960s Batman in animated form. Featuring Adam West reprising his role. If you want fun, goofy Batman, you came to the right movie. Adam West does well and shows the man knows how to act. Some people still underestimate him; especially when he can do sinister. Surprisingly creepy. Everyone on this production gave it their and were clearly having fun. Not much else to say, other than liking the movie.

This and Batman vs. Two Face are the last Batman projects he did before passing. I'll watch Batman vs. Two Face when I get home from work.

Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders is an excellent homage to the old show, really well done, and they manage to stick a lot of references in without interrupting the film, and they kept the same humour. Best Batman film (that I've seen) they've made in years.

Batman vs. Two Face is not nearly as good. Would have been much better to leave Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders as West's last film. It's trying to be a modern, serious Batman film with Adam West. Doesn't work.

 

[Bob_McMillan]

After pacing myself, just finished season 1 of Beastars. That show is really good. It almost feels like a more mature Zootopia (or at least, what I think a more mature Zootopia would be, having not actually watched Zootopia), but the characters are done so well, with all of the major characters having multiple layers to them, and even the minor characters coming off as fairly real rather than just stock characters. The show also holds back no punches in showing just how complicated the friendship, and possibly more, between Legoshi, a gray wolf, and Haru, a dwarf rabbit, is. Not just socially, but in terms of their own instincts naturally repelling each other.

Add in some rather dark moments when necessary, as well as light ones, and you have, in my opinion, one of the best recent anime that I've seen.

Could just have been me, but heads up for the second season. It concludes incredibly unsatisfyingly (although the journey to get there wasn't too bad).

 

[Bob_McMillan]

Batman: Year One - I never read the comic, but I know this is a 1-to-1 adaption. The voice acting is great, and the animation is good. The movie definitely has the noir quality of the comic to match.

I always loved the art style and animation of this one. Maybe its because after this movie, we started getting the New 52 DCAU, which I thought was a huge step down. I guess making standalone movies was the way to go.

 

[BrawlMan]

Batman vs. Two Face is not nearly as good. Would have been much better to leave Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders as West's last film. It's trying to be a modern, serious Batman film with Adam West. Doesn't work.

I'll be the judge of that. I know this movie takes more of its inspirations from Batman the animated series, and is a bit more serious, but I honestly don't care. From what I've heard most people didn't have a problem with it. I'm just here to enjoy Adam West's last time is batman.

 

[BrawlMan]

Batman vs. Two-Face - I like just about as much as Return of the Caped Crusaders. I do love B vs. TF a bit more; not lying here. This carnation of Two Face lives up to the name and comic villain. Will Shatner can kills this in his sleep. Nothing like the "Two-Face" in Batman Forever. I find it hilariously awesome that this version of Two-Face is more respected and dignified than the Tommy Lee Jones Forever version. This animated feature is the final outing for the Bright Knight. Thank you again, Adam West you wonderful hammy treasure! Both of these movies do the 1966 series justice.

The (minor) complaints about this film trying to be "too serious" and bad at it are completely exaggerated. The seriousness is there, but it is not the overall focus, nor overdone and forced. It feels natural and earnest. This movie, hands down, has one of the best depictions of Bruce's/Batman's friendship with Harvey Dent. While serious, their still plenty of levity that balances the film out. The movie knows its the 1966 show, but knows restraint and ready to get down when needed. Movie hits all of the right tones naturally.

Regardless if you're Batman fan, Adam West fan, both, or even all or none of the above, you owe it to see both of these movies at least once. Two true trusting treasures to behold and gaze upon with finesse eyes. You're getting the campy cheese one last time, as you will never get something like this ever again. Saddening, but comforting at the same time. The man passed on loving what he does best. Everyone involved gave it their all and succeeded. Thank you all for everything. You have my love and respect for not being afarid, embracing the good kind of silly, and showing, once again, Batman does not always have to dark, grim, and brooding. Boisterous bright light is needed to shine on the contrast and keep people interested. Batman '66 reminds us it is good and okay to laugh. Brave and the Bold remembered to carry 66's spirits too. We can all do the same.

 

[Ezekiel]

You can immediately tell what Batman episodes were animated in Japan (layouts). See No Evil is on a whole other level from the last several episodes I watched. The one about the invisible man. Objects and people move and rotate in ways you never see in most of the other episodes. Nice use of shadows too. Story kind of makes me wish the show had featured more original villains.

 

[Dalisclock]

Finally finished Arcane. I really did enjoy it and you can tell there were people on staff who went to film school. Not to mention the artwork is just gorgeous.

My only quibble is with Jinx. She's basically just the Joker and it's never explained why she's that way. She had a shitty childhood but then again so did everyone else in the undercity. Hell, she got adopted after episode 3 while her sister went to prison for a decade, yet somehow Jinx went completely cra cra with an improbable number of mental illnesses that pretty much everyone seems to be okay with for some reason(well, Silco, except she keeps bringing the heat down on him which you'd think he wouldn't tolerate). And she pretty much does crazy shit for reasons to tear everyone's plans apart, which unfortunately, is apparently just because she's fucking bored or something.

Like every other character you can draw clear lines between their act 1(first couple episodes) development and their characters in act 2, whereas JInx gets development but then the writers apparently decided to flip the crazy switch because...fuck you I guess, so child and adult jinx feel like completely different characters.

 

[Phoenixmgs]

Batman vs. TMNT - One of the best ambitious crossovers ever made! Eat your heart out Infinity War and Endgame! This is one of the best DC Animated movies ever made. Has the right pacing, the jokes are on point, the animation is God-tier and rock solid, and the action is amazing. Time and effort was definitively put in to this project. Unlike certain DC Animated movies that feel rushed in either performance, animation, drawing, or all of the above. Batman vs. TMNT is my 5th favorite Batman movie, and my 2nd favorite TMNT movie. I have nothing else to say, see this movie!

It's not the first time I watched the move either. It is so re-watchable and just that good!

It also features Batman's only fear... Snake Clowns!!!

 

[Bob_McMillan]

Kotaro Lives Alone on Netflix.

An interesting show. It's quite an ugly anime, whether that's on purpose or if that's the limitations of the artist, I'm not sure. We follow Kotaro Sato, a very precocious 4 year old child who is somehow living on his own in an apartment complex. His neighbor, a down on his luck mangaka (who is described as being good at telling stories, but has uninspired art ), starts to look out for him and eventually becomes a father figure, along with the other tenants of the apartment complex.

Wholesome, fantastical slice of life show right? Sometimes. And that's all I'll say for non-spoilers.

Spoiler

We later learn that Kotaro was a survivor of an abusive household, and is currently hiding from his estranged father. Each episode is then split between fun, wholesome, heartwarming adventures with Kotaro and exploring the dark side of Japanese family life. Child abandonment, abusive relationships, suicide. The show never really tries to say anything about these things, and simply makes one aware of them. If I had a criticism, it's that it's hard to accept that such a real world is also a world where a 4 year child can somehow legally live on his own, but it's never explained how this can happen and I'm fine with leaving it at that.

The show can be funny, uplifting, and heartbreaking. The episode where Kotaro learns about birthdays, and realizes that his existence is something that can be celebrated, made me tear up a little . It won't be everyone's cup of tea, especially if you don't like kids, but I thought it was a very unique experience, the kind that could only ever come from an anime.

 

[Specter Von Baren]

Episode 11 of My Dress Up Darling

Absolutely excellent. As someone not ashamed to admit he reads "cultured" stories and doujin, I found the subtleties near the end of the episode amazing details. When Gojo and Marin are extremely embarrassed and tense from their situation but then slowly you see them begin to relax, fantastic detail! Also just a fun and funny episode too, I think seeing them figuring out poses and taking pictures is one of my favorite parts of this show.

 

[PsychedelicDiamond]

Finally finished Arcane. I really did enjoy it and you can tell there were people on staff who went to film school. Not to mention the artwork is just gorgeous.

My only quibble is with Jinx. She's basically just the Joker and it's never explained why she's that way. She had a shitty childhood but then again so did everyone else in the undercity. Hell, she got adopted after episode 3 while her sister went to prison for a decade, yet somehow Jinx went completely cra cra with an improbable number of mental illnesses that pretty much everyone seems to be okay with for some reason(well, Silco, except she keeps bringing the heat down on him which you'd think he wouldn't tolerate). And she pretty much does crazy shit for reasons to tear everyone's plans apart, which unfortunately, is apparently just because she's fucking bored or something.

Like every other character you can draw clear lines between their act 1(first couple episodes) development and their characters in act 2, whereas JInx gets development but then the writers apparently decided to flip the crazy switch because...fuck you I guess, so child and adult jinx feel like completely different characters.

Never really felt that way. She had some massive PTSD from seeing her parents die as a very young kid and when we see her as a kid we see her already struggling with what appear to be dissociative episodes. Add to that additional trauma from not only witnessing but arguably causing the death of the rest of her friends and family and then being raised by a guy who, while loving her, in his way, was a broken and vengeful man who is bound to have put a lot of bullshit along the lines of "you need to be merciless to be strong, everyone will betray you when you turn their back on them, it's us versus them" into her head and it's fairly understandable how she went over the edge as hard as she did in the ~ 10 years that happen off screen.

Goes without saying, Arcane's universe is way too dependent on the rule of cool to paint a realistic picture of a mentally broken character, because at the end of the day Jinx still has to be Cool Sexy Action Chick and her mental issues can't be allowed to get in the way of that. But as an inherently ridiculous character in an inherently ridiculous world, her character development is grounded enough.

 

[Zykon TheLich]

Well, I'm a bit late to the party, as I am with a lot of popular culture, but I've been watching Rick and Morty.

Pretty entertaining, the violence and weird shit appeals to my sense of humour, as does Ricks general caustic personality. There's a few irritating tropes. I can't stop seeing Morty's dad as John Arbuckle. I feel I would absolutely love it if I was a stoned teenager again. Or to be fair a stoned 40 something.

It's no Bojack Horseman, but it beats the pants off Paradise PD and Below Decks.

Just as a recommendation, Trailer Park Boys Animated was pretty rockin too, and F is for Family.

 

[BrawlMan]

The Long Halloween: Part 1 & 2 - A cool mystery serial killer story involving Batman. This is a sequel to Year One. I know the art is nothing like the drawings in the comic, but I do not care. The story is interesting, keeps the view guessing, and the patterns all make sense. Also, it explains where where The Batman (2022) got the idea for Selina Kyle to be an illegitimate child of Carmine Falcone. Since there was alot to adapt, it explains why the movie has two parts. I enjoyed it, and I have nothing else to say.

 

[Specter Von Baren]

Watched more of Stardust Crusaders the other day. I have to say, the "fight" with D'arby is probably one of my favorites. It's amazing how tense and cool everything is despite there being no combat and limited use of special powers. I feel if someone wants to express what Jojo is actually about then this is a prime conflict to point to. Despite how huge and muscular most of the characters are, the actual core of the series is about tricks, mind games, and figuring out solutions to overcome obstacles rather than just beating people up.

 

[Piscian]

I'd probably get doxxed on reddit for saying this, but I binged the season and a half of Attack On Titan and GODDAMN WHAT A CONVOLUTED MESS OF STORYTELLING.

I'd Watched the first couple seasons of it a few years ago and it was interesting, but slow. I tried to start up again earlier this year, but season 3 was painfully slow. So much time is spent with characters repeating the same lamentations over and over.

Finally the later half of season 3 is all gas. Its both all action and finally just lays all the cards out and tells you exactly whats going on. Thats however AOTs biggest problem is that its so slavish to these big reveals that characters actively refuse to talk or communicate.

The last season was an absolute slog to get through. Its sad because the ideas were interesting, but it leans heavily on 3 beats -

1. People fighting simply because someones intentionally not just communicating and being obtuse.
2. People betraying people and then betraying the people they betrayed only to betray betray betray until you lose track of what anyone's motivation is in any of it
3. People being sad because they have to kill people, usually their friends, and then immediately going on stomach churning killing sprees so ridiculous at one point someone stabs someone and then sets off grenades to cause a explosion in which their friends blood literally showers down on them.

Thats a large problem with the show. It starts off making each death a horrific thing that the audience should care about, but by the end of it, the entire budget goes into reveling in the death of its characters so much that Id forgotten who most of the characters were from any of the previous seasons. It reminded me of Death Of Evangelion? whatever the movie was that was just lots of robots fighting and people getting skewered.

I wouldn't say the show is up its own ass, but it basically had one moral to convey and it repeats it over and over with another set of characters every few episodes "oh the humanity" and "people are inherently shitty".

The show only had enough meaningful story for about half its run. An inordinate amount of time is spent on side stories that don't really payoff because they're redundant to other stories trying to convey the same message. Theres at least 5 or 6 characters who are introduced and have an arc which ends in them learning that life has grey areas and they should just do whatever feels right to them. Its compelling the first 2 or 3 times, but by the time the 4th season rolls around I was using the flashbacks to check my email and I never missed anything.

Going back to the pacing problem. Theres a character who gets an episode for a flashback to their childhood in season 4. Its supposed to give that character some humanity. The problem is you just don't care anymore and the flashback is nearly identical to two other characters. This would have been pretty compelling nearer to when the character was introduced in Season 2, but they didn't show it until now because it would have hinted at the big reveal in season 3, but now we're at the end of the show and you no longer care about this character as they aren't central to the overall story. Instead its irritating and distracts from getting to the end of the damned show.

I think the author had a great M.Night Shyamalan, twilight zone gimmick, but I think trying to keep the audience in the dark and drag them along through the reveals cause them to struggle to balance the pacing.

It looks like the finale episode isnt out for a couple weeks, but man I've having trouble caring. The story is done. This is needless silly cheese.

 

[Dalisclock]

I'd probably get doxxed on reddit for saying this, but I binged the season and a half of Attack On Titan and GODDAMN WHAT A CONVOLUTED MESS OF STORYTELLING.

I'd Watched the first couple seasons of it a few years ago and it was interesting, but slow. I tried to start up again earlier this year, but season 3 was painfully slow. So much time is spent with characters repeating the same lamentations over and over.

Finally the later half of season 3 is all gas. Its both all action and finally just lays all the cards out and tells you exactly whats going on. Thats however AOTs biggest problem is that its so slavish to these big reveals that characters actively refuse to talk or communicate.

The last season was an absolute slog to get through. Its sad because the ideas were interesting, but it leans heavily on 3 beats -

1. People fighting simply because someones intentionally not just communicating and being obtuse.
2. People betraying people and then betraying the people they betrayed only to betray betray betray until you lose track of what anyone's motivation is in any of it
3. People being sad because they have to kill people, usually their friends, and then immediately going on stomach churning killing sprees so ridiculous at one point someone stabs someone and then sets off grenades to cause a explosion in which their friends blood literally showers down on them.

Thats a large problem with the show. It starts off making each death a horrific thing that the audience should care about, but by the end of it, the entire budget goes into reveling in the death of its characters so much that Id forgotten who most of the characters were from any of the previous seasons. It reminded me of Death Of Evangelion? whatever the movie was that was just lots of robots fighting and people getting skewered.

I wouldn't say the show is up its own ass, but it basically just one moral to conveyed and it just repeats it over and over which another set of characters every few episodes "oh the humanity" and "people are inherently shitty".

The show only had enough meaningful story for about half its run. An inordinate amount of time is spent on side stories that don't really payoff because they're redundant to other stories trying to convey the same story. Theres at least 5 or 6 characters who are introduced and have an arc which ends in them learning that life has grey areas and they should just do whatever feels right to them. Its compelling the first 2 or 3 times, but by the time the 4th season rolls around I was doing the flashbacks to check my email and I never missed anything.

Going back the pacing problem. Theres a character whos get an episode for a flashback to their childhood in season 4. Its supposed to give that character so humanity. The problem is you just don't care anymore and the flashback is nearly identical to two other characters. This would have been pretty compelling nearer to when the character was introduced in Season 2, but they didn't show it until now because it would have hinted at the big reveal in season 3, but now we're at the end of the show and you no longer care about this character as they aren't central to the overall story. Instead its irritating and distracts from getting to the end of the damned show.

I think the author had a great M.Night Shyamalan, twilight zone gimmick, but I think trying to keep the audience the dark and drag them along through the reveals cause them to struggle to balance the pacing.

I watched the first eason a couple years back and I felt the pacing was fucking glacial at times. Like battles would last for what felt like forever because instead of keeping them taunt and suspenseful, everything dragged out. And if they were doing it to convey the horrors of war I'd apprecaite it but it felt like everything just needed to be 2x longer then it really needed to be.

I tried rewatching it later and didn't even finish season 1 that time. I watched it subbed and I think I was waiting for a dub version but at this point I've kinda just lost interest in trying to rewatch.

I love the premist a lot, but I feel like, much like some other anime, it just fucking takes forever to really go anywhere.