Okay, so if you've read all of the other reviews on the internet then you know that the animation of this film is awesome! "Vexille" borrows liberally from countless sci-fi films from the past several decades most notably "Blade Runner", "Escape From New York", "Matrix" and "Dune" as well as other Japanese anime films including "Ghost In The Shell" and of course "Appleseed". Unfortunately, that and the soundtrack were the only good parts of this movie. The effects were nice and definitely passable, but the weak plot of the movie is tiring. Some of the worst character development, some mediocre and plain dialog that seemed to be aimed towards children under 7 years old, characters that look too much alike - yeah, I get it that it's a style, but some of the character look like cheap duplicates of one another e.g. Maria & Vexille.
And now a little more about the plot. Once the veil of mystery is lifted about like half an hour in the movie, and explanations start being poured, the whole film starts to degenerate pretty quick. As in all action movies, we have an evil genius type of bad guy with motivation for...well, taking over the world, of course, because he needs some test subjects for an experiment. Really? After so many fucking movies about evil masterminds, did they think it would sound believable to you? Granted, it's all fiction, but it has to be at least a little authentic. Anyway, the so-called good guys aren't much better. In fact, they're extremely "clichesque": we have the main girl, who's quite emotional in spite of being part of the film's version of Delta Force. Then we have a hard ass girl. Both girls are nothing more than cheep copies. Then we have some dude they're both after, who does absolutely fucking nothing except getting captured, thus has to be rescued by the two girls. Then we have...the actual plot. Which is full of holes so frigging big that the dude from 300 Spartans could throw in the whole Persian army inside it and there would still be room for the 300 Spartans to take a dump in the hole. You'll see what I meant if you decide to watch this. If you don't, well, basically there's a team taking over Japan, on its own, and turning it into a "happy" wasteland.
Overall, I guess Vexille was a good combo between action and CGI, a true eye catching movie that will hook any anime/robot lover from start to finish, but might leave others calling 911.
Ahhhh, Appleseed… the first anime movie I watched and enjoyed. While some may say that it isn’t anime since it has 3D graphics, but I call it an anime movie. And a damn good one at that. First of all, what attracted me are 2 things: sci-fi, which I enjoy the most, and some fast-paced action. I didn’t expect anything more than this. If you want to know if this is for you, then read on. The story is set in the year 2131 AD. Appleseed stars Deunan Knute, a young, legendary female soldier and a survivor of the Third World War, which brought Earth to the brink of destruction. While fighting a number of unknown figures, a platoon of tall, white-armored soldiers fly in from overhead and just when it looks like Duenan is out of escape options they open fire on the enemy whom she has been fighting. Then they take her to Olympus, a Utopian city. Here she joins the prestigious ESWAT organization to serve as the city's guardian. So there the true story begins, with a threat to humanity being uncovered and Duenan is the only one with the key to save humanity. So as you can see the plot is very linier and the only real mystery you’ll have is who the real bad guy is. So the movie isn’t made for those who seek deep plots and hidden messages or such. The plot is here just so there wouldn’t be any randomness and so the action would have some purpose. What I like is the sci-fi setting, post world war, high-tech cities and armor and weapons, all that good stuff. I mean when I first saw this movie I thought that they read my mind. How did they know that I wanted to see stuff like that? Because I didn’t want to absorb myself in the story, I didn’t want to absorb myself in the drama… I wanted to rot my brain with fast-paced action and NOT give a shit about anything else. It’s not to say that the plot is senseless and makes the movie retarded. No. It just isn’t the type of plot that will absorb you. There is also a good character cast, but it’s nothing special, most are military type, some are more civilian like, one is a cyborg, but in the end it’s nothing original. They gave more attention to the characters than they did to the plot, like they paid attention to character development, but it still doesn’t change the fact that the cast is just above average. The presentation… gorgeous. One might say that the 3D graphics ruin it, but I say it is one major plus. Character animation gives emotion and personality to each individual and also makes the action more enjoyable. Voice cast is believable and the music, while maybe not memorable, fits everything perfectly. Overall, this movie isn’t quite a masterpiece, but I still recommend it to those that just want fun and not waste time thinking about every plot element, and trying to figure things out. If you’re like me, enjoy action and sci-fi put together like a match made in Heaven, then this is one you don’t want to miss.
p.s. There are speculations that Appleseed and Ghost in the Shell take place in the same universe due to the nature of the 3rd World War and some of the sci-fi elements presented here, but I will have to decline that cause: 1) The story here takes place in 2131 AD; 2) They’ve only had WW 3 while in Ghost in the Shell they’ve also had WW4. There are also other differences, but you get the picture… they are NOT in the same universe.
So like I wrote in my previous review Ghost in the Shell SAC 2nd Gig deserves a review apart since it is different from the first and for the better I might add. Off-topic, know from the start that if you’re reading this for a laugh then don’t, cause when I review something I like there really is no point in making fun of it. Know that for funny reviews I prepared a special list of shitty anime ( and the list will be growing ), so be sure I’m downloading a truck-load of shit just for you. So if you’re just interested in my personal opinion on the things I like and why I like them, then please continue reading. Now on-topic, the plot in 2nd Gig takes place 2 years after the first series. Like I said in the previous review between 2000 and 2032 there were two major conflicts that changed the world. The first is nuclear World War III, and the other is non-nuclear World War IV, also known as the Second Vietnam War ( so I suppose it has something to do with Vietnam ). So because of these 2 conflicts, during 30 years a lot of things have changed like an increase in independent states and sovereign regions. And as with any other war-torn world, there is a lot of chaos and anarchy. How do I know all this? Well 2nd Gig uncovers a significant amount of back-story that was only vaguely talked about during the first series, and that includes information about the last world wars. Also in the first series, they usually refer to events surrounding the Laughing Man case, and they focus on the teamwork observed in Public Security Section 9. Here they discuss more on the issue of War, how it can be conducted in the 21st century. Mamoru Oshii, who wrote the story concept, commented about this new approach by saying ,,… we simply couldn't ignore the way society had evolved since the events of 9-11 : That was the approach we decided to take, and I tried to illustrate a 21st century (near-future) war.”. Also, while in the 1st they focused on Section 9 as a unit, now they focus on each character from Section 9 ( including the Tachikomas ). So there isn’t just world history, but also character history and how they met, and what they did before. That helps for character development. And in my opinion the series focuses more on Major Motoko ( which now doesn’t dress like a female super-hero from DC Comics ), and her personal background. There is also talk about a group called Individual 11, but unfortunately I didn’t quite get it all, but what I did get is the most important member of the group, and that is Hideo Kuze which plays a very important part in the story and (spoiler) Motoko’s life. Speaking of character there are a lot more people on the cast compared to the 1st series. There are also the Section 9 Forensic team, the Section 9 All-Purpose Female Androids, two new Section 9 members Azuma and Yano-kun, Proto a technician, the female Prime Minister Yoko Kayabuki and what I think is the antagonist of the series Kazundo Gouda head of the Cabinet Intelligence Service. You’d best memorize this names and what they represent cause there are others and it can get a bit confusing at times when they talk about them, especially since they don’t always say ,,The Head of…” but they say they’re name, so you can be a little confused. But every character acts like how he is supposed to act. I mean a general will feel like a real general, a minister will feel like a minister and a technician will feel like a technician. It’s hard to explain, but once you see it ( or if you saw it ) then you probably know what I’m talking about. Plus the Tachikomas are still the same self-aware philosophical little rascals that I love and now I kind of had some smiles while I watched them. I mean don’t get me wrong, the comedy sketches at the end still suck, I don’t know why they even bothered. I hope at least the Japanese appreciate they’re own humor cause if not, the jokes are on them. But when it’s in the middle of the episode it’s good, cause they interact with other characters, some of which grew close to them. Presentation is better then the 1st. Graphics are stunning, character models are sharp and detailed, give personality, background feels interactive ( like real, cause sometimes backgrounds feel more like props in a theater ), and visual effects are realistic. Sound department – flawless. Not just sound effects and voice work are done on a professional level, but the musical score as well. Every action comes with the appropriate musical note, and if you don’t believe how good it is just listen to the opening. One thing about the opening though, I don’t understand why it is sung in Russian then in English. I mean don’t get me wrong, it’s not a complaint, but if I didn’t know Russian then I wouldn’t have understood the words which is bad cause these are good lyrics ( I’m one who likes meaning in a song ). Also one minor thing that puzzles me is the title. I don’t get what Gig means. I thought 2nd meant that it is the 2nd season. But no, it is the 2nd Gig. So where is the 1st? The first season isn’t called Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex 1st Gig. It’s just Ghost in the Shell Stand Alone Complex. So where is the 1st Gig? I don’t know, and I don’t even bother cause it’s to brilliant a series to get worked up over some title. In conclusion this one is a must see. It isn’t necessary for you to watch the 1st to see the 2nd so I would recommend this one over the 1st if you don’t know with which one to start. So download it, sit back and have a good 2nd Gig marathon xD
Today I decided to do a review of a great anime, and that one is Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. It has a serious political tone filled with action. It has a lot to offer, but it also has its little downsides. GitS takes place in the year 2030, in the fictional Japanese city of New Port. The series follows the exploits of Public Security Section 9, a special operations task-force made up of former military officers and police detectives. The series comprises individual cases and the underlying mystery of the Laughing Man. So as you can see, unlike most anime the plot doesn’t overcomplicate so you can have an easier time following the story. Since it’s the year 2030 you can guess that a lot of shit happened before, like… 2 World Wars. Yeah, WW3 and WW4. Now how cool is that. And the world isn’t shown like it destroyed itself or anything, it’s still intact and the people are rebuilding it. The anime has a good way of showing not just a good sci-fi imagination, but also a good ,,what if” scenario. But the most important thing is how well it shows Section 9 as a secret special ops team. Unlike other anime, when you see special ops members, they are shown like people with irresponsible or carefree or cool and badass behavior, not like a true special ops member should behave. That type of anime usually focus more on action, so you can’t blame them if those members are behaving as they are, because they do so for the sake of the action. But here they are behaving like true professionals. That’s not to say that there isn’t action. But it isn’t as intense as it would be like in Full Metal Panic or Dragon Ball or other action anime, but it feels more realistic. Add the fact that some of the members are cyborgs and you get one good recipe of entertainment. I also like the cast here. We have the 9 core members of Section 9 and the Tachikomas, cute blue robots with machine guns that become self aware. So first let’s talk about the 9 core members. I already said that they are professionals and that they are members of this special task force, but that doesn’t mean that they are similar. Each individual is an expert in his own domain. I mean, all these 9 aren’t special in the same field, like they all have something in common and that’s why this group was formed, but every one of them has expertise in a certain domain and to accomplish a certain objective, he needs the help of the other members. So it gives the feeling of teamwork and gives importance to every individual. Also the central character, Major Motoko offers sex appeal to the series cause when she’s in uniform she dresses... provocatively. And there are also the Tachikomas. Not only they are a good combat asset, but as the series progress they play more important roles in the story and they become self aware which I believe was meant for comic relief. I say ,,It was meant” because they didn’t quite achieve this purpose. And while I’m at it I’d like to advise you not to expect comedy here. At the end of each episode they have like a small scene of the Tachikomas which are supposed to be funny, but… well I’m not about to criticize Japanese humor, cause a westerner like me doesn’t understand it, but… didn’t they know that shit like that won’t be understood in OTHER countries? It’s not a big flaw, I didn’t pay much attention to it cause I didn’t expect comedy here, it’s not needed, but if you’re gonna do some comedy then do it right. But even though the series is good, it’s not to say that there aren’t flaws. Fortunately for me there is only one, but one that hampers the experience. There is A LOT of talking. And all of that talk is important. But usually they discuss political factors, or history or philosophy. But all of that is important because that’s how they get to a final conclusion or say a key element in the plot. Or you have to discover it yourself in all that talk. It's hard to explian. But it gets boring, and sometimes you can skip it, but most of the times you have to endure it. Most of the talk is about the Laughing Man and some Stand Alone philosophy, but I didn’t quite get it all, so the Laughing Man still remained a bit of a mystery for me, so I had to read Wikipedia to figure him out and that’s no fun. Others may not ecounter such problems, remember these are my reviews, which mean my opinion, but still, there must be other people who share my view. The presentation is top level, background has a lot of lighting and gives the feel of a city, character models are all distinctive and give personality, visual effects are great and the Tachikomas are absolutely cute. The sound is also done right. Voice work is professional ( guess they were paid good ), sound effects are real and the music always accompanies the right mood and setting. Plus I like the opening. Overall this is an awesome anime that’s worth watching. It has the issue of overcomplicated conversations but luckily all of that is addressed in the second season called Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig for which I will do a separate review.
