Board 8 > Gauntlet Crew Ranks Anime Movies II

(+) Yeah! (+)

GenesisSaga posted...

I don't know who this movie was made for, and I can only guess parents of young children or young children themselves.

I mean they literally already made Wolf Children and Boy and the Beast so I don't think this should be that controversial. Just because Wolf Children was a movie that also had mass appeal by accident doesn't change who the target audience was.
---

But Yuki and Ame, and Kyuuta to a lesser extent are so much better than Kun it hurts to even compare them. I guess it's unfair because we actually watch them grow up, while Kun "matures" without actually growing.

Really though I loathe toddlers and babies.

---

GenesisSaga posted...

profDEADPOOL posted...

... Okay now I'm glad I didn't participate

Did you enjoy Mirai significantly more than gauntlet crew? If so please explain your thoughts on it. We'd love to hear from you.

I mean I think the difference is that I loved him being a brat/little shit/whatever you want to call Kun, because that makes it feel a lot more real to me.
---

GenesisSaga posted...

Do you guys not think short films count as movies? I respectfully disagree. You can claim it doesn't have the general feel of a movie all you like, but I think it's merely because of the expectations that have been set regarding the length and plot of movies by the American film industry- expectations that have been formed over years of time, and in your most impressionable years nonetheless. I mean it's cool if you don't like it, but to dismiss it as not really a movie is kind of rude to the people that worked on it.

I'd agree with this

While obviously it can be hard to compare a 120 min. feature with, say, a 5 min Pixar short, I don't see anything wrong with a movie that's on the short side like Blood: TLV was. I also didn't know it was supposed to be part of a series, and thought it stood alone just fine as a short thrill ride that throws you directly into the action, giving you just enough to know what's happening

---

30. Children of the Sea

Johnbobb: 3
Karo: 23
Jona: 25
Genny: 29
Red: 33
Inviso: 35
Charon: 38

Total: 186

Johnbobb: Ocean man, take me by the hand, lead me to the land, I don't understand
Ocean man, wait what the fuck is happening here, it's a real trip
Ocean man, you left all cohesion back at the shore
But I don't care anymore

Ocean girl, I'm lost in the wonder and amazement of this water world
Ocean girl, I can't take my eyes off the screen and my mind is a swirl
Ocean girl, any criticisms went straight out the door
And I don't care anymore
Ocean girl

Karo: What It Is:
A young girl befriends two boys raised by whales, and a lot of pretty animation and confusing mysticism ensues.

What I Think:
Beautiful as the visuals may be, it feels there is something lacking. None of the characters have much personality, and the story has little depth. Although it is true to the style of the manga, that means everyone looks like a derpy mouth breather and it is hard not to laugh when these fuckers are trying to spout off some bizarre philosophical nonsense ripped right out of some kingdom hearts game.
It is competent, but it is nowhere near being the anime classic that it wants so so hard to be.

Score: 62/100

Jona: What carried the movie for me were the visuals and soundtrack by Joe Hisaishi. Seeing Rukas relationship with Umi and Sora and finding what theyre about is intriguing. I ended up getting pretty lost though around the halfway point. The climax looked amazing even though I was unsure of what was going on. Has a lot of things going for it despite ending up confusing.

Genny: I've gotta say I was digging the first half of Children of the Sea a helluva lot more than the latter. While the animation is gorgeous the entire way through (aside from the eyes I just found a bit creepy), only the front end has a coherent plot. The back end devolved into what I can only describe as Fantasia 2001: A Sea Odyssey and after the point where Sora passes Ruka the meteor I just kind of mentally checked out as the movie only gets worse from there. Part of me wonders if that space rock was actually a mix of LSD, acid, and magic mushrooms; and I truly wonder if that "meteor" represents what the director, writers and animators took because that's the only thing that could really explain the movie from that point onward. I did not enjoy the movie throwing me for a loop every time I tried to guess where the plot was going, and if you told me existential acid trip after I had only watched the first half I would've called you a liar and maybe broke your nose because that's a perfectly appropriate response to being offended.

Red: This movie would have been fine but then it just goes off the rails at the end to the point it really just leaves you wondering why you wasted any of your time getting invested in the rest of it. You go from some weird story about the impending doom of the two fish kids to some pointless connection that I think was supposed to be the creation of the universe. There are some people surrounding it that are made out like they are going to be villains, but they are pointless. In fact, pretty much every single thing this movie introduces ends up pointless. Even the two fish dudes end up pointless. The movie just seemed intent to go completely off the rails, spit on everything it may have introduced at any point, and then mercifully it finally ends.

Inviso: First off, I hate the art style of this movie. I know anime tends to have exaggerated eye sizes, but my GOD this took it to a new level. It was like watching a cast of Funko Pops for fucks sake. Second, on paper, this movie SHOULD have worked. You have Ruka, who is kind of a weird, outcast tomboy on summer breakand she comes across these two boys that are human, but live within the sea. Thats perfect story fodder for a generic, but enjoyable coming of age tale that would make the bullshit ending to this film feel earned. Instead, this movie decides to try and be artistic and deep, and the last likethirty minutes before the ending all revolve around the boys vanishing and Ruka giving birth to a universe or something? None of it is properly explained, none of it is given a reason to happen, and that feels like the movie as a whole. Oh! And also, I should point out that theres a subplot about Rukas mom being estranged and drunkand then that just gets fixed up with one reconciliation scene between her and the dadand it again goes nowhere. This movie is nearly two hours longand its bullshit.

Charon: Welcome to anime 2001: A Space Odyssey! I was shocked by this film because it really felt as if we were getting another coming of age story, perhaps with a love triangle, and some light supernatural elements to play in the background while a larger "slice of life" sort of film unfolded in the foreground. No. Instead this is a bait and switch of the worst sort; it devolved into existential acid trips. I just hate movies like this, and I guess if anyone remembers my feelings on the aforementioned 2001, this isn't a shock how I ranked this film. It's such a shame too because unlike that film, I was actually interested in these characters and to just have it go off the deep end with some faux high-brow mindtrip just didn't set well with me. The more I think about this movie, the more and more I hate it. It's fallen a few more spots as I write this.

---

Outlier:

Johnbobb: 111
Genny: 86
Inviso: 85
Karo: 74
Red: 66
Jona: 53
Charon: 53

---

Good. I also thought this was 2001, and didn't care for 2001. I just forgot to put that in my write-up.

Also...just wanna point out...JONA is at the bottom of the outlier again. >_>

---

29. Liz and the Blue Bird

Karo: 12
Jona: 20
Red: 25
Inviso: 30
Genny: 31
Johnbobb: 32
Charon: 33

Total: 183

Karo: What It Is:
A lot of a really pretty almost-lesbians play musical instruments.

What I Think:
This beautifully animated movie is about two schoolgirls in the music club and their changing relationship as they grow up and move on with their lives.
There is a story within a story (animated in a different ghibli-esque art style) that is actually a metaphor for the relationship of the girls, and how one of them is being too clingy and needs to free the trapped bird if you will.
It is just very cute and simple and heartfelt and makes you feel good inside.

Score: 80/100

Jona: The simplicity of the movie is its greatest strength, with it just focusing on two characters who get a lot of development and relationship time. The movie started to feel too on-the-nose with comparing their relationship to the story of Liz and the Blue Bird, a book within the movie. I kinda hated how so much was explained and analyzed about this fictional story within the movie. The movie does all of this to set up the twist and I thought that was fine despite not being mind-blowing. I do like how the scenes of Liz and the Blue Bird in Liz and the Blue Bird looked though. The movie also felt really low-stakes even compared to other slice of life films. I wouldnt blame someone if they just thought the movie was boring and a waste of their time. The fact that this is also a spin-off did nothing for me and there were some cameo scenes that felt distracting. Despite all my complaints, I still enjoyed the characters and focus of the movie.

Red: While there is a bit of enjoyable twist with the Blue Bird plot than you might have been expecting, this movie still suffers pretty badly from being, well, boring. We know the gist of where the ending is heading, we even know where the little blue bird intro is heading, but it feels like it takes forever to get there. The characters just arent interesting and their personalities are dulled to the point where they dont exist much beyond their attachment to each other.

Inviso: This movie was boring as fuck. Like, its less than 90 minutes when you remove the credits from the runtime, and it STILL felt like it dragged on for AGES. Part of that is the fact that I dislike BOTH of the main characters. Weve seen what feel like a lot of movies with the general theme of a socially awkward person kinda having to deal with life as a socially awkward person, and there may or may not be a social butterfly around to help them out. In this case, the social butterfly comes across as a flaky, self-centered bitch, while the socially-awkward girl comes across as a creepy stalker. As a result, Im not rooting for either one, and the big, transformative moment when the stalker realizes shes talented and is more than just the popular girls shadowfalls very flat. Additionally, the throughline of the Liz and the Blue Bird story does very little to add to an otherwise extremely flat and boring slice-of-life storyline, soyeah. Not great.

Genny: I don't have a lot to say about Liz and the Blue Bird other than I like the revelation near the end that the Nozomi and Mizore actually represent the opposite character you would initially think they embody in the fairy tale and musical piece. This is an inoffensive slice of life high school drama featuring peaceful classical music that is apparently a spinoff adaptation of a series I haven't seen, but I gotta say it doesn't do a great job at inspiring me to watch the source material. The animation is beautiful as I'd expect from this studio, but the atmosphere is way too subdued and serene for my tastes.

Johnbobb: I really love the opening music. It's just extremely pleasant, and kind of reminds me of something like Twilight Town. I'm torn because I both think this was beautiful and also dreadfully boring. It would've made for a fantastic short film, but it really feels like its stretching beyond its capabilities to hit that 90 minute mark. The subtlety in the writing doesn't work as strongly when the theme (which is interesting, but not all that complex) is overtly clear throughout the whole film.

Charon: This one is... I would say without fear of what it makes me seem like, this one made me uncomfortable. Not for the obvious reason, but just because I don't believe a character as awkward and strange as the main character here could really exist in reality. Her behavior is so strange and the obsessive nature of her relationship with her friend is very unhealthy and the movie doesn't really seem to want to paint her as someone who actually is in an unhealthy place mentally. The twist that the characters are actually in the inverse roles as the movie has you to believe their in also didn't set that well with me. I didn't find it very believable with the behavior exhibited by either of the main characters, especially the protagonist. It was a little hard to get through, and a little hard to find much enjoyment from.

---

Outlier:

Johnbobb: 114
Karo: 91
Genny: 88
Inviso: 86
Red: 75
Jona: 62
Charon: 57

---

man what the fuck

PrinceKaro posted...

I was shocked by this film because it really felt as if we were getting another coming of age story, perhaps with a love triangle, and some light supernatural elements to play in the background while a larger "slice of life" sort of film unfolded in the foreground. No. Instead this is a bait and switch of the worst sort; it devolved into existential acid trips.

see like, this is exactly what I loved about the movie. It was a bait and switch in the best way, culminating in one of the wildest rides I've ever seen in anime, and I loved every second of it. It's surreal and gorgeous and makes the minor problems of the humans feel insignificant compared to the scope of the sea.

---

28. Fireworks

Johnbobb: 7
Inviso: 11
Jona: 22
Charon: 32
Karo: 34
Genny: 38
Red: 38

Total: 182

Johnbobb: I will fully admit, I'm a sucker for spectacle, and watching this really made me wish I had seen it in theaters, because holy shit some of those lighting and firework effects were just incredible. I couldn't help but read through some reviews online, and was disappointed to see people shitting on the story for being oversimplistic. Admittedly the characters aren't the deepest, but one thing I'm a sucker for even more than spectacle is magical realism, which this film puts out to the point that I was completely drawn in by the magical realities the film presented.

Inviso: On paper, this should have all the makings of a top tier film for me. Theres a cute, likable couple, theres a supernatural fantasy element that adds some spice to the story, and said element involves time travel shenanigans. Yet, for whatever reason, this doesnt QUITE land the way several other films do, hence why they rank higher. Dont get me wrong, Fireworks is a very good and enjoyable movie, and at only ninety minutes, there wasnt even a point where I was like How much longer until this is over? The whole concept is great: one day in this kids life, he has the opportunity to go back and make different choices to see if they make his life (and the life of his not-quite-girlfriend) better. Each change alters the world a little bit, so its not just his life that has changed, but the universe itselfall leading to a bizarre, timelocked realm of ripples in space.

This is all great and for the vast majority of the movie, its intriguing and fun, and it kept me on my toes as to where the movie was going to go next. The only flaws are as follows. One, the ending isnot great. There are plenty of movies on this list that have ended on cliff hangers, without providing proper resolution to the general story beats on display throughout the movie itself. This can work, particularly if the response the viewer is hoping for is implied, albeit not shown outright. But this endingtheres a big, emotional climax, and the ending is just that the two main character have completely vanished. I get that this is supposed to insinuate something about parallel universes and whatnot, but its unsatisfying to say the least. AlsoIm not the biggest fan of the main character. Hes FINE. Hes not detestable or anything like that. Buthes just written a little TOO immature to carry off some of the headier gravitas expected from this plot. Anyway, those are the only two issues I really have, and neither of them is so bad that it breaks the movie or anything. They just knock it down a few pegs.

Jona: Im a sucker for any mystery elements in this story. Sadly, the mystery doesnt resolve in a satisfying way but it was still quite the ride. I dont get why they showed a marble next to Nazunas dads body. Nazuna seemed like she knew more than she let on. Her having a big number felt out of place. Why does Yusuke ditch the date with Nazuna and then insult her when talking to Narumichi when he admitted to loving her when he saw a possible future with her in a shard? The relationship between Narumichi and Nazuna isnt developed too well although I did like the ending. Theres a bunch to not like about this movie but theres just something about this movie that I ended up liking it.

Charon: What is definitely going to be looked at as the poor man's Girl Who Leapt Through Time, I'm not really even sure this movie is that. The motiviations of the characters are all over the place; the biggest of these offenders is the character of Yusuke, the "best friend" of our main character. He initially "wins" his date, then bails on it and makes it seem as if he really wants to put Norimichi in the date. Yet when this reality comes to pass, he's upset and seems to long after a reality where he gets the girl. This is further confirmed later in the "alternate reality" nonsense fireworks segment. The movie is definitely beautiful, and it has a couple of moments I didn't hate, but it just seemed to me like someone watched a better film and tried to make their own adaptation of it. Oh, and the flat fireworks thing was really stupid and I never understood the reference.

Karo: What It Is:
Are they round? Are they flat? No, we arent talking about boobs.

What I Think:
Take like the most generic white-bread teen romance ever, throw in some arbitrary unexplained sci-fi elements, and add some lengthy romantic discussions about the fucking shape of pyrotechnic explosions and that is Fireworks in a nutshell.
The question isn't whether you should see Fireworks from the side or the bottom, it is whether you should see it at all.

Score: 50/100

Genny: This movie dares its viewers to ask the question "what if"... I'll gladly answer that call. What if the protagonist had even the semblance of a spine instead of being as fickle as fall foliage in a freak wind? What if the writers had bothered to give the deuteragonist any characterization beyond "Me like swim; me NO like move away"? What if, instead of wasting a fraction of the runtime on some inane discourse about the shape of fireworks, the titular alleged subject of the movie was actually relevant to the plot in some way rather than being used as an excuse for an ocular orgasm? What if a movie had no substance; could it get by on style alone? No it couldn't. Fireworks was nothing more than eye candy featuring the most generic cast of nothing characters I can recall in recent memory. You know a movie is going to be crap when the first scene (not counting the prologue) features your protagonist taking a crap (Shrek is the sole exception to this rule). You know a movie was crap when the best part is when the credits roll, but hey at least it gave us this bop: https://youtu.be/-tKVN2mAKRI

Red: A bunch of kids completely incapable of using google debate the physics of fireworks. Honestly, every character in this movie is generically generic. I dont care about any of the what ifs because Im never given much of a reason. Theres not much expansion on the plights of any of these characters, making the whole time rewind thing never seem as anything but selfish. They took what should have been an interesting concept and made it as boring as possible.

---

I won't complain too much. This ranking has been MOSTLY right up until this point, after all. REALLY starting to question why my 39 hasn't shown up yet though. 36...yeah, that's not gonna be out for a while, unfortunately. But how the hell is my 39 still in.

---

Outlier:

Johnbobb: 135
Inviso: 103
Genny: 98
Karo: 97
Red: 85
Jona: 68
Charon: 61

---

Holy shit that lead

---

I'm honestly surprised fireworks didn't land at anyone's 40, felt like it was a movie that would be universally recognized as trash.

That it made it up this far is a bit puzzling.

27. Dead Leaves

Johnbobb: 11
Jona: 17
Genny: 18
Charon: 22
Karo: 31
Inviso: 39
Red: 40

Total: 178

Johnbobb: At least one of you fuckers is gonna rate this thing in last place and while I kind of understand why you would do that I also want you to know that you are wrong and this shit is incredible.

Jona: This movie is crude and weird and unapologetic about it that I ended up liking this. Its definitely got a unique art style and some crazy action. This isnt the movie you watch for the story but its still interesting to find out what happened in Retro and Pandys past. Its only 52 minutes but its just so jam-packed that it doesnt end up feeling too short. What a wild ride.

Genny: My favorite part of Dead Leaves is when Pandy's inner dialogue resonates over the villain's outer monologue, hands down. There were many times I laughed out loud while watching this, but that crap had me rolling. Overall this was a quick romp of a film that was equal parts hilarious, erotic, and action-packed. It definitely seems like the kind of thing that would air on Adult Swim all night long on April Fool's Day or something. I don't have much else to say about it. Dead Leaves is just an experience you have to get firsthand.

Charon: Hectic and fun, this is how to properly do a movie with a shorter time length. The humor is unusually crude for anime, at least on this list anyway and the art style reminds me of something I can't quite put my finger on. I think to me it feels like a mix between JSR and TWEWY in terms of visual style; not sure why games were the first thing I thought of as I'm sure there's something animation based that's closer. The pace is so quick that it does get hard to keep up with at times, and there are a lot of minion characters that sort of wander in and out of the action and you wonder if they've been killed yet or not. Obviously the drill penis guy was the most memorable; it's hard to make side characters that are really interesting in a short amount of time I think. But the leads are entertaining and I enjoyed seeing them bounce all around taking out hundreds of enemies.

Karo: What It Is:
I have no fucking clue.

What I Think:
So basically we have a prison break at this bizarre space prison with these equally bizarre inmates and everything descends into profound strangeness.
Its departure from the usual art style typically found in anime is refreshing, but this short little movie is not really very good. Take away the audacious animation and there is really nothing much else to it but mindless rubbish that is anime equivalent of eating twenty twinkies for dinner.

Score: 52/100

Inviso: This was just painful to watch. The animation style looks awful (reminiscent of Panty & Stocking, but without any of the polish from however many years separate the two animations), and its all in service of a fuckton of unnecessary gross-out humor. And as much as I would never ever ever want to watch Sausage Party again, at least its gross-out humor was in conjunction with some semblance of a plot. In this movie, there is no plot. The characters wake up naked on Earth, go on a rampage, get sent to moon jail, have sex, break outSOMEHOW, then lead a rebellion to escape the prison, and it turns out that Mandy is like, the sister-mom of this big bad whose motivations are kinda generic and stupid. The end result is a ton of seizure-inducing battle sequences revolving around detestable characters, and nothing of value happens, even though I THINK were supposed to feel as though something DID. Yeah, no. Nope. No way for this movie.

Red: This was...not my type of movie, to say the least. Im not sure if it was trying to be funny or just intentionally gross or what, but when subject matter starts involving quite literal shit I pretty much draw the line of wishing I was watching anything else. Just never really got the idea of movies that feel they need to be intentionally crude to try to provide any sort of entertainment value. Like, yes, his drill is a penis, we got that 20 minutes ago it isnt any more interesting now than it was then. Endless attempts to I assume gross out the viewer just become increasingly stale. And again, literal shit is where my brain draws a line of not wanting to have to think about said subject matter.

---

PrinceKaro posted...

: At least one of you fuckers is gonna rate this thing in last place

Winner!

called that shit

---

PrinceKaro posted...

In this movie, there is no plot. The characters wake up naked on Earth, go on a rampage, get sent to moon jail, have sex, break outSOMEHOW, then lead a rebellion to escape the prison, and it turns out that Mandy is like, the sister-mom of this big bad

ok but you literally just described the plot

PrinceKaro posted...

anime equivalent of eating twenty twinkies for dinner

I feel like this is supposed to be an insult but if that was the tagline of the movie I probably would've just wanted to see it more

---

Outlier:

Johnbobb: 151
Inviso: 115
Genny: 107
Karo: 101
Red: 98
Jona: 78
Charon: 66

things gettin out of hand here

---

I'm trying to wrap my head around it, but I cannot comprehend why two people would put Fireworks in their top half. Give me 5 character traits Norumichi exhibits throughout the movie. Give me 3 of Nazuna's- and no, having long pretty hair isn't having a trait. You can't, can you? You can't because they are cardboard cut out characters devoid of actual personalities. It baffles me that two side characters would profess their love for Nazuna completely out of nowhere because based off what I saw in the movie she's completely aloof (the most boring of personality traits) if she's showing any semblance of emotion of all. She's got three moments in the entire movie where she shows some spunk and she sings a song for some reason that's just as shallow and boring as her.

---

Honestly I really wish I could have justified putting Fireworkers lower(I couldnt).

---

GenesisSaga posted...

I'm trying to wrap my head around it, but I cannot comprehend why two people would put Fireworks in their top half. Give me 5 character traits Norumichi exhibits throughout the movie. Give me 3 of Nazuna's- and no, having long pretty hair isn't having a trait. You can't, can you? You can't because they are cardboard cut out characters devoid of actual personalities. It baffles me that two side characters would profess their love for Nazuna completely out of nowhere because based off what I saw in the movie she's completely aloof (the most boring of personality traits) if she's showing any semblance of emotion of all. She's got three moments in the entire movie where she shows some spunk and she sings a song for some reason that's just as shallow and boring as her.

I'm just a fan of the concept behind the film, and I think it was largely handled well (without any of the characters actively irritating me).

---

I just really enjoyed watching it

---

Alright char and I are back for my birthday weekend mini-vacation and I can finally read the last two days' worth of write-ups and give my thoughts! Unfortunately I just skimmed through most of them because reading in a moving vehicle gives me wicked motion sickness. The Fireworks thing just really demanded that first response because it was a bad experience for me and I wanted to understand why anyone would think otherwise.

red13n posted...

Honestly I really wish I could have justified putting Fireworks lower(I couldnt).

I feel ya man, I felt the same way. A movie that offended me with its generic cast just couldn't compete with one that offended me with an obnoxious cast (2772) or one that just fired offences on all cylinders (#40). My write-up for that one is likely going to require a trigger warning. Yeesh.

---

Poor Liz... Then again, I am a massive KyoAni fanboy and I basically just watched it for the beautiful art, direction and sound design. I do agree it has a pretty paper-thin plot, bland characters and should have been shorter. That sounds like a lot of complaints, but I think also knew what to expect going in because I was really looking forward to it, heard what it was like from other fans, and therefore wasn't too concerned.

---

Like I said in my writeup for it, my big problem with Liz was the main character. One of the worst on the list, in my opinion at least, really selfish and downright frightening at times. I mean if this is a real person, she's be categorized as a creeper for sure.
---

PrinceKaro posted...

In this movie, there is no plot. The characters wake up naked on Earth, go on a rampage, get sent to moon jail, have sex, break outSOMEHOW, then lead a rebellion to escape the prison,

I'm with Johnbobb. Inviso you just described the entire plot after saying that there wasn't any- DOES NOT COMPUTE!

PrinceKaro posted...

and it turns out that Mandy is like, the sister-mom of this big bad whose motivations are kinda generic and stupid

I'm not sure if autocorrect or misunderstanding but the female protagonist was nicknamed Pandy because of her eye marking, not Mandy. To me the villain's motivation being generic and stupid was the best part (as I implied in my write-up). She clearly doesn't matter much to Pandy or to the plot to the point that Pandy's inane thoughts actually drown out her diabolical monologue. I was almost in tears at that point laughing!

PrinceKaro posted...

The end result is a ton of seizure-inducing battle sequences revolving around detestable characters, and nothing of value happens, even though I THINK were supposed to feel as though something DID. Yeah, no. Nope. No way for this movie.

A fair assessment. I think the takeaway for this movie is that the protagonists end up in the exact same place they started, implying they are stuck in an endless loop as they have done everything that took place in Dead Leaves before and would inevitably do it again because they had no memory of the previous cycles and death doesn't have much meaning in that dimension.

It's totally fair the movie wasn't for everyone, but I enjoyed it for what it was. I suppose I'm more forgiving of crude humor if it actually makes me laugh. Sausage Party is a fantastic example of a complete failure on that front so thank you for mentioning it.

---

26. Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade

Charon: 13
Jona: 15
Genny: 24
Inviso: 26
Red: 29
Johnbobb: 33
Karo: 37

Total: 178

Charon: Dark and haunting, I think after seeing this that it shouldn't have been cut from the first list. This is a well-crafted, thoughtful film with a lot to say and a clever way of saying it. Alternate history films are always pretty interesting to me; to see a take on the real world that's inspired by events that you are familiar with in history but then spinning what happened after those events in a different direction always creates a lot of truly unique content. As far as the film itself goes, I liked the Red Riding Hood influence and the use of the actual, original story instead of the "good ending" one most Americans are more familiar with. I was pleased to see Henmi get his comeuppance in the end.

Jona: beginning of the movie is incredible and really sets you up for what the movie is about. The relationship between Fuse and Kei is interesting, especially everything thats going on in the background, and it leads to an ending thats quite intense. Jin-Roh has a slow and deliberate pace which both helps and hurts the film. Its not the most exciting movie but still really fascinating.

Genny: Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade had some exquisite action sequences and even contained some splices of horror, reminiscent of Perfect Blue. However with all its many twists and turns the plot got a little difficult to follow. Now maybe I'm just too dense for this kind of story of espionage and betrayal, but I could've been happier with less of that. Upon looking up the person who directed this I'm not surprised the plot was hard to follow, however I didn't find this one as cerebral or, if I'm being honest, as pretentious as the film on the previous anime ranking project.

Inviso: I dont know why, but this movie just didnt intrigue me. Like, I can see why it would be enjoyable. It has a solid plot, and the metaphor of wolves and humans, while hammered in SUPER HARD, is still handled well enough to make logical sense. There are decent twists and turns in the plot, namely that the terrorists ultimately dont matter, and the whole story winds up being a war between two factions of the police, each trying to fight for their own survival and/or supremacy. I will say that the plot is a little difficult to follow for these reasons though, as its hard to know who is betraying who, and for what purpose. Like, I know the main characters buddy sets him upbut Im not ENTIRELY sure why, or how said buddy just happened to be part of a secret organization of spiesor something? Anyway, the movie is okay. Nothing spectacular, but not terrible either. Just okay.

Red: Part of a slew of movies here with a phisophy of it being better to be pretty than having any actual substance. Action sequences are a mask for achieving any sort of interesting or even consistent plot. This one tries a bit harder than the rest, but at the end of the day actual characterization to anyone finishes shallow and its thrown in with some weird red riding hood parallel that never really hits a mark to any sort of satisfaction.

Johnbobb: There's a lot to love here, but I'm also not willing to say I loved it. The art is great, as is the music, dreary tone, heavy themes. It starts especially strong and ends especially strong, but really struggles with pacing for the bulk of the film. That paired with the heavyhandedness of the Little Red Riding Hood parallel keeps this from being the incredible classic it clealy wants to be.

Karo: What It Is:
Police and terrorists clash in an alternate universe Japan.

What I Think:
The world presented in this film is nowhere near as engrossing or entertaining as the one in Mamoru Oshii's most famous work, and the story plods on for what seems like an eternity before pretty much ending up right back where it started.
So Fuse is like this elite soldier/policeman who has a young terrorist girl blow herself up in front of him due to being unable to pull the trigger, and after a lot of boring police politics he ends up meeting the dead girl's (also terrorist) sister. He starts to care about her, but then he just ends up blowing her away randomly cause his boss said so and the movie ends on the touching note of Fuse will always be a good little bitch deep down and people cant really change. Yay.
After watching more of Oshii's work I am convinced that the aberration in his filmography is not Sky Crawlers, but rather Ghost in the Shell, and he is primarily a creator of dull pointless movies that think they are deeper than they really are. Such as this one.

Score: 40/100

---

Outlier:

Johnbobb: 158
Inviso: 115
Karo: 112
Genny: 109
Red: 101
Jona: 89
Charon: 79

---

Genny posted...

Upon looking up the person who directed this I'm not surprised the plot was hard to follow, however I didn't find this one as cerebral or, if I'm being honest, as pretentious as the film on the previous anime ranking project.

You think A Letter to Momo was more cerebral/pretentious than Jin-Roh? First time I've ever heard that from anyone comparing them.

PrinceKaro posted...

After watching more of Oshii's work I am convinced that the aberration in his filmography is not Sky Crawlers, but rather Ghost in the Shell, and he is primarily a creator of dull pointless movies that think they are deeper than they really are.

That's definitely describes pretty much everything he's worked on since GitS. Up until then most of his stuff was better balanced, but after that it's like nobody could tell him to focus on things other than boring philosophy ideas. I tend to think Jin-Roh's easily better than any of Oshii's post-GitS films largely because he didn't direct it himself, resulting in a movie that's not quite as far up its own ass.
---

Har dee har har you know what I meant. Jin-Roh wasn't as dull as that, and in fact it had some promise in its dark atmosphere, smooth action, and splices of surreal body horror, but all of that potential got lost in the labyrinth comprised of the twists and turns of its very own plot. It was kind of waste, but I'm glad Charon got some enjoyment out of it.

---

I mean, I described the plot of the movie...but the description I gave was rambling and incoherent nonsense...which really doesn't speak well of the quality of said plot.

---

I'm really surprised this was ranked that low. I thought it was fantastic!

---

PrinceKaro posted...

After watching more of Oshii's work I am convinced that the aberration in his filmography is not Sky Crawlers, but rather Ghost in the Shell, and he is primarily a creator of dull pointless movies that think they are deeper than they really are. Such as this one.

I haven't seen any of his other things, but as far as I'm concerned this seems like a pretty on-point description of Ghost in the Shell.
---

Snake5555555555 posted...

I'm really surprised this was ranked that low. I thought it was fantastic!

You best get a good head start on the next anime list then! We definitely could've used more perspective this time around. For instance my #40 could've appeared 5 rankings ago if you submitted.

It's fine though because Karo whispered to me the secret that it's definitely the next one up thanks Karo you can go ahead and tell everyone else now.

---

I did not say anything to Genny she is lying

---

Good cover Karo, sorry I didn't mean to tell them before the ranking went up I'm just such a bad gossip

---

25. Colorful

Inviso: 3
Red: 7
Karo: 15
Charon: 36
Johnbobb: 37
Jona: 38
Genny: 40

Total: 176

Inviso: Holy shit. Thank you, Karo. Thank you for running this list and introducing me to this movie. This was amazing. Absolutely amazing. At first, I wasnt sure what to expect, and I had this dread feeling like I was going to be grossed out for some reason. Dont know why, I just did. But theneverything about this was great. For starters, I figured out the big plot twist very early on, and it made it that much more enjoyable. Like, you have this guy acting like a jackass because he doesnt know what else to do, only for the world to slowly unveil itself, and he starts to learn some lessons, even though he doesnt exactly want to play nice in his home stay body. Really, the message of the film just works SO well. Its a Wonderful Life scenario, except instead of a world where Makoto didnt exist, its a world where the people who care about him know he tried to commit suicide.

Sure, there were some really uncomfortable moments (the near-assault on Shokoand the reveal of thehowever old she is Hiroka, being down with prostitution), but those just served to amplify the positive message of the film, particularly with the scenes towards the end when Makoto is able to comfort both of the above-mentioned girls by just being there for them when they needed someone to help them deal with their pain and fears. Its a REALLY powerful message, and Im SO glad that I got to watch it. However, and I say this having completed the full watch-through as of this sentence, ultimately, Colorful isnt QUITE impactful to maintain the number spot it held for MOST of this list. Its still extremely good, but just misses out on that top spot.

Red: Im not sure if this movie was ever trying to hide its twist that the main character was in his own body, but it was something I pretty much figured was going to be the case immediately. Still, coming to terms with his own life, making friends, and coming to an understanding with his family was an enjoyable ride. There is still one weird scene where Makoto essentially turns near rapist. That was a weird turn of events to take there that probably isnt handled properly with the rest of the film.

Karo: What It Is:
A soul that committed a great sin in his life gets a chance at redemption by inhabiting the body of a teen that committed suicide.

What I Think:
The concept of the film is its strongest point, and the story centers on the wayward soul trying to find out about the person he now is and why he did what he did. The big revelation at the end is both surprising and satisfying and works very well.
It is not without its flaws, the animation feels bland and lacking in that little spark of anime life, but this is still worth checking out.

Score: 73/100

Charon: I called the plot twist out loud as we were watching this one, to which Genny remarked it would be the dumbest direction the story could go in. I forget exactly what triggered my realization that was indeed where they were taking this film, but nevertheless I was correct in my guess. Honestly the film is nice looking and a part of me appreciates some of the nuanced characters but the protagonist is one of the most despicable characters I've come across in a long while, in terms of the lead character of a film. I mean this guy spends the entire film emotionally torturing his mother for something that is frankly not even his fucking business to begin with. At the same time he's obsessed with a girl that basically lives to commit these "sins" that his mother had just a few times, and who regretted it. To top it all off he nearly rapes a poor girl who was legitimately interested in him as a person, while he chastises her for being ugly. He's just deplorable, and rooting for him is literally impossible.

Johnbobb: Man, I was really digging this in the beginning. The lighthearted animation style and voice acting paired with the really heavy themes of depression and suicide caught me off guard and immediately pulled me in. To some extent, the heavy themes are handled pretty well, and the tone balance is impressive. Somewhere along the way though, it lost me. Maybe it was too long spent with Makoto being a nearly irredeemable shit to everyone. Maybe it was the tone shifting to become much sappier and a little preachy. Maybe it was the plot twist so obvious that it's bizarre to think they ever bothered trying to make it into a twist. The story had a lot of potential and just ultimately didn't use it the best they could have.

Jona: This is the movie I hated most on this list. It really tested my patience on how much I can bear with an unlikable main character. It takes far too long for Makoto to develop and I really felt bad for the family who tried their best to change for him and Makotos just ungrateful. Makotos development also feels unearned with that development happening just because he made a friend. Makotos trip with his friend felt like the movie was saying Fuck this. This movies now about trains. While I do feel bad for what happened to Makoto, the movie frames it so that it is someone else in Makotos body so it makes it hard to feel any sympathy for him despite the unsurprising twist. This movie is also far too long and isnt exactly engaging the whole way through. I feel that the themes of the movie were not portrayed well. Theres potential for something great here but the execution was just not there.

---

Genny: Just when I thought no movie on this list could possibly be worse than my #39, here comes this film which feels like a personal attack on me specifically. To understand why I had such a vitriolic reaction to Colorful, you'll have to know a bit about the darkest portion of my otherwise fairly fortunate life. When I was in middle school, I was very shy and very smart, and I was bullied for as much. The bullying was not so much physical as it was verbal, and it was only by a few peers, and the rest completely neglected me. I only had one true friend at this time as I was already beginning to drift away from the only other "best friend" I had at this point because she was more interested in boys than the many things we once had in common. Art (along with books and video games) was one of my few escapes from this harsh reality, and, if I'm being perfectly honest, I was having thoughts of jumping from high places far too often.

I'm sorry to digress, but getting back to Colorful, I hate it because the main character reminds me of all the worst aspects of myself when I was younger. However it doesn't stop there. Whenever I was forced to interact with other human beings at that age I always attempted to be polite if not kind, whereas Makoto goes out of his way to be cruel to most other people, particularly his literal guardian angel Purapura, and especially his own mother and his autistic-coded peer Shoko, who do their best to appease him and to befriend him respectively. He comes across as an irredeemable misogynist, and the only girl he's initially consistently nice to is the one he has a sexual interest in. To be honest, Hiroka is the woman in his life who deserves his compassion the least, not because she's promiscuous, but because she's so shallow and materialistic.

The "inspirational speech" he gives her toward the end of the film about people having many different colors is completely lost on me given the surface level interactions these two characters have had, all sans any real chemistry. It's also delivered in Greg Ayres's insufferable nasally tones which is possibly the worst casting choice ever made for a main character in any English dub to date. I loathe this protagonist, who reminds me so much of myself at that age, and yet is my antithesis to the point that I almost wish he was never given a second chance at life. So many better people did so much more to deserve one and yet are gone forever while this boy did little to nothing and yet remains. Whatever selfless acts he commits are too little, too late, and well beyond the point where I personally already abandoned any hope of him bettering himself. Sometimes life is truly unfair.

---

Oh my goodness...

I'm glad my write-up is in its own separate post because I need to issue a mild TRIGGER WARNING to anyone that reads it. It's gonna get dark and feature some not so optimistic thoughts.

TL;DR Colorful is like if someone decided to tell the story of my young life, but made the controversial decision to frame me as a tragic villain for no discernible reason and I absolutely loathe it for that reason

Anyway can't wait to read these high ranking write-ups.

---

This has gotta be one of the most divisive films ever right? I mean as far as I can recall.

---

That split is usually reserved for furry shit what happened.

Outlier:

Johnbobb: 170
Inviso: 137
Genny: 124
Karo: 122
Red: 119
Jona: 102
Charon: 90

every single person takes double digit outlier hits, possibly a first

---

Leafeon13N posted...

That split is usually reserved for furry shit what happened.

*looks at who ranked it highly compared to who did not*

I think it still is. >_>

---

Hey now, I'm fur-curious and I loathed this more than life itself (which I guess you guys know now life is something I once loathed significantly! [It's okay to joke about this in retrospect now~])

---

Leafeon13N posted...

That split is usually reserved for furry shit what happened.

Yeah, really. Who could like this shit?
---

I can acknowledge that this was a well-made film with great animation, beautiful themes, and well-developed characters for the most part (looking at you Hiroka), but I hate it. I absolutely despite it, and I always will. Makoto is my least favorite protagonist in anything ever because he represents me at the darkest point of my life only he actively invites most of his own misfortune and it's painful to watch. More painful than Dancer in the Dark even. I'd ratherwatch a hundred more of those, hell I'd rather watch a thousand more A Troll in Central Park type movies, than ever sit through this our anything like it ever again. I kept asking Charon while we were watching it when it would finally be over. I groaned intermittently throughout almost the entire second half of the film. There was no fun to be had in watching this for me: only torture.

I can see why others would think it's a well-made movie, but I cannot understand how anyone could enjoy it. It was SUCH an awful experience seemingly tailor made to offend me that I can't wrap my mind around it no matter how hard I try.

---

The reason I enjoyed the film so much, I think, is because I'm someone who suffers from depression. I understand what it feels like from Makoto's perspective (though, I want to make this EXTREMELY clear: I am not suicidal, and there has never been a point in my life where I've genuinely felt suicidal urges). You almost have two different characters to look at, because the narrator does not realize that he actually IS Makoto until the very end. From the narrator's perspective, he's just some shithead who is being given a second chance at life that he doesn't really want. So yeah, he's not the most sympathetic figure, but as the movie develops, he becomes more sympathetic.

From the narrator's perspective, he's inhabiting the body of this tween kid whose life was so difficult that the kid tried to kill himself. So right off the bat, he's looking at things from the perspective that the kid's life must've been super horrible, and he feels sorry for Makoto. So when you get stuff like "Makoto found out his mom was cheating on his dad", it's understandable for the narrator to take a harsh stance of sullen hatred, because from his perspective, that reveal was just another arrow stabbing Makoto in the back. That's just how it happens. The little things, even if they're not necessarily the most impactful to you, add up and weigh you down, and they can eventually lead to a breaking point like what Makoto experienced.

The Hiroka stuff, I think again that's comes from the perspective of an unreliable narrator. Just like how he thinks it's fucked up that a kid like Makoto would want to die, he thinks it's fucked up that a girl Hiroka's age would be caught up in the sex trade, without any other option to satisfy her psychoses. And again, I think there's a semblance of guilt, because the narrator knows Makoto likes Hiroka, yet he's unable to rectify what he views as an awful situation.

I won't defend the assault though. That was fucked up. I think it's kind of a sign of the narrator just kinda hitting his lowest point and feeling like his mission was a complete failure, but it's fucked up nonetheless.

I just found the film really compelling. I know the main character isn't the nicest character, but Makoto feels like a realistic depiction of a kid with depression, and the narrator feels like a realistic reaction of an outside observer, finding out that this kid's life is so bad that he feels like death is the only escape. It was just a film that really resonated with me as a result.

---

I sincerely appreciate your thoughtful expansions on this film Inviso. Colorful resonated with me as well, just on the complete opposite pole as you can see. It's really quite amazing this film was able to inspire different people to form entirely differing interpretations and perspectives regarding the same sequence of events...

I like that it was able to make me feel things, but ultimately I did not like any of the things it made me feel.

---