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extremely pumped for this
this turned out to transmedia synergy for a new bomberman act zero style gritty pac man game which is even funnier
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I kept hearing negative things about the Uzumaki adaptation so I wasnāt in a hurry to see it, but then someone told me itās actually decent despite some questionable animation.
It was hit-and-miss from scene to scene and some of my favorite moments were left out, but I liked the atmosphere when the cutting of corners on the animation wasnāt too distracting. And I enjoyed seeing some of the ending scenes in motion.
Too bad they couldnāt have delayed it one more year and polished it up a little more, though.
delays couldnāt have helped, they fired the original director and changed studios so the only episode done by him/his team was the first one.
maybe this belongs in movies but itās a cartoon, so
last night i finally sat down to watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem and even though i thought i was probably going to like it, it exceeded expectations. the animation is pretty remarkable and i thought the kids playing the turtles did a really great job when watching everything in context. the clips i saw that emerged didnāt initially really strike a chord with me, but going from start to finish, it all worked really well.
honestly was sort of disappointed that John Cena and Seth Rogen voiced Bebop and Rocksteady; their intro in the movie is so perfect. idk, they just look so hard when they emerge, bopping along to the bass from their boombox, and then you eventually hear Seth Rogenās voice and itās like āhuh?ā
TMNT is one of those things that i didnāt really engage with past a certain point - the newer cartoons in the 90s didnāt do anything for me, and none of the films after TMNT II (which is worse than I!) impressed or appealed to me. i mostly, i guess, enjoyed the toys, the original cartoon as a small child, the videogames, and the original comics when i was a little bit older. TMNT is a series with varying degrees of quality in it.
all that to say, this is my favorite TMNT thing since the early 90s. i sort of want to go home and rewatch today; kind of wild.
i also thought the soundtrack was surprisingly good; both the original stuff and the āgreatest hitsā collection that plays throughout. in some ways itās really on the nose in terms of stuff that a dad my age will like but also their kid will like, but then i looked it up and remembered it was a Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross production and it made sense.
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yeah, i was really impressed by mutant mayhem! to my knowledge, the first major piece of tmnt stuff to really lean into the āteenageā part of āteenage mutant ninja turtlesā and it paid off well. it felt vital and alive, not just a rehash meant to relaunch a line of toys (though it did do that), and also looked just cool as hell.
i really wish people would stop letting john cena be an actor. heās not good at it.
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There is a spinoff sequel cartoon series thatās pretty good and some of the recent comics are quality times too. And they seem to be on a solid streak with game adaptations lately too.
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yeah i think the changes they made all work pretty well - Rogen is right that the āteenageā part of the TMNT never really factored in quite as much as the M, the N, or the T. itās definitely like, a thing that grounds them more, with their desire to go to high school, etc., in a real life and not just a fictional superhero life where their only priorities are fighting bad guys (and pizza, obviously) and saving the day.
i have mixed feelings about the origin changes - overall, it really changes the tone, but this tone matches what theyāre going for a lot better. itās like, funny that they have learned martial arts essentially the same way Napoleon Dynamiteās brother learns, except that they become really good at it somehow (presumably because of their mutant strength). is that better than a rat that mimics its master, or a master who turns into a rat? about even, iād say.
and also i guess the implication in this world is that the mutagen doesnāt transform people, anymore, but also seems like a rookie move to ignore the possibility of Super Shredder. everyone loves that guy.
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if you like the energy of the turtles being teens i would argue that the vibe of the new cartoon/movie is also somewhat informed by the previous tv show ārise of the teenage mutant ninja turtlesā which had a similar dynamic and has absolutely gorgeous animation. itās definitely one of the top versions for me. (although it definitely does not have the same unique āactual teenage voice actors riffingā appeal.)
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The Twilight World will be the first animated feature directed by Werner Herzog. Based on Herzogās best selling novel, the film tells the true story of Hiroo Onoda, a World War II Japanese intelligence officer who refused to surrender and continued to fight a personal, fictitious war in the jungles of the Philippines. For thirty years. Part fictionalized history, part drama and part dream log, The Twilight World is a meditation on the nature of reality, the illusion of time, and the conflict between the external world and our inner lives.
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oh yeah, Iāve been curious about that show because Iāve seen some of its action scenes out of context that were spectacular.
after trying to go back and watch the ninja turtles 80s pilot movie some years ago, my enthusiasm for anything tmnt really dropped off. but sounds like that could be worth a watch
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oh my god yes
site says that michael arias, who directed tekkonkinkreet and a bunch of other anime and has translated some taiyo matsumoto manga, is co-writing it, which is interesting
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July.
Still waiting on the Chainsaw Man movieā¦
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wait that last episode was the season finale? jeez ok
my partner reckons all the sexual menace is very thematic actually and i can see it but it just wasnāt as graphic when it happened to the boy
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some seasonal anime thoughts:
Deer Show/Noko-Tan: Didnāt really pass the 4 episode test for me. Thereās usually room in my heart for an absurd manic gag show but the early trailer lied about the density of the absurdity. This shouldāve been a show of half length episodes like the good ol days of AstroFighter Sunred and the like. The timing in the real show is to stretched out so when it does come time for a gag Iām already cooled off from the last one.
DanDaDan: Immaculate, no notes other than picking a bad place to have a āfinaleā or go on season break.
MechaUde: Shame Crunchy is in a turbulent phase of business owners switching hands that has decided to not market shows in any manner as they think the hits will hit without market effort because this is a show that could use a push. Not that this would be a big hit but with the right angle to garner the right kind of audience of people that grew up with magical creatures/robot buddy shows that could be fun toy commercials. Itās not exactly a challenging show but hits the right level of levity and stakes that makes it very comfy kind of shonen level fiction. Fun characters and battle gimmicks condensed into 13 episodes to work in the current form of anime production. As I understand it, it exists due to a kickstarter so I love to support this kind of creative effort and its very much my kind of thing as a still quiet fan of Busou Renkin despite the authors distasteful proclivities. This show has a lot of heart and in the last episode during the credits does a montage of what the second season would bring that any genre savy watcher could fill in the blanks and still feel satisfied with it but then flashes back to the main character back in normal world with his typical act of kidness that makes a nice final note even if they canāt give that next season so I want to give it a golden B+.
RE:Zero: Waiting for more. The feature length episode was a strong opener and the following eps have been a fun chance for the MC to show their growth. This is my soap opera. I have no illusions of having great taste but boy does these series give me what I want out of this kind of thing.
Sasaki and Peeps: A fun little buffet of genre trash where a business man gets tangled up with a parallel fantasy world, espers and renegade magical girls. Thereās a lot of moving parts and its questionable if theyāll assemble to anything meaningful but its fun enough to watch the machine move for now. Would watch more if thereās a S2.
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havent decided where i come down on it myself, itās some intense tonal whiplash in a season that turned out to have a lot of it. feels vaguely of a piece with the tragic backstory episode that really wants to make you cry and itās immediately followed by more tropey love triangle comedy. i canāt really begin to nail down what the authorial intent of something like that is. if it existed i think it probably didnt succeed for me
i liked the tokusatsu gig worker though
also one of the best anime OPs to ever do it
so itās impossible to say if itās bad or not,
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Having read the manga of DanDaDan in a covid induced mind haze a month or two before the anime started airing Iām not sure I can say the moments of Momo being under threat of sexual violence folds back in much other than just being moments of heightened vulnerability and establishing unambiguous villains. I can say after the hot springs bit it doesnāt really happen any more.
Iām willing to write off the first encounter just due to the fact they arenāt human and is played more like a lascivious abduction scene in a movie but does manage play a little into Turbo Granny being an avenger of women that suffered sexual violence.
After the cursed house arc the comic finds its legs and relies less on this kind of cheap method of creating threat for at least female characters.
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