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#281 |
Veteran Member
Join Date: Aug 2021
Posts: 2,432
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Exactly. She is a fairly well-known person among us among amateur translations, mainly anime. Moreover, she has been doing this since 1999. Not the highest quality voice acting, but captivating because she takes on things that no one else does.
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#282 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,941
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I stick by the 2nd OP songs being alot better when they're used for anything other OPs.
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#283 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,941
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Lament of the Dark Dragon ![]() This movie is so nice to look at! Amemiya really went all out with directing this one. Its overall visual style really pushes green screening and sound stages to the max. I'm not exaggerating when I say that either. The CG work in this film is way more visually appealing than a ton of other films even now, over a decade later. Which is only further complimented by how creative the setting is. I've said in other threads(most recently Die's' Kamen Rider W one) that I tend to like the stories that talk about the importance of objects and what they represent. And this movie was all about that. While nearly every character is an avatar of a basic thing, they still bring their own life to the role. It's good character work! Combine all of that with a wonderfully played atmosphere and you've got a movie that I very much enjoyed from start to finish. I'd personally rank it just slightly under Red Requiem in terms of GARO movies. RR winning out thanks to its better action scenes, strong standalone nature, and just how well played Rekka's' arc was. If I had to voice a nitpick about anything though, it'd be that the exact nature of the ending, specifically Gajari's' nature, kinda confused me. Maybe that was the point, maybe it was the way TV-N subbed the dialogue, I dunno. All I do know is that Gajari is Gajari, and that thing still terrifies me even if the movie tries to imply it's actually on the side of humans. Overall, I felt this served as a much better finale to Makai Senki than its final episode did, even if we still have one movie left to go.
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#284 |
Alias: ZeroEnchiladas
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 2,790
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This was my favorite live action GARO movie for a while, at least until another release way later down the line. Now it's #2 but it is absolutely a strong contender. There's this whimsical, fantastical ambitious nature to it that hasn't been matched yet (though King-Ohger comes close despite the technical hiccups) for me.
This movie is just a beaut to look at, and it's one I do really need to consider giving a rewatch. |
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#285 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,941
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Yeah, you can tell that Amemiya really wanted this to work, and did everything he could to pull it off. It's every bit as great an art piece as it is a movie.
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#286 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,941
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The Togen Flute ![]() A movie that focuses on the Alchemists, which is a really cool idea! To get my one major gripe out of the way, I felt that the overall plot of this one was lacking. Not in terms of idea, but in execution. It's just that a handful of moments felt rather forced, which took me out of it a little. But that aside, I rather liked this one overall. Having Jabi and Rekka get their own movie is a wonderful treat, and the two play off eachother well. Things like this help to highlight that just because one isn't a Makai Knight, that doesn't make them useless. And I also felt that the antagonists, also Makai Alchemists, had alot more interesting stuff going on than what Red did in Makai Senki proper. But man, Shiguto just gets no respect, huh? Dude gets put through the ringer all throughout the movie and doesn't even get so much as a thanks. They even leave him alone in the middle of the Northern Forest! Poor guy. Atleast he got a pretty cool last stand against the two primary antagonists. And ya know, he survived. So small victories. Anyway, while I do kinda wish I'd watched this one before Dark Dragon, I still feel like this was a nice surprise to end my Makai Senki block on. Especially given all the nice character work that went into this one(that scene with Rekka and her dad is great!). And my final thoughts on the show as a whole will come after I sort out some more of my current thoughts.
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Last edited by DreamSword; 05-31-2024 at 05:01 PM.. |
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#287 |
Alias: ZeroEnchiladas
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 2,790
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It's been a while since I watched either movie, so I had no idea if Togen Flute would have any potential spoilers or need context from Lament to be watchable. So that's why I never suggested putting it first when you decided to include this in the Makai Senki batch.
That said I remember enjoying this movie well enough. Jabi and Rekka are pretty great characters in their own right so the two getting to headline a spin-off movie is really cool. |
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#288 |
Echoing Oni
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 10,599
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#289 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,941
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Quote:
That team-up spell that wins the day at the end though? Wonderful payoff. You're not wrong! I wouldn't be surprised if anyone assumed that the film was directed by Sakamoto.
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#290 |
Some guy. I'm alright.
Join Date: Sep 2019
Location: Michigan
Posts: 4,941
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FINAL THOUGHTS ON GARO: MAKAI SENKI ![]() When you prime yourself for a sequel, what are you looking for? It's a question that sounds simple enough, but there's a surprising amount of different directions one can go with it. Maybe you expect the first entry but just slightly different. Maybe you look for a direct continuation of where the story last left off. Maybe you expect something completely different now that the first story is done. There's no real wrong answer, as everyone wants something else out of any given story that they like. Which is why it was so interesting to me that Amemiya, now with the chance to make a sequel to his passion project from over half a decade ago, decided "Screw it, I'm going every direction I possibly can." Makai Senki is the second season to GARO, and it strives to do dang near everything any viewer would want out of a sequel. It's a direction continuation to everything that came before it while also having a similar structure to the first season, and yet does alot of different kinds of stories than what '05 did, while also expanding on the world of GARO as a whole. That's the kind of ambition that I could very, very easily see going wrong. "Flying too close to the sun" as it were. And yet, despite certain aspects playing out in ways I personally didn't care for, I can't help but respect it, you know? I feel like it'd be incredibly hard to argue against the idea that when it comes to GARO, Amemiya really does go all out in everything that it entails. Even when it comes to personal taste, nothing about these shows ever feels phoned in. Nothing except the romance, that is. Look, I'm sorry, but I just cannot get behind the idea that Kaoru and Koga are an item. Queerplatonic partners, maybe, but a traditional true love style romance? No shot. It's the sort of thing I hate in alot of stories in general; The idea that the leads absolutely must get together as a couple because, after all, a man and a woman can't be friends! They can't have a deep, meaningful connection unless sex and/or romance is involved! Who cares if they have no chemistry, it's what's expected! Listen, I could rant about this all day, but I'll give you the most simplified version I can: When it came down to it, I never saw Koga and Kaoru's' relationship in the first season as a romance. To me it honestly just felt like two people who, thanks to bizarre circumstances, ended up creating a bond based on empathy and kinship. Romance is not a requirement for that kind of pure love. It's part of what made the ending, wherein Koga opens the book and sees what Kaoru drew for him, something implied to be so deeply personal to him that it moves him to tears, so special. Friendship can absolutely be that powerful! There were also certain other minor things scattered about the season that I didn't much care for. Like Koga never bothering to actually talk about anything he figures out. Or how Sigma ends up being the second lamest antagonist in the franchise in my eyes(Vanishing Line still holds the title for that). Not to mention having the first episode in the live-action stuff that I actively disliked. It's to the point that for as awesome as the action of the final battle is, I just can't bring myself to be entirely invested in it, as it required me to be all in on alot of these aspects and, frankly, I'm just not. This finale might've been more bombastic, but '05's' finale is much more emotionally powerful. But don't get the wrong idea: I still rather liked this show! Makai Senki does so many great things during its run that all of my critiques in no way soured the show for me in any major way. The overarching plot certainly wasn't the best, but where the show absolutely shined in everything else: The world building got a massive expansion. Most of the character arcs and interactions progressed in ways that felt very natural. The action was as over the top and awesome to witness as ever. The CGI, sound stage use, and green screening are so good that they still look great even now, a decade later! And the biggest highlight for me was that we got to focus on characters outside the main duo from GARO. Having episodes where other characters get to be the leads was so good! I really wouldn't blame anyone if they said that they had a hard time separating the two seasons from eachother with how everything plays out. But when it comes down to it, if we are to compare the two, and when it comes to me and my tastes, I just can't help but admire the first season all the more. At its core, the first entry in GARO felt like everyone involved was giving 1000% to the overall project, and the total balance of plot, action, atmosphere, and character drama created an experience that I don't think I'll ever not look back on fondly. Again, that's not to say that the second season was a letdown or anything, but the high I got from the first is the sort of thing that's going to take alot to match. As such, after alot of internal debate, I've decided to give GARO: Makai Senki, a 4/6. It's very, very close to being a 5. But those few pitfalls just hold it back. I don't know exactly when I'll return to the world of GARO, but I am very much looking forward to it regardless.
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