Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Movie (2004) review

(7/10)

I can't help but love this movie for the fact that I grew up with it. Even today, I'm still a nerd for the franchise.

PLOT:Yugi Moto (Dan Green) is known among the popular card game, Duel Monsters, as the most best player in the world. After putting together the ancient Millenium Puzzle, the spirit of the great dueling pharaoh was given to Yugi along with the all-powerful Egyptian god cards. In this adventure, Yugi is challenged to a duel by his arch rival, Seto Kaiba (Eric Stuart). However, Kaiba has prepared to finally beat Yugi with two cards taken from the deck of the game's creator. One of these cards, the Pyramid of Light, has a supernatural power given to it by the spirit of Anubis, an evil ruler from ancient Egypt. After a discovery of his tomb and artifacts, Anubis awakens with an age-old grudge against the pharaoh. So, in this one duel, Anubis' spirit is powered through the Pyramid of Light card and is bent on ruling the world and taking down the pharaoh. It's a decent plot executed fairly well.



VOICES:The voice acting in here was okay. The voice acting was done by the same actors who do it in the show, so if you've ever watched it, you kind of know what to expect. Dan Green did his usual good job of voicing Yugi Moto, as did Eric Stuart as Seto Kaiba. The other shiners would have to be Amy Birnbaum as Tea Garnder and Darren Dunstan as Maximillion Pegasus. Everybody else was fairly annoying.

SCORE:The score to this movie wasn't really too important. It was just basic score that set the mood for each scene. It was much like the TV show.

ANIMATION:The animation in here was pretty good. It's in the anime style and fairly detailed. If you're into anime, you'd probably like it. It's pretty detailed with the monsters and comical with the characters' faces at times.



OTHER CONTENT:This movie was really no big deal among most people, but to the fans of the franchise, it's pretty good. I've been a fan of the franchise since I was about five years old and I still do get into it some. The movie is mainly all cards and dueling and milking all the franchise has to offer. I like that, since I'm into it, but to those who aren't fans of the series, this movie doesn't really matter. This movie is strictly for fans of the series and card game. Also, even though I'm into it, this movie did have a few problems with me as well. There were some parts of it that were just cheesy and uncalled for, which kind of threw the movie off. Also, this movie is honestly just one great big episode of the show. With all the non-stop dueling, you'd be almost as good with the TV show itself. I'm into it, but I'm sure those who aren't either despise or don't care about it. It's one strictly for the fans.

OVERALL,a good movie with a decent plot, okay voice acting, basic score, pretty good anime animation, and a good following for the fans of the franchise, but there are some cheesy parts to it, it's no different from the show, and it's strictly for the fans.

Kakurenbo: Hide and Seek (2005) review

(7/10)

A creepy short film, but nothing truly special.

PLOT:In the haunted town of Otokoyo, it is said that when kids play hide and seek after dark that they will be taken by demons. You have to have seven kids and each has to wear a foxface mask. Young Hikora ignores the warning about demons and goes with his friends and the other players to find his sister, who played the game earlier and went missing. Some kids playing aren't convinced by the story, but when the lanterns are lit with no one around to light them, things start to get creepy. It's a very good idea for a plot executed decently.



VOICES:The voices (English dub) were mainly pretty cheesy, annoying, and over-acted. I didn't care for them at all. The only voice I can really call a shiner is the voice of Hikora's little sister. The voice she uses in here is just so creepy, as that of the little girl from Poltergiest.

SCORE:The score was used mainly to set the mood, but it was freaky-sounding.

ANIMATION:In my opinion, the animation wasn't all that great. It reminded me of that of a 3D comic book, but more pixelated. The motions ran through smoothly, but the overall animation was pretty sucky.



OTHER CONTENT:Besides the plot's potential, the only thing that kept this short film going was the creepy effect it had. The demons that are seen in this short film are very freaky-looking, along with the creepy twist near the end. This would be good as a brief ghost story for a group, but it's not long enough to be a good anime horror. Part of the plot's loss of potential is that this is too short! They have a good idea with some interesting and freaky twists, but they don't allow the runtime enough for a true story with character development and longer twists. Nevertheless, it's good as a short film, just not very detailed.

OVERALL,a good anime short horror with a decently executed plot, mainly overdone voices, freaky score, sucky animation, and an accurate creepy effect; if it had only been longer..

Perfect Blue (1999) review

(6/10)

It's definitely not the best anime thriller out there, but it's worth a watch.

PLOT:Mima used to be a pop idol in the three-girl group CHAM, but she decides to quit and become an actress on a tv drama. Things start going well until she's asked to do a certain risque scene, and her image then spirals out of control when she takes up modeling for dirty magazines. Not all of her fans are happy about this. In fact, one mystery fan starts to murder her closest associates in the business and things start to get creepy. Not only that, but also there's a fan posing as her on a fan-made website called "Mima's Room" that seems to know her every move. Between all of this media change, murder, and fan stalking, she starts to feel guilt for what she has done and wonders if she even knows who she is anymore; she even starts seeing apparitions of her old self. We are left with a lot of questions that come around and get answered in the end, so I'll leave you here. It's a good idea for a plot that's executed somewhat cheesily, but it still has its moments of shock.



VOICES:The voices in here I believe to be overdone. They all put too much emphasis on the character and make it seem more cheesy and cartoonish than it really needs to be. The only real shiner is the voice of Mima, who still overacted, but sounded pretty decent compared to the others.

SCORE:The score is mainly made up of some creepy mood music and a really unnerving theme. It worked on creeping me out, so I give it my respect.

ANIMATION:I really didn't think the animation in here was anything special. I'm very critical when it comes to anime, and I must say this stuff was kind of lazily done. To be brutal, I know girls in my school who can make better anime than this! This did have its moments, however, that seemed better animated than others, mainly close-ups. It wasn't the worst, but it was pretty lazy.



OTHER CONTENT:This movie had a good bit of flaws, such as the cheesiness, the overdone acting, and the lazy animation, but all of that is made up for in thrills. This anime flick is really a psychological thriller that doesn't fail to do its job. The kills and atmosphere of this movie sent shivers up my spine and kept me on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would become of our beloved Mima. This movie's thrills are all about atmosphere; if it wasn't so creepy, than it would just be a cheap cheesefest of a suspense. This did succeed in creeping me out and giving me the feeling of being watched, not to mention getting caught up in the psychological apparitions and feelings of Mima and her mysteries. Besides atmosphere, this movie runs on lust and its effects. I believe it included enough of that to keep it going, but not enough to make it come off as a "fanfiction" type of thing.

OVERALL,an ok anime flick with a cheesily executed plot, overdone voices, unnerving score, lazy animation, creepy atmosphere, thrills that kept me on the edge, psychological effects that I could get caught up in, and enough lustful scenes to keep the movie's flow.