Category: Japanese

Pacific Rim Delivers Plenty of Scale and Memories

Plenty of heavy metal thunder can be found in Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim. Once the action happens, this film’s many battle sequences are fast and furious.

Pacific Rim Poster

Plenty of heavy metal thunder can be found in Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim. Once the action happens, this film’s many battle sequences are fast and furious, and that’s how real fights should be wrought. Anything drawn out makes those moments slow. Audiences must be tired of Matrix-style “hang-time” effects by now and this film is anything but. Plenty of striking visuals can be seen in this movie that is very different from del Toro’s previous products.

Even the 3D finally offers some punch. Out of all the movies that have been converted to 3D in post, this film is the best of them all. Not one moment feels flat.

Although there is plenty of familiarity to this product, fans of giant monster movies and anime will no doubt love this film. The pacing could have been better and the camaraderie further developed, but that would shift the focus. This movie is layered to introduce smaller conflicts for the hero, and to have more explanation happen would make this film run longer. In a tale that is like the classic anime of the previous century, the hero is introduced to a precarious situation, has to lose something (or someone) dear to him, and that drives him for the remainder of the series. If there are plans for another movie, the threat will have to come from the stars next. Del Toro may well finally get to make a Cthulhu inspired movie after all!

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Finding Ohana in Stitch! the Animated Series

After three more movies and a television series, Disney put an end to their adventures with Leroy and Stitch–presumedly. But the love continues in Asia!

Lilo & Stitch! Together AgainWhatever happened to Lilo and Stitch? The series that began in 2002 enjoyed a good five-year run in North America. After three more movies and a television series, Disney put an end to their adventures with Leroy and Stitch. This 2008 direct to video release tied up all the loose ends and set the blue fuzzy terror free to terrorize in Stitch! He isn’t as much of a terror with thanks to Lilo; he learned how to be civilized.

During this run, Experiment 626 (Stitch) still had his moments of being wonderfully nasty. He was more of a selling point of the series than the subplot of building ohana, a Hawaiian term meaning family. In this series, Lilo further defines it as, “Nobody gets left behind.”

In this series, she sought to find a place where each quirky experiment, a cousin of Stitch, can safely belong. A few gems in the TV series existed which reinforced this point. But the one that says it all is with “Remmy,” where Lilo tries to cope on the anniversary of when her parents died. Nani, her older sister, tries her best to raise her, but that’s difficult to do when neither have an appropriate coping mechanism in place for them to grieve. Instead, what they do is to build their familial relationships to include everyone, so that no matter where the person (or alien) is from, they have brothers and sisters to rely on when hope is needed.

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When Space Battleship Yamato Becomes Live Action

Long time viewers of SF may want to say Yamato set the bar for future science-fiction products to come.

Space Battleship Yamato Live ActionLong time fans of the animated television series Space Battleship Yamato will be familiar with both versions, the english dub (Star Blazers) and the Japanese original. When seen side-by-side, the differences can be found. And the script revisions helped make this saga successful for Western audiences. The films that followed afterwards began as a compressed versions of the series until Yamato: New Voyage (1979) was made.

As a space opera, the drama between various characters made this series a compelling watch. To see them lose loved ones to war and face insurmountable challenges made for a very different type of 70’s cartoon. A few sacrifices were even made along the way for those who have seen the original Japanese version. Not many animations from that decade had internal monologues to tell viewers what each character was thinking of. Even the next imported saga, which was dubbed Robotech, took a few cues from this series. Without the seminal flagship, Macross wouldn’t have been what it is today. Even Irresponsible Captain Tylor takes on a few passing characteristics when it concerns two sake guzzling physicians who have a pet cat (by the second series).

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Gatchaman Full Length Trailer!

GatchamanIt’s here! And for many fans who have waited months to see a full length trailer, the time is now. And I must say what one sees looks very good. Could this film be the blockbuster hit of the summer for Japan? Will we see this film given a limited release in North America? One can only hope.

The movie stars Tori Matsuzaka (Samurai Sentai Shinkenger) as Ken the Eagle, Go Ayano (Kamen Rider 555, Rurouni Kenshin) as Joe the Condor, Ayame Goriki (Mirai Nikki, Black Butler) as Jun the Swan, Tatsuomi Hamada (Ultraman Zero, Gokaiger Vs. Gavan) as Jinpei the Swallow and Ryohei Suzuki as Ryohei Suzuki (Mei-chan’s Butler) as Ryo the Owl.

Gatchaman hits Japanese theatres August 24th.

Source(s): Orends: Range, Movieclips Trailers