Tag: Coming of Age

Cyberpunk 2077 Edgerunners Breeds Familiarity Than Be Cutting Edge

Edgerunners gets better by episode four, where we see Dave firmly establish himself with a gang of edgerunners, led by Maine. This team of four–which includes Pilar, Rebecca, and Lucy–becomes five, and it’s a recipe for a cyber power ranger pack!

Cyberpunk 2077 EdgerunnersAvailable to View on Netflix

Japanese cyberpunk is different from its Western counterpart, and there are many beloved favourites. I first fell in love with Megazone 23 because of the music and my latest infatuation is with Cyberpunk 2077 Edgerunners. Both have excellent soundtracks. Plus, I’m fairly sure the latter shares other narrative beats with many classic series of yore.

Studio Trigger (Promare)’s ten episode series is well paced, and I like how it takes elements from Mike Pondsmith’s role playing-cum-video game, and go somewhere new with it. This IP was introduced back in the 90s as Cyberpunk 2023, and the numerical designation establishes the year that the world is at, like a living campaign. A lot has changed since, and one detail I’m glad that remained consistent is the colour palette used. That is, those particular shades of yellow and red we see are specific to this world.

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The Fantasy and Where to Find Summer Ghost After Fantasia 2022

Summer Ghost marks Loundraw’s directorial debut, and I feel he mixes up the supernatural and coming of age genre very well.

Summer GhostGKIDS & Shout! Factory
Release Date: Nov 1, 2022 (available to preorder on Amazon USA)

Summer Ghost is a sweet short movie by Loundraw about three teenagers who want to meet a ghost. Instead of fashioning a scary story, his tale is more about dealing with life. The story he wrote and the film he directed is very thoughtful. Difficult challenges are facing the girl and two boys–Aoi (Miyuri Shimabukuro, Miyuri), Tomoya (Chiaki Kobayashi), and Ryou (Nobunaga Shimazaki)–and none of them know what to do with their lives. 

Because they barely know each other, having just met on social media, to help each other out seems out of the question. In fact, they think communicating with the dead can lead to better results. While their idea of seeking guidance from the other side seems unusual, that’s because one of them has terminal cancer.

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No Need To Cry. Goodbye, Don Glees! You’re Still Alive After Fantasia 2022

The anime, Goodbye, Don Glees! is written and directed by Atsuko Ishizuka is gorgeous on a narrative level.

Goodbye Don Glees!

GKIDS
Screened at Anime Expo and Fantasia 2022
Coming to theatres this Fall!
Home Video Release: Dec 27, 2022
* comes with Interview with Director Atsuko Ishizuka

the title of Madhouse’s latest animated film isn’t too telling, then what we learn from Goodbye, Don Glees! (グッバイ、ドン・グリーズ!) is that we should never let life pass you by. This heartwarming and sentimental film about two boys—Rōma (Natsuki Hanae) and Toto (Yûki Kaji)—enjoying the dog days of summer isn’t too bittersweet, but I had to ponder over the use of this title.

This coming of age drama has a lot of moments which hint at what it all means, but the adventure doesn’t really begin until after the duo meet Drop (Ayumu Murase), a new kid in town. He has something that others cannot see. For one thing, he’s so full of life, and what he wears is loud by conventional Japanese standards. His family moved from Iceland to Japan, and in what he externalizes hides something else. For one thing, he often talks about the ancient tree of life from Nordic lore. There’s something about Yggdrasil that he’s enthralled with, and it is referred to in anime or manga every once in a while.

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Marcel the Shell, Only The Lonely

Marcel the Shell is a sweet coming of age story about how to enjoy life at its fullest, any way the wind blows.   

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On

Coming to theatres beginning July 15, 2022

Marcel the Shell is lonely, and as for where his family went, nobody knows. They were taken away when the last human occupants of their home parted ways. It was by accident, and he doesn’t hold ill will, but not even Dean, his new human friend, can help. When this man discovers this strange Fraggle Rock world after he moves in that abode, his reaction is to be kind and film his life as he takes each day as it comes.

Jenny Slate is marvellous as the voice of this chitin. I found her voice brings a sense of wonder and innocence not too different from how other children go wow when discovering the world.

As for whether a slug exists inside the shell, I’m fairly sure there’s nothing. He’s as alive as those black soots from My Neighbour Totoro and I liken him to a fairy. Plus, I’m willing to say that this stop-motion and live action film by Dean Fleischer-Camp (who also co-stars) owes a small debt to this Studio Ghibli film. He found a home that’s very rustic.

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Riki the Rhino Aims to Tease with its Conservational Message

Ultimately, Riki the Rhino is about how he can learn to hold his head up high with or without his signature snout.

Riki the Rhino PosterUncork’d Entertainment
Available on Google Play Beginning July 5th, 2022

Riki the Rhino can easily get missed when parents are looking for wholesome animated films for their kids to watch. Thankfully, this film can be streamed too, as it’s uncertain if every big box store will carry the home video release.

This work not only teaches the value of friendship in the same vein as Disney’s The Lion King, but also animal conservation. In order to deal with the latter in a non-violent way, the fights are no less threatening than what one sees at Spanish bullfighting.

It won’t win huge awards because CGI is less than stellar. The production and pixel art is similiar to the effort put behind A Turtle’s Tale, and that’s only because in other countries (Indonesia, in this instance), the production houses don’t have the computer render farms PIXAR has. However, in terms of its narrative, every word and action counts here.

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Belle. You Can’t Fight This Feeling Anymore…

At this film’s core is the music that’s just as inspiring as an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical.

Belle (2021 film) - WikipediaGKIDS
Jan 14, 2022 (North America)
Feb 4 (United Kingdom)
MIld Spoiler Alert

Mamoru Hosoda’s Belle is a triumph on many levels. Not only is the animation astounding because it had assistance with Cartoon Saloon (with Studio Chizu producing), but also it goes beyond being a simple fairy tale. There’s a message of hope in this tale about Suzu Naito (Kaho Nakamura), a young teen who lost all sense of feeling. As a child who saw her mom die, it’s easy to understand why. Nobody else was willing to help a random kid stuck in the middle of a raging river but this courageous woman did.

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