Time Travel Archives | Otaku No Culture

In Max Beyond, There’s No Such Thing as Infinite Lives

The idea of going back in time to change the future is nothing new, but in this take, Max Beyond seeks to locate another universe where fate isn’t prestined.

Coming to Digital Platforms on April 22

There’s a young hero in town, and his name is Max (Cade Tropeano). He can travel to alternate universes and his only desire is to stop Leon (Dave Fennoy), his big brother, from being killed in the line of duty. In the movie simply titled, Max Beyond, this former marine is determined to rescue the kid from a tech firm intent on finding out how he gained ths mutant ability–and exploit it too–but in every other world, this attempt always sees the soldier ending up dead.

However, I get the feeling that every time Max uses his mutant power, a part of him is lost to the Aether. Pretty soon, he has to consider if his life is worth sacrificing, too. This sombre animated film got me wondering why he needs his brother so bad? That’s because without him, he may well not exist at all. Just how they managed to support each other during this strange time makes up for the better part of the narrative.

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Nobody is Crazy in this Charming Coming of Age Tale

The best way to show how Nobody is Crazy is in showing how everybody should be treated even when adversity is everywhere.

Please check local film festival listings for screenings near you.

Anyone with an obsessive-compulsive disorder is easy to deal with. People just have to be more compassionate and know what to say in order to help them manage the everyday. But for Rafa (Manuel Gutierrez) in Nobody is Crazy, what he has to do is face what makes him the odd man out. He has no friends or people to turn to, and this actor does a remarkable job at selling the fact he can do better.

But when nobody believes that he has made a friend, a masked individual (who prefers to be recognized as Nobody) who claims to be from his future, the film by Federico J. Arioni is masterfully crafted to not let anyone in on the secret. It’s a very thoughtful low-fi time travel cum existential work that deserves continued film festival screenings worldwide. Even though this work was released back in 2019, getting noticed by well known movie celebrations is tough.

Also, I was amused at how this Argentine director puts himself into this movie by playing this hero who pops in and out of existence, like a conscience to offer sage advice to a lost boy.

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Just How Dazzling can Alienoid 2: Return to the Future (외계+인 2부) Get? It’s Not Just About Saving the World.

All anyone needs to know about Alienoid 2 is that whoever possesses the Divine Blade can control all the time and space.

Coming to theatres, Jan 26

The sequel to Alienoid is coming to North America, and I don’t think what’s presented will end here. In Alienoid 2: Return to the Future (외계+인 2부), what’s produced feels like an MCU film directed by Michael Bay. Thankfully, those moments are limited to the CGI heavy moments rather than the story at hand.

To expose the aliens masquerading around as humans is tough, no matter what the century, but to make sure they don’t get their hands on the Divine Blade makes for an amusing watch. In order to figure out who is working for whom, it’s best to pay attention.

Honestly, I had to revisit the first film (review can be read here) just to remind myself about what’s important. That way, I wouldn’t feel as lost. Ultimately, the story is really about how Lee Ahn (or Ean) (Kim Tae-ri) will save Korea from an alien threat which pretty much exist throughout much of this country’s history. Her quest to locate this weapon and keep it away from the wrong hands defines this work.

And along the way, she’s not sure if she can fully trust the friends she has made. When they include those who kept her safe when she was young, namely Guard and Thunder (voiced by Kim Woo-bin)–where one of these two robots need repair–life is not easy. And now there’s Heug-seol (Yum Jung-ah) and Cheong-woon (Jo Woo-jin), two magic users who spend their screen time offering up comedic relief. As a result, it’s easy to lose interest with maybe a character or two.

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Showdown in Yesteryear and its Amusing Anime Connection

The ne’er-do-well who leads this film is no stranger to realising where home is where the heart is in Showdown in Yesteryear.

Now playing on VOD (Amazon Prime, Google Play) Subject to geolocation restrictions.

Showdown in Yesteryear is an amusing title that made me think about the classic Star Trek episode, “Spectre of the Gun.” The set design and concept that’s presented isn’t in verbatim but as for what’s real or imagined, that’s up to Daryl Dumwoody (Jeff Grennell) to decide. The fact this work is set in the Wild West was enough for me to want to check it out!

This character is a nobody in a dead end job where he can easily get forgotten. After being dumped by his girlfriend and losing that work, he’s ready to end it all. But when a magical door appears before him–a common enough trope used in various anime, namely Suzume no Tojimari–it’s perhaps a sign for him to look into who he is deep inside. Instead, what he walks through is a portal to the past, his hometown some 120 years ago.

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[Victoria Fringe 2023] Is it Bad There’s New Earth Bandits? Welcome to the Future, If You’re Brave!

You’ll get plenty of exercise walking up and down the hills around Macauly Point Park to discover where the New Earth Bandits are hiding in SNAFU’s latest.

From Interstellar Elder to Kitt and Jane (both shows I’ve seen and reviewed), The SNAFU Society of Unexpected Spectacles has an all new show! I’m not sure if they’ll tour this because it’s very site specific, but for anyone visiting Victoria, BC‘s Macaulay Point Park, they’ll be in for a treat! Here, their latest, New Earth Bandits, sends visitors (theatre attendees) to the future where a colony of humans, mutants, and animals kind of belligerently live together.

Also, I found space aliens! They didn’t join the visitors (theatre attendees) to figure out what’s going on. Instead, we’re told the year is 7023. In where we started, the portal to which everyone steps through takes us there and what’s presented is a glimpse of what may be this planet’s last dance, if we don’t change our ways.

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