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A Destructive God Sits Next to Me Episode #1 Review
Alright, today we have a fun blog. Its a quick review for the anime A Destructive God Sits Next to Me. I say quick, because I watched this anime last Monday (Whenever I put up the Tokay Ghoul review) and the days have just kinda blurred and ran together. This blog was suppose to come out the day afterwards and here we are on a Saturday night. So, I cannot promise I’ll remember everything, but I do remember enjoying it. Since this is a weird one we may review it a little differently compared to other post.
The first thing that stood out to me was the fact the dialogue exchange is very hectic and all over the place. It is a mix of external conversations with internal monologue. In English, this wouldn’t be a problem. In Japanese, the words are laced on top and bottom of the screen and several characters are talking at the same. I figured I was in over my head trying to follow the plot as I was completely lost in the opening scene. However, the nonchalant humor really kept me engaged.
For a show whose main character is a destructive god of unspeakable power, the humor is all over the place and I love it. In a way, I got Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo vibes and that is always a great thing. Our main character Seri Koyuki has very little in the way of confidence and actually was relying more on slapstick humor than I was expecting. Honestly, this was a turn off and I didn’t care much for him. Yet, when he is paired with Kabuto Hanadori (The Destructive God) and fellow classmate Utsugi Tsukimiya, the chemistry really clicks and the group are very funny and enjoyable.
The plot goes something like this. Handadori is a destructive god (Yeah, no kidding). Whenever a student belittles him or insults him in any way, he resorts to lifting his eye patch to unleash his real power. Koyuki consistently has to calm him before he takes vengeance on his classmates.
My thoughts with this show were a roller coaster. I was looking for something funny, charming, and lighthearted. At first, this show seemed like a mess that didn’t know what it was trying to do. By the time the gang was playing “Animal Crossing” on the roofs, I was sold. I don’t know if I’m in love with this anime yet, but clocking in with just 12 episodes, I should be able to sit down and churn through this one and get a more accurate gauge at some point.
As of now, I am excited for episode #2! We will certainly be revisiting this one at a later date to see if that humor, chemistry, and all around wackiness remains as enduring as it has started! Thanks for reading guys. I hope you all enjoyed this and will give the show a chance on Crunchyroll. Have a great night everyone.
Continued Reading!
Tower Of God Episode #1 Anime Review
Tower Of God Episode #1 Anime Review
Tower of God is a new anime I just started watching last night. It is shaping up be either the most interesting anime I’ve ever seen or it will crash on its own momentum. The first episode sets up a fantasy setting, a strange objective, and a hole host of characters. What this means for the series as a whole is yet to be seen
Plot: The plot seems straightforward yet eerily mysterious. A tower stands tall tempting its challengers with a simple promise. All that you wish can be found at the top of the tower. Who is brave enough to accept the challenge and who is strong enough to complete the challenge? A better question may be why would someone challenge that. Well, we have the answer for the two main characters, Rachel and Bam.
Characters:
Rachel. Rachel is the presumed love interest of the story. The story comes right out and says this is her and Bam’s story, though I find it hard to call her the main character. She almost seems like an unrealistic goal or dream Bam aspires to reach. I call her the presumed love interest because I don’t think the show elaborates on what kind of love the two characters share and if that love is even mutual. She saves Bam earlier in their lives (how much earlier is not known to the viewer). However, she still chooses to abandon Bam to challenge the tower. Her quest is to see the stars, something she makes known the second they meet.
Bam. Bam is more inline with what I think of a main character. The scene is vague, but I feel led to believe he was trapped in a cave until Rachel finds him. In a way, she may very well be the only other person Bam knows which would explain the obsession with Rachel. Of course, he joins the tower challenge all to find Rachel and reunite with her. He seems very Jon Snow in that manner. He wants to do right by Rachel even though every other character in the show is in it for personal gain. This makes you like him and at times go “kids going to get himself killed.”
Headron- Headron introduces himself on the first level of the tower but his exact role still seems fuzzy to me. He is like a game show host in a way. He introduces the challenger to the floor and what task they will have to undertake. He seems to get a sick thrill from challengers dying or, at least being at a disadvantage. Despite us leaving him on floor 1, I doubt this will be the last time we see Headron.
Princess Yuri and Evan- Princess Yuri shows up to help Bam out in the first floor, and just in time I might add. With her comes a ton of mystery and allure. Her dialogue with Headron leads us to believe their is a royal family lurking around. What do they gain from the tower and the gauntlet the inhabitants undergo? I’m sure all this will be explored later. As for now, Yuri grants Bam access to her powerful sword which allows him to progress through the floors.
The World: The world actually seems terrible. Again, it is revealed Bam was trapped in a hole in a cave until Rachel finds him. Also, stars and the sky are all rumors. This implies people havent even seen beyond the cave ceilings. Such a wild thought. The tower itself is intriguing. The tower will ultimately be made up of several floors (I’m not sure how many floors there will be in total). The floors all range in difficulty, aesthetics, and challenges.
Floor One- Floor one appears straightforward yet is layered in complexity. Bam is also the only challenger on this floor. The room is almost a sewer or water chamber protected by a giant, majestic eel. The goal? Break a giant, black ball while not being ate by the eel.
Floor Two- Floor two is completely different. It is a wide open field where each contestant is tasked with killing the other. The round begins with 400 contestant and they are told to get that number down to 200. This is where the show turns into a Hunger Games or PUBG style elimination event. Honestly, I’m not crazy about the pacing here. People just die left and right. There’s a jump of adrenaline from characters getting absolutely swatted left and right. That jolt of suspense wears off when you realize you don’t know any of the characters and it is just mindless murdering. Still an exciting scene in the moment. I do hope it slows down a bit in the second episode.
Recap: This show has insane potential or could flop. I could completely see it going either way. Everyone was hating on the graphics. It was noticeable but it didn’t derail my enjoyment.
Action Each floor looks as if it will rely on action. I’m sure some floors will be more mentally taxing as we go, but that’s yet to be seen.
Romance Again, the plot seems to be a love story. How stable or romantic it is is to be determined.
Plot The plot isnt super interesting in and of itself. The plot is mostly used to justify the setting and Bam’s motivation.
Characters Bam is the only character we got some level of peek into. Here’s a funny thought. Bam rarely says a word that isnt more or less “I’m doing this for Rachel” yet he easily comes off as a main character. It’s a bullheaded, reckless abandonment, throw caution to the wind, that would get old or come off as stupid that I find compelling about Bam. But again, it is kind of stupid still.
The World World, meh. Tower, very captivating.
Humor laugh out loud moments were pretty sparse. It might have had moments that make you giggle but it wont make you fall out of your seat dying of laughter.
Verdict I cannot wait to see how this one unfolds. It will either lose steam or be amazing. Let’s keep an eye out on this one.
Score I’ll give it a solid 8 out of 10. We will see how this score changes as we go.
Bonus material
I watched episode one of this anime last night before bed. I was about to pass out and jotted down some notes so I could freshen up my memory. Check out my early thoughts below.
Love story in epic setting. Each floor has challenges. First one, survive and open ball. 2nd one, survive and eliminate other challengers.
Great plot and characters, animation quality dipped at certain times but was surprising charming and grew on me.
8.0 out of 10.
Somali and the Forest Spirit Episode 1 Review!
Somali and the Forest Spirit is a brand new anime based off the manga of the same name. It is available on Crunchyroll.
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(I do not own the rights to any pictures used in this blog. All rights reserved to their respective owner)
Spoilers: None really as this is the first episode.
Plot: Set in an alternative reality where humans are nearly instinct, the story picks up by introducing the forest spirit, Golem. While venturing in his forest, he stumbles across a human girl, Somali. Title sequence, fast forward, bam, the two have now formed a duo. Not much more information is given beyond that. However, Golem does reveal later on that they are on a quest for more humans. This quest is a little strange. For starters, a side characters comments something to the effect of, “I didnt think you spirits left your forest.”. Couple that with the fact Golem is void of emotions and always tries to think logically, it appears to be an uncharacteristic behavior. I wanted to set up the plot but I want to dive more into this during our “character” portion.
Characters: Lets focus on the primary two. We will start with Somali. Her name is listed first, but from the first episode I don’t see her has the main character, that would be Golem in my opinion so far. She is one of the last remaining humans. Golem finds her shackled in the woods for some reason. In the city they visit, characters made mention of keeping humans as pets, but the show never tells us why she is in the woods. Despite not knowing her parents and being held against her will, Somali is a very fun loving and free kind of person. She is often distracted by the pets, which by the way, animals are now humanoid and are the main inhabitants of the world. This offbeat, carelessness gets her in trouble. By the end of the episode, I cannot really say she’s undergone any form of change. She even utters the say line from one of the early scenes.
Golem, on the other hand, is very straightforward, logical, and systematic. Every move is very well thought out and often correct. There’s a lot to break down and love about his character. From the early scenes of the show, he is lead on to be a machine, basically. He is void of emotion. He is stubborn. He is unwavering in his decisions. I say all of this, and yet, he undergoes so much change in the first episode. I’m actually really impressed. For starters, Golem is untrusting of the species living in the village. He fears they want Somali (he is probably right, too). He clamps his hand over her mouth and tells her not to be loud as he listens to people walk by their room. Him having no emotions is brought back up and Somali says something along the lines of, “I could feel you shaking. You can’t fool me.”. I dont remember the exact quote but it basically was saying that when he thought Somali might be in danger, it caused him to have feelings.
Secondly, while walking around the market district, Golem noticed all the parents holding onto their kids. I really liked this scene. Initially, the scene looks like it is being experienced through Somali’s eyes. This made me feel sad for Somali on account of her not having parents. By the end of it, you realize Golem was actually paying attention to how the parents interacted with their kids. All this leads up to is them holding hands (um, fingers?), but it will be more powerful once you actually watch the episode. \
The World: Oh, boy. Considering I think the aspect of humans being nearly exist is kinda over done, this show reinvigorated the genre for me. The forest scenery is beautiful. The animals of the world are brand new species as it appears as if cross breeding has occurred. You’ll have cats with 5 tails, rabbits with antlers, a butterfly on two legs. Every character is a new species and that makes it fun getting introduced to new characters. So far, we’ve only seen one forest and one city.
Recap: 2020 anime is getting started on a good foot. This is a great anime to start your year off.
Action: So far, sparingly. Though, as they get deeper into their hunt for humans, I wouldn’t be surprised if action came up from time to time.
Romance: Our main characters are a forest spirit with no emotions and a child. In other words,
Plot: Didn’t overly care for it before. Now I am very interested in seeing where it goes.
Characters: For two characters that seem shallow up front, I think they are very good characters that will have surprising depth by the end.
The World: Cannot wait to see other places there are to explore.
The Humor: This show is about personal relationships and the journeys we take together, but it can be funny.
The Ending: Maybe one of the best endings to an episode one I’ve ever seen. It does more than make we say “I cannot wait for episode two.”. It also shows growth in our main character right from the start and makes this story that much more enjoyable.
Verdict: Obviously we cannot grade the entire season on one episode, but this is about a promising start as there is. I will be tuning in weekly to see this one develop.
Score: 9.75 out of 10. Remember I’m grading this based off of episode one. I’m not saying the season will remain this strong. I’m just saying that as an introduction, you’d be hard pressed to find one that does it better.
Let me know what guys thought of this one down below.
Thanks so much for reading and have a great day!
Continued reading down below!
Dr. Stone Episode One Review!
The Mandalorian Review
Games that COULD come to the Nintendo Switch this year! (2020)
Girlish Number- Random Wednesday Number 1
Dr. Stone Episode 1 Review
After a pretty long haitus from anime reviews, Crunchyroll and Facebook have teamed up to pull me right back in. Dr. Stone is an ongoing anime based on the manga of the same name. The anime is done by the studio TMS and airs on both Crunchyroll and Funimation.
(I do not own the rights to any pictures used in this blog. All rights reserved to their respective owner)
Spoilers: This is a review of episode one. While there may be spoilers for episode 1, there’s no major spoilers for the series as a whole.
Plot: The idea here is that everyone on Earth gets turned to stone. Some 3,000 years later our two main characters breakthrough their stony exterior emerging to a world where forestry has now overrun the area. Thousands have died as their stone bodies have shattered or limbs have been severed off. Once our two main characters, Senku and Taiju reunite at the base of a river, the two go to work on how to bring the world back to the modern era.
Characters: This section is fairly easy, as they are the only two human beings alive at the moment. Senku is our green headed main character. He is a genius and the show makes that no secret. He has already begun working on a cure for the modern day stone age. I really think people who study psychology and character types would have a field day enjoying him. It’s not really revealed in the first episode, but later you will see he does not play judge, jury, or the hangman. He acts almost like neutral watcher. He wants to revive everyone. Good, bad, murderers, tax collectors, children, bums, it does not matter. I assume this is due to the fact that science really does not take sides. He’s just letting the process run it’s course.
Our next character is Taiju. Taiju is a bit more of a flat and uninteresting character. Now, that is in no way to say he a bad character. He kept himself motivated to live because he had a mission. Before the stone age struck, He was determined to tell his crush Yuzuriha, that he liked her. Of course, tragedy struck as both stone-crossed lovers were soon to be sealed in their rocky casing. But hey, his unwavering desire to confess his feelings for Yuzuriha worked because, well… It is an anime after all.
Now, I’m not sure if this a good or bad thing, but the show is super self-aware of the two character’s strength and weakness. Again the show is not shy about constantly reminding you Senku is an intellectual supreme while Taiju wouldn’t know the difference between a push or pull door even if they were labeled. As a result the show has a stereotypical, albeit funny, role system for the two. Senku comes up with ideas while Taiju goes to hunt down the ingredients needed. The two play off each other’s differences in a way that naturally progresses the plot while also being funny and enjoyable such as the grapes to wine scene for example.
The World: This is also easy. There essentially is no world to discuss here. Mother Nature has come to reclaim most of her land. Some statues have survived the test of nature and time, but they are few and far between. Animals, for some unknown reason, were spared the same crystallized fate the humans experienced, birds notwithstanding for some reason. This is part of the fun though. How will Senku and Taiju interact with animals? Will they find remains of old buildings they use to interact with? Are there others who have shattered their mold and now walk with the living again? How will the world react to a sudden rise in the human population again? Ultimately, the world right now is a blank canvas and I cannot wait to see how Dr. Stone splatters itself all over the page.
Racap: I knew this was the anime I wanted use to rekindle my spark. This premise sounded super enjoyable and I have not been disappointed. I’ve watched the first three episodes as of now and it really keeps getting better.
Action: While nonexistent in this episode. Episodes two and three do help deliver more of a punch.
Romance: Taiju clearly has a crush on Yuzuriha but you will have to keep watching to see if they end up together.
Plot: I came for the plot.
Characters: But I stayed for the characters.
The World: Empty and underdeveloped, but that isn’t exactly a bad thing.
Humor: A definite strength and high point of the show is the humor. For a pseudo-apocalyptic world, these two really don’t let that fact stop them from smiling or cutting up.
The Ending: The ending is great as we see they have possibly cracked the code for cracking open that hard outer shell.
Verdict: While this is episode one of a show that currently only has four episodes out, I’d be lying if I didn’t say the hype is there. It is going to be so fun to see what’s left of the world. If Senku and Taiju have shed their rock skin, whose to say other’s could not? How will differing viewpoints of Senku and people he resurrects clash? The world is currently empty which hurts this episode’s score but I think makes me more excited for the show as a whole.
Score: A solid 8.5 out of 10. Mostly, because there are still so many question marks that is hard to get a perfect score.
I will revisit this one once the season has wrapped up. So let me know what you guys think so far. What animes should I review next? Let me know down below.
Thanks so much for reading and have a great day!
Continued reading here!
ReLife Review
Food Wars Season One Review
My Hero Academia Review
Manga Monday: My Hero Academia Volume 1
Oh, boy. One of the mangas I was most hyped to get into and now it is here. Did it live up to my hype? Lets find out!
My Hero Academia was created by Kohei Horikoshi and distributed through Shonen Jump Comics.
Spoilers: Considering this is just Volume 1, not really.
Plot- In this version of the world, humans are born in a similar fashion to X-men. Kids have quirks which is the equivalent of super powers. Our main character, Izuku Midoriya, is quirkless. This obviously adds to his charm. He eventually inherits a very powerful quirk All For One (Which summons the dude in the cover. The one in the costume). From here, He joins the academy for super heroes.
Characters– Here’s the thing, I like all the characters. Its hard to go into depth since the manga introduces about 6 real players, but we do not dive into a lot of them. The two characters we delve into are Izuku Midoriya and Toshinori Yagi. Izuku is our main character (The other dude on the cover.). He has two defining moments. The first one is when he sacrifices time (to get points for his exam) to save Ochako Uraraka (another likable character). The other moment is when he stands up to Katsuki Bakugo (the school bully). These two scenes will make you root for Izuku throughout the manga. Toshinori on the other hand chooses to keep his identity relatively private. He is the former All Might (*reminder* that’s the name of the buff dude). He is reaching his limits as All-Might takes a toll on the body. He sees potential in Izuku and passes the All For One quirk down to Izuku.
The World– Again think X-men in Japan. It is a great idea. However, I don’t know how much of the world will be explored as the story centers around the academy. However, it definitely has potential with all the super heroes and villains running around.
Recap-
Action: You’d probably be surprised to find that there isn’t that much action. There are a few intense fightscenes, but right now it has been more of a “prove yourself” through trail-like events.
Romance– Izuku and Ochako have some potential flames, but nothing has really happened yet.
Plot- The plot has been engaging so far.
Characters– A+. All pretty good.
The World- Like a lot of Vol 1 reviews, it has not been flushed out yet.
Humor- Solid A.
Verdict– A near perfect introduction Manga. It showcases the potential for interesting characters, sly humor, possible love subplots, and intense action scenes. It serves as a great origin manga.
Score- 9 out of 10. Not too many bad things to say. It is not action in every panel, but it does offer a good bit of substance for a Shonen Jump. It does fall into the formulated “no one believes in you, grind, get stronger, become powerful” sequencing that has defined the genre since before I was born. If you can look past it being cliche at times, it is a great take on the genre and worth the read
Thank you for reading my review! Follow me here for more reviews as I will be reviewing Tokyo Ghoul soon and even revisiting Seven Deadly Sins with the second volume. I also do other reviews such as Anime and Video games as well as Top 5’s and discussion post! You can also subscribe to my Youtube channel here and follow me on Twitter here
More reading here:
ReLife Volume 1 Review
Games I want on the N64 Mini/Classic!
Idea for upcoming reviews!
My latest semester of college is over in a week and a half. That means hopefully some more free time. Now’s the perfect time to recommend a Manga or anime. Remember, as far as animes go I mostly just watch on Crunchyroll, so that’s your best bet of getting me to watch it. Its been entirely too long since I’ve done a review on here. Hopefully I can change that within the next two weeks.
As always, thanks for reading and have a great day!
Pokemon Sun and Moon Latest Update!
Pokemon hit us with it’s latest video. If you have not seen it yet, check it here Pokemon Sun and Moon Video.
Let me just say, I have loved everything Gamefreak is doing with this installment. Some Pokemons are still hit or miss but the ideas and creativeness they are trying with mechanics and style is welcomed.
Here’s some of the takeaways.
#1 Pokemons getting fresh make overs:
Have you been playing 20 years of Pokemon? Well Gamefreak is giving some new life into old pokemons, and I like it, personally. Vulpix and Ninetails are getting ice forms as well as Sandshrew and Sandslash. They retain their design but get new colors and typing.
Exeggutor has an Alola form as well. I’m more or less on the fence but I am sure it will work out.
#2 Region based forms are back:
Much like Shellos in Diamond and Vivillion in X and Y, where you catch a pokemon matters. Shellos would be green or pink depending on where you caught it. Vivillion would have different designs depending on where you caught them. Oricorio will have four different forms depending on which island you catch them on. The four forms are the Baile form (Fire/Flying), the Pom Pom form (Electric/ Flying), Pa’u form (Psychic/Flying) Sensu form (Ghost/Flying).
This is a pretty sweet addition if it works how I think it will, because it will be four Pokemon for the price of one. I don’t know about you, but I am always down for more Pokemon!
Their ability is dancer which I did not realize how powerful it can be the first time I watched it.
Here’s a list of all “Dance Moves”
Quiver Dance- Raise Special Attack, Special Defense, Speed by one stage(Most have special based typing so this my be the most useful to steal)
Dragon Dance- Raise Speed and Attack by a stage
Rain Dance- Summons rain for 5 turns (Seems redundant)
Swords Dance- Raise Attack by two stages (Depends on stats and move pool, but does not seem as good.)
Teeter Dance- Confuses all other active Pokemons (Seems like a funny interaction)
Lunar Dance- KO yourself, heal the next Pokemon up (This could be used against you, be careful)
The rest of the dance moves are all attacking moves, we will have to wait to see how this interaction works out.
It’s an awesome ability that could stop a dragon setting up dragon dance, but it does not stop there. Assuming it works how I think it will, it becomes amazing in double battles. Have Pokemon A use Quiver Dance and your Oricorio will copy it. However, I do not know if this counts as your move. If it does, it becomes worse then I think it is. If it does not count as your turn, it can get pretty broken in double battle.
I wish the wording was “Copy the effects of dance moves”. Also I could see Bellossom getting this ability.
Minior has shields down, which seems to act like a substitute ability (much like disguise), and it has four different cores. Not much has been shown yet.
#3 Island Trials
We now have an Island Trial on the four islands, beating them will unlock the leader of each island. This is how you will gain access to new islands. I’m curious to learn more about this aspect.
#4 Z attacks are a thing:
They look broken. Just look at this
Here’s a couple things that stand our about Z attacks.
Look at the levels. It shows Rowlet, Litten, and Popplio, and Pikachu. All baby forms. So how early do you get access to this broken mechanic?
Also, as the video shows, the trainer is the one doing the dance, so it is possible that any Pokemon can use its corresponding type attack.
With new forms, z moves, and tons of variety, this could shake up competitive play as well as how we play Pokemon in general.
The future is as bright as the Alola regions, and I for one, am super excited for what it hold.
Three Take Aways from the Latest Pokemons!
I am not reviewing each Pokemon this week because, well, they were mostly bland. Here’s the three big take away though.
#1 Mudsdale looks legit.
Own Tempo can make him a sweeper using moves like thrash or even in a double battle swaggering it. Stamina is a new ability that allows him to raise his defense. I can easily see this guy being a mixed sweeper, for sure.
#2 Substitute is now an ability.
Mimikyu is a terrifying little guy I almost brushed off just by looking at it (This is literally a Pikachu clone). However, he is actually kind of cool. He is a ghost/fairy who made a Pikachu disguise most likely out of bed sheets. Disguise is an ability that nullifies the first hit it takes once per battle. Pretty sweet. People have already mentioned the idea or fear of using substitute on the first move to safely set up. Do not worry. I doubt they would slap this ability on anything relevant.
#3 This generation might just be the scariest one yet.
Just when you thought Mimikyu was going to be the scariest thing on this blog.
The bear and fist in question do not seem to go together, but hey, that’s why we play this wacky game. Take a second to realize how deadly this guy might actually end up being. Plus GameFreak is rolling in the bear puns. Bewear and Beartic. I love it.
The Cat Returns- Anime Movie Review
Today is a first here at DaHubbz! Our first Anime Movie Review (Hopefully the first of many). I’m reviewing The Cat Returns.
The Cat Returns is Studio Ghibli (Spirited Away, Only Yesterday) 12th film. It was directed by Hiroyuki Morita and Reiko Yoshida and was released in Japan in 2002.
We’re about jump into this but I want to add a couple disclaimers before we go.
First one:
I watched the Blu Ray English dub from Disney. The Cat Returns moved to America in 2005 and starred Anne Hathaway in the lead role of Haru.
Second One:
I watched Spirited Away in my younger years, so for review purposes, The Cat Returns is my first Studio Ghibli film.
Spoilers: Spoiler free as I can get.
Okay, here we go!
Studio Ghibli is a studio known for it’s heart warming characters, enduring animations, and timeless story telling. The Cat Returns delivers on all three fronts. After my first viewing I was torn. I knew it was a good movie, but I struggled to stick with a score. The best part of it for me the first go round were the characters. Anne Hathaway was great as Haru. Peter Boyle (Everybody Loves Raymond) as Muta and Kristen Bell (Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Frozen) as Hiromi and the other cast I think all did great jobs with their respective roles. After it was said and done I struggled to find the meaning of the film. I was getting hung up in the stuff that bothered me and did not make sense.
For starters, The Cat Bureau. It seemed like such a cool idea. Objects are given souls and come to life. Unfortunately, we only see the Cat Bureau once. I also struggled with a purpose for the film. Honestly, I think that boils down to being so caught up in everything else, the meaning just went right over my head.
Thankfully, I watched it a second time. It hit me and stuck with me. Biggest mistake I made going into it was assuming this was a movie about Baron, the kitty cat on the cover. Well it is not. This is a story about Haru. As cool as they try to make Baron out to be, he has to take a backseat to Haru. This was not something I was willing to let happen my first viewing. I wanted more of Baron and Muta and the Bureau. Big mistake on my part.
I’ll break it down by topics moving forward.
Plot: The Cat Returns is a story of Haru, a young teenage girl. She oversleeps, has secret, little crushes, and most noticeable struggles with who she is. This is very apparent through dialogue with her friend and mother. She saves prince Lune, prince of the cats, and news travels fast to the cat kingdom. The king makes it his priority to return the favor. This part is cute as the cats offer her several live mice among other gifts. The most noteworthy is Lune’s hand in marriage. She tries to run away from the cats, but these cats are willing to risk all nine of their lives to get Haru to the kingdom. Baron leaves her with more or less these words, “never forget who you are and you will be fine.” Good stuff. Needless to say, Haru gets caught up immediately in the kingdom. Haru turns away from her human side and becomes a cat. I’ll avoid major plot spoilers. Baron shows up and save hers in more words then that.
Characters: While I said the characters were the best part of this movie, and stick by it, there really is only one character to do a major analyze on. For starters I think this movie is great, but so much of it depends on Haru. Haru is a character we have been taught has issues. She begins thinking maybe the cat kingdom is where she belongs, but she does it everywhere new. First, it is the Cat Bureau, then the kingdom. It is at least consistent in that regard. Watching her evolution is a beautiful yet unfulfilling event. I think getting wrapped up in the kingdom and the other characters is why I did not realize how much of this movie hinged on Haru. This is why I’m sad it did not hit me the way I had hoped. When she has the dramatic change from cat back to human it felt rushed or unexplained, I guess. I felt the urgency from Baron to get Haru back to the human world, but not Haru’s. Maybe that is just me. Even in the end, she has to be saved from falling off the tower. I guess the one big take away is that she did choose to ultimately leave the cat kingdom, even if I’m not sold on it. This makes me doubt the Haru seen at the end, even though I do enjoy that Haru.
The World: Another great part of this movie. The Cat Bureau and Cat Kingdom are great, beautiful, and lively. The cat kingdom is bustling with heart, character, and humor. This place is filled with secret agents, explosions, mazes of death, epic falls, and a crazy ruler. I never got a sense of dread or darkness. Seriously, even during all these crazy parts, it is still fun, energetic, and up beat.
Verdict: What I’m ultimately judging this film on is this movie through Haru’s eyes. This differs from the score I’d give if I was just judging it as a whole.
Score: 7.5 out of 10.
Conclusion: This movie is awesome and well worth the watch. I dare say it could be a classic. It is charming and enduring. It bolsters amazing characters, well timed humor, and a vibrant world. Haru did not connect with me the way I wanted her to, and the grade reflects that. In the end I do not actually believe she has undergone any change, or more so, the change feels forced. Her coffee line at the end did not hit me the way I think the studio had hoped.
Manga Car Ride! Make a recommendation!
This Saturday will mark my epic two week quest down to Panama City! That nets me close to ten hours of car trip reading time. I’m bringing Dragon Ball Vol. 7-8-9, Seven Deadly Sins Vol 2, Tokyo Ghoul Vol 1, and Food Wars Vol 1. to keep me entertained.
While I am down there, I will try to stop by book stores and comic stores and pick up some new ones.
So if you stumble across this post, you should totally leave the name of a manga or comic book I should be on the look out for.
You can also recommend an anime I’ll try to get around to watching it. Ideally, something found on Crunchyroll, Netflix, or Hulu.
You can follow me on twitter @Dahubbz to see if I find anything cool!
Thanks for reading!
Da_Hubbz 