I'm not sure "Isekai" is the right term here - this is a show about a child playing with toys. But the writing is fresh and funny enough that I had fun for the first six episodes (more than I can say for most anime!). The show spends basically no time on exposition (much as a child playing with toys wouldn't explain the game to themselves). This has a hypnotic effect; you let the nonsense wash over you and try not to think about any of it. There are no stakes, and no one gets meaningful characterization, but I prefer a show that gleefully avoids these things to one that tries to establish them half-heartedly. And I laughed out loud three or four times in those six episodes. Not bad at all.
Reviews
11 Reviews
Extraordinary Attorney Woo
(2022)
They had me in the first half
13 April 2023
As an episodic show, Woo was charming and funny; the semi-improvised courtroom scenes were often a highlight.
Halfway in, the show changes -- there are long-term plot threads and romantic drama and other nonsense that gets in the way of the jokes (without providing much in the way of serious commentary -- frankly, I think the first half did a better job there too). We lose our wacky clients, and all the courtroom scenes start to repeat whatever our characters were just talking about. I'm not sure I laughed at any point during the last four episodes.
As a complete package, Woo is still worth trying -- there's a lot to like, and you might find the second-half transition less jarring than I did. But I wouldn't call it a top-tier K-drama.
Halfway in, the show changes -- there are long-term plot threads and romantic drama and other nonsense that gets in the way of the jokes (without providing much in the way of serious commentary -- frankly, I think the first half did a better job there too). We lose our wacky clients, and all the courtroom scenes start to repeat whatever our characters were just talking about. I'm not sure I laughed at any point during the last four episodes.
As a complete package, Woo is still worth trying -- there's a lot to like, and you might find the second-half transition less jarring than I did. But I wouldn't call it a top-tier K-drama.
Appare-Ranman!
(2020)
Didn't live up to its potential
4 April 2023
Warning: Spoilers
This anime's excellent first half came to a screeching halt later, thanks to a generic Nietzschean villain and a total absence of thematic resonance. People have compared this to Dr. Stone, but Dr. Stone was always about science, even when there were baddies to fight and people to rescue; this anime drops science, creativity, and exploration in favor of... friendship? Punching?
There are also some fundamental quality issues that I started to notice in the second half, maybe because the story became less engrossing; villains appear out of nowhere from the middle of the desert, a time bomb randomly fails to go off, and a key character backstory winds up totally unexplained and unresolved. (That same character gets the same, exact flashback scene six or seven times, which really bogs things down.)
Still, I might recommend the first 4-6 episodes as standalone material, and I'm interested to see what the author/studio come up with next.
There are also some fundamental quality issues that I started to notice in the second half, maybe because the story became less engrossing; villains appear out of nowhere from the middle of the desert, a time bomb randomly fails to go off, and a key character backstory winds up totally unexplained and unresolved. (That same character gets the same, exact flashback scene six or seven times, which really bogs things down.)
Still, I might recommend the first 4-6 episodes as standalone material, and I'm interested to see what the author/studio come up with next.
Sex Education
(2019–2023)
A good concept gone mostly to waste
14 January 2019
An amazing premise, and at least one really tremendous laugh each episode. The writers have a gift for cold opens. But the characters ring false as often as true, with school plots that are as dumb (or dumber) than those in previous generations of teen sex comedies. I feel characters straining to have more than two dimensions, but aside from our three teen leads, no one does (including the mother, which was a real disappointment). It sometimes makes sense that comedic characters learn nothing, but when I see this in a show about education and growing up, I question the point of the premise.
...admittedly, there's a good chance I'll still watch the second season, because the show's high points are very high. But I hope the writers get their act together, let their characters be intelligent, and allow the natural hilarity of the situation do most of the work.
...admittedly, there's a good chance I'll still watch the second season, because the show's high points are very high. But I hope the writers get their act together, let their characters be intelligent, and allow the natural hilarity of the situation do most of the work.
Sacred Games
(2018–2019)
One-half of a good plot, one excellent show
13 January 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Beautifully produced, great acting, great dialogue, great gangster story from Gaitonde's perspective. I like the commitment to subplots that don't really intersect the main story; it adds realism and gives the filmmakers a chance to say a few more things worth saying while they have our attention.
As for our hero, the inspector; by the third episode, I started to view his story as more of a comedy, which helped. He's a mediocre cop thrown into a situation for which he is completely unprepared; he can't tail anyone for more than five minutes without getting caught, and he never has a plan after that happens. His whole shtick is looking at bad people until they feel guilty enough to kick him a few times and let him go. But once you stop expecting a badass, or even a competent everyman, Singh's tale becomes an amusing fish-out-of-water story (with some extra blood).
As for our hero, the inspector; by the third episode, I started to view his story as more of a comedy, which helped. He's a mediocre cop thrown into a situation for which he is completely unprepared; he can't tail anyone for more than five minutes without getting caught, and he never has a plan after that happens. His whole shtick is looking at bad people until they feel guilty enough to kick him a few times and let him go. But once you stop expecting a badass, or even a competent everyman, Singh's tale becomes an amusing fish-out-of-water story (with some extra blood).
I cried, and I never cry at movies
30 June 2018
The Florida Project
(2017)
Too much schadenfreude for my tastes
9 April 2018
Beautifully shot, with a solid plot, but filled with remorselessly unpleasant characters (save for poor Bobby). I can sympathize with desperate people, but the fact remains that every good thing which happens to our protagonists happens at the expense of someone else. They earn money by hustling and stealing; they avoid trouble by lying and deflecting; they have fun by bothering the people around them (or destroying their property). In comedies, we know that some good outcome will appear out of chaos and destruction; in The Florida Project, I just wanted to movie to end sooner so fewer people would have to get hurt.
The Man from Nowhere
(2010)
A little too much melodrama to be a classic
3 April 2018
"The Man From Nowhere" has been compared to "The Professional", but in this case, the killer-child relationship is mostly at a distance, without much time for a bond to develop beyond cliches about bad mothers and cool guys who can't display positive emotions. The movie has lots of great individual moments involving knives, tasers, bathrooms, and driving ranges, but most of the characters (including our protagonist) are too cliched to take us beyond a collection of cool action shots. The police subplot slows the film dramatically (this would've been better at 90 minutes, with the cops gone almost completely), and the ending is totally unsatisfying. Skip it unless you're specifically into Korean action thrillers.
Good humor ruined by boring sex jokes
26 February 2018
As others have noted, this has a depressingly standard quantity of fanservice for the genre. It's a shame -- the first episode was brilliant, and some of the fantasy-world conventions are twisted in very new directions. Up to the OVA, I might have looked past the panty jokes and sprung for a 7 -- but the OVA felt like the writers went on vacation and let several 15-year-old fans write an episode, so that's another star gone. Recommended for people who don't mind the fanservice, I suppose, though there are many animes out there with just as much original humor and much less predictable harem nonsense.
An entire movie in 24 minutes
20 February 2016
I remembered enjoying a few episodes of this when it first aired, so I went back to the pilot this week. And while the other episodes were "merely" enjoyable adventuring, this pilot is astonishing. Jack is sent forth to train with all the peoples of the (known) world -- peoples whose skills and personalities are immediately visible in 30 to 90 seconds. It warms my heart to know that all of humanity's talents will be on display as Jack sets out to confront our greatest enemy.
Also, the sheer amount of plot stuffed in here is marvelous. None of the ten-minute battle scenes of later episodes; just lots of stuff happening. Held my complete attention for 20 minutes, which doesn't happen often for cartoons aimed at 9-year-olds.
Also, the sheer amount of plot stuffed in here is marvelous. None of the ten-minute battle scenes of later episodes; just lots of stuff happening. Held my complete attention for 20 minutes, which doesn't happen often for cartoons aimed at 9-year-olds.
The Smash Brothers
(2013)
An affecting drama about cartoon characters beating each other up
24 May 2015
Interesting that this doesn't have any reviews. So far, I think it's the best documentary out there about the world of e-sports. I'm not an SSB player, but I found each character compelling for different reasons; in four hours, you'll get to know seven people very deeply, each of whom has their own playstyle and personal flaws. Maybe 1/4 of the screen time is spent on SSB gameplay, which becomes more and more interesting over the course of the series as you learn more about what's going on.
If you play or watch any kind of e-sports (I'm a Starcraft guy, myself), definitely give this a shot. But the film can appeal to others, as well; I have a roommate who is a total non-gamer and football fan, and this blew him away. Be warned, though, that the documentary gets a bit repetitive after the halfway point.
If you play or watch any kind of e-sports (I'm a Starcraft guy, myself), definitely give this a shot. But the film can appeal to others, as well; I have a roommate who is a total non-gamer and football fan, and this blew him away. Be warned, though, that the documentary gets a bit repetitive after the halfway point.
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