That's all, thank you for reading this. Now, on to hopefully more interesting stuff:
Ripper Street Season 2
I've only seen the first two episodes of Ripper Street's second season, but so far, its shaping up to be a worthy follow-up to the first one. This season has a more serialized feel than its predecessor, thanks in no small part to the introduction of our first seasonal big bad in the form of the diabolical Jedediah Shine, who makes a worthy foe for Reid, Bennett and Jackson. Joseph Merrick, the Elephant Man, appears a supporting character in these episodes and his bravery and compassion for others stands in sharp contrast to Shine's loathsome evil. Merrick also gets what has to be the most emotionally powerful scene the show's had, so far, in which he manages to persuade another man not to commit murder-suicide with his infant son. I confess that I got something in my eye during that scene.
On a more negative note, there was one moment in the first episode that made me groan audibly: Its the scene where Reid tells Shine that they have a witness against him. Said witness being Shine's hospitalized partner-in-crime. Naturally that leads to Shine murdering the witness, while casting suspicions on Reid in the process. Yeah, that struck me as an uncharacteristically dumb move on Reid's part.
On a more negative note, there was one moment in the first episode that made me groan audibly: Its the scene where Reid tells Shine that they have a witness against him. Said witness being Shine's hospitalized partner-in-crime. Naturally that leads to Shine murdering the witness, while casting suspicions on Reid in the process. Yeah, that struck me as an uncharacteristically dumb move on Reid's part.
Mind Game (Re-watch)
The first time I watched Mind Game, I adored it. This time, however, my feelings for it have cooled somewhat. Visually, the movie is very interesting and its message; that you should live life to its fullest and follow your dreams is certainly a worthwhile one. That said, not all the weirdness of the movie clicked with me and there are some sequences that I felt went on for too long. Its an interesting movie and one that I think every fan of animation should watch at least once, but I wouldn't consider it the best among Yuasa's work.
The Singing Detective
I finally got around to watch this classic mini-series by Dennis Potter and I wasn't disappointed. The Singing Detective is the story of Philip Marlow (excellenty portrayed by Michael Gambon), a writer of mystery-fiction, who is undergoing treatment for his psoriatic arthritis . In order to find some means of escape from the hospital-bed that he's confined to, Marlow imagines himself as the hero of one of his novels: The Singing Detective. The show blends the real-world setting of the hospital with Marlow's hardboiled-detective fantasies, as well as flashbacks to his childhood during World War 2 and the events that shaped him into the man we see in the present.
The Singing Detective is one of those shows that defy easy categorization: It is at once a mystery-story, a character-study a musical with some dash of autobiography (Potter himself suffered from the same ailment as his protagonist) thrown in for some good measure. I enjoyed it immensely, my only minor complaint is that I sort of wished that the actors would have actually sung the songs instead of miming to old recordings.
The Leviathan Chronicles Season 1
I'm cheating a bit here (as much as you can cheat on your own blog) because technically there's no way to watch The Leviathan Chronicles. You see, its neither a movie nor a show, but an audio-drama. However, its easily as good as any show I've listed here (and in certain cases even better than some of them) and ranks among the best audio-dramas I've listened to. The voice-acting and sound-effects for this drama are top-notch and the plot, revolving around a young scientist, who learns that she's a member of a race immortals is well-told and engaging. The entire show can be found here, I strongly suggest that you give it a listen.
Rectify Season 1
Another excellent show. Rectify is about Daniel Holden, a man who spent twenty years on death-row for the murder and rape of his girlfriend, but is released when DNA evidence is revealed that points to his innocence. The show then focuses on Daniel getting reunited with his family (including some new family members) and his attempts to a re-adjust to a normal life, all while resentment against him keeps simmering beneath the surface, because not everyone is convinced of Daniel's innocence.
Let me say this, if you go into Rectify expecting there to be some hint as to "who-done it", toward the end of the first season, you're going to end up being disappointed. This show is not so much a mystery as it is a character drama, something it excels at.
Rick & Morty Season 2
I really liked the first season of Rick & Morty and the second has definitely lived up to my expectations, so far. My personal favorite episode, not just of this season, but the show in general, was the one with the alien parasites. If Rick & Morty continues to uphold this level quality it might well end up being my favorite western-cartoon for adults since The Venture Bros.
Shirobako
Here's something I haven't seen before: An anime that's actually about making an anime and the work that goes into it. Its also the story about Aoi and her childhood friends and their struggle to break into the anime industry, whether its as producers, animators, voice-actors or what have you. This show definitely has potential to become one of my new favorites; the characters are by and large likable and interesting, making it easy to root for them to succeed and as a layman, I find the work-related aspects of the show to be very interesting and informative as well. All in all, an excellent slice-of-life series.
Well, that's it for this time. One final thing: I've decided to drop Yuri Kuma Arashi (or at least put it on hold for awhile). I only have three episodes left, but right now I just can't be bothered with the show anymore. Its not that I think its bad per-se, I just don't feel that it offers me anything that I couldn't get from watching any of Ikuhara's previous shows, like Utena or Penguin Drum again. Those shows also featured much more interesting characters. Sure, you could argue that since Utena had 39 episodes and Yuri Kuma only has 12, the former had more time to develop its cast. However, I'd like to offer a counter-argument to that: Utena didn't need twelve episodes to make its characters interesting.
The Singing Detective
I finally got around to watch this classic mini-series by Dennis Potter and I wasn't disappointed. The Singing Detective is the story of Philip Marlow (excellenty portrayed by Michael Gambon), a writer of mystery-fiction, who is undergoing treatment for his psoriatic arthritis . In order to find some means of escape from the hospital-bed that he's confined to, Marlow imagines himself as the hero of one of his novels: The Singing Detective. The show blends the real-world setting of the hospital with Marlow's hardboiled-detective fantasies, as well as flashbacks to his childhood during World War 2 and the events that shaped him into the man we see in the present.
The Singing Detective is one of those shows that defy easy categorization: It is at once a mystery-story, a character-study a musical with some dash of autobiography (Potter himself suffered from the same ailment as his protagonist) thrown in for some good measure. I enjoyed it immensely, my only minor complaint is that I sort of wished that the actors would have actually sung the songs instead of miming to old recordings.
The Leviathan Chronicles Season 1
I'm cheating a bit here (as much as you can cheat on your own blog) because technically there's no way to watch The Leviathan Chronicles. You see, its neither a movie nor a show, but an audio-drama. However, its easily as good as any show I've listed here (and in certain cases even better than some of them) and ranks among the best audio-dramas I've listened to. The voice-acting and sound-effects for this drama are top-notch and the plot, revolving around a young scientist, who learns that she's a member of a race immortals is well-told and engaging. The entire show can be found here, I strongly suggest that you give it a listen.
Rectify Season 1
Another excellent show. Rectify is about Daniel Holden, a man who spent twenty years on death-row for the murder and rape of his girlfriend, but is released when DNA evidence is revealed that points to his innocence. The show then focuses on Daniel getting reunited with his family (including some new family members) and his attempts to a re-adjust to a normal life, all while resentment against him keeps simmering beneath the surface, because not everyone is convinced of Daniel's innocence.
Let me say this, if you go into Rectify expecting there to be some hint as to "who-done it", toward the end of the first season, you're going to end up being disappointed. This show is not so much a mystery as it is a character drama, something it excels at.
Rick & Morty Season 2
I really liked the first season of Rick & Morty and the second has definitely lived up to my expectations, so far. My personal favorite episode, not just of this season, but the show in general, was the one with the alien parasites. If Rick & Morty continues to uphold this level quality it might well end up being my favorite western-cartoon for adults since The Venture Bros.
Shirobako
Here's something I haven't seen before: An anime that's actually about making an anime and the work that goes into it. Its also the story about Aoi and her childhood friends and their struggle to break into the anime industry, whether its as producers, animators, voice-actors or what have you. This show definitely has potential to become one of my new favorites; the characters are by and large likable and interesting, making it easy to root for them to succeed and as a layman, I find the work-related aspects of the show to be very interesting and informative as well. All in all, an excellent slice-of-life series.
Well, that's it for this time. One final thing: I've decided to drop Yuri Kuma Arashi (or at least put it on hold for awhile). I only have three episodes left, but right now I just can't be bothered with the show anymore. Its not that I think its bad per-se, I just don't feel that it offers me anything that I couldn't get from watching any of Ikuhara's previous shows, like Utena or Penguin Drum again. Those shows also featured much more interesting characters. Sure, you could argue that since Utena had 39 episodes and Yuri Kuma only has 12, the former had more time to develop its cast. However, I'd like to offer a counter-argument to that: Utena didn't need twelve episodes to make its characters interesting.
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