Comments on: Anime at the Leeds Film Festival 2009

By: gaguri

gaguri — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 04:00:57 +0000

Yea I thought Tweeny Witches had a writing that was really rushed and well, not so polished to be honest, which is an immense shame because it was one of the best looking mahou shoujo show I’ve seen. If Studio 4c fixed that problem (somewhat) I suppose that’s another reason to watch First Squad.

By: Xerox

Xerox — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 23:25:18 +0000

I just finished Summer Wars. I can’t even put into words…how good it was…need to re-watch…in higher quality….

By: vendredi

vendredi — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 10:45:58 +0000

What’s fascinating about First Squad! is that not only is it a joint venture sponsored by a Russian company – in Russian no less, but it actually manages to be halfway coherent for a Studio 4C work. I’ve found with a lot of 4C stuff there are a lot of awesomely animated sequences that are connected rather tenuously, in a manner that feels disjointed or rushed – Tweeny Witches is a good example of this. Breaking up each sequence with the live action documentary bits actually helped with the pacing, I found.

By: Martin

Martin — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 21:38:06 +0000

@Ghostlightning: there are serious issues addressed in Ponyo, but as is often the case it doesn’t get in the way of enjoying the story. Miyazaki’s female characters are always stronger and tougher than the males ones though; whether it’s a conscious thing on his part I don’t know, but it’s always great to watch!

@gaguri: the fact that Ponyo is entirely hand-drawn (Ghibli had already disbanded their CGI department iirc) makes it all the more impressive artistically. As for Summer Wars, the only problem was the online world taking too much screen time (in my opinion, at least) and a cast of characters that was a little too large. I’m dying to do that full post on it, but so few of us in the English-speaking fandom have watched it there isn’t much point yet.

@Bateszi: First Squad is something that shouldn’t be taken seriously at all; it’s an enjoyable movie but one to be enjoyed purely as a piece of cool-looking cinema. A lot like Spriggan, yeah. And Summer Wars really was good…I just don’t want to hype it up for you and leave you disappointed!

@Xerox: go watch Summer Wars ASAP! I wish I could say when the Japanese DVD release (and hence fansubs) will be out while we’re waiting for an international one, but googling has so far yielded nothing. EDIT: there are fansubs floating around but I can’t vouch for their quality (want to rewatch this so bad now). I’m interested in WW2 history to funnily enough, which actually made First Squad even more interesting for me.

By: Xerox

Xerox — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 13:44:50 +0000

Have to, have to watch Summer Wars. It’s been on my To Watch list since forever and you just closed the deal for me. As for First Squad, I have a deep and absolute love for WWII and I’m very, very iffy about seeing it. Aww, who am I kidding. I’m gonna end up watching it anyway…XD!

By: bateszi

bateszi — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 15:14:25 +0000

Yeah, I think that the harsh criticism aimed at First Squad is more about people just wanting to jump on 4°C's reputation for pretentiousness (which a shame, really.) I guess people tend to forget that they were also behind a flick like Spriggan, which was a similarly big, clunky Hollywood-style extravaganza. So, cool to read that you enjoyed it, Martin; I think yours is the first review that I've read that is very much seeing it for what it is. O AN SUMMA WARZ LOOkS LIEK WIN!1

By: gaguri

gaguri — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 04:33:30 +0000

I think the varying level of details in Ponyo is interesting that sometimes it’s really abstract, while sometimes it’s brimming with little meticulous details decorating the screen. I didn’t read too much into the cynism, but stories and characters aside, I thought it was a feat of brilliance in terms of design and animation, and its wonderfully animated waves are sure to inspire many animators to come.

And I’m glad you seemed to have enjoyed Summer Wars more than I did, perhaps because of that infinitely better screen resolution + no annoying Korean fonts that are just TOO BIG AND DISTRACTING. Last night I had the fortune (?) of watching the movie 2012 at theatre with some folks as well, and its jarring and forced drama was bit easier to swallow/laugh at (not that there was anything too forced in Summer Wars, since they were all good, just that it wasn’t the focus of movie by the end and did not have the power of Tokikake). So it looks like the ticket price to the festival really paid off? (haha…)

And you’re right in that, while there are differences between SW and Tokikake, it’s still Hosada’s work and there are little nuances and stylistic elements that made his previous work so enjoyable and charming.

By: ghostlightning

ghostlightning — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 22:52:57 +0000

I wish we had film fests like this too. Summer Wars seems very interesting indeed.

I agree with what you said about Ponyo, and I appreciate your interpretation of the domestic concerns. In the end it’s all good — because Miyazaki wrote (writes) good-hearted people, if bumbling fathers. Srsly the mothers did far better in this film.