I was channel-surfing when I ran into this animated movie. It's a proudly French movie, full of the French sense of style and restraint in every frame. This is one proof that Japan does not have the monopoly on great animation, and that the French still know how to make cool movies.

I'm no good in World War I history, so I had almost no idea who the characters were, aside from assuming they were historic figures (well, from surfing around, at least some of them are). I figure it's a rather loose retelling of actual events. Basically the story was about the race to get at and steal the Russian monarchy's gold, being transported cross-country through China and Mongolia. The two men most after that gold are Rasputin (yes, the one you know) and Corto Maltese. There's also this slight romantic thing going between Corto Maltese and Shanghai-Li, a Chinese young lady who helps them, and also the duchess most responsible for ensuring the treasure gets to its destination. Historical knowledge of the people would be very helpful (so you're not so clueless, like me), but is not necessary, to understand this movie.

For someone like me who has been immersed in anime for way too long, what immediately strikes is how different spoken French is from spoken English, never mind spoken Japanese. It's incredibly monotone. That is not to say that the voice acting was horrible; on the contrary, it was executed very well, just not the way I am used to. Much of the tension is presented not in how loudly or how emphatically a sentence is said, but in how deliberately it is said. It's disconcerting if you're not used to it, because nobody is raising their voice when you expect them to. But it does maintain the suspense.

The characters were well-developed. Personality was given to each of the historical characters, making the audience relate to them as human beings, and not as history book people. Everyone had their own motives in what they did, and these were presented without having to explain everything out loud. I liked how Rasputin was presented, disarmingly friendly at one moment then dangerous and murderous the next.

The animation is very detailed and deliberate. By that I mean, everything about it was made to set a mood and create a scene, at each moment, from big gun exchanges, train wrecks, to quiet confrontations. You can feel the restrained emotions in each of the characters from the animation. It was incredible for me, because not even a lot of anime can do that. This is most helpful, since you cannot get a lot out of the French dialogue in terms of emotion. It is also pleasing to see that cell animation is not completely dead yet, and was used well in this film. Computer-generated animation was quite minimal, restricted to train tracks, gun smoke, and train cars. Cell and CGI were blended nicely, such that they balanced each other and neither stood out.

The best thing about the animation for me is the respect for Chinese culture. Chinese characters are presented the way Chinese people are drawn by fellow Chinese, without Western bias or racism. You can even see samples of Chinese art, in the way the landscape is shown, with characteristic brushstrokes, cloud fading techniques, and others.

The music was unobtrusive but good. It's a good mix of Russian, Chinese, and French orchestral music. It immerses you further in the era of World War I, and makes you focus on the action.

Overall, what drew me in and made me watch is how, SERIOUS, everything was. There was nothing about the film that made me feel that it was directed at young people, like in most anime. The film was made for adults. It ran like a well-planned and well-made French film -- only animated. It gave me the feeling that if train wrecks and snow tramps weren't so hard to film, this would have been a live-action movie, and may have had a place at Cannes.

If you run into this on Star Movies, understand that you have to watch this the way Texhnolyze is watched, not the way a Disney movie is watched. Have your eyes and ears on full attention, and you will be rewarded by enjoying a great, non-anime, animated film. And you might even root for the guy who's supposed to be a thief.

Links, links:

http://www.cortomaltese.com/ (unfortunately, French!)
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0259134/
http://www.awn.com/mag/issue3.6/3.6pages/3.6bekinscorto.html
http://www.fact-index.com/c/co/corto_maltese.html

I swear. I know a real human being much like Sousuke. People like him DO exist.

A little intro into Full Metal Panic itself first. It's a little into the future, and the army has mobile-suit-like things. They're best operated when you have people with special powers in your command, people like Kaname Chidori. So Chidori has to be protected by the military, by someone like Sousuke. Short explanation, Sagara Sousuke lived most of his young life much like Heero Yuy of Gundam Wing, living and breathing the army life. Despite all the differences between an independent young woman and a stiff soldier, Chidori and Sousuke somehow manage to get a nice little romantic relationship going, and to save the world.

When everything is said and done in the original series, Sousuke is forced to keep bodyguarding Chidori, and forced to have an absolutely normal life as a high school student. Which is sheer torture to him, to Chidori, and to everyone else forced to tolerate his existence every day. You see, Sousuke treats everything in life like a military operation!

Fumoffu is a comedy sequel to Full Metal Panic, and takes off almost immediately where FMP ends. There are 13 stand-alone episodes, but characters introduced in earlier eps show up again later. Fumoffu is not essential to FMP knowledge, but it does give a more personal look into Chidori and Sousuke's relationship. It's understandable and enjoyable even with little knowledge of the FMP characters, but of course you'll laugh harder if you do know them. Besides, Fumoffu does not re-introduce the characters.

If you're looking for the Full Metal Panic fast-paced mecha action, you won't find it here, and that will probably turn off a few people. If however you're looking for more Chidori-screaming and Sousuke-bashing, it's here and plenty. Fumoffu is chock-full of fan-service, slapstick, anime parodies, movie parodies, and crazy situations. Even the most dense and jaded anime fan will laugh. HARD.

Do yourself a favor and get Fumoffu in Japanese. Probably even more than in the original FMP, you get to appreciate Tomokazu Seki's voicework for Sousuke. He has the role of clueless stiff military-type guy perfectly right. That's very crucial to the comedic effect, as you would realize when the dubbing doesn't get it. You can't just give Sousuke a voice; you have to understand how different a military-oriented person can think. Therefore I did not enjoy Fumoffu in Tagalog as much as I did subtitled.

The animation is as nice as in the original, with Gonzo's great handling of computer-assisted animation. There are a few places where the quality goes down a bit, but it's no big deal.

Most memorable moments:
-- The mascot suit.
-- Chidori wearing a kimono, and looking VERY pretty.
-- The locker bombings.
-- The hot spring bombings!

If you liked FMP for the character interaction, or everything as a whole, do go on and enjoy Fumoffu. If you liked only the more serious aspects of FMP......well.......whenever you feel down in the dumps, pop this in and have yourself a great laugh. You won't regret it.

I now know what Lion-san is. He's undead. Not exactly a ghost, and not a spirit. He's the disquieted soul that has to finish something before he's allowed to die in peace. Such a nice guy, really. If ONLY that lion mask wasn't so big! ^_^

My opinions on the artwork and music remain unchanged. The artwork is simple and consistent, and I like that. The music hits the spot perfectly.

I agree with the gripe in a review I read, that the characterization for the story ultimately is unbalanced. Because Asumi's story was developed and explained thoroughly, it left those for her friends terribly hanging. At the end of the show, I still don't know a lot about K, Shu, and Shin, besides their usual reactions to things. And the ending was, OK I guess, but not enough for me. Also, how's Asumi's dad after all this? I did like it that Takato was made to understand things a lot better while being with Asumi, and Asumi understand life better with him around.

Story-wise, I appreciated the way they showed that a dream grows up with the dreamer. New circumstances happen that can make or break a dream. I also appreciated the research that probably went into making a story about astronauts, and the training they have to go through. It therefore turns out both realistic and futuristic, in a nice way.

I do not recommend doing a marathon run of Twin Spica, like you would for most action-packed anime. This will most likely frustrate you, and make you notice that over-focus on Asumi more. A regular, daily 30-minute dose is quite nice, though. Rest assured that the many flashbacks in the middle of the show do have a point to them.

Twin Spica is a good representative of the kind of anime NHK usually picks: a nice family-oriented little story. It gives nice and warm fuzzy feelings. It's probably a different pace from what most people are used to, and it does have its faults, but it is really nice. I still recommend this, especially to those who want to remember why they follow their dreams.

Best moments:

-- Lion shows his face in the first episode
-- The Tsukashi story (a real tearjerker)
-- Norika opening up to Asumi's old friend

I'm on air, I'm manic, I'm trying not to remember something so as not to be depressed. ^^ So allow me to give a partial review of the music to be found in Gackt's new album Love Letter. I've managed to get a few (not all). I hope you like it.

-- Aritake no Ai De
This song creates a BAD Last Song Syndrome! ^_^ It keeps ringing in your head, in a nice way. I like how it's nice and bouncy and happy. It keeps the blues away. It's a simple melody, with simple acoustics and clapping.

-- Peace
Simple guitar work and Gackt's tenor voice. It doesn't get any simpler than this, and it works well for this song. The way he hits the high notes in this song is really good.

-- Kimi ni Aitakute
This one makes me want to hug somebody who needs a hug badly. I like the synthesizers here, which is used not too gratitiously. I also like Gackt's voice in this one, nice and rounded.

-- Sakura Sou
The initial impression this song gives is: SHORT. Oddly short. Just when you're starting to finally get what the song is about, it ends! It gives a music-box feel, with the tinkly music and Gackt's voice recorded with the sound it would have on a gramophone. It's really cute with the La-la-la, but it can give the creeps sometimes. One thing I did not like is how hoarse he sounds in the la-la-la parts.

-- Love Letter
My first impression when I first heard this: Gackt has definitely gone to the dark side now, and made a very mushy song. ^^ Considering that most Filipino mushy-type songs are formulated much the same way this one is, it made me think that Pinoy artists do have a good chance for international exposure if given that chance. I like the orchestrations, but you notice how scratchy Gackt's voice can occasionally get.

(added March 3, '05)-- Kono yore ga owaru mae ni
This is the song with the Aritake no ai de single. This is the only thing I can say: Gackt, dear sir, you really should have released this as a single by itself, and made lots of money from radio airplay. This in my humble opinion is even nicer than Love Letter. I liked the construction of the song better, me being an acoustic-loving, mushy-song-loving soul. Nice guitar work, great orchestral feel with a slow beat in the middle, good synthesizers applied. His voice hits high and low notes equally well here.

As of right now, none of the songs I've heard have the potential to become an anime theme. They don't give the feel of doing that. As most of Gackt's songs go, they can stand by themselves, but I figure they're really nice to hear as a group in the Love Letter album.

I apologize if this review is mostly ranting. I'll get to my normal self after a while and make a decent review for something. In the meantime, I hope you like what you read, and go get your copies of Love Letter already.

(added) Link to lyrics translations: http://www.livejournal.com/users/darcenciel/450830.html#cutid6

This one of those famous movies I keep telling myself I'll watch, but never get to watch for one reason or another. I finally got to watch it, for a psychiatry assignment.

First of all, anyone younger than 18 has no business watching this movie. It has a lot of violent and sexual content, and deals with a case that is definitely not for even younger teenagers.

In a story based on a novel, Richard Gere plays one of his many lawyer roles in this movie, acting as the defense for a 19-year old runaway (Edward Norton) accused of murdering an archbishop. It seems like an open-and-shut case, but the hotshot attorney thinks there's something more to this case than is immediately obvious, and wants to prove that. What with talk of pornography, coverups, and multiple personality disorder, he might just be right.

This is one of the movies that placed Edward Norton on the Hollywood star chart, with very good reason. It must have been very tough to act crazy. And not just any kind of crazy, but multiple personality disorder! We were all medical students watching the movie, but we were convinced of the problem he had. It's tough enough to act as it is, but act like you're acting?! Incredible, I say, incredible. Also incredible is how the final plot twist makes complete sense through the way he acted in the whole movie.

Richard Gere is really good in this movie, too, playing the lawyer who wants to redeem himself and hopefully win some TV airtime as well, and get back into his girlfriend's good graces. But despite his big role, he plays second fiddle to Edward Norton's role. I most appreciated his performance in the confrontation scene, when Norton's character attacks him. I liked him best at the scene with the famous lines, "That's it, THAT's how I want you to look!"

Directing for the movie overall was really good. Everyone was convincing in their roles, and each receives the audience's sympathy. Emotions were controlled where appropriate and explosive at exactly the right moments. I most appreciated the fact that while this movie is cerebral, and requires full attention to the dialogue, it is not dragged down by the dialogue, and moves at an even pace.

Cinematography was also very nice. Each little nuance of emotion was captured, and suspenseful imagery was created without too much fuss. I most liked the cityscapes, as well as the work for the chase scene.

The music makes me remember that this is a movie from the early 1990's, when synthesized music was a staple of the 80's. Nonetheless, it adds to the suspence appropriately, and is generally unobtrusive.

Many years after its initial release, Primal Fear is still a great movie to watch if you're after a good murder case movie. It holds up to the hype it had back then, and makes you understand the respect it now has among movie buffs. Watch if you have the chance.

From the .hack people comes a series.....that is just plain weird.

Layla Ashley is the Avenger, a young lady and one of the last to be born normally in a world where no one can procreate. Her parents were killed in a big explosion, and now she wants revenge for that, against the people responsible. She also wants to protect a special android child that befriends her, who will be harmed by those same people. But majority of the responsible people are now the recognized leaders of the colonies in Mars. They have to be defeated in established gladiator deathmatches.

Never mind that Speedy is not given much character, never mind that Nay was not correctly explained. Never mind that they did not thoroughly explain why the Original Dozen suddenly have special capabilities. Around the middle I wanted only one thing: to like Layla. As the hero of the story, I wanted to feel for her, to really understand why she was out to avenge her parents, and to understand why Nay has so much impact on her. But I never did. She was always so stiff and silent and emotionless. I actually understand RK's Saitou better, for all that's he is so cold and calculating. I understood Texhnolyze's Ichise better than Layla, and he's even quieter than Layla! That's not good.

Story progression was not done well either. It is not really clear where Layla is going at any particular time. The final plot twist left me with a big HUH? Sympathy for the Original Dozen was not provided well enough. Big things happen to Nay all too suddenly. Characters appear and disappear without being explained. Too little work was done to explain the Mars colonies, the android systems, and the reason behind the gladiator fights. In short, too many unanswered questions, left unanswered.

This anime is also an example of background music jarring with the emotional impact of certain scenes. The theme songs were distracting when played at critical moments. Maybe it's just the overuse of minor keys in all the songs that got to me. In any case, the style of using theme songs in important scenes worked better for .hack//sign than for Avenger.

Avenger tries to be too many things, and for me, achieves none of its goals. I didn't get what theme they wanted to show, I did not feel for the characters, I did not understand a lot about their world. Maybe part of the problem lies in the Animax dubbing, which is lackluster. Still, the problem goes beyond bad dubbing, but extends into overall bad planning for the anime.

I hate to say it about an anime I tracked for majority of 13 episodes. But it has to be said.

Skip it.