Monday, December 16, 2013

Kill la Kill is just what I expected...and I love it


It's silly, zany, goofy, serious, action-packed, risque and all-around interesting.  I finally sat down to watch some Kill la Kill.  After checking out the first 3 episodes, I can definitely say that I'm hooked.  I knew the people involved with the project would most likely tickle all my anime fancies, but I never expected them to do that so early on.

Kill la Kill seems like a very smart mix of crazy and endearing.  There's an interesting story tucked behind the over-the-top action and outrageous characters.  Like most good anime, there's plenty of visual eye-candy and dazzling moments to please fans of the genre, but there's a lot more going on under the surface.  You have to be willing to sit there and actually focus on the storytelling, rather than taking the content at just face value.

If you are going with just face value, you're still in for a treat.  My good LORD is Kill la Kill gorgeous.  Some of the action scenes are insanely well put together.  The best part is, I can actually follow what's going on!  Sometimes anime features look amazing, but it can be very hard to keep up with and process the action.  Kill la Kill does a great job of drawing your attention to the important bits that fly around in a flurry of madness.

The characters are all so well designed as well!  I feel like there aren't too many anime trope characters here.  Some unique twists on standard designs, as well as character stylings that feel new and fresh.  Personalities shine through with the character designs, as well as the other way around.  Characters are fun to listen to and watch.  They hold your attention and play an important role in building up the main character.  A great cast of personality thus far.

Of course, there's a very heavy helping of fan-service here, but I'll give some credit where credit's due.  Kill la Kill does have a reason behind the barely-there clothing of some of the characters.  Some might say it's just a shameless way to justify scantily-clad characters, but at least you get some substance behind the provocative outfits.  That's not to say that there aren't some voyeuristic camera angles at work here, but I imagine most anime fans see this as par for the course.  It might turn some people off and I can respect that, but they're sure missing out on some great content otherwise.

Kill la Kill has left a very strong impression on me early on.  Can't wait to see where the series goes from here.  I'm so into it that I'll probably just marathon the rest of the series tonight!

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Are you excited for Space Dandy?


Space Dandy is intriguing to me...but I can't decide if I am really excited for it.  It has a crew behind it that has created some amazing stuff.  There's no denying the pedigree of those involved, but the trailers I've seen make me think that the anime can't make up its mind as to what it wants to be.  Part campy, part serious can certainly work, but I fear the series is going to leave me wanting more of one side than the other.

I'll definitely give it a try and am looking forward to see some episodes to form a true opinion, but right now I'm more cautious than optimistic.  What do you think of Space Dandy?  Does it look like something that will tickle your fancy?

Monday, December 2, 2013

Adult Swim airing Akira this Saturday, puts together fantastic promo


Once again, Adult Swim absolutely nails it with their promos.  If you didn't know, Adult Swim is showing the remastered version of Akira this Saturday night, which is part of a month-long event dedicated to Saturday night anime movies.  I'm sure all the picks will be top-notch, as will the promos for them.

Sunday, December 1, 2013

Lupin the Third goes live-action


You're looking at a sneak-peek of actor Shun Oguri portraying none other than Lupin himself in an upcoming live-action adaptation of Lupin the Third.  I'm ashamed to admit that I knew nothing of the Lupin series until Adult Swim started airing it years ago, but I quickly became a huge fan.  I find the cast of characters in the Lupin franchise is a wonderfully fleshed-out and interesting gang.  It's what makes the series so much fun to watch!  It's hard to dislike watching the bad guys when they're so damn personable!

As far as a live-action adaptation goes, I'm really down for anything.  I wouldn't say that the idea is one I'm jumping out of my skin to see, but I'll certainly give it a chance.  I've gotten plenty of enjoyment out of the animated antics of Lupin and the gang, some of which would certainly translate to real-life.  I just hope that this upcoming movie adaptation doesn't lose some of the personality and wackiness that the show offers.

That's my two cents on Lupin the Third's live-action film, but what do you have to say?  Share a tweet at @animeyour way or comment here and let us know!