I quite enjoyed this film. It was charming with a great cast, Henry Cavill was a pretty good incarnation of the great detective himself, Millie Bobby Brown was quite good in the title role. The film does have its issues like the 4th wall breaking by Enola felt intrusive at times, I get the director was trying to find a witty way around the fact the books are in first person but I don't think it was needed, other than that and some issues, I quite liked the film and would like to see the other 5 books in the Enola Holmes series adapted.
Reviews
16 Reviews
Fist of the North Star
(1984–1988)
No Miyazaki but beats many of the newer Shounen titles
16 November 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Fist Of The North Star, what can I say? It's an anime I feel doesn't receive much appreciation from certain groups outside Japan due to 2 factors. First is the horrible dub by US distributor MANGA with a completely bad change in music background and a lame rockish replacement for the Japanese opening and ending theme songs used in the US dub. The second being the animated movie, which tries to tell the first half of the manga and anime's story in one movie while also removing important characters and events that were in the series that it was so hard to follow.
Set in a post apocalyptic world where the Earth is barren and the strong survive by preying on the weak, the series follows the journey of Kenshiro, the successor of Hokuto Shinken (Divine Fist of the North Star), a secret martial arts style that allows its practitioner to destroy an opponent's body from within by striking their secret pressure points, often resulting in a violent and gruesome death. Kenshiro uses his skills to protect the weak and innocent against the numerous villains that threaten their survival while seeking to rescue his love Yuria who was taken from him by his once close friend Shin, master of the Nanto Seiken (Sacred Fist of the South Star).
Plot sounds simple, right? It also seems simple in the first 30 episodes but it isn't, deep in the story is a tragic plot about men who grew up as brothers destined by fate to fight to the death to see who is the true successor to the Hokuto Shinken school of martial arts. It's sounds like something out of an old school Kung Fu movie and I like it. Tetsuo Hara and Buronson, creators of the original comic book claimed they were highly influenced by Mad Max and Bruce Lee movies.
Even though many of the antagonists are your typical one dimensional evil and cruel villains, that's not always the case however, Raoh the main antagonist of the series is more dimensional than he seems.
Of course, the animation seems to be a big issue for some people, well it was done in 1984 so I don't really see the argument about it since it's the typical TV animation of that era in Japan.
The soundtrack in the original Japanese version is truly fitting with an awesome opening theme. Unfortunately all that was replaced with a mediocre Rock soundtrack in the US dub.
However, the anime has certain issues against it, the character designs need a little getting used to and may not be enjoyed by everybody but it improves over time and actually fits the mood of the anime.
Then, we have the usual issue common in anime, that is the issue of filler episodes especially in the beginning, you see in the comic, the first story arc involving Kenshiro's final fight with Shin only lasted about 25 chapters, that's roughly about the first 2 volumes out of the whole 27 volumes, however the animators decided to extend this with anime exclusive story lines that had Kenshiro fight Shin's subordinates (some were actually either anime exclusive villains or not part of Shin's force at all in the comic), this brings me to my second problem with the anime as it seems to drag on before getting to the important plot points but in my opinion, it's worth it.
I guess I'm mostly positive on the anime is because it got me to read the comic, which has better pace in terms of its plot than its anime adaptation however in my opinion I take the FOTNS anime series over new wave animes like Naruto anyday. Overall, it had heart and soul, which is truly evident near the end, which is something titles like Naruto seem to lack in my opinion.
I know many may not agree with me and some might actually react with confusion and question my mentality. But that's okay, I understand the series isn't everybody's cup of tea however to me, the anime series is more than some brainless violent kung fu fighting action series because believe it or not, I don't really go for the brainless violent action anime, I believe FOTS is much better than that.
Set in a post apocalyptic world where the Earth is barren and the strong survive by preying on the weak, the series follows the journey of Kenshiro, the successor of Hokuto Shinken (Divine Fist of the North Star), a secret martial arts style that allows its practitioner to destroy an opponent's body from within by striking their secret pressure points, often resulting in a violent and gruesome death. Kenshiro uses his skills to protect the weak and innocent against the numerous villains that threaten their survival while seeking to rescue his love Yuria who was taken from him by his once close friend Shin, master of the Nanto Seiken (Sacred Fist of the South Star).
Plot sounds simple, right? It also seems simple in the first 30 episodes but it isn't, deep in the story is a tragic plot about men who grew up as brothers destined by fate to fight to the death to see who is the true successor to the Hokuto Shinken school of martial arts. It's sounds like something out of an old school Kung Fu movie and I like it. Tetsuo Hara and Buronson, creators of the original comic book claimed they were highly influenced by Mad Max and Bruce Lee movies.
Even though many of the antagonists are your typical one dimensional evil and cruel villains, that's not always the case however, Raoh the main antagonist of the series is more dimensional than he seems.
Of course, the animation seems to be a big issue for some people, well it was done in 1984 so I don't really see the argument about it since it's the typical TV animation of that era in Japan.
The soundtrack in the original Japanese version is truly fitting with an awesome opening theme. Unfortunately all that was replaced with a mediocre Rock soundtrack in the US dub.
However, the anime has certain issues against it, the character designs need a little getting used to and may not be enjoyed by everybody but it improves over time and actually fits the mood of the anime.
Then, we have the usual issue common in anime, that is the issue of filler episodes especially in the beginning, you see in the comic, the first story arc involving Kenshiro's final fight with Shin only lasted about 25 chapters, that's roughly about the first 2 volumes out of the whole 27 volumes, however the animators decided to extend this with anime exclusive story lines that had Kenshiro fight Shin's subordinates (some were actually either anime exclusive villains or not part of Shin's force at all in the comic), this brings me to my second problem with the anime as it seems to drag on before getting to the important plot points but in my opinion, it's worth it.
I guess I'm mostly positive on the anime is because it got me to read the comic, which has better pace in terms of its plot than its anime adaptation however in my opinion I take the FOTNS anime series over new wave animes like Naruto anyday. Overall, it had heart and soul, which is truly evident near the end, which is something titles like Naruto seem to lack in my opinion.
I know many may not agree with me and some might actually react with confusion and question my mentality. But that's okay, I understand the series isn't everybody's cup of tea however to me, the anime series is more than some brainless violent kung fu fighting action series because believe it or not, I don't really go for the brainless violent action anime, I believe FOTS is much better than that.
UFO Robo Grendizer
(1975–1977)
Got A Lot Of Arabian Viewers Like Me Into Anime
21 January 2009
Warning: Spoilers
One of my all time favourites! It was between the late 70's or the early 80's. A special cartoon show from Japan came out of nowhere and quickly won the hearts of Arab children everywhere, that show was UFO Robot Grendizer.
From the mind of Mazinger Z, Cutey Honey, Getter Robo and Devilman creator Go Nagai, comes a story that chronicles the tale of Duke Fleed, a young alien prince from a now destroyed alien planet who lands on planet Earth and landed in Mount Fuji, Japan. Wounded, he was rescued by Dr. Umon of The Space Science Lab.
Taking up the name Daisuke Umon, he began working in a ranch near the Lab helping out Hikaru Makiba an ordinary girl who helps out in Shirakaba farm with her UFO obsessed father Danbi Makiba and her little brother Goro. Duke Freed wanted to live a peaceful life, but when he realised that the Vegans, the same alien force that conquered his home planet have selected Earth as their next target, he is forced to use Grendizer, a robot built on planet Freed and which helped escape from his home planet to fight against the Vegan invasion. He isn't alone in his battle, joining him is Mazinger Z's Kouji Kabuto who unfortunately doesn't use Mazinger in this show, Hikaru joins in the fight and near the end he is joined by his long lost sister Maria Freed.
If you're expecting this to be another campy Go Nagai super robot show, well prepare to be surprised, this 72 episode anime made in 1975 has a lot of great drama, wonderful character development and beautiful music score especially the ones used to give the perfect atmosphere for a tragic scene which occurs a lot in the show. One of the many reasons why Grendizer became such an enormous hit in Arabic speaking countries was because it was the first "Serious" cartoon Arabs have ever seen and something different to other cartoons that were shown at that time like Disney, Looney Toons, Popeye and Tom & Jerry.
UFO Robot Grendizer could be seen as an Anti-War cartoon as it shows the horrors of wars (Not as shocking as Gundam shows or Ideon)as Duke Fleed hates war, fighting, and destruction.
Mazinger Z and Mazinkaiser fans would be disappointed that Kouji isn't using Mazinger Z in his battle but he is still an important character, him and Daisuke started on the wrong foot but then became a reliable friend and has helped out Daisuke/Duke when he needed help. Hikaru started out as a usual damsel in distress type of role but with more character but then she becomes a member of the team and gets her own ship and is quite the fighter. Maria, Duke's lost sister appears in the later half of the show then developed feelings for Kouji and was also hinted that he became attracted to her as well. This become a running gag in many Super Robot Wars games as well in the Dynamic Heroes e-click manga that Maria and main female Mazinger Z character and Diana A pilot Sayaka Yumi are rivals for Kouji's attention.
The other characters are great Umon and his crew at the centre serve as the men behind the gadgets as well as Umon plays something as a father figure to Daisuke. Hikaru's father Danbi serves as a great comic relief of the show, who started from UFO freak to a caring father who would do anything to save his family while still being the comic relief.
The Vegan empire had a lot of great villains like Lord Vega who is your usual Galactic dictator, but not all of them are pure evil, some do it because of their loyalty to their empire like General Zuril, while were forced to fight believing that Grendizer was an evil threat to their planet like in the episode when Vegan assigned a group of young Vegans mostly children who were trained to be fight and who were learnt to believe from Vega that Grendizer was an evil force bent on destroying the Galaxy. While did because they were either brainwashed or doing it to save their planets from an Vegan attack.
Although not as popular in Japan as Go Nagai's other Super Robot classics Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger and Getter Robo, Grendizer is often credited as one of the major contributors to popularising Anime in Central Europe (particularly in France and Italy) where it was called Goldrake. I hear it also holds a strong following in the Quebec part of Canada, Russia and Malta. 26 episodes of the anime were shown on American TV as part of the multi-mecha show Force Five. However, it wasn't a big success in the US.
With all the remakes of Go Nagai works that came out recently, I've been waiting forever for a Grendizer remake. Well, I guess the original anime is satisfying enough.
This anime is a MUST SEE for Mecha, anime and cartoon fans.
From the mind of Mazinger Z, Cutey Honey, Getter Robo and Devilman creator Go Nagai, comes a story that chronicles the tale of Duke Fleed, a young alien prince from a now destroyed alien planet who lands on planet Earth and landed in Mount Fuji, Japan. Wounded, he was rescued by Dr. Umon of The Space Science Lab.
Taking up the name Daisuke Umon, he began working in a ranch near the Lab helping out Hikaru Makiba an ordinary girl who helps out in Shirakaba farm with her UFO obsessed father Danbi Makiba and her little brother Goro. Duke Freed wanted to live a peaceful life, but when he realised that the Vegans, the same alien force that conquered his home planet have selected Earth as their next target, he is forced to use Grendizer, a robot built on planet Freed and which helped escape from his home planet to fight against the Vegan invasion. He isn't alone in his battle, joining him is Mazinger Z's Kouji Kabuto who unfortunately doesn't use Mazinger in this show, Hikaru joins in the fight and near the end he is joined by his long lost sister Maria Freed.
If you're expecting this to be another campy Go Nagai super robot show, well prepare to be surprised, this 72 episode anime made in 1975 has a lot of great drama, wonderful character development and beautiful music score especially the ones used to give the perfect atmosphere for a tragic scene which occurs a lot in the show. One of the many reasons why Grendizer became such an enormous hit in Arabic speaking countries was because it was the first "Serious" cartoon Arabs have ever seen and something different to other cartoons that were shown at that time like Disney, Looney Toons, Popeye and Tom & Jerry.
UFO Robot Grendizer could be seen as an Anti-War cartoon as it shows the horrors of wars (Not as shocking as Gundam shows or Ideon)as Duke Fleed hates war, fighting, and destruction.
Mazinger Z and Mazinkaiser fans would be disappointed that Kouji isn't using Mazinger Z in his battle but he is still an important character, him and Daisuke started on the wrong foot but then became a reliable friend and has helped out Daisuke/Duke when he needed help. Hikaru started out as a usual damsel in distress type of role but with more character but then she becomes a member of the team and gets her own ship and is quite the fighter. Maria, Duke's lost sister appears in the later half of the show then developed feelings for Kouji and was also hinted that he became attracted to her as well. This become a running gag in many Super Robot Wars games as well in the Dynamic Heroes e-click manga that Maria and main female Mazinger Z character and Diana A pilot Sayaka Yumi are rivals for Kouji's attention.
The other characters are great Umon and his crew at the centre serve as the men behind the gadgets as well as Umon plays something as a father figure to Daisuke. Hikaru's father Danbi serves as a great comic relief of the show, who started from UFO freak to a caring father who would do anything to save his family while still being the comic relief.
The Vegan empire had a lot of great villains like Lord Vega who is your usual Galactic dictator, but not all of them are pure evil, some do it because of their loyalty to their empire like General Zuril, while were forced to fight believing that Grendizer was an evil threat to their planet like in the episode when Vegan assigned a group of young Vegans mostly children who were trained to be fight and who were learnt to believe from Vega that Grendizer was an evil force bent on destroying the Galaxy. While did because they were either brainwashed or doing it to save their planets from an Vegan attack.
Although not as popular in Japan as Go Nagai's other Super Robot classics Mazinger Z, Great Mazinger and Getter Robo, Grendizer is often credited as one of the major contributors to popularising Anime in Central Europe (particularly in France and Italy) where it was called Goldrake. I hear it also holds a strong following in the Quebec part of Canada, Russia and Malta. 26 episodes of the anime were shown on American TV as part of the multi-mecha show Force Five. However, it wasn't a big success in the US.
With all the remakes of Go Nagai works that came out recently, I've been waiting forever for a Grendizer remake. Well, I guess the original anime is satisfying enough.
This anime is a MUST SEE for Mecha, anime and cartoon fans.
Spirited Away
(2001)
Spirited Away: Cinematic Masterpiece
12 January 2009
Warning: Spoilers
Note: This is a review I've already posted on Rotten Tomatoes.
When we think of our choices of great filmmakers, the names that come to mind are mostly Cinematic geniuses like Alfred Hitchcock, Francis Cappola, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Akira Kurosawa, Peter Jackson, Stanley Kubrick and would even consider Clerks' director Kevin Smith as one those great filmmakers. However all of the mentioned above along with others not mentioned, are directors of live action, when we discuss great filmmakers of Animation, we usually mention a few like Walt Disney or Chuck Jones. However the one who truly deserves to labeled a Cinematic as well as Animated genius is none other than Hayao Miyazaki.
Hayao Miyazaki's animated classic and Oscar winner "Spirited Away" is definitely a triumph of both imagination and storytelling as well as being possibly the "Greatest" Achievement of Animation to ever be created....... So far...
Kind of an Eastern mixing of Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz, the movie tells the tale of a young girl, whose trip with her parents down an unusual was just the beginning of a mystical and unimaginable journey through a world possibly found in Japanese Mythology.
The animation is really jaw dropping, some of the most beautifully made animated scenes to ever be shown on the big screen. The story is also enchanted with a plot possibly beyond imagination. The characters are also well developed.
Although those who would fully appreciate the film would definitely have considerable knowledge in Japanese Mythology, the film can still be enjoyed by both fans of Animation and Cinema as well. A guaranteed 10/10
When we think of our choices of great filmmakers, the names that come to mind are mostly Cinematic geniuses like Alfred Hitchcock, Francis Cappola, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Akira Kurosawa, Peter Jackson, Stanley Kubrick and would even consider Clerks' director Kevin Smith as one those great filmmakers. However all of the mentioned above along with others not mentioned, are directors of live action, when we discuss great filmmakers of Animation, we usually mention a few like Walt Disney or Chuck Jones. However the one who truly deserves to labeled a Cinematic as well as Animated genius is none other than Hayao Miyazaki.
Hayao Miyazaki's animated classic and Oscar winner "Spirited Away" is definitely a triumph of both imagination and storytelling as well as being possibly the "Greatest" Achievement of Animation to ever be created....... So far...
Kind of an Eastern mixing of Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz, the movie tells the tale of a young girl, whose trip with her parents down an unusual was just the beginning of a mystical and unimaginable journey through a world possibly found in Japanese Mythology.
The animation is really jaw dropping, some of the most beautifully made animated scenes to ever be shown on the big screen. The story is also enchanted with a plot possibly beyond imagination. The characters are also well developed.
Although those who would fully appreciate the film would definitely have considerable knowledge in Japanese Mythology, the film can still be enjoyed by both fans of Animation and Cinema as well. A guaranteed 10/10
A Short Comedy Movie That's Simple But Breathtaking
14 May 2007
Warning: Spoilers
This is one of those times when you discover that you don't need a big budget to create a Cinematic masterpiece. Kingdom of Ultimate Power (K.O.U.P for short) is a perfect example.
Meet Arch (played by Jeremiah Clancy), he was the darling of his film school class, a gifted screenwriter with a golden touch who seemed destined for Movie greatness only to end up as an insufferable know-it-all with a dead end office job who can do everything in the realm of screen writing except write a script. One day while sitting on a park bench giving some of his "Cinematic" sermons, enters Vlad Rifka (Played by Dutch MMA star Bas Rutten), A.K.A. "The Bringer of Death", a retired ultimate fighting champion, who is drawn in by Arch's words of "Cinematic Wisdom" and with cinematic dreams of his own. Like many (real life) ex-athletes, Vlad has his sights set on a Hollywood career and he has come up with an idea for movie, which he believes would be the perfect vehicle to launch his Hollywood career, a religious propaganda action sci-fi epic called "The Kingdom of Ultimate Power" (You know the same kind of stories that you find in B-Movies?). And Vlad is looking for someone to write the script and he picked... You guessed it, Arch. Only one problem (especially for Arch), its one of the "Worst Movie Ideas Anyone Can Come Up With". Any respectable writer would say "no thanks", but not Arch, its just not his style to flatly refuse to write the world's worst script, not that he's actually planning on writing it. The temptation to keep an "interesting" character like Vlad around for his own condescending amusement is too powerful to resist. However, that source of amusement increasingly becomes a source of anxiety and pure insanity (and comedy) as Vlad makes more and more uninvited visits to his writer's apartment and Arch's running out of excuses for not having written a word. This brings out Vlad's serious side that terrifies Arch. No, he doesn't become a serial killing stalker (It's a comedy, you crazy slasher fans) but he does order Arch to write the script or "else" and nobody wants to hear that word especially from an ex-fighter, who had "The Bringer of Death" as his nickname. So now Arch must force himself to summon the creative powers that deserted him long ago. How does it end? I can only tell you this, this movie pure comedy classic from beginning to end.
Done by independent film company Pilot Light Pictures and directed by Pilot's founders Jeremy Buhler and Gustavo Rodríguez, K.O.U.P is one of the best Short movies I've ever seen and should be considered a Cinematic Masterpiece. Directors Buhler and Rodríguez did an amazing job directing this movie and are destined to be Hollywood A List directors. Clancy did a great job playing the now-it-all Arch, director Buhler also did great job playing Arch's film editor friend Jimmy but the real star of the movie was Mixed Martial Art Legend, 3 time King of Pancrase, former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Bas Rutten as the ever annoying and determined Vlad. What Bas does here is pure comic genius that you can't help but love the character, Bas Rutten has proved in this movie to be one of the few athletes who can "ACT". My only disappointment was the ending as I felt it left an opening for a follow up but thats okay especially since Buhler and Rodríguez are currently working on a feature length version of K.O.U.P, which would have a definite conclusion to the story. You can say the short was like a pilot but for a feature length film instead of a TV show.
If you want to see a well made Short movie, a comedy that doesn't go overboard or just plain good movie without the overblown Hollywood touch, then K.O.U.P is the perfect movie to watch. A pure 10 out of 10.
Meet Arch (played by Jeremiah Clancy), he was the darling of his film school class, a gifted screenwriter with a golden touch who seemed destined for Movie greatness only to end up as an insufferable know-it-all with a dead end office job who can do everything in the realm of screen writing except write a script. One day while sitting on a park bench giving some of his "Cinematic" sermons, enters Vlad Rifka (Played by Dutch MMA star Bas Rutten), A.K.A. "The Bringer of Death", a retired ultimate fighting champion, who is drawn in by Arch's words of "Cinematic Wisdom" and with cinematic dreams of his own. Like many (real life) ex-athletes, Vlad has his sights set on a Hollywood career and he has come up with an idea for movie, which he believes would be the perfect vehicle to launch his Hollywood career, a religious propaganda action sci-fi epic called "The Kingdom of Ultimate Power" (You know the same kind of stories that you find in B-Movies?). And Vlad is looking for someone to write the script and he picked... You guessed it, Arch. Only one problem (especially for Arch), its one of the "Worst Movie Ideas Anyone Can Come Up With". Any respectable writer would say "no thanks", but not Arch, its just not his style to flatly refuse to write the world's worst script, not that he's actually planning on writing it. The temptation to keep an "interesting" character like Vlad around for his own condescending amusement is too powerful to resist. However, that source of amusement increasingly becomes a source of anxiety and pure insanity (and comedy) as Vlad makes more and more uninvited visits to his writer's apartment and Arch's running out of excuses for not having written a word. This brings out Vlad's serious side that terrifies Arch. No, he doesn't become a serial killing stalker (It's a comedy, you crazy slasher fans) but he does order Arch to write the script or "else" and nobody wants to hear that word especially from an ex-fighter, who had "The Bringer of Death" as his nickname. So now Arch must force himself to summon the creative powers that deserted him long ago. How does it end? I can only tell you this, this movie pure comedy classic from beginning to end.
Done by independent film company Pilot Light Pictures and directed by Pilot's founders Jeremy Buhler and Gustavo Rodríguez, K.O.U.P is one of the best Short movies I've ever seen and should be considered a Cinematic Masterpiece. Directors Buhler and Rodríguez did an amazing job directing this movie and are destined to be Hollywood A List directors. Clancy did a great job playing the now-it-all Arch, director Buhler also did great job playing Arch's film editor friend Jimmy but the real star of the movie was Mixed Martial Art Legend, 3 time King of Pancrase, former UFC Heavyweight Champion, Bas Rutten as the ever annoying and determined Vlad. What Bas does here is pure comic genius that you can't help but love the character, Bas Rutten has proved in this movie to be one of the few athletes who can "ACT". My only disappointment was the ending as I felt it left an opening for a follow up but thats okay especially since Buhler and Rodríguez are currently working on a feature length version of K.O.U.P, which would have a definite conclusion to the story. You can say the short was like a pilot but for a feature length film instead of a TV show.
If you want to see a well made Short movie, a comedy that doesn't go overboard or just plain good movie without the overblown Hollywood touch, then K.O.U.P is the perfect movie to watch. A pure 10 out of 10.
King of the Braves GaoGaiGar
(1997–1998)
The "Perfect" Super Robot Style Anime!!!!
26 July 2006
Warning: Spoilers
When I mean Super Robot Style, I mean in the sense, fashion and tradition of the good old 1970's Giant Robot anime classics like Go Nagai's classics "Mazinger Z", "Great Mazinger", "Getter Robo" and "UFO Robot Grendizer". These shows were campy and cheesy but in a COOL way! The character's calling out his attacks, tend to use a "menace of the week" format in that the villains introduce a single antagonist at the beginning of the episode that the heroes usually defeat by its end and the most notable characteristic in the Super Robot genre was the relationship between machines and humans; when the anime established from the start the premise that machines and humans could act as one, and interact between each other, this idea resulted in shows like Transformers saga with robots having human characteristics and this resulted in "Yuusha" a famous anime franchise that Gaogaigar is part of. In contrast to "Real Robot" animes like the Gundam franchise and Macross (Robotech), the major themes of Super Robot shows are simply positioned, "Courage" and "Bravery" are shown to overcome any obstacle and conquer all odds.
The King of Braves GaoGaiGar, represented an almost extremist return to the light-hearted, Super Robot form of mecha anime that was the purview of the 1960s and 1970s, introducing a vast number of "nods" to those old trends and concepts.In the first half of the television series, other, minor themes are introduced, nearly all of them ultimately discarded in favor of the main themes of courage and bravery.
There are two main characters in GaoGaiGar. The first is the adopted alien child Mamoru Amami, who was left by Galeon to foster parents as an infant; he possesses the mysterious power of Purification, able to cleanse an individual of Zonder Metal. The second is the cyborg Guy Shishioh, an astronaut whose life was saved by Galeon and his technology when EI-01 first attacked Earth; he is able to combine with Galeon and the GGG-built GaoMachines to become GaoGaiGar. Other characters include Mikoto Utsugi, Guy's love interest and GGG support operator; Kohtaroh Taiga, the charismatic chief of GGG and president of the Space Development Corporation that runs G-Island City; Leo Shishioh, Guy's father, and GGG's chief scientist and inventor; Swan White, an American GGG operator and Leo's assistant; Geki Hyuuma, the hot-headed, musclebound tactical adviser; Kosuke Entouji, GGG's disheveled, dandruff-ridden computer expert with an IQ of 300; Hana Hatsuno, Mamoru's childhood friend; and Ikumi Kaidou, Mamoru's enigmatic classmate. Most of the protagonists live or work directly in Tokyo or G-Island City itself. As with most of the Brave series, there are also intelligent transforming robots who complement the human characters. In this show, they are constructed by GGG and their affiliated organizations with personalities based on highly advanced "Super-AI" Artificial Intelligence technology obtained from Galeon's databanks. They include HyoRyu and EnRyu, a pair of 'twin brother' robots with vastly different personalities; their military-trained Chinese counterparts FuuRyu and RaiRyu; the intrepid ninja police car Volfogg; the stubborn Goldymarg, whose AI is based on Geki Hyuuma's personality; and the American-made Mic Sounders the 13th, a rock music-playing robot who can use several types of special waves to restore the energy of allies or destroy the enemy.
The television series is based largely around GGG's fight against the Zonderians, alien beings tasked with the goal of infecting all of Earth with their Zonder Metal. The Machine World Four Heavenly Kings are notably more intelligent than the Zonder created by the humans fused with Zonder Metal.
However not everything in Gaogaigar was simple, the anime mentioned a number of complex technology but not as complex as Neon Genesis Evangelion and a lot of them was used to decrease the risks of casualties for example, the "Dividing Driver" specialty tool designed for GaoGaiGar, the Dividing Driver resembles a giant standard screwdriver mounted onto a tubular gauntlet. When attached to GaoGaiGar, the Dividing Driver creates a spacial shockwave that bends space in a one kilometer radius circle around its impact point. This area of bent space, or 'kuukan', allows GaogaiGar to fight his opponents without risking the destruction of the surrounding population, or the Eraser Head a tool used exclusively by one of the robots "ChoRyuJin" to shunt nearly any form of explosive energy out of the Earth's atmosphere and into space. Consists of two components: a hand-held portion and a forward tank section or "warhead." This "warhead" may remain attached to the weapon in use, or launched at the target as needs warrant; it disintegrates when its energy is exhausted.
The anime was so successful that it spawned several mangas, novels, a video game and a follow up 8 episode OAV "GaoGaiGar FINAL", the OAV's tone was a lot darker and more serious than the TV series. The GaoGaiGar cast also made appearances in the Super Robot War game franchise along with other famous "mecha" anime titles.
The show's main character Guy Shishio, a brave man with tremendous courage and enthusiasm, and the strength to never give up for the sake of lifeeven at the possible cost of his own is the perfect personification of the traditional Super Robot hero like Mazinger Z's Kouji Kabuto.
Another thing that Super Robot fans would love is the anime's opening theme "Yuusha-Oh Tanjou!", performed by Masaaki Endo and composed by GaoGaiGar series music director Kouhei Tanaka. Some lines paying homage to theme song lyrics from the original Kamen Rider and Mazinger Zand provides insight into the Super Robot musical traditions that this theme was written to carry.
This is a classic anime you don't want to miss especially for you "Super Robot" fans.
The King of Braves GaoGaiGar, represented an almost extremist return to the light-hearted, Super Robot form of mecha anime that was the purview of the 1960s and 1970s, introducing a vast number of "nods" to those old trends and concepts.In the first half of the television series, other, minor themes are introduced, nearly all of them ultimately discarded in favor of the main themes of courage and bravery.
There are two main characters in GaoGaiGar. The first is the adopted alien child Mamoru Amami, who was left by Galeon to foster parents as an infant; he possesses the mysterious power of Purification, able to cleanse an individual of Zonder Metal. The second is the cyborg Guy Shishioh, an astronaut whose life was saved by Galeon and his technology when EI-01 first attacked Earth; he is able to combine with Galeon and the GGG-built GaoMachines to become GaoGaiGar. Other characters include Mikoto Utsugi, Guy's love interest and GGG support operator; Kohtaroh Taiga, the charismatic chief of GGG and president of the Space Development Corporation that runs G-Island City; Leo Shishioh, Guy's father, and GGG's chief scientist and inventor; Swan White, an American GGG operator and Leo's assistant; Geki Hyuuma, the hot-headed, musclebound tactical adviser; Kosuke Entouji, GGG's disheveled, dandruff-ridden computer expert with an IQ of 300; Hana Hatsuno, Mamoru's childhood friend; and Ikumi Kaidou, Mamoru's enigmatic classmate. Most of the protagonists live or work directly in Tokyo or G-Island City itself. As with most of the Brave series, there are also intelligent transforming robots who complement the human characters. In this show, they are constructed by GGG and their affiliated organizations with personalities based on highly advanced "Super-AI" Artificial Intelligence technology obtained from Galeon's databanks. They include HyoRyu and EnRyu, a pair of 'twin brother' robots with vastly different personalities; their military-trained Chinese counterparts FuuRyu and RaiRyu; the intrepid ninja police car Volfogg; the stubborn Goldymarg, whose AI is based on Geki Hyuuma's personality; and the American-made Mic Sounders the 13th, a rock music-playing robot who can use several types of special waves to restore the energy of allies or destroy the enemy.
The television series is based largely around GGG's fight against the Zonderians, alien beings tasked with the goal of infecting all of Earth with their Zonder Metal. The Machine World Four Heavenly Kings are notably more intelligent than the Zonder created by the humans fused with Zonder Metal.
However not everything in Gaogaigar was simple, the anime mentioned a number of complex technology but not as complex as Neon Genesis Evangelion and a lot of them was used to decrease the risks of casualties for example, the "Dividing Driver" specialty tool designed for GaoGaiGar, the Dividing Driver resembles a giant standard screwdriver mounted onto a tubular gauntlet. When attached to GaoGaiGar, the Dividing Driver creates a spacial shockwave that bends space in a one kilometer radius circle around its impact point. This area of bent space, or 'kuukan', allows GaogaiGar to fight his opponents without risking the destruction of the surrounding population, or the Eraser Head a tool used exclusively by one of the robots "ChoRyuJin" to shunt nearly any form of explosive energy out of the Earth's atmosphere and into space. Consists of two components: a hand-held portion and a forward tank section or "warhead." This "warhead" may remain attached to the weapon in use, or launched at the target as needs warrant; it disintegrates when its energy is exhausted.
The anime was so successful that it spawned several mangas, novels, a video game and a follow up 8 episode OAV "GaoGaiGar FINAL", the OAV's tone was a lot darker and more serious than the TV series. The GaoGaiGar cast also made appearances in the Super Robot War game franchise along with other famous "mecha" anime titles.
The show's main character Guy Shishio, a brave man with tremendous courage and enthusiasm, and the strength to never give up for the sake of lifeeven at the possible cost of his own is the perfect personification of the traditional Super Robot hero like Mazinger Z's Kouji Kabuto.
Another thing that Super Robot fans would love is the anime's opening theme "Yuusha-Oh Tanjou!", performed by Masaaki Endo and composed by GaoGaiGar series music director Kouhei Tanaka. Some lines paying homage to theme song lyrics from the original Kamen Rider and Mazinger Zand provides insight into the Super Robot musical traditions that this theme was written to carry.
This is a classic anime you don't want to miss especially for you "Super Robot" fans.
The Dagger of Kamui
(1985)
Beautiful anime
11 July 2005
This was a great anime. True the animation is old but its still worth watching and has a better plot than Ninja Scroll, the problem that it was kinda long.
Japanese movie star Hiroyuki Sanada who played Ujio from Last Samurai played the main character Jiro and it was directed by Rintaro who did Galaxy Express 999 and Metropolis.
The anime has some good animation for an old anime, interesting characters like the main villain Tenkai and Ando Shouzan and of course lets not forget the beautiful musical scores in the film.
All in all this movie is worth watching for fans of anime, animation in general, action, and Samurai/Ninja flicks. Despite the lows in the film that didn't the film from being a great film to watch.
Don't miss this film.
Japanese movie star Hiroyuki Sanada who played Ujio from Last Samurai played the main character Jiro and it was directed by Rintaro who did Galaxy Express 999 and Metropolis.
The anime has some good animation for an old anime, interesting characters like the main villain Tenkai and Ando Shouzan and of course lets not forget the beautiful musical scores in the film.
All in all this movie is worth watching for fans of anime, animation in general, action, and Samurai/Ninja flicks. Despite the lows in the film that didn't the film from being a great film to watch.
Don't miss this film.
Tiger Mask II
(1981–1982)
Great Anime
10 July 2005
Warning: Spoilers
An Arabic dub of this 1981 anime aired on Arabic Networks around the Arab World back in the early 90's and became a huge hit. I was surprised to find out that this a sequel to another Tiger Mask aired in 1969 I have yet to see and I was even more surprised to find out that about 4 or 5 wrestlers in Japan used the Tiger Mask gimmick and became famous in the Wrestling world. The plot is of a criminal organizational trying to the take over the sports world using wrestlers as well as other athletes and the only one stands in their way is Tiger Mask a Japanese wrestler who sports a tiger like mask. Helping him in his quest are anime forms of real life wrestlers like Antonio Inoki, Stan Hansen, Abdulla The Butcher and even the late Andre The Giant. The plot may may seem cheesy but it's really an action packed anime with some great character development and wonderful drama with some lovely music background. It's worth a watch.
Ong-Bak: The Thai Warrior
(2003)
Tony Jaa Opened the Door for Non-HK Cinematic Martial Arts
9 March 2005
The title of my comment says it all. Tony Jaa has what it takes to compete with the likes of Jackie Chan and Jet Li. The plot of a warrior from a village searching for an stolen statue may be simple but the top notch action sequence definitely makes up for it. The acting in the movie aren't award worthy but they were competent enough to make you care about the characters. Of course, the highlight is the action, which isn't really a surprise, considering that Tony Jaa was a stuntman and has an incredible background on the art of Muay Thai. The action is so breathtaking, that it will have you at the edge of your seat and your jaw dropping especially that most of the scenes required no wires nor CGI. I give it a 7 out of ten.
Rurouni Kenshin
(1996–1998)
One of the many great anime masterpieces
19 August 2004
Rurouni Kenshin, is one of the best animes I've ever seen. I first discovered RK when I downloaded the first chapter of the manga. Then I became addicted to it as the story of a wandering swordsman trying to atone for his sins really got me excited and started downloading more manga issues. The first time I saw the anime version was after I downloaded the first episode. Now Rurouni Kenshin comes on my satellite dish on LBC SAT from Lebenon. I give this anime 10/10 it is an anime masterpiece that shouldn't be missed. A must see not just for anime fans but for fans of the samurai or chambara genre(Akira Kurosawa's Seven Samurais and Zatoichi) as well.
Kamen Rider
(1971–1973)
A different type of superhero
28 August 2003
I've just seen an episode of Kamen Rider, and i've never seen a Superhero so dark, with such cool and dark villans. For a show made in the 70's,it can still attract newcomers. I think the only american superheroes that can come close to the darkness that is Kamen Rider are Batman, Spawn and Blade. I give this show a 10
Jackie Chan Adventures
(2000–2005)
One Of The Coolest American Cartoons Ever!!
24 August 2003
Well, you see I'm more of an anime fan. So this is the best American cartoon ever made, and i've notice that they did pay some tribute for anime which is a big improvement over the lousy Totally Spies.
As for it being a fictional Celebrity-based Cartoon, I've never thought any of the Celebrity based cartoons would even match with the MR.T cartoon. But as usual Jackie Chan proves that no one makes a better real-life superhero than him. It also one of my three favorite Waner Bros. cartoons ever made, the other 2 being Static Shock and Road Rovers.
This show is a must see for both cartoon fans and Jackie Chan fans.
As for it being a fictional Celebrity-based Cartoon, I've never thought any of the Celebrity based cartoons would even match with the MR.T cartoon. But as usual Jackie Chan proves that no one makes a better real-life superhero than him. It also one of my three favorite Waner Bros. cartoons ever made, the other 2 being Static Shock and Road Rovers.
This show is a must see for both cartoon fans and Jackie Chan fans.
Super Electronic Bioman
(1984–1985)
One Of My Favorite Sentai shows
6 June 2003
Warning: Spoilers
I'm a big Power Ranger fan, but then I heard a lot people saying the shows that PR took scenes from shows called sentais, which many said were better than Power Rangers. Bioman was my first sentai show i've ever seen and may i say i know why a lot of people prefer sentai shows over PR. The story is breathtaking, i was surprised to find that the main villain was human turned into a cyborg, and instead of evil aliens we got evil cyborgs. I was shocked that the Yellow bio-soldier was killed in episode 10 after sacrifising her life to save her friends and was replaced by another member. If you're watching show, keep watching till the final episodes which is the best. I give 10/10
Musketeers Forever
(1998)
ONE OF THE BEST LOW BUDGET MOVIES EVER!
25 October 2002
This was a real treat, for a low budget film. True the action isn't really much compared to Dodikoff's early masterpieces like American Ninja but there's a great performance by all the cast especially Million Dollar Man star Lee Majors who makes one of his best dramatic performances to date. This is a MUST SEE! I rate it 9/10
Let's Go Slam Dunk
(1994)
THE BEST BASKETBALL ANIME EVER MADE!!!!!!!!
30 July 2001
This anime show is definately one of the best,the story of some guy called Hanamichi Sakuragi who calls himself "tensi" that means genius,has great scoring ability but lacks the skills and always gets hit on the head by his captain a great and funny show i hope they bring it back on the air.......
T and T
(1988–1991)
A GREAT MR.T COMEBACK!!!!!!!!!
7 July 2001
I love this show,ever since the A-team was cancelled T has been taken lousy roles in movies (except D.C CAB,Toughest Man in the World and JUDGMENT)but this was great i first saw it on my sattalite dish on Israel 2 channel in 1994 and loved it a lot of Mr.t fans consider it a disapointing comeback and short lived.COME ON!!!!!!!The show stayed on the air for 3 seasons and that is pretty good is you ask me,the T'ster deserves an EMMY for his role a former boxer and current private detective.I've watched his since he first started,while i was in England(the 2nd country after USA that Mr.T became popular in)i was pretty young,but thanks to his cartoon show i loved him.I hope our Egyptian T.V stations bring the show to our screens just like they did with THUNDER IN PARADISE.(We were the first Arabic country to show it.) Original MR.T Fan from Egypt: Badre Bally MY REGARDS TO ALL THE MR.T FANS OUT THERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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