Hola, mis amigos. Bienvenidos a otra entrada de mi blog.
Hoy… estoy obligado a hacer algo diferente. Sin ninguna duda, ésta es la entrada de mi blog más difícil que he hecho en mi vida, tan difícil como la que escribí cuando Luis Alfonso Mendoza que falleció hace cuatro años.
Ya sabes… la voz en español latino de Gohan.
La verdad es que no sé cómo comenzar, incluso podría escribir toda una tesis sobre Akira Toriyama y Dragon Ball, y no sería suficiente. Les pido perdón a todos por no saber expresar correctamente mis palabras en caso de equivocarme. Lo haré lo mejor que pueda.
Estaba yo el viernes, terminando mi turno laboral, cuando de repente, tras ver un video en YouTube de uno de los creadores hispanoparlantes que más sigo, leí en unos de sus comentarios una noticia devastadora…
“Falleció Akira Toriyama.”
Yo pensé… ¡NO! ¡NO! ¡NO! Lo primero que hice fue dirigirme a Wikipedia, y vi la trágica verdad… Akira Toriyama falleció el pasado 1 de marzo. Lo cierto es que me quedé paralizado, sorprendido y destrozado. No podía creerlo. Akira Toriyama había muerto. Se me hizo un hueco en el alma… Una de las personas que había influenciado en mi carrera como Blogger y como escritor. Toda una vida viendo Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, Dragon Ball Super, y a pesar de la infamia… Dragon Ball GT.
Desde el momento en el que vi una pequeña foto, en una revista llamada CLUB NINTENDO, en donde vi a Goku y a Yamcha en un juego estilo RPG. Al principio no reconocí a ninguno de los dos, pero entonces, me topé con una serie llamada Dragon Ball, aunque en Colombia la tradujeron – El Dragón Mágico.
¿Cuándo pasó eso? Creo que fue en el 1994 o 1995.
El caso es que ese sería el comienzo de una gran cantidad de bellos recuerdos que pasé en mi infancia mientras veía Dragon Ball, desde la saga de Pilaf, hasta cuando Chichi se casaba con Goku. (Yo empecé por decirle Kuku. LOL) Era increíble, las peleas, los personajes, las constantes maniobras de Son Goku cuando se peleó contra los soldados del Red Ribbon, especialmente el general Blue, o Tao Pai Pai, o la asombrosa batalla contra Piccolo Daimaku… ya saben… el “padre” del Piccolo que conocemos. En ese momento, no pensé que Dragon Ball podría superarse.
Y no solamente fue Goku, sino todos los demás personajes, Bulma y su increíble genio, Yamcha y su timidez con la que tuvimos momentos muy graciosos, la ternura de Puaf, la personalidad pervertida, pero entrañable del Maestro Roshi, el poder y la terrible imponencia que mostraba Tao Pai Pai, la redención de Tenshinhan y Chaos. o el Torneo de Artes Marciales. Y otros momentos más… Yo pasaba horas viendo todos esos hermosos episodios casi sin parpadear, cosa que no pensé podría hacer.
Y entonces llegó Dragon Ball Z.
Hasta entonces, los únicos anime que realmente había visto eran Sailor Moon, Mazinger Z, Saint Seiya, Captain Tsubasa. También Magic Knight Rayearth y Card Captor Sakura, pero éstas vinieron después.
A lo que voy con todo esto es que todas las entregas de Dragon Ball, incluyendo Dragon Ball GT y Dragon Ball Super me han traído muchos momentos espectaculares, muchas luces en mi infancia y mi adolescencia, en especial en los momentos más difíciles – pensaba en el siguiente capítulo de Dragon Ball Z con mis amigos, y todos teníamos mucha diversión y muchas risas.
Aún escuchó en mi mente Mind Power… Ki, con las increíbles voces de Hironobu Kageyama y Yuka Satou resonando en mis oídos, especialmente cuando estoy por enfrentar mi día a día.
Todo ello fue desde 1999. Y cuando empecé a escribir, pensaba en el maestro Akira Toriyama y la efervescente energía con la que veíamos todos los capítulos. El maestro Toriyama me ayudó a despertar mi creatividad, fue uno de los nombres que me ayudó a meterme de ello en el anime, el manga y la cultura japonesa, y cuando supe de su trabajo en Dragon Quest, supe que su gran legado fue más allá del manga. Pero lo que realmente me puso muy feliz fue que, a pesar de entrar en la universidad y mudarme, siempre tenía a Dragon Ball conmigo. De ello me di cuenta de ello cuando en 2018 regresé a Colombia después de ocho años.
Una de las primeras cosas que hice al volver fue ver Dragon Ball Super. ¡Y vaya sorpresa que me llevé con la calidad de la serie! Tantas cosas que no pensé que vería, tanto personajes que pensé habían desaparecido, tantas nuevas aventuras de parte de Goku y Gohan.
Y ni hablar de Vegeta… Él siempre me ha impresionado, y decirlo con estas simples palabras es quedarme corto; desde su debut con Nappa, su batalla contra el soldado Zaboon, y su muerte y posterior resurrección, Vegeta, junto con Goku, Gohan, Piccolo, Trunks, Videl, y los demás, es el rostro, tanto de Dragon Ball como de Akira Toriyama. Sin duda, un gran ejemplo de lo que un anti-héroe debe ser a la hora de ser creado.
Incluso me pregunto si grandes personajes, como el príncipe Zuko de Avatar, o Shoto Todoroki, de My Hero Academia, fueron inspirados en Vegeta… Quién sabe.
Como ya dije, podría pasar horas hablando de las increíbles cosas que viví en compañía de este simple nombre… Akira Toriyama. No creo que mi vida haya sido lo que es de no ser por él; él abrió las puertas a un montón de posibilidades creativas, de un género que es tan poderoso como la literatura fantástica occidental, a un arte que realmente disfruté y sigo disfrutando, y que quizás disfrutaré más allá de la tumba.
Todo gracias a un nombre… Akira Toriyama. Como él, siempre habrá pocos.
Pero ahora, una de las cosas que más pone muy feliz es que ahora su nombre está en la historia, junto con otros grandes, como Ozamu Tezuka, Shigeru Miyamoto, Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, y Akira Kurosawa ¿Por qué?
Mi único arrepentimiento es que no me completado Dragon Ball Super. Le falté el respeto al maestro al no hacerlo, y ahora que ha muerto, le tengo que estar agradecido por el impacto que ha tenido, no sólo en mí, sino en generaciones habidas y por haber.
Unámonos juntos, para que la memoria del maestro viva por siempre.
Y quiero terminar con un par de frases más. Gracias a Dragon Ball y Akira Toriyama, siempre sabré cómo orientar mi trabajo gracias a estos maravillosos personajes, gracias a la evolución de estos, y a los acontecimientos batalla tras batalla.
Espero poder aprovechar todas esas bellas lecciones, así como la belleza de Dragon Ball en los siguientes años; hasta entonces…
Gracias, Maestro Toriyama. Viviste como un genio, moriste como una leyenda.
Hello my friends. Welcome to a new entry of my blog.
First things firsts…. Merry Christmas!!
I hope all of you had a very awesome celebration with your family and friends. From my regard, I was invited to a lot of parties, and I celebrated Christmas calling my family and friends. And we still have the New Years Eve.
Be as it may be, I am aware that I still have to update myself regarding my blog. And what a good way to end the year than to make many lists of, in my opinion, the best anime of all 2023?
Because yeah, I watched a lot of sweet anime during this 2023 despite not writing as much as in the previous years, some of them have their own pending entry, but until then, I will start mentioning six of my best anime of all 2023.
And I apologise beforehand if your anime is not in this list, but don’t worry, for I will keep doing lists like this for the upcoming days, and I am sure that in one of them, your series will be here.
Until then, enjoy…
THE BEST ANIME OF 2023 IN MY OPINION – PART 1.
6. MASHLE – MAGIC AND MUSCLES.
Yes. This is indeed one of the biggest surprises of all 2023. Just when I though nothing could be as funny as the premise of One-Punch Man, A-1 Pictures releases this little gem of 2023. From minute one, I was laughing hard with all the jokes, and also, I was surprised of the amazing hilarious situations that came from such a simple premise – A world in which magic is everything, yet, one young man, Mash Burnedead, who was born magicless, is going to make his way on Easton Magic Academy.
One could have thought that this is nothing but a rip-off of One-Punch Man, but it is not. It actually takes inspiration from the latter, but ends being its own thing, and that is awesome. You will still prefer One-Punch Man, but there is no doubt that Mashle is memorable by its own merit, for the comedy, the action, and the world itself.
At the same time, the animation is beautiful. I still can’t believe it came from A-1 Pictures. When we are talking about shonen anime, I come up with studios like MAPPA, Wit Studio, Bones, and of course Pierrot. But, somehow, A-1 Pictures perfectly proved it can stand out with other genres, aside from fantasy, sci-fi or romance.
Also, the characters, from Mash to the villains, and the antagonistic Lang House, are relatable and fantastic as well. My favourite characters are definitely Dot and Lemon because they are so eccentric, yet likeable and they beautifully move the plot in their own particular way, giving them more personality.
Combine this all together and you have one of the best and most hilarious anime of 2023.
5. HELL’S PARADISE – JIGOKURAKU
In every project that they release, Studio MAPPA finds a way to make their projects equally amazing, Jujutsu Kaisen 2 increasing the level of drama in many ways, and Vinland Saga 2 exploring a new face of our main character… And of course, Attack on Titan by… making us cry. But in Hell’s Paradise, I was genuinely scared, that was barely happened to me in anime, not even with Umineko, When The Seagulls Cry, because the story presents powerful, yet human characters, such as Gabimaru and Sagiri Asaemon Yamada, and you might be thinking… Nah!! They will survive!!
And then there is a point in which you definitely understand the dangers of their journey at Shinsenkyo, all of the characters, even the main ones, can die. I am not going to spoil anything, but this feeling is because of many factors, the first one is the pretty well-done first episode, in which we see through the complexity of Gabimaru the Hollow, character you end up sympathising with; and also the way story unfolds, allowing you to see that the convicts are not that bad and the not all the Yamada Asaemon are good people, without necessarily hating them – You want, in a way, for all the characters to survive.
And then… the threats of Shinsekyo arrive, and that is where you understand that anything can die, and that they look like real abominations out of this world.
Take that and combine it with the sweet animation and the soundtrack, in order to give you another gem from MAPPA. Some say Hell’s Paradise is not as good as Chainsaw Man, and I kind of agree, but like Mashle, it stands out in the. Best way possible.
4. MY HAPPY MARRIAGE
Time to jump from the action to the drama.
I read about My Happy Marriage months before the anime was released, and I was already touched for the story of Miyo Saimori and Kyouka Kudou. That poor girl being mistreated all her life due to her apparent lack of supernatural powers, and that soldier who just wanted to find true love, in one of my favourite settings of any story – Meiji Restoration of Japan, or the Taisho era according to Wikipedia.
Thanks to their love, Miyo evolves from a quiet and meek girl to having more self-love and self-confidence, while Kyouka is able to open to his true self and finds hope in his life. Also, the first part of the first season does a great job at portraying the Saimori family as abusers without being too over the top, especially Kaya, who is the personification of this quote from The Simpsons.
“Sweet on the outside, poison on the inside.”
Luckily, she receives her comeuppance, and that is one of the sweetest moments.
And the second half, and possibly the rest of the light novels, it’s mostly about Miyo and Kyouka learning to trust each other, sharing moments together, facing problems as both a couple and individuals. But you feel their love, they enjoy being with each other. And for me, that makes them more enjoyable to watch.
Also, the animation by Kinema Citrus is superb, the soundtrack is beautiful. And yes, I am aware that not everyone would enjoy the story, because it is a bit slow and not so action-packed. Nonetheless, due to its story, it brings a wonderful sensation of happiness and comfy despite its initial melancholy.
Finally, My Happy Marriage does something with the story I will be always grateful for – making Miyo and Kyouka a couple from the start, instead of directly confessing their feelings at the last episode, making the narrative more interesting and original.
Because of this, and many other reasons, I consider My Happy Marriage as one of the best anime in 2023.
Those who read my previous entries might know that Mushoku Tensei was one of my favourite anime in 2021. It offered a new perspective with the Isekai genre, in the way of a mixture between bildungsroman, adventure and fantasy, I really welcomed that, especially since I am a very big fan of Isekai, even the worst isekai can actually attract my attention.
From the start, the life of Rudeus Greyrat has been difficult, in a personal and in a social way, and also because the trauma of his previous life deeply affected him; despite this, he worked hard in order to move on, especially after the end of season 1, which for me, was… bittersweet.
But in the beginning of the season, we understand that he truly hit rock bottom, just when we thought he could move on… he hit rock bottom once more. However, with the help of some friends, and due to his previous endeavours, Rudeus is able to enrol into the Ranoa Magic Academy, and meet his childhood friend Sylphy… more or less.
Overall, the season 2 is about the story of Sylphy and Rudeus. We go with them in their difficult trials, and we smiled when we see they made the best of them and evolved as characters, and then, we were present when they know “this something” was missing in each other’s life, and… SPOILER ALERT.
The ending when Rudeus reunites with Sylphy is heartwarming. I was waiting every week to see when they meet again, and when they did, and Rudeus proposed to Sylphy I was almost in tears. Such a beautiful ending for such a beautiful story, despite Part 2 is still waiting.
If there is something that Mushoku Tensei – season 2, taught me is that if we work hard and persevere in life, we can become more than we could ever expected, especially if we are genuinely good people, because our beloved ones might give us the “push” we sometimes need in the most difficult moments.
And for that, and the beautiful animation, is Mushoku Tensei – season 2 is in this list.
2. OSHI NO KO
Oh my gosh!! Speaking about surprises.
I will be honest with you. When I saw the cover of Oshi no Ko, I thought… “Nah. It is another formulaic story of Japanese Idols.” It is not like I hate them, in fact I loved both Idolmaster and Love Live!! But I am not sure that I will be that invested.
And then…
MY POOR AI. WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOU?
This scene was the one who pushed me into Oshi no Ko. But that was only the tip of the iceberg, because I realised this story… is better and more complex than I thought. It got fantasy, it got drama, it got good characters, it got such a catchy opening song, and there, it got our attention.
Furthermore, we are on an idol anime that, unlike many of its predecessors, portrays the ugly side of the entertainment world in Japan, not just the beautiful one, with many real-life similarities that makes Oshi No Ko more relevant that we could ever thought.
Also, the part of the “origin” of both Ruby and Aqua was so heart-breaking and heart-warming at the same time, and the fact that it has some of the most tragic deaths in all anime history makes it more impactful.
But just because Oshi No Ko is dark does not mean it lacks comedy. Check it out.
I know it was a matter of time before Oshi No Ko became this popular, although I am still surprised of how it apparently became so entangled into the anime community.
I am really looking forward for season 2, and the ending of Aqua’s quest of revenge.
DEMON SLAYER – THE SWORDSMITH VILLAGE ARC
My friends…
It cannot be in another way.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is one of my favourite anime of all time. And after the ending of Mount Natagumo arc, I wanted to watch both Demon Train and Entertainment District arcs. But I couldn‘t watch them completely. Happily, I could watch more of The Swordsmith Village Arc, and… it is pure gold!!
Ufotable, once again, has proved to know what to do on the adaptation of Kimetsu no Yaiba, how to make the battles memorable, how to make Mitsuri shine, how to transit the feeling of the story, how to make Mitsuri shine, and how to adapt one of the best moments of Kimetsu no Yaiba.
And… Did I mention How to make Mitsuri shine?
I am going d to watch again The Swordsmith Village Arc from scratch, because there is nothing that I love more than relive the feeling that I got from this adaptation, and everything that has to do with the franchise of Kimetsu no Yaiba.
Nothing else to say. It is something that you must experience… Simple as that.
And there you go. Six of my favourite anime of 2023, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.
My book – Journeys of Sea, Heart and Land, is out now, it is having positive reviews and those who have read it are loving it. Order your copy now, I know you will love it as well.
You know? There are a lot of things that I love a lot in this world, but now I will just mention two. 1. The anime. 2. Cyberpunk. And yes, I know what most of you are thinking. That means that you also enjoyed Cyberpunk Edgerunners. And the answer is yes. After all, I made a review of that wonderful series here in my blog, which I will leave a link here.
Nonetheless, there is one series that I am watching right now, one released in 2020, and I have to say that I have loved it so much. To be honest I first heard of this anime a couple of months ago, but I did not pay too much attention because I was diligent watching other things. But now, I can go and let my thoughts go.
Having said that, let me ask you a question:
Do you guys love Danganronpa?
Then you will love…
AKUDAMA DRIVE.
Just like I did. But before I continue, let me ask you a question:
Are you guys ok? Feeling happy?
If the answer is yes, then I am happy.
Now… Time for a super-crazy ride with Akudama Drive. I just hope my words in this entry are worth of this fantastic anime.
PREMISE
Akudama Drive was heavily inspired in Danganronpa, and directed by Tomohisa Taguchi, who was impressed by the results and positive reception of Danganronpa, so they work together with Studio Pierrot (Bleach, Black Clover), in order to create something new and equally mermerizing.
Akudama Dtive takes place in a dystopian Japan, devastated by a war; as a result, Kansai becomes a puppet stated of Kanto. Inside, there is a group of infamous, death-sentenced criminals that operate in Kanto and usually work as mercenaries, called the Akudama. Many of these Akudama are paid to infiltrate into the Kansai Police Station and free a prisoner who is about to be executed, called Cutthroat. Meanwhile, a young Ordinary Person gets arrested and dragged into the job of liberating Cutthroat when she meets Courier, an Akudama who delivers the package to its destination regardless the distance. In order to survive, the Ordinary Person takes the identity of Swindler after she rescues a black cat, and just when Cutthroat is rescued by Courier and other four Akudama, Brawler, Doctor, Hacker and Hoodlum. Nonetheless, shortly after, the black cat reveals that the job of rescuing Cutthroat is only a front in order to do a bigger job – to infiltrate a Shinkansen and rescue its very valuable cargo inside.
In order to convince Swindler and the other Akudama to finish the job, the cat puts the Akudama an explosive collar. Now, they must work together to reach the Shinkansen and release the cargo, while escaping the relentless, ruthless goverment-led Executioners.
I know that Akudama Drive has a very complex plot, but, among other things, that is one of the elements that makes it so engaging. And as I mentioned before, Tomohisa Taguchi worked shoulder by shoulder by Kazutaka Kodata, the creator of Danganronpa, to produce 12 action-packed, well-written, beautifully animated episodes released from October to December, 2020. One fun fact is that every episode of Akudama Drive is named after classics of Western cinema, including Reservoir Dogs, Mission: Impossible, Dead Man Walking, and…
Se7en
You have no idea how much this last movie impacted me.
Additionally, there is a manga of Akudama Drive written by Rokuro Ogari, and published by Papyless, from July 7, 2020, to April 25, 2023.
The opening song is called STEAL, performed by SPARK!!SOUND!!SHOW!!, and the ending song is called “Ready” by Urashimasakatasen.
Another fun fact is that Akudama Drive has supposed to be released in July, 2020, but it was postponed to October due to COVID-19.
STORY
Now… Where to start?
I must admit that I only watched one episode of Akudama Drove a couple of months ago, and that I never thought I would ever watch it again. That is until my friends at the Deakin Anime Club decided to screen it. And… Oh boy! This has been an experience. Let the fact that Danganronpa inspired Akudama Drive be a start. As soon as you started watching episode 1, you really feel hooked up by everything, the animation, the characters, the plot, and the dystopian setting.
Regarding this last part, I never thought that something could be as good as Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, but even though Akudama Drive focuses more in the backstory of Kanto rather than its actual society itself, you feel genuinely invested, that is because, after watching the first episodes, you feel you are inside of everything that is taking place in the plot, because the music, the animation, and the characters combined together in such a fast-paced, action packed story. It’s like the Akudama does not have time to catch a breath, and neither you do, the anime just drags you inside itself.
And by the time the action stops, and the anime tries to develop its characters, you feel the humanity of all of them, even the evilest ones, because you discover their motivations are compatible of how they truly are. Of course, you end up hating some of the Akudama, but most of them are so well developed that either love them or love to hate them. And for me, if you love to hate a character, not just villains, that means they are mostly masterfully executed.
Furthermore, most of the story is about some of the characters trying to fight one of the most visceral elements of cyberpunk genre – Inhumanity, and by that, I mean this inhumanity provoked by technology so advanced and people to attached to them that it becomes less empathetic and solidary. I know it is hard to explain, but is basically most of our characters, and some of the antagonists, trying to keep their sanity and compassion intact after digging deeper and deeper in the ruthlessness of the dystopic Kanto.
It happened in Cyberpunk Edgerunners, it happened in Blade Runner, and it happens in Akudama Drive. In my opinion with Swindler, who starts as an Ordinary Citizen and ends up being the most resilient and bravest of the Akudama, along with Courier.
Another amazing element is the action scenes, there are full of everything – Swords, high-speed chases, blood, hand-to-hand combat, disembowelment, but not as graphic as Cyberpunk Edgerunners, and it is so creative and original that you never get bore. And still, I find hard to put it in words. For the most part, the action of Akudama Drive is something you must experience by yourself rather than me explain it to you.
Also, this is a personal opinion, but I believe that, unlike Cyberpunk Edgerunners, Akudama Drive starts in a very light-hearted way, and then, the story becomes darker and cooler, to a point in which you wonder how it got there.
The animation is also insane, there is so much colour in the scenarios, so much style in the action and in the violence, and so much detail in day and night, everything, especially in the character design is so carefully crafted. It makes the experience more immersive. Again, better to see it than to describe it.
I almost… almost… say that Akudama Drive is superior to Danganronpa. But hey! Let’s not go there.
Finally, the writing is one of the best I have ever seen. Nonetheless, I don’t think that script is as good as the one from Cyberpunk Edgerunners, because the latter takes more time to develop the characters in an organic matter, especially in their conversations. Akudama Drive does the same, but not with the same depth, at least in my opinion. Still, good story
Anyway. I consider the story of Akudama Drive as one of its best elements…
CHARACTERS
…along with its own characters.
For starters, Akudama Drive does the same thing as Goblin Slayer, in which instead of giving the characters a name and a last name, they simply receive a position – Courier, Doctor, Hoodlum, Swindler, Brawler, Cutthroat, Brother, Sister and Executioner. However, here it works better, because the concept is very simple, as well as the characters, so you don’t need too much background to know all of them.
And yes… I know that I said that is also a weakness in comparison of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, but on that regard, I meant during the story, but before the events of episode one. Like I said, most of the Akudama are trying to keep their humanity intact, such as Swindler, and along with the writing, her story arc becomes very solid.
Anyway, the design of the characters is beautiful, especially in the eyes; again… far superior than in Danganronpa. Everything has a very unique design, which makes them more relatable. Also, their personalities are well-defined too. Swindler is a naïve girl with a heart of gold, Courier is a stoic motorist that is relentless regarding finishing the job, Doctor is a skilful, resourceful woman who looks after her own interest, Cutthroat an insane serial, spree killer with an obsession with colour red.
But among my favourites are Brother and Sister. They love and look after each other, they have a pretty cool design, and their backgrounds are some of the best, heartbreaking of Akudama Drive.
Again, better for you to watch than we to describe, because it has spoilers, and it is better to feel the experience.
By the way… Am I the only one who immediately confuses Brother with Hanako-Kun?
If the animation itself was good, along with the characters, get better.
CONCLUSION
Without any doubt, Akudama Drive is one of the best cyberpunk anime I have ever seen, along with Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. While Cyberpunk has better characters and better story, Akudama Drive offers a more immersive and psychedelic experience, at least in my opinion. No wonder why it’s considered one of the best anime of 2020. You might think that is a generic action anime, but you must take the proper time to watch and to experience it, and definitely you will love it.
I admit that this entry took me longer than I thought. And not just because Akudama Drive is just so good, but also because I was busy doing many things these days. But I am working hard to bring more entries on my blog and make up to the time lost.
But… just to let you… I am seen things you would believe. Salt Cathedral in my hometown, nice houses with history of mythology, and… plaza full of mythological beasts near Tolima, the Pacific Ocean in the beach.
All those moments, that will be lost… in time… like tears in rain.
Oh!! Who am I kidding? Those memories will live as long as I do… Right?
Hello my friends, Welcome to another entry of my blog. I take this opportunity to reveal that in a couple of days I will make a very important announcement, do not worry, it is not what you think. It is in fact… a very… VERY good news. But I will tell you know when the time comes. I am sure you will love it.
Until then, I will continue with the reviews that I love to do… Anime. And here, I will take about a very good series of this amazing time. After so much time, I am trying to recover the lost time, which is why I am starting to talk about…
I hope you like my thoughts of the new goose that lays golden eggs of Studio MAPPA.
But before I start my review, I must ask you the typical question;
Are you guys ok? Feeling healthy?
If the answer is yes, then I am happy.
Now… time for us to go to the most beautiful, worldly part of Inferno with Hell’s Paradise – Jigo… Jigo… Jigokaku? JIGOKURAKU. Damn. Why am struggling with the last word. Anyway.
PREMISE
Based on the manga written and illustrated by Yuji Kaku. Hell’s Paradise – Jigokuraku… (Yeah, I wrote it correctly), takes us to the Edo Period of Japan, with one of the deadliest, most infamous and powerful ninja around, Gabimaru the Hollow, member of the Iwagakure Clan. During one mission, Gabimaru is captured and sentenced to death, but there is a problem – nothing can kill Gabimaru, decapitation, burning, dismemberment, nothing is effective against the powerful ninja, much to the surprise of the officers of the shogunate. However, one day, an executioner, called Yamada Saemon Asagiri, offer Gabimaru the opportunity of a pardon with one condition – he must obtain the Elixir of Life, located in the island of Shinsenkyo, located in the southwest of the Ryukyu kingdom. The problem is that the Shogunate has already sent, apparently, five expedition teams to that place, and. None of them have return, so this time, they are sending a new team consisted on death row criminals, and if any of them can get the Elixir of Life, they can obtain an official pardon, but if any escapes, that person will be slain in a executioner of the Asagiri clan.
Inspired by the love of his wife, Yui, and the chance of a normal life, Gabimaru accepts, always under the watch of Yamada.
Hell’s Paradise – Jigokuraku started publication on January 22, 2018, and ended on January 25, 2021, completing thirteen volumes and 127 chapters, furthermore, Hell’s Paradise – Jigokuraku was published by Shueisha. One fun fact is that Yuji Kaku was a collaborator of Tatsuki Fujimoto.
Studio MAPPA started broadcasting Hell’s Paradise – Jigokuraku from April 1, having a total of eight episodes, for a total of, I assume… 12 or 13 episodes. But still, this time is okay, the series is so good that there is a big chance of having a second season, just like Chainsaw Man. I just hope it is soon.
I am talking of both.
Finally, Hell’s Paradise – Jigokuraku has a pretty nice opening song – “Work” performed by Ringo Sheena and Millenium Paradise, I will be happy to put the link here for you to listen.
STORY
Now. I have just watched the first two episodes of Hell’s Paradise – Jigokuraku, and also, some clips of the anime, especially some featured Yuzuhira, and I got to say that I am being hooked by the premise. A couple of months ago, I was reading about this series, here and there, and it got my attention, almost as much as Oshi No Ko and its sticky “Idol” performed by Yoasobi. And when I say the animation, I really wanted to watch Hell’s Paradise – Jigokuraku.
I thought Gabimaru will be some kind of villain protagonist. But I will talk about him later.
But nope. The story is very similar to Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man in terms of tone, dark fantasy but with some humour that does not overstay its welcome. What do I mean by this? Simple. That is put on the right moments, without ruining the moments of dark atmosphere and tension. Moreover, the story is fun, it has a lot of action, some violence and gore, but with genuinely heart warming moments, most of them brought by Gabimaru and Yui. Also, the first two episodes done a pretty good job by slowing showing Gabimaru as not as hollow as his title points out, and that is something I value in a story – some time for poignant scenes, as well as some humour, it actually helps to sympathise more with our characters, especially both Gabimaru and Sagiri.
Nonetheless, I must admit that sometimes the story can be a bit slow. But one thing is for a story to be slow, and another is to be boring, and Hell’s Paradise – Jigokuraku is anything but boring.
Also, the animation is beautiful, the aesthetics, color palettes and character designs seems to take inspiration from Ninja Scroll, Tenchu and Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. I like the animation Unfortunately, despite being wonderful, it is not on the same quality of Demon Slayer or Chainsaw Man. If something, it surpasses the animation of both Vinland Saga and Jujutsu Kaisen. I admit this might be a very unpopular opinion, but that is what I think.
However, once our protagonists arrive to Shinsenkyo… My goodness!! It looks beautiful, the background looks like a painting. A very colourful world that, due to the story’s dark tone, really makes you feel like you are in a hollow Garden of Eden… Kind of.
As Bart points out…
‘Sweet in the outside, poison in the inside”
Finally, I think that the music is nice, especially the opening song. I will take my time to listen to more songs, later on.
I am still have to watch a lot of episodes from Hell’s Paradise – Jigokuraku. But I am having a lot of fun, and I think it is one of the best anime of spring/autumn of 2023.
CHARACTERS
I think one of the elements from Hell’s Paradise – Jigokuraku that surprised me the most is the characters, especially Gabimaru. Of course, we all know that he is not as hollow as he claims, but he has a lot of features, such as his relationship with his wife Yui.
Honestly, I was very happy to watch at them, I am rooting for Gabimaru, even though I read the ending of the manga… for good or bad. Also….
Was I the only one who though in Tomura Shigaraki every time I look at Gabimaru?
I spoke too soon.
Secondly, I also loved Sagiri, because beneath that cold, calm and collected persona, you see a person full of fear and regret due to her occupation. I thought I couldn’t show a image of her and her fear, but they are not as… revealing as I thought. So here it is.
This image perfectly represents her fear in the best way possible.
Finally, one more character I want to mention is Yuzuriha. My goodness! She is hilarious! She is a deadly assassin, and a… femme fatale, but she has a lot of charm with her expressions and her personality you really liked her, probably more than Sagiri.
Just look at her…
I have no comments
Man… Please come and kill me! Yuzuriha!!! Or at least Sagiri, nor Gabimaru.
And finally, I want to make a honorable mention Mei, which is… adorable, but has the power of creating Groots.
But seriously, I liked the characters, but Gabimaru, Sagiri, Yuzuriha and Mei are my favourites.
CONCLUSION
I am enjoying Hell’s Paradise – Jigokuraku, the characters, the action, the setting, the conflict. Everything is so cool so far, probably not as engaging as Chainsaw Man, or as immersive as Jujustu Kaisen, but if you liked the productions of MAPPA, I know I do…
…you will enjoy this as well.
I will be watching more episodes later on, and trust me, I am coming back with a lot of reviews of pretty good anime. I don’t know if I publish another review tomorrow, but I will try… I promise.
And I want to apologize for almost not writing during the month of March, but again, it was a very intensive and very productive month, for two reasons. The first one it is because… I am writing a book. Yes, and I have spent the entire month writing and proofreading the project, and it is because I wrote the book years ago, and I am trying to have it ready soon. Possibly in May or June.
There! I make the announcement.
The second reason is that I just got my Australian passport, and I did a lot of things that kept me from writing in my blog. Overall, it has been a very intense month, without mentioning that I did a lot of Transcendental Meditation.
Anyway. I have a new plan for April. And recently I saw the trailer of an anime that I was looking for. And that is…
And I am so excited about it. I love Megumin, and Chomusuke.
(picture of Kazuma and Aqua)
But before I watch that wonderful spin-off full of explosions, I will talk about that fantastic isekai comedy that started everything. And again, the title says it all. Here is…
(konosuba)
But before I start with my review, I must ask to all of you people, the same questions:
Are you guys ok? Feeling healthy?
If the answer is yes, then I am happy.
Now, let’s start with a big explosion with Konosuba.
PREMISE
Based on the wonderful light novel franchise written by Natsume Akatsuki, Konosuba: God’s Blessing on this Wondeful World, or Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o!, tells the story of Kazuma Sato, a shut-in NEET who suffers a very embarrassing death; luckily, or unfortunately for him, he meets the goddess Aqua, who offers him the opportunity to reincarnate in another world, very similar to those he like to play on his videogames, that is of course… after Aqua reveals herself as idiotic and self-absorded makes fun of his demise. But, in a weird twist move, Kazuma chooses Aqua as his companion. Now stuck in a very useless goddess in the town of Axel, Kazuma recruits two members, Darkness, a well-endowed but masochistic paladin that fails every time she swings her sword, and Megumin, a delusional arch-mage that can only performs Explosion Magic, which also renders her useless after summoning it.
Realising how useless his companions are, and that the chances of defeating the Devil King, something that Aqua must do in order to go back to her throne, Kazuma does everything to have a very pleasant and luxurious lifestyle, but his moronic companions, and a lot of unfortunate cirncusmtances will be constantly forcing Kazuma to go into the adventure.
The author of Konosuba is Natsume Aktsuki, who also wrote Kemono Michi!! And Combatants Will be Dispatched, which I reviewed before. Here are the links so you can check out.
(link to Kemono Michi)
(link to Combatants will be Dispatched)
Akatsuki started writing Konosuba from October 1, 2013 to May 1, 2020, for a total of 17 volumes. And as of March, Konosuba has been adapting into two seasons, produced by Studio Deen, and a upcoming third season produced by Studio Drive.
Also, Konosuba has a very awesome cast, which I am very happy to remember without having to consult Wikipedia including Sora Asamiya (Spy Classroom, Call of the Night), Jun Fukishima (Tensei Slime), Ai Kayano (Sword Art Online:Alicization), and, as the amazing Megumin, the beautiful… Rie Takahashi (Tomo-chan is a Girl!)
And these two beautiful songs as the opening of the first and second season.
(link to the first op)
(link to the second op)
STORY
Oh my gosh!!! There is only one word that I will use fot the story of Konosuba. And that is… hysterical. Every single moment is incredibly hilarious, and everyone gives you a lot of memorable moments. And what is more impressive is that the story of Konosuba is pretty simple – Kazuma tries to survvie in Axel, Aqua does something stupid, Darkness brings out her masochism, and Megumin does an explosion.
By the way, there is a pretty hilarious song called Bakuretsu, Bakuretsu, La, la, la, that I personally recommend.
(link to Bakuretsu, bakuretsu)
And since the tone is more about comedy in Konosuba, unlike The Rising of the Shield Hero, Re: Zero, and Saga of Tanya the Evil, which are more dark fantasy, you can take it easy while watching every episode and enjoy the shenanigans of our idiot “heroes”, that is during the whole ten episodes of hilariousity. Of course there are moments in which our “heroes” go into adventure and have to face a really nefarious adversary, but these conflicts are either resolved in the most original and comical fashion possible, or have very awkward consequences that puts Kazuma and his guild into more trouble.
Of all these adventure moments, I think the most iconical is the battle against the giant toads, in which either Aqua or Megumin end up being swallowed and bathed in… toad drool? Because of their stupidity, and then Kazuma have to save them.
(photo of the big, bad toads)
And how can you forget the moments of Darkness being Darkness.
(some photos of our beloved masochist paladin)
And this one…
Seriously, every comedid moment is better than the previous one, and that really surprised oof how many great idead the author got in terms of comedy.
But what really surprised me is the fantastic animation done by Studio Deen, who, unfortunately, have the dubious honor of making an anime adaptation of Pupa, one of the worst, most disgusting anime I have ever seen. But I will talk about it eventually. And the more he pretended Nanatsu no Taizai: The Wrath of the Gods exist, the better.
Seriously, who has the idiot who suggested replacing blood for milk?
(scene for Seven Deadly Sins)
And I absolutely love Nanatsu no Taizai. Hail A-1 Pictures! But the Wrath of the Gods was simply trash.
Anyway, the story of Konosuba is basically disconnect yourself from tension and enjoy watching likeable idiots doing that, and resolving situations with the best fashion. It is really hard to describe unless you watch the episodes yourself, because every moment is so hilarious, so original you better experience it by watching the episodes.
Also, the rhythm is so natural that you end upr inmerse in the comedy straight away. And the thing is that Konosuba knows when to go fast, and when to slow down, giving us the opportunity to know our characters, enjoy their misadventures and enjoy a very good isekai in the fullest.
Konosuba is simply one of the best isekai you can ever watch.
CHARACTERS
As I mentioned before, the characters of Konosuba are as hysterical as the story. All the group of Kazuma is so likeable and oafish you, surprisingly enough, you want to be part of their misadventures, and every one adds up to both the comedy and the story in their own way. Aqua being stupid, to the point of being too dumb to live, Kazuma being sleazy and perverted with slected moments of badassery, Darkness making us laugh with the masochism.
One interesting fact. Did you know that Ai Kayano also voiced Alice Zuberg from Sword Art Online: Alicization?
Man! When I watch them together, I find hard to believe they have performed by the same seiyuu.
(photos of Alice and Darkness)
And, after watching Megumin, I understand why she is the most popular character of Konosuba. All of the characters are original and memorable, but Megumin really stands out due to her quirkness, her catchy phrases, her design and her contagious devotion to the Explosion Magic.
(Megumin)
And she is very exaggerated about her personality that I want to become by her, making her so popular.
Nonetheless, I have to admit Aqua can be really annoying, especially of her spoiled rotten attitude and her constant whining.
For the rest, all the cast is pretty good. And there is another character that I enjoy a lot, but I will talk about her later.
(Yunyun)
CONCLUSION
Overall, the first season of Konosuba is amazing, in all the elements. No wonder why is this comedy isekai is pretty popular and well-loved.
And I will later talk about the second season. And I apologize for having to lavea now, so that is why I will leave with an…
Hello my friends, welcome to another entry of my blog.
I want to apologise for not having written in quite a long time. I have been very busy, training new people at work, and that can be a tough assignment, especially if you have to be learn everything as well at your own, but I am also doing a course of Mental Boundaries that I hope it will really help me a lot.
Now, I am back with more February reviews. And I will start this with the following question:
What is a monster?
Is it an entity with grotesque features that horrifies and disturbs us with its sole presence?
Or it is a human being so horrendous, so evil, so perverse that his/her own actions makes us doubt about the purpose of our existence?
I was thinking about this question for quite a long time, and from my perspective, I came with the following answer, a personal onw – it is that “thing” able to twist our values of humankind in a way we never imagine, pushing us into a valley so unknown, and so weakening that we can do nothing but scream.
In other words, the embodiment of our most primigeneal fears, reason of why the works of H.P. Lovecraft is so compelling, or the design and presentation of the Darkness Devil are so terrifying.
Anyway, having said that, I want to talk about one of the best anime I have every seen. And I am still watching. Behold…
Remember that fantastic story of sci-fi, thriller called 20th Century Boys? Well. The author also wrote this amazing story.
But before I start, I must ask you all the typical Question.
Are you guys ok? Feeling healthy?
If the answer is yes, then I am happy. Now, let’s go with… Naoki Urasawa’s Monster.
PREMISE
Based on the same manga written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa (I will never stop to repeat it), Monster follows Kenzo Tenma, a Japanese doctor and surgeon working in Dusseldorf, Germany. Dr. Tenma has everything at the Eisler Memorial Hospital, a promising career, a beautiful fiancée, Eva Heinemann, and the respect of his colleagues. Very admired and required, Dr. Tenma is anything but happy, because the Hospital does not actually treat every patient alike, instead, opting for the most important ones and the ones with better political connections.
One day, Dr Tenma is called to operate the Mayor Roedecker, but instead, Kenzo operates a young boy called Johan Liebert, who was shot in the head after a mysterious incident in which his parents were killed, and his twin sister was injured. Dr. Tenma successfully operates Johan, at the cost of the life of the Mayor. As a consequence, Tenma is demoted, his engagement called off and his colleagues ostracise him. In other words, his career is destroyed.
Frustrated, Tenma talks to Johan and wishes that the one that took his position, his boss, Director Udo Heinemann, was dead.
Afterwards, many of Tenma’s colleagues, including Director Heinemann, are found dead on mysterious circumstances. Despite the shock Tenma got because of the deaths, he is immediately promoted as Chief of Surgery.
Nine years later, Dr. Tenma must operate a criminal, called Adolf Junkers, who keeps claiming that “a monster is coming”. That night, Adolf finds the police that watched over him dead, panicked, he runs away with Tenma following him. Both arrived into a construction project, where Junkers is brutally murdered by one mysterious figure in the dark.
To Tenma’s horror, that person is none other than Johan Liebert, the same boy Tenma saved nine years before.
Overcome, or shall I say… overwhelmed by guilt, Tenma vows to find Johan and get rid of him, aided by law student Nina Fortner, who is in reality Anna, Johan’s twin sister, and avoiding inspector Heinrich Lunge.
I know it is a really long premise, but Monster is just so damn good that I had to make sure I explain every detail in the best way possible. Anyway, Naoki Urasawa published Monster from December 1994, to December 2001, on Shogakukan, for a total of 18 volumes.
Furthermore, Monster was made into an anime by Madhouse. Do you know what other fantastic anime was produced by Madhouse?
NO! NOT YOU!!
Also, Monster has a total of 78 episodes, released from April 7, 2004 to September 28, 2005. And, up to this day, it is considered one of the best adaptations of all time.
STORY
Well… What else can I say?
Monster is definitely one of the best stories I have ever seen. In fact, Monster should learn a lesson to MAPPA studio of how to fully adapt the Part 1 of Chainsaw Man. Also…. I won’t be surprised if Gosho Aoyama was influenced in a way by the work of Naoki Urasawa. And, with all due respect… I also believed that The Detective is Already Dead could learn a few lessons of this story.
Unpopular opinion, perhaps, but I need to mention it.
First and foremost, this is a real good thriller, because the story takes its time to present all of the character, Doctor Kenzo Tenma, Eva, Johan, and Anna Liebert, especially how f*%ed up Johan really is. And the mystery and inhumanity surrounding Johan and Anna is revealed in a way that it makes your heart pump. The tension is simply perfect, and the action scenes are realistic, yet entertaining.
The only misstep that I could find is that the story can be a bit slow, but that is necessary so the tension, the suspense, and the drama, which are also well-constructed, can be completely enjoyed. Because Monster is very careful of every detail. What do I mean by this? Simple. That everything is there to impact you. Either making you debate with yourself or having a hole in your heart. Monster is not just a cat and mouse story about a doctor trying to catch up a sociopath. It is a story of how that Monster was created, because Urasawa wanted to explore the deepest way of evil, not just in Johan, on how humanity can be twisted in its own way.
Secondly, the world-building is incredible. Sometimes I feel that Monster was taking me to a tour throughout Germany.
But along with all of that drama, tension and suspense, there are moments in which you see the best of humanity, ironically with Johan, but also with Tenma and Anna, because these two characters are like that. They are strong, yet compassionate. They have strong resolve, yet wonderful ideals. And through their journeys, we are able to meet other characters that, indirectly of directly, lead us, little by little, to know more about Johan and Anna.
It is very hard to explain, but Monster is basically a mixture of mystery, suspense, drama, and thriller, all surrounding the theme of the worst of humanity and how some individuals are the worst monsters, and the more you watch the episodes, the more you will feel the same impact that Tenma and Anna are experiencing through the actions of Johan, and if a story can make you feel that, that means is doing something incredibly well.
The same is happening with 20th Century Boys. But that’s another story.
Overall, the story of Monster is something you must experience by yourself, because it is so unique, the strength is on how is narrated, just like with 20th Century Boys, so heed my words. Monster is a monstrous roller coaster.
CHARACTERS
Again, all of the characters in Monster are as fantastic on the story. Urasawa-sensei built them with the same love and care that he did all of the rest. And there is something very peculiar about the supporting cast, and that is that the supporting cast are as valuable as the main ones, when you see the episodes, you immediately convince that they move the story alike with their simple actions. In other words, these are not simple extras, they are humans.
I know some of you will think I am exaggerating, but no. Like I said, it is better to watch these characters, than for me to describe them.
But if I have to pick some characters, those will three. Kenzo Tenma, because he is the personification of humanity, he is compassionate and egalitarian, but loyal to humankind, like a soldier of good. Johan, because he represents evil itself, manipulative, cunning, cold, ruthless, a perfect monster. And Nina, because she is like a dichotomy, of kindness and resentment, of light and dark, and of hope and despair.
Yeah. Kudos for Urasawa-sensei.
CONCLUSION
Naoki Urasawa’s Monster has a beauty that is very hard to put into words, but that is what making it so memorable and so open to binge again and again, like I said, it is a wonderful story of mystery, drama, tragedy, suspense, and thriller with the central them being how some individuals can be the worst monsters.
I will continue watching this anime, little by little because I haven’t recovered from the impact of Netflix’s Dahmer. Until then… I will get another kind of monsters to hug me.
«You don’t make a name as a cyberpunk by how you live.
You’re remembered by how you die.»
Hello my friends. Welcome to another anime review.
First and foremost,… Merry Christmas
Yeah. The moment I was really waiting for. It has been a very memorable year, and we are almost starting 2023, which for me, it is one of the best moments of the upcoming week, but despite this, I got a very healthy, wonderful month, celebrating Christmas with my family and friends.
I apologise beforehand, because I still own you guys all my pending reviews of Chainsaw Man, and they will come. I promise, but I decided to take a little break of them in order to make some other reviews that I must bring you, and if I don’t, I will flatline. Having said that…
I bring to you… One of the best anime of 2022, in my personal opinion.
But before I start with this series. I must ask my friends the typical question:
Are you guys ok? Feeling healthy?
If the answer is yes, then I am happy.
Now… let’s jump to the future with Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. I better do it fast, otherwise, I will be in trouble.
PREMISE
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is a prequel of the famous video game Cyberpunk 2077, produced by CD Project Red and directed by Mike Pondsmith. For those who do not know about Mike Pondsmith, in the past, he created a lot of RPG games which personally I didn’t play, but I have a lot of interest in, including Meklon (1984), Cyberpunk (1988), Castle Frankenstein (1994) among others and, from what I heard it is an amazing fan of Dungeons & Dragons.
Cyberpunk Edgerunners takes place in 2076, Night City, located in the Free State of California, and, in the best fashion of Blade Runner and Blade Runner: 2049, it is full of poverty, overpopulation, crime, corruption and a very depressing atmosphere. David Martinez is a young Salvadoran American man going to the Arasaka Academy, with his tuition fees paid by his mother, the paramedic Gloria, but his life is far from perfect, well… It is freaking Cyberpunk: Edgerunners my friend. Because he is constantly bullied at school and harassed because of his background, no wonder he hates going to school, but he keeps going for his mother; however tragedy soon arrives, because a horrible accident provoked by a drive-by shooting severely injures Gloria, and because their health cover does not pay for her treatment, effectively she passes away, and then, David loses everything, his house, his place in the school, his future. When I say everything, I mean… Everything!
And the quickness in which David’s life took a turn for the worse really impressed me, because it really hits you on how putrid, corrupt, and relentless the setting of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners actually truly is, but I will get there in a minute. The point is that David discovers that Gloria stole a military-grade Sandevistan implant from one of the corpses she attended, because Gloria also sold some scraps to help pay David’s fees before her death. When she discovers that, David demands this implant to be added to him despite the severe risk of his body. But he doesn’t care and uses his new strength to take revenge on the student who bullied him and leave Arasaka Academy for good.
Shortly after these events, he meets with a really beautiful netrunner, called Lucy, and from there, both try to survive in the merciless, dangerous world of the cyberpunks to survive Night City, along with Maine and his gang.
Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is animated by Studio Trigger, which, at this point, I don’t think needs any presentation, but I will give a handful of their previous work…
… Many which I already have a review of their own, and I am leaving the links here in case you are interested.
Going back, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is on Netflix, and it has 10 episodes, all of them released on September 13, 2022. Also, the series was directed by Hiroyuki Imashi, a very well-known name in Studio Trigger, and who also directed Gurren Lagann and Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt. The composer is Akira Yamaoka, who, for me, is best known for composing the soundtrack of Silent Hill 4.
But what really got me of is score is the opening song… This Fire, from Franz Ferdinand. Sheebus!! Man!!! They couldn’t choose a more appropriate song.
And yes… I am still watching all of these fantastic episodes. I am halfway through.
STORY
Oh my! Where to start?
Deja-Vu my friends! Because I am feeling to same way as I did when I was writing my reviews of Outlaw Star and Trigun.
I think I will start saying that I am a huge fan of everything that has to do with the Cyberpunk genre, because it not only has a very imaginative, futuristic setting in which the city can show a very weird beauty and a really depressing revelation about our society, but also because it deals with so many universal themes that always make us reflex in our existence as humans, regardless if it is present or if it is in a couple of decades.
Reason of why movies like Blade Runner, its sequel Blade Runner: 2049, Brazil, Akira and Ghost in the Shell are always some of my favourites. (Although I am still trying to understand the masterpiece of Mamoru Oshii at all.)
And Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is no exception.
The way David loses everything on episode one is full of nuances that made me think, for example, about the horrible inequality of Night City, not only financially, but also socially, because unless you have a very rich dad, or very powerful connections, you are a nobody, and that is perfectly reflected with Gloria, since she was a decent mother, but because she was practically non-existent in the system, she was discarded in a way only the most corrupt, automatized and inhuman societies will do. No matter how hard she worked, not even sheer effort is valued.
Because, in a world like this… If you don’t have real power… Who gives a sh*t about you?
David possibly understood that, better than Gloria, but does not make his backstory less tragic. Combine that with all the crap he has to go through in the next episodes, and you have a very relatable protagonist despite having the life of a criminal.
In other words, despite having only ten episodes, the narrative of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is pretty solid and well-worked, giving us the story of some outcasts that, despite being violent and almost sociopathic, you really root for them.
It is a ruthless world, but David, Maine, Dorio, Rebecca, Lucy and gang have the best motivations. Not a very altruistic one, but one that hooks you. And personally, this is something that many series, both from West and East, can learn. You can have episodes of half an-hour, or almost an hour, like Squid Game, Breaking Bad or The Mandalorian, but if you take advantage of every second to the fullest, you can get something amazing.
In other words – it is better a couple of well-written seconds than hours of pure filler.
Another amazing point is the animation. My gosh!!! Just look at this!!
I still don’t know how Studio Trigger does that, but Night City comes to life with these frames. It is amazing!!! They do not want to water every bit of the setting, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners show us the identity of Night City to the fullest, and not just because it has different colours, buildings, and scenarios, also because sometimes the scenario plays well with the feelings of the characters.
Such as in episode two, where David and Lucy see the Moon. Their hearts are in the Moon… literally. And so are we as audience. You better enjoy that part while can because…
Also, the action sequences are insane. It is like Cyberpunk: Edgerunners took an inspiration from Amazon’s Invincible and The Boys. Every time David “stops” the time to move really fast, it is a treat to the eye. And due to the nature of the setting and ruthlessness of Night City, it is normal to have this much gore, nudity, and blood.
And trust me, after all the abuse of kid-friendliness and bullcrap from Disney, Marvel, and DC before The Suicide Squad, as well as the obnoxious self-censor and PC, something like this is always welcome, because the action is so intense, it sticks with you, it helps you to remember our protagonists.
Finally, and semi-spoilers. Since this world is tragic, most of our characters have tragic ends. Remember what the quote from the beginning.
Finally, every song of the soundtrack is perfect. As if they are composed just for those simple moments. But every time I listen “Let You Down” by Dawid Podsiadlo, I feel a little gap in my heart, and a deep gratitude about being alive.
Grande eres… Cyberpunk: Edgerunners.
CHARACTERS
And just like the setting of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is incredible, so are its characters. I think I already gave my positive feedback to David, who starts being a nobody, being forced to live a life he does not want to a cyberpunk that has acquired freedom, family, and a taste of life, both as an individual and as the partner of Lucy, because it is also through her that David grows, and permits himself to feel his humanity despite his implant.
But Lucy does not feel flat. Absolutely not! I must be honest, I started disliking her for many of her actions, especially through the first episodes, but then I grew up to sympathise with her a lot, especially after knowing her past.
In fact, Let You Down is the perfect personification of what Lucy has been. No wonder the song is present as background on Lucy’s most touching moments.
Furthermore…Bravo to Aoi Yuuki, this is indeed one of her best performances in her career, along with Tanya von Degurechaff and Tatsumaki.
And don’t forget the moment that symbolises the love between Lucy and David.
The other characters do not leave behind, At first, I was scared of Maine, but when I know him better, the same with Dorio.
And… here comes a very unpopular opinion. I mean… Rebecca.
I am aware that for many, Rebecca is the most popular character of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. And me… I am not saying she is not good. She is actually extremely hilarious when she needs to be, and many of her moments are definitely gold, finally, her design is pretty original, and that is a lot to say because many of the character design of this anime really stands out. She is amazing.
But for me, David, Lucy, and Maine stand out better than Rebecca, because I have become more familiar and more connected to their backstory, development, and humanity that it is impossible for me to take them out of my mind. And while Rebecca is amazing character, for me, nothing of what she does will overcome my feelings toward our protagonist. That’s all.
I will repeat myself in case I was clear. I love Rebecca, but if I have to pick my favourite character of Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, I will go for either David or Lucy, and perhaps Maine. That’s all.
Anyway. The characters are amazing, and I love them as much as the anime itself.
CONCLUSION
It is no wonder why this anime has been so successful as of December 27, 2022. Without a doubt, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is one of the best anime of the year, and indeed one of my personal favourites, along with gems like Spy x Family & Chainsaw Man.
Also… Is this the best work of Studio Trigger? Well… One of the best. Personally, I think it is as good as Kill la Kill and… (incoming unpopular opinion) Darling in the FRANXX. Every single I was listening to people saying how good Cyberpunk: Edgerunners is, and now that I watched it myself, I understand its popularity is well-deserved.
Just like Argentina’s victory in Qatar (Admit it, French fans)
Finally, I am very happy that the sales of Cyberpunk 2077 improved thanks to this anime. And yes. After watching the ending, I understand that perhaps, perhaps… A second season might not come, at least in the short term.
But, unlike its characters, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners will be remember by how it lived.
And now… Back to holiday feelings. With a very great surprise I am preparing for the next days. Let me give you a hint.
See you next time because my fire is out of control.
Hello my friends, Welcome to another entry of my blog.
First and foremost,… Congratulations Argentina – FIFA World Champion 2022.
They indeed deserve their victory, and our Argentine brothers really need this historical moment. Thank you so much for this, guys, thanks a lot for that… Messi
I feel so happy, to the point that I want to extend this happiness to all of you my friends, talking about one of my favourite anime, and for those who read my review of Outlaw Star, I think we all know which one am I talking about.
I mean… Trigun.
But before I start, I must ask you my friends the typical question:
Are you guys ok? Feeling healthy?
If the answer is yes then I am happy. And if you wanted for Argentina to become champions in Qatar, then I am euphoric.
Now, wish me good luck to get the 60 billion double-dollar man in Trigun.
TRIGUN
Based on the manga written and illustrated by Yasuhiro Nightow, creator of Gungrave and Blood Blockade Battlefront, Trigun gets us to the planet Gunsmoke, a place completely full of desert and a relentless sun every day, and cold nights. In this planet, there is a living legend, about a man who causes death, destruction, and madness wherever he goes, no one is safe, not the women, not the children, not the elderly, no one. Everything that crosses in his path… apparently dies.
That man is called… Vash the Stampede.
There is a reward of 60 billion double-dollar for his head. Furthermore, he is also called… The Humanoid Typhoon. Rumours and stories like these has been displacing and spreading around the planet Gunsmoke, which is why the Bernardelli Insurance Society sends two of its employees, Meryl Stryfe and Milly Thompson, to look after the damage supposedly caused by Vash the Stampede. Once they meet him, they both realise that Vash the Stampede is not what he looks like, because despite his reputation and superhuman abilities, he often displays a goofy attitude and a pacifist perspective toward life, refusing to kill his enemies.
Now, Vash, Meryl and Milly go around many locations of the planet Gunsmoke, meeting new people and discover the truth beneath the reputation of Vash the Stampede and an accident, in which a city was destroyed because of Vash, many years ago.
Yasuhiro Nightow started publishing Trigun from April 1995, first through Tokuma Shoten, until January 1997. But then, Nightow continued its publication in the Shonen Gahosha magazine, under the title of Trigun Maximum, from October 1997 to March 2007, bringing it a total of almost 19 volumes, with both magazines. Due to the success and popularity of the manga, Studio Madhouse produced a total of 26 episodes, which were broadcasted between April 1 to September 30, 1998.
Again… 1998. The year of the two beautiful Space Western anime that I love and cherish.
Outlaw Star& Cowboy Bebop
Moreover, the anime was written by Yosuke Kuroda, known for Excel Saga, Jormungand, Gungrave, and a personal favourite…
Sword Art Online: Alternative Gun Gale Online.
In addition, Trigun was produced by Shigeru Kitayama (Noir, Trigun: Badlands), and its perfect score was composed by Tsuneo Imahori (Wolf’s Rain), the latter being a member of The Seatbelts, the same band as Yoko Kanno, from… We all know.
With these fantastic, talented artists in charge… What can possibly go wrong?
For my viewpoint… Freaking nothing!!
STORY
Ok! Where to start?
Trigun is a fantastic mixture of drama, comedy, adventure, and the spirit of the Old West I almost grew up during the childhood, brought by the spaghetti westerns created by Sergio Leone…. Almost. Before I continue let me share with you a little anecdote.
It was 2006, and I was watching Cartoon Network – Latin America of course, and I remember finishing an episode of that anime, whose animation remember me a lot of Rurouni Kenshin, called Sakura Wars – I was knocked, and I enjoyed in a way, but then, shortly afterwards, I watched one anime that… reminded me of a very hilarious AMV, I think I got the link here…
Yes!!!
I really love that video.
Okay. On that time, I already got the spirit of Cowboy Bebop so ingrained that I thought perhaps nothing will ever surpass it, until I watched Samurai Champloo, but that’s another story, for another moment. I also watched this anime called… Trigun, I was 100% curious about who that blonde guy was? He looked like a nice guy, and then… Wow!!! He was extremely different from Spike, Jet, Faye, Ein and Ed – Goofy, clumsy, and extremely idiotic… And I love him. He was so full of energy and passion, I wanted to see more. Something different from the gloominess and existentialism of Cowboy Bebop. It was wonderful.
From there, I binge every episode of Trigun. Until the middle of the series, where the darker, most serious episodes take place, the part in which we know more about Vash the Stampede, and why he became so infamous. Those episodes almost shred me to tears, because again… I thought things will not end up well. Yet, I stayed until the end, despite the fear of being as depressed as I was with Cowboy Bebop. Those who watched the latter, will definitely know why?
Luckily, there is some happiness… some fantastic lessons almost at the end. And that was enough for me to consider Trigun, along with its animation, storytelling, and characters, one of the greatest anime of history, and one of the few that can actually… REALLY ACTUALLY… be as amazing as Cowboy Bebop, along with Outlaw Star.
That feeling of adventure, of uncertainty, of calm before the storm, of the relentless atmosphere of the cowboys, and at the same time, that beauty, that folklore, that sci-fi world that gets you for its thoughtfulness and vastness – all of these elements that make the world of Cowboy Bebop so immersive are indeed present in Trigun, but the latter does not copy the former. No. It gets better and more powerful despite being a little being simpler than with Cowboy Bebop or Outlaw Star. Yet, I am not making justice to this great feeling that I felt with the animation, the atmosphere, and the beauty of Trigun. In fact, I think it is something that you must experience by yourself, because trust me…
Very few western anime are able to get this sensations in a perfect fashion. I don’t think you will find something more intense, yet fascinating, and that is why I cherish Trigun the way I do.
Also, I must confess that I enjoy Trigun a little bit more than Cowboy Bebop, for a simple reason – Hope. It teaches you the meaning of hope; with every episode, you know there is hope, with every action of Vash, Meryl and Milly, there is a lesson to be learn, and also… comedy to enjoy.
For me, every episode is better than the previous one. Man!! This is not just an entry, it is a love letter to Trigun. I love westerns, the more action-packed, the better; the more creative, the better, and definitely Trigun is one of my most beloved ones.
Also, for me, the original score of Trigun is as memorable as the one of Cowboy Bebop. Why am I surprised? After all, their composers were in The Seatbelts. And the ending… Wow!!! Simply wow!!!
Anyway, I can keep talking and talking about how great Trigun is. First with some good comedy and adventure in the beginning, and then with thoughtful drama and tension, with the great balance and beauty as Cowboy Bebop and Outlaw Star.
Apologies for the constant comparisons, but I can’t avoid it. Just remember, watch Trigun and believe it.
CHARACTERS
Like I said, all the characters are great. Vash the Stampede is like Kenshin Himura, a laid-back, kind, friendly main character that hides great abilities and a very force to be reckoned with. Kenshin is always one of my favourite characters, and now Vash can compete with him in every aspect.
But… his design is incredible, and I apologise for those who are expecting Trigun Maximum in 2023, but…
This new design does not convince a lot.
Meryl is an excellent female counterpart for Vash, and even though Milly acts as a klutz, she is actually a very profound character, in fact, Milly is definitely the voice of reason for both Vash and Meryl. I have to admit that, aside from Vash, Milly was always my favourite character because the way she is, sometimes when she does something that we could consider stupid, then we see a moment of brilliance and poignancy. It is just wonderful.
And Millions Knives himself.
With that smile, he is definitely a charismatic, scary guy. Trust me, every time I saw Knives, Legato, or any of the Gung-ho Guns… Terrifying.
But…. The best is definitely Nicholas D. Wolfwood, the priest with the great gun, who is a very effective foil for Vash, at least in my personal opinion. Cool, wise, compassionate, but, at the same time, complex. I love him.
Someone said that a hero is as good as his/her villains, well… I say… for Trigun, a male protagonist is as good as its foil, and that is Nicholas D. Wolfwood.
CONCLUSION
There you go… My honest, everlasting thoughts about Trigun. One of the most perfect, sweet, cool, entertaining, wonderful, enjoyable, and well-balanced masterpieces of anime of all time.
Nothing else to say.
I know this conclusion is really short, but I hope it’s enough to share the honesty for the masterpiece that is Trigun.
Hello my space cowboys, welcome to another entry of the blog.
I decided to take a little break from my continuous reviews of the episodes of Chainsaw Man, don’t worry, I am still working on My First Impressions on the last ones, and they will appear eventually. However, I was invited to watch a series that, for some reason, I skipped from time to time. And again, the title says it all. It will be just matter of seconds before I decided that, unless I write a little entry of this anime, I will not be in peace, because it is a already fantastic one, and since I have always been a great fan of both Trigun and Cowboy Bebop (and pretty much most of the work of Yasuhiro Nightow), this is a perfect opportunity to write down about this little gem.
Having said that, I bring you…
OUTLAW STAR
But before I start, I must ask you the typical Question.
Are you guys ok? Feeling healthy?
If the answer is yes, then I am happy. Now, let’s go back with the space cowboys with Outlaw Star.
PREMISE
Outlaw Star is based in the manga written by Takehiko Ito and published by Shueisha from September 20, 1996, to May 20, 1999, and tells the story of Gene Starwind and his business partner, a 11-year-old boy called Jim Hawking, that manage a business that take all kinds of jobs. One day, they receive a job that involves protecting a woman, who later turns out to be “Hot Ice” Hilda, an outlaw who is being chased by the Kei Pirates, a part of the TinPa Empire, and that is after a case that contains a bio-android called Melfina, the only being in the universe that can contact with a spaceship that can travel faster than the speed of light in a matter of minutes. Now, after some skirmishes with other outlaws and members of the Kei Pirates, Gen, Jim and Hilda find Melfina, and eventually they found the ship. However, after a fight with the pirates, Hilda sacrifices herself to allow Gene, Jim and Melfina to escape with the ship.
Finally, Gene names the ship “Outlaw Star” in the memory of Hilda, embarking all in an adventure to discover Melfina’s purpose and past.
But for all this story to make sense, I must talk about the background. Turns out that, some time ago, a new element was discovered by humanity, called Dragonite, which allow it to develop technology to travel through space and build colonies all over the universe. You know, the typical story of space and science. The problem is that this dragonite energy also attracted the attention of the wrong people, including pirates, outlaws, and assassins. And despite Earth created many empires to counterattack these threats, including the already-mentioned TinPa Empire, internal disputes made things worse. Now practically Earth and Space are in a constant state of war.
As you already read, Outlaw Star has an incredibly vast background inside its simple story. Furthermore, Outlaw Star was produced in 1998, by Sunrise.
Do you know which space western anime was released that year by the same studio? That’s right!!!
The always classical Cowboy Bebop.
Outlaw Star was released in a total of 26 episodes, same as Cowboy Bebop, from January 8 to June 25, 1998, on TVTokyo, while its English dub was released on Cartoon Network in 2001, with very notorious censorship on its episodes, including some scenes of Melfina naked.
Finally, Outlaw Star has one of the best opening themes I have ever heard – “Through the Night”, performed by Masahiko Arimachi. Also, I listened to both the TV Version and the whole version of Through the Night, and both are simply beautiful.
Well… It’s the same freaking song.
To be point that I enjoyed as much as the intro of both Trigun and Cowboy Bebop.
You can find the links for both versions here.
STORY
Ok. I must confess that I already heard of Outlaw Star months ago, but for some reason I constantly skipped it. And now that I am watching it, thanks to the Deakin Anime Club… I feel kind of furious, because so far, I am enjoying it, and I watched a lot of good anime in 1998, including Trigun, Cowboy Bebop and Magic Knight Rayearth, although this once was released in 1994.
And I wonder… Why? Why the hell I spent many months skipping Outlaw Star? I got the same issue with Berserk (the original… The good one! Not the crappy version of 2016)
I was full of regret, but then, after some meditation, I also remember all the good anime I grew up with, including Fullmetal Alchemist and Saint Seiya, so yeah… I wasn’t too bad to miss for a while Outlaw Star. No regrets, especially now.
The point is that I am enjoying this series more than I expected, especially for an anime produced in 1998. Every time, Studio Sunrise knows how to surprise me, especially with Cowboy Bebop and Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. Outlaw Star has an animation that has aged really well, every second you fell that incredible feeling of being in space and travelling in colonies, and with the action scenes, they are really exciting, to the point of being as good as with Cowboy Bebop. The movements, the tension, the atmosphere, all of these elements really strong in an animation that knows how to take advantage of its colours and power.
And let’s now mentioned the beautiful, well-done backgrounds. Again, as fantastic as with Trigun and Cowboy Bebop.
For me, many space anime have already hooked me with their very… spacepunk setting. But with Outlaw Star I feel something more unique, allowing me to enjoy it more.
Furthermore, the story has a really good pacing – we come to learn a lot of our characters. Their past experiences with whole development, their new adventures, in which they learn a lot about each other, and the feeling of friendship. Little by little you come to love the characters and root for them, and, in many cases, despises most of their antagonists. Also, the comedy is pretty enjoyable, mostly from Gene and Jim. These two create an amazing duo, with Gene being the sleazy hero, and Jim being the voice of reason. Man! Every time Gene acts stupid, Jim puts him in his place, and yes… I might be old-school comedy, but the characters and the setting are so great you find it hilarious enough.
Perhaps… My only complain about the comedy is that sometimes Aisha can be a bit annoying, but, for the most part, she is hysterical.
Anyway – both the backstory, the action and the rhythm make for a very enjoyable anime. Trust me, if you love Trigun, Cowboy Bebop, or both, you will have a wonderful time with Outlaw Star.
CHARACTERS
Just like I said before, Outlaw Star has a lot of great characters, Gene, Jim, Melfina, Suzuka, and Aisha. All of them have their own personalities and moments of shining. Here is a really funny fact.
Gene is named after Gene Roddenbery, the creator of Star Trek, and a more… obvious one. Jim is named after Jim Hawkins, the main protagonist of Treasure Island, one of my favourite childhood stories, that also inspire another awesome movie from 2002.
Treasure Planet.
Melfina is beautiful and gorgeous, Suzuka has everything you are looking for in a samurai, and Aisha… well, you have to see her to create your opinion. And also… one useless trivia. When I first saw Melfina, I swear I thought she looked like Ameria, from Slayers.
I do not why did I think that.
And also, the Kei Pirates are so fearsome and powerful you really come to hate them for their intentions or loving them for how dangerous and badass they are, just like our protagonist Gene.
Yeah. Great story, great characters.
CONCLUSION
It is no wonder why Outlaw Star has become so popular throughout the years. It is fun, it is poignant, it is original, it brings some new fresh air to the space western anime, and I will never stop repeating this. I have enjoyed it as much as now I enjoy Trigun and Cowboy Bebop.
I am still watching the whole series, and I will do eventually, but I repeat, if you loved these two wonderful masterpieces, you will love Outlaw Star.
Now, time for me to leave, Chainsaw Man awaits, but, like some said before…
Hello my friends. Welcome to another post on my blog, and this time, I bring you my opinion on Episode VII of Chainsaw Man.
First of all, I want to apologize for taking me so long to write this post, but I was very busy with work, I had to work six days a week due to an emergency, but now I’m free, and I take this opportunity to tell you that I just saw Episode VIII – The Last Denji. And what an episode! But first, let’s get things right and talk about Episode VII – The Denji Awakens… more or less.
Enough already! Enough of the Star Wars references, now let’s sharpen the chainsaw.
But first, I must ask you the usual question.
Are you guys ok? Feeling healthy?
If the answer is yes, then I am happy.
Now… let’s move on to Chainsaw Man.
EPISODE VII – RETURN OF THE DENJI
The episode begins with Denji recriminating Aki for getting in the way of being stabbed, but far from doing it out of malice, it reminds him a lot of the debt his father left him with the yakuza.
Having said that, he proceeds to pull the rope on his chest and launch himself squarely against the Eternity Devil. And at the same time that we see, again, a spectacular animation by studio MAPPA, the third ending as background music. remember? Which for me is the second best ending of the Chainsaw Man anime.
And is not for less. – The third ending theme, Hawatari 2 Oku-senchi is the personification of everything that Chainsaw Man is , and Fujimoto-sensei’s vision, art, genius, and a lot of violence, which by the way this battle does not skimp on it.
But that’s what makes it so entertaining, because it’s not afraid to show the brutality of the moment, in a way it reminds me of Saving Private Ryan and its graphic portrayal of war. I wonder if Fujimoto-sensei loves that movie too.
Of course, Himeno, Kobeni and Arai are horrified.
Unfortunately, for Denji, the Eternity Devil takes a lot of his blood, causing his chainsaws to wear off. What’s more, Power herself mentions what is happening.
And look at that pretty nightmare face! Courtesy of the Eternity Devil.
All seems lost until Denji has an idea – to consume the blood of the Eternity Devil, to heal himself and attack again with more force than before. And at this point, the utter loss of Denji’s humanity is shown, since, despite the fact that the Eternity Devil’s blood is sh*t, it has a rich flavour thanks to allowing him to suffer a great bulk of agony.
Simply put, Denji is overjoyed at the grotesque spectacle.
And again, we get an appearance from one of my favourite Chainsaw Man characters, Kishibe, giving us another taste of his «wisdom». That devils only fear the most deranged Devil Hunters, explaining that Himeno’s former companions died precisely because they were sane, and they feared the attack of devils.
But on the other hand, the devils fear those who are mad because it is impossible to know how they think, how to attack them.
The point is, Kishibe leaves, leaving Himeno on her own, but not before asking her to train Aki well, and although Himeno says she’ll take her time, Kishibe tells her she can’t, because Aki is still sane, and she can let the devils kill him.
Faced with this bleak outlook, Himeno proposes to Aki that they become a civilian hunter, so they don’t have to search for the Gun Devil and risk death, but Aki rejects that offer.
Although I have to be honest, seeing Himeno smoking in this scene makes it so much more beautiful.
At once I anticipate that, thanks to this episode, Himeno has already far surpassed Makima as my favourite waifu. A very unpopular opinion, I know, but a very honest one. And if it’s not her, in the end it will be Power.
Returning to the present, the Eternity Devil nearly kills Denji, but thanks to the Ghost Devil, Himeno manages to pull his heartstring and wake him up.
And that’s when Denji comes up with the best idea of all – drinking his enemy’s disgusting blood, hundreds of times, as many times as it takes, to heal and keep cutting him, causing the devil so much pain that it will want to beg to die. .
But what really makes me laugh is that Denji mentions winning the Nobel Prize that way.
And I already imagine it!
DENJI WINS NOBEL PRIZE FOR KICK BOXING.
Or the one of Peace?
And as a sample of Himeno’s beauty! That excited face! Again… more beautiful and charismatic than Makima herself.
The thing is, the battle continues for three days, and everyone is tired, while Himeno goes to check on Aki.
Meanwhile, the Eternity Devil gives up and is thus killed by Denji.
Oh my gosh! For that alone, I would give Denji the Nobel Peace Prize! And really, what Denji did was an incredible feat! If I were Makima, I’d hug, french-kiss him, and have sex with Denji, all after giving him a Medal.
Here Denji! For your heroics, I give you… a Stella.
Not for nothing, Denji ended up passed out and in the hospital.
Although it seems that Aki did not need it, since after a few days, he returns to the service in the company of Himeno, who proposes to have a baby shower, to celebrate that Denji got Himeno pregnant. Nope! It’s a joke! What happens is that she believes that Division Four has never met to meet, and also because, according to her, both Kobeni and Arai are sorry for trying to kill Denji.
Oh! Of course! Now that the danger is over, they feel bad. Of course! Well, in real life, people are like that, so I don’t know why I blame them, although I still think Arai is a clown. And Kobeni still has a lot to give.
The funny thing is that even Aki «rebukes» Himeno for suggesting killing Denji. no matter! Even so, Himeno… I do forgive you.
What’s more, I’m going to take this wise advice.
Thank you Himeno! I hope one day, to be the SIMP you deserve, or the one you are looking for.
Damn you Himeno! I’m already so in love with you, and with Aki, and now you want my heart to break out with your beautiful smile. The thing is, Aki ends up agreeing, on the condition that it be this week, because Makima will be leaving for Kyoto soon, and with that, Himeno asks the million dollar question.
Two million dollar questions.
With that, we finally move on to the beautiful restaurant scene, where all the members of Division 4 gather to be friends. And I remember this week of the manga very well, but the anime adds this endearing human touch that characterizes the animations of MAPPA. I’m going to say it in case it wasn’t clear!
Tatsuki Fujimoto and MAPPA – Winning Combination.
That and the fact that Poderosa hogs the sashimi.
But. Whoa! Look at pretty Kobeni, with her cute little clothes, her girlish beret and her beautiful face. He opened my heart. Kobeni… All forgiven! Although it will not be so for Power if you steal her fried chicken.
At once, I say that this scene is very beautiful, seeing the members of the Fourth Division socializing like this and being friends is very endearing, and seeing Denji, Kobeni and Power happy for the food makes me very happy – the three of them love it deserve. Thanks to the menu though, Denji remembers something very important – that debts to Himeno should not be forgotten.
Therefore Himeno agrees to kiss Denji, after being drunk, at the same time that Denji forgives her for suggesting to kill him.
Did I say the scene was beautiful? Well, with the introductions of Denji, Kobeni and… for some reason, Arai make it even better. But I say right away; Arai still disgusts me, I don’t care that his hobby is Haiku.
The interesting thing is that he also has a contract with the Fox Devil, just like Aki, who reveals that he is friendly with humans, and even more so with Devil Hunters, with whom he has entered into many contracts.
However, we soon remember that Devil Hunters may die soon, thanks to one of the guests, Fushi, saying that his partner, another rookie, passed away the day before, and this expression of Kobeni’s says it all.
Luckily Himeno always breaks the tension, especially with the idea of the kiss.
Just when Makima finally arrives. Hey! One moment.
Isn’t this Devil Hunter supposed to take off her tie? Why does she suddenly have her back? Does she have a contract with the Ghost Devil or what? This is very weird!
And here is the best part of the bar scene! Let the images speak for themselves!
It’s seriously a lot of fun to see Denji in that dilema. But then we go to boring Aki, who starts questioning Makima about Denji and his identity. And Makima is willing to answer Aki, on one simple condition.
And with that, the party is finally set, especially since Power seems to have developed an addiction to the local food.
Reminds me of me at work parties! But one thing is for sure, Makima deserves a bottomless pit from Duffman, and Power regales us with her brain’s most important revelation – her IQ.
Worthy of a Nobel Prize!
But you know what’s as good as the Nobel Prize? Taste Himeno’s sweet tongue!
Yes! Finally Himeno kisses Denji with her little tongue, just as she promised. Incredible! I’ve seen a lot of hentai in my life, especially Shoujo Sect, Boku to Nurse, and Amakano , but I think this kiss beats those by far. Powerful, incredible, and really erotic, or at least in the first ten seconds.
Ladies and gentlemen! Before you… one of the most disgusting scenes in anime in general.
Yes. Himeno vomits into Denji’s mouth. Hmm! Premium vomit! Freshly baked from the factory of filth, with its lubricated acids and drooling bits of food. Ugh! Gross! One thing that does make me laugh is that the vomiting is censored. Come on! It’s the bloody Chainsaw Man! They show all the violence, gore and blood they want, but a vomit is consored. It’s as if I censor myself when I say F*CK, but not when I say SHIT. And I don’t remember if that happens in the manga, but I would swear it doesn’t. I understand that this was done because of the time the Episode premiered in Japan, and I respect that. But when they release the Chainsaw Man Blu-Ray, they will no longer have a reason to continue with the censorship.
The point is that the scene provokes very mixed reactions, Makima asks for tissues to clean, Kobeni is disgusted, and as always Power giving very funny comments.
Hey Power! I’m not a doctor, but I think that’s called eating or drinking depending the case..
And worse still… Denji swallows the vomit. Ugh!
Then we go back in time, when Denji was a kid and he rummaged through the garbage to eat a good burger, and with Pochita, he sees some rats eating someone else’s vomit, which provokes him to make fun of it, and a very cool comment .
But then we’re back to the present, when Denji…well…does what anyone would do after swallowing someone else’s vomit against his will.
Arai ends up helping him, and reveals that he is envious of Denji, who immediately questions him, saying a line that broke my heart.
Seriously, Denji’s bad luck is relentless. His childhood was already horrible because of the yakuza, and now he must endure having his first kiss stained with dirt, both literally and metaphorically. And it breaks my heart because Denji isn’t bad – he’s impulsive, perverted and kind of violent, but he’s not bad. And maybe, no matter how many good deeds you do, life always seems to want to give you nothing but horrible moments, always against your will.
And after seeing Arai help Denji like this, I have to say that the character doesn’t disgust me as much as before. What’s more, I’m even starting to like him better. My respects.
Anyway, soon after Himeno takes him home, and… Despite what happened to Denji, Himeno gives him a beer kiss!
And you can tell she’s still drunk, because she asks Denji why he’s at her house. And after some hijinks and gibberish, Himeno ends up with a proposal that I sincerely hope Denji won’t turn down.
We all know what he’s talking about. And not just because we read the manga.
And with Himeno delighting us with her sensual lingerie, we finish this chapter.
CONCLUSION
Another great chapter of this great anime. It goes without saying, but this particular episode is divided into two parts, one that is the end of the battle against the infamous Eternity Devil, and another that is the restaurant, and although the first one is spectacular, it means that the restaurant scene should come flat. Both have their strengths, which we can all enjoy equally.
But one thing is for sure, thanks to this chapter, Himeno became my favourite waifu, far surpassing Makima herself, and that is that even in the ending, Himeno looks much more beautiful than Makima.
Speaking of the ending, I liked that eighties lo-fi style that they put on it, although the song is not that good. Really. Why do they have such a hard time getting past Chainsaw Blood and Demon, in the name of Devil? I’ll never know, but a part of me feels like maybe they shouldn’t have so many endings, even Dorohedoro had three songs per ending by my count, and that was enough.
Still, it is enjoyed.
Well, I hope you enjoyed reading my review as much as I enjoyed writing it. And go buy a box of tissues, because when we talk about Episode VIII, we’re going to need it.
Jainituos Presents 