A Silent Voice

broderic on February 6, 2019

Koe no Kotachi or A Silent Voice is an anime from 2016. It had the unfortunate luck to be released in the same summer as the anime blockbuster, Your Name.

At that time, I was more excited to see A Silent Voice. It came from Kyoto Animation, one of my favorite anime studios — see my exuberant reviews for K-ON! or Haruhi. Also, I had read the entirety of the manga in one weekend. It is a great and very much recommended read. These things made me look forward to it.

Yet, the US distributor really mucked up the release in America. It came out for a week in LA and NY to make it eligible for the Academy Awards. It didn’t get a wide release until later, but in the short window. When I was aware that it was playing, I missed the local show by a day. I was not going to miss out. The BluRay is taking a while to be released. Maybe this spring.

A Silent Voice is about bullying and redemption. Liking yourself and hating yourself. It will make you cry. It will make you kyun. Smile. The manga made me want to know more about their future. I still want to know more.

4 of 5 stars.

Available in America

broderic on July 30, 2018

O, forgot to tell you on the last Nogizaka post. You are able to watch in the US without the need of a VPN to Japan because, Sony Music, in their infinite wisdom, has unblocked Nogizaka videos from the US. They should’ve done this sooner, but it’s all good. When they come to America in 2019, at least you’ll now know who they are. Just don’t snake my tix!

(08.10.18)EDIT: Put the short version on as now you can buy the dang CD.

Memorial Day is “The Day After Tomorrow”

broderic on May 29, 2004

Last night, we saw The Day After Tomorrow. Just because it is saddled with a ridiculous title doesn’t mean that it is a terrible movie. Like all summer movies, it has a few nits to pick, but overall a rather enjoyable movie. Hmm? Enjoyable? That’s weird because I usually give movies the ambivalent “s’okay” meaning, “Watch it if you must, but I told you so if it sucks.”

I would say the same about The Day After Tomorrow, but it was stupid fun and deserves your money. Cold weather is the new bad guy. Our damsel in distress outruns that wintery blast. Super cooled are freezing things instantly. And everything is CG. What is there not to like about the flick? Watch it if you must, but I told you so that you’re gonna have a fun time.

4 of 5 stars.

Van Helsing… You murderer!

broderic on May 25, 2004

So, last Thursday I saw Van Helsing (You murderer!). Not a very good movie, because it had the barest of plots. Most of the story was in support of the action, and the action was all cliched as if the director (also the writer!) needed to cram all action movie scenes into the movie. Aliens – we got vampire eggs! Fast and the Furious – nothing faster than Transylvania horses! Dracula! Wolfman! I was waiting for them to throw in the creature from the black lagoon.

The overall tone of Van Helsing was to be campy. Too bad no one told Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale.

2 of 5 stars.