It’s been a while since I did a news update. The last one I did actually received a lot of good feedback to my surprise and I was really heartened that everyone who read that post helped out one another as to where we could go to download the movies. So anyway here’s another news update, this time about shounen-genre movies.
I’ll be doing two news updates today; the first is about Boruto: Naruto the Movie and the second is about the live-action adaptation of Shingeki no Kyojin.
Boruto: Naruto the Movie
The upcoming movie’s new trailer has been released and it looks so action-packed and exciting. The story revolves around Konoha’s new generation of ninjas, which of course includes Boruto, Naruto’s son. In this story, it seems that Boruto is unhappy with Naruto’s constant absence and vows to surpass his dad to become an even better Hokage. To do this, he will go to his dad’s best friend and rival, Sasuke and request that he take him on as an apprentice.
What got me so excited for this movie was seeing the new generation of ninjas. Sarada is seen with her Sharingan, Shikadai looks almost 100% like his dad but has Temari’s eyes and Inojin is seen pinning someone down with a sword (and did anyone notice Boruto was wearing Naruto’s old tracksuit jacket at one point? That’s so adorable) – this new generation looks so promising indeed. And not forgetting to mention, the new voice actors voice acting Boruto and Sarada sound amazing, I can’t wait to see this movie the moment it’s released.
I know that many of us were grumbling and disappointed at Sasuke’s pathetic given screen time in The Last: Naruto the Movie but now we know for sure that since Sasuke will be playing an active role in this movie, he’ll definitely be appearing in more than two scenes so rejoice everybody XD
It’ll also be great to see all of the original characters again, this time as adults and parents so we’ll all be looking forward to seeing that.
Shingeki no Kyojin
A new full trailer was also released for Shingeki no Kyojin‘s live-action movie and the use of the 3D Maneuver Gear is revealed for the first time. It looks mighty cool but a lot less cooler than how we saw it being used in the anime to be honest hahahaha!
The whole trailer looks really cool and action-packed, with lots of people just running everywhere. Chaos, chaos, chaos. The titans actually don’t look too bad, realistic enough for a movie as huge as this – I actually felt a chill run down my spine when I heard the Colossal Titan roar. And might I side-track a little to say how cool Eren looks in this trailer, no? 🙂
I really hope this movie won’t let the series down because Shingeki no Kyojin is a really good story but one that involves a whole bunch of graphics and CGI, which can make the movie turn out really fake or really realistic and exceed everyone’s expectations. Hopefully it will end up standing on par to the anime with whatever slim chance it has of doing so.
And that’s all I have for you today! Which of these two movies are you looking forward to watching more? What are you looking forward to seeing most in Boruto: Naruto the Movie? And what are your bets on the success of Shingeki no Kyojin‘s live-action adaptation since live-action adaptations don’t always do their series justice? Let me know in the comments 🙂
Welcome back! For some reason, after watching Shingeki no Kyojin, I had this craving to watch more action-packed anime. But it couldn’t just be any random shounen action anime, I’m quite picky about what I watch. So I ran through a few shounen anime titles in my mind from my bookmark list and carefully contemplated if I wanted to watch them.
Eventually, I decided to try watching this anime called Kuroko no Basket, a show about basketball, filled with characters who had multi-coloured hair. I didn’t have any expectations for this show and I didn’t know much about it, except that only a while ago, there was some hype about it in Japan so it occurred to me that the story must be pretty good enough to give a shot.
I watched Kuroko no Basket‘s first episode a few days ago so here’s the recap:
We’re told that back in the day, Teiko Middle School’s basketball team made its way to the top by beating out all competition. They were so good, that they rose to distinction as the unbeatable basketball champions in the entire nation and were eventually called the “Generation of Miracles”. Each player had different individual talents and later went on to different schools with top basketball teams upon graduating. Although people knew of the five talented regulars, rumour has it that there was a phantom sixth player who was a part of the Generation of Miracles, though not a lot is known about him.
Our attention is taken to Seirin High School’s CCA fair. At the Seirin Basketball Club’s booth, a tall guy with red hair fills in an application form, asking to join the team. He leaves an impression on Aida Riko and Hyuga, the club’s coach and captain respectively before their attention is shifted to another application form that they had missed out. Riko reads out the applicant’s name and is surprised to see that he’s from Teiko Middle School’s Basketball Club, guessing that if he’s a first-year, then he must be from the Generation of Miracles.
At the Basketball Club’s first practice with the newcomers, Riko orders all the first-years to take off their tops to assess them. When she reaches Kagami, the guy with red hair, she’s stunned to see that his body fitness is through the roof and that all his stats are so high that she can’t see his potential. Just as she’s about to finish up, Kuroko Tetsuya, the first-year who claimed to be from Teiko Middle School’s Basketball Club appears right in front of her, making her do a double-take. She asks him since when he’s been there and he says that he was there all along. Riko gets confused, wondering if such a guy with so little presence was really on such a strong basketball team before. Her doubt is further deepened when she asks him to take off his top to assess him and sees that his stats are all below average.
After practice, Kuroko sees Kagami playing basketball by himself and after the two have a brief talk about the Generation of Miracles, Kagami challenges Kuroko to a one-on-one game. Kuroko agrees and the game begins. However, it doesn’t take Kagami very long before he realises how bad Kuroko is at basketball. Frustrated, he ends the game and tells Kuroko that he has no talent for basketball. Kuroko disagrees with his opinion on the strong and weak and says that he loves the sport. He also adds that he’s a shadow.
During a practice match pitting the first-years against the second-years, when the first-years start dropping behind in points, Kuroko steps up and for the first time, displays his basketball talent. He stuns everyone with his invisible passes and helps his team to close the gap to catch up to the second-years’ points. At this point, Riko realises that Kuroko was the sixth phantom member of the Generation of Miracles.
After practice, Kagami goes to his favourite food joint to have a mountain-full of burgers. When he sits down at a table, it takes him a while before he realises that it was already occupied – by Kuroko and nearly chokes on his food (HAHA)
While walking home together, Kagami asks Kuroko how good the Generation of Miracles are. He voices his dream of beating them to become the best basketball player in all of Japan. Kuroko however, immediately pisses him off by matter-of-factly stating that from what he’s seen, at his current level, he wouldn’t be able to reach their feet. But he goes on to say that he’s decided and  promises to help Kagami become the best player in Japan.
I found the plot of Kuroko no Basket compelling and immersive. A single guy wants to be the best player in Japan and to do that, he needs to beat all the members of the Generation of Miracles. He forms an unlikely friendship with a quiet, almost-invisible guy who promises to help him fulfill that wish and that’s what’s interesting because the two are opposites. Kagami is loud, impulsive and aggressive, always charging head-on in everything he does while Kuroko is quiet, observant and cool-headed. The idea of two opposites coming together to become good friends and a powerful, formidable duo is intriguing and the fact that all the basketball players, especially the players of the Generation of Miracles have ridiculously absurd yet cool abilities makes the series so thrilling and exciting to keep on watching.
So far, I’ve seen the appearance of three other members from the Generation of Miracles: Kise Ryouta, Midorima Shintaro and Aomine Daiki but I haven’t seen Aomine in action yet. Other than Kuroko, I really took a liking to Kise because he’s sassy and hilarious when he wants to be. Midorima struck me as this superstitious dude who relied heavily on horoscopes and lucky items, which can be pretty hilarious and ridiculous like a raccoon statue or a stuffed frog. As for Aomine, I haven’t found out much about him yet but he seems to be strong, somewhat cold and someone who’s always raring for a challenge.
I love Kuroko no Basket‘s story line so far and am pretty sure I’m going to continue watching more of it. I wasn’t so into basketball and wasn’t sure how a story revolving around one particular sport would turn out since the last sport anime I watched was Free! and that series was quite different but watching Kuroko no Basket has lit a new interest in me to know more about basketball.
Will Kuroko and Kagami help Seirin, the newbie basketball club rise to the top and defeat all the players of the famed Generation of Miracles? Watch this amazing high-paced series to find out.
This time, I’ll be reviewing the very popular Shingeki no Kyojin, which was the rage last year. At least, it was, until Tokyo Ghoul made its debut and took over that spot as the hottest anime of the year. I know I’m really late for watching this anime and reviewing it only now but I had reasons for doing so. Simply put, I was unable to stomach the violence and gore scenes Shingeki no Kyojin had the first time I tried watching it and so abandoned it after watching a few of those scenes. But feeling that I could stomach horror better now, I decided to try watching it again.
Shingeki no Kyojin‘s genres are action, drama, fantasy, shounen, horror, mystery, tragedy, mature and psychological. The story follows a spirited youth, Eren Yaeger, his foster sister, Mikasa Ackerman and their childhood friend, Armin Arlert who all live within the Walls, which protect them from the outside world, where the Titans roam.
The Titans are enemies of mankind and prey on them even though they have no need of them for sustenance. In a battle against the Titans a hundred years ago, the remaining human survivors built the Walls to protect mankind – Wall Maria, Wall Rose and Wall Sina. As a young boy, Eren admired the Recon Corps, the military section who venture outside the walls to learn more about the Titans and find a way to reclaim land for mankind. But because of the Recon Corps high fatality rates, his family were not supportive of his future plans to join them.
One day, together with Mikasa and Armin, he witnesses the appearance of the Colossal Titan and its attack on Wall Maria. Together with the Armoured Titan, the two break through the wall, allowing other Titans to enter the walls and rampage through the city. While trying to pull his mother out of the debris of his house, a Titan approaches and his mother begs him and Mikasa to run. As he refuses to leave her, she turns to a friend, Hannes instead to save her children and as Eren and Mikasa are being carried away, Eren watches horrified, as his mother is brutally killed and eaten by the Titan.
In his anger and despair, Eren vows to kill and eradicate all the Titans and joins the military years later together with Mikasa and Armin. There, he meets a bunch of other youths who have different reasons for joining the military – for reputation, to join the Military Police and others, sketchy. He does well enough to graduate within the top 10 of his class in fifth position.
Soon after, the Colossal Titans makes a reappearance and attacks the artillery on the walls of Wall Rose. But before Eren could get in a critical strike, it vanishes into thin air. The new recruits are then quickly assigned to defend different parts of the breached city of Trost and Eren is placed on the same team as Armin.
During the battle between the invading Titans, Eren is incapacitated after having his left leg bitten off by a Titan but when he sees Armin in danger of being eaten, he rescues his friend and sacrifices himself instead. Armin watches in horror as Eren loses his arm from the Titan biting it off and is swallowed.
All hope is seemingly lost as Armin’s entire team is wiped out with the exception of himself. When Mikasa arrives, asking for Eren’s whereabouts, Armin tearfully reveals to her his death and Mikasa flies into a fit of rage, brutally killing all the Titans that stand in her way and overusing her 3D Maneuver Gear. Just when she is about to get eaten by a Titan after falling down from the buildings, a 15-metre class Titan appears and attacks the other Titan. It goes on to attack other Titans that stand in its way and it eventually collapses, succumbing to its injuries and fatigue.
Amidst all the smoke spewing out from the Titan, Mikasa watches as a figure emerges from the Titan’s neck. Quickly, she recognises the person to be Eren and goes over to hold him. Still in disbelief and shock, she puts her ear to his chest and listens to his heartbeat. She hears it and begins to cry a flood of tears. (My eyes teared up at this point too)
From then on, Eren is revealed to be a Titan Shifter and mankind scramble to deal with this new discovery – is he a threat? Could he be used to help mankind with the fight against the Titans? Despite not knowing much of all this himself, Eren is forced to go through trial and justify himself and him as a threat. With so many more questions emerged at this point, the story has only just begun.
Shingeki no Kyojin is thrilling, gripping and captivating. It just is.
EREN:
The story is pushed by Eren’s determination to exterminate all Titans and his strong sense of justice. Among all the characters, he’s the one that’s most driven and ready to charge into battle for the sake of mankind, making him so interesting to watch – you just don’t know what crazy, admirable thing he’ll do next. Eren, of course, easily became my favourite character in Shingeki no Kyojin because of his hardheadedness, passion and impulsiveness. To me, he was a character who had qualities other characters lacked; he had a valid reason for joining the military, was a devoted friend to those who were close to him and genuinely wanted to help others if he could. Also, might I mention how amazing Kaji Yuki was in voicing Eren? I first fell in love with his voice after hearing him voice Mabuchi Kou in Ao Haru Ride and was thrilled to hear him voicing Eren when I was watching Shingeki no Kyojin.
Some other characters that caught my attention while watching the series was Mikasa and Levi.
MIKASA:
Mikasa is the first character from the series that instantly appealed to me. With her cool demeanor and unrivalled, impeccable fighting skills, she found her extremely cool and badass. She’s not a person of many words but when she speaks, they’re hardly useless words. She’s highly protective of Eren, him being her last family because if she were to ever lose him, she would have lost her family twice. She’s quite pitiful that way but it justifies her fierce protectiveness of Eren, which goes beyond normal boundaries. Mikasa would do practically anything for Eren and go with him anywhere if it meant that she could be nearby to watch over him. In addition, she’s also a prodigy who had little to no problems during her military training, even graduating at the top of her class.
LEVI:
As for Levi, I was sceptical when he first made his debut in the series. I had heard so much about him, that I was pretty curious to see what this character would be like and why so many people loved him. He sure is a mysterious character, a no-nonsense, business-like guy who doesn’t speak much but is highly talented and skilled in fighting, like Mikasa. He came off to me as aloof and somewhat uncaring but those opinions changed when I saw the scene of him swinging by the trees in the forest, passing by the dead bodies of his men and looking intently at each one of them. It occurred to me that maybe Levi was just really good or just used to suppressing his emotions so as to not let them get the better of him, like Erwin Smith and that’s what makes them such good leaders. I finally understood why Levi was so likeable when I saw him don an apron and mask for spring cleaning.
My verdict on Shingeki no Kyojin is highly favourable. Stories about a dystopian world aren’t usually my thing but I found the animation and fighting sequences, as well as the character development all simply amazing. The voice actors were wonderful and I felt that the story had the right balance of push-and-pull. At one point the characters are given time to train so we take a break from all the adrenaline pumping fight scenes and at another, the characters are thrown into battle so we get the hype from the amazing action sequences. Get what I mean, the balance between the character development scenes and action scenes? I’m sure you do haha.
The gore and violent scenes of the Titans devouring humans took me a while to get used to but I realised that most of them weren’t so bad because the scene immediately switches away from the horror the moment you get the idea of what’s going on to show you the next part of it; usually the blood of the victim splattering everywhere to surrounding characters’ shocked and horrified faces. The only time that I actually reacted in shock such that I instinctively threw up my hands in front of me to block my computer screen was when one of the soldiers in hiding lost all hope in ever winning against the Titans and loaded a gun to shoot himself straight through the mouth. I’ll never forget that scene.
Oh yes, I think the series’ first opening song also deserves a mention! I think it was appropriately composed to make the viewer feel all adrenaline-rushed and hyped up; the graphics for the opening scene alone is fantastic, showcasing the famous 3D Maneuver Gear in action and the intensity of the war between mankind and the Titans just by sheer numbers. It’s in fact, one of the most pumped-up opening songs I have ever heard that makes you want to get up and charge into your computer screen into battle with the characters to fight for freedom. At least, that’s what it makes me feel hahaha. 10/10 for the opening song!
I’m definitely going to read the manga now to see the continuation where the series left off though it probably won’t be as adrenaline-filled as watching it in animation. Shingeki no Kyojin sure surprised me, by surprising myself at how much I liked it. For now, characters struggling to survive in a dystopian world is the rage.
When will humanity get tired of watching humanity struggling to live? Hahahaha
Character likeability / Character background: 9/10
Welcome back to another review post! Today I’ll be reviewing Ore Monogatari!!, a shoujo anime that came out around the same time as Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso.
When I first saw the art for this anime, I was pretty sceptical; one of the characters isn’t handsome at all, don’t tell me he’s the one who’s going to get together with the girl??? It just isn’t your typical shoujo whereby the guy and girl are well-suited for each other in personality and looks. Well, I wasn’t expecting much but I saw a few screenshots from it on Facebook and they were hilarious. I decided that I give this anime a go.
Ore Monogatari!!‘s genres are shoujo, romance and comedy and the anime is currently ongoing.
The story is about Gouda Takeo, a first year high school student who longs for a girlfriend. Personality-wise, Takeo is great, he’s righteous, helps anyone who’s in need and is a kind and caring person. He has a problem though: his big, bulky frame and fierce facial features are often deemed as scary and intimidating by the girls he has crushes on. In addition, his crushes often look past him to focus on his handsome and cool best friend, Sunakawa Makoto. But despite this, Takeo never bore any grudge against his best friend and has come to accept the fact that girls would normally prefer Suna over himself.
One day while riding the train, Suna spots a man groping at a girl’s skirt and Takeo marches over to confront him. He rescues the girl, who turns out to be cute and petite and manages to turn the groper over to the security officers at the next station.
The girl, named Yamato Rinko comes over to Takeo’s house to thank him for rescuing her and offers him and Suna a cake that she had baked to express her gratitude. When Takeo sees her chatting with Suna, he thinks that she must have taken a liking to him and promises to set her up with his best friend so that she can be happy because he has fallen for her.
The twist however, is that it turns out that the one Yamato has fallen for, isn’t Suna but Takeo himself! With Suna’s intervention, Yamato confesses her feelings for Takeo and the two become a couple. The episodes following that explore Takeo and Yamato’s new relationship as boyfriend and girlfriend because it is both their first serious relationship. And it’s hilarious.
Picture credits to Manga Town
I love how Suna allows Takeo to do all sorts of weird things to him all in the name of friendship XD
If you asked me what my ideal best friend is, it is this guy right here.
So anyway, I really enjoy watching Ore Monogatari!! so far. Takeo is this big bear figure character who’s only flaw is his looks, Suna is his perfect, prince-like best friend and Yamato is the cute princess who looks past Takeo’s looks and wholeheartedly appreciates and admires him for his kind heart. It’s refreshing to see this strange mix of characters thrown together in a shoujo anime and I think that’s what makes it stand out from the rest of the competition.
What will happen in the days to come of Takeo and Yamato’s love story? Watch this anime to find out 🙂
Character likeability / Character background: 8/10
Overall story: 7/10
Re-watchability: 9/10 (The series is really funny and bulk of the comedy mostly involves Takeo involving Suna into his schemes/problems/plans for just about anything)
myanimangalist 