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Stanley Fung

Stanley Fung

Monday, 22 November 2021 14:59

Cowboy Bebop Live Action Retrospective

If you were one of the fans of the original Cowboy Bebop that was skeptical that it could be easily adapted to live-action, consider yourself vindicated. From the outset of this project, adapting a beloved science fiction anime to live-action would have been a tall order that would have demanded a budget to match. Add Netflix’s Cowboy Bebop to the list of flawed live-action adaptations whose ambition exceeded the budget and, at times, the talent. It wouldn’t be the first time this had happened. Just ask the folks who tried to adapt Akira, or to the earlier iterations of Dune. Perhaps this will go down as another unremembered lesson on how animation can be a better medium for a more economic budget. It’s not a completely unmitigated disaster, but the shadow cast by the original will often eclipse this adaptation.

Wednesday, 26 May 2021 14:45

Sailor Moon Eternal: The Movie Review

There is a moment in Sailor Moon Eternal where Chibusa (Sailor Chibi Moon) wishes to be an adult while her mother Usagi (Sailor Moon) jests it must be nice being a spoiled child. Chibiusa insists she wants to be an adult so Mamoru (Tuxedo Mask) will look at her as a woman. If you are confused at this point, you will need to watch Sailor Moon Crystal to understand the nuances of the story. Eternal is here to give a condensed adaptation of the Dream arc of Naoko Takeuchi’s renowned Sailor Moon manga or as some veteran Sailor Moon fans remember as Sailor Moon SuperS. On that level, Eternal succeeds in condensing SuperS into two films while giving Sailor Moon a fresh visual update.

Wednesday, 19 August 2020 10:00

Eastern Exorcist (PC) Review

Eastern Exorcist is a new side scrolling action RPG that is still in Early Access. Nevertheless, there is still much to appreciate with the three chapters worth of gameplay currently on offer. You play the role of Lu Yunchuan, a Taoist Exorcist who hunts demons and evil spirits in a fantasy version of ancient China. Your first mission goes horribly wrong, two-thirds of your fellow exorcists are killed, and you are expelled from your order in disgrace. Your last task is to take the ashes of your dead comrades home to their villages where they were born so that they can be laid to rest. Unfortunately, in this world demons and evil spirits have run amok and Lu gets forced into saving said villages and exorcising evil.

Monday, 13 July 2020 09:56

Sakura Wars (PS4) Review

Almost a decade has passed, the Sakura Wars franchise finally has a new game release outside of Japan. Sakura Wars (2019) takes place in an alternate 1940s (about a decade after So Long My Love) where Taisho Democracy endured and technology evolved into steampunk with airships, steam powered machines, and Edwardian opulence. The game seeks to be a soft reboot for the venerable franchise that has largely been forgotten aside from the iconic opening tune for older anime fans. For those new to the Sakura Wars franchise, it was a traditional dating sim game with tactical RPG elements stapled on. In the new Sakura Wars, the tactical RPG gameplay is replaced with a hack and slash fighting game akin to Dynasty Warriors. After a lengthy absence, has Sakura Wars delivered on a successful reboot, or is this a short and pleasant reminder of the Playstation 2 era of video games?

Tuesday, 11 December 2018 07:00

Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown Preview

It’s been almost 12 years since Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation, but come January 2019 Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown will bring players back to Strangereal at the start of a new war between the Kingdom of Erusea and Osean Federation. As Mage 2 (aka Trigger) in the IUN peacekeeping forces, it will be your job to counterattack after the Erusean opening airstrikes routed Osean forces on the Usean Continent. To make matters worse, Erusean Drone Fighters have stuck all major Osean military bases in Osea itself and have seized the International Space Elevator. Bandai Namco was kind enough to allow us to have some hands-on time with Ace Combat 7, but even with the three missions available to play, the story is still largely under wraps until launch day.

First debuting solo in 2008 as “agraph”, Kensuke Ushio is a Japanese composer with three albums so far. Ushio and other members also helped form the band LAMA in 2011 with NAKAKO (iLL/ex. supercar), Miki Furukawa (ex. supercar), and Hisako Tabuchi (bloodthirsty buchers/toddle). As a solo musician artist, Ushio has created music for various popular anime series and movies such as Ping Pong the Animation, Space Dandy, Devilman Crybaby, and A Silent Voice. Along the way Ushio has also done remixing, producing, commercial music, and has continually created musical works in varying fields. While Ushio was at Anime Expo for the US premiere of Liz and the Blue Bird (Liz to Aoi Tori), he was able to spend some time with us for a short interview.

Anime short films are a rare breed but while there can be too many cooks in the kitchen, in the case of Flavors of Youth it works. Much like a three-course meal, the first film Hidamari no Chōshoku (Rice Noodles) is a great appetizer. The main course Chiisana Fashion Show (A Little Fashion Show) serves as the strongest peak by far, and Shanghai Koi (Shanghai Love Story) is a sweet little dessert to finish off. The Chinese idiom (衣食住行) that states the four basic necessities of life: food, clothing, housing, and transportation serves as a tagline, and to be fair, each of the three shorts does a good job of sticking to their assigned part. However, the theme that weighs most heavily all three shorts is the inexorable passage of time.

Anyone familiar with anime has encountered the yuri genre at some point. For the most part, Yuri is about girls being in love and falls into three categories. First, there is the kind of yuri that merely hints at lesbianism as a sort of phase for young girls. The second is the kind that exists for male titillation. The last is the rarer kind of yuri that actually tries to portray true-to-life lesbianism. Kase-san and Morning Glories falls into this third category. It had existed as a manga before a chance encounter with director Takuya Sato, who was so impressed with the work that he spent two years making Kase-san and Morning Glories his passion project. The result is a film that is faithful to the original work of Hiromi Takashima and a revelation for anime films.

It’s been three years since Sound! Euphonium (Hibike! Euphonium) aired, but thanks to the magic of anime, no one has aged aside from the folks behind the scenes. Coming off the wonderfully executed A Silent Voice (Koe no Katachi), director Naoko Yamada and composer Kensuke Ushio team up once again to fashion a new ballad. The US premiere and panel at Anime Expo gave a lucky few a musical treat.

If you ever wondered what a pure, unfettered Mari Okada anime would look like, Maquia would be the first chapter in a work that is undeniably her own. For those who have never heard of Mari Okada, she is a longtime series composer/screenplay writer that often refined or assisted in the stories of others. Notably, Okada worked on Anohana and Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, but Maquia marks her directorial debut while retaining control of the script.

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