It's that time of year where I look back at my year and info dump about media Ive seen, played, or masturbated to-mainly the first two.
Of course, these aren't my favorite things this year. I'll talk about those in a later date.
With that said, young mediums first. Let's start with video games.
Video Games
Harold Halibut
I normally start each section with the entry that was on the cusp of making it on my favorites lists. For gaming, I have to give it to Harold Halibut.
This game is a low key but far traveling frequency type of game. It's not the most mind blowing thing I've played, but it's stayed on my mind ever since I played it back in April.
For starters, I must preface that Harold Halibut has a lot of things I like in a story. It has an emphasis on characters. The narrative centers around an interesting concept that informs the characters and puts them in scenarios that force them to make interesting decisions. From a video game standpoint, the concept is unique at least in the modern sphere of gaming. Sure, the schlub is about as common as you can get for a protagonist especially in point and click adventure games. And yeah, I believe an underwater city has been done before in video games, but it isn't ringing a bell.
But thankfully, Harold Halibut has a selling point that's perfect for a IGN headline. The entire aesthetic is entirely stop motion animation. Now, all you need is the game to take exactly 65gb of storage space hostage and you can play this weird little game.
Man, 65gb is a fucking lot for an indie game. Didn't enjoy the last minute computer clean up to get the game on my laptop, but I digress.
Anyway, Harold Halibut does two things I really like despite being minimal in its gameplay. It's character driven serving a coming of age story which seldom happens in video games, at least one that's as interesting as Harold Halibut. I mean come on, a guy who falls in love with a communist society and becomes increasingly distant with the humans that raised him and their views on society. You won't see that shit get nominated for the Game Awards.
The second thing is that it's quite well written. The dialogue is awkward and human. They never go for the cheap narrative devices like a cartoonishly evil executive or making the aliens sexy blue people. Everyone acts realistically and with depth.
My only qualm is similar to a lot of games like this which is that this would be better as a TV Show. I personally don't think the interactivity enhances the experience all that much. Granted, you can potentially make the argument on the contrary as it certainly tries harder than games like Gris and Artful Escape. However, the gameplay was lacking for me, and that was enough to get it off the Top Ten list this year.
Still, I still think it's worth looking at especially if you want a solid narrative.
There is No Game
"What if video game characters had feelings?" I say jokingly to evoke the Pixar meme.
This game has been compared to a Pixar film, and the comparisons are warranted. You have a concept that feels like it was pulled out of an ass of a nervous producer at a pitch meeting. The concept is then executed in such a confident and fleshed out manner, and you're face with a reality that an artist outsmarted you.
I got whiffs of Ghost Trick where Im not sure if the story or gameplay came first. If a lesser artist thought of the gameplay first, they wouldn't have bothered beefing up as much of the emotional depth of the characters. And if the story came first, I don't think the gameplay wouldn't have been as creative or interesting.
That said, There Is No Game can also be compared to a lesser Pixar movie. By that, I mean while the standouts are great, it wasn't the satisfying meal that you will feel long after you finished it.
Because at the end of the day, you can put on all the bells and whistles you want. It is still just one meta joke just done in a million different ways. Impressive, but it's not the kind of variety I crave when consuming media.
It's also a game that doesn't invite revisiting. The surprise from going in blind is the biggest strength with this game's narrative. But once that trick is played, the impact is lessened.
It's overall a perfectly fine one off game. This would be the ideal game to put on a subscription service. After all, presentation is everything, and burying this thing in a library of games would make unbeknownst players discovering its hidden depth that much more meaningful.
Just not the players reading this section. Ummm, spoilers....????
Kill the Crows
A game that has sent shockwaves through the indie scene was Vampire Survivors. I played it for the first time this year and can agree to its appeal. That said, one comment I heard said that Vampire Survivors feels like an arcade game from the 70s snd 80s. And to that, I have to disagree. I wouldn't call Vampire Survivors an arcade game but more a giant checklist that hits that completionist dopamine. And unlike something like Pacman, Vampire Survivors doesn't quite reach the level of skill expression and practice the difficulty of those arcade games compel.
But if you want a game that tickles that arcade era, I'd recommend Kill the Crows.
Like it's arcade peers, the gameplay can be explained in two sentences. You're a gun slinger gunning down waves of goons and monsters. And if a single bullet touches any flesh, it's going to fall onto the ground.
This leads to a frustrating amount of fairness. I say frustrating because dying means you can't blame anything but yourself. All the enemies are well telegraphed and die in one hit just like you. Mistakes you made are clear meaning you aren't left with the vague sense on how to improve your play.
Unfortunately, it's quality as an classic arcade game has a drawback. It's very thin in content. There are a sparse amount of loadouts and not many things to unlock. Unless you are a world record seeker, you might not get much out of it after reaching the ten hour mark. But at the same time, not every game needs a 40 hour runtime, a compelling narrative, or elaborate roguelike elements. Some games just want to be Pacman.
What's important at the end of the day was that I payed less than five dollars for this game and got more than my money's worth. In that regard, Kill the Crows is a phenomenal success and worth the impulse buy at a Steam sale.
#BLUD
The one of two games on here that had the prospects of really impressing me but fell short.
#BLUD is a 2D hack in slash in which a teenage girl fights vampires in the art style of a Saturday Morning cartoon show. And as the hashtag suggests, there is a lot of references to internet culture and zoomers being zoomers.
Aesthetically, it's perfect. The animation is wonderful and fluid. You can tell it was a game made by animators. You can also tell the game was made by animators because the combat fucking sucks.
It's been a while since a game frustrated me this much. Jank is littered across every screen. You will get hit a lot, and I don't know how much of it is the fault of my own. Enemies will have different weaknesses in order to open themselves to an attack meaning awkwardly switching to different items which ruins the flow of combat. You also have to do this while other enemies gank you and chase you down. Invisibility frames are limited, so you often get hit twice by the same enemy. Sometimes as you are opening doors or the menu.
It at times feels untested. There is one section that I loathed where you have to push an ice cube through a heat maze to make a bridge. But, fire vampires will spawn, and you barely have any room because you have a giant ice cube to push around and fire hazards surrounding you. And for whatever reason, this is one of the few rooms where these enemies will respawn. It is beyond jank.
The overworld and side quests weren't compelling enough for me to do which in turn made the game more janky and difficult cause I wasn't stocked with upgrades. The overworld is too spread out and you move way too slow. This and the next game on this list really made me appreciate the elegance of A Link to the Past. It shows when a game doesn't learn from the lessons that Link to the Past taught masterfully.
I find myself saying this a lot with indie games, but this could have been better as a movie or TV show. The animation and writing is when #BLUD is at its most polished, and I would have preferred to just watch that instead of having to slog through unpolished gameplay. I could see this being an alternate reality ABC Kids show where the censors were really bad at doing their jobs.
Plucky Squire
I normally end each section with my least favorite. Or at the very least, a dishonorable mention.
Now, Plucky Squire is no where close to being a bad game. Even within the scope of this year, video games had genuine dumpster fires, some on a historic scale. Concord became one of the biggest failures on par with ET for the Atari 2600. Ubisoft's first attempt at releasing a so called "AAAA title" was met with almost universal indifference from the community. Suicide Squad practically put the final nail on the coffin of live service games being the forefront of mainstream video games. Of course, Plucky Squire wouldn't even compare even if was twelve times as worse as what it actually is.
However, this is the worst game I personally played and was the most disappointed by. I saw a trailer for Plucky Squire late last year and was immediately taken by the premise. But in short, I found the game too kiddie for my tastes.
It's ok. The writing could have been worse. It just lacked any oomph to make me absorbed by it beyond the novelty of the art style. I suppose the best way to describe it is to compare it to its older brother, the Legend of Zelda. And even with the more stoic entries in the series like A Link to the Past, the games have an identity and vision that carries a sense of conviction. In Plucky Squire, its vision is simple puzzles and homaging iconic titles like Punch Out. For having such a clever visual style, the substance is rather bland. A few cute gags aside, nothing jolted me in the same way a Zelda adventure has.
And then, I soft locked at a certain point. And in my experience, if you come across a soft lock and you're first thought is "do I honestly want to repeat a portion of a game I wasn't having fun with in the first place?" Then yeah, you should call it quits. Fuck this. The only squire I want to pluck is my dick.
*At the time of writing, they added a streamlined mode that addresses some of the pacing issues. I still don't think it doesn't address the issues I had, so I have no intention to replay the game to see if it's now worth finishing.
Other Mentions:
Arzette: I already said my piece on it. I maintain it should get an award for Funniest Bit at the Game Awards.
Botany Manor: Accidentally left it out of the Gamepass Review. Certainly a nice little puzzle game to pad out a gaming subscription service.
Crow Country: I didn't find it as replayable as a classic Resident Evil title, but it was a solid title.
Cryptmaster: Combat got too repetitive to get invested. I just want fun word puzzles and a snarky skeleton man. Why make me fight the same bitches?
Ender Lillies: Really solid Metroidvania. It's a testament to the competitiveness of the genre that a polished, nearly flawless game is still nowhere near my Top 10 Metroidvanias.
The Golden Idol Series: Solid deduction game with one or two horseshit sections that tilted me into taking an angry nap.
Gravity Circuit: A game with really good movement mechanics.
Gunbrella: Another game with really good movement mechanics
Krimson: Great game that helped satiate me through my heavy metal phase this year.
Slay the Princess: I want Jonathan Sims to narrate my life.
Movies
Destroy All Monsters and Minus One
This year, I went through all the Godzilla films minus TV shows and American edits. Initially, the purpose was to do a Films That Didn't Click entry on the more famous Godzilla films. But then, I fell into the rabbit hole. And now, 39-ish films later, and I am a different man. And what did I get out this? I'll tell you. I got two Godzilla films that were pushed out of a top 10 and a scrapped Films That Didn't Click entry because I didn't have much to say on it. 39 films to write a 300 word section. This is why I am not an entrepreneur.
Anyway, to salvage as much of the Films That Didn't Click: Godzilla Edition entry as I can, I will start by saying that I had a long history of Godzilla. One of my first reviews I wrote was on Godzilla ('14), and it was as bad as the movie itself. Despite this, I never cared for the Godzilla films.
After this marathon, I came to two conclusions. One they are brimming with potential but never crack the glass ceiling to being a masterpiece. And two, they really need to stop America from touching the franchise.
Minus One is on the cusp from being amazing. Yes, it's great. But it's a case of 4.5 stars with rough edges that keep it from being a 5. I feel like Minus One is a really well made proof of concept. Proof that Godzilla can be intimate, grounded, and focused. It just needs a bigger budget and in my opinion a slightly better writer to iron out a few pieces of hokey dialogue and odd story choices (referring to the ending in particular). Like, can you imagine a Godzilla script penned by Bong Joon-ho? Heck Godzilla '14 shows that having someone like Frank Darabont merely hold a script for a little while can give a movie an iota of greatness. Imagine if someone as talented as that got to write a Godzilla film? I think Takashi Yamazaki is taking the franchise in the right direction, but he can't do it by himself, and I think it will a talented mix of people to take Godzilla to the next level.
That or they can remake Destroy All Monsters. Yeah they they already did with Final Wars, but that movie sucks. Take a schlocky concept, avoid the Joss Whedon dialogue, make sure the pacing is good and the characters are likeable, and you got a winning film to eat popcorn to. Destroy All Monsters is the closest to perfecting the schlocky side of Godzilla, and I hope someday we get something more modern and stylish to take the mantle. I would ask the Americans to do it, but they are 1-4 in their adaptions being worth watching.
Anyway, I could complain about Godzilla '98 but Im already pass the 300 word count. I got to move on.
Slow
*spoilers included*
For YEARS, I wanted a bonafide asexual romance. And finally, we have Slow. And, Im happy to announce that this is the most accurate depiction of asexuality because it's about the misery and heartbreak of having to deal with straight people.
Slow is about a straight woman who gets into a relationship with an asexual man and having to navigate that kind of nonsexual relationship. Spoilers, it goes poorly.
I want to lead with that because this isn't a Love, Simon that celebrates a sexual identity and is just a cinnamon roll good time. This is a true to life and honest depiction of asexuality. So true to life, I would say that this will hit close to home for any asexual whose been in or try to be in an intimate relationship with an allosexual person.
It was a tough watch man. And honestly, I would have preferred a happy ending asexual romance. However, I cannot deny how important a film like this for the asexual community. Often asexuals and their struggles are minimized. We are always the bottom of the Oppression Olympics in the LGBT community.
This provides an angle that needs to be shown. That being asexual can be an isolating life. The feeling of being inadequate to someone just because of your sexuality. Slow depicts this beautifully. It doesn't antagonize anyone, and the acting creates a believable scenario of a relationship that isn't working out.
A movie like this would certainly be a candidate for my favorites list. However, the movie has a rather slow (no pun intended) second act. I also wouldn't recommend this movie unless the person really wants some niche insights into asexuality. It's more nuanced than a Love, Simon, but the flip side is that it won't be effective in normalizing asexuality for a broader audience. Oh well, at least we have Todd Chavez.
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Now since Ive seen Lord of the Rings before, I can't include it in my best of list. I know it sucks. But if I include rewatches, I will have to include Lawrence of Arabia and the Great Chipmunk Adventure, and the whole list will get bogged down. Like, honestly, do you want every list from every year from now on to include the Great Chipmunk Adventure, because that's what will happen. This is just another thing you can expect from a second Trump presidency.
Anyway, this year I fulfilled a few major bucket list items by finally watching Lord of the Rings and Lawrence of Arabia in theaters. And if you're a Lord of the Rings fan, or even a fan of movies, you owe it to yourself to do a trilogy marathon in theaters.
Return of the King benefitted the most from this rewatch. I was always partial to Two Towers, but I gained the newfound appreciation to the payoffs in Return of the King. The ending, one that I initially found too drawn out and frustrating, became one of my favorite endings ever with this trilogy marathon. There is a different feel to intimately sitting through the journey over a short period of time.
As I was leaving the theater, it had been raining. And in the horizon, there was a double rainbow. And I thought, "man, there is no better way to describe Lord of the Rings." A trilogy that could have easily been a dumpster fire under different circumstances. One that's evident by the shoddy release of Rings of Power and Gollum. There is a freeing feeling knowing that corporations can throw all the money in the world at something, but you can't pay for sincerity.
So yeah, I discovered Lord of the Rings is great. What a discovery in 2024. Maybe the next multimedia roundup, I can talk about the critically acclaim experience of a woman's touch.
Megalopolis
One of my most anticipated releases was Megalopolis. Not that I thought it would be good. Oh God no. I just knew it was the kind of movie that would be fun to talk about.
Francis Ford Coppola is the kind of movie director that I respect than admire. On one hand, his raw creative energy has without question helped make some of the greatest movies ever made.
That said, there is more to directing than "being creative" as evident of my freeloading classmate that I was assigned to do a group project with, and I think that's why Coppola's films these last few decades have been unable to succeed compared to his 70s filmmaking peers like Martin Scorsese.
Megalopolis is what happens when you have a movie of just raw creative energy. No restraint, focus, or self-awareness, just "being creative."
The entire movie could work in a theoretical sense. The movie is a modern retelling of Rome which has worked in Titus. It has wild imagery and evokes ambitious themes on our society. And again, things from Brazil to Mulholland Drive have succeeded in doing just that. It tries to be a throwback to old Hollywood. It tries to be an allegory to American politics. It tries to-fuck it everything. Megalopolis is the most unyielding force of ideas outside of a Kojima project.
The problem is that Megalopolis is completely nonsensical. It throws basically every idea that Coppola likely had in the last thirty years and put them in a melting pot hoping it would create a wonderful soup and not a soapy mess. For that, I can at least respect the pure uncompromising nature of the movie. However, going back to what I said, there is more to storytelling than being creative. Coppola chose creativity over creating a satisfying narrative, and you can't live on creativity alone.
It's frustrating because Adam Driver and Audrey Plaza do a solid job with the material. If the movie was reworked, I could see this movie having the best of both worlds. Channeling Coppola's ideas while still having compelling writing for an audience to emotionally connect to. Instead...well...it just sucks.
2025: A World Enslaved by the Virus
My fondness for bad movies means Im compelled to write about at least one bad movie during these round ups. And man, I have been waiting all year to write about this piece of shit.
I mentioned in my blog about Worst Movies that I don't think this isn't the ideal Worst Movie. And yeah, there is not much to talk about hence why I didn't write a standalone review for it. That being said, that has stopped this movie for staying rent free in my brain throughout this entire year.
Remember when propaganda films were well made? Like, say what you will about Birth of a Nation and Triumph of the Will, but cinephiles can't deny their innovations to not just their genre but to cinematic language as a whole. They were filmmaking pioneers. But now? Now, they're just this shit. How far we've fallen.
Part of me wants to rag on the social commentary that has compelled mass shootings, anti-LGBT legislation, and anti-vax sentiments. But honestly at the end of the day, this movie is too boring to even be effective Christian propaganda. I can imagine a group of MAGA hats screening this for a movie night and being helplessly bored despite helplessly trying to agree with its messaging.
The only positive about this movie is that it highlights the reality of when we do eventually take over and enslave all the Christian white people. I cannot wait. I have leaves that need to raked. I got a bathroom that needs cleaning. Id like to have my white slave sooner rather than later. Imagine how much I can get done? And because they're so disposable, they require absolutely no maintenance! You just pop them in the head and throw them in a ditch with the other disposed white people.
...anyway, this movie ain't worth watching.
Other Mentions:
Deep Sea: "She's a ten but has a boring personality" in movie form.
Joker: Folie a Deux: Those who loved the first Joker movie despite it being wholly unoriginal and pretentious sure figured it out this time.
Late Night with the Devil: Someone put David Dastmalchian with a proper budget for a Oscar campaign so this bastard can get an Oscar already.
Longlegs: Oz Perkins is the teacher's pet of horror movie directors. Of course, the movie is good.
MaXXXine: Someone should tell Ti West that Censor already exists and did this premise better.
Memoirs of a Murderer: Tried to watch Memories of a Murderer and accidentally put this on instead. Apparently, this is an reoccurring issue. In any case, the Koreans know how to make a good thriller, and this movie reinforces it.
Once: Solid romance movie whose soundtrack probably would appear my Spotify Wrapped if I had one.
Raw Force: A legitimately solid B-Movie. Great if you need something for a movie night.
Sex, Lies, & Videotapes: Glad to finally get this off the blindspot list. Really solid film that holds up fairly well.
Will and Harper: Surely, we can have a movie someday that has a trans person and isn't forced to discuss the horrible shit they go through because bigots are deplorable. Well, I imagine we will someday, and don't call me Shirley. I identify as a man.
Television
Promise Me, Dad
Instead of starting with a show that barely missed the best of list, let's start this section on television with a book I didn't finish.
Promise Me, Dad is a book written by Joe Biden. And if you know me well by now, you know this is just an excuse for me to talk about the election, and I won't have a single thing to say about the book itself. So, let's skip the foreplay and talk about the things I actually want to talk about
I had a tradition where I wrote a blog post about the presidential election. And this time around, I didn't do that. And the simple explanation is that I didn't have anything new to say. This election would determine how predictable the next four years will be, and the nation decided unpredictability-and not the good kind.
I guess to tie it in to Joe Biden's book. Life is not meant to be easy. Everyone is vying for their own self-interests. And even if everyone was sing-songy wonderful, it wouldn't stop the darkness of cancer and other circumstances completely beyond our control. There was a comfort reading Biden's rumination on tragedy. Biden had everything thrown at him, but he remained resilient and became one of the most powerful people on the planet. Regardless of what you think of his politics, you can't deny how inspiring Joe Biden's career was. And despite Kamala Harris's defeat, it doesn't takeaway Biden's gallant gesture to step down. A humility that the Republican party can't hope to replicate.
I guess that's my takeaway from this year. We as a species are incredibly strong. We can overcome anything thrown at us. It's just this time we have to be resilient against a common trope in American culture: out of touch racists who haven't outgrown their barbaric insecurities.
Anyway, that's my review of a book I didn't finish.
Scott Pilgrim Takes Off
Now let's finally talk about a TV show...(that I technically watched last year but forgot to put it in last year's Multimedia Roundup.
Anyway, in short, it's fine. Which if you're from the future, that statement might mean nothing to you. But you must be cognizant of the fact that this is apparently a highly contrarian opinion for 2023/2024 standards. People LOVE this show, and it simply didn't click with me.
The short answer as to why was because I really LOVE the Edgar Wright film, and the things that are great with that version isn't there in the TV show.
The Edgar Wright film is a perfectly edited experience of human beings acting like cartoon characters and Scott Pilgrim Takes Off is a well-animated show of cartoon characters acting like cartoon characters. It's that distinction that I want to focus on.
A lot of people rightfully prop up the advantages of animation. There is a lot you can do with animation. However, people underrate the qualities of live action in movies and television. Actors have more facial expressions to work with and more control on how they express themselves. And if you don't have the budget or the talent, that is hard to replicate in animation. It's telling that despite using the exact same cast, I was more fond of their live action performances than their animated ones.
The editing is also a major factor. The difference is felt as the editing in the movie is one of the best displays of editing in movie history. To go from that to ok-ish editing, I can't help but feel underwhelm even when amazing action animation is on screen. To see what I mean look at how Ramona dyes her hair in every episode versus how Scott Pilgrim gets ready in the movie,
Don't get me wrong, this show does a lot of things right. I suppose I need to make a full review of this or something because there is a lot to talk about. But my impressions of this show were middling, and I need to shed my truth so I stop feeling insane over it. I figured if I am going to have a very contrarian opinion on something, I should qualify why.
Elsbeth
Ok, now we can talk about the show that I watched this year.
Elsbeth is a spinoff of fuck I don't know Red Dwarf?!?! I honestly don't give a shit. My family just put it on during dinner, and it was such a cozy watch that I decided to watch more on my own free time.
Anyway, if you want my views on #acab in TV form, Elsbeth is pretty close to being accurate. Although, it never occurred to me to have every police force being monitored by an annoying but well-intentioned soccer mom. I suppose I need to adjust accordingly.
Anyway, what almost carried this show to the number ten spot of my favorites this year was the titular Elsbeth. Carrie Preston is wonderful as Elsbeth and does her best to carry what is essentially a generic procedural show.
And to credit other positive aspects of the show, I appreciate the show for not taking itself too seriously. The show favors casting comedic actors for a lot for the episodes including Daniel Davis who is best known for the Nanny. As a fan of that show, I was delighted to see my man Niles on screen again.
That said, it suffers greatly from the procedural format. And unlike something like CSI, every episode Ive seen starts with revealing the killer. Not that is a deal breaker since procedural shows are pretty predictable anyway. However, I struggle to think of what the show does to engage its audience other than Carrie Preston. The narrative doesn't evolve beyond the procedural structure making everything feel samey. I suppose the show attempts to have an overarching investigation. But again, the twists and turns are rarely engaging. And even forgiving that, the characters outside of Elsbeth are rather dull.
By the tenth episode, I realized I wasn't getting anything more of it, so I stopped. That said, I enjoyed it all the way before that. If you can tolerate sameyness better than I can, I would recommend Elsbeth.
Shangri-La Frontier
When I was a kid, a premise I was always a sucker for were stories about being in a video game. You got Spy Kids 3D annnnd there's Scooby Doo and the Cyber Chase. Ok, that's really the only ones worth mentioning. I guess what I am trying to say is that cynicisms of adulthood have made me jaded in getting a really great stuck in a video game story.
The problem with these types of stories for me personally are that they don't really take advantage of the premise. They may have clever rules, gags, or set pieces. But at the end of the day, they are basically glorified fantasy/scifi stories. I mean fuck it says a lot when Spy Kids 3D is about the best we got from this genre.
Anyway, Shangri-La Frontier is closer to hitting the spot to what I want from this core premise.
The plot is simple. A truly bonafide gamer tries a new game and attempts to beat the game's super bosses which have never been beaten.
The premise is fantastic. As someone who plays games in a similar way as a the main character, to see something grounded and true to life is lovely. Because let's be honest, these stories are never grounded. For a genre where it's about playing video games, they have outlandish stakes. Always life or death, saving the world, something always happening that's quite intense. Like I think Elden Ring is hard, but Im not at risk at losing my job or my kidneys if I don't beat Melania. So, it's nice that a premise is at the end of the day just a obsessive gamer just enjoying a cool video game.
So the premise is a solid foundation for a fun action anime. My only complaint is that I wished they went further with the concept. The MMO setting still feels like a normal fantasy setting with NPC characters that don't act NPCs. The way the MMO is 'designed' doesn't feel comparable to modern video game design sensibilities.
It could have benefitted since the show doesn't have much beyond the interesting premise. The characters are fairly stock, and the writing both in the realities of game and their real life weren't absorbing enough for me to watch all 25 episodes.
But I lasted longer with this than most anime. 18-episodes before quitting is leagues farther than before the cute girl starts dancing through the credits of episode one.
Uzumaki
Hooo boy, we ain't leaving Junji Ito land with this one boys.
Let me start by saying that similar to Plucky Squire, I don't feel this was a bad show. Or at least, I don't have the vitriolic hate that many have towards this adaption. On it's own merits, I enjoyed it for what it is. This is just another case of disappointment that is unfortunately shared with the entire anime community.
It's less a dumpster fire and more a tragedy. It's another chapter in the "What Could've Been Great" by George Lucas (*TM* Redlettermedia).
I still believe an adaption of Junji Ito's work is still possible. And honestly, I think the lesson learned that I had from this debacle-other than the reinforcement that bad management can always ruin a good thing-is that the first great Junji Ito adaptation will not be what we imagine. Here we have an adaption that merely puts movement to Junji Ito's art. It's what I imagine a lot of fans picture as the ideal way Uzumaki could be envisioned. It's a sight to behold. But even if every episode was top notch, I don't think it would have satisfied me.
There is a saying that if people gave fans exactly what they want, they wouldn't give anything new, and that's my interpretation of Junji Ito fans. In my opinion, the first great Junji Ito adaption will be completely alien to fans. Ironically, the draw of Junji Ito, one that unnerves through the unknown and the foreign, would be adapted in a safe and generic way if left to fans and executives.
The thing that comes to mind is Kubrick's version of the Shining. The differences between those two are striking. And yet, the Shining is often regarded as the best Stephan King adaption.
I feel the person that achieves this feat will be someone who is faithless. Someone who is completely out of left field. The premise alone will upset fans, but the artist's conviction will hold strong. And by the end, the fans will come around. Uzumaki is a lesson that true great art doesn't pander. It takes compromise from the artist but also from the audience as well. I don't know. I guess what Im saying instead counting your Hatsune Miku rosary for a better Uzumaki, maybe venture out of your comfort zone and try something new instead. You already done it once if you got into Junji Ito. Maybe now is the time to do it again.
Man, when did this become an open letter to anime fans?
Other Mentions:
Battle Game in Five Seconds: I need to get back on this cornball of a show. Glad edgy middle schoolers are getting representation in the writers room.
Check it Out with Dr. Steve Brule: There is only so much of this humor I can take before I get bored by it. So I didn't finish it, but I appreciate it nonetheless.
Hacks: It's ok. Hannah Einbinder and Jean Smart keep it above water with their acting. But idk, I wouldn't have nominated it for all those Emmys and Golden Globes.
Kill la Kill: Ehhh, it's alright. Wish it leaned on the Cartoon Network comedy over the perverted anime shit.
The Morning Show: Take my Hacks comment and replace the two actors with Jennifer Aniston and Mark Duplass.
The Offer: The writing is kind of crap, but they're worse things to watch on television.
Quiet on Set: The overabundance of culture writers dilute the show, but I'm glad the victims were able to share their story.
Secret Level: Woof, some of those episodes are rough. The Megaman episode was fun though.
Scoob and Shag: It was a blast reading it go from stupid funny to a genuinely serious Shonen. But then, it stayed serious, and that's when it lost me.
Smiling Friends S2: CTRL+C and CTRL+V my review back in 2022. Still good and still not the godsend people make it out to be.
