Gojira (Godzilla) (1954) - Movie Review

Before watching this movie, I honestly never watched the Japanese version of Godzilla (shameful, I know). I grew up with the crappy Hollywood interpretation of Godzilla back then in 1998 starring Matthew Broderick. The movie sucked so hard and so cheesy. And they were teasing at the end of the movie that they'd make a sequel out of this. Thankfully that didn't happen haha.

Moving forward to 2014, yet again another Hollywood attempt on making the "King of the Monsters" movie. I had high hopes on that movie since it has interesting casts like Bryan Cranston (famously known as Walter White from Breaking Bad, which is an awesome series! You should watch it!), Ken Watanabe, etc. And again, was let down by that movie since it focused a lot on human drama rather than Godzilla itself. Seriously tho! Godzilla barely have screen time on this movie! Even the Mutos have more screen time than Godzilla! 

And the fight scene! Oh my god! Don't get me started on that! It's filled with a cock tease! We thought that we are going to see Godzilla and Muto duking it out! But NOPE! You won't see them fight! Even the movie is making fun of itself. "Let them fight!" says Ken Watanabe on that movie. But on a serious note, 2014 Godzilla movie is a far better movie rather than the 1998 one. And that final battle between Godzilla and Muto actually have a satisfying pay off!

So I was thinking to myself, where can I have the most authentic Godzilla experience? Of course the first movie! And then I watched it. Today, I'm going to talk the first Godzilla movie that was ever made in 1954. How was it? Let's just jump into the review! XD

Story
There's a ship get wrecked near the Odo Island. Japanese government sent a rescue team on a boat as well to save the remaining survivor. However, the rescue ship met the same fate as the first ship. It is believed that the ship is destroyed by ancient sea creature that is known as "Godzilla". The fishermen has learned about this legend and was told to be aware of that creature when sailing to sea. Reporters came down to the island to found that many things on the village is destroyed by something enormous. Hearing that information, the Japanese Government decides to send a paleontologist, Kyohei Yamane, to investigate the island. Later on, he found a giant radioactive footprint and a trilobite. Suddenly, the Godzilla appears on that island. Yamane saw the Godzilla. Fortunately, the Godzilla just showed up and returns to the sea.
Yamane came back to Tokyo to report his findings in the Odo Island. He told the government that Godzilla is evolved from ancient sea creature into terrestrial animal being. He also concludes that Godzilla showed up because he feels disturbed on his underwater habitat because of the hydrogen bomb testing. And later on, the government figure have some debate on the matter whether they should kill the monster or let him be alive.
What will happen to Japan? What will they do to Godzilla?

My thoughts on the movie

1. When you watch this movie in particular, you will see that Godzilla is actually an allegory of the atomic bomb that happened during the World War II. And this movie really nailed it on portraying the metaphor on the situation back then. When you watch this movie, you will feel the fear, depressed, the sorrow, and also how horrifying it is to live on that era.
2. The special effects on this movie seems dated if we look from today's perspective. (well, it's a 60 years+ movie, duh). But it's still pretty convincing and horrifying to see. I think people back then when watching this on a theater will feel scared back then (since it's just almost a decade after WWII). If we look at Godzilla, we know for sure that Godzilla is a person on a rubber suit. But still, this effects was a breakthrough back then. I read on the trivia (or you can watch it here) that the suit is too heavy for the suit actor that he can even barely move. What I love when I watch a very old movies is that the limitation is a big constraint back then. And how they overcome it with anything that they got to make a great scene is really admirable. And the result is a well-known classic that will be watched by generations to come.
3. When I watched the Hollywood Godzilla, I don't really care about the humans. But it's different on this movie. The characters actually matter to the plot. And most of the main character have some depth and development. Especially the scientist guy, Serizawa. We can see his dilemma on this movie. And it's not just a stupid moral dilemma. It's a high-stake dilemma that actually matters. 

So here comes the final verdict. Should you watch Gojira (Godzilla) (1954)? Yes you should! This is a classic movie that everybody should watch (moreover if you claimed yourself a Godzilla fan). The movie might seem dated (which, I realize that is a huge turn off for some people) but this movie is genuinely great. Everything in this movie is serious and there's no silly jokes just like the Hollywood one. Heck, I think there's not even one joke on this movie. You will feel the terror and horror of Godzilla in this movie. Every time he showed up, You will say "damn this monster is terrifying" especially when Godzilla destroys everything on his sight. The metaphor that Godzilla carries throughout the movie still quite relevant to this day (the effect of nuclear bombs and wars to the people). Stop the war and make peace people! And now, I can't wait to watch Shin Gojira. I hope this movie will be released soon here in Indonesia! It's directed by Hideaki Anno, the guy who made Neon Genesis Evangelion. The anticipation is real guys! XD

And that's it! My review on Gojira (1954). I hope that you will find this review useful. This is Reikichi, signing out! 

Fantastic beasts and where to find them - Movie Review

I have a lot of fond memories with Harry Potter franchise. I read the books when I was a kid back then.Everything about Harry Potter is magical and wondrous.  Unfortunately I can only afford to buy the first 4 books of it at the time. So the rest of the series, I decided to watch the movie instead. But honestly speaking, I'm really interested to buy the rest of the books right now, hahaha!

So back then I read "Fantastic Beasts and where to find them" and it was a book which contains a lot of information about the magical creatures on the Harry Potter's universe. It was more like a "encyclopedia" rather than a novel book. So when I heard that there's going to be a movie about it. I was expecting a "documentary" kind of movie about the magical creatures on this Harry Potter's world. But it wasn't. This movie actually have a story in it. This movie is directed by David Yates (who was also directing the Harry Potter movies since The Order of the Phoenix) and written by JK Rowling herself. Without further ado. Let's just dive into the review, shall we?

Story

The story takes place 70 years before Harry Potter enters the Hogwarts. Our main character, Newt Scamander (he is the one who wrote the "Fantastic Beasts and where to find them" book) is going to New York and he brought his suitcase that is filled with a lot of magical creatures. Some of them manages to escape by accident. He goes around collecting this feared magical creatures which most of the people wants to exterminate immediately, because he believe that he can take care of them , nurture them and study them. So most of the wizard can learn about the creatures on that era that those creatures are actually harmless at all. So it's up to him to "capture" back those magical creatures without any non-magic people knowing about it. So basically Newt is just like a Pokemon Professor, and his book is basically a PokeDex, (I'm sorry I brought in Pokemon since this movie came out at the same week as Pokemon Sun and Moon and I tried to buy one copy of it but it sold out TvT b) Anyway, will he be able to retrieve all of his magical creatures back? 

My thoughts on the movie

1. If you are a hardcore Harry Potter fan, this is going to be your first time watching a movie without knowing actually what will going to happen since the book is actually a catalog about mystical creatures on Harry Potter Universe. This is JK Rowling's original screenplay and she really is an imaginative writer. Everything on this movie feels magical (pun intended). And watching this movie will make you smile because of its magic.
2. This also will be the first time for us to see the how adult's life in Harry Potter's universe. I mean, in the original source, mostly we see Harry in the school. And now we can experience it in this movie. 
3. This movie is actually quite accessible by someone who didn't really know about Harry Potter at all. Since this movie is kind of a prequel to Harry Potter but you can't really say that since there's no Harry Potter relatives in this movie. Except for the well-known wizard character and one of the key character to the finale of Harry Potter (which I won't spoil it for you).
4. I really, really, really liked those magical creatures in this movie. They are so adorable and cute! When I watch this movie, my inner-child was like "AAAAAAA! I WANT NIFFLER TO BE MY PET!" yeah seriously. Niffler is the cutest and smartest creature in this movie. That creature is really mischievous though. But still. adorable as hell! And other creatures are really unique and have their own special traits and characters. They are indeed fun to watch
5. David Yates is the one who directed this movie, I think it's really understandable why he is chosen to direct this movie since he really understand how the world of Harry Potter Universe works. And he manages to make a great "prequel" without relying too much on fanservice or our knowledge on the franchise in general to appreciate this movie. Because there are a lot of prequels or spin off, or even sequels that really rely so much on those two things which pander the fandom a lot. Because they just want to milk the franchise and fandom. *cough* Digimon Adventures Tri *cough*. 
6. The characters are actually really interesting in this movie. Newt Scamander is a socially awkward but he is really good handling magical creatures rather than people. He is a likeable character and he is the type of character that hid his past pain really well. 
7. Continuing from the last point, Jacob Kowalski the No-Maj (Muggles in America are called No-Maj, it means a non-magic person), is really a magical character (pun intended). I was afraid that he is going to be an annoying comic relief side character on this movie. But thankfully he wasn't. He got caught up in this situation but he is not being annoying or intervening everything that is happening in the movie. This guy is just a pure comedic act without being a nuisance to the plot. Heck, he DOES matter in the plot! I just love it that he is as oblivious as us the audience. When some kind of magical term just showed up and he was like "Erm, what was that mean?" and then Newt explain it to him. 

The minor problem that I had it's just some minor plot hole in this movie which is hard to say for a non-spoiler review in here. But don't worry about it. It's just a minor thing anyway XD

But one of the problem that might turn some people off on this movie is that this movie is quite exposition heavy. 

So, here comes the final verdict, Should you watch Fantastic Beasts and where to find them!? Yes! I think people will have a lot of fun with this movie. It has great visuals, interesting story, adorable magical creatures, entertaining characters and so on! For you hardcore Harry Potter fans, this movie is a MUST watch list for you! I heard that they want to make 5 of this movie. Well I'm honestly happy to hear that! Can't wait to watch the sequel! XD

Okay guys, that's it from me. I hope that you will find this review useful. This is Reikichi, signing out! XD

The Tatami Galaxy - Anime Review

What would happen if I didn't meet this person? I think my life would be better
What would happen if I didn't do this? My life would be much easier
What would happen if I....
What would happen....

At some point in your life, these "what if" questions will pop up in your mind someday. Usually these questions popped up when you regret doing something in your life and you want to "undo" it in order to make it better. But reality is different than that.We don't have "undo button" in our life. (thankfully we have that on this blog's editor's viewer lol). Everything happens for a reason. We can't undo everything that we have done because time waits for no one and it always moves forward. But not in this anime tho. Today I'm going to talk about one of the best anime series that I've watched. The Tatami Galaxy (Japanese title: Yojouhan Shinwa Takei). This show is 11 episode long with normal length episode (24 mins). So how was it? Let's just jump into the review!

Story
The story is actually simple, the nameless protagonist (let's refer him as "Watashi" since that how he refer himself) is starting a college life. He wishes to have a "rose colored" college life. So he chose a certain circle (or club). He joined that circle for 2 years, he regrets it, and he thought to himself "If only I didn't choose this circle, I wish I can redo this!" and then in the next episode, he joined a different circle. and then he regrets that decision again. and everything looped just like that.

Yeah, that's the "dumbed down" plot of the series. In order to get the whole big picture. you have to watch it or I must say, you must experience it yourself!

My thoughts on the series
I should tell you guys from the start. If you can't handle a non-linear story telling with a lot of unique metaphorical things and symbolism in it which makes you think a lot. Welp, I'm sorry to say that this series is not for you. It's best that you stay away from this anime. But if you can handle this non-linearity and can enjoy some surreal things, oh boy, you are in for a great time! If we look at the story's premise, it doesn't look really interesting for some people. But here are the reasons why you should watch this series :

1. This anime seems episodic at first, but in the end, everything makes sense and it has a very satisfying ending which is quite rare to see in a slice of life or comedy series. And in the end, the title will make sense. You will understand why this is called "The Tatami Galaxy" at the end of the series
2. Unlike Re:Zero (which is already talked in this blog here), this series did the time reset perfectly! Every episode, Watashi choose a circle and he spends his life there. In the next episode, he choose a different circle. He still meet the same characters from the previous episode, but they met in a slightly altered situation and condition. At some of the episode, we learn more about side character's background story, This makes every episode feels different and unique even though it is the same base story all over again. It's not like the "legendary endless eight" from Suzumiya Haruhi no Yuutsu season 2 (which is the 8 episodes that is made by Satan himself) where the main characters stuck on a loop and everything feels the same (only the outfits and the angles are different) and the loop breaks because Kyon figured it out that Haruhi just want to make that goddamn summer homework TOGETHER WITH SOS BRIGADE! GODDAMMIT HARUHI! WHY YOU SO SELF-CENTERED! THERE! I JUST SAVED YOU 4 HOURS! YOU ARE WELCOME!
3. The narration is delivered in a very fast pace, I'm not kidding, it's really fast! It's like all of the exposition is explained by the Rap God himself. I doubt there will be a dubbed version for this (fyi, I'm sub > dub, since most of the dubs sucks). The exposition is really necessary to understand the whole thing that happen in there. Personally I was quite shocked when I watch this series, but as it goes on, I get used to the this speed narrating haha
4. The art style is very unique compared to your usual modern anime. You will see that the director really use "anime" as a medium to convey messages through the art and background images. The animation is done by studio Madhouse, the one who is responsible for One Punch Man. The animation feels great. consistent and surreal at times. 
5. The best thing of this anime is the metaphorical delivery, It has a lot of great messages like for example : "Time moves so fast in your life, especially in your college life, try to keep up!"
   "Your boner will get you in trouble, try to learn to contain your libido all together!"
   "Sometimes you just have to accept the reality"
   "Do not overthink of things too much"
   "History repeats itself" and you will watch this series repeat itself over and over again.
   and many more! This series will give you a lot of great messages without being too preachy.
6. The comedy is also delivered metaphorically. And personally I found it really funny (disclaimer, sense of humor are subjective). My favorite part is when Watashi is having a conversation with his boner. I'm not kidding, that was really surreal and epic! XD
7. All of the supporting characters are explained throughout the series. So you won't miss out because every character got their fair share of screen time and background stories. (fyi: Akashi is the best girl, she reminded me a lot of my girlfriend XD) 
   
   Akashi 
8. Watashi's character development is one of the charm of this series as well. It's really hard to explain it in detail since this is a non-spoiler review. But his character arc is relatable and awesome. To put it simply, he is Peter-Parker-without-Spider-Man-powers-level of relatable character. 
9. The soundtrack fits the tone of the anime, the opening and ending are good as well! The animation of the opening though, It combined the real life video with anime characters and really suits the theme of this anime.The ending animation shows the unique art style of this anime too.

So here comes the final verdict. Should you watch The Tatami Galaxy? Yes! This anime series is really unique and has great messages. Entertaining and fun to watch. A thought provoking anime. It's a coming of age story. It has quirky characters mixed up with Japanese myths. A simple story that is delivered in a very unique, brilliantly imaginative and will left you impressed. And at the end of the journey, you will be glad that you watched it until the end. This is what an anime should be like! I consider this anime to be a modern masterpiece that you shouldn't be missing out! 

That's it from me guys, I hope that you will find this review useful, This is Reikichi! Signing out! 

Girls Und Panzer - Anime Review

"Don't judge the book by its cover!"
is what people usually say when they want to tell someone that you have to look closely and get into it without being judgmental about it. Why did I say that in the first place? Because that's how I feel when I watch this series. At first glance it looks like a "OH MYYYY GODD THIS IS SOME MOE BULLSHIT RIGHT HERE!" kind of show. But apparently, it's not 100% moe bullshit that I watched here. So today I'm going to talk about this anime which is quite self-explanatory on the title, Girls Und Panzer! It's a 12 eps anime series with normal length episode. How was it? Let's just jump into the review!


Story
The story itself is actually pretty simple, there's a girl named Nishizumi Miho (she looks like Yukiho from Idolm@ster 's long lost twin sister) who is just transferred to Ooarai Girls High School, and she is confused to choose which club that she should join in that school. (So far, it's sounds like a generic slice of life with moe girls, right?). She has two friends, Takebe Saori and Isuzu Hana, who already decided to join the Sensha-dou (direct translation : Tank arts, it's like a martial arts, but with tanks) club. But Miho feels conflicted whether to join the club or not since she has some "past experience" with this kind of club in her previous school. Kadotani Anzu, the student president of Oorai, learns about Miho's past experience and her family name. Apparently, Nishizumi-style is a well known sensha-dou-style. Knowing this info, Anzu urges Miho to join the Sensha-dou club and they aim to compete for the international tournament against other school ships. Yes, you didn't read that wrong. The entire schools exists on a top of a MASSIVE retrofitted aircraft carrier. It's so massive, the entire town is on the top of its deck! And for people on this anime, it's just a normal thing, while personally I found it very interesting. What actually happened to that world so they have to move the entire population on a top of that ship? But unfortunately, that question is never answered in this anime. Because that's not the main focus on the story. The main story of this series is the tank tournaments! Finally Miho agrees to join the Sensha-dou club. Will they be able to win the tournament?

My thoughts on the series

1. Like I wrote at the beginning, this show is not 100% moe. It's still a moe slice of life anime but with a twist. To put it simply, it's cute girls on a tank doing some strategic military things to win the tank tournament! 
2. The animation is really awesome, especially with the tank battles. They really nailed the 3DCG tank battles without making it look so jarring and out of place. It's done by studio Actas which honestly, I never really heard of this studio before. But they really did a great job on this anime. 
3. What makes this show interesting is the tank battles, Ooarai team usually have some unfair situations on the match but they managed to overcome the trial by using interesting and unorthodox strategy and tactics. Miho is the leader and the brain of the team. And she really is a good leader for the team.
4. Speaking about character, the main group's characters are well developed until the end of the series. It's really great to see the characters grow in this anime
5. The soundtrack is lighthearted war march and honestly it suits the tone of the series as well. One of the problem that I read that the Russian war march song "Katyushka" was replaced with "Tetris" theme song in the DVD release (which is the version that I watch) for copyright reason. ^_^; 
6. While the opening and the ending is not really my cup of tea, I prefer to skip it right away to watch the next episode haha

The problem that I had with this series

This series is very entertaining, but it has some minor issues like : 

1. The rules of the tournament is not really explained to the audience: I've participated on some tournaments before, and the tournaments usually have some certain rules that is made in order to make the match is "fair/balanced". In this series, Ooarai's team always at disadvantage. But apparently it is okay for them to fight the other team with that handicap. Sometimes Yukari shows up with a rule book and she told us "oh based on the rule, it's okay for them to use that thing that will put us in a major disadvantage". I wish this show explain the rule to us even more.
2. Some unnecessary drama. Yup, The drama is not really relevant on this series. Since everything is resolved by winning the tournament. Most of the drama are sidelined throughout the series. And personally, the drama kinda ruined the happy and lighthearted feeling of the show.
3. There are a lot of characters that didn't get some spotlight. Well, in fact. There ARE a lot of characters in this series. I think that's almost every problem with anime that has a lot of characters in it hahaha

So here comes the final verdict. Should you watch Girls und Panzer? Yes! yes you should! It's an unique twist of moe slice of life with tank battles. And the tank battles are genuinely entertaining. The battle is tense and engaging and the battle is won through some interesting strategy and not relying too much on sheer dumb luck. Both of the team have their own unique strategies. Just like real life tournament, both of the team is waiting for the opposing team to screw up, so they can exploit that mistake in order to win the battle. 

That's it from me guys, I hope that you will find this review helpful for you. This is Reikichi, signing out! XD