In an attempt to avoid these issues (the second one at least) I'm going to try my hand at doing several smaller reviews instead of one sprawling behemoth. This way I'll avoid bloating in favour of an unsatisfying lack of depth.
Paranoia Agent
Combines the unexplained surreal style of Serial Experiments Lain with the rotating roster of characters of Boogiepop Phantom. Unfortunately the meta-plot and in particular its conclusion let down the how which starts so promising. The visuals are definitely a strong point as the animation style varies in certain scenes to illustrate a point, such as becoming more stylised to reflect a character's delusions.
3/5
Dennou Coil
A rare sci fi gem; a series that introduces futuristic technology and then actual shows some of the effects it has on the rest of the world rather than leave everything else the same (eg most DC and Marvel series'). Dennou Coil follows several kids as they live in a world with virtual reality googles. The tone is fairly light for the most part, although it does get darker by the end as the protagonists unravel the conspiracy. Like Paranoia Agent the ending is weak and for the same reason; some of the characters are directly involved with the mystery and everyone else become irrelevant. Unlike Paranoia Agent though, it doesn't bring down my entire view of the show, it just could be better.
4/5
Ergo Proxy
It's been a while so I can't remember what I like about this series. Set in a post apocalyptic world where cities exist in domes the story is about Re-l Mayer's mission to discover the truth about the mysterious Proxy. Despite the meandering plot, absence of non-grey colours and the overuse of pretentious pseudo-philosophical phrases I still look back on this work with fondness and actually find myself liking the characters rather than just tolerating them.
4/5
Blue Gender
A post is not complete until I complain bitterly about something. Yuji wakes up from cryogenic sleep to find that a mysterious race of nigh-unstoppable monsters have wiped out most of civilisation and that what's left of humanity fight a losing battle with power armour. The flaws are numerous: the action scenes are boring, most of the characters exist only as devices and plot points, and the final aesop is horrible. Not even the frequent breasts make this series worth watching.
0.5/5
Do you rate Ghost in the Shell SAC?
ReplyDeleteghost in the shell has got enough fodder for me to dedicate an entire post 2 it some time. after all there are 3 movies and 2 seasons worth of complimenting and complaining
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