Anime review: Jojo's Bizarre Adventure: Stardust Crusaders - Battle in Egypt

Picking up directly where the mid-season break left off, the Egypt arc of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure sees Jotaro Kujo and the rest of the Stardust Crusaders facing down the last remaining loyal followers of Dio. Most notable among these foes are the Nine Egyptian Gods, foes whose Stands prove among the most intimidating and powerful the heroes have encountered yet. And at the end of the journey, in mansion deep within the heart of Cairo, awaits the main villain himself, Dio Brando. Yet, the Stardust Crusaders have a few cards up their sleeve, revealing clever and previously unseen applications of their Stands, a few assists from the Speedwagon Foundation, and a new ally in the form of the temperamental and selfish Iggy, a scrappy dog who wields the Stand known as The Fool.

This second half of the Stardust Crusaders anime feels more tightly-wound, its narrative more focused. From the moment the heroes set foot in the Egyptian desert, there is a sense of urgency about their journey that was no so prevalent in the first season. The stakes are also higher, with these new villains challenging Jotaro and company in battles of wits or other indirect means, while those that do fight them outright play host to some of the series’ stranger but more memorable Stands.

The voice work is superb, all around. While the core has the obvious task of carrying the show from one episode to the next, the villains who appear for only two episodes at a time leave a lasting, often humorous impression. As is only appropriate, Dio’s presence commands as much attention as they show can offer Stardust Crusaders chief villain. The final confrontation between Jotaro and Dio is among the most intense and rewarding endgame battles in any anime of this episode count I’ve come across.

Meanwhile, the vast majority of Dio’s loyal henchmen and women receive ample screen time as well. Some of the fights feel perhaps a bit more drawn out than necessary, but by and large, it is to the series’ benefit, as practically zero of the finer details are left out from the manga version, and the battles are not resolved in too quick a time frame that would negate the drama and intensity. Each member of the main cast undergoes significant maturation since the outset of their journey, and it’s wonderful to see just how naturally this is conveyed. Later episodes play at viewer’s emotions with masterful technique, as there are callbacks to the earliest moments of the Stardust Crusaders’ quest, as well as a severe gravity of present events as they unfold.

The animation budget seems to have received a considerable boost since the first half aired, which in and of itself gradually improved in quality from the airing of its first episode to its twenty-fourth. While most characters stick to a particular color palette for their clothing, scenes where the Stand fights become especially intense warp to more psychedelic colors, a nice nod to manga author Hirohiko Araki’s tendency to present variations on the previously-established appearances of characters. The soundtrack is catchy, moody, and always appropriate, with rock influences playing in subtly as Stands clash and the Stardust Crusaders scour Egyptian streets for any clues that might lead them to Dio.

Stardust Crusaders does offer a definitive conclusion to its own arc, and does provide a satisfying endgame for the three story arcs thus far. However, there is still plenty of money to be made by David Production should they choose to animate Diamond is Unbreakable and other later arcs of the manga, and I have no doubt they would do a similarly stellar job adapting the stories of Josuke Higashikata, Giorno Giovanna, Jolyne Kujo, and so on. It has been many years since an anime left as strong an impact on me as Stardust Crusaders has managed, but I believe it is safe to say that David Production has made one of the greatest adapted anime series of all time. In so far as I am concerned, Stardust Crusaders has earned its place among the company of Neon Genesis Evangelion, Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and Unicorn Gundam as one of the most impressive works of its medium.

My rating: 9.75 (out of 10)

My rating for the Stardust Crusaders series as a whole: 10 (out of 10)

Anime review: Persona 3: The Movie - #1: Spring of Birth

Following the release of the anime adaptation of Atlus’ well-received Persona 4, film trilogy was announced adapt the story of its predecessor, Persona 3. The first of these films, titled Spring of Birth, serves primarily to set the stage for all that is to come, introducing some of the major characters, teasing the eventual inclusion of others, and familiarizing viewers with the concept of the Dark Hour and Tartarus. While it may cut out a great deal of the content that falls between major plot points, this first installment in the movie trilogy does a solid job at hitting all of the important notes, though its pacing is admittedly a bit odd.

The story begins much like its video game counterpart, with the mostly-silent protagonist (given the name of Makoto Yuuki for the purpose that other characters will constantly be engaging in conversations with or about him) moving into co-ed dorms near Gekkoukan High and experiencing some strange phenomenon. Every night at midnight, clocks, vehicles, and all manner of machinery stop and most people are sealed away in coffins, entering a sort of stasis during a period known as the Dark Hour. The Dark Hour is effectively an hour-long span of time that is only perceived by those with special potential, namely individuals who can all upon Personas to aid them in battle against otherworldly monsters known as Shadows.

On the night of a full moon, these Shadows become notably stronger and more aggressive than usual, breaking out of their natural territory within the fortress of Tartarus, and taking to the streets of the outside world. It is upon one such night that protagonist Makoto Yuuki finds himself in the company of his peers and classmates Mitsuru Kiriho, Akihiko Sanada, and Yukari Takeba, as the Shadows are bearing down upon their dormitory building. Not fully understanding the nature of these Shadow monsters or his schoolmate’s operations with the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad (S.E.E.S. for short), Makoto almost instinctively reaches for an Evoker, a gun-shaped device that the S.E.E.S. members rely on, and uses it to summon his first Persona.

What follows, naturally, is an action-packed beat down of the Shadows by Makoto’s Persona, dubbed Orpheus. But there is seemingly something sinister that lurks within his Persona, as – shortly before Makoto passes out from exhaustion – it transforms into a menacing creature that appears to bear some sort of skeletal face and spreads its coffin-shaped wings. Not long after, Makoto recovers and is formerly inducted into S.E.E.S. His peers make a point to bring up that relying too heavily on one’s Persona can be problematic, yet Makoto’s visits to the ethereal Velvet Room make it apparent that his ability to summon multiple Personas makes him an anomaly among Persona users.

From there, the movie takes on two very different approaches to crafting the world and characters or Persona 3 – when highlighting new party members like Fuuka and Junpei, the story’s pacing slows significantly to explain their importance to the operations of S.E.E.S., as well as give viewers a strong impression of their character traits and personal values. This makes their inclusion all the more meaningful, and is one of the film’s greatest strengths, and should provide some relief for any Persona fans who were concerned that this three-film adaptation might attempt to do too much in too brief a time span. Even Shinjiro sees some inclusion in the film, helping to solidify his inevitable recruitment to the S.E.E.S. cause in the second film, while Koromaru and Ken both make brief cameos during the opening credits.

On the other hand, the film barrels past the everyday school studies, athletics and club activities, and time spent out on the town. The anime adaptation of Persona 4 similarly kept its focus on the major story points, but still slowed down every once in a while to explore the Inaba locals and the small yet personal rewards Yu Narukami and his teenage crew of investigators earned as a result of their setting aside time to tackle minor requests. In this first Persona 3 film, the most direct involvement with teachers, classmates, and non-S.E.E.S. peers comes in the form of brief montages. While these sequences do show Makoto taking part in some school activities and even meeting up with Junpei for an afternoon at the arcade, it doesn’t offer as solid an immersion in Gekkoukan High or its surrounding locales.

The animation is solid throughout – arguably better than the Persona 4 anime, in most cases. Character renders have seen significant updates in terms of their level of detail and fluid motions from the cutscenes that played out during the original Persona 3 video game. The splotchy dark watercolor look of the invading Dark Hour on previously-established environments does a great job of presenting these areas as both familiar and alien. Meanwhile the few portions of Tartarus that are shown present it as a labyrinth fortress, with elegant floors, arched windows, and dull lighting emanating from wall-mounted candles. The soundtrack brings back a number of the video games’ upbeat and peppy tunes, as well as some of the more dire, heavy rock-influenced songs, with remixes sprinkled throughout (some significantly altered, others with more subtle tweaks).

Spring of Birth is not a perfect adaptation of the Persona 3 story, and its hour-and-a-half runtime begs the question as to how successful the two following films will adapt the later legs of the video game source material. The material that the film does cut out may not have left a major impact on the core plot of Persona 3, but it does rob the film of some of the video game’s unique quirks, as well as any connections between the S.E.E.S. members and their non-Persona-adept classmates. The major points that it does focus on, however, are handled quite well, and go a long way in establishing connections between the S.E.E.S. members, as well as painting the Shadows of Tartarus as an ever-looming threat, even if one scene late in the film is drawn out to an agonizing length and almost laughably bad presentation.

My rating: 7 (out of 10)

Comic Book review: Metal Gear Solid Deluxe Edition

My review of the Metal Gear Solid Deluxe Edition, a hardcover printing that includes the comic book adaptations of both Metal Gear Solid and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Written by Kris Oprisko, Matt Fraction, and Alex Garner, illustrated by Ashley Wood.

My rating: 7 (out of 10)

Anime review: Bayonetta: Bloody Fate

Adapting the first game in the Bayonetta saga to one hour-and-a-half anime film, Bayonetta: Bloody Fate does surprisingly well to cater to fans of Platinum Games’ signature sense of sleek style and over-the-top action. Bloody Fate maintains much of the wacky humor of the game, though its limited runtime does see a notable favoritism toward the ludicrous shoot-‘em-up fight sequences and battles against gargantuan angels. Obviously a large portion of the original Bayonetta experience had to be trimmed or cut out entirely to cater to the constraints of the anime, both in terms of its length and the change in entertainment medium, but Bloody Fate excels at keeping in focus the essence of what makes Bayonetta such a standout entry in the action gaming genre.

Much like in the video game, Bloody Fate performs a handful of brief jumps back from the present to the ancient end days of the Umbran witch clan. Viewers are quickly familiarized with Bayonetta’s lack of any real memory as to who she is, as well as given a crash-course on Luka’s vendetta stemming from his belief that Bayonetta’s awakening at the bottom of a lake was to blame for his father’s untimely death. Rodin is cool and collected as ever, though he serves more as plot device than fully realized character in this interpretation of Bayonetta’s journey of self-discovery. Enzo, on the other hand, is absent almost entirely, while precedence is given to both Jeanne and little Cereza, the former being a witch who shares some connections and powers to Bayonetta, while the latter is a young girl who clings to Bayonetta, claiming the witch is her ‘mummy’, much to the surprise and disbelief of the titular protagonist.

While the earliest of fights within a chapel sees Bayonetta perform insane acrobatics that defy the laws of physics thanks to her Umbran magic, things only grow in scale, silliness, and fun from there. Slender limbs swing out in fast-paced shootouts, while motorized vehicles ride up walls in hot pursuit of the witch that has everyone talking. Bayonetta is entertaining as ever, as she beams confidence but displays little mercy to her enemies. She revels in the fight, taunting angels and going out of her way to ensure they suffer at the hands of her most powerful demonic summons. The English cast of the video game returns to reprise each of their roles, which is a real treat, as they handle their respective performances masterfully – the Bayonetta experience just wouldn’t feel the same without Hellena Taylor at the helm.

In the same fashion as its video game counterpart, Bayonetta: Bloody Fate is unapologetic about what it wants to be and how it wants to go about crafting a tale of a witch out of her own time. Its action is bonkers, while its leading lady displays a brilliant culmination of character traits smart, sexy, and powerful. Despite its relatively short runtime, Bayonetta: Bloody Fate is a wonderful translation of the original action game that is considered by many to be a modern classic. This anime fires on all cylinders from start to finish, setting aside sufficient time to explain the important plot points and character connections, but never straying from the magical elements or raucous combat long enough to wane viewers' interest.

My rating: 9.25 (out of 10)

Anime review: Persona 4: The Animation

Anime adaptations of video games and other licensed properties sometimes receive a bad reputation due to their nature of being produced solely to make a quick buck based on namesake. Persona 4: The Animation is a curious case of trimming a fifty-plus hour JRPG into a twenty-six episode series. There’s a lot to consider with such a bold undertaking – what gets left on the cutting room floor, how do the writers properly convey such a large and diverse main cast, and how could the variables unique to each individual player’s experiences factor in without alienating viewers? The result, while perhaps not perfect, is one of the more successful forays into adapting a video game to anime in recent years.

As with the video game, Persona 4: The Animation begins with Yu Narukami moving to the small town of Inaba to live with his Uncle Dojima, the local detective, and young cousin Nanako. Early on during his stay, Yu hears rumors of a television broadcast that airs rainy evenings as the clock strikes midnight, and begins to formulate with his friends and classmates as to whether this Midnight Channel might share any connection to a recent string of murders in the area. After a few brief ventures into the world behind the television screen, Yu and friends learn they must face their inner selves in order to call upon the Arcana powers of their own unique Personas and face off against the violent Shadows that inhabit the TV realm.

Yu is the lone exception to the rule of everyone hosting a singular Persona, as he can forge bonds with his friends and locals in order to expand his capabilities. While the actual process of his forging social links is largely glossed over in this anime version due these being left largely up to individual players’ discretion in the video game, a few episodes see Yu interacting with NPCs and taking time away from the murder case in order to help an old lady and tutor a child. The dungeons are typically completely explored within a single episode each, as the anime is less concerned with the process of fighting hordes of enemies and opening treasure chests, opting instead to place greater emphasis on the investigative team facing their shadow selves and subsequently revealing more about their personalities and character traits.

Key non-combat events from the game also receive ample attention, including the school camping trip and Miss Yasogami beauty pageant. It provides a fresh break from the otherwise intense atmosphere and darker color palettes within the TV world. The animation style itself is highly reminiscent of the few fully-animated cutscenes from the video game, though Persona 4: The Animation has a notably higher production quality than said sequences. A few new subplots, such as Nanako dressing up as a magical-girl-meets-Sherlock-Holmes anime protagonist and tailing Yu to find out what he has been up to all summer break, add a bit more lighthearted storytelling that is welcome in putting a slight spin on a story otherwise quite familiar to those who have already poured multiple days worth of time into the video game.

The majority of the cast from the video game’s localization return for the English dub of the anime, with only a couple change-ups – Chie’s being the most instantly noticeable, due to how heavily involved in the story she is from the outset. Johnny Yong Bosch’s voice work for Yu Narukami is a real treat – while he may not be highly talkative in order to preserve a sense of neutrality and focus the story more on Yosuke, Yukiko, Kanji, and so on, there are certain points in the anime where he will deliver lines of dialogue that would be considered the strange or obscure options in-game. This often creates evokes humorous responses from his companions. With many of the gaps bridged due to the anime not covering so much of the downtime between dungeons, Naoto’s inclusion in the story is more consistent, and Margaret prefaces nearly every episode, giving the Velvet Room a constant presence, though one that is left largely unexplained in this version of the story. Dojima is effectively reduced to a one-dimensional and often bitter individual, which makes his shift to becoming a more caring parent in the later episodes both sudden and clunky.

As is only to be expected, the endgame storylines see slower pacing in order to fully prepare viewers for the multi-layered revelations. They remain just as half-baked as in the video game version, however, and it is a shame that both interpretations of Persona 4 stumble over themselves so late in their runs. Aside from a couple of the events signifying a maxed out social link being shuffled around to places that proved more convenient in this version, Persona 4: The Animation remains largely unchanged from its video game counterpart, and given how story-heavy the game was to begin with, that’s probably just as well. There is little revolutionary about this adaptation, but at the same time, it does exactly what it sets out to do, offering ample time to highlight Naoto’s gender dysphoria, Rise’s stress from life in the spotlight, and Teddie’s existentialism.

My rating: 7 (out of 10)