Bookish Wednesday: Holes by Louis Sachar

I’m back for this week’s Bookish Wednesday with another classic novel I read when I was a kid. It’s Holes by Louis Sachar!

Plot: The plot is a mix of interconnected stories with characters from the 18th century to the present day. It’s all pretty interesting, although a younger kid, who isn’t like me, would most likely be confused by the constant timeline changes that take place over the course of the book. Still it was a good story and I enjoyed it as a kid despite not meeting the “advised” age. Of course considering I’d read books like War and Peace, The Stand and Stranger in a Strange Land by the time I was 12 that isn’t too surprising.

Characters: The entire cast is pretty good, although my favorite character was Stanley the protagonist. Still every character is unique and has their own “charm” so I don’t dislike them all that much, though when I was younger I definitely had some characters I wouldn’t mind tossing into a few holes myself.

Overall: A solid book, and definitely worth a read if you never read it before, this is a book for almost anyone of any age, except maybe kids younger than 8, unless they are oddballs like myself.

For those who like: Triparite Storylines, Great Plot, Good Cast of Characters.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Movie Monday: Kara no Kyoukai Overlooking View

This week for Movie Monday I’m covering the first in a seven part series of movies covering one of the Nasuverse’s greatest stories. It’s Kara no Kyoukai, or the Garden of Sinners, Overlooking View!

Plot Synopsis: September 1998, Mikiya Kokutō brings over some ice cream while visiting Shiki, but Shiki is not happy to see him and says that she does not like ice cream so she decides not to eat it. Later at Garan no Dou, Shiki and Touko discuss the recent spate of unusual suicide incidents where several high school girls fell to their death, but left no suicide note and had apparently no reason to commit suicide. Tōko concludes that the girls did not intend to die. At night, Shiki visits the deserted part of town containing the Fujō buildings which have now fallen into disrepair and are about to be demolished, and while there stumbles upon the body of newest victim….

Plot: This is the first in a series of movies that are an adaptation of a novel by Kinoko Nasu. That being said if you get confused at first, just keep watching. It’ll make sense in the end.

Characters: Shiki is probably one of my favorite female characters of all time, and not just because she’s a badass. However my particular reason is pretty spoilerific and I’ll leave that for you to figure out. Though those who know me might be able guess after watching all the movies. However the entire cast is great, although fairly small for this first movie.

Artwork: This was animated by ufotable, so you should expect amazing visuals. Overlooking View doesn’t disappoint at all in that regard.

Music: The music is also pretty damn amazing, being done by Kajiura Yuki who is a legend in the Anime business.

Overall: Definitely a must watch for those who enjoy any type of mystery series. That being said, it’s not for kids at all.

For those who like: Mystery, Supernatural, Urban Fantasy, Nasuverse, Action, Drama, Awesome Plot, Fantastic Cast of Characters, Masterwork Animation, Excellent Musical Scores.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Anime Sunday: Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Episode 01 Impressions

This week for Anime Sunday I’m back with another Winter 2018 series. It’s my Hakata Tonkotsu Ramens Episode 01 Impressions!

Plot Synopsis: In Fukuoka, crime reaches new heights in the seedy underworld. In the Hakata ward of the city, there are various individuals with special talent who are professional killers, detectives, informants, and professional revenge seekers. Among those, a so-called “killer of professional killers” is becoming more than just an urban legend…

Plot: The plot is pretty interesting, although it really felt like I was watching a rather messed up version of Baccano at times. That being said I don’t recommend any kids watch this series, as it’s absolutely not for them. The subject matter is incredibly dark, so dark that I won’t actually continue to watch the series. It’s not that the plot is bad mind, it’s just that I dislike watching such dark series if I don’t have. Luckily for me, I don’t have to watch anymore so I won’t.

Characters: Our main character seems to be Banba Zenji and he’s a fairly interesting guy. The other lead, Lin, is also fairly interesting if only for his interesting disguises. The rest of the cast is also really interesting.

Artwork: It’s not amazing, nothing like a ufotable production, but it’s not terrible either. A bit better than average I guess, but only just a bit.

Music: The music is okay, but not super memorable either.

Overall: A good series, if incredibly dark.

For those who like: Mystery, Dark Stories, Good Plots, Great Cast of Characters, Good Artwork and Musical Score.

Not for those who don’t like” Any of the above, especially the Dark Stories part.

Movie Monday: Metropolis

This week for Movie Monday I’m covering a move inspired by a Manga that was in turn inspired by a 1920’s Sci-Fi German film. It’s Metropolis!

Plot Synopsis: Humans and robots coexist in the futuristic city of Metropolis, although robots are discriminated against and segregated to the city’s lower levels. A lot of Metropolis’ human population are unemployed and deprived, and many people blame the robots for taking their jobs. Duke Red, the unofficial ruler of Metropolis, has overseen the construction of a massive skyscraper called the Ziggurat, which he claims will allow mankind to extend its power across the planet.

Plot: The plot is okay, but frankly it’s got too much of the Dystopian genre in it for me to really say I even remotely enjoyed it. While my utter hatred for that genre is a topic for another day and column, it doesn’t mean that this was a total bust. One of my roommates in College made me watch the movie so it’s got quite a bit of a cult following and it definitely has a very classic Anime feel due to it being inspired by a Manga from the father of Manga and Anime Tezuka Osamu.

Characters: The cast is okay, but like I said above I really didn’t enjoy this movie’s plot. That being said Shunsaku is probably my favorite character of the movie.

Artwork: Heavily inspired by Tezuka and animated by Madhouse the artwork is really the only thing that I enjoyed about this movie.

Music: The music is very fitting and absolutely perfect for this movie. That being said it’s not super memorable either.

Overall: An okay movie, but much too Dystopian for my tastes.

For those who like: Cult Classics, Sci-Fi, Drama, Dystopia, Action, Excellent Artwork.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above, particularly the Dystopia part.

Anime Sunday: Kujira no Kora Episode 01 Impressions

This week for Anime Sunday I’m covering one of the last series I watched this season. It’s my Kujira no Kora Episode 01 Impressions!

Plot Synopsis: The story focuses on a boy called Chakuro, who lives on the giant vessel called a Mud Whale that drifts over the sea of sand. In the Mud Whale, society is divided into two kinds of people: the Marked, who can move objects with their minds using a strange power called “thymia”, at the expense of shortened lifespans, and the Unmarked, people who lack thymia but enjoy longer lifespans. Chakuro and his friends have never seen anyone from the outside world, and they spend their days yearning to explore and learn about it. One day, the Mud Whale encounters a lonely island…

Plot: The plot is very mysterious and I got immediate Shin Sekai Yori vibes from the story. Whether the story ends up going in a direction similar to that particularly depressing series I have yet to determine, but I’m absolutely not hopeful for a happily ever after ending. I won’t go too much into the plot, but I will say I’ll probably end up watching this later when I’m not so stressed out with life, the Holidays are supposed to be relaxing right?

Characters: The main character Chakuro seems to be a bit of a misfit, actually no he is definitely a misfit. He is deemed too emotional by those around him and that gets in the way of his job on the Mud Whale as the Archivist, who must record his observations without emotion according to the rules set down by the elders. The rest of the cast is also fairly interesting.

Art: The art is pretty good, not ufotable quality by any means, but it’s definitely not poorly done either.

Music: It fit the series very well.

Overall: Worth watching at least the first episode, though whether you should continue or not I’ll leave up to you and how well you handle depressing stories.

For those who like: Mystery, Drama, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Action, Adventure?, Interesting Plot, Good Cast of Characters, Average Artwork.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above, or possibly overly depressing stories.