Classroom Crisis - Slashing the Budget

After its lackluster premier, I didn’t have high hopes for Classroom Crisis as it headed down the usual anime path of cute girls doing nauseously cute things with no real drive or purpose, albeit in a science fiction setting. Three episodes in, my low expectations have been happily subverted as the show takes a refreshingly stark approach to the plight of Kaito and his students.

Gate: Jietai Kanochi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri

So the United States does seem to be vying for the position of the antagonist, or at least the secondary position of backstage string-puller. It’s hard to say how much of this frequently used plot device is done out of convenience and how much it’s influenced by a more serious anxiety regarding the USA’s role in Japanese affairs. Somewhat ironically, the larger development of the JSDF’s invasion seems to mirror events in the NATO invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. After using superior technology to crush the defenders’ conventional forces, the invaders embark on a hearts and minds mission to win the cooperation of the civilian population (There doesn’t seem to be an insurgency to be fought here, though these are classic counter-terrorism tactics.). In the meantime, regional powers threatened by the invasion seek to manipulate events on the ground for their own ends.

Gangsta. - First Impressions

Gritty, underworld drama anime are a rare breed that seem to get even rarer with each passing season. I can’t speak for Japanese market tastes—I’m just picking at shows that filter in over here—and can’t say if it’s a profitability angle or a timeslot one that makes them tough to produce. In some ways, the sparse playing field in this genre (Black Lagoon and Jormungand being the only two of their kind I can name off the top of my head) is a blessing rather than a curse, since it makes it easier to enjoy such shows regardless of overall quality. Fortunately, Gangsta.’s premier is overflowing with both quality and potential.

Origin: Spirits of the Past

Perhaps it’s a matter of cultural differences, but anime movies tend to follow similar patterns with me every time I watch one: an intriguing premise that gets me hooked into watching in the first place, a really great world-building, character-establishing first act, and then a middling second portion followed by a finale that fails to capitalize on the beginnings successes and doesn’t do much more than leave me a bit confused regarding what the narrative was trying to tell me. There have been plenty of exceptions (Jin-Ro, Princess Monoke) but unfortunately Origins: Spirit of the Past was not among them.

Jurassic World - "They Cut The Power"

Near the end of the film Aliens, the bunker in which the heroes are sheltering suddenly darkens, heralding an assault by the ravenous Xenomorph antagonists. "They cut the power," Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley murmurs, to which Bill Paxton's Private Hudson wails, "What do you mean, 'they' cut the power? They're animals!"

I found myself recalling this scene many times throughout Jurassic World a film that asks us to give even more credit to its dinosaurs' intelligence than in previous installments while at the same time indulging in some of the most corny monster movie violence I've seen since last summer's Godzilla.