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Sword of the Stranger

Jimbo — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 16:33:07 +0000

Also known as トレンヂア無皇刃譚, is an Japanese animated movie from Studio Bones. For those of you in the know, they are the studio also responsible for works such as Fullmetal Alchemist, Eureka Seven, and Ouran High School Host Club.

There was a special nationwide showing this past Thursday at select theaters. It was playing at one of the local places, so my friends and I decided to see it on the big screen.

The movie takes place in Medieval Japan, and coincided with the Ming Dynasty of China. The general plot is as follows. A group of Ming warriors have come to Japan searching for a boy to complete a special medicine for the Ming emperor. That boy doesn’t want any of that, and is on the run with his dog. He stumbles upon a nameless stranger during his escape. The stranger ends up being brought into the fray, and ends up fighting to protect the boy.

The story was, as shown above, nothing too special. I thought it was firmly… ok. The animation however, was very nice. Then again, studios with a movie budget usually churn out nice visuals. I can’t really compare with other recent works, but I was visually pleased.

One thing I didn’t like was that the movie ticket cost me $12.50, when a different movie would only have cost about $6. The theater’s excuse? It was a special showing. Pfft. A movie’s a movie. Wasn’t even 3-D or anything.

Anyway, I’d place this movie is “worth watching” category for the visuals alone. And the fact that the boy’s dog is total win. Even when it barfs.

Back to the ol’ chopping block.

Jimbo — Sat, 17 Jan 2009 20:10:48 +0000

So, Winter break is over. Yarg.

I haven’t been really drawing as of late, so it felt good when I filled out an art meme. WHAT’S AN ART MEME YOU SAY? Well, an art meme is kinda like a drawn version of Mad Libs, except completely different. Hah.

Pretty much, at least from what I gather, it’s a “list” that someone has made that tells you things to draw, usually following a central theme. For a person with no self-motivation like me, the idea is genius. The one I filled out, has to do with Gurren Lagann, an anime series I finished watching over break. (Post on that later)

The image here features one of the panels for the meme, starring my favorite character. Here’s the link for the full thing.

Life a bit bland? Add some Paprika.

Jimbo — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 03:08:00 +0000

Watched Satoshi Kon’s 2006 movie Paprika at a local art theatre. It was about an hour and a half long, with subtitles running along the bottom. The story flows well, and the animation is happy.

I like the art style of his movies, and they appeal to me more so than Miyazaki’s work. (Not that I don’t like Hayao Miyazaki movies) This movie did give me some Miyazaki vibes during the parade sequences with all the characters involved. Satoshi Kon has also directed: Perfect Blue D:, Millenium Actress, and Tokyo Godfathers.

Anyway, I watched it, enjoyed it, and thought enough to write about it. So go watch it.

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