Devilman (2004) 1h 52m

Coming from the same table at the same anime convention (although a year earlier) is 2004's entry to the Devilman series.  Created by Go Nagai back in the early 70's, Devilman has had a manga, multiple films, and anime series with the most recent being on Netflix.  Though much tamer than its counterparts, let's jump into today's review.

Grandma got me a Hot Topic gift card!

Devilman focuses on Akira and Ryo.  Ryo is essentially a violent delinquent that describes himself as "pure evil."  Akira is Ryo's only friend, despite being the opposite of Ryo in every way.  Akira is the only person that can calm Ryo on his angsty rampages.  One day Ryo has Akira go with him to his father's lab where an experiment with demons and demon energy has lost control and released the dark entities to our plane of existence.  Akira is hit by a particularly nasty demon but is able to retain his humanity, while Ryo becomes angelic.  The world descends into chaos as the released demons possess bodies and feed upon humanity and only Akira can stop them while also trying to save the world from itself.  Ryo has other ideas in mind.

I've said this about other films in the past, but this is truly the center point between amazing and crap.  Despite the long time it didn't drag too much but at the same time I wish the story pacing were a bit stronger.  The CG could be a bit questionable but it works well for the fight scenes where there's a lot of action and not a lot of time to focus on the details.  I also wish the Ryo reveal was done a bit more tactfully.  We're presented with info in the second act that should really only exist for the final reveal.  Otherwise, it is a solid film.  It's just not enough for me to get behind.  I would recommend Devilman with an apathetic "you might like it."

I give Devilman 2.5 '72 anime Devilmen out of 5:

Gantz:O (2016) 1h 35m

Here's something new to the 30 Days of Plight.  I've covered live action films of manga/anime with the Netflix Deathnote film, I talked about the anime inspired Castlevania series in my Choice Cuts, but now we get a CG film based on a manga/anime.  I just need a legit video game movie to pop up now.  Maybe one of the three Resident Evil animated films... which I own on blu-ray... shut up!  I like them!

Gantz:O is like watching an hour and a half video game cutscene (I'm looking at you Kojima!).  After Kato is stabbed and killed by some psycho in the train station he wakes up in an apartment with four other individuals and a large black orb known as the Gantz.  In this version of Japan some people die only to resurrect as part of a game where they battle real life monsters in order to gain points.  If a player collects 100 points in a round then they are granted a "wish" where they can get a special weapon, bring back a dead teammate, or be set free from the game and never have to play again.  Kato needs to survive, not only for himself but for his younger brother he cares for.

This is my first exposure to anything Gantz.  I knew of it, but never what Gantz's plot was.  After watching this though I definitely want to check out at least the manga.  I was afraid the use of CGI was going to detract from the film.  Luckily the CGI is just lifelike enough that your mind is kind of tricked into thinking it's live action.  This is in opposition to other similar films such as Advent Children.  Keep in mind though that Gantz:O is years later than Advent Children so technology has only improved.  The creature design for Gantz was impressive, with a great collection of creatures inspired by Japanese mythology with parts swapped out like custom action figures.

I will say that certain plot lines get confusing with this, especially when it comes to the very end.  I had to look up interpretations online but this just left me with more questions as this timeline apparently takes place after Kato's second death and he has no recollection of his prior time in the game.  These elements don't detract from the movie though and even the ending part could be read as set-up for a sequel.

I give Gantz:O 3 Onna Nue out of 5:

Death Note (2017) 1h 41m

I knew this day would come.  I fucking knew it!  I just hoped that it would be much later than this, and on Halloween of all days!  So I've read all of the original Death Note manga, saw all of the anime, and own two of the three Japanese films (Death Note and Death Note II, but not L Saved the World).  When Netflix said they were going to make their own movie based on Death Note it was met with some excitement and some skepticism.  Then it came out and all I heard about it was that it was trash upon trash.  So how does this really measure up?

If you're unfamiliar with the premise, Death Note is about an ultra intelligent teenage boy named Light.  He finds a notebook labeled as a "Death Note" and a list of rules inside of how to use it.  The book itself belongs to a Shinigami (death god) named Ryuk who acts as an influencer and voyeur to Light's use of the Death Note.  After donning the name "Kira" (an indirect form of the word "killer" in Japanese), Light uses the Death Note in a self-conceived notion of global morality by eliminating criminals.  A special operative, another teenage boy of extreme intelligence, known only as L is put on the case to flush out Kira.

That pretty much sums up what is maybe the first quarter of the original story and more info than you're given for the entirety of this film.  If you know nothing at all about Death Note then you might like this film.  If you know even the slightest bit about Death Note then you know this is a bastardization of the source material set in America.  I could go on and on about why this wasn't good, but those reviews already exist so I'll jump to the two things I did like about this.  First, Ryuk (and more importantly Willem Dafoe's voice acting) was a shining star in the black void of this film.  The lines were dead on, the look was great, and Willen Dafoe fucking kills it with his laughs and line deliveries.  Second, this version of L was much more proactive than the original.  He took risks that were out of character for L, but it made him a bit more interesting.  It doesn't help that I'm not really a fan of L in the manga/anime and much prefer Near, but with this film you have no clue what I'm talking about.

So is this movie the turd sandwich people say it is?  Ehhhh... Like I said, if you have even flipped through the manga then you know this movie is trash.  Although, for people that have no clue about Death Note, maybe this will be their gateway into the real thing, or maybe it will be their intro to manga and anime.  So I can't really shit on that.  Kids still get into metal based on new Metallica albums.  If it leads to them finding good metal or visiting the old Metallica albums, then good for them.  Metal up your ass...

I give Death Note 1 apple out of 5 (in honor of Willem Dafoe's Ryuk):

Friday's Choice Cuts: Tokyo Ghoul (JAP2014/US2017)

This is probably fitting as I had just recently attended Mechacon (the local anime convention here in New Orleans).  Although I didn't do cosplay for it this year, I was thinking of doing Faust from the Guilty Gear fighter series but... maybe next year.  Anyway, back to the matter at hand.

I became aware of Tokyo Ghoul in ways that no 36 year old probably should: Tumblr and Hot Topic.  The combination of these had kept me away from it until I decided to finally take a chance and watch it.  The story itself revolves around Ken Kaneki, a boy that happens to have an encounter with a very dangerous Ghoul which attempts to devour him.  In the process though the Ghoul is killed by an outside force and Ken is on the verge of death.  He ends up surviving because the doctor transplants parts from the Ghoul into his body.

At this point you're probably thinking "da' fuck is a Ghoul?"  A Ghoul is a creature that looks human but must live by eating flesh.  They can regenerate, have a greater speed and strength than humans, and also contain a special "organ" known as a Kagune.  This organ can manifest and be used to attack or defend.  It can also be severed and used as a weapon against Ghouls, as the special "dove" forces do this to fight on the side of humans.

I thought this was going to be much more of an action/horror anime but it really ends up being a drama/horror one.  Most of it revolves around Keneki's internal struggle with trying to maintain his humanity despite suddenly being a Ghoul.  Unlike vampirism, one isn't turned into a Ghoul, they are their own species.  He just happens to be a rare case once he was given Ghoul parts, the main one being his left eye which shifts to black and red when he gives himself over to his darker half.

There are political tones as well.  Similar to the Professor X vs. Magneto views that exist in the X-Men comics (fuck those movies though...), there are Ghouls that wish to wipe out the human threat and those that wish to just exist among them.  In a way, and this could just be me reading into this too much, it has a tone of the civil rights struggle in it.  Maybe I'm applying the X-Men analogy too much though...

This is the first "season" or series as the follow up is Tokyo Ghoul √A which picks up at the end of Tokyo Ghoul.