Okay more reviewing and we return to the Cartoon Vault for Dumbo.
An American Circus gets a visit from the stork, back in the days where the concept of babies in media was that storks bring them which hasn't been a concept since the 90s but then again this film is 75 years old.
Any who, one elephant in particular receives a baby that has overly large ears which attracts shock and awe from the other elephants who dub him Dumbo but the mother isn't that interested in their comments, meanwhile the Circus is traveling up through the state of Florida accompanied by musical sequences such as Casey Jr the Train (yep that's the name of the train) and the workman's chorus.
Unfortunately opening day in a new town doesn't go according to plan as an incident with a stupid child gets Dumbo's mother imprisoned leaving Dumbo to fend for himself which leads to him being rejected by the other elephants; luckily a mouse named Timothy (Yep that's his name) sees some potential in Dumbo and tries to improve his image by helping him get involved in some spectacular Circus acts only for that to go wrong as well demoting him to clown. After a tender moment with his mother and a drunken hallucination, Dumbo finds himself in a tree where a murder of crows (not an actual murder but the right term for them) encourages Dumbo to fly thinking that's what he actually did to get up in the tree. After a spectacular display during a Circus act, Dumbo becomes the famous Flying Elephant making the Circus and Timothy Mouse very rich.
So after 75 years what have we discovered now about Dumbo that wasn't apparent during it's first release? Well for one thing Dumbo doesn't talk and that makes his curiosity and emotions show a lot more, you instantly sympathize with him when he gets separated from his mother and can't help but cry during the more emotional scenes. Equally other characters aren't as clear cut in the black and white, good and evil books. The Ringmaster is often portrayed as a villain but he's only really doing his job, he's just a product of the time and old evils of circuses, equally Timothy Mouse acts more like a manager than a friend to Dumbo and you get the feeling that he would walk away with tons of money the first moment he gets, but in his defense, he did encourage a change of heart from the crows who were only making fun of the situation, so the characters aren't always as clear cut as you might think. On the other hand the other elephants are incredibly hypocritical about their pride when you consider that THEY ARE IN A CIRCUS! I hardly call what they do respectable or proud, it must be very degrading being forced to balance on a ball and get trod on by other elephants for entertainment.
And finally props have to go to the fact that Dumbo only flew thanks to a drunken hallucination episode which would be very dangerous in real life so don't try it at home but the sequence is by far one of Disney's finest works of animation and is a great representation of why not to drink too much and what might happen if you did, remember this film is from 1941 and social responsibility didn't start until the very late 50s early 60s.
So yeah the film is ultimately very charming and worth the watch and has a timeless feel, but knowing that a live action remake is being directed by Tim Burton makes me both excited and disturbed, so watch this space.
You lucky, lucky people I just finished another anime and this one is a film, One Piece Film Z.
We start off on an island where a guy going by the name of Z sporting a heavily weaponized arm steals some high powered explosives from the marines and proceeds to blow up a Volcanic Island while battling a Marine Admiral.
Cue later on and the Strawhat Pirates are having a party when they bring Z onto their ship when he's floating in the ocean. Sadly not being very grateful to Luffy proceeds to destroy him and his crew upon hearing that they are pirates with some crew members getting younger thanks to a female subordinate of Z having the power to make people 12 years younger leaving Robin, Nami and Chopper in dismay while Brook simply enjoys having a fuller head of hair.
Upon the second Volcanic Island, Luffy with advice from a former Admiral and enemy named Aokiji has a rematch with Z only to lose again and that island blowing up as well. Apparently Z plans to blow up the three major Volcanic Islands in order to create a chain reaction that destroys the New World and everyone with it, Pirates, Marines and Civilians. The story comes to a climax on the final island where Luffy settles the score with Z once and for all.
Now this is not entirely a typical One Piece film as the villain has a lot of depth to him, rare when you consider most One Piece film villains to be 1 or 2 dimensional with very little reason to care for them, but with Z you do sympathize with his cause and you do get a sense of why he feels so strongly about his beliefs that he'd want to cause wide spread devastation. I wish I could say the same about the rest of the film. Don't get me wrong it's a good film but lacks a strong story to go with it's strong villain. You get a sense that this is all been done before and while the initial payoff at the end is a good one you feel that the experience is as typical as every other One Piece film before it and that's a real shame.
Dubbing is top quality, and despite my disdain for anything Avril Lavigne does in anime since the whole "Make 5 Wishes" incident, she does do a decent cover of "Bad Reputation" and "How You Remind Me", a rare choice of Western Music in an anime.
Final Verdict: It's a One Piece film and behaves like one, it's got a lot going for it but fails to take full advantage of it's greatest strengths. Still a fairly decent watch.
Back to reviewing anime and we have a good one in A Certain Scientific Railgun.
Academy City is a student run city packed to the brim with Espers, a group of gifted humans with psychic abilities but inevitably with a city packed full of this kind of power is constantly full of crime. Thankfully a crime busting group called Judgement is on hand to stop Academy City's crime problem with officer Kuroko Shirai on the case whose best friend and love interest is an especially powerful esper able to control electricity at high levels named Mikoto Misaka, better known by reputation as Railgun. Together with allies Kazari Uiharu and Ruiko Saten among others, the girls attempt to solve the ever growing mysteries that keep popping up in Academy City, especially when Dr Harumi Kiyama starts making an appearance.
This series is a spinoff of another series named "A Certain Magical Index" set in the same universe and some of their characters even turn up in Railgun. Where this series stands is before and during the events of Magical Index so you won't feel too confused if you watch this before Index as this probably sets things up better.
The show itself is very good, it showcases it's morals in the correct way, the action while a little limited is awesome to watch, the payoff in the last few episodes of season one is worth it and it's not always obvious what's going to happen which keeps things unpredictable, however there is a lot of filler to stomach in-between major plot moments which aren't all bad but can disrupt the flow of the story especially when all the characters are doing is messing about, so you can probably cut out 5-6 Episodes and still have a full story.
Also while I generally enjoy the majority of the cast such as anti hero Harumi Kiyama and main character Mikoto Misaka, I absolutely despise Kuroko Shirai for being a patronizing bitch, made even more so by her dub performance. Yeah Kuroko rubs me the wrong way, guess I'm not a fan of the "I work for the law so that gives me the right to be a preachy pretentious bitch" Type. I don't much like Uiharu either as she reminds me too much of Miracle Rookie Yoshika Miyafuji from Strike Witches.
The dub is reasonable but some performances can make the characters seem off in personality.
There's much more of the series to go so I'm open to watching season two and watching Magical Index; if Railgun entertained you then Index should be more of the same.
Final Verdict: The anime is good and knows how to keep you thinking and well entertained but a couple of characters will test your tolerance and the series could probably be 5-6 episodes shorter but what it keeps is very good.
So same thing I did on the previous list only there are far less cartoons, same rules as before, the list has no order to it and all these shows premiered in 2015 so sit back relax and enjoy the list.
Miraculous Ladybug
An intriguing look at a French made Magical Girl series co wrote by South Korean and Japanese companies. It may look like another attempt to try and use anime style shows in Western Cartoons but this show is certainly original in plot and design and is worth a watch.
The Clangers
A British stop motion show about pink moon mice who communicate through whistles. The original show aired over 40 years ago but this updated version uses the exact same stop motion animation but runs a lot smoother. You see it is possible to reboot a show and not change anything bar the voice acting.
Danger Mouse
And Danger Mouse did exactly the same thing in it's reboot, no CGI nonsense just a secret agent mouse with all the best comedy writing you can offer a show and just run with it. British Cartoons at it's best.
Guardians of the Galaxy
Marvel cartoons have been a bit lacking in impact lately and Guardians of the Galaxy is made for cartoons and well welcomed into Disney's growing library.
Harvey Beaks
Harvey Beaks is a reminder that Nickelodeon hasn't completely lost the plot yet, from the creators of Chowder if the character designs and humor isn't completely obvious, Harvey Beaks is starting to restore some trust back in Nickelodeon.
Star vs the Forces of Evil
It sucks that Gravity Falls has been cancelled but with this Magical Girl spoof in it's place, I'm not too worried about Disney's future in 2D animation. Funny and very clever about it's morals, Star will certainly make Disney shine again.
The Lion Guard
I'm cheating a bit as this is a pre-school show but as someone who watched the Lion King back in 1995, I welcome the Lion King world back onto Disney screens. Badly needed to balance out Disney's range that lately looks to be just Star Wars, Marvel and Disney Princess starring Frozen.
Moonbeam City
This is kinda what I imagined Regular Show being like if it were just 80s jokes. The show scratches the nostalgia trip I enjoy so much and I hope it becomes more mainstream to give older shows like Simpsons a reminder that it can be replaced.
Be Cool Scooby Doo
I didn't think this would work, the designs looked like a Family Guy sketch and it was going to be more geared towards crazy fun over serious plots. You know what after so many reboots of this, this being the 12th one, I actually kind of like it. I think it's hit it's last possible reboot, "Making Fun of Yourself" which is all it can do and it works surprisingly well, much like Pup Named Scooby Doo did in the late 80s.
We Bare Bears
At this point Cartoon Network is heading for a sorry state. Adventure Time and Regular Show will probably end soon and it's current shows, well except for Amazing World of Gumball and possibly Steven Universe aren't enough for the channel to live on. Thankfully We Bare Bears fills the gap quite nicely and manages to spoof today's culture without it being forced, and it even has some very emotional moments, which is surprising for a show of it's kind.
Now this list will prove today that I can appreciate today's anime as well as the classics, the point of this is to showcase what I consider to be really good shows that came out in 2015 or have continued new seasons in the case of some, this will prove that despite being 30 years old later this year I can still appreciate the new stuff. The obvious criteria is that they must've been released in 2015, there isn't an order in this list either. Without further delay lets begin.
Nisekoi
This was the series I reviewed last time out and is the best choice available for Romantic Comedy, even if the formula is tried and tested it's a well polished and well made anime.
High School DxD
If you want ecchi done with a good story you can't go wrong with High School DxD, a sexy adventure that enlightens all the senses while taking away the cliches that plague the genre. You'll be pleased to watch this anime for the story.
Durarara!!!
If you want a story that's challenging to work out then look no further than the street anime Durarara, Ikebukuro has never been so fun and rewarding.
Assassination Classroom
If you want your fix of violence then take a look at Assassination Classroom, an original idea that keeps the Shonen Jump crowd feeling fresh.
Kantai Collection
Miss Strike Witches and want something to fill the void? Look no further than Kantai Collection the Warship Strike Witches. Battleships have never looked so Kawaii
Wish Upon the Pleiades
Watch as car maker Subaru makes a better Magical Girl anime than Sailor Moon Crystal. Car makers keep watching.
Uta no Prince-Sama
Love Live with Pretty Boys, which is fresh and new and surprisingly good unlike Love Live.
Ore Monogatari
The sweetest most rewarding love story you'll ever see not just in anime but in literature.
God Eater
A relatively young yet awesome video game franchise looking for more love and anime is the way forward.
Kuroko's Basketball
Okay fine, if you want a good sports anime you can't go wrong with Kuroko's Basketball, it's the only one on this list I don't like but compared to it's other counterparts it's the best your going to get.
The Rolling Girls
Want a light hearted coming of age story? Have a go at Rolling Girls, it's intelligence and story telling will serve you well.
One Punch Man
Rewriting the Shonen Genre one punch at a time. One Punch Man is the best Shonen Series since Dragonballz who ironically is the competition but our bald hero is more than just pure strength. Give it a watch you won't regret it.
Valkyrie Drive
Somehow MOE weapon girls is a thing and yeah it works and Valkyrie Drive is your one stop place for it.
Mysterious Joker
If you want a show with a classic feel for the modern age then look no further than Mysterious Joker, a good old fashioned Phantom Thief story.
Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans
Miss the Gundam of old where it was full of war, death and depression? Iron Blooded Orphans brings you full circle after Gundam's weird obsession with fighting Model Kits.
Cute High Earth Defense Club Love!
Miss Ouran Host Club? Then go take a look at this Magical Boy series where Fabulous Secret Powers actually mean something.
Brave Beats
The strangest anime you'll watch this year but proving Disco isn't dead and you can turn it into a Maho Anime, give Brave Beats a watch.
Food Wars: Shokugeki no Soma
It's Food Porn........literally. Trust me when I say this, the first episode will have you wanting to cook in seconds.
Go Princess Precure
The latest incarnation of Precure comes with dresses so pimped out that a Disney Princess would call them gaudy. While the nature of Precure is always to switch to a new team every season, get yourself motivated for the next installment with the current one.
Snow White with the Red Hair
If you enjoyed the Atelier game series then Snow White with the Red Hair should satisfy your appetite in the Fantasy genre.
