Hi I'm Dranzerstorm
You may remember me as a regular contestant on the caption battle contest.
Welcome to Retro Retrospective, my world dedicated to the old guard of the Otaku world; expect some reviews of the old & obscure, and in-depth geeky knowledge with the occasional top ten and I now have a logo.
Little info about me
Well I'm British and I'm in to all things animated and nostalgia.
I've grown up with every cartoon going and have watched hundreds of anime.
Oh and to answer a question I was asked once, no I don't wear glasses in real life, I would wear Loke's sunglasses though.
Welcome to a new feature known simply as Second Opinion where I take stuff I have already reviewed and add a new perspective to it, I will go through four titles at a time and the feature will show up occasionally to offer fresh opinions should I rewatch a series or watch more of an ongoing series, so without further delay lets begin.
Super Sonico
I originally said that Super Sonico was a mixture of really good and really bad episodes depending on what the episodes focus on, while I still think that is the case I have a bigger appreciation for Sonico being one of very, very few anime characters with a real life body type and while it's easy to criticize the fan service, you get the sense that the writers were being very sensible with the character, you also don't notice at first but you see a cameo from another Nitroplus idol as she grows more confident from shy girl to idol, it's not immediately obvious but the more you look, the more you see her and that makes for a very impressive easter egg.
Despite it's shortcomings with some episodes, even those episodes being not terrible, Super Sonico is a really good anime to watch.
RWBY
I originally said that RWBY was a great spectacle within a mediocre story, but upon viewing more of the series it really starts raising the stakes and the story just improves within a short amount of episodes, maybe a little too dramatic but it gives me great hope that Season 4 can really bring everything full circle, also I'm really enjoying RWBY Chibi as it's extremely funny and always makes me smile.
RWBY just keeps improving and I hope it really comes together in Season 4.
Steven Universe
I originally said that Steven Universe was not as good as it should be, while I still maintain that opinion I also expand on it more by saying, there's really a lot I don't like about Steven Universe, again it boils down to Steven himself but the ever expanding cast never really drew me in either, Peridot, Lapis Lazuli, Ronaldo, Onion and Lars are just a list of characters I really don't like and while I do see a lot of the great work done into the writing, I feel distracted by a handful of really bad characters that really damage the spectacle.
So I find myself hating it more now than I did before, sorry to other fans, I really don't like this show.
Wander Over Yonder
I originally said this show was okay but I actually really like this show now, it's full of boundless fun and optimism and the villain is actually really hilarious, it's like the Kooky Lego Villains with much better writing. Wander himself is a well balanced character, he's not so generic that he's boring but equally he's not so annoying that he out stays his welcome and Sylvia makes for a great companion that can really create a nice universal balance to the show.
Wander Over Yonder is a good cartoon border lining great and needs more support than it got, maybe Cartoon Network should buy it but then again it hates it's old creators seeing as the same guy did Powerpuff Girls and look how that turned out on the remake.
My last vault entry was somewhat terrible thanks to the crappy nature of the Return to Oz film so lets restore some faith with a bit of Disney magic with the Rescuers.
In a Bayou where an abandoned river boat lies, a young girl drops a message in a bottle, the opening scene plays out to dramatic music and water color painting of the bottle's journey all the way to New York where mice retrieve the bottle and send it to the Rescue Aid Society, a group of mice who help out in international kidnapping cases all discussed and delegated in the United Nations building. The focus is on Miss Bianca, a delegate from Hungary whose passion for her job envokes her to take on the assignment regarding the kidnapped little girl Penny. During the meeting the Janitor named Bernard, makes the suggestion that Bianca takes a co-agent but the naturally superstitious mouse is shocked when Miss Bianca picks him, not knowing that Bianca is smitten with him.
Upon investigating the kidnapping by questioning Rufus the cat at the orphanage, they are led to the main villain and the main plot. Medusa, a pawn shop owner is searching for a rare jewel known as the Devil's Eye and needs Penny to retrieve it from a catacomb only she can fit down but problems back in the Bayou with Medusa's associate Snoops unable to keep Penny in line forces her to travel to the Devil's Bayou herself to get her back using her pet crocodiles Brutus and Nero and again attempt to force her down into the Catacomb, meanwhile Bernard and Bianca travel by Albatross to the Bayou and with assistance from the locals, attempt to free Penny from Medusa's clutches.
This is one of the first Disney Films I ever watched as a child so it holds a lot of nostalgic memories for me.
But its by no means Disney's best, lets start with what I didn't like.
The big flaw of Rescuers in general is Penny, the writers can't decide whether or not she's supposed to be Prewcious, (Not a typo that is sarcasm) or female Kevin McCallister from Home Alone, what I mean is, she gets really upset in some scenes and who wouldn't be, your surrounded by crocs and the villain has no qualms about holding you at gunpoint with a shotgun, but then in other scenes is acting all resourceful and knows exactly how to plan her own escape.
There's also the infamous naked woman frame which baffles me how it even managed to get into the final cut, it's one of those uncomfortable Easter Eggs you wish you didn't find and finally they needed a voice for Evinrude, he's a fine enough character but the noise he makes is dreadful, it's like someone crossed Pokemon language with a Motorboat.
Now onto what I liked, the art is beautiful, the action has great suspense well backed up by the gloriously murky Devil's Bayou, also helped by the fact that Medusa is wonderfully psychotic in her portrayal and I love the music, but the best thing about the Rescuers is the chemistry between Bernard and Bianca, their romance is hinted at and done in a subtle enough way to allow the viewers to draw their own conclusions, this is well backed up by one of Disney's most romantic moments in the song sequence "Tomorrow is another day" which today has a more special meaning to me than it did when I first watched it.
I must be in a good mood because I have another Disney film for you, this time Basil the Great Mouse Detective.
Right at the beginning, a young mouse girl named Olivia witnesses her father's kidnapping at the hands of a bat, and seeks out Basil of Baker Street a famous detective in London, in her search she meets up with Dr David Q Dawson a veteran army medic of the Afghanistan war who is looking for a place to stay, upon finding Basil they deduce that Olivia's father was kidnapped by Professor Ratigan who is trying to use the expert toy making skills of Olivia's father to replace the Queen with an anatomic clone of whom he can manipulate into declaring him king, so it's up to Basil to save the day.
I came into this film expecting more or at least a spectacle that may not look much on paper but is fun enough to enjoy.
Unfortunately I found the film a bit lacking in a lot of places, don't get me wrong it's still a good film I just expected a lot more from it, my big issue is that the big climax was spoiled by what I could describe as serious sound issues, it seemed to suffer from the 80s dark age animation syndrome where everything is rotoscoped to add a gritty realistic feel to it but can look cheap in places, which was fine for Don Bluth with Land Before Time and Secret of Nimh but not for Disney who were already feeling the pain from the Black Cauldron and while Basil restored a little bit of faith it would take another film before returning to fortune with the Little Mermaid.
The stuff I liked including the voice acting, characters and story was really effective, I just feel a bit cheated in terms of quality, the 80s seems to suit other animation houses better than others and the 80s just simply wasn't kind to Disney.
Overall Basil the Great Mouse Detective is still enjoyable but you may find the quality a bit lacking from this 30 year old film.
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.
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.
