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Gatchaman Crowds insight (anime review)

814131016393_anime-gatchaman-crowds-insight-primaryTitle: Gatchaman Crowds Insight on blu-ray

Director: Kenji Nakamura

Studio: Tatsunoko Production

Writer: Toshiya Ono

U. S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks, Section 23

U. S. Release Date: Nov. 22nd, 2016

Format: Blu-ray / 13 Episodes / 325 Minutes

Genre: Sci Fi, Action, Adventure, Super Hero

Age Rating: TV 14

Overall Personal Rating: B-

Synopsis:

Gatchaman Crowds insight contains episodes 1-13 of season two of Gatchaman Crowds.

You can’t keep a good Gatchaman down, especially when a new organization called VAPE (short for Violent Ape) starts hijacking CROWDS technology.

The ensuing wave of “Red CROWDS” incidents targeting high profile targets like the Prime Minister make it clear that the good team needs to start recruiting; fast. Fortunately, help arrives quickly, and with a rather… loud entrance. The alien Gelsadra’s ship crashes in a rice paddy in Nijima!

Besides being generally peaceful, Gelsadra has a unique power involving comic-book-like speech bubbles that display a person’s inner feelings, rather like an emoji.

There’s also the fireworks enthusiast, Tsubasa, whose life becomes the focus of millions of viewers when she’s chosen as the newest Gatchaman – on nationwide live television!

As if that wasn’t enough pressure for a teenage girl to handle, she’s also assigned Hajime as her mentor!

Will she survive? Will the world survive? Things are about to get really wild and crazy in GATCHAMAN CROWDS INSIGHT!

Commentary:

Are you looking for a series that is colorful, cheerful and rather bizarre then you need to look no further than Gatcham Crowds insight. From the very opening sequence it is easy to tell that this one will keep your attention.

The story is rather simple with plenty of oddities thrown in. It at times leaves you wondering why you are watching it and at other time thinking that this is simply great. I’m not real sure that the switch between great and weak does the series any help in fact this change is a true reflection of the writing and if the writing is not consistent then the series suffers.

Overall Grade: B

Even though the series has some obvious flaw in the writing I still found it to be a enjoyable series that provides enough odd insight to be more than just average. Gatchaman Crowds insight takes the new animation style of bright and bold to a new level and makes sure you eyes are glued to the screen. This outrageous animation added to a strange story of hers and aliens that goes from sugar sweet to somewhat weird makes for entertainment.

I’m not sure Gatchaman Crowds insight is for everyone, but if you are looking for something different then this one is for you. You do not need to see the first season of Gatcham Crowds because for once there is a brief explanation of the prior season to open this part of the series. Also, if you just want wierd here you go.

The Perfect Insider (anime review)

perfect-insiderTitle: The Perfect Insider

Directors: Mamaru Kanbe

Writer: Toshiya Ono

Music: Kenji Kawai

Studio: A-1 Pictures

U. S. Distributor: Sentai Filmworks, Section 23

U. S. Release date: October 25th, 2016

Format: Blu-ray/ 11 Episodes / 275 Minutes

Genre: Drama, Suspense, Murder Mystery

Age Rating: MA

Overall Personal Rating: A-

Synopsis: 

For most people, finding a dead body on their vacation would mean the vacation is over. However, for Souhei Saikawa, a professor of architecture, and his student Moe Nishinosono, a math prodigy, it’s a different kind of challenge.

Genius programmer Shiki Magata, one of Souhei’s idols, is inexplicably murdered inside the sealed research lab she disappeared to after being found innocent of her parents’ murder. As Souhei and Moe take the first steps into a deadly new world, they must untangle the complex web of events and clues leading up to the murder. With danger creeping up around them, this may be the last mystery this pair of human anomalies attempts to solve in THE PERFECT INSIDER!

Commentary:

It has been a while since I have enjoyed a murder mystery like The Perfect Insider. From the very first episode I was hooked. I had no idea what was going on but the characters were coming at me in a strange and intriguing direction. I found the plot development rather satisfying with plenty of open question that needed to be answered and most were covered as the series progressed.

The Perfect Insider is a great and refreshing anime after see the market flooded with magical power and fan service anime. I like most of the new series but there has become a series lack of great dramas coming over to the North America. This is where The Perfect Insider stands out. It doesn’t waist your time with frivolous fan service or make our characters magically powerful, it takes a group of people and places them in the middle of a rather confusing and disturbing situation.

Overall Grade: A-

The Perfect Insider does almost everything a great dramatic anime does. It provides a tense mystery with plenty of dark under pinnings. Some of those darker elements put me off a bit, but I understand why they were there.

The animation work perfectly with the story. It is slick enough to make it easy to concentrate on the story and tosses in some well done CG (computer graphics) to provide the eye candy when needed. It help a hard enough edge and color palette that helps keep the focus on the story and the characters. Often you will have anime blast you with bright colors and overly stylized environment to hide the fact that the story is week. The Perfect Insider manages to keep you focused on the story and the character. The only weakness I saw was that there was a lacking of emotion showing in some of the characters faces when important information was discovered.

If you are looking for a strong mature drama with a great ending then you really need to check out The Perfect Insider. One word of caution, this series is not for younger viewers it does contain some rather unpleasant imagery and plot topics that are not suitable for minors.