Thursday, January 31, 2019

NEVERENDING STORY


The NeverEnding Story or in German “Die Unendliche Geschichte”




A fantasy film based on the novel of same title by Michael Ende which was released in 1984. The film was directed by Wolfgang Petersen.

The story is about a boy named Bastian Balthazar Bux who stumbled upon a book with a strange symbol on the cover. The symbol consists of two snakes intertwined with each other forming a circle with three overlapping infinity symbols inside and the snakes biting each other’s tail. The book itself was also titled Neverending Story which he found inside the bookstore of Mr. Coreander, but he was sternly warned not to touch or get involved with the book.




Young and curious, Bastian took the book to read it, leaving behind a note that he will return it once he is done.

He book is about a fantasy world called Fantasia which is slowly being devoured by the malevolent force known as the NOTHING. The land of Fantasia is ruled by the Childlike Empress who has fallen ill and the young warrior Atreyu has been given the task to find a cure for the Empress believing that the Empress holds the key to save Fantasia from the Nothing.

The Nothing is a living formless entity which is often shown as a dark cloud that shrouds the entirety of Fantasia. Other creature such as the Rockbiter a giant rock creature and the famous Falkor the flying dog like dragon called the Luckdragon who assists the young warrior. Gmork the creature with wolf like feature summoned by the Nothing to kill Atreyu before he finds the cure for the Childlike Empress. Other creatures were also featured in the story which has their own key roles.




The adventure of Atreyu and the Luckdragon Falkor takes them to different places in Fantasia in search for the cure for the Childlike Empress. But the adventure is not without sacrifices one of the saddest scenes in the movie was when Atreyu lost his horse Arta whom Falkor replaced for the travels of the young warrior.






Atreyu and Bastian became connected to each other through the book. Later Bastian enters the book and meets Atreyu and became the owner of the AURYN the medallion which was also worn by Atreyu. The AURYN can grant wishes but in return the memories of the one making the wish will lose parts if not all of their memories. Bastian was able to cure the Childlike Empress by giving her a new name which is the Moon Child. With this Bastian became part of the story and one of the key characters of the new chapter which he has started.






The movie later received two more sequels in 1990 and 1994. But the popularity of the film did not just stop there, an animated adaptation was released in 1996 with 26 episodes aired in HBO and a live action series in 2001 with 13 episodes also released on HBO.

I consider the Neverending Story as one of the timeless movies that I have watched, although I cannot recall when was the first time, I was able to watch the first film by Falkor and the AURYN was the most notable words which lingers in my head and some parts of the three movies I can still recall.

Another character that other fans of the film remembers is the giant turtle known as Morla or known as the Ancient One or some call it the Aged One.



Remembering this classic film also made me think if the anime series Fushigi Yuugi was inspired by the novel. But who knows, I still have to dig deep and revisit my previous review on Fushigi Yuugi once I get all the needed facts for it.

The movie itself other than the characters, the song was very catchy as well and it remained in the memories of those who have seen the movie and for those who have just heard it. The main theme was also titled Neverending Story by Limahl. The music video for the theme used parts from the first film overlapping scenes with Limahl as he sings the theme. Needless to say, this movie has a lot of memorable moments for the viewers and fans.

I would introduce this film to those who wants to see the films that I grew up with especially once I get to have my own kids. I want them to see quality films from my childhood.

Credits to owners of the video and the pictures

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

DRAGON BALL BROLY


DRAGON BALL BROLY

A review for the movie Dragon Ball Super: Broly that recently came out last year in Japan around November 14 for Tokyo and December 14 for the rest of Japan to see last 2018. 2019 the rest of the fans living in other countries are to get their chance to see the movie in the big screen.

The Sound Track for the movie Blizzard by Daichi Miura



Blizzard, I guess it fits since the battle between the Saiyans are set in the icy regions of their Earth.


The movie also featured a new version of the Chala Head Chala a classic Dragon Ball Z Theme from where Broly was first introduced.

Philippines is scheduled by the end of January 2019 although not sure how it will be delivered and if the dubbing group will give justice on the English dub of the native language Filipino.

Broly created by Takao Koyama and designs by Akira Toriyama.

1993 when Broly was first introduced in the Dragon Ball franchise but only as a non-canon character. Broly was the supposed Legendary Super Saiyan who has nothing in his mind but pure destruction and controlled only by his father Paragus who raised him as a living weapon so that he can take his revenge upon King Vegeta after he and his son were left to die in some abandoned area in Planet Vegeta. But when Planet Vegeta was slowly being destroyed the father and son were able to survive by the power of the infant Broly and was somehow able to fly off into space along with his father.

In the 1993 and 1994 movie Broly has another thing set in his mind other than the supposed revenge of his father over the deceased King Vegeta who died when Planet Vegeta was destroyed and that was to destroy that noisy loud crying Saiyan baby beside his incubation chamber and that was non-other than Kakarot now known as Goku.

So, in the classic movie Broly was only known for his hatred towards Goku because of his never-ending crying.

As usual Goku and his sons wins in the three movies where Broly appeared as the big bad ass monster of pure destruction.






Now in 2018 Broly has been re-introduced but now under the full supervision of Akira Toriyama not to mention Broly has been redesigned at the same time he has been given a new history background. A new history for the Saiyan Race has been re-written in the new movie where the new Broly has been re-introduced now as a canon character and part of the Dragon Ball Super Saga.






The new Broly is now introduced as a Saiyan that has been born almost same time as the Prince Vegeta. In this movie Broly was not ordered to killed but sent off planet, exiled to an inhospitable planet known as Vampa. Paragus this time was not killed but instead he set off by himself to rescue his son from the isolated planet and planned to raise Broly to become stronger in order to take his revenge upon the jealous King Vegeta since Broly has shown higher combat proficiency compared to a Royal Blood Saiyan.

Not only Broly and Vegeta was shown in this new re-introduction but also a new re-introduction for the hero Goku when he was still in Planet Vegeta with his mother and father. Yes we get to see Goku’s mother in the big screen Gine the wife of Bardock (Bardock will get his own review along with other supposed Legendary Super Saiyan).

Gine finally being introduced and for me seeing the mother of Goku for the first time was an epic one in my book. Goku got his looks from his father but in this movie it seems like Goku got his personality from his mother who was kind and caring for her family and objected with the idea of sending Goku to Earth which Bardock chose to send his son before Frieza destroyed their planet. One of the, some will say a touching scene for the movie, the scene when Gine and Bardock sent Kakarot to Earth. One thing bothers me though why the heck is Kakarot wearing his Saiyan Armor and almost a full grown kid that can walk on his own although Gine did said that he is yet to learn to speak. In the classic Dragon Ball when he was picked up buy his adopted grandfather Gohan he was wearing nothing and only the pod was his connection to his Saiyan origin. His armor was nowhere to be seen unless Gohan threw it away and was not mentioned anymore except that Kakarot hit his head hard and forgot everything (Broly still has his infant memory in the 1993 movie I guess it will linger once you get a loud neighbor that cries all the time). Sad moment as well, Gine telling her beloved baby not to forget them but getting his head hit after falling from a cliff and survived in exchange for a memory loss that will never come back I feel sad for Gine. But I guess it all depends on Akira Toriyama if he decides to one day have Goku dream of his parents and his memories returns before he was sent to Earth, man that sounds like Superman accepting his Kriptonian Legacy as Kal-El.






Young Raditz was also shown in this movie and a skinny one as well still not the buffed barbarian that was introduced in the Dragon Ball Z series. Napa with HAIR yes with HAIR cherish it. Vegeta’s younger brother Tarble was mentioned once again after he was mentioned in the Battle of the Gods. Too bad Raditz as needed to be killed off the story in the DBZ series or else we have a team of the brothers Vegeta-Tarble, Goku/Kakarot-Raditz with the addition of Broly. But I guess that will tilt the balance way off since we will be having a lot of power house if that ever happened (revive Raditz and reform him hehehe).

The new Broly this time is not out to destroy Goku since Goku is in an incubation chamber which was located in the house of his parents and this Goku is said to be a low lever Saiyan but seems like Bardock can sense that Goku will become a great warrior when the day comes. Broly grew up only knowing his father in the Planet Vampa and he was raised nly to follow his orders.

Both versions of Broly has a device that allows Paragus to control Broly once he gets out of control. In the 1993 version Broly was wearing a Sailor Moon Tiara and the control device is worn by Paragus like a bracer. In the 2018 version he wears a choker and a remote control is kept inside waist pouch kept near Paragus which once pressed the choker electrifies Broly putting him under Paragus’ control.

The monstrous powers of Broly did not change much even in the new version but for some reason it seems like this new version has a lot more power compared to the old version. It was said by Paragus that Broly was able to incorporate the Great Ape abilities into his own which was shown when Broly used an energy blast which comes out of his mouth which was commonly used by Great Ape form. So I guess this makes Broly close to a Super Saiyan 4 in normal form since he can use the Great Ape attacks and neither Goku or Vegeta was not able to do that. So this makes Broly’s special attack just like Gokus KameHameHa which he learned from Roshi and was passed down to his sons. Vegeta he got his Gallick Gun and Final Attack which Trunks can also use, I wonder if the will make Bura/Bra a female Saiyan Warrior as well as this new version of Pan.



A new character named Cheelai was introduced in the movie she along with Lemo were able to pick up the distress signal being sent from Vampa which Paragus activated and waited years for rescue. Seeing that Broly has powers that the scouters cannot comprehend Lemo decided to bring the father and son to Frieza’s base to be recruited and join the Frieza Force. Frieza seeing a potential that Broly can take out Goku and Vegeta decided to recruit him and brought him to Earth as he collects the Dragon Balls for his INSANE WISH which is as INSANE as Bulma’s wish

Frieza seeing potentials from Broly decided to take advantage of the situation and killed Paragus hoping to release more potential from Broly knowing that anger and rage can fuel a Saiyan and make them even more powerful in combat.

Another epic scene in the movie was when the second fusion form of Goku and Vegeta returns once again. In the battle with Zamasu and Pink Haired Goku, Goku and Vegeta was forced to use the Potara to fuse into the warrior Vegito but it was also stated that the fusion was temporary to non-Gods which was the reason why Goku and Vegeta separated during the Buu Saga and was not because they were swallowed by Buu. The Fusion Gogeta which was the result of the Fusion Dance returned which was featured in the movie where they fought against Janenba the guy who looked like a three-way fusion of Cell, Buu and Frieza (that did not sound right three-way fusion what the heck am I saying).


Damn this battle soundtrack still lingers in my head.

Oh yeah Frieza joined the fight might as well watch that.

Cheelai was not just a side character who just accidentally ran across Broly but she plays a huge role in the movie as well specially for the part of Broly.

The movie and the new retelling of the introduction of Broly into the Dragon Ball franchise by Akira Toriyama seemed to be even more suited for the flow of the story for me compared to 1993 version. And also as it was mentioned Broly 1993 was a non-canon character and only a movie exclusive character as well as a special character in the Dragon Ball Z Super Butouden game in the SNES console. This time around Broly has been made to be incorporated in the series as it was suggested in the ending when Goku visited Broly in Vampa after their battle on Earth. Broly along with Cheelai and Lemo meets Goku who brought gifts which are Capsule Cartridges whch has a shelter, food and water for them to live on while their stay on Vampa until they decide to move on another planet while evading Frieza. It is also seemed possible that Broly will be brought back again in the future by Akira Toriyama since it was also speculated that Frieza wants Broly in his team even more wanting to pump more muscles in his army in order to defeat Goku and Vegeta.

For me I just hope next time they bring back Broly, he teams up with Goku and Vegeta not to mention I also hope they also bring back Tarble and last four pure blood Saiyan, too bad there are no female Saiyan survivor in their Universe unless Akira Toriyama decides to make Broly meet either Kale or Caulifla and fall for one of them but I guess that is just a wishful thinking for my part.

For the Broly design between the 1993 version and the 2018 version I like the new one a lot better not because it looks more modern for the animation design but because it looks cleaner and more proportioned for me compared to the old one. The old Broly who has a tunic on his waist was changed to wearing a fur, which was the ear of his wild animal friend on Vampa cut by his father because it was making Broly mushier rather than a killing machine that he wants. Broly wears it like a memento of his animal friend. Making Broly survive the battle was even better rather killing him again which makes me wish that next time he teams up with Goku and Vegeta (how many times have I said that). It also seems like Goku had also accepted his Saiyan lineage after he introduced himself to Cheelai as Goku he also mentioned to Broly that he can call him Kakarot, which was a lot different from the 1993 movie which he denies that name I guess because Broly is out to kill Kakarot and thinking that he might stop attacking once he convice Broly that he is Goku and not Kakarot.

I will recommend this to everyone even to those who are not into anime not because I want them to start watching but also for them to experience even once why anime is still suited even to adults.



Credits to owners of the videos and the photos

Monday, January 14, 2019

DORORO 2019

Been a while since the last review. Sorry about that, here my first review for 2019 hope you like it

Dororo 2019 is the reboot of the anime adaptation of the manga Dororo created by Osamu Tezuka in 1967 to 1968 and got a first anime adaptation in 1969 with 26 episodes. As well as a live action in 2007.


Dororo 1969 Opening and Ending theme




Dororo 2019 opening


Dororo 2019 Ending


The reboot for now has no information as to how many episodes this will have. Source is Wikipedia but I will be digging up more information as I take my time watching the 1969 anime version.


Manga



1969 anime


2019 anime


The anime follows the pair of Hyakkimaru and the titular character Dororo.

Hyakkimaru became an orphan after his father has realized that the bargain he made with the 48 demons as been sealed (12 demons in the 2019 reboot wow they trimmed down a lot from the original anime adaptaion talk about getting laid off after 50 years and not even given a cameo but still to be seen) . His father made him in to a bargaining chip with the demons in exchange that his father Daigo Kagemitsu will have power all over Japan in return he will give his first born son to the demons who was to be born during that time. Orphaned and set adrift by his mother (midwife in the 2019) he was picked up by the wandering doctor named Jukai and took him in as his own. Hyakkimaru had no limbs, eyes, ears, some internal organs are also missing. In the 1969 version he can speak and hear but in the 2019 his ability to speak and hear were also removed or taken by the demons. He now wanders around in search for his purpose in life. Jukai made him prosthetic limbs as well as arming him with two blades in both his arms and can be hidden by placing his prosthetic arms to cover the swords. He also has no face and eyeballs so he wears a mask and had a pair of eye balls placed in his eye sockets. Now wanders around in search for the demons and monsters and defeats one by one. I guess he is the first to have prosthetic parts and use it in battle just like Edward Elrich and Violet Evergarden but I know there are more anime characters out there with the same situation and I have to research on them one by one.

In the 1969 version each of the 48 demons he defeats he retrieves a part that was taken from him and it is also the same in 2019 version as shown in the first episode of 2019 version his face retrieved its skin and has no more use for the mask given to him by his adoptive father. In the second episode he defeats another of the demons to whom he was sold to and it seems like in the next episode we will see what body part he has retrieved. Cliffhanger.

Dororo a young orphan just like Hyakkimaru, the difference is that Dororo lost his parents who died protecting him. Growing up in the streets Dororo learned the trade on how to survive on his own as including stealing even from his fellow thieves.

Two orphans found each other and helping out one another in order to survive and both has their own goals set in their lives. Hyakkimaru who is in search for his true self and to retrieve his lost body parts (man Edward Elrich lost to this guy but no one can beat Alphonse) while Dororo searches for a place he can call his home and does not have to go through a lot of hardships to survive.

Secrets of both characters to be revealed for those who has not seen the 1969 version or has no background on the said anime I try to avoid spoilers (too much spoilers)

I recommend watching the series also watch the 1969 version while waiting each week for the new episodes of the 2019 reboot.


credits to the owners of the pictures and videos