Jman

Dandy’s a bit reminiscent of Moral Orel, not in content, but in that concept of “show advertised as comedy decides it doesn’t need to be a comedy and wants to focus on other things, only to meet a rather divisive reaction.” People don’t call it bad, but they were confused by what it was purported to be vs what it was. For Dandy’s weird, cringe, or otherwise incomprehensible moments, there were genuine flashes of brilliance, laugh out loud episodes, and nothing that could be considered unoriginal. But something that messy and disjointed was never going to get the popularity of “Japanese Beavis who turns into chainsaw monster and fights demons in the hope of scoring.”

The issue with Space Dandy is that it was very difficult to market. It was marketed as a madcap comedy but numerous episodes were not funny, more interested in exploring concepts and ideas than laughs (basically, everything Mike Lazzo loathed about cartoons on his watch). Add that with parodies that went nowhere depending on what side of the world you were on (the cringe that was the High School Musical parody, spoofed ideas from Space Runaway Ideon that were alien to Western viewers save hardcore followers of Tomino’s filmography), and you have a lot of disparate elements that never gelled into a whole and was quickly forgotten on both sides of the ocean.

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2023-01-05/goblin-slayer-season-2-anime-reveals-promo-video-cast-staff-2023-premiere/.193574 LIDEN films is handling the gob killing but with most of S1’s staff.

He’s not entirely wrong, but the problem is the traditional over correction to a handful of sure hits. Netflix and Amazon are similarly correcting in stuff that was never going to be a hit but is there for clout (coughWarriorNuncoughLeagueOfTheirOwncough) but which is not sustainable when purse strings get tightened.

Alice in Borderland and the Kenshin films convinced me they should just throw money to Japanese studios and let them do it.

Vinland Saga 1-2

Maybe I doth protest too much then. I still think more accurate metrics are ultimately a good thing.

Even in a vacuum it’s something they should have been doing a while ago. When your material can’t be accurately gauged, you’re forced to use inaccurate, easily manipulated metrics like social media interaction. The same 20 or so lunatics can convince people Warrior Nun is popular when it isn’t. Granted, after the Snyder Cut debacle, all of these companies should go “we do not negotiate with social media terrorists” but I digress.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/microsofts-first-union-zenimax-studios-1235290162/

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/warner-bros-discovery-videoamp-audience-measurement-nielsen-rival-1235290056/ And presumably make cuts easier to identify.

Oof.

I think that’s why I’m following it (that and viewing it as a beta for Amazon’s planned big budget Voltron movie). When you see an industry that doesn’t do anything this big tackle a project this ambitious, you can’t help but be curious. Toei’s support and approval seems to at least confirm they met a quality standard (I would assume that of Reiwa-era tokusatsu).

Final extended trailer.

https://top10.netflix.com/tv-non-english Alice in Borderland is not nearly on the same level of Squid Game but is still all over the top 10 this holiday season. And it has good critical and user reviews. First the Kenshin movies, now this. It’s weird, seeing a streak of good manga adaptations after the Bebop fiasco.

Another trailer and again, I feel like I have to grade this on a massive curve because this is the first time the Filipino film industry has done something like this, even with Toei apparently holding their hand every step of the way. It's still an interesting curio even if odds are this will never be seen outside of the Philippines except on YouTube (although if it's successful Netflix will likely get the international rights). With Amazon Studios and the guy who did Red Notice and Dodgeball making a big-budget Voltron film that seems designed to go "Fuck that lame Dreamworks show", I can only imagine the comparisons, even if Voltron is likely to have a budget in the nine-figure range.

Because writing is like…hard man. Dumb foreigners think they know what they’re doing, but we’re Rooster Teeth! We’re about the characters! Imagine if they did sell it to SHAFT. We almost got SHAFT animating the Justice League, and they probably would have animated the actual Justice League, not these teenagers from the PS2 tie in to Justice League Unlimited.

https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2022-12-22/tenchi-muyo-gxp-project-gets-new-paradise-shido-hen-anime/.193262 Someone is clearly buying a lot of doujins to make this profitable. Note that this in on the heels of the Pretty Sammy crowdfunding campaign failing miserably, with only 12% funding. How this franchise continues to exist in bits and pieces is infuriating. Toei has co-ownership. Just start from scratch and put it next to Trigun Stampede.

Fair enough. How is that?

"Your Honor, this trailer convinced me that Rise of Skywalker wouldn't suck."

The fact that this is the same crew handling Yu Yu Hakusho is why I haven’t completely written off the latter. Only took two years for the new season.

Muppet Christmas Carol - 8.5/10. A bizarre combination of fidelity to the original story and Muppet madness that works thanks to Michael Caine acting his ass off to bring it all together into a Christmas classic.