(Average) Origin: Spirits of the Past

NOTE: I watched this movie in English

Movie in one sentence:
Like most stories; a boy is too devoted getting back a girl he barely knows.

Movie in more sentences:
Humans and nature got separated after an experiment went wrong 300 years ago, and a young girl that used to live in better times wakes up in this nearly destroyed world. She discovers the forest is now a living being that has given humanity rules they have to obey if they wish to use their resources.
She can't accept the lives of the struggling villagers that took her in, who lack the urge to change, thus she leaves to join the opposition; and helps them with their plans to destroy the forest with a weapon that happened to have been left behind by her long dead scientist father.
 

One of the many pro-nature animated movies the world has to offer, but I guess that aspect of it was done better than in most other environmental movies. At least, I didn't feel lectured to.

An aspect that was less well done was the supposed romance. The two main characters go from 0 to 100 on the love/friendship scale, and I have no idea what triggered it. After the girl decides to leave, the boy just immediately goes after her, pretty much demanding her to come back "home" and screaming her name like a maniac the entire second half of the movie. I don't understand why, they didn't share that many scenes together in the first half. Definitely no romantic ones.

Overall, I found this movie to be slightly boring, even though I kept watching. There's some great action in it, but it's so short and few, it's not making up for the emptiness of the story and its characters.

Another thing that bothered me was how easily this living forest gave away superpowers to these humans they supposedly distrust. Even if they had a good relationship, it's a foolish practise.
It's clear they don't possess the foresight needed to really know who is deserving or not, as they once gave the "villain" of the movie their blessing, so how can they trust themselves to know who to hand over their gift? Why was it so easy for the boy to convince them to do so? And why do these powers do what they do? Who would tie grey hair and superhuman strength together with forest life? It's cool and everything, but the only thing that refers back to it is when the humans turn into a tree if they overuse their powers and can't control their emotions.
Comic book hero-strength is not what I think of when a forest decides to bless someone, I'll be honest to say.

Besides the chance to turn into a tree, another downside to retrieving these powers is that it turns characters pretentious and dramatic. The male lead went from a playful child to a typical action movie hero the moment his hair went grey; there was nothing to relate to anymore, it was such a shame.
Especially at the end he turned into a wannabe forest-Jesus-hippy, I puked. He should've stayed a tree.

I don't think you'll have major regrets watching this, but there are definitely better movies out that deserve your attention.

(Average+) Saga of Tanya the Evil

NOTE: I watched this series switching through English and Japanese.

Series in one sentence:
God wastes His time granting a psychopathic non-believer intense powers and somehow thinks He's teaching him/her a lesson by doing so.

Series in more sentences:
A heartless businessman gets saved by God right before dying, but as he stays skeptical of His existence, the man gets reincarnated as a cute orphan girl, born into an alternate reality where magic exists and global war has taken over. God hopes to push the rude non-believer into dire situations that'll force him to worship his maker, but this proves quite challenging.
 

This series was requested to me. It was a good average and average good.

The main problem I had while watching this was the bombardment of strategy explanations, names, terms and titles. It didn't help that I followed some episodes in English and others in Japanese. I found myself often zoning out during these scenes, and everytime something or someone's name was mentioned, I had no idea who they were talking about until the next episode. Afterwards, I had forgotten again.
I hope my inability to focus is to blame for that, but it could very well be because the series simply wants to throw everything at you at once, so they can prepare you for a greater second season. Which is likely to come, if I have to believe the 12th episode.

I'm definitely going to see it when it comes, as this first season gave me a good taste of the story, but left me a bit unsatisfied.

I liked Tanya, but only when she was actually on screen fighting or being a psychopath. I also liked the bits where she was arguing with God, but this intriguing relationship was not in focus all that often; God Himself doesn't appear or speak much. The scenes I craved for the most were lacking, while you'd think they'd dominate the series when you read the general plot.
Tanya was still too likeable most of the time, or acted like a fairly acceptable member of the army. I expected a sneaky backstabber, like she was at the start, going rampage on the power of God at every opportunity, but I guess that doesn't fit her narrative of wanting to properly end the war and live the life of a queen as a revered ex-army major.

This plot, from her side, makes enough sense; as she's a hardcore Atheist who doesn't want to depend on God in any way and tries to work around His plans, despite having been put in a dangerous world.
But the character that is God holds little logic. He argues that Tanya, when she still was a male businessman, needs to know what it's like to suffer. He hopes that forcing her in a bad situation will make her desperate enough to want to abandon her pride and worship Him. In order for Tanya to avoid her reservation in Hell, she either has to become a follower of God or die a natural death, making the war setting hard to achieve the latter and supposedly easy to achieve the first. This is the part that makes enough sense, but what doesn't is that God reincarnates her into a world that inhabits magic, and gives Tanya a high level of the stuff. And if that's not enough, He grants her the ability to become even stronger if she half-heartedly praises His name before shooting someone in the face.

Why? Why would you aid someone like this? How is she suffering, she's pretty much invincible, and You made her that way.
The people in this world that actually believe in God get totally wrecked by her. How does her dishonesty compare to a real prayer? God is a grade A asshole. Making Him quite in-character, I'd say. 

Still, this first season qualifies as a nice introduction. I hope to see more Tanya rottenness, large scale attacks, and God in the next.

(Good) Buddy Thunderstruck

NOTE: I watched this series in Dutch
 
Series in one sentence:  
A funnier Regular Show with less supernatural occurrences.

Series in more sentences:
Follow the life of a famous local truck racer and his friend mechanic, as they bless their town with their racing skills and daily stupidity. Even though there are many who want to push the two pompous friends off their throne, they stay undiscouraged and keep on keeping on.
 

I originally put on this Netflix special for my 2 year old nephew, thinking it was for 2 year old nephews, but after he was put to bed, I was the one who kept on watching.
I adored the humor and overall dialogue, and the puppets are quite adorable, I watched the first season twice now. I'm surprised something this funny did not get a broader release.

Though, I can't say for sure how hard the dialogue will hit when you decide to watch it in English. In my language the characters sound and act like college kids, which I find appropriate, while they are Southern and more mature in the original. I only heard a few snippets, but didn't like the sound and didn't complete the episode.
Someone else will have to check it out and decide if it's any good.

If there ever was a tactic to get people to watch a series.

 

(Average) Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid

Series in one sentence:
Monstrous, potbellied dragons are actually cute human beings and have a 99% chance of being homosexual or a kiddy fiddler.

Series in more sentences:
A lethally wounded dragon flees to the modern human world after having fought a battle at her own home, but gets found and saved by a drunk woman late at night. 
Even though she's forced to listen to her nonsense afterwards, the dragon finds herself charmed by her saviour and shows up at her door the next morning, humanized and dressed as a maid, ready to serve; like her mistress proclaimed she wanted during her drunken ramble.
 

Well. It makes sense in the realm of the show? It truly was awkward, but I kept watching. Maybe it was the expectation that the portrayed relationships would grow into more meaningful ones, and someone would kiss someone at the end of the season. Sadly enough, I got nothing. The only relationship worth mentioning was between these two underage girls, and when keeping in mind the scenes they shared, I will go to jail for that comment.

Just what was this anime.

The relationship between Kobayashi and the dragon was lacklustre, which is a sin when you present these two as the main characters of the show. There was only one relationship more pointless than theirs; which was the one between the demon lord and Kobayashi's nerdy colleague. 
Playing online RPGs together sometimes is not a relationship, damn you. Though, the one between the walking breasts and the gender-confused child with the unimportant wizard background was pretty pointless as well.
 
The dragon was obviously crazy about her mistress, but Kobayashi never returned these feelings or clarified in helpful detail whatever it is she thinks of her otherworldly maid. She's an emotionless character, which is a trait I'm fine with, but in a story like this one, I would've liked to have seen more acknowledgement for the obsessive love directed at her. The way that dragon was busting her ass and got nothing in return was rather sad. Why she's in love with Kobayashi also confuses me, as the person she fell for is only present when the woman's wasted. She is quite boring and distant, otherwise.
Even so, I liked Kobayashi fine enough when the series was still running, but she is what made the ending atrocious and Ima spoil it for you for the sake of this argument I started;

After the dragon gets taken away by her judgemental father, Kobayashi utters no meaningful response and keeps going on about her days, until she's allowed to have a stand-off with said father, where then she insults her loyal slave dragon by dubbing her a maid that she should own. Nothing else. And the dragon is somehow moved by this. How romantic and not exploitative at all.
It was clear by her treatment of her during the entirety of the series that she sees her as nothing but a maid, but it's disappointing that there was no grand conclusion that made her realize that she was anything else. Perhaps that's difficult to do when you're a heterosexual woman, but I truly don't know what Kobayashi is or isn't, and this anime proved to be so pointless, I still don't know.

There are some really good jokes, but I think the story as a whole will leave you unsatisfied.