Movies
Lupin III: Return of Pycal
A shorter entry in the Lupin franchise. Even though it's only half the length of a normal Lupin film, it actually looks cheaper than most of the ones I've seen so far. Some cheap CG was used to try and spice things up a bit, but that didn't age too well. Luckily the rest of the film is pretty decent. Lupin is chasing the Celestial Crystals all the way to Greece, but he's beaten to them by Pycal, an old adversary of his. Pycal is a so-called magician, but the crystals seem to be giving him some actual magical powers. Lupin and his gang will need all their tricks to prevent Pycal from using the crystals for his evil plans. The animation quality isn't that great and the CG really is subpar, but Pycal is a pretty cool adversary and some of the more psychedelic scenes later on are really quite effective. The short runtime is a blessing, the pacing is crazy and Lupin's tricks are fun as always. Not the greatest in the series, but still pretty solid filler.Read all
A very odd and random music anime. This felt like an addendum to a TV series, or maybe even a season recap. It's a pretty short film and there's a lot of focus on the music (which isn't very good at all), which leaves very little time for plot or character development. I usually don't mind, but it just didn't work here. To-Y is the lead singer of GASP, an alternative rock band. He's a pretty popular (and bankable) guy, so it's no surprise that the record company wants to see him in a more commercial setting. They make him an offer, but if he accepts he has to leave his old band members behind. A pretty classic setup. The art style is pretty interesting and the animation isn't bad, but it's not anything out of the ordinary either. The short runtime makes it very flimsy, the music is horrible, and the characters are dull. It's clear filler, but the worst kind. Easy to skip, unless you're a big fan of 80s J-Rock.Read all