Sailing Into Treasure Planet: A Look on Disney's Experimental Age

Oh My Disney

I would like to talk about something very important… Disney. I may not talk about it that much in my blog, but I happen to be the biggest Disnerd there is. I've seen the Disney classics, I cannot seem to pick to a favorite princess because I personally love them all, I know a majority of their songs (lyrics and voicing), and I watch the same movies over and over… including the ones that are deemed terrible or just 'meh'. Speaking of which, I was born in the nineties. Meaning, I did not get to experience the Disney Renaissance or at least I did not get to experience them in theaters. My childhood flourished during the 2000's and this was a time when Disney did not do so well. There were a lot of factors that contributed to this. There was the rise of 3D animation and the decline of the 2D, and the departure of major people like Michael Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg. As a kid who lived throughout that time, I personally enjoyed the cartoon series shown on television. 

This era for Disney was known as the Experimental Age. It had other names too, like the Post-Renaissance and the Second Dark Age. The latter seemed almost accurate for Disney Animation but I've always thought that the Experimental Age seemed much more fitting with what Disney was doing during the time. This was the era when they decided to buy Pixar, and I personally think the films they put out at the time were infinitely better. But our focus for this blog is just purely Disney and one of my favorite films during this period, which was Treasure Planet.

Today, we see these films like Treasure Planet as absolutely underrated. They have beautiful animation, realistic characters, and compelling stories! Yet they did not earn so much money, nor did they have the greatest reception among critics. What happened? 

The Team Avatar Psyche

Avatar Wikia

It has officially been 13 years since Avatar: The Legend of Aang has graced our television screens. The Nickelodeon show is without a doubt, one of the best--if not, the best animated television show in history. It has raised a lot of bars in storytelling, characters, and world-building. But most of all, it has proved to us that cartoons do not necessarily have to be mindless violent forms of entertainment for children. It can have substance and meaning, and we can draw a lot of important life lessons from the story of Aang and his friends.

The characters are iconic. Everyone stands out in their own way and their different personalities are not only amusing but also empowering. Individually, they are compelling; but put them all together as Team Avatar, they become ten times better. The writers behind this surely knew how to write character arcs. It is no certain that everyone in a group have their own role to contribute. Each character teach us something very important about ourselves. Team Avatar is in a way, a symbolism of what a wholesome individual and the characters are simply the parts. They represent parts of an individual's psyche, the Avatar psyche. What is the Avatar Psyche? Well, Team Avatar has always been about saving the world from the tyranny of Fire Nation. In essence, it is a noble heroic kind of individuality, that always strives to do the right thing in the end. Now what kind of parts do these characters play in any psyche?

Paradise Kiss: A Love Story About Reality

My Anime List

This post contains spoilers. You've been warned. 

Hey there, guys. As you may have noticed, I went past the Valentine's Day deadline for this particular post. I delayed this on purpose because the message behind this whole thing is the kind that we tend to ignore, especially when we strive for love. You probably think this is cynical me trying to tell you that love does not exist. On the contrary, I do believe in love. Rather, I think love is being viewed the wrong way.

THE WORLDY VIEW OF LOVE

As insecure as we can be, we can become very selfish and demand unrealistic expectations for this entity called love. We come up with lists of ideal traits for a partner and fantasize about romantic gestures (most prevalent during this time of the month), because we have this little belief that we are meant to be valued and that romantic love is the solution. Then we are hit with the reality, that love is not treated as this passive cure. You eventually learn that depending on your relationship on shallow romantic gestures does not keep the spark alive in the long run. And when the love story ends, we make this hasty conclusion that love was never real, and it's all just a shallow feeling. This is because some of us expected it to fix our plain lives in the most magical way possible, kind of like the ones we see in movies or on TV.

But love is not to be dealt with, selfishly. Love is putting all yourself and your prejudices aside, just to make room for someone who is worth that kind of effort. In short, it is a shared act of sacrifice, acceptance, kindness, & respect. Emphasis on shared, especially if this feeling is revolved around two people. Again, a lot of people ignore this side of love because it involves sacrifice. It's a very taboo word because sacrifice means letting go.  

Ironically, that's what the anime, "Paradise Kiss" has taught me.  

PARADISE KISS' PORTRAYAL OF THIS WORLDY VIEW OF LOVE

Created under the wing of MADHOUSE, Paradise Kiss came out during the 2000's and it is a 12-episode anime based on the manga by Ai Yawaza (Nana) of the same name. It even came out with a live action film produced by Warner Bros in 2011. It starts out as a romance between a high school student named Yukari and an aspiring fashion designer named George, but it ends as an coming-of-age story. It falls under the genre, "Josei" which means it is an adult anime, portraying realistic dilemmas that people deal with in everyday life. So it is safe to say that this is a tragic love story that ends with hitting the right notes.       

Although there were losses, the characters gain important lessons…even though it was painful. The characters do not end up together, but they were able to pursue their dreams. Paradise Kiss presents an interesting conflict between fantasy and reality. The dream was to simply have everything; their love, their friends, their recognition, and achievements. But the reality tells them that they cannot have it all. The anime revolves around these two polarizing forces, and the stakes become high when the fantasy wrestles with reality. Basically, our main characters want their dreams to meet with their reality. 

CARDCAPTOR SAKURA || Anime Review

Source: My Anime list

Hey guys and happy happy new year! I think one of my resolutions should definitely be returning to blogging. And here I am with another anime review about one of the classics, which is Cardcaptor Sakura. It has returned just recently with another brand new arc, and I intend to commemorate that by going back to the last three seasons it has. It is without a doubt, the best anime I've seen in my entire life. It has a special place in my heart, making it my favorite anime of all time. I've seen this show countless of times, and I've seen it again recently...and it still is the best in my book. So you have no idea, how excited I was when I learned it was getting a sequel...both in manga and in anime.

Cardcaptor Sakura is based on the famous shojou manga of the same name back in 1996 and it is created by one of my favorite illustrators in anime and in manga, CLAMP. They have created other iconic manga turned to anime, like Chobits, X, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles (with the characters of Cardcaptor Sakura as the main characters!) and Clamp Detective School. It was then adapted into anime in 1998 by none other than, Madhouse and as you all know it is a very famous studio in Japan. Now this anime is one of the cornerstones of the Shojou genre. It is an anime that was not only appealing to young girls, but also to older audiences and it is one of the most memorable anime shows. However just because it is memorable and an all-time favorite, does it mean it's ground-breaking or simply good? Let's find out.

This review is spoiler free.

NARUTO 101: Tackling Misconceptions and Confusing Tales

Source: www.saiyanisland.com

Hey guys! Welcome back! Let's take a break from the anime reviews because recently I've been getting a lot of confused questions from friends regarding the Naruto fandom. Even if it recently ended last summer, I totally understand why people still do not get the show and I'm pretty sure the reason is quite obvious to hardcore fans. This is what you get when there are just so many filler arcs. This post is here to guide you on common tales and questions that made you confused (and possibly anxious) about the anime. I will be talking common stories and misconceptions that are causing people to speculate about many things, but still can't get a full conclusion to. This is also for fans who have not been following the show religiously, and are probably too lazy to get into it. Believe me, if you are into Naruto then you will need to understand that these types of fans exist for this particular show. Hopefully it will put everything into perspective, since everything that will be mention are definitely published in mangas, novels, and of course the anime. Fair warning though, there will be spoilers, so read at your own risk. Let's get into it!

Ore Monogatari!! (My Love Story!!) || Anime Review

It has been a while since I did a review on a very simple anime, and it has been difficult for me to review anime shows with a "slice-of-life" genre because of how purposely shallow and straightforward the storyline and animation can be. But as a reviewer of anything anime, I think it would be fair to just be a bit more open-minded, and to give animes with a "slice-of-life" theme a try.

My Anime List

With school fast approaching, I think it is very timely to review another anime related to school...even if the show itself is barely about school. But for this post, I will be reviewing one of the most popular romantic anime shows, Ore Monogatari!! or also known as, My Love Story!! in English. Based on the romantic comedy manga series of the same name, Ore Monogatari was directed by Morio Asaka (Nana, Cardcaptor Sakura, Chobits, and Gunslinger Girl) and written by Natsuko Takahashi (Boys over Flowers 2, The Count of Monte Cristo the anime, Akatsuki No Yona). The studio for this anime is none other than Madhouse, a very well-known company that has produced a lot of great anime such as Death Note, Hunter x Hunter, One Punch Man, and so much more. If you haven't heard of Madhouse, then you're definitely not watching enough anime or even cartoons. Feel free to click on the highlighted term on Madhouse, and you will be directed to their website and educate yourself just a wee bit. So let's get started with this review, shall we?

This review is spoiler free.

Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works (TV) || Anime Review

Eyyy and we are back with another anime review, today we are going to tackle another Fate series called Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works. It also had a movie shown back in 2010, which pretty much has the same plot. But for this post, we will be reviewing the anime itself. As we all know it is produced and created by the same people who made Fate/Zero (<--- Read the review too, please~~~ ) fellow Type-Moon and Ufotable.  It is based on the visual novel, which follows a completely different route from the first Fate/Stay Night (read that review too, *winks*) series that aired back in 2006. This time, there are different perspectives and of course, choice of love interests are far more different. Now let us move forward, shall we?

This review is spoiler free, but there will be minor spoilers from Fate/Zero and Fate/Stay Night.

PLOT

Okay let me break it down for you......well, the usual happens. Shirou and Rin Tohsaka join the Holy Grail War, where one can attain the Holy Grail and get whatever they want. Of course, they need to summon servants; Rin gets Archer and Shirou gets Saber. They team up together to eliminate other enemies and the Holy Grail itself, because...well, it's too...evil. Like that ever worked out for anyone, right Kiritsugu-san? (source: wall.alphacoders.com )