Month: December 2017

I need a hug.

Colorful is an anime movie released in 2010 about a boy, Makoto Kobayashi, who dies but gets another chance at life inside the body of a boy who committed suicide. With no memories of his previous life, Makoto picks up where the boy left off, seemingly surviving his suicide attempt.

This movie hits close to home. While I never attempted suicide I have thought about it in the past and I certainly been bullied and had an overall lonely school life. It was hard to watch at some points. While not bullied the same way as Makoto, I had my share of bad experiences. But, it wasn’t about the bullying as much as feeling things would never get better. That the normal attitude of most people was constantly set to Uncaring Asshole. Why is the world like this? Why can’t I have a friend? Will things always be this way?

Colorful can’t answer give you solid answers, nothing can. Sometimes things work out, sometimes they don’t, but what the movie does is allow people to see that if you want your life to change, you have to change. A little perspective goes a long way, and if you can focus on being a better you, maybe, something good will happen. It’s not easy, but it is possible.

We learn over the course of the movie about the boy who committed suicide, his family, and why he killed himself. It’s a slow build that keeps you watching, even throwing in some unexpected twists that I won’t even try to touch on. This is a movie best watched knowing the bare minimum. Now, before you dismiss the movie as a bummer fest, there are hopeful moments. You’re rooting for the main character. Yes, the story gets dark, but that means when good things happen it’s that much more meaningful.

Colorful isn’t a movie trying to give advice how to stop bullying. It’s about hope and forgiveness. Life isn’t simple, or maybe it is and we make it complicated, I don’t know. All I know is that this is a great emotional movie deserving of anyone who felt they didn’t belong or just wanted a friend. The highest of recommendations.

“What’s that on the ground?”
“Dirt.”

Samurai Pizza Cats will go down in history as the only edited/altered anime fans aren’t upset about. Simple plot, a team of anthropomorphic cats fighting evil while running a pizza shop in downtown Little Tokyo. What made SPC memorable is there unapologetic jokes, puns, and casual destruction of the fourth wall. Even more memorable is most of the humor works. You can tell the writers are having a blast, giving the audience the best lines they can get away with on a kids show. They wrote Samurai Pizza Cats for themselves and I thank them for it.

Even the best written anime needs good voice acting and Samurai Pizza Cats…deliver. Each voice is distinctive and full of life, able to deliv–uh–tell a joke or punch line the perfect way, essentially making even bad jokes land on their feet, heh. I think that’s the show’s secret ingredients, great writing coupled with great voice acting. I don’t think I’ll ever forget any of the main cast voices. They’re that good!

Add all that with the fourth wall annihilating narrator, and the (rumored) drunk theme song singer and you have the recipe for a fun comedy/adventure show ready to eat.

If you’re hunkering for an anime that doesn’t take itself seriously, give Samurai Pizza Cats a watch. It’s stupid for all the right reasons. And, now, I’ll leave you with one of the best quotes in the series, that has to be heard to be fully appreciated, delivered by the great Polly Esther.

“A fully functioning, cybernetic, technologically advanced team of superheroes… and nobody’s got a flashlight?”

Marry me, SPC!