Puella magi madoka magica - anime review

Rating 7/10

I have always been a big fan of magical girl animes. So when puella magi madoka magica was announced in 2011 I got really happy. As a girl who started with sailor moon as my first anime and role model I soon whent over to mermaid melody, princess tutu, Tokyo mew mew, shugo chara, Capturecard Sakura, My-HIME etc. There is many good magical girl anime/manga you could watch and love. One of the most well-known is probably Sailor moon.

The things that’s most common with a magical girl anime is that it’s about one crybaby girl who will get magicals power and with this power she will grow to be a stronger girl and save the world with the help of her friends.

When they announced puella magi madoka magica they gave the promise to break the “normal” boarder of magical girls. They would make something “newer” to this concept. The story in itself is very new but if you look at the characters it’s still on the same page as every other magical girl anime.

The story revolves around a girl named Madoka Kaname. The anime starts with Madoka having a dream about a black-haired girl fight rainbow like snake-monsters.  Madoka comments on who cruel it is and a white cat-like furry in the shadows tell he she can change the girls destiny by becoming a magical girl. Beofre Madoka can answer the question she wakes up. Later in school she meets the black-haired girl, Homura Akemi. She tells Madoka to never change who she is if she loves the people she has around her.

Later that day Madoka and her friend Sayaka Miki go shopping. While in the mall Madoka can hear a voice calling for her help. She tries to follow the voice and fins the cat-like furry being chased by Homura. Madoka saves the cat-like furry and gets a mad Homura after herself. Sayaka saves her. While running away the wander of in a magical world and can’t find their way back to the real world. An upperclassman, Mami Tomoe, shows up and kills all the monsters in the magical dimension with her thousands of guns. Mami is a magical girl. After the fight Mami tell the girls the cat-like furrys name is Kyubey. Kyubey asks the girls if they want to be magical girls and fight monsters too. If the would want it they would get one wish granted from kyubey.

And after that the story gets more and more interesting and intriguing. Its only 12 episodes and the makers have managed to put every minute of the anime interesting and don’t use themselves of fillers. The story isn’t as cute, sparkling and easy going as most magical girls’ animes. Instead it’s surprisingly well-written, beautiful, sad and very dark. It couldn’t be further away from sailor moon.

I do, personally, think the characters are the biggest weakness. For an anime that is advertising itself to be an anime that breaks the magical girl standard the charecters are still the same. We have the typical perky, clumsy, crybaby, peace-loving girl (Madoka), her tomboy best friend (Sayaka), her busty, kind senior (Mami), and the mysterious girl (Homura). The only one of the five main girls with any sort of diverging personality is Kyoko, the hot-headed girl who eats while fighting and has the most combat experience of the magical girls. Her backstory is not only arguably the most developed after Homura, but explains her personality the best as well.

I would though say Madoka is the weakest link of all the girls. Normally you have a clumpsy, crybaby girl who ends up with powers that will make her grow up and take responsibility. But thru the whole serie Madoka is told what to do and not to do. It isn’t until the last episode that she finally stands on her own two feet and does something she believes in. Even someone as commercial as Sailor moon grow with her power faster. I can’t feel Madoka has a personality that grows thru the anime. The weak characters drag my rating down but other than this it’s a solid and good anime.

Love,

Miss Melpomene

We broke up - drama review

7/10

Web-dramas have been climbing the rope the latest time. I myself had never seen any good web-drama before, not that I really tried either. But I had to watch “we broke up” because of Sandara. As a big 2NE1 fan I felt I had to at least have watched it. I didn’t really have any great expectations of the drama. As far as I knew about web-dramas they were short and still contained as much drama as in a long one.

But somehow I just fell in love with this drama. I was longing for the new episode; I didn’t want them to be just 16 min short. I wanted to see the relationship in the drama bloom more.

Web-dramas are to say; short dramas (16 min long), they have mostly cute stories and it’s the perfect things if you really don’t have time to watch something longer or just want to release some stress. The dramas usually features cameos by famous actors or upcoming stars from YGKplus models.

“We broke up” is based on a web-cartoon with the same name about a boy and a girl who decides that they should break up and that their love maybe isn’t going further anymore. Because of some complications they can’t move from the shared house (that they also share with some other people). It’s about how hard it can be to always see your ex every day and never really be able to move on with your life.

The drama is very believable, u can see love struggling in different ways, struggling for a career and to get a decent job in life, how hard is it to make a life for you. The drama is cute, funny, sad, realistic and of course we get some nice music in it.

I would recommend this drama for anyone J if you don’t have the time for a drama with 150 episode which is for 1 hour each or you just want something relaxing to watch. Or maybe you just got into Asian dramas and don’t know where to start, web-dramas are great for that. It’s an easy way in to the big world of Asian dramas. 

With love,

Miss Melpomene

Song of the sea - review

Rating 10/10

This is the kind of heartwarming movie that grows on you. The 2D painting didn’t bother me as much as I thought it would when I saw the trailer. Instead the colors and the painting style made the movie into an art piece. You can pause whenever you like and you will still get a perfect postcard. The movie was enchanting and while watching it my mind took me to the age of a four-years-old where everything made sense, even the magic.

The story revolves around a four-year-old child, Ben, who is the son of a lighthouse keeper. It all starts with a happy family, how Ben and his mother try to prepare the nursery room for Ben’s little sister. The mother tucks Ben in for the night and he promises that he will be the best brother. Unfortunately that night the mom is going missing leaving the newly born daughter behind. We soon discover that Ben’s mother is a selkie, a seal-person, whose time on land has ended and she needed to return to the sea.

You can feel the suddenness of the mothers departing and how the resentment Ben has for his little sister, Saoirse. Ben and his sister soon are being packed off to live with their grandmother on the land/city. But after a while away from the sea Saoirse suddenly gets sick and it soon revels that she has inherited her mother’s seal-form and gift. Ben has to get his ill sister to their mother’s seal skin and the sea at the lighthouse.

But the journey isn’t that easy. On the way they meet fairies and they need to help them in the war with the owl-witch, Macha. This war becomes with nice visual and narrative clues the grieving process of the children. And something that makes the witch villain even better is that she isn’t a typical villain, she has a granny look and behavior and you can feel sorry for her. You know why she acts like she does. She isn’t evil for the sake of just being evil.

Everything in all it’s a good movie and i'm not surprised to hear its been nominated for oscars. A movie I feel most people should probably see at least once. Feel how the atmosphere of the movie drags you in, feel the four-year-old child in yourself and enjoy the magic. 

With love,

Miss Melpomene

K-movie - Always (only you) review

Rating 9/10 

It was a long time ago that a saw such a good movie as this one. I have in almost 10 years been addicted to asian movies. I dont know how to answer the question "why asian? cant you watch something else? Something normal?". 

I do watch other dramas too, both swedish and the "normal ones" (american). But nothing makes my heart pound so hard and makes my tears fall so much as some of the asians dramas. I dont consider myself to be a very soft person that cries easly but there is something with asian movies/dramas that just hit the spot for me.

This is one of the movies that I really cant let go off. It took my heart, i got so many feelings all conflicting inside me when i watched it. I think I got better 2-3 days after watching this movie.

Korea really knows how to make a good, sad and yet romantic story. Of course I could see where the movie where going after a couple of minutes, nothing was a surprise. But it still gets your heart and you cheer for the love.

The story mainly follows an ex boxer, Chul-min (So Ji-sub). He has a dark past with using his strength and boxing to collect debt for others. Despite this he tries now to live a quite life as a parking attendent. 

One night at the job a girl, Jung Hwa (Han Jye-Hyo), storms in and mistakes Chul-min for the former guard. Jung Hwa lost her eyesight 5 years ago in an accident. Because of the rain outside Jung Hwa stays in the booth with Chul-min watching k-dramas together. Jung Hwa makes Chul-min tell her how they all are dressed and how they look like. Their love doesnt really bloom right away. After their first date its so much tention between the couple because of how rude Chul-min was when Jung Hwa asks about his past.

When he drops her off at her door he apolegize and tells her its not her but him. He who isnt good enought to love or good enought to have. Mostly because of his past. Jung Hwa doesnt answer him and just walks into the apartment in silent.

Several days later Jung Hwas boss follows her home and tries to sexually assualt her. Chul-min burst into the apartment and beats her boss half to death. Jung Hwa gets scared about her job and screams at Chul-min but he askes he to quite the job and he promise her that he will take care of her from now on. After this their love really blossoms. But the happyness never stays happy as we all know in these kind of stories. Jung hwas eyesight gets worse and if she doesnt get a eye transplant she will lose her eyesight forever. 

The movie is all thanks to So Ji-sub. Its not only that i myself is a girl and like looking at handsome boys. But he really knows how to act. He has this strong, silent manly charecter and it goes very well with Han Jye-Hyos kinda flirty, cute and helplessness. I cant help but to think of my own love life, my own love to a silent and strong man. A man always being there for me and sacrifes his own life for my health. 

Its really about how far you would go for the one you love. How much do they really mean to you and can you bear the thought about losing them. Down under you can see my youtube video of this movie, I really had to make one. 

Whats your thoughts of the movie/story?

With love,

Miss Melpomene