u/JadedGent007

As someone who's a fan of dark fantasy and hasn't really seen too many films nail that vibe/genre, I was looking forward to watching Pan's Labyrinth. I'm familiar with a few of Guillermo Del Toro's works, and the premise did interest me. Anyway, here's my first impression:

The ending seriously elevates this film. I'm going to believe that the fantasy elements were made up because that just makes the story a lot more interesting. A young girl using her imagination as a coping mechanism to escape the horrors around her is a great subversion of the traditional fairy tale.

Incredible set pieces and cinematography aside, I found the film a bit tonally weird (though I guess it's intentional since we go back and forth between Ofelia and the adults). Even then, I understand Ofelia seeing everything in black-and-white, but I think the film missed a trick by making the adult characters one-note as well. I obviously have to give this film credit for what it accomplished 20 years ago, but the creepiness and fantasy elements didn't leave much of an impact on me.

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Can't say I really liked the film, but it might grow on me. Question though, why do so many people hold the film in such high regard? Was it great for its time, or do you guys think it still works as an original take on the traditional fairy tale story? Though personally, I would've just preferred a more accurate adaptation of a Grimm Brothers' tale.

Can I just say...WHY only 10 episodes? As someone who went into this show blind, there was absolutely no time to breathe lmao.

The first episode hit me like whiplash. My initial thought was someone went into the studio, did 500 lines of cocaine, then animated the show in the span of a day. It did take a couple more episodes to get attached to the characters and the storyline, but after that I was hooked.

Yeah the pacing was weird, and there were some scenes that I felt existed just for pure shock value. Despite that, I was completely invested in what was going to happen to Akira, Miki, Ryo and Miko (oh sorry I meant Miki). Lotta great side characters as well. Oh and coming back to Miki Makimura...what a great character man RIP.

Akira and Ryo were a great protagonist-antagonist duo. Akira is a true hero simply due to the fact that he's so human. I liked the emphasis of his emotional, caring nature, and how that made his soul pure enough to overpower Amon. The fact that he breaks after Miki's death is tragic but pretty human too. Ryo meanwhile was incredibly compelling, and I can see him as the precursor to a lot of fallen angel villains in Animanga (even his design is telling). Well, I hope Satan learned his lesson and the cycle won't repeat again.

Scenes where the show peaked: Silene and Kaim's end, Miki's death, and Ryo crying over Akira. Oh, and I suppose Kukun's rap lol. Otherwise like I said, didn't have much time to breathe. Things like the worldwide anarchy, government collapse, and the Devilmen's final stand could've gotten more time, but I guess there's only so much you can do with 10 episodes. 

I'm left with one question now: What next? Do I read the Devilman Manga? I can tell this franchise was incredibly influential. There were so many aspects of the story that I can see inspired stuff like Berserk, Chainsawman, Tokyo Ghoul, Neon Genesis Evangelion, HxH, the list goes on.

8/10

Can I just say...WHY only 10 episodes? As someone who went into this show blind, there was absolutely no time to breathe lmao.

The first episode hit me like whiplash. My initial thought was someone went into the studio, did 500 lines of cocaine, then animated the show in the span of a day. It did take a couple more episodes to get attached to the characters and the storyline, but after that I was hooked.

Yeah the pacing was weird, and there were some scenes that I felt existed just for pure shock value. Despite that, I was completely invested in what was going to happen to Akira, Miki, Ryo and Miko (oh sorry I meant Miki). Lotta great side characters as well. Oh and coming back to Miki Makimura...what a great character man RIP.

Akira and Ryo were a great protagonist-antagonist duo. Akira is a true hero simply due to the fact that he's so human. I liked the emphasis of his emotional, caring nature, and how that made his soul pure enough to overpower Amon. Ryo meanwhile was incredibly compelling, and I can see him as the precursor to a lot of fallen angel villains in Animanga (even his design is telling). Well, I hope Satan learned his lesson and the cycle won't repeat again.

Scenes where the show peaked: Silene and Kaim's end, Miki's death, and Ryo crying over Akira. Oh, and I suppose Kukun's rap lol. Otherwise like I said, didn't have much time to breathe. Things like the worldwide anarchy, government collapse, and the Devilmen's final stand could've gotten more time, but I guess there's only so much you can do with 10 episodes. 

I'm left with one question now: What next? Do I read the Devilman Manga? I can tell this franchise was incredibly influential. There were so many aspects of the story that I can see inspired stuff like Berserk, Chainsawman, Tokyo Ghoul, Neon Genesis Evangelion, HxH, the list goes on.

8/10, but the lore and worldbuilding was incredibly rushed.

Thank god someone was able to uncover the true artistic potential of this song /s

Hey guys, planning on starting the Vinland Saga anime soon (this will be my first experience with any piece of Vinland Saga media). I know this question might be asked a lot, but I wanted a recent update regarding this.

I initially planned on watching the anime with the original Japanese audio and Netflix English Sub, but I heard that the Netflix Subs were inferior to the Crunchyroll Subs. Do you miss out on anything by watching the show with the Netflix Sub, or have these issues been fixed? Also, I heard the Netflix Dub matches the Crunchyroll Subs, so would you guys recommend the Dub as a good option to watch the show as well?

I don't know how often people talk about this or not but in the flashback we get during The Black Swordsman Arc, Griffith's speech really does foreshadow and set up a lot of interesting points about the story.

Griffith talks about how people's lives are subject to the whims of a handful of nobility. He says that even a king himself can't live exactly as he pleases and that people are all at the mercy of fate. However, Griffith then talks about how in life there are some people who are keys that set the world in motion and that they are the true elite. Griffith so desperately wants to know who he is and what he's destined for, all the while thinking that by becoming a part of that 'elite' he'll find the answers he's looking for. He feels that he's destined for far greater things than other people, and that his dream ultimately eclipses everyone else's. The reality however is that no matter how high you try to climb, no matter your ambition, there will always be those above you dictating your fate.

Griffith thought that by sacrificing his humanity, he could become a part of that elite who set the world in motion, all the while fulfilling his desire to rule. He constantly gets told that he's a chosen one who will rise as the Hawk of Light and rule over the sinful black sheep and the blind white sheep. Ultimately though, for someone so obsessed with control, Griffith actually has no control over his own fate. If everything was set up for him including his lineage, his ambition, his downfall, his rise, then is he really setting the world in motion? Isn't he just a cog in the machine that is the flow of causality?

The Idea of Evil tells Griffith what he wants to hear. That he is special. That he is a chosen one. That he will transcend humanity and become a great, unstoppable force whose presence will be felt around the world. However, like him and so many other people, he is just a part of the Idea of Evil's plans for humanity. Griffith does not have control over his own fate, he is rather a slave to it. He may seem more important than other people based on conventional social and political standards, but the reality is that almost everyone including him are mere pieces on a chessboard.

So what makes Guts different? The simple fact that fate/causality as a whole has no plans for him. He is not supposed to exist on the chessboard. He was supposed to die time and time again, but he keeps on escaping death. He goes against the flow of causality. He subverts the Idea of Evil's plans for humanity. Even if his actions are tiny ripples in that flow, Guts is slowly learning more and more about himself and the power he wields by his sheer will power to simply exist. The fact that he has been a part of the interstice since birth is an anomaly, and fate has been trying to correct that since he was a child. Now that he recognizes his unique position to upend the natural order of things, he has found a new purpose in life and regained his will. Guts is the true 'elite' that Griffith aspired to be, a key that will set the world in motion and cause great change. Unlike Griffith, he won't do it out of a desire for external recognition and he is not shackled to traditional social and political rules, he will do it out of a simple desire to fight for the people he cares about. Guts has found his reason to wield his sword.

P.S. This post is a sort of follow-up to a previous post I saw on this subreddit if you wanna read it: https://www.reddit.com/r/Berserk/comments/1uuvepv/berserks_subversion_of_the_chosen_one/