Tag: Anime

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Anime Film Japan Reviews

Labyrinth Review

After Shiori’s bad day gets her the internet fame she’s craved in ways she doesn’t want, she finds herself trapped inside her phone watching a charismatic doppelgänger take over her life.

I was lucky enough to catch Labyrinth during its limited theatrical release last month. While I’m an anime fan in general, this movie was primarily on my radar for a different reason altogether.

As mentioned in the blog before, I’m a huge fan of a Japanese music group named Atarashii Gakko. A few months ago I checked out their newest song and found out it was featured in an upcoming animated movie.

I adore the song and have listened to it incessantly, which ended up adding layers to my viewing experience. Sailor, Sail On isn’t just a song that they did for this movie. It’s THE song of the movie, used in numerous variations throughout. Recognizing the faint melody right away and knowing what was being built to musically as the film progressed provided additional resonance I quite enjoyed.

Beyond Sailor, Sail On, Atarashii Gakko has another strong tie to the movie as their lead vocalist Suzuka voiced Labyrinth’s main character. While dubs have improved drastically in recent years, I prefer seeing anime with the original Japanese audio and English subtitles over seeing dubs in general. And in this case I was even more interested in checking out the sub due to Suzuka’s involvement.

So I went into Labyrinth with high anticipation, and as the movie got underway I was intrigued with the developing themes. The underlying concepts in Labyrinth faintly echo topics explored in some of my favorite films, albeit from completely different directions and examining different aspects. And, to be perfectly frank, not as subtly or deeply. Still Shiori facing a direct manifestation of the struggle between being yourself and all that entails positive and negative versus letting the public veneer you show take over and how fame can twist it all is an engrossing premise.

Some films weave their message subtly throughout with teases and whispers. This is not one of those films. Labyrinth applies its lessons with a sledgehammer, repeatedly outright stated in a direct manner.

In addition its whole setup necessitates a fair amount of isolation of conflicting characters, leading to a significant amount of conversational exposition. Concepts, world building, and a few key story elements are delivered in a much more tell than show manner with a ton of exposition that can drag a bit at times.

None of which bothered me personally overall by the time the movie was finished however. The themes are worth exploring, and perhaps being direct with a message about denying aspects of one’s self is appropriate. The world’s interesting enough to justify the info dumps, and the story and characters engaging. There was more potential in the character arcs and certain plot elements, but judged on its own merits the story was satisfying.

The atmosphere was well established and maintained. I liked the animation and the contrast shown between the bleak labyrinth and the more vibrant real world. Suzuka, and the rest of the vocal cast for that matter, did a great job. I’d figured out where things were going pretty early on, but the ride was still compelling.

I’ve seen mixed reviews for Labyrinth and certainly concede that its perhaps not what it could have been. But I found what is here engaging and an enjoyable watch. Pretty easy recommendation overall. It’s not without its flaws, but I loved it by the end.

Thanks to everyone who’s given this a read. Derailments of Thought currently updates sporadically as I am able.

If you enjoy the blog any support is appreciated, including shares on social media and simply continuing to read. If you happened to be inclined and able to help out monetarily please see my  Ko-fi page. Every little bit helps.

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Anime Art Japan Manga

Delicious in NYC: Ryoko Kui Exhibition

October 10-26, 2025
Chelsea Walls

Featured in NYC for a limited time is a combined exhibition spotlighting both early works of Ryoko Kui and her big hit Delicious in Dungeon. I’m extremely limited in my ability to go out nowadays but was lucky enough to catch this.

It’s a mid sized exhibit space spanning a couple of long hallways with two small offshoot rooms, but the walls are covered with a sizable number of art and displays providing an extensive collection of things to look at.

One thing I particularly adore in exhibits like this is when preliminary and concept art are displayed next to corresponding finished art. There was a good amount of that here and it was all really cool to take in. Original volumes of her early manga were also on display to be looked through with a couple even having a translated volume to read (all unobtrusively tethered to keep them by their designated spots).

I’m mostly familiar with Delicious in Dungeon by reputation, having just watched the first episode so far. But that was enough to understand the appeal and I still thoroughly enjoyed looking through everything on display.

Delicious in Dungeon has become incredibly popular in part due to its unique core concept and visually stunning depictions of the monster based food central to the show.

The section of the exhibit dedicated to this aspect is particularly great. Explanatory posters with an ingredient list and a bunch of pictures were displayed above well done plastic replicas of dishes from the show.

There was a large variety of merchandise available at the store on the way out, including shirts, random pull magnets/pins/keychains, acrylic standees, manga volumes, and so on.

Visitors get a free random (of 8) postcard for attending and can get another (from a different pull set) for posting on social media while there. Pictures are allowed (which admittedly is blindingly obvious this far down in this post) but no video.

I was done in about an hour, but it was still well worth it. This is an extremely well done pop up experience that’s exactly advertised: numerous displays of cool replicas of art and items from the works of Ryoko Kui.

This exhibition is in NYC for just another couple days. Definitely worth a look if you can fit it in. Tickets must be purchased in advance for their their Eventbrite site, but availability permitting it can be done right before going in.

Thanks to everyone who’s given this a read. Derailments of Thought currently updates sporadically as I am able.

If you enjoy the blog any support is appreciated, including shares on social media and simply continuing to read. If you happened to be inclined and able to help out monetarily please see my  Ko-fi page. Every little bit helps.

Categories
Anime Film Reviews

Perfect Blue 4K Remastered Review

“There is no way illusions can come to life.”

Mima Kirigoe is about to leave being a pop idol behind, but her past might not be on board with her new life and new image…

I feel fair warning is needed to start off here. Perfect Blue is officially Not Rated, but let’s be clear it would likely be NC-17 if it were given one.

So for anyone who still equates animation with children’s cartoons: you are very much in the wrong place. It’s a medium that, like live action, can be used to tell a wide variety of stories in any genre. Perfect Blue is a full blown psychological thriller with horror elements and extremely graphic treatment of horrible situations.

It’s also easily one of the best movies I’ve ever seen, and one of my all time favorites.

And yet I’ve only watched it a handful of times over the years because of its intensity and subject matter. I adore a good psychological thriller, in part I’m sure because of the impression this left on me, but horror and gore aren’t my thing at all. The graphic nature of this film is beyond what I’m usually able to handle, but the medium, the execution, and the sheer quality of this film make it the exception.

I first saw Perfect Blue pretty close to when it was initially released, an astonishing 28 years ago now. I was still early on in being an anime fan, and it completely blew me away. I spent the majority of the movie trying to keep up and wondering what on Earth I was watching as the film broke my brain, but in the final ten minutes or so it all seems to fit together in incredible form and makes everything that came before click into place.

This was director Satoshi Kon’s first film. He had a small but impressive list of other movies plus one tv series before his unfortunate death in 2010 at the age of 46. Everything in his catalog is well worth watching, and varies wildly in genre and subject matter.

It’s been near a decade since my last watch, and the opportunity to see the remaster in a theater made this the perfect time to revisit this masterpiece and see how it held up.

Perfect Blue is a visually stunning film, and the restoration did it justice. Everything popped in the right ways and the detail put into it can be appreciated as never before. It simply looked great.

There’s a kind of stylized realism to the film, which made certain elements really stand out when that realism was pushed aside a bit both narratively and visually. Kon was willing to make some characters look unsettling and/or ugly, which adds a lot to the visual depth and overall atmosphere.

Mima’s story was every bit as gripping as when I watched it for the first time, and knowing the key reveals didn’t detract from the building tension at all. The themes of personal choice and identity, the pitfalls of fame, the commodification of celebrities, and so on still resonate.

The pacing is exquisite, as the film knows when to hold a scene for impact and to create unease. There are several times when disturbing scenes and moments are held, creating an oppressive sense of dread.

There are several sections where time is played with and scenes are intercut together. I’ve never seen the technique put to better use. Mima’s world is falling apart, and the film’s use of parallel moments and framing to convey the fragility of her reality is incredible.

It’s a minor thing but the time period specific stuff, like the main character needing to learn what the internet is and how to navigate it, was presented really well. The film doesn’t feel poorly aged because it was from a different time, as it clearly and naturally gives the viewer just enough of a frame of reference for what era it’s in.

The entire film left a mark on me and still had as much impact this time around. One particular moment, a stunning illustration of taking full advantage what can be done in animation, blew me away and is always what I think of first when I remember this movie. It’s a split second thing, but my jaw dropped again all the same when I saw it on the big screen.

This was an instant classic when it was released, and absolutely holds up near three decades later.

Perfect Blue Remastered will be playing in select theaters for about another week. Highly recommended, with a reminder warning that this is an intense, often disturbing watch.

Side note: Perfect Blue is an adaptation, and I read and reviewed the translation of the book it was based on a few years back. The short version is while the book is solid, there were some major changes made to the film that added depth and nuance and for anyone interested in this story the movie is definitely the way to go.

Thanks to everyone who’s given this a read. Derailments of Thought currently updates sporadically as I am able.

If you enjoy the blog any support is appreciated, including shares on social media and simply continuing to read. If you happened to be inclined and able to help out monetarily please see my  Ko-fi page. Every little bit helps.