Firefly

I had recently watched the series "Firefly" on Netflix. I wanted to watch it for a while, but forgot to. I am glad I finally got to watch this series from beginning to end. I had seen a few parts here and there from the series and the movie "Serenity", but I didn't get to see it as a whole. I am very glad now.

(This image is from http://www.nerdist.com/2011/02/firefly-lands-on-science-channel/)

This is an awesome series with well developed and interesting characters. It is a show that follows a space ship captain and his crew as they take on illegal jobs throughout the known galaxy. It is another astounding product of Joss Wheadon.

 

Unfortunately it was canceled on the Fox Network before it ever got a second season. The people in charge of Fox do not know what they are doing. They canceled "Futurama", "Firefly", "Greg the Bunny", "The Tick", and numerous other shows, yet kept the Simpsons running and have brought back Family Guy only to have it desensitized as well as having two other cartoon shows run by the same people.

Supposedly "Serenity" was supposed to wrap up every unanswered question there was in the show, but many fans still want more and a few are sad at certain characters dying off. However it did answer a few questions I would have had.

Squid Girl

(This image is from http://www.watchcartoononline.com/squid-girl-episode-10-english-dubbed)

I just finished watching Squid Girl, this 12 episode Anime on Netflix within the span of a few days. It was that good! I heard of the series as a good recommendation at a panel from an Anime convention, but I just didn't remember to look the series up. I decided to watch the first episode and I am glad I did! I know this series is new to Netflix because I have flipped through numerous Anime shows on Netflix and didn't see this until it popped up in my recommended section. I'm also surprised that Netflix now has access to episodes of cartoons from Cartoon Network like Samurai Jack, Batman Beyond, The Grimm Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Robot Chicken, Dextar's Laboratory, The Powerpuff Girls, Ed, Edd, & Eddy, and so many more!

This is a comedy series about a squid-girl from the sea who comes up onto dry land in order to invade the world of man for polluting her home. Among the numerous crazy things that happen, she ends up getting forced to work at a food stand at a beach in Japan.

There are some common anime themes that are used in this series, but it brings a lot of new, good humor with really good quality animation. The characters are all unique and funny to watch as they interact. It reminds me of another Anime Comedy called My Bride is a Mermaid. I highly recommend both of these series to others!

Breaking Bad

I was suggested to check out this television show called "Breaking Bad" that has been playing on A.M.C along with "The Walking Dead," and the first three seasons have been available on Netflix. I have finished watching the first season, which is only seven episodes, and it is awesome!

(This image is from http://sophisticatedignorance.net/2013/03/06/castings-breaking-bad-the-hit-tv-show-is-now-casting-sophi/)

Bryan Cranston is very entertaining to watch. He can pull off being completely helpless to being very bad ass in an intelligent way. I was surprised considering the only other role I have ever seen him in was the father on the Fox television show "Malcolm in the Middle" which had a cast fully dedicated to humor. "Breaking Bad" has its funny moments, but it by far much more darker than the mainstream television show Cranston was on before. This show's premise focuses on the production of meth, which always makes the audience worry if the protagonist will get caught or get killed.

The rest of the cast is very good, but none seem to be nearly as good. Perhaps it is because of Cranston's character, which has the main focus and for good reasons.

I have heard various things about the other seasons. I will assess those on my own.

The Evil Dead

I recently watched Sam Raimi's "The Evil Dead" recently on Netflix. I had already seen "The Army of Darkness" and I loved that movie so much that I don't mind re-watching over and over again. Now I just want to see "The Evil Dead 2," because I heard that movie is just a remake of "The Evil Dead" but it makes fun of the previous movie.

(This image is from http://www.zedwordblog.com/2011/04/evil-dead-review.html)

This movie is incredibly ridiculous. There are times where people are obviously replaced with cheap dolls, the effects are funny at times, and the whole premise of the demons taking possession of the people seems ludicrous. One girl gets stabbed in the foot and becomes possessed a moment later as the demon enters through the wound, but even though Bruce Campbell's character "Ash" gets cut and constantly bled on he still makes it in the end while everyone else gets possessed and die. I'm wondering why this movie was even called "The Evil Dead." It was clear that these people awoke a demon near the cabin they were staying in, but were they dying and then being possessed or what?

I at least am grateful for discovering the source of the demons and what they are in this movie. I was confused while watching "The Army of Darkness" as to why there were old ladies being monsters and whatnot. I do not wish to watch this specific movie again though. The movie was trying to take itself seriously, and that really kills the mood.

Bruce Campbell's talent was wasted here. He was forced to be a serious and uninteresting character in this movie. I love all the changes that were made to him in the squeals. He was made into a funny bad-ass.

I know there is a remake of "The Evil Dead" coming out soon. I have high doubts that it will be good. A friend of mine said "The Evil Dead" was already remade as "The Evil Dead 2" and it doesn't need to be remade again.

Rideback

I finished watching an Anime series called Rideback on Netflix. I was interested in watching this series after I saw an Anime Music Video (AMV) at Connecticon. From what I saw in the clips of the series, it looked like an interesting concept.

 

(This image is from http://lilacanimereviews.blogspot.com/2012/09/rideback-review-english.html)

The series takes place a future where the world is run by an organization called the GGP. Rideback is about a girl, named Rin Ogata, who had dedicated most of her life to ballet, but she quits after sustaining an injury at her performance. By a strange coincidence, she happens to come upon the Rideback Club at her college, where the members work on and ride these vehicles called Ridebacks. A Rideback is a hybrid of a robot and a motorcycle. Rin takes a special Rideback for a test spin and ends up joining the club.

The action scenes where Rin is on a Rideback are awesome. It is obvious that her movements on the Rideback are influenced by her years as a ballet dancer. The Ridebacks are able to ride with the legs spread out in a split much like a ballet dancer might, and when the Ridebacks are in standing position, they are much like ballet dancers balancing on their toes. There are other characters that also have some interesting action scenes.

Unfortunately, there is a long period of dreariness in the series. At a certain point, Rin stops driving on Ridebacks and the episodes focus on everything else going on in the government with the GGP. Terrorists are shown using the Ridebacks, but they are nothing like Rin. She rides one in the finale, but for a series that is only 13 episodes long, it is weird that it takes so much time to see her ride again.

(This image is from http://www.weeatfilms.com/tv/anime-review-gungrave-setting-standards-surprisingly-high/)

This series caught my attention more than Gungrave. I began watching the first episode of that Anime series and began to feel bored with it. The characters are not that interesting, the action has been seen better elsewhere, the designs of the guns look like the same in other series, and monsters shatter like glass when they are shot which is just ridiculous.

Rideback at least has better characters and it caught my attention from the start. Usually I don't care for the use of both 3D and 2D animation in a series because it doesn't match up, but Rideback pulled it off nicely. 

Rideback and Gungrave are owned by Funimation. In fact, most of the anime I have watched on Netflix are all owned by Funimation. There are not that many other companies that will translate Anime, and even fewer that have agreed to work with Netflix.

I think I might cancel my Netflix subscription soon. After finishing season seven of "Supernatural" and since I am almost done watching what they have of "The Walking Dead," there really isn't much left I want to watch. I heard from someone that Netflix has lost a lot of stock and has cut the number of anime series. I have definitely noticed that.

The Walking Dead

(This image is from tvilicious.com)
 

I have just finished watching the first season of The Walking Dead on Netflix. Considering the first season is only six episodes long, it didn't take too long. I have seen a few parts from the show of both seasons prior to watching it now, so I already know of a few spoilers.

It is an interesting show, though I don't really recall the characters names, just their faces and their behaiviors. I can understand why they might die off at times just so that the veiwers don't have too many characters to try to remember.

Many people who haven't seen this show beleive it is just one long zombie story. Sure it is a zombie story, but a story that takes place in a zombie apocolypse can allow for some interesting human behavior amongst the characters. Movies with zombies tend to either focus on horror or even comedy nowadays, but this series has drama in it.

How would certain people react if their loved one was ever turned into a dangerous monster? What would a spouse do in a crumbling world if their husband or wife was believed to be dead? At what point is there no hope left? These are many questions this series asks and tries it's best to answer.

This series is currently on its third season on AMC, but since I have quite a bit of the series to get through I will just have to wait until the third series appears on Netflix before watching it.

Netflix is Back

My Wii had not been getting Netflix recently, so I haven't been able to watch any anime series or whatever. I probably could have watched stuff on my computer, but it needs as much rest as possible due to how out of date it is. The other day Netflix returned, most likely it was the Wifi, so I started watching some series.

(This image is from http://www.mangareader.net/825-40152-1/dance-in-the-vampire-bund/chapter-27.html)

I started watching the first four episodes of "Dance of The Vampire Bund." Some parts of it seemed interesting, like the animation, action sequences, and the funny clips at the end of the credits. The majority of it wasn't that good though. Throughout each episode, the editing was just ridiculously more complex than it had to be. I kept getting confused as to what was happening and what was important. Also, there is this inappropriate relationship going on. I don't care if the vampire princess is really centuries old, showing these images of a girl less than twelve behaving this way with a teenager just seems creepy. I know there are certain groups of people who enjoy this for some reason, but I didn't.

(This image is from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chobits)

I did however like the first two episodes of "Chobits". This series is funny so far, and I foresee some interesting situations going on in the future. I at least heard of good reviews for this particular series. I look forward to watching more of it.

I watch other things besides Anime on Netflix, but I just didn't feel like it recently.