Yes, I've been bludging, that's why I watched movies even though I don't even like movies lmao.
Here we go anyway~
NANA (2005)
Rating: 5.5/10
NANA was a movie I've always wanted to watch but could never really get over the live action touch of it. This time, knowing that Yazawa Ai has announced that she will come back to finish NANA, I thought I should try to watch the movie again. It's better than expected, but I still didn't really like it. I'll start off with the things that I liked. The clothes, you could really see how much detail and thought they put into it even with side characters like Shouji and Sachiko. Yazawa Ai gives all of her characters distinctive fashion styles and it was really nice to see Shouji wearing that beanie, Sachiko with her cowboy hat, the lovely clothes Oosaki Nana wears, I was impressed. Too bad we don't get to see that classic red jacket with a black heart. But that red dress she wore when she was young, her black skirt and everything, it was very nostalgic. I also really liked the classic scenes in NANA but I have to say that some of them were rather lacklustre emotionally and not as didn't give as much of an impact as it should've. Nakashima Mika was pretty cool as Nana though.
As for things I didn't like, there were too many lol, I'm really not suited for movies haha. It's mostly because they didn't really show any of the good qualities of Hachi and everything was centred on Oosaki Nana, which I don't mind I guess but it felt like her story rather than their story. I also didn't like that sometimes many things were rushed so much that there were many things lost in the process such as Shouji's cheating. The songs were nice though! But I still prefer the songs in the anime, I feel like the anime really showed the differences between Nana and Reira's voice and how beautiful yet distinct they both were. A lot of things weren't explained clearly either so it could get confusing if you don't really know NANA.
I guess it was okay, but I'd still rather the anime. I feel like some of the actors and actresses were a bit I guess not as expressive as I would have liked. The NANA anime is one of the only manga adaptations to anime that I so sincerely love and feel like expressed the manga really well. The live action really doesn't have that same atmosphere and pain, it didn't resonate really well. So yeah, I don't think I'm a fan. But yeah, I'm happy that Yazawa Ai herself has announced that she will finish NANA, although there is no concrete date or anything, the fact that she has stated that she'll finish it is enough for me. It's enough for this little fan that has been waiting for 7 years.
Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV
Rating: 6/10
Kingsglaive was a movie I didn't know what to expect of. It's a prequel to the game so it follows King Regis' rule when the kingdom fell by Niflheim's hands. It mainly focuses on the Kingsglaive which are the elite guards of the king and how their interests align and differ from the king. Spoilers ahead btw~ I'd have to say the voice acting isn't the best but the CGI is beautiful. Those action scenes were pretty amazing I have to admit. I still think one of the daemons looked like Diamond Weapon from FFVII though hahaha.
Personally, I thought the story was a bit clunky. It's very..superficial I guess? Quite generic and disappointing, it was also very disheartening to see that practically half of the Kingsglaive were traitors. It doesn't really show why they have such a strong repugnance to the king and his actions either so it feels rather saddening in a different way. I'd say the warping looks hella cool though. I'd love blades like that to teleport around <3 Lunafreya was cooler than I expected as well, she really had that domineering presence and resolve. I'd say she's definitely a worthy heroine and romantic counterpart to Noctis. Fights were pretty nice because of it hypes you up for whether this will be similar to how the gameplay will be like hahaha. I think I'm mostly looking forward to seeing the monsters in these beautiful graphics for the game, I mean seriously, that behemoth in the demo was sooo cool, can't wait to see a high quality Tonberry, Cactuar and like Marlboros omgggg.
I guess overall, don't come expecting a good story, just come instead for good and fun action scenes. Oh and cool monsters! It's worth watching as a Final Fantasy fan I guess hahaha. But frankly, the story didn't' capture me and instead made me think whether I will really like FFXV's story when it comes out. There's just so much hype right now for this game though that I feel like it's gonna come crashing down like Diablo 3 did. But, we'll see.
