Media Reviews

Recently, I watched both Mulan (1998) and The Iron Giant (1999), and I feel like these movies show two extremes of animation, in a way. As such, I felt like talking about them, a little bit.

First, I'll tell you where I stand on both, individually: I think Mulan is mediocre and The Iron Giant is a masterpiece.

Maybe on the surface, both these movies might not appear to have that much in common, other than having come out at about the same time, but I think they're actually similar, in a way. They both center the idea of breaking out from a mold, of going beyond expectations and cracking open social norms, even overcoming great discrimination and severe resistance.

In Mulan's case, we have a young lady living in a world where the expectations for a woman, or rather, what the world demands of a woman is to be pretty and bear children. War is a man's business, so much so that the simple thought that a woman might participate in the war is outrageous, and the act is akin to sin and very much illegal, worthy of the death-penalty, no less.

As for The Iron Giant, we have a living weapon that chooses not to be one anymore. People aren't just wary, they're scared, and they react violently, being ready to obliterate it at a moment's notice. The army is mobilized, nuclear missiles are launched!

Our two hero's - though, in The Iron Giant's case, the protagonist is actually Hogarth, not the giant himself - both struggle and succeed in proving to the world that they're more than what they're told they are. Yet, one comes off as bland and uninspired, while the other is a magnificent cornucopia of emotional depth and intense characters.

Why is that?

Well, many things.

I'd like to highlight what I think is perhaps the most jarring difference between these two movies: the villain, or rather, the main antagonist.

In Mulan's case, that is Shan Yu, the Hun. He's violent and ruthless, as well as immensely powerful and terrifying. There, you know everything there is to know about Shan Yu. Another antagonist is the counsel of the emperor, Chi-fu. He, at least, isn't strictly evil either - he does what he thinks is right for his people - but he's also just an asshole. He's a talking caricature. A joke. He wields power, and is therefore a danger to Mulan's objectives, considering he's strongly opposed to her being in the army and being a pompous prick.

However, here's the thing with Chi-Fu: being a misogynist isn't special in this universe. Mulan's dad, while incredibly loving, also feels the same way about her being in the army. Sure, he loves her and doesn't want harm to come to her, but there's nothing in the movie that indicates he would've allowed her to go if her safety was guaranteed or something. It was simply, "not her place." Li Shang is the same! Even after Mulan saves his life, he doesn't change. Sure, a seedling of change may have been sown in his mind, but he disregards her warnings regardless.

The Iron Giant, on the other hand, doesn't have a villain. There's an antagonist, sure, Kent Mansley, but he's not evil. He's not violent, ruthless, immensely powerful, or terrifying. As a matter of fact, he's good. The government, as a whole, is also an antagonist, but it acts more as a force wielded by Kent which even then resists his misguided actions when the truth reveals itself.

The Iron Giant is set in 1957, during the cold war. People are scared - terrified, even - and Kent is no exception. We see what the kids learn in school through Hogarth, learning to hide under their desks to miraculously survive a nuclear strike... And then, an iron giant falls from the sky and starts eating cars! Kent definitely makes mistakes, and from our perspective - understanding the true nature of the giant - it seems that what he's doing is rather stupid and misguided. However, is it even? He wants to protect everyone! He just wants people to be safe, and he's a victim of the paranoia. He goes too far and lies, he exerts too much power, power he was not entitled to or ready to wield, and that led to terrible consequences, but he never aimed to harm. He wasn't a mindless, one-dimensional murderer. He was a civil servant trying to serve the public. His crime is fear and rashness.

Now, don't get me wrong. Misogyny isn't logical, so it does make sense that the character's aren't necessarily logical in their approach to it. It's about social norms, things that are taken for granted and left unquestioned. It makes sense that Mulan's struggle isn't just with the system, but with the unbending minds of those shaped by said system. However, I would mention that Mushu doesn't seem to have much of an issue with it, though he is painted as a bit of a cook and an outsider... Still, the antagonistic forces, the barriers that she overcomes are just that: they're barriers. Mindless barriers. The Iron Giant's antagonists aren't that at all, they're people. They're beings that have goals and objectives that go beyond "conquer China because me conquer" and "women weak because women."

There's a lot to both these movies, really, but that alone is enough to firmly place them on two very different tiers of animation.

Really, I found myself enraptured by every character in The Iron Giant maybe a thousand times more than any character in Mulan. Even Earl Stutz, the crazy fisherman, is more interesting than Mulan's companions. He, at least, tries to do something, instead of being comedy relief. He must have, what, 3 minutes of screen time? Maybe.

Overall, I feel like Mulan is populated by single-minded husks that sometimes say something funny and hit some notes, while The Iron Giant is a living and breathing world.

Brad Bird, I'm single.

But what do you think?

Mulan: 3/5
The Iron Giant: 5/5

More than meets the eye, again and again.

At first, things seem quiet and unremarkable. A cliché premise, cliché developments, cliché characters... Actually, things didn't seem quiet and unremarkable at all; Re:Zero seemed boring and uninteresting. More of that ever-pouring slop Japanese webnovels insist on becoming, more of that persistent stench of mediocrity and the unbridled numbness of barren creativity.

Re:Zero is just more of the same old, same old.

At first...

But, at first, even the normal is strange. Even as we're born, we cry. We're confused, lost, terrified as the world that we now take for granted assaults our senses and wrecks our mind and body alike. Voices endless, smells, feelings, all of it is so much---too much! What makes life beautiful aren't the large pieces that we all have in common, but the small distinctions that make us unique. One would assume death is the same, of course.

All one can do is assume death is the same. That is, of course, except for Natsuki Subaru.

Re:Zero throws us into the typical isekai fantasy world---it even tricks us for a bit!---but pretty soon we understand that that's not the case at all. Natsuki Subaru doesn't die. Or rather, he dies and is then reborn. He gets to try again. That's what Re:Zero is about.

What if you could try again? What if your biggest failures were erased and you had a do-over?

As a premise, this is brilliant. It's not the first time I've read a time-travel story with a somewhat similar outline---shout-out to Mother of Learning---but Re:Zero is unique enough from within what I've read to trigger that novelty factor.

The cast is extensive and varied, including several of the traditional isekai tropes while continuously subverting them in some of the most creative ways possible. Even Subaru himself, the MC, is a subversion of the typical isekai MC. He reminds me of Kazuma from KonoSuba, actually, at first.

That's always the point, isn't it? At first, at first, at first... There's always more than meets the eye.

If that was all that Re:Zero was, it would be enough to make for a good story. However, Subaru is faced with the flip-side of his condition: he loses all the good parts too. The pain, the suffering, the despair that dripped from the pages when he loses everything was at times so overwhelming I actually had to take a breather. It's like the Witch's miasma bled through the screen and seeped into my eyes---that's the only reason I cried, of course...

What if you had to choose? What if you could try again, but even then you failed?

The ever-growing pressure of his mistakes digs into your heart and crushes your very soul, I'm telling you. Seeing him come to terms with how much he's lost and watching him gather the courage to keep going... It's beyond fantastic.

My biggest gripes with the novel are the following:

• The translation is mediocre and littered with errors;
• Subaru does too much talk no jutsu.

Still, it's not a big deal. I'm used to reading webnovels, so reading a poor translation isn't a significant problem; I just expected more. Subaru's incessant yapping can get frustrating at times, but I can rationalize it by saying that, well, if he dies, he can just try something else. When it works, it's hard to say that that wasn't the best option so... I can't really complain... I just don't like it that much. Let it be known, though, Re:Zero isn't just Subaru's yapsesh; he very much works! He tries, and fails, and tries, and fails, and he tries again. He tries everything he can think of. What I love most, perhaps, is that he doesn't get random power-ups like you see in other series. He gets stronger by failing and learning. He improves slowly by trial and error. It's really satisfying to see him figure things out!

The world is getting more and more complex by the volume, by the chapter, by the page really. By Volume 15, it felt like the world had grown ten-fold, both geographically and lore-wise. It's so complex and enticing with so many mysteries to dive into. I can't wait to learn more.

I mentioned the extensive cast already, but there's really no reason not to bring it up again. There isn't a single character I dislike in this whole thing. There are characters that are very much despicable, yes, but there aren't any of those cliché "bad because they're bad" or "good no matter what" characters. Every character is either extremely complex, with believable and deeply emotional motivations, or simply not developed enough to tell just yet. After all, there's so many characters but only so many pages to talk about them. I don't think that's to the detriment of the narrative in the slightest, though.

Really, the only character I actually have sincere gripes with is Subaru himself! Specifically in regards to his choice of heroine. He's wrong, and I'll stand by that. He's the only character in the whole series whose motivation I question. You'd think this would be a big deal, but it really isn't. He's an idiot, an irredeemable moron. That's what makes his story so compelling: we get to see an irredeemable moron turn into a somewhat redeemable moron, little by little, life by life, death by death.

Is this the greatest masterpiece of the 21st century? The century isn't over just yet, but it's in the running; I'll tell you that much.

What do you think?

Rating: 5/5

Read on Witch Cult Translations!
Disclaimer: I read the Light Novel version of Re:Zero, not the WCT webnovel translation.

One of the wittiest movies I've ever watched! It's hilarious!!

The animation is gorgeous, and the soundtrack is also incredible. The voice acting by Chloë Grace Moretz and Riz Ahmed is also spectacular, and even Eugene Lee Yang (of The Try Guys fame) does a very decent job.

The story doesn't leave much to be desired either. It tackles themes of isolation, not finding your place in the world, and discrimination, both on an individual and systemic level.

Though it doesn't actually address the problem of systemic oppression, preferring instead to scapegoat a single character.

Actually, that single element of the story really stung. It's clear that they went to great lengths to have a very diverse cast of characters, and it's obvious they're trying to be progressive, and this is meant to be a progressive story. However, I can't help but think that it's all posturing, if in the end all the systems that allowed such horrible mentalities to fester still remain intact, with only the "top dog" being taken down. You can't fix a system by removing an individual.

There's so much more I'd like to say about this, but I feel this isn't the place. Plus, this is clearly a kid's movie, a very good one with a deep message and complex characters, but still. I suppose the message is still a net positive despite such a massive blunder.

Additionally, there's a dance sequence in the middle that feels so painfully out of place I almost cringed myself to death. Thankfully it was very short.

Overall, I think this movie was good. It's not really gonna blow anyone's socks off, but it might make some people think, and it's very easy on the eyes and ears.

What do you think?

Rating: 4/5

Watch on Netflix!
Arr 🏴‍☠️!!!