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Alita: Battle Angel! :D
8 min read
Hi! It's been a while again. YOU KNOW I'VE GOTTA DO IT THO XD
I feel very, very lucky to be a fan of this weird, obscure manga and not only have it NOT butchered and neutered, but realised in such a meticulous and ...expensive... way. you can tell James Cameron and Robert Rodriguez are fans, all the bits are in there that you want, including nods to later volumes. I definitely saw some nice references to Ashen Victor, and I'm pretty sure there were some references to some Last Order stuff too. It feels like they went through the manga and the anime, picked out all the great bits and made sure they happened, even if they had to bend a few bits to fit. And for me, I really enjoyed and appreciated the changes that were made. The spirit is still there, the core of schlocky violence crossed with unapologetic emotion is definitely front and centre to this movie. The manga and anime were the gateway to comics for me, and honestly changed the direction of my creative life. I would never have got into comics or made comics without Alita's influence, so seeing all this on screen 20 years later, mostly as I imagined it 20 years ago (?!!) is such a trip.
I think that's what stands out to me about this; it really feels like it came from another time. The CG and effects and direction are all modern, but the story and violence comes from 80s/90s, 2000AD style pulp. And it commits hard, there's no Marvel style wink to the camera that says "yeah, I know, this is a bit silly, isn't it?". I don't think you can watch it ironically and still enjoy it, it doesn't really give you permission to. You're either up for it or you're not.
But if you ARE up for it ...AAAAAAAA!!! How good are the fight scenes?! There are so many! I really liked how the action scenes played out like the manga; there was a great sense of story within the fight and choreography. The feel of the movie, the cartoony, borderline horror, censorship skirting violence that both leaves things both to the imagination, but then shows someone's head kicked into a wall. It's visceral, straight ahead fun with rockets attached (literalllllyyyy oho). The design of the characters and the world all look so nice. And how great is Rosa Salazar? She nails Alita's personality, convincingly going from a fresh faced innocent to the warrior that enjoys the rush of violence a little too much.
I DO NOT STAND BY IN THE PRESENCE OF EVIL!
haha! Who says shit as cool as that anymore? So awesome. 
My friend Michael said it best I think; it's a great remix. And I think it's also the best anime/manga live action adaptation I've ever seen. And I'm so, sooo happy that it also happens to be based on my favourite.
Spoilery thoughts ahead!
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- Hugo's actor ... could have been better. Or grubbier. Or both.
- I was wondering how the'd do Ido's rocket hammer. I really liked it. I bet he makes a mean creme brulee
I bet he makes a mean creme brulee- Chiren's... brain?! I nearly cheered when I saw that haha, THERE'S BRAINS IN A JAR! But I'm not sure it makes sense given the rest of the story in the manga though...? HMMMM!!! 
- No Blue Oyster Cult references that I could see, which is a shame. -¿-
- Makakku's wiggy worm body made me laugh, it was great. They called him the anime name though, that I can't remember. Interesting how the translation seemed to be taken more from the anime than the Viz translation. Zalem!
- I didn't like the new Deckmen. The manga ones were gross and funny, the new ones reminded me of optimus prime's "face" XD
- [Visits idyllic lake in the the desert with plants and a waterfall 10 minutes drive from Iron City] well why the fuck don't you live THERE then
- The mars ship was wicked though.
- Also loved that they kept saying it was URM
Was that in the manga? Or was that new? It's so dumb I love it. URRMMM!!- Also dumb as hell; the pressurised water-wall around the city was never explained and looked cool as shit, and I'm glad for both of those points XD
- The rat-cleaners on the pipes were scary as fuck! The anime did those really well from what I remember, but this movie one-upped it.
- I found the "Hey wait she's older than we thought" bit a wee bit creepy, in a not good creepy kinda way. I get that she ages-up in as a character at that point, but I think that could have been done better. "OMG she has boobs now" is a part of the 80s/90s that should have left behind I think.
- it's weird how different things hit me harder in live action than in the comic. Alita's dismemberment followed by the flip-and-stab was way more affecting, and fucking awesome, than I thought it was going to be. The F-bomb probably helped.
- I loved that barfight so much. The feeling of weight fluctuates throughout the film, but that fight was really nice and crunchy The kicking of the glasses! They did it!!
The kicking of the glasses! They did it!! - Sorry... buuut... I can't help but wonder if they made Alita's eyes smaller, if it would have made it a bit more palatable. I mean, I got used to it quick, but there were a couple of moments when I just wondered if there was some anime-nerd-waifu going on there. The only advantage I can think of of that creative decision was that some of the flashbacks with other characters also like that looked EXACTLY like Yukito Kishiro's artwork, which was amazing! But other than that... was it worth it? I kinda get that they couldn't *just* use Rosa Salazar's face, given how all the other faces looked so stuck on and Alita didn't; but they didn't seem to have as big a payoff of her having those huge eyes. It just needed a "they're so big so she can see in space", or "huge eyes on these 300 year old models!" something like that. I don't hate it... and I think it works well for what it is, but I was hoping there would be an explicit reasons rather than implied ones.
But other than that... was it worth it? I kinda get that they couldn't *just* use Rosa Salazar's face, given how all the other faces looked so stuck on and Alita didn't; but they didn't seem to have as big a payoff of her having those huge eyes. It just needed a "they're so big so she can see in space", or "huge eyes on these 300 year old models!" something like that. I don't hate it... and I think it works well for what it is, but I was hoping there would be an explicit reasons rather than implied ones.- which reminds me, oh man, moon-fighting!!! MOON FIGHTING!
- I also really loved the ending. Holy shiiiit! So great when the logo came out. I kinda hope they'll make a sequel as I'm interested to know where it goes from here given how they've bent the story around. But also I'm perfectly happy to leave it there, I got what I wanted! I feel like I've been lucky enough to get this, I almost don't want to push my luck with a sequel. XD
I feel like I've been lucky enough to get this, I almost don't want to push my luck with a sequel. XD- I've seen it once. I'm gonna watch this as many times as I can, in 3D, while it's still out.
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So that Battle Angel trailer then
5 min read
This is driving me nuts, I literally need to get this out so I can sleep at night. XD I love Battle Angel so much, it was the first anime I watched, and one of the first comics I ever bought, it made me want to learn to draw, so to see this being adapted for film is the most exciting thing for me. I'm so excited for this movie! So yeah, massive rant below. TLDR: It looks fucking awesome to me and I think it's being judged prematurely.
The first time I saw the trailer, I was bothered by Alita's eyes and CG-ness, it was weird.. but then I watched it again, and once I got over the surprise of it, I really liked it. Like... what the fuck are they doing? There's a plan here, and I can't wait to see what it is. It's NOT bad CGI, it's supposed to look like that. James Cameron has had this in pre-production for about 10 years, and has always said that Alita herself was going to be full-cg. Which confused me at the time, 'cos like, couldn't you just do it like Ex-Machina? Or animate her when she does cool shit, why is she totally CG? So there's more to this than we've seen so far, it can't be as simple as making her look more like a manga character.
I'd like to speculate that Battle Angel is about regaining memories, about whether personality is nature or nurtured. Movies don't have the same language as manga and anime where a character can monologue to themselves about their past, so this could be a way to discriminate between the past and the present. Maybe they use Rosa Salazar in live action as Yoko in Mars flashbacks? That would be so fucking cool. It seems weird to cast someone that looks so much like the character, and then just not use her.
Also it's an interesting experiment; GiTS poses a question about what it means to be human if you're 90% prosthetic, but it's pretty easy as a viewer to empathise with someone when they look like Scarlett Johansen. Battle Angel's flipping this around, challenging us to empathise with someone that's demonstrably uncanny valley, and I find that such an interesting direction. James Cameron created Terminator & Terminator 2, this is his ballpark. (The end of Terminator 2 has done this already, although it's had the rest of the movie to build up empathy for the T101 before it gets half its face blown off.) It also fits with the romance part of the storyline; surely Hugo's going to have similar reservations? If this could be pulled off, it'd be awesome. If not, then we're just gonna have to be weirded out for the whole movie.
Buuut I'm probably reading way too much into this. It's worth noting I also thought the Matrix Sequels were going to be fucking awesome when the trailers for those came out.
Basically I wanted to say this could be so fucking amazing. We have seen so little! Don't judge it yet! Personally I'm way happier with it like this than some by-the-numbers Hollywood cardboard crap.
Other random bullshit thoughts;
- The casting on this is fucking amazing. Mahershala Ali especially, wow.
- I love the tone of the trailer, it matches the manga for me perfectly. The scrapyard looks great.
- Who is Jennifer Connelly? The extra character from the anime? This is such a mashup.
- I love the blade lady, can't wait for the rocket hammer.
- This is going to be so good in 3D. I hate 3D. But it's James Cameron with more high tech shit again, so I'm going to watch in 3D.
- I love Robert Rodriguez, I love his campy lo-fi style. Battle Angel has always been a bit 2000AD (Makaku's massive body design in the first book is basically ripped off of Slaine from 2000AD) so hopefully Rodriguez can bring a bit of that gratuitous splat to the movie that we haven't yet seen in the trailer. That said, I'm not that bothered if they don't based on what I've seen already, because...
- That head-slam is so fucking cool!! Hopefully there will be more fights like that, high-speed, faster-than-human battles. And it's in Kansas!
- Alita's design is perfect I think, CG face aside. Small and spindly! She looks so tiny sitting at the table.
- IT'S COMING OUT NEXT YEAR AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!
- I'm so freakin' excited.
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Awight
1 min read
I abandoned DA a while back when my watch list got uncontrollably huge, I couldn't keep up with the backlog so I ran off. However! I've just culled my watch list and reset the backlog, which I could have done all along...
So yeah I guess I'm back on here again. I'm gonna focus more on UK people and people I know, get shouting at people again and maybe put up more art and stuff.
Hello!
So yeah I guess I'm back on here again. I'm gonna focus more on UK people and people I know, get shouting at people again and maybe put up more art and stuff.
Hello!
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Stunt Guy is released! :D
3 min read
Hello there!
As many of you know, I work at kempt.co.uk making video games! For the last few months we've been working on our own IP; it's Stunt Guy, unsung hero of explosions and injuries, movies and possibly actual robberies!
www.stuntguygame.com
We're releasing two games (both free!) featuring him today; Stunt Guy : The Getaway j.mp/GuyStunt is a dodge'n'smashemup where Stunt Guy's hanging onto the roof of a speeding car, evading police and wrecking shit! Go check it out!
The second game we're still working on, it's called Bar Fight Live j.mp/BarFight
We're developing it right now, and the app will be updated regularly to show our progress. There's votes and stuff so people playing the unfinished game can yell at us and tell us what to do, it's gonna be pretty sweet! There's also a video in the app featuring me highfiving a programmer, and busking with cardboard box drums on the streets of Canterbury, if that's interesting Also in the video is Fan Buddy! I love fan buddy and his flappy arms.
Yeah! In these games I've been responsible for some of the game design & feel, some animation, sound, some art direction and general STUFF. My job description is pretty much "a bit of everything", I flit about! I drew the explosions! heehee I also did some of the music! soundcloud.com/stunt-guy/barfi…
The main character designs & artwork are by the awesome Kit Wallis; kitwallis.blogspot.co.uk/
But yeah, go check 'em out, they're FREE, it'd mean a lot to me and us! If you feel like leaving some nice comments, reviews, cake that'd help us out a lot, this independent developer thing is a scary new adventure for us (we've always been work-for-hire before this), so we need all the help we can get! xD
Yeah! So that's what I've been working on these past few months. I hope you enjoy it!
As many of you know, I work at kempt.co.uk making video games!
For the last few months we've been working on our own IP; it's Stunt Guy, unsung hero of explosions and injuries, movies and possibly actual robberies!www.stuntguygame.com
We're releasing two games (both free!) featuring him today; Stunt Guy : The Getaway j.mp/GuyStunt is a dodge'n'smashemup where Stunt Guy's hanging onto the roof of a speeding car, evading police and wrecking shit! Go check it out!
The second game we're still working on, it's called Bar Fight Live j.mp/BarFight
We're developing it right now, and the app will be updated regularly to show our progress. There's votes and stuff so people playing the unfinished game can yell at us and tell us what to do, it's gonna be pretty sweet!
There's also a video in the app featuring me highfiving a programmer, and busking with cardboard box drums on the streets of Canterbury, if that's interesting Also in the video is Fan Buddy! I love fan buddy and his flappy arms.Yeah! In these games I've been responsible for some of the game design & feel, some animation, sound, some art direction and general STUFF. My job description is pretty much "a bit of everything", I flit about!
I drew the explosions! heehee I also did some of the music! soundcloud.com/stunt-guy/barfi…The main character designs & artwork are by the awesome Kit Wallis; kitwallis.blogspot.co.uk/
But yeah, go check 'em out, they're FREE, it'd mean a lot to me and us! If you feel like leaving some nice comments, reviews, cake that'd help us out a lot, this independent developer thing is a scary new adventure for us (we've always been work-for-hire before this), so we need all the help we can get! xD
Yeah! So that's what I've been working on these past few months. I hope you enjoy it!
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Hello!
Quick note to say that unfortunately I can't make it to Kapow or MCM Expo London this year, I've just moved to Canterbury and the whole thing has cleaned me out and I just can't do it without a whole world of money-stress, the travel, hotels etc obliterates any money I'd make from it. Normally I wouldn't mind, but cash is tight since the move and I've gotta get out of the red negative moneys back into the good black monies!
This also means I've left my good buddy and regular fellow con-warrior Claude TC
on his own! ;_; So if you'd like to share a Kapow or MCM table with him, chuck him or I a note and we'll sort it out. He's very good. I guarantee you'll sell at least 5 more comics just by being on the same table. He's Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler, only his pies are GOOD. Yeaaaa
So yeah! That's that! Hope you're good! Take it eaaaaaasssssyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
EDIT: I am now booked in for Thought Bubble in Leeds at the end of the year tho (November!). So there!
Quick note to say that unfortunately I can't make it to Kapow or MCM Expo London this year, I've just moved to Canterbury and the whole thing has cleaned me out and I just can't do it without a whole world of money-stress, the travel, hotels etc obliterates any money I'd make from it. Normally I wouldn't mind, but cash is tight since the move and I've gotta get out of the red negative moneys back into the good black monies!
This also means I've left my good buddy and regular fellow con-warrior Claude TC
on his own! ;_; So if you'd like to share a Kapow or MCM table with him, chuck him or I a note and we'll sort it out. He's very good. I guarantee you'll sell at least 5 more comics just by being on the same table. He's Cut-Me-Own-Throat Dibbler, only his pies are GOOD. YeaaaaSo yeah! That's that! Hope you're good!
Take it eaaaaaasssssyyyyyyyyyyyyyyEDIT: I am now booked in for Thought Bubble in Leeds at the end of the year tho (November!). So there!
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