Well, I think that these Impulse Review segments are going to evolve into something different from what I originally intended. They won't always be there to review crappy things that I find, but sometimes something good that I find, and have a little space in my schedule to write something quick about. Just keep in mind while reading these that they won't feature that much analysis, but instead will be mostly my first impressions of something I have just discovered. I guess you could consider these impromptu editorials. Or maybe not since they're actually reviews.
This Impulse Review was brought about by a news article, and video, that I found on Anime News Network. The basic idea is the war in the middle east, with CGI anthropomorphic animals. Why bunnies for the American characters I do not know. Guess I'm just used to American's being portrayed as dogs.
The creators decided to release the entire first episode on youtube as part of a new marketing campaign, and hope to get a twelve episode deal if sales of the DVD are high enough. So the question is, is it worth twenty bucks for the DVD or thirty bucks for the Blu-ray edition? Let's just find out.
The basic story revolves around a two man team, Cat Shit One, rescuing two hostages from terrorists. The entire appeal of the episode revolves around the well put together action scenes and combat choreography. Despite being anthropomorphic bunnies fighting camels the fighting was surprisingly realistic, with a few Hollywood action conventions thrown in. Such as the last minute rescue by the helicopter, and the rookie character coming back to save the experienced soldier. And the...walking into the sunset.
Sigh.
During the action portions of this episode I was strongly reminded of Modern Warfare 2, they even us a claymore mine at one point. It's basically like watching a Modern Warfare 2 match, if all the character avatars were replaced with bunny rabbits.
Overall, the action scenes were good, exceptionally good at that. At the very least they exceeded my expectations. There wasn't much to the story, since the entire purpose of this episode was to show people what the production team can do. Which I think they succeeded in. Visually this was an entertaining watch. The characters are tired and cookie cutter, unfortunately. You've got the basic rookie and veteran duo - Botasky (that just sounds clichéd action movie) and Packy - which isn't anything new.
The gimmick of all the characters being animals mainly only serves to catch attention. The concept isn't anything new, though it does grab your attention. Though the whole thing could have been done with human characters and nothing would have changed. Except for the fact that nobody would have noticed it. A telling fact I think. And to be honest, this is only one of three that I can think of that have done this, but I'm certain there are plenty more out there.
My final verdict would have to be that the action is good, we haven't seen enough of the story to know if it's going to be any good, and the characters are nothing to write home about. Whether this will go anywhere I don't know, it would be nice to see it succeed based solely on the fact that I want their marketing strategy to succeed. It would be a good step forward into the era where companies finally figure out how to use the internet to their advantage.
I thought this was entertaining, but nothing special. Everyone should at least watch it and see if they like it for themselves. Twenty bucks for the DVD is a bit steep for a price here, especially since it's just this episode and then some extra material. Doesn't really seem like you're getting much for your value. Well, give it a watch and decide if you like it or not. It's certainly been interesting enough.
If you liked my review, and more importantly, liked this episode, then go ahead and support the creators of Cat Shit One by buying the DVD or Blu-ray:
Cat Shit One - THE ANIMATED SERIES - DVD English Edition
Cat Shit One - THE ANIMATED SERIES - Blu-ray English Edition
2 comments:
Now you've piqued my interest!
Have you read Apocalypse Meow, on which this is based? ADV Manga published it back in the day, and it's weirdly awesome. The original series focused on the Vietnam War, however, and included lengthy sidebars about weapons, terrain, and troop movements. I bought all three volumes off of eBay for about $9.00, and was glad for the investment.
Before this I'd never heard of Apocalypse Meow. I looked it up on wikipedia for a little bit of background information on the series, and it sounded interesting enough, but I haven't gotten around to finding it. Though if it's only three volumes long I can't think of any reason not to get it. I need a few more shorter series to add to my collection.
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