Hell Girl: Three Vessels ~ review

Animax Asia had just recently finished airing the third season of Hell Girl anime series called Hell Girl: Three Vessels (known in Japan as Jigoku Shōjo Mitsuganae). The anime is about a girl named Enma Ai and her assistants who run a supernatural system that allows people to send other people to Hell through Hell Correspondence website. As with previous two seasons, this season also see each episode follows different people who are having difficult time with other people that eventually lead them to use the Hell Correspondence website. This season also introduces a new main character named Yuzuki Mikage who has a strong connection with Enma Ai due to being possessed by her.

Before I start reviewing the anime series, let me start by saying that this season had long been overdue. I remember the channel aired season 1 and season 2 years ago, and only now they decided to air the third season. I'm not sure what are the problems they are having that made it delayed but I am glad that they decided to air it anyway eventhough it had originally aired in Japan back in 2008 (that's almost 5 years apart). As one of the anime series fan, Hell Girl: Three Vessels is certainly on my watch list.

Let's start with the plot. Basically this season also follows what the past two seasons had established where each episode is like a short story featuring characters that are involved with the Hell Correspondence website. So usually you would have the predator who would usually ended up being sent to Hell, and the victim who is the person who use the Hell Correspondence website (it can be the other way around where the victim is the one sent to Hell). Although I did missed a few episodes, but those that I've watched definitely have good stories. The stories are deep and give you something to think about, and that's what I like about the anime series where it raised discussions among the viewers. Although I didn't quite like some of the punishment scenes (where the characters were tortured before being sent to Hell) that have comedic elements in it as I think it was a bit unfitting for the serious tone of the dilemma that the characters faced, overall the story of each episode are really well done. My favourite episode is the second-to-last episode of the season (episode 25) that featured the backstory of the new main character, Yuzuki Mikage. It was a sad and emotional episode that answers a lot of questions that had been raised about the character's involvement with Enma Ai.

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones ~ review

The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones is a supernatural action fantasy film based on the first book of the The Mortal Instruments series by author Cassandra Clare. The film follows Clary Fray as she discovers her true identity as a shadowhunter, a warrior who hunts demons hidden on Earth. The film stars Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower, Robert Sheehan, Kevin Zegers, Jemima West, Lena Headey, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and many more. A word of caution! This review may contain spoilers.

Let me start by saying that I love this movie. I was a bit skeptical at first but after watching it in the cinema, I can pretty much say that I'm a fan. I'm even inspired to pick up the book that this movie is based on. So what about the movie that made me love it? First, lets look at the plot. Surprisingly, the plot is deeper than I thought it would be. It is very unfair to compare this movie to the successful Twilight movie series because whereas Twilight is front and foremost a love story, City of Bones is not. In fact, it is more of an action / adventure film with supernatural and fantasy elements thrown in. And the love story in the movie was just a part of it, like any other movie would have. I love how the story blend the vampires, werewolves, witches and all those supernatural creatures into the modern setting, and it works in making me believe the world they are living in. And the interesting conflicts between the characters help to bring more depth into the film's plot. To be honest, I was a bit surprised to found out about the more mature themes of the movie but I think the studio played it well to make it more accessible to the younger audiences.