Just rewatched the dub for Film Z now that my SO can watch the whole film without my having to skip scenes (now that she knows about the Akainu v Aokiji fight). I’d forgotten how well-animated and well-directed that film is. And it’s really tightly written, too; there isn’t a dull scene. By one odd catch was that one of the do-dads on the train track said, “Los Angeles Cal.” Guess the artist got a little too close to his reference image. If there’s one major flaw of the film it’s its own self-importance. They tried too hard to make Zed fit into the world and backstory of OP; I feel like they didn’t try so hard (or need to) with Tesoro or Shiki. Better to make someone epic by present actions and jeopardy than backstory; shiki felt more threatening because of the havoc he was causing and his kidnapping, whereas Zed has a touching story but doesn’t really feel as threatening. Still like Strong World the most of the films we’ve got dubs for—but probably just because it’s the most fun. Film Z’s writing is technically tighter.
It's been a really long time since I was last around. Ahhh….the life of an archaeologist.
Hope everyone's been doing well.
Zephray, I get what you're saying about the backstory and Zed not being as threatening. But I also think that was the whole point. To make Zed more of a grey shade than something closer to black or white. Film Z proved to be my favorite of the films partly for this reason. I think it gave more depth to a character than what we normally see. Most of the time, it's really unquestionable just which moral camp a character falls into. Aokiji and Kuma are the only other ones, off the top of my head, that come close to being a grey shade. Another element being that they were able to logically and seamlessly integrate it into the anime, unlike Gold or Strong World. I think if anything of the film is flawed, its the concept of the endpoints.
Speaking of which, again since I've been away for a while, any word on 3D2Y? Or if we are getting Hands Up for the Punk Hazard arc? S9V4 is the latest set I have at the moment.