KOF Clips Vol. 19

First up is a KOF2003 combo video. Not sure where it originated from or when, other than guessing it’s from a jap site. Some very conditional set-ups in there. Woosh.

Next up, Battlepage Ultra Edition. For more info, read about it in my earlier post here. 2 parts.

Following that, let’s have a KOF 2001 combo video titled “Turn on the passion”. I’ve also blogged about it earlier, so head over here if you wanna know more about it.

Lastly, a 10 minute video of a KOFJL and Cyberfanatix collaboration combo video. If my memory serves me right, it’s quite a few years old now. The combos are still not bad I guess, though with youtube quality, the style of editing may prove a little painful to watch.

Yay, another entry in the series concluded. Hope you had a nice time watching these videos.

1 Pound no Fukuin

Japanese title: １ポンドの福音
Number of episodes: 9

Some info:
1) D-Addicts Wiki
2) Official Site (Japanese)

Based on a manga by the author of Maison Ikkoku, Ranma and Inuyasha. Kamenashi Kazuya (member of KAT-TUN) plays Hatanaka, who is pro boxer, and happens to have problems controlling his eating habits to maintain his weight in the weight category that suits him the most. While trying to frantically lose weight in order to pass a weigh-in for an upcoming match, he collapses while running [due to lack of food and water and over-exercising] only to find himself awoken by a concerned [and beautiful] Sister, named Angela [played by Kuroki Meisa].

Not surprisingly, Hatanaka falls in love with Angela and this thing will actually form the focus of the show (not sure about the manga) rather than the actual boxing matches. Angela, being a Sister and all, is also confused by all these happenings as she has [apparently] never encountered them before. Well although it’s very hard to date Angela due to various [obvious] reasons, she nonetheless often still plays the important role of encouraging Hatanaka to become a better boxer.

At the very end, Angela quits being a Sister and ends up marrying Hatanaka [yar very nice in the wedding dress. heehee], while Hatanaka is on his way to a World Champion title. [extra info: A total of 3 scenes with Angela NOT in her Sister outfit. And all 3 are in the later half of the LAST episode.] Hohum.

As for the title of the show, I guess it’s because of Hatanaka being overweight by 1 pound in the weigh-in shown in episode 1, while gospel refers to Sister Angela’s appearance during such a time. Shrugs. Haha, just my guess.

I guess this show contains enough comedic scenes and stuff to keep viewers watching on and perhaps some fanservice for KAT-TUN fans. As for the actual boxing, I guess they did go through some sort of training though for the pro boxers, they seem not so pro, but I guess the post-production team did try to edit the footage such that it looks somewhat ok. Nice effort by the production team and cast I guess. Even Angela went through some training, though the screen time for that isn’t a lot. Like not so worth it eh? Hahaha, oh wells.

As expected, the theme song is sung none other than KAT-TUN, though I don’t particularly like it or anything. Haha. As for the ending credits, it’s rather simple this time, showing some highlights of some scenes that happened earlier in the episode.

Now for some other misc comments. In the last episode of the drama, Angela was reading Inuyasha manga. What a way to pay tribute to the author. Heh. And, oh, the pork and beef cutlet set (among other food) looks really yummy. Lols, so I’d suggest not to watch this on an empty stomach just in case the food is too tempting. =P Oh, and as for the parts where they get bruised/injuries from fighting etc, there are continuity errors for you know what. Lol.

Another thing to note is the presence of many Sisters as well as some religious stuff. Although it’s usually nothing very much imo, I wonder if it’ll put some people off. Well, at least from their explanation of Angela’s background, I guess it’s not -that- bad that in the end she left to become a normal person and get married etc. Hehz. Quite an average show overall I guess. Go watch it if you’re interested in this one. ;)

KOF Clips Vol. 18

18 huh. Oh wells. Anyway, first up is the video titled: The New Challenger. I’ve blogged about it here, so go there and read what I have to say about this video (if you haven’t already done so before). 2 parts to the video.

Next up, it’s also a video which I’ve also already blogged about. It’s [CMV] Origin this time. 3 parts.

Yeah. 2 long CMVs. Should be enough for an entry. Lol.

花花型警

English title: Playboy Cops

Rating: PG
Running time: 98 mins

Some info @ IMDB Profile

Lol, I must say the way the movie did its opening is rather unbelievable. A cop, Michael, (played by Shawn Yue) using stacks of cash to lure a small time solo robber. Man, even though he’s a son of a rich tycoon, this is a bit outrageous. Hahahaha. But ok lah, it certainly brought across the way he often uses to solve crimes and catch criminals, along with his attitude towards money etc. Due to his actions, he’s suspended from duty.

Since there’s a lack of helpful wiki article this time, I guess I’ll just comment a bit more on the story and *try* to summarise. Ok, so the other main lead is Lincoln (played by Chen Kun), who of course, is also a cop. And rich. While he’s another rich guy, he’s quite different in terms of personality from Michael. Maybe it’s because of his past as well as the recent death of his brother that partly shaped the way he is. For this guy, he’s bent on finding the murderer responsible for his brother’s death. In the end, Michael helps out using whatever connections he has, with the help of money of course.

Apart from that, Michael dislikes Lincoln mainly cause he sort of “snatched” his girlfriend, Lisa (played by Linda Chung) and is rather pissed off. So Michael kinda follows Lincoln everywhere to “keep an eye” on him. Hahaha. So well, they try to look for clues, but it leads to nowhere helpful. In fact they even got in trouble because of misleading clues (explained later on in the movie). As time goes by they realise they were actually being manipulated by someone who knows the both of them, and that’s why the show actually goes into something more concrete. Haha.

Turns out the mastermind behind all these is one of the staff of a high class club in which both of them are members, including Lincoln’s deceased brother. Wow, that guy was actually quite dedicated to his service job (portrayed earlier in the movie), but turns out he’s actually gone psychotic from all the nice “treatment” he got from arrogant and spoilt rich people. He’s out for revenge, and that’s how we get all of this mess in the show. Lol.

Of course, things do turn out fine in the end, except Michael dies. Well, he died quite “stylishly” though. Lol, the first case he solves without the abuse of his wealth (which is then gone cos his dad was declared bankrupt) and he dies. How ironic. Well then, that leaves Lisa with only Lincoln left, and they intend to name their unborn child Michael in remembrance of the efforts he put in to solve that case.

Well, enough of story summarising (gah so long). Some comments about the show. During the course of the show, it seems that the director (or maybe scriptwriter) tries to convey the message that money isn’t everything. Money can’t buy you your lost family members back. Money can’t buy relationships as you wish. While there’s many things you can do to move people in your favour with the power of the $$$, it isn’t everything in the world. Also, the people who stick to your spendthrift habits often will not give a hoot about you after you become a poor man.

Action wise, there are some fighting scenes, but not say ultra fantastic or anything. Ok lah, not bad also, but I’ve seen better. There’s also some blood and quite some violence shown, but it’s not very explicit (hence still getting the PG rating), so no worries for those who are turned off by gore and stuff.

Some questions come to mind towards the end of the movie. Firstly, all 3 of them are so busy handling the lunatic and trying to lessen the injuries they got from battling the mad man, so where did they find the time to alert the police? 2ndly, Lincoln was shot and clearly it injured him but it seems that he’s quite well and all, without any signs of being in pain. Did the bullet in his head numb his nervous system?

Pretty okay HK police & thief movie, though some parts really looked a little ridiculous. Lincoln’s personality is rather interesting while Michael’s character was given the chance to develop and grow, sadly only to end up dead. My take: 6/10

Escaflowne: The Movie

Japanese title: エスカフローネ

Some info:
1) ANN
2) Wiki

An alternate retelling of the TV series, Vision of Escaflowne [ blogged about it here]. Well being a movie that’s a standalone with no sequels unlike Evangelion’s movie series, the story had to undergo some major changes as compared to the TV series counterpart.

Comparing a 26 episode series with a movie that has a running time of a little over an hour and half, it is to be expected that many details have to be left out, and reworked. Not to mention that character development will see a huge omission due to the amount of time available to do so.

Story wise it’s also more summarised and there aren’t so many events to bring the best of emotions within the characters, as well as developing their unique personality as I’ve mentioned earlier. I’d say that the TV series is probably better in these aspects as it has the luxury of time to do so, and had done a good job at it. Nonetheless, considering it’s of a movie length, the overall feel is still very nice and good!

There are also other areas worth complimenting. Firstly, the music is NICE. Hahaha, shiok! Fits the situation well, nicely composed and arranged. What more can you ask? Lol. The animation quality is also better [than the series], though it’s kind of to be expected since the movie only came out a few years after its TV airing ended.

Oh something to note though. The overall graphic violence of the movie is somewhat more explicit than the TV series, though to me, it’s nothing much lah. After all, it (animated violence) still doesn’t compare to anything like those live-action movies that you see in some commercial films these days.

In short, while this series probably gives you more kick in terms of storyline and character development, the movie re-telling also has its merits and strong points. It’s good enough, in my opinion, to not tarnish the good name of Escaflowne.