Reviews

I'm not sure wtf I just watched, I think that was one of the most confusing movies I've watched recently. A lot to unpack, a lot of wtf moments and a few genuinely pretty interesting and symbolic moments. Delivers the message with the subtlety of a nuclear bomb but also somehow leaves me dazed and confused as to what exactly the whole message was. The parts I did get though I thought were presented in an interesting way.

Legendary opening sequence, the whole movie was very well directed, good job @Sono, and CGI was used very well and seamlessly. The music was good if a bit repetitive at times, but it didn't detract from the movie. Packs so much into 85 minutes, the runtime flies by. Worth a watch if you are ok with Sono's craziness, sometimes gruesome imagery, and a really confusing story.

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The most bleak, disturbing, and depraved movie I've seen I think, definitely the most from Sono. I don't see how he can make anything more fucked up than this tbh. Makes you feel a little gross after watching it. Doesn't really handle the subject matter with the appropriate care, Issei Ishida's performance particularly bothering me towards the end. Because of this, I don't think I can recommend it to people especially anyone who has had similar experiences to the characters.

The movie itself was very well made, I'd say from a moviemaking standpoint (not writing) it's Sono's most polished I've seen so far. The set design was fantastic, the movie was shot very beautifully at times with some really creative visual ideas and a lot of visual symbolism. The writing was also good, the plot and mystery unfurled very well, and by the end the reveals are satisfying yet still thought-provoking, although I had some gripes with how Yuji was written as it progressed. The non-linear narrative was handled well and never became convoluted. I really liked Masumi Miyazaki's performance at the end, reminded me of Mitsuru Fukikoshi as Shamoto in Cold Fish, which is one of my favourite performances.

This guy's thumbnail sums up my reaction to the movie: i.ytimg.com/vi/ycrneYdtqJ0/hqdefault.jpg

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Absolutely beautiful, amazing cinematography amplifies detailed set design in some of the best world-building I've seen recently. Compelling and powerful.

Very well written dialogue both poetic and containing interesting and powerful social commentary, all enhancing the excellent worldbuilding. The movie does a great job at selling you on both the world and the characters, and you get sucked into their struggles and endeared to them very fast. It juggles various tones very well, switching from somber and melancholic to absurdly and darkly comedic or warm and homely without feeling trying or unearned. Keeps you engaged and I could never predict where it would go next. Great ending as well. Amazing soundtrack too, not quite as good as Lily Chou-Chou's but another amazing album, both when used in the movie and as standalone music.

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After the madness of Final Chapter, Kudo, Ichikawa, and Tashiro (and the Kudo method, thankfully) are back and better than ever.

For me, this is a perfect Senritsu Kaiki File! episode without the really wild stuff, but still plenty of craziness. Kudo was right, this already feels like a massive step up from the original and already great Senritsu Kaiki File Kowasugi! series, this really is Super. Funny, charming, endlessly enjoyable, even a bit scary near the start, but overall a really wild and batshit ride that captures the essence of what makes the series amazing.

This series is my favourite comfort movie series and this entry really fits that description. Very excited to see where this new arc goes.

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Needed more Kudo. He was far too sidelined and all the best, most compelling, most interesting, and most entertaining parts of the Senritsu Kaiki series are focused on him (with the exception of Final Chapter).

Has a lot of interesting implications for the lore, multiverse, and the series going forward, kinda mad they ended on such a cliffhanger though. I hope we don't have to wait another 8 years for the next episode. Didn't expect to be watching a giant floating fetus eating a rapist alive but here we are. Lacks the dread some of the earlier entries was able to instil and also isn't quite as batshit as some of the others, the next entry seems promising though. Some really good moments but I felt like I couldn't care about the new characters introduced as much as I could in previous episodes.

Love to see the gang back together though, all the actors and actresses killed it, awesome to see Kudo, Ichikawa, and Tashiro (I mean it's not like we exactly saw Tashiro) back together.

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The End of Evangelion of found footage

Beautiful ending for a great series. Man this goes places.

(Review written after watching the entire series):
This series is well and truly one of my favourite pieces of media ever and by far my favourite piece of horror media. Endlessly comforting, scary, ambitious, batshit crazy, endearing and likeable, disturbing, and infinitely intriguing. The universe Shiraishi-san has built is so complex and interesting it has been over a decade since it started and somehow it still becomes more intricate with every entry.

Jin Kudo is one of my favourite characters ever, partially thanks to the amazing performance by Shigeo Osako, but let's not forget the rest of the fantastic cast, Chika Kuboyama's Ichikawa and Shiraishi-san's Tashiro. It wouldn't be the same without any of them. Due to some circumstances that happened while making my way through this series, it is pretty personal to me as well, and solidified itself as my favourite piece of comfort media.

Thank you, Kudo-san. Thank you, Ichikawa-san. Thank you, Tashiro-san. Thank you, Shiraishi-san. You have created, in my eyes, a masterpiece, very close to my heart, and I will forever be grateful for it. Please release File 11 soon though, I don't want to wait too long.

Well...
It's over. But we will meet in a new world. This is just the beginning. We'll see you later. Thank you very much.

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