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Tokyo Godfathers (2003) - Rewatch on Blu-ray
Yeah, so I watched the new dub on 9anime a week or so back and had too much other stuff going on to post about it. Imagine my surprise on Sunday finding the Blu-ray in Walmart when I hadn't been able to find it in any Walmart stores. Since it was the only copy left and I liked the movie enough to consider it worth owning, I went ahead and grabbed it. To my surprise, Mom took one look at the cover and said it looked like it was worth watching. So, my Sunday night viewing marked the second time I've seen Tokyo Godfathers in the past week or so, a surprising turn for someone who'd said in the past that he'd never watch anything Kon directed. But what can I say? After seeing Perfect Blue, I realized I'd misjudged the director. That's not to say he's suddenly become my new favorite anime director--Otomo (Why doesn't he make more movies, bruh? Akira is one of the best films of the 1980s, anime or otherwise, and no one's gonna convince me that's not the case.), Miyazaki, and Shinkai still reign supreme, but he's way better than I was willing to admit. As for Tokyo Godfathers, it's a good movie and one I'll never forget. Its story is one worth telling that seems all too relevant in today's world where the homeless line the streets every day and are often looked down on as nothing more than human garbage that deserves to be homeless. Nearly two decades after it first arrived in theaters, little to nothing has changed in that regard. In Tokyo Godfathers, the main characters are human beings first and homeless second, as it should be; in this case, we can add "caretakers of an abandoned baby" to the list. Also, I have to give props to Kon and Keiko Nobumoto, well-known for writing Cowboy Bebop and creating Wolf's Rain, for keeping the storyline pretty straightforward instead of going for the mindscrew; that may have worked for Perfect Blue, but it would be out of place here. To be clear, I'm not saying it's predictable--many have praised Tokyo Godfathers for being the opposite, just that it doesn't try to mess with your head and it's not all that difficult to follow. The animation is stunning. Sure, there are no especially bright or vibrant colors, but it's a style that's a perfect match for the film's subject matter and storyline. It also has to be said that it looks much better than previous versions--I've seen screenshots, namely Umbrella's badly windowboxed - like the old DVD of Spirited Away - 2017 Blu-ray release in Australia that even had grammatical errors and misspellings in the subs (Bruh, WTH was Umbrella thinking?), via GKIDS' 4K restoration. Keiichi Suzuki's musical score is memorable. I mean, the film ends with a Japanese version of Ode to Joy performed by Suzuki's rock band, the Moonriders; now there's something you don't hear every day. It took almost two decades for it to happen, but NYAV Post has given Tokyo Godfathers an excellent English dub as they have with the other anime they've dubbed. There's a previous dub by Animax Asia, but it was never available outside of Asia and barring some clips on YouTube, very few have heard it which is just as well, since while it isn't all that bad, especially by Animax Asia standards, the NYAV Post dub is way better. Shooo... Where to begin with this dub? Mirai herself Victoria Grace is excellent as Miyuki, a teenage runaway who says she can go home any time she wants, yet chooses not to. Jon Avner is equally impressive as Gin, an alcoholic gambler who was once a family man. Avner brings a gruff quality to Gin, saying in one scene, "You're tryin' to play house when we're three good-for-nothin' bums who can't even look after ourselves." Shakina Nayfack is more than solid as Hana, a drag queen who only ever wanted to feel loved and even names the baby Kiyoko. Hana can be very dramatic at times and Nayfack's performance matches that without going too far over the top like, say for instance, Russell Wait in the Animax Asia dub. Everyone else is also solid, including the likes of Jamieson Price, Crispin Freeman, Michael Sinterniklaas, Kirk Thornton, and Erica Schroeder in supporting roles and the dub script is completely natural. All told, I liked Tokyo Godfathers a lot and I'll be coming back to it many times in the future.
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Look, Dr. Lesh, we don't care about the disturbances, the pounding and the flashing, the screaming, the music. We just want you to find our little girl.
Look, Dr. Lesh, we don't care about the disturbances, the pounding and the flashing, the screaming, the music. We just want you to find our little girl.
Last edited by Steve Freeling; 07-22-20 at 05:04 PM.
watchlisted!
