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Today it was announced that the cable network F/X, has picked up the series Kindred based on the novel of the same name by prolific sci-fi writer Octavia E. Butler.
According to Variety, the show was picked up as a pilot in March 2021, the eight-episode sci-fi show centers on Dana (newcomer Mallori Johnson), a young Black woman and aspiring writer who has uprooted her life of familial obligation and relocated to Los Angeles, ready to claim a future that, for once, feels all her own. But, before she can get settled into her new home, she finds herself being violently pulled back and forth in time to a nineteenth-century plantation with which she and her family are surprisingly and intimately linked. An interracial romance threads through her past and present, and the clock is ticking as she struggles to confront the secrets she never knew ran through her blood, in this genre-breaking exploration of the ties that bind.
The series stars: Micah Stock, Ryan Kwanten, Gayle Rankin, Austin Smith, Antoinette Crowe-Legacy and David Alexander Kaplan.
Kindred is not the only novel of Butler’s with a planned adaptation to TV. Ava DuVernay’s ARRAY Filmworks and MACRO will develop a TV adaptation of Octavia E. Butler’s 1987 classic sci-fi novel Dawn for Amazon TV. Victoria Mahoney, who recently worked as a second unit director on Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, has been set as creator and will adapt and direct the pilot.
Beyond the limitations of daily life, which in many cases carries trauma, insecurities, conflicts, and worries with it, Belle introduces another realm where seemingly anything is possible. However, starting over isn’t always as blissful as it seems.
Award-winning director Mamoru Hosada is known for the successful films Wolf Children, The Boy and The Beast, and more at Studio Chizu. The Japanese name for Belle (Ryū to Sobakasu no Hime) translates to The Dragon and Freckled Princess and is based on the 1756 fairytale, Beauty and the Beast.
While there’s certainly a lot of heart to this film, it’s not quite like the classic “tale as old as time” that some fans know well. Whether you’ve read the traditional fairytale by French writer Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont or watched the Disney Beauty and the Beast, this film adds its own technological and social-media flair that makes for something never before seen.
There are so many genres going on in Belle’s plot, which creates a huge risk that the story will feel cluttered and overpacked. The 2-hour film takes on the ambitious task of filling several plot holes without leaving any loose ends, which for the most part works.
The movie is centered around seventeen-year-old high school student Suzu Naito (Kaho Nakamura) who lives in Kochi, a rural district in Japan. Suzu is offered a new path in life on “U,” a popular virtual world that offers users a chance to live as a new person.
Each U member is given an avatar based on their biometric information and hidden talents. In the real world, Suzu has gone through a great deal of loss and feels invisible at school, but on U, she’s a beautiful girl named Belle, meaning beautiful, with freckles and a mesmerizing singing voice.
However, the world of U reveals that while some people can forge new identities, it takes a lot more to change who they are and the lives they lead both on and off-screen. When a mysterious figure named the Dragon crashes one of Belle’s concerts, Suzu must unravel a dark force that prevails beyond her new virtual life.
The anime film does well in several ways, with an intriguing plot, complex characters, impressive animation, and enjoyable music. There may be a few predictable moments or convenient twists, but it’s altogether a must-see movie for anime fans.
The Plot
The plot is engaging from the beginning, as it immerses people into something similar to a Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) but also engages with anyone who adores something a bit more on the theatrical side.
There’s generally themes that reach across genres offering action, slice-of-life, drama, comedy, romance, anime teen romance especially, and more. Quite simply, the movie doesn’t settle for a specific genre and is allowed to be whatever it wants to become, similarly to the possibilities of the virtual world it introduces.
Some parts are a bit rougher than others, as worlds collide and the classic fairy tale meets Hosada’s unique writing and world-building style. The satisfying thing about it is that it doesn’t need to completely make sense to be gratifying. The point isn’t for people to understand all of the rules and logistics of how U works and interrogate it as a flawed system, similar to anime series like .hack//SIGN and Sword Art Online have previously done.
The film meets Hosada’s standard formula without being bland. There’s tragedy, a lot of beast stuff, and satisfactory twists and turns.
Complex Characters
Belle introduces a lot of characters, a significant amount of backstory and chemistry to unpack as it balances both Suzu and Belle’s relationships, sometimes blurring the lines between the two. There’s a recurring question: Who is Belle? However, the answer is much more difficult to answer than even Suzu realizes.
She’s a teenager exploring her own identity, coming of age, relationships, school, and more while balancing an online persona who has her own set of obstacles, which means there are characters interacting with both of her identities.
There’s Suzu’s best friend Hiroka Betsuyaku who just so happens to be a computer genius, her childhood friend who’s also her crush, Shinobu Hisatake the popular girl she envies, Ruka Watabe and her goofy athlete classmate Shinjiro Chikami, some motherly choir ladies, and her father, whom she barely speaks to after a tragedy. Then, there are the relationships forged as Belle, particularly when it comes to the Dragon.
So, to say the least, there is a lot to juggle. Yet Hosada makes sure everyone is accounted for. While some things are left open-ended, the characters are constantly developing as their stories broaden instead of going stale or static. There’s a payoff that may seem completely predictable at first; some of it is, but the film ultimately has some unconventional conclusions.
Impressive Animation
While the animation isn’t the best out there, it’s pretty aesthetically pleasing, especially when it comes to the world of U. For those looking for a colorful MMO-like world with various avatars, comment bubbles, chat boxes and other video game meets social media and anime vibes, it’s going to be a pleasant ride. While anime movies in different realms and worlds aren’t unique, there’s something fresh and new about this one that’s truly eye-catching. It may be because Studio Chizu recruited Disney animation and character designers Jin Kim and Michael Camacho to create U and Belle.
Enjoyable Music
One thing this film doesn’t sell anyone short of is music. Suzu’s relationship with music makes Belle’s voice all the more powerful. Music is at the heart of the film, but it isn’t the Disney singing that many people think of when they imagine the Belle. The singing style is similar to J-Pop and matches the futuristic virtual world.
Like most other musicals, the songs move the story forward and build intimacy between characters. They embrace the vulnerability of being who they are at their core without hiding or changing. In Belle, music isn’t just for the sake of music; it’s used to represent Suzu’s own personal transformation and growth.
Verdict
While Hosada sticks pretty close to his usual formula, this film still manages to be unique, engaging, and heartfelt. There are some parts of the plot that could have been stronger, but it reflects an overall depth and development that fosters entertaining characters, animation, music and multiple genres that have the potential to engage anime fans.
Belle will arrive in theaters nationwide on January 14.
Writer: Jed Mackay / Artists: Lee Garbett and Antonio Fabela / Marvel
Let’s get something straight, off the rip. I called the killer ages ago, but I digress. We’re not here to discuss my superior Clue skills or Inspector Gadget fan club membership, we here to dive into the murder mystery of Doctor Strange. My boy Chris said it beautifully in the issue #1 review when he described how tough it is to pull off the death of a major character and a “whodunit” mystery, and you know BNP predictions don’t lie. Mackay has put together a fine story surrounding Strange’s death, but the other side of the coin fell a little flat in The Death of Doctor Strange #4. Luckily, there were some additional plot points that delivered quite nicely.
First, we need to talk about The Three Mothers, their Peregrine Child, and how they beat the confidence, snot and COVID vaccine out of every Avenger that dared to step to them! Mackay really drives home a point I never took too seriously when it comes to the Sorcerer Supreme – without a Doctor Strange around to defend the Earth, all manner of mufuckin mystical threats can pull up and lay waste to whatever they dam well please.
The Three Mothers
Enter the Wyrd, an alien mage-priestess; the Crown, a powerful warrior-queen; and the Crawling, a massive monstress with the body of acid-mouthed worms. If I’m being honest, I expected these villains to put up a good fight, but to get their asses beat by the good guys so we could focus on this whodunit. Nope. The Wyrd and her magical abilities left homegirl unscathed as every blast sent her way was redirected by these ill-defended portals and she hit both Captains with the sleepytime tea.
The Crown went toe-to-toe with Asgard’s crown and made Thor and his hammer look like Tim the Tool Man Taylor instead of the all-powerful God of Thunder he is! I don’t even know where to begin with the Crawling. This thing eats photon blasts and repulsors, shoots acid lasers and eats away at Tony’s armor with ease. What’s going on underneath all those writhing worms? A mobile Greek statue? An extremely pale woman? I’m terrified at whatever the answer might be. These women seem like another level of villainy and I haven’t even discussed their towering child that hungers for magic, never sating its appetite. It’s no wonder 4 extremely powerful and magical dread warlords all hightailed it to the Earth to hide from The Wyrd.
Ghosts of a Sorcerer Supreme
These 3 4 destructive forces of mystical arts aren’t the only thing keeping me interested in how The Death of Doctor Strange ends. I’m digging the way we still get some aspect of the Sorcerer Supreme while also acknowledging his death. Doctor Strange created a temporal phantom by sacrificing a week of his life, so there could be some version of a Strange to help solve his untimely death if that death happened to occur. I call him Noob Strange because he was made when Strange was still a newbie sorcerer and to pay homage to Mortal Kombat’s Noob Saibot.
Mackay gets some brownie points for putting together some very bearable and honest moments of self-worth in a world of unbearable, hollow writing. Noob Strange has a genuine moments of imposter syndrome and self-doubt that is much needed before taking your ghost dog out for a walkie to clear your head and begin to solve this murder. Mackay hooks Mordo up with 2.3 seconds of shine not looking like an insufferable c-list villain, a welcome reprieve. Lee Garbett and Antonio Fabela make a great illustrator and colorist combo, complimenting Jed’s story well.
The Death of Doctor Strange – In Context
As stated at the top, who killed Stephen Strange is much less important than the tie-in books and events that result from his death. I’m quite excited to see where the story of the Three Mothers goes, because these are some new characters to fear and be excited about all at the same time. We’ll see if Noob Strange has one last magic trick up his sleeve when issue #5 drops later this month!
7.5 Ghost Dog Walkies out of 10
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The post Come for the Murder Mystery and Stay for The Three Mothers in ‘The Death of Doctor Strange’ appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.