11:29 a.m. - Sunday, Oct. 03, 2010
Gregory Horror Show Review 9/10
Oh , I know. I've been gone for a while now. And it seems that I've completely forgotten about this journal. It's because I opened another blog on wordpress: http://soratothamax.wordpress.com and I'm thinking about opening another blog somewhere else too...
So anyway, this entry is really an anime review, which this journal is going to be strictly for from now on...well, other Asian things will be included....Like, pick up BoA's album Hurricane Venus. I'll d that review as well.....
So Anime Review
*READ THE OTHER ANIME REVIEWS IN OLDER ENTRIES IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THEM*
The review I'm doing today is:
Gregory Horror Show
For the following review, i will be talking about the story/plot, the characters,the design style, and other adaptations.
Story/Plot: There are about 4 seasons, and each episode is 2 minutes long. And yet, the episodes are so....unforgettable. For people who want a quick but fullfilling anime, this is the one for you. You also want horror and mystery? This is it. The stories are not horrific in a horrifying sense (like one seriously murderous villain, with blood and guts and everybody dies...well not COMPLETELY like that). More like in a creepy way. I still think there's satire behind it.
The first season called The Nightmare Begins is about a businessman arriving at the hotel, Gregory House, after taking a train home from work. There he meets Gregory Mouse, who insists that he stays. He is then taken through a wild time through the house through bizarre and creepy events as he tries to escape the purgatory.
The second season is called The Second Guest, and she is the second victim who stumbled upon The Gregory House after taking a taxi from her best friend's wedding ceremony.
The third season is called The Last Train,and Gregory Mouse takes center stage here. Gregory takes a bizarre train ride.
The fourth season is called The Bloody Karte, and it focuses on Catherine, the weird and blood-thirst nurse who is trying to find "balance" between her career and her love life...
Overall, the stories are creepy and really twisted, but nothing TOO gorey...
Characters-The characters in the show are a wide range of interesting, weird, and just outright bizarre characters.
Gregory Mouse-He's really the main guy here. He is the hotel's innkeeper and he never fails to "teach" the audience something at the end. He's slightly creepy, who is determined to keep his guests inside his hotel. He puts his guests through horrifying events. He is overall a pretty stupid mouse though, once you get to know him, and he loves to give in to his desires, which is reading dirty magazines. He is particularly scared of his mother, and he constantly disappoints her. Gregory is the narrator of some sort...He represents dreams and desires.
James-An obnoxious, annoying, and mischevious mouse. He is Gregory's grandson. He is a favorite of mine. He messes everything up for Gregory and pretty much anyone else. He loves to play pranks. He's also exceptionally happy-go-lucky, and nothing frightens him...in fact, everything is a game to him.
Neko Zombie-A cat zombie, who lived with a family that stayed at Gregory hotel. He wanted to escape reality, and ended up at the hotel where Gregory, who hated cats, stitched up it's eyes, mouth, and ears. It usually helps the protagonists as it hates Gregory and his mother. It represents a broken heart,stitched up by anger and misery.
Catherine-A lizard nurse with a large syringe who likes to suck the blood of "healthy" veins...though it becomes clear, she just does it for personal pleasure. She nearly drains all the blood from her "patients". She falls in love easily, and has fallen in love with all of the men in Gregory House. Most of her relationships end horribly.
Judgement Boy-Oh yes, my personal favorite. He is a set of anthromorphic scales. He is the balance between love and money. He goes around the hotel judging the troubled souls of the hotel. He can see through anyone's lies. It's unclear whether his judgements are true. He likes to sing his chant "Do you know who I am, They call me judgment boy". All judgment boys have a higher boss, the Golden Judgement boy. He trains them for the final judgement.
Hell's Chef-He is the hotel chef who is very particular about his food. He looks like a large candle with a dark face and glowing red eyes. He has a giant knife with him all the time. If people refuse his food, even if that person isn't hungry, he will either poison that person or cut them up with his knife, and serve that person to other guests. He doesn't eat anyone's cooking but his own, doesn't like anyone in his kitchen, and hates people who smoke (He hates "puff puff" because it numbs the taste buds eventually).
Lost Doll-A girl with two faces looking for her lost doll. The one face is pinkish, like a little girl. The other face is blue...and is supposedly the doll. She always cries, but when you approach her, she gets violent and attacks. I believe her name at one time was Katie. Her only friend was a doll, but one day her parents got rid of the doll. The girl kept searchng for her doll until she stumbled upon the Gregory House.
Mummy Papa and Mummy Dog-He's a bandaged dog with a large saber in his head with blood trickling down. He constantly talks about how sick he is and how bad of a "headache" he has...his son is the same. He has an axe in his head...
Cactus Gunman and Cactus Girl-They are both cactus bandits. They wear sombreros. Gunman loves to challenge guests. He and his sister are known for their bad aim. Gunman cowers in any real danger, but his sister is fierce.
Roulette Boy-A small red-faced boy with a wheel around him. He loves to challenge guests to a game of chance and luck, usually the other players lose.
Death-He visits guests in his dreams with his scythe. He's manic-depressive, and talks grimly most of the time. He wears a swedish flag in reference to the movie the Seventh Seal.
TV Fish-It floats around the hallways showing images of memories of guests. Because the guests are usually unsure of themselves, the memories fade in and out, which produces distorted images.
Clock Master and My Son-He has te face of a clock, and is able to go back in time, though it's harder to do because he's older now. He loves to drink. His son is learning how to travel in time and looks up to his father.
Dead Body-He lives under the Gregory cemetary and loves to drink. He's a skeleton and is out to find a body to replace his fragile one. His body easily disintegrates in the wind and rain.
Angel Dog-Not really an "angel". She has a Jekyll Hyde personality. She acts like an angel at first inviting you to be near her, and then turns into the Devil Dog, and invites you to hell.
So as you can see, the characters are quite colorful and vast. They make up the main force that pulls the story along. Other characters only in the anim are The prompters, the Stephen Haniwa Salaryman, Public Phone, Toilet Baby, Mirror Man, Kinko and Inko, Bonsai Kabuki, Sleepy Sheep, Hell's Taxi, Poor Conductor, Umbaba, Mono Eye Wizard, Dr. Frtiz, Street Vendor, Pig Gentlemen, Musha Dokura, Bone Head, Speed Mouse, Trap Mouse, Fat Chicken,Egyptit, and Mummy Mama.
Anime style-When first watching this, you wouldn't think this was a Jap anime. Most people are used to the traditional anime style. Well, this one is unique. Naomi Iwata, the creator, made this anime using CGI animation. In the age of technology, this anime is Next Gen. Most of all the animation is goig 3-D. It's an awkward CGI, asnone of the characters are proportioned or look realistic, though this is said to be for a mature audience.
Adaptation-There is a video game based on this, which is also popular. It is made by Capcom. There are slight differences. Certain characters don't show up, and certain bizarre circumstanes have either been altered or cut out of the game. The anime has more detail, obviously.
So overall, this anime is pretty good. I wanted a little more. I like that it is just 2 minutes per episode, but I would've wanted more detail, and also more about the Second Guest. Very interesting story. Hardly any music. I give this a 9/10.
