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Das Experiment (2001)
A lie based on a lie
This movie is heavily based on the Stanford-Prison-Experiment, which, as every psychologist will tell you, was a falsified experiment made to push Dr. Philip Zimbardo's own agenda. The experiment claimed to have been about independent people acting on their own and yet, as we now know, Zimbardo told the student-officers what to do and how to be as sadistic as possible, in order to arouse drama and violence. Zimbardo then went on to become one of the most famous psychologists for "exposing the dark side of humanity" when in reality all he did was expose himself. This movie is no different. It's a movie that's based on a lie and implants false ideas into it's viewer's minds.
Experiments conducted after the Stanford one completely debunked Zimbardo and showed that in such a situation people would actually look for peace and help eachother out, not hurt and kill eachother.
There are bad movies and then there are movies that actively manipulate people into believing something that isn't true and I can't imagine a worse movie than that.
Shingeki no Kyojin: A Dim Light Amid Despair: Humanity's Comeback, Part 1 (2013)
Cardinal Sin
To me, this episode commits one of the cardinal sins in any tv show. That being Eren's special abilities on the evaluation machine
Instead of Eren sucking at first but actively trying to get better and the episode showing us that he doesn't back down from a fight or give up and in the end mastering the maching through sheer will and training (which would've been cliche but a billion times better than what we got), he is instead revealed to have been training on a broken machine, which is not only completely underwhelming for his character but makes no sense.
First of all, what is this meant to set up? That Eren is just special cus he's the author's self-insert Mary Sue character? There is no arc to Eren in this episode, he just so happens to be on a bad machine and is actually naturally gifted because even then he could balance on it for a bit. It's stupid and it's pathetic.
Second of all, how did no one notice the machine being broken? There are what, a hundred or more recruits in the army? Even if there are 50 there sure aren't 50 evaluation machines, therefore more people must've been on the machine that Eren was on and what, nobody noticed something wrong with it? Nobody noticed that the recruits on that specific machine just so happened to perform the worst? To me, this episode and the pilot established the show as one that does not care for plotholes and that is extremely underwhelming and definitely not "greatest anime of all time" worthy.
Shingeki no Kyojin: To You, in 2000 Years: The Fall of Shiganshina, Part 1 (2013)
One of the worse pilots I've seen
I'm going to critique the first 2 episodes as one pilot, even though I think the anime should've just been 44min per episode. Having each "episode" actually be 2 22min episodes messes with the structure but whatever.
A pilot is usually supposed to set up a show. We get introduced to the characters, their motives and the world they live in. Obviously the pilot shouldn't immediately reveal all but it should set it up and yet the only character that gets any sort of setup is Eren. Mikasa is just kinda there as his overly-serious sidekick and Armin just stands there and does nothing for the whole pilot.
Even Eren is set up so poorly. Instead of there being an extended scene between him, his mother and his father and us getting to actually know them, the mom is in 2 short scenes where we only learn the absolute basics about her but nothing to actually hook us into her character and feel sorry for Eren when she dies. What's worse, the show clearly realises this but instead of adding more interactions between her and Eren, we get stupid flashbacks in the form of static images right when she dies. I'm sorry dude but that does not make me sad for her, it just makes me wonder why you didn't introduce her better.
Other than that, there are so many plotholes:
- How did nobody hear an army of titans marching toward the villages?
- Why are there no posts at the top of the wall where soldiers keep watch for titans?
- Why are there soldiers keeping watch on the INSIDE of the walls and not one soldier on the OUTSIDE?
- Why was only one ferry built to carry people in case of an emergency? Materials clearly aren't an issue or the 3 massive stone walls surrouding the villages wouldn't exist
Oh and what should've been a big reveal of the titans is spoiled through the intro, the episode shouldn't have aired the intro at all
I could go on and on but I do not have the braincells to do so anymore. I'm sorry but I do not see how this is any more unique than any other stupid dark fantasy anime out there.
Cobra Kai: Head of the Snake (2022)
Classic Netflix chickening out of great character endings
So dissapointing
Kreese has the perfect tragic death considering how he regrets his life decisions and how he wants to change but then isn't able to do so because he gets killed in prison. His death could've lead to Tory doing what he couldn't and changing Cobra Kai for the better but nope Kreese just cones back to life cus Jello and now he's gonna be a bad guy again cus character development doesn't exist
And then Chozen who also has the perfect death. Wanting to connect with a girl he loves but then not being able to because of Silver is also so perfectly tragic and would've made Silver's downfall so much more satisfying but nope, Chozen actually comes back to life cus he's too likeable for Netflix to put him to rest and the good guys win and the bad guys lose like always
Such a shame especially considering this could've been one of the greatest shows ever made but if you raise the stakes so high only to never follow through with them, then I just can't take the show seriously anymore. Instead of doing great big things, they take the safest, most uninteresting route possible, which is just such a shame.
Even if the next season is the greatest thing ever written, the stuff they did with Kreese and Chozen will always drag it down. Instead of the stakes rising, they have fallen down lower than ever.