THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.
First, I beg your pardon because English is not my native language. If I make grammatical mistakes, please excuse me.
I grew up watching the 70's anime, "Dokonjô Gaeru", which was broad-casted in my home country, Chile, in 1993, under the name "Raponchi: La Rana Valiente" (spanish). I was about 11 years old, and with my elder brother, we never missed an episode. It is one of my favourite childhood anime, in a time when the word "anime" wasn't in use in western world.
Since I heard about this new live-action series, I was looking forward to it: One of my all-times favourites returning to the screen! But I was having doubts regarding the adaptation, with the characters now being 30 years old (which I can relate, indeed).
The good: I LOVED Pyonkichi (aka Raponchi). He looks just like I remember, and it is extremely well done. It's the BEST part of the show, and even if you are new to the series, you will be able to feel the charm of this incredible frog.
The FXs are quite well done overall. I liked the settings and cinematography. I liked very much the casting choice for Ume-San, Machida-sensei and Yoshiko-sensei. Gôro looked fine to me and no complains about Kyôko so far. Though Hiroshi's mother looks too young to me, I really liked her interaction with Pyonkichi.
My most favourite part was the re-telling of how Pyonkichi ended up in Hiroshi's shirt. It reminded me of a mix of two of the first episodes of the 70's anime.
The not-so-good: I didn't liked how Hiroshi was portrayed. It is not a problem with the actor, is more an issue with the presentation of the character: it seems like everyone has grown up (each one in their own way), but Hiroshi. He acts like a pre-teen and he's even more spoiled than how I remember him from the anime.
"Gorila" is the other character that seemed odd to me. He was an overweight and big bully, and now he's just a regular guy with a successful business. With all those cakes, I would have liked to see a bigger actor, like how the character was in his youth. I didn't liked to see Hiroshi's mom working in "Gorila" cake factory. I think it'll fit better if it were Hiroshi working there against his will.
I must say that my Japanese is not very good neither, so this review is based on the few that I understood. I would love to see this series, in a near future, subtitled in my native language, with luck that's not an impossible thing, being the original anime very dear in my home country.
Anyways, I'm looking forward for the next episodes.
First, I beg your pardon because English is not my native language. If I make grammatical mistakes, please excuse me.
I grew up watching the 70's anime, "Dokonjô Gaeru", which was broad-casted in my home country, Chile, in 1993, under the name "Raponchi: La Rana Valiente" (spanish). I was about 11 years old, and with my elder brother, we never missed an episode. It is one of my favourite childhood anime, in a time when the word "anime" wasn't in use in western world.
Since I heard about this new live-action series, I was looking forward to it: One of my all-times favourites returning to the screen! But I was having doubts regarding the adaptation, with the characters now being 30 years old (which I can relate, indeed).
The good: I LOVED Pyonkichi (aka Raponchi). He looks just like I remember, and it is extremely well done. It's the BEST part of the show, and even if you are new to the series, you will be able to feel the charm of this incredible frog.
The FXs are quite well done overall. I liked the settings and cinematography. I liked very much the casting choice for Ume-San, Machida-sensei and Yoshiko-sensei. Gôro looked fine to me and no complains about Kyôko so far. Though Hiroshi's mother looks too young to me, I really liked her interaction with Pyonkichi.
My most favourite part was the re-telling of how Pyonkichi ended up in Hiroshi's shirt. It reminded me of a mix of two of the first episodes of the 70's anime.
The not-so-good: I didn't liked how Hiroshi was portrayed. It is not a problem with the actor, is more an issue with the presentation of the character: it seems like everyone has grown up (each one in their own way), but Hiroshi. He acts like a pre-teen and he's even more spoiled than how I remember him from the anime.
"Gorila" is the other character that seemed odd to me. He was an overweight and big bully, and now he's just a regular guy with a successful business. With all those cakes, I would have liked to see a bigger actor, like how the character was in his youth. I didn't liked to see Hiroshi's mom working in "Gorila" cake factory. I think it'll fit better if it were Hiroshi working there against his will.
I must say that my Japanese is not very good neither, so this review is based on the few that I understood. I would love to see this series, in a near future, subtitled in my native language, with luck that's not an impossible thing, being the original anime very dear in my home country.
Anyways, I'm looking forward for the next episodes.