Cartoon Sunday: Manuel Ferreira's "A Deadly Visit"

How's it going lurkers? As a quick reminder, next Saturday night, Adult Swim's Toonami block will be doing ANOTHER Samurai Jack Marathon for the so-called "Halloween Weekend."

[Toonami Promo]: Samurai Jack Halloween Marathon (2017)

If you're like me, you may be asking "What does another Samurai Jack Marathon have anything to do with Halloween?" Believe me, it doesn't. 

It would've been more logical to air a Tokyo Ghoul Marathon. Then, follow it up with OVA 1, which is Tokyo Ghoul: JACK. At least it is a Horror Anime and OVA 1 has a Halloweenish theme to it.

Tokyo Ghoul: JACK OVA 1 Trailer [English Subtitles] (2015)

Tokyo Ghoul: JACK features a ghoul that wears a Jack O' Lantern over her head as a mask, while she's on her killing spree. I will explain more about OVA 1 next week for Cartoon Sunday.

Obviously, Jason DeMarco and The Toonami  Team don't know how to schedule their programming. The fans have been complaining about next Saturday night's schedule, since 2 weeks or so ago.

On another note, I thought I would share something a little different for today. If you have a fondness for Dark Humor like I do, you may enjoy today's animated short.

This animated short was created by a Portuguese teenage filmmaker, who goes by the name of Manusfilm Studios. His real name is Manuel Ferreira. 

Ferreira claims that he loves "combining visual excellence with powerful storytelling."

The animated short, "A Deadly Visit" is a darkly humored animated short, which is in tribute to his late grandfather, Dom Zito. He died in 2015.

"A Deadly Visit" is about The Grim Reaper paying an 89-year-old lady, named Mary Ann a visit to her house. Watching him explain to the old lady, that he is there to "harvest her life" is hilarious. 

Mary Ann is already deaf and wears hearing aids. She then offers The Grim Reaper milk and Chocolate Chip Cookies. Those Chocolate Chip Cookies she baked were highly irresistible to him.

Aside from Mary Ann treating The Grim Reaper like a special guest in her home, she starts justifying to him why she is not ready to die. 

According to Mary Ann, she is supposedly a "good person." This 89-year-old lady claims to be a good person but is she REALLY? And the plot thickens, so to say.

Wait until you see what Mary Ann does to The Grim Reaper. Then, you be the judge for yourself. With that being said, here is "A Deadly Visit" for today's Cartoon Sunday.

Manuel Ferreira "A Deadly Visit" (2015)

What Are My Thoughts About Grimm's Series Finale?

How's it going lurkers? Looks like us "Grimmsters" (Grimm fans) will no longer be saying, "Thank Grimm it's Friday!" At least the creators did NOT screw over their fans like we assumed.

‘Grimm’ Series Finale: Creators On That Killer Twist, The Jump In Time & Leaving “Options Open” For More

The episode from 2 Fridays ago left me shocked and livid.

Grimm: "Three Against One" (2017)

A lot of Grimmsters were pissed and felt cheated. Killing the entire cast of any type of TV series is an easy way to infuriate and repulse fans from wanting to watch the rest of the series. 

Do you remember last year, when I published my blog about the new writers killing Abigail Mills on Sleepy Hollow?

Were Sleepy Hollow Fans Screwed Over? Anna H's Thoughts (2016)

I stopped watching Sleepy Hollow after the show became too focused on Abbie's sister, more irrelevant characters, and OBVIOUSLY after the writers killed Abbie.

It would not surprise me, if more Sleepy Hollow fans quit watching the show after last year's shitty Season 3 finale. Speaking of Sleepy Hollow, I did NOT  bother watching its series finale 2 nights ago because its 3rd season was like someone's shitty fan fiction turned into a TV show.

Now that Grimm is over, I am down another Friday night show, which leaves me with only Hawaii Five-0. So far, I have lost at least 3 primetime shows within the last year.  

Grimm was a primetime TV show that I consistently watched, since its premiere 6 years ago. I have watched a nice portion of primetime shows, which were Horror and Supernatural shows throughout these last 7-8 years, if they weren't Comedy, Dramedy, or Action. 

I watched Grimm throughout the last 6 years because it was 1 of very few primetime shows WITH originality. Throughout these last 6 years, critics compared Grimm to Once Upon A Time. Both shows had to deal with fairy tales. However, Grimm was different. The creators of this Supernatural Police Procedural Drama were inspired by Grimms' Fairy Tales, international folklores, occult themes, and other sources.

Grimm has been criticized for its cheesiness but there are very few shows with much of any originality today.

How many viewers today can say there are primetime shows with some level of originality?

When I ask this, I don't mean another reboot, remake, or another reality show.

Who has ever watched a primetime TV series based on international folklores (especially Germanic folklores), used various foreign terms for creatures, and incorporated them, along with occult themes into a Police Procedural Drama?

All those features made Grimm engaging to watch and made viewers invest time into watching the show. I don't recall much less believe that a primetime show like this has ever been done. In a way, I was automatically biased when it came to watching Grimm.

When I learned that a former MTV Reality TV Show cast member from Road Rules: South Pacific was casted as the star (David Giuntoli) of the show Grimm, my interests were piqued. Watching a former Road Rules cast member, who is originally from my county of WI (Milwaukee to be more exact) and is 1 year older than me, made me invest in watching Grimm.

It felt weird yet somewhat exciting seeing David casted as THE STAR of a primetime show. Also, I was excited for him as a former Road Rules viewer and really wanted to see how he could pull off such a bizarre primetime show. He has done very well.

While watching the final 2 episodes, I was angry that 2 of Grimm's major characters (Detective Hank Griffin and Sergeant Drew Wu) were killed at the precinct. I was almost tempted NOT to watch the final episode.

With the direction the writing was heading, I had no idea if David Giuntoli's character (Detective Nick Burkhardt) would live at the end. I started having flashbacks to both Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and Angel.

When Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and Angel had apocalyptic arcs, Buffy normally died and/or other significant characters from both primetime shows were ALWAYS killed BECAUSE the shows were ending. Thankfully, this wasn't the case for Grimm.

After watching Hank and Wu be killed, I somewhat lost hope as a Grimmster. The last 30 minutes of Grimm made me apathetic because all the characters except Nick, his son Kelly, and soon to be step-daughter, Diana were the only surviving characters.

Suddenly, we the viewers were surprised within the last 10-15 minutes of Grimm's finale. We learned that the "skull guy," Zerstörer (meaning "Destroyer" in German) had a catch. He could heal and revive all Nick's friends, if Nick would give him back the missing piece of his staff.

The missing piece of the staff was usually referred to as "The Magic Stick" (Get your minds out the gutter!), that Nick and Monroe found during their trip to Germany in the 5th season. 

Nick was willing to give up that stick. Because he was desperate and vulnerable enough to give the stick to Zerstörer, Nick ended up fighting the vagrant runaway and fellow Grimm (Theresa "Trubel" Rubel), who he took in about giving away the stick. 

Nick gave Trubel a nasty beat down and wandered away with the stick to give to Zerstörer. 

Before giving the missing piece of the staff to Zerstörer, the ghosts of Nick's mother (Kelly Kessler Burkhardt) and aunt (Marie Kessler) intervened. 

Both gave Nick a pep talk about being a Grimm and warned him NOT  to give the stick to Zerstörer. 

Within the last few minutes, Nick, Trubel, Aunt Marie, and his mother Kelly defeated and killed Zerstörer.

Grimm: "Family Affair" Scene (2017)

The portal to "The Other Place" reappeared and sucked Nick back through to the other side, only to be returned to the present.

Grimm: Nick Returns To The Present (2017)

Nick's friends were alive the ENTIRE time on the other side of the portal. 

During the last 2 minutes of the show, another man narrates what Grimmsters just watched. We learn that it is Nick and Adalind's son, Kelly.

Grimm: Final Scene (2017)

The final scene happened to be 20 years later. We finally learned that Trubel was Nick's 3rd cousin on his mother's side of the family and, that Monroe and Rosalee had TRIPLETS like Adalind and Captain Renard's daughter, Diana prophesied.

The ending for Grimm was definitely an interesting and satisfying twist. I am so GLAD the show did not end with another tragic ending like Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and Angel did, 13 years or so ago.

Even though they are completely different Supernatural Horror Shows from Grimm, I honestly dreaded a bittersweet and tragic ending like Buffy and Angel. I am sure fellow Grimmsters are overjoyed with a happy cliffhanger.

Overall, I feel that Grimm's last 2-3 seasons could've been MUCH better. The writers wasted too much time politicizing the show and focusing on Captain Renard, Adalind, Juliette/Eve, Monroe and Rosalee's relationship, and making insignificant characters seem relevant. 

As a viewer, I would've LOVED to have seen more international folklores be explored. During the previous season, there was an episode about the Inugami from Japanese folklore. 

Because Shinigami (the Japanese equivalent of The Grim Reaper) are very popular lately in Japanese entertainment, it would've been awesome to have Nick either fighting against, OR collaborating with a Japanese Grim Reaper.

It most definitely would've been better to have discovered more about Hank and Wu as characters, especially Wu. 

Wu got the shortest end of the stick so to say out of the entire cast of Grimm and he was the SERGEANT of the show. 

Something tells me that with Grimm's cliffhanger ending, there will probably be a remake, reboot, or spinoff show in the near future.

Regardless, I am so GLAD that Grimm's series finale wasn't an absolute Shit Sandwich. Anyway, what are your thoughts?

Cartoon Sunday: Ub Iwerks' The Skeleton Dance

How's it going lurkers? Are you ready for Halloween? Halloween is everyday for Goths and Horror fans. We like putting in the extra amount of effort by showing our spooky pride, when it is THE actual day. Some are trick-or-treating early in certain towns, this year.

The last time I went trick-or-treating was in October 1996. I was 14 at the time and I dressed as The Grim Reaper. 

Just to think, I published a blog showing the similarities between Shinigami and The Grim Reaper, 3 days ago. Don't you just love the timing of these blogs?

Hopefully, some of you enjoyed yesterday's Song Saturday blog. I automatically expected for certain groups of people to be "triggered" and have serious problems with it because I addressed some highly controversial, uncomfortable, and sensitive issues. This is especially when it comes to Michael Jackson.

On a lighter note, you may recall last Cartoon Sunday, that I published a blog about Ub Iwerks' Skeleton Frolics. In that same blog, I compared Skeleton Frolics to The Skeleton Dance. 

In a way, I think I'm starting to like The Skeleton Dance from 1929 better than Skeleton Frolics from 1937. When you take a look at the previous Cartoon Sunday blog, you will see that I posted pictures showing both of Ub Iwerks' animation from The Skeleton Dance and Skeleton Frolics. 

Skeleton Frolics has more of a cutesy and colorful appearance whereas The Skeleton Dance is a little more creepy-looking. I feel the abstract illustrations give The Skeleton Dance more of a creepy tone.

Last night, I started thinking about cartoon specials for Halloween growing up in 1980's. The only special that comes to mind is It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. 

Most specials were for Christmas. It seems like there were more cartoon specials for Halloween before and after I was born than when I was growing up.

Considering how much fun I had growing up, during the 1980's and '90s, it is odd that there weren't nearly as many specials for Halloween as there are now. It may be due to the fact, that our country was more conservative, during the time I was born and growing up. 

Regardless, I feel somewhat cheated and a little disappointed, when it comes to Halloween Specials.

Maybe had ABC aired their old Disney shorts from DECADES ago for Halloween, more of us 20 and 30-somethings and possibly younger would've probably known about The Skeleton Dance and many other animated shorts.

I believe people from my generation did NOT  have the opportunity to see these shorts because the animation was creepy-looking. With sites like YouTube, we have a better chance of being exposed to these classic animated shorts and appreciating them now as adults. Anyway, here is Ub Iwerks' The Skeleton Dance for today's Cartoon Sunday.

Ub Iwerks' The Skeleton Dance (1929)

Am I the only 1, who thinks The Skeleton Dance is creepier than Skeleton Frolics? Let me know what you think.

What Are Shinigami In Japanese Folklores?

How's it going lurkers? What a busy and extremely overwhelming week this has been!

 

This is another long overdue topic that I have been meaning to discuss dating all the way back to the middle of May.

 

You may recall that I was extremely busy during that time, especially when I was in the middle of family emergencies, scheduling my interview with Sean Yseult from White Zombie, having to plan my birthday with friends in June, etc.

Now, I finally have the chance to explain about this particular being(s) in Japanese folklore (Better late than never, right?). It is about Shinigami in Japanese folklore.

In Japanese, Shinigami [死神] is translated as "death god." "Shini" [死] means die and "kami" and "gami" can also mean god [神]. It really all depends on which Kanji is used because "kami" means paper [紙], hair [髪], and god [神] in Japanese.

These death gods are the Japanese equivalent of both angels and The Grim Reaper combined. More specifically, they are a little different from The Grim Reaper. 

The Grim Reaper originated in England, during the 14th Century.

Everyone has seen this personification of death as a skeleton wearing a black-hooded cloak, while holding a large scythe. People fear The Grim Reaper because they know, that he is coming to take their lives. Some will fight him for their lives, if they don't fret over death.

Meanwhile, Shinigami are meant to escort souls into the afterlife, which is a natural component to the life cycle. Religions such as Taoism, Buddhism, and Shintoism are more focused on the life cycle. Unlike The Grim Reaper, Shinigami are not meant to necessarily be feared.

In fact, it was not until the 18th and 19th Centuries (better known as The Edo Period), that these death gods became a part of the Japanese folklore. This is according to Ancient-Origins. 

By the time of The Edo Period, Japan already became more exposed to Christianity. 

Buddhism, Shintoism, and Taoism are Japan's central religions. The last time I did research 10 years ago, only 1% of Japan was Christian. This same percentage still holds true in 2016.

Because the Japanese had interacted with more Westerners and because they became more exposed to Christianity and Western cultures, Japan borrowed and adapted our Grim Reaper into being gods of death in their own culture and various religions.

I would like to emphasize that Japanese people have not been conditioned to fear death the way we do.

There is only 1 Grim Reaper in our cultures, which must be feared whereas there are at least several pairs of death gods and they work in teams. 

Also, Shinigami do NOT  have control over when someone is suppose to die. They ensure the right time of a person's death as opposed to taking someone's life, unlike The Grim Reaper.

I reiterate that Japanese people are more accepting of death compared to the rest of us because they believe more in the life cycle.

However, Shinigami have been depicted differently over the centuries in both Classic Japanese Literature and in today's Anime and Manga.

In 1841, the Japanese artist Takehara Shunsen published a picture book titled Ehon Hyaku Monogatari ("Picture Book of a Hundred Stories"). In that same picture book was a story titled "Shinigami."

Takehara Shunsen's "Shinigami" Ehon Hyaku Monogatari (1841)

Ehon Hyaku Monogatari was meant to be a followup to Toriyama Sekien's Gazu Hyakki Yakō series. Shunsen's picture book was very similar to the Supernatural bestiary, that Sekien published. Those bestiaries consisted of illustrations of yokai.

Yokai are Japanese demons, monsters, ghosts, and spirits.

Nearly a decade later during The Edo Period, Miyoshi Shōzan wrote an essay titled "Shōzan Chomon Kishū." 

In the essay, Shōzan explained a story about a prostitute being possessed by a Shinigami, who invited a man to commit double suicide.

All the while, I have watched at least several Anime depicting Shinigami differently, throughout these last 10 years. Shinigami can mostly be seen in Shonen Anime.

I have watched them in Shonen, Shojo, Shonen Ai, and Seinen Anime such as Bleach, Death Note, Full Moon o Sagashite, the Naruto franchise, Soul Eater, Black Butler, and Descendants Of Darkness. These are only naming a few.

There are others, which depict Shinigami differently. At least 5 of these Anime have been aired on Cartoon Network, Adult Swim, Chiller TV, and Syfy within the last 10 years.

I have yet to see Full Moon o Sagashite or "Searching for the Full Moon" on any cable or satellite channel. 

Considering that Full Moon o Sagashite is a Shojo Anime, the chances of Cartoon Network or Adult Swim airing it is highly unlikely.  

Both Cartoon Network and Adult Swim are run by closet misogynists and continue to alienate their audience in general.

Forcing Cartoon Network to air cartoons for girls again and firing Stuart Snyder partially solved the viewers' problems. (The discussion of Cartoon Network and Adult Swim's misogyny will have to be saved for another blog.)

I believe Descendants Of Darkness was aired on Syfy and Chiller TV mostly because NBC Universal's networks were NOT afraid to take a risk of airing a Shonen Ai Horror Supernatural Anime.

Shonen Ai means "boy's love" in Japanese.

In other words, Descendants Of Darkness consists of gay male characters as Shinigami in the series. 

If you ever make the time to watch Yami no Matsuei or "Descendants Of Darkness," I recommend watching it in Japanese because the English Dub sounds cartoonishly generic.

As I was saying, I watched a little of Full Moon online years ago. Maybe someday I will have a chance to sit and watch the entire series.

Some Shinigami are depicted positively in Anime. Some Shinigami are depicted negatively. Then, there are some depicting Shinigami positively and negatively.

If you haven't noticed, there is a gif of a Shinigami in monster form, at the top of this blog. It is a gif of Ryuk from the Shonen Supernatural Murder Mystery Thriller Anime, Death Note. 

I would've shared more images of the various depictions of Shinigami, but the images would've been huge. Although, I DID manage to find a YouTube video that somebody uploaded. 

The video is a quick list of The Best Shinigami Anime Of All Time. In the following video, you will be able to see all the depictions of Shinigami in different Anime:

The Best Shinigami Anime Of All Time (2015)

Some of these have already been featured in my Cartoon Sunday blogs over the last 2 years. I have linked some of my previous Cartoon Sunday blogs in this blog. 

 

Hopefully, you learned something today about Shinigami in Japanese folklores.