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Reviews
The Magicians (2015)
Bad show with great premise and some interesting moments and effects.
Acting, dialogue and pacing are all terrible. But the show has an interesting premise and some very interesting plot points.
The problem is that besides the issues listed above, the show does not respect the material it has at its disposal or it's potential. It gets too caught up in CW-like drama and it's mature rating.
Imagine a super powerful being coming to kill you, one that has already murdered friends and colleagues....and all you are concerned about is fitting into a clique and asking your crush on a date. This is The Magicians. I wouldn't mind the fluffy aspects of the show if it didn't constantly jump between petty drama/sex/drugs and serious magic and death.
The tone is too inconsistent and if the characters don't treat this seriously, why should the audience? Lastly, it's hard to accept the childish drama that happens each episode when the actors look like they're in their late 20s or 30s. You'd think these guys at a magic school being threatened with death would be concerned with more than dumping on "nerds".
There are many other issues but as long as you know what you're getting into, it can be something to pass the time especially if you're interested in magic.
Serenity (2005)
Great movie for fans of Firefly; so-so for the uninitiated
Great movie for fans of Firefly. My only complaint is that it feels like an extended episode rather than a self-contained grand story.
If you're not a fan of the show Firefly then this might feel very dated and you might not enjoy the character interactions as much. The characters do not really have arcs and some moments that are very significant and shocking to fans of the show will be very meh if you haven't seen it. Even so, it's an entertaining movie.
7 as a stand-alone movie
8 or 9 for fans of Firefly
B: The Beginning (2018)
Frustrating but passable entertainment
If you need something to pass the time and you've watched all the anime classics, B: The Beginning may help you avoid complete boredom.
The biggest problem is that B pretends it's something more than it is. It is an OK anime with an interesting story and action that isn't bad. However, it tries to be something intellectual and philosophical and fills too much time with exposition or a character giving a speech explaining a theory or legend or reciting a philosophical rant.
B acts like there is a mystery to be solved but never gives us anything coherent to ponder, try to figure out or get stumped by. So the entire time you are just waiting for things to happen or different plot points to be revealed. The main characters Keith and the mythical "B" have some potential. But the show tries to stuff over 10 characters, various subplots, an entirely new science, a mythology into 12 episodes while also giving some minor world building. there's not much room to develop any characters or get you invested in what's happening.
So by the end, you're lucky if you care what happens to the main characters (much of which is predictable).
So if you need to kill time and want dubbed anime, give it a shot. Otherwise, there is much better out there. All of the characters are standard anime tropes that have been done much better elsewhere. That being said, without revealing any plot, there are some cool characters that I wish were explored and some cool scenes that actually had my attention.