Change Your Image
![](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMjQ4MTY5NzU2M15BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNDc5NTgwMTI@._V1_SY100_SX100_.jpg)
imsonot
Reviews
Insatiable (2018)
Dark. Satiric. Good. And Not For Kids.
Tropes this show starts with:
1. Fat student loses weight and becomes beautiful.
2. Best Friend is gay-but-in-denial, tension ensues.
3. Newly hot teen tries to seduce adult who paid attention to her.
4. Newly hot teen seeks revenge against all who bullied her.
Above tropes that continue to end of season: 0
This show could have gone the full first season with the above tropes -- new hot girl tries to seduce older man, while best friend makes lesbian innuendo...each episode a revenge plan against another bully. It would've been funny, it would've been formulaic, and this is NOT what happens.
This first season covers a LOT of ground. It really spends little time on the whole body issue, compared to everything else that goes on. Most characters get at least some kind of a character arc, some larger than others. Sure, some episodes get kind of preachy. Sure, some of the writing is kind of flat, and some of the acting is kind of Disney-ish -- and not just Debby Ryan's, either. But...some of the writing is great, and some of the acting is great -- yes, including Debby Ryan's.
At the end of 12 episodes -- and you MUST watch all 12 before you pen a review -- this really isn't a show for kids, isn't a show aimed at teens, isn't a show about being fat, and isn't a show about revenge. This is a dark show. It satirizes a LOT of subjects, is filled with a LOT of innuendo, (How do you like your Weiner Taco? Hot, Creamy, Teeny, Squirty or Fudgy?) has a LOT of cleavage, and exposes a LOT of dark behavior.
The professional reviews are overwhelmingly negative, and seem to be just sounding boards for the current pc buzzwords. "Oh noes, they said a racist, sexist word, is this 2018?" "Oh Gosh, they have an LGTBQ character that they don't even develop!" "Oh my, they have an eating disorder and they DON'T EVEN put the girl in professional counseling!" "Oh look, I reviewed the entire season after watching 15 minutes of the first episode!"
The season ends up in a pretty f*$#ed up place. I want a second season to see where they go from there.
Gunslinger Girl (2003)
Haunting. Riveting. Touching.
This review will echo much of what has already been written here. I saw an episode of Gunslinger Girl last year while on vacation, and was entranced. Sadly, only 13 episodes were ever made. Tonight, I just finished watching all 13 on hulu.com.
Wow. This series makes a real impression on me. It is at times touching, brutal, beautiful, poignant, thoughtful, graphic... this is no Powerpuff Girls here. Each of the girls -- Henrietta, Rico, Claes, Triela, Angelica -- is a distinct character, as is each of their "handlers." The premise, as already described by other reviewers, is that each of these girls is rescued from death's door, loaded with cybernetic implants to be superhuman, brainwashed to be emotionless, and teamed with a handler who trains them to be a ruthless assassin...
...yet they remain firmly, utterly human little girls. And THAT'S where the largest conflict of this story unfolds, as these girls reconcile the humanity and the inhumanity within them, and come to grips with what their life has in store for them.
Layered into the series is the girls' relationship with their handlers -- their "conditioning" has programmed them with utter devotion and love for their handler...but their too-human handlers run the gamut from brother-like to slave-driver, with varying results.
Stylistically, the show features beautifully drawn backgrounds of Italy, and painstakingly accurate firearms. When the action sequences appear, they are almost lovingly created. I watched the dubbed version, and kudos go to the voice acting, as it was powerful and full of emotion.
I thought this was a powerful show. I really feel for these characters, and I admit that I teared up at the end of the final episode. It's one of the few TV shows that leaves me thinking after the end credits have rolled.