Reviews

FIRST: I did not read the book or any of the reviews before I chanced upon this show on Netflix last week. Anti-hero stories are generally more thoughtfully written/directed than your typical heroic tropes, and with the first-person narration, the dialogues and monologues overall come off as poetic, which appeals to the artist/wordsmith in me.

NOW LET'S CUT THE FAT: Frankly speaking, minus 1 Star for unbelievably vapid/one-dimensional characters (I didn't like most of the characters except for Joe and Peach). Minus another Star or two for just plain stupidity of all his victims/targets (seriously, it's like how the "bad guy"/Joe has it easy; things just go his way somehow...over the MONTHS/YEARS). If we wanna talk about realism, at the very LEAST, in the season finale, Beck could have gotten away if she took those damn keys instead of talking/blabbering her logic/common sense away after locking Joe in. Or if/especially when she stabbed him in his eyes or both kneecaps or ankles (if she didn't want to commit murder). I mean, the girl did effing gave him a serious blow to his head... And being a so-called "BRILLIANT/EXTREMELY TALENTED" writer....she couldn't have been more imaginative or insightful about the capabilities of her psychopathic boyfriend? After all, she was convinced that he was still alive and probably, rightly, murderous about her after her initial knock (or slam) on his head.

So, yeah, Beck had it coming and Joe had it easy, if not for the amount of LEVERAGE the former completely wasted on her embarrassing overall lack of emotional control and common sense.

CRITICISM ASIDE: Performances/deliveries were well done. Although initially I didn't think that Penn Badgley deviate much from his Gossip Girl role as Dan, around the middle of the season, I could appreciate a level of maturity in his acting I didn't see before. Also, ambiance and setting are consistent and do well for the mood. Great casting and production design overall.

SEASON 1 CONCLUSION: Quite entertaining, but, simply, Joe did not and has yet to meet his match (Peach was okay, but things got boring quickly with her gone). Maybe in the form of the still-alive Candice, which is the only reason why I'm still mildly interested in this series. The plot build-up is sufficient at this point for a climax at this point. Ultimately, I don't see this lasting beyond Season 2. Would still recommend though.

Yes, script is monotonous, but delivery and execution ranges from palpable to downright ridiculous. But, frankly, the artwork, editing and fight scenes are SO distractingly fantastic from the get-go to the end-credits, that I think the harsh critics should cut this film some slack.

It's a comic, and it doesn't have to make that much sense: the fact that it kept me awake throughout a long bus ride (and I could kinda follow what's going on even though my audio could barely catch the dialogues sometimes) is already a 6/10 in my books. Pacing and editing alone were sufficient to keep me entertained.

Funny: The plot and execution are remniscent of the best of Samurai X, Ironman, Pacific Rim/Power Rangers/Ultraman and a bit of Star Wars (lightsabre scenes, duh). I expected only to watch a katana-wielding Batman and was not disappointed one bit.

If you enjoy Japanese anime, don't really wanna "brain" much, are fine with some inconsistencies, and expect nothing, you may well find Batman Ninja amusing (if not captivating fir the art style alone), at the very least. The details are simply amazing.

As a prelude, I was born to a Chinese family in a metropolitan city in multi-cultural Malaysia, and have lived a good 4-5 years in Indiana, USA, during my college years; so I can definitely vouch for the authenticity of the nuanced experiences which the cast poignantly (and humorously) captures. I have some South Korean friends who aren't native English speakers, and would say that their accents are very similar to the ones of the Korean parents on the show.

My (2nd/3rd-gen) parents are somewhat like Appa and Umma (my dad kinda pledges pretty strong alliance with China and the traditional Chinese culture, even though he wasn't born there nor did he live there, and my mum's perennially anxious or excitable about the smallest of things and prides herself being modern yet full of proper...Chinese/Asian morals). I can't say that my brothers are like Jung, but I think we (being 3rd? 4th? generation immigrants) can relate with feeling displaced in a cosmopolitan culture that fuses both Eastern and Western values in rapidly changing modern times (e.g. Janet evidently speaks Korean poorly, and I have a freakish penchant for mastering the English language more than the Chinese language, whereas my brothers--and many other Malaysian youths--don't master any single language, not even their own supposed mother tongues).

Anyway, to cut a long story short, like what some of the reviews have said, it's refreshing to find a good comedy series that doesn't rely on cheap gags or laugh tracks, and delivers a very humane narrative so full of little slices-of-life that are completely believable to be based on real family experiences (although to really get it, you'd probably have to be from or live with an Asian immigrant family, or know many East Asians).

I laughed a lot (as in genuinely, MORE than mere chuckles; not even New Girl, which I also quite enjoy get this much from me). Teared up a few times, even. The show really touched my heart with its very thoughtful script, direction and delivery. Keep up the good work, team! Will recommend. OKAY, SEE YOU!