DarkKiranami's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[Zelda Phantasmagoria]

Glad you had fun making it, because I had fun watching it. The secret of the triforce part was very well executed by the way.

Well done, and good luck on your next projects!

[Swingers Episode 5]

I can somewhat sense what you're going for, and you've pulled off the aesthetic better than you have in the previous episodes, so there is definitely improvement here. You seem to have nailed down the feeling of what you want to happen, but I think you can still execute the lines and cues better.

The characters don't seem to be dynamically present at times, they often feel layered onto the same scene. One thing that contributes to this is that the characters tend to have attitudes/reactions that are exaggerated too far from generally relatable attitudes/reactions. For example, Ragtime always seems to have a sour attitude, but I can't gather 'why' she does from the information given in these movies. I find myself asking, "What is her daily life like to make her feel the way she does?," "how was her childhood?," etc.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that the characters strike me as one-dimensional. In my opinion, more character/story depth is needed to take this series to its full potential. I do enjoy the series as it is, and a couple parts in this episode were executed well enough to be humorous, but that's all the reason for me to want to see this series become all that it can be.

Great work and effort! Good luck and keep improving!

Warlord-of-Noodles responds:

I don't show my cards in the first hand.

[Super Hero Clock Teaser]

You displayed good sensibilities in avoiding cheesiness, better than most authors I see who take on something this ambitious in flash. I liked that the character design for the hero included razor sharp arms that resemble clock hands. The things you have shown so far seem largely to be original material, so that in itself got a positive response from me. I'm looking forward to the release of this, good work!

Jess-The-Dragoon responds:

You are the first to ever notice that the superhero's blade arms resemble clock hands which is exactly what they are. Thanks for watching!

[Game Grumps: Sonic]

Really nice! Your animation skills have improved greatly since I lasted saw one of your movies. Your keyframes were dynamic and you captured the humor really well.

CatFat responds:

Thats nice to hear! thanks for another review ;D

[2 Guys & a Jigsaw Puzzle]

This was reminiscent of those Cartoon Network pilots from the 90s, many of which never made it as a regular CN show. And by reminiscent I mean witty and organic, the characters convey clear emotions so that much of the information ends up being communicated without words. I liked the message here and I think it makes sense in its own way, despite the fact that you denied that there is a message, seemingly to avoid all the controversy of religious debate - I don't blame you for making that disclaimer.

Anyway, the animation and art style were wacky and yet wonderfully smooth, and the voice acting fit the style of the cartoon very well. The voices were also easy to hear. Good work and good luck on your current project(s)!

[Swan KingS]

This is amazingly fleshed out and detailed, and I liked the humor. My only complaint is that it was a bit difficult to understand what the masked figure was saying at times.

cockvane responds:

Thanks for your generous review! Yes, the challenge was to make the masked guy's voice disguised from people recognising his natural voice, whilst still keeping it understandable. He needs to keep his identity hidden - but it will be revealed who he is in lateer episodes, so stay tuned everyone!

This might help though -

SUBTITLES/CAPTIONS NOW AVAILABLE HERE:
http://www.youtube.com/wa tch?v=s8yDvmclypU

Subscribe to my youtube whilst you are there please! ;-)

[Yotam & Fantasia 08]

I liked this one - it had a more realistic sounding conversation than usual with a funny joke and delivery. I feel like you're getting really good at simulating the parts of conversations where one person cuts the other off, because you do it so often. Well done.

[What are the odds?]

I liked it. I found it to be engaging mostly because of the information, but the animation was also well done and supported the audio.

To a few of the commenters below me:

Why so cold? No one is forcing you to feel awe but, as a living creature, feeling is a good sign and not a liability. There is indeed something to be said for how unlikely our existence was, and just because you at this moment in time are unable to appreciate that, doesn't make it meaningless for us as humans to contemplate and appreciate things that are bigger than us and our existence.

You can gain knowledge on how to manipulate nature via science, but if you numb yourself in the process all that will come about is destruction.

[Coyote and Rattlesnake: No Evil 005]

It was well animated, but it was hard to understand what the characters were saying at times.

[Super Duck Hunt]

The animation was great, I loved the custom sprites!

My main issue with this animation is that in terms of plot, it's pretty aimless. You started off with a narrative of the Toad vs. Koopa war, and then you went on to call the dog a hero, but you never showed how the dog became a hero or affected the war in the end. The dog was basically scrambling for dear life the whole time. It seems you were going for 'accidental hero', and that would have worked out fine had there been a resolution, but you ended with the dog just running away - the story wasn't concluded. Don't get me wrong, the way you sequenced things in the scenes was great, it's just that there wasn't much happening plot-wise, and many things were left unexplained and not followed through with (like the Dr. Mario viruses, the way they had no effect later on despite messing with the dog's organs made that whole scene pointless; they ended up making a cameo for the sake of making a cameo).

The story laid down a setting, but never followed through with a plot direction, and as a result much of the impact that could have been reaped from the backstory was wasted. It felt like the characters were standing around much of the time, especially the dog, because of the slow pacing. Not much was happening in real time, and things tended to coincidentally happen one at a time - it wasn't very natural or believable and came off as cobbled-together. It almost seemed like you wanted to make an hour long movie, but cut it short (even then, the pacing would be too slow).

Sorry if I rambled, those were the things I had a problem with, it was just a little difficult to pick them apart precisely so I might not have been all that clear. I did the best I could at the moment, though. Putting aside the issues of plot and pacing, I can tell you put a lot of work into this, and there's a good amount of skill being exhibited here. Your pacing may have been slow, but your sprites and screenplay were artfully done. Overall, it was an interesting story that just trailed off at the end. Perhaps a bit too ambitious for the planning that went into it, but it was interesting nonetheless.

Good work! I hope to see more from you, and good luck on your next project!