FightingSeraph's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Night The Floor Shook]

Not bad by any means.

I didn't expect a musician who I'm not very familiar with outside of one song used in one of Vortex00's submissions to make a few flash movies himself. This kind of reminds me of flash submissions from 1999-2001; a time when people weren't concerned with what a bunch of sanctimonious, smarmy, self-absorbed, isolated pricks had to say. With that out of the way...

In terms of visuals, it may not be cutting edge to the point of being overblown, but gets the point across. However, I would recommend that you work on your perspective for a bit because it looked quite skewed. Plus, the frame-by-frame could have been a bit smoother. In terms of sound, you may be a famous musician that I'm not very familiar with, but you had balls to use a song that wasn't one you made. By the way, that song kicked major ass. Then there's the content, for something that looked plain; it could have used some more shot variety to make it more dynamic. Not to mention that I think you could have used a preloader scene because having it loop wasn't a wise decision. Plus, three megabytes for something looks rather plain tells me that you could look up some tutorials on optimizing flash.

What I do like:
-Original
-Excellent song selection.
-Good frame-by-frame at the end
-Clever use of tweening
-Reminiscent of older flash movies

What I don't like:
-Disproportionate file size
-Skewed perspective
-The overhead lights could have been better animated

Overall: It may not be top tier, but a reasonable effort none-the-less. DJ Harlock/Cross 666, here's an eight from me.

[Samurai Vs Ninja]

Top notch as always, but...

...it would have been nice of you to have added a plot. I'll elaborate on this later...

Animation: For somebody with a nasty reputation, you have drawing and animation skills that are top tier. Plus, I appreciate anybody who animates higher than 24 frames-per-second when they do it right since animating at those speeds would be hell on other animators.
Sound: Clever choice of sound effects and I like how you put Pineapple Pirate's song to great use. I don't have a problem with people using music from their CD collection or various video games, but it can't be the only music that's used.
Content: The whole one on one fight animation may have been done so many times to the point of being banal. However, it was well done in this movie's case, and that is what counts in my book. On the other hand, it suffers from a non-existent plot, which is my only other gripe with this. Then again, I'd rather take something that doesn't have much of a plot, but has excellent direction and choreography over something that has a much more elaborate story, but exemplifies shit bad writing and direction.

What I Extol:
-Great art and animation
-Excellent direction and timing
-Great sound selection
-Reasonable filesize

What I don't like:
-Unoriginal
-Plot is meatless and too short

Overall: Although this has it's notable faults, I was still entertained by it. Here's a ten for you.

[Entanglement 2]

A marvelous take on a done to death idea!

If there's something that I've noticed since last year is the revival of stick figure flash on Newgrounds; and I don't have a problem with them as long as the movie is good. However, I would like to see one of these with fully-drawn characters since you guys can only go so far on stick figures.

Firstly, the art and animation may be generic stick figures, but they were excellently animated; which is what counts in my book. Plus, I like how the filters and gradients were used with discretion. Therefore, the special effects were really clever, and also worth mentioning are the top notch background and weapon art. Nicely done in this department. Second is the sound, which is one of the two faults that this movie has. On one hand, you have excellent sound effects that were used, but the music, while not bad, could have been better chosen. I think you guys could have used some of Xarnor's music or Show No Tears by Nemesis Theory. Last, but not least, is the content. As mentioned before, the concept behind this has been pretty much exhausted, and yet it was superbly done. I mean, the direction, timing, and choreography is up there with Proxicide and Alvin-Earthworm.

Approval:
-Great art and animation
-Excellent sound effects
-Top notch direction and timing.

Disapproval:
-Unoriginal, I mean it isn't that much different from similar flash released from the last decade.
-Could have used better music.

Overall: In spite of the this flash has, it still is one magnificently made flash. Here's a ten out of ten, and I would like to see a movie from you guys with fully-drawn characters next time.

Miccool responds:

Yeah, I thought there would be a lot of people that wouldn't like the music, but it seems okay so far. Thanks for the review!

[_Hand]

This is Easily your best serious animation!

As much as I loved Die Dame En Weiss with it's clever use of shape tweening; this was much longer than Love and Gone, as well as better produced. It may not be cutting edge to the point of overdone, but enough to get the point across.

Animation: That was pretty good for something done in two days. The use of silhouette was a crafty choice in my book as they were well animated and very expressive. The only flaw is that the walk cycle at the last part looked rather choppy.
Sound: Finally, you found an Audio Portal song that actually fit the animation. Even though I appreciated you using one of No1r's songs in Love, it didn't fit. This on the other hand, fit the tone and animation perfectly. Kudos for not having any voices for that would have ruined the overall mood.
Content: It's original and I liked the whole interpret the story as you see fit angle. (I'm working on one of those myself.) Also, I approve of you also doing a flash that sets an atmosphere rather than telling a story. Something that few others have tried, but only one or two succeeded in doing so. Not to mention, the filesize is small enough for those with slow connections.

What I extol:
-Great use of silhouette animation
-Nice song choice
-Great direction and timing
-Original
-Small filesize

What I disapprove of:
-A bit too fast and too short for a drama, but that won't hurt your score.

Overall: Here's a ten out of ten, and I think a lot of people on here could learn something from this very flash.

Hildebrandt responds:

Hey,
I am very thankful for your long review, I really appreciate it when people give me the chance to improve my stuff by giving me helpful feedback.
I think it's funny that you liked "die dame in weiss", I kinda don't like it anymore... :D
I'm gonna take a look at your stuff.
Greetings,
Hildebrandt

[A paedophile story]

John Kricfalusi would be proud!

I have to agree with Zombie-Pimp on this one, it had the kind of feeling associated with Ren & Stimpy, along with Gwar. In other words, I'm not surprised why you haven't been hired by Spumco yet. Aside from that...

In terms of art and animation, fans of the aforementioned cartoon and band will love this. The animation is excellent and made use of background textures rather than a conventional bg. As much as I'm for the likes of Spawn and Fist of the North Star; I also take delight in old cartoon styled animation. The soundwork is also great and it doesn't use the R&S soundtrack, which is an added bonus. In addition, I also approve of the lack of voices, which focused attention on the visual gags. Speaking of which, the content was pretty original and funny as hell. Aside from Gwar, Dean Packis (Rats on Cocaine), and Family Guy; I don't think anyone has made jokes about something so horrible as child rape. Plain rape, maybe, but I digress.

What I do like:
-Funny
-Great art and animation
-Original
-Nice music
-Reasonable filesize

What I don't like:
-People who hate the R&S style or are easily offended will trash this all to hell.

Overall: Here's a ten for you on behalf of making me laugh.

[: The Book Cover :]

It may be the same old Neurotically Yours...

...but this episode was a whole lot funnier than Nin10doh to the 64th Power. Plus, I noticed that you put more effort into the visuals, this time. It may not be "Holy Shit, this is beyond amazing", but it's nice to see you actually improve on your animation this time. Allow me to elaborate...

Visuals: It may suffer from the traced background issue that has plagued your stuff since day one, but I noticed that you have gone out your way by adding more frames to the animation. However, I think it would be better if you did something that had much more animation and less talking when you get the chance.
Sound: It may not have much in terms of music, but the voices are still good to this very day.
Content: I thought that this was funnier than the stuff you did last year, along with that aforementioned flash. Plus, I liked how you implemented sight gags in this as well. The only problem in this criteria is that it's exactly the same as the rest of the series. On the other hand, let's compare this with Nin10doh! 64:
-It had excellent animation and music
-It had annoying voice acting and wasn't funny at all.

What I do like:
-Improved animation
-Good voice acting
-Funny
-Seemingly fresh

What I don't like:
-Same as the last episodes
-Needs backgrounds that don't look like they're traced.

Overall: I think that you have redeemed yourself, and here's a nine for doing so. P.S. Can I do a fan cartoon of this series?

[TF2 Xmas lololololololol]

I thought that this was pretty funny.

However, the fact that you don't complete your cartoons is the main reason that prevents you from getting high scores. I bet if you looked up some books on anatomy, perspective, composition, color theory, and animation; you'll be on the path of being a Newgrounds legend. In other words, you have a lot of animation potential, but your tendency to lose motivation due to other artists who get high scores.

Art & Animation: while the characters were drawn with accuracy, and animated with skill; the fact that you didn't color it is what hurt the overall score. I bet if you went back and colored it all in, that will result in this getting a much higher score. Plus, I noticed that you do all your shading on a higher layer over the line art; an alternative to this is to use the flash color slider and turn down the value slider. It will look a whole lot better that way.
Sound: Nice use of the actual Team Fortress 2 soundbytes, along with the sounds from Maple Story and what not. However, you may want to get some voice actors because text-to-speech voices aren't going to help you in the long run.
Content: Unlike some narrow-minded tight asses, I don't have a problem with people using tv shows or video games as their subject material. And considering that you have a few original cartoons under your belt, you have some wriggle room to do so. Then there's the humor, which I thought was pretty good even though shit-related humor is overused. The execution and timing make up for that, and it's not often that you see sight gags used in flash movies.

What I did like:
-Funny
-Good art and animation
-Clever use of soundbytes
-Underused subject

What I didn't like:
-Unfinished
-Not everyone likes text-to-speech voices.

Overall: Here's a seven out of ten, and I think you should save your cash for a drawing tablet.

[The Christmas Caper]

As funny as this was...

...I think it's time for you to upgrade the art and animation. Now, I know that Flash animation doesn't always need the ultimate animation; just enough to get the point across. However, the Sick Animation style has become stale just like the Press Start artwork and some upgrades are necessary, Especially considering that you have stiff competition from Retarded Animal Babies and Apocalypse Cartoons (Rats on Cocaine, Premie Petey, and Cumbersnatch). The voicework is a noticeable improvement from previous Sick Animation cartoons, and the song in the middle was a nice touch. As for the humor: still manages to make me laugh hysterically.

What I approve of:
-Funny as hell
-Better voice acting than most Sick Animation cartoons
-Original
-Great song

What I disapprove of:
-The drawings are stagnant as hell.

Overall: Here's a nine out of ten, Marc. Next time, consider putting as much thought into the animation as you do the humor and music.

[CI: Unregulated]

Still top notch...

...five years after the initial release. McFretN, I have to say that you are still one of the all time greats on Newgrounds and this 3D flash movie shows. However, the impact that this had has been dampened with the release of Gunchest and Evangelion: CGE Footage. I noticed that you were inspired by Starlight Odyssey and Genesys, the creator of that 3D flash, lauded this very movie. As much as I liked that, this was better animated, directed, and had fitting music. (see below)

In terms of art and animation; usually when somebody uploads a 3D Flash movie, it suffers from good models ruined by bad animation (Battle For The Portal) or vice versa (Rick's Adventure). This, on the other hand, looks good for models with a low ammount of polygons and the textures don't suffer from the Flash 7+ texture glitch that CI2, CI3, and Brutality suffer from. However, the background texture didn't properly loop when that pilot did a suicide strike towards the cruiser. The animation really shows how you put Flash's tweening capabilities to excellent use with both the fighters and that cruiser having inertia. Plus, you also made great use of flash gradients. On the other hand, when we see the pilot, his hair could have used a bit of work, and when we see a close up of his hand, his index finger looks off center. As for the sound design, Earth by Ka-Sol was an excellent choice (I have that song in my YouTube favorites), and I liked how you used Half-Life 2's sound effects for all the gunshots and explosions. However, the voice acting while not bad, isn't as good as MMZ: The Last Cataclysm. Then there's the content, which really shows that you are a man who really knows his shit. The direction, pace/timing, and shot choices made this a landmark animation when it was first released. Sure, the story may be simple, but not everything needs to be either lengthy or complex.

What I approve of:
-Excellent use of 3D, Tweening, and Gradients.
-Great sound design
-Magnificent direction and timing
-Fitting plot

What I don't approve of:
-Somewhat derivative, but I know that not everything needs to be completely original in order to be good.
-The voice acting could have been better.
-Graphic/animation errors

Overall: I bet if you teamed up with a frame-by-frame animator, some voice actors, and some songs from the audio portal; you'll be back on top. Here's a ten out of ten, and I would like to see more flash from you.

[EarthBoundAnimatedOpening]

Nice intro animation.

I personally didn't expect you to sign up here, but no body expected Egoraptor, Andrew Dickman, Kine the Genius, Fanewgie, and IRA to sign up here either. Even though you weren't the first person to do a drawn Earthbound flash, this is easily the best one. And no, it's not because I'm a big fan of that classic; it's because it's well done, and that's what counts in my book.

In terms of art and animation, I like how you kept the designs true to the original clay models that were used; and the animation was proof of above-average skills. However, I noticed that you exported some of the props as jpeg images; you did that just so the movie would still run on slow computers. Unfortunately, jpeg artifacts ruin vector and pixel art; I would recommend that you export the objects as a .png and a .gif, place the png over the gif, save it, and import it. It'll look much better that way. As for the sound, the music was a good choice on your behalf with a nice remix of the second outside theme from the NES EB/Mother 1. Then there's the content, as I said before, Earthbound flash may be nothing new, but this was well made with great direction and timing.

What I liked about this:
-Great art and animation
-Nice sound selection
-High-grade directing and timing

What I don't like:
-Vector Art, like pixel art doesn't look good when exported to jpeg.
-The fact that this is based off of Earthbound, which haters are going to trash uncontrollably.

Overall: For someone who's new here, here's a nine out of ten.