Quarantine Control #186: Don’t Eat the Pine Bleach, Kids

DC Staff | October 26, 2023 | Animation, Features, Movies, Reviews, Television | No Comments

This will be the last Quarantine Control entry before Halloween, one that makes it clear how things will never be the same again for this occasion since the pre-pandemic era. If it’s not a virus that everyone needs to dodge, notably still swirling around while being less of a problem for outdoor activities, it’s the prices. Outfits might cost more to obtain depending on where you go – maybe Spirit Halloween has some particularly good deals this year. But inflation has jacked up the price of food hardcore, which includes candy. Hopefully the kids understand why they’ll have less of it in their baskets this year.

Geoffrey Barnes

Hannibal (2013-2015)
Source: Tubi
Episodes: 39 (across all three seasons)

I’ve read plenty of good reviews about Hannibal over the years, a new adaptation featuring the titular and well-known pop culture cannibal. It’s regarded as one of the last great shows to air on network TV before streaming fully took over the entertainment world, channels that only very occasionally put out gems these days (like Abbot Elementary).

I won’t waste anyone’s time here: It took a mere 20 minutes into the first episode for me to be convinced that Hannibal would be a fantastic show. That’s indeed far too quickly to judge a 39-epsiode series, which made me even gladder to see that it truly never lets up.

The Hannibal series starts off well before the Red Dragon novel, and even further before the infamous and cinematic story of The Silence of the Lambs. Here, Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelsen) is still living a private life as a psychiatrist who happens to be a cannibal behind the scenes, a fact unknown to the in-universe’s public despite the viewers being all too aware of who he is. He’s earned the trust of the FBI as a reliable psychiatrist.

The main tale focuses on FBI profiler Will Graham (Hugh Dancy), who FBI Special Agent Jack Crawford (Lawrence Fishburne) tasks with helping to catch a stream of serial killers. They both work alongside others like psychiatrist Dr. Alana Bloom (Caroline Dhavernas) and Behavioral Science Member Beverly Katz (Hettienne Park) to find them. It’s the kind of mystery show that keeps anyone watching on their toes.

Part of the fun in the mystery involves figuring out which side every character is on, and whether they’re too invested in their jobs. Will is chosen for his job because he can think like a killer – it takes a maniac to catch a maniac, basically. But he and Crawford are tested through how Will is perhaps involving himself too heavily in his job. His friendship with Hannibal doesn’t help, who he frequently visits as a psychiatrist and later a friend before… well, I’ll let you guess what happens if you don’t want to watch it yourself. The events around every character in Hannibal are grisly to the extent that they significantly alter character personalities, especially Will and Alana. The characters who live, that is. This sounds a bit ridiculous from the description, but the powerful writing and direction make it all more intriguing than anything.

The twists make each Hannibal season’s approach feel different. The plot contrivances aren’t surprising for anyone who’s seen the older movies or read the older books, but the presentation is so incredible that any predictability is not an issue. Every episode in the season moves at the brisk pace. No scene or episode feels too long or too short.

The acting unsurprisingly helps too. I read from too many sources that Mikkelsen’s portrayal of Hannibal Lecter is one of the best, perhaps even besting Anthony Hopkins’ legendary performance. Mikkelsen frequently plays villains, including in the likes of Doctor Strange, Casino Royale, and the recent Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. But this is the best performance I’ve seen him in yet. In fact, all the performances are superlative, and I sure don’t want to undermine Hugh Dancy’s performance as Will. I can’t think of a single bad apple in the bunch.

Most special effects are well done. This includes the prosthetics and other props used for the grislier violence in lieu of actual bodies, which look convincing enough that they made me, a guy who’s seen and played plenty of violent content, recoil in horror.

The only issue I had involved the other special effects. Some fire effects weren’t convincing, including burning houses, to the point that they partially took me out of the scenes. The same applied to some CG usage, though part of that is obscured by the dark lighting. I’m blaming this on NBC/Universal not believing in the show enough to provide the production team too big of a budget, and a good portion of the money undoubtedly went to the steady stream of actors, which also included Gillian Anderson, Gina Torres (Jack’s wife, with she and Fishburne being married at the time), and Cynthia Nixon.

Those issues don’t come close to stopping Hannibal from being a superlative show. The ending to the third season was more conclusive than I expected, despite series creator Bryan Fuller planning for six seasons. But I’m still miffed that the show was cut short, leaving stories like The Silence of the Lambs and Hannibal Rising with no adaptation here (albeit without Clarice Starling, since the character belongs to MGM), alongside the original content planned. Several stars haven’t given up on seeing the show revived, so I’ll keep my fingers crossed. Even if it doesn’t return, I’m satisfied the show somehow ended on a conclusive-enough note despite it being cancelled while the third season was airing. It makes the show easier to recommend, a good thing to do with one of the best horror suspense shows ever made, and the best one I’ve seen.

Angela Moseley

Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War (2022)
Source: Hulu
Episodes: 13

My relationship with Bleach is contentious at best. It wasn’t always that way. For those of you who’ve been reading this blog since the early years of its founding, you’ll remember that I used to be a huge fan of the franchise. I read the manga, watched the anime each week, watched the movies, I bought and played the video games, and I even cosplayed at anime conventions. That love for the series came to a screeching halt in 2011 when the series was cancelled. The news was disappointing at the time, but once I saw the final batch of episodes from the original broadcast run, the cancellation suddenly made sense. The Lost Substitute Shinigami arc, aka the Fullbringer arc was easily the worst canon set of episodes of the entire series. It’s a bad day when the previous filler arc (the Gotei 13 Invading Army), was a genuinely more enjoyable experience.

Now, I realize I’m going to have to take a moment to explain anime filler to the younger folks that may be reading this column. The practice seems to have largely fallen out of favor over a decade ago, but long-running series adapted from manga used to keep going no matter what. If the show caught up to the source material the animation studio would just write their own episodes to serve as non-canon filler until there was enough manga to adapt again. Unfortunately, the majority of these episodes were poorly written, and the animation quality wasn’t great.

This was hugely common with Bleach and Naruto. Surprisingly, One Piece has very little filler despite how long the series is. Newer series like My Hero Academia have almost none. Filler was such a huge deal that entire communities have sprung up to list these episodes in a variety of series. (I’d recommend this list if you’re going back to watch older anime.) Fortunately, these days most long-running anime series take breaks until they can adapt more source material.

Anyway, not long after being immensely disappointed with the final episodes of the original Bleach anime, I sold my 30 volumes of the manga I’d collected since 2005. I did keep the few seasons of the show I owned on DVD, and a few games I liked. (You’ll have to come pry the Heat the Soul games out of my arms.) I told myself I wouldn’t even bother following the manga in any form. I did keep the possibility of watching an anime series that adapted the final few arcs of the manga open. That’s exactly what happened in 2021, when it was announced that Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War would be animated. I wasn’t excited, but I was curious. It took a year to get around to watching the series, but I finally made time.

Ichigo Kurosaki is a powerful Substitute Soul Reaper dedicated to protecting his town of Karakura from Hollows. Sousuke Aizen and his Arrancar army invaded Karakura town and was stopped thanks to the combined efforts of the Soul Society, Urahara, and Ichigo. In the process of sealing Aizen away, Ichigo lost his powers and regained them thanks to the efforts of the Fullbringers. With the captains who were wrongly framed by Aizen restored to their places in the Soul Society, and Ichigo being allowed to come and go, all seemed peaceful.

Things are not so peaceful under the surface when the Soul Reapers discover that Hollows have been disappearing at an alarming rate. They haven’t been purified, and their souls are simply gone. The imbalance of these disappeared souls threatens to bring catastrophe, as these souls won’t be reborn as humans or Soul Reapers. Then a new type of enemy suddenly appears in Karakura specifically looking to fight Ichigo. The enemy is an Arrancar infused with Quincy powers named Asguiaro Ebern. During his fight with Ichigo, the Quincy-Arrancar hybrid attempts to steal the Substitute Soul Reaper’s bankai powers, but is unsuccessful. Ichigo dispatches him easily.

Before anyone can make sense of the troubling news that Yhwach, the ancient Quincy king might still be alive, the Soul Society is invaded in addition to Hueco Mundo. Lead by Yhwach himself, armies of powerful Quincies set siege to everything in sight. The commanders steal the bankai of numerous squad captains and defeat them, including Squad 1 captain Genryuusai Yamamoto. The situation seems utterly hopeless until the Quincy fighters suddenly cease their attack and momentarily retreat.

Unlike the first Bleach anime, Thousand-Year Blood War is largely free of filler for its 13 episode run, and is taking breaks between parts. The first thing I’ve noticed is how good the series looks. The original ran in standard definition, and the colors looked washed out at times. (Fitting for the name of the series.) Except for important episodes and big battles, characters were often off-model and the quality of the animation was lacking. This time around the colors are vibrant, everyone is on model, and fight scenes are gorgeous.

Thousand-Year Blood War manages to retain all the edge of the original show, including haiku, and clever title cards. If I were still in my 20s I’d be impressed. 40-year-old me can’t help but roll her eyes. That said, it’s nice to see some legendary battles animated such as Yamamoto vs Yhwach, and Kenpachi Zaraki vs Retsu Unohana. While Yamamoto’s battle didn’t disappoint and his backstory was quite enjoyable, Zaraki vs. Unohana was a letdown. They didn’t even properly explain the powers of her bankai, while Yamamoto’s received ample explanation. Her entire fight and backstory were rushed for no good reason. Before you say “go read the manga, it’s all explained there,” anime adaptations should be able to stand on their own and properly relay important information to their audience without having to read the manga as a prerequisite.

The other highlight of Thousand-Year Blood War was finally having the truth about Ichigo’s mother and father brought to light. Yes, it was revealed ages ago that Ichigo’s father, Isshin Kurosaki was a former Soul Society captain. However, Masaki Kurosaki finally has her backstory revealed as a Quincy, and the real reason she died protecting Ichigo. Enough hints were dropped throughout the story that none of the revelations were earth-shattering. However, it was nice to finally learn why Isshin left the Soul Society, how it was linked to Aizen’s schemes, and why Masaki was a big deal. It also explains why Aizen found Ichigo so interesting. Because of his direct meddling, Ichigo was born human, Quincy, Soul Reaper, and Hollow. It’s a bit much, but just roll with the OP protagonist.

All-and-all, the start of Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War is slow, but once it gets rolling it’s mostly enjoyable. Obviously if you’re not a fan of Bleach this new adaptation won’t interest you. If you’re looking to get into the franchise, this isn’t the place to start. You’ll have to go back nearly 400 episodes to get your bearings (and perhaps use a filler guide to cut that episode count in half). If you’re a lapsed fan of Bleach, like me, you’ll find some value in these episodes especially if you’re curious as to how the series ends, but never bothered picking up the manga. If you’re a current or hardcore fan, you’ve probably already finished the next part, Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War Separation and are eagerly awaiting the series to return in 2024.

Joseph Daniels

One of the things I’ve always wondered about the “I’ve done my own research because I don’t trust the experts” people: do they also do their own plumbing or electrical work, or do they trust an expert to do it? And is it just an excuse to not have to follow health guidelines in order to look out for their fellow man?

I went to get my flu and Covid shots this week and I think I’m one of the only people still masking up when I leave my home. I do have friends online who also mask up, and we all hate that we’re supposed to just stop worrying about Covid because right wingers decided that they were tired of Covid and feel like what they say goes.

As a side effect of the two shots, I’ve been feeling fatigued, and definitely don’t feel up to contributing to Quarantine Control this week, so I’m skipping it for the second week in a row, and will just leave everyone with a few short films instead:

Pine Devil (2016; uploaded 2017)

Mukbang (2022)

The Worm (2023)

The lower-key Halloween is one thing, but there’s also current hesitance to celebrate or go out thanks to the world perpetually being on fire. From the slow-but-frightening rise of American fascism, to mass shootings, to genocide campaigns, there’s no shortage of horrifying news. See you all in November. Stay safe.

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