Fake

Title:Fake
Overall:Rent
Keywords: , , , , ,
Notables: Animation - JC Staff
INOUE Kikuko
R1 License - Media Blasters
Meet Dee Latener and his half-Japanese partner Randy (call me Ryo) McLane, a couple of detectives in New York's 27th Precinct. Not only does this pair of crime-fighting crusaders chase down criminals, but Dee can't stop chasing Ryo either. Is it just his dark hair and dark eyes that attract him so, or is it something more? Tired of the daily city grind, our heroes set off for a vacation in England, to relax, enjoy themselves, and if our gay cop Dee has his way with Ryo... But when Japanese-Americans start turning up dead outside Dee and Ryo's hotel, the ever vigilant mismatched investigators become embroiled in the local crime scene.

Single OVA episode (~55min)
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Avoid 4 4 4 5 3 adiree [series:345#1804]
ugggghhhh. i got this after hearing some truly spectacular things about this anime, but, geesh, it was a complete let down... two guys kissing? big deal... if this is all that draws people to this anime... well, i can recommend at least 20 indie flicks that have a much better developed plot, characters, and romance, to be honest.... and if it's a good story that you're looking for, then, you will almost definitely need to look somewhere else... attention, what i'm writing could be consider spoiling the plot, so.... be aware, i warned you

all in all, the plot is rather banal - a classic holmesian whodunit, without the witty banter of mr. holmes and his infamous compadre -- on second thought, it's not even that classic, it's just boring really...i like mysteries quite a bit, and love it when my poor little brain has to work to figure something out, but, you're told from the beginning, essentially, who did it, and the reason why they did it, well, it isn't that spectacular... a guy with a knife, who you see in the very beginning of the film kills a girl, then you're told this has been happening for five years and no one knows about it because the local community is tight lipped and won't involve the police (yeah, right?????), and it just so happens that all these cops show up to visit this little town right after the murder happens (yeah, right, again???)...then the murder disappears, you get some babble about love, and waiting for love, and letting your feelings show, some pretty hurrendous scenes involving wine and more inane babble, then another murder.... then, all of a sudden the murderer may involve ryo in his attempt to kill people.... geesh... how utterly predictable and completely unbelievable...not to mention that there is absolutely no tension whatsover over these murders... there's no suspense - and that's no only because you know who did it in the beginning, and how they did, it's just because the suspense simply isn't there.... there is no serial killer looming over the heads of these people, there is no feeling that something horrific just happened... with the exception of a few bits of dialogue reminding you every once in a while that the murder took place, there is no mention of it.... the characters are pretty flat, undeveloped - you learn so little about them, their motivations, anything... they have a single purpose - dee to bed ryo; ryo to solve a mystery, and who the heck those two kids are i still have no clue... the humor, i felt, was forced, making it very hard to watch, and in the few moments where i felt the show was reaching for some sort of poignancy, the humour was forced in again, drowning out any honest feeling or moral or philosophy that the show could have broached... the dialogue between the two main characters was seriously lacking in quality, if not quantity, and most of the show seems to be spent with dee complaining that ryo won't sleep with him... that's it - that's all ya get.... and the murderer's reason for killing, let's just say that was one of the most ridiculous monologues i think i've ever heard, well, the most ridiculous next to his final lines on the scene.... again, it's corny and unbelievable, and puts me in the mind of a very badly acted shakespearean play (and i mean poorly, poorly acted) the only truly good thing i can say about the script is that no one made a huge deal out of two guys being in a romantic relationship - which was nice to see, they were just people and that was it, but the rest of the script i feel could have used some work... and the animation and design.... there was one scene that i liked - it involved a motorcycle and a window - i felt that scene was well done, but that was the only one that struck my interest... but, it was far too short, and far too late into the film... the painted scenes seemed to be glossed over and i felt that for a murder mystery involving cops the action sequences were sorely lacking.... but, i did like the motorcycle scene..... the dub work is awful, with none of the voice actors really helping to provide any sense of character, but then again, i didn't care for the subbed version either as the dialogue was just hard to read through without me sitting there wondering why one earth was i trying to watch it a second time if i hated it so badly the first time.... and the ending???? i'm not even going to bother with it except that i was crossing my fingers hoping that this was in no way trying to hint to a sequel.... i don't recommend fake, not at all.... there are far better stories out there....

Last updated Saturday, March 19 2005. Created Saturday, March 19 2005.

Rent dhrachth [series:345#962]
I love the manga, and this isn't as good, but it's not bad.
Fans of the manga should definitely watch this, it follows volume two very closely and it's nice to see it animated. However, the animation was a little cheesy, the characters weren't drawn as well, and Ryo was made a little girly--so don't expect perfection.
Yaoi fans, go buy it now.
General audiences, it's got excellent comic timing and a nice little romance going. The plot is pretty thin, but if you can suspend disbelief it's enjoyable for other things.
Don't expect a masterpiece, but it's fun.

Last updated Thursday, September 11 2003. Created Thursday, September 11 2003.
Buy 8 8 9 8 5 0 Inu-Yasha [series:345#430]
Eeeh... This was nothing special. It was something worth seeing once. The plot wasn't all that great and it ended to quickly. There was only a smidge of character development and (again) everything went by so fast!
On the lighter side, the animation was nice and the small cast of characters was eady to keep track of. The music was pretty good as well.
This IS a yaoi anime, so if you have a problem with that, don't watch it. Other then that, it's appropriate for most audiences. So go ahead and rent this. If you like it, buy it.

Last updated Friday, January 24 2003. Created Friday, January 24 2003.
Rent 8 8 8 7 7 0 nodoubt [series:345#399]
I knew before buying the DVD that this is a yaoi anime. However, I feel, as an anime fan, I should watch as many kind of anime as I can and limit myself to my favorite genres. Ryo and Dee are American detectives vacationing in England. Dee is trying to get Ryo to finally admit he loves him. His plan was derailed when people of Japanese decent started dying of unnatural causes. The story offers no twist or surprises and preditable half way through the movie. Beware that there are quite a few scenes of kissing between me. Homophobics stay clear of this one, but if you have an open mind, you will probably enjoy it. It is 60 minutes filled with a little comedy thrown in.
10-13-02

Last updated Sunday, October 13 2002. Created Sunday, October 13 2002.
Buy 9 9 10 9 10 10 angelfury_13 [series:345#360]
I absolutely love this anime. It was excellent!! I loved the dialogue between the characters. Even, if you don't like yaoi, you still need to watch it for the humor, as this anime is funny as hell. You get to see the more important things, such as Ryo and Dee becoming partners and the first kiss.
The opening song as catchy and fun, when you hear it, you'll get it stuck in your head. (I do!! ^__^)

Last updated Wednesday, August 07 2002. Created Wednesday, August 07 2002.
Rent 6 6 6 6 6 Midnighter [series:345#94]
Fake was a passable little anime release, but since it's based on a manga (comic book) we have characters who we don't know, yet feel as though we should. I suspect I would have enjoyed it more if I was a reader of the manga and hence knew these characters going in.
Still, it's worth checking out, maybe even renting. Six out of ten across the board is pretty solid...above par, but the lame ending damaged it in the story department.
The animation is a bit sketchy at parts, and the chacters are sort of cliche, but it was still interesting to watch them interact. NOTE: Homophobes be warned...the characters are...gasp! Gay!
The obvious pokes at American xenophobia were interesting, but it was kind of hokey when the racist villian suddenly realizes the error of his ways at the end with no warning. I would have liked it better if he comes to the realization that people are equal by actually interacting with the characters he hates.
Overall, I liked Fake well enough to rent, but I wouldn't buy it. Again, it seems more like a reward for fans of the manga than a stand alone film. Fans liberal enough to handle a gay relationship might want to give this one a rent. But really, getting crushed by a motercycle crashing through the window would seem...I dunno...FATAL to me. Maybe I'm just a wimp.
5-26-02

Last updated Sunday, May 26 2002. Created Sunday, May 26 2002.
Watch 6 6 5 6 Kaitou Juliet [series:345#137]

I felt it was nothing spectacular, although it's certainly not bad. There's a reasonably solid mystery, some humor, and decently well-developed characters. However, I suspect that the unusualness of the gay romance angle is what keeps people watching this one. I got a definite sense that there was a ton of backstory from the manga that was only touched on in the anime.

The artwork didn't grab me; it looked fussy, and all the guys have huge chins.

I'll give this one a "watch," but consider it an "avoid" if you're turned off by the gay angle, and a "rent" if you're interested in it.



Last updated Monday, January 31 2005. Created Thursday, March 21 2002.
Rent 7 8 8 8 9 9 Chichi [series:345#149]
I've seen the OVA (I believe that's the only one..) It's a good watch but not one to watch several times. I'd watch it again maybe a year later. The animation is good as well as the plot. However, the fact that there is more past the OVA leaves a kind of unfulfillment that a completed movie wouldnt.

Last updated Sunday, January 13 2002. Created Sunday, January 13 2002.
Rent 8 9 10 8 10 10 Eshalon47 [series:345#235]
This was a good show, but if you are squemish about seing two guys kiss, I would avoid. For the rest of us, its a neat movie. I bought a copy, I enjoyed it so much. Actually got me started, and interested in the series, and I'm headed for the manga this was based on next- definitely a good show, worth the watch.

Last updated Tuesday, October 30 2001. Created Tuesday, October 30 2001.

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