Trese: Entre deux mondes

Trese (2021) is a Netflix series that my daughter and I recently watched together. The storyline follows a young lady for hire with super natural powers she uses to help the police overcome "unique" circumstances. She also looks to uncover how she became who she is...

This series is the first ever Singapore anime series and is set in Manila and based on Filipino ghost stories. I really enjoyed this universe and how the creatures were depicted, both the good and bad guys. The brothers with the masks and weapons were awesome as were the sprits used to help the main character. The story about the spider babies was my favorite. Very well done. The family backstories they deliver at the end is interesting, the primary villain was good and the the conclusion is worthwhile.

Overall, this is a fun addition in the horror anime genre that I would score a 7.5-8/10 and strongly recommend.

The writing and delivery of dialogue in this show is incredibly wooden. None of the characters feel realistic and I don't care about any of them. It's a shame because the animation is good and the stories are interesting.

Dubbing is not the main issue for me anymore, Liza Soberano may have sounded quite flat but my concern is more about the content... the details and subtleties. I have not yet read the comic book, ergo my comments are solely based on the anime. I understand how Trese as a comic book and an anime represents our pop culture. But for me, it lacked a lot of the folkloric elements as it geared towards appeasing what's pop or trendy as of the moment. Like how the creators could have explored that more, the juxtaposition of the folkloric and modern-day elements. Trese is a Lakan. She's the guardian in between two worlds. She could have an arsenal of tools and weapons that transcends from north to south of the Philippines at her disposal. Trese could have garlic ampoules or bullets drenched in garlic juice , a buntot-pagi or stingray tail lasso also known to ward off aswangs and other mythical creatures, sacred oil potions like the lana. The possibility of showcasing a part of our pre-hispanic culture and beliefs is endless. Though it reminds me of the following...Constantine, the K-drama Haunted House for Sale, and the manga and anime Mushishi. Overall, it is an ambitious take on the renaissance of Pinoy comics and a leap towards the reinvention of our animation, a far cry from the then Disney sandbox we've been trying hard to emulate.

The quality of anime was great!!! Great backgrounds and art. The voice actors were top notch.

The dialogue felt a bit rushed at times, although a great story overall. Still many unanswered questions which could prompt another season or concluding film.

Art and animation: Similar feel to DC cartoons than Japanese anime so it's sharp, crisp but a little stiff on the side. I like some of the action scenes especially the shaky effect. Also love the background art, really good!

Dub: I watched it in Filipino and English. I actually prefer the English not because they were acted better, since I feel like both were done quite nicely but because when the Filipino chants come up it feels more special and magical and also the English dub did different variations of Filipino accents which I find fun.

Plot and delivery: I read the comics first so can't help but compare. I wasn't expecting like a 1-1 adaptation but anyway...I'm 50 50 on the changes. I like how the stories and characters are interconnected now compared to it being episodic in the comics but I kind of miss the emotional impact it left me, learning the different motivations of people, why they did what they did etc..so watching this just feels... a bit shallow and fast but the things they added do give it some good flavor so this or that, can't have both in this case.

I'm also really into "Show don't tell", there was a lot of showing in the very first episode which might be a bit too much backstory flash but I much prefer it to that cliche villain doing 15 minutes of monologue just to explain their motivations and background while the protag just listens obediently which this show is also guilty of. :(

Overall: Giving it a 7. Good start but the end episode... that I am not really into it went cliche as cliche, the comics was done way better. For me overall, it lost a bit of that soul since a lot of the scenes they cut to connect the stories also carried a lot of the emotion, badassery, and smarts so I was a bit disappointed with that. I'd still wait to watch season 2 if ever as the story they're going to cover there really made me feel the tension while I was reading it so a bit excited to see what they'll do with it if we ever get to season 2, lol. Anyway, it's just okay I'd still recommend it.