I have finally finished watching Trese on Netflix in one sitting and perhaps you would ask, what do I think about the series? What is my comment on the voice acting especially of Liza Soberano who plays Alexandra Trese? Is it true to the comic book? Well, let me give you a very brief and quick review since I do not want to bore you in reading this.
Visit THIS SITE to view both the Filipino and English Trailers
Trese Comics
When I first read about the Trese Comic Books way back around 2008, I think, I was really amazed. I immediately fell in love with it because it is one of a kind. It brings to life the local folklore without actually being boring.
Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo really created something that is so magnificent. I shared the comic books to some of my friends and well because it was Filipino, there are only a few who took interest. I also remember that I did a review about the first 3 books but I forgot which blog I did the review on. Searching it now made me realize, it is probably in one of the blogs I chose to give up.
The Missing Story
I would admit that when I saw and hear the word "mall" in one of the episodes I was like, "now this is the story about that famous urban legend." I know that because it is in the first trilogy of Trese. I even told my wife that it was it but then I was surprised that it turned out to be the story of a Tiyanak and not that story.
I can understand why the producers would decide to leave that story out because it might result to some controversy, especially that it was a well-known establishment. I don't know if some of my readers would actually know about what I am talking about but anyway, I refuse to divulge it in detail here.
Animation and Plot
I was blown away by the animation of Trese on Netflix. It was at par with Japanese animation, which I can say with confidence. It was so far the best that I have seen even compared to other Netflix original series.
There were times that I would even see the scenes as too realistic as if they were actual places and not an animation. The rendering of the frames, the fight scenes, the effects, it was so perfect that I cannot see a negative thing to it. So kudos to the production team.
The songs used were also superb especially the opening theme, which I happen to discover the origin. If you want to know just click this link.
The back story and how emotions are brought into it are also very good. You can see the conflict building up until a conflicting truth was revealed in the end. This depicts a strong value of Filipino culture and other Asian countries especially when it comes to the view of family.
If you would ask me who my favorite character is then I would really say Santelmo and the Twins. I personally saw this glowing fire floating in the air on a rice field when I was young, so in some way, I would say that it is true. Now, don't begin the discussion about facts. I saw it and I think it was Santelmo.
Julio Valiente in Trese Series?
Have you seen Julio Valiente in the series? If you have not then you better take another look but if you have seen him then you are one of those who are keen in their observation.
Who is Julio Valiente? It is the main character in the movie San Basilio, a 1981 Filipino action film directed by Joey del Rosario and Tony Cruz. Featuring the masked folk hero Julio Valiente, the film stars Lito Lapid, a farmer and altar boy who assumes the role of Valiente to save the town from the clutches of the evil landlord Señor Escobar.
Liza Soberano's Voice Acting of Alexandra Trese
I have already read about comments saying that Liza Soberano may not be the best choice to voice Trese. Some even say that the way she pronounced is like a "conyo," a term referring to a somewhat slug way of pronouncing Tagalog words.
Truthfully speaking, I will not try to disprove their belief or argue and tell you that they were wrong because they are entitled to how they see it. To me, however, I see no problem with how Liza Soberano voiced over Trese. It was perfect to the facial expression of the animation and at par to how she was brought up by her parents.
Alexandra Trese's character is not your typical Filipina or human being for that matter. In some way, she seems to be void of immediate emotions. Through she values things like love, honor, and such, she is not very showy and that for me what makes sense on how she delivers the lines of the character.
Relevance of Trese to Current Conflict in Society
I have read an article in BBC that connects the scenes in the anime series with what is happening in the Philippines right now. I would say that I do not agree with including a political view to something like Trese which is supposed to be enjoyed.
However, we cannot ignore the truth that although this story was written in 2005, the relevance of the conflict in society still persists in the Philippines until today especially corrupt politicians and the concept of "nanlaban.
It is good to note as well that while there is a bad character image there is also someone who is truly good.
What I Don't Like About Trese?
There is one thing I do not like about the series though and that is the subtitle particularly the Filipino subtitle. Whenever I watch a series on Netflix I want to add a subtitle so that I can fully understand the plot and the story. Turning on the Filipino subtitle when you are watching it also in Flipino audio is so annoying because the subtitle and the audio are different. I really prefer that they are just the same so that you will not really get confused about things.
My Rating of Trese on Netflix
Removing my issue with the subtitle, I would give it a 10/10 rating. It was the only anime series and series on Netflix for that matter that I finished on a single sitting.
How about you? Have you watched Trese on Netflix? What do you think?
About Trese on Netflix
Filipino actress Liza Soberano (My Ex and Whys, Alone/Together) voiced Alexandra Trese in the Filipino language version of the series and was joined by local professional voice talents Simon dela Cruz (as Crispin and Basilio), Apollo Abraham (Captain Guerrero), Christopher Carlo Caling (Hank), Christian Velarde (Nuno), and Eugene Adalia (Anton Trese). Well-respected Filipino Language Voice Artist Director Rudolf Baldonado will direct the local voice talents.
English language voice cast:
- Shay Mitchell - Alexandra Trese
- Griffin Puatu - The Kambal (Crispin and Basilio), Bantay
- Matt Yang King - Captain Guerrero, Dominic
- Jon Jon Briones - Hank, Xa-Mul
- Steve Blum - Datu Talagbusao, Ibwa
- Carlos Alazraqui - Anton Trese, Santelmo
- Manny Jacinto - Maliksi
- Eric Bauza - Nuno the Snitch, Bagyon Lektro
- Darren Criss - Marco
- Nicole Scherzinger - Miranda Trese
- Lou Diamond Phillips - Mayor Sancho Santamaria
- Dante Basco - Bagyon Kulimlim
- Rodney To - Aswang market guard, Man in drag
Filipino language voice cast:
- Liza Soberano - Alexandra Trese
- Simon dela Cruz - The Kambal (Crispin and Basilio)
- Apollo Abraham - Captain Guerrero
- Christopher Carlo Caling - Hank
- Eugene Adalia - Anton Trese
- Cheska Aguiluz - Miranda Trese
- Christian Velarde - Nuno
- Bryan Encarnacion - Datu Talagbusao
- Nica Rojo - Ramona
- Jo Anne Orobia-Chua - Emissary
- Jose Amado Santiago - Marco
- Steve dela Cruz - Maliksi
- Rene Tandoc - Mayor Santamaria
- Steffi Graf Bontogon-Mola - Young, Teen Alexandra
- RJ Celdran - Santelmo, Señor Armanaz
- Elyrey Martin - Ibwa, Dominic
- Steven Bontogon - Jobert
Set in a Manila where the mythical creatures of Philippine folklore live in hiding amongst humans, Alexandra Trese finds herself going head to head with a criminal underworld comprised of malevolent supernatural beings.
- Director and Showrunner: Jay Oliva (Justice League Dark, The Legend of Korra)
- Executive Producers: Jay Oliva; Shanty Harmayn and Tanya Yuson at BASE Entertainment, a studio based in Jakarta and Singapore
- Written by: Tanya Yuson, Zig Marasigan, Mihk Vergara
- Series Directors: David Hartman (Transformers: Prime), Mel Zwyer (Star Wars Rebels), Tim Divar (Young Justice)
- Production Designer and Art Director: Jojo Aguilar (Tron Uprising)
- Character Design: Will Nichols (Star Wars: The Clone Wars)
- Editor: Christopher Lozinski (Batman: The Killing Joke)
- English language casting and voice direction: Wes Gleason
- Filipino language casting and voice direction: Rudolf Baldonado
- Composers: Kevin Kiner, Sean Kiner, Dean Kiner (Star Wars: The Clone Wars)
- Original song: “PAAGI” by UDD, with lyrics by Armi Millare and Paul Yap
- Format: 6 episodes, releasing all at once
Filipino band UDD, formerly known as Up Dharma Down, composed the official soundtrack for Trese, titled “PAAGI,” with lyrics by Armi Millare and Paul Yap.
Trese premiered on June 11, 2021, only on Netflix (www.netflix.com/trese).
About Netflix
Netflix is the world’s leading streaming entertainment service with 208 million paid memberships in over 190 countries enjoying TV series, documentaries and feature films across a wide variety of genres and languages. Members can watch as much as they want, anytime, anywhere, on any internet-connected screen. Members can play, pause and resume watching, all without commercials or commitments.
About Lex+Otis:
Lex+Otis (L+O) maximizes current and next-generation techniques to develop and produce cutting edge animation for television, film, video games, virtual reality, mobile and more. Led by Founder and CEO Jay Oliva, the burgeoning boutique studio boasts an impressive roster of established and emerging production talent focused on creating unique, immersive stories to inspire, educate and entertain across multiple platforms. L+O’s roster of clients/partners features Netflix, CMON, Wild Card, SideShow Collectibles and The Stone Quarry. The studio currently has three Netflix Anime Originals in production: Trese, a Filipino mythology-based supernatural series; Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas, a futuristic zombie thriller that serves as an animated prequel to Zack Snyder’s upcoming live-action feature film; and a yet-to-be-named adult animation series based in Norse mythology with Zack Snyder and Jay Oliva serving as executive producers. The studio is also in production on the star-studded Ark: The Animated Series, as well as several yet-to-be-announced series. In addition, L+O is presently in development on more than two dozen original concepts, toplined by an animated dark fantasy series based on Sideshow’s popular Court of the Dead franchise. For more information, please visit lexandotis.com.
About Base Entertainment:
BASE ENTERTAINMENT is a Studio with outposts in Singapore and Indonesia. Founded by partners, Aoura Lovenson Chandra, Shanty Harmayn, Ben Soebiakto and Tanya Yuson, BASE is focused on working with top creative talent to bring forward stories from Asia to the world. BASE’s slate of projects includes film as well as series for various platforms. Most recently, Joko Anwar’s film IMPETIGORE from Indonesia, which had its world premiere at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and took home the top prize at the Film Festival Indonesia, GURU-GURU GOKIL which is a Netflix Film and the omnibus QUARANTINE TALES which was shot during the pandemic. TRESE, based on the Award-winning Philippine graphic novel is its first Netflix Original Anime series.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
David 'Master Pogi' D'Angelo
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5 Comments
this was by far the most biased and sycophantic review i have read in a long time. You rated the show a 10/10. Do you understand what that means? You are essentially saying that there is nothing that can be improved upon in this series. From that alone your credibility is shot to hell.
ReplyDeleteIn reviewing the animation you said it was flawless - when in fact there were several poorly done action sequences. The action was flat and lacked dynamism present in modern day animated series (invincibe, blood of zeus, and castlevania come to mind)
Action scenes were sparsely animated - movements of hand to hand combat were simplistic and the animation was not fully fleshed out.
The background paintings at the beggining of the series were no doubt impressive (i assume that they are photographs of cityscapes painted over with textures which explains the fidelity to the source material of the manila skyline) but the quality of the backgrounds soon waned and became quite drab. Thats normal as the production had real world budgetary constraints to worry about. Still, your review is hyperbolic in its praise of the animation and other technical limitations.
Liza Soberanos voice over work was uninspired and monotonous - it seemed to me that she was so hell bent on not sounding like herself that she failed to give the character a sense of motivation. Every line is delivered in the same cadence and with the same monotone deadpan characteristic. In contrast to shay mitchells voice over work which though stoic, had believable rhythms of speech.
While the voice actor certainly played the part with less gusto' than desirable, I believe that a substantial amount of blame lies on the vocal director. If he was able to coax a performance from the english dub actress, he should have demanded the same from the filipino dub.
We cannot blindly like something simply because it gives us some sembleance of representation to a global audience. As a matter of fact, bearing in mind that the world has a courtside view, we should hold our creators to a global standard. Saying something is good when it is just ok is not supporting the artist, it is encouraging his mediocrity and in turn propagating that mediocrity as the new bar for success.
Consider rewriting your review with a more balanced perspective.
Why would I rewrite my review? A review is in some way based on how the reviewer views the material. I had been reading Trese and watching other animes as well and for me this is 10/10 but it does not mean that there are nothing to be improved going forward. Things should always be made better and more excellent as the production team evaluates and sees through their professional eye and through feedback what needs to be done.
DeleteThe version of Tagalog used is the older version of the language which is pure and straight and that in a way may seem different and monotonous but I have no problem with how Liza voiced over it.
Again, this review is my personal opinion and I am not trying to convince everyone to agree with it. I respect your point of view and I hope you can respect mine. Thabk you.
Hi there, great review, it's not a perfect adaptation (it's super condensed, 3 books in only 6 episodes, and it's too short) but i love it, i am an avid reader of Trese by the way
ReplyDeleteAnd about that scene, nope, that's not Julio Valiente, i won't spoil you but his story (and others' including the priest and the guy with a rag mask on his face on that same scene) will likely be introduced in the season 2, they're (if there is a season 2, fingers crossed)
Well the thing is in someway it looks like the character of Julio Valiente that is why I mention him. The similarity is very uncanny including the attire, the hat and even the weapon.
DeleteHopefully there will indeed be Season 2 and hoping for a surprising and amazing rendition once again.
Thanks for reading
What a biased review. a 10/10 review sounds like this is the best anime you've ever seen. You say you watch Japanese Anime. Are you referring to Doraemon? or any other Japanese Anime in the 60's? "This anime is on par with Japanese Anime". Are you serious bro? The action scenes are so boring but still a 10/10 and this indicates that this review is clearly biased.
ReplyDelete