.Hack//G.U. Last Recode Review

Posted on March 6, 2026 by dreager1

It’s time to jump into the world of .Hack GU. This series always looked like a blast but I wasn’t able to jump into it for a long while because getting Part 4 of the original series was really tricky. Well, now I’m here and the series lives up to the hype. It does a good job of bringing in the best parts of the old games while dropping the annoying parts (Cores grinding) so the whole thing feels very streamlined. It also has a whole lot of content within the games outside of the story which is already at least 35-40 hours between the 4 games.

The games follow a guy named Haseo who plays an online MMORPG called: The World. This game allows you to have a good time with your friends as you clear various events and get treasure. One day, his teammate is murdered within the game by a mysterious player named Tri-Edge and she falls into a coma in the real world. Haseo spends a lot of time getting all the way to the max level in the game and tracks down Tri-Edge. Unfortunately he is defeated and somehow reset back to level 1. Haseo will need to regain his strength and also find some way to beat this guy. Normal power is not enough, Haseo will need abilities that transcend that of the game itself.

Right away you’ve got some high stakes here. Tri-Edge is somehow able to murder players from within the game and that makes everything scary. He also looks like Kite, the main character of the first 4 games. So something odd is going on and as the games continue you get a lot of plot twists and new events going into this. The story flows rather seamlessly and the collection even brings a mini 4th game that works as an epilogue to the events. It’s technically a really short game compared to the first 3 but is still a lot of fun to play through. The games are all similar but still different so lets break this down a bit.

The first one has your basic 3D action gameplay. You are able to fight enemies at different locations and gradually get stronger. You have a bike that you can use to travel across areas with great speed and ultimately make a lot of headway. Your main weapon can be swapped a lot as you grow stronger and you can seamlessly link combos. The hub world feels pretty large and you will meet a lot of characters. You gain levels rather quickly as well so even if you are underleveled you can fix that without too much trouble. The sheer amount of content can even be a little intimidating with all of the quests outside of the main story missions but that is a good problem to have.

Then we have part 2 which adds some things like the vs battle mode, upgradable bikes, and the ability to equip different weapons at once. The combat is slowed down a little bit as you can’t link cancel your moves anymore. Still really smooth though and the rest of the game is just as intense. The first one’s story had the benefit of the mystery beginnings but this one also throws in the plot of temporarily getting trapped in the game itself. That would have to be a scary thing. Also I should mention that every game has an obligatory tournament which us fun to see. This game may have had the best climax and cliffhanger ending.

In part 3, things are fine tuned even more. There aren’t too many actual additions compared to the first two games though. At this point you are juggling multiple hub worlds in addition to the rest of the content though. It really feels like you are approaching the end of the adventure and there are a whole lot of bosses. It’s also fun to be fighting enemies while being over level 100 though. There aren’t too many RPGs where that is the case after all.

Finally part 4 is a much more scaled down version. You unlock a new form which seals all of your other equipments and most of the bonus content is turned off. It makes sense as this is purely to finish off the story. We get a lot of nice looking cutscenes and a fun epilogue. The boss battle at the end is also reasonably tough. I ended up making it to level 150 and hit the level cap at the end which was cool. In general the giant kaiju fights were definitely pretty fun. I wouldn’t say they were as good as the normal gameplay but they were a fun change of pace too.

So you’ve got a ton of content here. Aside from the story being about 40 hours long, clearing all the content and getting the Platinum trophy would probably add another 15 hours or so to it. It doesn’t look like an unreasonable platinum either but it’s not exactly a top priority for me while I work on games where I have a lower trophy score. If you’re worried about playing this game because of all the grinding from the original then you shouldn’t worry about it. This game has virtually 0 grinding which is a nice change of pace. You may have to get some levels but like I said that part’s pretty fast. I ended up doing a few dedicated level grinding batches and then I would one tap every enemy for the next 5-7 areas.

The graphics are also really good as you’d expect. Everything looked super sharp and the gameplay is on point. The colors are sharp at all times. Meanwhile the soundtrack is also great. It definitely has more of a rock motif to it compared to the old games but the openings to each title feel like classic .Hack. Likewise I enjoyed the endings for each of them. These games really kept The World as a mysterious kind of game which I appreciated. I may not have played “The World” if it were real but I can see the appeal.

Overall, .Hack Gu is definitely an elite title. I also think collections in general tend to be a buff when all the games are good. Individually these games would have all been 8s with the last one being a 7 but when they are all packaged together it becomes a 9 because of the sheer length. This is not the kind of game that you can complete in a weekend and that’s a good thing. I’m definitely eager to see how the next game goes in the saga. The timing of their announcing a new .Hack game now was certainly perfect!

Overall 9/10

Slam Dunk Review

Posted on March 6, 2026 by dreager1

It’s time to look at one of the all time most popular sports anime out there. Slam Dunk has always been known as a stellar series and I remember liking it a lot when I read the manga. The anime definitely does a great job of elevating it even further with an excellent soundtrack and good production values on the whole. The show feels very retro in all the right ways and it’s the kind of title that will definitely keep you at the edge of your seat the whole way through.

The show centers around Sakuragi, a guy who has had no luck with girls. He has asked many of them out but they all turn him down to the point where it has become a bit of a joke among his friends. Well, one day he falls for another girl and it just so happens that her big brother is captain of the Basketball squad. Sakuragi figures he’ll impress her and next thing he knows..he’s on the Basketball team. Sakuragi has never played before so he’s a total novice but he has been gifted with incredible size and power. Perhaps this will be enough to succeed.

Sakuragi initially figures that Basketball doesn’t take any real talent and really dunks on the sport. This naturally makes everyone furious but Sakuragi quickly gets with the program. Sakuragi quickly becomes one of the first players to get heated when anyone dares to make fun of the sport. That’s just the kind of guy he is once he is passionate about something. This show is really about showing Sakuragi’s journey to being the world’s best Basketball player. He goes from being a liability to being one of the team’s greatest strengths. Will that be enough for his team to win the world championships for the first time?

So like I said before the technical elements are incredibly good in this show. The soundtrack is really top notch with a lot of great tunes all around. Whether it be an action theme, a track that plays when they’re losing, or even a victory one. Slam Dunk has a wide range of great musical themes throughout and this really helps to set the mood. Slam Dunk quickly becomes a show that is amazing to watch during or in between basketball games.

Then you have the animation which is always a blast. There is always a lot of movement here and you feel the intensity of each shot. There aren’t a lot of slam dunks that happen here after all so they are all treated with a great deal of respect. I enjoy the sound design when they are sinking shots and you will never be mixing up the characters here. I definitely have no complaints here and of course the pacing is also really good. You will have basketball games that last for many episodes and yet it never feels like the show was just stalling for time or anything like that.

Each part of the game really means something. There are even several anime only arcs which blend in rather seamlessly as you wouldn’t know that they weren’t in the manga. Another benefit to this is really how it lets the characters get extra screentime and character development. That’s not something you’re always going to see with a newer show. 100+ episodes is certainly a lot of time to develop the characters and that works out well because each of the starting 5 on the basketball team get a lot of development. Even their main benchwarmer gets a lot to do.

While the show would have still been great with less episode, I think the long duration still plays a large part in just how good the title was. Now it does end off on a massive cliffhanger so if you’re not a big fan of that then you’ll probably want to watch out. That being said, cliffhangers just help the series to stay even stronger in your memory. Maybe on day we will get a full adaption for the rest.

Sakuragi is a great main character from the start. He’s a very earnest guy and so it is satisfying to see him gradually improving as the series goes on. He definitely has one of the best laughs I’ve ever heard. Everytime he would start boasting about his abilities it would make for a hilarious scene. Sakuragi is also no quitter and while that may come at odds with him actually quitting at one point, it was never going to be for long. Sakuragi gets a lot of difficulties to overcome and has to make it through his setbacks but he always manages to achieve this.

There will probably be some moments where you get annoyed that he is still losing but he usually gets a big win to make up for it. By the end of the series I would say that he has not become the best player in the world yet but I would probably put him in the top 10 which is still impressive. Sakuragi is a true genius considering that he hasn’t been playing Basketball for very long at all.

Of course his team is no stranger to geniuses. The next one on the team would be Mitsui. Mitsui was another prodigy who used to be one of the greatest players around but then he ended up joining the dark side. I mean that in a very literal way too as he actually joined a biker gang and started beating up a lot of people for no reason. He became an actual menace which climaxed with his gang attacking the main school. It was a fun mini arc because you don’t generally see a lot of fighting going on in a sports show. That said, it also meant that this would be tough for him to come back from.

It’s one thing to be a jerk but actually going as far as to try and murder people? Yeah Mitsui would definitely have a real tough time getting me to like him again. I was real hard on him for the rest of the show and Mitsui does tend to vanish in big moments. He’s not the guy that I would consider to be very clutch compared to the other members. Even by the end of the series I was still salty about this guy but it is fair to say that he acts like a completely different character in part 2. Once he joins the group as a hero, he has a new design and everything.

His skills are the real deal even if he isn’t very likable for a while there. The whole team forgave him but they do tend to be softies. Miyagi is an example of a character with a much more realistic turnaround. He also ditched the team for a while but at least it was due to injury. He tends to be distracted a lot like when he’s flirting with Ayako but ultimately comes through when the team needs a play to happen. I would say that he is the weakest member of the main 5 but he is the guy who gets the play drawn up. So his pure talent isn’t as important as his ability to escape from his opponent.

He also has some good banter with Sakuragi and knows how to manipulate the guy which is a handy skill to have. Kogure is the only other one who always knows how to handle Sakuragi. I don’t mean it has to always be in a deceptive way but they know the best way to encourage him at all times which is an impressive skill to have. Kogure gets power creeped rather quickly but he’s still a good teammate to have. He’s an example of a character who makes up for his lack of overwhelming talent by having very strong fundamentals. He’s not going to fall for opponent traps and they aren’t going to be able to play mind games on him. I actually think it would have been nice for the series to have focused on his strengths a little more but ultimately that wasn’t the way this played out. The series has a lot of juggling to do though so it makes sense.

Then we have Akagi who works as the foundation of the team. He’s the captain and the big bruiser that you keep under the rim. He has the tough job of trying to keep this team of rebellious teens together. It’s not easy and in the meantime he has his own dream of being the #1 center in Japan. He’s incredibly skilled but his competition is tough. It’s always fun to see him scoring points and doing well. Akagi is quite good to the point where he can hold his own with the other players. I’d say he has enough confidence to put himself on the same tier as even someone like Rukawa.

You need that attitude in order to succeed here. He’s also quite intelligent and ends up having to help Sakuragi when that guy gets into trouble. Akagi gets a lot of character moments on and off the field which really makes him a balanced character. His sister Haruko also has a big role since Sakuragi likes her from the start of the series. She is a big reason he joined the team in the first place. Ultimately she likes Rukawa though which puts Sakuragi in a tough spot and that doesn’t really change even by the end. I thought the plot was handled well though.

So the romance didn’t go both ways, at least Sakuragi ended up with a good friend as a result. Haruko is a good person and certainly someone that Sakuragi can rely on. I would still see this as an absolute W and she can still be a good motivator for him to win the Basketball trophy. He wouldn’t have gotten into this sport and made so many friends without her. I imagine that he’d always be pretty grateful about that.

Then we have Rukawa, the ultimate prodigy in Basketball! Well, perhaps not #2, I would actually have him as the #2 best player in the end. He is very aggressive while playing and gets pretty passionate about defending the sport like Sakuragi. Rukawa is able to back up his tough talk at all times and there is never a moment where he is completely dominated. He does absolutely have his share of occasional losses but that tends to be the fault of his teammates not pulling their own slack. In Basketball it is not possible for someone to be a one man team and that comes up on several occasions. His team is stacked by the end but at first it is in rather rough shape.

Rukawa also tends to be more of a quiet player than the others. You’ll hear him throw out a quick insult to Sakuragi but he is usually goaded into that. It’s not like he just randomly starts fights most of the time. I would also say hat he has a great dynamic with Sakuragi in general. They both help to goad the other one into doing better. No time to give up or falter when the rival is watching.

As for their coach, I’m never really impressed with Anzai. Outside of the end of the show, he never seems to give a lot of advice. He just sits around and lets the chips fall where they may. I dare say that he uses his experienced team as a crutch and would have been exposed otherwise. He has a very distinguished reputation but after some traumatic events in the past he has just been a different person. I think this directly impacted his coaching abilities as well. In a way he is afraid to make any bold moves. You can’t win that way.

The athletic trainer Ayako is much better as she actually makes sure that the characters focus and stay in top shape. She is always working and doing her best. I would like to see that level of dedication out of Anzai. I sympathize with his rough past but in the present he owes it to the team to bring in his best effort.

Now lets talk about one of the other big teams. We have Maki’s unit who are known as the greatest team in Japan. They win every year and this is due to Maki being a top tier generational talent. Well, perhaps I shouldn’t say that. High School teams have a complete roster shift every 3 years because their players graduate so Coach Takato should also get a lot of credit for keeping them at a high level. Maki is one of the top players of this generation though and he does really well in each of his fights.

He gets to go up against Rukawa and Sendoh, both top players in their own right. Maki never actually appears to be on the losing end in these battles which is why you could say that he is the best player. I still have Sendoh in that spot but it’s certainly a close one. He also has some pretty good teammates. The only one I wasn’t impressed with is Miyamasu. That guy is very small and not great at anything but shooting. He only manages to do well because he faces off against Sakuragi who doesn’t know how to handle him.

I had a hard time believing that throughout the match. I suppose I just have to accept that but this guy is the definition of a gimmick player. Then you have Jin who is great at 3 point shots. He’s better than Miyamasu though because he’s actually a really good all around player even aside from that. The 3 point shots are just his signature technique. That’s a better way to handle a specialist and Jin’s a solid character to have around. His role isn’t huge but he still makes a difference.

Kiyota is the only player on Maki’s team who acts more like Sakuragi. He is hungry to prove himself as one of the best and tends to go a bit wild. He is actually pretty good although he is far from elite. You can tell that Kioyta will only continue to improve as the games go on though and it’s fun to have a fiery player like this. He could have stood to have more screentime to really keep up with the others but was a good addition either way.

Meanwhile Coach Takato was really good. Honestly I like all of the coaches a lot aside from Anzai. Takato, Taoka, and Goro are all really good and constantly have plans at the ready to support their players. You really need to be doing that because it is the whole reason that you have a coach in the first place right? Now I did say before that Anzai started using plans by the end of the series so in a sequel he may do better.

Then we have the other powerhouse team led by Sendoh. Sendoh is the player who I consider to be the absolute best. He is at the pinnacle of his position to the point where he was able to change positions mid season and still dominate. I consider the rest of his team to be a step below the others which puts even more pressure on him. Nevertheless, Sendoh never falters and continues to dominate. He always seems to rise to the occasion and just gets even better. At one point he gets past the entire opposing team on his own which was a crazy feat. He even needed to be triple teamed and could not be stopped.

Mix that in with his incredible stamina and you have the equivalent of a final boss on the team. He also knows how to stay loose and just have fun compared to some of the other players who take things very seriously. His right hand man Uozumi is still really good as well though. He is a center who has a strong rivalry with Akagi. He tends to be on the losing side of it but always puts up a good effort. He’s a strong all around player.

Fukuda enters the group later on and proves to be good but does have some weaknesses. He’s a solid scorer but isn’t quite as good on the fundamentals to the point where Sakuragi is able to give him a tough fight for a little while there. This guy also gets very emotional like Sakuragi and ends to fly off the handle. It’s pretty rare to see that from someone on Sendoh’s team but this guy does help to fire him up.

Most of the other teams will only have one big player which is part of why they couldn’t reach the top. It’s always a bit tragic but makes the one player stand out more. One good example of this for me is Fujima. This guy is the analytical type and that’s how he plays against the geniuses. He may not be able to beat them in pure size and skill but can outplay them and win within the paint. This guy doesn’t get to appear a whole lot but every fight with him is fun. It was also an unexpected surprise to see him show up for the big fight at the end of the series.

Also while not Basketball players, I should give a shoutout to Sakuragi’s friends. They really help him out a whole lot whether it be by fighting off thugs who try to get the lead distracted or even providing damage control when he says the wrong thing. The main member of the group who stands out is Yohei. He’s incredibly powerful and the show hypes him up a lot. He could have been the leader of almost any other gang. You could say this plot could even be its own show as Sakuragi helped these guys become good vigilantes rather than going down the thug route.

It’s inspiring how close their bonds are. I would also say they help give the show a lot of its humor. Slam Dunk tends to be a really funny series when it’s not in the middle of an epic climax. The show runs the gambit on emotions and it is all extremely well written. Naturally there are more characters and events but these are the main ones. I think it would be nearly impossible to watch this show and not be impressed at just how elite it is.

Overall, Slam Dunk is an elite show. It’s a whole lot of fun throughout and really depicts Basketball in an amazing way. I really didn’t have any notable issues with the show. It made no mistakes and all of the games are really good. You know a series is elite when even the throwaway battles against no name teams are good. Slam Dunk really delivered in a big way and I highly recommend this to any fans of Basketball or even to anyone who likes sports in general. The show does a good job of explaining how you play the game and all of the rules through Sakuragi anyway.

Overall 9/10

World War Z Review

Posted on March 5, 2026 by dreager1

It’s time for a big zombie film. For a while there I felt like I would see ads of this one everywhere. Even to this day I think of it as the most popular zombie film of all time. That’s probably not accurate on a technical level but when I think of zombies I think of The Walking Dead for TV, the Last of US for games (Kinda counts), and World War Z for movies. Now that I’ve finally seen it, I’d say that I understand. It is certainly better than the average zombie film, I’d say that it’s not even close. Most zombie films are absolutely dreadful while this one is good enough where I could even call it an average film. As with many disaster type flicks, I feel like the build up and suspenseful middle tends to hold up better than the climax. It’s not so much that it overstays its welcome but the ending is a bit quieter than you’d expect.

The film starts off with Gerry and his family driving when all of a sudden cops are running around everywhere. A zombie epidemic has started and they are converting all the other humans into zombies. There seems to be no way to stop them and the whole world is going under. The military saves Gerry and his family but at a high price. They want Gerry to rejoin the army so they can go to ground zero of where the zombie virus started. The idea is that they can find a cure this way but obviously it will be dangerous. They also make it clear that Gerry’s family is forfeit if he refuses so he is forced into this. Gerry was one of the greatest agents of all time back in his day but he retired to get away from that life. Unfortunately it looks like he will be going right back into it.

First off I want to say that the film handled this part really well. I like the fact that the government had to completely blackmail Gerry into joining. Otherwise it would have been incredibly foolish to just leave his family at this time. The government is also facing a total crisis so it makes sense that civility would leave the room. They have a planet to save and so the incentives line up for both parties. The general makes a great point that lots of people would like to be saved so if they are going to be taking a spot from someone else, then everyone has to contribute.

Now this does lead to the most forced part of the film though which is Gerry deciding to take a walkie talkie so that he can keep talking to his wife. I wouldn’t mind this if it had an off switch but it is always on. Meaning that she can call him at any time. You remember that the enemies here are zombies right? Any loud noises will wake them up and sacrifice a lot of lives. I thought it was incredibly irresponsible for him to be carrying this and naturally she does call at the worst possible time. I don’t put any blame on her because she couldn’t have possibly known.

Gerry is a seasoned officer and should have known better. As to the film itself, I’d divide it into 3 parts. The initial invasion with Gery running around trying to keep his family safe. The middle with Gery looking for the cure with the government, and then the final act with meeting the scientists and actually working on something. The final act is the weakest by far with the first being the best one. I always like the point of first impact where the characters have to adapt and constantly run around. Gerry quickly realizes that staying mobile was their best bet and so he made sure to do that.

There are no guarantees in this kind of situation but I thought he handled it as well as possible. It was also nice to see that some people were acting friendly and normal like the family that took them in. This isn’t one of those films that takes the position of everyone immediately becoming a criminal jerk even if a lot of people would do that. The body count is pretty high and it’s easy to see why humanity was losing badly here. The sheer amount of zombies is crazy. Now, I do have some reservations about how quickly humanity fell but I think the film addressed about as much as it could have.

Even showing that some areas like Israel and Russia were doing a far better job of combating them than others. Pride ultimately became the main issue for Israel with everyone making the worst possible decisions there. The middle part with the army was still intense with a lot of gun fights going on. I appreciated that the army squad kept things professional and knew how to fight really well. When one of them would get infected, he’d quickly make sure to die to not infect the others. The group clearly knew what to do.

For the last part, it just feels a lot slower. Running around the lab and trying to stay one step ahead of the zombies is just not as intense in this case. It also may be a bit tainted for me because I’m highly skeptical of the weak point that was discovered for the zombies. It felt like it was just a little too broad. There should have been one specific weakness based on a rare illness. Then I could understand but the film made it so general that a whole lot of people should have been spared from the zombies to the point where their weakness would be obvious to everyone.

This is something that is always hard to contend with but for a film like this you need to answer the question of “Why is the main character the first to notice this?” Most films don’t bother to answer that but this one had the rare opportunity to do it and missed. All the film needed to do was introduce Gerry as having a rare blood condition or illness from which he was dying. It would explain why he retired and would also work as a way to connect the dots by the end. It’s not the kind of thing I would really dock points for but I just think it would logically follow a lot better.

I was more impressed by the people who were taking the zombies out during a fight. In the climax we see people using nukes and barricading the zombies in to be shot. Those scenes were pretty fun even if they go by quickly. I also have no real issues with the main ending. It could have led into a sequel pretty well but also works as its own ending. So there’s a lot more to like about this film than the average zombie one. The writing was good and Gerry made for a good main character. The main cast is rather small but the supporting characters were good.

The film does decide to open up with randomly showing animals getting eaten. Perhaps I shouldn’t say randomly as this is clearly to show the virus being spread but that could have been handled a lot better. We avoided the humans getting eaten so this just felt unnecessary. While the film can get a bit violent, it’s clearly much less violent than most films of its genre. The zombies are getting shot and people die but it’s more in a standard summer blockbuster kind of method. I also took a peak at the alternate ending and it gets crazy edgy for no reason so this version of the film is much better.

Honestly the film could have pulled off a 2 point swing to a 7 if it just removed the opening scenes and also sped up the third act. I know some may not want this but the last act should have been a whole lot more explosive. Give me a big fight instead of the one zombie clanking his teeth together for 5 minutes while watching Gerry. The pacing just slows to a crawl here. It’s to make the scenes more scary but the scariest thing is when the zombies are running around. In the real world these would be the worst zombies to fight because of how fast they are. They can even form giant towers and objects with their sheer mass.

Overall, World War Z does a good job of being both intense and scary. It’s the kind of film that really makes you wonder what you would do if the zombie apocalypse was to happen. Hopefully you’d have some high ground but for the first 24 hours, your fellow humans would be another big hassle to deal with. I would have been interested to see what the sequel would do here. Would the whole thing be about fighting the zombies? Maybe they started mutating or something. Ah well, that’ll just be for your imagination now. I may not go as far as to actually recommend this one but if you like zombie films then it is worth a watch.

Overall 5/10

Soul Calibur IV Review

Posted on March 5, 2026 by dreager1

It’s been a while since I played a Soul Calibur game and it was time to take this one out from the backlog. It’s always interesting to play an older fighting game after playing the sequels. Maybe even more so in a fighting game compared to other genres, you can see what mechanics stuck around and which ones were removed. In this case the gameplay feels so similar that I wouldn’t say it was that different. The main change is how the story mode plays out compared to other titles. In the newer installments, the games had a focused story mode while this one is more of the classic arcade mode. Interestingly there is an arcade mode which seems almost identical to the story mode which feels a bit redundant.

So I went through the story mode with a bunch of characters until I unlocked all of the characters and stages that could be unlocked through this mode. There is an extra character and stage through arcade mode but I didn’t go to that level of detail. So I had fun playing as guys like Darth Vader, Nightmare, Siegfried, Astaroth, and more. They each have their own signature control schemes, and the game does a good job of making everyone feel unique.

Story mode has 5 levels within it, typically 2 of those will have you defeat 4 enemies and then the other 3 levels are your classic 1 vs 1 fights. Each character has a unique encounter in the 3rd and 5th rounds with a few exceptions where you just get the generic dialogue. The character roster is actually rather impressive with around 30 characters in there, but I do feel like it shouldn’t have been impossible to have unique dialogue for all of them. It’s the small things like that which can really make a difference.

Still, you’re here for the gameplay and it’s really excellent. For a lot of titles, I may be skeptical of a ring out mechanic but in this one it just works really well. It feels satisfying to throw someone off the ring and make an ultra comeback that way. Each character also has a whole lot of different attack moves to the point where it’s actually a bit hard to keep track of them all. Half the time I would use a move and then be unable to use it again. It seems to be based not just on direction but also on momentum which would take some getting used to for me.

Blocking is a button rather than holding back so you want to be real careful about that as well. The levels where you fight 4 opponents back to back can actually be tough as well since they all have a full health bar. Make sure you don’t take them too lightly or you’re really going to be in trouble. Ultimately there is near limitless replay value here because of the vs mode. I also like how the unlockables are rapidly unlocked just by playing through all of the story modes. I’ve always found that is the best way to have the unlockables set up. There are no PS3 trophies for this game which is unfortunate, but you can still have fun on a local level.

The graphics are definitely really good. The art style has aged well and the characters look sharp. The colors are striking and I really don’t have any issues here. Meanwhile the soundtrack is also good. There are quite a lot of different stage tunes here and of course Darth Vader brings in his own remix from Star Wars.

Outside of the story and arcade modes, you also have a tower climbing mode. I did not try this mode out as of yet but it seems to be a fairly long one. You have to continue defeating opponents as you ascend the tower. This will get tougher and tougher as you go through and of course some unlockables are tied to this mode as well. I appreciate that the game has a lot of full fledged single player options since you don’t always see that nowadays. Sure, fighting games are going to spend the majority of effort on multiplayer but no reason why you can’t put a little budget into single player.

Technically speaking the existence of the sequels means there is less reason to buy this one specifically but it’s worth entering the time bubble here. It’s cool to just see the series evolve and this one still stands out on its own. My nostalgia goggles are strong for Soul Calibur II and V so they won’t be surpassed but this is a very good game and I wouldn’t hesitate to play it at any time. I also appreciate that this game still has the announcer who sets up the confrontation before every fight. He really does a good job of making each fight feel really thematic and epic.

Overall, I would definitely recommend picking this game up. It’s one of those fighting games that is easy to pick up and play while being hard to master. You will want to really hit the lab here in order to be one of the best. If you do put in that time, then I don’t think you will be losing many fights because it is hard to overcome that skill gap. I hope we get a new Soul Calibur game soon, it feels like the series has not been expanding as quickly as it should be. If you don’t have the game yet, then you can get it for a great price right now.

Overall 7/10

The Emperor’s New Groove Review

Posted on March 1, 2026 by dreager1

It’s time for a fairly quick animated adventure. The Emperor’s New Groove is what you would call a basic film that has a good amount of comedy in it and fun characters. You’re not going to get your next award winning classic here or anything like that but it’s all pretty good stuff. At the end of the day, the movie is satisfied being at this level and there’s nothing really wrong with that. It even beats some of the more ambitious titles.

The main character is Kuzco, the young emperor. He is incredibly spoiled and doesn’t care about anyone but himself. This allows him to easily fire anyone and displace whoever he wants in the various villages. So long as he is happy, then nothing else matters. It is easy to see why nobody likes him. One day, he fires Yzma, an old lady who had been getting a little too power hungry. Kuzco underestimated just how much she wanted power though as he gets poisoned by her and turned into a llama. Her assistant Kronk was supposed to murder him but instead Kuzco finds himself at the poor village where Pacha lives.

Kuzco had previously told Pacha that he was going to wreck the man’s village so that he could have a summer home. Yet now Kuzco must rely on Pacha’s generosity if he is going to survive the journey back to his castle. Can Pacha convince Kuzco of the error in his ways or will this emperor be stubborn all the way until the end? The character arc itself here is pretty straight forward. You will just need to see if the film can really convince you of his personality shift within 70 minutes. That’s a rather tall order after all, especially when he starts off by being so antagonistic.

Now, with Kuzco’s very life hanging in the balance you can choose instead to think that his big character shift is really out of self preservation. It’s not really the film’s message but it can work out. While Kuzco is a total jerk for a lot of this, he’s a pretty fun one so I was still able to enjoy him as the main character. He is also able to break the 4th wall on more than one occasion. It would have probably been good to have let him start having some heroic moments earlier on in the film though. That would have made the character arc a little smoother.

Pacha is the other main character here as he tries to help Kuzco be more heroic but it is an uphill battle. It is really difficult to work with this guy but Pacha does his best to always be patient. He should have been honest with his wife about the possibility of losing their house at the start though. If he wasn’t able to pull off this journey then she would have been really taken by surprise. You always want to be representing a united front here. Pacha doesn’t have a ton of character beyond wanting to do the right thing though. It also feels like he isn’t quite as upset with Kuzco as he should be.

I get being good natured but he really takes it to some extremes. On the villains’ side we have a solid duo. The main villain is Yzma and she has been through a lot. Kuzco is always insulting her appearance and in her old age she doesn’t have much of a counter to this. She has lived with a lot of resentment for years and so she is finally making her move now. She can be distracted easily and has to put up with Kronk’s mistakes but still ends up being a compelling villain. She is rather effective with how many strides she makes during the film. She really took all of the characters to the brink and ultimately just needed to finish the emperor off herself. If she had done that near the beginning of the film then everything would have played out very differently.

Then we have Kronk who is a lot of fun. This guy may not be the smartest around but he has a lot of talents under his belt. The guy is a great conversationalist, has a terrific memory, and he is even a great cook. So while Kronk may not be the best at recognizing sarcasm or hidden nuances to a plan, he gets the job one. He’s also just a nice guy in general who unfortunately is loyal to a fault. If he had been working for a hero the whole time then I have no doubt that he would have made for a good ally.

Now it does feel like a bit of an excuse to say that he’s only a villain because of Yzma. At the end of the day he is still making his own decisions and is responsible for all of them. Hopefully after the events of this film, he will be someone that is more reliable as a hero or at least someone who isn’t actively helping in assassination planning.

The songs are okay in the film but I wouldn’t say that any of them stood out. They’re okay and catchy enough while you’re watching the film but you won’t exactly be looking any of them up on Youtube afterwards. I thought the animation was pretty good though. It’s all very smooth and consistent the whole time. The colors are also very striking outside of the animation itself. So on this area the film definitely managed to hold its own.

It’s a very safe style of animation. Like the rest of the film, it isn’t anything groundbreaking but is still solid all the way around. The writing is also solid with a lot of good banter and jokes going around the whole time. The pacing is quick and that’s part of what makes this an easy watch. It’s the kind of movie where you can just turn off your brain and enjoy it. There are no scenes that will make you shake your head or anything like that. It’s just a lot of fun and that’s the most important element of any movie.

Overall, This was a pretty fun film. There’s a lot of appeal here with just how fun and fast the humor is. I always enjoy a film with good banter and due to the premise you have the two main characters enjoying a lot of that throughout. The villains even have their own comedic dynamic going on. Naturally you do need to be a fan of a good comedy adventure in order to like this film but that goes with the territory. Since the film is well crafted, you never feel like you are missing out on a more serious adventure. We even get a reasonably intense climax here. So if you haven’t seen this film yet because you’re worried that it won’t be able to hold its own with other titles, I wouldn’t worry about that. The movie can stand on its own.

Overall 7/10

The Martian Review

Posted on March 1, 2026 by dreager1

It’s time for one of those big sci-fi films that reminds me why I would never want to travel to space. It’s just way too scary to think about being in outer space with no way back home. I don’t even like being on a boat where I could be stranded, let alone somewhere out of this world. Of course for those who do want to go into space, this is still a good watch of things to prepare for. I’m sure that not every fact will be correct here but I imagine that most of the details are probably right.

The film is about a crew who go to Mars but unfortunately a strong storm shows up out of nowhere. They are barely able to escape but what they don’t realize is that they left one of their own behind. Mark was presumed dead after taking a bit hit during the escape but he managed to survive. The next ship won’t be back to Mars for several years and the planet is infamous for not being able to sustain any kind of vegetation. Can Mark use his botany knowledge to change this fact or is he doomed to a slow death?

The premise is already a fun one because it gets the gears in your brain churning. Mark has enough food supplies to last for around half a year I believe and so he needs to grow enough crops for 3 years. Even under perfect conditions that would be tough and these conditions are anything but. For starters he will have to worry about the storms. If any big ones like that show up then he is absolutely dead. If he messes up on any of the formulas or math then he is doomed as well. Another condition is that Mark has to find a way to create water and he has a very limited amount of attempts to get this working. There are dozens and dozens of ways for this to go wrong and then you have to factor in how he is all alone. There is no google search and no other people here for advice. If he gets something wrong, then he has to solve it with no help.

These conditions are tough to deal with and it’s just lucky that he is a botanist. I wouldn’t know the first thing about creating water or setting up the planets so I would definitely be dead. As the film goes on Mark is able to find some breakthroughs and even manages to contact Earth. From this point the adventure is a lot easier but that is all relative. He still has to deal with being on a completely different planet and running out of food. The sheer mental stress from this would be intense.

The film is long but doesn’t feel slow because of how much information is coming through. So as long as you enjoy the general premise then you’re going to have a good time. Mark is also a pretty solid main character. He knows how to banter with the other characters and is mainly just doing his best in order to move forward. He does have a few moments where the stress gets to him but that makes sense. Also finding out that his teammates weren’t told about him surviving was something that would irritate everyone. The crewmates get some scenes of their own but for the most part don’t do much until the end. They seemed like a pretty strong group. You certainly hope you will get along with the people that you are stuck with in a rocket for long periods of time like this.

I always wondered if you have to do long personality tests or something with your group to make sure that everyone gets along. Finally we had the plot on Earth which is always a lot of fun because we get to see the politicians debating. Naturally they were not too thrilled at what was going on. There are a lot of risks involved to every possible decision here. If you decide to send another group to Mars, you may double the losses. Of course if you do nothing, then that’s a huge PR blow as well to just let one of your team die on Mars without any help.

There are a lot of debates on the Earth side and one character even has to go rogue to help Mark out. It’s one of those situations where playing it by the book would lower Mark’s chances of survival. However if everyone broke the rules like that, then things would be more dangerous in the long term. You always have to pick and choose when to go rogue and the ends don’t always justify the means. Of course as someone who says you shouldn’t leave anyone behind, I’d say to put the maximum amount of effort to save Mark.

While the film is clearly too fantastical to have been based on real events, I could picture a slightly toned down version of this to happen in real life someday. You certainly hope that nobody would be left behind or that a storm couldn’t derail an entire mission but these things happen. I like to think that a company like NASA certainly practices through scenarios like this.

Now technically I think the film would be more fun if there was a second character trapped on Mars so we could have the banter. That said, the film might have been tempted to squeeze in a romance plot at that point which would be really unnecessary. So perhaps this is for the best. I can also confirm that the situation is a lot scarier because Mark is alone. Even a single other person would take away part of the scare factor since no situation is quite as intense when you have backup.

Overall, The Martian is a pretty good film. It is certainly heavily focused on the science angle here but I thought that worked out really well. In general it’s fun to look at space and so the science around it gets interesting as well. The effects are pretty good and the film doesn’t really make any big mistakes here. I do think that it will lack a lot of replay value because of the nature of the film. It’s long and is all hinging on how the adventure goes. Once you know the ending, the build up will end up feeling a lot longer the second time around. I’d still recommend checking it out though because the first time it what counts.

Overall 7/10

The Fragrant Flower Blooms with Dignity Review

Posted on March 1, 2026 by dreager1

I’m always up for a good romance title. When handled well you get to really enjoy seeing the characters get closer along with the solid pacing throughout. That being said, executing the story on a high level is always going to be the toughest part. I am glad to say that this anime was able to pull it off though. It is a well rounded show with a good cast and I didn’t really have any issues with it.

The story follows a guy named Rintaro who works at his parents bakery. He has had a tough time growing up as everyone was afraid of him. That made it extremely difficult to make any friends. Now he finally has some friends but still doesn’t really know how to open up to them. These things just don’t come naturally to him but one day he meets a girl named Waguri from a rival school and begins to like her. Rintaro now has a reason to break out of his shell and learn more about how to interact with people. Is Waguri the one who will brighten his life forever?

You might wonder why the rival school thing matters but its actually a pretty big plot point in this one. His school is seen as a place for violent delinquents while hers is for upper class women. Both schools are taught to resent the other one right away and so the students have learned this attitude as well. As the series goes on, the students realize that there isn’t a point to this rivalry and that the students from each school are actually good.

This series is also shamelessly optimistic at all times and that makes for a refreshing watch. Put it this way, if there is a dramatic scenario you can always expect the best possible outcome to happen in this show. It’s pretty nice as a change of pace since that’s not always the case. This is what you can really refer to as a comfort watch. Everything just works out and all of the main characters are very wholesome. They get to go to the beach, study together, etc. It’s the kind of life that many will find nostalgic from their childhood days or will be the kind of life that others have only imagined. That’s not to say there’s never any danger as we do get the occasional creep who has to be knocked out. Those instances are few and far between though.

This is a plot based show as Rintaro and Waguri get closer throughout the 13 episodes but it has a slice of life feel to it. Each episode will just continue their day to day adventures so there isn’t much more to say on the story side of things. Lets talk about Rintaro. He’s your classic nice guy who has a hard time sharing his own burdens. He’s always there to help his friends but they get upset that he doesn’t let them do the same. I can definitely sympathize with that problem because the whole point of helping your friends is to reduce their worries. It starts to defeat the purpose if you are adding onto them right after that. It may not be equal, but it does make sense.

Rintaro learns how to speak his mind as the series goes on like actually initiating a call with Waguri and asking his father how to bake a cake. Rintaro makes significant strides as the series goes on and it’s something that you always like to see. I’d say the final step would be to see him be ready to fight to protect his friends. Instead of always waiting for his friends to do it, there’s a time when you have to be proactive about that too. Still, I have no real problems with him on the whole. Rintaro is a good main character who really gets the job done as needed.

Then we have Waguri as the main heroine who is also a bit on the shy side but definitely has more bravery than Rintaro initially. She stands tall to defend him even when she is physically attacked and she was the one who kept on going to his parents’ bakery in order to meet him. She is the one who made sure that the pieces were all together and that’s not an easy thing to do. She still gets embarrassed which is normal when entering a relationship but is always able to come out on top.

I definitely like the fact that Waguri knows how to eat a good amount. She doesn’t try to hold back when in front of the others or anything like that. She just goes all out. It’s not that she is totally oblivious to things or doesn’t have her own insecurities but she pushes past them and always has on a brave face. So she gets a lot of credit there and without her making the first move in so many situations, the story would definitely not have progressed. This season is mainly about Rintaro’s friends so we won’t see most of Waguri’s until the next season. That said, her best friend does get to have a role.

Subaru has always done her best to protect Waguri. She serves as a shield to protect her from all things. It’s an especially tough thing to do because Subaru doesn’t feel comfortable around guys. So she steps out of her comfort zone in order to protect her friend. Subaru definitely ends up being one of the better characters as a result. Her character arc is also a bit similar to Rintaro’s in that she has a hard time speaking her mind. She tends to just follow the group and tries not to be a nuisance. Of course they’d prefer if she did speak and these issues mainly come from her own head. It’s another instance where it would be better for her to just speak up but it’s tough to overcome those mental hurdles.

Fragrant Flower does a great job of exploring these realistic scenarios. Some people just tend to get way too introspective and overthink everything. Then you have other characters who appear to just go through life without thinking much when that isn’t even the case. Often times from Rintaro’s perspective, it looks like Waguri is not nervous and just having a blast but when we cut to her POV, she is just as nervous as he is. They have different ways of showing their feelings is all.

Saku is one of Rintaro’s main friends who is around and is always ready to defend the main lead. Saku is a bit quiet himself but always finds his courage when it comes time to go up against any bullies. He’s another great character but of course just about every character in this series is great. So that should come as no surprise. He may be the most perceptive of the characters as he is quick to try and make Subaru feel like part of the group when she is lagging behind the others. He may not always have a ton of tact but he means well.

Then we have Shohei who is the most outgoing member of the group. He is constantly having a good time and is ready for endless parties. At first he may seem to just be oblivious to everything but really he is just good at looking at the positive side of things. It’s hard to actually get him down but when he makes a mistake, Shohei owns up to it. He’s the kind of friend that you definitely want to have by your side. You always want to have someone like that on your side to brighten up the room and cut through the awkward parts.

Yorita has the smallest role from the 3 main friends so far. In some ways he may be the most possessive friend as he goes absolutely nuts when people badmouth Rintaro. In another series you may expect him to be the friend who goes rogue but in this case I’d say it’s just to show how passionate he is. This is not a guy who will just turn the other cheek when it comes to his friend. He really treasures his friendship with Rintaro and is always glad to see it progress like when Rintaro finally starts to open up to him and the others.

Then we have Rintaro’s parents who are both really solid characters. His father doesn’t get too much to do until the end but we see that he quietly works very hard. He is passionate about the bakery and has always given Rintaro a very long leash. His family leadership style is all about trust and you can’t really go wrong there. Rintaro’s mother is also very supportive and was glad to see Rintaro making friends. She even dyed her hir so that he wouldn’t feel alone when Rintaro had made the decision to do so.

It’s easy to see how Rintaro became such an upstanding person with such great parents at his side. So like I said, the series is super wholesome. The characters all feel very real with their strengths and weaknesses while trying to do their best. Nobody is actively trying to hurt someone else and when there are misunderstandings, they talk them out. The series is a lot more mature than its average rival in that respect. Things don’t tend to get super dramatic and everything feels like a moment that you could experience in real life.

The only part of the show that feels completely out of tone with the rest is when Waguri is attacked at night by the bakery. The rest of the series is so safe that it feels weird to see actual villains like this running around with rather serious threats. It was good that they got taken down and were beaten up later on. The scene doesn’t ultimately change much so it’s not like you needed it there, but it was used as a way for Rintaro’s friends to know that he was still hiding things.

The animation for the show is pretty good. It’s nothing amazing, I would say basically average in all areas. Romance titles don’t need a whole lot of animation so that’s fine. Animation that is out of this world can help to enhance a title like with Kaguya sama but it’s not like this is really needed. So long as the animation isn’t bad then I don’t have any real problems here. The soundtrack is also a bit on the bland side. So the writing and characters have to carry the series on this journey because the technical elements aren’t going to do it.

The show has fast pacing throughout and so it never gets boring. That would be the only risk for a series like this and that never even comes close to happening. I would say a big part of that is just how likable the characters are. I also just tend to like wholesome adventures like this. Finally, the show’s romance is one that I can actually get behind. There are no rebounds here and the romance is a slow burn. The characters get to know each other first before officially dating. They don’t try to fake it as just being friends or anything like that. From the first meeting, it was generally with the mindset that they could become boyfriend/girlfriend if everything turned out well. Now I may get skeptical for some other romances that may pop up but this main one is really good.

Overall, The Fragrant Flower is a pretty good title. It has a lot of replay value and is just a fun show to watch. It executes on a good level across all areas. There isn’t really anything negative to say about the series and the premise is something that could be stretched across many seasons. When a show like this can even have a great beach episode without a hint of fanservice, then you know it is operating on a high level. The show doesn’t fall into any of the classic traps and is instead focused on delivering a strong story with quality writing. It doesn’t need any lazy hooks to get viewers in because the writer is confident on the product. I definitely hope this gets a season 2 soon and would recommend this to anyone looking for a upbeat show.

Overall 7/10

Sakamoto Days Review

Posted on February 22, 2026 by dreager1

Sakamoto Days is one of those titles that jumped out at folks immediately. It was poised to bring in a ton of really creative action scenes with an overpowered main character who could win while using any item. Think of it like John Wick but pushed to more of an absurd level while also being part comedy. This show is able to balance the serious and comedic moments really well so it ended up being an absolutely stellar title. You won’t want to miss out on this one.

The premise involves the legendary assassin known as Sakamoto finally deciding to retire from the hitman life. The reason for this? Well, he fell in love and got married. He’s now a full time family man with a wife and daughter. He manages a local 7-11 type food shop and has put on a ton of weight. He intended to live out a normal life but one day someone puts a huge bounty on his head. Now assassins from all around the world are trying to take him down. He’ll need to stop them, defend his family, and find out who put the hit on his head. Until that bounty is taken down, his peaceful days are over.

Now if you are worried that you won’t see the overpowered Sakamoto from the first scene, no worries he is still around. While his skills have greatly diminished, they are still more than enough for almost every character that he will have to fight in season 1. It may not be enough for The Order, but those guys feel more like late stage bosses from how the show goes in season 1. Although I can tell you that every season is going to be filled with amazing moments! Sakamoto also has the ability to go back into his lean state when he is fighting hard enough as his body remembers the shape.

So you’re going to see him fighting with every day appliances and beating people up with his bare hands. Then for the more serious fighters, he will occasionally use items that feel deadly like a classic pen. Throughout the series you are reminded that he is a true threat and worthy of the bounty. His killer instinct also shows up from time to time although it is mainly directed at the telepath, Shin. Sakamoto balances his life really well and so right away you have a great main character here.

His wife and daughter are also pretty solid although they don’t get to do a whole lot here. His wife’s best scene is one where she technically doesn’t even appear. The context will make more sense when you watch the show. They’re both nice and wholesome though so it’s easy to see why Sakamoto enjoys his current days. He’s living the dream as they say.

The first few episodes mainly start to introduce you to the supporting characters and establish the general tone of the show. So you should know right away if you’re going to like the show or not because it does a really good job with the introductions. The first side character is Shin. They hint at a backstory with him and Sakamoto and I have to admit that this happened so early on that I completely forgot about this later on. He has the ability to read minds which is incredibly handy for an assassin. It’s an ability that has a whole lot of limitations and drawbacks but Shin spends the show working to improve it so that he can be a better fighter.

Shin definitely gets the most character development within the show and it works really well. I liked him from the start but by the end he is easily one of the best characters. In fact, I’d say that he is second only to Nagumo. Shin’s just really likable and a fun underdog since he is pretty much always outmatched in a fight. You can expect that this will continue to be the case for quite a while since the earning curve is really steep. He does take after Sakamoto in how he can make use of the environment during his fights. As long as you like the eager type of character then you’ll be a fan of his.

The next member to be added to the group is Lu. She’s from a famous Chinese mafia family and can fight with her drunken fist. She can be a bit of a scatterbrain but does add a lot to the main dynamic. She has a good rivalry with Shin. Rivalry may be the wrong word here since she isn’t a fighter on his level but they constantly bicker with each other. When the chips are down they will team up though and I tend to enjoy their dialogue quite a bit. They know how to poke fun at each other without going too far. When an insult does go too far, they work to remedy it which happened at one point in this season.

As the series goes on Lu starts to appear less so you want to enjoy her screentime while you can. She’s fun to have around and the main cast definitely wouldn’t be the same without her. Heisuke is the last one to join up although he’s technically not far behind the others in terms of debut. He’s a sniper who tends to be down on his luck when it comes to cash. This is partially because he’s a really generous guy and is always looking out for others. He doesn’t have the usual ruthlessness that you would expect from an assassin. So naturally that works out pretty well with the Sakamoto family and their no killing rule. He’s quickly able to make friends with the others.

Thanks to his position as a sniper though, I would argue that he is always going to be at a disadvantage. Any decent character is going to be a casual bullet timer after all and there are only so many things you can do to get around that. Heisuke tries to shoot bullets onto bullets to mess with the angles but even that is going to be a longshot at actually working. Still, he is definitely a likable guy.

I think calling it an arc may be an overstatement but the first main adventure is when Sakamoto takes his family to the amusement park. What he doesn’t realize is that an assassin named Boiled and a few hand picked goons have arrived to try and take him out. It’s a good way to let all of the main characters get a quick fight and Shin really makes himself useful here. Sakamoto also gets a pretty decent fight with Boiled. I wouldn’t say that Boiled every really stood a chance but he at least doesn’t go down in a single hit or anything. That guy is all about being as intense as possible and it shows in his fighting style. I think he’s a fun character although I would like him more if he was more powerful. Shallow? Perhaps, but the hard boiled lifestyle just works better when you’re incredibly powerful.

The first real adventure is the museum battle. The heroes head to a museum which leads to the lab where people experimented on Shin and gave him some powers. You have a couple of crazy assassins running around here while the Order has also infiltrated to take down the mysterious X. There are quite a number of big names here and it’s cool to see them all. A lot of fights are set up here without too many of them going all the way through. The whole saga is meant to be more of a teaser than anything else I’d say. It’s effective though because you can’t help but get hyped here.

Nagumo is of course the best character in the series and it’s not even close. He is extremely confident at all times and always has a trick up his sleeve. He has big scenes at every part of the show and consistently likes to troll everyone. You immediately get the vibe that he’s a pretty good guy because he could easily murder Sakamoto at any time but chooses not to since they used to be friends. He has a good honor code and also acts as a stand-in for Sakamoto’s wife later on to keep her safe. Nagumo embodies the humor of Sakamoto Days at its best as he blends together being the strongest fighter with also being the funniest.

It’s hard for any Order member to really keep up with him but I will say that Shishiba and Osaragi are still really solid in their own right. Shishiba is one of those really jaded guys who just wants to complete the mission and then go back to his life. Unfortunately things rarely work out for him and Osaragi doesn’t really help. Their dynamic is a fun one as he basically spoils her the whole time and never gets all that upset even when he’s the one messed over. It’s clear that the two of them have a really good friendship going.

One of the big villains to appear here is Kashima who has a really interesting deer mask. The guy is strong and has actual weapons within his body. Certainly not someone that you can afford to underestimate. He gets power cliffed really quickly in the series but I like him well enough. He may have lost his hype but Kashima is still the kind of villain you want on your side because of how loyal he is.

Then we also see a bit of X. He will do more later on in the story but he’s your classic villainous mastermind. His skills put him near the top of the verse and his overall motivations are unknown. He wants to destroy the JAA assassin group but why? He’s certainly making enemies out of basically everyone by going through with this. Well the series will unpack that as it goes on but I have no real complaints with him. This is the kind of villain that motivates his group well. He’s a complete character outside of just being a villain. He even jokes around with the team quite a bit but at no point do they forget that he is the leader.

Seba is a character who is introduced early and is difficult to defeat because of his invisibility suit. It can be hard to plan for his attacks as a result and his base stats are pretty good even without those. He has a rough matchup with Shin since telepathy can get beyond that but still puts in a good effort throughout. In fact, one on one he would have defeated Shin. He makes for a pretty good villain and is definitely memorable.

Then we have Horiguchi who by all accounts is a random one shot villain but I actually liked him quite a lot. His speedblitz against Shin was super impressive and his drugs also make it difficult to stop him. Essentially if he does land a hit on you, then he has a good chance of winning. His drugs mess up the signals within your brain so you start moving in the wrong direction and can have other effects. He was really interesting so that’s why I never forgot about him.

After that we have a short interlude where we meet Wutang, who has come to bring Lu back to the mafia. He clearly can’t defeat Sakamoto’s group on his own so he resorts to gambling. It makes for a fun little arc as the characters have to try and use their abilities to win at games like poker. This is exactly the kind of episode that is good at getting you to learn more about the characters and also let them banter off each other. That’s why I had to give this part a shoutout because it was really fun.

There isn’t too much time for that breather though as we jump right into the action in the next arc. X sends his 4 assassins after the Order as well as Sakamoto. Each of the 4 get their chance to fight but for the most part they are really outmatched. Dump gets some good initial hype for example but gets absolutely crushed in her fight. Saw gets a much longer amount of screentime in his fight but had the weakest opponents. To his credit, he essentially won that fight since he survived but ultimately that was barely even a consolation. He didn’t have a chance at actually surviving in the end.

Minimalist seems to be a really strong guy but had to fight an absolute demon so he didn’t stand a chance. Apart definitely has the biggest role out of the 4 since he wisely decides to do his own thing. It ultimately lets him stick around for a bit and observe more than 1 fight. He was an interesting villain and had more character than the other 3. Still, I did think he was ultimately outshined by most of the other villains around.

This leads right to the next main arc with X and Gaku attacking the JAA base directly. It was fun to see Gaku getting some screentime. He’s one of those total prodigies on the villains team. This guy has super strength and great battle instincts. He’s also really young and yet is able to keep up with the strongest fighters around. It’s clear that he could grow up to be one of the biggest threats if he sticks around. I enjoyed him quite a lot and he rose up to the top. He’s rather chill about the whole assassin thing and still takes time to play his video games and everything.

Takamura also gets some hype from the JAA side. The show positions him as being the absolute strongest character in the series. There’s an argument to be made for that although I would still put Nagumo in that slot. Takamuru makes up for his old age by having precise control over his blade. He can strike in an instant and mask his killing intent to the end. Any scene with him tends to go really hard on the animation and he looks like a real beast. If only he were a bit younger, then he’d probably be invincible.

With that we enter the final arc which is basically a big JAA exam in order to get to their school. Sakamoto needs to get there for intel so he and Shin enter this exam. It’s basically like a multi step tournament and the villains are here to recruit up and coming stars to their organization. This means that things go off the rails real quick. It’s a fun arc that is super fast paced and I always love a good tournament. It may not be a traditional bracket system but works to the same end.

One of the new fighters is Mafuyu, a guy who really doesn’t like germs. He is extremely wary of them and that includes blood from his opponents so the whole job irritates him. Why be an assassin at that point? Well he seems to have an important reason for it. I thought that he was pretty decent but the germs thing just feels like a massive weakness. You’re always going to get dirty in a fight to the death.

Akira is the best member of the new characters here. She is really good at killing her opponents silently. All that she’s lacking is a killer instinct so unless someone draws it out of her, she’s not going to be eliminating her opponents too efficiently. Akira will get better at this though and in the meantime she basically has Sakamoto as a mentor. That’s a good position to be in. From the glimpses we get of her true abilities, you already know that she has a good future ahead of her.

Kanaguri is a guy who really loves movies. Anyone who insults them is immediately sentenced to death. The guy is definitely quirky and extremely insane but that’s true for a lot of the stronger fighters. He’s a good wild card and is also portrayed as being really powerful. Sakamoto won’t be able to just cast him to the side like with some other villains. I’d give Kanaguri a passing grade, he’s just fun to watch.

Toramaru is a big Sakamoto fan to a rather violent degree. She’s certainly picked the right path in being an assassin. Her weapon is really large and she specializes in powerful attacks. That tends to have a hard limit in a series like this where you want speed but as one of the top talents in the tournament, she lives up to the rep. She ends up being more fun than the other two special recruits.

Kaji has super hearing and so that’s a good ability but he doesn’t last quite as long as the others. Or a better way of putting it is that he doesn’t leave as much of an impact even though he is always around. Super hearing just isn’t the most interesting ability out there. His physical stats are really good but of course that’s true for the other characters too. He’s also a bit soft spoken and has a hard time jumping into a conversation. As a result, he’s ticking the wrong boxes and doesn’t go much further.

Finally there is Shinaya who is really cool but can’t really talk at all. There are some twists about this which drastically changes the character. So what I’ll say is that his role is really cool but the character himself can be more on the forgetful side. I like him more as an opponent than as a character.

The animation for the series is really great. There are a lot of big fights here and the animation is always smooth. The colors stand out and while I remember there being some controversy about the animation quality, I had no complaints on this end. It all looked really good to me and I was eagerly awaiting each scene. The soundtrack is generally good although I’m not a big fan of Sakamoto’s main theme. That’s maybe a bit ironic since it is meant to be the big theme that really breaks out but it didn’t fit in for me. Definitely not next to some of the epic battle themes that were around.

Overall, Sakamoto Days is a pretty great series. It really reminds you of the classic Shonen days. You’ve got a really crazy premise right away and the series just leans into it. The action is great and the characters are really fun. I’d say this is the kind of series you can plug in and watch at any time. I’ll definitely be ready for seeing just how fun season 2 can be. The end of this season introduces a bunch of characters all at once and basically ends on a cliffhanger as the story was just starting. Hopefully it doesn’t take too long to arrive.

Overall 8/10

Kaiju No. 8 Season 2 Review

Posted on February 22, 2026 by dreager1

It’s time for the return of Kaiju No 8! It feels like they’ve been moving through these seasons pretty quickly if you ask me. Maybe it’s a normal timeline and it just feels that way but it’s still cool to be seeing a bunch of the new villains. The season has got quite a lot of action to it and looks smooth as you would expect. If you like good fight scenes and a bunch of Kaiju then you are definitely going to have a solid time with this one.

The season starts with Kafka and Kikoru being sent to Narumi’s unit for some training. Narumi is a complete prodigy with abilities beyond just about every other human. At this point he may be the strongest hero alive but he is also a slacker and has his own quirks so this won’t be the easiest traineeship. He really takes Kikoru under his wing while Kafkka needs to control his Kaiju form. There isn’t a lot of downtime for Kafka to do this though as Kaiju No. 9 is still seeking him out and seemingly has an endless amount of Kaiju to throw at the cities. Kafka will need to fight hard but are the heroes underestimating this villain?

Kaiju No. 8 is absolutely one of those series where it feels like the heroes never really stand a chance. Yes, they are fighting back but Kaiju No. 9 can seemingly pop out of nowhere and also summon Kaiju at the drop of a hat. There is absolutely nothing to stop him from just summoning them to really populated areas and racking up a huge body count. In fact, he does this to stop a wedding at one point. The heroes always respond as best as they can but they’re always going to be on the defensive.

Then you have the fact that No. 9 is incredibly powerful. Kafka is stronger and Narumi makes it a 50/50 but everyone else is fodder to him at this point. Then he has the ability to create clones? He could easily just destroy everybody like that. The only reason he hasn’t yet is because he’s trying to get Kafka out in the open so he can get the powers of No. 8. 9 is presented as a strategic mastermind but I’m saying that he could go even harder if he really wanted to.

It is nice to have a really good villain like this though. Most of the villains in this series are mindless so whenever one does talk, it is instantly a good thing. There is also a mysterious villain who looks a lot like Kikoru. She hasn’t done much yet but from her few scenes you can tell that she’ll be a winner. Most of the other fighters from the final invasion wave are mindless so they have cool designs but aren’t about to become the next character to really stand out.

As for Kafka, he’s a solid main character as always although it would be nice if he could not be wavering so much here. You get why he would be nervous since the power already overtook him once in season 1. Still, he will be completely doomed without the powers so he just needs to hope for the best. This makes for a good cliffhanger to the season. I would say that as the season ends, Kafka has really come to terms with the fact that his human form is not going to be really helpful in the fights that are to come. He will need to exclusively rely on his monster mode and that’s the best way to go.

Kikoru looks great as you would expect. She consistently shows off her incredible close combat skills and continues to improve. The fact that she has risen to be one of the top 5 strongest heroes in the series without any Kaiju powers is impressive. If you remove the characters who have a Kaiju enhancement then she would be #1. Of course, this is the season where everyone begins to get Kaiju equipment so you can bet that she’ll at least be getting some equipment to be stronger.

I thought this was definitely necessary with how outmatched the humans are like I said before. That being said, I would still give the monsters the edge. Take away the top 3 and the humans are still in rough shape even if they are getting better. The third character I put on the list here is Narumi of course. With his special eyes he can essentially block any attack and has extreme amounts of speed. He immediately dominates in this season and I like his confidence.

Kaiju No. 8 has a really good core cast of main characters. The cast may be rather small since I barely count more minor characters like Iharu, but they do all carry their own weight. Narumi is allowed to slack off because he is simply that skilled and I respect that. When you put in the work and consistently outshine the rest, you should be allowed to get a little special treatment. That just makes sense.

Then we have Hoshina who gets a smaller role in this season. Near the end he finally gets his own Kaiju equipment which makes him relevant again. His speed and knife skills are solid but the first season showed that this definitely had its limits. Now he is in a better position and I also like the banter he gets with his Kaiju partner. Honestly it’d be fun if all of the Kaiju talked for that reason. The dialogue and banter would be really good throughout the season. Hoshina’s fights always tend to be a lot of fun because of his close combat style as well.

Although in general all of the fights look great. The series never disappoints with how fast paced and smooth the animation is. The fights look incredible and there is a lot of variety to them. The soundtrack is also good although I wouldn’t call it excellent. There are at least 1-2 themes that I enjoyed quite a bit in this one. The opening is one that I did not like though. I wasn’t even the biggest fan of the first season’s opening and this one is absolutely a step down.

As for the side characters, well we’ve got Reno who is still doing his best to find a place among the hero forces. It’s really just tough timing for him. Technically speaking Reno is considered a prodigy, but he’s less of one than the other 3 geniuses running around and of course Kafka has his own Kaiju suit. So here Reno is desperate to get more power and finally gets a Kaiju suit. This does give him incredible powers but it goes to his head right away and he has a hard time conquering the suit. Ultimately things go well so he’ll be ready for the next season but in this one he looked pretty bad. The fact that he couldn’t immediately neutralize his opponent Kaiju in a single hit was bad.

His partner Iharu had to help Reno stay in the fight. Iharu isn’t all that interesting and blends together with most of the other side characters who don’t have a Kaiju power. Still, since he saved Reno I guess I’ll give him a slight consolation prize there. It puts him ahead of some of the other characters. The baseline is clear though, you need to get a Kaiju power of your own or you are not going to be able to keep up. That’s basically what this all boils down to.

General Isao looks good as always. We really get to see what he can do here. Ultimately he has to contend with the fact that he’s a lot older than back in the day but Isao still puts up a great fight. The guy has a lot of guts and is not the type to back down from a fight. He was always one of my favorite characters here even if I treat him more like an antagonist. Isao is one of those very strict types who will break a lot of eggs to make an omelet. Without him the army would have been doomed though so you need him around.

Mina is a character who doesn’t get a lot of screentime in this season. She does land a really good sniper shot and is still known as one of the strongest fighters. There just weren’t a lot of opportunities to get her into the action. The season only has 11 episodes after all so it’s not like there is a whole lot of time for everyone. That shouldn’t be a problem in the next season where we’ll pretty much be going into nonstop fight scenes the whole time. You know I’m hyped for that, the more action the better.

This is a series that does thrive quite a lot on the action. I don’t feel like it ever really hit its stride when it comes to the downtime and just having the characters hang out. I like them well enough like I mentioned before but I guess they just don’t have a whole lot of great banter opportunities. I thought Hoshina and his Kaiju partner were immediately more enjoyable and comedic than the main characters. The leads just don’t tend to be all that funny and aren’t charismatic enough to hold their own scenes.

That’s probably slightly what keeps the series from reaching the next level. I think season 3 will bypass this just by having so many crazy awesome fights. Season 2 had a lot of action but was just one step away from the elusive 8. Perhaps that is being harsh on the series but I would say it was pretty good. It’s just not going to stick with you as much as other titles. A lot of anime I will go back and watch various clips and reactions right away but I admittedly have never done that with Kaiju No. 8. Maybe I’ll change that sooner than later.

It does make for a fun thought experiment though because it’s a bit harder for me to put my finger on it compared to some other titles. This is just the best way I can describe it. You almost don’t care about the characters a whole lot outside of the fight scenes. This is perhaps the kind of series that could use some random fillers but I would still like some action. For example we got the special about Hoshina’s day off and it’s not all that entertaining. So more fights with the characters bantering would be the best way to build up their likability further.

Eh that’s a lot of work though. Doubling down on the action is the best way to go. Narumi and Kafka had a very temporary team up fight against No. 9 that was really hype. It was a fairly brief fight scene but we don’t get a whole lot of 2 v 1s in this series so far. That should also change soon and I’m hyped for that since I love a good team up fight. It’ll also solidify No. 9 as a really powerful villain that you can’t simply beat 1 on 1.

Overall, I’m definitely looking forward to checking out the next season for this one. If you like action and giant monsters then you really can’t afford to miss out on this title. It’s the kind of anime that just works really well as a classic action title. It can get a little violent with all of the monsters blowing up and some civilians get caught up in the action but for the most part this one stays very streamlined. The overall vibes of the show tend to be rater happy even with humanity on the brink. Kaiju No. 8 just has that classic Shonen energy where you’re waiting for the heroes to claim victory.

Overall 7/10

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Posted on February 22, 2026 by dreager1

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