Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Review

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Demon Slayer continues to dominate the box office every time it appears. People have really been enjoying the action here and I look forward to the next two films seeing similar success. Ultimately this one lives up to the hype of essentially being 2+ hours of nonstop action as the only breaks are with the various sob stories. While I wouldn’t put it above Mugen Train and its masterful climax, this one is very close.

The movie starts off with all of the slayers falling into Mugen’s trap. His infinity castle comes with an infinite amount of demons in addition to the last of the upper ranks. The heroes must try and destroy the immortal Muzan while he is still weakened from the various poisons. The most difficult part will be in tracking him down though. The guy could be anywhere in this labyrinth and the heroes have to keep their guards up at all times. A single misstep and it will mean their end.

As this is just the first part of a 3 part saga, you should expect a lot of characters to get the shaft. Most of the various Hashira appear but only two of them actually get big fights in this one. Fortunately for Tanjiro he gets to step into one of the fights so the main character will not be absent from the proceedings. If you tend to be a plot first kind of guy then the film might end up lacking for you but know that the true story of any title is hidden within each blade clash.

There are 3 main plots in the film. First up is Shinobu against Doma. Doma is the 2nd strongest of the Upper Rank demons and generally you would need two Hashira ranking fighters from the heroes to go up against one of these. Shinobu has never been known for her raw power either as she strikes with poisons. Unfortunately upper ranks are pretty resistant to such tactics. This battle is all about Shinobu trying to find a way to stop Doma and to avenge her elder sister who fell prey to him in the past.

Each fight in the film tends to follow the same pattern of fight, then origin story before the climax. Doma’s is certainly not about making him look sympathetic at all but showing just how desperate the humans around him can be. They were desperate to find easy answers instead of just realizing that the real world doesn’t work like that. Meanwhile Shinobu got a brief backstory but just to explain why the fight was so personal. Doma is one of the creepier villains with how sadistic he is so that’s a lot or Shinobu to have to deal with.

The fight is super solid although it does feel like Doma is toying with her for most of it. If he got serious, she would seemingly not be much of a threat to him. The movie definitely establishes why Doma is such a big threat but Shinobu does good the whole time and never gives up. She really did justice to her title as a Hashira. The rest of the characters would have been proud.

Then in the second fight we have Zenitsu going up against Upper Rank 6, Kaigaku. On the surface this should be a stomp in the demon’s favor because Zenitsu is several ranks below a Hashira. He is hoping that Kaigaku’s lack of skill will be the difference here. Naturally this also involves a backstory and a lot of personal feelings all the way. Kaigaku is another guy who isn’t really meant to be sympathetic and you can appreciate that for a villain. That being said, it wasn’t surprising that he didn’t care when Zenitsu tries telling him about their old mentor.

The guy’s a demon, I bet he stopped caring many years ago. I did like his design though and the fight was definitely real intense. Zenitsu is also someone who may seem out of character to people who watched the anime. Usually he is the comic relief character who is always panicking but this fight is an exception. He looks tough from the start and really does great. I like the idea of someone being able to lock in for the most important fight of his life. If not then, when would you ever be able to gather up the courage right? This was a good way to cap off Zenitsu’s combat career but hopefully he’ll show up more soon.

This film’s really about the finial fight though and that’s where the hype was coming from. Akaza shows up once more as Upper 3 to take down Giyu and Tanjiro. It’s clear from the start that only Giyu has a chance and yet it’s tough to defeat someone who has infinite stamina. The longer a fight drags out, the more a demon gets the advantage. No sunlight will be making it into the castle either so that makes things even more difficult. The fight is the longest out of the bunch and really has a top tier animation budget behind it.

We get to see different power ups from the heroes as well as Akaza while the fight is underway. It was nice to see Tanjiro improve as he was mostly just a liability for the start of the fight. He means well though and I would say that Tanjiro is definitely a quality main character all the way. Even in this film which is more about showing each member of the cast, you can tell that Tanjiro is the main character. He has the big emotional flashback near the end and gets the big power up after all.

Akaza is the only villain with a sad backstory. It does a good job of not absolving Akaza’s crimes in it though. A lot of what happened to him is directly the guy’s fault after all. He made some really big mistakes and paid quite heavily for them. Ultimately he was probably the most dangerous of the villains, I dare say I would put him above Upper 1 and Upper 2. Fans may disagree on that based on the ranking system itself but nobody had Akaza’s sheer adaptation.

As for Giyu, he continues to be one of the best characters in the series. He’s certainly not big on showing emotions but doesn’t let it dull his blade. He does get annoyed when Tanjiro ruins the element of surprise but I get it. Tanjiro could have gotten a clean kill there instead of showing off. Sometimes when the stakes are so high you need to go for the sneak shot. It may not seem super honorable and all but this is a fight to the death with demons.

I was surprised that the film didn’t end with more of a cliffhanger though. I would have had a quick ending with Inosuke joining a fight or something like that. I guess the one catch to a part 1 fight like this is that some characters really didn’t get to do anything. It’s probably why we had almost 20 minutes at the start of the film to show everyone fighting off a bunch of demons. That was definitely an intense opener and I’ll take those crumbs until we get the next two films.

The animation is top tier as you would expect. The colors are incredible and the choreography is great. Ufotable is still one of the best animation companies of our generation and they do not hold back with all of these battles. This title does get pretty violent at times so I would say to keep this in mind if you’re not too good with violence. There is a high body count particularly thanks to the backstories and the humans tend to meet rather painful ends. There is also a random scene of a bear getting murdered that could have been cut. We already knew understood the concept of hiding aura so that could have been done a different way.

I would say that generally the film doesn’t linger on any one kill for too long. It’s probably a bit borderline though, the kind of title where just a bit more would probably have started to affect the score somewhat. You never want to go full Attack on Titan after all but at least we didn’t have people begging for their lives while being eaten or anything like that. This one is still more of a battle Shonen first and foremost. The soundtrack is also pretty good with a solid amount of variety and a good Akaza remix. I was listening to some of the tunes while writing this review and will continue to check some of the others out as I go forward.

Overall, I would definitely recommend checking this film out. As long as you enjoy good fight scenes then you’ll have a real blast here. The only context you need is given during the battles and honestly it’s always clear who the hero and villains are. This isn’t one of those titles like Netflix’s DMC series where they’re trying to make the demons sympathetic. The demons are self explanatorily evil and the humans have to wipe them out so nobody else gets hurt. From there you can just enjoy the excellent choreography and maybe it’ll inspire you to go back and check out the previous seasons of the anime.

Overall 8/10

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom Review

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Aquaman has returned for the big sequel. This one’s definitely taking a bit of a different approach from the first as it goes for the buddycop genre this time. It’s a pretty good idea since the banter tends to be fun but Aquaman himself tends to hold that back. Ultimately this one’s a bit of a roller coaster with a lot of ups and downs but by the end I’d still say it was a good film.

The movie starts off by showing how Aquaman has been a terrible ruler to Atlantis. He has let the council walk all over him and finds himself bored with all of his official duties. What he doesn’t realize is that Black Manta has been taking this time to work on a plan to destroy the ruler. Manta is working with a mysterious villain in the shadows who has been granting him great technology and physical abilities. Aquaman will need to find a way to track this guy down before his plan can succeed. The only way to get around this is to team up with his old foe…the Ocean Master!

Ocean Master, aka Orm is definitely the best character here. It’s easy to see how he would have been a great king. He has the right temperament for it and also has a lot of experience and general knowledge. It makes sense since he was raised to take the throne from birth after all. Now to balance this out the film does show that Aquaman is the stronger fighter. Still, it’s not by a wide margin and Orm tends to outshine him in all other categories. If the series had kept going it would be interesting to have had Orm be the main villain again. Have him make a play for the throne, not because he is crazy but because he thinks that Aquaman will be the downfall of Atlantis. Additionally more screentime for him would not be a bad thing since Orm is also responsible for all of the film’s funniest moments.

I mentioned earlier that the banter doesn’t match some other titles and none of that is Orm’s fault. He dominates in every scene that he has with the exception of Aquaman tricking him into some gross humor. Yes, Aquaman is one of the weakest parts of the film. I can’t say that I’ve been a big fan of his portrayal over the years and this may be his most drastic one yet. The guy can’t really handle any serious conversations and constantly thinks with his muscles. He gets the two of them into trouble many times and never grows into the ruler that he could be. You just wouldn’t want to be friends with this guy.

I would argue that he doesn’t have much of a character arc here because I don’t think he would handle any of the situations differently in a future film. With solid writing you could probably get around that but this isn’t really the film for that. The humor tends to miss most of the time and relies on more crude humor than I’ve seen in a long while. The movie even has to repeat the worst jokes more than once in case the audience didn’t get it.

The movie can have some decent humor like Manta toying with one of his minions or Orm subtlety insulting Aquaman but it does tend to get overwhelmed by the negative moments. The worst jokes are what keeps this film from having real replay value because you just wouldn’t want to go through it all again. It’s the type of movie that will do its best through Youtube shorts for the best moments.

There is definitely a lot of action in the film but not too many fight scenes. The two best fights in the film are when Aquaman fights Manta in round 1 and then the 2 v 1 against him in the climax. I wanted to see more of that because those fights were bright and fast paced. You really get to enjoy the choreography there and feel the intensity of the battles. The film nearly gives us one more but chooses to end the climax on more of a gag this time. It’s a decent gag but personally I wanted to see the big villain get to fight. Based on the hype he was getting, that would have been a really epic showdown.

The general action scenes don’t work as well because of how many involve being underwater. It’s been many years and films still have yet to make underwater fighting all that much fun. Without a place to land and pivot, fight scenes don’t have the same depth. There tend to be a lot of giant encounters as well so you’re not getting much choreography there. I still appreciate having the action of course but will always prefer fight scenes. The special effects were pretty solid all around though. I’m glad they kept in the shockwaves for all of the big power attacks because that’s still the best way to show off super strength.

Black Manta is the main villain for most of the film and definitely does a good job there. He constantly makes sure that his underlings are following his lead. He’s not looking for sympathy or anything and is just focused on his big revenge mission. He comes close to taking out Aquaman on different occasions and honestly should have the edge most of the time since his heat laser can take out just about anyone in a single shot.

Stephen is a particularly weak character though as he just seems wishy washy the whole time. He knew from the start that he was joining the villains by working for Black Manta. It’s way too late in the game to be having second thoughts about that and I certainly didn’t take them seriously. I would have preferred for Manta to take him down at some point.

Manta has another much more loyal subordinate but she ultimately doesn’t get to do too much. Of course there is Manta’s partner from the shadows who is really solid but ultimately doesn’t get to do a whole lot here. Aquaman’s supporting cast get to show off their powers a bit but for the most part this is the Orm and Aquaman show on the heroes side. If they ever made an Orm solo title that could be a lot of fun. The stakes by the end of the film are high enough where I dare say we should have seen some guest star appearances but I suppose everyone might have been busy.

Overall, How much you enjoy the film will probably depend on how much you enjoy Aquaman and the humor style of the film. If you enjoy them both then this will probably be an elite film because the rest of the film’s fundamentals are sound. If you don’t enjoy them, then you are counting on the action being enough to get you through this. Hopefully if we get another Aquaman film someday the humor style will be a bit more mature. At the very least you don’t want scenes that really make you cringe like some of the moments here. Just try to focus on the fights and Orm showing why he should be the proper king of Atlantis.

Overall 6/10

The Aristocats Review

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It’s time for a classic film about danger and true love. I’d say it’s a good adventure overall but definitely more forgettable than a lot of its rivals. The movie doesn’t really make any big mistakes but just doesn’t have as many strengths as you would normally expect. So you’ll be kept entertained but give it a few weeks and this one will be a distant memory.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Duchess and her three kittens. They live a nice life as they are owned by an incredibly rich woman who really loves them. In fact she intends to leave a massive amount of her will to the cats. Unfortunately her butler Edgar finds out about this and decides to destroy the cats. One night he kidnaps them and strands the cats many miles away from home. They aren’t exactly used to the outside world though and now their only hope is to rely on a strong cat named Thomas. Thomas certainly seems to know what he is doing but can they really trust him?

You’ve got a bigger cast here than you might expect. Thomas has a few friends, then you have a subplot with two dogs, another plot with a mouse, and of course there are 4 main cats. The movie is pretty short too so you shouldn’t expect these characters to do too much. It’s fairly stuffed so the pacing is pretty good but the film probably could have stood to shrunk the cast and give them bigger roles. Well, ultimately it works out well enough.

I would say the surprise hit here is the main villain Edgar. The guy wants to be rich and is willing to do anything towards this goal. He’s an evil villain through and through but has quite a lot of power. Not only is he able to overcome the two dogs who were trying to get him but at the end of the film he is fighting off a 1 vs 5-6 and somehow holds his own. That’s not an easy feat and Edgar doesn’t give up right to the very end. He has no tearful backstory or secret origins here. The guy is just super selfish and that simple motive works this time.

In part he also stands out because there just isn’t much to the main characters. For example Dutchess’ 3 kids don’t have a whole lot to do. You have the guy who wants to be a tough street cat, the girl who loves romance and tries to act dignified, as well as the third kitten who never got much of a personality. They are a little too young to really contribute to the plot and for the most part are just here to slow down Duchess. You could say they fit the role of being the cute characters but don’t really do anything beyond that which is unfortunate.

Duchess is a decent enough character but gives in to the romance a little too quickly. Thomas starts flirting with her almost immediately and Duchess seems charmed right away. You know I’m always more of a fan of the slow burn kind of romance. A romance moving this quickly with a guy who clearly seems like a player doesn’t make for the strongest romance. It’s not a massive part of the story but I do think it should have been earned more. Maybe we see them start to get closer after he saves her from Edgar or something like that.

As for Thomas, well I appreciate his confidence. He knows just about everyone and has made a lot of friends. It’s easy to see why he has so much confidence. The guy has been very successful throughout his life and is the kind of character that you want in his corner. Since his kind of character is fairly well known, the film doesn’t have to flesh it out too much and you immediately have a good feel for the character. It’s a fairly clever way of writing the character.

I’d say he would have really shined if there was more banter between the characters though. That’s where someone like Thomas would have really gotten to shine. Without that element it just feels like the film is missing something. His friends help to establish Thomas’ background a bit but even then they don’t get to appear a ton either. They help by the climax though and still have more of a role than the mouse. The mouse was a good friend to Duchess so you appreciate his efforts though. He jumped into situations that were pretty dangerous for him and took a lot of risks to save the day.

Finally we have the subplot with the two dogs. It was probably the funniest plot in the film even if the jokes could be a little limited. Basically you have the leader and his super loyal follower as they get into a lot of shenanigans. They still couldn’t even defeat Edgar so it’s not like they are super strong but they do their best. Their humor style is either something you like or you don’t though as the leader is constantly bashing his friend who just sits there and takes it the whole time. Ultimately they are good friends but the leader probably wouldn’t admit it. I liked the dynamic well enough but I would have liked the leader to have been a little stronger. Yeah that’s part of the joke but still it would have been since to have seen them get some more solid wins.

The music is definitely forgettable though. None of the songs are particularly strong and this sounds the way you would expect some musicals to sound like. There isn’t much soul behind the tunes and it all sounds like free domain type of music. A song should really have some strong emotions behind it along with a fast beat. None of these songs are ones that will get stuck in your head and you certainly won’t be singing them. That’s an L in my book.

The animation isn’t bad. Fairly standard stuff but certainly nothing bad. You have a lot of movement here throughout the adventure and even some fight scenes. I may even say this was the strongest part of the movie because it was going all out the whole time. It may be the most memorable part of the film overall and part of what would give it some replay value. At the end of the day that’s the position the film is in. I could easily see it again at any time but it’s like eating a sandwich. It doesn’t really do anything for you and just gives you a fun enough time during the experience.

Overall, If you like animated films like this then I would recommend The Aristocats. It doesn’t do anything new or different with the genre but brings you all of the familiar elements that you have come to expect. As long as you enter the film with reasonable expectations then I think you’ll have a good time here. If they decide to make a remake of this someday, I’d say to cut out the songs and just spend more time on the actual adventure. Have them pass different towns with strange traditions and make every part of the film more memorable. It wouldn’t be a super hard thing to do and that would be an improvement here.

Overall 6/10

Lost Soul Aside Review

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It’s time for one of those PS5 games that you see everywhere. It always looked pretty fun although I don’t think the cover does it any favors. Almost looks a bit uncanny like an action figure or something. The actual game’s artstyle is more like a typical Final Fantasy adventure though so don’t let the cover fool you. This is a great game but one that could have stood to have more content overall.

The story starts by introducing us to a world where the empire owns its country with an iron fist. The people have risen up through a resistance group known as GLIMMER. The main character is a member of this group and is also a “gifted one” which means that he has super powers. Unfortunately these powers are not enough to turn the tides of battle so he went off to train. Upon his return, the lead ends up meeting an ancient dragon lord named Arena who gives him true power. This would be enough to end the world but then the kingdom is attacked by aliens who are led by Aramon. This guy wants to end the human race and in the process he absorbed the souls of many humans. We now have to stop him as well as the emperor and in particular save the soul of Kaser’s sister.

The plot definitely starts fast here and introduces a whole lot of characters right away. I really enjoyed the fact that there were 3 factions here because it immediately makes things more interesting. Kaser is essentially forced to work with his life long enemies here but knows that they can betray him at any moment. That’s a good amount of tension to be working with here. Ther is also a lot of extra lore through the pages that you pick up along the way but generally I wouldn’t say any of it is too crucial. The main plot is within the game that you’re playing after all.

I will say that the story can get a little slow during the middle part though. You’re really interested in fighting Aramon and the Emperor so when you have to fight a bunch of reskinned bosses you just want to get to the next cutscene. There is an impressive amount of boss battles here with at least 50 but a bunch of them are reused as the game goes on which makes this a little less impressive. The game does leave a little room for a sequel should they ever want to do that.

The strongest aspect of the game is the gameplay though. It plays like a 3D beat em up and you have to use a mix of dodging and blocking to get past the waves of enemies. I spent most of the game blocking but by the end it was incredibly difficult to read the opponent moves so I relied more on dodging. Each style has its set of pros and cons but blocking is best if you are comfortable with the timing. By blocking an opponent’s attack you reduce a lot of their stamina and it also causes them to freeze up for a good chunk of time. This gives you some more free hits right away.

The beginning of the game is when it is the most difficult because you don’t have any arena powers or upgrades yet. Interestingly this is an example of a game that continues to get easier as you go on because your upgrades are incredibly broken. Additionally the game has a great XP system so you are leveling up constantly. The more you die, the stronger upgrades you unlock so I dare say there are even some roguelite elements to this title. I guess everyone wants to add those nowadays. The combat is super smooth and there are so many different attacks that you can use. You can really have a field day equipping all of the fun ones that you want.

Now the game does have an issue with the menus though. I think the devs needed to workshop these a bit more because they are not intuitive at all. There is a whole crafting section of the game and I never used it because I just couldn’t figure it out. The parts you need to make the weapon are unclear and the weapons seemed weaker than the base ones so it seemed pointless. Every weapon I unlocked naturally were also weaker than the base one so I stayed with my starter equipment the whole game. There has to be something that I was missing.

There are also boss rushes and survival challenges but there didn’t seem to be an upside to doing them. I suppose they give you online trophies for completion so down the road they would be useful but not during the campaign. There are too many options in the main menu to choose from and as a result I didn’t pick any. It’s a fairly small deal but the kind of thing that does separate an average game from a top tier one.

I did enjoy how easy it was to acquire money and items though. Now I will mention that the game has a super guide type feature where you can skip any puzzle automatically by talking to a blue diamond. I decided not to do that since it felt cheesy but I guess that’s good if you really don’t like puzzles. Trust me, I’m not a big fan of them but skipping them entirely like that will always be a last ditch effort at best.

This game really had a lot of fun trying out different gameplay styles. For the most part these additions were a bit pointless but they don’t take away from the game. You’ve got skateboardig, mecha fights, aerial combat, grappling, platforming, puzzles, etc. The game was trying to use every kind of gameplay style it could think of. Ultimately it would always go back to the combat you were looking forward to though which is the important part. That is the ultimate highlight of the game after all.

The graphics are pretty good. This may not be a full AAA type title but it holds up well enough. I liked the character designs and the colors are striking. The gameplay itself is particularly colorful. The soundtrack is also pretty good with some really solid tunes. The boss themes definitely will not disappoint. The overall campaign length is around 15 hours too which is fairly solid. There is virtually no replay value though so your best bet is in trying to get all of the trophies. That will definitely take you some time because the game is really relentless on that front. I won’t even try to achieve the platinum in the foreseeable future.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this game. It may be a hard sell for $60, but I got it for $10 thanks to Prime Day. If you can get a price like that for this game then I highly recommend doing so. It’s a steal for that price and either way the gameplay alone is enough to make you want to get this game. If they ever do make a sequel, I’ll definitely be picking that one up.

Overall 8/10

Gachiakuta Review

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It’s time for the latest dark Shonen that has hit the stage. It is still building up to the classic powers of friendship and saving the day but is definitely not holding back with some of the backstories. Well, I should say one in particular since the rest aren’t as crazy. I wouldn’t say it is quite on the level of your classic Jump titles yet but does clobber the last generation dark shonen known as Attack on Titan.

The series starts by introducing us to Rudo who lives in the slums. In this dystopian world there is a clear class divide between those who have means and those who don’t. Rudo at least takes solace in the fact that he has a kind mentor and one good friend. Unfortunately his mentor is murdered and Rudo is framed for it. His supposed friend also betrays him and calls for his death. So Rudo is sentenced to hell which means he is tossed out with the trash. I should mention that this country exists high up in the sky.

It turns out that there is a whole land underneath them though, the land of the trash. It’s a desolate wasteland with monsters everywhere and death is nearly guaranteed. Rudo is saved by a group known as the Cleaners right before some human traffickers could get him. They explain that their goal is about destroying the monsters and keeping things as safe as possible. Rudo joins them for now under the condition that they will help him get back to the surface world where he intends to destroy everyone. Perhaps over time he can lose these feelings of rage but it’ll be difficult.

I can’t say that I blame the little girl too much though. Yes, it would have been nice for her to have taken Rudo’s side or to at least not have said anything but she is still a kid. I wouldn’t expect her to have really been able to stand up for him at this point. The rest of the town is crazy though. The fact that they have a whole process for throwing people out to their doom is nuts and of course the whole setup of the world shows that all of this is normal. The world needs a reset but obviously Rudo’s plan to destroy them all is a bit drastic. I expect that Rudo will change his mind by then but maybe he’ll pull an Eren.

The trash world on the bottom is also particularly rough so I can see why the death rate is so high. The heroes celebrate with snacks every now and then so you see just how rare they are. Mix that in with an active terrorist group running around and every other person being a human trafficker….not a good place to live in. Rudo is really lucky to be with the cleaners because there are no other safe zones around. The show gets a whole lot of worldbuilding done right away. Throughout the show you get to learn more about the state of things but that tends to just leave more questions for future seasons. The main parts are all established right away.

The animation for the series is pretty good. In particular I really liked the effects used to show that one of the characters is using their vital instrument. Their eyes tend to glow and an aura appears to envelop the character as well. It’s something that I guess would usually be seen as a small thing but it really works to add emphasis to the moment. The battles generally look really solid as well. The series isn’t always super action packed but each fight really goes all out.

The soundtrack is also pretty solid. There’s a battle theme that comes out of nowhere for Riyo’s fight against Noerde and it was awesome! The openings are definitely heavy rock but they didn’t really work for me. They’re almost too loud if that make sense. Listening to these tunes can be more distracting than exhilarating. The music within the show still ages really well though and has a lot of great variety.

As this is a modern shonen, Gachiakuta is really good about not falling into any fanservice traps. I’d also say that it’s generally not too violent. There is a dak tone throughout the series but it usually doesn’t fall quite into grim-dark territory. That said, I did think they went too far with Amo’s backstory. The series uses a lot of visual tricks to make sure you don’t actually see anything but you still understand exactly what’s going on. It you actually saw more then this would ultimately bump the series down into the red. At it stands, it’s rough enough to push the series more to the break even point but I wouldn’t use it as a full stop to say that this is a bad show. Titles will try to push the envelope in different ways at times and this one pushed right to the breaking point without going past it.

Now lets talk about the characters. First off we have Rudo who has the ability to turn anything into a sacred object. That means he can use any kind of weapon which is really handy and he can even use multiple ones at once. Rudo has a massive chip on his shoulder and didn’t grow up in a normal environment so he has to really be learning everything from square 1. He’s very earnest about this though and has made a lot of progress.

He’s got a good character arc here and is definitely my kind of main character. There are different ways his character can go so we’ll see how it plays out but I’m confident that he will continue to be a strong figure. His sensei here is Enjin who plays the classic teacher role. The show manages to go through its whole run without letting him get much of a real fight yet. So we’re not sure how strong he is but the rules of anime suggest that the longer you don’t fight, the more powerful you will be. In the meantime he still gets a big role in helping Rudo get used to this new environment.

Zanka is in the opposite boat as he gets to fight right away and as a result solidifies his role as the jobber. He goes down pretty hard in the fights that matter but I give him props for always getting up. Zanka is a good rival for Rudo and always talks a good game. So even if he doesn’t end up being one of the stronger characters he is still a good one to have around. I would like him to get a powerup at some point though. His fighting style just feels too ordinary right now.

Another member of the group is Riyo and she has the ability to make a giant pair of scissors. Now that is a fun ability to have! Additionally she is able to fight in hand to hand combat at a high level. She’s my favorite character in the series and ends her big climax fight in a really hype way. Lets just say it remains the most iconic moment in the entire franchise for good reason. She’s another good friend for Rudo to have and is also a bit messed up in her own way so they are both really learning how to act more normal.

The rest of the Cleaners don’t get a huge role quite yet even though they are around. Tamsy is a fairly quiet member who has a really strong ability in the cloths that he can use to tie people up. Even divine weapons have a hard time cutting through them. There just hasn’t been a chance to really learn much about him yet. Same with Delmon who is also quiet. He has pretty strong powers involving water and nearly ends up crushing the heroes when he was mind controlled early on. We get hintings of his sad origin story but the show hasn’t gone into that yet.

Bro and Dear work well as a tag team. Dear tends to act too much like a kid. His super strength is good but I don’t see him winning very many fights. Bro is really the one who makes sure that Dear is in the right place at the right time. I tend to give him all of the credit for how well they do in the season. Even then they only get to share 1 fight so far. Guita also only gets one moment for now but being able to turn into a Kaiju is cool. I assume that eventually everyone will get their own arc so this is really a waiting game until then.

There is also the leader of the group, Arkha. For now you can just tell that this guy has a lot of power but he is content to stay in the background. More solid lore for the future. His secretary Semiu is also very on the ball. She can fight and then has some pretty good appraisal abilities. While some may say these are too many characters for season 1, it’s nice to have an early intro for when they eventually become bigger characters. There are also a number of supporting members who don’t have powers and will probably get a role soon. It’ll make later scenes hit harder.

Amo shows up as one of the first big villains but she’s certainly not in league with the terrorist group. She went through a lot and ultimately didn’t learn any good lessons. So this put her on the wrong path right from the start. Actually you can say we’re seeing a common pattern here where everyone s messed up in some way or another. Unfortunately things do not end up going well for her even after the main arc as she is immediately taken down by another villain. Hopefully things will look up in season 2.

The big villain of the season is Zodyl although this was mostly just an introduction to his character. He wants to find a way to get to the upper lands where Rudo once lived. To this end he is working on getting some sacred items and then the upper world will be doomed. It’s unclear if he wants to destroy them all or just conquer the group but either way things will not go very well for the surface dwellers. He seems really strong although he clearly hasn’t used all of his powers yet. I’ll need to see more of him before putting the guy too high but right now he’s off to a good start. The guy’s insane while still staying focused on his plans.

Then we have Jabber who is the type of villain who loves a good fight. He’s probably the craziest of all and he has a very high pain tolerance. This allows him to keep getting up even after taking a ton of damaging hits. You definitely have to give him a lot of credit in the fights. He doesn’t take any direct losses in the show as it took some cheap shots to bring him down. I expect a lot more out of him in the next arcs.

Cthoni hasn’t done much but the teleportation is always handy. It’s a super good way to split up their forces while also keeping the heroes off guard. The villains also have a coward on board who hasn’t done much yet but will be a big figure in season 2. For season 1 there were just two other villains who got a lot to do. The first was Noerde who is a warrior that has aligned herself with the terrorist group. She has really solid thunder abilities that let her go toe to toe with everyone. It’s fortunate for the Cleaners that Riyo was the one fighting her. I dare say that she would have made short work out of any of the other heroes. Her electricity is just hard to stop and of course she also happens to have top notch speed and hand to hand on top of that. She was a really fun villain.

Finally we have Bundus who is another tough threat. He has metal arms like Doc Ock from Marvel and a lot of experience. He seems to be hiding a lot of secrets so I would treat him as a wild card right now. Definitely an antagonist but the other villains also have to keep him at arm’s length. I don’t think he is super dangerous in a fight but is so strategic that he can outsmart someone who isn’t fighting very carefully. I look forward to seeing more out of him as well.

Now as for where the series goes from here, there are a lot of different paths. The plots I care about the most are getting back to the surface world and seeing what the villains want to do there. I am a lot less interested in learning about the symbols connecting the two worlds since that part of the lore doesn’t seem like it should change the goals for the leads. Still, I’m ready to strap in and see how this plays out. The series is already heavily implying that we’ll be learning some more origins soon as well but I feel like we can already glean all of the important information from the quick scenes that we do get. For example I don’t want to see Riyo’s backstory because it’s much more fun to just rely on the headcanon there.

Overall, There is really a lot going on here. Gachiakuta has done a good job of setting up the stakes and introducing a bunch of characters. It may not have constant fights but makes for an interesting series. It definitely did establish that anything can happen though so it may not be the safest watch if you’re looking for consistency. This is a series that will be taking massive swings in each season and you’ll just have to see if the title connects or misses. Either way you can be sure that it will be around for a long time. There are a ton of plots and storylines that need to be concluded after all.

Overall 5/10

What About Bob? Review

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It’s time for a pretty crazy film about what might happen if someone decides to stalk you across the city. This one’s a comedy though so we get to see the fun parts of the premise without dwelling on the darker elements. What this film does particularly well is not breaking character at all during the journey. Even right as we are getting to the end of the film, it resists the urge to suddenly get serious. I thought that was really impressive because 99% of the time the film will quickly get serious at the end to try and land some kind of message. This time the film wasn’t worried about any of that and I thought it was better off for it.

The main character here is debatably Bob or Leo but I’m going to say that it’s Leo. Leo is a professional psychiatrist who is getting ready for a long vacation. Unfortunately he has one last interview before he heads out and it is with a guy named Bob. Bob comes from another psychiatrist who retired suddenly but seems like a harmless guy. Bob suffers from numerous phobias but the biggest one is the fear of germs. He always carries a napkin so he doesn’t have to touch anything directly. Leo gives him some general advice and then heads on vacation. The problem? Bob has followed him over and declares that he won’t be leaving, Leo needs to be giving him guidance 24/7. Can Leo throw Bob out without hurting his reputation with his family?

Leo’s also got a big interview with Good Morning America about his new book and this is threatening that appointment quite a lot. So Leo is stressed throughout the film and you can definitely feel his pain. It doesn’t help that his family quickly become big fans of Bob. They want him around and even think that he is more fun than Lein general. That’s really not good for Leo’s chances of getting them on board. Every time he makes a move against Bob they end up getting more and more upset.

Leo is the antagonist by the end of the film though. He is absolutely trying to destroy Bob and is willing to use bombs for this approach. So as sympathetic as he gets you do have to remember that he is also crazy. It’s just in a different way than Bob. At one point you feel like the film is about to end with the interview but then we get a whole other act after that which was a really good fakeout. The constant battle with Leo and Bob is really where a lot of the humor comes from. I would say Leo is the standout character here and you couldn’t make the film without him.

The movie’s sense of humor is really good so you’ll be having a good time throughout. The pacing is solid as well and the film doesn’t really have any weaknesses here. This is an old school comedy film that manages to land just about all of its jokes. I guess the weakest part of the film would be the family for me. They tend to take Bob’s side a little too easily. That’s part of the joke of course so it works within the film’s context but for the characters themselves you’ll be shaking your head.

As for Bob, he’s fun because he is absolutely psychotic. If he wasn’t crazy then of course he would be a big antagonist as well. Instead you can just make the case that he is supremely oblivious and has no idea what is going on. In a way that is definitely a rough situation to be in. He does manage to get over his traumas pretty quickly but then he still has to get readjusted to real life where he doesn’t understand boundaries and common sense elements. Once he has those, then he would really be okay but that’s not likely to happen anytime soon.

He clearly knows enough to get along with most people to the point where he is even getting married. So Bob has potential here but the specific mental block of his psychiatrist may just be something that’s cemented by this point. If we ever get a sequel, the film already set things up with a legal battle that is about to ensue. It’s more of a funny ending than anything trying to set up a sequel of course but it could work if they ever wanted to get some nostalgia money out of the audience.

The cast is pretty small which is good for this film. There wouldn’t be time to introduce a bunch of characters or anything like that. We did have some fun supporting characters though like the crazy next door neighbors who are always around. Additionally there is Leo’s colleague from the crazy ward but she ended up not being of any real help here. Somehow Bob took over the whole place in under a day which again shows just how charismatic he can be when he really wants to.

He also has a lot of good technical skills like getting a bus to where Leo lives and finding out all of the information on how to get there. Bob has a very one track mind and so I think Leo’s best chance to stop him would have been to trick the guy. Get him to use his one track mind for something but that is easier said than done. Leo tries to trick him on numerous occasions and it just never seems to work. Bob is always a few steps ahead of him. That’s just how it goes.

Overall, What About Bob? is a film that has a really crazy premise and just rolls with it. That’s so much better than trying to take this too seriously. Bob even pretends to off himself at one point to infiltrate a call center which is absolutely diabolical. If you like watching comedies like this then this one is absolutely up your alley. If you are looking for one of those films that has a very serious moral/message at the end…well then this one isn’t exactly for you.

Overall 7/10

Exit 8 Review

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It’s time for a horror title that came out recently. Exit 8 definitely delivers on the scares and especially hits hard if you are claustrophobic at all. I tend to not be great in small spaces but a train station is just large enough where I don’t think it would end up being a really big deal. As for clearing the challenges, well you better hope that you are really good at games.

The story starts with a guy getting on a train and noticing a young mother getting yelled at by a random guy. He stands by without doing anything and the same is true of everyone else on the train. He eventually gets to leave but then gets a call from his ex-girlfriend. She is pregnant and it seems to be his kid but she is unsure of what to do next. She is looking to the lead for some counsel but he’s not sure either which is not really helpful. Still, he says he will visit her at the hospital…but then he loses signal on his phone and suddenly there is no way out of the subway. There are 2 rooms that just keep on repeating forever and a sign on the wall which has some rules to follow. If he sees an anomaly, he must move backwards. If there is no anomaly, move forward. The rules sound simple but the game will prove to be difficult.

If you’ve played memory match games then that will be very helpful here. The subway station corridors are pretty uneventful. There are a number of posters and doors as well as a photo booth but that’s about it. Still, the changes can be really small things like doorhandles being in the wrong spot or the posters being a little more immersive than usual. Depending how paranoid you get by the end, you’ll also be fighting yourself. So there are a whole lot of variables to keep track of here.

Now there is a case to be made here for the game being a lot easier than the main character makes it appear. That’s fair because this guy does have asthma so he constantly runs out of breath and this makes it more difficult for him to move forward. Because of how small the distance is, most players would probably go at a quicker pace and try a lot of things before the slow and methodical approach that the lead does. I feel like you would only star to go crazy after doing the rounds for many, many times. It feels like the main character gets exhausted a little too quickly. Physically it makes sense but I’m talking mentally here.

Clearly he hasn’t played the kinds of video games that require you to grind for many hours at a time. It’s why on a serious note, it’s good to be prepared for those kind of situations because this is a trial that can be much easier if you are prepared for it. Now once the game stars to get close to cheating by summoning vicious animals and floods…well then that’s another story. So by that point you’re going to have to rely on some luck and plot armor. I guess you could just pick a direction and run to reset the room but that’s going to be a little unnerving. At least there doesn’t appear to be any rule that forces you to hurry so you can also just rest in a stable room for a while to get your energy up.

You don’t know that for a fact though so it’s possible that the rooms do have an invisible time limit and you would be doomed. It’s just impossible to say this for sure. As for how likable the main guy is, I thought he was decent at best. The guy is definitely a coward with how he didn’t step up at the beginning and even hesitates for a long time at the end. That said, the film is about his development so I would say that he has gotten better over the course of the film. He may not be a true standout by the end but he’s not bad.

The character cast is fairly small but we also have a girl who wanders the subways. Who is she exactly? Like with most of the film you can only speculate here. She was interesting though and did give one of the scarier moments of the film. For the most part the film is trying to scare you with its own concept as opposed to actual jump scares but there are a few exceptions to this. There is also the man who walks around the subway with a briefcase.

For the most part I thought he was okay. He had to deal with a pretty annoying teammate the whole time. The guy definitely did lose his cool by the end and fell for a really easy trap but at least had a decent mindset for the game. If he was by himself I think he would have maybe even lasted longer but probably would have fell for the trap. It’s why you should always play the game cautiously until you are sure about the win conditions.

As for the kid, well he’s got to be the weakest character. Yes he is a kid so you want to cut him some slack but being so quiet for most of the film was really not good. This is a situation of life and death after all so staying quiet really just puts you in a bad spot. Everyone has to do their part in order to try and escape this place alive after all.

I did appreciate how the film gives you just enough pieces to try and cobble the ending together on your own. There are quite a few plausible theories here. Is the main character still stuck in the loop or will it be broken by his action at the end? Does he have any relation to the man with the suitcase? If yes, then he must have a relation to the girl wandering there as well but if not then it appears to be a 1 victim at a time thing. Is the subway trap a moral trial for those who have made a big mistake in their life? The kid may suggest time travel or parallel worlds as well. Lots of fun theories to throw around there. I personally like the idea of full on time travel with 3 alternate versions of the lead but the theory does mostly fall apart around the little kid unless you realllllly stretch things. Probably makes more sense as a good and bad future but then the good one isn’t fully good because the kid went through a lot.

Well, theory crafting is fun at any time either way. The movie will keep your attention the whole time even though it is really just about people walking through a subway tunnel the whole time. Personally I could have done that for the full 2 hours. The only obstacle in the film that I didn’t care for were the rats with human parts. The special effects used definitely looked eerie but more in a gross way than in a scary one. I would have definitely skipped that part. I also think that this part and the flood just feel like the game cheating.

Maybe you could say that cheating makes the situation scarier and you could be right but it’s less satisfying. The idea of a difficult but fair game is much better because you still have the existential fear of never getting out but at least having a chance. You don’t want a rigged game where you know there is no way out. It doesn’t get to that point for the main character but there could be an implication that it would do that for the other characters. If you stick to objective rules then you don’t have to worry about that.

Overall, Exit 8 is a pretty solid film. I’d definitely recommend checking it out to anyone looking for a unique survival scenario. It’s a horror title that uses a lot of game elements and makes you wonder how you would perform. I may be a little overconfident but I think I’d do pretty well there. At the very least I wouldn’t be falling for the phone trap or talking to a random person in the hallway. The game would need to get a little more creative than that in order to take me down for the count.

Overall 7/10