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Solo Leveling: Arise from the Shadow Review

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Solo Leveling is one of those titles that became a global hit almost overnight and it’s easy to see why. The series has a ton of action and the animation is really top tier. I can safely say that it is one of the best looking anime out there and I can say that with ease. So whatever you’ve heard about the show, know that it is even better than the reputation. If you’ve ever thought about what it would be like to continue leveling up, this show will answer that for you.

The series starts with Jinwoo still continuing to train and grow stronger. He is finally going to be promoted to S rank status and is really close to getting the ingredients needed to cure his mother from her eternal coma. You can say that things are just looking great all around but there are still dangers facing the world. The governments of Japan and Korea are teaming up to do a raid on an island inhabited by powerful insects. These insects murdered quite a lot of people over the years and so this mission will be incredibly dangerous. Jinwoo may be Mr. Invincible but what about the rest of the heroes?

Solo Leveling often gets some complaints for how powerful Jinwoo is. The guy is basically invincible but that’s part of the point of being a solo leveling warrior. When you are the only one who can grow stronger, it is only a matter of time before you outpace everyone. That’s not a bad thing, it’s just being realistic here. There are still some fights where he has to go all out here as well. it’s probably safe to say that you never feel a sense of danger when he is fighting but that’s where the hype comes in. When he shows up, you know that everything is going to be okay. The tension is really for when the side characters are running around because they are all expendable.

Generally any hero who isn’t Jinwoo may end up meeting a rather painful end and this happens quite often. There’s a whole montage of sorts where a villain takes out a bunch of heroes and naturally none of them are able to do anything against him. They’re not Jinwoo. The core thing to remember about this show is that is all revolves around the hero. You’re either with that program or you aren’t. Interestingly the anime actually tones down just how much Jinwoo dominates everybody and yet it is still noticeable. That’s just how good he is.

The power creep goes pretty hard in this season to the point where the S ranks are all basically fodder by the end. At this point you need to be a Nation level hunter in order to do anything here. Even then, the main rule here is to never bet against Jinwoo. Season 1 had him at his lowest and season 2 is basically the victory lap. I always enjoy his confidence and he’s just a really fun character to root for. In case it’s not obvious by this point Jinwoo is definitely one of my favorite characters and a solid reason why I enjoy the series.

Of course I should also get the technicals out of the way too because they are very positive. The soundtrack is really top tier, there are a lot of great themes all throughout the series. You’ve got battle themes, operatic themes, and of course the opening/ending is really good as well. Then you have the animation which is really top tier. The fights are extremely impressive and the backgrounds/character designs are on point as well. There are really no weaknesses to be found here as it is a consistent all star production from start to finish.

The show’s first big adventure has Jinwoo facing off against the ice demon Baruka. It works well as an intro fight because Baruka teases a bit more about the plot and how the system works. Additionally he is a strong fighter and this ends up being one of Jinwoo’s best fights in the season. Technically he is even losing for part of the fight. Baruka has a lot of confidence and a very memorable design. This makes him a solid villain right from the jump. If anything it’s a shame that he won’t be returning.

We also quickly see Jinwoo’s father II-Hwan which sets up further plot points for the next season. Definitely a very mysterious guy but you have to assume that he is crazy powerful because of the connection to Jinwoo. It’s not like he would just be some random pencil pusher next to the lead right? He will have a lot of explaining to do for me to find him likable though because he really left the family in a tough spot. Jinwoo nearly died in season 1 after all.

From there we have some smaller adventures before Jinwoo invades the demon castle to get the ingredients. We briefly see Hunter Cha who is a powerful S rank and someone who is fairly clever. Jinwoo has to be careful around her or she could find out his secret. She is a strong fighter and a fun S rank to have around. She has quite a bit of character and I would say it’s just her bad luck that she is often put into battle situations where she doesn’t really have a chance at turning the tables.

We also see more of Jinwoo’s friend, Jinho. Jinwoo can be a bit harsh on the guy at times but they are still friends at the end of the day. They each help each other out and while Jinho may not be the strongest guy around, he’s got a good heart. Jinwoo knows that he can rely on the guy when the chips are down which is always a good thing. Jinwoo may be a solo leveler but he can still have some friends.

At the demon castle we meet a demon named Esil who is fun. She is a fairly strong fighter who also knows when a battle is unwinnable. She ends up essentially being Jinwoo’s tour guide as he goes through the different floors. She’s a fun character and adds a bit of humor to the series. I would also say that by the end of the arc she even feels rather loyal and I couldn’t picture her betraying Jinwoo.

The final boss of the arc, Baran has a cool fight but there isn’t a lot going on with him in terms of character. He’s a good obstacle but that’s about it. Still, that’s all you really need in order to be a strong final boss. The demon castle was a fun mini arc here and of course it finally helped Jinwoo with his mother. The series actually gives us some emotional moments here and a rare break from all of the big fights.

After that it’s time for the Island raid. Along the way there is some training as the different countries spar with each other but then it’s all guns blazing forward. The Japanese hunters all feel doomed right from the jump but they had cool designs so I’ll give them that. I even think Goto made for an interesting antagonist. The guy may not be pure evil but he is certainly shown to be someone where the ends justify the means. He will take out fellow heroes if ordered to or if he thinks it will help them out in the long run.

Jinwoo had to put an end to that. In the actual raid, Beru is the only main villain to get a big name and role. He was all that they needed though. Beru is easily the most powerful villain up to this point and he really does well in the fight. I enjoyed the dialogue with him and Jinwoo the whole time. A lot of good banter there with Jinwoo basically making fun of him at the start. It’s one of those fights that the whole season had been working up to and I would say that it lived up to the hype.

I have real high hopes for all of Beru’s future appearances. There is definitely a lot more for him to do in the future. For the S ranks, hopefully you liked them by this point because otherwise they won’t have as big of a role as they did here. They are all decent characters but they’re taken out of the running quick enough where you don’t take any of them too seriously. By default I would say Hunter Cha is definitely a step above the others in terms of character by the end especially with how much future development is already foreshadowed.

During all of these episodes, another way the show managed to excel was in having great cliffhangers at the end of virtually every episode. They would just always find a way to get you extra pumped, even if the cliffhanger had to be forced in a little bit. It was definitely worth it though because the ending theme was really good so it ended up flowing well. The best cliffhanger out of the whole season is probably when Jinwoo activated teleport to go and join the battle.

Again, there may not be tension for the main character but it definitely exists for the other characters. They are constantly only one wrong move away from getting bumped off. They have to try and survive against crazy odds, even while knowing that they can’t get stronger. That’s probably the toughest part of this whole deal because in most other series you can at least get massive power boosts. That’s just not the case here.

Additionally, the monsters are only getting stronger and stronger. This means the heroes are slowly approaching extinction with no real way to combat it. Jinwoo is really the only chance that they all have and only a handful really know just how powerful he really is. Although by the end of the season you can definitely say that the circle of people who know about him has certainly grown. Hard for it not to with how Jinwoo ended up saving everybody.

Solo Leveling may have a rep of being a mindless action series with no real plot but at the end of the day there is a lot of story here. There are certainly plenty of plot twists yet to be uncovered and of course we still don’t know anything about the level up system. These are all mechanics that should keep you real interested. If none of them interest you, then I suppose at that point you really only have the fight scenes left. That said, the fights are good enough where if there was nothing but those, this would still be a good title. So it’s not the dunk that people might think it is.

At the end of the day the rule of cool definitely works for this show under any context. You feel hyped while watching Solo Leveling and it really succeeds in the primary goal of any show which is to let the viewer have a good time. Not I will say there is a high amount of violence in the series so keep that in mind. Characters are ripped apart here and there is definitely more detail than in other series. It’s not a show I would recommend to just anyone as a result. I would definitely need to first find out how comfortable you are with violence. If you have a hard time seeing the injuries like that then I would be forced to recommend something else.

Overall, Solo Leveling season 2 was definitely a blast. It kept all of the intensity from the first season and then added a bunch of hype new characters like Beru. The series is absolutely in a great spot for season 3 and hopefully it doesn’t take too long for that one to come out. In the meantime you will definitely end up regretting it if you don’t check this series out. It’s just way too much fun to leave on the shelf and the story is only getting more and more intriguing. At this point you’re probably going to be wondering how they can even find any more opponents for Jinwoo to go up against. All I can say is don’t worry about it, we have plenty of strong fighters coming up soon. You don’t want to miss even one moment of the experience.

Overall 9/10

Gotham Knights Review

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Batman has definitely had quite a few top tier titles over the years. When you think of Batman you tend to think of the best level of comic book games. This one didn’t quite get the same acclaim as the big Arkham titles but at the same time I’d say it does hold up. There is a whole lot to do within the game even outside of the story and so the replay value really hits hard. I would say it sacrifices a bit of polish for overall content and of course that won’t always be seen as a positive so I suppose it’s a bit of a case by case kind of thing.

The game starts with Batman taking some heavy injuries against Ra’s and is forced to settle for a draw as he blows up the Batcave. With Batman dead, the rest of Gotham’s heroes have to suit up and defend the city. Batgirl, Nightwing, Robin, and Red Hood will have to team up for this one. They find out that Batman was looking into a crazy conspiracy involving an organization that controls Gotham from the shadows. This was such a big secret that it cost the Dark Knight his life, so his successors must solve it or die trying. This won’t be easy, but they understand the risks.

The gameplay is your classic 3D brawler. You have a lot of different attacks up your sleeve and will also be dodging a whole lot in order to counter blows. One thing I was surprised about was the lack of a block button. Dodging is your complete form of counter attacking here which is different from what you’d normally expect. Still, it works pretty well and after not being allowed to dodge like that in God Eater, I was glad to go back to my spamming ways. Most of your super attacks are locked behind side quests so I had to make do with the default ones. They are good enough though. The main story is fairly long even if you are only focused on doing them and not touching the side quests.

Counting the side quests, it feels like there is a very impressive amount of content here. It certainly feels longer than the main Arkham titles at the very least. The fact that the side quests also have a lot of cinematics is also pretty fun. At one point I had skipped so many side quests and such that there were no random mobsters to interrogate which held me back during chapter 6. I had to randomly defeat a few Clayface minions which let me go forward. It’s a pretty decent mechanic though because the heroes should be penalized for not defending enough civilians.

I will say that navigating the city isn’t quite as fun as in Spider-Man since you can’t just leap through the city. Arkham City was much easier in that respect. The motorcycle is cool though, it just does take much longer. Locking the fast travel points behind side quests is diabolical but it does encourage you to at least do a few of them. I ended up doing at least a few of them because it would save time in the long run.

Then you have different forms of currency and materials which you use to get new suits, weapons, and projectiles. You can also get mod chips to put inside of them, although I never had gear good enough to equip any so I had to go with the defaults. The equipment was a nice touch though because it adds further incentive to go exploring. The more you do that, the stronger you get. I always like when a game rewards you for these kinds of things. Yeah there is definitely a whole lot of replay value here so you can bet that you will be adventuring around for a long while. Getting the Platinum looks like it could be rather difficult though.

The graphics are pretty solid. I’m not a huge fan of the art direction at times as a lot of the humans look rather generic but the costumed fighters are good. The game does a good job of making all of the dozens of suits and equipment match the art style as well. It may not be the most colorful game but it still does look good. The soundtrack is definitely more on the dull side though. Not many memorable tunes here so you will end up forgetting them rather quickly.

While the game is definitely centered around having multiplayer, I think they should have added AI allies for when you’re playing solo. It would have been nice to have seen the other characters fighting too since otherwise it doesn’t feel as much like an ensemble game. I mainly played Nightwing the whole time so to me this was basically a Nightwing solo title. Of course I could have switched and such but I already had Nightwing leveled up really well so at that point I didn’t want to switch. The fact that all 4 characters have their own unique fighting styles is cool though.

The game’s only real weakness for me could be that the mechanics are really not explained very well at all. Installing mods is really confusing and likewise the map has way too many icons that look similar. White triangles are mobsters, white upside down triangles are for the freaks, yellow triangles are corrupt cops, etc. Your world map gets real cluttered real fast. There had to be a better way to display all of that information. Again I would point to Spider-Man where the map never feels as imposing. Additionally it’s just easier to do a ton of side missions because of how quick they all are there. This game doesn’t move at quite the same high speed because while the combat gameplay is very smooth, the hub world navigation can be a little rough at times. Get ready to run past buttons when you just meant to walk past them.

Overall, Gotham Knights is a great game, it was better than I expected it to be. The game is definitely very combat heavy so you really need to like the style though. Ultimately I found it to be very rewarding as you actually feel it when you level up and get stronger. It’s a great template for a title and the story is also good. There’s really not much else to say about this one. As long as you enjoy really good action titles then you should have a good time and while you may feel overwhelmed at first, just take it one mission at a time and gradually the main map will become a lot emptier.

Overall 8/10

No Guns Life Review

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It’s time for a series with a very unique premise. I can’t say I knew what to expect when first getting into No Guns Life and I can say even now that there aren’t many shows quite like it. It’s sort of a steam punk Noir at its heart and the combination works pretty well. I’m not going to say it’s a great title or anything like that but it’s pretty good and has a lot of interesting concepts. I mean, what would you do if your head was an actual gun? I’m not saying shaped like one, I mean it’s an actual gun! Better be careful what position you sleep in or you might blow the ceiling up.

The story takes us to a world that is basically ruled by a corrupt company that is at war with a large gang. Just about everyone lives in slum-like conditions and even the rich seem to have quite hollow lives. So many people have lost limbs that there is a whole market for “Extended” which are when people have robotic upgrades to replace their missing parts. Some just get upgrades to be more powerful and then there are people like Juzo. Juzo was a weapon used in the last war. He took many lives and now he has sworn to never let anybody use his gun again. He works as a detective solving crimes everywhere and has gotten a pretty strong reputation. He has more enemies than he can count but this is the road he has chosen. His life really gets thrown for a twist when he meet a kid named Tetsuro. Tetsuro has a weird power that lets him affect all machines which is of course extremely handy in this world. Just about everyone is after him, can Juzo really protect him? At what point is he going above and beyond his actual mission?

There’s so much to the setting and story that it was hard to keep it to one paragraph. While parts of the story may sound a bit absurd and would never happen, a lot of it also feels very realistic. Is it possible that some day we will have so much daily violence that most people will be missing a limb? Absolutely I can see that. Is it also possible that anyone with a robotic limb will be seen as inferior and relegated to the slums? Yeah that can definitely happen. Obviously the world being owned by a corporation is also in the cards so yeah this definitely seems like a very dark future and one you can picture.

Juzo basically stays out of the politics of it all and is mainly just trying to do his job and ignores all the rest. He gets threatened constantly but handles it all smoothly. No matter what is going on, you can count on him to just be smoking his cigarettes. It’s not just to look cool though, those are what allow him to dull his never ending pain and also allow him to function normally. They’re basically filled with a kind of pain killer that he needs. Yeah being a living gun definitely sucks and he is put through a lot throughout the series. He never complains about his lot in life though.

The series ends before he can truly confront his past and get all the answers though. You’ll probably be able to notice right away as the series ends that not everything is answered. It’s definitely one of those titles with an early ending but it still works well enough where you don’t need the full adaption. I would still like to see more of it in the future though. Juzo ends the series as one of the strongest fighters and dominates most of his battles. Even the other gun units don’t tend to be able to defeat him.

As for Tetsuro, he’s a nice enough kid but he sure does get into a whole lot of trouble. It feels like he is constantly making more work for Juzo. The guy has a big heart and basically wants to be a hero but he doesn’t really have the ability for it. Yes, he can hack any extended but he doesn’t have a lot of stamina and can only control one person at a time. So when the control ends, then he is completely vulnerable. He also falls into his share of traps. So I like him well enough but he definitely doesn’t think things through quite as much as he could have.

Mary is a mechanic who helps Juzo out quite a lot by fixing him up and also supplying him with the special cigarettes. She even ends up getting a fairly big story arc involving her brother Victor. She has to do a whole lot of digging in order to find him and see what happened. He basically vanished amidst a huge conspiracy and with this world is can be hard to find the truth. There is also the question of who he truly is. There is an Extended with a copy of his mind, a hand that may or may not be controlled by him, and his real body only might be out there. There are a lot of questions floating around and she’s not exactly a fighter so it’s not like she will be able to just get out there and find the answers on her own.

So she makes for a good sidekick but like Tetsuro she can bite off a bit more than she can chew. Olivier is a police agent who seems rather corrupt and yet she is better than the average officer. She always enjoys a lot of banter with Juzo and throws threats around like they’re going out of style. That said, her hands are often tied when it counts and then she has to rely on Juzo either. Certainly not the position she wants to be in since it definitely undermines that tough image she is going for. I can’t say I was a big fan of hers. To a point her character was just an excuse for fanservice.

On the whole the show is pretty good about not having too much fanservice. There are some moments here and there but rarely anything too crazy. There was one pointless episode involving a perv who goes to the shop just to spy on the ladies there. He gets off way too easily as well. It’s the only episode where you are wondering why it is even there. It’s not the entire episode or anything but it was a pretty large chunk that was effectively just filler. I’m always up for some filler but it should be something a little more fun with good substance. Not whatever this was.

Meanwhile the graphics are good although the fights can get a little messy. It’s far from being a top budget show or anything like that but it looks good enough for me. The character models are good and the backgrounds really help fit in with the noir vibe. The show definitely nailed the atmosphere which was the most important thing. The ost isn’t bad. There are 2-3 themes that I enjoyed but otherwise it can be a little forgettable. It might have clashed with the noir aspect but I’d have liked some good rock themes.

Back to the characters, Kronen was a pretty interesting one. The guy is a human who doesn’t like Extended and that always makes for a fun character. The series doesn’t make him absolutely insane or anything like that either. In fact you could say he may be the most powerful full human in the series. He actually fights well against Juzo without any enhancements. This is due to his powerful throwing needles which can paralyze any opponent. This guy is very resourceful and while he will always be at a disadvantage, he still fights his absolute hardest at all times. You definitely have to respect that.

Wachowski is one of the big leaders of the Spitz organization and I really like his name. Yeah, not a great reason to like a character but it’s just such a fun name to say. The guy is ancient but plans things along pretty well and always has a backup plan in the works. He really comes close to succeeding in his ambitions and the guy even thought ahead enough to bring along some Extended equipment in his wheelchair. Now that is some proper dedication. I tend to not take these old timers too seriously but this guy at least had a decent plan so I’ll give him that. He just let his guard down too quickly.

Then we have our next psychotic villain, Pepper. She seems rather messed up from the start, thanks in no small part to a pretty dark backstory. She had to survive through a lot in a messed up environment and then basically made a pact with one of the gun units. The sob story did include some animal violence which was regrettable. Whether it is bugs or bigger animals, the show didn’t need to go that far. Even with the dark origin, I can’t say that I ever became a big fan of hers though. She’s just too crazy without having anything “cool” to back her up. So it’s just crazy in more of an aimless way and her twisted version of a bond with Seven never got through to me.

Meanwhile Seven gets a fairly raw deal here. After all he needs Pepper to use him as a gun unit, but at the same time he is now super attached to her. So he follows her every order and doesn’t really think for himself anymore. He gets jealous easily and ultimately just acts a lot like a kid. It’s too bad that Pepper was a villain since that ensured that Seven would be as well. Otherwise Seven could have gone on to be a decent hero. That said, when you don’t use your own freewill to decide what to do, it can be easy to make excuses. Ultimately it would have been up to him to have made the right moves.

Another villain we had is Kunugi who doesn’t actually get to do a whole lot. He uses needles to paralyze opponents as well and does pretty well in his fights. You get the idea that he is definitely more of a sub villain than a main one though. On his own the needles would be tough to defeat a more powerful opponent but I like his confidence either way. He’s a very interesting villain and works as a wild card since you can tell he has no feelings of loyalty. I like villains who just do whatever they please like this guy.

The show has 24 episodes and manages to fit in quite a few cases in those episodes. You’ll see traitors like Colt who are forced into hard choices and then other characters like Victor who are a true mystery. We also see Juzo’s origin story and how he used to act back when he was in the war. In a way the series is about showing how he has developed free will since then and won’t be anyone’s weapon in the future. It’s a big deal in the show when he finally lets someone use his trigger since that’s definitely a sign of complete trust.

On a lighter note, the show even talks about the other downsides of a gun head like the fact that it can rust so Juzo has to be careful in the water. It’s not like Juzo ever had any choice in the matter but he does have free will. That whole character arc with showing Tetsuro how to make his own choices was good. The series has a lot to say about not letting yourself be manipulated and making choices for yourself. Juzo ends up being a good role model for the other characters even if it is a role that he absolutely doesn’t want.

Ultimately I’d say the show is also about knowing that you can’t change every part of the world but you can make a difference locally. Juzo keeps on helping people even while the whole world is in such a sorry state and the two villain organizations are still doing whatever they want. Juzo doesn’t let them get in the way of his missions and fights back as necessary but he’s also not just trying to get out there and bomb all the villain bases. He can’t change the world on his own but he can at least change the paths of those right in front of him. It’s the core of a good Noir title.

I’d say the best mystery that represents the show would be when Juzo is called in to help a girl who is being haunted by a ghost. There are a number of twists here as well as set up for future missions but otherwise it is a good stand alone story. Juzo goes in, solves a case, and gets basically no gratitude for most of it. By the end people realize that he is a good guy but it’s not easy. The life of a Noir detective is rarely easy after all. I will say it’s funny how almost nobody reacts to his gun for a head though because of how crazy things are in this world. Juzo is always expecting a reaction so we can assume that off screen most people still get nervous but at least all of the main characters are a bit too busy for that. Why worry about a guy who has a gun for a head when you have to solve a string of murders right?

Also while a lot of the series is about setups and mysteries, there are certainly a good amount of action scenes here. Juzo goes up against everybody from other humans to Extended, to fellow Gunheads. He really runs the gauntlet on the kinds of different opponents who take a swing at him. He doesn’t just win every fight either, he takes his share of losses as well. It’s good that the pain killers remove most of his pain too because he tends to lose in rather painful ways. Juzo always finds a way out of the situation though. The series ends on a completely open note with the adventure continuing so at least it will be easy to get a sequel some day if they ever want to do one.

Overall, No Guns Life is a pretty good show. I like how unique it is and the show has solid enough production values. The writing is good and so you will have a good time here. It will keep your attention the whole time and you’ll be engaged with the cases. Generally it’s not a Sherlock Holmes kind of case where you’re interrogating everyone and getting to the truth but there are still mysteries regardless. Juzo makes for a good narrator in these moments as he walks you through what happened. He’s really got the voice for it. Yeah if you see this show around you should check it out.

Overall 7/10

Lost in Starlight Review

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Whenever I watch a movie and the romance is lazy and/or rushed, I want to watch a foreign movie because they often handle the topic a lot better. Lost in Starlight is an example of that. While it’s not my favorite romance story I’ve seen in recent animated movies, it is still a good title. The movie is also a solid watch overall. I’d consider it a very low key title that isn’t going all out or trying to be explosive but just giving you a solid story with good pacing and no real issues.

The movie starts off with Nan’s mother dying off in space. Unfortunately while the space missions have been going well for humanity, she was the sole victim of the voyage. Her daughter Nan has still decided to pursue a career in going to space but others wonder if perhaps she is just burying her feelings. Her supervisor decides to play it safe and prohibits her from actually going to space. Nan is upset and tries to force her way back in with her scientific knowledge. In the meantime, she meets a guy named Jay who is a bit of a technician. It’s not his true passion though, he used to be a musician but then stuff happened and so he has walked away from it. Can Nan help Jay embrace his musical career once more? As for Jay, can he truly root for Nan to go into space when it will mean that they are separated for a long time?

Relationships will always have some drama and that’s the main dilemma for these two. Now Nan was pretty upfront about wanting to go to space from the jump so naturally I tend to be more on her side with this. The relationship was built with the understanding that she may have to go away. She definitely should have come clean to him the instant she was selected to go to space, but even so it’s not like this came out of the blue. Whenever you get together with someone who has a big life’s passion, you can’t expect that to ever fade. Fortunately Jay does his best to be supportive and handles it better than other leads would have. I was expecting more of a big crash out but for the most part it wasn’t so bad.

I can sympathize with it feeling sad of course, particularly the distance of it all. He can’t just walk over and visit her while she’s in space after all. At least they are able to stay in touch, albeit with a fairly long delay. That’s still far better than having no contact at all. Nan gets into some trouble over there but all in all things go pretty well. The themes of determination and trust are handled really well.

The plot that feels a bit unnecessary is Jay’s music though. I understand that he needed something to do and it was set up as a plot point early on but it was just hard to care as much. Nan was facing a life and death journey in space while Jay is trying to sing. They had to do this at the same time for parallels but when the stakes are so lopsided it just doesn’t work as well. I’d also say the music in this film could have been a bit better in general. It’s not bad but fairly subdued. It’s not the kind of soundtrack that will bring tears to you eyes the whole time.

This may go back towards the theme of this being an ordinary adventure as opposed to some kind of end of the world event but you could still go a bit crazier with the songs. They’re not bad by any means but you won’t remember them quite as well. The animation is pretty solid though. In particular it felt like they were putting a lot of attention on the clothing textures, animating more wrinkles and sharp colors there. So I’d say that works well enough and the movement is good. The film looks a little more faded in that cinematic look a lot of animations go for but it doesn’t hold the movie back or anything like that.

In terms of supporting cast, Jay probably beats Nan here. The rest of the band seemed rather interesting and I wouldn’t have minded seeing more of them. Nan’s best friend gets a decent amount of screentime but she tends to be a little more on the annoying side. She does a good job of cheering Nan up every now and then but some of her pranks can go a bit far. I always thought it seemed a bit annoying to just pick up the phone to try and embarrass your friend when the boyfriend is calling. Nan’s friend is there for her during the serious moments though.

The romance may feel a tad rushed but we did have some montages here and there so at least it’s not like it took place over the course of 5 days or anything like that. Still could have been built up more but at least it’s not a rebound or anything like that. The main two have some disagreements but don’t lose their heads either. It’s why I can call this a good romance all around. With both characters having some trauma (Nan’s being a lot more serious) it was also good for them to be able to talk to each other. Nan ultimately gets some closure in space although I would have liked a long conversation with her Mom. Perhaps that would have been a bit cheesy but I think it could have worked considering all the setup was there.

I was glad we got to space though. It takes a while before we actually see Nan leave so for a bit there you’re wondering just how much time is left. The beginning is definitely fast and very frantic but by the end the pacing slows down. it does help you to get the setup out of the way early though so I don’t have any issues with that. If I could add just one thing to the film, it would maybe be a final interview with Nan to show how far she has really come. We do see that she is over her trauma now but that would be a pretty good ribbon to tie the film from start to finish. This is the kind of film that will likely not get a sequel, but if one ever does appear it’ll be fun to see how that goes.

Overall, Lost in Starlight is a good film. It won’t hit the same levels as most of the anime romance films you watch but Korea’s still off to a good start with this one as a big budget animated title. I’ll look forward to seeing what they bring out next. There is no end to the amount of stories you can write after all and everything about this one was fundamentally sound so I’m not particularly worried. If this movie is up your alley then you should check it out. It’s one of those wholesome films that is hard to dislike and it being so down to Earth and low key is part of its charm.

Overall 7/10

Marvel Rivals Review

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Marvel Rivals is a game that really got huge. For a while there is seemed like everybody was playing it. I would say it is even still huge right now. They keep on adding new characters and of course the gameplay itself is fun enough. That said, I don’t quite get the appeal the way that most people do. To me the gameplay is fine but not something I would end up being stuck to for a long while.

There isn’t a real story mode here of course so you’re really just thrown right into the mix. I was glad to have a tutorial though and did take advantage of that. Basically you’re in a team battle and either have to protect something or attack it. You win based on which team achieved their objective. Whenever you die you are able to switch characters on the fly. It’s pretty nice that you aren’t locked in so you can constantly be switching. The only real restriction is that you can’t have two people using the same character and that makes sense since it could definitely get real confusing real fast. So this way you sidestep that problem completely. As a result I got to play as numerous characters even over the course of a few matches.

The characters are divided into different classes and all have different ways of playing. My favorite character was easily Human Torch. It felt nice being able to fly around and deal out devastating blows to my opponents. I contributed quite heavily in the first match where I scored over 30 KOs. We won that round and it was the perfect way to start. I doubt Torch is one of the most broken characters or anything like that but his moveset is absolutely solid. Whenever you have a projectile fighter like this, you can bet that I’ll enjoy them.

My second favorite character was Groot. He may not be able to fly but his long reach works great as a main attack. I would say the only real downside is that his special moves are a bit boring. He can summon walls to bock incoming attacks which is pretty nice but it doesn’t actually deal damage the way I would like to see it. At the end of the day you need KOs to win here and you get KOs by dealing damage. Still, I got in my share of KOs with the standard attacks.

I definitely didn’t end up mixing well with the brawlers. For example I died fairly quick when playing as Captain America, Wolverine, and Thor. It was just hard to get in close to the other team before I would be taken down by everyone waving around their lasers all the time. I’m sure there are methods to making those characters work but it was definitely a real tough trick for me. A game like this definitely has a lot of RNG as well of course but I won’t deny the high level of skill too. Good aim will go a long way here. The same goes for memorizing where all the health items are at. I’m guessing they are randomly generated but still limited to a few locations rather than just being anywhere.

The graphics are definitely really good. Some of the character designs will certainly take some getting used to though. They really went quite different with a few of them like Wolverine. That said, it’s a consistent art style and I wouldn’t say the designs are bad. I would definitely get used to them after enough time playing the game. The soundtrack is less noticeable with all of the shooting and everything. It seemed good to me but again I’m not sure with how much confidence I can really say that. Either way I guess it’s not ultra important.

I mentioned a few times that the gameplay isn’t super addicting to me and I’ll quickly explain. There is no single player combat mode here and no individual life system. So this means in the team combats everyone has unlimited lives until the match ends. For me a game like this is always way more fun when you have your own life. I know this doesn’t reflect in sales numbers which is why many games have gone away from that model but I still miss it. I’ve never liked the idea that I could be playing amazing and dealing tons of damage and I can still lose because the rest of my team let me down. It just doesn’t feel like this is the way the game ought to be played.

I would at least like the option of a single player mode here. Start out with 25 fighters or something and no extra lives. If you lose then you lose but that’s it. I would find it all to be way more engaging and challenging. Additionally it would force you to get good. Then if the mode doesn’t do well they can always shut it down later. Still, that’s just what would make me enjoy the game better. At that point I’m basically advocating for a completely different title so it’s not a very reasonable request. Just an explanation on why none of the Overwatch titles have ever stuck with me. I do hope this game continues to be successful though because it’s at least pretty fun to watch.

Overall, Marvel Rivals is pretty good. It’s not really a game that would hold my attention for very long but there is definitely a clear audience. I also imagine it’s the kind of game that gets to be way more fun when you know other people wo play it as well. Once you build up that community spirit then it’s really off to the races. You just want to get in there and have fun. As the character roster continues to grow, the game will only get more and more fun. I’m rather curious just how many characters there will be by the end. It seems like a game that could easily get over 50 characters by the end. The toughest part will probably be picking enough unique moves where nobody feels like a clone character.

Overall 7/10

Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Review

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This is one of those games I sorta forgot existed for a while there. I think it was technically a big deal but yeah it really vanished. It’s one of those very cinematic games where you get to embrace the story over gameplay but there is still a good amount of gameplay to be had. It’s a fun title but as a result it is also one of those games where you won’t really have much to do if you want to just have fun playing it later on. The cinematic part also means the game will probably be moving a bit slower on a second playthrough although of course it’s all towards the goal of making the first playthrough as good as possible.

The story starts off pretty fast with the Guardians getting into trouble as per usual and now they owe the Nova Corps a whole lot of money. Star Lord gets them to give the Guardians a few days to pay off this fee but even then it will not be easy. We’re talking an incredible sum after all so now they are going to have to scam some folks. Perhaps the legendary monster tamer lady will be a good target. Meanwhile some dark forces are approaching the universe and seek to destroy the Nova Corps. This includes some people who are very important to Star Lord.

The story may start out fairly small in scale but naturally it is a classic save the universe story by the end. It’s a solid story all the way through and you should be very engaged. This is where the cinematic approach works well as there are endless cutscenes here as you go off on your quest. The combat gameplay that we do get is also a lot of fun. You have to really strategize on how you will use each member of your party as well as their various abilities. Particularly until you get to the final chapters where you learn the revive spell. Until then you always have to watch out because a few lucky shots can pull you under.

Personally I always tend to go with a few familiar options instead of trying everything. So I would use everyone’s super, then their O move which seemed to be the strongest ones. I wouldn’t even bother with the other two options. You always have quite a few methods of attack here so at least there is no reason to worry yourself. If something’s not working then try something else. None of the enemies should pose enough of a problem where you can’t figure it out after some troubleshooting. In some ways the platforming could be the toughest part like how I would end up falling more than once.

The graphics are pretty solid here. It’s going for a bit of a live action look but with enough colors where it still feels enough like a comic. The energy effects are nice and the whole time you really feel like a big budget was put into the title. Just look at all of the songs they were able to squeeze inside. You will hear a lot of music as the game goes on and they’re all fairly catchy tunes. You also have the ability to play a mixtape once per fight that completely restores everyone’s health and super attacks. It’s a rather broken ability I must say, but I like how it ties in with how much Star Lord enjoys a good tune.

The game also has a few different fake outs which was really fun. That always adds to a game and the plot twists will keep you guessing as well. I would definitely enjoy a game like this for the Avengers and X-Men at some point. I would say Spider-Man already has this treatment with the big two games that came out a while back. You can tell a whole lot of stories with this although I imagine it probably takes a long time to produce one of these games.

I ended up getting most of the trophies during my normal playthrough and I can’t say that I was really doing much out of the ordinary. It can be nice to play a game that is really generous like this one. There are also a lot of bonus elements and collectibles that don’t even relate to any trophy. This is an especially nice point because it means true collectors can have fun doing a lot of extra exploring while people who want the Platinum can still get that without too much hassle. It’s a win/win for everyone involved.

If there’s anything I would have liked to see, it would have been having more of a hub world. Letting you go back and forth to the different planets on a whim to have fun and of course grind out some levels with the minions. The game has a level up system but you actually max everyone out in the game fairly early and at that point the EXP just vanishes entirely. I suppose this is a decent way to control your level and make sure the player doesn’t get too broken but they probably should have added a wider range of abilities for you to power up. It’s super rare that you play a game where you reach the level cap with everyone like this.

Overall, Guardians of the Galaxy is definitely a fun game. It is a pretty decent length too and there is some replay value with all of the different dialogue options. I doubt you would really go as far as to try and hear them all but the game does deserve a lot of credit for just how many they put in here. It must have taken a long while to record every piece of dialogue. The Platinum seems relatively easy to get but will still take some work. If you like a good action title then you should definitely pick this one up.

Overall 7/10