Angelic Layer Review

Posted on January 21, 2015 by dreager1

It’s time for a classic battle series that may not be the most popular series that Clamp has done, but it makes a solid argument for being their best. The series is only 5 volumes, but it’s essentially comprised of nonstop fights. That’s a winning formula if I ever heard of one and it comes close to 9 star territory, but it does stumble a little along the way to victory.

Misaki is the main character of the series and she grew up in a world that has become engrossed in a new game called Angelic Layer. Essentially, it’s like the Bionicle Meta game in real life, but with a bit more intensity. You buy a doll and then you customize her to be a speed, power, or defense fighter. After that, you can buy her equipment and accessories so that she can be a distinct fighter. Now that you’ve completed all of the steps, you’re ready to enter the tournaments! Misaki witnesses an incredible battle between the angels on TV and decides to enter one with her new doll. What’s the harm right? Maybe she’ll actually end up being the world champ by the time this is all over!

You can argue that Misaki’s road to the top is a little more lonely than the average main character. The reason being that she does have two friends who are main supporting characters, but they don’t play Angelic Layer. Most leads get to spar with their friends, but that isn’t the case for Misaki. I don’t mind the fact that the friends can’t fight though because they just aren’t very good characters. One of the friends is Tamayo and she’s definitely very annoying. She’s constantly beating up Misaki’s other friend and talking about romance when there is no need for it. Her over the top theatrics are not amusing and I would be able to take her a little more seriously if she could actually fight. She actually involves the one big negative for the series so we may as well get it over with as soon as possible.

It’s a running gag that Misaki’s undergarments are mentioned when Tamayo or Ohjiro is around. It’s completely unnecessary and definitely not a good way to throw in some comedy scenes. It’s safe to say that this prevented the series from getting 9 stars. It’s not bad compared to most other series since you never actually see anything, (There is basically no fanservice in the series, which is pretty exceptional) but it’s still not something that you want to see in a series. It just helps to make Tamayo even more unlikable than she already is and it also stops Ohjiro from being a good character.

Kotaro is the other main character and he’s much better than Tamayo. He’s pretty generic and he’s certainly not one of the best characters out there, but he tries hard to be cool. He knows how to fight in the real world and it comes in handy at the very end of the series, but he really needs to learn how to fight in Angelic Layer. He spends the series just getting beaten up on so this doesn’t do wonders for his character either.

Misaki is a pretty decent main character. She always fights to the end while never giving up. Misaki’s instincts for battle are typically spot on and she can decipher the weak point of any opponent that she faces. On the other hand, she can certainly be a little on the generic side and she gets flustered way too often. Misaki isn’t going to be the next Ichigo or Kirito, but I’ll accept her as a decent enough lead to hold the series up. If she was a little more hot headed with some trash talking to back it up, I think that I would probably like her a little more. As it stands, she’s pretty polite and she keeps everyone in the friend zone so I can admire that. Misaki’s other trait that can get to you is that she’s way too gullible. The scientist tries to help her get through this, but it’s a difficult task.

Icchan is the scientist in question and he’s definitely all over the place. He likes to make remarks that don’t make sense and he’s constantly ditching his job to help Misaki. He definitely plays favorites throughout the tournament, but it all comes down to Misaki’s cheerful demeanor. All of her opponents end up rooting for the main character after they lose because Misaki doesn’t want to win for the money, she wants to win for the love of the game. Icchan gives her the angel and he also helps Misaki customize her during the earlier stages of the manga. He’s definitely a decent character, but his almost literally all talk as he never actually fights even though he knows so much about the game. Ah well, he’s definitely a nice guy and he knows that ice cream is one of the best desserts.

Hikaru is Misaki’s angel and she’s one of the strongest fighters in the series. She is a speed fighter so she relies on a lot of quick hits and sudden moves to knock the opponents out of the stage. It’s good that she can do this since she usually starts the battle on the losing end. Her health goes into the red zone before she counters and typically she wins with a one hit KO or some quick attacks. She’s definitely a great angel and one who will certainly remind you of Megaman. She may not have a lot of flashy techniques at her disposal, but she gets the job done. She’s definitely the most likable angel in the tournament.

Hatoko is one of Misaki’s friends and her angel is named Suzuka. Hatoko seems to have a pretty good reputation as a very good Angelic Layer fighter and many thought that she would ultimately win the big tournament. Her angel is a powerful defense fighter so she is able to repel just about any blow with ease. Suzuka’s design is definitely pretty good and she shows that defense types can still match up against speed fighters when necessary. Her final fight in the series isn’t very satisfying since she loses in a single blow, but Hatoko made it pretty far. She’s definitely the best friend from Misaki’s supporting cast and Suzuka is probably the third best angel.

Ohjiro and his angel, The Wizard, are not some of the best characters here. The Wizard is actually a pretty good angel and he’s another defense type. He can block an opponent’s attack by reflecting their energy and making a barrier. He is said to have never been hit by an opponent before so his opponents have a lot of explaining to do. Naturally, it’s up to Hikaru to give him a pretty good fight and prove that speed really does trump everything else. The Wizard looks a lot like Syaoran or Fai from Tsubasa, which is cool since Clamp loves borrowing characters and designs from their other series. The Wizard is pretty likable even if he seems to be pretty weak once you get past his barrier. On the other hand, Ohjiro is definitely not cool. He talks a lot from the shadows about how cool he is and on Hikaru’s potential, but it never goes anywhere. Once he starts to make random comments about under garments that have no relevance to the plot, he immediately lost any chance that he may have had on being a likable character. Sometimes, that’s all that it takes to make a character plummet down the ranks.

Shuko and her angel, Athena, are known as the strongest fighters in Angelic Layer. After Hikaru wins the tournament, they have a quick clash. Athena is technically a speed type, but she’s also one of the strongest fighters in the series. I was pretty glad to see that after all of the defense and speed fighters that were featured throughout the tournament, it was a good change of pace. I did think that Hikaru was probably doomed though since attack power is probably the most important factor in a match like this. Not to mention that Athena still has enough speed to match Hikaru’s. Athena also comes equipped with a giant energy blast that really tips the scales in her favor. Athena is probably the second best angel in the series. It’s too bad that I can’t say the same for Shuko. Shuko has a pretty big twist that is pretty obvious once you see her, but I guess I’ll refrain from saying it just in case. It explains why she isn’t very likable, but it’s still pretty overdone. Shuko is incredibly shy so that she’s constantly blushing in just about every scene and she can barely talk to someone without looking away. She gets tricked at the end into finally seeing the main characters again and maybe this will help her as a character, but we never really get to see this.

Arisu and her angel Alice are the final fighters to face Hikaru in the tournament. It’s actually pretty anticlimactic since I would argue that Alice is much weaker than all of the other opponents that Hikaru faced. (Not counting one shot characters) Alice doesn’t really have any gimmicks and her special trait is that she has great balance. That’s nice and all, but it seriously doesn’t help in most battles. She just gets lucky because the stage is an ice rink so Hikaru’s balance is off for the whole fight. She quickly figures out a way around this though so Alice was doomed. Alice is all right, but she’s not one of the better angels. You could really say the same about Arisu. Arisu just doesn’t have a whole lot of character and she’s simply not that likable. I think that the Wizard probably should have been the final boss.

Sai and her angel, Shirahime, are pretty similar to Hatoko and Suzuka. Sai fights with complete seriousness and poise as she faces her opponents. Shirahime is also a defense type of Angel and her stats are almost identical to Suzuka’s. Their match was extremely close and she puts up a very good fight against Haruka. Once she sheds her protective gear, Shirahime is able to move at speeds similar to a speed type’s, but then she must lose her defensive edge. It’s a gamble, but one that I would definitely make since defense usually doesn’t trump a good speed character. Sai seems to be a little full of herself, but she is a good fighter and I like Shirahime. This is another fearsome pair who could have defeated most of the other opponents in the series.

There are a few other characters like a wind doll and one who could use Hyper Mode, but you get the jist of the series. It’s basically one battle after the next and the fast pace is one of the reasons why the series is so fun. It’s like a good ole Megaman manga and it never gets dull. The action scenes look very impressive and I have to say that it’ll be tough to adapt in animation. They’ll probably tone down the speed feats so that it’s lower tier, but maybe they’ll be able to do a good job.

Clamp just outdid themselves with the action this time. The fight scenes are similar to Megaman NT Warrior and DBZ. The constant hand to hand combos mixed in with the occasional special technique just makes the battles so exciting. The art for them is excellent and I can see why Clamp has such a good reputation. It may not be as impressive for the normal scenes, but they still look good. There’s a rough edge to it that will remind you of their other titles, but you can always clearly see what is happening. I’m not a huge fan of their art gags like the characters turning into octopuses all the time, but they’re not bad either. If they could just tone it down with the blushing, it would be even better.

Angelic Layer is just a very fun series to read. It’s pretty light natured and you could almost picture it in the real world. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that we’ll finally have virtual reality games like this one within the next 50-60 years. I may be too old to really enjoy them by then, but it would be pretty awesome to have a realistic simulator like this. It would probably be a bit more complex here and I doubt that a newcomer would become the world champ after a day of practice, but we can let that slide since Misaki may be the chosen one. She has a better battle record than most main characters since she wins just about every battle that she enters. The final battle may be unsatisfying to a lot of people, but you can argue that Hikaru was still battle fatigued. The actual ending to the series is better than most of the other manga titles that have ended and there is certainly lots of room for a direct sequel (So Chobits doesn’t count) if Clamp really wants too someday. That would definitely be exciting.

How does it compare to other toyetic franchises? Well, it definitely loses to Megaman and the Yugioh franchise is too massive to lose here. Aside from that, I dare say that it takes down Bakugan, Beyblade, and most of the rest. It loses to Cardfight Vanguard as well, but it puts up a brave fight. Power level wise, it’s probably above all of them and only Yugioh/Megaman could hope to stand up to them. Angelic Layer’s biggest advantage over most series is just how absurdly fast the angels are. Catching up to them is nearly impossible and their attacks have lethal amounts of power behind them.

Overall, Angelic Layer may only be 5 volumes, but it’s a great series to check out. This is definitely Clamp’s best work as it even takes out Tsubasa. It’ll be hard for them to top it, but it’s always possible. The nonstop action can rival any series since the fights are so good. In terms of speed, you could probably pit the angels against just anyone short of Goku and they could probably hold their own. Most of the characters are pretty likable and the art is solid. If not for the lines of the two annoying characters, this could easily be top 5 material. Nevertheless, I strongly recommend this title if you like action and it could end up being one of your favorite titles.

Overall 8/10

Slayers Special Review

Posted on January 20, 2015 by dreager1

Looks like it’s time for the next Slayers adventure. This one also takes place in the past so Lina is with Naga instead of the other fighters. This special is basically an OVA that consists of 3 episodes so you can also think of it as a mini series. Each episode has a stand alone plot, which can be a good or a bad thing depending on the series. It doesn’t work this time though as this is probably the worst Slayers product yet. It’s not awful, but it just doesn’t have most of the qualities that makes Slayers a likable franchise in the first place.

The first episode involves a deal that Lina almost made with a mad scientist. Ultimately, she decided not to team up with him since he wanted to turn her into a giant monster. Years later, he has finally hunted her down with clones of Naga. Their laughter overwhelms Lina and she is brought to the enemy’s lair. Naga will now have to get past her clones to save Lina before she is turned into a Chimera. This could be her toughest mission yet!

This was definitely the weakest of the three episodes. The villain wasn’t very interesting and having the clones beat Lina so easily was pretty anticlimatic. It was unique to have Naga be the one to save her, but the actual episode just wasn’t that funny. It would have been cooler if they had just played it seriously since the actual plot could have been good otherwise. The dream sequence at the beginning is good though.

Next up, Lina and Naga are hired to protect a boy named Jeffrey. His mom wants him to get more confidence and experience in the real world so she hired some fake bandits to go on a mountain. Lina and Naga are to escort Jeffrey up the mountain so that he can vanquish these hooligans. Unfortunately, real bandits have defeated the fakes and Jeffrey turns out to be an incredibly weak fighter. Lina and Naga must defeat the villains while making it look like Jeffrey has done this on his own…which could be harder than expected.

This was the best episode of the three although that may not be saying a whole lot. The running gag of Jeffrey’s mom beating up the heroes starts to get old pretty quickly. The final boss was pretty intense until the plot twist that we had (not) been waiting for occurred. While the episodes try to start off on a serious note, they quickly go back to their comedy ways. It’s one of the things that typically makes Slayers a fun franchise, but this OVA just didn’t know how to transition from serious moments to happy times. As a result, it basically destroys the episode. At least Jeffrey has good intentions…he’ll need them since he has nothing else at his disposal.

Finally, Lina and Naga chase after a sorcerer who has stolen a mysterious mirror. He uses it to make shadow clones of the two heroines and they are opposites in every way. This means that the clone of Naga is really shy and Lina’s is a humanitarian who’s always ready for peace. Lina and Naga must get past these clones if they ever want to break the mirror once and for all. They can’t let these clones tarnish their reputations!

Using the clones plot two times in three episodes? You can tell that the writers were getting pretty desperate by now. It is certainly more entertaining than the first episode and the actual concept is pretty fun. That being said, I would have preferred a serious battle with the fakes than just watching them humiliate themselves. It’s also a bit much since I like to think that an opposite Lina would still know how to use self defense. The villain was better than the one in the first episode, but he still wasn’t a very good character.

Lina still has her accent, but she doesn’t seem as tough as in the film set around this period. She is overwhelmed by the laughing of the clones and she just doesn’t get a lot of opportunities to prove herself since there are no real villains to be found. She’s still a good main character and she’s still adventuring for riches and glory, but Lina is only a shell of her former self. We have her personality from the previous installments, but she is just there. Lina doesn’t get any big moments or fights.

Naga definitely looks a lot worse here than in the film. She may have done a good job against her clones, but she really seems to serve no purpose. When she’s not teasing Lina, she’s taking sides with the villains who fight her. She also gets blasted quite a few times by Lina when she stops paying attention to her surroundings. We know that Naga can fight, but as with Lina, she doesn’t get a chance to show this.

One of the problems that Slayers has always had is the fanservice. Typically, it is limited to chest comments, but it goes a little farther here. Naga seems to primarily appear for fanservice, which means that she doesn’t get a whole lot of character this time. Since all of her appearances involve fanservice with the usual chest comments still around, it doesn’t make for a good combo. This certainly drags down the OVA as it definitely would have gotten around a 6 without this unnecessary addition. The fantasy aspect can hold its own so the animators definitely didn’t need to resort to cheap tricks.

I never thought that I’d say this, but another one of the problems is what usually gives Slayers its greatest strength. I’m talking about the writing. It just was not up to par with what I’m used to seeing in the series and it really showed. The jokes typically relied on fanservice or overused tropes that have been played out. The banter between Gourry and Lina is gone since he isn’t here right now and Naga just doesn’t complement Lina’s character very well. It’s one of the reasons why the prequel continuity will never be as good as the main one. The supporting cast just isn’t very good. (The lack of action compared to the real deal is also a factor to be considered of course)

The animation is pretty decent. It’s definitely not what you’d call high budget, but it doesn’t look bad either. You could just call it standard or average, which will suffice. There are no real fights so that makes it hard to gauge the animation anyway. As long as the talking scenes look good and the backgrounds are clear, then the OVA is doing well. I have no qualms with it in this area. The soundtrack is pretty plain though. You will quickly forget that there is one and it may work well with the scenes as you are watching the episodes, but it is instantly forgettable. Again, that’s better than not having a soundtrack or having a bad one, but the OVA could definitely do better.

Overall, Slayers Special is not quite as special as it seems. Slayers Perfect did a better job of being good and I would still recommend the normal TV shows over both of them. At 3 episodes, you’ll be done with Slayers Special before you know it, but it’s still an OVA that you’d be better off skipping. At most, I would recommend it to ultimate Slayers fans who want to watch everything related to the main series, but it’s essentially three filler episodes so it’s not like it’s going to develop the characters at this point. The OVA just makes too many mistakes and a switch in writers may be called for at this point. At the very least, you’ll like the design for the main villain of the second episode.

Overall 4/10

Scribblenauts Unlimited Review

Posted on January 20, 2015 by dreager1

Time to play the next installment in the Scribblenauts series. This is the first one for the home consoles so that was definitely neat. This also meant that I was one step closer to completing the series! It is definitely different from the first two in a few ways. It’s more open world and that’s always a good thing, but it also results in a slightly shorter game.

The plot involves the origin of Maxwell. Long story short, his parents were explorers and they found a book that brought anything that you wrote in it to life. This was pretty neat so they gave it to Maxwell, but the power quickly corrupted him. Then, his sister started turning into stone and Maxwell was told that the only way to save her was to help people with his incredible book. Helping them would cause the people to drop Starrites and he could save Lily’s life if he collected enough of them. With this knowledge at his disposal, Maxwell headed off to go save Lily…and the world.

Collecting Starrites is classic and a tradition for the series. The new part is that there are also Starrite Shards to find. Getting 7-8 of them will form a full Starrite. There are 106 of them in the game and you only need 60 to complete the story. Seeing as that is only a little over half of them, it’s pretty easy to find enough solvable puzzles to work through so that you can save Lily. Each level has 1-3 Starrites and 5-10 Shards. There are quite a lot of levels, although not as many as the previous games since you can compact a lot of missions onto one level. I actually prefer it this way since you don’t have to move around as much. Finding and solving the missions is more linear.

When you enter a world, you’ll see people who need help. The ones with Starrites over their heads will give you one if you help them and you get hints if it is taking you a while. There are no hints for the Shard missions, but they are typically a lot quicker anyway. As you collect the Starrites more and more levels open up. The final ones are all in space so you can tell that the stakes have been raised.

The graphics are about equal to the other games since they’re still using sprites. I assume that they are in HD here and they are certainly a little clearer. Watching the objects on the big screen is definitely a lot of fun. You can’t say that the graphics are at Legend of Zelda or Sly level, but they’re not meant to be. You’re using sprites to save the world and that’s good enough for me. The actual gameplay is crystal clear so you never have to wonder where to go next or what an object is supposed to be.

The soundtrack is not really around. There are a lot of familiar jingles like the remixed victory theme, but it’s more of a soothing experience than most games. There is background music, but it’s all very subtle so that it transitions smoothly from level to level. The music is pretty calming to listen too and it definitely fits the gameplay.

For Replay Value, you can naturally go back and collect all 106 Starrites. That’s about it for replay value, but that should still last you quite a few hours after getting the initial 60. That would end up at around 10-20 hours of play time and it would probably steer closer to the 20 than 10. It is definitely shorter than the other Scribblenaut games and technically it’s the easiest since you don’t have to worry about fully beating all levels. It’s actually a little more appropriate for the kids since I found the first one to be a little too difficult for the average youngster, but this one is just right. There are some that they will likely have trouble with, but that’s what the hints are here for right? Typically, the final hint will make it clear enough to solve the riddle. The going price for the game is less than 20 so that more than makes up for the short campaign and the replay value helps even more.

Fans may be a little disappointed with Maxwell since he is evidently not the selfless hero that we all had expected. He likes to play pranks on everyone and the power went to his head very quickly. He quickly sees the light once his sister is in danger, but I’m sure that his fans will be surprised. He’s a pretty likable main character although he doesn’t get to talk. Lily gets all of the lines so Maxwell may just end up being a silent main character. It’s worked well for Mario and Link so it could be a good move.

One thing that was mildly disappointing is that there is no final level joke this time. Perhaps you get a secret level if you get all of the Starrites, but I was expecting a little more. Some kind of final boss would have been nice like in the last game. Something that forces you to create a Starrite or do something really simple. The previous two games loved to troll the gamer like that and I was hoping that the tradition would be upheld. Instead, you just get a quick cutscene when you get the 60 Starrites. Again, I’m assuming that something happens once you get all 106, but I wanted more closure.

A tip for any future players is to always have your wings on. It’s helpful in just about every scenario and it beats walking through all of the levels right? Using your adjectives wisely will help you complete a lot of missions since you can just make a beast cheerful instead of giving it food to make it cheerful. As there are many words in the English language, there are many ways to beat a mission so you can really choose one that you prefer over the others. There are also dozens of playable characters so you can switch how you look, but that doesn’t impact the gameplay. It’s merely a stylistic choice.

Overall, Scribblenauts Unlimited is a pretty fun sequel to the first two games. The fact that it is now all mission based as you help the people is a fun twist in how you collect the Starrites. It’s probably the best game in the series and the big screen effect certainly helps with that. It’s less repetitive in the types of missions that you complete as opposed to Super Scribblenauts and the gameplay is smoother than the original. The original game will always be a classic since it was the toughest and had the most environments, but this one has done a good job of upholding the legacy. It also helped to increase my Wii U collection. The next Scribblenauts is already at home waiting to be played, but quickly it’s time to go back to a Wii game first. That being said, it shouldn’t last long and then we’ll see if Unmasked will be able to take on Unlimited. Get ready for an adventure! I recommend Scribblenauts Unlimited to Casual and Core gamers alike. It’s a fun way to spend your time and it’s pretty unique. I’m sure that everyone will have fun putting their life experience to the test as you try to think of how you can help someone. It will test your mastery of the English language.

Overall 7/10

The Indestructible Hulk Volume 1 Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Review

Posted on January 19, 2015 by dreager1

Looks like it’s time to check out the first volume of another recent Marvel series. I remember the Indestructible Hulk getting a lot of praise during the first issues and then it started to fade into obscurity once more. Well, I can certainly say that the positive reception was justified as it’s a pretty great concept and this is easily one of Banner’s best portrayals.

Bruce has finally decided that the Hulk cannot be destroyed. Rather than spend any more time trying to cure himself, he’s going to use his time to make the world a better place. He intends to make a big scientific breakthrough every week and he starts off by making something that will keep our waters clean for the next few years. Things are going well for him and he makes a deal with Maria Hill. S.H.I.E.L.D. will give him some men and equipment so that he can get to work and whenever they need the Hulk, they can launch him at an enemy. It’s a win win situation for both of them so Maria Hill agrees to it.

First off, I definitely like Bruce’s reasoning here. Worrying about the Hulk has taken up all of his time for so long. He should be putting that energy towards something that is more likely to produce results and what better way than to build great inventions? There’s always a suspense for disbelief in the Marvel world when you have so many geniuses running around yet things are very similar to the real world. It’s because they can’t change things too much or the universe will lose its realism. Be that as it may, it’s always good to see some actual inventions being placed so the genius bit isn’t just all hype. I really like where the series is going with track.

That being said, it seems like Bruce will be getting sidetracked from that a lot. He’s already been sent out on several missions so he barely has any time to actually get work done. I suppose that it’s one of the dicey parts about working with such a large organization. There are always more villains to face so the Hulk is always needed. As much as I like a good fight scene, I also look forward to seeing Bruce bust out some more inventions.

Bruce seems a lot more strategic than usual in this volume. He’s pretty confident of himself since he believes that the Hulk can’t be destroyed so he’s not timid or mild mannered anymore. He’s typically confident, but still in a polite way. He gets a little full of himself now like when he thinks that he is intimidating Iron Man. (Stark acts like he is, but I’ll disregard that as a comedy moment that shouldn’t be given a lot of weight.) That can be a bit much, but he’s a pretty likable character overall. That being said, he comes close to wrecking that as he looks pretty terrible in the final issue. As per usual, his emotions tend to cloud his better judgment and stealing a kiss from someone is a sure way to corrupt your character. This is still a good portrayal of him, but another scene like that and I’ll have to reverse that statement. As it is, the Bruce Banner from the Avengers film is probably his best portrayal out there.

The Hulk looks about as tough as he should. His fight against Attuma was a little dicey, but he was not prepared and fighting under water is definitely not his strength. He’s crushed all of his other opponents so far and it’s safe to say that he won’t be getting beat anytime soon. The Hulk is still one of the strongest guys in Marvel and he seems to be pretty intelligent as well. This makes for a deadly combo that few villains can hope to match.

Iron Man guest stars in one of the first issues. That’s probably a good strategy to quickly increase sales and hope that the new readers stick with it. He looks pretty good since he’s in character. He tries to belittle Bruce’s inventions and show him up, but the new and improved Banner isn’t going to let that happen. They have a quick scuffle and I’m confident that Iron Man could defeat him, but it’s a battle that would last for a long time and neither one of them is probably in the mood for that. Iron Man’s black armor definitely grows on you and while it will never beat his true armor, it looks quite sharp.

One of the villains here is Attuma, but he’s more of a plot device than a character this time. He fights the Hulk and he has some motives using the new weapons that he has, but he’s really one dimensional here. He isn’t meant to have any personality, but the writers needed a villain for this comic so we got one. He’s not likable, but he’s not unlikable either. He’s just around. A.I.M. also makes an appearance with their ultimate mech. It only lasts for about a page, but I do like the design. We need more cool robots to fight the Hulk right? Even the Thinker appears and he built a mech using some of the properties that Ultron used in the past. It was a fun reference and its barrier abilities were pretty useful. You never thought that the Hulk would actually lose, but the Thinker gave it his all.

As you can see, the villains were definitely not one of the main focuses here. Banner is the main focus so the villains are here for the comics to have some action, but their role is as minimal as possible. From the supporting characters, Maria Hill is definitely the main one although I don’t think that she will be appearing too much. Once every issue or so to check in with Banner, but that’s about it. She’s pretty likable as the leader of S.H.I.E.L.D. and I dare say that she’s less shady than Fury. I don’t think that she’ll betray the Hulk although launching him at Attuma was not very nice. He nearly died since he wasn’t prepared for the attack and that would have been a pretty wasteful move from Maria Hill.

The art is pretty impressive for the talking scenes. The style is pretty unique and I’m pretty fond of it. Its big weakness would probably be in the fight scenes. I think a little too much detail is added so it can be a little harder to follow the action scenes than it should be. Not enough happens or some of the action is obscured by the detail. It still gets a passing grade from me, but the artist will need to work to find a better balance. Keeping the talking scenes interesting with this style, but maybe adding less detail to the fights.

The writing is perfect and it plays a large part in why the series is so good. The issues completely ride on the writing since the fights are not very long. The dialogue must be spot on or else the series would be no good. Hopefully the writers do not change anytime soon since they are keeping the series on its pedestal. Who knows, this could end up being the definitive Hulk series although I don’t think that it lasted too long. Let’s just not make any more mistakes with Bruce like in the final issue.

We can chalk this up as another win for Marvel Now, but it still has some work to do if it wants to reach the New 52’s level of greatness. New Avengers and Hulk definitely get a pass, but I haven’t read many of the other big Marvel Now titles. Avengers sounds pretty iffy at some points and let’s not get started on Spider Man. The Iron Man series has promise. The Marvel Now initiative seems to have paid off with many of the titles and the art is very streamlined. I doubt that it will ever reach the New 52, but it’s good to see it doing so well.

Overall, The Indestructible Hulk is off to a very good start. It’s pretty impressive to see a Hulk series be so fun since he typically can’t hold his own series. I’m not really a Hulk fan and Bruce Banner is only good some of the time. He’s the kind of guy who needs a good writer to make him a fun character since many just make him a depressing/moody scientist who is not likable. There’s none of that here and the comic is good in all areas. (Writing, art, battles, characters, etc) I’m not giving it an 8 since getting to the great level is a really difficult feat, but this is a very fun comic book. I recommend this to all action fans and if you’ve been on the fence about reading a Hulk comic, this is a very good way to start. The next issue is the one where Thor appears if I recall correctly so it’s definitely the right time to get hyped up for volume 2.

Overall 7/10

Summer Wars Review

Posted on January 19, 2015 by dreager1

It’s been almost 3 years since I’ve seen this film so it’s a pretty good time for a revisit. Summer Wars is a film that deals with the cyber threat that can be caused by data programs that we built to keep us secure. If you ever watched Megaman, then you know that this typically backfires on the humans. It’s a heart warming film although I think it tried being a little too “American.”

Well, the plot begins as Natsuki hired Kenji to be her fake boyfriend for a few days. She promised her great grandmother that she would bring him along so she had to resort to this desperate gamble. It’s not a bad situation for Kenji since he’ll get a lot of free food, but he’ll have to survive this dangerous ordeal. He may have prepared for the worst, but even that is not enough as a satellite begins to fall down and threatens to cause an extinction level event across the country. The only way to stop it is to destroy the legendary Love Machine virus that has taken over the internet. One of Natsuki’s relatives is the owner of the legendary King Kazma, but it’s going to take a team effort to defeat him.

Well, I suppose that I should touch on the “American” comment before I go further. This film is one of those really high budget, theatrical experiences that feels like it could almost be American. Summer Wars, that airplane film, Spirited Away, they could almost pass for a product in the U.S.A. They just don’t have that anime feel that a film like Bleach or DBZ would have. It’s not because the film is pretty down to Earth though as Kanon and Case Closed still retain an intense anime feel to them. It’s something about the actual character designs and the animation in itself. It could be that it’s hand drawn, but it still doesn’t add up. There’s just some kind of “American” feeling here that’s hard to describe, yet hard to miss. I’ll admit that it does hurt the film a little since that anime feeling is why anime typically trumps western animation in the first place.

Back to the film, Kenji is not a bad main character, but he’s definitely not my kind of lead. He’s extremely shy and timid. Kenji never really gets over this and he lets the others push him around. When it comes time to fight, he chokes and the villain just pounds on him over and over again until he’s saved by King Kazma. He’s a math whiz, which definitely comes in handy. It’s his strong suit and those scenes are always pretty fun for him. Now, if only he would have more confidence and a tough aura about him…then he could have been a really good character.

Natsuki is the main heroine and she’s not very good at reading the mood. When the heroes are having a big confrontation with the mysterious uncle, she still jumps in with a happy greeting. Reading the mood is key when you’re in life or death situations since you need to react quickly and without hesitation. This weakness could cost her. More importantly, it’s hard to believe that she wouldn’t be aware of the drama around Wabisuke. Bringing along Kenji as her fake boyfriend was also a dicey move and the promise to her great grandmother was definitely ill advised. She may just be a little too realistic for me. She doesn’t go around beating up the main character or yelling a lot of hardcore lines. She panics a little too much and I would have liked to have seen her fight more.

Wabisuke is actually a pretty decent character and I was on his side when it came down to the Love Machine debate. He may have built it, but he sold the program to the US Army. I don’t think that he was in the wrong there since the army is the one who used it. He just wanted the money and building things is what we do. So, I was against Sakae and the others there since Wabisuke didn’t do anything wrong. He helps out in crunchtime and that’s how it should be. He was easily the most likable member of the family.

Kazama is the owner of King Kazma. King Kazma looks like a bunny, but his hand to hand skills are not to be underestimated. In the real world, Kazama became an accomplished fighter and that allows him to type his commands into the computer with a very good amount of speed. It’s all done through the keyboard so you have to be a good button masher. It’s like a less advanced version of Angelic Layer. The line between the cyber world and the real one tends to blur in the film as a person’s psyche seems to go to the digital world sometimes, but it’s technically realistic for the most part. Kazama’s not a bad character although he also tends to panic at some points, which doesn’t help him.

Sakae is a pretty nice lady and she helps out a lot during the big crisis by calling all of her relatives. She has friends in very high places at this point so that’s definitely good for her. I do think that she was in the wrong during the Wabisuke situation, but I guess you can’t win them all right? She’s definitely a decent supporting character and I’m glad that she crushed Kenji in the card game.

The fight scenes are pretty cool when they happen. Unfortunately, they are very short, but it certainly helps the film. A little action here and there is better than none and all of the best scenes are in the cyber world. King Kazma is definitely a solid fighter and the Love Machine’s human form made for a good villain. It’s a little embarrassing that Kenji couldn’t land a single hit, but we can safely say that he was just paralyzed with fear. The true graphics of the server was too much for him so I guess it’s sort of a legitimate reason for his defeat.

I basically covered the animation in the “American” discussion so I don’t really need to go over that again. Needless to say, it is good animation, but I just miss that anime feel. If I had to put a label on it, maybe lack of color is what I’m looking for. The film’s not very colorful in the human world so everyone is pretty faded. It also brings back traumatic memories of FLCL so that could also help me instinctively not like it as much as I could have. I’ve always preferred the traditional animation from TV shows and cash in films to the big budget productions because of this American feel. So, saying that this animation is technically below average for me may sound dicey, but that’s just because it can’t beat the standard animation that anime typically have. It’s naturally tough to compare a realistic slice of life to something like Naruto, but look as Kanon. It was pretty realistic, but the animation is still leagues beyond this one.

There is unfortunately some fanservice in the film at the very end. Natsuki gets a random transformation sequence that doesn’t have a purpose in the film. It was definitely shoehorned in at the very last second and the only bonus is that she got a super form at the end of it. The fanservice was not necessary for this transformation. There is also a brief scene where a baby is sucking to get his nutrients and I always wince there. It’s so unnecessary and I’ve always found that kind of thing gross. Just jot it down as one of the numerous reasons as to why I don’t care for babies. Luckily, it’s only there for an instant, but it’s a “not cool” moment.

As far as slice of life films go, I think the cast was definitely one of the main weak points. The writers seemed to be going for more of a total realistic vibe so it can be dicey. I’m all for really cheery films and they can be pretty fun in their own way like My Little Pony, Frozen, or Pokemon, but this one didn’t work for me. It’s not because they’re happy, but it may be just how expressive they are. They’re just bubbling over with happiness and the comedy scenes don’t work for me.

Actually, I think I just nailed it. The comedy is not my style. Like the old man recounting some of the famous war battles or Kenji constantly blushing. It’s just not my kind of humor I suppose as I prefer sarcasm and jokes that involve witty dialogue or quick thinking. This film has that sophisticated feeling that should definitely work for many, but I couldn’t dig it. On the whole, the film is actually a little hard to describe as we’ve seen throughout this film. I would say that it’s too mainstream, but that also counts titles like Sword Art Online (That was good before the series died in arc 2) and Soul Eater so that’s not specific enough. Maybe it’s more of a mainstream, realistic, film, which is why so much of it just didn’t appeal to me. I typically enjoy things that are not universally accepted like Yugioh GX (Black sheep of Yugioh until Zexal) and the Amazing Spider Man films.

Well, regardless, the film still isn’t a bad one. As I mentioned, the fight scenes are fun when they happen and I do like all of the scenes in the cyber world. You can just imagine how great the film would have been if it had all been there. I could have watched them do battle for 2 hours easy. The avatars were pretty cool and it definitely could have been like Megaman or Accel World. The actual film is about 2 hours and it was maybe a little too long for its own good, but my motto is technically “the longer the better” so it’s always hard to count that as a negative. More length usually equals more fights right? Love Machine’s final form was epic so I’m glad that we got to see that one. It’s too bad that it never got to fight, but I suppose that it was already pretty OP at that point. It’s design is like the Phantom Blot, but given an anime spin, which is basically always a good spin to put on it.

The soundtrack is decent. There aren’t many tunes, but we get a good theme when the Love Machine is beating up on Kenji. It’s a nice techno theme that sets you up for the nice fight that’s about to begin. (It still should have been a lot longer since it would have been awesome to have seen them really go at it. Unfortunately, the kids interfered over in the real world) Unfortunately, that’s one of the only themes in the film so I can’t really say that it’s a good soundtrack, but it gets the job done. I would have liked some more battle themes and that would have definitely helped the film out some more. Fights are the way to victory.

Overall, Summer Wars is a decent film. It’s not quite as good as the average anime film due to a lack of action and the animation style not being my favorite, but things reverse when you compare it to a lot of the big films here in the U.S.A. (Animation films anyway) It can hold its own there and the fight scenes to put it above a lot of them. The cast can be pretty annoying, which drags the film down, but if you want an emotional tale about family and friendship, this is the place for you. If not, check out Super Android 13 for an example of what I’m talking about when I say that you need to watch an anime’s anime film. That one is the perfect example of what to expect inside one of those.

Overall 5/10

Cable Classic Volume 3 Review

Posted on January 18, 2015 by dreager1

Time to check out a collection with good ole Cable as one of the main characters. Despite the title, you really couldn’t say that he was the main character for any of the Phalanx comics. That just leaves the opening one and the comics about the Morlocks. (The first one was about the Morlocks as well so it’s a bit of a trick sentence) Cable has definitely been one of the best Marvel characters when he’s at his best so let’s see if he can live up to that here.

The first comic is about Cable and Domino eating their dinner when they realize that the Morlocks are in trouble. Nothing really happens here, but this plot is resumed towards the end. The first half is mainly about the Phalanx. They have taken out the X-Men and they are ready to start assuming control over Earth. I’m not sure what the Avengers are doing, but maybe they’re just off planet. Regardless, it’s up to Cyclops, Jean Grey, Wolverine, and Cable to take the Phalanx down once and for all. They are prepared to do what needs to be done, but a secret that Cyclops and Jean are keeping from Cable could prove to be trouble.

After that big arc, the final comics involve Cable’s return to the sewers. Domino is still with him and they bring in Storm since she has ties to the Morlocks. They find out that the Morlocks and other mutants are being hunted by the Dark Riders. The heroes manage to fend them off, but the villains retreat for some reason. Cable doesn’t like this so the heroes decide to pursue the villains. Who is their leader and can the heroes really deal with such a powerful group of enemies?

The final comic is a really fitting way to end this collection. Legion has altered the past by destroying Magneto so now the entire universe is shattering because the M’krann crystal is acting up. It’s consuming galaxy after galaxy and the main one is next. Cable goes back in time (off screen) to warn Bishop and the others since the X Men lost their memories, but it’s futile gesture. The universe blows up and we’ll have to read another collection to find out what cop out/retcon allowed the heroes to survive this. I just have to give the collection some credit for ending here. It’s a perfect ending since everyone basically died. Imagine all of the super villains who had been planning to rule the world only to have it snuffed out so quickly. Same with all of the alien races and the Avengers. It’s just a little funny to think that all of their plans were spoiled just because a time traveler went to the past and altered it a little bit.

See, that’s why I’ve always found time travelling to be a little iffy. All it takes is one change for the multiverse to blow up. If you ask me, the multiverse should definitely not exist right now considering how easy it is to wreck time. Unless the One Above All or the Beyonder decide to fix it each time, oblivion should be the current state of the Marvel universe. Anyway, you gotta admit that it’s a pretty great ending.

Cable is a pretty good character here. He’s not quite as awesome as in X Sanction, but that would be almost impossible to replicate. He’s still a pretty determined hero here and it’s cool to see him keep pace with the other fighters when he’s just using his gun. As the issues go on, he starts to use his TK powers a little more, which certainly gives him a better fighting chance. He’s a pretty likable guy and he always puts the team first even if he doesn’t act like it. In his argument with Gambit, I was definitely on Cable’s side. That’s probably not very noteworthy since I really don’t like Gambit and I do like Cable, but it’s worth noting. Cyclops ends up blaming them both, but I think that Gambit was in the wrong. He was basically complaining for no real reason and he was certainly not helping the situation.

Domino gets a pretty large role here. Her luck abilities may not seem directly helpful in combat, but she continues to defeat any and all opponents who get in her way so it’s probably helping a lot in the background. I appreciate the fact that she tries to keep things platonic with Cable since that’s always the best thing to do in just about any situation. You don’t want to complicate things with your allies. The romance isn’t handled badly though so I won’t use it as a strike against the comic. It doesn’t take away from the rest of the collection and it certainly could have been worse. It’s handled in a civil way so kudos to the author. She’s a pretty likable main heroine and she’s always ready for a fight. She seems to be a little less sympathetic to the Morlocks than Cable is, but I suppose that it’s just how it goes when you’re used to being an assassin.

Cyclops is mostly only present in the Phalanc arc, but he looks pretty great. He’s portrayed as a superb leader who is always calm and collected. He makes the right choices and there’s nothing wrong with his character. He’s on par with Captain America on the leader’s best days. It’s easy to see why Cyclops is one of my favorite Marvel characters of all time and his portrayal is spot on here. Jean Grey also looks really good. She seems to have total control over her abilities so she is very good in combat now. She doesn’t get to fight all that often, but she plays a critical role in supporting the heroes when infiltrating the Phalanx. She lives up to her reputation as one of the strongest telepaths on the planet.

Wolverine’s role isn’t very big either, but he looks pretty good. This takes place at a time where he temporarily lost his Adamantium Skeleton so he’s in a weakened state. That’s definitely not great for him since he gets pounded a lot as a result, but he never backs down. Even without hie special abilities, Wolverine is a fighter and you can bet that he won’t go down without a fight. He’s definitely as likable as expected here and he still makes for a good rival to Cyclops.

Storm’s role isn’t huge, but she certainly helps a lot against the Dark Riders. One of those villains has elemental powers as well so it’s pretty satisfying to see her overpower him. Her weather abilities should certainly be a lot stronger than his and the comic doesn’t even make that debatable. She crushes him and she looks very good during all of the fights. As one of the senior X Men members around, I expect nothing less from this fighter!

Tyler gets a decent role as well since he is the final boss of the Morlocks arc. Let’s just say that he went off the deep end and you have to wonder what happened to him. Fans of the 90’s X Men show will definitely remember him and he’s certainly changed a lot since then. I like his new armor, but he’s a pretty generic villain once you get past that. His reasons for blowing up towns and hunting mutants are vague at best and there doesn’t seem to be much of a point beyond his actions. I don’t care for his character, but he makes for an intimidating villain. (When he has his helmet on)

The Phalanx is definitely one of the X Men’s more iconic foes. They usually beat their opponents through sheer numbers. It’s hard to really take them down in a physical fight so usually the X Men have to use some kind of electronic to disable them or just break their psyche. The heroes opt to do the latter this time and they do a good job of getting through the Phalanx’s defenses. I was actually expecting it to be more difficult for the heroes. The Phalanx make for good villains although none of their individual members appear to be likable. Luckily, this may change soon as he get a silhouette of a master Phalanx in space. He doesn’t like that his Earth forces were destroyed so he makes a threat about launching a real offensive there. That’s a cliffhanger that I can’t wait to see resolved since the leader looks really cool. Technically, I don’t see the X Men surviving such an assault so the Avengers better appear this time!

The Dark Riders used to work for Apocalypse and now they work for Tyler. They’re a pretty intriguing group, but I’m not familiar with any of their members. They’re fairly weak, which is why they typically go for Morlocks since those guys typically can’t fight back. I’m confident that the X Men or Avengers would have no trouble for them. None of the members are actually likable, but the designs are pretty good and I always like to see a super villain team.

The art is in that 90’s style so there are a lot of big splash pages where you have to turn your graphic novel. I was expecting it to be a little harder to follow than it was so that’s a good thing. Typically, you miss out on some of the action because it’s too chaotic, but the artist did a pretty good job of preventing that in this volume. Everyone probably looks a little too muscular and they can definitely be pretty exaggerated, but the art actually looks pretty good. This style certainly works pretty well for energy blasts. This will never be my favorite style though. It’s still hard to describe, but everyone is just a little too big and they all look pretty deranged this way. It’s pretty classic and there’s something about it that’s naturally appealing for fight scenes, but I’ll still take the streamlined X Sanction anyway. Long story short, the art doesn’t hurt the story.

The fight scenes are pretty intense. There are no real feats to be found here, but it’s still fun to see the fighters go at it. This collection is definitely a lot of fun. It’ll remind you of the good ole days from the Uncanny X Men. The writing is really good and the opposite of the Avenging Spider Man. It’s the type of collection that would have been a lot of fun even if the fight scenes had not been there, but they certainly help. Good writing plus good fights tends to result in a really good/great array of issues and that’s what happens here.

Overall, Cable Classic is a pretty good collection. The ending was perfect and the writing is really good. Just about all of the characters are likable and in character. The art complements the story pretty well here and it’s a very engaging read from start to finish. All X Men fans should get a kick out of this and I’d recommend it to DC fans as well since it’s a way to get introduced to the Marvel side of things. It may not be quite up to X Sanction level, but it’s definitely one of the better X collections that I’ve read. When you read this, get ready to see Cyclops as he was meant to be portrayed!

Overall 7/10

Jaco The Galactic Patrolman Review

Posted on January 18, 2015 by dreager1

It’s time for a recent one shot by Akira Toriyama. I can safely say that it’s more fun than Sand Land even if it isn’t quite up to par with DBZ. One thing that I’ve always liked about Toriyama’s titles is how clear the art is and the plot is also very direct. No beating around the bush here and the DBZ cameos are very much appreciated.

Jaco is a member of the Intergalactic Patrolmen and he is heading to Earth on his spaceship when he crashes past the moon and breaks his ship. He still lands on Earth, but now he has no way of heading back home or contacting his comrades. To start up his ship again, he’ll need a rare metal that is extremely expensive. Since he is a law abiding hero, Jaco can’t steal it. Luckily, he crashes on an island where an old man by the name of Omori resides. Omori agrees to help and a girl named Tights joins the cast as an ally as well. They all must prepare themselves because a powerful alien is quickly approaching, which is the real reason why Jaco is here. Can they defeat such a powerful fighter!?

First of all, it’s great to see the DBZ multiverse getting expanded here. This series takes place at around the beginning of Dragon Ball so you can probably guess who’s in the spaceship headed for Earth. Naturally, this does result in a cop out since the fight that we had been waiting for never gets to happen. The twist was definitely a double edged blade there and I would have loved to have seen a fight scene. I suppose that it’s worth it since we got to see Goku. Bulma and her folks also appear during the story and Bulma’s just a kid at this point. She still shows off the fact that she is a genius and her laser gun is not to be underestimated.

The DBZ references and cameos weren’t overdone. They were pretty much perfect and I wouldn’t have minded more of them. They certainly helped me enjoy the manga more than I would have otherwise. There is even a bonus story at the end about Bardock (Although the volume translates his name in another way I prefer this spelling. This is the true Bardock!) and Goku’s origins. It takes place a little before the OVA as he gets Goku to his spaceship and sends him off before going to confront Frieza and beginning the events of his second OVA. Frieza’s plan definitely seems a little less precise than usual here as he decides to blow up the planet without waiting for the other Saiyans since he felt like it. The author makes sure not to say how many Saiyans were not currently around so they can be used in the future I suppose. It’s interesting to note that the Super Saiyan God mode was mentioned here besides the usual Legendary Super Saiyan. That’s pretty neat since it makes Frieza appear to be in the know. He’ll be popping up in the new film soon and that will definitely be pretty epic. As always, he’s hyped to be Goku’s greatest adversary in this story and it’s easy to see why. There are definitely a lot of narratives for this fight and it’s where Goku finally liberated the Saiyans.

Back to the main story, it’s essentially a comedy. Jaco’s super abilities continue to shock everyone and his lack of knowledge on human culture can put him in a tough spot at times. Some scenes show signs of the old Dragon Ball humor that we hoped to avoid like sea monsters/fish that aren’t very polite and a random chest comment. Those are definitely not the best moments for the series. Luckily, they are few and far apart. Not to mention that the series doesn’t have any real fanservice, which is a big plus.

Omori is the main character and he dislikes all humans. He’s an old man now and he has been trying to build a time machine for a very long time. A traumatic experience where his wife died still haunts him and he wants to change that. Unfortunately, he hasn’t been able to get it to work and it can only speed up a person’s body so that they can temporarily gain super speed. When Jaco lands on his island, Omori decides to help him so that he can get Jaco out of his hair. As the volume goes on, Omori begins to soften up to the idea of actually having a friend. He’s a pretty likable lead and you can sympathize with him. He’s my favorite character in the series by a longshot.

Tights is the main heroine and she looks pretty similar to the big pop idol who’s going to ride on a rocket as a publicity stunt…intriguing. She believes in the alien story very quickly and she proves to be a very valuable ally to the heroes. She pays for some of the metal and she is the only one who can go shopping in public since the other two quickly become wanted fugitives. She complains a little more often than you would think, but all of the heroes do this a lot. The old man is typically grumpy and Jaco is hyper sensitive so she fits right in. Tights is definitely a pretty likable character and the twist makes her look even more heroic.

Jaco is the alien and his abilities are pretty impressive. It’s hard to tell exactly how strong he is, but Jaco has your basic super strength and speed at his disposal. He can’t fly, but he has jetpacks that are pretty good substitutes. He’s pretty full of himself and he’s actually not a very likable character. Jaco’s heart is in the right place, but he’s way too proud for his own good and he almost fails when it’s hero time. Crashing his ship twice for no real reason is definitely pretty embarrassing as well. I like his design and it will remind you of the androids in the DBZ series. We know that he is a talented warrior so it would be great to actually see him fight. His power level is probably not that impressive since he claims that an adult Saiyan would be stronger than him, but he’s still better than the humans. A normal Saiyan would probably have a power level of 5-10K so his should be somewhere in that range. He also has a weapon that can blow up life on a planet, but it’s specifically calibrated for humans this time so he wouldn’t hurt the Saiyans. It would be fun to see Jaco appear in a DBZ film someday, but mainly so that he can fight. His comedy gimmicks aren’t very funny so I could definitely take a pass on that.

Jaco’s art is pretty great as expected. Few series can really hope to match this artstyle. It’s very simple and yet the designs are all on the mark. The simplicity is probably what helps the fights to be so good since you can really focus on the moves. Most (If not all) of Jaco’s attacks are inspired from DBZ techniques. He uses one of Goku’s kicks and the rest of his attacks can definitely be linked to the legendary series. The energy blasts look as menacing and destructive as in the olden days and the landscapes should feel pretty familiar.

Overall, Jaco The Galactic Patrolman is a title that you will want to read. You’ll get a real nostalgis kick out of reading it. Hardcore DBZ fans definitely can’t pass this up since it expands on Goku’s origins and we get to see that his situation was even more similar to Goku’s than we could have imagined. Finally seeing Goku’s mother is also a pretty big deal. Many fans will be disappointed that it’s a new character and not an established one like Fasha, but that arguably makes things even more epic. Fasha is already a warrior so it’s probably for the best that she’s still on the front lines. If you aren’t a DBZ fan, this can still be pretty fun for you. It’s a lighthearted comedy that stays classy on the whole and it’s easy to read. It’s a fun adventure and it has that 90’s feel that is so hard to forget. It’s just a lot of fun and you may even feel bad that this couldn’t be the next Dragon Ball Z. I’m sure that it would have been great as an ongoing series, especially once the action kicked in. Jaco is one series (One volume series anyway) that you won’t want to miss and hopefully Toriyama can start working on that DBZ sequel manga now.

Overall 7/10

Avenging Spider Man The Good The Green and the Ugly Review

Posted on January 18, 2015 by dreager1

Looks like it’s time to review one of the volumes in the Avenging Spider Man series. I’ve read many Spider Man comics and I’ve heard about how they have gone downhill recently. A solid team up series is a good way to gauge how good they were from this point in time compared to the old days. The writing is pretty bad, but the art is good and we get some action scenes so it’s definitely a mixed bag. That being said, this is certainly a good comic to check out, even if Spider Man’s portrayal is not great.

This collects a few Spider Man team ups so each adventure really has to stand up on its own. First, we get a comic with She Hulk. Spider Man decides to help her fight some villains for no reason in particular. It appears that he’s just bored so he tails her to a party that he wasn’t invited too. One thing leads to another and some villains appear. They unleash a Cat god who now wants She Hulk to be her herald. Let’s hope that Spider Man is up to the task!

It’s a decent comic I suppose, but Spider Man definitely looked pretty desperate here. He just wanted to follow She Hulk around no matter what, which was pretty out of character for him. The writing in this issue was the main reason why I disliked it in the collection. Some of the lines would give me a headache although I did read it pretty early in the morning. They just didn’t make sense or maybe it was the way that the font was set up. As far as team ups go, Spider Man can do better.

The next pair of issues revolved around a team up with Captain Marvel. (I prefer the old title) Spiderman and Captain Marvel are trying to bond by exchanging secrets when a mysterious girl appears. She is being chased by robots/the government. She claims to be Robyn Hood and she seems to be insane. Spider Man decides to handle her while Ms Marvel takes on the robots. The mysterious girl has some dark secrets that rapidly change the situation.

This comic was better, but it still suffered from its share of problems. Spider Man doesn’t look too good since he’s in total panic mode the entire time and he cops out on his secret. Captain Marvel says hers and then Spider Man avoids the question until the very end. The writers seemed to be unsure of what to have him say so it’s naturally not on screen. The villains were fairly generic and they didn’t offer much to the story. Robyn Hood was an interesting character I suppose and it’ll be interesting to see if she ever appears again. There wasn’t a lot of action here though.

The final comic definitely had the most fighting and Spider Man got to finally team up with Deadpool. This is certainly a duo that we’ve been wanting to see for some time. Deadpool lets Spiderman know that a telepath is trying to get into his head so they are 4 levels down in his dreams. They have to beat the boss at the end of each level to rise higher and higher until Spider Man is fully conscious. That shouldn’t be too bad, but can Deadpool really help Spider Man wake up or will he just make the situation worse.

This comic was probably the most fun one in the batch. Seeing Deadpool without his mask can still be nauseating though so I wish that he would keep it on. Some of the lines can definitely be a little unsavory or just gross as you may expect from an issue with Deadpool in it. That hurts the overall issue a little, but it still manages to be the best in the batch.

The artwork is pretty decent although it’s definitely not very good. It feels like a TV show tie in comic so the quality is just very low. They were probably able to make this comic really quick and the effort just doesn’t seem to be there. It’s easy to read and you can easily tell who everyone is, but the animation definitely won’t be causing you to take a step back in disbelief. It’s not the greatest, but it doesn’t hamper the story.

As I mentioned, Spider Man doesn’t look very good. He still jokes around a lot, which can be good, but he doesn’t do anything to dispel the rumors that he is pretty weak in the newer comics. She Hulk intimidates him a lot and he doesn’t handle the Robyn Hood situation well at all. He looks pretty good in the Deadpool team up, but it’s not really enough to save his character. Finding the right mix of strength and jokes can be tough and this author couldn’t pull it off.

She Hulk actually looked pretty terrible in her issue. She goes off the handle very quickly and she seriously overreacts when she grows a tail. She yells exclamations more than once, which doesn’t seem to be in character and she’s just not likable at all. I don’t know how she can keep her job as a lawyer after this case is all over. She wasn’t apologetic about wrecking the party.

Captain Marvel looks good in her issue even if she isn’t able to fight all that much. Her strength isn’t diminished, but there just aren’t many opportunities for her. She gets to talk tough to one of the robots though and she’s clearly stronger than the rest of them, but there was not an opportunity to take the villains down. They were protected legally after all. Captain Marvel just didn’t get a lot of character though, but that still beats She Hulk.

Deadpool was true to form and that’s always good to see. He’s still on top of things and he has an answer to everything. You can never tell what he will do next and he never lets an enemy try to pull the wool over his eyes. When the terms of his deal change, Deadpool doesn’t accept that and quickly gets down to business. He’s still a villain despite how sympathetic he can be at times, but at least he helps out for the money once in a while. Agreeing to get stabbed as part of the heroes’ plan was pretty nice of him since it was a bit much to ask for.

Robyn Hood was pretty insane and the writers didn’t seem to know what to do with her, but she was an interesting villain. She definitely needs more character if she’s intends to stay interesting for future issues, but she did all right for her first appearance. I definitely liked her more than the hypnotist from the final issue. It’s impressive that he did so well in the fight against Spider Man, but that was mainly due to a lot of external factors. His ability is definitely a great one and it will be fun to see him appear again some day. Depending on the writer, he could probably be a lot of fun. As for the cat god, I’m definitely not a fan.

This review probably seems more negative than a lot of Spider Man’s other comics from the past and a good reason for that is the simple fact that it isn’t quite as good as the norm. The writing just isn’t good and the art is sub par. Some of the characters just don’t look as good as they should and the collection is really light on action. That being said, it still earns a positive rating on the fun factor. It’s still pretty fun to read and while it may not seem that great in retrospect, you’ll be blasting through the pages. There are no real stakes here, but seeing what the heroes do on their downtime can be fun as well. The action scenes that we do get also have some potential to be better if not for the factors that were previously mentioned.

Overall, Avenging Spider Man is a pretty good idea, but Marvel fumbled a little in the execution. With a proper amount of hard work and a good staff behind it, this could have been the next Brave and the Bold. As it stands, it’s still a decent comic to check out if you want to see Spider Man team up with some of the heroes in a nice throwback to the old days. This certainly won’t make you a big Spider Man fan so take his portrayal with a grain of salt. I recommend this to all superhero fans who just want to see them fighting and having fun, but a Spider Man comic that you would prefer is his “Cosmic Spider Man” trade paperback.

Overall 6/10

GI Joe The Rise of Cobra Review

Posted on January 17, 2015 by dreager1

GI Joe is one of those games that you really can’t help, but check out. It’s the very definition of a movie tie in as it has everything that you would expect one to have. I think that one of the ways that you can tell whether a game is big budget or not is the little things. As a whole, this game may look like any other overhead shooter, but it’s the small things that keep it from reaching the heights of other great shooters. No matter, it is still a pretty fun game and one that definitely gives you your money’s worth.

The Joes have captured Baroness and the Cobra organization appears to be gone for good. Everything is right in the world until they are attacked and Baroness escapes. It appears that Cobra may not be dead after all and they are using their new teleportation technology to create a lot of havoc. Duke is going to have to go back on the field with the other Joes to stop the enemies from gaining ground. The only question on everyone’s minds is…”Can Cobra really be back?” Time to find out!

There are 20 levels to be found here, which is a pretty reasonable amount. The levels are long enough so that they can’t be called short while not being nearly as long as a War for Cybertron or Shattered Dimensions stage. I’d say that they’re juuust right if you ask me. The levels are pretty repetitive as you go on, but the actual gameplay is always fun so I wouldn’t really count that as a negative. The gameplay is similar to Centipede Infestation or Alien Syndrome. It’s overhead, but close enough to the ground where it can almost feel 3D. You won’t realize that it is overhead until you are done…or that is typically the case anyway.

You take out your guns and try to quickly destroy all of the enemies who are in your way. Typically, your objective will be to destroy certain objects along your way to the end. This means that you can actually skip a lot of the enemies if you really don’t want to bother facing them. I do recommend fighting them since it’ll help you earn points to get more badges, but it’s your call. Beating the levels on casual difficulty will let you quickly get through them, but you will not be able to get 5 star ranks that way so it’s a double edged sword. The gameplay never gets old and it’s a lot of fun to just blast everyone in your way. You’ll rarely need to resort to hand to hand combat, but it can be fun to use once in a while as a change up.

Graphically, the game definitely doesn’t impress. The facial expressions can definitely look pretty bad, but it can be in a humorous way so I can’t really fault it. It’s pretty sub standard for a PS3 game, but I didn’t expect anything more than that. The graphics still look pretty good during the gameplay, which is what counts. No frills or extra things to polish up the graphics, but that’s all right. The soundtrack can be a little uneven as some themes are just really loud. Notably the “Go Joe” theme that plays when you activate your power up. Mixed in with the sound of your gun constantly firing, you’ll be tempted to lower the volume. The stage themes are pretty unmemorable, but they aren’t bad. The characters can sound pretty intriguing though and Cobra Commander is the best example of this. The writers definitely are not familiar with his character since he sounds nothing like the villain that we’re used too. He’s constantly losing his cool and shrieking. The Commander doesn’t even try to keep up a tough facade as he panics when the Joes break in. It’s tough for his fans to watch, but you will likely get a good chuckle out of him.

GI Joe definitely shines when it comes to the Replay Value aspect. There are 130 emblems to get, which will take you some time since getting 5 stars on every stage is truly a feat. You will need to find several collectibles in each level which can be tough and let’s not forget the trophies. They’re all pretty fair and while they can be time consuming, none of them feel cheap. If you really want to get the Platinum in this game, I’m confident that you will be able too. I’ve thought about it and I may get it at some point, but I’ll settle for obtaining most of the trophies for now.

The ending to the game is pretty unsatisfying though. First of all, there is no final boss. That’s pretty discouraging since each world had a final boss aside from the last one. Instead of fighting Cobra Commander, we got to fight a few generators that some minions were protecting. The game also plays it a little too safe with the story and all of the villains end up getting away aside from Baroness. That means that we go right back to the status quo from the beginning of the game where this was the case…..a bit lazy if you ask me.

Now, I mentioned that it’s the little things that separate this from a high budget shooter. One example of this is naturally the minor glitches. Nothing major luckily, but sometimes your gun will just go through an opponent and you’ll need to stop shooting and quickly start again. That’s not terrible and it’s quite rare, but it’s a little thing. Camera angles can be tricky and it’s easy to get lost in some of the levels. The gameplay is a lot of fun, but it’s not very deep so you really need to enjoy it or you will definitely find it repetitive. I recommend always choosing Heavy Duty since he has the best super attack in the game.

Overall, GI Joe The Rise of Cobra is a pretty fun PS3 game. It won’t be winning any awards in the near future, but it’s the kind of game that really goes by quickly. You’ll never feel bored as you tackle the Cobra agents and the plot is decently engaging. I’m glad that we do get actual cutscenes so the game definitely didn’t skip out on the budget. At 20 levels, it’s definitely long enough for you to spend a few days on it and more if you want the Platinum. I recommend this to all action fans who own a PS3.

Overall 7/10

The Maltese Falcon Review

Posted on January 17, 2015 by dreager1

The Maltese Falcon is a film that is even older than the original Godzilla. It’s definitely known as a classic at this point and with good reason. It’s a film that definitely holds up pretty well against the test of time. It’s nice and confusing without necessarily cheating the audience as it goes along. You have opportunities to try and piece together what is up amist all of the trickery that is afoot.

The main character is a guy named Sam Spade. He is a detective and one day a lady comes into his office asking him to tail someone. This guy may be dangerous so she wants them to proceed with caution. Sam has his partner tail the guy, but he ends up getting knocked off. This just got personal for Sam and he knows that the lady knows more. Other wrinkles quickly develop in the plot as an organization led by the Fat Man enters the picture along with a shady fellow representing another organization. What ties all of these individuals together is their desire to obtain the Maltese Falcon.

It’s definitely a pretty fun mystery as you watch Sam try to piece it all together. He definitely has no help since none of the characters want to be honest with him. He handles the whole thing pretty well for the most part although he does get knocked out once or twice. Sam is still human so I suppose he’s entitled to a few mistakes. One area where he didn’t look good was how he would let Brigid get to him even though he knew that she was pretty shady. By the end he makes the right call, but he should have kept the whole thing a little more business like anyway since he knew that it wouldn’t work out. As a detective, he’s definitely one of the best in the biz. He doesn’t back down from the cops or from gangsters. Sam just seems pretty fearless and we know that he isn’t, but his tough facade is a hard one to break down. He’s also a pretty talented fighter as he disarms several villains in the film.

Brigid is the main heroine and she constantly tells Sam lie after lie. It’s a good thing that he’s got a lot of experience at detecting those because she would have had him trapped otherwise. She got herself into this mess so it’s hard to feel sorry for her. She’s just as guilty as the other villains in pursuit of the Falcon so it’s hard to know which group to root for from the big 3. Regardless, she is typically on the defensive since she usually doesn’t carry a gun. She wasn’t my kind of villain.

Cairo is the kind of villain who acts really polite even when he is doing something sinister. He doesn’t look too impressive in his first fight with Sam, but he manages to do all right by the end. He is treated like a punching bag compared to the other villains though and you never get the feeling that his group will end up winning. He’s pretty brave and a quick thinker sometimes. Cairo’s a fun villain to watch, but one that you don’t expect to go very far.

Poor Wilmer is the main subordinate of the “Fat Man” and he always has a gun yet he is never really able to win. He’s constantly outmatched against Sam and the humiliations never stop for him. For a while you start to think that the “Fat Man” might just off him for being so inneffective as a hit man. Wilmer manages to escape that fate, but let’s just say that things aren’t all well and good for him by the time everything’s over. He does get more character than the “Fat Man” though. The boss talks tough, but he’s the kind of guy who really needs a bodyguard since he wouldn’t last very long on his own. He was a pretty fun villain and he also likes to act polite, but he enters the party pretty late. His final trick was a doozy though.

As with most of the old (Pre 60’s) films that I’ve seen, The Maltese Falcon has exceptional writing. If films still used the dialogue of the old days it would make for some pretty thrilling moments. There’s just something about the lines that makes all of the characters seem reasonably smart. It’s pretty neat and it’s probably one of the reasons why I like the feel of these films. The adventures are always very interesting and even if you manage to get lost in the shuffle of plot twists at some point, you’ll have had fun.

The ending was definitely a little unexpected, but in a good way. It was good to see a certain character get the last laugh after such a complicated endeavor. This character never actually gets to appear, but we begin to realize his brilliance once the final plot twist pops up. Trust me, it’s a doozy! It was a satisfying way to end the film and while we could in theory get a sequel, it can stand up on its own. The solid writing and good cast of characters definitely make the mystery entertaining. There is no soundtrack to be found here, but I suppose that I can overlook that this time…..I suppose.

Overall, The Maltese Falcon lives up to its reputation of being one of the best films of its time. It holds up well to the Hitchcock films or the other Bogart titles where he starred in a similar role. You may have some trouble keeping up with the names at first, but once you’ve go them down you’re all set to start deciphering the clues. Sam does let his feelings overwhelm him at times, but for at least 90% of the film, he’s the intense main character that we had been waiting for. I highly recommend checking this out if you like a good mystery.

Overall 7/10

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