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Sonic Lost World Review

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Sonic Lost World is the big Sonic game for the current generation (Yes, the Wii U is a part of the current generation along with PS4 and Xbox One) This time, Nintendo would be pulling the strings, so it would be interesting to see how that would work. This one was supposed to be very similar to Mario Galaxy, but would that be a wise move? Only time could tell and since we have had enough time, it’s time for things to get real!

The plot of the game is simple enough. Sonic and Tails are chasing Eggman, but he proves to be far too powerful to be defeated and he damages the airplane. It is revealed that Eggman has enslaved the Deadly Six and he’s using them to conquer the world! Sonic steps in to see that justice is served, but now he must deal with Eggman and the Deadly Six! The stakes get especially high when his friends start to die and he can’t save them!

All right, this game definitely had a lot more emotional scenes than the average Sonic game. The whole second half of the game used a lot of emotion as Amy and Knuckles started to have their life force sucked away from them and Sonic isn’t even able to help them. I won’t say whether they die or not, but let’s just say that the population of the planet probably shrunk pretty drastically towards the end of the game. Knuckles talked very tough until he was no longer able to do so and it shows us that he is not to be underestimated. He implied that he could actually defeat Sonic and that he would have saved them all a lot faster. Amy gets a decent role as she tries to remind Sonic how dire the situation is, but he doesn’t seem to get the memo. Amy and Knuckles don’t actually try to help Sonic as they may have realized deep down that they’re no match for his opponents.

Tails is a lot better than how he was portrayed in Sonic Colors and is slowly starting to look like his old self. He’s still not as good as he was in the good ole days, (Sonic Adventure 2 Battle) but he is a solid character. We find out some startling plot twists about how smart he truly is. Tails is definitely not a fighter anymore, but he’s a solid support character to have at the ready and his bond with Sonic is decently strong. It could be stronger as it was shaken thanks to Eggman, but he tried. Tails had one of the most “emotional” moments in the whole game and it does make you double think Sonic’s decisions. Tails is smart enough to deactivate the device on his own, so why do they really need Eggman? Just something to think about.

Sonic is the main character, but you probably could have guessed that with your eyes closed. Personality wise, Sonic’s pretty solid and he makes sure to mock his opponents whenever he has a chance. He is always ready to disrupt Eggman’s plans and he doesn’t back down from any of the villains. He almost seems to be amused by their threats and he definitely has an air of confidence about him. The main problem that I would have is the fact that Sonic has been seriously depowered in the recent games. In the cutscenes, you can see how slow Sonic is moving and makes the average debater really think that Rainbow Dash and (gulp) Mario could outrun him. (Check out Mario’s speed feats in Brawl. He nearly took Link down for the count) One of the villains nearly destroys him with a sandwich and the old man seemed to be a lot faster than Sonic. They’re doing pretty good on Sonic’s personality (Although I still miss all of his lines from SA2B.) but they definitely need to show his speed more.

Eggman is another one of the major characters in this game, but I did not like his portrayal. He gets some really intense lines, but they don’t match his personality and it just didn’t make sense. His “Heroic” moments were pretty cheesy and he’ll never become a truly cool character at this point. I’m not even going to mention SA2B this time, but Eggman needs to sharpen his coolness skills. Orbot and Cubot are definitely not helping and they should be written out of the script.

I think that we’re all interested to hear about the Deadly Six. They were definitely hyped a lot and they could become the next big thing right? Well, they do have their positives, but I’m not sure how long they could last before they start to become stale. Zavok is the leader of the group and he’s easily the best member.

It all starts with his character design and then things just move up from there. He seems like a villain who can actually fight Sonic in hand to hand combat and he doesn’t need gimmicks. That’s why it was a little disappointing when he used a giant monster at one point, but at least we got to fight him hand to hand later on. One problem is that Sonic Lost World doesn’t really let you get close and personal during a fight and we have to rely on speed and tricks to win. I would have liked a no holds barred fight like when we fought Gamma or Shadow in the past. Those were pure fights where you just had to take your opponent down for the count. That being said, Zarok does have potential and while his overall ability may disappoint some, he’s tough enough in the end. The game does use a lot of comedy so we couldn’t expect him to be the next Metal Sonic, but he’s still pretty good.
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The other members aren’t quite as good unfortunately. Zazz is pretty annoying and he’s one of the weaker members. I don’t think that this guy would really be a match for Mario, let alone a guy like Sonic! Zazz can’t really be taken seriously and I believe that he can’t overcome that big problem. We’ve also got Zeena and she’s not much of a fighter either. Her cutscenes should be taken pretty lightly and her abilities are really not impressive. There aren’t really any reasons to like her at the moment.

We’ve also got Master Zik who seems to be the wisest one in the group. I didn’t like how he appeared to be vastly faster than Sonic in the cutscenes and he was really all talk. He wasn’t ready for a fight of this level, but did anyone really expect him to be on Sonic’s level? Zomom is a guy who likes to eat his sandwich. I’ll never forget the cutscene where he nearly defeated Sonic by accident with it. He’s a very weak fighter and he’s one of the slowest guys that you’ll encounter so…why is he fighting Sonic? Please Understand that I don’t fully understand! Finally, we have Zor. Zor can’t really fight either, but at least he realizes that this won’t affect the cosmic scheme of things. He seems to accept the fact that Sonic and friends are out of his league and is mostly there to be defeated.

I have to say that the Deadly Six should probably not appear again. Zavok was easily the best member of the group, but he was really the only decent member. The others are all basically non combatants and would be better in sport games. It’s still hard to take any of them seriously after what Eggman did to them and they’re no match for Sonic. I think Sega needs to go back to their roots and give us enemies like Shadow and Metal Sonic. Those guys were true threats!

Gameplay wise, I would definitely say that the game has a lot of the same elements as Mario Galaxy. It’s essentially a mix of Mario Galaxy and Sonic Colors so the gameplay is really fun. The levels flow pretty well and the controls are pretty fluid. There was one level with the search light that was extremely difficult. It was easily the toughest part of the game and made the final boss look like kid stuff. One Mario element that I should mention is the fact that Zavok turns into a giant monster and they’re in a fire area. If that’s not borrowing from Mario, then it’s time to pack our bags and head to Nintendo’s Gamecube commercials! You will probably miss the Pro Controller in this game, but the Gamepad is still better than the Wii Remote. The controller scheme will be back to normal for the next gen so you just have to hold out and make the best of it.

The game has a pretty solid soundtrack. You won’t really remember many of the tunes after completing the game, but if you try to think about them hard enough, then I’m sure that you will remember a bit. The villain’s have a pretty catchy tune and the music is mostly somber aside from that one.

Animation wise, the game is pretty good. We’re not at Adventure 2 Battle level, but it does look better than Sonic Colors. I’m not sure if it beats Sonic and the Black Knight overall, but the gameplay looks sharper. I still have to get a little used to Sonic’s look, but it’s pretty good. It helps to convey his confidence and determination. That’s good since the games have basically cut out all of the other epic characters like Shadow and Silver.

Overall, this is a solid addition to the Sonic franchise. The series is definitely in the comedy genre now and Sega will likely try to keep it light and friendly for as long as they can. I will definitely miss the intense days of Adventure 2 Battle, but the new games are fun as well. I do believe that they should tone down the comedy and bring back some of the all star characters, but at least they took a step in the right direction by adding some new characters. They should also remove the Wisps as they are unnecessary and are actually some of the worst parts of the gameplay. Tails finally got some new feats and we got to see that Sonic is definitely the toughest character on the block at the moment. I definitely recommend this game and maybe you’ll enjoy the emotional moments. It definitely makes things interesting and adds a new dimension to the game…or it tries too at any rate. If you got the Deadly Six Edition, then you also get to try out a bonus level which is pretty fun. You get to fight all of the bosses again, but they’re slightly modified and ready to take you down for good!

Overall 7/10

Batman The Brave and The Bold Volume 3 Emerald Knight Review

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Batman typically has an array of solid comics and the Brave and The Bold titles in particular have always been solid. The stories are decently good and I’d say that the comic is decent overall. There’s no reason to really dislike them, although they are naturally pretty basic. There are multiple stories and the collection even skips some of them so that we can see the best ones..or are they just skipping them to keep a green theme? Either way, I don’t approve, but let’s see how much fun the comics were!

The first comic involves Batman taking a solid injury to his leg and he is unable to protect Gotham City anymore. His friends quickly realize that this could get dicey for the city so they decide to dress up as Batman and stop the villains, but can they really defeat such a large number of opponents? This comic was pretty solid since it’s nice to see Batman’s friends try to help. Batman may have been a little ungrateful about the whole thing, but at least Robin was ready to come and help. I’d say that Shazam did the best job, but it’s arguable I suppose. It’s a fun story and it shows that even villains can be nice sometimes.

The next comic dealt with Huntress as she requests Batman’s help to fend off a new villain. This villain is pretty tricky and his riddles would even make the Riddler proud! The writers didn’t really handle the Huntress that well unfortunately and the ending was very cheesy. This definitely wasn’t one of the better comics and I’m glad that the others managed to step up their game.

We also had a comic where Batman had to team up with Wonder Woman as they faced off against an egg themed villain. The actual villain was pretty weak, but then they woke up a being of immense power! Batman bravely leaped into the fray, but can he hold out until Wonder Woman has to come and save him? The comic was decently good although the writing was a little cheesy again. Batman and Wonder Woman end up telling each other the same thing in the comic. One of them says it at the beginning while the other says it at the end.

Next up, we had a team up with the Martian Manhunter! Let me tell you, this guy’s no joke! The Martian Manhunter has super strength and…he looks pretty bad in this comic. If not for Batman’s quick thinking, both of these guys would be down for the count and the White Martian (aka, the villain of the comic) would have won. The comic was fun since the stakes were higher than usual, but Martian Manhunter still managed to look pretty bad. Dr Fate gets his kicks in, but it’s ultimately Batman who must do the heavy lifting.

Next up, we had Cyborg Superman as he tries to take Green Lantern’s Power Ring by force! That’s not a very nice thing to do, but luckily for Hal, Batman’s around! Hal looks pretty weak for the most part, but he is up against Cyborg Superman so I would say that it’s pretty understandable. Cyborg Superman is definitely under powered in this issue, but he still manages to give the heroes a good run for their money. It’s always great to see Batman use the Power Ring and he almost put it to good use. Adding in the Manhunters was also a nice bonus and things got real! The comic definitely had more stakes than the others and it was nice to see such an epic villain.

Finally, we had Hal appear again as he teamed up with Batman to fight an all powerful being. This guy is definitely not to be underestimated and things get intense when Batman realizes that he must make a tough decision. Green Lantern looks pretty weak again, but Batman looks good and I suppose that he is the most important character anyway.

The comic did have some key negatives such as the art. The art is actually pretty bad and it makes most of the other Batman comics look good. The characters are typically off model and it doesn’t really look like they put a lot of effort into it. You wouldn’t find art like this in the mainstream titles like Justice League or Superman. A Batman Brave and The Bold comic should definitely get more respect than this and it’s what I’ve come to expect.

Another negative is the writing. It’s not completely bad as there can be good parts to it as well, but many of the lines are very cheesy. Some of the characters are just not written well and you just have to sigh as you miss the good ole days. The writing can definitely get better if the author really puts some heart into this.

Overall, this is a decent comic at best. It is a little close to getting a 6, but it’s still fun. There are many flaws with it, but it’s a nice collection of stories to read if you’re tired or just feel like reading something. There’s no deep plot or anything like that, so you can just pick it up and start reading. It’s a decent start to your DC career, but the art can be a turn off. That being said, I still recommend it since the cast of guest stars is pretty strong and you actually get to see Cyborg Superman.

Overall 7/10

Star Wars Episode V The Empire Strikes Back Review

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There are many film series that fall into the sequel trap. After having a great start, they start to relax and the sequel falls into the ground. (Spider Man 2. It wasn’t awful, but it was easily the weakest of the trilogy. Still a decent film though) The first Star Wars film was better than I had anticipated, but could the sequel hold its own? The climax fight is definitely better than the first film, but this one falls into more traps than the first one and is definitely not in the same league.

The plot of this film picks off from the first one, but a lot of time has gone by. The rebels are currently based on an icy planet and Han Solo has decided that he needs to leave since the bounty hunters are after him once again. This time they aren’t ordinary bounty hunters since the legendary Boba Fett is among them! He doesn’t have time to leave as the rebels quickly evacuate the planet and he heads off with Princess Leia as they attempt to escape from The Empire. This subplot gets a lot of screen time and some can even make the case that it is the main plot as they travel across the unknown.

The other plot involved Luke Skywalker as he heads off to star system because Obi Wan Kenobi’s ghost told him that he should. He meets the fan favorite character, Yoda, and he starts to train. Those are the two main plots in the film and they both come together by the end. Were the plots engaging? Welll….that’s where things get tricky.

The first film was definitely a lot better in the plot area. Luke training for The Force wasn’t that great since it was mostly Yoda trolling him the whole time. It’s great that Luke can get stronger, but it wasn’t the best plot. Han’s plot was a lot more interesting, but he flirted a lot more than in the second film and it could definitely get tiring.

Yoda is a pretty big Star Wars fan and just about everyone likes him, but I’m definitely not a fan. He’s supposed to be the wise guy who’s been through thick and thin, but isn’t that what Obi Wan is for? Yoda also gives out some awful advice during crunch time and advises Luke to stay and train while his friends get terminated. Luke’s a little too cool for that and he quickly heads off, even though Obi Wan doesn’t help matters either. Yoda would likely be a cooler character if we could see him fight or do something really cool, but right now he seems like he’s all talk. Before the twist, he was also acting pretty strange.

Luke is a mixed bag in this film. On one hand, he is definitely more experienced in this film and he makes the Hero move towards the end. That being said, he had a pretty awful intro where he was actually defeated by an ice beast in one hit. He managed to get out of the cave, but then he couldn’t withstand the icy wilderness and was taken down for the count once again. It was pretty hard for Luke to rise up the personality ranks after such a performance. He was also caught up in Princess Leia’s charms and didn’t really take it all very well. In the end, I still don’t really care for the character in the film series, but I like him overall. He was decently good during the final battle although I think he could have put up more of a fight.

Han Solo is hardly the greatest character in the roster and he definitely needs to show more alertness while on the job. As long as Chewbacca is with him, I don’t think that they’ll be doing so well with their spaceship. Chewbacca definitely tries, but he’s still not very likable. Dying didn’t do Obi Wan any wonders either. If Han spent more time on beating up enemies and less time flirting, then maybe he could be more of an admirable character.

Princess Leia hasn’t gotten any better during this film either as she is still leading everyone on. She’s pretty much chosen Luke over Han, but why should she choose at all? They’re at war with The Empire so she should have more important things to think about. I’m not even going to mention the two droids as they didn’t really help matters and basically held Luke and Han back the whole time.

It’s time to get into some of the mistakes that cost this film some points. The first one is definitely the animal violence. The first film steered away from this for the most part, but this one just couldn’t escape. We have the opening scene where Luke’s camel (type of creature) is slaughtered by the ice monster and then Luke takes off the poor beast’s arm. Later on, Han cuts one of the creatures open after it dies from the cold. Those scenes were definitely in bad taste and I couldn’t forget them as the movie went on. From that point, the film was definitely not going to pass the first one.

That was the big hole that the film fell into, but I had some minor complaints with other parts as well. This film definitely had a lot more romance than the previous one and it made all of the characters act pretty loopy at times. Finally, the film had some pacing problems. I wouldn’t call the film boring per say, but the best scenes were easily the ones with the villains. Lando’s plot with Hal was decent enough and it was much better than Luke’s, but it still had some dull moments. This is one of those cases where I think that it may have helped to cut out a solid 30+ minutes.

At least Darth Vader was still a pretty solid villain. The plot twist about his master could have completely destroyed everything, but this is where you’ve got to look at this objectively. Darth Vader is just using this guy and he’ll betray him soon enough….is what we’ve got to think. This is the only way that Darth Vader can stay as an imposing villain and it’s the only explanation that I want to believe at this point. “I’m YOUR FATHER!!!” is probably something that you’ve heard a lot at this point right? Well, the twist never gets old and we’ll never forget that line.

The film is less action packed than the first one with only a few scenes that contained any fighting. For the most part, I would label this film as an adventure as opposed to an action. The final fight makes it all worth it since Darth Vader battling Luke Skywalker was the best Star Wars fight to this point. It may have been a little one sided, but Luke gave it his all and that’s what counts!

I do have one last complaint although it’s relatively minor. The music score in the first Star Wars film was very good and I can see why it has been renowned for this. Unfortunately, the music in this film isn’t nearly as good and I can’t really think of any solid tunes. I think this leads up to the point that the second film just didn’t feel as theatrical. Everything, from the special effects to the music made it feel more like a tv film than a theater film. The Lightsaber action is great as always, but it would have been cool to see some more movement in the actual fight.

Overall, this is still a solid film, but definitely not on the same level as the first film. Yoda and the animal violence help to bring the overall score down among other factors. Luke is still not the protagonist that I remember from the good ole days (Although he showed a glimmer of this as he ditched Obi Wan and Yoda to go save his friends) and Darth Vader seems pretty depowered. I’m confident that they will repair some of these mistakes in time for the sequel since every trilogy needs to end on a really solid note. This is still a solid film to watch and may be a nice jumping on point for new fans, but I’d recommend IV a little more since it’s a better movie. Watch out for Luke’s big jump towards the end as you watch the film!

Overall 5/10

Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope Review

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Star Wars is a pretty huge franchise and you will have definitely heard of the franchise at some point during your life. The franchise is huge in just about all areas including: Video Games, a popular TV series, many comics, and the large film franchise. The series may not have had over a dozen films like some other series, but each film has grown to be very popular. I saw this film many years ago and after re watching it, I can definitely say that I liked it more than the first time around. There’s a lot to say about a classic film such as this one, but let’s get into the plot first.

This film mainly deals with the adventures of two characters who go by the names of Luke Skywalker and Han Solo. In this film they are typically featured in the same scenes, but they do have their own story lines that continue through this film and the sequels. I’m sure that most of you know the basic plot of Star Wars, but I’ll give a little recap just in case. The Empire is basically in charge of the galaxy and you can call them The Empire. They’re more corrupt than the average government and there is a small group of rebels who currently oppose them. Unbeknownst to all of this, Luke Skywalker dreams of leaving his planet and going to where his friends now reside. His uncle is against the idea and he constantly tries to show Luke who’s boss, but it’s to no avail.

Luke ends up going with C-3PO to find R2D2, but he is attacked by the sand men. Ben Kenobi saves them and reminds Luke that he has a duty to help him save the universe! R2D2 delivers a message to Kenobi and they realize that they must get the schematics of the Death Star to the Rebels and also free the princess. Luke’s uncle may not approve, but he’s quickly annihilated along with whoever was still in the village. Luke takes this chance to go with Kenobi and they head off to stop Darth Vader and the Death Star!

Please understand that this is a very rough/abridged version of the plot. Star Wars is a film that does a good job of fitting a lot of plot points into one scene and you can tell that this was the start of a franchise. There are numerous characters and scenes that could lead to future plots and they’re all fairly interesting. The first scene where Darth Vader and the Storm Troopers take on the army is pretty fun and definitely holds up well. This may be a 70’s film, but they certainly knew how to use their budget and clobbered the effects from the Star Trek films. (Pre reboot and even then, they make it close to the first one)

Darth Vader has always been one of my favorite Star Wars characters and this film definitely shows me why this is true. He completely outranks all who oppose him and he never backs down. None of the good guys really seem to be a match for him and he creates a feeling of dread whenever he appears. He seems to work for a human in the Empire, but it’s hard for the believer to…believe this! Darth Vader is much stronger than any of the other villains since he can use the force and is very experienced in its use. He demonstrates how he can choke a person with it and use telekinesis. This is one character that will definitely be sticking around for a long time and his character design will stay awesome as his helmet is unforgettable.

Luke Skywalker is one of those characters that I’ve always liked and I barely know why. It may have been from when I saw the Clone Wars animated film, but I’m not completely positive. Either way, it definitely wasn’t this film that did it for me. Luke is definitely not a bad character, but in this film he’s still a novice when it comes to the Force and he’s not a character that really stands out. He’s a hero through and through, but there really isn’t much too him. He’ll get a lot of character development through the sequels, so we don’t really need to worry about him. He’ll definitely have his moments at some point.

Han Solo is a pretty good character for the most part and he’s a lot more charismatic than Luke. He’s definitely not as heroic and noble as he is still a bounty hunter. He seems to have gotten in with the wrong crowd and getting out isn’t very easy. He’s not a complete hero, but we are led to believe that he’s a good guy deep down. He ends up getting attached to the other good guys and slowly starts to turn towards the good side as the film goes through. He flirts a lot during the film and Princess Leia continues to use him and Luke. If not for the flirtations, Han would easily be the best hero in the film. He’s a good pilot and his ship is pretty fun to watch since it can definitely fly at high speeds!

Princess Leia is one of the big characters of the film as well, but I can’t say that she was quite as likable as the other characters. I believe that she tried a little too hard to be the real “tough” character and it didn’t translate so well. I never really comment on acting ability and I don’t intend to start now, but she did seem to overact a little unless it was part of her character. When Princess Leia would talk, her eyes would always be opened very widely and it looked a little puzzling to say the least. That being said, it’s more of a positive than a negative. At least Leia is a hardened professional and her gun skills are…..better than the Storm Trooper’s! I can’t say that I’m a fan of her, but she’s far better than some of the other characters coming up.
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To spare myself from wincing, I’ll be shorter with these characters coming up. Let’s start with R2D2 and his pal, C-3PO. R2D2 can get really annoying as the film progresses since he can’t talk and is constantly getting the characters in trouble. He’s pretty mean to the heroes when he needs to be and he just won’t listen to reason. C-3PO is the comedy character, but he’s not really funny and he makes the effects feel dated. The effects are quite good, but his character looks pretty clunky. This could be intentional, but I’m not sure and he’s a pretty sad character. We’ve also got Chewbacca and his “roar” can quickly make you turn the volume down. I can barely imagine hearing that sound in theaters, it must have been ear splitting! He’s a pretty annoying character, but I suppose that he’s not awful. He’s definitely better than the two droids, but he doesn’t really add anything to the table. If he had not been in the film, I doubt that anything would have changed.

We can’t forget about Ben Kenobi…or should I say, *Spoiler Alert*Obi Wan Kenobi!!!!! He’s the wise man who was very tough in the past and he wants to make sure that Luke doesn’t make the same mistakes that he did. He knows a lot of neat tricks with the Force, but he is no longer able to fight as well as he could. He gave Darth Vader a decent fight, but Darth Vader was hardly trying and they were definitely not in the same league. It’s good that he tried and he was actually a decent character. He may not have been around for very long, but he gave Luke a reason to fight. Let’s see if it helps him in the next film!

I nearly forgot to mention the Storm Troopers! Their aim was about what I expected and it is fun to see them miss targets at very close range. The heroes are usually right in front of them and the Troopers will still find a way to miss. That being said, their uniforms are pretty cool and they never back down from a fight. These fighters have a Lion’s Heart and they’re some of the best cannon fodder that I’ve ever seen. The Chitauri could learn a thing or two from these guys. It’ll be interesting to see how they deal with the Jefi in the upcoming films.

As stated earlier, the effects for this film were pretty good. The beam fights were fun and the Lightsaber will always be a very cool weapon. The Force seems to have almost unlimited power and it really comes down to will power, but it also makes for some cool visuals. Seeing the Death Star take out a planet was also pretty awesome and a solid way to make the weapon threatening.

To throw my two cents in on the Star Wars vs Star Trek debate, I’ve always been on Team Star Wars. I prefer the characters, video games, TV shows, and comics. Filmwise, it’s a little harder since the latest Star Trek film was so good, but once I watch the other Star Wars films, I’m confident that it will pass Star Trek. The Clone Wars may have already given Star Wars the edge, but this will make it certain. Star Trek is still a…..interesting take on the Sci-Fi genre and the last film was quite good, but Star Wars definitely has the edge. This is the stuff of legends and Boba Fett hasn’t even appeared yet!!! (Jango Fett is also pretty awesome in the Bounty Hunter video game)

Overall, this was a very solid start to a great franchise. It’s easy to see why Star Wars was such a great hit as this film avoids the mistakes that most other films make. This film is pretty fun and it definitely goes by pretty quickly. Luke has not hit his stride yet, but just wait until the next film where the stakes increase and we start to reach the climax. I’ll have a review up for that film in the near future to continue the Star Wars streak!

Overall 7/10

FLCL Review

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FLCL is a pretty legendary anime to many who have seen it. Some have called it a masterpiece and explained why it’s one of the best anime out there. I can only imagine what anime they must have seen before this one (Fruits Basket? Nah, even that one’s better than this!) because FLCL is officially the worst anime that I have ever seen. I dare say that it’s the worst animated show that I’ve seen and that’s saying something.

This show tried to be a lot like Serial Experiments Lain. While I did not care for that show too much, it was leagues better than FLCL. Lain may have had some weird moments and scenes that were filler, but some of the conspiracy theories were fun to watch and the fact that aliens started to appear made things even cooler. FLCL is also a very strange show, but there is no payoff and most of the “strangeness” is just used for fanservice. You can’t go a minute in the show without something wince worthy happening.

Takun is the main character and he’s one of the worst main characters that you will ever see in any media. He’s the type of guy that ends up falling for just about anyone and he has absolutely no will power. He can’t seem to make up his mind and he’s constantly whining about something. Anyway, he is run over by a motorcycle one day. The person who ran him over is an alien (Sure, why not) named Haruko and now robots are able to transport through Takun’s head by way of a portal. Takun is the only head that seems to be naturally able to do this although others can be forced like Mamimi and Eri. Takun decides that he will help the fugitive Haruko to defy the law and try to incinerate the planet by finding the Pirate King.

As you can see, Takun is a very unlikable character and he definitely seemed ready to betray Earth in a heartbeat. I don’t even need to go into the other characters because they are all very awful. Haruko is just there to lead on all of the other characters and his friends are all very sad as well.

The show suffers from hundreds of problems, but there are several big ones that should be noted. The first is that the music score is horrendous pretty uninspired. There are no themes that stand out and they constantly keep on reusing the same old themes over and over again. Considering that this show is less than 10 episodes, it’s sad that the themes drag out so much.

Another one of the show’s problems is the fact that it does drag out. The series is only around 6 episodes and yet it will feel like you’re watching a 3 hour movie each episode. It’s not that they cover a lot in each episode…far from it! Each episode is essentially filler and nothing happens in the entire series. Each episodes drags on and on and you’ll constantly be looking at the clock to try and gauge how much time is left. None of the jokes in the show are funny and the characters are all so bad.

I already mentioned the characters earlier, but that is one of the critical negatives of the show. Just about every single character in this anime is perverted and they are all very bad characters. I should probably give more of them losses on the blog in the future.

The animation is also pretty awful. The show was going for a cinematic look, but that’s not a very good thing in the first place. Standard animation is still the best, although you still have the rare cinematic animation that really works. (DBZ Hatchiyack, Transformers G1) The show tries to disguise the terrible animation by making things go crazy, but it just makes the show look worse. The show came out in 2000, but I could name shows from the 70’s and maybe earlier that had far superior animation.

There are dozens and dozens of other problems with the show, but we don’t want to be here for the next 10 years. Either way, you get the drift. This is a show that you should stay far away from. It has terrible characters, terrible animation, terrible plot, terrible setting, terrible pacing, terrible episode count, terrible soundtrack, terrible character designs, terrible voice acting, terrible…..etc.

I didn’t mention any good things did I? There was the final fight in the final episode, but it was only about a minute long and it ended with a total cop out, plus it was a fight between two extremely awful characters and the power levels were very inconsistent so it just ended up adding more errors to an already loaded show so I figured that I probably shouldn’t add this as it would only make the situation worse for the show and we wouldn’t want that. That’s probably for the best since there weren’t any real good things about the show.

Overall, you do not want to check this show out. Do not believe the reviews and just remember how awful it is. The amount of fan service and perverted characters should be an instant warning sign for you. This is definitely the worst anime that I have ever seen and it’ll probably stay that way. (I hope so, for my sake!) If you want to watch something strange, then check out Serial Experiments Lain, although I can only half recommend that. Otherwise, seriously..just watch any other show. It’s bound to be better than this and FLCL is something that will hopefully die into obscurity. (After I finish drop kicking the characters on the blog) In the end, I don’t get how anyone could like this show. To each their own, but do yourself a favor and don’t watch this. This is something that you will want to forget. This show offends your eyes!!!

Overall 0.000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000/10

Batman The Brave and the Bold Volume 2 The Fearsome Fangs Strike Again Review

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Batman the Brave and the Bold is always a pretty fun comic series and this volume is no different. This collection brings several comics and while there will always be a weak link in there, they’re pretty solid over all. Batman proves that he is one of the best comic book characters once again and he doesn’t mess around. If you’re thinking about picking up a DC comic, then you’ll want to pick this one up!

First, we’ve got a team up with the Doom Patrol. It’s not a very thrilling comic, but you never expect such a thing from the Doom Patrol. They always were known as a backup team after all…no offense to the team of course. Batman showed everyone up as per usual, but the Doom Patrol were not very interesting. It’s not a bad comic by any stretch of the imagination, but I’m definitely glad that things went up from that point.

The next comic involved the Yeti and it was much better because the guest stars were pretty cool. The Great Ten may sound like a cheesy name, but the members are pretty cool. One of the members is essentially a DC version of Iron Fist and we’ve also got the mean Alphonse type of character. Batman proceeds to tick them off, but to his credit, it doesn’t seem intentional this time. They’re just easily offended and you can hardly call them a real team. They help each other out, but they are definitely not friends. Why won’t they let Batman finish off the Yeti? You’re going to have to read the comic to find out! This was easily one of the highlights of the comic collection and you’re sure to like it.

The next team up involved Catman and it’s sure to be a controversial story. The main reason for this is the fact that Batman implies that Catman may be superior to him in hand to hand combat. He mentions how Catman has no openings and he may not win a fight with him. We don’t get to see them have a full fight, but Batman is having a lot of trouble with him and it seems like he may have lost in the end. The plot involves how Catman seems to be a hero for justice, but based on what I just said…do you believe him? This was the best comic in the collection overall and it’s one of the more serious themed comics. Catman is actually a decent character until the end and I wonder if he’ll ever be this cool in the mainstream titles.

The next comic was not one of the better ones as Batman lost control way too easily and he got turned into a raging beast. Will the combined forces of the Atom and Green Arrow be enough to stop him? They are definitely tough fighters, but they aren’t quite at Batman’s level. That being said, Batman is a raging beast, so it shouldn’t be too hard to dispatch him. I couldn’t get around the plot hax that was in this issue and it was a little cheesy. It was definitely one of the weaker comics, but it was all right.

The next comic involved Green Arrow once again as he teamed up with Batman to take down the Terrible Trio. These guys are basically lightweights, but they may have found a way to drastically increase their powers. This comic is pretty fun since it’s basically nonstop action and the villains are actually pretty cool. They won’t be winning any awards, but they were solid. Batman showed that he’s still superior to Green Arrow by the end and it’s why he’s the Dark Knight!

Finally, we had a Christmas comic. I’ll admit that the comic was very ambitious, but just didn’t click with me in the end. The stakes were definitely at their highest, but….there wasn’t much room for action. There was technically a good amount of it, but I just couldn’t get into the comic. Maybe it’s because they tried too hard to make it very sad and emotional, but I do appreciate the fact that they tried.

The art for the comic was pretty solid and I have to say that it defeated Friendship is Magic’s art. The art wasn’t spectacular, but it furfilled its duties and the fight scenes came out well. The character portrayals were pretty spot on and Batman was shown to be an experienced fighter. It’s about time after all of these shows and comics where we see him back in the novice days.

Overall, this was a solid comic collection. It’s not amazing and won’t beat the average Superman or Justice League comic, but it’s a nice way to pass the time. The collection only brings a few comics and they’re decently short so it won’t last you very long. None of the comics are quite as unbearable as some of the ones in the other collection which is a plus, although I would have liked to see Superman at some point. At least we got some of the more obscure characters appear so that will be good for their fans. I look forward to reading the next volume in this series and I definitely recommend checking this one out.

Overall 7/10

Psycho Review

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Psycho is a pretty famous movie from Hitchcock and it’s pretty legendary. Unfortunately, it’s one of those films where the hype is definitely more intense than the film. This is essentially a horror/slasher film that plays out as you would expect most of those too go. The only difference is that there is no twist ending involved, which probably wouldn’t have hurt. I’ve never watched a good slasher film and I doubt that there is such a thing, but this is definitely Hitchcock’s worst film. He should stick to the murder mysteries, but let’s jump to the plot!

The film opens up with an awful scene involving Marion and Sam which should quickly start the warning bells in your head. Once she leaves, Marion goes to her nice ole job where people throw lots of money around. One look at that money is enough to corrupt Marion and she quickly gets out of town and decides to head to a private island. This is obviously the only course of action for her by this point and she makes it a point to act as suspicious as she can. She even falls asleep at the road and quickly starts to act like a criminal. She decides to stop at an abandoned motel to spend the night. At least the landlord seems nice and he’s got a nice mother…what could possibly go wrong!?

If you’ve seen any sort of slasher film, then you can probably guess where the film will go from here. Norman Bates is the main villain of this story and the fact that he believes in animal violence should have helped the main character realize this. Unlike Jason or Freddy, Norman isn’t much of a fighter and he relies on the fact that his opponents are either kids or people who are not ready to fight or have any experience in it. He also takes any opportunity to land a cheap shot in. There are no likable characters in this film so don’t hold your breath for one of them to make a solid decision!

One of the main problems with this film is the fact that there doesn’t seem to be a point to the whole thing. The villain murders people and the heroes don’t know what to do. The cycle repeats and repeats until it’s about time for the climax. There was an unnecessarily long shower scene that was really awful and the opening scene did no wonders for the romance section. If you cut out both of those scenes, then the film is a lot better, but it still would have been doomed in the long run.

We’ve already established why Marion and Norman were both pretty bad characters. Marion got corrupted very easily which wasn’t a good thing. Norman made the mistake of being a psycho and he wasn’t a likable character while he was acting either. He’s just your average mass murderer, just take away the part where he’s actually tough. Lila wasn’t much better as she talked tough, but froze up when the going got tough. I disliked Sam from the start and he never turned out to be a good character.

The police officer could have been a solid character, but he failed in the end. I was actually liking him until he just stopped appearing. He just got written out of the script and vanished. The Sherrif wasn’t very smart and the guy whose money was stolen in the first place was pretty bad as well. Let’s skip the rest of the characters and just remember that they’re pretty bad.

Long story short, this is definitely not a film that I recommend. It was very close to getting a 1/10 for a while, but by the end, the detective was so awful that I had to raise it to a 2. The scene was just so inaccurate that it raised the score. As I mentioned earlier, the film just didn’t have any point to it and it was like watching paint dry. What’s the point in the end? This is a film that has 0 replay value as well. If you want to watch a true film, then check out Yugioh 3D Bonds Beyond Time!

Overall 2/10

My Little Pony Friendship is Magic Volume 1 Review

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My Little Pony Friendship is Magic is one of those franchises within the master My Little Pony franchise that has always seemed very intriguing. It got a huge fan base in a really short amount of time and it seemed to be even more well received than the last show. I’ve always told myself that I would check out the show at some point since it seemed to be a pretty good one, but in the end I decided to check out the first collection of comics. It took a while due to library issues, but now I finally got to read it. I can see why it’s a hit, but is it something that I would recommend? Time to find out!

This collection deals with the Mane ,6 (Pun intended!) as they are having a good time when they realize that something isn’t right. It would appear that the Changelings are back and they’re ready to take over. They’re led by Queen Chrysalis who wants revenge on the ponies for what they did to her in the TV series and she’s going to take it out on Twilight Sparkle. This way, Celestia will be devastated and then nobody can stop her! It’s a very ambitious plan, but can it succeed? The Mane 6 don’t think so and they head off to fight her in what could be the ultimate showdown!

That’s the plot in a nutshell. I’m going to talk about the Mane 6 and discuss who was the best and who was the worst. Let’s start with the best, AKA….Pinkie Pie! Pinkie Pie is pretty awesome and I have to say that she blew the other 5 ponies out of the water. She made them look like novices compared to her and she had a trick up her sleeve for all scenarios. The costumes idea was brilliant and the fact that she was able to carry them around with her was even better. She definitely knows what she’s doing as she even prepared super sticky gum to trap the enemies. Unlike the others, she doesn’t take the insults too seriously and just keeps on bouncing back. Power wise, she doesn’t’ seem as skilled as the others, but then again…it’s not like she’s trying. To her, the whole thing is a game and that’s partially why she’s so cool.

The 2nd best pony would be Rainbow Dash. To be honest, I figured that she would have been the best, but she’s still high up. The fact that she can fly is a big advantage and I like how she always makes things difficult on the other ponies. At one point, one of the ponies complains that nobody is listening to her so then Rainbow Dash says something along the lines of, “What did you say?”. It was a classic troll moment and Rainbow Dash pulled it off wonderfully. Not to mention that Rainbow Dash didn’t really forgive the others when they had their group apologies and she talked the toughest against the villains although she couldn’t really back it up.

Next up, we have Twilight Sparkle. She’s a pretty fun character and I wouldn’t really say that there are any negatives with her except for the fact that her magical abilities seem to be useless against even the weakest of opponents. She is regarded as the leader and I suppose that she fits the bill, but she’s not quite as likable as Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie. She definitely has potential with her spells, but she needs to learn how to properly wield them in a fight. Twilight Sparkle is also the most gullible from the 6 ponies so she definitely needs to work on that.

In 4th place, we’ve got Applejack. I’m definitely not a big fan of her and it’s really because I’m mentally picturing a very thick accent. I’m not sure how she actually sounds in the show, but I can definitely imagine it. Technically, she’s not a bad character, but I can’t think of much pros for her either. She’s around and I’m glad that she talks tough, but I always have trouble remembering that she’s one of the Mane 6. She seems like she’s more of a supporting character than the other ponies.

In 5th place, we’ve got Rarity. Rarity is definitely not my type of character since she worries about looking good during a fight and doesn’t seem to take things in stride. In a fight, Rarity doesn’t seem like the ally that you’ll want and she needs to have her “Pony Up” scene already. Things got personal for her in this comic, but you may forget that as you’re reading.

Finally…we’ve got Fluttershy. I really wanted to like her a lot, but she represents some of the things that I really don’t like in my blog fighters characters. She’s very shy and timid but when the going gets tough, Fluttershy has the meanest face of them all and she scares the others. To go into this, I don’t like when any character is typically comic relief/shy and can quickly switch into “serious” mode and then frightens all of the characters. A good example of this is Isshin Kurosaki and the 1st Hokage. If you’re going to be serious, then be serious and likewise for comic relief. The two can mix, but not usually. It’s why I really don’t like when Goku shouts at his friends during a “tense” moment and they all quickly obey or fear him. Unfortunately, that’s what happens with Fluttershy and it seems like it happens in the show as well. (Fluttershy rage moment. Fans of the show will automatically know what scene I’m talking about) That being said, she’s not a bad character…she’s just not my type of character. I can’t really root for her, but I’m glad that she likes animals.

I don’t have much of an opinion on Spike. He was around…that’s about it. I did like Princess Celestia in this comic since she was so rude and condescending to the Mane 6. When Spike went to tell her what was happening, she was very stern with him and rudely pointed out that she was busy as she blasted some poor villains into oblivion. Once she did show up, (Conveniently after the battle was over) she seemed completely sarcastic the whole time and I don’t think that the Mane 6 even realized it. Definitely a solid way for her to make an entrance. The Cutie Mark Crusaders weren’t great either as they joked around a little too much considering what their inevitable fate was.

I did not like Queen Chrysalis and she actually brought the overall rating for the comic down. If any comic could avoid the animal violence cliche, I would have thought that My Little Pony could, but apparently I was wrong. Queen Chrysalis violently destroys an animal in the comic to show how “evil” she is. She is definitely evil, but you can’t take her seriously since she’s used for comic relief throughout the whole comic and she doesn’t act like a villain. The fact that she was draining the happiness from the animals all around with the Changelings was actually pretty dark for the series and unnecessarily so. You feel bad for the animals since the ponies evidently do not care enough to liberate them and they’re basically doomed without even knowing it since they don’t seem to have a brain in this series.

The climax was intense, but it was hard to know who to root for. The ponies were tricked very easily and I have to say that their bonds are pretty fragile. The Changelings had a field day with them and fooled them so easily that I was shocked. I didn’t think that the Mane 6 would fall for something like that and it was definitely an eye opener. Queen Chrysalis was definitely superior to the ponies in terms of power and Twilight Sparkle’s super power at the end was basically plot hax. Most comics fall into that hole, but I hope that she will not use the powers of friendship as a crutch.

I do have to say that the art was pretty bad. Exaggerated facial expressions are one thing, but this one had at least a dozen per page. The art just felt sloppy overall and did not feel like it was intense enough for this series. The facial expressions are part of the reason why I could not take some of the ponies seriously in this version. There’s also the fact that they were losing to a human level opponent and that Twilight Sparkle’s attacks proved to be ineffective. The art is the main turnoff from the comic as the dialogue is pretty strong for the most part.

One character who deserves his own paragraph is Derpy. The comic gave her some major props and I can already see why she’s one of the greatest characters in the franchise. Derpy was the last pony to fall against the Changelings and I like to believe that he was already fatigued from defeating dozens of other opponents. You can’t help but feel bad for her since the Mane 6 ignored her plight and didn’t even try to help her. With “friends” like those…… Anyway, I’m definitely ready for some more Derpy action. Derpy definitely means business and isn’t the type of opponent to go down without a fight.

Overall, the animal violence is what destroyed the comic in the end. It was the tipping point that led to an overall negative score, but it should be noted that the comic was still decent. It may not have been quite as good as I was expecting, but considering that this is only volume 1, it can only go up from here. The main things that should be changed are the artwork and the animal violence. With those things out of the way, this comic could have easily gotten a 6 and beyond! The actual characters are fun and I look forward to seeing more of Derpy in the future. After reading this comic collection and being introduced to the MLP FIM franchise, I can finally say that I am a fan. It’s fun and suitable for all ages. (Not the comic. I’m talking about the show. The comic is a little too graphic for little kids due to animal violence and I would wait until the kids were teens for them to read it) The comic actually reminded me a lot of Strawberry Shortcake and fans of that show will like this one. I recommend this comic to fans of the MLP series as well, but if you want to see happy animals portrayed in a way that’s at least 20% cooler, check out Pokemon!

Overall 4/10

Daylight Review

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Daylight is a movie that you probably haven’t heard of. I definitely had not heard of the film until I ended up watching it the other day. This movie is about a pretty tricky situation that some people get involved in and now they’ve got to get out. There’s plenty of drama and action, but is it the good kind?

The movie starts out in classic 90’s style as we are introduced to the main characters. We’ve got the Hollywood big shot, the old folks, the tough crowd, the Policeman, and others. It’s actually a pretty large crowd and they have one big thing in common…they’re going through the Holland Tunnel! Unfortunately, some members of the mafia (Or just a random gang) quickly go into their top speed and there are some pretty dangerous substances around. One thing leads to another and a large wave of fire engulfs them all. There are many casualties, but around a dozen people survive. The two ends of the tunnel are sealed so it seems like their doom is certain. Meanwhile, Latura decides to head in to rescue them all, but he’ll have to go through a very tough path which may lead to his doom. Latura may make it through the path, but how can he possibly save them!?

The plot is pretty simple and the only problem is that the people need to escape. Unfortunately for them, escaping a sealed off tunnel is a lot harder than it looks. The Hollywood star is pretty brave and he’s probably one of the best characters in the film. He didn’t back down and he never felt fear throughout the whole film. Nobody wanted to stand up to this guy and he was a natural born leader. His climax is pretty intense and you’re not going to want to miss it.

Latura knows his way around the tunnels and he’s definitely the most experienced characters from the main cast. He isn’t about to back down and he’s ready for whatever is about to happen. He’s constantly thinking of new plans on the spot and he doesn’t believe in letting anyone fall behind. (Although he did hesitate about the dog) Latura was a decent main character, but I liked him best during the beginning when he was with the cab.

The rest of the characters were mostly just there. None of them really stood out for the most part although the crook who robbed the bank was a pretty awful character. The parents of the little girl in the film were also pretty bad as they did their best to make things really hard for Latura and friends. I only gave Latura and the Hollywood guy a lot of screen time because they stood out from the other characters. I never cared for the others and they really just fill in the stereotypes. The Government looks pretty bad as per usual and they make their move which involves destroying innocent lives! That is definitely the Government for you.

The film had a very dangerous moment when something happened to the dog. It nearly destroyed the film instantly and would have made the whole review a lot more negative. Luckily the film didn’t fall into that hole, but it definitely did like to test fate with the rat scene also being included. The important thing is that the film avoided the usual death in the animal family and kept its honor.

Overall, this is a decent film. It definitely does drag on a bit since the film is very long and they’re all stuck in the tunnel for the whole time. Also, the replay value for the film is shot since this is the type of film that you won’t really enjoy as much when watching it for a second time. There is a lot of tragedy and drama so if you don’t like when sad things happen, then I would not recommend this film to you. On the other hand, the lines are typically pretty good and I liked the intros for the various main characters. The fire may have been a little too intense, (They shouldn’t have survived it) but it definitely looked pretty cool. The film feels like a 90s film in many aspects and that’s definitely a good thing. If you want a true tragedy story, go and watch Naruto!

Overall 4/10

Runaways Volume 11 Homeschooling Review

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The Runaways are a pretty obscure Marvel team and they are typically in obscure areas. No matter where they go, other heroes are never around to help them which can be pretty sad for them. They’ve been on their own for a while and things are getting to be pretty tough. I haven’t really cared for the previous comics so will this one be able to surpass the others?

The plot involved one of the members making a giant forest and then there’s a lot of tension and drama. If they cut down the plants, will it end up hurting her? They don’t think that it will…but can they take the chance!? Meanwhile, there’s also a pretty intense plot at the end that involves a super villain who may be the strongest Marvel character ever!

The Runaways is definitely not my favorite comic series of the bunch and this collection reminds me why. The main characters are all very unlikable and keep on getting into fights. There’s a lot of drama among them and things continue to escalate in this collection. I would go into the characters in more detail, but most of the names aren’t very memorable and it’s hard to place the names for each of them. Nico is the one with magical powers and they are mostly used when it is convenient. She doesn’t seem to have much of a limit as far as her powers are concerned, but she hasn’t mastered them yet which comes back to bite the team more than once. She has her own drama that is basically the same as the rest of the crew. It’s just impossible to actually like any of them and you wish that the Avengers would come in and switch up the lineup.

Luckily, that’s where the final comic comes in. It essentially saved the collection since it was pretty fun and a step up from the rest of the comics. Iron Patriot has assembled the Runaways since they are the only ones that can stop Victorious. In the future…Victorious has wiped everyone out and he may be the strongest being of all time! Pretty impressive hype considering that he’s very unimpressive in the comic. I think that Marvel tried too hard to keep the Runaways relevant, but Victorious made for an intriguing villain. The comic was definitely the best part because we got some good fights and a real plot. The Wrecking Crew are definitely pretty tough and it’s nice to see them get some props.

One final negative is that the art is pretty bad. It’s not incredibly awful, but it suffers from the same problem that Accel World had in the humans. The humans tend to have random blushes, but it’s not even limited to their faces which is just weird and pretty bad. The final comic had good art, but the rest of it was pretty underwhelming. They definitely didn’t hire the all star cast for this one.

Overall, this comic is not Marvel’s best showing. It was very light in the action department and there wasn’t really a villain until the very final comic, which is never a good thing. The plot really dragged on and there wasn’t even much of a plot since it just involved the plants for the most part. The cast can definitely be pretty bad and none of them are likable characters. Let’s not forget the underwhelming art either. It’s a very good thing that they included that final comic. If you want to see teenage superheroes, then I recommend checking out one of the Teen Titan comics.

Overall 4/10