Never Say Goodbye Review

Posted on August 11, 2024 by dreager1

Uh oh, it’s time for a film about the ole rebound so you know this is probably not gonna end well. In some ways you could make the argument that it’s good the main two characters try to get back together but based in large part to the execution I would disagree. Splitting up isn’t great but going back together isn’t either when you know it can’t possibly last. There are a lot of red flags to the relationship in this film.

So the film starts by introducing us to Phil and Ellen who are currently divorced. They each have their appointed time frames with their daughter Flip but she isn’t thrilled with this arrangement. She loves hanging out with both of them and wishes they could all just get along. Life just isn’t that simple sometimes but they don’t really have the heart to tell her that. Flip basically begs them to try and get back together so they give it a shot by going to a date. The problem is that Phil has a girlfriend right now and forgot he was going on a date with her at the same time. He has to try and balance both dates now but it won’t be easy. Can he bring back the marriage?

I mean the obvious answer here is no right? If you already have a new girlfriend then it sounds like you’ve completely moved on. I would feel like the whole thing is completely insincere at this point. Moving on like that is a massive red flag to the point where I would say it pretty much disqualifies you entirely. It’s just such a bad look and it makes them both look bad. Ellen shouldn’t put up with this and should have immediately given up on Phil when she found out. Meanwhile it makes Phil look super greedy like he wants his wife back but still wants to be having fun on the side? I’s clear that he’s not responsible at all so why would you want to re marry him? It would jus be running into the same issues again and again. The reasons why they broke up in the first place would just return for them to break up a second time.

There is really no hope there. Now I know they want to band together for their kid but that’s actually not a great reason to do it. Ultimately all that’s gonna do it lead to more resentment and create more problems. If things were so bad that they had to fully divorce, then it’s not something that can be so easily repaired. They should have just sat Flip down and really given her a detailed reason on why this was not going to be able to happen.

Flip’s a kid so I won’t be super harsh on her but she definitely stirs up a lot of trouble here. No kid wants to be living in a broken home to be sure but it’s something that is really out of her control at this point. Then her final scene is rather rough as she is getting greedy already. It’s supposed to be a very wholesome moment of course but instead you’re just rolling your eyes here. She needs to just calm down a bit.

Since this entire film is really revolving around the main romance, the fact that it isn’t very good definitely ends up hurting the movie as a whole. You can absolutely pull off this kind of premise but only if both characters had not moved on. Like lets say we are introduced to them both and they’re super sad sacks who stay home all day and have nobody to hang out with. Now we actually have something here because that would make sense. You can see how they realized splitting up was a mistake. Since that’s not how the film went though, then you know this was not a good idea.

Phil’s girlfriend Nancy is rather rude the whole time but it’s hard to blame her. On a narrative level you know she is absolutely doomed and from her point of view this is all happening so fast. Why is the ex back in the picture? It’s a risk you always take when you date someone who has a past but it goes without saying that Nancy isn’t going to like Ellen. She has no reason to.

Meanwhile on Ellen’s side you have Rex who likes her but the feeling definitely appears to be more one sided. I dunno it seemed like she didn’t take him seriously and the guy got absolutely crushed by Phil so it’s definitely not like he is anyone special. I can’t say I liked him though, either way as the divorce lawyer it seems like bad practice to fall for your clients in any way right?

Now as I was saying earlier, Flip is always causing a bunch of trouble? Well she strikes again by writing to a marine while pretending to be Ellen so the guy shows up all ready to start a relationship and of course he gets thrown into this whole mess. He ends up taking it extremely well after having his feelings manipulated and everything. You do have to keep in mind that this is primarily a comedic film so all of this is treated rather lightly but from his perspective it definitely sucks.

Also while Luigi is treated well as a loyal friend to Phil for trying to hide his two timing, that’s actually pretty bad. Even if the person is your friend, trying to hide their bad sides is not a good idea. You can hide the ones that don’t affect other people and are mild but when they do affect others, you are making a grave mistake there. The other friend Jack wasn’t really any better and would just show up to create more drama.

Now it’s not like the film is never funny or anything like that. It has its moments and in general I do think the film had good writing. It just is based around a premise that I don’t think worked much at all. The romance should have taken more of a backseat to the comedy and had the film show us why this was such a bad idea. Make the whole thing go absolutely bonkers the whole time and that would have had way more potential. There’s quite a few ways you could have really positioned this in a favorable way. At least that’s the way I see it and you could still have a fairly happy ending.

Just have the main two admit they are not compatible but they will still talk to each other more so they’re not buying Flip the same presents and things like that. I dare say that if you do this, it really fixes all of the issues at once. Then you can enjoy all of the shenanigans more. Flip will probably still be annoying the whole time but what can ya do.

Overall, Never Say Goodbye is a film that tries to make this case but sometimes you do actually have to state your farewells. I get that the film is trying to have a positive message and I appreciate that but in this instance it just didn’t work. The film has its light tone and can be funny but in the end I wouldn’t really be able to recommend this one. There are many other comedies that have a lot more fun with their premises and ultimately they would get the nod over this one.

Overall 4/10

Black Angel Review

Posted on August 11, 2024 by dreager1

Time for a film that reminds you of how your past skeletons will always come back to hide you. The characters here all tend to have shady pasts except for the heroine who is just trying to do her best but ultimately she ends up having to compromise herself as well. I would definitely say this is a movie where nobody really wins and so the victory ends up feeling a bit on the hollow side. Definitely would have been nice if the characters could have been slightly more heroic.

The movie starts with Marty being super drunk and he is surprised when Mavos doesn’t let him into her apartment. He notices that she lets another guy go up so the whole thing is pretty humiliating. What he doesn’t realize is she gets murdered and a guy named Kirk is the primary suspect. Kirk’s wife Catherine is sure that he is innocent and is determined to find out the truth of the events. Marty agrees to help but unfortunately he ends up falling for Catherine right away. So does he really want to help prove her husband’s innocence or is he content to let Kirk be executed so he can steal her away?

That’s definitely one of the most annoying parts of the film. The fact that Marty is so in love with Catherine when she is already married. The guy doesn’t have any real class and it felt like he was flirting since near the beginning. Catherine certainly notices but she is trying hard to save her husband and can deal with that later. It would have been nice if Marty could have been the bigger man about it and put his feelings aside to help her out instead of being such a nuisance throughout the film. He does help to be sure but he’s helping out from a mess that he really created here so it’s not much of a consolation.

We get a twist for Marty and it certainly doesn’t make him look any better. This guy just had way too many issues the whole time so you’re rooting for him to be defeated. I can’t say that I felt bad for him by the end of the film. He really stuck himself into all of this trouble and so he has to pay the price there now. The guy’s a full antagonist when you really think about it.

Meanwhile you feel bad for Catherine the whole time. She’s in a tough situation with a very fast deadline so she’s doing everything she can in order to find some evidence. This even includes going into super shady locations and even having to perform at a location like that. Then she has to put up with Marty being there the whole time and even the boss Marko wanting her. Where the film takes an unfortunate turn is with her having to be with Marko in order to win his trust and get close to the safe. It all ends up being for naught anyway which is a real shame since that’s adding insult to injury at that point.

I never like any plan that involves compromising yourself to that degree. At that point you have to find another alternative even if it’s a longshot. Like just call the cops to have them take a look or bring in Marty and overpower Marko. Marty’s always looking for a fight and he would definitely assist her there even if it’s for the wrong reasons. Catherine never even led Marty on at all, the guy was just being way too desperate. The whole mission was about saving her husband after all, Marty got way too greedy.

I did like Captain Flood from the cops though. He may not have been convinced of Kirk’s innocence at all but why should he be? The case seemed rather open and shut here with Kirk cheating with Mavos. Kirk even admitted to her blackmailing him about exposing the affair so that makes perfect sense that he would take her out. When you add up all of the circumstantial evidence surrounding the case it definitely pans out. Flood seemed reasonable to me and wasn’t someone who easily jumped to conclusions. But after a point there is really only so much that you can do about these things.

This also made it harder to root for Kirk to be innocent here. Sure, he didn’t murder anyone but we already know that the guy is a complete cheater. It’s a super bad look for him and just makes the guy really awful. It’s another reason why it’s a shame that Catherine had to stoop to his level in order to save him. It’s just such a rough outcome that you can barely even call it happy. I don’t see any of the characters being all that well off by the end of the film. If anything their problems are really just getting started. It’s safe to say that Catherine can never really trust Kirk again so the relationship is ruined. Once you lose trust then you never really get it back. It’s time for her to make a fresh start at this point but at least she won’t have to worry about Marty. Again, I can’t say I have any sympathy for that guy. As always I would say to watch out if you like getting drunk because things can get tricky. I am still of the mind that being drunk only makes you a bigger version of yourself so everything you do is still the true you. So if you aren’t sure just how noble you are deep down, make sure you never take a drink.

Overall, The mystery itself is pretty good in this film. As always the writing is on point and you are interested in learning the truth behind the murder. As the film goes on though, that interest starts to wane a bit with how unlikable the characters arc. Marty is a jerk trying to get Catherine to cheat and her husband is a cheater. You feel like Catherine deserves so much better. Then the film going out of its way to lower her to their level was definitely a real low blow. I’m glad that she at least kept Marty at bay and never gave in there but the film just didn’t end up being a super satisfying watch. That keeps it from being higher and more in line with other noir titles.

Overall 4/10

Curse of the Demon Review

Posted on August 11, 2024 by dreager1

It’s time for a really old creature feature film. This one deals with an actual demon so you already know that the heroes are going to be in a real pinch here. How do you stop a creature that is basically invincible and moves with such speed? The main character doesn’t even believe in demons but his scientific approach is certainly about to be tested.

The movie starts off with a guy begging Karswell to remove the curse before he gets murdered. The guy will leave Karswell alone going forward but alas it is too late for that and so a powerful demon bumps him off. The poor guy never stood a chance. Karswell isn’t done yet though and he is going to continue inflicting damage onto people. We then cut to our main character John. He doesn’t believe in any of his supernatural nonsense and that’s why he is here. He is supposed to be helping to disprove all of this but with one of his colleagues being bumped off, it’s all a bit suspicious. He supposes the best way to debunk all of this is to confront the guy himself and so that’s exactly what he does. It may end up being a dangerous endeavor.

The weakest part of the film is definitely the really long seance scene hat happens later on in the film. I suppose we needed John to see how crazy this kind of thing could look but it definitely dragged on. Seance scenes rarely ever end up being all that interesting and this one was no exception. The whole time you’re just shaking your head but at least it does give John more time to think that maybe there is nothing supernatural going on since that would help me think everything was a scam too.

Karswell’s first attempt to prove his supernatural abilities wasn’t the most effective either. He made a bunch of wind and while the guy claimed that it never got super windy like that in the area, John could easily just think he was lying. Once we get to the cats turning into panthers, then it all starts to be a little harder to deny. I would have actually liked this part to have been done a bit quicker so we could get to the real intellectual struggles here.

What I mean by this is it turns out that the demon activates in relation to a parchment paper that is passed around. Karswell makes sure to give it to people and whoever gets it, will be murdered by the demon in 3 days. The only way to escape the curse is to give the paper back to the person who gave it to you. At that point you are freed from the curse. It’s a pretty interesting set of rules and of course what this means is the one who cursed you is hyper aware of this. It’s going to be difficult to hand the paper back. Although unless the film specified against this, I would assume just beating the guy up and stuffing the paper into his hand would work. This is a matter of life or death after all so I don’t think a little violence would be outside the realm of possibility right? It’s at least something to consider.

Still, we don’t go the violence route here so instead it’s time for some mind games to trick Karswell. This is all at the very end of the film but was a pretty fun way to end things off. The trick itself was definitely clever so I could believe Karswell being taken in by all of that. John was also a fun main character with how he so strongly opposed the supernatural stuff. I definitely appreciate that in a character. Sure, we know that the magic is real as a viewer but to someone who’s led a life of science, I’m glad he wasn’t converted so easily.

The main heroine Joanna doesn’t get a ton to do though. She helps with some of the info dumps and getting John where he needs to be but inevitably she is hypnotized and kidnapped. Considering that she had more of an affinity for the supernatural it would have been good if she could have had some extra defenses. Something to help keep her safe and running away from this guy. In a way that was definitely Karswell’s undoing though. He shouldn’t have gotten greedy and gone after Joanna. Even if he felt like his victory was inevitable he should have stayed hidden until the days were fully up. Make it very hard for himself to be found by John because there’s nothing good that can come out of meeting the guy. People get awfully desperate when they are about to die after all and you can’t predict what the next move will be.

I’ll give the film a shoutout for the cool demon design. He definitely looked fierce and was one of those opponents you would no want to bump into in a dark alley. A single strike from this fighter would really deal a whole lot of damage. Nobody in the film really tried fighting the demon which is too bad. Sure, it would probably be futile but you’re about to die anyway so you may as well give it a shot right? Better than just lying there and yelling the whole time.

Overall, This film shows why you have to be careful accepting anything from strangers. Sure, it’s pretty unlikely that you will be handed an actual curse with a demon built in but you could still be framed for stolen money or something like that. Odds are if someone is trying to hand you something outside then they have an angle. It could be as innocent as handing out flyers for an event in which case you’re fine…or it could be handing you a bomb and you end up being blown to pieces. So just watch out for your surroundings and be careful at all times. Like in this film, your only shot would be handing it back to the person real quick before anything happens.

Overall 6/10

Murder by Contract Review

Posted on August 11, 2024 by dreager1

Link to the original review: https://dreager1.com/2020/07/11/murder-by-contract-review/

It’s time for a film about a professional assassin. It can always be a tricky balance since you want to come up with a scenario that doesn’t paint him in too bad of a light where you dread seeing the guy on screen but at the same time you probably want to play it straight and not try to make the guy sympathetic. I’d say the film does a good job of this. The balance is there and by no means is Claude sympathetic at all. You are free to root against him the whole time with no real issues there.

The movie starts with Claude convincing someone to hire him. Claude passes every possible test and aces each of his hit. Eventually he even murders his boss as one of the orders. Eventually he is given his biggest mission yet, he has to bump off Billie, a witness who will be taking the stand soon. This will be a difficult mission and Claude usually makes it a point not to go after women because they are more unpredictable. You can’t exactly turn down a hit once you are involved though so for now he just has to suck it up and continue with the mission. If he succeeds then he will be loaded and if he fails then it’s game over for his life.

One thing the movie does to stand out right away is have a good soundtrack. This isn’t a guarantee for any film after all. You never know if a movie will have solid music or not so hearing a good track can go a long way. It’s a very smooth kind of beat that works for all of the scenes and supports the tone. The movie is showing just how casual this business is for Claude. It really just is the guy’s job and he preps for it as he would any ordinary assignment. We see how he works out and exercises so he is always in peak condition.

He’s also not very trusting by nature so he wastes a lot of time when two people are sent to accompany him. Ultimately it’s a good idea not to trust those guys but you never felt like Claude was in all that much danger. He was clearly a step above those two. They had some tough talk and looked good at times but the skill difference was immediately apparent. Even 2 on 1 you knew they weren’t about to do anything.

Claude is just too calm and too skilled. He waited for his quick opening and from there it was curtains. He also seems to have very little patience for anyone who hasn’t managed to become successful. He chews out a waiter on this about the guy allowing himself to be stuck in this job for so long when he could have really done a whole lot more for himself. Then as long as you are stuck you at least need to be good at what you do. I think his lecture ultimately fell on deaf ears though.

Then by the end of the film Claude gets rather sloppy himself. I don’t think it was even a full change of heart or anything like that. I think Claude would have finished the job earlier in the film but by this point he just had way too many doubts and conflicting thoughts. He didn’t believe in the mission quite as much as he once did and there are enough dead people already where the whole thing has become a mess. So for all of his tough talk and preparation, Claude folded when it counted.

Billie may be the big target but I wouldn’t say that her role is that big anyway. She’s the big objective but in terms of character there’s not a whole lot to her. She spends most of her time taking shots at the cops for not protecting her more and I definitely get that. She ends up being in harm’s way quite a lot. Part of it is on her even if she won’t take responsibility though. One obvious thing is to never walk by the door or any windows. Stay out of easy sniper range and that’s really basic safety 101. The cops actually had a good plan in allowing people to think she was dead for a while and it was just bad luck that someone ended up tattling to Claude. They couldn’t really predict that one.

The writing throughout the film is pretty good. I definitely enjoyed the banter with Claude and his boss despite the boss being bumped off fairly early. The characters always know just what to say and they all have a whole lot of confidence about them. I like all of the posturing. Even the two guys who were following Claude were brave enough to talk back to him. Well one of them anyway. Claude would tell him to be quiet and the guy would just keep on talking. Quality writing definitely helps to support a good thriller.

The character cast may be extremely small but that still services the film well enough. It helps to show just how alone Claude is and how all of his relationships are really surface level. He talks to the people giving him the missions or ladies who are hitting on him but at the end of the day the guy is really alone. The thrills of being an assassin are really the only benefits he gets at this point and I’m not even sure if he was totally serious about his whole buying a house explanation. I assume that was made up but am not exactly sure, so that adds to some of the mystery of the character. He strikes me as the kind of character who will say exactly what he hopes you want to hear.

Overall, The film is fairly direct and goes by quickly. It’s mainly about Claude prepping for the big mission and then getting a little more nervous as his attempts aren’t working and the deadline is getting closer. It’s another cautionary tale on why being an assassin is super dangerous. You could have hundreds of successful hits but all it takes is one slip up and there goes your life. There is just no escaping your ultimate fate and while you may have a fun time at first, it just won’t end well. This is definitely a film I could recommend. It ticks enough of the right boxes to be fun for all fans of the genre.

Overall 7/10

Solo Leveling Review

Posted on August 10, 2024 by dreager1

It’s time to talk about one of the biggest Manhwa out there. Solo Leveling really took the world by storm when it came out for the extremely solid artwork and top tier fights. This was a series that definitely held nothing back there and I would say this was consistent throughout its entire run. Even the epilogue managed to throw in a bunch of battles which was definitely cool. It may not have lasted as long as the other big manhwa I’ve read but it holds its own.

The plot follows a guy named Jinwoo who is your every day teenager. His father vanished a while back and his mother is in a coma though so he has to look after his younger sister on his own. In this world there are gates which appear throughout the planet and so hunters are the people who deal with them. When you become of age you can have your power level tested to see just how strong you are. Your power level can’t really change from that point on so it’s really any deal. For example if you are an E rank fighter then the best you can hope for is cleaning up after the real hunters and picking up materials.

Still, you’re better off than those who have no energy since you can still earn some decent money this way. Jinwoo is an E rank and known as the weakest hunter in history. People mock him all the time but he needs money for his mother’s bills so he keeps his head down and gets the job done. One day a dungeon he is in ends up being a little too powerful and almost everyone dies. Jinwoo dies but is them resurrected somehow. He now has video game status windows that appear around him.

In effect Jinwoo is now the first ever hunter who can actually level up and get stronger. His days of being an E class fighter are finally over! As Jinwoo gets stronger though? He feels his humanity beginning to leave him. Does this absolute power come at a price and if so…was he better off being the weakest guy around? They say it’s lonely at the top…time to see if that’s true.

I’m just gonna say it now, the power is obviously worth it! The whole losing humanity plot really starts to vanish early on as well so it’s not really a big deal. It’s good for some quick drama but that’s about it, I wouldn’t think on it too hard. The only real drawback is that he ends up being in way more fights over and over as he takes everyone on but that’s still better than just being immediately murdered. If Jinwoo had stayed weak then everyone would ultimately be dead so that should answer the question on if it was worth it or not.

The character cast is rather small in a way. Technically there are a lot of characters but many of them are one shots or quickly get written out for being too weak. For that reason you don’t really remember too many of them all that much. There are a select few who really stand by until the end but they tend to be the exception. I dare say this is the smallest cast I’ve read for a series of this length but that’s not really a bad thing. The most important thing is having strong villains and a good main character. Fortunately this series has both of those things.

The artwork is top tier like I mentioned before so no worries on that. Each fight gets better and better and you could really just enjoy this as a top quality picture book if you want. It’s one of the few titles where it can almost be hard to imagine how the anime will be able to do it. Still, at the end of the day you know a good enough studio can pull it off as needed. It does have to be a high end studio though. You’d be wincing if an anime adaption ended up using a bunch of stills or anything like that.

The world building in the series is also great which is definitely key. We learn a whole lot about how the ranking system works, the demon realms and how they function, etc. Then as the series goes on you learn even more like who is behind the leveling up system, the true cosmic/demonic forces at work, etc. You get satisfactory answers to basically every question in the series which is really nice to see. Even with a sequel that started pretty much right away, they didn’t decide to just hold off on you here. The sequel will tell its own story but this is really a complete adventure all the way through. It doesn’t end on a massive cliffhanger or anything like that. It’s the kind of ending that can (and did) absolutely lead to a sequel but it doesn’t have to if that makes sense.

This might sound a bit contradictory but while Jinwoo blows past most of the characters and makes them irrelevant there are times when he doesn’t look quite as strong as you expect. There were a few times where he spared with the heroes and didn’t obliterate them the way I was expecting. Yes, it was sparring but the fact that any of them could keep up at all had me a little puzzled. I would argue Jinwoo surpassed everybody even sooner than the series seems to acknowledge this. Maybe I ended up being caught up in the hype I guess.

Either way he is a great character though. You could say that perhaps he is a bit basic but he gets the job done. He has a lot of confidence in himself and even before that, his underdog self wasn’t bad. His internal confrontations with his old self were pretty good. Jinwoo can at times act a little bit too villainous so I can’t cosign just everything that he does but for the most part he is someone you can count on. He has a whole lot of presence.

We’ll go through a bunch of the cast now and who better to start off with than one of the most iconic characters in the series? Beru is easily one of the standout characters here and he is just a blast to root for. His sheer loyalty is awesome on its own and then throw in the fact that the guy can fight and you have a winner. He’s one of the strongest fighters that Jinwoo has by the end of the series and only continues to improve more and more. The fact that he can wipe the floor with over 90% of the verse is really impressive. When you stop and think about how many fighters Jinwoo has in addition to his own skills then you start to appreciate just how broken the main character is. It’s really quite impressive. There are few characters like Jinwoo and it’s why his reputation is absolutely deserved. So having a great captain of the guard like Beru is important so that Jinwoo doesn’t have to waste time with weaker opponents. Beru really keeps these guys in line.

Now lets talk about the S ranks. You know how I was saying earlier how a bunch of them are completely irrelevant? Well you know it’s bad when a bunch of them don’t even have a photo on the wiki and a bunch of others basically didn’t get to do anything. The term S rank ended up getting cheapened early on because of how many of these guys there were. They just couldn’t keep up and in the end even the strongest ones were quickly surpassed without any real effort. Still, there were a few that I liked, so I’ll go into those guys first.

The first one’s a girl actually. Cha is one of the first S rank hunters that we meet and her abilities were definitely considerable. She has good sword skills and overall movement speed. Her gimmick of finding everyone’s natural scent to be gross aside from Jinwoo is definitely an odd character quirk to be sure but it basically stops being a thing after a while. While her abilities get surpassed early on, she maintains a fairly big role for most of the series and was a fun supporting character to have around.

Thomas is an S rank who really does live up to his power the whole time. This guy is near the top of the charts for good reason after all. He is actually able to give Jinwoo a good fight and is relevant for far longer than most fighters. I liked his confidence and while the guy may not always have the best friends around, he is loyal. He’s someone you can count on to have your back at all times. Without him the S ranks would definitely not be the same so he’s someone to keep your eye on.

Liu is another one of the top S ranks to the point where he was a nation hunter but unfortunately he doesn’t get to do a whole lot. He’s caught in that awkward spot where he was introduced but then didn’t get to do anything until it was too late and he could no longer put up a great fight. I think the series should have given him a key fight earlier on to really establish him among the other characters. There’s nothing wrong with his personality after all. He has everything in place to be a quality character and I still liked him but the guy is very forgettable.

Then of course we have Jinwoo’s father who doesn’t get to appear a whole lot but gets a pretty good role when he does show up. The guy is a top rank fighter after all but I didn’t think the reason for him vanishing was all that good. You feel like he could have done more to prepare Jinwoo and the others for the attacks. It’s a fairly common kind of subplot where the series doesn’t convincingly show me why a character vanished for so long. So he is cool and strong but I wasn’t a big fan because of that.

Then we have Jinwoo’s son who is solid enough. I don’t see him being as cool as Jinwoo to be sure but he likes fighting and is a quick study so that’s a good thing. Definitely a lot of potential for that sequel series. In the meantime he gets enough screentime where I can say that he’s good. We have the blueprint so we can see if he continues to be this good later on.

Christopher Reed was one of the cooler S ranks but he also got the unfortunate fate of not really getting a whole lot to do here. He’s really used a lot for shock value and to establish just how dangerous these new villains are. He talks tough and puts up a good off screen fight but ultimately that was game over for him. Still a cool scene though and it was hype enough where you won’t forget him. So he definitely made the most out of his limited appearances.

Go is the chairman of the hunter’s association and so for a while there I was worried that he would end up being all talk despite some early hype. Fortunately that is not the case and we actually get to see him doing things later on. He has a really good fight and was definitely a real likable character. I definitely appreciated seeing him around and he was easy to root for. The guy actually talked sense and was willing to bend some rules to help Jinwoo out. This guy properly understands the stakes here and how to protect the world. If everyone was as smart as he was then there would probably have been less casualties in the series.

Goto was a pretty interesting S rank because he was one of the only ones that I would call a straight up villain. He wants to murder other heroes and so there’s no other real way to frame that. He’s not someone that you could trust to have your back at any point. His abilities were still considerable to be sure though and he was a nice wild card. I thought he was a good character for his role and I tend to appreciate having some dark hunters as a change of pace from the monsters. It’s why I really enjoyed Jinwoo’s first fight against the dark hunters so much. It was just really different from what had happened earlier.

Dongsoo is another example of a dark hunter and definitely not a very smart one. I know I tend to enjoy loyalty in a character even when they’re a villain but this guy was just too much of a punk/bully for me to take him too seriously. The guy was basically asking to get absolutely crushed the whole time. He also loses massive points for the underhanded tricks he used when going after Jinwoo’s sister. That is something that will always lose you a whole lot of points for me. Tricks like that show that you just don’t have much of an honor code here. So yeah I didn’t have any real sympathy for this guy.

Min Byung is definitely one of those tragic characters who didn’t really want to stick around in this dangerous world of being a hunter but ultimately came through when humanity needed him. It can be tough having a strong conscious and doing the right thing but ultimately that’s just how it goes. Definitely a fun character all the way around though and he just seemed like a nice guy. We don’t actually see a whole lot of healers in the series so that skillset was still rather rare.

Then we have Baek who could partially transform into an animal. He gets quite a lot of screentime and was really handy in a fight. He may not have quite been in the top echelon of fighters but the guy was persistent and got his share of wins. I know the series would be too long if everyone got this treatment but this is exactly what a bunch of the other S ranks needed in order to stand out more. They would have really become way more full fledged as a character if that was the case.

Finally to wrap the S ranks up we have Choi. His fire abilities were super handy so he was always fun to have around. The guy gets a big role during the insect arc and was definitely super determined. He could really get a whole lot of opponents all at once. He slowly starts to vanish as the series goes on but had a good impact while he was around. There are many other S ranks of course but most of them don’t get as much of a role.

Joohee is one of the characters from the intro who was a good friend to Jinwoo but ultimately stopped appearing. She was nice enough and always healed him no matter what happened in the dungeons. Ultimately he just kept getting stronger while her trauma didn’t really go away and she retired. I definitely get why, unless you absolutely need to fight in order to survive, only the craziest of souls will go through that whole ordeal. Also there will always be the knowledge that there could be a double dungeon so there isn’t such a thing as a super safe dungeon anymore. I thought she was nice enough so I did miss her a little.

Jinah is Jinwoo’s sister and she’s a fun supporting character. She’s always looking out for him and he knows that she’s got his back. Jinah and Jinwoo have a good bond throughout the series and considering how powerful he gets, it’s nice to know that she is well protected. If anything she gets close to danger a little more than you would expect considering how good his reserves are. You can imagine that this doesn’t go very well for the villain. Jinwoo’s mom is also solid although she gets far less to do.

Igris is another one of Jinwoo’s top fighters and I always like seeing him around. He may start to get surpassed more as the series goes on but he just has such a great design. He will always be known for having one of the best fights against Jinwoo and he does it all with pure technique. He doesn’t have a bunch of fancy skills or super powers or anything like that. Igris just focuses himself and launches devastating attacks the whole time. That’s definitely the way to earn my respect real quick.

Then we have Kamish who is a super powerful dragon, the mightiest beast in the land. He ends up being really handy during the series for quick transportation. The guy had a lot of presence when he first showed up as well. In general he is a fun monster and Jinwoo has a number of super solid ones but this one isn’t often used in a combat way. That tends to be the job for the others like the goblin mage.

Esil was a fun character and whenever she would show up the series would actually allow itself to have a bit of fun. Usually everything was super serious with a bunch of fights and everything but she would add some levity to the scenes. She can fight well enough but never really has to. Esil’s the kind of heroine who can make friends easily and I wouldn’t have minded some slice of life shenanigans in the demon world for a bit although I totally get why the series couldn’t really pause there for very long.

Kim is another one of the characters from pre arc. He wasn’t ready for the opening fight of the series but then again nobody really was. It definitely wasn’t fair how everyone was jumping on him for what happened considering that he had the team take a vote first. He was a good leader all the way through and I thought he was solid overall. He may have left Jinwoo but he did it upon the lead’s request and saved the heroine. So even though he feels guilty early on, he doesn’t have much to be down about. He did what he could.

Then we have Jinho who shows up to try and make the atmosphere light like Esil. He’s the main comic relief but I like how the series handles this. He’s never inept or anything like that. The guy is weak but he knows his limitations and works around them with money and connections. He does a lot of work behind the scenes in setting up a base and working with Jinwoo. The two of them actually become real friends and it’s a pretty nice dynamic. Any scene with him was usually pretty fun.

Antares is definitely one of those big villains you don’t forget. He has an incredible design, great fighting abilities, and a good personality. He was a fun character to see fight throughout and he actually stays as one of the top fighters in the series. You can definitely respect him there even if it takes him a long while to show up. He works well in the final boss type spot and is one of the more memorable villains in the series. So stay patient as you read through the series and wait to see him.

Ashborn is another really solid character. His plans were definitely very detailed and convoluted so you could call him a true genius. In just about any other timeline he probably would have come out on top. He’s got a great design and great powers so you really can’t ask for much more than that. Definitely one of those characters that really pops out of the page the whole time. He also gives us a lot of important lore near the end of the series so you’ll want to get that memorized. He really helped to change the whole game of what was going on.

Baran was definitely the least impressive of the Monarchs to the point where I forgot he even counted as one until checking the wiki. This guy’s okay but not as good as he should be. I suppose he was probably nerfed during the fight but even so, Monarchs tend to set a really high standard and this guy definitely couldn’t keep up with that. He’s a solid villain but definitely not one of the great ones. I won’t really be thinking about this guy much after the initial appearance.

Rakan was a pretty solid villain even if he didn’t go out very well. The guy had a lot of strength and he did have the presence of a Monarch. He’s one of those fighters who was lucky to have a true fight before going up against Jinwoo. You never want to fight the hero first because often times that will end very badly. So this worked out super well for him and helped the guy to stay really memorable the whole time. He also has a good deign so this villain really had everything that you could ask for from an antagonist.

Querehsha isn’t super impressive but again it’s a timing thing. She just took too long to act so Jinwoo had the advantage from the jump here. She had some potential and overall I do think she is a decent villain but not one of the top threats to be sure. Likewise Legia isn’t all that great either. I like his attempts at trickery but the fact that he spends most of his time tied up doesn’t exactly help his case either. How is a Monarch gonna be tied up like this? Definitely not the kind of thing that makes the most compelling case for the character.

Tarnak is more of a whiner than a fighter so I wouldn’t rank him all that high. He has a cool design but doesn’t have the confidence or presence that the stronger fighters have at their disposal. This is what will keep him from really climbing to the top. He’s just not that memorable and doesn’t really have the skills to change any of the outcomes either. So in the end he was just really doomed no matter how you slice it.

Sillad was one of the better villains though. I liked his abilities quite a lot and this guy was strong. He lasted a long while and really pushed Jinwoo. It’s clear that he was really comfortable with his abilities and had long term ambitions. He was really a threat from all sides which is what you would expect from a villain like this. I definitely wasn’t going to forget him afterwards, this guy was really cool. Definitely looking forward to seeing his fight animated some day.

The Architect is another really cool villain with a lot of aura. You never forget that confrontation at the very beginning of the series after all. This guy would strike fear into you immediately. He was an absolute beast in every sense of the word. I love the design and he is one of the most iconic characters in the series for that reason alone. The build up and resolution for this guy was absolutely perfect, I wouldn’t change a thing.

Finally we have Baruka who was a really cool ice elf. Definitely a very blood thirsty villain who would destroy anyone in his path. He was a real threat and really brought Jinwoo to the edge during their fight. The fact that he came closer to murdering Jinwoo than even some of the Monarchs was really impressive. I definitely wasn’t about to forget this villain and you’ll be unable to forget him once you see the guy.

Naturally there are even more characters out there but that’s a good amount to go over. There’s a whole lot that gets to go on in a series that is this massive after all. It was really a super impressive series all the way around. A title like this will ultimately run into a bunch of issues along the way like some scenes of excessive violence and animal violence during its run but fortunately manages to overwhelm this with the sheer flood of good moments. It’s a series I could really recommend to any action fan for sure.

Now some do criticize how each arc can get a little repetitive with the format. It always starts with the heroes running in first and getting demolished, then Jinwoo shows up and saves them with ease. Rinse and repeat for every single arc. I get that this could be annoying but the whole point is that Jinwoo is the ultimate fighter. I don’t really mind because in a power fantasy I would argue that this works really well. For sure it will be more on the annoying side if you aren’t a big fan of Jinwoo though but if you like the guy then you’re all set. The series shows us repeatedly just how good the guy is.

Most of the series is really a bunch of action scenes after all and it’s part of why I love the title so much. I wouldn’t say it has a huge plot either way. Yes, with the lore we definitely get more plot heavy for the back half of the series but the action scenes are absolutely the biggest draw of the series and it delivers on that front. I can’t imagine anybody saying that the series didn’t have enough battles or anything like that. That would be crazy. So in the end I didn’t really have any issues here.

At most, I think Jinwoo maybe went up through the levels a bit too quickly. He hits 100 so fast that they have to show levels after 100 later on. It makes things difficult on the power scaling to be sure. Ultimately once the level ups are removed then the series is able to have a bit more freedom again. I did miss the video game elements though as they appear far less from that point on. Also the ending definitely goes in a very sharp direction. Ultimately I wasn’t a big fan of the ending. I get the logic behind it but I never really enjoy any ending where characters within the story can’t appreciate the full thing. I can’t really say much more without spoilers but it’s not my favorite direction is all. At least the epilogue gave us a fan preview of what things will be like going forward.

Also it gave us more fights which is always worth it. I do really need to underscore that this series absolutely understands the rule of cool and uses it in every single interaction. It’s really a smart way to do it. You could probably pick out an amazing panel in every single chapter. There is always something happening and the pacing is really fast. In general one thing I like about Webtoons is how long each chapter feels. It’s probably in large part due to how much you’re scrolling through the series but it makes the experience really last and that’s a lot of fun. There’s definitely more I could say but if I haven’t won you over by now then it’s not happening. This is absolutely a must read and for once I can say that you don’t have to read it for the plot! Although I recommend that you do since the story is still super enjoyable.

Overall, Solo Leveling is a top tier title in all respects. The art really is as dynamic as everyone says it is and you’re really in for a blast here. While the side cast quickly become irrelevant, they still end up being likable while they are around. Ultimately it is all worth it for the big power fantasy, trust me on that. The sequel is now going so I look forward to seeing how long it lasts and if it can match up to the original. To really appreciate the sequel though you will definitely want to read this one first.

Overall 9/10

Spriggan Review

Posted on August 10, 2024 by dreager1

It’s time for an action title that I really was not familiar with before starting it. It’s got a pretty unique premise and I tend to enjoy government type stories like this quite a lot so that was pretty cool. Pretty much every government makes an appearance in some capacity here and America in particular definitely comes across as rather ruthless the whole time. Definitely not a group that you really want to mess with.

The series follows a kid named. Yu. He works for ARCAM, a global organization that finds all kinds of supernatural relics and guards the, from those who would use these for evil. Basically it turns out that just about every folklore, superstition, rumor, and historical event is real. You’ve got the Holy Grail, and many other items that have been scattered throughout the world and could end it in an instant. Naturally every government would love to have a weapon like this and so everyone is always ready for action. Yu isn’t just any worker though, he’s a Spriggan.

Spriggan’s are the absolute elite of the elite in terms of overall fighting ability. He is many times faster and stronger than the average person and this effect is amplified by a special suit that ARCAM made him. Yu can take out a whole squad of soldiers and he’s not even the strongest Spriggan around. The toughest part is really just trying to pass his school classes while saving the world. He can only be absent so many times in a semester after all and he also doesn’t have unlimited time to cram either.

For the most part the series is very episodic. You will have a case that has 3 parts or so, and then a new case after that. Aside from some very minor plot elements, you could jump into any story with no issues at all. It’s only near the very end that it starts to all go somewhere. It works well enough for this kind of story though as the fun is really in seeing what relic will be used next by the different villain groups. As with just about any story, it probably would have gotten a boost if it actually did have a big plot the whole time though.

The cast also remains fairly small as a result. There are a number of characters running around of course but most of them tend to be one shots or maybe return once. Also while the art is good, I would say it is the kind where the author has a tendency to draw some characters very similarly. There are a few guys who try to murder Yu throughout the series who look a little too similar. I would say this issue also shows up for a number of the heroines who appear and I can’t really tell them apart until they start talking and then that works as their introduction.

For example there are two girls at school (3 if you count the thief) and they look extremely similar the whole time. Neither one of them ever get super important but the tougher one was starting to be played up as a potential love interest at one point. Then you have the transfer student who decided she wanted to break Yu’s cover which didn’t go well but her design wasn’t super unique. At least the childhood friend girl looked a little different but maybe that’s because she was one of the first characters in the series. I was surprised she didn’t appear more.

The jewel thief is definitely the one who stands out the most but that makes sense because she is a lot of fun. I like her personality and she’s one of the only heroines who feels like she can come close to outwitting Yu. Typically he tends to come out on top but she still gets her subtle victories in there most of the time. She’s dedicated and skilled which is always a tough combination to surpass. She also had a gun and could actually use it as necessary so then fact that she was actually useful in a fight was a big deal.

Throughout the series we also get glimpses of Yu’s backstory. Surprisingly I feel like we never got to see the whole thing but it’s easy enough to piece together from what we did get. He was basically in a child soldier program that tried turning him into a robotic murderer. He would take out any target and was one of the best in the biz. One day he was rescued from there and recruited to ARCAM where he can use his skills but doesn’t have to be murdering anyone anymore. We occasionally see him fighting with his past but I don’t feel like that plot fully ended. We have a separate plot near the end where he learns to fight as himself and not in the suit but I felt like that was a little different.

Considering that he surpassed the other murder soldiers you could call it an ending if you absolutely had to I suppose. I’m still a bit 50/50 on it myself. Either way he is a good character though. At the end of the day he wants to protect as many people as possible. Yu also enjoys a good fight but is always able to prioritize the situation so he will complete the mission first. The fact that he is able to duck a fight when the timing isn’t appropriate is fairly unique as most main characters will just keep on fighting for as long as possible. So he is a really solid lead.

The best character in the series is his rival Jean though. Jean has the ability to turn into a werewolf type creature which is pretty cool. He had to go through a whole lot in order to obtain that power so it’s definitely not the most fun ability to have but it definitely comes in handy during a pinch at times. He can already fight super well without that ability though so with it he is one of the most powerful fighters in the series. I like his confidence and he’s the kind of character that is just super cool all around.

The actual strongest character is Oboro though and I don’t think it’s even close. Even by the end you never get the feeling that Yu has actually surpassed him in any way. It’s more like Oboro just started holding back which makes sense. Oboro is able to use Qi in order to amp up his attacks, overcome supernatural attacks and also increase his speed. Basically he becomes an absolutely unstoppable fighter and pretty much every fight in the series is one that he wins without any real effort. For that reason the series has to basically write him out of almost every confrontation. If he is around then there isn’t much danger at all. I do wonder why the group doesn’t assign him to more missions but my headcanon is that he probably just refuses them and the government is smart enough not to call his bluff. Honestly that’s a smart move on their part because you don’t want to make an enemy out of him.

One of the big villains is Bo and while I wasn’t impressed with him at first, he got considerably better as the series went on. He actually has some fairly emotional moments by the end and was working on a redemption arc. Considering that like a few of the other villains he was on the neo-nazi camp that seems unlikely but yeah the guy was definitely a tough fighter and at least he had honor in combat. I never took him seriously as a thread to Yu or anything like that but he could definitely fight.

Then we have Iwao who was real tough at the start. He was treated as being semi equal to Yu but his stocks just crashed after that. He became more of a character who was known for a lot of good banter but couldn’t really back it up when it counted. I’m not even sure if he thought he could hang with Yu by the end of the series and it’s just such a large departure from his original appearances. The guy really sank down and by no means am I saying he was a bad character but he was underwhelming. I wish he had stayed as more of a threat.

Sho ended up being more of a final boss threat but even then he didn’t appear a ton. Still he was a good foil to Sho the whole time. He was also raised to be the ultimate soldier and unlike Yu he never really got out. So you feel bad for him because while he may be a villain, it’s not like he had much of a choice about it the whole time. Sho also took his abilities as far as they could go and you could argue that he had surpassed Yu for a while there. He ultimately just couldn’t match him with Qi.

Like I said earlier the art is good with the exception of how similar the characters can look at times. The fight scenes are all on point and there is definitely a whole lot going on there. I should note now that the series can get rather graphics at times. The characters are all working in a war setting after all and the series makes no attempts to keep that hidden or mitigate that fact. Everyone on the opposing sides tend to get blown away. Yu spares his opponents but he’s really the only one to do that. Everyone else just wants to murder the opponents and complete the mission. Nothing wrong with that considering the stakes and situation but it is nice that Yu goes the extra mile here.

The series has a lot to say about government corruption and people jumping ship but ultimately I don’t think it’s harsh enough on this. For example, at one point ARCAM gets super corrupt with the leader trying to murder everyone and he’s basically just allowed to walk away. I know that the group is secret so it’s not like he can go to court but at least arrest him within a private jail or something. It’s a little much just how easily he got away from repercussions here and it didn’t make sense. He really needed to pay for that.

I was glad Yu started giving Arcam the cold shoulder for a while there. Unfortunately they are still the lesser of two evils here when compared with the rest of the groups but he needs to reform the group somehow. They’ve basically become almost as bad as the rest. The United States tends to look the craziest which is pretty funny. Their rep always gets rather tricky in manga/anime but they make for solid antagonists. There are also quite a lot of Nazis running around here. Hitler himself even shows up although I don’t think he was handled very well. Trying to make him sympathetic even for a moment is a bit iffy to say the least.

I do think it’s reasonable to try and make some of the villains more human though. For some of the Nazi characters we get to see them as full characters as opposed to being super one dimensional. I do think this is important because often times the most evil people will be the ones who don’t act so obvious about it all the time. Real life is often complicated and that’s why you never know where the enemies are at. If the Nazi’s were running around yelling about how they were Nazi’s the whole time that would be a bit much. This way you realize a lot of characters won’t even realize this until it’s too late. It makes for good tension.

Because Yu is so powerful, the series also has to come up with a lot of creative ways for him to have a challenge. One particularly effective one was when he had to take down a living computer along with a squad of normal soldiers. The computer was just too strong so one by one they sacrifice themselves to open a path for Yu. It’s definitely one of the sadder stories and a lot of plot armor is used but it was a good example of Yu seeing his limits. Each off the powerful characters (Except for Oboro) come up to a point where they have to acknowledge their limits at different points in the story. No matter how strong someone is in this verse, they are not invincible after all.

Also the environment is often times very crazy so Yu has to adapt quickly. We’re talking time travel to the dinosaur age, alien artifacts, supernatural powers, etc. There’s always something going on and I appreciate the fact that Yu is really quick on his feet the whole time. He always jumps into action no matter what is going on. The series also blends history and supernatural elements really well. We have some characters who can shoot fire, cause instant combustion, and then other suits that mirror his own. There’s a large variety of different weapons and techniques going on here. If anything it’s a shame that the series ended so quickly because you could really keep on going with different relics and adventures for a very long time. After all, there are millions of different artifacts you could play around with.

It’s also a fun relic of the times with the art being rather old school and the main character being a real punk. In some ways it reminds me of Yu Yu Hakusho. Hey demons exist in this world along with everything else so the extra similarities are there. The series also gets to give us some screen time of Yu outside of the ARCAM adventures which is nice. It’s a series that is fleshed out well within the amount of volumes it got. I’d also say it’s got a good amount of replay value with how dense some of the adventures could get. There’s a whole lot of dialogue and exposition here so make sure you have your reading glasses on.

Overall, Spriggan is a very good title. I had a good time with the various adventures and the way the author handled all of the governments was definitely fun. Yeah ARCAM was ultimately always one upping them but that makes sense as the main group. There is a good amount of action and intrigue to keep you entertained the whole time and the series is still long enough to really get to the various storylines without having to finish too quickly. I would have liked a little more time in the plot based area but I can still recommend this to anyone looking for a fun time.

Overall 7/10

Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom Review

Posted on August 10, 2024 by dreager1

It’s been a while since I played the original Ni no Kuni so it was fun to jump into the sequel. I’ve been having a blast jumping through a bunch of hype RPG titles and that streak’s continuing for a bit longer. The game ended up being quite excellent and I dare say that it beats the original. You may be thinking that quite a lot of games lately have been getting elite scores but that’s what happens when you play a lot of long games like this. RPGs always have an inherent advantage over other titles in that you get to really know all of the characters and get absorbed into the narrative. So as long as the gameplay and execution is on point you will have a blast. That’s exactly what happened here.

The story starts with the U.S. President Roland heading to a big meeting. Unfortunately a large missile strike occurs and everything goes up in flames. He was not able to protect his country in the end and lost everything. He is suddenly warped to another world where he is young again and is thrown into the middle of a giant uprising. The current king was assassinated and his son Evan is next. Roland manages to help Evan escape and vows to help him restore the kingdom. Evan wants to unite the world and all of the countries in it so that there will be no more wars. This may be a bit naive but Roland will do what he can to help the kid succeed. Can he establish peace in this world?

The opening really nails the tone of the game right from the start. Seeing Roland pull a gun on these fantasy creatures was intense. He was not playing and the fact that he kept the gun was really coo. Usually the gun would vanish or something like that but not in this game. You actually get to use it in gameplay as well. Everyone else has a bow and arrow for their projectile while this guy just gets to keep his gun and go blasting away at everybody. It’s really like a true isekai adventure all the way.

The gameplay is that of a real 3D action title. You have your standard moves, power moves, magical attacks, and super skills. Your supers have a cooldown based on how often you attack the opponent. Then you also have your projectile weapon. Each of your attacks can be leveled up although I never quite figured out how to do that so my moves stayed at level 1. They are still strong though and most of your attack power is based on the weapon anyway. I made sure to constantly get new weapons to equip. You rarely have to buy them though as the drop rate from enemies is really high. Keep on fighting powerful ones and they will drop exactly what you need before long so there is really no need to spend your money. You will have a lot of money by the end of the game though so no worries if you need to buy something.

You also get battle points although I’m not sure what triggers this. These can be used to enhance gameplay elements like becoming stronger against slime enemies or brute force fighters. The fun strategy part is that you have to decide which type to use this on. You can’t just make yourself strong against all fighters after all. To throw in some more strategy, you also raise these little Pikmin type creatures that follow you and use special attacks of their own. You can raise them at one of the shops in your town and you gain more as you continue the game so you have to decide which 4 to keep equipped. I just maxed out my original 4 and didn’t mess with the others.

Speaking of the town though, this is a key component of the game. You have to raise up your town by building new shops and convincing people to move in. This means completing a ton of side quests. There appear to be at least 200 side quests in the game and you’re going to need to complete over 50 of them minimum to beat the game. I think I did around 70 or so but make sure you are completing them regularly because there will be different points in the game where you will be forced to stop progressing until your town reaches a certain rank.

Fortunately it is really fun to do this. It does take some since money is earned passively using real time minutes. So there will be times where you can just run around as you wait or maybe fight some more monsters. It’s pretty fast but there is a lot to do in the town. This is where more strategy comes up. Each building is tied to different side quests and so you really have to prioritize who to send to which store. You will often have more shops than people and of course a shop won’t produce anything without someone working there.

I could go on, but you get the point. There are so many different gameplay mechanics here and different ways to play. There are dream doors, orbs, and lots of other stuff. You don’t even need to interact with major parts of the game in order to complete the story but it’s really nice how they put so much content in here. I bet I could play for another 30 hours and still not complete everything. The value for your money is quite incredible here and it’s yet another reason why you should pick this game up sooner than later. Trust me, you definitely won’t regret it.

Even with all that aside, the story is really good like I mentioned before. It handles the topic of war well and while it may be an optimistic look at things, it’s a nice change of pace. My only slight issue is with the ending, I would have liked thing to have gone a bit differently. Still, there is room for a sequel should they ever want to go in that route and I did think a certain twist at the end was really solid. I’m surprised they haven’t made more Ni no Kuni games, there’s definitely a lot more you can do with it.

The graphics are naturally super good throughout the game. The cutscenes are super good and the graphics during gameplay are also on point. The soundtrack is fairly solid as well with a number of good songs in there. The whole thing is very smooth and on a technical level there are few games that are better. This has every kind of quality of life feature you can think of from quick travel, to the aerial vehicle that lets you get anywhere quickly. You can save in almost every spot and the way items are stored is very logical. No complaints here.

Overall, Ni No Kuni is a game that keeps on getting better and better as you play it. I had a real blast with it and there is a ton of replay value. The game itself took me close to 30 hours and there is an extensive amount of quests for the post game. Getting the platinum for this game would also take a long while. I would definitely recommend checking this game out for any RPG fan. It really tells a good story even if the ending is really not as satisfying as it could have been. It may not have been perfect but it’s good enough and the whole adventure was definitely a blast.

Overall 9/10

Layton Mystery Detective Agency: Kat’s Puzzle Solving Files Review

Posted on August 8, 2024 by dreager1

It’s time for a wholesome mystery title in the Layton universe! This mini series is based on the video game and pretty accurately retells the events. It makes for a good read but I do wish they could have done a little more with the concept. It ends up feeling very by the numbers and I think they could have added a bit more emotion into the end product. If you can’t play the video game (Or just aren’t interested in gaming) then this definitely does the job in terms of telling the story. It’s just not really an attention grabber and I imagine that you won’t really recall the series for very long. It will very quickly fade from your memory and then it will be game over.

The story revolves around a girl named Katrielle Layton who is a star detective! Or at least she sees herself as one but some of the characters are not convinced. She gets called out on this by the pet dog but I don’t think it’s warranted since as far as we can see Katrielle is an expert. She constantly succeeds and is always on top so why would she not be an expert? I’m just a little skeptical about all of this personally. Still, she is determined to make the world a better place and in the process hopefully she can get a lead on the mysterious Professor Layton. Where has he gone and why hasn’t he contacted her at all?

Each story is fairly stand alone and so you really just get to learn a lot about Katrielle and how she solves each case. Her catchphrase of: “This Mystery is History!!!” is pretty great I have to admit. She tends to try and keep everyone guessing by intentionally acting very scatterbrained the whole time. When she obtains a clue she will disguise this by talking about snacks or acting like she didn’t notice anything. It’s not a bad technique in order to keep everyone guessing and lower their guards so I can respect that. You could also argue she is just doing her best to troll Ernest which seems to be a hobby for her.

The main cast is rather small here beyond the main heroine. It’s a short series with only 10 chapters so that makes sense as you can’t afford to develop a whole lot of characters after all. Ultimately Katrielle is already developed really well as listed above so that sets things off on a good note. She’s just fun all in all and sets the manga off on the right tone. Her partner is Ernest who does his best but can never really keep up. By no means is he a bad character though. If anything you feel bad for him because he has a massive crush on Katrielle but she is unaware of it.

Or is she? We already know that she loves to play dumb and with how obvious Ernest is about it, you have to assume that she knows or at least suspects that something up. Such a great detective not being aware of this would definitely be very suspicious. I’m not saying that it is impossible…but yeah I’m skeptical. Either way Ernest always does his best to help. He may rarely be useful but it’s the thought that counts and Katrielle never makes fun of him for this or anything. They do make for a good team.

They also have a talking dog but only the two of them can understand him. It’s hard to tell from the manga perspective if this is supposed to be a serious mystery or just a bit of a quirk. Either way it’s not like he does much. Honestly the Professor Layton stuff isn’t touched upon much either and is treated more like a twist than anything else. You’ll definitely be left in the dark about quite a few things after finishing the series and since a sequel seems unlikely that’s definitely tough.

You’ve also got Katrielle’s rival but she is out of her depth from the jump. I think that’s always the problem about introducing a rival in a mini series like this. There just isn’t much time to establish the rival as a main threat and so what happens is you end up not being able to take the character seriously. After all, she was crushed in her very first appearance so what am I supposed to do with that? Her tough talk will just ring hollow from that point on and being scared of ghosts doesn’t really help her case either. The police detectives don’t get to do as much as you expect here. I felt like they had more of a presence in the game than in the manga.

With 10 chapters that means we get to go through 10 standard cases. With each case being around 30 pages long or less that does mean there isn’t time to do a whole lot here. You will get the start of the crime, an obvious suspect, and then Katrielle saves the day. There’s nothing wrong with the format of course but they probably could have shaken this up a bit more. The best story I would say is the final one. Perhaps that is an easy answer but having Katrielle be suspected of murder is definitely intriguing. That would get you to read the chapter very eagerly. Then of course you have the initial meeting where the agency was formed and that was a pretty good prequel chapter.

The rest tend to be about even and there are no bad chapters. That’s important to note here, this is a series that is very consistent. It may not be winning any awards but it is a very easy read. The art is super clear and I have no issues there either. It may not be super detailed but you can always tell exactly what is happening which is important. I could see this style being an intentional pick to help with the younger crowd who may have a more difficult time with an intricate style.

Overall, This is a fun series but I don’t feel like the author took advantage of the manga medium. It merely recounts the events of the game without adding anything to it. I’m sure there are probably some constraints in terms of not deviating from the story but you could hopefully still get around that with really dynamic camera angles or something. I don’t know exactly the best way to go about that but something to help it reach the next level. Either way it was good though and in the end that’s an important thing. It’s a safe manga that I could recommend to anyone looking for a good time. There is nothing objectionable to be found here and so in the end it’s a good time.

Overall 6/10

Universal Soldier Review

Posted on August 8, 2024 by dreager1

It’s time for a thriller about knowing when to break your programming and defy orders. It’s got some good messages to be told for sure but in the end this film isn’t all that good. The main character is a little too slow every time so the villain always has the edge. It’s pretty crazy stuff not gonna lie and nobody is smart at all here. It just doesn’t seem like a very practical project even by corrupt government standards.

The movie starts with showing us the end of a big battle and a village was completely destroyed. Squad leader Andrew completely went off the deep end and turned evil. He ends up executing a hostage for no reason and so Luke is forced to take him down. It’s a mutual defeat though and their bodies are brought back to the government for experimentation. They decide to revive these two as mindless soldiers that can be used to handle any threat. They do not feel emotions or any previous memories. In theory they simply obey all orders without question. So they will be a really good unit for any commander and if the test is successful they can mass produce these kinds of soldiers from dead men.

Unfortunately things go sideways as you could have probably guessed immediately. Andrew is still as crazy as ever and enjoys murdering people a little too much. A local reporter named Veronica does some snooping with her partner and Andrew murders the guy even though it is against the rules. So Luc quickly takes her to safety and the government orders Andrew to pursue. But wait Andrew can’t be trusted because he’s already showing clear signs of a personality and violent tendencies right? Yeah the government barely cares at this point so Luc better run real fast.

Luc is still not his old self though so while he has some memories and such he doesn’t have his personality yet. This means…uh oh he basically has amnesia. One trope I never love is when the main character doesn’t know anything and gets into a bunch of misunderstandings. That happens here as he doesn’t know what money is and why he has to pay for food, he doesn’t know what his body is supposed to look like, etc. I don’t even get why we needed this part of the plot. For the most part I don’t think it would change much about the film if he was totally himself. The main villain basically got his whole personality back after all. Luc deserved better.

So the film’s attempts at humor here really didn’t do that well. Meanwhile I didn’t really care for Veronica all that much. You know the type of character they are going for right away. She’s constantly yelling and panicking and making the wrong decisions the whole time. It’s pretty clear that Luc saved her from getting shot but she still complains for a while and it takes a minute before she really gets on board with the fact that he is the only reason she’s alive. I would have thought that was rather obvious to be honest but it is what it is I suppose.

The film tends to be rather excessive on the violence as well. People are really getting blown up here and the villain collects ears from his prey. It’s definitely a good way to show that the guy is a psycho but I don’t think that was really enough justification. Also, the girl in the intro having to see her boyfriend/husband get blown away right in front of her was absolutely crazy. Then after all that she still doesn’t survive? That’s not really a great way to start the film, I was certainly salted the whole time at the very least.

Also considering who the main actor is, I was expecting way more hand to hand fight scenes. We really don’t get much of that at all though. Aside from the gunfights we get a mild skirmish at the start, a little mixup with the cook later on, and then the final fight. They really didn’t make the most out of his talents which is a shame because I know that the fights would have been really good. Perhaps they would have even elevated the film. Without them, you have more time to really focus on all of the other elements of the film which aren’t nearly as solid.

Now on to the government, the film just makes them look way too inept. They often underestimate the villains and get themselves into trouble but this was a bit much. So by this point in the film they already know how absolutely insane the main villain is. This guy absolutely must be stopped at all costs but they will keep using him since he’s the only one who can stop Luc. Okay fine but then they figure they should reset his memories just in case. So they tell him to go inside the freeze room. Andrew first threatens them a bit but suspiciously complies. So the guy walks in there with the needle before the ice can really do anything and naturally he is violently murdered. That’s just really dumb to be honest.

I don’t get why the government couldn’t do more to stop both Luc and Andrew if they were serious to be honest. It’s not even like you’d have to worry about outlasting them because both characters have a massive weakness where they overheat just by existing. So you just keep fighting until the two of them start melting and then you have the massive advantage. Case closed right? That’s also such a random weakness but I am cool with it because I think it’s only fair that a super soldier would have some kind of downside. It’d be a little convenient if there was none.

Aside from the over the top violence and the lack of hand to hand fight scenes the film could have done with more likable characters. Again you’re looking at a duo of a semi mindless main character and a main heroine who doesn’t seem to understand the danger she’s in for a while there. This doesn’t really let the characters have any banter either so while I generally would say that the writing is pretty good here, it’s really nothing to write home about either. It’s trying to survive in spite of the main characters when they should be the ones trying to prop it up.

Overall, Universal Soldier was a bit of a letdown here. I like the idea of the film but it’s not exactly a fun watch and throughout the film you are waiting for the heroes to do more. The government have no idea what’s going on and it feels like the villain has way too much control here. There’s no way he should be making it nearly as far as he does and so in the end everyone looks real bad. Not really a film I would recommend to anyone looking for their quality action title.

Overall 3/10

They Live By Night Review

Posted on August 8, 2024 by dreager1

It’s time for a noir title with a lot going on but it does not execute as well as it could have. It’s not super out of the ordinary for the main character to be unlikable in a noir title like this but at the same time you still need to have some kind of redeemable quality to really let the film go through smoothly. Mix that in with the underwhelming romance and this is not really one for the books. It can keep you entertained but the characters tend to get you annoyed more often than not which throws you right back out of the title.

The film starts off with Bowie and two other inmates escaping from jail. Bowie supposedly murdered someone which is a pretty big charge so he needs to lie low. The other two criminals are hardened veterans so they find a safehouse with people they know. The next challenge will be to rob a bank so they can free another criminal but this time doing it legally. Bowie is really just along for the ride but he ends up falling for the girl who lives there. Her name is Keechie and she doesn’t know a whole lot about the world. Bowie’s out of his depth as well so this could really work well as a match. Can Bowie get out of this crime circuit though?

Okay so I don’t really sympathize with Bowie because of how far this goes. At the end of the day it may be peer pressure but he was still doing everything. Robbing a bank is a crime no matter how you slice it after all. I do think he at least made the right call in skipping town with Keechie when the stakes were getting real high but at the same time he played it sloppy once one of the other criminals, Chicamaw caught up to him. You have to take the guy out of the picture. The longer you keep him around the worse things will get.

Yeah, taking someone out isn’t easy but this guy’s a villain through and through so you can’t really feel bad about that. Bowie also has Keechie to think about at this point so that really means he has to go all in. Ultimately things don’t go great for Bowie and you weren’t expecting them to considering what happened throughout the film. Right through to the end he was outplayed and that’s why he was not meant to be in the criminal game. In a way you could say it’s probably a good thing when you aren’t cut out for the competition but of course it’s even better to not even get involved in the first place.

Now why was the romance so bad? Well I think they overplayed the naive angle for Keechie. She just didn’t seem to know much about anything and so she wanted to take things slow but Bowie was the one always getting upset and trying to speed things up. It’s hard to see what she saw in the guy. From her perspective he’s another crook and someone who is trying to move rather fast instead of getting to know her. Yes, you can say she is desperate because no other guys have wanted her and that definitely throws a sad element into this but it doesn’t make the romance itself any better. In fact you could make the case that it makes the whole thing worse.

Keechie isn’t properly developed at the start of the film. I would argue that she gets a little development later on as she stands up for herself more and makes decisions. It’s not as if it’s a bad relationship all the way through but the start is just way too rocky to buy into. At least it was a way to escape the villain base which was really just a powder keg for a while there.

Also Chicamaw isn’t the best main villain. He’s jealous of Bowie for getting all of the credit for the latest crime but that means the cops won’t be looking for him as hard. That’s almost objectively a good thing from his point of view in every way. The fact that he is so petty that he would put all of this in jeopardy for clout is absolutely crazy. The guy also gets drunk quite a lot so I wouldn’t call him the biggest threat. It’s why Bowie needed to take him out a lot sooner. Yeah he can’t win a straight fight but he could absolutely do something from the sides using trickery.

I will say that the writing is solid as always though. The dialogue between each of the characters is on point without a doubt and the pacing isn’t bad. The film moves from plot point to plot point well, the problem is really that the plot itself wasn’t good enough here. You need to really rewrite large sections of it for the film to be better. It just isn’t the most entertaining film and with so many other better titles to check out, this one just ends up fading into the background.

Overall, They Live by Night is not a film that I would recommend as much as the average noir title. It could have used a mystery or something. Just watching the main guy making various mistakes doesn’t really do anything for me. The main part of the film is also about a romance that I just didn’t care much about either so there was no real saving that part of the film. I was just shaking my head by this point. I do think you could make an interesting story here about the heroine changing a villain from his old ways but you’re not really going to find that here. If the film was aiming for the ending to be a solid book-end to the subplot of Bowie not being ready for these stakes then I do think that was really clever tho.

Overall 4/10

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