Lego DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League vs Bizarro League Review

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All right, it’s time to look at another one of the Lego DC films! This is a feature length film unlike the last one that I reviewed although it’s still under an hour so it’s not very long. The Justice League get a big role here this time so Batman won’t have to steal all of the best lines. That being said, he’s still the best character here along with Superman’s fun depiction. It’s a vs film technically although the Justice League doesn’t really get to fight the Bizarro League…I wouldn’t call it a total fight anyway. Still, the real villain is ready!

The film starts out with Bizarro messing up Metropolis as per usual. Superman takes him to an uninhabited planet and convinces Bizarro to think of the rocks as people and just live there for a while. It works and this gives the Justice League time to deal with the many threats that attack Earth on a daily basis. Unfortunately, Bizarro’s world is being attacked by Darkseid so he makes clones of the other League members. Batman and Superman must now do something about this while also taking care of Darkseid. It will be tough, but they are the world’s greatest superheroes so nothing should be able to stop them!

Let’s launch into the positives here. First of all, I still love this depiction of Lego Batman. He only joined the League in order to keep tabs on Superman and he constantly reminds us of this. He carries around a big chunk of Kryptonite and even steals Lex’s plans on how to take Superman down for the count. His dialogue is definitely the best in the film and he even has a “I’m Batman!” moment that was great. The banter between him and Superman is the main reason why the film is so enjoyable. It’s always great to see these two heroes together.

Superman is also likable of course and most of the other League members are neat as well. The Flash is definitely always fun to watch given how fast he is. I’m not crazy about Wonder Woman and Cyborg’s portrayals, but some characters weren’t meant to be parodied I suppose. (The Flash is played pretty straight as his speed is what the writers have fun with, but I actually like the fact that he looks so fast) Guy Gardner is the film’s punching bag and it’s always fun to see him wrecked by the opposition.

This film also had more action than the rest of the Lego adventures. The fight between Superman and Darkseid was fun to watch. It’s a lego fight of course, but it’s still a fight and that was neat. There were also some fun scenes of the heroes beating up on an army invasion. There was really almost nonstop action when you really think about it and that’s another reason why the lego adventure was so enjoyable. It’s good to go all out. The soundtrack also gave the film an extra boost. There were many fast paced themes that played throughout the action scenes. It’s hard to remember them specifically, but they certainly worked well during the fights.

There’s really not much to dislike about the film. It’s very short so things have to move quickly, but for this style I suppose that it works. I don’t want to sound too repetitive and I’ve already mentioned this in my other Lego reviews, but the style is one that can be a little much if it drags on for too long. So, short and direct is a good strategy for it. Lego animation is still relatively low tier for me, but it is a pretty big sub genre at this point. For lego’s, it’s a good effort and most of the humor is based around that fact so the film would be very different if it used another style.

The Bizarro League plays a very small role despite the fact that they’re in the title. They really don’t have any big moments and are just in the background. They certainly could have been better as they came off as a little too deluded and weak if you ask me. Bizarro is the only character who got an actual personality that wasn’t too over the top here. I still find his backwards talk to be rather inconsistent as he starts off a sentence saying the opposite of what he means, but starts to talk normally after that. Maybe the backwards thing only applies to the first sentence of a paragraph or something like that. It’s something to think about I suppose.

Overall, This was another fun Lego installment. I’d say that the short that came with this one is my favorite and this would be second. The edge that they have over Lego Batman is the larger role of the league and the fact that I really like Batman’s portrayal here. I liked his in Lego Batman as well, but he’s even more paranoid over here. The banter between the two main heroes is the selling point of this film, but the fights are also a lot of fun. There was definitely more action than I had been anticipating and the soundtrack was solid as well. I recommend this film if you enjoy the Lego style. It makes for a fun film that is also very short so you will be through it in no time. It will be fun to see what other Lego adventures come out soon. This is also one of the newest films that I’ve seen since it came out so recently. Hopefully, Batman sticks around as the main character for the next DVD film. His theatrical one coming out soon should be fun too.

Overall 7/10

Alex Rider: Russian Roulette Review

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The prequel to the Alex Rider series came out a while ago at this point, but I only just got around to it. As with the Godzilla book, I had it here for months, but I finally renewed it 10 times so this was my last chance to wrap things up. I just made it and am glad that I did as it was a good prequel. The ending was a little rushed I suppose, but it was still a good novel through and through. The writing is much better than what I saw in the Godzilla book and reminds me that we’ve still got solid books out there. You’ve just got to know where to look.

The main character of this Yasha, but his name quickly changes to Yassan so I’ll just keep it that way. The adventure starts him off as a child, but a plague infects his village and his parents have just enough time to give him a cure. Yassan is now the only survivor of that village and it has effectively been wiped off the map. Yassan is now a non person who does not even exist according to computer records. This puts him in a pretty interesting spot as his enemies won’t know about him, but vice versa as well. He goes through many hardships and ends up working as a slave for the man who was responsible for the incident. Through the Alex Rider events, we know that Yassan ends up….well, I won’t say who he works for I suppose, but you should have read the other books already before checking out the prequels. Needless to say, we know the ending, but this book is all about how he gets there.

In that sense, I think that things get a little iffy. As the book is from Yassan’s point of view, we learn a whole lot about the character. He was actually a very nice person back in the day and he really just wanted to fly a helicopter. Unfortunately, the village being wiped out put him on the path to destruction from the beginning. Working as a servant was essentially unavoidable and getting out of the situation was difficult, if not impossible. Those were tough years and his decision to escape was certainly a good one. From there, things just go from bad to worse.

The book’s plot is constantly evolving and adapting because it has to cover a whole lot of plot in a mere 400 pages. (More like 370, but close enough) I don’t want to mention all of the plot developments so I’ll mainly try to keep it vague, but this is still a review so I need to touch on some things. The best part of the book was probably the training facility that he goes too in the second half. That sounded like a pretty interesting chapter in his life and it would have been fun to have seen it get some more screen time. That part is glossed over the most so that we can see him as a professional.

Throughout the whole book, Yassan is mainly trying to not cross the line. He doesn’t mind stealing or committing other such acts in order to survive, but taking another person’s life is something that he doesn’t want to do. Unfortunately, it gets harder and harder to do this as his situation continues to get more dire. One of the reasons why Yassan was such a great character is he continues to choose not to pull the trigger even when it may mean death for him. It’s one of the reasons why he was lucky not to have any friends or family left. The villains could not use anyone as leverage against Yassan and threatening the main character’s life doesn’t have the same impact.

That’s why the ending just comes so suddenly. There is treachery in the air and Yassan gets very upset at the final twist. That being said, it unhinges him more than you would expect and he essentially decides to become a mass murderer just to spite someone. That is the part that came out of left field for me. The whole book, his consciousness had kept him from crossing the line and while he got upset at the end, it still seems like a big leap in logic to just start destroying everyone. Destroy the guy who betrayed you for sure, but taking it out on everyone was a little much. Yassan wanted to prove a point, which is why he didn’t destroy the traitor, but it was still definitely a bit much.

I feel like the author was running out of time and didn’t want to stretch this out into multiple books and just wanted to end things. I would have been happy to have had more books about Yassan, but maybe the fast pacing is what ultimately made this such an enjoyable book. I can certainly say that I enjoyed it much more than any of the Alex Rider novels and this was one of the most interesting books that I have read. The ending is the one sour spot for me and I knew that it was coming of course, but I just didn’t buy it. You could almost say that the author was trapped by the Alex Rider books as he had to keep Yassan in line with his self in the books even if the personality was different.

The author should have almost made this prequel non canon to just let Yassan end out with an escape. Disappearing forever was the plan that he had been leaning towards and it made the most sense. I was almost expecting him to go through with it at one point and then we’d get a sequel to see how he got pulled into the madness once again. That would have made much more sense and I can’t stress enough how much a sequel would have helped the ending. There’s also a chance that a sequel would jump the shark though so maybe it’s better safe than sorry.

The actual writing is very engaging and the author certainly has experience with writing a compelling novel. The characters don’t all sound like generic movie protagonists and they have character. You will feel bad for Yassan as the whole book is basically one tragedy after the other, but the author doesn’t overdo it. It’s sad and you’ll feel bad for the guy, but it’s done naturally and not just brought up to constantly remind you that you should feel bad for him. There’s one quick scene of animal violence at the end involving a spider, but it’s also handled really quickly and I suppose that it is easier for that not to hurt the score in a book than other forms of media. Although, it still depends on how it is handled.

Quite a few characters show up including Alex Rider’s dad. The dad was fairly likable although it’s hard to know what to think of him by the end. I guess I’m not a fan and he could have handled things much better. I also think that Yassan should have been able to defeat him in a fight. Thinking about it, the book doesn’t really have much of a climax. There is action throughout and yet there are very few action scenes. The dialogue is just strong enough to hold the novel up on its own, which is neat. There are quite a few likable characters throughout the book just as there are unlikable ones, but it is a colorful cast. The book gives us some nice details on how Yassan gets ready for a mission without going overboard and it was nice to see him continue to make the right decisions.

Overall, This was an excellent book and just what I needed after finishing Godzilla. Godzilla wasn’t exactly the big return to novels that I had been looking for so I’m glad that I got to find an elite title so quickly. If not for the ending, I dare say that this could be the best stand alone novel that I’ve read. It’s part of the Alex Rider franchise of course and many places just list it as being in the series, but I like to think of the prequel as being its own separate thing. Still canon and in the franchise, but not to be counted with the rest of the books as being in the series. If Yassan had stayed true to himself and ended out on a positive note, I probably would have given this a 10. I’m not even sure which book (If any) I’ve given a perfect score yet, but this probably would have snatched it away. The ending should have just been Yassan walking away and we still could have gotten the moment where he was back in the future and the author leading us to wonder how he got to that point. Still, abrupt ending or not, I highly recommend reading this title. You don’t need to read the Alex Rider books at all to understand what is happening here although it will give you more insight. As with just about every prequel, you can read this before the main series or after it. Either way, it works very well and it’s an engaging piece to read from start to finish. I also read it in hardcover, which helped a bit since I love that format. I’m not sure when I’ll have another book review up as it could be a while, but it’ll be tough to pass this one. It would be cool if the book got a film adaption someday to bring the Alex Rider franchise back into the forefront, but I don’t see that happening for quite a while, if ever.

Overall 9/10

Beyblade VForce Ultimate Blader Jam Stats and Records

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Stats time!

Stage Stats Time Completed- Items

Episode 1
1-1 3.87s 1/1
1-2 10.48s 0/2
1-3 12.99s 0/1
1-4 29.34s 0/1
1-5 13.21s 0/1
1-6 14.38s 0/1
1-7 31.58s 0/1

Episode 2
2-1 16.88s 0/2
2-2 14.33s 0/1
2-3 13.07s 0/1
2-4 25.04s 0/1
2-5 16.46s 0/1
2-6 25.58s 0/1
2-7 47.32s 1/2

Episode 3
3-1 31.36 0/1
3-2 18.92 0/2
3-3 5.20s –
3-4 31.36s 0/1
3-5 46.24s 0/1
3-6 8.24s –
3-7 35.18s 1/2

Episode 4
4-1 23.16s 0/2
4-2 43.74s 0/2
4-3 13.10s 0/1
4-4 32.04 0/4
4-5 26.81s 0/3
4-6 24.52s 0/2
4-7 22.91s 1/1

Episode 5
5-1 31.60s 0/1
5-2 53.56s 0/2
5-3 34.33s 0/2
5-4 40.01s 0/2
5-5 34.92s 0/4
5-6 21.21s 0/2
5-7 57.31s 1/3

Episode 6
6-1 31.44s 0/4
6-2 1m 11s 2/5
6-3 9.87s 0/1
6-4 1m 16s 1/4
6-5 34.81s 0/2
6-6 43.07s 1/3
6-7 9.74s –

Episode 7
7-1 53.63s 0/3
7-2 38.22s 1/5
7-3 19.29s 0/1
7-4 44.89s 0/1
7-5 35.16s 0/2
7-6 1m 12s 0/2
7-7 23.84s –

Beyblade VForce Ultimate Blader Jam Review

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I haven’t played a Beyblade game in a very long time. I’ll admit that I’ve missed it as Beyblade is easily one of the greatest franchises that I have yet to really get into. Although, I suppose that playing the games and reading the manga should count as getting myself formally introduced to the franchise. It’s a lot of fun and I enjoyed the first game a lot so I was looking forward to this one. The gameplay is radically different from the Gamecube title and can’t quite match up, but it’s still fun and fairly original. The only game that I can think of, which is pretty similar to this one would be Monkey Ball and those games have less action.

The plot is a little all over the place because the game has to cover a whole bunch of episodes in a relatively short amount of time. Tyson and his friends are the world champions of Beyblade. They were on top of the world, but that’s when the new villains decide to strike. Tyson and his friends are actually defeated by these new players and must train hard in order to surpass them. The problem is that there are also two villain groups to watch out for. These guys try to steal the animal spirits that reside within the Beyblades and that makes each duel a matter of life and death. The Earth and maybe even the whole universe could be forfeit if we are not careful. Tyson’s going to have to step up his game if he wants to win.

The cutscenes don’t always mesh well with the gameplay. For example, a cutscene will end with Tyson about to fight someone and then the next level will be a standard “Reach the goal” stage. The boss fight will end up being in the next battle instead. The cutscenes also seem to come at random points and a lot of battles happen off screen. The actual plot is still fun though and Tyson learns that illegally modifying his Beyblade is not a good idea. He has to win like a main character and that’s what he ends up doing. It solidifies the fact that the Beyblade shows are definitely very good.

The soundtrack is very catchy as they seem to have thrown in one of the theme songs or at least a lyrical piece that fits well with the gameplay. It can be hard to hear what they are saying, but there are very few GBA games that have the budget needed to put in a full song so that’s neat. By the end of the game, you’ll have heard it many times and will be ready to recite the beat from memory. It gave the game a little extra boost of excitement.

As for the graphics, they certainly aren’t anything special, but they’re not bad either. They’re simple and to the point. The backgrounds are all fairly distinct and you can tell which Beyblade you are playing as at all times. The game does seem to have a bit of a low budget though as there aren’t many character models. It just reuses the same pictures constantly in the cutscenes and likewise with the gameplay. The game is still easy to look at so I’ll count it as a win in my book.

Now, let’s finally take a look at the gameplay. As I mentioned earlier, it’s very similar to Monkey Ball. The game is looked at from an overhead view and you have to roll the Beyblade to the end of the course. There are a lot of tight turns so you want to take your time, but you also need to go a little quickly towards the end if you want to beat the “par” time. It’s not necessary, but that’s how you unlock the bonus levels. There will occasionally be minions that you can fight by bumping them off the stage or until they top spinning or you can just skip them. I advise just avoiding the fights unless you need to bump into the other Beyblades to get through.

Boss fights are extremely easy to the point where I wonder if the developers thought about them. Maybe the gameplay just didn’t work very well in that area. The bosses are just other tops that are slightly bigger than yours and you smash them until they stop spinning. It’s extremely easy as bumping into them is all that you need to do to win. Typically, you can win these levels in around 20-30 seconds with ease. The final boss is very anticlimactic because he is no stronger than any of the other bosses. You can just apply the same strategy and still win on your very first try.

There’s not a whole lot of replay value to be found here. You can replay the levels again to try and reach the par time and unlock the bonus levels. Furthermore, you can go through all of the levels and gather the items. Beyond that, there’s not much else to do. The gameplay is a lot of fun so you can work on your hand eye coordination by playing the levels. It takes a lot of concentration not to fall while you are on the tougher levels. It’s one of the reasons why this style of game is so good because it does feel like you are actually improving as you play it.

I got the game for around a dollar at Gamestop and I can safely say that I am pleased with my purchase. It’s certainly not as good as the Gamecube title, but it was a fun ride and it lasted for most of a car trip. The game was probably around 60-90 minutes in length although it could take a little longer if you end up getting stuck on any of the levels. You will never be stuck for very long though as you are almost guaranteed to be able to find a way past the stage as you continue to give it a shot. The items and enemies don’t move around so repetition will help you find out what the best strategy is.

Overall, Beyblade VForce was a fun game. I almost forgot that I had it in the backlog for a while and it was merely by chance that I finally got to give it a whirl. I definitely won’t be forgetting this classic anytime soon. It was a good game and while it is very short, you can get it for a very good price so I’d recommend taking the plunge. I aim to buy the next game at some point in the future, but until then it’s back to Flip’s Twisted World! Perhaps the extra experience with precision has also helped to sharpen my mind to solve all of Flip’s mysteries. We shall see!

Overall 7/10

Lego Batman: DC Super Heroes Unite Review

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It’s time to step into the world of the Lego heroes! The games were quite popular at one point so it makes sense that Batman would eventually get a film of his own. For those of us who haven’t played the Lego Batman games yet, the plot is all new. It was a fun little ride and I definitely wouldn’t mind seeing more Lego animations in the future. Their portrayals of Batman and Superman are always fun.

Batman ends up defeating Lex Luthor for the man of the year award, which makes the evil genius sad. Ah well, at least it helped him realize that he’s going to need the help of the Joker after watching the villain hijack the party and steal Lex’s watch. The two villains free most of the inmates at Arkham Asylum and get ready to unveil their master plan. Batman is ready to stop them along with his trusty sidekick Robin, but will they be enough or will Batman have to rely on his super powered friend this time?

The film is only a little over an hour so it goes by very quickly. You could say that the film is almost nonstop action as a result as the plot is always moving. While I always like for films to be as long as possible, it works well for the Legos since you could get tired of the style if it ran for too long. As it is, the adventure is fun and to the point. The absurd character personalities is one of its main selling points and it never goes too far.

“You feel nervous?” is something that Batman would typically never ask someone, but it’s cool to hear him say that here. You can think of the Lego films as delving into the character’s sub conscious if you like to get meta and this is how they would really act if they weren’t worried about their image. Batman never likes to receive help from Superman since it makes people think that Batman actually needs the Man of Steel’s help. Batman’s always been a solo act and he’s not about to let that change now! He’s Batman after all! His voice was also quite good and he is certainly one of the main highlights here.

Superman is also a lot of fun and he sounds a lot like Captain Qwark, one of the more enjoyable members of the Ratchet and Clank franchise. Superman’s always ready to do the right thing and the movie shows him to be the ultimate hero. He’s more noble and heroic than Batman as well as being much more powerful. This is Superman as he was meant to be portrayed. Robin’s depiction was all right I suppose, but the writers definitely wanted to make him look as bad as possible.

It was cool that Lex actually kept his voice from the DCAU. That’s the kind of extra detail that adds a little more fun to the film as that is definitely the voice that he is well known for. The villains all act as you would expect them too and while they aren’t bad, the heroes are the selling points. Without Batman and Superman, there is no movie. The villains do naturally help for the fight scenes.

Lego animation is right above Stop Motion, but it loses to CG-I and the rest of the animation techniques. It’s something that I would never recommend for any product, but while it’s here, Legos aren’t bad. I would naturally prefer this film if it had a different style of animation, but they ended up choosing Lego style and I can deal with that. Most of the humor is wrapped around the fact that they are Legos and it works well enough. You’re reminded of the Legos that you played with as a kid after all.

The soundtrack is fun as you will recognize a classic Batman theme while you’re watching the film. That’s always good and I can appreciate the nostalgia factor or a good remix. Either way, the consumer wins. I wasn’t expecting this to have much music at all so this was definitely a nice surprise. That’s the only theme that I can remember at the moment, but it’s the only one that I need to remember for the film to earn some points there.

Overall, Lego Batman is a fun film. There’s not a whole lot to say about it though. If you’ve ever watched a Lego film before, then you’ll know what to expect. They all have a bit of a distinctive formula, which makes for consistently good films. What they lack in originality they make up for in quality. It would be fun to see Marvel jump on board with this as opposed to just having webisodes. I already saw the sequel to this title and will have a review up for it shortly. If you’ve played the Lego games or are a fan of the Lego franchise, then I would recommend checking this out. As long as you don’t mind a parody portrayal of the DC characters, you’ll have a lot of fun. It’s not meant to be taken too seriously and you should just have fun watching it. The dialogue is good and the movie will be over before you know it. This will also be another Batman and Superman team up to add to your viewing history. Oh, and did I mention that the rest of the Justice League show up? (A bit of a small role, but that’s because they get to appear a lot more in the sequel)

Overall 7/10

Godzilla Review

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It has been a very long time since I have reviewed a book. It may have even been over a year at this point. What better way to get back into the industry than with Godzilla right? The film was fun even though it certainly could have been better to say the least. I know that many people weren’t crazy about Ford Brody in the film and I always thought that he was a bit of a non factor. After reading the book though, I can safely say that the character isn’t very good.

The book follows the plot of the film. Essentially, a creature destroys Ford’s mother along with many other people simply by waking up. Over a decade later, the monster has woken up along with a second one. They are known as the MUTO creatures and their abilities are unparalleled. With the EMP bursts that they can generate, the army is essentially out of their depth here. Their only course of action is to allow the Super Kaiju known as Godzilla to step in and save the day. The question is…did the government have a choice in the first place and can Godzilla really win the 2 on 1 fight? Pondering these questions is what makes the book fun.

I had a hard time getting past the beginning of the book because it starts off a little slowly. To the book’s defense, that is typically the case for just about every book that I read. It’s simply hard to start off with an interesting beginning that will keep you ready for action. Another problem is that the book adds some unnecessary details. See, Godzilla ended up attacking the island in 1954 because some animals were being tested on and it was defying nature. The government nuked Godzilla and the animals were hit as collateral. It makes the humans look terrible once again and you can see why a lot of people just end up rooting for Godzilla here. The Kaiju is the hero here and the humans need to get their act together if they want to win.

I wasn’t particularly crazy about the writing either. As I mentioned earlier, Ford wasn’t necessarily a negative for me in the movie, but I didn’t like him in the book. Not only is he incredibly generic, but he’s simply an unlikable character. He panics a whole lot and is almost always on the verge of tears. He constantly has to “tear himself away” from his son and family because he has a world to save, but he’s always so overly dramatic about it. Towards the end of the book, he even gets annoyed when people come to save him from the nukes. Sure, he’s tired and fatigued, but he should be grateful. It’s hard to simply spell out, but Ford just wasn’t my kind of character. I much preferred his father in the book. That plot was typically a lot more interesting than Ford’s.

Of course, the Godzilla scenes are the reason why you will buy the book. As with the movie, he doesn’t get a huge role and misses most of the first 75% of the book, but then he gets a solid fight in the end. The author definitely seemed to like the MUTOs as they were crushing Godzilla in the initial fight. In the film they temporarily started to overwhelm him as well, but here…they flat out beat him. Ford has to (accidentally) save Godzilla’s life by distracting one of the creatures. Once the MUTO is gone, Godzilla is able to take out the other one. Then he manages to defeat the second and proves that he is the strongest Kaiju out there, but I would have liked more G domination.

I also have to question the fact that the MUTO’s were able to short out his Atomic Breath. It’s not exactly standard electricity so I don’t think that an EMP would knock it out. If it could, then that means that the Government could essentially use the same tactic against him. Godzilla is also able to use it at the very end so I guess that the normal EMPs that the MUTO creatures generate is weak enough for Godzilla to overpower it. I’m glad about that at least. The Godzilla scenes are certainly the highlight as its fun to see the Kaiju in action although he could have looked a little stronger.

Back to the negatives, the writing goes to horror film mode at times as Ford loves to swear when he’s in danger along with just about every other character. It’s something that I always bring up because you wouldn’t have seen it back in the 70’s or earlier. Dr. Serizawa is a character that I didn’t like in any version and I still don’t care for him here. At one point, the government is out of options and they ask the doctor if Godzilla can defeat MUTO. Serizawa essentially shrugs and says his “iconic nature controls arrogant men” (Completely reworded and out of context, but you’ll likely know the line if you’ve scene the trailer. before he says to just let the monsters fight. Cmon Serizawa, the government is looking for a serious answer at this point.

Of course, the government doesn’t look too good when they decide to send a Nuke after Godzilla and the creatures. The climax has them essentially admit that MUTO and Godzilla could easily tank the missile. The plan seemed to be pretty bad from the start and reeked of desperation. While they like to think that there wouldn’t be too many casualties by dumping it in the river, many people would still die through the fish and the radiation that the wind carries. Nukes are never a great measure.

Also, they were hardly necessary. Maybe against the MUTO creatures, but against Godzilla, the airplanes were actually doing well. The book implies that they could have ultimately defeated Godzilla had some more planes come on board as they were dealing a lot of damage to the King. Long time Godzilla fans won’t like that of course, but it’s nice for the government to get in some wins once in a while. It’s like the old saying, “It’s why I’m here.”

I didn’t like the format that the book was in although I suppose that this will vary if there are any other versions. The type is simply too small. It’s part of the style as it allows the book to be small as well, but it’s not worth it. I like the classic hardcover style so much more as the print is nearly double the size of the Godzilla book and it makes the reading so much easier. It’s one of the reasons why I’ve had the book since sometime in February or earlier. I’ve renewed it 10 times from NYPL until I finally read it now. (And just in time too!)

Overall, the book got better once I was past the beginning, but I’m still not crazy about the writing. The characters just felt unlikable for the most part and the animals part in the beginning was really not needed. Godzilla also should have looked more impressive like how he was portrayed in the film. The book had its negatives to be sure and the format also made it a little tougher to read through. If you’re a big Godzilla fan, this is still a book to check out. If you aren’t looking forward to the Kaiju fights then you should probably take a pass on this book. After all, the fights were the climactic parts. If you don’t care for those, then it’s Game Over time!

Overall 6/10

Sword Art Online Progressive

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It’s time to head back to Aincrad with this series. Seeing as how Arc 1 is easily the best part of the SAO franchise, it’s good to see it again. Unfortunately, the series is already heading into the fanservice trap, which is regrettable. If the series can stay away from that it should be okay, but if not, it’s game over! I’ll have a review for this once the manga finishes. Overall 5/10

Sword Art Online Fairy Dance Review

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The infamous arc has returned as I can now see how it is handled in manga format. That being said, there’s really not much you can do when this is still based off of the same arc that was in the anime. The Asuna subplot still destroys the manga, but either way it was not a solid title. Kirito is still hardcore and one of the more intense protagonists out there, but he can’t hold a whole series.

This arc takes place after Sword Art Online and Asuna never actually made it to the real world. Kirito finds out that her mind has been trapped in another game and he sets off to save her. He has to hurry because it will be too late once the main villain goes through with the wedding. With no time to spare, Kirito must make it to the World Tree and complete this game as soon as possible. To do this, he’ll need the help of his sister, Suguha. Suguha is masquerading as a being named Leafa in the new game and neither one knows the other’s true identity. Drama and tension fill the air as they embark upon the new quest.

Well, this arc basically destroyed the Sword Art Online franchise once it was written into novel format and then adapted into the TV show. Seriously, the author just forgot that the series could have been good and naturally it spilled over into the manga world. The franchise should have ended with the actual Sword Art Online arc, but alas…it didn’t happen. Let’s launch into the various negatives here as it’s a sad read from start to finish.

For starters, the manga thought that it was a good idea to add more emphasis to the fanservice factor in this title. Not a good start. Just about every scene with Suguha has some fanservice in store and naturally the Asuna subplot contains this as well. This guarantees that you will be wincing throughout your reading and we’re just getting started. This is already the sign of a bottom tier title eh? The anime version actually didn’t have too much fanservice for this arc, a few scenes, but not as bad as the manga. I guess we just went from bad to worse.

Another bad subplot is the fact that Kirito’s cousin becomes infatuated with him. The fact that they’re only cousins is supposed to be reassuring, but it’s not as the subplot is still terrible and completely unnecessary. At least Kirito basically just denied Suguha and went to Asuna in the anime, but here he tries to be more open ended about the whole thing. He doesn’t return the feelings at all as Asuna is the only person for him, but he still didn’t just tell Suguha to move on as he should. Either way, it’s just another part of the train wreck.

The biggest problem with the arc though still lies in the Asuna subplot. The villains just go way overboard and it’s too extreme. Asuna is held against her will for quite a while and the main villain is sadistically in love with her money. In the real world, she can’t move so there’s nothing that she can do to stop the arranged marriage and the villain abuses his power in the virtual world. Kirito basically has to watch as the villain messes around with Asuna and that’s when I knew that it was game over for the title. That kind of plot will always be a big no no in any title and the fact that it happened in Sword Art Online is just terrible. It’s the main reason why the franchise is essentially dead to me. I’ll always like the first arc, but you simply can’t wash away a stain like this from the title. Whenever I think of Sword Art Online, I’ll always remember this arc. The main villain isn’t the only one who messes with Asuna as he also has two lackeys who are just as demented.

It’s too bad really since the manga had some promise otherwise. Kirito’s still a hardcore main character and we do get some nice action scenes. Kirito goes up against legions of humanoids in the final battle and he also has a nice fight against the big fire general. He does a lot to save Asuna so he certainly puts in the effort. If we took out the fanservice, the Asuna subplot, and the Suguha subplot, this could have been a really fun series. That being said, you can’t just take those things away as they do comprise a rather large part of the arc and it’s why I have to give this title a fail/10 in the end. It simply couldn’t manage to actually be a good story.

The art is better than the first series for what it’s worth. It’s just not worth all that much since the series was doomed from the start. It’s three volumes long and the final volume is pretty thick so it’s closer to 5-6 volumes in length. The arc doesn’t need to be rushed as a result although a rushed pacing would likely have helped the series in this case as it could have dwelt on the negative things a little less.

There are more characters of course, but not many more and there’s not much to say about them at this point. Suguha is essentially impossible to like and the same goes for the main villain. Asuna doesn’t really get a role at all aside from being a damsel in distress, which is sad. So…yeah, this review’s definitely a short one as are most of my 0 star films. One day, they’ll make a Superman comic/movie/something that will be terrible and thenI may have a long negative review at the ready…or it could still be a short one if it’s just that sad I suppose. Either way, the important thing for these titles is to at least cover the negatives and since the mild positives were evidently not enough, they’re barely worth mentioning.

Overall, if you ever wanted to know how a manga with good fight scenes, good art, and a good main character can end up being terrible, this is the manga to check out. However, I highly advise against checking this manga out. You should avoid it like a Mouse evading a Lion. The positives that the manga has are simply overshadowed and this will certainly go down as one of the worst manga titles out there. At least, from the ones that I’ve read. This rivals Black Bird as they’re both really down there, although this is likely a tad better than Black Bird…maybe. It’s like comparing a double cheeseburger to a Mc double at Mc Donalds. They’re more or less the same thing, just packaged differently. Looks like .Hack will be the big virtual reality series once again. Take a big glass of water and then watch Yugioh 3D Bonds Beyond Time. It’s the best thing to do after reading this manga.

Overall 0/10

Tournament Smashers Episode 57 Daredevil vs Phoenix Wright

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The 57th episode is now up after a long break!

Matt Murdock took a gulp from his glass of water and silently set it down on the table in front of him. He had taken up this case along with his partner/rival, Foggy Nelson. Foggy had warned Matt that this was a bad idea because the prosecutor was none other than the famous Phoenix Wright. Phoenix Wright had allegedly only lost a single case in his 20+ years of practicing and that was to a shifty foe who went by the name of Charles Xavier. The whole case was enshrouded in mystery and citizens suspected foul play due to Xavier’s ties to the mutants. Matt shook his head. Now was not the time to think about such matters. Wright was good, but Matt knew that he was better! Murdock’s record was fairly impressive as well. He had won a good 70% of his cases, which may sound small, but he won them in Hell’s Kitchen. Matt figured that if he could win cases in the most crooked area of New York City, he could win a case anywhere. This case took place in ABC city and nobody appeared to be bought off. “Will the defendent make their opening remarks now?” the judge commanded from the podium. “Looks like I’m up,” Matt thought as he grabbed his cane and slowly rose.

Phoenix Wright eyed Matt Murdock with an expression of confidence. Wright knew that Matt would lose the case because nobody could hope to overcome Wright’s wall of objections. Wright had studied the case through and through. Matt was defending a guy who went by the name of Reginald Kastle. The charge was that of theft. It was a fairly light act and the kid was a minor so he would likely just get a slap on the wrist so to speak. Matt’s case would likely be that Shark was forced into doing so by the pressure of the situation, but Wright was prepared for every contingency.

“Your honor,” Matt said with a voice that was as crisp as one of Ihop’s traditionally overcooked pancakes. “I move that my client is innocent of all wrong doings as Syrus Truesdale, the kid whose deck was stolen from, has no proof that Kastle took his card beyond the fact that it was found in Kastle’s pocket. This is circumstancial evidence an-,” Matt had been about to finish his sentence, but the resounding roar of Wright’s catchphrase took him by surprise.

“OBJECTION!” Phoenix Wright yelled as he slammed his desk with his full might. He jumped to his feat and pointed his finer at Matt Murdock. In truth, Wright didn’t need to be so theatrical, but it never ceased to amuse him and having fun on the job is what he was all about. “There was nobody in the waiting room aside from Kastle once Syrus went to the locker to get changed. The deck had been left by the couch along with a package of Buddy Rare cards. The security footage shows that Shark walked over to the deck, but his coat obscured the lens and prevented us from seeing if he took the card in question, but there were no other suspects!” Phoenix Wright stated as he sat back down.

“Sustained,” the tired, old judge said as he yawned and lightly tapped his hammer onto the podium. “Fine,” Matt said as he took a step back. Obviously, Wright was already prepared for that trick. Matt had only been using it to buy some time anyway. Thanks to the chemicals that hit him in the eyes and morphed his body into a lethal weapon to hurl at villains, Matt could also tell if someone was lying or not. He knew that Kastle hadn’t stolen the card so he needed to win this round. Letting an innocent person obtain a criminal record was not on Matt’s to do list after all! “I’m blind,” Matt said for the shock value. “I know things that most do not and I talked to all of Kastle’s friends while they were still on Earth and not in another galaxy. They vouch for him,” Matt said as his voice began to waver. Wright hadn’t even bothered to object since the testimony of allies would not fare well in court. “I move that we delay the proceedings until I can gather more data,” Matt said as he pretended to drop his staff. While bending over to pick it up, Matt scanned the room with his “super sight” and noticed that one person was breathing quickly and on the verge of tears. “No,” the judge stated in replay to Matt’s request. “Fine, but then I wish to call to the podium, Luke Benson,” Matt said as he got up. The NFL draft’s theme played as Benson went up to the stage and said the oath. “Benson, don’t lie….you put some glue on the outside of Kastle’s shirt, which made a card stick to it and then pretended to bump into him in the hallway so you could put the card in his deck before the match didn’t you,” Matt said with a commanding voice. While the leap in logic may have sounded big enough to fit a few wars in the crevice, Matt had found out this data through his means as the illegal vigilante known as Daredevil.

“Objection!” Wright yelled as he stood up. “Murdock is intimidating the witness and planting ideas into the heads of the jury,” Wright stated as he pointed his finger at Matt. “Benson’s also clearly not a reliable witness” Wright said while pointing at Benson’s large bags under his eyes. With a drunken face and his tired appearance, Benson looked like he could use some sleep. “Shut up Wright! I’m not the bad guy and I’m doing nothing of the sort,” Matt said as he glared at Wright. “Benson’s lack of sleep will not be an issue in his attempt to remember the truth” Matt replied. Wright’s eyes narrowed. For years he had suspected that Matt was not actually blind. How could he tell that Wright was talking about his lack of sleep and not the fact that Benson was drunk unless he could actually see Wright’s hand. “Can we reasonably assume that such an act happened with no actual proof to back it up?” Wright rhetorically asked the Jury.

“Enough!” The Judge yelled as he slammed his hammer a few more times. “Matt…get on with it. This is not a criminal case and it is merely a mild issue of whether Kastle stole the card or not in order to win the competition,” The Judge explained. “Unless you can prove otherwise, Kastle will have to do some volunteer work for the next few months and will be placed on probation” “I understand sir, and my final piece of evidence is most telling,” Matt said as he clenched his fist. Reaching into his suitcase, he took out a paper. “This is Benson’s journal entry for the day, which was found in the trash,” Matt stated as he gave the paper to the Judge. “It states that he was going to attempt to execute this plan,” Matt continued with a smirk. “OBJECTION. Does it say that he succeeded?” Wright asked the judge. “It does not!” The Judge bellowed as he threw the paper to the ground. “A simple coincidence, but someone would have noticed if Benson had pulled off such a feat and putting glue on Kastle’s jacket before letting the card get stuck to it and then bumping Kastle while reverse pick pocketing the card is simply too elaborate for a drunk,” The Judge said as he raised the hammer. “GUILTY by unanimous vote of the Jury and myself,” The Judge yelled as he slammed the hammer down.

Outside, Wright had a bad feeling about this. He had won the case as expected, but Matt had immediately disappeared over into crime alley. Benson was walking home, but he lived near many convenient dark alleys. Wright decided to walk on over. As he approached Benson’s neighborhood, he heard a gruff voice yelling. “You did steal the card and put Kastle as the fall guy didn’t you!” the guy yelled. “Yeah, what of it,” Benson said with a confident voice even though his knees were knocking. “Whoa there,” Wright said as he hustled over to the alley. “Put him down!” Wright said as he got into a fighting stance. “I’m not the bad guy!” a masked vigilante in a red suit said as he ran at Wright. “Then why are you acting like one?” Wright said as he tripped the guy up with a low kick and then punched him to the ground. “This is where law meets reality and the name’s Daredevil!” Daredevil said as he got up and knocked Wright against a wall. The impact knocked a lot of the fight out of the persecutor as he was not used to physical violence. “If Foggy Nelson had remembered to bring the security footage of Benson taking the card, Matt Murdock could have solved this in court. That didn’t happen so now I’m going to destroy Benson and prove that I’m not the bad guy. Villains get what’s coming to them and I’m the man for the job!” Daredevil howled like a madman as he grabbed a pipe and walked towards Wright. “OBJECTION!” Wright yelled before Daredevil hit him across the stomach. Wright knew that he’d be sore for a few days as he fell unconscious. He had won the case and had proven that he was better at using the court system, but was it really a victory when he was accusing an innocent person? With those thoughts, everything went dark. He would later wake up at Gotham City’s hospital with a few new cases ready for him to read. He would not forget about the man named Daredevil anytime soon and his knowledge that Daredevil was really Matt Murdock would be a secret that he would ultimately carry to the grave. “Wright?” a voice asked. Wright groggily looked up from his bed where he was still recovering in the hospital. “Who are you?” Wright asked the old man with the funny top hat. “They call me Layton…Professor Layton…and I’ve got a little job for you!” the man said with a smile as he took out an alien artifact. “Sounds like fun,” Wright replied with a confident smirk.

Meanwhile with Daredevil, he was thrilled that he had beaten Wright. He couldn’t do it in the legal way, but it was a minor issue. Daredevil had won and that’s all that he cared about. There had been something called the Tournament Smashers competition which would automatically count the spar as a victory for the crime fighter, which would boost his reputation among the criminals. “As for you Benson!” Daredevil yelled as he ran towards the guy. Before he could connect on the hit, Daredevil was thrown off of his feet by a thunder clap. He banged the ground rather hard and felt his staff break. “Fight’s over son,” a calm voice said as Flip appeared. He seemed to have come from the sky, but that was impossible. “Benson comes with me,” Flip said as he grabbed the guy and then gravity seemed to lose its effect on him as he fell upwards into the sky. “I’M NOT THE BAD GUY!” Daredevil yelled as he dramatically threw his staff and went into a sliding crouch. “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO,” he yelled upwards at the sky as it started to rain. Later that night, he walked home where Foggy Nelson was waiting. “Matt, you sure messed up big time didn’t you?” Foggy said with a condecending tone as he poured Matt a cup of coffee. “No Foggy….you did,” Matt replied solemnly as he sipped his coffee. He hadn’t gotten to finish Benson off, but the guy was off the streets. Wright wouldn’t dare challenge Matt again either. Feeling satisfied, Matt walked to his room and went to bed. At around 3:00AM Daredevil woke up and noticed an evil clown standing by the window. Slowly and silently, Matt reached for the shotgun under his pillow. This clown was about to realize that he had messed with the wrong attorney Matt thought with a grin. “I’m not the bad guy,”

One of my longer Tournament Smasher stories for sure. More may come soon, but I do these rarely as they do take up more time than most of my posts. It was certainly fun to write though and they are heavy with continuity. If Daredevil or Wright appears again, their plot will continue and lead to the next fight. Daredevil’s personality was based off of the new TV show, taking place after season 1. It shows how he is slowly losing his grip on reality and turning insane, borrowing the iconic “I’m not the bad guy” from the movie. Portrayals and personalities are subject to change in future installments although I try to keep the characters relatively in character or at least consistent. As for Wright, it’s mostly from my view of the character as I haven’t actually seen him first hand. Until then!