Veyle may have a lot of good spells at the ready but Cha is a speed fighter who can really hold her own. She should be able to dodge those spells easily enough. Veyle can fight well in close quarters but it isn’t exactly her forte and Cha basically surpasses her in all of the relevant stats. Without a way to keep up Veyle will ultimately go down here. Cha Hae In wins.
Beru vs Eight
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Eight is a powerful fighter and as one of the Dragon Quest leads you already know that he’s packing some serious ability. That being said, I don’t see him keeping up with Beru’s incredible speed. The creature would have already gone way past Eight before the guy could even hope to respond. That level of power is really just crazy to deal with and I dare say Eight wouldn’t last a minute. Beru wins.
Noah Diaz vs Veyle
Noah Diaz has returned but this time he’s fighting a mage of immense power. Veyle may have lost sight of herself for a while there but she never lost her skills. With her various magics there isn’t much Noah can do. He’s not fast enough to dodge her attacks and would quickly get decimated in close quarters combat as his armor can’t block her blades. Veyle wins.
Bomberman Tournament Review
Bomberman has returned for his next adventure! When playing through the story mode you’ll probably be wondering why this is called “Tournament” but it does have a multiplayer mode and there are some optional tournaments you can enter with the creatures so I guess that’ll do. Personally I’d say it is a bit of an untapped resource here since there’s a lot you could do with the whole Pokemon homage. As it stands you only have 2 mandatory fights in the whole game.
The basic plot is that Max has gone missing and now the Dastardly Bombers are running around causing trouble. Bomberman is called in to take these guys down once and for all. Let me tell you, this guy is absolutely ready for action and won’t be taking prisoners. Does he have the bombs needed to blow up all of the enemies around him or is he quickly going to find out the limits of his own abilities? One thing’s for sure, they never should have messed with Bomberman’s planet!
The gameplay is your classic Bomberman style to an extent with a few extra additions. You use bombs to clear out debris and enemies as you try to get to the goal. During a boss fight you use the bombs strategically to box the enemy in and land some serious damage. Where it’s a bit different here is the game’s part RPG style so you actually capture a lot of Pokemon (Karabon, but it’s so similar I’m just going to call them Pokemon) and they have special abilities. Things like kicking the bombs, throwing them, moving through walls, etc. It’s a pretty interesting way to add some depth to the gameplay although the only mild annoyance is to switch your equipped Pokemon (You can only have 1 equipped at a time) you have to go into the start menu and switch through some tabs. Like I said, not the most convenient option for sure.
Some abilities are permanent at least so you don’t need the Pokemon equipped. Another benefit to having one equipped is that any items you find along the map are automatically added to that creature’s level. You’ll see a lot of attack, defense, and special point boosts. They all go to the one you have equipped and so if you have none equipped then they are just wasted. There are tons of these everywhere so you don’t need to go out of your way to grind them. You’ll get the power ups fairly quick, trust me on that. I didn’t focus on this and I still won my two matches rather quickly.
There are also a small handful of minigames in the story but only like 2-3 so you can easily forget that they’re even a thing here. It was still nice to see though. So the game gets props for having a lot of different gameplay styles in the mix. I also think it tried a little harder to have a grand story as it’s all played fairly serious and the villain designs were on point. It’s a lot older so there isn’t any voice acting or any of that but the story’s on point.
The graphics could stand to be a little more detailed but they work well enough. You can always follow the action of what’s happening here. The ost is also surprisingly good, there are actually a number of solid songs as you go through the levels. That’s also good because it’s a fairly small soundtrack so you need to prepare to hear each song quite a few times. The story I’d say is probably like 4-5 hours give or take. It took me longer than expected mainly because I happened to bump into a game ending glitch in the first world. The character just would not let me heal the Pokemon to continue. I had to replay the world 2 more times after the initial playthrough before it finally worked. I still don’t know what the problem was but in the end I just followed a video walkthrough for that level exactly. I must have been doing something in the wrong order but it was definitely a bit of a bizarre glitch.
Well, glitches can happen anywhere I suppose. On the whole the game is still fun enough where you will have a good time. You are rewarded as you play through by getting stronger and stronger. It’d be nice if more of the secret caves had nice stuff in them though. Half the time it’s an NPC just telling you basic information and you wonder why they were hidden. Give me more power ups and hearts. The game isn’t a cakewalk but it’s not too difficult so you should have a smooth time even without a lot of the bonus hearts to help you out with. Always keep a potion on hand just in case you need it.
For the most part you’ll find most of the collectibles just while playing normally anyway. Each world doesn’t trigger its story until you talk to someone so to be on the safe side I always talked with everyone in every village so you end up grabbing everything else too. My main advice in the gameplay/boss battles is to run and gun. Constantly throw out as many bombs as possible behind you and that should help give you the edge in combat. Bomberman veterans will really know how to trap the opponent right away but I’m definitely more casual. So I find the best way is to just throw out a lot of bombs and eventually you will hit the opponent. Just make sure you don’t get hit too because your own bombs do 2 hearts worth of damage to you.
Overall, Bomberman Tournament is a pretty fun game. The Pokemon addition is pretty fun but the battles feel like a missed opportunity since they weren’t incorporated into the story all that much. Additionally there is no gameplay in those as you’re just watching the characters fight each other. I definitely would have changed that up a bit to have active gameplay in the mix as well. It would make the fighting feel more engaging and would encourage you to level them up. Instead it’s basically full RNG which isn’t quite as satisfying. You are playing for the bomb gameplay first and foremost though and that is as smooth as can be. The Bomberman series definitely understands how to pull that off without a hitch by this point.
Overall 7/10
Igris vs Alear
Alear is a strong fighter with really good close quarter skills. Still, she won’t be able to react to an opponent with this level of power. Igris continued to get stronger throughout Solo Leveling and his sword would likely break right through her weapons. She doesn’t have the durability to endure any direct shots here so she would ultimately go down. Igris wins.
Jinwoo vs Twice
Jinwoo and Twice can both fight with absolutely massive armies at their disposal. We’re talking thousands not hundreds. That said, Jinwoo’s army is ultimately a lot stronger. He can also revive them as needed and as a solo fighter he would already be enough to take out all of Twice’s clones. Jinwoo’s powers are at an absolutely crazy level and he can move faster than the eye can see. Jinwoo wins.
Den-noh Coil Review
Seems like there’s quite a few ways to spell this anime’s title. I’ve seen it as Deno Coil, Den-noh Coil, Dennou Coil, etc. I suppose they all get to about the same place though. The show’s a slice of life style mainly revolving around a bunch of kids but it doesn’t get as colorful and energetic as you’d need to make this show pop out. Slice of Life titles usually need to be really funny as a comedy or have some kind of really engaging storybeats to keep you in the mix. I think this one suffers from the main kids the most since you wish they were all a bit older to have some more intense plots.
The show follows a bunch of kids who live in a town that is mostly normal except for the digital aspect. See kids all wear these fancy glasses that let them see the digital world now and so they get to see all kinds of monsters and other creatures that aren’t actually around in a physical sense. Still, the old technology is getting dangerously outdated so there are cleaning robots that patrol the streets to destroy the cracks in the system. This means they will also destroy any old creature programs no matter if that animal is a trusted pet or something like that. Characters have to deal with loss, betrayal, and mysteries. There are quite a few characters running around the town after all. Can you trust the government or the kid rebels? The main character Yasako will have to find out because she really just wants to have fun over the summer.
So I would say here the main issue at its core is that the show’s cast just can’t hold up the plot. You won’t be very engaged with what’s going on for most of the adventure because there just isn’t much of a reason for you to be engaged. The kids are messing around in town but for the most part it’s not like the stakes are super high. They may get the glasses confiscated or perhaps or perhaps blasted by the robot but in most cases it doesn’t seem like this would be dangerous. There are definitely some exceptions and we do have a missing persons subplot so things are happening but the main kids aren’t part of the most interesting plots.
The show’s animation style is also not that good which doesn’t help matters. All of the color feels drained away the whole time. It looks more like a mainstream anime type movie than a full anime. The sharp colors are really needed to take this one to the next level or at least to help because it gives you something fun to look at visually. There is a decent track or two in here for the ost though so I’ll give the show props there. On a technical level it’s not really holding its own all that well.
The most brutal character in the show has to be Kyoko though. She’s Yasako’s younger sister and all of her scenes can be hard to watch. She’s young enough where she can barely talk but is always getting into constant trouble. She doesn’t understand the stakes which means that she is always getting in the way as well. The worst episode in the series is easily the one where she is spreading a virus to everyone by kissing them. That episode was cringe and also just pretty gross. Take her out of the series and it immediately gets better. Not saying it becomes a great show overnight or anything like that but it absolutely does improve quite a bit.
Isako is trying to single handily carry the series for the most part but that’s a tall order for anyone. In her plot she’s trying to find her missing brother which is a compelling plot. The darkness of the cyber world is vast and it’s difficult to have any leads with the government keeps closing up the cracks. That’s part of why she ends up being a big hacker because that’s possibly the only way to get to the truth. She quickly takes over the local gang and in general she is a very pro active character doing her best at all times. Definitely should have been the main character if you ask me a she also gives us some actual fight scenes against the robots thanks to her talismans.
Then we have Haraken whose plot is a bit similar in some ways. In this case he’s looking for a friend of his in the digital side. It’s possible that she’s dead but he figures there’s still a part of her out there. He’s not as good at hacking as Isako so it’s a tougher road for him but his aunt works with the government which does give him a foot in the door. It does mean breaking her trust though so it’s a pretty steep penalty. He’s very determined to find the friend and you get it since if there’s any chance that she is alive then he really can’t stop until he finds her. Being stuck in the shadowy digital realm on your own would be rough.
While most of the show takes place in the human world we actually do see what the digital realm looks like at times. There’s also some spooky visuals where we see the shadowy denizens of the digital realm show up to resume their kidnappings. You definitely don’t want to let them make any kind of contact with you or it could be all over. Of course if you take the glasses off then you’re usually in a better spot but sometimes ignorance is not bliss.
It is always funny when we cut back to the adults who just think that the kids are all really crazy. Without the glasses after all this probably does look like some kind of elaborate prank the whole time. The adults don’t really have time for all of that after all. They’d much rather the kids have some real hobbies and hang out outside. The whole AR tech and digital world is pretty well detailed in the world’s lore so from the adult’s perspective it’s just another tech. People work in the government and close up the holes but as far as the adults are concerned that’s really it. There’s no monsters to worry about or things like that.
At most I’d say the robots running around do seem potentially dangerous. They’re rather large so if they fall on a kid that’s game over. Also the lasers may not deal permanent damage but it still seems like it would be really disconcerting. Maybe if you don’t wear the glasses you wouldn’t notice that you’re turning pixelated but then you probably are still talking about a ton of radiation. Nothing’s perfect of course but yeah the dangers of technology are very real.
Back to the characters, Daichi starts out decently solid as the leader of the gang but once he gets humiliated by Isako he is never the same. The guy loses most of his dignity and spends a lot of the show complaining. Mix in some shipping in the show and he definitely lost his edge real quick. He beats some of the other kids but yeah he’s definitely not going to be very high at all. He might beat Grannie though. She has an organization all about completing small missions and using the digital realm but it felt like she wasn’t super helpful for the important matters. She’d get sidetracked by having to go to the hot springs and such.
Yasako may be the main character but she’s not one of the more interesting people here. She is a nice girl who wants to do the right thing but in a lot of ways that’s the extent of her character. She’s hoping to make some friends and wants to help other characters in their quest but she never really has as much of a personal stake in all of this. If she was a bit bolder and less timid that would have helped her character a whole lot. Give her a little more intensity or hacking skills at least. Since she’s not a hacker like the others she isn’t able to fight much until she at least knows how to throw the talismans.
Speaking of cyber risks, the talismans were clearly super painful to use so if the parents found out about that they would be outlawed real quick. I guess it’s like you’re overloading your brain a bit or if you believe Isako’s explanation it’s like putting a bit of your core code/soul into it. Either way that’s definitely pretty dangerous no matter how you slice it. Fumie is the tough member of the group and even she wasn’t big on that. Fumie was pretty fun for the first half but unfortunately she pretty much gets written out in the second part. It’s not like she moves away or anything but her screentime just got significantly reduced.
It’s too bad since she had a fun personality and helped to at least get Yasako to take more risks. Finally we have Tamako as one of the grownup figures here. It’s always good to have an adult to shed some reason on all of this after all. She may end up getting the company in trouble a lot and tends to lower her guard but it was still good to have a different perspective on this. You can only watch the kids mess around for so long before you need a leadership figure in there…if she really counts as one.
So there’s quite a bit going on here and a lot of characters at the ready. It’s not like the show stays aimless forever. The first half is about showing you the rules of the verse and setting up the plot points before the second half really dives into them. Typically this is a pretty good formula but the problem is that the setup still revolves around the kids and there’s only so much you can do to make that very interesting. As it stands the show was not able to pull that off at least as consistently as it would have needed to in order to make this a really solid show.
I’d like to take the concept and make it more action based. The fact that these guardian robots can shoot lasers already sets up for a nice premise about stopping them when they end up taking over. You could have a robot invasion and the heroes have to try and fight them off. Then you remove the kids as the adult step in. We don’t have to worry about any romances or kids being annoying either. The show will perhaps be less unique but I think it’s worth it to get this into the next level. There was a lot of effort put in here but I’d say it was put into the wrong places.
A slice of life is only as strong as its main cast and by the end you’re not going to love the characters. I had my favorites to be sure but put them in almost any other show and they would be fairly low tier. You need the characters to all pop out more, give them some more interesting traits or again just make them funny. From the poster at the top you can see how the cast is fairly big and yet most of the characters won’t leave much of an impression on you other than that they cause trouble a lot.
Overall, Den-noh Coil is a show that just didn’t have many draws for me. The main characters being kids definitely doesn’t really help since I need the adults and as a slice of life it wasn’t really funny enough to turn the corner either. I think you absolutely need to age the kids up for the show to really have a chance. It doesn’t make any big mistakes either, it just can be boring at times. That’s why I’d say it doesn’t quite get up to the middle level, however it’s not an awful show or anything like that. Naturally if you really enjoy shows about kids hanging out and working together then you may have a good time here. I’d just recommend picking a show with a bit more pop like Megaman NT Warrior.
Overall 4/10
Sengoku Basara: End of Judgement Review
It’s time for the next installment in the Sengoku Basara series. This one’s an interesting addition as it’s basically like an AU remake of season 2 if things had gone down a different path. I’m all up for a different version of things but I would say the show fumbles the ball in a lot of ways compared to that one. Mainly this show doesn’t really have any stakes and the whole build up is basically for an event that we don’t get to see anyway. It’s a fun chance to see all of your favorite characters again for sure but it’s not much more than that.
The series starts by explaining that in this timeline the Devil King was taken out by his right hand man and then in the first episode Hideyoshi is taken out by his right hand man Ieyasu. Ieyasu has decided that Hideyoshi’s vision wasn’t right for the world and so he wants to take the reigns directly. He aims to unite the world through common bonds but Hideyoshi’s other retainer Mitsunari thinks this is nonsense since the whole rebellion was born out of betrayal. Both of these figures start recruiting members to end the Sengoku period. Which side will prevail!? Only time will tell.
Okay so lets talk about the main issue that I mentioned earlier. Just about the whole series here is about both factions recruiting armies to their cause until every major character is on one of the two teams. This takes a whole lot of time but you’re getting hyped for the battles. The problem is that virtually every battle ends in a tie and when someone loses he doesn’t end up getting murdered. That way he can get back up and fight again later. Considering this was during the Sengoku period and during a war you’d expect there to be no prisoners or mercy on either end right? Well that’s not what happens here at all.
I’m not saying you need a heavy body count. The first Sengoku Basara pulled off the stakes super well and while season 2 started to show some cracks in the armor, it still got the stakes across. The problem is that this season feels like it has no stakes because the status quo never truly changes. You could skip to episode 8 or so and everyone’s still switching sides and prepping for the big war. In a way it’s almost like every episode is filler. It’s technically not since things are happening but large-scale it never feels all that important.
Halfway through the season we’re still being introduced to more and more characters. In the final episode Masamune has a line about enjoying an endless party and in a way it felt like a 4th wall break. The war was almost like a party since nobody really wanted to hurt each other by the end and even after the fight you knew that everyone would live. There was no animosity by the end at all to the point where you wonder if the sides actually cared about winning the war. It seems like both sides respected the other one to do the right thing.
Maybe it turned out this way because the big villains were murdered right as the series was starting. It’s not like any of these characters are full on heroes but most of them do want what’s best for the country so in that way it’s not as big a deal if you end up losing the match. It does mean we get a lot of wonky power levels though. Masamune goes from getting completely handled by Mitsunari to winning later on without any real training. My main problem with this is that in the first round that was Masamune at full strength. He hadn’t lost any heart or motivation yet so later on when his head’s cleared it’s not like he should be much stronger at all.
I also don’t buy Ieyasu going down the way that he did. Both he and Mitsunari were portrayed to be way too powerful to go down so quickly. Maybe the show shouldn’t have made them so strong but it’s what made them imposing figures. The ending was not satisfying at all for either character and if anything they felt out of character in the final shot. Sure it’s fun to see them all grinning and ready for action but have they really tossed aside their convictions so easily? Yukimura is heavily skeptical of Ieyasu the whole time but at least the guy was trying.
What I liked about Ieyasu is that he was an active character. He saw Hideyoshi being evil so he took him down. Then to unite the world he was willing to fight for it and never forced anyone to join his cause. He was constantly taking the high road. When Yukimura says how the guy is still taking bonds from people you have to ask what the alternative is. It’s war so of course you are going to end up crushing some dreams and other fighters but you have to fight. Yukimura is active in the war scene and slaughtering thousands of soldiers in every fight so what is his problem with this? It’s like he’s presenting issues but has no solutions to them.
I tend to like Yukimura and he was fun here even if he had a bumpy ride. I would just say that he lost in the battle of ideologies if you ask me. I also thought he looked way too weak here. He finds his confidence by the end but the first half is a bit on the brutal side for him. Masamune doesn’t look great at first either but at least he was in there and trying to fight each time. He just got completely outplayed.
The show also teased the big return of the Devil King and that didn’t go through which was disappointing. That whole plotline ended up being a bit of a waste. It didn’t really go anywhere and by the end it didn’t change anything so that’s why I’d consider it to be an empty plot. Tenkai certainly caused a bit of a stir with the cloud but ultimately it was really temporary so it’s not like it did much beyond that. His plan ends up not seeming to be all that great as a result. He did make for a good villain at least. Without him the stew guy’s army would easily be the worst in the show so he’s lucky to have such a strong fighter around even if he’s super shady and evil.
Finally the show doesn’t really feel like a war show in some aspects because of the power levels issue. Each commander has a full army behind him, we’re talking thousands of fighters. Then you have Masamune constantly riding in with only like 5-6 fighters and they’re holding their own? I get that the commanders are more powerful but what is even the point of the army? Yukimura runs into battle completely alone half the time and the other commanders do this as well. In early seasons they at least try to pretend that the armies are important so you see them fighting a lot but here they tend to vanish. That might be more of a budget reason but it doesn’t work as an in-universe explanation.
Now of course there are positive elements here as well. I’d still give the show a good score after all and I had fun with it. For starters the main cast is solid. I always enjoy Yukimura and Masamune’s conversations after all. There’s a lot of good banter right there and they really are good rivals. Considering that Masamune is the leader of his army while Yukimura is the 2nd in command that was always impressive. It’s why I feel like Yukimura should have been promoted already. He’s long since surpassed Shingen if you ask me even if the show refuses to acknowledge this.
The factions all have real characters with their own personalities and development. So we’ve got a really big cast here and with so many factions it does make for a very engaging premise. If the show was willing to commit to 51 episodes and actually followed through on the plots then it could really be an all star title. Part of the problem is that a bunch of plots don’t really end and others basically go nowhere. If you fix that and have armies gradually getting wiped out then the show could really take advantage of the characters.
While the animation is a serious downgrade from the first two seasons in every metric, it still looks good on its own. The character designs are sharp and filled with a lot of color. The fights when they happen can be fun. We don’t get too many full fights but Ieyasu vs Hideyoshi was definitely good. The show likes to have 2 fights going at the same time so they keep on switching and it works decently well in a dynamic sense. Also the artwork is extremely clean. You can pause the show at any moment and it all looks very crisp and high definition. So the show still had a good budget in that sense. The ost is a little more forgettable than the main series though. I can’t really recall any themes but the opening is pretty good. I definitely had fun with that part at least.
Going back to the characters, Kojuro is still a good right hand man to Masamune. He looks a bit weaker than he ought to be personally but he does get a critical victory when it counts. Meanwhile Yukimura’s right hand man Sasuke looks great here. He got a serious power boost to the point where he puts up a better fight against Ieyasu than Yukimura at first. Being a ninja is definitely no joke so his speed and equipment are really on point. It would be nice to see him get some more action.
I already talked about how awesome Ieyasu is and how he would have been the best ruler of the Sengoku area. Well his right hand man Tadakatsu is not bad either. He’s a good fighter to have in the wings and since he can fly that’s great for travel. It would have been nice if we could have seen some more personality out of him. Then we have Ieyasu’s counterpart Mitsunari who is fighting for revenge the whole time. It’s interesting how the show tries to present him as the hero in all of this by the end. I’m not really sure I buy it since Ieyasu seemed consistently way more heroic throughout the whole show. Sure he did betray Hideyoshi and Mitsunari will never let him forget it but that guy was literally evil. He was going to keep on murdering people and in a war setting there’s not really an alternative to murdering the King when there is no way to put him in his own jail. I suppose Ieyasu does a horrible job of explaining this but in part that’s because Mitsunari is always attacking him.
Additionally Mitsunari’s group is way shadier and he always lets Yoshiitsugu do what he wants in the back-end. On that note Yoshi causes a ton of damage as well and the end of the show tries to frame it as he was just doing this to help Mitsunari so he’s actually not such a bad guy. I don’t buy it at all, he went too far on that note and kept secret the truth of who attacked Chosokabe’s men. In a show where almost everyone lived, that guy actually did lose his whole army. I feel like there was not a good enough punishment for that.
Motonari is the one who murdered them all and he gets away completely by the end. He never got punished or anything, I mean Chosokabe beat him up sure but that’s about it and of course the guy lived. If anyone was to die here it really should have been that guy because he completely deserved it. Eh, definitely should have been harhser.
Chosokabe is a good character though and I like his confidence. He feels a bit like a budget version of Masamune but since he’s a good character I can let that slide. Kanbei is more of a character without a purpose since he’s handcuffed the whole time and never ends up breaking out of it. A bit of a bizarre subplot to be sure. Kenshin and Keiju don’t get to do much here but they’re around and still get their hype as needed. Kasuga gets a real role at least and looks pretty good even if she lets her guard down at one point.
Perhaps the show’s cast was a bit too large which is why they couldn’t properly balance it. At the same time it still depends on how you look at the show. If you view it in the lens that they just wanted to show off all of the characters and have a fun adventure then it makes sense to throw everyone in. Even if the plot doesn’t actually end up ending you still got to see your favorite character throwing out some attacks. In a way maybe with a higher budget this actually could have worked since you would be blinded by the spectacle and wouldn’t mind that nothing was really happening.
Your enjoyment is tied to how much you enjoy the characters and that’s why it’s fortunate that the characters are all very interesting. The story is too and I would say the writing is on point. Lets say there was a mandate that none of the important characters could die, then I’d say they did their best writing around that to still have a pretty big cast and a lot of fun moments anyway. The death fake outs may not hit as hard since you already know the characters will return but the show can still be really dramatic. In some ways the show is at its best when the characters are debating their ideologies and philosophies about what to do in this era of nonstop warfare.
Overall, This show feels like it’s basically just running in circles and by the end nothing was really accomplished. If it was a slice of life title or something then that could be expected but the whole time it seemed to be framing itself as a big action series with an ambitious plot. It may not have succeeded in that way but I still had a good time. I think especially if you go into the show with that mindset then you should be fine. At least you do get the setups each time and there are fun skirmishes all throughout the show. Every character gets a degree of hype and I hope we get more Sengoku Basara adventures but I’d like it to continue from the movie as opposed to this remake timeline.
Overall 6/10
Magia Record Season 2: The Eve of Awakening Review
Madoka finally returns with this season 2! I am a huge fan of the original Madoka Magica show but I was far less impressed with the first Magia Record. Still a pretty good show of course but not great like the original. Well season 2 changes that as it brings the show back up to elite status. It may be very short with under 10 episodes but the action scenes are really intense and the animation budget has never looked better! Every fight is really top tier here and with the introductions/setup taken care of we are able to jump right into the story and battles. It’s easily one of the bigger jumps in quality I’ve seen from a season 1 to season 2.
The show starts with Iroha still missing and possibly dead after the events of the first season. Yachiyo blames herself for what happened to Iroha so she is determined to destroy the Wings of the Magius. Along the way she finds a lead on Iroha which then becomes the top priority. If she can bring Iroha back and stop the evil magical girl organization then balance will finally be restored in the world. Of course this won’t be easy since there are a lot of fighters in the group btu fortunately Yachiyo is one of the more powerful fighters around. Meanwhile Madoka and her crew are coming into town to save Mami so nobody better get in their way!
Lets talk about why this season is such a smashing success. I’ve already touched upon it of course but first up we have the animation. It’s really quite stellar here and you can tell that a whole lot of effort was put behind this one. It’s super flashy and the movement is like Attack on Titan. The characters feel a lot higher tier than usual as a result too. You see just how strong the magical girls are and while it may make you have a tougher time believing that the witches are a threat, it’s a worthy trade off.
In a way the only reason why the witches win is through sheer numbers and lucky shots so that tracks. In a fair fight ultimately the magical girls should usually come out on top. Part of what makes the quest depressing for the characters is how this is a truly never ending fight that just keeps on going forever. That’s where the Wings of the Magius get their ammo after all.
It’s a pretty tempting offer since they claim that they can end this violent cycle once and for all. It’s a rather bold claim of course but you can see how a lot of the characters would buy into this. On paper the plan isn’t even that awful at least as far as drawing all of the witches in to destroy them and then take out Walpurgisnacht. I don’t feel like the characters fully thought this out but that’s addressed later on. I think the show also did not want the group to come off as too sympathetic so they start going off the deep end later on. After all how can you really condone kidnapping magical girls and trapping them in cages? Well the simple answer is that you can’t and that’s when everything starts to fall apart here. The characters who support this or even the ones who ignore it definitely don’t look good in this season.
I always like the idea of fighting other magical girls as opposed to the monsters so I like this direction. The universe is already established in a way where it makes sense that they would fight eventually since there is a limited amount of grief seeds as it is. Now through in this difference in ideology and for the witches you’d think this is their opportunity to cause some damage. Of course they’re mainly mindless so not like they can plan about it. The heroes are lucky in that respect.
The soundtrack is also really solid here. At no point would I say that it surpasses the classic Madoka show or anything like that but it’s still really solid and fits in with the themes so I have no complaints there. I’d say the opening song is better than season 1’s as well. The technical aspects are all really on point here which is a solid foundation for a great show.
Now when it comes to the writing I do have a few problems with the ending although they all stem from one source. Part of the hype for this season was in seeing the original magical girls. Homura, Madoka, and Sayaka get fairly big roles here and Kyouko appears as well. As the originals it’s always fun to see them return since it’s like a crossover. In terms of power levels I’d still put them above the newer fighters but the gap isn’t all that huge. We sadly don’t get the big fight between groups, however their role is still a lot of fun. The main problem is in how they’re written out.
I just don’t buy it. They wouldn’t leave until the situation was resolved and if in the next season Iroha has any problems then the original cast is all to blame. With them around this would be really easy since they add so much firepower to the mix. Also it could have given Mami a chance to redeem herself since she’s the only one that looks pretty bad here. She ends up getting squeezed out of the plot and gets the shaft next to all of the others. You get it since she’s had enough screentime in the verse but a few moments could have helped her.
In the end it feels like an artificial way to amp up the stakes for next time. Well, I’ll take what I can get I suppose. Their scenes are all excellent and it’s part of why the very first episode is already a standout here. I’d also say their role helps support my theory that this all takes place during a failed timeline. We still don’t know exactly when this show takes place, however Walpugisnacht hasn’t appeared yet and Homura hasn’t changed her hairstyle yet. So it’s fair to say this is probably near the middle or maybe second half of Homura’s time travel adventures. I’m thinking she is just letting this play out in case the Wings of the Magius actually succeed.
The fun part in a way is we can assume that this means they existed in all of the timelines so since they never appeared in the main show, Homura must have prevented them from ever meeting Mami and dragging the main cast into this. It’s a pretty fun thought, or you can just say they’re an anomaly to this timeline. I suppose it’s hard to say for sure. One thing I love about the situation is how Homura is basically in new game plus mode. She pretends to be her normal unprepared self and yet she will have moments where the mask breaks and Homura knows something that she shouldn’t. She also comes close to saving the day when needed but holds back in the end when the new heroines show up.
That’s something I’d love to see a whole lot more. Fate abridged does well with this since one character is technically on his second playthrough there but in official works I can’t think of many plots like this. The only other one I can think of off the top of my head is Reverse Flash in the CW Flash show since you gain a lot the second time around when you know all of the twists. So yeah lets get some more Madoka content taking place before the main show so we can see Homura secretly manipulating everyone.
I do have one small negative to end things off with which is that the French magical girl basically does nothing. She randomly decides to leave near the end of the season and just bounces. We never got to see her fight, see why she’s even here in the first place, etc. I have to assume this was all either an elaborate troll moment or her story in the mobile game is extra content that couldn’t be squeezed in. Otherwise it’s just odd how she vanishes, but she was still a good character.
Now back to the positives, I really loved the ending episode and how Tsuruno’s character was handled. You better believe she went back to being the best Magia Record character by the time this was all over. I was definitely nervous since it seemed like she would be missing the entire season but getting a whole episode to herself was great. We got to see into the mind of the strongest and what motivates her. It ends up being one of the more tragic character backstories in Madoka. No her family wasn’t murdered by demons, she didn’t get amnesia or fall into another world. It’s a backstory that hits a lot closer to home because it’s one that’s realistic.
Everyone knew her as the strongest both physically and mentally. Tsuruno would always smile no matter how tough things were and so everyone could look up to her and rely on her. Deep down though it was all a front and the tough part is trying to get out of it. Once you are known in a certain way, how do you ever break the mask? If she were to not be smiling or saving the day then what would her friends think? She had to deal with all of this on her own and she did a great job of it. Short of being mind controlled and broken by witch powers she likely would have kept the mask on long term.
Nobody ever noticed so it’s not like you can ever really blame the other characters. It’s just a complex situation that Tsuruno tried to handle on her own and ultimately she would have broken at some point anyway. They say it’s lonely at the top and this is just one of the many reasons. It’s not like you get a day off when you’re a hero and the one time you decide not to go on a mission is when someone might get bumped off. Definitely a standout episode overall and Tsuruno really shines as a character. I’m not sure if she will get any more fights coming up but I definitely hope so. She is still a cheerful character so I’m sure her smile will be back and this time she won’t have to worry about any pressure or putting up a front.
Iroha’s role may be a bit smaller for the first episode or two but she quickly goes back to being the lead. She’s a fun heroine doing her best in this tough world and like Madoka she is a good inspiration to the others. I’m glad that she can fight as a higher level than the previous lead though so it’s not like this is a full retread or anything like that. The whole dream sequences within her mind and the sister who turned into a stuffed animal was pretty interesting. Definitely a lot to unpack in her mind and it continues the trend of the happiest characters having the most inner demons which I’d say makes sense when you’re always being relied on like that.
It would have been nice to have seen Madoka try to encourage her a bit but they don’t get too much dialogue together. In general by the time both groups meet up there is a lot going on and not much downtime so we don’t get very many conversations on this at all. Still as far as guest star characters go I’m definitely satisfied. Homura and Madoka had the strongest wills from the main 4 group which is to be expected. Sayaka still had a lot of doubts and had to be talked into things.
Kyouko is still more of a loner who talks a good game but tries to help everyone out. She had a fun subplot and looked impressive in the fights although I wish she had gotten more time for action. If you’re a big Kyubei fan I’m afraid that he doesn’t get much at all to do here. We have the mini one that can’t really talk but that’s about it. Also Walpurgisnacht never gets to appear so the new characters should consider themselves lucky. I still say that beast would have easily destroyed the artificial witch. Nobody’s stopping the original juggernaut, it’s known as the most powerful witch in history for a reason after all!
Yachiyo looks really good here throughout. In some ways you could say she is more the main character than Iroha. The season is largely about her trying to avenge Iroha and then later on coming to terms with her past. By the end she’s definitely become a much more secure person since she has overcome all of her demons. I will miss seeing her in a more vengeful state though. Even the villains knew to stay out of her way the whole time or else they would be taken down for the count. She definitely wasn’t dishing out any mercy there.
Then we have Kuroe who made a lot of mistakes in season 1 so she’s trying to make a comeback from there. She is trying hard to make things right so I’ll give her credit there. Unfortunately things still aren’t quite going her way yet. I also think the redemption arc is a bit harder to buy because her mistakes were so extensive. It’s not like she just yelled at Iroha or did something petty like that. She full on joined up with the big villains and was high enough up the food chain where she got to actually see some of the shady stuff they were doing. That’s where it becomes a lot harder to give her a free pass.
The characters who get the shaft from the Magia Record crew are definitely the other friends like Kaede, Rena, Sana, Felicia and Momoko. They’re around of course and get a little action but for the most part they are definitely relegated to just being background support. They don’t have any big character arcs or development left at this point. In a way that’s good, I mean it shows that they are complete characters but I also think this is more of a time constraints kind of situation. With only 8 episodes there is only so much that you can do right?
Finally we have the two big villains Touka and Nemu. Their goals may be good in stopping the whole magical girl situation but it’s definitely fair to say that they fell off the boat a long time ago. Once you start taking down the magical girls that you are supposed to be protecting then you know you’ve gone too far. Nemu at least seems to have some compassion but Touka is always rushing to destroy her enemies right away. If they disagree with her? Time to die. That’s basically her first inclination for every situation which is really not a good thing. We’ll see how things end up with these characters but for now at least I can’t say they are particularly sympathetic.
Season 2 does end with a massive cliffhanger so of course some things will likely be changing by season 3. We’ll see which characters move up and which ones move down. I’m not expecting the original characters to show up this time since they were written out so directly but at the same time you never know. The next season’s short enough to where it’s basically a movie so I’m expecting to jump into the action right away. If the budget’s as good as in this season then we’ll definitely be in for a treat!
Overall, Magic Record definitely continues on a really strong note here. It sets a bar that season 3 is not likely to reach but I’m eager to see how it all goes. The new cast is strong enough where they definitely don’t need the originals to carry them after all. It’s a nice bonus to see them of course but at the end of the day this is still the Magia Record series and you don’t want to forget that. If you haven’t seen this show yet then it’s definitely time to change that. It’s just awesome around the board!
Overall 9/10
Die, Monster, Die! Review
This movie definitely doesn’t feel like the average horror title and I’d say that shows how Lovecraft handles things a bit differently in general. This is more of a slow burn with a lot of solid atmosphere and suspicious things going around. There is a violent visual or two but for the most part this film isn’t going for a lot of violence or anything like that. I think it could have stood out a bit more with a more engaging plot and cast of characters but it’s a decent title.
The movie starts off with a guy named Stephen looking for his girlfriend’s house but whenever he mentions the name of the place people refuse to talk to him. Nobody will give him the time of day at all and it’s starting to tick him off. Finally he finds the place and her father Nahum insists that he leave. Stephen will do no such thing and gladly meets up with Susan anyway. She introduces him to her mother who seems nice enough and now Stephen can stay to have a good time. But will it be a safe time? He hears weird sounds in the night, Nahum continues to be really shady and in general the place feels like its got a rotten edge to it.
If I was Stephen I’d probably just ask Susan to come with me and get out of there right away. The longer you stay at this place the worse it gets but once you’re thrown into the mystery it’s hard to leave at that point. What is Nahum hiding? Until Stephen figures that out then he knows Susan will probably be in danger. So one way to escape danger is to leave. He seems like a reasonably tough guy too and wasn’t taking the town’s nonsense. You need to be a bit stubborn like that if you want to succeed when going to a new town for the first time. I was also glad that he was not intimidated by Nahum and intended to say from the start. Now, it’s clear that Nahum cares about his daughter but at the same time he’s just not really doing much to protect her at all.
That’s my main problem with Nahum. He is so passive about the whole thing. Sure he tells Stephen to stay away but on his own what is he really doing? It’s not until the very climax of the film that he makes the obvious call to deal with the threat and by then it’s a bit late. Lets just say that there’s some radiation involved and Nahum did the equivalent of throwing the source in a box. That was never going to go very far and in the meantime casualties were piling up.
I guess you could chalk some of this up to the film going for a vibe of being very strange but it wasn’t the most satisfying execution. I’d also say that Susan seemed really slow on the uptake since she didn’t really seem to know what was going on and Nahum wasn’t being very subtle about how shady he was. Seriously the locked rooms, “You can’t go in there” and other lines didn’t set off any alarm bells? The whole place even looked spooky during the daytime which is a massive red flag.
As always the townsfolk were really not helpful in the slightest though. They could have at least given Stephen a hint as to why they wouldn’t talk to him or help the guy get to the house. Instead it was the same vague warnings of not saying anything so I can’t give the town any credit at all. Having them do something could have given this film the bolt of energy that it needed.
Because at the end of the day I wouldn’t say the film made any big mistakes. If anything my only real problem with it was that it could be a bit dull at times. I wouldn’t say this film was a real page turner. You didn’t care much about the lore as it was happening and this wasn’t a film that was going to suddenly start throwing in a lot of fight scenes or plot twists after all. So in that case you need top tier writing or something to really give the film energy.
The writing is good. I may not say amazing but it’s got that retro feel that I always enjoy and so that part’s okay enough. It just needed more though, whether it be a fun antagonist or something like that. Maybe the problem is that for all the build up of the odd mystery within the dungeon, it wasn’t as exciting as I expected. The film did surprise me since I hadn’t guessed what the actual twist was going to be, but eh it wasn’t enough. So I wouldn’t say the movie’s bad or anything but it wasn’t very solid either. I’d end up putting it right in the middle.
Overall, The movie’s title is a lot more colorful and intense than the actual movie itself. You’d expect a monster running around and some kind of crazy climax but that isn’t the case at all. There is sort of a “monster” running around if you really stretch the term and of course there is a climax but it’s just not what you would really be expecting. It’s not a frenzy of action and if anything you just feel bad for the victims who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. When you finish this film it will quickly be smothered by the more popular horror titles and you’ll be lucky to remember more than bits and pieces within a year. If you’re a big fan of Lovecraft works then you should check it out but I expect most of the other titles will be more memorable. The suspense is what’s supposed to sell you after all and I’m confident that more of them would be able to pull this off. This one just couldn’t get the vibe right.
Overall 5/10
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