This is a tribute to the Unlimited Blade Works movie. Shirou was doing his best to save the world and take down all the enemies so he gets a lot of props there. In hand to hand combat he may not have been great at first but gradually he got stronger and stronger. Right now I would definitely take him to have the considerable edge over Kuzuki. That guy just didn’t continue to improve in the same way. Shirou wins.
This is a tribute to the Knights of the Zodiac film. As always Seiya looked pretty good here as he was ready to fight for what was right and never backed down. He’s definitely the kind of hero you want to help you out because he’s determined and never gives up. Cassios actually looked really good in the movie as well but at the end of the day he’s just not quite on Seiya’s level. Pegasus Seiya wins.
This is a tribute to Fast X. As always Dominic Toretto showed up when the chips were down and led his team to a good victory. John isn’t a natural leader and he would have folded immediately. You can always tell which characters are super solid and which ones aren’t based on how they perform at the end of the film. Dominic would absolutely crush John in a few seconds and it wouldn’t be much of a fight. Dominic Toretto wins.
This is a tribute to the RWBY vs Justice League part 1 movie. Well…there wasn’t a vs but that’s close enough to the title. Ruby showed real initiative and true leadership abilities in this film. I think it’s safe to say that the bunny would be outmatched because of Ruby Rose’s pure speed and techniques. You just can’t hope to defeat an opponent like that without significant abilities of your own. Ruby Rose wins.
This is a tribute to Del Toro’s Pinocchio film. While Pinocchio didn’t look as bad as he does sometimes, he still wasn’t very smart and fell into a lot of traps. He’s not the kind of character you would usually want in your corner because at the end of the day he’s going to mess up. Alear is someone who woke up in a time that confused him yet he quickly got to business and took some names. That’s the guy you want to follow when in a pinch. Alear wins.
This is a tribute to the Legion of Superheroes movie. Solomon Grundy is powerful but lets keep it 100%. He stands absolutely no chance against a serious Supergirl. She’s on a completely different level in both speed and power. Grundy may have the durability to take hits for a while but he has no way to catch her. She would definitely be coming out on top here and showing why the Kryptonians are not to be underestimated. Supergirl wins.
It’s always good to see the Legion of Superheroes getting some screen time. The 2 season cartoon was short lived but it was a blast and since then you only see these guys occasionally in movies and shows. Well with a full movie to themselves this is another winner even if you will probably end up missing most of the big legionnaires. For plot reasons we’re mainly stuck with the B team.
The story starts with showing us Supergirl’s origin story of Krypton blowing up and after that she was taken to Earth where she has had a really difficult time fitting in. Unlike Superman who arrived here as a baby, she was fully grown which meant that it was a much steeper adjustment period. Batman wants her gone and so Superman comes up with a strategy to train her. He’ll drop her off in the future with the legion and she agrees although the tricky thing is that we don’t see a way for her to get back until Superman decides to check in. Although based on the final scene we can assume she has a communicator. The future is fun enough but Supergirl is still having a hard time fitting in and a mysterious cult is around to make things more complicated.
First up on the positives, Supergirl makes for a good main character as always. I like how aggressive she is and how she’s always ready to fight at a moment’s notice. That’s what you always want to see from the main character. Additionally she trusts her own judgement and doesn’t just follow the crowd. She may not be as good at fighting yet as you would expect but that should come in time. So far I tend to enjoy each portrayal of Supergirl and this one’s no exception.
The animation is also pretty smooth here. Only thing I’m not a big fan of is the style almost uses a bit of a blush effect on the characters which you don’t really see much of outside of some anime. For the most part this style has been good though. Not as good as the New 52 style but it works well enough for the fight scenes and everything. On the whole it’s still good here as well.
The film’s pacing is quick and so the movie goes by very fast. It’s a fairly basic kind of adventure even with some twists thrown in but the writing is strong enough where this will have a lot of replay value. I can definitely watch it at any time. The battles are also good and the film even has a very hype ending to lead off into the next adventure. I’m always game for a film ending on a complete to be continued note since those endings definitely build up the most suspense. I was definitely not expecting the movie to end the way that it did.
Now the film does have some power level issues. For starters one of the villains in this film has abilities comparable to Supergirl’s. I would say they are still decisively weaker so it’s not like you’re wondering who would win but they are still on that level to the extent to which most other characters would lose instantly. Yet there is a scene near the end of the film where the villain is confronted by a group of the weakest Legionnaires in existence and instead of turning them all to paste with a quick speed blitz, he orders a retreat. If you’re being charitable then you can say that he was doing it to protect his foot soldiers but I kind of doubt that.
Part of the problem with having a villain this powerful is that you then have to be careful for scenes like this. The villain won’t have any trouble with the side characters so you can’t have a teamwork message delivered in that way. There are ways to pull it off but they will need a good plan and some prep time. It’s the only way to handle a character like this. You could also just buff the side characters a bit with cooler powers and that would have done the trick too.
This villain looks laughably bad in the intelligence department after all like when he is so busy monologuing that he doesn’t notice someone being freed right in front of him. Trust me that’s a really bad look. He also gets really whiny as the film ends to the point where you can’t take him seriously. Ultimately I don’t think this character was handled well and I would have done something different for the villain because it’s definitely more shock value than anything. I find it hard to believe that things would play out this way but I guess that’s why they call it a twist.
Brainiac 5 gets a pretty big role here as he’s trying to prove himself since the other Brainiacs have always been so evil. I definitely has to be rough growing up with your entire family being famously evil so nobody trusts you. It’s no wonder that he is so standoffish in the present since he doesn’t want to give anyone a chance to knock him down. He has some really good tech but while he looks super impressive in the first fight, I feel like he never quite matches up to that again. If he could have delivered with offensive weapons on the level of his barrier then he really would have been totally unstoppable. Instead he doesn’t always seem ready for the fights.
The film does have some romance but that’s definitely one of the weaker parts of the film here. Supergirl and Brainiac 5 barely even know each other after all. It may be a tribute to the TV show which may have been a tribute to the comics if that was ever a thing but this just doesn’t work out. Personally I could have kept them as rivals because their banter in those moments were so good. They made for really good rivals all the way through and you could have built upon that for several more films with a lot of great burns on both sides. Perhaps in a slightly more friendly way as per character development but don’t just get rid of it.
The Circle is actually an interesting group. They basically go through time and terrorize multiple place at once. The idea of a terrorist group that can chase you across time is absolutely terrifying because how do you even stop a group like that? They also mean business as they murder someone early on in the film to set the tone. Characters definitely do die in this movie so there is a real body count. I’d be up for the Circle returning at some point.
If we do get another Legion film at some point hopefully we do get to finally see the main legion members get some action this time. Particularly Lightning Lad has always been a lot of fun. He may be a founding member but he’s still a bit of a hotshot so you can count on him to have some hype moments. Nothing against Bouncing Boy and Arm-Fall off Boy (Name was something like that) since they’re okay…but they’re not starters for a reason. The film shows off what they can do and how every ability can be useful but I can also totally understand why they would not be on the front lines since their powers aren’t super strong. Go up against the wrong opponent and that would totally be game over. Since a lot of these characters still seem like teenagers or young adults at best, it’s a lot of risk.
Overall, This was a pretty fun film. It really breezes by and the future makes for a good backdrop. The fights are on point and while the power levels may not all work, you won’t be taken out of the movie. The mystery is also good with a whole lot of suspense at all times. I will admit that at times I was more engaged with the current day plot with Batman and Superman but it’s hard to turn those plots down. Honestly if the whole film focused on Batman doing his detective work I’d be all for it but of course it would defeat the purpose of the future plot. I’m sure we’ll see more Batman moments before long so in the meantime definitely check this one out.
Overall 7/10
It’s time for another Kemco RPG but this one is a shared production so it’s a bit different. Most of the mechanics from Asdivine Hearts aren’t here for example and this is a game that’s fairly unique in a lot of respects. For example one big change is that there are no consumable items. Yes that’s right there are no potions, revives, ethers, etc. I don’t think I’ve played an RPG without items before so that was interesting.
The game follows a bounty hunter/treasure hunter of sorts. He used to be a soldier within the government but left that to go free lance. He runs into a lady who is looking for the Crystal Ortha, a lake of unimaginable riches. Most people don’t believe that this thing even exists but she is determined to find it. Our hero is a bit of a softie so he agrees to help for a percentage of the profits which even he doesn’t totally believe in. Together they will find the money and in the meantime they’ll assist in saving the world.
That’s another way in which this game is a bit different. The main characters aren’t a bunch of superheroes trying to make the world a better place or anything like that. They are serving their own interests all the way and just so happen to be helping out in the process. They’re not bad people or anything so they help people out along the way but yeah they’re after the treasure first and foremost. Even at the very end of the game the main heroine uses that as the justification for taking all of the gold from the cave although I’d say none is necessary. If it’s in the cave then it’s finders keepers right?
That said, the main characters are some of the more forgettable ones to be sure. Ross is your classic tough guy with a mysterious past who can fight. It’s a solid character type so he’s good enough as the lead but doesn’t really have anyone to bounce off of. You have the heroine who has her gun and isn’t afraid to use it but there’s not much to her beyond that. Then you have the cowboy who is constantly flirting and making a fool of himself. There’s also a kid in a dragon costume but not much to say about him.
All you need to know about this group of characters is that they all just watch as the main heroine’s corrupt fiancé grabs her and starts to drag her away. They don’t jump up to help out or anything which made them fraudulent to me personally. Still, even without a dynamic cast I would still say that overall the story was good. It kept me engaged the whole time which was the important part and the game is fairly long. I beat it ahead of schedule compared to the play-time length it’s supposed to be but it was still around 15 hours or so. I’m even going for the Platinum which I should have soon.
The Platinum hunting is always a good sign for a game because that means it was fun enough to keep playing to the end like that. At the very least it means I didn’t want to put the game down and that’s definitely accurate. I had a lot of fun with the gameplay. So aside from the items there is another really unique thing about it. Each character has normal attacks and then special attacks. Special attacks take up MP meter which naturally grows in every turn. So you can use a basic super every turn or wait and do more powerful ones.
You unlock new skills are you progress through the story, level up, and some through side quests. The best abilities are naturally near the end but with the meter constantly moving it adds a nice strategy aspect to the title. There are also collectibles scattered throughout the game which are incredibly handy. They boost your stats permanently like “+3% health to the party” and they all stack so getting those collectibles can often be even more important than getting the traditional level ups. Trust me you absolutely need these or you’re going to be in for a very rough time. I ended up grabbing almost all of them in the whole game and the final boss was still extremely difficult. I was also at level 99 with all of the characters.
This game is absolutely difficult and so you really have to plan out your attacks carefully. This is one of those games where your health restores completely after every match though which helps a lot with grinding. If you stayed injured then that would have been more difficult particularly with how frequent the enemy spawn rate is, they probably could have toned that down a bit.
The graphics are pretty solid here. We don’t get the really fun illustrations in the style of Asdivine Hearts but everything still looks solid. Likewise the soundtrack isn’t quite as dynamic but in the end it’s still solid all the way through. There are a good variety of action tunes to enjoy. The game’s length is also good and while the post game isn’t very extensive, there’s enough for about 2-3 hours before you end up Platinuming the game. In part because it can be difficult to find the last skills Ross needs for that final trophy.
Overall, This is a bit of a more low stakes game compared to other RPGs but it’s still fun. At the end of the day the story is good and the gameplay is very solid. When both of those aspects are good then the other parts don’t matter as much. I’d like to see more games try this approach of no items. I would bring money back as the currency instead of using materials though, that was just more on the odd side and made it more difficult to buy everything. Still, this is the kind of experimenting that I enjoy. The gimmicks aren’t bad and you will end up remembering this game very well since it was so unique. I look forward to the next RPG either of these companies churns out.
Overall 7/10
It’s time to take a look at the recent Slime movie. This one looked pretty fun even if perhaps the trailer didn’t have a lot of action in it. The whole time you were wondering how the movie would play things out considering how powerful Rimuru is. Would the movie be trying to have some kind of ultimate threat to go up against the heroes or would it be more low key about hanging out in the town? I would say it ultimately leans toward the latter a bit more. So this is a fun title but it doesn’t hit the same highs as season 2.
The movie starts off by introducing us to Hiro who fought off a ton of attackers from Clayman’s army but was ultimately unable to save his friends and family. Everyone was wiped out and so his life lost purpose until one day a queen named Towa showed up and nursed him back to health. She even gave him a name so his powers increased dramatically. He now lives to serve her but her kingdom is in rough shape. There is constant poison that floods in and while she can dispel it with her crown, the price is that it continues to zap her strength. Eventually it is likely that she will die if this keeps up. Their only hope is if Hiro can get help from the great demon lord Rimuru so that they can cultivate the forest and get more space but will he listen?
Of course if you’ve seen the show then you’ll know that Rimuru is a very chill guy so that’s not really a problem. Throughout the film I’m waiting for some moment where Hiro and Towa lose faith in Rimuru or get tricked into thinking that he’s the enemy. I feel like that happens every time in these things but surprisingly this never becomes a problem so I was pretty happy about that. Slime didn’t go in the obvious route and it was a very smart decision on their part. I definitely appreciated it.
In fact, none of the usual misunderstandings happen here. The characters actually talk and so you still keep the calm vibe for the most part. Every time the film seems like it’s going to swerve…it just doesn’t. Of course again that means there will be a little less excitement and danger for the most part but this was a fun change of pace. Rimuru is always in control and deep down you feel like all of the characters will be okay. Towa is really the only one in danger since anyone trying to attack Rimuru’s village would be slaughtered in an instant. His village is ridiculously overpowered at this point after all with multiple demon lord protectors as well as the legendary storm dragon.
In fact that only reason there is any real conflict here is because Hiro is one of the biggest suckers I’ve seen in a while. I can’t really mince words with this guy, he just makes really bad decisions the whole way through. Why would you possibly listen to some old guy with a super shifty plan when you can talk to the all knowing Rimuru? It just felt a little contrived that Hiro would even consider such a thing in this situation. So I liked him for the most part but that scene was definitely hard to overlook. It just wasn’t a good moment for him. In terms of being an honorable guy and very powerful, Hiro stacks up though.
Meanwhile Towa is nice enough as well. The whole time I was expecting her to suddenly turn evil or something but again the film isn’t really going for that. Instead she’s just trying her best to help out even when the odds are against her. She has a bunch of old advisors who aren’t the most helpful but they’re not too bad. I will say that the actual main villain of the film is very underwhelming though to the point where he barely even appears in the movie. It’s actually a little funny because you can tell that the film didn’t care about him at all either. He’s here because he needs to be but that’s really it.
There is a really interesting subplot with Diablo and Violet though. Rimuru sends him off to get some intel on what’s going on and we see once again how Diablo is super resourceful. He immediately knows who is behind the curse and confronts her. We also see how crazy strong he is to the point where Violet can’t keep up at all. Diablo continues to be a fascinating character and I’m really looking forward to seeing what he does in the future once he unveils his big plan. Right now it’s safe to say that he’s really got everyone right where he wants them. This also made for the best fight scene in the whole film so I was definitely glad to see it.
The animation here is definitely solid. Again it’s probably not as high budget as the show since they really went all out for season 2 but it’s all very streamlined and colorful which is what I was hoping to see. The battles aren’t frequent but the ones that we do get are very solid. There is a long battle in the opening that was good and of course the climax has some big action scenes of its own like with Benimaru’s big fight.
Benimaru gets a big role here since he and Hiro are related and from the same tribe. That’s the emotional beat for this movie and it’s good to see Benimaru getting some shine since he was one of the first main supporting characters for the Slime show. The rest of the tribe members like Shion don’t get as much to do but it’s probably hard to squeeze everyone in. They do all get quick fights near the end though.
Then we have Rimuru who is a fun main character here. I would say the only issue with him is that he’s extremely powerful and can do anything, yet he tends to let a situation play out. This means that characters will get injured and be in life threatening situations that he could have stopped. In this movie it’s especially noticeable since people do get super injured and even nearly die. Rimuru goofing off only works when everything’s fine because you can say that he would have stepped in but that’s just not the case here.
We get a lot of death fake-outs and the like in the climax of the film and you can’t help but feel like Rimuru really just let things get as bad as possible. He needs to focus up! Still, he’s a good enough character and if I lived in the village I would still feel very secure overall. What are the odds that you’d find yourself in a dangerous situation there compared to in the rest of the world right?
Overall, The Slime movie is pretty fun. It’s a lot more laidback and casual than you might expect but in a way that’s what made the series big in the first place. It’s taking a different approach to the usual Isekai titles and it works well. It’s the ultimate power fantasy of having a bunch of other fighters who are all super powerful to but on the same side. For once the heroes have the overwhelming edge and if you watch this film with that in mind then I expect you will have a very satisfying time all around.
Overall 7/10
Thanks to the Axew event today I finally got the Platinum Dragon medal! With this I now have the medals for all Pokemon Types! One step closer to having platinums on everything. The current tally is now:
Platinum 38
Gold 13
Silver 11
Bronze 3
No Medal 1
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