Pokemon: Hoopa and the Clash of Ages Review

Posted on January 24, 2016 by dreager1

It’s time to take a look at the latest Pokemon film! The hype around this movie was that many different Legendary Pokemon would get to appear. I’m always up for seeing the titans come up, but was admittedly disappointed in how it was handled. A good film overall though and Pikachu isn’t nerfed this time around, making for some good power feats. It reminds me that I still need to go play Pokemon X/Y!

The film starts out in a desert as we see a village looking up to the all powerful Hoopa. In Hoopa’s true form, he’s essentially a giant Genie. He warps other Legendary Pokemon to the village via his inter dimensional rings and then fights them for a little while before sending them back when he’s in danger. This cowardly fighting style gains him many fans, but then the power corrupts him and the village is essentially destroyed. Fast forward a few centuries to the present where Hoopa is now in his chibi form being escorted by two allies. They are looking for the bottle so that Hoopa can regain his true form once more. Surely he is ready for this now…right?

Ash and friends were enjoying a nice vacation when Hoopa decides to snag a donut. The odd thing is that the real donuts look like French Crullers while the fake donuts look like the real deal. I think Ash and friends are essentially getting scammed. Ash follows Hoopa through the portal and then gets his friends across as well. The odd thing is that the friends still don’t trust Ash and actually try to stop him, but he is able to overpower their combined might. Ash and friends decide to help Hoopa out, but then the city comes under siege thanks to Hoopa’s true powers. He has split into his dark self and the chibi form. Can Ash muster up the will to defeat the evil Hoopa or will his feelings of friendship and camaraderie overpower him!?

To start the analysis off, I was underwhelmed by the opening. For starters, I have to say that Hoopa’s design is one of the worst Pokemon designs of all time and probably top 5. The genie looks nothing like a Pokemon and is hard to properly use in a fight. The voice likely doesn’t help matters either. He also comes across as very petty in the intro as he is clearly going to lose against the Legendary Pokemon so he warps them away, but not before getting his cheap shots in. This happens during the entire film and it can be a little annoying. The Pokemon were minding their own business before getting thrown into these fights and never get any closure since they are just tossed aside. It’s the issue with having fighters who can’t talk, they don’t get much of an ending when they’re cheated out of a fight.

Most of the fight scenes also aren’t actual fights. It was cool to see Lugia flying rings around Hoopa and landing some good shots in, but that was probably the only real fight scene that we got. The rest were “action” scenes which are essentially just long chases throughout the city. I’m fine with having action, but not at the expense of fight scenes and that’s exactly what happened here. The sad part is that the TV show has a lot of fights consistently across the episodes, but then when the movies come…it’s like there’s not enough budget for it. The budget is instead used for things that aren’t quite as important like the backgrounds or adding extra layers to the dimension effects. I’d trade all of that for a quick 1 on 1 fight in an instant. I’d say that most people watch Pokemon for the fights anyway.

Character-wise, the new original characters weren’t bad. The guy was pretty weak willed since he was possessed so easily and he probably should have expected the situation to happen, but it’s not totally his fault and he rebounds from the whole thing. Likewise with the heroine who is fairly similar to the guy personality wise. Both of them don’t have much personality, but they have powers in the form of Force blasts from Arceus. They don’t get to fight all that much, which is why another villain would have been really good. It’s always neat to see a human with some kind of super ability though so I’ll give some extra props for that.

I didn’t like Hoopa’s normal form, but I liked his mini version. His gimmick is that he always says “Were you surprised?” throughout the film for many different contexts. I can work with that and Hoopa’s actually very likable unlike some of his predecessors who could be more annoying like Manaphy. His abilities are fun as well even if he didn’t use them properly. Why not call out Mewtwo or Deoxys? That’s actually another critique with the film. From the legendaries, it’s mostly just the scrubs that are called. Latios, to an extent Lugia, etc. Where were the big guns like Mewtwo, Arceus, Deoxys, Ho-Oh? Let’s face it, those are the fighters that people wanted to see. We’ve seen Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, and fans a lot. They also got the new Legendaries from Black and White so it’s almost like they didn’t want to have to go and animate the older Legendaries with the exception of Lugia. I feel like that cheapened the whole point of the film to an extent because I was looking forward to seeing my favorite Pokemon fighters. Of course, if Lugia is more than a match for Hoopa, those guys would have crushed him without much effort.

Luckily, this is where the Pikachu hype comes in. His thunder blast is able to match up against a combined Legendary Pokemon onslaught and the whole film goes out of its way to show that Pikachu should not be taken lightly. The bond between Ash and Pikachu was also proven as Ash was able to recognize him instantly even when surrounded by dozens of other Pikachus. I was surprised at this since I was sure that Pokemon would want to use this as a joke, but the writers resisted the urge. It was a good move since Ash and Pikachu should definitely pass a test like that. Ash also admits that he wants to be a Pokemon Master on his own and he won’t take any shortcuts. I’d expect nothing less from such a hero.

The animation was crisp and sharp as you would expect. It’s a shame that we didn’t get any big fight scenes to really see how the animation fared, but that’s how it goes. It may be easier to animate scenes of just walking around, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that the scenes are all very clear. Pokemon makes a large sum of money so the animators likely have the best equipment and staff to work on these projects. As a result, you’ll be hardpressed to find any scenes that don’t look good.

Unfortunately, the soundtrack is not very good. I don’t think I’ll call it downright bad, but it’s very uneventful and there are no good battle themes. That’s a shame since the video games are known for their spectacular soundtracks and the film should have just borrowed them. Instead, most of the music is very peaceful and that’s definitely never been my style. I want some quick battle music themes that rock you to the core. The Mega Evolution Acts succeeded with this so the movie should have been able to as well.

Ash’s new partners definitely have less personality than his old ones and that’s shown in the film. Their role is very small and none of them have a critical game changing moment. One of them picks out the donuts and one of them has “The future is now!” catchphrase, but is that really a personality? Granted, the dubbing is so over the top and forced for the catchphrase that it can be funny in a retro outdated kind of way. I don’t think that kind of way even counts though to be honest. Ah well, Ash is a great main character and that’s really what counts in the end.

So, where does this film rank in the end? I’d say that it beats the last one, but get roflstomped by Victini, all of the Dialga and Palkia trilogy, most of the classic films through Hoenn, (Beats Manaphy and Zoroark though) and that’s not too bad. I don’t want to bother looking at the full list of films, but it’s likely on the lower side of the half, but think of it this way, 1 film less than half is the destiny for many films no matter how good they are since there are just that many. This film had a lot of flaws and was a big missed opportunity like Battle of Gods, but had enough positives to send it over the hill.

Overall, This is definitely a film that I would recommend. It’s not the most inspired Pokemon film and I miss my action scenes/insert song from the older titles, but I have to accept that with modernization comes a decrease in quality at times. The new Mewtwo film was amazing though so maybe Pokemon will get right back on the saddle in the next film. Otherwise, the TV show crossover arc with the Mega Evolution Act is liable to feel more like a movie than the actual movie series. Team Rocket is around, but their role is very small. Still, keep an eye out for Wobbuffet since his true powers are finally given their due credit!

Overall 7/10

Creed Review

Posted on January 23, 2016 by dreager1

I saw this film quite a while ago when it first came out so this review has been on the shelf for a while. Well, no longer! It’s time to discuss this film, what it did right and what it did wrong. I can say now though that Creed did live up to my expectations for the most part. It’s a fun film and I liked some of the modern twists that the film added to the franchise. Conversely, there were some modernizations that didn’t turn out so good. Rocky lived up to the hype as being the best character in the film by far and it’s good to see him get his props.

To think…I started this review in November, but it was placed on the backlog for a very long time. That’s how it goes I suppose, but let’s wrap this up. Adonis has had a troubled past and is no stranger to being in fights. He is eventually adopted and treated to a very luxurious life. He even gets a nice financial job with a lot of money, but it’s not enough for the guy. Adonis wants to fight so he quits his job and gambles away his car on a match where he is soundly defeated. The main character was forced to move into a very small apartment building, but also decides to meet up with Rocky. Rocky is reluctant to train the kid, but eventually relents and now Adonis must work to become the strongest fighter of all time!

Well, let’s talk about one of the modernized techniques that I did like a lot. Whenever a fighter would walk into the ring, the screen would quickly freeze and show off the guy’s rankings. It was like a little power level system that you would expect to see in a Shonen Jump crossover film or something like that. It was definitely a lot of fun and I hope that they keep this in for the sequel. It’s the little effects like this that can really amp a film up.

Unfortunately, another effect of modernization is that there is definitely more language to be found here than in the original. It can definitely get a little tired. The boxing matches are solid as you would expect. They’re not as good as the original Rocky films, but few fights are right? They can be a little violent with one random blood scene, but they’re still relatively tame when compared to the average fight. Certainly nothing that should frighten you if you’ve seen any action film recently. Since this is boxing, there are rules to the fights, which helps a lot. The fights feel real and have no cheap shots.

My other big complaint with the film would certainly be the romance. It’s a textbook example of how you should not do a romance plot. It makes both characters look rather bad. Adonis hears some music coming from a downstairs apartment so he goes there to tell the occupant to keep it down. Turns out that the occupant is a girl who appears to either be rude or simply doesn’t realize that her music is super loud. Turns out that it’s partially the latter, but he has no way of knowing that. Doesn’t matter though since looks apparently do and he asks her out on a pseudo date almost immediately. He claims that it’s not a date and that they’re just friends, but I don’t think either one of them bought that for an instant. It’s a sad stereotype. After all, there are probably some guys and gals who just want to be friends, but you can never trust anyone who says that because 90% of the time, there are ulterior motives. Adonis clearly did not want to be friends from the get go even though he acted as if he was. They knew each other for a few minutes before effectively going out and then they show no restraint as we have some wince worthy romance scenes later on. You never saw this stuff in the original Rocky scenes!

Still, romance aside, this was a good film. I still enjoyed it as I was watching and I could see it again easily enough so I’d say that it deserves to be in the positive side of the scale. As mentioned earlier, Rocky’s easily the best character in the film. The film did a good job of keeping his character true to himself and making Rocky defeat all of the other characters in verbal battles. I’m fine with his decision not to fix himself either since when I’m old, I won’t bother pulling out all the stops. Why prolong the inevitable if you’re super duper old? Of course, I’m sure our treatment plans will be better by then. If they are and there’s a high success rate, then I’ll go for it. If not, I’ll upload a final blog post about the end of my era.

Adonis has some good qualities, but he was ultimately lacking as a character for me. Obviously, the romance played a large role in this. Aside from that, I just felt that he was a little unrealistic in how extreme he took his love for fighting. Ditching his super high paying job and mansion for a broken down apartment in a sketchy neighborhood so that he could fight a little? A love for fighting is great and I’m glad that he bet the car away since it showed some confidence, but he definitely did not need to quit his job. At least let them fire you if you show up with a lot of scrapes! Still, aside from the constant drama with Bianca, he was fine I suppose. In the next film, I hope they focus on his love for fighting and the drama can take a backseat.

Bianca is about on par with Adonis, I’m not really a fan of hers either. Obviously she’s just too easy and ignoring the romance plot, it was a little rude to have the noise so loud. A less charitable neighbor could have filed some big complaints and gotten her into a lot of trouble. I’m also wondering if her hearing loss is going to be a big plot point in future films. Hopefully not though. She’s supportive at least. Conrad was the main villain and while they try to make him seem like a nice guy at the end…he seems pretty sketchy. There’s a reason why he’s going to jail after all, but at least he got to have one last fight.

The ending of the film definitely isn’t very satisfying, but it’s how it goes I suppose. Even real boxing battles have anticlimactic endings like Floyd Money Mayweather and Manny. While I may not have been the biggest fan of this film, it was still a good one even if it sounded like there were more negatives than positive. The training scenes were a little more soulless than the original Rocky’s, but that’s because newer films can rarely grab that S rank soundtrack to help push things along. This one borrowed a tune or two, but for the most part it was definitely a step below in that regards. It was cool reliving the Rocky vs Creed fight on the big screen at the beginning of the movie of course and we even got an ESPN homage on the IPad. Those moments were definitely a blast and we also got to see that Rocky’s restaurant is still doing well.

Overall, If you enjoyed the Rocky films, then I think that you will like Creed. It’s essentially a modern take on the franchise and has a lot of good fights. More drama than you may have expected, but that’s how it goes. The main way that the sequel can improve upon this one is with a better main cast and that could easily be achieved by introducing the President of the USA…as a fighter. That would be a very ambitious plot, but it can maybe be done. Give us a likable President like in Airforce One and we’ve got ourselves a solid sequel!

Overall 6/10

Batman’66 Volume 3 Review

Posted on January 16, 2016 by dreager1

I always liked Adam West’s portrayal of Batman. It felt on point and moreover..it felt natural. This is the Batman that I remembered, making lots of puns and having a good time while taking down villains. That being said, the serious Batman from New 52 or the DCAU is certainly a classic as well. Both versions certainly work well when given a good story to back themselves up. Volume 3 of Batman’66 plays out as you would expect it too. It doesn’t take any risks and simply follows the formula along. As such, nothing’s unexpected, but it’s still a good story like the first two volumes.

This one brings 6 issues so let’s take a look at hoe they fared. One of them saw an old Egg themed villain return, but he has now evolved to a level where he can use his mind for abilities like telepathy. Batman and Robin must now figure out a way to defeat this foe since the guy can basically defeat them with a glance. This won’t be easy…that’s for sure. My problem with this issue is simply the fact that the villain was portrayed to be way too powerful. Defeating the heroes with a glance is just too much and as a result, it’s hard to really believe the ending. It felt like plot hax was everywhere. That’s why you never want to make villains too powerful unless the heroes get some kind of power up as well.

One of the better stories definitely involved a big Batman robot that will help make Gotham city a nicer place. Batman trains the robot and decides to leave it to its own devices. The moral involves how robots can’t adapt to the situation, which you probably could have guessed from the get go. It’s obvious, but still fitting and I was glad that the robot didn’t randomly turn evil. I was actually expecting that the entire time so I was glad to be proven wrong. Maybe this was the best story in the collection.

Another issue involved a team up between the Penguin and Widow Black. These two are a dangerous tag team and actually defeat the heroes rather easily. The part that I don’t really buy is how quickly the Penguin betrayed her. Sure, Batman reminded him that he would be betrayed eventually, but didn’t he realize that from the get go? I feel like the writers had no idea on how to save the heroes since Batman and Robin were literally put in a sticky situation. Regardless of how realistic that ending may have been, it was good to see a new(ish) villain to the series. This isn’t her first appearance in media or anything like that, but I definitely don’t remember this villain so it’s probably been a while. She’s not the greatest, but more variety is a good thing.

Another all star is definitely the issue where a TV show of Batman and Robin is produced. This leads to a lot of dicey moments for the heroes since villains are beginning to fear them. They don’t want that. This isn’t the 90’s after all! They decide to shut down the program, but find out that it is being run by a villain. This was certainly an entertaining story and I always like the idea of villains using TV to wreck the heroes. It is a solid strategy and almost worked. If anything, the villain should have stayed undercover a little longer. The heroes wouldn’t have dared to have attacked him. A running gag was that the heroes would do “The Bat Business” to the villains, which makes them cower in fear. Considering that the heroes reluctantly hit the villains a little, it could be anything. I feel the comic was hinting towards tickling and that used to be a big joke back in the day, but thankfully that era has passed.

Next up, we saw the return of Batgirl! Batman and Robin are always eager to have another hero to help out, even if it makes Robin look a little worse in comparison. The Joker and Catwoman are teaming up this time so that means double trouble for the heroes. I’ll admit that this comic was surprisingly uneventful though. I can’t really remember the plot even after seeing the cover and the summary. I just remember Batgirl being in it and the quick team up as the heroes had to break up some fights. Not a bad comic, but not really a very good one either. Still, it is a Batman’66 comic that basically follows all the tropes so it’s your standard stuff.

Finally, Marsha decides to leave the Brady Bunch and make a name for herself. She wants all the jewels in the world and actually manages to enter the Bat Cave!!! Luckily for the heroes, She decides not to go for his secret identity since the cops could have been alerted. Not her best decision, but now the Dark Knight can rest easy as he takes her down once and for all. The villains weren’t actually that tough as Marsha can’t fight, but the tension of her possibly knowing his identity (Or coming close) really makes the issue.

It was a fine collection of issues. This volume’s definitely not as good as the Green Hornet crossover, but that…was a crossover. You can’t expect the normal volumes to come close. As far as going against volumes 1 and 2, I’d say that 3 is more of less the same. The thing with Batman’66 is that almost all of the issues are essentially interchangeable. It all comes down to whether you like the style or not. I still love seeing all of the puns and Batman ends up putting everyone in their place even when he only fights reluctantly. He wants to help all of the villains out after all. He makes for a great lead. Robin’s mostly just here to get humiliated and you can feel bad for the guy, but I suppose that he tries. He just tends to almost let the secret identity out a lot, which can certainly be disastrous.

The cover may be very underwhelming, but the art in the actual issues is still solid. It’s easy to really get into the flow of things and you’ll feel like you’re back in the 1960’s. The art does a good job of emulating the classic style and the overall comic is better off for it. I doubt it’s very difficult to draw from the artist’s perspective compared to other styles, but the finished product is really what counts.

Overall, This is a solid continuation from the first two volumes. At this point, you know whether you like the comics and its premise or not. It’s a lot of fun and is filled with many puns, but some Batman fans may still not be used to this happy version of the character. It’s a comedy over action volume as that is the direction that the series is typically focused on. It works quite well and I know what I want to happen in volume 4. We need Superman to appear. This series is typically very realistic, but now that it’s in comic format, I feel like adding Superman wouldn’t be super out of place. It could actually work if handled well…don’t you think?

Overall 7/10

Justice League Starcrossed Review

Posted on January 16, 2016 by dreager1

Justice League Starcrossed is a film that I’ve seen countless times in the past. It’s a classic that has withstood the test of time and still proves to be one of the best western films of all time. It makes sense as this film ended the Justice League (pre Unlimited) series and that was the greatest American cartoon of all time. It’s about time that I give this title a proper review.

Hawkgirl’s people arrive on Earth and let its inhabitants know that the Gordanians are planning to attack Earth so the Thanagarians (Hawkgirl’s people) will protect them. The Justice League agree to this, but Batman never trusts someone without having a plan in motion. He quickly figures out that this is all just a ruse, but is unable to help the Justice League escape. They are all kidnapped and upon breaking free they must figure out a way to retake their planet. The governments have been taken down and Earth is virtually defenseless. Not to mention that Hawkgirl is a traitor and can no longer be trusted. Things will have certainly changed when this is all over.

It’s a great plot and the film never breaks stride with its quick pacing. I’d also like to point out that the opening credits were very well done. It was essentially the main theme of the show and in the background you got to see a quick recap of the show for new viewers who could be tuning in. Of course, this is the Justice League so there’s no need for a very detailed recap. Everyone knows who the main characters are after all.

The film continues to start off well as the Justice League quickly try to stop the incoming alien threat before the negotiations begin. The first epic scene of the film is definitely when the Thanagarians betray the League so then the first fight occurs. Obviously, I’m going to call for a good amount of plot hax as the heroes should have easily crushed these aliens. I don’t care how much prep time they had, it wouldn’t be enough to take out this powerhouse group of heroes. Don’t even get me started on Wonder Woman losing while on the Watchtower!

That’s to be expected though so by and large I’ll let it slide. Having a depowered Superman for part of the film did help the drama angle since he couldn’t just fly in and wreck everyone. His fight against one of the Thanagarian soldiers was definitely solid. Once he was back to full power for the climax, I figured that the villains were definitely toast. Superman and the others really laid waste to the army with ease. If anything, Hro Talak is lucky that Superman had to go save Batman since he would have been crushed otherwise. At least against Green Lantern he was still able to stand in the end. Few can hope for much more than that after fighting the Man of Steel.

The Justice League had to go undercover for a little while so it was nice to see Clark Kent back in action. It’s times like these where having an established alter ego is so useful. Batman and Superman would pass the Thanagarian security checks. Green Lantern and Wonder Woman would have a tougher time if they don’t have some kind of ID. I feel like the Flash is the best off in this case though. With his speed, he can be in the next country the instant that someone spots him. The effects of the gravity wore off rather quickly after all. If anything, he could have ran everyone back to Batman’s place, but I suppose that this is more discreet.

As mentioned, Hawkgirl’s betrayal is one of the pivotal parts of the film. The League takes a vote on whether to allow her back in or not and my vote would certainly be on the nay side. Hawkgirl had a chance to be one of the Justice League heroes and blew it. Now she must deal with the consequences for that. It’s one thing to be confused and not take sides in the fight during the beginning (Which is still murky) but Hawkgirl’s been fighting alongside the League for a very long time. She knows that they are not villains and has no reason to doubt them. When the Thanagarians explain that the League is not being cooperative, Hawkgirl should have immediately helped the League. With or without her, they should have won the initial skirmish, but siding with the Thanagarians was the part that sealed the deal on Hawkgirl’s status as a traitor. That was when she crossed the line.

On a side note, I don’t like how she was able to find the Batcave. That’s a little too much hype. Sure, she’s a spy, but this is Batman that we’re talking about. You can’t find his base so easily. Hawkgirl may have tried to help in the end, but that’s what we call “Too little Too Late” It’s one of the main reasons why Hawkgirl is my least favorite member of the core Justice League. ~~Still way better than Green Gullible Arrow though.~~ I was never able to root for her again after this.

I’d also like to note that I was thrilled by the fact that the Justice League was able to get free without Hawkgirl’s help. It would have been a little insulting if they had needed her to break free and instead it was Wonder Woman who was able to initiate the escape. It’s also in character since Wonder Woman is a warrior born and raised. The next best candidate would have been Batman and he’s always pulling off things like this so I’m fine with the switch. Notice that Wonder Woman freed Batman first. The scene where the Justice League broke out was one of the best parts of the film. It was a great fight scene and definitely the moment where the League began to get the upper hand.

Back to Wonder Woman, her role here was really good and she actually outshone most of the League. In one scene, the Thanagarians are picking on some humans and Wonder Woman decides to step in. Similar to the time travelling adventure in Unlimited where she broke someone out of jail. Being impulsive is always a good trait for a hero and you’ve always got a duty to protect people even when it’s tricky. Batman is usually willing to let the villains have their way for a little while before stepping in so that he can win in the end, but that’s not Wonder Woman’s plan of action. Of course, it helps when you have god-like abilities. She’s certainly the MVP here.

Of course, this is the Justice League. They all look really good in the film with the exception of Hawkgirl. Green Lantern may have been suckered, but he does a good job of getting past that and helping to save the world. I really don’t think that his Power Ring can be sliced in half like how it was in the film though. Power Rings don’t break, no matter what kind of magic disruptor hits them. It doesn’t even run on magic after all. Flash’s role is a little smaller than some of the others, but he’s a solid hero as always. When he actually lets loose with his speed, he’s able to take down a lot of the fighters at once.

Martian Manhunter actually looks a little bad as well when you consider that he never told anyone how Hawkgirl’s mind was impervious to telepathy. A little sketchy eh, but trusting in your comrades is not necessarily a bad thing. He also went all out against the general and nearly broke him as he figured out how to use the controls. Running straight into a laser was a little iffy and he didn’t do as well as the other League members, but he did fine. Batman is Batman. As always he came up with the plan of action and even provided the safe hideaway for the heroes. Without Batman, the heroes would not have known about the Thanagarian’s true purpose for a little longer. (Again, it makes Hawkgirl look uncharacteristically naive not to realize what was happening though. I just can’t buy the explanation that she thought she was in the right)

Superman was sadly taken out of the first fight right away, but he bounced back and showed the Thanagarians why they call him Superman. He could have probably taken out the whole army on his own if necessary. This is still the greatest portrayal of Superman and seeing him in the DCAU universe is always great. Of course, his big character arc would soon start in Unlimited so the character won’t be going anywhere. Hro Talak’s a fine main villain I suppose. I like the character design although I naturally think that he could have been cooler without the romance with Hawkgirl. The film had quite a bit of romance with Hro Talak, John Stewart, and Hawkgirl, but luckily it didn’t take up too much of the film. It was also mostly the drama part of the romance that was in the film as well since tensions split them all the whole time. That’s the best way to handle romance so I’ll give the film some props for that.

Finally, I’ve got to give the government props for trying to fight back. They didn’t look so good and it would have been cool for them to have done some major damage, but they didn’t hesitate and went to back up the Justice League once and for all. It makes you wonder how things changed so much for the Cadmus days. For all we know, it had already started though. Whether the government trusts the Justice League or not, they were the best chance during the Thanagarian Invsion so it makes sense that they would team up. Still, I’ve always liked how the government aides the Justice League and it’s definitely the ideal situation. When an alien invasion comes knocking, then you have the government along with the Justice League. Again, I feel like the government should have been able to put up more of a fight since they’ve been shown to have some really high tech armaments in the past. It’s a mild complaint though and the general did his country proud.

This won’t come as a surprise, but the soundtrack is very good for this film. I believe that it’s the first time that the big opera theme comes into play. It happens in this film during the final fight with Green Lantern and the leader of the Thanagarians and it also played in Justice League Unlimited when Doomsday was kicking Superman’s can. Seeing the main theme is also good and the theme that plays when the Justice League are evading the authorities is classic. I’ve seen this film so many times that I can basically play out any scene in my head and even remember the music. It’s the sign of a true classic.

Naturally, the animation is also quite good as well. Like the show, Starcrossed’s animation has really held up through the years and I still consider it to have some of the best animation in all of somics. It’s definitely hard to top and you can really feel the action scene. Each blow has weight behind it and that’s something that newer films have a hard time of matching at times. Apparently one scene has some recycled footage, but you definitely wouldn’t notice that while watching it. The character designs are all on point as expected.

Overall, Justice League Starcrossed is a superb film and one of DC’s all time best. It loses to Justice League Crisis on Two Earths, but that is probably it. I’d put this at second followed closely by Batman/Superman Public Enemies. This was the perfect way to wrap up the Justice League series and start the Unlimited Saga. I’m sure that everyone was saddened to see the end of an era but it signalled another bright time just about to begin. If you’ve never seen this film before, then I highly recommend that you fix that transgression. All comic book fans should watch this film to see how you handle an alien invasion and why the Justice League shall never be surpassed as the ultimate comic book team. It’ll also get you hyped for the upcoming Batman vs Superman film since that will be a prelude of sorts to Justice League.

Overall 9/10

Pokemon XY The Strongest Mega Evolution Act IV Review

Posted on January 12, 2016 by dreager1

It’s time to close out this series since Act IV appears to be the last one. It’s been a fun ride and was certainly filled with a lot of action. It definitely gets you hyped for the climactic clash between Alain and Ash. I’m satisfied with how this all ended even if Alain’s naivety can be a bit much. Seriously, his goals seem pretty iffy and he certainly takes contradictory steps to get him to the end goal.

Alain decides that he wants to be the strongest Pokemon Trainer of all time. His boss Lysandre tells Alain that he will need to defeat 10 Mega Pokemon trainers in a row. If he loses even one of them, Alain will be forced to hand over his Mega Stone and he’ll be fired. Alain doesn’t seem to mind the fact that this is basically a threat and agrees to the challenge. “Fight’s over son” is what his opponents should have said, but none of them went that far. In the subplot, Mairin is forced into tears once more and her Pokemon helps a prisoner escape the evil facility, but becomes sickly in the process. This is alarming and it seems like Lysandre may not be the nice guy that we thought he was. Of course…who ever actually believed that one right?

As always, the animation is quite good for the special. This one was basically just nonstop action the whole time and while the fight in episode I was probably still the most impressive, the quality doesn’t let up here. It’s still sad to see the Pokemon wait for the trainer to give out an attack instead of making a move, but it seems to be their destiny. After all, getting caught by the Pokeball has always seemed like a subtle form of brainwashing, which is what made the N plot from the Unova days so interesting. Maybe it also takes away some of their intelligence or free will to even think about doing something without a command. It’s something to think about. We get quite a few Mega Pokemon here as Alain runs through them all with minimal effort.

One thing to note is that Alain’s Charizard has the edge over most of the Pokemon thanks to the type advantage. It was interesting to see so many grass Pokemon in the mix, maybe Lysandre has a heart inside of him after all! That being said, I have to call in plot hax to the fact that Alain won all of the fights. Especially when you consider the fact that the very first opponent was giving him a lot of trouble. There’s no way that he should have been able to have defeated an Elite Four member in his weakened state. I’m not buying it and that’s why Ash is always routinely defeated by these guys. They mean business pure and simple.

There was one intriguing moment in the film where the Dub seems to have messed something up. I forgot the context so you’ll have to watch the film yourself. It involves Alain answering a question with a big No, followed by a little line and then a No. It was just odd and I don’t think that it was intentional. Maybe….but unlikely. The soundtrack was pretty fun. Oddly enough, the soundtrack for the full length Hoopa film wasn’t very good, but this special used quite a few themes from the games and that’s always fun to see. We had a remix from what I think was probably the Red/Kanto games and another one from the newer titles. Good music themes can always make the difference in a film so you want to have good ones.

I’d say that the main frustrating part of the film is Alain. His goal is to become the strongest Pokemon Trainer, which is a great one. The problem is that he goes about it the wrong way. Being Lysandre’s Yes Man is not the greatest job in the world and he’s mean to Mairin for no reason. He wants to make things right by saving her Pokemon, but it really made no sense to be rude to her earlier. He can’t seem to make up his mind. Furthermore, it’s odd that he doesn’t even suspect that the organization is evil. I thought that it was obvious when the group grabbed the crystal and it should be even more evident now that a Pokemon is sick from the mysterious lab. They were clearly imprisoning a Pokemon and while the heroes don’t know that, the dots should be connected now. It seems like a Professor is close to figuring out the truth though.

I do like the concept of having a “hero” who is being tricked and working for an evil organization since it can lead to a good fight between heroes. Case in point, Ash and Alain are going to be facing off against each other soon so that’s going to be great since Alain is already an established character. It’s like having Yugi fight Jaden or Batman going up against Captain America. Of course, the former barely counts since it’s best when the two characters are seriously fighting each other with something at stake. I’m certainly going to be on Ash’s side and I want him to crush Alain, but Alain is still a good main character. The fact that he’s getting suckered so easily and convincingly is part of why I’m looking forward to Ash pounding him flat. Alain needs to learn from someone who knows, that you’ve gotta see the bigger picture. That’s probably how Ash made it all the way back to age 10 after so many years. Charizard is a great partner for Alain as well and it’s easy to see how they’ve beaten so many opponents. He really means business.

There’s a nice twist ending in the film as well. If there’s anything that can match up to a crossover battle, it’s seeing the next big villain. The Pokemon that was being experimented on is getting ready for vengeance and hopefully he is able to take down the villain organization. Those guys have definitely got to go. Steven should know that the group is evil as well since he’s supposed to be a pretty wise guy so this is all partially his fault as well. I still don’t care for Mairin as a character and she’s definitely not needed here, but she could be worse I suppose. She’s mostly getting in the way though, but Alain still needs to remember that there are no johns (excuses) in Pokemon battles.

Overall, A Pokemon special with nonstop action the whole time is definitely a good way to get me interested in what’s happening. Alain’s story ends here and it’ll be great to see him return from Ash’s point of view soon. In the anime, Ash just got his Mega Pokemon recently so since Alain can’t stand to see another trainer use a Mega that he has not defeated, things are definitely going to heat up a lot in the upcoming moments. With that epic cliffhanger at the ready, I’m looking forward to seeing the Pokemon’s true form. I remember seeing it a while back and the design was certainly awesome. Steven and Mairin may be rather uninteresting supporting characters, but all that you need in the end is a good main character to have a TV special succeed. While Alain is a watered down Sasuke, he still has his moments and I’d say that he ended this 4 part special as a good (naive) character.

Overall 8/10

Dragon Ball Z Extreme Butoden Review

Posted on January 10, 2016 by dreager1

It’s been a while since I got to play a new DBZ game so now I’ve finally gotten to end that draught. It’s great that the Butoden series has finally reached America. DBZ has had many great series like Budokai and Tenkaichi so this just adds onto that list. The fact of the matter is, DBZ has a great track record with the video games. Battle of Z was a little disappointing and likewise with Ultimate Tenkaichi, but most of the games are all stars that didn’t just start out as amazing titles, but have withstood the test of time. This one is a portable incarnation so it may not have the same amount of depth as some of the other DBZ fighters, but certainly enough to keep you going for quite a while and the gameplay is solid.

There is a story mode in the game, which briefly covers the manga series. They cover it all in 10 battles so you can imagine that this is a heavily abridged version. It can be quite funny to go through if you pretend that you’ve never seen the show since you would be seeing a very different version of the events. There are also “What If” stories for many of the main characters like Goku and Vegeta. I use the quotation marks since they can barely considered What Ifs as you are mostly just going through the story mode from their points of view. A pretty big missed opportunity if you ask me. A fun What If was the final story that you unlocked after beating the others though, which shows it all from the villains point of view. We get to see Broly and Bardock with new origin stories to fit them into the canon universe and it’s pretty fun. The story doesn’t make a whole lot of sense though and most of the events have no real logic or rhythm to it, but these things happen.

The soundtrack is solid and there are quite a few good tunes to be found in the game. The action themes are memorable and there are a few good villain themes as well. It’s a very small soundtrack, but one that works quite well. The graphics are good as well and should remind you of the classic DBZ arcade games. It’s fun to see the characters standing tall, which makes the fighting gameplay more fun. It’s part of the appeal for the Street Fighter games. You like to have tall 2D fighters who aren’t minified so that you can really feel the combos. The opening cutscene that plays when you turn the game on is also really good and it’s always great when the DBZ games add this in for that extra impact. You can see some cool hypothetical battles this way.

As far as the character roster goes, there are 25 playable characters. You’ll be able to play as just about all of them in the story modes, but not all of them so that gives you an incentive to play some regular battles or enter the Adventure Mode. Adventure Mode greatly helps the replay value of the title since it’s quite long and should provide you with a bit of a challenge. There are around 75 support characters who will jump in to help you if things get rough. Naturally, these allies are extremely useful if you decide to increase the difficulty or if you want to play the game competitively. I never really used them and just focused on my standard combos, but that’s not technically the right way to go about this.

As for the core gameplay, think of it as your average 2D fighter. You have your normal combos and projectiles to mix things up. Each combo can be extended and you can also knock an opponent into the sky to start following up with some aerial attacks. The two dimensions are fun and having support characters naturally deepens the actual combat system. On easier difficulties, you can get by with just spamming the Y button over and over again (Which is what I did) but naturally that won’t work against stronger opponents. The gameplay is definitely solid and that’s certainly the most important part of the game.

As referenced earlier, there is definitely a lot of replay value to be found here. You can play through all of the stories and complete Adventure Mode. Doing all of the stories should take around 4 hours and I’m not sure how long Adventure Mode is. There are a variety of other modes to delve into and the fact that this is a fighting game also strengthens the replay value since it can be fun to just pop it in and start winning once in a while. If you have a friend who owns the game, then all the better!

I looked around and it seems like Japan has online play for this game. At the time, the U.S. version did not and I can’t tell if we ever got the mode. If we didn’t, that’s a little unfortunate, but certainly not a dealbreaker as I wasn’t really planning on doing online all that much anyway. If it does/did get patched in, that’ll still be a fun bonus though. Online play is the future and as long as it doesn’t come at the expense of local play, then it’s always worth it.

Overall, Dragon Ball Z Extreme Butoden is a solid fighting game and a nice way to continue the DBZ saga. It’s good to see the series alive and well as the franchise is getting its second wind with the new Dragon Ball Super anime and other merchandise that is now readily available. I look forward to getting some more Dragon Ball Z games eventually. I definitely recommend this title and any fighting game fan should definitely enjoy it.

Overall 8/10

Justice League Volume 6 Injustice League Review

Posted on January 9, 2016 by dreager1

It’s been a while since I’ve read a New 52 Justice League adventure. I read a few volumes from the Morrison run, which was a lot of fun so now I can really compare it to the current versions of the League. It is still a little humorous to see the new Batman and Superman for various reasons, but they are still great characters as well, just a little different. I shall get into that shortly. I’m not so sure about the title to this volume, but I suppose that things have changed so maybe it’s a fair title…maybe. Either way, this volume’s a blast and the ending is sure to be exciting for DC fans everywhere. Especially after one of my latest reviews.

Lex Luthor helped to save the planet from the Crime syndicate back in Forever Evil. I knew someone who reeeeally loved that arc and I basically know everything about it since that was back when I was heavily following the blog events through various reviewing sites. It was a blast although I wanted the Justice League to appear more, but it did sound exciting. It makes sense that this would come back to bite the League though since the world wants Lex on the Justice League. None of the League members are for this, but then Batman gets a “brilliant” idea. He’ll have Lex join so then as Bruce Wayne, he can go to Lexcorp and dig up the villain’s evil secrets so that the heroes can arrest him once and for all. It doesn’t help that Lex Luthor walked up slowly to Wayne Manor and exclaimed that Bruce was actually Batman. So, Lex is on the team and things move very quickly. The evil Green Lantern’s Power Ring finds a girl who is afraid of the world and transforms her into a super villain. She is not evil, but she’s a prisoner in her own body now. Some bounty hunters are after Lex since they can now get rich quick and finally, a plague spreads across the country, which threatens to destroy the League once and for all.

We may as well start with the art in this title. It is nice and streamlined, which is always good. I would say that the art is terrific like usual, but I’m afraid that this isn’t the case this time. It’s mainly the facial expressions that can get a little dicey at times, mainly Shazam. There is the chance that this is intentional since Shazam looks disgracefully bad, but I can’t confirm that so it needs to be noted. Aside from this, the comic looks great for the action scenes and intense energy blasts throughout. This is still a definitive looking comic for sure.

I also need to give a quick shoutout to the epic ending of the graphic novel. Spoiler time…spoiler time. Are you still reading? Are ya? Well, Hal Jordan has returned! Since I just read the Green Lantern comic and reviewed it on the blog earlier, it’s great to see him coming back to the League. It was literally the final page of the comic so he hasn’t done anything yet, but this is certainly the muscle that the team needed. Furthermore, he’ll be very useful for the upcoming Darkseid War arc. It’s just such a powerful moment in the comic and I certainly missed him being on the team. Can you believe that he has basically missed the entire Justice League series at this point? It’s uncanny!

Jessica Cruz gets a big role here since she was taken over by Power Ring. (AKA Volthoom. It’s pretty cool to see him again after his destruction in the Green Lantern comics. I’m assuming that this is a different version from the other Earth since he was the Green Lantern’s power ring. How characters can change across universes right?) She becomes ready to fight right away and accepts her power so she’s certainly a good character. At first, she’s still scared of the world due to a traumatic backstory so she doesn’t start off on a high note, but gets there and that’s what counts. Her Green Lantern abilities will definitely be useful in future conflicts and having 2 Green Lanterns can never hurt right? It also means that we have yet another Green Lantern from Earth after Simon Baz was recently recruited. The Corps are getting stronger and stronger.

Cruz’s Power Ring was also wanted by several factions, which made for some good fights. Remember the Doom Patrol from the good ole days? Well, they’re back and in this continuity, they were all saved by a mad scientist. They feel indebted to him so they’ll obey his orders no matter what. At least their consciences are not totally gone as they want to save some civilians, but still hesitate in the end until the Justice League save them. They are also totally fine with fighting the Justice League so I certainly wouldn’t call them heroes right now. True heroes know when to question an order and furthermore, they know when to flat out disobey one. None of them are very powerful at the moment, although Mr. Negative seems to be the power hitter of the group. Lex Luthor and The Chief do have a verbal fight, which is always interesting to see. It’s basically just the Chief responding with “That’s not true” (Like a certain Presidential debate) while Lex accuses him of everything under the Moon. I’m inclined to think that Lex is telling the truth in this case and The Chief seems to have been tricked by someone, but it doesn’t change the fact that The Chief appears to basically be evil in this version.

Meanwhile, Lex’s role in this comic is really good and his fans will be thrilled. He has a battle of wits against Bruce Wayne and it isn’t even a close fight. Lex completely destroys Batman in the debates to the point where he makes Batman and Superman act very petty with rage. It’s a blast, but essentially it all starts when Lex piecies togiether Bruce Wayne’s secret identity as Batman. Bruce tries to deny it for a while, but Lex knows and nothing can undo that. He even breaks into Wayne Enterprises and while Alfred puts up a good fight, this is Lex that we’re talking about. Lex claims to want to be a hero at the moment so the team lets him in (For more petty reasons) and we’ll see how long he can keep this up.

One thing that you have to know about comics is that the status quo will always reset at some point. Lex will certainly be a villain again so we just have to wonder how long it will take. He has a shady plot already as he has hired Captain Cold to be his head of security and is taking a lot of blood samples. Why is he doing this? For all I know, it could be more heroic reasons and this is just some more misdirection to trick us all. He does seem to want to live up to the Justice League’s expectations though and tried very hard to save the day twice, but each time he was beaten to the punch. Batman ended up saving the day with Jessica Cruz before Lex and then the plague was stopped by Superman. Although, Lex is still the one who ultimately provided the cure. It reminds me of the Superman Adventure that I read recently where Lex really wanted to help a kid, but was beaten to the punch by Superman and thanks to a misunderstanding from his henchmen, he put the kid in danger. Things don’t go Lex’s way when he tries to be a hero so then it’s back to being a villain. I think he’ll last a while as a hero though and Lex is definitely an interesting character to read about. It’s amazing how different he is than during his New 52 days in the Superman comics where he was a trainwreck.

As for Batman…his fans will be a little sad. He gets pulverized by Lex so he basically gets a pouty and starts think of his own plan. He lets Lex join so that he can run through Lexcorp and find incriminating evidence of his past…that’s not cool. The thing is, Batman’s let this get personal, as has Superman. They spy on Lex, talk behind his back, and then they’re basically lying to his face. Batman even sheds some fake tears on stage as Bruce Wayne to try and one up Lex. It’s just very humorous the whole time as Batman and Superman don’t even try to hide the fact that they can’t stand the guy. It’s understandable of course, but definitely interesting to note. Batman and Superman still feel younger and more inexperienced than their Pre 52 selves even though they’re older now. It’s the new them though and as I mentioned earlier, it’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s made for a lot of good stories and this ongoing rivalry with Lex has proven to be a great subplot so far…even if I’m actually rooting for Lex at this point. (Sorry JLA!)

Flash, Wonder Woman, and Cyborg have less of a problem with Lex, but it’s not personal for them yet. Wonder Woman’s been giving Lex the benefit of the doubt more than the others, but with the unspoken threat that she will destroy him if he tries anything..ruling by fear has always been effective. Flash is the one who tries to keep everyone in check, such as when Wonder Woman almost put the lasso around Lex’s neck. Flash gets everyone to calm down and we’ll see how the team dynamic goes now that “You Know Who” has returned. At the very least, he’ll probably yell and exclaim how awesome this is since he loves to make fun of Batman.

We can’t forget about Shazam either…*sigh*. Remember his portrayal in Young Justice? One of the only flaws in that show was that they treated Shazam like a joke and that’s what happens here too. He’s always getting flustered, acting like a kid who’s never been outside, and has no sense of intelligence within him. Shazam is always spouting off random nonsense about wanting to eat Hot Dogs and not getting with the program. Why did they have to retcon him so that he always has the mind of a very young kid? It was definitely a very poor choice if you ask me. At least make his kid form be a little likable, but this is just way too extreme. I wanted to like the character…but it’s impossible!

If you are hoping for a lot of action then you’re definitely in luck. The Justice League vs the Metal Men is a great fight and then the Plague arc also has a lot of action. Batman’s cool zombie form is definitely a blast and he’s even able to use energy bolts towards the end. Wonder Woman fans will also be happy since she ends up taking on most of the League on her own. This version of her has definitely been great and it’s good to see her holding her own like this. I still believe that Superman’s got the edge, magic or not, but WW is certainly one of the team’s heavy hitters. She also has a lot of hand to hand experience and her raw power was boosted in the New 52, making her more of a complete fighter.

There’s also some foreshadowing here for some big arcs coming up. Owlman’s certainly not through yet and we have to get ready for the Anti Monitor’s awakening. Lex has something up his sleeve and the new Bizarro clone should also be pretty interesting. We also can’t forget that someone wants Lex Luthor dead. I almost forgot about that part, but even though it is essentially Captain Cold’s subplot, it’s a good one. The first mercenary that the group sent was decently tough, but nothing special and the heroes were able to take him out rather quickly. The cool one was Bullet. I love this guy’s design and it’s slightly inspired from Robocop. He doesn’t seem to be super powerful, but he’s not afraid to mix it up with the League. I hope to see more of him soon and this bounty hunter plot is really getting interesting.

Overall, This is a great Justice League comic. Aside from Shazam, there’s really nothing to dislike. The characters are all written well and the plot is engaging and moving at a very quick pace. There are a lot of action scenes scattered within so you’re never running low on those and the plot would be able to still be interesting even without the battles. The art is solid although the faces need some work. If you’re hesitant about getting into Justice League, don’t be. This run can hold its own against any other Justice League series and it’s why their titles are still the best in all of comics. With a certain character finally returning as well, things are only going to look up for the series from here! Of course, the team is borderline overpowered now so it makes sense that the Darkseid War is next. Get ready for things to be shaken up!

Overall 8/10

Sword Art Online II Review

Posted on January 6, 2016 by dreager1

The first Sword Art Online show had started off as an all star but quickly turned into a trainwreck. This one doesn’t crash and burn in such a way, rather it suffers from a myriad of issues from the get go. The sequel just seemed to have lower standards across the board. I still can’t call the show good as a result, but we do get some nice fight scenes. This series has 3 arcs, but most of the review is spent on the first one, as it is the longest. Get ready folks because there’s a lot to bash here! That being said, this still manages to beat season 1!

Kirito doesn’t really want to go on dangerous virtual reality missions anymore. Why would he want to do this after nearly dying right? Well, things change when the government makes contact with him regarding two pieces of important intel. Someone has been terminating players in the new Gun Gale game. Kirito quickly reminds the agent that it’s impossible to injure a real person from a video game. The agent agrees, but he wants Kirito to investigate a little anyway. Kirito heads into the game and things get personal when he finds out that this “Death Gun” character may be a Sword Art Online survivor. Can Kirito really take this guy down or will his long break from playing shooters come back to haunt him? Granted, Kirito finds a beam sword, which greatly helps him in the battles.

Meanwhile, there’s a new character in the mix. Her name is Sinon and she intends to win the big gun contest so that she can get over her fear of those weapons. It’s an intriguing way to cure her fears although I do see the logic in it. Still, it’ll be very tough to win the contest when Death Gun and Kirito have also entered to complicate the situation rather dramatically. Kirito is and always will be known as the ultimate gamer so he’s not going to just let Sinon win when there’s still a job to do.

One gimmick that the anime decided to use for this arc was for Kirito to be in a feminine designed avatar. Another character makes it clear that it’s still a male one so that’s good for Kirito, but he still manages to look like Lucina and decides to mess with the other characters a bit. It’s rather unnecessary if you ask me and I missed his standard design. Kirito’s normal design is just so cool that you didn’t need to mess with it.

This does lead into the animation angle a little. The first show’s animation was top notch. Some of the best animation in the business and it was at a theatrical level. Every episode felt like a movie. Unfortunately, that isn’t the case in this show. It looks good for the most part, but it never comes close to looking like the first show. It still keeps the theatrical feel to an extent, but there are episodes where the budget is noticeably low and the quality really falls. Most of the fight scenes aren’t very exciting and that’s why we always need Kirito to save us. If it’s an action scene from Sinon, you can expect the animation to not be all that great. The anime uses more shortcuts and simply feels a little more like a cash in sequel. It’s rather unfortunate.

As for the soundtrack, it gets completely lolstomped by the original. Disclaimer: it’s not a bad soundtrack. Sword Art Online II still does the world proud and I like the battle theme. It also reuses a lot of themes from the original to help itself out. That being said, you won’t be blown away like you were with the first show. It’s sad since more techno music would have been appropriate for this season, but we only got a few really good tunes. Again, that’s impressive for the average show, but it’s not enough to even come close to topping the original.

While this show doesn’t explode like arc 2 of the original, we get another similar villain. The show seems to be obsessed with this kind of plot. The heroine even gives up once again temporarily and while Asuna had no choice, but to stick around, this other character has no excuse for this brief hesitation and lack of will power. It’s pretty unacceptable. Moreover, the show also has more fanservice than the original. I won’t say that the original completely avoided this trap because it most certainly did not, but this show was more frequent with this issue. Sinon’s costume isn’t terrible and it’s certainly no Satana, but the camera always zooms in on inappropriate angles, which makes it bad.

I’ve always felt that the costume is not much of an issue. You can have a character with Power Girl’s costume and provided that the camera plays it straight and never focuses on the gap, then it’s basically fine. For example, Harribel’s costume never seemed all that bad. Kubo quickly made this an issue by having her super form make it worse, but in the manga there was never any attention drawn to it (Besides the cover) so it was easy to just ignore. The anime completely shuts down that escape option and it’s pretty disappointing. We’ve also got random scenes of Asuna in the bath and the show continues to show why the quality of the original arc will never return. It’s just another thorn in the show’s side.

Finally, before getting into the positives let’s tackle another negative. The show takes itself way too seriously this time around. As a result, the show makes Kirito, Sinon, and most of the characters look bad at different times. Gone are the days when Kirito was completely fearless and picking fights with anyone who crossed his path. He is petrified when Death Gun shows up and constantly freezes up during the series. He nearly cries during a few different moments and while he initially took the Sword Art Online experience pretty well, his personality regresses rather seriously in this title. The show is really trying to appear to be very deep and emtional when it really isn’t. One of the reasons why the original Sword Art Online was so great (Arc 1) was because it was very happy and chipper despite the stakes. The stakes were raised and things got serious in the climax, but it adapted accordingly. The whole plot with Death Gun just feels forced and rather out of place.

Likewise with Sinon. You could have whole episodes about her shaking in front of a gun and reminding us of her origin story. (Which honestly wasn’t even that traumatic considering that she saved everyone in the shop and became a bit of a hero. The whole thing was also super unrealistic since the mother didn’t appear to be pleased, but anyone would be glad to have their life spared and the villain defeated. Sinon should have been looked up to by the masses. It just didn’t make sense) Cut the drama Sword Art Online and let’s get back to what made the show good.

As for Sinon as a character, she was decent at first. It’s quite sad that one of her very first scenes involves a guy trying to hit on her, showing once again how sad this show has become. Still, in Gun Gale, she is a tough warrior who has a great reputation. She wants to destroy Kirito in the competition for betraying her trust and puts up a good effort, but I can’t stand her human form. It’s probably the worst from all of the Sword Art Online protagonists and it makes it very hard to root for her. It was simply too much of a contrast and is basically like Homura’s form from her origin days…if she had no character development and never gained any strength of self or conviction to make the hard calls. Sinon is decently good with a gun, but is virtually useless in close combat situations. There’s no way that she would have done very good had Kirito not been around.

As for Kirito, he’s still the epic character that we remember from the original show for the most part. He manages to drive something that is almost impossible to drive within seconds and constantly pulls off hype moments like nobody’s business. He even beats a speed challenge that had never been beaten in the history of the game. I feel like the author tried to make Kirito as extremely awesome as possible and it was definitely a good move on his part since that’s why I like Kirito. He’s basically the ultimate character and never loses. How can you not root for him? Well, there are actually a pair of reasons that I can think of.

For starters, he finally made the decision to have a girlfriend in the first show. You all know what I think of the many flawed romances in media, but for the sake of argument, let’s say that this is an okay decision. In that case, then he needs to make this clear to everyone, but when introducing Sinon to the gang, he referred to Asuna as being merely a friend. That’s just terrible writing and really seems out of character for Kirito now that he’s not a free agent. He should have stayed as a free agent, but since he didn’t, he’s got to play by some new rules now. Also, Kirito looks uncharacteristically weak during the final fight against Death Gun.

Due to the true identity of Death Gun, we learn that he’s actually pretty weak and that Kirito should own him rather easily. Instead, Kirito is actually getting wrecked in the close quarters fight. Gun vs Sword would be fine, but it’s a sword battle so Kirito should have the massive edge. The fight makes no sense and is just very frustrating as the writers clearly have no idea on how they should handle the show anymore. It all comes down to the author of course and I feel like he’s losing his grip on the show. Correction, he already lose his grip on Sword Art Online and I feel like the anime are going to continue to stay in the negative zone. It’s too bad since the show always has the potential to be an 8 or a 9, but it simply can’t live up to that.

For example, if we go to the pros for a second, let’s look at the technical merits of Sword Art Online. As I mentioned, the animation is still pretty good for the most part. The soundtrack is very good as well and the fight scenes are great. They pale next to the original SAO, but shine when compared to the average show. It still feels like a movie and Kirito makes for an amazing main character. However, the fanservice, repeat of the Fairy Dance Asuna plot, and the uncharacteristic moments from the main characters are what really hurts the show in the long run. It just can’t survive these negatives and I feel like the author will just keep on making these mistakes over and over again.

Aside from the main arc, there are two minis that are included. The first one is a quick mission in fairy world as the heroes try to get Kirito a new sword. The animation hits an all time low in this arc and there’s really no point to it. The heroes face some monsters and then they head home. It’s fun to see the whole team together again, but it also makes them all look a little bad as they have a tough time facing off against some monsters. Still, I’ll admit that it’s a little nostalgic and Kirito’s back to his real design so it wasn’t all bad. Klein also got a bigger role, but it’s not much of a role and he’s just around to make Kirito look good. He wasn’t needed as a result since Kirito always looks cool.

The final arc tries to be even sadder and more dramatic than the Death Gun arc and fails miserably. Asuna meets a new fighter named Yuuki, who is supposed to be the strongest swordfighter of all time. She even defeated Kirito. (lol) Asuna agrees to help Yuuki and her team beat a boss in the fairy/SAO merged game so that their names can be engraved for all of time, but will they be able to accomplish this before another team shows up? Well, this arc did have 1 really good moment. Kirito shows up to fend off dozens of teams of players and manages to slice apart a magic blast. That shouldn’t have been possible and led to a lot of hype moments for Kirito, which is always a blast. They hint that Kirito still lost in the end, but it was still a great entrance and probably the best cliffhanger in the entire show. It was an awesome moment. We also got some good fight scenes like Asuna vs Yuuki and Yuuki vs Kirito. I remember the fights only being all right in terms of animation, but it was still nice to see. There was just a lot of plot hax everywhere and I still don’t buy Kirito getting beat, but I’ll just mark it down as him deciding to hold back to spare Yuuki’s feelings. Yuuki was in a difficult position after all and Kirito’s a nice guy so letting himself be defeated is the least that he can do.

If the arc had been played straight with a lot of action and cool moments, it would have been great. Instead, we get some drama between Asuna and her mom as the subplot and the main plot is also bogged down by the drama. For Asuna and her mom’s plot, you could think of it as a classic case of being in a Star Wars discussion. (Epic way to drag the name into my review for more clickz) While everyone is debating whether or not Episode VII or Episode V should be known as the greatest in the series, you’re off to the side shaking your head since you know that Episode IV is the way to go. Why is this relevant? Well, Asuna and her mom are both wrong in their debates.

I was on the Mom’s side for part of it. I agree that Asuna clearly has no idea what she’s doing and she’ll probably regret not having any aspirations or deciding to play video games for so long while she’s abandoning her real world connections. Video games are clearly epic and should be played for at least 20 hours a day, but it starts to get in the way of the real world. Still, the mom decides to give her more arranged dates and has a very old school way of thinking which is completely outdated and makes her look bad. As for Asuna, she looks terrible in the debate the whole time since her answer to everything is that she’ll be okay as long as she’s with Kirito. It’s pretty naive and sad, but she’s right that being paired up with some random joe is even worse and marrying based on social standings is not the U.S. way unless you’re a celebrity. Still, in the end, it’s hard to be invested in the plot.

May as well put this out there now, Yuuki’s a better character than the rest of Kirito’s allies combined. Unlike Asuna who always wavers and went from being a strong female lead to a character who has literally switched game positions to be more of a healer, Sinon who used to be a strong female lead and then had a dose of the real world, Klein…who is Klein, etc; Yuuki’s a strong fighter who never gave that role up. Her abilities were at a high level and she was a determined character who could have easily been the lead heroine in another title. She has the right attitude when teaching Asuna that sometimes you have to fight back against the bullies instead of letting them step all over you and your politically correct demeanor. It’s a shame that due to circumstances she won’t be a main character. She was also needlessly cryptic about the whole thing, but I suppose that she still made a good decision. After all, otherwise she would have to have a long conversation filled with tears and drama from the other characters so maybe it was for the best. Of course, she didn’t count on genius level Kirito being able to track her down from anywhere on the planet. That’s Kirito for ya though.

This series of Sword Art Online may have been bad, but at least it was still epic. Arcs 2 and 3 weren’t, but they were basically the side show bonus stories in the anime as Gun Gale was the main focus. (Alllllll though, if the series had just been Arc 3 or Arc 2, maybe the show could have gotten a solid 6) The first arc still feels like a nice movie event despite it not being quite as professional as the original. It has sown the seeds for future arcs so I’m sure that this villain organization shall return soon. The laughing coffins (And their recycled flashback that appears maybe even a dozen times during the show) will be back and in full force. Hopefully they end up being good villains and hopefully Kirito isn’t depowered since he should wreck those guys with ease.

Overall, Sword Art Online II feels like a cheaper, cash in version of the original. However, it doesn’t tank quite as horribly as the first show so it still gets the better rating. It’s a bad anime in the end and can’t cross the halfway mark so I don’t recommend it. I’d sooner recommend Attack on Titan actually so if you want a more intense anime with the same English Dub voice actor for the main character, that’s the show to check out. Or Blue Exorcist as well. For Sword Art Online, I’d recommend just watching the first arc of the original show and then pushing the rest of the series to the side. It’s simply not worth the time and who knows how the next SAO show will turn out. It may just be on a downwards slope that will keep on sinking and sinking as time goes on. No matter what else happens though, the series will still have Kirito and that means that it always has a chance.

Overall 4/10

Batman vs Superman The Greatest Battles Review

Posted on December 28, 2015 by dreager1

With the Batman vs Superman film coming out, this collection definitely makes a lot of sense. Now I can read what various authors feel would happen in this famous fight. I feel like more issues could have been included since these two have fought many times, but maybe it’s for the best since there would almost inevitably be some terrible fights that would make you cringe through the years. I’d say that the selection is pretty good and both characters get some props depending on the issue. I’d say that Batman seems to be favored more of the time, but most of the fights are from his point of view, which really changes how you look at the fight. Well, let’s look at each fight.

The first fight is from when Poison Ivy brainwashed Superman. Superman’s will power was not enough to keep up with Poison Ivy’s tricks so Batman finds himself in a position where he must take the Man of Steel down once again. Catwoman is also around so Batman tells her to go take a hostage from the Daily Planet to snap Superman out of this while he distracts him. This fight is from Batman’s perspective and he gives Superman a lot of credit as the dark knight takes him down a few pegs. He has a Kryptonite ring, which helps out a lot in this fight. While Superman would win in the end, Batman fared pretty well considering that he had no real prep time and Superman’s superior strength and speed were only mildly useful. That’s how crafty Batman is, but I suppose that we should give Superman the win here. The bulk of the issue was the large fight scene and the art is really good. I’ve seen bits and pieces of this fight many times before and the art is the classic 2000’s look that is nice and detailed. The characters aren’t thin and streamlined like in the New 52 so you can really appreciate how tough they are. I love both styles and I still prefer New 52, but this is another great moment in DC’s character design history.

Superman 1 Batman 0.

The second issue isn’t really a fight as the two never go at it. Superman finds out that Batman is in his city and he sees that the Dark Knight is being a little excessive in his interrogation so Superman quickly puts a stop to that. Batman knows that he cannot get away, but he does pull a quick vanishing act and plants a bomb on himself so that Superman can’t make a move. It was a very good plan on Batman’s part and it definitely worked, no going to jail for him this time! The actual villain was Magpie, who’s psychotic and manages to create a lot of havok and destruction considering that she has no real super powers. She doesn’t last long against the two heroes. The art was a little on the retro side to the point where I almost thought that it was going to be about Batman and Superman Jr when I had flipped through the issue. It’s another fun style and this was another very good comic. The heroes didn’t really fight, but we can chalk it up as another Superman win since Batman had to use the bomb plot.

Superman 2 Batman 0.

Next up, is the comic with the best art, but the fight can’t really be counted…or can it? Two kids are debating whether Batman or Superman would win if both of them were fighting. These kids are the two magical imps who are always causing the heroes a lot of trouble so their imaginations are pretty vivid. We get references to many comics and both heroes get to have their laughs as they try to debunk the arguments of the other. It’s a lot of fun and as I mentioned, the art was actually very good. The real Batman and Superman even get to appear as they listened to the story. Batman admitted that Bat-Mite did a good job of explaining many of the ways that he would take Superman down. Superman gets a little worried at this so I’ve gotta give Batman the win here. A fairly fun comic, even if none of it was real in the end.

Superman 2 Batman 1.

After that is a very quick issue from the New 52. It’s so bite sized that you would almost think that the collection just grabbed a few pages from the issue. It’s the famous moment where the Justice League first met in the new universe. Batman is taken out instantly since the issue is actually the one after Batman has already been defeated. I think I know who gets the point here. It’s a great comic though and even has the Flash vs Superman fight that was cut out of the movie for some bizaare reason. It was probably one of the film’s biggest failings since it was an incredibly impressive moment for Superman since the Flash had just displayed an incredible feat of speed. The New 52 really did have a great beginning with the League forming there. Green Lantern also got to throw some hits in, but Superman’s win was never in doubt here. Technically, this issue has the best art, but since it’s so small, I’m not really counting it for anything other than the score.

Superman 3 Batman 1

Superman would be mind controlled yet again as the Joker takes him over this time. He has managed to take over the Justice League so that they can finish off Batman once and for all. Batman clears out a section of Gotham City so that he can take the League out without hurting any civilians. He takes out the members very quickly, but Superman proves to be another story since the Man of Steel isn’t holding back this time. The fight is very close with both fighters getting their due credit as the match escalates. It’s effectively a draw, but since Superman has more stamina than Batman, I think we’ve got to give him the win here. Keep in mind that it is hinted that the fear toxin that Scarecrow hit Batman with is still in effect so the whole thing may have been a dream. Personally, I’m pretty sure that it’s all a dream since Batman mentioned that all of his nightmares end with the Joker’s laugh. An interesting ending to a very good comic. It’s neat to see how Batman would handle the Justice League and you always have to debate whether it is plot hax or just prep time.

Superman 4 Batman 1.

Finally, the collection wraps up with the famous Dark Knight Returns battle. I’ve never been a fan of the comic and even the fight is a little lackluster next to the others. This saga got 2 issues though so they could fit in as many pages as possible. The art is the worst from all of the stories in the collection as I’m not a fan of this style. It’s very cluttered and makes the encounter a little hard to read as you have to go through it slowly. Regardless, this is a decisive victory for Batman as he shows Superman what it’s like to be a man. He falls first, but could have destroyed Superman if he had wanted too. Superman was weakened before the match started, but we don’t hand out excuses here. Of course, it’s hard to root for anyone here since Batman is crazy and Superman seems to have lost his sense of justice as he grew older. Ah well, some issues are just like that.

Superman 4 Batman 2.

Wow, did I originally say that Batman was favored? When you really look at the comics, it doesn’t matter who was more likable, Superman had a tendency of winning their encounters. It’s possible that Batman’s wins were left out intentionally, but more likely, Superman just ends up taking the wins because he’s incredibly powerful. No amount of prep time can come close to compensating for the large gap in ability between the two. That being said, Batman and Superman are some of the best comic book characters out there. Superman is actually number one for me. So, regardless of who wins the fight, I am typically satisfied. I may call for plot hax either way, but I can make arguments for either side winning since I love the concept of Prep Time while I also believe that Superman’s might is essentially unrivaled.

Overall, This was a great batch of comics. Many different art styles collide and they were all great in different ways aside from the final saga. These were definitely some great battles between the two iconic heroes and hopefully a lot of people are able to read these stories before the film hits theaters. I highly recommend checking out the collection and while it feels incredibly short since the issues have so much action, they are quality stories that definitely deserve to be read. I look forward to reading more DC comics soon as I have reviews for Batman, Superman, and Green Lantern coming up in the very near future. Even a DC hero who is often overlooked, but is always the first one dialed when someone needs help!

Overall 8/10

Teen Titans Go! Volume 1 Truth Justice and Pizza Review

Posted on December 28, 2015 by dreager1

Teen Titans was a great TV show and I definitely enjoyed the animation and action scenes back in the day. It was so good that I still consider it to be better than Young Justice and is the best DC show that wasn’t in the DCAU. Teen Titans Go, the current comedy show is pretty bad, but this comic is about their normal return so it’s still shown seriously and the characters are in their original designs. The stories are fun for the most part and it’s great to see the old characters back, but the art is verry wonky. It feels like the artists are either very bad or some of the illustrations were done on purpose because some of the pictures feel like they must have been on purpose…right!?

There are quite a few stories here and each one is a stand alone, which naturally means that some will be good and some will be bad. One of the decent stories involved Cyborg feeling bad because some kids thought that he was boring. His reaction to this was very overblown though and the plot could have been a side issue instead of the whole issue. It seemed to be a little out of character if you ask me. It was a decent story aside from Cyborg randomly getting a crush on the teacher. That basically wrecked the story and destroyed the moral at the end. Cyborg shouldn’t have needed to be reminded that he’s a cool fighter.

The worst story of the bunch involved Raven getting a zit and having the rest of the Titans tease her about it. That’s something that I would expect from their parody selves in the flash cartoon, not the characters form the real deal. Even Robin and Starfire get in on it at one point and the whole thing is pretty grating. The Trigon appearance comes out of nowhere and even though we did get a little action, there was nothing that could save the story at the end. You could tell that the writers were simply desperate for attention at that point.

The best story was the first one, which is pretty good from the writer’s point of view since it means that you can hook the readers in very quickly even if the stories go downhill from there. The Teen Titans had a blast playing video games, but little did they know that the HIVE was using the intel to see how the heroes were able to fight. It’s pretty ingeniious and computer software can help villains to try and anticipate what the heroes will do next. That being said, the villains have to still be strong enough to do something about this and I feel like Gizmo and his little crew will never be a match for the Teen Titans. Even Slade gets a small appearance here, which was neat. Action and video games make for a deadly combo and that’s really why this story could not be beat.

Another story featured the Gordanians. As I had just seen Justice League Starcrossed, it was neat to see them again. They arrive on Earth looking for the Dodo birds, but as the creature is basically extinct, that will be tough. Beast Boy must get his teammates to trust him so that they can all stop this alien menace. Unfortunately, BB has a tendency to lie for fun and his teammates can’t be sure if he’s telling the truth or not. It wasn’t a bad comic, but Beast Boy was way too mean and there’s no way that Starfire should have brought him a pizza at all since he tricked her in such a mean way. There was some action though and that’s always good.

There was also a Valentines comic where Robin had to take Starfire to an amusement park to show her why the day isn’t celebrated quite as nationally as days like Christmas and Thanksgiving. Unlike Teen Titans Go, this version of Robin isn’t interested in romance and it was a nice contrast to his parody self. He was too busy breaking high scores in DDR to worry about anything else and that’s the Robin that I remember. A fight is squeezed in there somewhere I think, but it was only a decent comic. Not a bad one though since Robin looked quite good and that’s always a big positive.

Finally, Thunder and Lightning returned as they had an argument with each other. It’s pretty nonsensical and they start fighting for no real reason, but the Teen Titans decide to join in and the big brawl starts very quickly. It’s mainly through misunderstandings, but it was good to see Robin charge in to stop the nuisances. Thunder and Lightning made for good villains in the TV show, but as heroes they aren’t very interesting and don’t add anything to the table. They certainly won’t be the next Dynamic Duo.

As for the art….it’s pretty bad. I still feel like it must have been at least partially intentional because of how bad it was. Seriously, I’ve seen fan art and fan comics that were drawn more accurately than some of these issues. The issues have many artists so the style keeps changing, but most of them turn out to be subpar. The anatomies will be seriously out of proportion in some moments and then the characters will have odd facial expressions in another. There is no sense of consistency and this also makes it difficult for any fight scenes to gain a whole lot of traction. The first issue was the best and had the best art, I don’t think that this is a coincidence. The art is clear and easy to read so it automatically beats some other styles like, dare I say, The Dark Knight Returns? Still, it’s way too spacy for me to call it anything other than bad art. It may not take a full star away, but coupled with the fact that the stories don’t knock it out of the park, I can’t give this comic the usual 7. It’s just not fun or good enough to get that kind of praise.

This is much better than the new Teen Titans Go and I’ll look forward to reading future collections of this series, but Teen Titans can do so much better. The series had a rich cast of super villains to choose from and the characters are also interesting enough to hold their own stories so the comics shouldn’t be afraid to give us some epic battles. The art needs to improve though and in this modern age there is no excuse for the art to not be dynamite. Daredevil and Black Widow’s new series may have bad art, but in their case it is completely intentional. For this collection, it’s just hard to say for sure if that is the case.

Overall, I recommend this comic to Teen Titans fans and to people who enjoyed the TV show. It’s nice to see the old characters back and that they are in character. Unfortunately, the stories aren’t the greatest and while some are good, others are downright bad. It’s the problem with stand alone stories since the quality always varies. The next comic that I’m reviewing has a similar format, but it works a lot better since the stories are all decently action packed.

Overall 6/10

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