Fairy Tail 2 Review

Posted on December 28, 2024 by dreager1

Man did it take years to get to this sequel but at long last Fairy Tail has returned! It’s one of those franchises that is perfect for the video game world because the storylines and fights were always dynamic. The series just got plagued by fanservice issues which are far less noticeable in a video game. Like with the last game, this is a pretty elite title. I would give the first game the edge overall as I thought the menus and hub world layout was a bit clearer. Everything there was perfect while here it’s all elite but slightly less user friendly. The gameplay is also a bit different and I would give the original the edge there as well.

This adapts the final arc of the series as the villains launch an all out invasion to destroy Fairy Tail. They have hundreds of thousands of fighters while the heroes just have their family and friends. That said, they are still not going to give up without a fight! They are fighting for a whole lot here and the game really gives time for everyone to shine. You’ll get to play as a whole bunch of characters and fortunately EXP share is always on so you don’t have to worry about them lagging behind the rest.

The only criticism you could probably give the game is that it is extremely easy. To put it one way, I didn’t have to even open up my item bag until the final post game boss. Nothing in the main campaign was worth it, most of them died really quickly. It helps that you have several attacks and super attacks which replenish your health. I’m not talking about a little either, Juvia’s basic healing attack restores close to 80% of your health. The health bars here are pretty massive too so that’s a lot of health that you are saving each time.

You get level ups very quickly and then you’ve also got equipment that can make you stronger. Even if you don’t bother fighting most of the enemies you will be in a decent spot. The fights are so fast and give so much EXP that I would often fight the minion battles anyway though. There are a lot of different collectibles to be found around the world and I decided to grab most of them. From chests to mini creatures to orbs of knowledge, they’re always close to being within your grasp so it’s too tempting to let linger.

The main campaign is pretty long and then the post game adds on a few hours to that. You also have a bunch of optional bosses and individual character stories to go through. I have no doubt that you will be here for at least 30-40 hours by the end of your run. So it definitely makes the value of the purchase worth it. You won’t feel short changed or anything like that. The story is also very captivating so you won’t get bored or anything. Like I said it’s just an excellent game around the board.

The gameplay is a classic turn based style mixed in with real time action. I’d compare it to Final Fantasy XIII. You have turns but if you don’t attack fast, the opponent can just take his turn and attack you anyway. So you really need to have a plan at the ready and can’t just be wondering what to do next. Always be moving forward. Do that and you will be in a really good position here.

The graphics are really solid as you’d expect. The character models and environments all work really well and the fights that we get are a lot of fun. The soundtrack is also pretty good. It could maybe use a few extra tunes but the ones that are there all match up well with the individual scenes so I can’t say that I have any complaints. Because the character all level up with you, you should have fun just playing whoever you want to at any given point in time. Yes there are type advantages in the game but they don’t actually make a bunch of difference. You can use Natsu against a water type and you’ll still be fine. Maybe there’s a hard mode that will make more of a difference but at least in a standard match you won’t experience any issues.

It was only the final boss that really gave me a hard time. I almost thought that I might lose at one point but I was still able to pull through in the end. Using all of the healing attacks was definitely a must though. Keep those in mind because they are absolutely broken but it does keep in with the themes of friendship and family. Healing should be very powerful in such a world.

Overall, Fairy Tail 2 is another elite title. This is a perfect example of how you make a big action RPG with hundreds of collectibles while not letting it feel overwhelming. At no point did I want to give up on opening chests and just focusing on the story because it was not an inconvenience. The devs place everything in a way that makes you want to succeed and that’s a pretty important skill. It’s why designing is such an art because if you make a mistake then it will impact the rest of the game. I highly recommend this to all gamers in general as a result. Good game design is good game design after all. I think anyone can really appreciate what they did here.

Overall 9/10

Jujutsu Kaisen: Cursed Clash Review

Posted on December 28, 2024 by dreager1

Jujutsu Kaisen really got big so it makes sense that it would get a video game. Anime brawlers are fairly common after all. This one is a bit of a step down from some of the others though. If the gameplay was just a tad bit better then it could have reached the next stage but ultimately I didn’t think it would quite reach that point. I had a good time with it but you feel like the game definitely left a lot of meat on the bone.

The story covers the first season of the show along with the movie. It’s a reasonable amount of content particularly since the game goes very in detail with this. There are over 80 missions in the game, I think maybe 100 if you count all of the bonus ones. Not every mission involves a fight though so some are really just big cutscenes. The game has full voice acting which is nice but I didn’t love the presentation of the cutscenes. It’s sort of like panels out of a comic book that are stuck together but not very organically so there is often a little break before the next person starts talking. There are also portions where it will just get silent as someone types up a report.

I can see the attempt there as it’s spooky and all but I didn’t think it worked great. At the end of each main chapter was one CG cutscene though and those always looked good. Getting more of them would have been a good idea. In general the graphics are pretty good here. Not amazing or anything like that but the characters are on model and the quality is good so I can’t ask for much more out of them. The soundtrack also isn’t bad. I’d like a few more tunes but the ones that we do have are pretty solid. Some are downright catchy.

Where the game got messed with is the general gameplay. They decided to make it so that normal attacks don’t deal damage. You can only effect people with cursed energy which is typically only the last 2 hits of a combo or with special moves. You gain this energy gradually as you fight but I just never like the idea or not being able to generally damage someone outside of certain conditions. It lengthens the match for no reason and doesn’t feel organic. It’s sort of like Playstation All Stars. It’s fine to want to be a little different but this is one gimmick in particular that I think is really hard to pull off.

The stages are also impressively big but this also means that it can be tough to land blows at times. You’ll punch the enemy across town and then have to go find him. You have to jump rather high at times and sometimes that won’t be enough. There is even a super jump button for that reason and then you can attack once you’re on the same level as the enemy. It’s a bit excessive but this could have been fixed with better movement options. The game is also meant as a big online title but it’s hard to synergize with your partner since your hit will often mess up with the timing of their combo and vice versa.

It makes it so that you almost want your partner to stay out of the fight and just let you handle it so it all goes down quicker. Since you need the last hits of the combo, it basically means that your hits were meaningless when your ally hits them out of the combo. You can control your partner’s tactics at least like aggressive and co-operative but to be honest I didn’t notice much of a difference there during the game. I suppose I would need to play for a longer amount of time to really see the difference there.

The game also doesn’t feel super well balanced but I only know it on a surface level so that really might not be correct. For all I know, the game is better than most 3D titles. The trophies look rather difficult with a huge focus on online content so I don’t see myself getting the Platinum here but a few more to increase my percentage still sounds good. We’ll see if they end up adding Shibuya to the game as DLC or if they just keep that for a sequel some day. This game doesn’t seem to be super well liked so the odds of a sequel could be dicey.

Overall, Jujutsu Kaisen made some mistakes on the gameplay side but it still a pretty good game. It’s impressive how detailed the story mode is. They really wanted to cover everything to the point where we almost could call this a visual novel to an extent. There are a ton of cutscenes, then the gameplay, then cutscenes, etc. If we get a sequel I’d like it to be streamlined somewhat but it’s clear that the game was doing its best to try and make sure gave a good amount of content in the single player mode. I didn’t even touch a bunch of the side missions and mini stories for that replay value. If you’re a big fan of Jujutsu Kaisen then you should check this one out but otherwise you could do better in the fighting games arena.

Overall 7/10

Light Crusader Review

Posted on December 15, 2024 by dreager1

I’m venturing further into the Genesis library and Light Crusader was the next one on the list. It’s a pretty fun game and one that feels retro while still getting some unique mechanics in. It’s a game that was well made for its time and I had a good time in the present. It is fairly short so you’ll need to keep that in mind but it does a better job of being a big dungeon/maze than most of the newer ones that show up.

The game starts with a lot of people being kidnapped by a cult and so the main character heads off to save them. Underneath the castle is a 7 floor dungeon where these people are being kept. His mission, should he choose to accept it is to rescue them all and destroy all of the villains and monsters down there. The hero is equipped with a sword and has basic mastery over all elements. With these abilities at the ready he can handle these guys.

The gameplay style is mainly that of an overhead exploration game. The idea is to get to each set of staircases to reach the next floor. On the way there you will need to defeat the boss of the floor and solve a lot of puzzles to get there. The puzzles range from using boulders to fall into the right holes or trying to jump and hit different switches in order. They range from being extremely easy to sometimes being completely unknown. Some of these puzzles just felt like good ole fashioned button mashing to me. One of them for example was to hit 4 numbers in a certain sequence and I didn’t come across any hints in the game. So I just got cracking on trying every combo out until it worked.

If there were too many puzzles like that then it would have definitely hurt the game but fortunately that wasn’t the main focus. They would appear from time to time in the background but most of the game was about running and defeating enemies which is more up my speed. I also enjoyed the platforming puzzles because those tend to be run fair and square You can absolutely solve those puzzles just by deductive reasoning and without using any gimmicks or relying on hints. Those are the best kinds of puzzles I’d say. Since those represented the majority of puzzles in this game, I was all set.

Additionally this game has one of the better maps that I’ve seen. It was very detailed and easy to comprehend at a glance. I didn’t have to be wondering if I was looking at the screen right or anything like that. No, this was a map that would let me get to the end. The game’s length is fairly short as it’s only a few hours long. That said, it’s better to be short than to have had some forced length at the end. With this amount it felt like the game was running at full speed the whole time and never had to pause or try to buy some time.

We even got to squeeze in a classic boss rush as you have to save 8 wizards near the end and fight all of the old bosses there. That was pretty fun. Each boss has a very different gameplay style to them so there aren’t any clones here. Additionally, the final boss has a pretty cool design. It makes for a very impactful climax with a lot of color and depth to him.

The only area where the game is a bit weak is with the hitboxes. For most of the game they don’t even make much sense. There will be times where you know that you hit the enemy but nothing happens and other times when your blow seems to fall short but you land the move. I don’t think it was lag or anything like that but instead it just felt like for some reason the hit boxes were added to odd areas. Eventually you just get used to the difference and adjust accordingly but for a while there it definitely ends up feeling weird.

The soundtrack is solid here. No tunes that I will remember by the end of the week but they still work well enough with what the game is going for. Likewise the graphics are pretty good. Perhaps not out of this world good but they are clear and it is always obvious what is happening on screen. The art style is appealing too so I really have no issues there.

Overall, Light Crusader is a pretty good game. I definitely had a solid amount of fun with it and this would be a good template for how you should do a platforming puzzle game. It’s a genre that would definitely be difficult for most titles to pull off after all. It takes a whole lot of engineering and quality of life features but this game was clearly up to the task. There are even different collectibles and rooms that I didn’t get to explore so there’s even a bit of replay value here. If you have the Switch Online then you should definitely check it out. The experience is a very memorable one and while you might be annoyed at the short length if you had paid for it, that’s the perks of getting it through the Switch Online. If they ever wanted to bring this franchise back I would say there is a lot of potential there.

Overall 7/10

No Guns Life

Posted on December 8, 2024 by dreager1

In a world where people can manipulate robotic bodies with their minds, just about anything is possible. This includes having a gun for a head. It’s a pretty unique premise and I look forward to seeing how it plays out. The manga can certainly go in a whole lot of directions from here and isn’t afraid to really show how hopeless this dystopia is. I’ll have a review up for the series when I finish it.

Overall 6/10

Jujutsu Kaisen Review

Posted on December 7, 2024 by dreager1

It’s time to talk about one of the biggest manga endings of the year. Jujutsu Kaisen was a really big Jump title with a lot of action and a whole lot going for it. Its popularity was pretty high and it got a big budget movie and anime to itself. I definitely had a great time with it and I think it’ll be remembered fondly. I may not have been crazy about the ending but at the end of the day the ending is a small part of the experience. This is a series that was with us for a long while and had time to bring in a whole lot of fun plots and battles. You don’t just forget about all of that.

The manga follows a kid named Yuji who is pretty much on his own once his grandfather died. Yuji has always been physically gifted to the point of being a metahuman but is otherwise normal. Well one day some monsters show up and Yuji ends up swallowing a demon finger which seals the demon Sukuna within him. Yuji is now being carefully watched by a group of sorcerers in the Jujutsu world who think that he could end up being a massive threat. Some want to murder Yuji while others want to use him as a valuable asset. Yuji figures he will make the best of things for as long as he can and decides to help fight the evil spirits.

First up we have the pre arc which introduces us to some of the other sorcerers like Megumi, Nobara, and Gojo. The series sets the tone early on by introducing us to another friend who seemed like he was going to be a main character only to get bumped off early. Jujutsu Kaisen is a series where generally speaking nobody is safe. The series starts to walk this back a little towards the end but I would say that the theme i still accurate. In this world you are constantly risking your life and the line towards death is a very narrow one. It’s why several characters talk about the subject, how they would like to go and how they wouldn’t.

Kaisen’s main cast is also a lot of fun so it’s easy to see why fans are saddened that we don’t get to see the dynamic for very long. The big 3 hanging out with Gojo only happens a few times as they are almost always split apart. It’s rough but that’s just how it goes. Fortunately we have a lot of good side characters as well and if you’re really into action then you’re all set because a lot of the series is basically nonstop action. It does get rather text heavy with the abilities though so you better be sure that you can keep up.

I’d say in some ways the first big arc is the tournament against the upper classmen which transitions immediately into one of the more powerful demons challenging them. It’s always cool to see more characters show up and the tournament being a wide range survival type means that we got to see a whole lot of them at once. Todo leaves a fast impression and while some of the characters on the other team ended up being fodders, I was glad to have more opponents. You want to introduce as many characters as you can early on in order to really flesh out the world and I’d say the series did a good job with that. There is a whole lot of lore going on here.

This is even a series that doesn’t always explain everything. There are quite a bit of details that are kept in the background like Kenjaku’s plan where a bunch of people still don’t keep that part straight. Other parts simply aren’t finalized and you jut have to choose your own ending for it. I’ll go more into the ending in general but generally I don’t mind not having every question answered. Leaves more room for you to imagine what probably happened off screen.

After that we have Mahito running around, some more demon attacks and Megumi getting some rare moments to shine and then we jump into the prequel arc about Gojo’s past. This is a pretty massive arc because Gojo has been such a mysterious character so it was nice to learn more about him. It’s fun to see how cocky that guy is. He really hasn’t changed over the years at least on a surface level but by the end you can see how he did crack a little. It feels like he was more genuine before the time skip and now it’s more like a facade. He is a complex character though which leaves room for a whole lot of interpretations which I really enjoy.

Then we get to the famous arc which is Shibuya. This was a terrific arc in the manga and I dare say the anime even elevated it further. Shibuya is an arc that brings all of the characters together and in that way it feels like it is hard to top. (Although impressively enough, I would say that the climax managed to top it) There is a lot of nonstop action here and it’s cool to see all of the big shots going up against each other. It’s the kind of arc that only works because this has been a fairly long series so there was time to introduce all of these characters. It would not have nearly the same impact if we hadn’t known the characters beforehand.

It’s the reward you get for reading along for so long. It’s always risky waiting or a bunch of characters to face off in the end game because you need to keep people sticking around until then and Kaisen pulled it off. Also it is so rare for any series to be taking place in a big city environment so that made me appreciate this even more. Like in Yuji vs Choso we had them using the building in the fight and all of the other battles did something similar like Gojo in the train station. Lets get more manga with the city vibes like this!

Finally we get to the final arc which is the Culling Games. It’s definitely a lot more mixed than Shibuya but the highs are the peak of the series. We get what I would call the really old school type finale of everyone going off to fight Sukuna one at a time. It’s a super hype way to end the series. I may have some issues which I’ll get into later on but this was climactic. Then of course before all of that you had a whole lot of battles. This is basically a giant tournament after all and it’s one that has a ton of convoluted reasons to keep track of.

We even have the government getting involved later on which was definitely interesting. That storyline pretty much just gets dropped but we can assume that they will return and cause more and more trouble until they are either destroyed or the sorcerers are on the back foot. It’s not an ongoing fight that you can really have until one side is wiped out because neither one will budge.

A big positive I have to give the series right away here is that there is a very minimal amount of fanservice. For the most part it just isn’t a factor and that’s great. In general I would say modern manga are a whole lot better with that than they used to be. The story gets to take center stage this way and it is also a good sign that the manga takes itself very seriously. I will always be here to praise that when it happens.

Meanwhile the art is also pretty good. It sometimes has a bit of a rough look but that works with the general vibe that the series is going for. The fights are always clear which is the important part and you really feel the hype. Mix that in with the solid writing and you can see why the series got so big. I’ll say right now that I did really enjoy all of the big exposition and text bubbles here. I tend to enjoy theory crafting and ability explanations so it was all handled well. There are some exceptions from movies and anime but yeah this kind of dialogue I can read all day.

The nonstop nature of the series does mean that there is rarely any downtime. I know a lot of the characters don’t get to talk or hang out too much which can be rough but I can’t say that I minded it. I’m generally more of an action guy myself after all so if this is what had to happen for the battles then I’m all for it. The characters show a lot of stamina considering how long they had to be fighting for.

Now I did have issues with the ending which is a separate matter. Skip these next two paragraphs if you haven’t read the series yet. Begin Spoilers There’s no way Gojo would lose to Sukuna! I still think that whole fight was busted. Yes, Sukuna had a lot of fancy powers and was a serious threat but Gojo was too broken by this point in the fight. The idea of a single slash blindsiding him still has to be one of the worst twists to a fight. It had to be off screen because the author knew nobody would buy that. It just goes against everything we had seen before that point. Yeah I still shake my head just thinking about that. It was not a good idea by any means.

The whole time I was waiting for some kind of a twist but it never happened. In the end Kenjaku’s plan was also rather weak and I don’t totally wrap my head around why he had to wait and become Yuji’s mother to pull it off. I think part of this was waiting on Tengen but it feels like his plan would have been a lot smoother if he just kidnapped Yuji after birth or hid him away. A lot of characters somehow avoiding death in the end was a bit cheesy but I’m definitely more okay with that since I like a happy ending. It just felt like parts of the ending were rather rushed or the author wrote himself into a corner and wasn’t sure how to end it. Most of this could have been ended with a Gojo victory but that’s how it goes I suppose. End Spoilers

Okay so that’s a pretty deep dive into the series itself, now lets talk about the characters. There is a fairly large cast here so buckle yourself in because this is about to get real! I won’t go into literally everybody, you can read the series for that but I’ll at least get into the big figures here and anybody who seems worthy of a writeup. Naturally we will start with the main character himself, Yuji Itadori.

Yuji is one of those main characters who may get overshadowed at times because his abilities are a whole lot simpler than most. Basically he can hit opponents really hard. At least for 99% of the series that is his power. His punches can even rock an opponent’s soul which is really impressive but compare that to characters who need 3 pages worth of text to explain their abilities and you can feel the difference. Of course I like physical abilities so that is A ok with me. He has super durability as well which helps him compensate there.

As a character he is definitely really solid. A good hero who wants to do the right thing and is also able to just unleash on a villain once he’s had enough. He is absolutely willing to down someone like Mahito who is basically unable to turn good. He maybe gets a little overly sentimental at the very end but hey it’s hard to be too down about a character for wanting to spare the enemy. At the end of the day he is a good guy after all.

Then we have the rival Megumi and he is definitely more of a mixed bag. Part of the problem I’d say is that he doesn’t get much screentime and doesn’t feel super impressive. I’d say his summons are a pretty solid matchup for Yuji so in a fight he could stand a chance at least until Shibuya but after that he is probably getting wrecked pretty fast. It would have been good if Megumi could have gotten more scenes at the end to really show his stuff or something like that but in the end that just wasn’t in the cards.

After that we have Nobara to round out the trio. She is a fun character who also suffers from a lack of screentime. Her ability to land a hit on an opponent from any distance as long as she has their DNA is super handy. You could even say that it is a rather broken ability and perhaps that is why she had to be written out. She has a lot of good general confidence as well. So Nobara is definitely fun and helps make the cast more enjoyable. Physically her stats are basically human so she is best used as a support fighter once the others have gotten the villain into a vulnerable state. Then she can spam her abilities from afar to throw him off.

Gojo comes next and that guy is a total MVP of the series. It’s easy to see why he is such a fan favorite because the guy is awesome. His Infinity power is really handy and the guy is basically the embodiment of confidence. How can you not love a character like that right? The author was also very smart in waiting until the very end to have his big fight with Sukuna. As a result it was one of the most anticipated fights in all of manga with a ton of build up. I would argue it’s a fight that can be mentioned in the same breath as Goku vs Frieza, Naruto vs Sasuke, and Luffy vs Kaido as fights that were hyped up for ages and really delivered. it was incredibly climactic and no matter what flaws I had with the aftermath, he actual battle was absolutely top tier.

Seeing this in real time was really incredible. I also really appreciated Gojo’s origin story as a nice window into how he became the man that he is today. I’d ignore every part of the airplane scene since that seemed wildly out of character. Other than that he was shown to be a really caring guy, a good mentor, and someone who you could trust to have your back. Any scene with him in it really flipped the script on the villains. Additionally, I also liked how ruthless he could be with the villains. When it comes to cursed spirits he would just end them and also put the corrupt council on notice that they would be ended as well.

It’s pretty well explained that the society is super corrupt in a lot of ways and so you are glad that Gojo doesn’t just let them do whatever they want. Just the knowledge that he could try to take them down is enough of a deterrent. Unfortunately even then he can’t protect everybody. Another big character in the series is Yaga who generally seems like a nice guy. Unfortunately things don’t go so well with him and he’s a perfect example of one of those characters who has an abrupt end to his character arc that was unexpected. I can’t say that I ever became a big fan of his but he wasn’t bad. Another character to help flesh things out.

Kusakabe is someone who got likable a lot quicker. It’s easy to empathize with him since he’s a fairly ordinary guy trying to stay alive while all of these powerhouses are duking it out. It’s definitely not an enviable position to be in and yet the guy constantly finds himself in a really rough place. He ends up squaring up against the strongest villain in the series more than once. He may not be someone you can count on to win but at least he’ll buy time.

Shoko is more of a meme than anything as she almost never gets to really do anything in the series. She has a lot of potential and her healing is supposed to be top rate but yeah don’t expect her to be appearing too often. I like the concept of her character though. She’s certainly better than the shifty Mei Mei who shows up for profits and then dips as soon as possible. She’s definitely not the most heroic character by a long shot and tends to be more on the annoying side. Her scenes with Ui Ui are particularly brutal. Ui Ui may help out at times but yeah I could do without him.

Two sorcerers who are even pointless though are the sumo wrestler guy and then later on the Kappa. They basically appear for a quick training scene to power someone up but that’s it. You can safely ignore them but I don’t regret their appearing. After all, with the Culling Games we needed a lot of different sorcerers for all of the matchups. So these guys helped to fill in a few of the slots even if there wasn’t a whole lot else going for them.

A sorcerer who appeared later on that actually did leave a good impression was Takaba. This guy loves joking around and has a casual reality warping ability where anything that he finds to be funny can come true. There are likely some limits to this ability even though we don’t actually get to see those. It was a very interesting twist to the final arc as things would just get a lot happier and more comedic when he was around. It also works out pretty well that he showed up near the end since it’s definitely possible that he could have gotten annoying if he was around for too long.

Now Higurama is a real highlight. As soon as he showed up he left a really great impression. I already love court room plots, characters, and scenes. So throwing in a character like that was a really great idea. He actually did make a real difference in the series as well. He’s fairly jaded by the start of his appearances and then warms up near the end. There’s just a whole lot to his character and I’d have liked to have seen more of his abilities. There really just wasn’t time for him to get any more action scenes once we were that deep into the series.

Mai is one of those characters who ended up having a smaller role than I was expecting. She still played a pivotal role in the end but ultimately would not become one of the strongest fighters. I blame her weapon, you’re never going to go all that far with a normal gun. It’s just not a weapon that is meant to take on powerful opponents in any verse. There are very few exceptions and she starts out as a bully anyway so it’s not like she had much time to be a hero.

The rest of her team generally falls into that role. Look at poor Miwa. She basically became a meme and nothing ever went right for her. The manga teases something that will happen near the end and it’s extremely underwhelming. Ultimately you may enjoy her as a character because she is a lot of fun but at the end of the day that’s about all that she has going for her. It would have been nice if she could have gotten one big moment to end things off with.

Todo gets a huge role though and stands out from the others. For starters his clapping teleportation is incredibly useful and even at the end of the series it is generally considered to be one of the best abilities in the verse. The amount of uses that it has is absolutely incredible and beyond that he is just a fun guy to have around. He had a good personality the whole time and always enjoyed a good fight. Those tend to be big green flags for me. Todo also got to be involved in just about all of the big fights which was fortunate.

Meanwhile Maki is another big character and she certainly got a lot of development throughout the series. She started out as a fairly tough fighter but not one of the top tiers. Well, by the end she can hold her head high as one of the big ones. Her physical abilities are great and she’s very no nonsense. It would have been nice to have seen a bit more of her personality post time skip but at the end of the day she still got her share of action. It was always fun to watch her fight.

I do have to put one knock against her though which is when she erased the Zenin clan. Yes the clan was evil but it’s made clear that she completely wiped them out with no exceptions. We see her execute even people who could not fight back and that’s when you start to go from vigilante into full blown villain territory. Kaisen has always been a series where the heroes don’t even try to cling onto a moral high ground so there isn’t much of an uproar about this but I still thought that it was going a little bit too far. It just didn’t leave a good taste to be having a “hero” do all of that. There had to be another way to pull this off.

There are comparisons made to Gojo threatening to murder all of the elders and ultimately another character doing this but the main difference is that all of the elders were involved with what was going on and you can’t say the same for everyone in the Zenin clan. Speaking of Yuta, he certainly gets a pretty big role in the series. He originally started out as a protagonist in Kaisen 0 after all and it was a lot of fun to see him show up here. It was definitely an awesome intro and from there he never looked back.

Yuta is one of the biggest powerhouses of the series after all and by having his own volume first, it really felt like he was a crossover character stepping foot into the main series. You appreciated all of his scenes all the more as a result and the fact that he got to face off with Geto’s body once more. Not Geto himself but the effect was still there.

Panda is given a good amount of hype in his own right but I wasn’t the biggest fan of his. In part it’s because I didn’t find him to be all that impressive in a fight and also because his personality just isn’t as bombastic. It’s one of those cases where there is nothing super wrong with him, he’s just not my kind of character. Hey that has to happen sometimes. Then we have Toge whose ability to make you do whatever he says is extremely handy. As a result he is kept away from the action for pretty much the whole series. It would have been nice for him to have gotten more to do. As it stands I would say he is a good character but there really isn’t much to say about him.

Junpei is one of those characters who was set up for a whole lot of action but ultimately didn’t last too long. That said, I didn’t like him as much as most people did. I appreciated the unexpectedness of his ending but at the same time as a character he was tricked way too easily. It made him look like a grade A sucker. Unfortunately he likely would have been bumped off either way but he didn’t need to make it so easy. That’s something that will always be a huge slight against him.

Then we have Hakari who really debuts late in the series. He got mentioned fairly early on too, but that’s just how it goes. Well he’s a fun character and I like how his ability forces you to play games with him. The visual novel for example was crazy and also just so unique. The author was maybe having a bit more fun than he needed to in terms of all the dialogue and everything but it really did force you to understand what his opponents were going through. Imagine having to remember everything about how to counter the ability when you are in a life or death fight.

Momo is one of those characters who doesn’t get anything to do and it’s easy to see why. She can ride a broom and that’s about it. She was so underwhelming from the start and never really got better. Then you have Kamo and the series sort of started to give him some importance but quickly took it away again. He had potential but just needed to do more to really join the big shots. Even when he got a team up with Maki it just felt like he was holding her back. Muta is the final member of the team who could actually fight and even then he made the worst moves possible.

I have a lot of points against him for betraying the team. His end was just so obvious the whole time and he puts everyone into a lot of trouble. There was no real going back for him from that point so I didn’t like him nearly as much as others. Yuki is a character who had very limited screentime but managed to make it count. I liked her mass ability. It was one of those abilities that is fairly simple but Gege managed to make it a little more intricate. He is certainly good at doing that. Would have been nice if she could have had one more fight though. I say that a lot with these characters and it shows just what a big verse Gege created in such a short amount of time.

Then we have Nanami who was a good intro instructor to Yuji. You don’t figure that he would last too long but he managed to make an impact. He’s one of those general all around types. Nothing too fancy in terms of ability or skill but still above average and enough to hold his own with most of the villains in the series. I was satisfied with the amount of fights and action that he got.

Finally you’ve got Tengen who is just annoying the whole time. He’s a perfect embodiment of all the corruption in the Jujutsu world. He continues to exist on the blood of innocents by sacrificing people which is messed up. When it comes time for a fight, he is powerless against the villains who matter. This guy tends to be a waste of space and you feel no real sympathy for him at all. Not much changes if you remove him from the series to be honest.

On the villains side we have Naoya who actually ends up being a really fun character. He’s the kind of guy who is very stubborn and determined. He keeps on returning over and over to take down the heroes and it is a good trait to have. The guy is a straight up villain and there is nothing ambiguous about him at all. He really works in the role though and was one of the more entertaining villains. That is really tough considering just how many colorful villains there are out there. I wouldn’t have minded if he got to appear even more to be honest.

Then we have Toji who is the best villain in the series. He is basically a human who stays fit and has a heavenly restriction that makes him extremely powerful. It’s a classic case of David and Goliath when he fights Gojo and that is part of the appeal since typically you would expect the hero to be the underdog. It’s why you have an easy time enjoying Toji here because he is using the tactics and planning you would typically expect out of Batman and he really dominates whenever he is on screen. Now here’s a character that I would have absolutely loved to have seen more of in the series. There is just so much to do with him but alas there is only so much time.

He certainly gets more screentime than Haruta which is a good thing. That guy is basically well known for being super weak and petty the whole time. What a thing to be known for right? I don’t even like the guy ironically, he’s just annoying the whole time. He’s also not very powerful and so he always has to rely on getting lucky with the matchups. But hey that’s his power so in a way it is fitting.

Uraume is much more interesting but she doesn’t actually get to appear very much. She’s sort of like Sukuna’s right hand man and her ice abilities are really impressive. Unfortunately most of her fight was off screen but from what we sae, she was very capable. I liked the concept of her a lot.

Then we have Miguel who wasn’t a villain for very long to be honest. That was back in the 0 days and here he shows up as a hero. His role is small but it was pretty cool seeing him show up for the final battle. Everyone got to contribute a little bit. Likewise for Geto who doesn’t appear much in the series at all yet he plays a massive role in it. He introduces a lot of concepts and debates into the series. Ultimately it’s just a bunch of lip service from a mass murderer with crazy ambitions but I always enjoyed the conversations. The guy also did go through a lot which is very clear.

Choso is one of the more fun antagonists with his initial aggression towards Yuji and then their bonds from then on. He was definitely real loyal and his blood powers were very good. Sometimes a big 180 personality shift like that may not work but in his case it did thanks to the circumstances around all of that. It was definitely a moment that the author planned out very well.

From the original villains the one with the smallest role is probably Dagon. He looks the least impressive initially and even by the end I would argue that he is probably the weakest. He does get a good fight and has a cool looking super form but ultimately this guy is more flash than substance. You can’t really put him in the same category as Jogo or Mahito. Those guys slam him every time.

Jogo has the worst luck I’ve seen for a big villain. He has to go up against the two strongest characters in the series. That’s an extremely rough fate and so while he is very powerful, we don’t get to see that very often. He is a very fun character either way though. Ultimately he had his own pride and fought hard til the end. I could definitely respect that and he even had the nice “Be proud” moment so the villain gave him respect as well.

Hanami has the rough luck of fighting Gojo but before that she did a lot of dominating as well. Her plant powers are really fun and she can also fight in hand to hand combat at an extremely high level. Another top tier villain and it reminds you of just how broken the group was. If not for Gojo then they could have easily taken down the Jujutsu society. All of the heroes combined would have really not stood a chance at that point.

Kashimo is one of those famous “Potential Man” characters. He had a really intense intro that caused a lot of people to become big fans of his but ultimately he never lived up to it. His ending was easily one of the most anti climactic ones out there. It’s very easy to make fun of him and hopefully the anime extends the sequence. As rough as it was, ultimately I still liked the guy. He just needed more screen time but still generally had a good personality that was exciting. I also tend to like thunder powers quite a bit.

Then we have Mahito who is one of the biggest villains in the series. The guy made things very personal with Yuji and the series really gave them time to develop this matchup. Both fighters really wanted to murder the other by the end of it. I remember enjoying Mahito enough where I wanted to see him fight Gojo but they barely get to interact at all. Ultimately it’s a terrible matchup for Mahito since it’s not like he can even touch Gojo. That removes his main advantage after all. Mahito is in a lot of ways like the Joker and it’s been a long time since I’ve seen a hero vs villain rivalry as solid as this one. Maybe even since the Goku vs Frieza days which sounds pretty crazy but I would argue that either way this was a top tier one. Yuji probably shouldn’t have won in the end when you consider the power imbalance there.

Kenjaku is one of those villains who got worse and worse the more that he appeared. His plan just wasn’t all that great and while the randomness of it was intentional, it just didn’t feel fitting for such a mastermind villain. He really needed a better ending. There are a lot of fun memes due to how it ends as well. Like becoming someone’s mother and giving birth to a big character may have become relevant plot points by the end but it makes you wonder why he did the plan the way that he did. It all feels random once again and takes away major points from his mastermind status. If he had a more graceful end then it probably would have aged his character better.

Finally you have Sukuna who did end up being the final villain. This guy was hyped from the start and the series did a tremendous job with him. It’s not every day that a character gets to live up to the hype and make it to the end but Sukuna actually did this. There’s nothing else you could say except that it is very impressive. Sukuna got a number of super forms and kept pulling out techniques from under the hat. He knew how to really exploit all of the rules of sorcery and bend them to his whim. It made him the perfect final antagonist. I already discussed the matchup before so while I don’t think Sukuna should have lasted as long as he did, it still made for a really exciting climax. I don’t think we’re likely to see one quite as long and packed with characters for a very long time.

Now the series did end with a lot of unresolved plot lines, ideas, and concepts but like I said that’s fine in general. I don’t mind making up my own theories to fill in the blanks. I do think the weirdest one was how the series seemed to be implying that Yuji had some kind of reality warping with the delusions he showed Todo and Choso. For both of those to be coincidences was a real stretch so I didn’t quite buy into Gege’s plan there.

Kaisen is great no matter when you read it but I will say that it will feel a bit different without the live commentary. This is one of those series that was really fun to read live. There were so many twists and turns that generated a ton of discussion and memes. Again I don’t think we’ll be seeing anything quite so elaborate out of a manga again for a very long time aside from One Piece which has been around for so long. Kaisen really got to join the all time greats in how good it was at encouraging debate.

Overall, Jujutsu Kaisen is a great manga. It really nailed all of the big things that I would look for in a manga like solid characters and great fights. It made it to a pretty solid length as well. Naturally I wish it could have kept on going for a longer amount of time but at the end of the day it’s enough to be satisfied with. I would definitely recommend this title. It may be a tad darker than some Shonens but at the end of the day it is still a classic Jump title at heart. It has a lot of good messages and keeps you absolutely engaged the entire time. It’ll be difficult for any of the new up and coming titles to really defeat it.

Overall 8/10

Matewan

Posted on November 17, 2024 by dreager1

It’s time for a film based on true events. Those always hit extra hard when you don’t really know about the events beforehand. The whole strike was new to me so that made things nice and unpredictable. It’s definitely an intense film where there are no easy victories. We have the heroes holding back for most of the film but eventually once it is time to fight, they do deliver. It covers a lot of ground and so overall I was definitely satisfied with it.

The movie starts with Joe moving into a small town. It’s really in a difficult spot here as the mining company is making people perform back breaking work with no real pay or benefits at all. They are treated as disposable tools who can be replaced at any time. In the movie they even mention how a lot of the miners keep dying left and right. You may wonder why they put up with this but there just weren’t many options available to them at this point in time. They took what they could get and that’s really all that there was to it. There is a union, but it is incredibly weak here and the company has been successful in setting off race wars among the miners so they don’t work together. Well, Joe is here to tell them that there is a better way but will he be successful?

One thing you have to remember about strikes, particularly back in the days is that it was incredibly dangerous. Often times you are up against an entity that is much more powerful than you are. They will have more guns, people, and typically even the law on their side. After all, the legality of striking in general can range from technically being legal to being completely illegal. Then at that point you have to hope you can hold out. So during the course of the film you have people being forced to live in the wilderness since all of their assets and homes were taken away. It’s an incredible challenge for all of them.

Then eventually this escalates into full blown violence and you also have people who will be tempted to go traitor or look out for their own self interests. There are so many factors in place that it makes sense how difficult it is to have everyone on the same page. Some characters can be rather gullible though. At the end of the day it is always important to remember to hear both sides of an argument, especially if you are friends with someone. It’s unfortunately realistic though. Often times you’ll hear someone spreading around rumors and lies about your friend and instead of asking them what’s up, the person will believe this right away and continue escalating.

If you are actually friends with someone, then you should face them and ask about what’s going on. It’s the only way to avoid misunderstandings like this. One of the heroines here definitely made a huge mistake there. I also thought the traitor got off super easy here but I suppose depending on what we know about him from the real life event, it’s not like the film could really just make something up. I mean it could, but probably not a good idea if you’re trying to really be a full adaption that is true to life.

The best character by far is the sheriff though. He was a true standout from the start. I figured that he would be useless at best and an ally to the company at worst. Fortunately neither of those two options happened and he really looked after his people. He wasn’t about to be overpowered in his own town and really fought to the end. The fact that he could actually fight was also good since it showed that he wasn’t just all talk. The climax is very impressive and ended things on a high note. Every scene with the sheriff in it was quite good.

The mayor was not nearly impressive though. Even by the end he’s whining about how he just wanted to talk but it’s obvious that this wasn’t an option. He’s the kind of character who will still be talking as he’s getting shot. In some cases you have to make the first move because if you don’t, then you’ll end up being dead. It’s one of those topics that i shard to debate though because everyone is pretty firm on their sides. I’d just say that for my take, in a life or death situation you can’t afford to wait.

This is my issue with Joe at times here. He keeps telling everyone to be patient and keep on waiting but after a while it’s clear that this is not working. The mining company is not above breaking the law and doing whatever they want. If you wait too long then you will eventually fold. There are times when waiting is good to be sure and Joe does help on different occasions but he does start to get annoying by the end. You can only stick to the same plan for so long before it starts to become a burden. Joe didn’t really adapt with the situation and that’s what held him back here.

At the end of the day, the film reminds you that a union is only as strong as its members. To stand up to a whole group like this, you need a lot of fighters and muscle to back them up. If the sheriff didn’t have his guns, then all of Joe’s tough talk wouldn’t have mattered at all. The villains made it clear that they would have just shot him and had the whole situation done with. Joe doesn’t seem to factor that part in though which is when you shake your head.

I will say that the movie also doesn’t hold back on just how rough corporate is. They literally go around slitting throats and burning churches. It may almost seem cartoonishly evil to an extent but I have no doubt that these things would have happened. The company would act almost like the mafia to get its way. Even nowadays we see mass firings when different places try to start a union. Sure we may be past the point of rifles and everyone being shot on sight but corporate has never lost sight of trying to stay on top of things.

Overall, Matewan is definitely an interesting film. I’d imagine it was a pretty faithful retelling of events as it wasn’t pulling any punches. The film didn’t mince words on how much the miners suffered even as they got their licks in. There was a ton of collateral damage but at least they did change the system in the end. Change often comes at a high price after all, it’s not something that just happens. If you are interested in the situation then you should definitely check out the film. Just remember that it is an intense journey all the way through.

Metaphor: ReFantazio Review

Posted on November 17, 2024 by dreager1

It’s time to look at one of the longer games that I’ve played recently. This one took me nearly 70 hours to complete and that’s considering that I didn’t do all of the side quests. I did complete each character’s bond story though, mainly because I really needed the power ups and job classes that came along with them. Without those then things would have definitely been a lot tougher. It’s a very complete game that doesn’t have many real weaknesses and turns out to be a top tier RPG.

The game starts off with the King being assassinated and then the Prince is cursed. He is presumed to be dead but his loyal followers hide him away. A battle for the throne begins among the Church and the leader of the military. Meanwhile the main character (Lets call him Terry) is instructed to find a way to break the curse for the prince. Seemingly the easiest way to do that will be to bump off the curse caster, Louis. Will it be that easy though? Also, there is no definitive proof that the killer is Louis so that could get a little dicey. With a game this long, you know it won’t be as straight forward as all that though. Additionally, until he can find an opening, Terry will enter the running to become the next King.

It works as a popularity contest of sorts. The characters have a few months to rally people to the cause and whoever has the most popularity on election day is the winner. The top 3-5 candidates are also protected by the King’s magic so they can’t be assassinated. That was a really clever ploy by the previous King because otherwise this would just become a big battle of strength right off the bat. He really prevented that. Sure, it doesn’t apply to all candidates but that makes sense too since you would just have a lot of people entering only so they could be protected.

The world building here is quite good and of course you have a fairly large party of characters who all get a significant amount of screen time. It’s one of those things that makes RPGs so engaging. What other form of media can give you 70 hours of content like this? For a movie series that would be at least 35 movies. For a TV show, we’re talking 200+ episodes, which happens but it’s still rare. A video game gives you all of this in one shot and so you can tell early on that this will be an elite game. The more you play, the more the plot really begins to expand more and more to include everything that is going on.

The graphics are naturally really good. The game has 3 different kind of cutscenes, the ones that are completely hand drawn, the pre rendered full cinematics that take place in game, and then the text box versions. Nearly the whole game has voice acting as well so it becomes a really cinematic experience. It’s always super impressive to see this because it takes a lot of budget and time to include all of this in one game. Then we have the soundtrack which may not be one of my favorites but it does have quite a lot of tunes. They definitely didn’t cheap out on the budget here or anything like that.

The gameplay is your classic turn based combat style. You can swap characters in and out as you land your attacks. There are multiple classes based on the robot you have chosen for your character and then each of those have their own special abilities. You can use your magic currency to swap them in and out so there is a ton of strategy involved. Even 70 hours in you won’t have enough energy to unlock every class for every character, at least not within 70 hours. The final area is an excellent grinding spot though so if I spent maybe 10 more hours there I could have probably done that.

I had to train for around 5 hours at the end to defeat the final boss. Make no mistake, the game goes really hard on that one. The jump in difficulty is considerable and you will be challenged way more than any other boss in the game. That’s how it should be though, you want to end with a bang and since there is a good place to train, I had no problems there. There is one point in the game where you are attacked by a powerful boss and auto save prevents you from fighting any minions to level up. That was the only rough patch in the game because it’s possible that you could have really been soft locked there.

It felt like a big oversight for such a polished game and all comes down to the day system. My only negative with the game is the fact that it grabbed the Pikmin styled clock. Every mission is related to days of the month. So lets say you have 10 days for chapter 2, you have to try and beat as many side quests and tournament battles as you can before the days are up. If you are not strong enough to beat the boss by then, you will have to replay the whole 10 days or find a good place to grind. This means that it is not possible to complete every side quest and bonus material that you want to accomplish.

Perhaps there is some kind of perfect planning that would make this all possible but it would definitely not be easy. I had to skip on quite a few quests as a result and it also did make training a bit harder at times. Removing the day system would be a net positive in every area because it doesn’t provide any benefits to the game. All it does is ultimately hold things back which is not a good idea.

Like I said, that was really my only main issue though. The gameplay is on point and I liked the UI. The hub world is easy to navigate and likewise the quests all make a lot of sense. The game was very well thought out in all the other areas and the sheer amount of content and gameplay mechanics are so vast that I can’t even go into them all. I don’t see myself ever attempting to get the Platinum in this game because there is so much content and it would take forever, but it is there for the extra replay value. When you consider everything, then this is definitely a full 100+ hour game and you don’t see a ton of those.

Overall, Metaphor is definitely an excellent game. I recommend it to anyone looking for a good title. It can definitely get rather dark so you should know what you’re getting into. The story is very captivating though and it’s never going for try hard edgy the whole time. The villains do sometimes get off rather easy considering the scope of their crimes though. Some might disagree with me on what it means to get off easy here but a last second redemption arc does little to redeem a character in my eyes after a certain point. I’d definitely be up for a sequel to this game someday. Just take away the calendar system and this will really be perfect.

Overall 9/10

Granblue Fantasy: The Animation Season 2 Review

Posted on November 16, 2024 by dreager1

Granblue has returned with the next season. It definitely goes by very quickly and makes for a good continuation. It does feel perhaps a bit aimless compared to season 1 at times even though we do have plot progression. That might be because in season 1 we picked up the main cast and got everyone’s mini arc while this one is mainly about learning more on the villains. Still good stuff, but I am ready for the heroes to make some proper headway against the government and learn more about what is going on in the background.

The story follows Gran and his friends as they seek to arrive at Estalucia, the land of the gods. Gran’s father should be at the end of this journey and in the meantime he is helping Lyria capture all of the gods so they stop causing a bunch of trouble. In the meantime the empire continues their attempts to recapture Lyria for their own nefarious purposes. These villains cannot be trusted, perhaps it is time for the heroes to take them down once and for all!

The first arc has the characters land on an island where Katalina is quite well known. The leader, Vira seems to hold her in particularly high regards. At first glance it seems like a fine place except it turns out that Katalina will have to stay on this island and leave the crew in order for them to be able to leave safely. Gran rejects this proposal and so the crew have to do battle with the government once more while also taking on Vira. As always you can’t really trust old friends in this kind of thing because over the years they tend to get corrupt and really join the other side.

It’s not a great look for Katalina though. I never really care for the “Heroic sacrifice” play in this kind of situation because it’s not necessary. She should have talked it over with Gran and the others right off the bat. Not doing so just implies that she doesn’t think they have what it takes. In this case she also had some feelings of guilt but at the end of the day all this means is that she would have completely abandoned her duties which is not cool. She did make an oath to protect Lyria after all and you can’t just stop that midway.

The fight with Vira is pretty fun though. Vira makes for a good villain and one of the stronger combatants that the heroes had to go up against. it would be nice to see her return at some point, maybe for a climax coming up. Would feel like a waste if she just never got to return although granted, if we don’t get another season then in a way that’s the fate of every character.

The second arc of the series is a lot shorter or it felt shorter at least. The heroes head to the next island where everybody is a zombie. That’s a bit strange and also rather unnerving right? Why did they die? What I liked about this mini arc is it felt like Grablue was finally trying something a bit different. This is an adventure show after all but a lot of the islands felt very similar. This one was really different even when it comes down to the tone. So that was impressive and while the villain was a bit of a generic scientist, he was still fairly strong. So this was a pretty fun pit stop on the way to the final arc of the season. It’s another case where they should have tried summoning Bahamut earlier but more on that later.

Finally we get back to what I would call the main plot. The heroes arrive on the next island where the government shows up again in full force. Gran finally has to take on the Black Knight while Lyria is faced off against her own shadow version. It’s pretty fun even if Gran feels completely out of his depth here. We also learn a bit more about his father like the fact that his moniker is the god killer. (Well it might have been Astral Killer or the equivalent of what they call the gods, but same effect) Then the Black Knight may actually have some ties to one of Gran’s members. These mysteries are clear set up for the future and the season itself has a massive cliffhanger with a trial about to start. I’d definitely be eager to see what happens there.

It was a good way to end off the season because that was probably the most action packed episode of the season. While the Black Knight did crush Gran, it was still cool to see them go at it after all this time. I’m not sure I buy what happens to the Black Knight at the end but it could still be part of some kind of a plan so I can’t judge too much just yet. There are still a whole lot of missing pieces to the puzzle.

Like last time, there is a bonus episode at the end. In fact this time there were two! The first one is about Djeeta and her group exploring a dungeon and it was fun to get a proper dungeon crawling episode. I’m not sure I’d want that for a whole arc or anything but for an episode it worked out well enough. I actually like her group more than Gran’s to be honest. It’s a solid stand alone episode with good action throughout so I definitely had no complaints there.

The second episode has two segments. The first one is about Gran wrestling one of the giant monsters and that was a fun one. He got to show off his determination and just how hard he can train when the stakes are high. I’s amusing in part because of how absurd the whole thing is. Then we have Djeeta and friends going to school in a made up alternate universe. A fun enough short. It would probably overstay its welcome if it went on for a whole cour but it can be nice to see familiar characters in brand new settings.

Okay, now lets talk a bit deeper about the show and some of the things that are holding it back somewhat. The first is the animation. I do have to say that it doesn’t look all that great. I would even say slightly below average. The colors aren’t strong and there isn’t always a lot of movement. We get the occasional fight scene but that’s about it. Stronger animation even for just the movement and all would really go a long way. Without it, the series just doesn’t have anything backing up the story.

Likewise, the soundtrack isn’t particularly good. I’m not going to say that it’s bad or anything because it’s not but none of the tunes stand out. The opening theme song is really uninspired as well. You’d almost think it’s all free domain type music and it doesn’t help the show break out of its shell. That is the core of the issues after all, which is that the show feels like a nameless fantasy title. Not the kind of story you will remember all that well even a few years from now.

The show needs a stronger hook. The main cast is okay but not all that interesting. The plot is fine but you don’t tend to make much progress on it at all. It feels like a classic mobile game plot in that sense with the carrot being dangled at the end without any sense of the progress you are making. The show just needs to do something because it all feels a bit too ordinary. I would also say the power levels feel off and in part it’s because the heroes never seem to get any stronger.

They have Bahamut and a bunch of other summons at this point. I would say that it’s about time they started using them. The fact that they don’t use Bahamut at times and get absolutely devastated tells you all that you need to know about this. Bahamut doesn’t get used throughout the whole season and Lyria only tries to use him once. That’s just not mart and in general these bad decisions are the only reason that the fights tend to be close. If Gran was allowed to use his energy moves then perhaps he would have beaten the Black Knight.

Gran’s also a bit of a cardboard cutout character. He doesn’t have a whole lot of personality to him at all. People tend to hit the Isekai leads with this critique, but I dare say he deserves it over most of those. It’s hard to really say what his personality is beyond being there to do the right thing. I would also like Lyria to show a bit more agency. She has had her quick moments where she has to confront her fears and step in to help but it is always a bit of a last resort.

Io doesn’t get much to do here but at least she has one key moment during the haunted village. Rackam’s role is also a bit on the small side here but at least as the driver he is always helpful. Rosetta is almost like a running gag where she shows up to help in just about every arc and then runs off. At this point she may as well just become a main character. Eugen has his big secret coming up but still feels redundant to the party as a whole since Rackam already has the guns angle.

On the villain’s side, I do like the Black Knight. She definitely earns her keep and always keeps things interesting. The rest of them though? Drang and Sturm are trying for a Team Rocket angle but it doesn’t really work. They really just have one gag that they repeat over and over again in the hopes that it will get funnier but it never really does. You’re just left shaking your head the whole time as a result. Finally we have Orchis who doesn’t have much of a character yet although they’re clearly setting her up for a big role. She certainly did way more here than in season 1 so I appreciate that. She will be a good foil to Lyria for now although eventually I do expect her to be one of the heroes eventually.

That seemed like a pretty negative stretch for the series but on the whole it’s just that there is a lot of potential here that is not being maximized because the series is trying to really stretch things out. The world building isn’t quite big enough to pull that off. If it could just focus on the actual story a bit more and the characters getting some action then it could really hit the next level. We absolutely should get more action at this point as we presumably get closer to the final island.

On a small note, it does seem like a crazy coincidence how the heroes bump into all of the same characters on every island. This is a pretty big world after all so the title may want to dial that down a bit. It comes off as a bit forced at times. The series has a massive cast in the games so it’s time to let other characters have their fun and maybe even switch up the main crew a bit. I think that would be a pretty interesting idea. The season at least tried that by adding two main characters which I appreciate. First is the character who is actually one of those god deities and then you have the girl from the supernatural arc, Ferry. So we need to keep doing that but with more of the pure fighters like the cool thunder guy from the season 1 climax.

In general this season was going for a more low key type of ending I would say. Sure, we did have the big fight with the Black Knight but it would have been really nice to have had an all star ensemble like in season 1. That was a whole lot of fun after all, especially since you usually don’t see that until a later season. Perhaps that set the bar too high for this season but there are so many characters that you can definitely do it again for season 3.

Overall, Granblue Fantasy is a perfectly serviceable show. I would say it’s a very safe watch and feels like a standard anime. If you wanted to recommend a title to someone who is not familiar with anime then this would be a pretty good option. It introduces you to basic anime concepts, doesn’t really have any fanservice or weird anime elements, and is about a hero and his party as they save the world. It’s a very innocent anime that is just trying to do the right thing and takes you from place to place. The episodic nature of the arcs can also keep it from being too overwhelming.

Overall 7/10

Wistoria: Wand and Sword Review

Posted on November 9, 2024 by dreager1

It’s time to look at a magic anime that got pretty big real fast. Wistoria is one of those shows that took the world by storm to the point where one person even said you could toss all other anime in the trash. That’s how good Wistoria was. I can say that it lived up to the hype and I would consider it to be a great anime. I’m definitely looking forward to the next seasons and in the meantime I encourage everyone to check it out. It really got the right amount of action and story.

In this world, most people have some level of magical ability. The best of the best rise through the ranks quickly and if you don’t have magic then you are in trouble. At all times there is a cabal of 5-6 master sorcerers who hold up the sky with their magic as it would crash otherwise and bring about the end of everything. Will’s best friend Colette was one of these super geniuses and so they are never able to see each other anymore. Will figures the only way to solve this issue will be if he can improve his skills and ascend to the top of the wizard tower. There’s just one problem, Will has absolutely no magical talents!

Now you might be thinking, where have I heard this before? Mashle, Black Clover, etc. Well that’s not a problem since both of those shows were excellent and this one really keeps up the streak. The high end production values really serve as a great backdrop but at its core the series is succeeding because of the strong cast of characters and story. I would say that it sucks you in right from the first episode. Will’s goal to be able to hang out with his best friend is a solid one and makes things sympathetic right from the start.

Additionally, Will still has a lot of physical talent so it’s not like he’s been slacking off or anything. He has a sword and is able to handle most dungeons on his own. He has the abilities to take on most of the highest ranking students in the school. The only reason his grades lag behind a lot is because the whole school is set up on the basis of magic. So the tests are focused on this in ways where his strength can’t compensate. So Will has to really take down as many monsters as possible in order to prove himself.

Naturally the series has a ton of discrimination which is a staple of any fantasy setting. People can’t stand Will because of the fact that he has no magical powers. They say he shouldn’t be here and the usual stuff. The main teacher tries to crush Will in one of the first episodes and with a few exceptions, all of the students enjoy messing with him as well. Will doesn’t really pay them any mind though and it takes a whole lot of insults and threats of violence to really get him moving. Of course once that point comes up, then he is ready to go to town on them.

I’d say we have 2 main arcs here, the opening tournament and then the dungeon crawl. The tournament comes rather early here so in a way you could say this is how we are really introduced to the characters. Guys like Julius and Sion had already appeared but this is where we got to the heart of their character development. It’s definitely a really fun tournament even if it is short and I like that Will is shown to be very competent and strong from the start. He doesn’t have to find his own way of fighting or anything like that. He just puts all of his skills to the test and goes in swords blazing. The amount of time he is an underdog in the series is extremely short so we get to skip the intro phase in a way and get right to the meat of things.

The peak of the series is in the dungeon crawl though as we get to see Will join the elite team. It’s the best of the best as everyone goes all out to prove themselves. Again, it’s an arc that you would expect to see much later in the series as Will has to reluctantly team up with all of the big rivals and new characters right from the jump. The fast pacing is just a lot of fun because it’s like you are speed running the whole series. You wouldn’t see this from many titles and it’s part of how Wistoria stands out. No worries though, the power ceiling for the series is quite high as there are many other characters to be introduced who are even stronger than the elites.

Like I mentioned before, the animation is really good here. There are a ton of great fight scenes and cuts throughout the series. The different magic spells all look really good and you can feel the power behind each swing. The colors are very vibrant and so this is definitely an anime you can point to when talking about high budget titles. Meanwhile the soundtrack is also good. The theme song is catchy and there are a number of solid tracks. It may not be an absolute home run hit that you talk about for hours and hours but it definitely pulls off its job pretty well.

Now lets get into the characters. First up is Will and he’s a pretty solid main character. The guy is trying hard to achieve his dreams and that’s always good. It’s more of a voice direction thing but I will just say that his voice can be annoying though. It always sounds like he’s close to laughing which ends up feeling condescending to an extent. It’s something I’ve never seen happen to a character before so hopefully it’s cleaned up a little bit for season 2. It’s not technically his personality or anything though so I wouldn’t dock his character any points for that or anything like that. I was surprised that he wasn’t going to initially enter the tournament though. It feels like he underestimates his own abilities quite a bit.

Considering that he doesn’t exactly have unlimited time to reach his best friend, you’d think that he would do every single event in order to climb up. It was the one moment that felt almost out of character for him. Still, the guy stands up to bullies and is always beating up on the villains so how could you not like the guy right?

Then we have the main heroine Colette who is pretty fun. She’s easy to feel bad for because she often tries to get close to Will but trolls stop her from really making it. She’s a strong fighter in her own right as well even if she doesn’t always run to the battlefield. If we ever get more of an arc that is focused on her then I think we’ll see more of that. She was able to beat a Julius clone and did it rather easily after all. I like that she always defends Will and is a sand up character so she is one of the better heroines.

The first rival is Sion and I’d say he is another character that the show did a really good job with. He has fire abilities which is always a must for a rival and the guy has a big ego. He is always running in to cause chaos and deal out a bunch of damage. The guy starts out as a petty bully but we quickly get a whole lot of development for him. I would say that it is all handled really well too. The guy speaks his mind and isn’t afraid to lose a fight if it means getting what he wants. I’d say he has more depth than your average bully and I already see him becoming one of the best characters in the series.

Julius is the first serious villain. He’s rather insane and while he quickly starts to become a better person, you can’t forget that he nearly did try to skewer Will. It’ll take a little longer to take him seriously as a good guy but the guy’s strength is definitely the real deal. He is one of the strongest in the school among the students so even with the others beginning to catch up, I imagine he will stay relevant for a long while.

He will always be in the shadow of Elfaria when it comes to ice users though. She is so far ahead of him that it’s scary. Apparently her skills as a toddler were enough to really be on his level which has to feel like crazy disrespect. She seems like someone who is rather aloof and doesn’t care about much. Still, she is supportive of Will and that’s the only time she shows her more emotional side. I would say that she is already more fun than Colette as a heroine despite how good the other character is. I look forward to finally seeing Elfaria fight at some point.

Wignall is another one of the geniuses in the school but his stocks definitely plummet as the series goes on. The guy is still tough to be sure but I would say he has way more weaknesses than the others. His illusion skills just never feel like they will be as handy as the more classic elements like fire and ice. Those can be used in basically every scenario after all while illusions always have so many rules and limitations. It’s really not a fair competition when you look at it like that. I think he could start to rebound for the next season but for now I’m not all that impressed.

Lihanna is one of the elites who actually lives up to her rep and looks really good. Her lightning fast combat skill is a fun one to watch and so most monsters will get absolutely shredded as soon as the fight starts. If anything, I just wish we could have seen her fight more. For the most part her final action scenes were off screen but we know that she did put in a good fight and lasted for a while. She trusts her gut instincts which is always important and of course she had enough skills to get a top rank in the first place. I look forward to seeing more of her soon.

Rosti is Will’s roommate and he likes messing with Colette. Well, not sure if I should say “messing with” to be honest since he does seem to actually be really possessive. Still, I felt bad for Colette the whole time so I’m waiting for her to take the gloves off and beat him up. For now Rosti is more of a supportive fighter and so I wouldn’t expect any fight scenes. That really does limit his potential a whole lot as well. He is unlikely to become one of the better characters without some massive changes.

Workner is a character I can’t take seriously just yet. He is on Will’s side and defends the kid but at the end of the day he isn’t actually defending him from any of the villains or those who would beat him up. So he’s not much of a friend in the end now is he? I want to see him actually fight and stand up for Will more. Right now it’s just not enough and if anything he doesn’t even believe in Will enough. Sometimes he trusts him to win and sometimes he just doesn’t. I prefer Edward as a character because at least that guy is actually very direct. He just wants Will out of the school no matter what and will do whatever he can in order to achieve this.

Edward is a total villain, there’s no way around that. He’s just a fun villain though so it’s easy to root against him. I’m sure he’ll come around eventually though. For now we haven’t seen many of the actual villains but two do appear in the climax. They already look quite powerful as they decimated a bunch of the teachers so I look forward to how that plays out. They have great designs and superb abilities so I have really high hopes. The monster fights are cool and all but I am definitely ready to be fighting some fellow humanoids here. It’s just a completely different game at that point.

We also briefly see the top tier heroes who were out on the expedition. For now it’s hard to say much about them until the next season occurs. I already like the kid though, he seems like another non magic user which is always a really good sign. You now the guy is going to be ultra powerful. He reminds me of Meliodas from Seven Deadly Sins but without any of the obvious downsides. We also have to see how Elfaria’s teammates fare since they all are naturally getting a ton of hype. There was definitely a whole lot that got set up here so this could end up being a really long running series.

Overall, Wistoria is a great title and I would definitely recommend checking it out. Hopefully the next season comes out sooner than later. Whether you are here for the big action scenes or the strong character interactions, you should be in for a good time. It’s a title that is easy to get into and you can never have too many titles like this. The commoner rising above the status quo and showing that magic isn’t completely necessary is great. Even in video games I always prefer to be a fast swordsman than more of a slow fighter who relies on magic.

Overall 8/10

Dark Gathering

Posted on November 9, 2024 by dreager1

Dark Gathering is about a guy who got cursed a while back and evil spirits are constantly attracted to him. He’s made it his mission to just avoid all spirits but that doesn’t work for long and a little girl appears who hunts spirits. Perhaps she can help him overcome his fears. The series is off to a good start so far and manages to tackle the classic spirit hunting business in a new way. I’ll have a review for this series as soon as it is finished.

Overall 7/10

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