Deltora Quest Review

Posted on March 4, 2015 by dreager1

Deltota Quest is a book series that became a bigger franchise than anyone could have imagined. It got two sequel series, a manga, and a TV show. That is pretty impressive. I read the books and watched the show so now I finally got to check out the manga. It is pretty good, but could it match up to the anime? Let’s take a look at this adaption.

The plot follows a kid by the name of Lief. He lives in the Kingdom of Deltora, unaware that the rest of the planet has been taken over by the Shadow Lord. The only way to stop him is to travel the world and find the missing gems of Deltora. Once united on the belt, they can be used to vanquish the evil being. Lief is joined in his quest by a bodyguard in the form of Barda and a girl in the forest who goes by the name of Jasmine. Let the adventure begin!

The series is 10 volumes long, which is pretty good for the average manga series. It is still a little rushed by the end though, which shows just how much content needed to be covered. There were quite a few gems so the adventures were numerous. Unfortunately, this meant that some of the battles had to be trimmed. Particularly, the final big boss (minus the Shadow Lord) was reduced to a single hit KO. Most of the exposition was kept in and some battles were extended, so it wasn’t all rushed. The series probably would have had a more even pacing if it had been boosted to 12 volumes.

The artwork for the series is pretty intense and the artist must have loved old classics like Yu Yu Hakusho and Kenshiro. You really feel the punches and this is probably Barda’s best portrayal. His fight with Doom is extended and the tournament’s final rounds are turned into a free for all, which allows for more action. The gritty/shonen art works for the fight scenes and while it may be a little generic during the regular scenes, it works well enough. It is a little more violent as a result of this, but certainly nothing compared to the average SJ title. Just watch out for the rats scene as it can be pretty sad.

One thing that you will notice immediately is a large amount of plot hax. The critical mistake that many fantasy series make is to have the lead characters be humans without any special abilities. So, how can these guys take on all powerful beings of darkness or a witch who is protected by a barrier? Bring in the plot hax crew. The witch scene wasn’t that bad as it is the monsters who usually take the fall. They are simply stabbed or are too slow to escape the heroes. The main characters decide to play dead at one point, but things almost don’t work out very well for them as the villains prepare to critically stab them anyway. A sound makes them forget what they were doing, but it is an example of a scene where the heroes were only saved by luck.

Lief is the main lead and he is pretty heroic. He is definitely not the strongest character around, but he knows self defense, which is always a useful skill to have. He has most of the qualities that you would expect to see in a hero and Lief never backs down from a fight. I definitely don’t have a problem with him being the main character, but he could certainly have been a little more interesting. His plans are also some of the worst ones a lead has ever come up with and luck is the only reason why he survives for so long.

Barda is the muscle of the group and he is a talented fighter. Lief never manages to surpass him in the art of fighting, but Barda does have more experience on his side. He gets quite a few fights during the course of the series and Barda definitely ends up being a good character. He is certainly more interesting than Lief, but it is hard to say who is more likable.

Jasmine is the team’s link to nature and she is the quickest fighter of the group. Her big weakness resides in her lack of physical strength. She typically manages to get past this though and her animal friends provide her with some backup. Her initial distrust and aggression regarding the mysterious figure named Doom is a little much as it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but there is a reason for it. I am just not sure if I buy the fact that the plot twist would have caused this.

Beyond those 3 heroes, there isn’t much of a supporting cast. They do gain more allies along the way, but their appearances are sporadic at best. They befriend a boy who has lost the ability to speak. The kid helps them out more than once and the heroes would have been doomed otherwise. The heroes are also helped by a flying creature who fights off a powerful beast. Naturally, Doom also lends a helping hand when the stakes get high and he proves to be a formidable ally. His strength may even be a match for Barda’s.

The villains have less character to speak of since most of them are giant monsters. Aside from the Vraal, I don’t even remember their names. Some monsters were unlikable like the giant Toad, while others were pretty cool like the Vraal. It is definitely a case by case basis and I just wish that the heroes could have gotten some power ups so that the fights would not feel all of the plot hax. There is a traitor and a villain related to Lief’s past, but they were both thrown back into the manga at the last second so it lacks the emotional punch that it could have had. Fans of the Shadow Lord or at least the concept of the big bad may be disappointed by the fact that his screen time is extremely limited. He comes into the picture at the very end of the series and he it outmatched very quickly. The author should probably have given him a fight scene a little sooner so that he could at least get one win before it was all over. The Shadow Lord has a cool design, hopefully that will satisfy you….

I already discussed the artwork, but the fight scenes deserve a paragraph of its own. The artist is pretty good at hand to hand fights as well as sword clashes. This is due to the gritty, detailed style that is used here. It may be counter productive at times for the non action scenes, but the fights make it worth the trade off. Deltora Quest sometimes ends up looking like a classic SJ title when Lief really gets into the heat of battle. The monsters certainly look intimidating and I have always liked the design of the Ols. The fights just feel out of place because they are so serious in what is otherwise a fairly laid back series. I’m certainly all for it!

This is a journey series so you could argue that while the plot is important, you’re really supposed to look at the visuals and that’s how you will find the series to be a lot of fun. Lief helps people from various lands and it really pays off by the end. Some of the quests may seem like filler, but Lief typically gets a gem out of the ordeal so that certainly helps his quest. It’s like LOTR, but in manga form so it is infinitely better.

Overall, Deltora Quest is a good manga. At 10 volumes, it is almost the perfect definition of what a good manga is. We have enjoyable fights, decently interesting characters, no fanservice, (Which is pretty incredible) and some solid artwork to back it all up. It’s a complete package. There are really no big negatives to speak of. It was a little rushed and the rat violence was sad, but that’s about it. The series managed to stay afloat on its positives. This title won’t be making your top 10 or anything like that, but it’ll be a fun read and you can compare it to the books or the anime. There’s just something satisfying about checking something out in all 3 formats. Maybe the manga will get a sequel series to cover the book’s sequel, but the chances are slim. Still, we can hope!

Overall 6/10

Superman Unchained Deluxe Edition Review

Posted on February 22, 2015 by dreager1

I finally got to check out one of Superman’s recent comic titles and it’s safe to say that Unchained lives up to the hype. It’s too bad that it couldn’t have kept going on since it was certainly on the right track to fame and fortune. Snyder does a good job of depicting Superman and we get a very good amount of action. It’s easily one of, if not the best Superman stories that I have read and you can make a strong case for this actually being the best comic book of all time. I’m not going to go quite that far yet, but it is certainly awesome.

For the plot, Clark Kent no longer works at the Planet. He’s finally just getting to enjoy life and everything seems right with the world. Unfortunately, a terrorist organization has been getting pretty active lately and that keeps Superman pretty busy with nuclear strikes and their other forms of mayhem. It wouldn’t be so bad if the government didn’t continue to get in Superman’s way, but that’s just how it goes this time. They have an ace up their sleeve in the form of Wraith. Wraith is a mysterious figure who has been helping the government from the sidelines for decades and his powers are comparable to Superman’s. Superman’s going to have the fight of his life on his hands, but luckily he has Batman and Wonder Woman to back him up considering how many dangerous situations continue to pop up.

First off, the art is really good here. It’s easily some of the best in the business. The only parts of the comic where the art looked off was in the flashbacks, but for some reason that was actually intentional. It was drawn with a lack of color and it doesn’t work very well. Next to the colorful fights, it just doesn’t work. Luckily, this is pretty rare and the rest of the art easily makes up for this. It looks dynamite and a lot of attention was given to all of the details. Superman’s display of his x ray vision is a good example of this as his eyes turn blue. It’s a small detail that is appreciated as you read the issues.

As this is the Deluxe Edition, there are a lot of bonus covers at the end. You may have been surprised at how thick the volume was and that’s why. A good 20-30 pages are spent showing us a lot of fun covers. They’re pretty cool and it’s always enjoyable to see the retro ones that had such interesting plots. We also get the director’s cut for the first comic, which is pretty fun as well. I would have preferred that for a comic with more action, but it was still pretty neat.

You’ll be glad to know that the characters are portrayed very well. Wonder Woman gets less of a role than Batman, but she still gets a good hit in and there’s nothing that will make you question her character. Batman looks awesome right from the start. “If you’re here to intimidate me, then you’re wasting your time” is one of his better quotes. Another good one arises when Wraith lets Batman know that there’s no way that Superman can detect the villain’s presence thanks to how he can control his energy. Batman’s reply is essentially, “Good, now he can’t save you” and it’s pretty great. I always like to see Batman looking so confident and awesome. He holds his own against Wraith for quite a while and that is an extremely impressive feat. I also liked his new suit and Batman’s ring invention worked perfectly. If Batman had some more prep time, things definitely could have gotten dicey for Wraith.

As for Superman, I was not surprised that he also looked really good. We got a flashback to show how heroic he was even as a kid. He was always ready to help someone and he would never take a life. In the present, he constantly makes sure not to cross the line and he’s very confident in his abilities. Not in a rude way as he is sometimes portrayed, but just in the way that a commander has to be confident. Superman’s genius is also displayed at times and he doesn’t mindlessly punch his way through things. The author shows us how Superman sees a situation and it’s pretty cool. He’s always analyzing and thinking of possible solutions to a problem as he approaches it. Superman’s easily my favorite comic book character and when he is portrayed like this, there’s nobody who’s even close. If only Man of Steel could have used this storyline for the film to show off Superman’s heroics.

Wraith is the big villain and I’m sure that you’ll find his mere existence to be a stretch. How did nobody notice him in the last 75 years right? He can turn invisible, but it’s definitely something that you will find hard to believe. Well, we’ll just let that slide this time and look at him as a character. Wraith is not a likable “hero” but he makes for a pretty good villain. He snaps rather quickly, but I suppose that we didn’t expect him to keep up the facade for very long. It does make his final appearance a little sudden, but at the same time, he is still committing to his role as a soldier. He wasn’t made aware of his race’s plans and protecting the Earth in his way is still Wraith’s main mission. It’s too bad that he was so stubborn since he really could have been a valuable ally to the heroes. That being said, one should never cross Superman. He is said to be a little stronger than Superman, but I naturally don’t buy that. Once they battle in an even playing field, Superman proves who the stronger warrior is. Superman’s a master of hand to hand combat so his super abilities are definitely not his only asset.

The supporting characters are also present of course. Lois looks pretty good as she takes chances, but she is pretty reasonable once she is thrown into dangerous situations. She also helps out a little when the army ends up going nuts. Jimmy is around, but his role is pretty sad. He just can’t stay away from trouble. Lex Luthor also looks as sadistic as you would expect and he admits that Superman isn’t half bad when the man of steel cannot hear him. Lex definitely makes for a pretty interesting villain and he is typically one step ahead of the other characters.

If anything’s a little dicey, it’s the fact that the government seems way more powerful than usual. Since when do they have the ability to casually fire black hole bullets and energy blasts that can even cripple Superman? They were apparently organized for such a battle, but getting the tech is just unbelievable. It’s ironic that the government always looks good when they are about to face a superhero, but then they crack once an actual villain appears. If their weapons are this good then they should have defeated Darkseid and the Aquaman villain. Of course, this is a mini series so you can say that the continuity is a little dicey, but it’s just an example. Things would be so much different if the government was this strong. They were actually defeating Superman, which I still find hard to believe.

On the bright side, it did give Superman an excuse to don his Superman Prime outfit. Now that was an awesome moment and I think I speak for all DC fans when I say that we miss the guy. Superman Prime was just so intense and his outfit was definitely a keeper. Once again, I do have to reiterate that no matter how much tech the government had, there’s no way that they should be able to defeat Superman. Superman’s speed should be able to totally outclass their tech and the battle would be over before it even started. That doesn’t happen, but Superman still fights on to the bitter end so it was handled rather well compared to how it could have ended.

Finally, there was one main reason above all that made this comic not just good or great, but amazing. It wasn’t the incredible writing, the dynamic art, or even the fact that Batman got to be so awesome. No, the clinching factor was the amazing fights that we got. The whole trade paperback is loaded with action and the fights between Superman and Wraith are definitely the highlights here. They get punched across cities and continents. You never want to take your eyes away from the action for a moment. The series may have been quite a few issues, but you’ll find yourself just blasting through the whole collection because you can’t tear yourself away. I haven’t read something this enjoyable in terms of action in a long time and now it’s time for the big question..is this the greatest comic of all time?

Before now, that title would go to either the Secret Wars or X Sanction. Both of those are great comics to be sure, but I have to say that this one tops them both. It shouldn’t come as a surprise considering that I still do prefer DC to Marvel. Adding in the fact that Superman is the main character here and it’s a no brainer. It’ll be almost impossible to top this collection and I don’t see such a thing happening for a long time. It’s really too bad that Unchained ended so quickly, but we got a great ending and a really fun ride. Thus, I can safely say that I am satisfied with it and I highly recommend checking this volume out. If you wanted to see a likable Superman and a comic that fits in a lot of action while still having great dialogue, this is the comic for you!

Overall 10/10

Batman Beyond Batgirl Beyond Review

Posted on February 4, 2015 by dreager1

It’s time to read one of the Batman Beyond comics. I believe that this is actually the first one that I’ve checked out and it’s good to see the the characters once again. Even though the title talks about Batgirl Beyond, she only gets a quick comic and actually isn’t that important to the plot. So, this would definitely rank pretty high on the misleading covers list. It’s still a pretty good adventure though even if we don’t get many serious villains yet.

The first adventure is an 8 part comic that takes place after Joker’s mad onslaught against the city. Bruce Wayne is critically injured and Dana is still trying to work past the traumatic events that have occurred. She decides that she will help Terry from now on in his quest against crime. She doesn’t really get to appear after that, but I’m sure that she will be back. Batman deals with one of his old sonic themed foes before realizing that it is a distraction. The real villain has kidnapped one of his friends and intends to destroy the city..and maybe even the world. Batman will have to hurry on over if he’s going to make it on time.

It’s a pretty good adventure and we definitely get our fair share of action. A lot of the story is running directly from the Joker incident so it probably won’t have the same emotional impact that it would have if we actually read that comic. Dana’s bro turning evil must have been a big twist..although I don’t think we ever saw him before that so maybe we wouldn’t have been surprised. Terry’s doubts about being Batman aren’t that great though as I feel that just about every teenage superhero seems to go through that doubting period and it gets old after a while. Batman never doubted himself so often back in the good ole days. I’m fine with Dana knowing Terry’s secret, but I hope that they mostly stay in the friend zone or that the romance at least doesn’t become a huge part of the series.

After that the Batgirl comic starts and it seems to really be a stand alone title at this point. Barbara Gordan finds out that one of the neighborhoods is getting pretty violent and people are fighting in the streets. She heads over to investigate, but is quickly defeated by the crooks. She’s saved by the new Batgirl who lets her know that they have been turned crazy by some kind of poison. Barbara Gordan goes to the nearest company to get to the bottom of this, but she may be in trouble now. Batgirl will have to come to her aid once more, but can the vigilante be trusted!?

I’m sure that Batgirl will inevitably meet up with Batman Beyond at some point, but so far this comic was basically filler. Batgirl seems like a decent fighter, but only decent. I don’t see how she will be anywhere near Batman level anytime soon since she is self taught and you can’t become a grandmaster in a year or two like that. She does pretty well in this comic though and Batgirl seems like she isn’t crossing any lines yet. She’ll be a good supporting character to have and maybe she’ll even help Barbara stay more relevant in this series. Having the two of them team up could make for a pretty good subplot.

Finally, we also get a bonus comic at the end where Ink returns. She wants to be human so she gets someone to give her a serum, but what side effects will this have? Ink has no time to worry about this as Batman shows up so the two of them begin to battle. Ink will need to think of something quickly to turn the tides against this futuristic superhero!

That comic is pretty short and the art takes a dip. It’s decent enough and the adventure is fun, but it’s certainly a stretch to see how Ink gets away in the comic. She seems outmatched from the start and Batman had every possible edge. It should have been easy for him to have won the match, but I guess he just wasn’t prepared to get scratched. Ah well, it beats the average bonus comic that you see at the end of a trade paperback.

Aside from the last comic where I wasn’t a big fan of the art, the trade is pretty consistent in how it looks. It’s not going to go down as one of the greatest pieces in DC history, but the character designs and battle scenes look pretty smooth. The art definitely works and it helps kick in the nostalgia glasses that I always wanted. I definitely have no complaints with it.

We get some guest stars in the form of the Metal Men. It’s good to see them return to the front lines and they seem to be pretty dependable as supporting characters for Batman. They’re the kind of characters that I wouldn’t want to appear too often since they could get old very quickly, but appearing once in a while won’t hurt. They seem likely to appear again soon based on how their character arc ended.

Meanwhile, Bruce Wayne seems to finally be learning about the values of teamwork. I guess a near death experience coupled with Terry’s doubts has forced him to think of all the options at his disposal. Bringing in more and more allies will definitely keep the world safe as well as attract more super villain groups. Actually, that reminds me of another story in this comic and actually the best one of the batch. That would be the Batman vs Batman Beyond comic. Bruce finds out that Terry is slowly losing his mind and he’s forced to take out the hero before Terry can hurt someone. It shows that Bruce can still fight even at his old age and he will always have the edge over Terry. With prep time, I have no doubt that this is true.

There is some plot hax in the fight of course and without prep time, Batman Beyond should definitely win. That being said, I don’t mind a little plot hax here since Wayne is in the lead. Terry is a pretty decent hero and he still acts like a mix of Batman and Spider Man. Again, I don’t care for the fact that he is doubting whether to be a superhero or not, but I’m sure that he’ll get over this soon. All true heroes overcome their doubts at some point and now that he’ll have more allies, the fight against crime will be much easier.

Overall, Batman Beyond gives us a pretty good adventure here. The title is very misleading, but maybe Batgirl’s comic got a lot of buzz when it came out so they wanted to capitalize on that. Regardless, none of the issues are actually bad and we get a good amount of action. The villain who unleashes the giant metal monster is pretty underwhelming though and she has an anticlimactic end after such a strong start. She is probably a one shot villain who will never appear again and I hope that this is the case as we don’t need any more third rate villains. I want more guys like the sound villain and even Ink since these villains tend to put up a good fight or at least talk tough before taking the loss. I recommend checking this comic out and especially if you’re a fan of the Batman Beyond comics. Time to see if Batman Beyond makes the right choice to tough it out as Batman!

Overall 7/10

Samurai Jack Review

Posted on January 31, 2015 by dreager1

Samurai Jack is a retro show that a lot of people like. It’s known as a classic and it probably rivals famous action cartoons like the Powerpuff Girls back in its prime. Unfortunately, it infamously ends with nothing actually being resolved so it can be a pretty disappointing way to end the series. It’s a good title, but the problem lies in the fact that most episodes are filler. Because of that, some episodes are really good and some are downright bad. It’s good to check out, but you’ll probably want to skip some of the filler episodes that couldn’t stack up to the rest.

The plot of the show is that a demon by the name of Aku has enslaved the planet. Samurai Jack’s parents (and effectively the whole planet as collateral) were taken from him by Aku and he has trained his whole life so that he can get some payback. Just when he was about to defeat Aku, Jack is sent to the future. Aku’s reign is now absolute and defeating him will be difficult. Still, Jack shall never give up and he will find a way to stop Aku! Even if it takes a lifetime.

The show made it through 4 seasons, but that doesn’t help its case as much as you would expect from the average show because of the fact that over 90% of the series is filler. There are good episodes and then there are bad ones. The final 3 episodes of the series are all pretty bad for example while you may have random ones in season 3 that are very good. It’s something that you have to take on a day by day basis and it can get pretty tricky. It’s why I don’t recommend such a format for any show.

It is intriguing to see just how big the planet is though. Jack comes across countries from all sorts of different time periods. A lot of them just don’t make sense when compared to others and that’s one of the things that makes the planet so much fun. One corner may still be in the 40’s while another one has tech from the year 3000+. It’s too bad that everyone doesn’t unite to stop Aku, but I have a feeling that it could have happened if the show ever got an ending. It was practically leading up to that as Jack went around the world helping people.

Samurai Jack is a pretty good protagonist. You could even say that he is great although he doesn’t always look as good as you would expect depending on the episode. He is tricked into losing his memory at one point and he does tend to let his guard down around female villains. Jack is an honorable swordsman so he never actually lets romance get to him, but he doesn’t try as hard to escape it as he should. His swordsmanship skills are top notch and Jack has been shown to take on whole armies in the past. It’s rare that he ever loses a fight and Jack always gives the match his best effort. It’s hard not to like such a fighter and the show likely wouldn’t be half as good without him. Once in a while, an episode won’t be from his point of view so it’s always fun to see how he looks from an antagonistic standpoint. There are at least 2 episodes where he is the main villain and those are always sad since the “heroes” usually have some kind of reason as to why they need to defeat him. Of course, they’re doomed so it is always for naught.

Aku is the main villain of the show and he is the kind of villain who isn’t for everyone, but will certainly get some fans. I am not a big fan of the villain. Aku can be pretty funny considering that he rules the planet with an iron grip, but that’s about it for qualities that I like. His goals are pretty generic and his “invincible” abilities never actually seem that great. It’s a little hard to see how he managed to defeat all of the heroes on the planet. Depending on the episode, he can be a cruel tyrant or a misunderstood anti-hero. He just doesn’t take anything seriously which is why his attitude tends to shift a lot, but the heroes can’t forgive his actions. He is still a villain no mater how heroic he may seem at times.

The Scotsman is really the only recurring member of the supporting cast in the show and I believe that he only appears in 3 episodes. It’s possible that it’s more like 4-5. Out of 52 that’s not bad….I suppose. He is Jack’s rival and a nice ally to have. He’s definitely not as powerful as Samurai Jack, but he gets by pretty well on his own. He has a machine gun and he’s a very physical fighter. His accent makes him easy to identify in a crowd. The Scotsman is very charismatic and it was fun having him in the show. I definitely wouldn’t mind seeing more of him.

One factor that does hurt the show quite a bit is the animation. I really don’t care for the style that is used here and it makes the show appear to be decades older than it actually is. You can basically see most of the animation shortcuts that are used without any effort. Considering that this was airing back during the good ole days of Pokemon, we know that the animation could have been significantly better. As it stands, the fight scenes were very good at their height, but we know that they would have been even better with the proper animation techniques behind them. It’s the main reason why this show wasn’t a 7 and who knows, an 8 may not have been out of the question with better animation although it would have been a bit of a stretch.

Due to its episodic nature, the series falls into many holes. Aside from the romance one, we also have the animal violence tropes that we always try to avoid. This happens in quite a few episodes and animals are enslaved in another. It’s the kind of thing that you never want to see in a show, but it typically pops up as a show gets more episodes. Whenever that happened it would be pretty sad and I would just hope that the show would get better next time.

On the bright side, there are many great episodes to counter those. Typically, the duel episodes are the best one. There are probably around 10 or so of those where the fight gets to last for nearly the whole episode. The train duel and the battle against the guardian of the portal come to mind, but there are many others. Even Jack’s battles against Aku and the Cyborgs tend to be pretty long. There are also heist episodes like one where Jack has to stop a James Bond figure from looting a pyramid before him.

Once again, that’s why having every episode be a stand alone with the occasional two parter is super risky. The quality of each episode really varies and ultimately this helps to keep it from the elusive 7. There are enough episodes that simply aren’t very good, which is enough to keep it from that spot. At it’s best, Samurai Jack is 8 star worthy and at its worst it’s probably a 3-4. I certainly would have liked more of an ongoing plot here.

The soundtrack really varies and it’s probably one of the most diverse ones that I’ve ever heard. It definitely gets a 5 star rating there since it’s usually pretty enjoyable. The themes tend to fit the episodes and they also help with the fights. The show is definitely more dramatic than your average cartoon and the fights can get really intense. The musical themes that accompany them help to solidify this image and it really helps the show.

There’s not a whole lot more to say about the show. It’s a good action show and it tries its hand at many different kinds of stories. It tends to feel pretty high quality and that’s always a good thing. It’s too bad that we never got a real ending, but there’s always a chance that we will get something at some point. We just have to keep on waiting and hope that they do come through with a new film or give us the ending via the comics.

Overall, Samurai Jack is a pretty fun show that really gets hurt by the amount of filler in it. It’s made that way though so you could also just not think of them as filler episodes and just consider the series as a bunch of short stories. There’s not necessarily much of a timeframe to be noted so the stories can take place at any time. It’s a show that feels like it’s not meant to ever end and you just get to see Jack go on all kinds of adventures. Some are good and some are not. If you’re looking for a good action show then I definitely recommend checking this one out. The fight scenes can definitely be really good and it has a good soundtrack. Updating the animation would certainly help its case a lot though. We’ll see if you like Samurai Jack as a character as much as I did.

Overall 6/10

Barrage Review

Posted on January 27, 2015 by dreager1

Now it’s time to look at one of the shortest series yet. This one only made it to two volumes before it was abruptly ended with loose ends all around. In a way, it does end before the story can even get started so depending on how you view things…you could say that it didn’t have many loose ends. It definitely depends on the cup “half full” or “half empty” thing though. It’s decently fun and it showed promise, but I don’t see this series making a comeback.

The world (That is essentially Earth) used to be peaceful until many alien races decided that they would have fun conquering it. The humans fought valiently for their land, but defeating one alien species would be tough, let alone a few dozen of them. Now, we only control a very small kingdom and aliens have taken over the rest of the land. A young boy named Astro is trying to make ends meet since he has to take care of a lot of orphans. He is let go from his job and doesn’t know how he will be able to provide for them when the prince appears and decides that Astro will serve in his place. The prince is conveniently destroyed and Astro looks just like him so the main character goes along with this. He now has the strongest weapon in the universe and he will need to quickly get used to it as he starts to liberate the planet. Can he really defeat all of the aliens?

The plot is pretty good and it had the potential to be a long running series like Naruto or a relatively short one like Dragon Drive. There are many aliens to face and I’m sure that we would have gotten more supporting characters as the series went on. As it stood, we had 3 main ones by the end. There weren’t a lot of big villains, but I’m sure that would change since we had only just begun to take back the planet.

As a main character, Astro isn’t bad. He’s not great though as he is quick to cry and his comic relief tendencies can go a bit far at times. That being said, he is obsessed with keeping his family safe and that’s a pretty good thing to be obsessed with. He strongly believes in the concept of a family and will do whatever he can to keep them safe no matter what. His strong ideals are what lead him to unlocking the powers of the Orgue. The Orgue only works when the user recognizes someone as an enemy so there’s no chance of friendly fire. This can also be dicey when Astro doesn’t realize that someone is an enemy, but he’s typically a good judge of character. His character design seems to be a mix of Simon from Gurren Lagann and Rin from Blue Exorcist.

Astro is not a great fighter on his own, but his determination and ethics help him bring out his very best. He learns quickly and he is skilled in using the Orgue. That turns him from a sub par fighter into a great one. The Orgue can destroy any alien in a single blow and its abilities may be limitless. It starts out as a spear and turns into more of a Monado (Xenoblade) by the end. It’s definitely a handy weapon and one that can be very versatile in combat. It’s safe to say that there are few opponents who can stand up to Astro by the end and the hero just needs to work on his speed. Once he gets a little faster, he’ll be virtually unstoppable.

Astro typically travels with Tiamut as per the King’s orders. Tiamut has a pretty good reputation and he can take dozens of aliens out in a single motion. He may seem to be human, but the series hints multiple times that there is more to this character than meets the eye. Whether he is human or not, Tiamut is definitely loyal to the crown. He’s a capable fighter and he teaches Astro how to be a good fighter during their journeys. He’s pretty likable and he would be very likable if not for one quirk that can be quite annoying. He’s extremely shy around ladies and he can’t even look at them. Luckily, he’s so skilled that he can beat many opponents with his eyes closed, but it’s a running gag that I would definitely take out. It’s unneeded and a little generic as far as jokes go. It doesn’t help his character and this means that he wouldn’t be of much use against a female opponent. His shooting sword is a pretty cool weapon since he can use it as a gun or as a normal sword. It’s not as good as the Orgue of course, but it’s useful.

Tico is sort of the main heroine. It’s hard to say for sure since we don’t know whether she would have been travelling with the heroes or not, but I’d say that it’s very likely considering that she came to the palace with them. She wants to avenge her family so she definitely has a vendetta against the aliens. She’s pretty outmatched right now since she’s just a girl with many guns, but I’m sure that this would change eventually. Even if she never gained super powers, I’m sure that she would have gotten some kind of super weapon to tip the scales. It’s just the sort of thing that you would expect at some point. She’s a pretty good character and I’m glad that she’s always eager to fight. She could have ended up being one of the better Shonen Jump heroines.

Black ends up being the big villain of the series. As you probably guessed, he used to be one of Astro’s friends and he started out as a really nice guy. Black doesn’t like when people make crooked decisions and he punishes them accordingly. The problem is that his definition of “crooked” is very dicey so he basically wants to eradicate all life on the planet. Astro slaps him silly for a while and he sees the error of his ways. He would presumably be a hero in the upcoming volumes as he gives Astro advice from his prison. Black is meant to be a very emotional villain, but you really can’t buy that since he only gets to appear for a couple of chapters. The change from hero to villain to hero is too abrupt. Black seems like a cool character, but I’ll say that he’s underdeveloped and fairly uninspired at the moment.

The art is pretty decent although it’s a little rough around the edges. I think drawing the eyes seems to be a little tough for the author, but it may be because most authors don’t bother with too many things in it. Here, the main character has a star in his eyes at almost all times and the extra details may be what makes the eyes seem a little off. The art still does work for the fight scenes and that’s definitely the important thing in a battle manga.

The main story luckily avoids the whole fanservice angle. Based off of close scenes and unfortunate bonus stories/cast interviews, the short run of the series may have saved it here. It seems like this could have been an issue if Barrage had become a long running series so this is probably the silver lining in the series getting canned. There has to always be a silver lining somewhere right?

The series ends with the heroes basically stopping one band of villains and still having to liberate the other 90% or more of the planet. I’m sure that they would have met many tough opponents and the heroes would need more power ups. After all, it was already discovered that the “Dark Power” may be a match for the Orgue. The dark power can be used to amplify an alien’s offense and defense as well as create constructs to aid them in battle. It may be a little generic, but I’ll overlook that since it’s always a cool concept. The dark power gives the aliens a great edge over most of the fighters since they become almost indestructible. It’s too bad that we couldn’t see more of this.

There is one plot twist that is extremely convenient and throwing it in the series just makes things a little too good to be true. You know how Astro is not the prince since he is just taking his place? Well, let’s just say that he looks identical to the prince for a reason! I definitely could have done without the twist since I thought that the development was pretty crucial to the series. Having the old prince randomly sniped added to the drama as well since I didn’t see it coming. (Although it makes perfect sense in hindsight since the prince can’t blackmail Astro later on)

It’s hard to say how powerful Astro is in comparison to most of the other SJ protagonists, but it’s safe to say that he’d be pretty low tier. His weapon is amazing, but he’s physically only slightly above meta human. His speed seems to be decent, but he was thoroughly speed blitzed by one of the aliens. Astro’s durability also seems to be fairly normal so one good hit would probably take him out. The strongest villain in the series is probably the alien who could hop a lot since he had very good speed feats as well as some of the dark power. Black is theoretically stronger than the alien since he was the leader, but his speed is pretty sad and the constructs are too slow to really help him here.

Barrage is pretty easy to get into, which helps the beginning. The intro had potential to be boring since it’s just Astro living in the slums and trying to earn some money. Luckily, the plot moves quickly and seeing Astro trick everyone is pretty intense for him. His first action scene was fun and the series as a whole is pretty entertaining. The chipper tone helps to add some hope for the characters amidst what is technically a sad series since humanity is essentially toast. It does remind me of Blue Exorcist in this regard as well or you can compare it to Buso Renkin. The volumes go by very quickly and it does have a lot of replay value. I could see myself reading this again someday, but pretty far in the future considering all of the other titles that are around.

Overall, Barrage is a pretty fun series. It’s really over when you’re just beginning though and I’m sure that the author had many ideas for its future. It’s always sad when a series is cancelled, but this just means that another series gets to bloom in its place. Hopefully, whatever replaced this series was a good title. It would be fun to see a movie for this manga since it’s short enough and maybe it’ll make a comeback someday. I really don’t see it, but it’s always possible. If you want to see a story about humanity fighting back against alien oppression with a good ole Shonen lead, this is the story for you. It has action and drama. The series never takes a break and you can really see the potential here. Just remember that it is only 2 volumes.

Overall 7/10

Angelic Layer Review

Posted on January 21, 2015 by dreager1

It’s time for a classic battle series that may not be the most popular series that Clamp has done, but it makes a solid argument for being their best. The series is only 5 volumes, but it’s essentially comprised of nonstop fights. That’s a winning formula if I ever heard of one and it comes close to 9 star territory, but it does stumble a little along the way to victory.

Misaki is the main character of the series and she grew up in a world that has become engrossed in a new game called Angelic Layer. Essentially, it’s like the Bionicle Meta game in real life, but with a bit more intensity. You buy a doll and then you customize her to be a speed, power, or defense fighter. After that, you can buy her equipment and accessories so that she can be a distinct fighter. Now that you’ve completed all of the steps, you’re ready to enter the tournaments! Misaki witnesses an incredible battle between the angels on TV and decides to enter one with her new doll. What’s the harm right? Maybe she’ll actually end up being the world champ by the time this is all over!

You can argue that Misaki’s road to the top is a little more lonely than the average main character. The reason being that she does have two friends who are main supporting characters, but they don’t play Angelic Layer. Most leads get to spar with their friends, but that isn’t the case for Misaki. I don’t mind the fact that the friends can’t fight though because they just aren’t very good characters. One of the friends is Tamayo and she’s definitely very annoying. She’s constantly beating up Misaki’s other friend and talking about romance when there is no need for it. Her over the top theatrics are not amusing and I would be able to take her a little more seriously if she could actually fight. She actually involves the one big negative for the series so we may as well get it over with as soon as possible.

It’s a running gag that Misaki’s undergarments are mentioned when Tamayo or Ohjiro is around. It’s completely unnecessary and definitely not a good way to throw in some comedy scenes. It’s safe to say that this prevented the series from getting 9 stars. It’s not bad compared to most other series since you never actually see anything, (There is basically no fanservice in the series, which is pretty exceptional) but it’s still not something that you want to see in a series. It just helps to make Tamayo even more unlikable than she already is and it also stops Ohjiro from being a good character.

Kotaro is the other main character and he’s much better than Tamayo. He’s pretty generic and he’s certainly not one of the best characters out there, but he tries hard to be cool. He knows how to fight in the real world and it comes in handy at the very end of the series, but he really needs to learn how to fight in Angelic Layer. He spends the series just getting beaten up on so this doesn’t do wonders for his character either.

Misaki is a pretty decent main character. She always fights to the end while never giving up. Misaki’s instincts for battle are typically spot on and she can decipher the weak point of any opponent that she faces. On the other hand, she can certainly be a little on the generic side and she gets flustered way too often. Misaki isn’t going to be the next Ichigo or Kirito, but I’ll accept her as a decent enough lead to hold the series up. If she was a little more hot headed with some trash talking to back it up, I think that I would probably like her a little more. As it stands, she’s pretty polite and she keeps everyone in the friend zone so I can admire that. Misaki’s other trait that can get to you is that she’s way too gullible. The scientist tries to help her get through this, but it’s a difficult task.

Icchan is the scientist in question and he’s definitely all over the place. He likes to make remarks that don’t make sense and he’s constantly ditching his job to help Misaki. He definitely plays favorites throughout the tournament, but it all comes down to Misaki’s cheerful demeanor. All of her opponents end up rooting for the main character after they lose because Misaki doesn’t want to win for the money, she wants to win for the love of the game. Icchan gives her the angel and he also helps Misaki customize her during the earlier stages of the manga. He’s definitely a decent character, but his almost literally all talk as he never actually fights even though he knows so much about the game. Ah well, he’s definitely a nice guy and he knows that ice cream is one of the best desserts.

Hikaru is Misaki’s angel and she’s one of the strongest fighters in the series. She is a speed fighter so she relies on a lot of quick hits and sudden moves to knock the opponents out of the stage. It’s good that she can do this since she usually starts the battle on the losing end. Her health goes into the red zone before she counters and typically she wins with a one hit KO or some quick attacks. She’s definitely a great angel and one who will certainly remind you of Megaman. She may not have a lot of flashy techniques at her disposal, but she gets the job done. She’s definitely the most likable angel in the tournament.

Hatoko is one of Misaki’s friends and her angel is named Suzuka. Hatoko seems to have a pretty good reputation as a very good Angelic Layer fighter and many thought that she would ultimately win the big tournament. Her angel is a powerful defense fighter so she is able to repel just about any blow with ease. Suzuka’s design is definitely pretty good and she shows that defense types can still match up against speed fighters when necessary. Her final fight in the series isn’t very satisfying since she loses in a single blow, but Hatoko made it pretty far. She’s definitely the best friend from Misaki’s supporting cast and Suzuka is probably the third best angel.

Ohjiro and his angel, The Wizard, are not some of the best characters here. The Wizard is actually a pretty good angel and he’s another defense type. He can block an opponent’s attack by reflecting their energy and making a barrier. He is said to have never been hit by an opponent before so his opponents have a lot of explaining to do. Naturally, it’s up to Hikaru to give him a pretty good fight and prove that speed really does trump everything else. The Wizard looks a lot like Syaoran or Fai from Tsubasa, which is cool since Clamp loves borrowing characters and designs from their other series. The Wizard is pretty likable even if he seems to be pretty weak once you get past his barrier. On the other hand, Ohjiro is definitely not cool. He talks a lot from the shadows about how cool he is and on Hikaru’s potential, but it never goes anywhere. Once he starts to make random comments about under garments that have no relevance to the plot, he immediately lost any chance that he may have had on being a likable character. Sometimes, that’s all that it takes to make a character plummet down the ranks.

Shuko and her angel, Athena, are known as the strongest fighters in Angelic Layer. After Hikaru wins the tournament, they have a quick clash. Athena is technically a speed type, but she’s also one of the strongest fighters in the series. I was pretty glad to see that after all of the defense and speed fighters that were featured throughout the tournament, it was a good change of pace. I did think that Hikaru was probably doomed though since attack power is probably the most important factor in a match like this. Not to mention that Athena still has enough speed to match Hikaru’s. Athena also comes equipped with a giant energy blast that really tips the scales in her favor. Athena is probably the second best angel in the series. It’s too bad that I can’t say the same for Shuko. Shuko has a pretty big twist that is pretty obvious once you see her, but I guess I’ll refrain from saying it just in case. It explains why she isn’t very likable, but it’s still pretty overdone. Shuko is incredibly shy so that she’s constantly blushing in just about every scene and she can barely talk to someone without looking away. She gets tricked at the end into finally seeing the main characters again and maybe this will help her as a character, but we never really get to see this.

Arisu and her angel Alice are the final fighters to face Hikaru in the tournament. It’s actually pretty anticlimactic since I would argue that Alice is much weaker than all of the other opponents that Hikaru faced. (Not counting one shot characters) Alice doesn’t really have any gimmicks and her special trait is that she has great balance. That’s nice and all, but it seriously doesn’t help in most battles. She just gets lucky because the stage is an ice rink so Hikaru’s balance is off for the whole fight. She quickly figures out a way around this though so Alice was doomed. Alice is all right, but she’s not one of the better angels. You could really say the same about Arisu. Arisu just doesn’t have a whole lot of character and she’s simply not that likable. I think that the Wizard probably should have been the final boss.

Sai and her angel, Shirahime, are pretty similar to Hatoko and Suzuka. Sai fights with complete seriousness and poise as she faces her opponents. Shirahime is also a defense type of Angel and her stats are almost identical to Suzuka’s. Their match was extremely close and she puts up a very good fight against Haruka. Once she sheds her protective gear, Shirahime is able to move at speeds similar to a speed type’s, but then she must lose her defensive edge. It’s a gamble, but one that I would definitely make since defense usually doesn’t trump a good speed character. Sai seems to be a little full of herself, but she is a good fighter and I like Shirahime. This is another fearsome pair who could have defeated most of the other opponents in the series.

There are a few other characters like a wind doll and one who could use Hyper Mode, but you get the jist of the series. It’s basically one battle after the next and the fast pace is one of the reasons why the series is so fun. It’s like a good ole Megaman manga and it never gets dull. The action scenes look very impressive and I have to say that it’ll be tough to adapt in animation. They’ll probably tone down the speed feats so that it’s lower tier, but maybe they’ll be able to do a good job.

Clamp just outdid themselves with the action this time. The fight scenes are similar to Megaman NT Warrior and DBZ. The constant hand to hand combos mixed in with the occasional special technique just makes the battles so exciting. The art for them is excellent and I can see why Clamp has such a good reputation. It may not be as impressive for the normal scenes, but they still look good. There’s a rough edge to it that will remind you of their other titles, but you can always clearly see what is happening. I’m not a huge fan of their art gags like the characters turning into octopuses all the time, but they’re not bad either. If they could just tone it down with the blushing, it would be even better.

Angelic Layer is just a very fun series to read. It’s pretty light natured and you could almost picture it in the real world. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that we’ll finally have virtual reality games like this one within the next 50-60 years. I may be too old to really enjoy them by then, but it would be pretty awesome to have a realistic simulator like this. It would probably be a bit more complex here and I doubt that a newcomer would become the world champ after a day of practice, but we can let that slide since Misaki may be the chosen one. She has a better battle record than most main characters since she wins just about every battle that she enters. The final battle may be unsatisfying to a lot of people, but you can argue that Hikaru was still battle fatigued. The actual ending to the series is better than most of the other manga titles that have ended and there is certainly lots of room for a direct sequel (So Chobits doesn’t count) if Clamp really wants too someday. That would definitely be exciting.

How does it compare to other toyetic franchises? Well, it definitely loses to Megaman and the Yugioh franchise is too massive to lose here. Aside from that, I dare say that it takes down Bakugan, Beyblade, and most of the rest. It loses to Cardfight Vanguard as well, but it puts up a brave fight. Power level wise, it’s probably above all of them and only Yugioh/Megaman could hope to stand up to them. Angelic Layer’s biggest advantage over most series is just how absurdly fast the angels are. Catching up to them is nearly impossible and their attacks have lethal amounts of power behind them.

Overall, Angelic Layer may only be 5 volumes, but it’s a great series to check out. This is definitely Clamp’s best work as it even takes out Tsubasa. It’ll be hard for them to top it, but it’s always possible. The nonstop action can rival any series since the fights are so good. In terms of speed, you could probably pit the angels against just anyone short of Goku and they could probably hold their own. Most of the characters are pretty likable and the art is solid. If not for the lines of the two annoying characters, this could easily be top 5 material. Nevertheless, I strongly recommend this title if you like action and it could end up being one of your favorite titles.

Overall 8/10

Cable Classic Volume 3 Review

Posted on January 18, 2015 by dreager1

Time to check out a collection with good ole Cable as one of the main characters. Despite the title, you really couldn’t say that he was the main character for any of the Phalanx comics. That just leaves the opening one and the comics about the Morlocks. (The first one was about the Morlocks as well so it’s a bit of a trick sentence) Cable has definitely been one of the best Marvel characters when he’s at his best so let’s see if he can live up to that here.

The first comic is about Cable and Domino eating their dinner when they realize that the Morlocks are in trouble. Nothing really happens here, but this plot is resumed towards the end. The first half is mainly about the Phalanx. They have taken out the X-Men and they are ready to start assuming control over Earth. I’m not sure what the Avengers are doing, but maybe they’re just off planet. Regardless, it’s up to Cyclops, Jean Grey, Wolverine, and Cable to take the Phalanx down once and for all. They are prepared to do what needs to be done, but a secret that Cyclops and Jean are keeping from Cable could prove to be trouble.

After that big arc, the final comics involve Cable’s return to the sewers. Domino is still with him and they bring in Storm since she has ties to the Morlocks. They find out that the Morlocks and other mutants are being hunted by the Dark Riders. The heroes manage to fend them off, but the villains retreat for some reason. Cable doesn’t like this so the heroes decide to pursue the villains. Who is their leader and can the heroes really deal with such a powerful group of enemies?

The final comic is a really fitting way to end this collection. Legion has altered the past by destroying Magneto so now the entire universe is shattering because the M’krann crystal is acting up. It’s consuming galaxy after galaxy and the main one is next. Cable goes back in time (off screen) to warn Bishop and the others since the X Men lost their memories, but it’s futile gesture. The universe blows up and we’ll have to read another collection to find out what cop out/retcon allowed the heroes to survive this. I just have to give the collection some credit for ending here. It’s a perfect ending since everyone basically died. Imagine all of the super villains who had been planning to rule the world only to have it snuffed out so quickly. Same with all of the alien races and the Avengers. It’s just a little funny to think that all of their plans were spoiled just because a time traveler went to the past and altered it a little bit.

See, that’s why I’ve always found time travelling to be a little iffy. All it takes is one change for the multiverse to blow up. If you ask me, the multiverse should definitely not exist right now considering how easy it is to wreck time. Unless the One Above All or the Beyonder decide to fix it each time, oblivion should be the current state of the Marvel universe. Anyway, you gotta admit that it’s a pretty great ending.

Cable is a pretty good character here. He’s not quite as awesome as in X Sanction, but that would be almost impossible to replicate. He’s still a pretty determined hero here and it’s cool to see him keep pace with the other fighters when he’s just using his gun. As the issues go on, he starts to use his TK powers a little more, which certainly gives him a better fighting chance. He’s a pretty likable guy and he always puts the team first even if he doesn’t act like it. In his argument with Gambit, I was definitely on Cable’s side. That’s probably not very noteworthy since I really don’t like Gambit and I do like Cable, but it’s worth noting. Cyclops ends up blaming them both, but I think that Gambit was in the wrong. He was basically complaining for no real reason and he was certainly not helping the situation.

Domino gets a pretty large role here. Her luck abilities may not seem directly helpful in combat, but she continues to defeat any and all opponents who get in her way so it’s probably helping a lot in the background. I appreciate the fact that she tries to keep things platonic with Cable since that’s always the best thing to do in just about any situation. You don’t want to complicate things with your allies. The romance isn’t handled badly though so I won’t use it as a strike against the comic. It doesn’t take away from the rest of the collection and it certainly could have been worse. It’s handled in a civil way so kudos to the author. She’s a pretty likable main heroine and she’s always ready for a fight. She seems to be a little less sympathetic to the Morlocks than Cable is, but I suppose that it’s just how it goes when you’re used to being an assassin.

Cyclops is mostly only present in the Phalanc arc, but he looks pretty great. He’s portrayed as a superb leader who is always calm and collected. He makes the right choices and there’s nothing wrong with his character. He’s on par with Captain America on the leader’s best days. It’s easy to see why Cyclops is one of my favorite Marvel characters of all time and his portrayal is spot on here. Jean Grey also looks really good. She seems to have total control over her abilities so she is very good in combat now. She doesn’t get to fight all that often, but she plays a critical role in supporting the heroes when infiltrating the Phalanx. She lives up to her reputation as one of the strongest telepaths on the planet.

Wolverine’s role isn’t very big either, but he looks pretty good. This takes place at a time where he temporarily lost his Adamantium Skeleton so he’s in a weakened state. That’s definitely not great for him since he gets pounded a lot as a result, but he never backs down. Even without hie special abilities, Wolverine is a fighter and you can bet that he won’t go down without a fight. He’s definitely as likable as expected here and he still makes for a good rival to Cyclops.

Storm’s role isn’t huge, but she certainly helps a lot against the Dark Riders. One of those villains has elemental powers as well so it’s pretty satisfying to see her overpower him. Her weather abilities should certainly be a lot stronger than his and the comic doesn’t even make that debatable. She crushes him and she looks very good during all of the fights. As one of the senior X Men members around, I expect nothing less from this fighter!

Tyler gets a decent role as well since he is the final boss of the Morlocks arc. Let’s just say that he went off the deep end and you have to wonder what happened to him. Fans of the 90’s X Men show will definitely remember him and he’s certainly changed a lot since then. I like his new armor, but he’s a pretty generic villain once you get past that. His reasons for blowing up towns and hunting mutants are vague at best and there doesn’t seem to be much of a point beyond his actions. I don’t care for his character, but he makes for an intimidating villain. (When he has his helmet on)

The Phalanx is definitely one of the X Men’s more iconic foes. They usually beat their opponents through sheer numbers. It’s hard to really take them down in a physical fight so usually the X Men have to use some kind of electronic to disable them or just break their psyche. The heroes opt to do the latter this time and they do a good job of getting through the Phalanx’s defenses. I was actually expecting it to be more difficult for the heroes. The Phalanx make for good villains although none of their individual members appear to be likable. Luckily, this may change soon as he get a silhouette of a master Phalanx in space. He doesn’t like that his Earth forces were destroyed so he makes a threat about launching a real offensive there. That’s a cliffhanger that I can’t wait to see resolved since the leader looks really cool. Technically, I don’t see the X Men surviving such an assault so the Avengers better appear this time!

The Dark Riders used to work for Apocalypse and now they work for Tyler. They’re a pretty intriguing group, but I’m not familiar with any of their members. They’re fairly weak, which is why they typically go for Morlocks since those guys typically can’t fight back. I’m confident that the X Men or Avengers would have no trouble for them. None of the members are actually likable, but the designs are pretty good and I always like to see a super villain team.

The art is in that 90’s style so there are a lot of big splash pages where you have to turn your graphic novel. I was expecting it to be a little harder to follow than it was so that’s a good thing. Typically, you miss out on some of the action because it’s too chaotic, but the artist did a pretty good job of preventing that in this volume. Everyone probably looks a little too muscular and they can definitely be pretty exaggerated, but the art actually looks pretty good. This style certainly works pretty well for energy blasts. This will never be my favorite style though. It’s still hard to describe, but everyone is just a little too big and they all look pretty deranged this way. It’s pretty classic and there’s something about it that’s naturally appealing for fight scenes, but I’ll still take the streamlined X Sanction anyway. Long story short, the art doesn’t hurt the story.

The fight scenes are pretty intense. There are no real feats to be found here, but it’s still fun to see the fighters go at it. This collection is definitely a lot of fun. It’ll remind you of the good ole days from the Uncanny X Men. The writing is really good and the opposite of the Avenging Spider Man. It’s the type of collection that would have been a lot of fun even if the fight scenes had not been there, but they certainly help. Good writing plus good fights tends to result in a really good/great array of issues and that’s what happens here.

Overall, Cable Classic is a pretty good collection. The ending was perfect and the writing is really good. Just about all of the characters are likable and in character. The art complements the story pretty well here and it’s a very engaging read from start to finish. All X Men fans should get a kick out of this and I’d recommend it to DC fans as well since it’s a way to get introduced to the Marvel side of things. It may not be quite up to X Sanction level, but it’s definitely one of the better X collections that I’ve read. When you read this, get ready to see Cyclops as he was meant to be portrayed!

Overall 7/10

Sakura Hime The Legend of Princess Sakura Review

Posted on January 15, 2015 by dreager1

Sakura Hime is a Shojo story that you may not have heard of. It’s not a completely obscure title, but it’s still not very well known. It tries to delve into the action genre while also keeping the romance in, which makes for a tricky balance. It’s definitely no Shonen Jump title, but I suppose that it is certainly better than most of the other Shojo series. I can’t give it a passing grade, but the fight scenes were pretty cool.

This story takes place in a land filled with monsters and kings. The setting is a fantasy land that seems pretty primitive by today’s standards. There are certainly no electronics to speak of. A young girl by the name of Sakura is found out to be a Yokai. She is one of the legendary monsters that hails from the moon and she is able to wield the legendary Chizakura blade. Prince Oura is sent to destroy her, but he decides not too since he naturally falls in love with her at first sight. The government still doesn’t trust her so Prince Oura is in a tricky spot.

Not wasting any time, the denizens of the moon decide to attack in full force. Their leader is immensely powerful and he seems to have some history with Sakura. The plot developments and twists will give Sakura some doubts as to what side she should choose. Both of them have shady pasts and many people will feel the effects of her decisions. Luckily, she is Princess Sakura (Did the title just spoil the series?) so she is always ready for action!

Sakura is the main character so it was interesting to see how cool she would be compared to Cardcaptor Sakura and Sakura Haruno. It’s safe to say that she comes in third place from this trio. (At least manga wise) She isn’t a bad character though and she certainly has her moments, but she has a tough time going all out. She always feels bad for the villains and she refuses to fight more than once. She is easily one of the stronger characters in the series since her blade can destroy any yokai with a single hit. This just means that there will be many excuses for her to miss the enemy. Her romance with Prince Oura is definitely one of the low points for her, but another one is that she lets so many guys hit on her without putting up enough resistance. She should just tell them to go away and slice them down with her sword if they do not. She has to put up with a lot of negativity from the villagers. (At least she gets to use intro lines that would even make Sailor Moon proud when she does get to fight)

Another problem is that she’s a little too gullible. She lets the government capture her with ease, which was pretty awful. It’s really a good thing that Enchu was there that time since her mind would have quickly broken under the government’s trap. That situation should have definitely been avoided and she should have known that something was up. It’s just sad to see someone as powerful as her be defeated by the government so easily. In the end, she may not be a bad main character and she beats some of her Shojo counterparts, but she definitely isn’t one of the better ones out there.

Prince Oura is the main guy in this series and he’s definitely an unlikable character. He was terrible when he first appeared, but he definitely got better as the series went on. That being said, he went from terrible to just unlikable as he never became a good character for me. He always seems ungrateful and he decides to keep secrets from Sakura right up til the very end. He certainly doesn’t make things easy for her. He’s a part of the government so he should be trying to make things better, but he usually just goes along with what the higher ups want. When it comes to matters involving Sakura, he quickly stops them, but he doesn’t do much more than that. He just seems like a pawn of the government when he could be an instrumental figure in changing them. Maybe someday…maybe. Either way, he lost his chance at being a likable character a long time ago.

Asagiri is a little snow fairy who helps Sakura out during the series. Things definitely get dicey for her in the climax since she is captured and the heroes are too slow to really do anything about it. By the time they get to her, it’s almost too late. “Almost” being the key word of course and we have Sakura to thank for her rescue. She is definitely a good character and I’d say that she is one of Sakura’s best allies. As with another one of Sakura’s allies, Asagiri has a super form at her disposal.

Byakuya protects Sakura and acts as her mentor. She used to wield the sacred sword and she’s pretty powerful when she fights in her true form. Typically, she fights under the guise of an old woman, but this is just an act to make the opponent lower their guard. She’s pretty good and she has a twist at the very end of the series that is pretty intriguing. It’s definitely impressive for her, but it also does undermine the final villain to an extent. She doesn’t live up to the Byakuya name that we know from Bleach, but she is a talented fighter and a loyal companion.

Kohaku is a ninja who works for Sakura and she places the Princess’ safety before her obligations to the main house. That is a good thing since it means that Sakura can actually trust her. Unfortunately, she starts to develop feelings for two other ninja, which creates another subplot that we didn’t really need. It doesn’t help that both of them are constantly running away and making themselves scarce. Kohaku doesn’t get a whole lot of closure as the series ends, but she does get her own fight during arc 1. That was pretty good, but it was the only action that she really got in the series. She’s a good ninja though and certainly better than her partner.

Hayate is a very confused man who doesn’t really know what he wants. He thinks that he likes Kohaku, but then he starts to like Rurijo before trying to get back together with Kohaku in the final chapters. I definitely wouldn’t accept him if I was her since Hayate can’t make up his mind. Hayate was cursed to be a frog for a very long time so he misses out on most of the series. He can turn into a human when the full moon is out so he does try to get some fight scenes in, but mostly he is just a bystander. I’m glad that he didn’t rat out Rurijo to the corrupt government and the heroes, but he certainly didn’t do it for the right reasons. This is definitely one shinobi that I didn’t like.

Rurijo was made out of tree branches as a clone of Sakura. This way her very existence can remind Enju of the princess and how he needs to save her from the pesky government and Prince Oura. As such, she gets a pretty sad character arc since Enju only sees her as a substitute. She must constantly go to water to replenish her strength and everyone always seems to get upset at her when she tries to destroy Sakura. By the second half of the series, she is still learning to cope with this, but it’s slow goings. Things temporarily grow brighter for her when she gets a new master only for everything to go sour once again. This is one character who never really got to be happy. She can definitely be likable and she was a fun villain during the first half. Alas, she always longs to be with Enju, which hurts her character. She’s oblivious to Hayate, so I’ll give her some credit for that, but she should have stuck to being a great warrior who mows down the heroes.

Enju is the big villain and he lasts for the whole series. He has a pretty traumatic past, which led him to betray the government and become the big villain. Deep down he mainly wants to help Sakura, but he loses sight of this goal from time to time. He’s definitely a villain no matter how sympathetic the series tries to make him. That being said, you could call him a villain of circumstance as the government turned him into what he is today. It’s all pretty tragic for him although his last minute change of heart was more than a little hard to swallow. His personality just did a 180 in the span of 2 chapters. The series was ending so I’m guessing that the author just wanted to wrap that part up. I appreciate his loyalty, but he’s still not really my kind of villain. I do like the fact that he is a great fighter though and he works pretty well as a serious villain.

Shuri is a ninja who really tries to play all of the sides. On the surface he appears to be working for Enju, but this is actually a mission that the government gave to him. He also helps Prince Oura and the others when it is convenient for him so he really can’t be trusted. You could say that he’ll help Kohaku over his obligations to the other places, but I’m not really sure about that. This is one guy that I definitely would not trust. His ending is definitely emotional, but I didn’t care for his character from the start so it definitely wasn’t a big loss for me.

Maimai’s role felt much smaller than most of the other villains. He cares a lot about looks and exteriors, but he’s actually a “tough” villain when things get serious. I really couldn’t take him seriously and Maimai just isn’t a great villain. Maimai doesn’t really have any grand ambition or good reasons to help Enchu. As a result, he comes across as having no real character so he never stood a chance of being a cool villain.

Kaguya is the ultimate villain and the final one to take the stage. It comes as no great shock that she is pretty powerful. She doesn’t have much in the way of character since her screen time is so brief, but she still manages to be a pretty cool antagonist. She’s someone that you can certainly root for and she’s probably the best villain in the series. She also gives us our first fight where Sakura gets a speed feat. It’s not an incredible one, but it’s a speed feat nonetheless. It’s too bad that Kaguya couldn’t last a little longer, but she served her purpose of being a good villain.

The series definitely has quite a few flaws that keep it from being a real contender in the manga ranks. Naturally, the biggest obstacle is the fanservice. Seeing as how this is a Shojo title, it’s surprising that it is so prevalent in this series. Particularly with Rurijo since she is constantly at the hot springs. The plot reason for this is that she has to constantly go somewhere where she can be in the water because she is made of tree branches. Nevertheless, that plot could have been changed so that this wouldn’t be necessary.

Another factor is the romance. For the record, I haven’t actually bashed the romance angle in many of my recent reviews, but this one definitely deserves the harsh treatment. For one, Prince Oura is a really cheap guy, although you already know that from my earlier writings of him. I disapprove of Sakura going to him, especially after his threats and decision to destroy her in the beginning if not for her quick thinking. It goes a little far and this naturally lasts until the very end of the series so it continues to appear no matter how much you want it to go away.

Again, I do have to give the series props for the fight scenes though. For the first half of the series, we get to a point where 3-4 volumes in a row are composed of action scenes. We get to take a break from the typical slice of life moments to actually get a Shonen feel. Everyone splits up and chooses an enemy to face. It’s pretty fun and if the whole series was like that, I think it may have had a chance to creep all the way up to a 6. The characters on both sides were pretty well developed so the throwaway fights felt like real ones as well. The enemies were probably a little too strong compared to the heroes, but such is the fate of the humans in their war against demons.

One thing that’s pretty sad is that the government is pretty awful. They’re totally corrupt and they get away with just about everything. They naturally dislike the Yokai and they force the main villain into a water tank, which repeatedly destroys him until his mind breaks. They are the reason why he is evil and they nearly do the same to Sakura before that same villain arrives to save her. After that, you really don’t want the heroes to help the government, but they do and the higher ups never really get what’s coming to them. Enju takes out quite a few of them, but there are always more. One of the side characters is going to become the next leader of the place so maybe he can help right? The problem is that he’s also pretty corrupt so he won’t be much of an improvement.

With traitors like that as allies, there really aren’t many characters to root for. You can’t root for the villains either since they want destruction as well. It just makes everything hazy and while you can sympathize with Sakura’s desire to help everyone, she tends to make problems even bigger at times with her inability to really make a decision. Imprisoning the government officials and taking the Yokai down seems to be the best bet, but with a prince as one of the main characters…that will be difficult.

The art is definitely pretty good for the series. I won’t call it downright amazing, but it’s certainly better than I had expected it to be. It’s very clear and the fight scenes occur pretty smoothly. It definitely made everything a little more enjoyable than it could have been and I think the author must have read a lot of Shonen manga since the action scenes have the epic zoom ins and classic dialogue that we’ve come to expect. The art perfectly captures these moments and I definitely give the series a big thumbs up there.

Overall, Sakura Hime is a series that is plagued by the fanservice and romantic plots that tend to overwhelm it at times. If the series had stopped after arc 1, it definitely had a decent shot at landing a solid 6. As it is, I think that the second arc basically cut this series in half. You can blame at least 90% of that on Oura, but I suppose that we have to blame the Emperor and some of the other characters as well. How the government is allowed to continue their rule is certainly beyond me. Just about all of the higher ups are fairly corrupt so you really can’t trust anyone on either the human or the yokai side. If you want a romance series with some action, this is definitely the right series for you. As it stands, I can’t really recommend this title and would turn you to another Shojo like Kitchen Princess or Sailor Moon for a better experience.

Overall 3/10

Taken 2 Review

Posted on January 14, 2015 by dreager1

You have to admit that the poster is a bit much. It looks very good of course so I have no problems there, but it just looks a little too good if you know what I mean. Let’s just say that the main character doesn’t go around blowing up the city as he stops the crooks..he has someone else do that for him this time. It’s a decent sequel, but it’s definitely a little too dreary to get a solid rating. There is no replay value to be found here folks.

After Bryan saved his daughter from a fate worse than death in the first film, he has continued on with his job of keeping the peace and protecting people. He doesn’t want to let the events of the first film get him down so he invites his wife and daughter to go with him on a vacation. Naturally, they check into a pretty charming hotel like last time and leave the daughter along like last time as he heads out to have fun. A car appears to be chasing him and then he realizes that his daughter could be in trouble once again. The gangsters are mainly after Bryan since they want their revenge, but they’re going to take it out on anyone who is with him. It’s time for Bryan to take his gun back out since things just got serious!

Well, the film plays out as you may expect. There isn’t a lot of things happening here to be honest because the film is under 2 hours and we need the first 20 or so minutes for character development. See, the daughter wants to live a “normal” (AKA, a Hollywood) life so she decides to find some random guy and make the next step. That subplot is pretty bad and we’re lucky that it’s only here for a scene near the beginning and one at the end. That being said, it’s still a pretty terrible subplot and it’s a good way to start the film off on a low note.

It makes Kim a pretty unlikable character here from the start. Considering how hard Bryan worked to save her last time, you’d think that she would be a lot more grateful. Moving on is always a good thing to do, but you still need to be a little more rational about the whole ordeal. A vacation to a country that isn’t Sweden or France is definitely something that I wouldn’t go for. She gets to help out a lot in the climax and it’s good that she’s able to step up when she needs too, but that’s just not good enough for her to be a well rounded fighter.

Bryan looks pretty good as he continues to show why he is always prepared. He has a lot of weapons around him, but more importantly, he knows how to get out of a trap. His mini phone definitely came in handy quite a few times and he’s still a really good fighter. He doesn’t really have any flaws. You can actually say that he’s a bit like Kirito in the fact that you are meant to put yourself in his shoes. He’s basically the ultimate team guy. You like to think that this is how you would solve the problem if someone took your family hostage and he always delivers. In that sense you can argue that he is “too good” but I never really bought that argument. Whether he is meant to be the viewers or not, I’m glad that he is a pretty capable lead.

It’s hard to say whether Lenore looks good or bad since she is taken out of the picture pretty quickly. One of her flaws is definitely who she choose to be with instead of Bryan since we see that it was a bad choice. The game of romance is always risky and it’s why I never recommend participating in it. That being said, she seems like a reasonable person for the most part and she holds up pretty well when she’s captured. There’s nothing really negative about her so that’s a good thing.

There’s not much to say about the villains since they’re just meant to be unlikable. None of them really have any character to speak of. They want vengeance for the other ruthless gangsters who died so they just use that as an excuse to destroy more people. They’re all pretty sick individuals and you’re just waiting for them to get arrested as you watch the film. Unfortunately, the cops look pretty bad once again as they fail to take down even one gangster before they are mowed down. Not very flattering for them.

This film is definitely more violent than what you would see in your typical PG 13 film and mixed in with the dark tone, you have a film that you probably won’t want to watch again. The replay value just isn’t there and it’s not really a fun film to watch. The film is pretty realistic for the most part, but that just makes you want to avoid it even more since you know that these things are happening in real life, but without happy endings. It’s definitely not my kind of film or it’s just “taken” it a little too far. Regardless, one viewing is definitely all that you need.

There is one scene that definitely does stretch your disbelief a little bit as Bryan gives Kim a lot of tasks to do over the phone and she’s able to do them pretty easily. Drawing a circle with her equipment may not be that difficult, but it’s still not something that you can typically do without any experience. She was able to locate things on her map with ease and the whole thing was pretty unbelievable. Bryan was also a little too good there as he memorized exactly how many twists and turns the van did as they went on a pretty long journey. He was also counting the seconds of course so he knew just how far they had driven. I don’t care how much of a genius you are, that’s just not happening. Getting into the Embassy was also a little dicey since the heroes probably would have been shot as soon as they barreled past. The U.S. Embassy means business after all and they wouldn’t let a few trigger happy individuals in a speeding car get past them.

Naturally, the film decides to put some emphasis on the final murder for Bryan. He gives the villain a classic choice, walk away or he will destroy him. The villain makes a move and then Bryan does as well, but now we’re dealing with a defenseless villain vs Bryan, which makes the whole ordeal a little more dicey. Arresting him is always the just move, but Bryan is here to avenge his family so he doesn’t really care about all of that. The villain wasn’t smart there either since he should have expected the gun to be empty. I guess we’ll find out if his threat will come true or not about his other allies and their quest for vengeance.

Overall, Taken 2 is not a good action thriller. I recommend Mission Impossible as an alternative course of action and specifically the first one since it was pretty great. This film is just too dreary to really recommend watching. Seeing Bryan (AKA the viewer) beat up all of the bad guys in pretty intense ways as he saves the day can probably feel pretty rewarding for some, but it can also just make you think of how believable the whole thing is. There isn’t a lot of hope throughout the film and even the ending has some dark twists since we are led to believe that more villains will pop up. Since there is a Taken 3, it seems that this will probably happen. The film did a good job of avoiding language and unnecessary (fake) romance scenes, but it’s still just not a very good movie. I recommend it if you are looking for a fairly realistic story where you get to see the gangsters beaten up, but otherwise this is a film to skip.

Overall 4/10

Naruto Shippuden Legends Akatsuki Rising Stats and Records

Posted on January 10, 2015 by dreager1

Stats time!

Play Time 7hr 15m
46200 Ryo

Character Levels

Gaara lv 30
Kankuro lv 30
Temari lv 30
Itachi lv 30
Kisame lv 30
Deidara lv 30
Sasori lv 30
Hiruko lv 30
Naruto lv 44
Sakura lv 14
Kakashi lv 10
Shikamaru lv 12
Tenten lv 15
Rock Lee lv 30
Neji lv 25
Might Guy lv 22

Scenario Star Rank Achieved

1 Yes
2 No
3 No
4 Yes
5 No
6 No
7 No
8 Yes
9 No
10 Yes

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Naruto Shippuden Legends Akatsuki Rising Stats and Records

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