Tag Archives: Action

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem Review

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It’s time for the latest big TMNT project. This film works as a new segment of the franchise so you can jump in without any prior knowledge on the series. Long time fans will get some extra fun out of it with all of the characters around but it is very accessible. Technically I would put this one below a number of the other TMNT films but as a whole it’s still a good title. I’m ready to see what the sequel has in store.

The movie starts by introducing us to the origin of the Ninja Turtles. They get blasted by some ooze and are raised by the rat known as Splinter. He believes that they should stay hidden away from the outside world because people wouldn’t understand and I get that. They would almost certainly be hunted to their demise like the X-Men. Unfortunately the Turtles are now old enough where they want to get into the human world and have a lot of fun. They meet a girl named April which leads to a partnership. She will let them into School and help them try out various human activities while she gets the exclusive scoop. These happy days cannot last forever though as other creatures are preparing to take control of the human race.

There is always a lot going on with this film so I give the movie props for the fast pacing. I wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s quite as fast paced as the Spider-Verse films and there is definitely down time here but it does aim for a rapid style. That means the action scenes can go pretty hard as well and fight past the limitations of the art style which isn’t the best. In general the film can be pretty fun and I liked the main villain a lot. Before diving into the characters though I’ll just touch on some of the reasons why the film didn’t stack quite as high for me as some of the others.

The first part is the animation like I referenced earlier. I feel like it’s a bit of an uglier style with or without the characters. The characters you could blame on the art style but even that can hurt a bit. Like Leonardo is obsessed with April but the art style means that it’s a bit hard to connect with him because nobody looks even remotely attractive in the film. When April first appears you half think it’s a parody for a second and the real April will show up behind her and this might not have been so noticeable except that her beauty gets referenced quite a lot as Leonardo’s crush continues. The film could have tried a little harder here.

Then throw in the crude humor that this film shoves in for a few characters like April and one of the mutants and you’re really in trouble. I’ve seen way worse crude humor before of course but it’s been a minute since I’ve seen this much in a movie. Probably since I saw the Garbage Pail Kids about a year or two ago. It’s not overwhelming but it’s the little things that add up and these comedic moments definitely do not land. In general this isn’t a laugh out loud kind of film. The jokes are mainly okay with some that fall flat and others that are reasonably good.

Finally the Turtles themselves are one of the worst incarnations of the characters that I’ve seen. They beat the Bay Turtles but beyond that they’re just really not likable. The film tries too hard to make them act like actual teenagers. Teens are generally not as likable as adults unless we’re talking about anime or comics where the teens tend to be cool. These are more like real life teenagers so the film wins points on realism but loses points on the basis of their just being annoying the whole time.

Also, Splinter suffers from this as well. I prefer him to actually be an expert fighter who knows what he is doing. In this film he’s one of the main comic relief characters. All he knows about fighting is from movies so he’s not very good but he does bumble his way into a few victories. It’s a very different direction for the series so it’s a bold take but one that I don’t think worked very well. I want Master Splinter back, not this guy. You do feel bad for him in one scene when the heroes all ditch his pizza party without giving any good reason for that. That was definitely emotional.

So these are the areas that hold it back from being higher but now lets talk about the good aspects. First up we have the main villain Superfly. This guy has a cool design and he’s a really good fighter. He actually manages to take on the whole team with ease. The film can’t resist the “Giant enemy” climax but this guy still does good the whole time. Definitely not an enemy to take lightly at all. He was the only villain who was really ready to see the whole thing through to the end.

He got a good origin story so you can understand his actions from the start. That’s something that goes a long way to making him more of a memorable villain than the others. The rest of his allies are mainly other animal hybrids who have had a tough time of things. They tend to range from annoying to bad though. You have the crude humor one who is the worst but will unfortunately probably be in the sequel. There’s the “cool” skateboarder who isn’t bad. He has some skills and potential.

Rocksteady and Bebop are reasonable. This is the one case where I actually preferred the Bayverse ones but that’s more so because those were way better than expected. So there were a lot of mutants to show up here but it felt like a bit of a cop out not to have a proper fight with the Turtles. I worry that the problem is that the Turtles are a bit too weak in this verse. They seem super young and don’t really know how to fight at a high level. I’m hoping the sequel has a time skip where they are now expert fighters or something. Maybe they hired a proper fighting coach or something like that.

The school setting has potential for the sequel. So long as the film avoids the romance traps and mostly focuses on the Turtles getting used to human customs, it could be fun. There’s a lot of material there to have fun with. As with this one, there should be a lot of jokes running around so as long as most of them land then we’re good. Of course I won’t complain if we switch to a more action focused approach like the 2007 TMNT film. Either way though if we’re not comparing this to other TMNT films then it is still a good movie. For sure there is still more action and stakes than your average animated theater film over in the US. I still enjoyed a good amount of the jokes and some of the action segments could look pretty good. The world building is on point and there are already a lot of things set up for the sequels.

Overall, This is a good TMNT film. There are other directions I would have preferred that it went but at the end of the day the important thing is that the franchise is continuing. I’d say this one’s sort of like a modern take on the 80s part of the franchise. With some of the intro stuff out of the way the sequel might be able to jump into the action a little quicker. Naturally I will be waiting for the Shredder to show up and take some names. Since Splinter won’t be able to do anything this time, maybe this could be when Casey is introduced as the rival to the Shredder. Either way there are a lot of possibilities here and I would recommend checking this film out.

Overall 6/10

Override 2: Super Mech League Review

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Override 2 is a pretty fun game. It really keeps the same gameplay style of the first game although in this case it does remove the story mode entirely which is too bad. Instead you just play through a lot of tournaments and stand alone battles. It’s more like what you would find in a Tennis game where your career mode is really just about racking up wins. It works well enough in a sports context but in a fighting game like this you definitely want to see a little more. Particularly since the first game had the whole invasion plot. Ah well, at the end of the day the gameplay is the true make or break point here.

It’s a classic 3D brawler where you can use standard attacks and power moves to deliver damage to your opponents. You can also use different items from the environment to deal damage as well so you always have a lot of options. That being said, your best option is usually to watch for the glowing circle on the map and get to it. The longer you are under the light, the more you can charge up your final smash meter. That ends up coming in a whole lot of use when you’re dealing with multiple opponents. There are different rulesets you can switch between in this game. You have the classic 1 vs 1, 2 vs 2, 4 player free for all, then you have tournaments which are 3 battles in a row, battles where you fight a ton of mini robots, and also a 4 player stay in the ring challenge.

The last one feels like it was inspired by Fortnite since you start taking a whole lot of damage if you leave the ring. Your normal attacks also don’t really deal damage in this mode so you mainly want to focus on grabs. Throwing your opponent out of the circle is a great way to win. In general the game is fairly easy on most of the lower ranks but I imagine that the more I play the game, the harder it will get. For the 4 way battles I would usually hide and let them knock each other out before jumping in. In the 1 on 1 battles I found it easiest to just keep using combos and they wouldn’t fight back much.

Ranking up in the mode is rather weird. You can actually move backwards if you aren’t careful by playing the same mode on a lower rank. This tricked me a bit on the way the mode works but if you’re careful you actually can continue to go up. I got stuck on D rank for most of the modes and it just wouldn’t let me go up though. I suppose I just have to keep on winning over and over until it sticks though. Ultimately I wasn’t sticking around quite long enough for that to do the trick.

The graphics for the game are pretty solid. They’re not out of this world or anything but I thought they were pretty good. The character models are nice and I liked the attack animations. The soundtrack is more on the bland side, I wouldn’t count on seeing any tunes that you really love. They’re more the basic type all around. At least in terms of content there is a whole lot here. You have to win tons of battles to get all the way to the top in career mode which will take many hours. The game tends to go for a fairly cheap price as well so that’s something to consider as well.

You do get a lot of value here. You will have the most fun if you have someone to play with of course but the 1 player experience isn’t bad either. The gameplay is good after all which is ultimately the main thing that counts. My version brought the Ultraman characters with it which was definitely a lot of fun as well. If the gameplay was just a little faster and more intense then that would have really helped the game out. I think part of the problem is the matches can take a little while and it’s not very cinematic either.

So it’s like you’re playing more of a retro fighting game as opposed to a PS4 title. Don’t let that scare you away though. If it was $60 then that would be spooky but that’s not the price at all so it really works out here. Aside from adding a Story Mode the other main change I would add is to give all of the characters more impressive final smash attacks. The current ones don’t even have cinematics or anything like that and those really add o the experience. Not having them just doesn’t make sense. It just feels like another power attack.

Overall, This is a pretty good fighting game. While there is a lot of content, I would say it still feels rather barebones compared to other modern fighting games though. The difference in quality is night and day between this and something like Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm or Tekken. Still, if you don’t compare it to other titles then it does hold its own. The gameplay is a bit different from those after all and there is always room for more 3D brawlers around the bend. I wouldn’t exactly be pre ordering a third game if it came out but I’m still glad to be playing this one. There was enough effort put in to make this one worth it.

Overall 7/10

Demetrius and the Gladiators

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It’s time for the big follow up to The Robe. I saw that film a long while ago so it was good to finally check out the sequel. It really does pick up immediately after the film ends and of course the main character this time is Demetrius. He is ready to uphold the legacy and keep the Robe safe but unfortunately he is taken in by Caligula’s forces and forced to be a gladiator. Will he be able to survive in this arena considering that he refuses to take a life? Demetrius’ trials are just beginning.

The film definitely focuses on pushing Demetrius to the breaking point with everything that he has to endure physically and emotionally. On the physical side, he’s pushed into a rather violent world where the prisoners have to murder each other for sport. This puts him at a natural disadvantage in a fight. Technically with his physical abilities he would be able to win most fights without a problem but he really doesn’t want to cross that line. Then on the emotional side, he is subjected to constant temptation by Claudius’ wife Messalina who wants him for herself. Demetrius is determined to stay strong as he already loves a lady named Lucia and doesn’t want to betray her.

Usually this is where you could say that he did stay strong throughout and did not slip up but unfortunately this film was really determined to break him in every way possible. Ultimately that ties into the film’s themes of redemption and second chances but it would have been nice if Demetrius could have really come out on top. He was in such a rigged system that he never really stood a chance though. Unfortunately his heel turn is also rather dramatic and that lasts for quite a while. It definitely is a rough look for him.

The most tragic character in the film is probably Lucia. She really did everything right and did her best at all times only for things to not go so well. The rest of the characters are mainly antagonists. You have Caligula who is still as evil as possible and has become completely delusional. He really thinks himself to be a god by the events of this film and so anyone who defies him is quickly taken down for the count. The guy is definitely not very reasonable at all.

Messalina of course is rather petty the whole time. Anytime that Demetrius shuns her, she quickly does something to get back at him. She’s not doing anything out of a sense of justice or anything like that. No, she just wants to make him suffer and of course that’s not a good reason for doing much of anything. By the end she is seemingly going to do better so we’ll just have to see how that goes. I don’t have much respect for Claudius either. The guy tries his best to always be rather distant and emotionless but it also means that he really allows a lot of disrespect without doing anything about it. I can’t really respect a character like that. You always need to have boundaries at least to some degree.

Yeah it’s good to control your emotions but to not have any reaction and let things continue to happen is just a sign of weakness. So things get rather tricky for all of the characters here. The only one I’d say was fairly decent was the other gladiator, Glycon. He did his best to give Demetrius a real shot the whole time. His skills in the ring were real good and he was close to being free already but he still went the extra mile to help the lead out. That was awful selfless of him and I don’t think that most of the characters would have been able to pull that off. So he definitely gets special props there without a doubt.

Unfortunately the film does have to squeeze in some animal violence. As soon as I saw the tigers I started getting nervous. To the film’s credit it does do its best to not get all that violent. The camera angles don’t really show blood or anything but yeah I’d say you do want to always avoid getting any of the animals in on this.

Overall, This film definitely keeps in with the tone and feel of the original. You could probably watch both films back to back seamlessly without any issues. That said, it’s by no means a particularly happy film with how much happens to the characters the whole time. Nobody really gets a peaceful road here by any means. It’s a reminder that sometimes you do have to go through a whole lot of trials without any real way out. This will test your character on if you can still keep your own values and everything or if you will ultimately crumble before the situation.

Hard Target Review

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This review is of the TV-14 edited version of the film. All thoughts below should be addressed as such as a review of the unedited version would be more negative

All right it’s time for a very old school thriller title. This one has a lot of action, guns, and thrills. I’d say it works fairly well even if it doesn’t really have a ton of identity. I can’t guarantee that I will really remember the film a few years from now but maybe I’ll surprise myself. It still is a good film though, the genre is just rather packed with movies at this point.

The movie starts with a guy making a break for it but he’s murdered before he can make it to the goal. Basically there is a group of villains who make sport by giving someone a lot of money and daring him to run all the way to the goal. You sort of wonder how anyone makes it all that far though based on the amount of resources that the villains have. They’re everywhere and you don’t get much of a head start. Well, what they didn’t count on was the victim’s daughter deciding to look into what happened to him.

Her name is Natasha and the deck is not in her favor this time because she hasn’t seen her father in a long time and so she doesn’t have any recent pictures of him. The cops let her know that this is definitely going to be a longshot as a result. The unspoken vibe here is that they can’t help so Natasha recruits a homeless guy named Chance who saved her from a gang. Initially he doesn’t want to get involved but he owes some Union dues and won’t be able to make any money until he can pay them back. So he agrees to help her in exchange for the money but what he doesn’t realize is that he’s about to enter a large conspiracy.

As with any conspiracy thriller like this you will have to stretch your disbelief at least a little bit. Yes, in the film the villains do reference how they’re always paying a ton of people off until the situation gets too hot and they have to leave. Even with that you have to be a little dubious though. They follow their victims into the heart of the city and just go around shooting. You’d think this would attract a ton of attention and eventually reach someone who actually does care. Perhaps I am underestimating the villains but it can be a bit much.

You also wonder why the victims are so bad at using the terrain at times. Once you’re in the city that is absolutely your best shot to survive. Stay in crowded areas and pick off the villains one by one. Instead they usually run into their own demise. So again I’m not sure how the first guy actually got all the way to the harbor. A few more steps and he actually would have beaten them.

There are two main villains here in Van Cleef and Fouchon. Van Cleef is usually my kind of villain as he is very talented with a gun and can hold his own but he weakens near the end. The guy starts to get visibly afraid and he really breaks down. He’s supposed to be the tough man of the group so he really has no business cracking like this. It destroys all of his mystique and so I didn’t care from him by the end. He’s only good at beating up on the weak.

Fouchon is a reasonable main villain though. Very by the books and while his grudge prevents him from making it all the way to the end, you can assume that he only got this far in the first place because of his big ego. Without that he likely would have lost a long time ago. Every associate who works with the villains is pretty much doomed from the start so you are not surprised in the slightest when they start going down. They were definitely not prepared.

As for the main characters, Natasha is a good heroine even if it takes a while for her to start helping. By the climax she is contributing and even has a gun at the ready. Her main issue was just being a little naive at first but fortunately that did not last very long. As for Chance, he may not be the most heroic guy out there as he won’t generally go out of his way to be a superhero but he will help out anyone in front of him like when he stepped up to save Natasha in the intro. The guy’s also a super fighter as he took down like 20 guys all by himself in the climax fight.

Is it maybe a bit exaggerated? Sure but it’s fun. The climax here is really solid with how extended it is and how bad the odds were for Chance. Every time it felt like he had beaten all of the minions, a few more would suddenly show up. There was just no real end to them. Chance also got to mix in some hand to hand combat skills along with the gun shooting. Yeah if you were wondering how well a roundhouse kick would do against a flurry of guns, wonder no longer!

Clarence also ends up helping out near the end. The guy definitely shows up out of nowhere but knows how to fight. He gets some shots in. There’s also a cop who does good in putting the pressure on the villains which is what causes them to start panicking and speeding things up. So the supporting cast here was reasonably solid. The soundtrack is more on the forgettable side and the slow-mo was definitely overdone but for the most part the action scenes were always really solid.

The film could be a little on the violent side at times but nothing too crazy. The most disturbing scene is likely when one guy’s ear gets taken out of the picture. Definitely why you never want to get involved with the underworld because it comes back to bite you. If you’re super unlucky then sometimes this can happen to you even if you are unconnected but that’s a whole lot rarer.

Overall, Hard Target is a pretty solid movie. Again I do think it’ll get lost in the shuffle a bit as I watch more movies but at the same time it really embodies what you would expect an action thriller to be. There are a lot of fight scenes, pretty good pacing, and always some extra thrills around the corner. I enjoyed the fight scenes and you are invested all the way through. I would check this one out if you’re looking for an action title to watch.

Overall 7/10

Sword Art Online: Project Alicization Review

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It’s time to talk about Sword Art Online which always gets intense. On one hand, it will always be one of the most exciting and intense franchises of all time. On the other hand it always ends up matching the extremely high highs with some devastating lows. This series is no exception. The series has to squeeze in a ton of content into only a few volumes so over half of the events are skipped but of course what event does it not skip? The worst one in the series. Mannn….that’s how it goes.

The basic plot is that Kirito has already been through a life or death event with several games at this point. Surely there’s no way he would ever put himself in that spot again right? Well the price is right and his safety is guaranteed so he works with a government group about one of the games and then he gets stabbed on a rainy day in a completely unrelated incident. Well, now he’s stuck inside of the game and if he dies in the game….he dies in real life! So Kirito is back into the same situation but this world is so much more real than the previous ones. Even the NPCs talk like real people.

Kirito figures if he can get deep enough in the game he will be able to find someone to log him out. To that end he meets up with a guy named Eugeo and Kirito helps him chop down a big tree. This means they can now pursue training within the city and try to find Eugeo’s long lost friend Alice who was kidnapped by the government a long time ago for breaking a rule. In this society, it shouldn’t be possible for anyone to break rules so if it happens then it’s a super big deal.

So here’s the thing, it takes a few volumes to even get the setup all completed. So now you’re over halfway through the series and the heroes still have to make their way past all 108 Integrity Knights, take down the Administrator, stop the Underworld armies, and then stop the drama happening in the real world. So you may be wondering, how will they do that? Well, the answer is simple. The series basically skips almost all of that. We get a few pages at the end of the volume that uses text to explain what would have happened next but even the final fight has to be abbreviated/basically skipped. It’s evident that the author simply ran out of time which is really rough. Especially when you see other adaption manga that kept going years after the main media had finished. Sword Art Online got the rough end of the stick this time.

It’s especially tragic since the art was actually really good this time around. There was a lot of attention to detail all throughout. The battles looked fierce and it really did adapt the scenes very well. You were able to be invested in what was going on the whole time. There was some real talent at work here. The story was already really engaging so throw in the solid art and it really made reading through the volumes really good. Ending with only 5 volumes does mean that there is only so much that you can do though.

So lets get the elephant out of the plaza first. The series did decide to keep and fully adapt the moment where two students attack two of the heroines who aren’t able to fight back since the rules are in effect. This should have been the scene that was skipped to be honest because it adds nothing to the series and is just another example of a crutch that Sword Art Online uses. It’s easily the most valid complaint that you can have about the series because it is definitely annoying. It doesn’t go nearly as far as in Fairy Dance since Kirito and Eugeo do stop them before it reaches that point but it still goes farther than it ever should have.

You’re rooting for those characters to get bumped off right away. I also think it’s a real stretch of logic on how their attack was within the rules. It reminded me of a certain attack in Jujutsu Kaisen that didn’t count as “violence” which was seen as this big 4D chess move by the villain when it was clearly violence. It’s the same thing here, no matter what flawed logic the royals used when attacking the girls, it’s still a full on attack. The rules in Alicization are definitely messed up.

It’s enough of a bump to shape 3 stars off of the series as well. That may seem rather harsh but that’s how bad the scene is. It’s not exactly something you want to see in this title when you’re just trying to have fun seeing the heroes taking out the villains. The core plot is basically a boss rush after all as Kirito and Eugeo take everyone out. I also like how Kirito is starting at level 1 technically but since he has his memories intact he is able to use more advanced techniques that wow everyone. It’s fair to say that he is stronger than all non Integrity Knight fighters right from the start of the series.

He doesn’t get to show off for a while there but Kirito is super confident and that comes through in all of his scenes. It’s easy to see why Eugeo looks up to him. The series does a great job of showing off the bond between Kirito and Eugeo as well. It’s a little odd to see Kirito in more of a mentor role since he is usually the young upstart but it does work well with how many life or death experiences the guy has been in. He still does have his carefree side though and that’s when Eugeo has to try and pick up on the responsibility part. You could really make a whole series just based on their dynamic. It’s a really solid one all the way through.

I’ve always really enjoyed Kirito’s character in every arc but I dare say this might be him at his best. He still has his confidence and cocky attitude but now he can also make great speeches. Kirito gets to talk about friendship, fighting with honor, etc. He has so many quotable lines in this series to the point where even this manga which cuts most of the content gets to show off a lot of his great scenes. Kirito is a generational character and that goes a long way to making the franchise really good as well. With all of the asterisks and iffy moments in the series that I have to dance around, I do think that it would have totally crumbled if Kirito wasn’t around.

Then eventually Alice gets added into the mix but unfortunately she doesn’t get almost any time to interact with Eugeo. The timing just gets messed up by that point but she has good banter with Kirito. Alice is a really fun character and while it takes a while to fight off all of the brainwashing, she ultimately does get to be a really solid character that you can completely count on. I also liked the main villain a lot. Design aside, she is a calculating opponent who is also really strong. She doesn’t really have any weaknesses and ends up being a villain that you can really fear.

One piece of credit I can give to the series is also that it’s fairly light on fanservice. You only have 2-3 moments with the Administrator and that’s about it. Usually the series can get a bit dicey in that area so I appreciated that at least. The short length may have helped in that respect but for the most part there isn’t a ton of time for that in between all of the battles. Later on in the war there would have definitely been some moments though.

As a final note, the human plot is pretty much nonsense for manga only readers. A lot of things are teased over there and Asuna gets some small appearances but the series ends before anything really happens. So it just ends up feeling like filler. It’s part of what makes the manga a very interesting read when it ends early like this. Some scenes you just won’t get and others will be under the wrong context. That’s why in an ideal world you will always want a series to be able to be long running and adapt everything but in a way maybe that’s just common sense. The cliffhanger of sorts is fun but it’s so early that there are a bunch of fights that you wish you had gotten to see.

Overall, Sword Art Online is fun as always but one scene definitely does throw the whole series for a loop. It’s a shame that there almost always seems to be some kind of catch to every piece of Sword Art Online media. It’s just really hard to avoid and I suppose that’s life. In the end I wouldn’t be able to recommend this manga all that much. What I would do is say to play the video game instead because that seems to fix things. I am early on in that game so I can’t fully confirm that but that seems to be what typically happens in these things. I at least know that they fixed the Administrator’s costume in that one.

Overall 5/10

Rollerball (2002) Review

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It’s time to look at the remake to the original film that I just watched. Seeing both versions on the same day definitely makes for a pretty interesting marathon watch. It’s safe to say that the original is better in just about every way though. This one has a very “Try Hard” feel to it from the start. It doesn’t seem like the creators had a ton of confidence in the story or writing so right out of the gate they’re having to add all this extra stuff and it doesn’t work.

The film starts off by introducing us to Jonathan who likes doing extreme things. He even races on a skateboard kind of device through the streets which looks extremely dangerous the instant he gets on it. Definitely not a very responsible thing to do and when the cops show up at his door, he figures it’s time to finally get into Rollerball. It’s an extreme sport filled with lots of danger. Think of it like Rollerbading meets Hockey and you’re zooming around trying to score while people are driving motorcycles and all violence is allowed. Jonathan has become the world champ here but there is a dark conspiracy afoot. More and more people keep getting injured and dying as the ratings go higher. Is there any way out of this?

I will also say that the remake tries to spell things out for you more than the first. In the first movie we never heard the exact rules of the game but you could just piece it together while watching. In this one we literally have a whole scene for the announcer explaining the rules. It’s not a bad idea by any means but it does give you a glimpse into what this remake is like right from the jump. Everything is less nuanced. The villains are super evil, complete with evil laughter and long winded speeches. The opposing teams are all in the dark as well and when push comes to shove they are ready to help. The body count is much smaller and things are allowed to be happier.

Hey, I’m all for a happier ending but the whole film just doesn’t work. Part of the problem is that this film takes place in modern days instead of in a dystopia. In the latter it is easy to excuse a lot of thing like nobody caring about all of the deaths since humanity was cooked a long time ago. In this case it doesn’t make sense that they’re still getting TV deals and becoming a huge hit. The instant the first death hits you are looking at tons of lawsuits and negative media coverage. Yes, the sport could continue but it would be more of an indie thing and not the massive mainstream audience with top ratings that we see here.

You can cut a bit of slack for this being in a foreign country and the standards are a bit more lax but the more the film goes on, the less weight this holds. You also have this company owning the border guards, and being able to do whatever they want. The host even takes out a gun and threatens the local media companies in the middle of a crowd. Alexi doesn’t care who sees him and this works in a dystopia but not here. So the film should have kept this in the future. It doesn’t make sense to be in present day.

Then to make things edgier, we have a ton of fanservice throughout the movie. The film wants to show us how depraved the villains are, so they’re all living out their fantasies degrading everyone and the scenes have absolutely no point to being here. It’s clearly a desperate attempt for more ratings and I dare say that it won’t work on the average moviegoer. Even having girls playing in this league makes no real sense with how violent it is. Another thing that I could have turned a blind eye to in a dystopia.

In fact, let me put on my conspiracy hat here for a minute. I think there are only two reasons why they added women participants to the sport for this remake. The first is for…you guessed it, more fanservice since they can add random locker room scenes. The other is just so they could throw in a big romance which would give Jonathan more motivation for later. The romance is pretty bad though, one of those really rushed ones with no real depth behind it. I’m sure the writers had a chuckle with the last line in the film as a callback to the first conversation with Jonathan and Aurora but it’s not enough to salvage the whole sub plot.

The actual Rollerball scenes aren’t bad but even this is not as good as the original which is crazy. It’s a case of trying to do too much. Now we have ramps, big jumps, you have to throw the ball into a goal instead of jamming it in there and the stage is much smaller. To make up for that, there are less players on each team but the whole thing just feels more convoluted and I can’t think of any way where it is quite as good. At most I can admit that throwing the ball into the goal would be more practical in real life but that’s it. The rest of the changes just don’t make much sense to me unless making the arena smaller was a budgetary constraint.

The cast is not particularly inspiring. Jonathan was annoying in the intro. He’s a decent guy but starting off as a delinquent isn’t great and in the whole climax he doesn’t have much of a plan except to try and murder as many of the opponents as possible. Only problem is that he’s super outnumbered so he has to be saved a bunch of times. It doesn’t make him look very smart. I don’t have any real issues with Aurora. She does her best to help Jonathan and make sure that he’s doing well while she makes the sacrificial play since she has family that she can’t leave.

It takes Ridley a little while to find his moral compass so he’s not as good but at least once he is in danger then the guy starts to move. So I can appreciate that a bit. Sure, it’s selfish and all but I can picture a lot of people making that call. You want to hope for the best to make all of the money until you can’t deny it anymore. Alexi’s a fairly generic villain. Not much to talk about with that guy, he’s okay at best.

His right hand man Sanjay is actually really interesting though. I could have used more screentime for this guy. He’s more ambitious than Alexi and smarter as well. He really thought things through and had a great scene near the end even if it didn’t totally end the way you would have expected it to be. He’s surprisingly the best character in the movie.

As a side note, the whole climax is easily the best part of the film, starting from when Jonathan breaks a window and challenges the villains. Suddenly it was like Jason Bourne where he is taking everyone on and using every object imaginable. He even has a Captain America type moment where he blocks a bullet. Yeah the editing is so bad that it makes Taken 3 look impressive as there are literal frame cuts so we see Jonathan teleporting around the map but we can assume he’s that fast. I was glad that we were getting some real action outside of the arena at least.

Overall, This film had a ton of problems. They range all the way from narrative ones to pacing issues and just plain ole logistical issues. It was trying way too hard in all the wrong places and so that was a recipe for disaster. It can be an entertaining movie for a while but by the end the negatives just racked up way too high to be overcome. Ultimately you are way better watching the first film over the remake. Trust me, this is one that you will definitely want to avoid if you are given the choice.

Overall 4/10

Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects (Gamecube) Review

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I remember playing Marvel Nemesis on the DS so many times back in the day. I was hooked on that game! The controls worked really well on the DS and it kept track of play time well so I would just have a blast beating the game over and over again. Well, after all of these years it is pretty cool to finally be checking the Gamecube version out and actually witnessing the story first hand. It’s definitely a very unique Marvel game, one that you don’t really see nowadays with the general roster.

The story begins with an invasion. The Imperfects and their leagues of monsters have attacked the planet. Heroes like Captain America and the Hulk go down quickly. The story parts that we don’t actually see are just as interesting as the ones that we get to witness. Like we hear about Avengers Mansion being attacked, the FF being in trouble, etc. There’s no time to see these guys but we do see the aftermath. For example Wolverine is told to go to Avengers mansion and see what’s happening. Everyone is gone by that point except for the Imperfect assassin. We see the story through very narrow instances like this which is part of what makes the story so intriguing.

It’s going for a sort of spooky approach for the most part. Also, you choose what paths to follow. For example, you have 3 different heroes you can play as at first. Each one has 3 missions, the first 2 typically don’t have any real cutscenes and then the third is the big boss fight with an Imperfect. After that you get an origin cutscene for one of the Imperfects. Then you have the tough call of deciding which Marvel hero to kill off. Whoever you choose will no longer appear in the game and the rest of his levels are lost to you.

You keep up this format and eventually there are 5 heroes at a time and you have to keep bumping one off. By the end of the game almost every hero is dead which shows just how powerful the Imperfects are. It’s a little hard to believe that they would do this well in a fight though. A lot of them seem like street level fighters so how did they beat someone like the Hulk? Well, regardless it makes for a very interesting story. Elektra and Daredevil even show up and while that may not seem like a huge deal, it’s rare to see them show up in one of these big Marvel titles like this.

There is full voice acting and everything. So yeah the story is the highlight of the game to be sure and I think if we ever got a remake, they could go even further with it. Unfortunately one thing that hasn’t aged well is the animation. The graphics are well below average for Gamecube and the issue is that it’s all so dark. The whole game has this green tint that makes everything hard to see and it also makes it so that none of the characters really stand out. I’m not really sure on what the point of this artstyle was.

Maybe it’s just to make the whole thing look scarier? Well, either way that part could have been a lot better. Screenshots of the game don’t tend to turn out well and even while playing it, you feel like the game should be way more vibrant than what it is. It’s a real problem and one that the game really created onto itself. The soundtrack is really good though. The themes there definitely stand out a whole lot. I also like the various stages. They all look really good and there is a lot of variety. You have Avengers mansion and a lot of other really iconic locations. That was definitely a really good idea.

As for the gameplay, it’s very unique. I would say it’s good but some parts of it haven’t aged well. For example, each character has a ton of regeneration going for them. So you can land a ton of hits but if you don’t follow up fast, most of the damage will be restored. The game also heavily favors characters with long range throws like Spiderman and Venom. They are simply better than short range throws and it’s not even close. There’s not much incentive to using your hand to hand moves because a lot of them can be interrupted mid combo.

Projectiles are super handy because they strike so fast that you have no time to put up your barrier. You can replenish your super meter rather quickly as well so you won’t be running out of the projectiles very often. The best method of attack is definitely to throw something. Yes, the opponent can catch the object but that’s when you hit them with an energy attack. Throwing things is easily the most effective way to deal damage and during the story I was spamming that the whole time. If there was something that could be thrown, you better believe that I was picking it up immediately!

The game could definitely have benefited from making the hand to hand attacks more useful though. This is probably the only 3D fighting game I’ve ever played where you’re encouraged not to fight like that. Of course, that is why I say that the game is unique. It’s different enough where you should have a lot of fun playing with others. It’s more fun to fight a real person than a computer by far since they react perfectly to the projectiles which seems to be a bit iffy.

Overall, Marvel Nemesis is definitely a nostalgic game. The story is really interesting the whole way through so I had a blast there. Hopefully some day we can get a sequel or a remake. If you can find this one I would definitely recommend getting it. The game’s not that expensive nowadays and it’s worth the play through. Then you can keep on playing vs mode for a while which really has unlimited replay value. That’s definitely the way to go and remember…make sure you play as Spiderman or Venom and you will be dominating!

Overall 7/10

My Hero: One’s Justice 2 Review

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After the first My Hero game, I knew it was time to quickly buy the sequel and round out the story. This one really takes a lot of cues from the first game so you’re able to jump right in. Personally I dare say that it might have taken a few too many cues from it. The loading screens are the same and much of the UI is unchanged as well. There is a new story of course but for the most part it feels like they copy and pasted the last game with a new title. I can only imagine that buying it day 1 would have probably been pretty interesting.

But hey, the first game was pretty fun so if this is the same thing but with more characters and story then that just means that I’m guaranteed to have fun right? At least that’s the way that I figured it. The story is reasonably long with close to 50 chapters and then you can play through the story again from the villain’s point of view which will basically double the size of the story. The game may not have much in the way of cinematics or anything like that but it does have full voice acting with the English Dub which I definitely appreciate.

Outside of the story mode you do have a bunch of other options like Vs Mode and Mission Mode. You can have some good fun in there and of course as a fighting game this is really where the bulk of your time will be going anyway. The story won’t really last you more than a few hours but you can keep fighting against other players and the computer for a super long time. That part really doesn’t have to end any time soon. The replay value here will be unlimited as a result, particularly since there has not been a Justice 3 yet.

There are also quite a lot of trophies to obtain as well. I imagine it’ll be a long while before you have the Platinum and that will buy you more time. The going price for the game is also super cheap at the moment so that’s another thing to keep in mind. It’s not like you’re dropping $60 on this title. You can probably get it for around 10-15 if you’re looking in the right place.

The graphics look good here. I wouldn’t say that this is a top tier title by any means but it works well enough. Likewise the soundtrack is good. It has a lot of the classic tunes that you will recognize from the show. This also helps the story since there aren’t many big cutscenes, you at least want to hear the passion and the energy in the songs. I would say the game definitely succeeds there. It can even be funny how random some of the story battles are, so that will keep you chuckling when the serious music is playing.

The 3D gameplay may not be the most popular in a competitive sense, but I still enjoy it. I can see how there’s probably a little less depth to it and it’s certainly not as fast paced but it’s fun seeing the attacks fly in a 3D environment like this. The energy effects are good and every character has a good amount of techniques at their disposal. I particularly enjoyed playing characters like Deku who could chain really long combos together. I get the feeling that the game isn’t super well balanced as there are some characters who can land a 12 hit combo off of one jab while others only get a few hits. Ironically Bakugo is an example of a character who didn’t seem to be very good there.

I know every character will have their own strategies and playing styles so I wouldn’t assume to know the optimal way to play them all but all I can say is that the characters just feel like they’re on different tiers at times. That’s just my two cents though. At the end of the day you just need to try them out and in story mode at least you do get the chance to try a bunch of the characters.

Also I liked the way that the final boss goes because there was some good effort there to make it unique. You are forced to lose the first two times due to an unblockable final attack there but the villain doesn’t use it until the end so each time you think you have a shot. Then after that an option shows up to beat him once and for all. In the final round you get unlimited energy so you are encouraged to spam final smashes the way Deku kept using his abilities in the manga since Eri kept healing him. So that was an example of the game going the extra mile there since I was just expecting another normal boss fight. They even made a huge character model for the final boss so it felt more spectacular than usual. I think it shows a glimpse of what the game could be like if it treated everything with this same energy.

Overall, One’s Justice 2 is a pretty good game. It really is just a glorified port of the first title in a lot of ways as the company clearly took the easy way out of just reusing all of the assets instead of leveling up. It’s certainly a cost effective way of doing things and I can’t really fault them for it. At the end of the day the big thing is still if the game is fun and it is. It’s like Madden, I can keep playing the same game over and over as it hasn’t felt played out yet. With just two games for now, I would definitely say that this game is not played out. It may not compete with the bigger fighting games out there but every series had to start somewhere. This one will likely get better with every installment.

Overall 7/10

Demon Slayer Season 3: Swordsmith Village Arc Review

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It’s time for the big return of Demon Slayer. The series has been on an upwards track so far but would season 3 be able to sustain this? The Mugen Train arc I consider to be much better than this one after all but at the same time just because that is the case in the manga, doesn’t mean it will track that way in the anime. I preferred the Cell Saga to the Buu saga in the DBZ manga while it’s the opposite in the anime so these things can happen. Either way with only 11 episodes this season goes by extremely fast.

This time it’s the Tanjiro show from start to finish as his two teammates are sidelined the whole time. Tanjiro needs a new sword and heads over to the Swordsmith Village where there are 2 other Hashira hanging around. That’s definitely really handy because Muzan sends his troops over to start murdering everyone. Tanjiro will have to try and stop the demons again but does he really have the ability needed to stop them?

One thing you always have to give Demon Slayer is that there’s not a lot of downtime. We get the intro episodes to set the stage and then from there it’s a nonstop climax. Basically from episode 3 and all the way through to the final episode 11, it’s a bunch of nonstop fights. Ufotable is at the helm so the fights all look spectacular. This is definitely a true spectacle show and I’m always up for that. I think it also helps to mask Demon Slayer’s weaknesses and focus on the strengths.

To me, the series does have one of the weaker casts. Tanjiro is nice and all but he’s not a very entertaining main character. Outside of battle he has no real fire in his soul. He’s a nice guy but that feels like most of his character. There isn’t a ton of fun banter between the characters and so the between arc stuff can feel a bit boring. The first two episodes for example aren’t downright bad or anything but any scene of just hanging around the village can be rather boring. I don’t think the show tends to succeed with its humor or non action shenanigans. Fortunately like I said, this isn’t here for long anyway so it’s not really a big concern.

As to the animation, it’s as great as ever. While it’s fair to say that none of the fights match the highs of season 2, they still look great. It’s not that the animation has dipped at all but just that those fights were even more special. This season has more villains who are using run and gun tactics or long range abilities so there isn’t as much chance to have the kind of brutal close quarters combat that you saw in season 2. So have no fear, this show is still giving maximum effort at all times.

The soundtrack is also great. The opening is another high tier song even if it can’t beat some of the previous ones. It’s definitely catchy all the way through. There are also some great emotional tunes like the one that plays in the final episode and of course you have the usual action ones. The soundtrack is very well balanced all the way through. The technical elements never fail to impress and support the main story.

This is the first season where you start to think that Muzan may not be very smart though. The hints were always there but this one definitely sells it. He’s got all of these powerful demons at the ready and he still hasn’t finished off the Hashira? It’s well established at this point that the demons are way more powerful than the Demon Slayers. If they all rushed in at once then the heroes would be doomed. So why not have the demons attack a town as normal. When the Slayers send a single Hashira as they always do, murder him and wait for the next one. Rinse and repeat a few times since there are only 8-10 Hashira and then you’ve won the war.

At the very end of the season Muzan gets real happy because he’s close to his goal and you just feel like he should have been doing things sooner rather than constantly murdering his own men and hurling threats around. He’s an imposing figure to be sure but definitely not a strategist. I look forward to seeing him finally take the stage even if you feel like the heroes should not even remotely stand a chance. One of the strongest Hashira couldn’t take on one of the top 10 and Muzan should be many leagues stronger than that.

The series has been using each arc to develop the Hashira so lets talk about the ones in this arc. First up we have Mitsuri who even now I would say has one of the smaller roles in the franchise from the group. Still, she does get to take down some giant monsters and helps out in the climax. She may lack some of the raw power that the other members have but her weapon itself is very memorable. Its sheer agility makes it hard to dodge while still being sharp. She’s a good character though so I look forward to seeing more of her.

While the series has always been rather spectacular in terms of avoiding fanservice, the show does indulge a bit for when she appears. It’s a rather quick moment at least so on the whole I would say the show is still really solid in this area. Mitsuri gets an origin story and it’s probably the only one that’s not particularly tragic. Almost everyone has an origin involving a demon murdering their whole family or something like that. I’m glad that she was at least able to avoid that.

Then we have Muichiro who has a big role here. This guy doesn’t really like working with a team and values his life above others since he’s a Hashira. Basically he’s a complete jerk to the point where he beats up anyone who gets in his way. Again this is where Tanjiro loses points for me because he just stands there and takes it. How many times does someone have to beat him up before he fights back in a serious way. A lot of leads wouldn’t put up with half of the stuff that Tanjiro allows and it’s really what holds him back in a significant way.

Back in the day Tanjiro and Deku were compared a lot when talking about how much nicer the modern Shonen leads are but the difference is that I do feel Deku would actually stand up for himself a lot more. Yeah he would put up with a bit extra but he still has a tipping point while it feels like Tanjiro really doesn’t sometimes. Obviously if someone else is in trouble then that is a different story but when it’s just him? Game over man. We see why Muichiro turned out this way from his origin story and by the end he is doing better.

He feels a bit weaker than the average Hashira but the battles had some circumstances including poison. In theory he will look a lot better in the future battles coming up. Then we have Genya, another big jerk. This guy can turn part monster if he eats a part of a demon which is a really handy ability. Unfortunately he’s another slayer who can’t play well with others. Yeah he’s also got a super tragic backstory and everything although if anything he’s the one who ends up looking bad in that one since his brother did the best he could. Genya gets some development here as well but to be honest part of his problem is that I find him weak as well.

That fancy gun of his doesn’t work nearly as well as a classic gun would. It’s fortunate that he has regenerative abilities or he would have been bumped off early. This arc basically has the weakest assortment of Hashira and weaker fighters. While I wasn’t a big fan of Tengen, he was extremely powerful. I’d probably take him in a 2 v 1 fight against the Hashira in this season. His stats were just so far through the roof.

Then we have Kotetsu who does his best to look out for the swords but he gets beat up by Muichiro. He helps train Tanjiro although maybe overdoes it with starving him the whole time. It’s not the most extreme that I’ve seen for training though so it’s not crazy. The kid goes through a lot that’s for sure, you definitely feel bad for him in the season. The guy’s got a ton of determination though because he keeps on trying even after getting stabbed when he’s not even a trained fighter like that.

Hotaru could learn a thing or two from this guy because he’s completely unreliable. He’s mad at Tanjiro the whole time because he blames the lead for his sword breaking. That’s illogical on every level. As the guy who made the sword, it’s obviously on him if the sword breaks. Blaming the guy who used it is incredibly petty to me. He eventually gets over himself and makes the sword but yeah I definitely didn’t like this guy.

Nezuko does well as always here. Her fighting abilities are still really impressive and she is certainly able to hold her own really well even against top level demons. Ultimately they are too much for her but the fact that she can deal damage saves Tanjiro and the others quite a bit. The downside to having regen like this is that she does tend to take the most damage though and always goes through the most violence here. The amount of painful injuries that Nezuko takes is absolutely crazy. She has the most emotional moment in the series near the end for sure. Also the implications from this could be a little worrisome so after finishing the season you wonder how that will go.

Gyokko is the main villain here and he’s definitely one of the more annoying ones. He tends to rely on cheap tricks and running around. His own pride is also what keeps him from murdering the swordsmith when he had the chance. So the guy is not efficient and he’s also not one of the strongest members. That’s just great. He definitely has fun picking on opponents who can’t fight back and for a sleazy villain that’s in character but it does mean that there is no reason to really like him all that much.

The other villain Hantengu is way better. That guy actually can fight a lot and then of course he can split into a lot of other demons. All of the split demons have their own special abilities, names, and personalities. It is definitely one of the more expansive splits I’ve seen in a character. I’m used to characters being able to multiply and everything but becoming unique characters like this? It’s really a lot of fun and is part of why the climax went on so long. He would just keep changing over and over. Then he can also absorb everyone and become super powerful again.

It’s a loop that is super hard to fight against and it’s why it took many fighters to defeat him. His rank is definitely very justified within the demon organization since he should clear most of the fighters in the verse. One on One I dare say that there is likely no member of the Hashira who would be able to defeat him. That’s how impressive this guy is. The heroes really had to rely on sheer numbers and a lot of strategy here. The guy definitely left a lasting impression and I won’t be forgetting him anytime soon.

As in previous seasons I would say the only thing that really holds the show back from being higher is that the violence can still be on the excessive side at times. The origin stories are bleak as always with families being murdered or characters being forced to murder their family because they were turned into demons. The demon system still really feels more like vampires to be honest as it’s practically the same thing. A lot of noncombatants are always thrown into the mix as well which definitely makes you feel bad for them.

Even for the combatants the fighting always gets real intense. I tend to have a bit of a higher threshold there as long as they don’t overdo it, but man does Demon Slayer take this close to the brink. Like in Bleach you always wonder why they aren’t all just dying of blood loss by this point. With the demons having high speed regeneration and everything it’s also why you still can’t picture the humans ever winning. It just seems like an absolutely impossible fight all the way through.

Overall, Demon Slayer continues with its nonstop action here. I really do like how the series just locks in every season with massive fights that span many episodes. In that way it feels like a classic action title like DBZ where the fights would really last a while. I look forward to seeing what comes next even if the next season seems like it could be a little lighter on the action. Until it actually comes out, you never know though. Either way we are slowly getting close to the end here.

Overall 6/10

Mashle Review

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It’s time to dive into the world of Mashle. A lot of comparisons were drawn to One Punch Man when this came out because the series is about a guy who is extremely powerful physically to the point of having a lot of absurd feats. I would even say his feats start holding their own against Saitama for a little while there but aside from that general part of the premise, it’s not actually all that similar. The blend of humor and action work really well here.

The story starts by introducing us to a world where just about everyone has some kind of magic. If you somehow don’t get this then you will be in a lot of trouble and unfortunately Mash is one such kid. Fortunately as a baby he is taken in by a kind man who raises him for year, Regro. He has done his best to raise Mash in an isolated cabin since then so they are away from the outside world but one day the cops catch on. Mash will now have to enter magic school and pass the exams to become a Divine Visionary. It’s the only way to keep him and pops safe, but how can he compete with these students who all have crazy magical abilities? Well, that’s where the strength comes in!

So with that part it starts to sound a bit more like Black Clover and that’s probably the best series to use as a comparison. No wonder this series is so good right? A lot of the magical abilities are also very creative and powerful so by extension when Mash is taking them on, it makes him look even stronger as well. One thing I’d note right away though is that Mash is never presented as being unbeatable or anything like that. He is super strong but gets damaged and comes close to losing a few different times. He’s always able to think of something in the end but it does ensure that the stakes are high throughout. Mash can be destroyed if he isn’t careful.

There’s also the social stakes of everyone finding out that he doesn’t actually have magic but that’s more for the comedic element. Mash isn’t the smartest guy around and is a terrible liar so more often than not he is practically giving that secret away anyway. He also makes friends rather easily and so they aren’t about to give the secret up. So many people know the secret as each episode flies by that you figure it may not matter as much as everyone thought it would anyway.

What I like about the humor for Mashle is that it’s quite quick witted. There are a lot of great physical gags with Mash doing things that shouldn’t be humanly possible but then you also have the more out of the blue ones that tend to involve creampuffs. One is that no matter what Mash cooks or what ingredients he uses, it always ends up becoming a creampuff. It’s like a curse, but a beneficial one since that’s his favorite food anyway. The gags tend to be really funny with this one and there is a good variety of jokes to be had here so it never gets repetitive or anything like that either.

The show tends to lean a bit harder on the action than the comedy but it executes both really well which is the important thing. When the show wants to get serious, it definitely nails the tone. The fights are really solid and very creative with the abilities like I mentioned before. Mash may occasionally undercut the tone with a gag but for the most part if it’s a serious fight then it’ll really stay that way.

Fortunately the animation is up to the task. I wouldn’t call this a particularly high budget show for the most part but they knew their priorities. For example the average scene of standing around or moving through different locations won’t look great. The animation tends to be a tad spotty there but all of the important fights quickly dial up the intensity quite a lot. Any plot important fight will generally look great so the show knows how to turn it up when necessary. That’s important because you need to look good to properly convey the serious feats happening here.

Then for the soundtrack, that part’s a little more forgettable. I wasn’t a big fan of the opening. I feel like it was trying to feel like One Punch Man to encourage discussions and comparisons but it just didn’t work. It wasn’t particularly catchy. Then the show itself had some decent tunes but none that really stood out. I’d like to see the soundtrack improve in season 2 because I do think of it as a bit of a weak point right now. Nothing that would seriously hurt the show of course but it’s certainly not helping it either.

One of Mashle’s strengths is how each character really stands out. Part of what makes them so memorable are the striking colors for each one. While the animation may not always be super sharp, the colors always stand out. The character designs are on point and the show is just very bright. It has an early 2000s vibe to it with everything being so vibrant and the show is really easy to watch. It’s the kind of title you can pick up and play at any time, although it’s not like there are a ton of episodes so it’s not something you can watch too often for now unless you want to really get it played out.

Now let talk about the characters. First I do have to note that a lot of characters get off a bit too easy here Yeah forgive and forget is all nice and good sometimes but these guys go very far. Like Brad, one of the police officers was definitely going to murder Regro and would have murdered Mash if he wasn’t so weak. The guy has clearly been abusing his power for a long time now and so he should be in jail after that. Ultimately the show is more comedic in nature so these things tend to get overlooked but when you really think about it….it just doesn’t work. I can’t say I ever liked Brad much. He sticks around as a supporting character but never gets better if you ask me.

Regro doesn’t get to do much but he gets a lot of points for looking after Mash for so many years. He’s a good guy and really did his best. That’s the whole reason Mash is so motivated in trying to succeed at the magic academy. Meanwhile Mash is a solid lead. He may not be quite as charismatic as some other Shonen leads and isn’t exactly the most fired up character that you will see. However, his gags do tend to be funny and he has a solid amount of rage moments for when it’s time to protect his friends and I can always appreciate that.

Then we have another petty character in Claude. Again, the show could have been harsher with this guy. He was actively blackmailing a student and then kept trying to get in Mash’s way. He’s a straight up villain the whole time and I’m not super convinced that he is suddenly going to be a big hero going forward. I just don’t get those vibes from him but hey I could be wrong.

The main heroine of the show is Lemon but she never actually gets a super big role. She doesn’t look good initially as she makes the wrong calls but ultimately she gets better…at least a little bit. The problem is that her main personality trait is that she’s in love with Mash and that’s about it. So that doesn’t really make for much of a complete character. It just means that she will be really one note for most of the adventure and she also can’t really fight that well which knocks her out of most situations.

The same can be said for Finn who is a support mage at best. He’s always really nervous and can’t keep up with the other characters’ shenanigans. He’s just not my kind of character. I prefer to see characters with a whole lot of unwavering confidence who grin in the face of evil. Characters who aren’t afraid to mix it up with the villains and all of that. You know that they’re building something up for Finn but it’s going to take a while and so right now he’s on the lower end of the cast.

We’ve got another petty bully character in Lloyd. In a way that’s how you can describe all 3 of the first villains. This guy likes picking on the weak and that’s about it so as you can imagine Mash makes short work of him. There’s not much to like about this guy and he’s fairly forgettable. Fortunately the villains get better as the show goes on because that’s definitely a rocky start. Another villain who is more on the annoying side is Lauren. She basically uses her magic to make guys fall for her before Silva goes and knocks them out. It’s definitely not a magic that will work on most of the stronger fighters in the verse so that really knocks her out of the running early on. Nothing particularly interesting about her either.

Okay now we get to the bigger characters. First up we have Lance who is a pretty strong rival type of character. He challenges Lance early on and gives him a really good fight. It’s probably the first time in the series that Mash has a really solid challenge in combat. His character’s gimmick of being obsessed with his sister is definitely overplayed and annoying though. It’s his one bad trait and otherwise he’s one of the most intense characters in the series. You can always count on him dealing serious damage and all of his fights are a blast. Definitely one of the standout characters in the series to be sure.

Then you have Dot who is a lot more talkative and rather loud but unfortunately he is very easy to trick. The guy lowers his guard a whole lot and tends to feel really bad for himself. I’d definitely like to see him man up a bit more often. He does get his big moments of course but they are usually outnumbered by him being humiliating. He is one of the funnier characters which works in his benefit but definitely expect him to eat a lot of Ls. It’s too bad because he’s the character with the fire type magic so you could say that he takes up that lot there.

Another hero is Rayne although he doesn’t show up until later. Also, he’s one of those guys who doesn’t like those without magic to the point where you could argue that it basically makes him a villain as well. He was absolutely ready to take Mash down and would have if he was stronger. He’s the kind of guy that’s great to have around to fight the villains but you can’t trust him at all.

Then there is the headmaster of the school Wahlberg, but I can’t give him too much credit. Part of the problem with this guy is that he’s a nice enough guy but he still has people that he answers to. This means that he will make compromises even if he knows that it’s not the right thing to do. It’s a big issue in any series because in my mind you have to follow justice no matter what. If that means disobeying direct orders and such…well so be it. That’s just how it has to go.

His evil counterpart Innocent Zero gets a lot of hype but doesn’t really do anything in this season. You can definitely see that they’re building up to a big confrontation like an All Might vs All For One kind of deal so that will be fun. Likewise one of his top subordinates is a guy called Cell War who hasn’t had a chance to do a ton but in his brief screentime we see that he is incredibly powerful. Another true threat to Mash so the hero will definitely have to watch out. The season ends with a lot of intrigue for part 2 so you definitely want to stick around.

For the villains who are in this season though, Silva is a pretty solid one. He’s definitely a villain who plays dirty and uses every trick to win but he’s also very powerful. Even without his cheap tricks he would be able to defeat a lot of opponents. That’s part of what helps him stick out. If he was weak then he would come off as more petty than anything but like this the guy is on point. He leaves a real impression on you. Anser is another decently solid villain. The guy is the brainy type although that is also used against him as the guy’s main gag. I enjoyed his fight a good deal he ends up being a villain who can stand out. He’s not one of the most powerful by any means but he can hold his own.

Then we have Abel who is a really big deal. The guy’s ability to use many puppets at once is really impressive and he’s actually someone who did give Mash a run for his money. The guy looks great right from the start and also lasts for a little while which makes him stand out more. He’s got his own reasons for fighting and ultimately while he is a villain from the start, he’s fun to watch. He even plays off of Mash’s gags a bit here and there.

Abyss comes in later and strength wise is easily one of the most impressive. He can use arrows in the air much like Medusa to speed himself up and he can also use them to mess with his opponent’s movements. It’s an incredibly difficult spell to work around because you will be really disoriented the whole time. All it takes is one big mistake and then you are gone. Almost any fighter except for Mash would have lost this battle which just proves that point. Abyss is a very complete villain with a lot of solid development.

For some more minor villains who were pretty hype, next up is Shuen. I ultimately thought he was fun. The guy even made his opponent Dot jealous because of how good he is. That’s a fight he probably should have won too, I had my doubts on Dot really being able to turn things around there. He may not really get to do anything going forward but he made for a good villain. Likewise Jon was solid with his kitchen themed attacks. A good gimmick goes a long way so even though he may not return to do anything, it was a good appearance nonetheless.

Love, Wirth, and Milo fall into this camp as well. Each one appears for a quick fight and looks good. I liked their designs and overall confidence. They may be very minor villains almost by definition but they definitely trounce the average oneshot villain. Mashle really excels when it comes to making enjoyable characters like this. There are other characters but these are the main ones. The show has already done a lot of solid worldbuilding and set things up well for the second season so we’re in good hands.

Overall, Mashle was definitely great. It’s the kind of show that just feels good to watch with a lot of quality humor and good action scenes. You will definitely never be bored watching this one and the action is always a lot of fun. If you were worried about having to compare it to One Punch Man, you should still check it out anyway. Obviously I’m on Team One Punch Man overall but both shows definitely have their place here and I look forward to seeing more of Mash’s adventures soon!

Overall 8/10