Ghost Rider Review

Posted on February 25, 2024 by dreager1

It’s time for an old school superhero game. This one’s not trying anything fancy and is really just focused on letting you smash as many demons as possible. This works out well though and while the game could maybe use some polish in some areas, it always keeps up a fast pace so you are bound to have a great time here.

The game starts off with Ghost Rider being told by Mephisto to destroy a bunch of demons or the main heroine is going to be taken out of the picture. So Ghost Rider will reluctantly be helping Mephisto to stop Blackheart but if the demon lord lets his guard down for even a moment then it’ll be all over. Ghost Rider is a being of vengeance after all, he will never relent and he will never stop. His abilities are simply too powerful.

The story’s really just a cover to start on the beat em up gameplay. It’s technically about as thin as they come, particularly for a newer console like the PS2. The cutscene are still a lot of fun but the sound gets real low for those which is a really odd decision. I would have the volume in the 20s for the gameplay, then I’d quickly have to shoot it up to the 30s for the cutscenes. It was a lot of back and forth there and there’s no subtitles option.

Now the gameplay is where this one really excels. You have your standard attacks, power moves, jumping attacks, shotgun, super attack, and super mode. You have to carefully decide which moves you want to use when taking the enemies down. Shotgun, and Supermode use the same energy. Personally I would say to stick with the mode since it lasts a while so it’s way more useful than the gun. The shotgun is only good to use if you ae fighting one of the enemies who is protected by a barrier that won’t break until your combo level is high enough. Those guys can be annoying but the shotgun does help with that. See your combo meter goes up by switching up your attacks rather than a total number of blows.

A good tip for that though is to use your super move. If you have it properly leveled up then it automatically raises your combo level enough to destroy any barrier. The game is also extremely generous with the EXP. Trust me you’ll be blasting through the levels like it’s nobody’s business so you’ll have maxed out all of the abilities early on. From there it’s really a breeze. I would say the game is on the easier side. I died like 2-3 times total and they were all because I fell off of the stage. There was one tricky elevator ride where the edges always got real close real fast. Beyond that I didn’t have a problem with the enemies.

Mainly just make sure you jump a lot since the jumping combo is super handy and don’t worry about saving energy. You earn it so fast that you should just focus on blasting away at any enemy that stands before you. Then you keep it moving. Your super attack is also so good that it can take out a clean 1/3 of even the final boss’s health bar. Not bad right? It’s why you want to level these attacks up real fast.

If you let your guard down or get too sloppy then you can still lost some lives here. When I say that the game is easy, I’m certainly not saying that it’s a cakewalk or anything like that. It will still take some effort here and good planning but as long as you fight carefully then you should be okay. The game has 30 levels but the overall length is fairly short at around 4 hours or so. The longest levels can go up to 12 minutes but the shortest ones are under 2 so it really depends on the stage. Around half of them are the racing levels which tend to always be on the short side. I did enjoy the gameplay a lot with those though. The motorcycle controlled really well the whole time and the shotgun did work wonders while here.

Of course I always like beat em up gameplay so the combat levels were also really solid. You had takedown throws and everything. The way you recover health is to stand next to fire which I thought was a pretty interesting way to go about it. Meanwhile one of the highlights here is the rock music. There is nonstop rock music in just about every level in the game. When you’re fighting just about any kind of demon it shows up and really gets the blood pumping. The game properly understood that when you’re playing as Ghost Rider you want to feel that special intensity since you’re such a powerful force. It’s safe to say that this really helped elevate the game up further. It was so good.

The visuals were more on the standard side. They were good and all but definitely could have popped out a little more. I like all of the fire everywhere and the character designs are on point so that’s what counts. Blackheart even gets to show his true demonic side this time which was really nice to see. Ghost Rider really needs to get another game at some point, there’s a lot you can do with him.

Overall, Ghost Rider was a pretty good game. You can tell that it is a movie cash-in in some ways but on the other hand I don’t think it was totally phoned in. You do get to use Ghost Rider’s chain a lot and the moveset really does a good job of working out the way you would expect it to for this fighter. There’s enough content to keep me entertained all the while here so I really have no complaints there. You can get it for a really good nowadays too. So if you haven’t played this game yet then you should definitely change that!

Overall 7/10

B’T X Neo Review

Posted on February 19, 2024 by dreager1

Kind of like Magia Record, it’s time to check out a sequel that was a lot shorter than the original. It was always going to be interesting to see how Neo fared because there were still a ton of villains left but not a whole lot of time to get to them. I will say that this one can be a little rushed at times with some villains having to go down fast but it’s still a great ride all the way through. It’s another title that is basically action all the way through and that’s always a win.

The sequel picks up right where the last one left off as Teppei and the team are still heading to the villain’s main base. Teppei is there to save his brother Kotaro while the others are going for their own reasons. Fou wants to see if the Empire really is evil, Hokuto is a bit of a wild card but he’s generally there for the same reasons and Ron really wants to make sure that he hasn’t been manipulated. So this isn’t quite a united team just yet but hey at least they’re all heading over. The villains may have lost a lot of generals already but they still have Juggler, the dark generals, and the 8 higher ups. I forget their team name but that’s a lot of fighters for 14 episodes to deal with. Plus the heroes will still have to fight Raphael, the ultimate monster/robotic hybrid creation that the villains have been working on.

One thing I appreciated about Neo is that it did keep up the normal pacing for as long as possible. For example you may figure that Neo has to hit the ground running with all of the villains coming up but it still gives 3 whole episodes to the first fight where Fou deals with his old friend Quattro. It was really important that they take this time because narratively that’s a really big fight. We finally see the full details behind Fou’s backstory and I do have to say that he messed up there. Basically the reason Quattro is so mad at him is because when their mutual friend was dying, Quattro begged Fou to encourage her so they would have a chance at saving her. Instead, he basically just told her that the religion they all followed was fake and there was no real hope. So she died and Quattro holds a grudge there.

Yeah, she probably would have died anyway but Fou didn’t have to say it the way that he did. There is a big difference between being honest and just being unnecessarily brutal when talking to someone. He did the latter and that was too bad. He’s come a long way since then but it’s understandable why Quattro has such a big grudge. Again I disagree with Fou in the present for basically deciding that it’s fine to let Quattro murder him as a way to atone. At the end of the day that’s never the way to do it.

Fou is still one of my favorite characters though even if this was a rough start for him. He protects the kids from the villains and has generally been a great guy since then. He actually learned from his mistakes and I can always appreciate that. Meanwhile Quattro was a really good villain. He still is a bad guy all the way but I always appreciate having a villain with motivations that you can really understand like this. He ended up being really memorable as a result.

As always Teppei is a great main character here. By this sequel he already has a great bond with X so the two aren’t really bickering much anymore. They’re able to fight really well as a team and keep the enemy forces at bay. Teppei still needs to get a little stronger by the end to handle the main threat but he hangs in there until it kicks in. He does remind me a lot of Seiya with his resilience and he always keeps a good attitude up. Meanwhile I also enjoy X a lot and it makes a good difference to have a pair of main characters who are likable like that. He was also there to support Fou when the guy was having a lot of doubts.

Meanwhile Kotaro still gets a big role here but I really wish that he could have gotten some cool abilities to fight with. The smarts is good and all but you feel like he is always destined to be on the sidelines when it counts as a result of not being able to fight. He’s constantly in danger in the underground and just can’t do much about it. He does make some allies there and is crucial to the climax but only as a supporting character. Karen finally gets to actually show up here and while I’d like her role to have been a bit bigger, she’s a lot of fun. We know that in the past she was one of the top fighters and it’s clear that in the present she still is. I would have liked her to have flexed a little more but as it is the franchise was getting ready to end so there’s only so much that can happen at once. Regardless I expect you’ll be pretty happy with her role.

Aramis and Metal Face get a role here as well. I always liked Metal Face as a good underdog kind of character. He was never quite ready to deal with the top tiers and so he takes a lot of Ls in the series but the guy never gives up. I could respect his determination and it made the guy really memorable. Sure he was never a threat but he still got his own character arc and that’s more than you can say for most villains. Aramis also gets a lot to do but I take more shots at her because she lacks determination.

By the end of the first series she already had serious doubts about the Empire and here she is still getting crushed by Misha and the other villains. It would have been good if she could have defected a lot earlier and taken a stand against Raphael. Especially since it turns out that she really is quite skilled as a fighter. I mean she takes on Juggler and actually does great which automatically puts her near the very top of the verse. This is why you should never just mindlessly obey orders. Imagine what she could have been doing this whole time.

Misha is a super annoying villain though because he just seems petty and overconfident the whole time. He’s the kind of character where you could warn him that the heroes are approaching and he would just sit back and eat a sandwich. He doesn’t proactively make moves except to yell at his underlings to take care of things. The guy is no strategist and if he was then I dare say the war would be over. You have to consider just how badly the heroes were outnumbered for the whole series. We’re talking 100-1 and it’s not like the villains are super weak. In season 1, Teppei was having a ton of trouble with the random generals.

Yeah he got a lot stronger since then and is on Fou’s level now but even the top 4 generals are shown to have trouble with some of the other villains. So if you sent everyone right away then the heroes would have definitely been finished. You can’t claim this is just gameplay mechanics since it’s an actual story here. Misha just didn’t take any real steps to stop them which was his big mistake.

Now if you want to talk about a great villain, lets talk about Juggler. This guy absolutely dominated whenever he was on screen to the point where I dare say he set the bar way too high. I was expecting every member of the villain’s elite ranks to be as strong as him but in the end he really outshined them all. Purely in feats and portrayal at least I don’t think anyone came close. When Juggler was introduced he acted as if he could take the heroes group all at once and I believed him. Well, at least I believed that he would make it a great fight which is already crazy impressive. The guy had charisma and was quite the merciless villain. He really leaves a lasting impression on you.

Meimu is probably the next most impressive from the 7 shadow warriors because this guy also gets a few episodes to himself. He’s also not trying to compete with Juggler in terms of physical power. This is one of those guys who uses a lot of shadows and mind games to get into your head. He’s strong and gives Teppei a good run for his money. By this point in the show you do have to get a little worried though because we’re already halfway through and that’s only taking care of 2 out of the 7 shadow warriors. I still say it’s a positive that the show took its time in the first half to give the characters their time to shine but yeah it does hurt the other villains a bit.

Even the heroes to an extent. So for example Fou got a lot to do but what about Ron? Even in the first series Ron got to appear the least since he was the last member. Well, here he does get more action. For example he’s the first one to reach the villain’s base and start fighting since he went on ahead. He looks good in the action against the random minions but against the named fighters he can’t do as much. Again I think the problem here is that he just didn’t have enough time. Ideally you would want him to beat a few generals before pairing him up with Raphael where he would lose to show just how powerful the final boss was. That’s not exactly how it plays out since things are sped up but I still did like Ron as the gruff team member. He could have been even better but I’ll still give him his props. It is at least hinted that he is the strongest of the 4 generals in pure combat power.

Hokuto is probably the most bland member of the 4 and it’s more of a by default I suppose. The guy is a super genius and his B’t is a defensive type which means that he isn’t running in and dealing a bunch of damage. That’s not really the way that he fights. Thing is, we already have Kotaro as the genius character which eats into Hokuto’s hype a bit. There’s just not a ton of room for two characters with similar personalities even though Hokuto could actually fight. Also the two don’t really get to interact much and I think that’s where the show could have had some interesting moments. Hokuto even gets his own origin story later on but it’s so late in the game that it feels too late.

When it comes to the climax of the series, I will say that it doesn’t quite beat a lot of the top battles here. For example, the battles with Quattro and Juggler were more fun. The real problem here is that Raphael is too huge. The villain is absolutely massive and while he can put up a fight as a super durable tank, there’s not much more to him than that. He’s practically mindless for most of the battle and the fight really revolves around the heroes attacking, he tanks it. Then he attacks and they dodge, rinse and repeat. It’s why it can’t touch the more intense close quarters battles.

The soundtrack is pretty good here. There are a lot of fun tunes and they fit the sci-fi genre fairly well. The action themes are tense and the adventure themes are fast paced. A lot of good effort was put in here and the animation is also pretty smooth. I wouldn’t say it’s absolutely top tier or anything like that but the choreography is good and it’s always easy to follow along with what’s going on.

In general I liked the series aesthetic. It could have easily fallen into the bland desert trope but instead this actually feels like an alternate planet where everything is just a bit different. The world is still high tech even if they don’t always show that part off. I also still like the idea of the villain base being divided into a ton of squares that serve as territories and each one is guarded by a villain. It’s why this series could have gone even longer so we could have had more bosses. The show was smart to never show us a map though so you couldn’t tell how close the heroes were until they actually made it to the base. I think we could have gotten more of a reason why the B’ts don’t work in Misha’s room though. It felt like a cheesy way to try and make him a slight threat near the end.

Overall, If you liked B’t X then you will definitely like B’t X Neo. It continues the saga seamlessly with a ton of fights and a satisfying ending. The animation here is solid and in the end there’s just nothing to really dislike here. It’d be cool to see this one get a modern remake or another sequel at some point. We sort of jumped right into the world ending stuff here so there wasn’t a lot of time to explore the world and I feel like there is a ton of latent potential there. I still remember how the first episode of B’t X started out fast with those robot assassins. Realistically it feels like this is a franchise that has been forgotten but you can never say never.

Overall 8/10

Magia Record Season 3: Dawn of a Shallow Dream Review

Posted on February 19, 2024 by dreager1

All right it’s time for the end to the Magia Record saga! Season 2 was top tier elite and could easily hold its own with even the main title. I was super impressed and the big question was if season 3 could match it. Well, the season is a lot shorter so season 2’s definitely got the win but it’s still an elite ending. I will just say the way that the old characters were written out was extremely lazy. Did they not realize that more enemies were still around? Leaving just felt odd and it’s the only reason the villains last as long as they did.

So Iroha has to continue going to the enemy base to put a stop to the evil magical girls once and for all. She has to rescue her friends and find out why they went down such a dark path. Along the way we finally see the villains motivation for why they are doing this in the first place and the first episode is a good way of seeing things from their point of view. With any villain that is the make or break point. Will the backstory make you feel sympathetic or will it just be forced and you’re laughing all the way?

With a title as good as Magia Record it’s not surprising that the backstory is pretty good though. Touka is probably the most sympathetic because she was kept in the dark the whole time on exactly what was going on. Her memories weren’t complete and so she was fighting to save the day but without knowing the risks and a certain important figure regarding who the witch was. Ultimately I do think she would have chosen to keep fighting though so Nemu definitely should have confided in her. Touka is super forgiving so it works out but that could have definitely been a friendship ender.

Nemu is a little full of herself which holds her back next to the other villains. At the end of the day as the big mastermind I have to put most of this on her. She may be trying to save everyone in the end by stopping the cycle of witches but after a point when you’re murdering so many people, you’re just not being the hero you thought you were. I get the argument of slaughtering a few hundred to save untold billions because in a logical sense it makes sense but it’s hard to ever get behind that idea even if you were to think it had a 100% success rate.

Because I should say right now that I still think the plan was going to fail. The whole plan revolves around using their super witch to defeat Walpurgisnacht but the problem with this? It never looks like it even has a shot of pulling that off. Walpurgisnacht is known as the ultimate witch with unlimited power for good reason. It took Homura hundreds and hundreds of tries to even get close at beating it and even then she wasn’t ready to deal with this threat in the end. This witch may be strong as well but the heroes are able to land some damage so I don’t think it is durable enough to survive the onslaught or powerful enough to really resist. No matter how you slice it Walpurgisnacht is not going to lose to any other witch no matter how powered up it gets.

So with the plan being a bust, it means that the villains really don’t have a leg to stand on for their defense. They should have found another way or brought Iroha into the fold earlier to try and help. That way she could have talked them out of it. So the whole story is pretty emotional here as they go for a good redemption arc and how these girls were trying to help make things better but in the end they made things so much tougher on everyone that it just isn’t good enough as an excuse.

One character you do feel bad for is Kuroe though. She was mainly roped into situations that were just too big for her. She does deserve a level of blame for choosing the villains over the heroes but even when she was ready to come back, her inner darkness was too powerful by that point. For a while there she was really a villain completely against her will so I’ll naturally be a lot more sympathetic to her plight at that point.

Of course this season only has 4 episodes so with using a full one on the villains, we have to hit the ground running on the others. The whole season is like one big climax though so it works out well. The animation is still absolutely stellar here and we get some pretty cool combo attacks. It will be cool if they can keep this unity feature in for the main series as well. I always like the idea of merging energy into a big super attack. Also with the animation budget as high as it is, the new characters even feel stronger than the old ones at times.

By the end of the series I don’t feel like it really addressed why the new characters are able to use their witch hybrid forms the way that they do though. This still feels like a new concept that just wasn’t a thing the first time around. I can write it off as this timeline being slightly different so it’s possible but it’s a bit weak. So retroactively if you have Homura and friends using witch moves in the next movie/season that could change things but for now it’s a bit odd. Still makes for really great fights though.

It’s a bit lazy that season 3 doesn’t have its own opening though. It makes this really feel more like season 2.5. Even if it was a low budget, rushed last second kind of opening I would have liked to have had something new here. It would have helped the season stand out more. I think the best way to look at this one is like a movie to be honest since it really fits in with the runtime that way. Of course the fact that it’s basically all nonstop action is part of why the series tracks so high. Opening aside, I did enjoy the soundtrack a lot. A lot of very grand themes are playing the whole time.

One last thing I’d say is the third season is short enough where a lot of characters don’t get a big role this time around. Yachiyo for example has been a huge character throughout the series but takes a big step back to Iroha this time around. She does help a lot during the climax in one of those cool combo attacks I was talking about but for the most part isn’t a focus this time. As for the rest of the friend group, you can really forget about them. They help a bit in the background here and there but that’s about it. I’d say it’s a good idea though given the length. if the season was longer then I would want them around but with 4 episodes you get that not everything can happen at once. You do get to see them try to stall the final witch so that’s enough of a role.

I would have liked my favorite villain to have done more. I still remember her having that amazing cliffhanger in season 1 were she revealed that the plan was to fight Walpurgisnacht and she has an interesting ability where she can use paint to create huge barriers and amp up the villains but she doesn’t get a true 1 v 1 fight the way that most of the other characters did. I feel like she would probably end up being one of the top fighters but we never got to really see that for sure.

While you could be overwhelmed by the sheer amount of info drops and characters running around here, it is impressive how the show ties everything together. Don’t forget that the show started off as part mystery on why nobody remembers Iroha’s little sister who used to be in the hospital with the other girls who turned evil. The natural assumption is that she was the price for one of the magical girls since there is always a cost that you have to pay but then you need to figure out who would have made that the cost. This season finally wraps up that mystery along with the mini Kyubei.

The very ending I would say is still a bit ambiguous on where this takes place in the timeline though. Of course you know my theory from the start is that this is a failed timeline, one of many where Homura could not save Madoka and so it doesn’t exist anymore. I still stand by that one but it would have been nice if the show had went into this with a bit more detail. Whether as a yes or a no I’d have been curious there.

Overall, This was a great end to the Magia Record series. I’m ready for the main cast to return but these characters really held their own rather well. I was impressed at how high quality the title was all the way back from season 2 and season 3 really kept up the momentum all the way. I would highly recommend checking this show out. You probably want to at least watch season 2 for context though. The quality writing and messages work well even without context but you won’t get the full impact. You wouldn’t have seen the struggles they all went through after all. This is Madoka of course so there is plenty of tragedy just in this season of course. The heroes can never catch a break.

Overall 9/10

Spy X Family Season 2 Review

Posted on February 18, 2024 by dreager1

It’s time for a pretty fun set of adventures with the Forger family. Season 2 adapts what I consider to still be the best arc in the manga so it’s going to be hard to beat this one. For the most part I would say the season is fairly low stakes aside from that adventure but it’s a really hype one to throw into the season. In general we don’t get to see as much of Yor at her job compared to Loid so it’s fun to see some action there. The show goes by really quickly at 12 episodes long.

Since most of the episodes are one shots, I’ll just go through them as I review the season. Real quick in case you don’t know the basic story of the show, here’s a recap. Loid is a professional spy with no equal and Yor is the world’s greatest assassin. Loid’s latest mission is to get closer to the Desmond family and find out what they are up to and for that reason he needed a family with a kid to infiltrate the school. So he adopted a kid named Anya (Who can secretly read minds) and married Yor (Who found this marriage to be convenient as her cover as well). They even got a dog (Who can see the future) and as they all live together they’ve quickly become a real family although Loid and Yor can be hesitant to admit this even in their thoughts.

You can see how this will play out on a large scale so for now the fun is in seeing how long they can keep the pretenses up before one of them gives away the secret. The first episode has Yor getting poisoned after one of her missions and so she’s working through it but the problem is that Loid’s taking her on a date to get her spirits up. Now she has to try and get through this adventure without him suspecting anything but since she can’t even sit, it won’t be easy. When you stop and think about it, most dates involve sitting at some point whether it be for watching a movie or eating. So as you can bet there are a lot of shenanigans going on here.

It’s a fun way to start the season off and you get to have a lot of Loid and Yor interactions which is always nice. It underscores how difficult it is to live this double life as well. It would be easy if they knew each other’s secrets after all and until the secret is revealed eventually in a last season or something, these misunderstandings will just continue to occur. Anya even gets to contribute a little here so she wasn’t left out of the premiere or anything like that.

The second episode is a bit on the weaker side and as you will quickly notice, the best episodes are the ones about Loid and Yor or at least one of them. When it’s about the side characters then it doesn’t stand quite as tall. This episode has two main segments. One is about poor Bond (The dog) seeing a future where Yor’s cooking takes him down so he has to find Loid and fast. Along the way he gets to help out on a mission which is fun enough but I feel like the dynamic with Bond can’t have as much variety almost by definition since he can’t talk. The other half is about Damian who has been working too hard. To take his mind off of studying, he is taken to the lake to fish and get to act like a kid for once.

Damian’s not awful or anything but you don’t really care much about these kids so the whole time you’re just waiting for one of the main characters to return. At least for me that’s my primary thought the whole time because they’re the ones who really get the plot going. The first segment with Bond had some action though so I’ll give it some props there. In general the show does a good job of moving quickly and the technical aspects like animation are always solid so it goes by quickly enough. Side characters are just side characters for a reason.

In episode 3 we get a Yuri segment which is always fun. We get to see him taking down a spy who was smuggling photos. The guy is very good at his job and while he is way too obsessed with Yor, he definitely cares about family a lot. That theme naturally ties into the case as well. There are also two mini segments involving Anya but those are on the weaker side. Anya oversleeps and then she gets the wrong message from the Bondman show. Actually, saying it’s the wrong message isn’t quite accurate, I’d say the show itself is just a bit busted. Yor definitely carried this episode.

In episode 4 we get to see Franky being desperate and making a fool of himself as always. Look, if you’re only extra nice to someone because you’re hoping to ask her out then you shouldn’t bother. That’s not being authentic in the slightest and so you’re rooting for Franky to fail. The other segment was a bit more fun with the kids fighting over snacks. We get to see Damian trying to be a nice guy in the end. Despite the tough talk, he does let Anya win when it counts so that speaks well to his character. Franky brings this one down but the first short is solid so it’s still able to tread water.

Episodes 5-9 are about the Yor arc and from the size alone you can tell that this is the big one. Yor is given a top priority mission to protect a lady and her baby while on a cruise. She needs to get her safely off the ship near the end of the voyage but the problem is that the information leaked an the cruise is packed with assassins of varying skill levels. Additionally, Anya actually won a raffle to the ship so she and Loid are going to be aboard. Yor’s cover involves a business deal so they can technically see her but she can’t afford to get distracted and if they see her fighting then it can be all over. Will she be able to save the day?

There are a lot of reasons why this arc is so good. For starters we’re back to the high stakes here. Each of these assassins are actively trying to murder her. This is not fun and games and we see how she mercilessly takes care of them as well. We usually see the more clumsy/happy side of Yor but she’s all business when it comes time for the fights. It’s also not a walk in the park and the various assassins get to really show off their techniques. This feels like a battle Shonen for a while there and the animation did good here. I liked the effects for the electricity and in general all of the hand to hand moves were good.

Since we had several episodes to the arc, there’s time for some good cliffhangers as well. As always Loid and Anya do get a bit of a role so they aren’t totally written out. Loid gets to diffuse some bombs and Anya helps with one of the weapons but for the most part this is Yor’s show and that’s good. Up until this point Loid has had his share of action and Anya is always around but this is the first full mission we’ve had for Yor. I hope we get more of them someday but I will be satisfied with this for now. It absolutely elevates season 2 as a whole and has a ton of replay value.

After that episode 10 is partially an epilogue of sorts as the family finally reunites and Anya gets to brag about the trip a whole lot. Leave it to Anya to get herself into trouble since nobody’s gonna believe that. I’ll cut her some slack since she is a kid and I could absolutely see a kid doing that…but it’s why she can’t really keep up with Loid and Yor yet. Once they all know each other’s secrets, hopefully they can teach her how to fight and be more ready in the field. It’s a low key episode but one that puts on the finishing touches to the arc rather well.

Episode 11 is really about how charming Loid is and how the ladies can’t stay away from him. The first half is about how Becky has a secret crush on him. It’s too bad because she’s otherwise a high quality character but I guess everyone has their weakness. Obviously she’s just a little kid so the whole thing is more of a joke to the other characters. Yor is nice about it and Loid does his best to just excuse himself. I assume this will be a very rare kind of running gag as Becky should get over him quickly. The second half is about Fiona who is still trying for Loid and she’s way more desperate since she’s a full adult pining after someone who is married. You know how I feel about rebounds so I can’t root for her in the slightest.

She just needs to focus on her missions and stop trying to sabotage Loid. If she has a crush on him that’s fine as long as she tries to get over him but she’s gotta keep that to herself. You just can’t let anyone find out and you gotta bury those feelings. When you try to fight for someone who’s already taken…well that’s just sad. The episode is entertaining enough but not the most exciting to be honest. I wouldn’t want Becky or Fiona to be main characters for too many segments.

Finally we end the season with a Bond adventure which was an odd pick. I feel like this didn’t make a whole lot of sense for the final episode. Basically Loid tries to train him some more but different events keep happening where Bond has to save someone to avert a bad future. The problem? By averting the future, it never happened so to Loid it just looks like Bond is going crazy. That’s definitely the worst part about seeing the future since you can’t really prove it or anything. Still, props to Bond for trying his best and hanging in there the whole time. By the end he does perform a rescue good enough that Loid does notice it.

So it’s a wholesome episode but I would have picked a story that focuses on all 3 of the characters a bit more. Well, either way that wraps up season 2 and it was a fun set of adventures. 12 episode titles like this sure do fly by very quickly. The Yor saga carries the season but even without it, this would still be a quality slice of life title. The Yor saga just adds on the action genre which to me is always important and stacks the deck against season 3 because it’ll be tough to top this one now.

As mentioned earlier, the animation is definitely solid here. It’s all very streamlined and while the animators don’t get to show off too often, it’s clear that a lot of hard work went into this one. The soundtrack isn’t as memorable though. The opening song is fairly catchy though and special shoutout to the opening’s animation because it really went crazy there. I like how fast everything was moving and nowadays there are enough openings of people just stretching or jumping up and down that getting so much full movement is really appreciated. I’m betting the frames in that opening are about as much as the average episode with how much was going on.

Part of what makes the show work is that the character cast is good. A slice of life is only as good as the characters and their interactions after all right? Loid and Yor are solid as I mentioned. They’re both hard workers and they really care about their family and being nice people in general. Anya may be immature but she still tries and has some entertaining moments. Franky and Bond admittedly don’t help much but the characters can’t all be winners. Yuri is entertaining and adds some danger to the group dynamic while Becky is the only kid who actually seems mature and loyal in the kids group. Damian may be nice when it counts but he’s still not someone who helps you out in the day to day. The cast is actually rather large when you think about it.

Overall, Spy X Family continues strong with season 2. As a whole I think I’d give the edge to season 1 for more consistently high quality stories but none of them individually touch the Yor boat fights. I really hope the series goes down the action route more in the future because it’s clear that there is a ton of potential there. The main characters can all fight after all so the natural outcome should be to get these battles in there right? Maybe make it so that the Desmond family has a ton of powerful bodyguards on retainer or something. Either way this is a solid show that I can recommend to everyone as a safe product for fans of slice of life or action.

Overall 7/10

Safe Review

Posted on February 18, 2024 by dreager1

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 classic action thriller kind of a film. That said, it does take a while to get going so you would actually think it’s more of a tragedy drama for the first half. Once the two main characters are united then we are in business with a lot of big action scenes though. I liked how the film had a ton of different players and factions involved which helped make the whole thing feel very grand but on the other hand the film just doesn’t stand out a lot. So it was good but I think a lot of it is gonna be fairly forgettable pretty soon.

So first up we have the plot with Luke. He used to be a cop but stuff happened and now he competes in underground boxing fights. Unfortunately his opponent was really weak so by mistake he won the fight with a single punch when he was supposed to lose. So the mafia retaliates by murdering his family and have decided to make his life a living hell until he destroys himself. Luke does his best to hang in there but they are true to their word and keep murdering anyone he talks to. Just when he decides to check out, he notices shady figure chasing after a little girl and decides he needs to help her first.

This takes us to our second main character, Mei. Mei is a super math prodigy with a photographic memory for numbers. She never forgets a number once she has seen it and so the villains want her so she can remember debts and their books. This way there’s no real evidence and it also makes shaking down the local businesses very efficient. Mei doesn’t want to do any of these things but she has no real choice and in the meantime they also use her mother as leverage although she dies early on and Mei finds this out. Still, what can a kid really do? One day she is able to make a break for it and then she bumps into Luke.

The idea of bringing the two characters together is pretty fun so I give the film credit there. Additionally, it’s not just one generic mafia group running around. We have the Russians, the Japanese, and then a corrupt group of cops who play ball with both of them. It helps keep things interesting because the different villain groups get in each other’s way in addition to the heroes trying to stay away from them. Ultimately Luke may even need to team up with one to stop the others and buy some time to get out on top.

I don’t think the film fully takes advantage of this angle though. I would have liked some more actual fights between them. We have the climax but for the most part each group does move on their own. The best scene of the groups actually interacting in a way was when both of them were on the line with the corrupt cop at the same time trying to outbid each other. That was really fun and is exactly the kind of interaction that I’m looking for here.

This is one of the few films where the actor playing Luke isn’t running around beating 20 guys with ease and showing off more martial arts. Luke can fight here but he’s not some kind of master level black belt. He’s a bit more humble this time around. I would have liked to have seen more action scenes to be honest but the ones that we got were fun. At the end of the film it’s heavily implied that he would have actually lost to his opponent so Mei had to step in. I think she made the right call there. Luke’s a fun lead and he does a good job but he doesn’t always make smart decisions. There are so many times in the film where realistically he should have died but the villains didn’t finish the job. In some cases it was intentional which is fine but in others we’re talking a bit of plot armor here.

It’s also why the first half isn’t as fun though. I was ready for the exciting chase scenes and all, not watching Luke just be super depressed as the villains mess him over and he doesn’t do much to stop them. What I thought was a real shame is that at the end he’s given the chance to avenge his family and doesn’t. Look….I know they’re going for the hero play here but Luke’s no hero and the way his family went out practically begs him to avenge them. I think he really should have taken the villain out, he’s come too far to stop now. Not anything drawn out mind you, it’s not like he should become a villain or anything. Just go in with a quick gunshot and then it’s all over. That’s absolutely what should have happened if you ask me.

Meanwhile Mei is a fun character. A lot of times the kids in these films can be annoying but she was actually helpful at times and she was also quick on the uptake. She knew that giving the villains too much info would mean that she was expendable so she did her best to strategize. She helped Luke out in the fights and in general wasn’t a burden. So she’s definitely got a thumbs up in my book as a quality character and I could see the two of them being a good duo in a future sequel.

While the film wasn’t always firing on all cylinders, the ending is pretty fun. For a film like this you do want some kind of happy ending and it’s even slightly sequel bait you could say. I think a sequel for this film would go over fairly well. The writing is on point and while the first half is slow, the second has good pacing. It does have to struggle a bit with utilizing all of the characters though. I was looking forward to seeing more action from Alex. He doesn’t really do anything until the closing minutes but apparently he’s a really top tier fighter. The scene of him taking down a whole squad was super impressive. The way he goes out is funny but he should have gotten another fight or two. This is where I go back to the issue of the film not properly utilizing all of the factions. Alex and the Mayor should have had a bigger role which could have led to more fights.

Overall, Safe is a good film. I have my share of issues that keep it from being pretty good like the really slow beginning. The film can also be a bit violent and torture happens but in general it’s got a fairly light tone. The film doesn’t dwell too much on the darker elements which is good. I’d also say it has good replay value because of how much is going on at all times. There’s a lot to absorb and at the end of the day it can be pretty fun. I’d recommend checking this out if you’re looking for an action title you haven’t checked out yet.

Overall 6/10

Granblue Fantasy: Relink Review

Posted on February 17, 2024 by dreager1

It’s time for a pretty top tier RPG that came out a little while ago. It’s a pretty long game so there is plenty of time to squeeze in a bunch of storylines, hype characters, and lots of action. The levels also get rather difficult so you definitely have to make sure you level up and beat a bunch of enemies or it’ll catch up to you at the worst possible time. You can’t let that happen or it’s all over. This game definitely surpassed my expectations and really ended up being a standout hit.

The general plot has the main character sailing the skies with his friend Lyria and the rest of the crew. They are still trying to get to the final island at the edge of the skies similar to what Luffy is doing on the waters but along the way they always end up helping people in different villages. Lyria is linked to the lead with their souls so if one dies then the other will too. So they both have to do their best to stay strong and throughout their adventures they have learned how to tame giant monsters and really fight as a team. Well their biggest threat is here now as a mysterious group wants to kidnap Lyria for nefarious purposes. This group is incredibly powerful…can they be stopped?

The game sort of starts you off right in the middle of the journey but even if you haven’t played the other games or watched the anime I would argue that it’s fairly new player friendly. You quickly get an understanding of the team dynamics and personalities and their goal is simple enough. Meanwhile you have the villains jumping in and getting in everyone’s way which makes enough sense. The game is stand alone enough for this to all be easy while still connecting to the overall plot by the end. So yeah there’s really a good story here all the way and Gran really has to work on getting stronger if he wants to keep on protecting Lyria.

You have a good amount of twists, betrayals, and hype moments scattered throughout the game. Another reason why I really enjoy RPGs is because in general they are long enough to get all of that content in. If a game is short then there’s only so much that you can do with the story after all. The character designs are on point and things even get rather high tier by the end. These characters are definitely not messing around.

The gameplay is a 3D action title where you go in and smash away at your enemies. You have 4 different special moves per character and you choose which ones you want to use from the menu. You learn so many different ones that it can be hard to decide on just 4. Additionally as you level up you can keep on adding to your character tree. There’s no way to power everything up and all of the characters share points so you can choose to put everything into one character and make him a beast in combat or you can keep it fairly equal and distribute the whole time. It’s really up to you. I went ahead and gave it all to Gran since I played as him the whole time. I figured I should give myself the best possible chance to win and I’d rather trust myself than the A.I.

I suppose you could make that same case in favor of powering up your partners since they’ll need the stats more than I might but in general I like being strong enough to take on the boss as needed. The gameplay mechanics aren’t all explained very well so there’s some stuff I learned rather late in the game. One is that you die for good when your team’s danger meter goes all the way up. I thought I just had to revive people before the meter went out but every death adds onto the total which is why sometimes it would seem like my team died for no reason. Also you can speed up your revival by smashing the control stick in each direction. So I highly recommend doing that because every minute seriously counts.

For what to power up on the tree, I just did that randomly. It’s probably better to have a plan but you get so many power ups that it just felt more efficient to be throwing them all around. I’d be pretty strong either way. There’s even more to the gameplay after all of this but have fun exploring it as you play. There’s so many different ways to tackle a level and you can keep on switching characters in your party which is cool. The game has some very occasional platforming which feels a bit out of place but it’s pleasant enough. Just know that you will be mainly focusing on the battles either way.

The sheer amount of content in the game is super impressive though. Aside from the story which is already really long, you have a ton of side quests, missions, post game content, character stories for every character, etc. Getting the platinum trophy for this game and clearing everything probably will take you at least 60 hours if not longer. They really went all out on this game and I appreciate it. No corners were cut and it’s clear that the developers put a lot of care into this one. The boss battles are spectacular and the whole thing is really a lot of fun.

The graphics are super good as you would expect. There are even a few battles mid cutscene which are always a lot of fun. Then you have the soundtrack which is pretty good as well. On the technical side the game definitely does not disappoint. When you are solid all across the board like that then there is really nothing that can stop you. This is a game that I won’t be forgetting anytime soon and definitely deserves a lot of praise. I’m really going to have to keep my eye out for more Granblue games when they come out now.

Overall, Granblue Fantasy: Relink is definitely an excellent game. It’s really got everything you could want here from great gameplay to a compelling story. It’s no small potatoes either how there is so much voice acting in the game. It always helps to make a game feel newer and this one feels like it’s got a bit of everything. Even 20 years from now, this game will still look and feel really good which is why it excels. The quality of life features are all intact and there are no real pain points here.

Overall 9/10

Altered Beast Review

Posted on February 17, 2024 by dreager1

It’s time for the next Genesis title. This one’s really short but it’s still a good amount of fun. I feel like they went all out here as the levels that we do get have a lot of detail to them. The combat is pretty fun and every animal form has its own special abilities which also helps them to stand out. You really feel like you’re super powerful once you’re in the beast mode. It also at least does have a real plot in game which is always nice.

The game starts with a god resurrecting you from your grave and ordering you to save someone from Hades’ clutches. You start out as an ordinary joe but when you grab power ups, you get more and more buff until you turn into a monster. Then once you are a monster you have really great special abilities and have to defeat the boss of that level. There aren’t many levels and each one is fairly short. The real trick is getting to your monster form because if you don’t, then you are absolutely doomed. Your human form isn’t strong enough to defeat any of the bosses and your health is low in any form so that’s not an option.

My favorite monster form was one that could shoot a bunch of energy blasts. I’m not too good on greek mythology so I couldn’t really tell you which form was which to be honest though. They all sort of blend together even though they’re different but the fact that each one has different special abilities is cool. Even in a lot of modern titles that would not have been the case. This one went above and beyond and I definitely gotta respect that. It’s also a bit surreal seeing this random dude just going around punching a bunch of giant monsters you know?

I already talked about how the graphics are pretty good, so we can jump to the soundtrack now. That part’s a little more on the generic side but I’ve come to expect that as not many older games had stellar soundtracks. That would come in later but it’s also why some titles like Mario, Mega Man, and Sonic stood out. They surpassed the norms and got really creative. Still since this game surpassed expectations on the visuals and the gameplay I can give that a good pass. It may not have replay value but the initial playthrough is fun enough to carry you through.

There’s not a whole lot more to say to be honest here because the game is really straightforward and short. So once you know what the gameplay is, which is effectively a 2D platformer then you’re all set. There’s not much more to get into and you will know right away if you like the game or not. Who doesn’t like a good platformer though right? It can be a little unforgiving like with most Genesis titles of course but that’s par for the course.

I guess if there’s one thing I would change here it would be to make the character models a bit smaller. I get that the game wanted to show off just how strong the main character was but it also means that there isn’t a ton of room to dodge or move around. You’re always confined to an extent and I like having my freedom to run around and do what has to be done. In that way this game almost becomes more of a beat em up than a platformer at times.

Overall, Altered Beast is a good game. It could have been even better if it was longer since the overall experience is so short but either way with the Switch Online I would recommend checking this one out. There’s absolutely no downside after all and because it’s so short it’s not like it’s going to take all that much time out of your day right? There’s a ton of potential if they ever wanted to make a modern remake out of this one. In the meantime we’ll have to stick to this though.

Overall 6/10

An Eye for an Eye Review

Posted on February 3, 2024 by dreager1

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

It’s time for a revenge story. Sort of like John Wick but this film does balance in some humor the whole time as well and it can be difficult to balance out those two tones. I will say to the film’s credit, it did a pretty good job with the two of them. I was pretty satisfied the whole time at least on a tonal level although the film as a whole I wouldn’t say was all that great.

The movie starts with Sean and his partner getting ready to finally complete this big undercover drug case that they have been on for a very long time. It’s been a really grueling mission the whole time but things are looking up. Unfortunately it turns out to be a set up and Sean’s partner is murdered while he barely manages to stay alive. So what’s going on here, who set them up? It’s hard to find out because Captain Stevens on the police force is blaming Sean for everything so Sean quits. He isn’t able to stay out of the situation for long though as his partner’s girlfriend is murdered after calling Sean about a lead she had. Now Sean will have to team up with her father James who happens to have been his old coach. Can they uncover the truth behind all of this?

If it was just a matter of beating everyone up then that would certainly be easier but the main problem here is actually figuring out who the big villain is first. There are a lot of players involved so you can bet that there are a ton of coverups and misdirects as well. Sean gets lucky more times than not. He’s a great fighter but I wouldn’t call him a detective so it’s fortunate that Linda and her colleague Heather managed to pick up most of the pieces. Linda even came close to escaping but unfortunately let her guard down at the end.

As the main hero I would say Sean is a solid main character. It can be annoying how he gets knocked out at times but since most of the movie is about him absolutely dominating whole squads of villains I can let it slide. The one point in particular that made me shake my head though was when he was face to face with the guy who murdered Linda and then allowed himself to be downed in a single blow. You just can’t let that kind of thing happen to you. Otherwise I did enjoy all of the fight scenes. The movie did a good job with the choreography and showing how Sean was just on a completely different level.

At the same time he loses some points for not treating the situation with the level of urgency that you would expect here. There are murders going on and everything is real shady right now yet he has time for a romance? The romance here feels really rushed, forced, and unnecessary as you’d expect. There’s just no room for that right now and it would have been better if that was something that could have been a plot to be started as the credits roll. “The danger is over and the world is saved, now we can discuss the future.” Something like that would be completely reasonable.

So the same is true for Heather and even more so in a way because she’s currently being targeted by the villains and unlike Sean, it’s not like she can fight. They already broke into her house once early on so she needs to keep her priorities straight. One guy who is not good about priorities has to be Captain Stevens. I did think he handled the whole situation poorly at the beginning with being so hard on Sean when the operation fumbled. I don’t know how he actually figured he could blame it on the lead. His reasoning was shaky at best.

To an extent I think it’s because the film was trying to convince us that maybe he was the murderer. A nice attempt I suppose but you have to handle that with a little more subtlety otherwise he’s just unreasonable. James was a unique character because at first you figure he’s going to be the tough mentor type character who is always ready for action but instead he spends every scene getting absolutely humiliated. The guy loses almost all of his fights but still talks tough afterwards. After a point it’s clear that he is a comedic character so that helps but at first I was definitely astonished.

In a way it’s realistic though as you probably can’t fight so well when you’re really old despite what most films would have you believe. So I was not expecting the character’s story to play out the way that it did but it worked out well enough. Again, maybe he should be taking things a little more seriously considering what happened to his daughter but after a point you have to just decide if you can roll with the fact that the movie is going for a light comedic tone to offset the dark moments or not. I think some of the scenes could have been timed better but ultimately I was mainly okay with it.

Ultimately the actual main villain here is okay but more on the forgettable side. He can’t fight or anything and has to rely on the hired help to save the day. That doesn’t go so well for him once Sean enters the building and it’s why you always want to be able to fight. He does have the classic hostage trip at the ready which is a decent equalizer but in the end that will usually just stall for time. His right hand man is fun enough as well. The guy is fairly unassuming but can fire a gun as well.

The movie’s twists work well enough. There’s enough to keep you guessing the whole time. The story itself was okay but I couldn’t really get into it a ton. You have drugs being moved and conspiracies and all but it felt more like the basic outline of a plot to start up the fights rather than it being fully developed. Like if the villains didn’t make so many large moves then they may not have been in so much trouble. Kidnapping Linda would have bought them way more time than murdering her. Since they had a mole within the police they could have made so many more moves over time rather than waiting until the end. There were limitless opportunities to bump off Sean quietly as well.

Ultimately it feels like one of those movies that isn’t as clever as it thinks that it is the more you actually think about it. I imagine you’re mainly here for the fights anyway though which are fun but I would have liked something more to support it. The film also didn’t sell me on the various flashbacks we would get every now and again to show Sean’s rage at losing his partner. It felt a bit overplayed by the end and just wasn’t as effective as it could have been. Throw in the fanservice romance scenes and this film doesn’t stand the test of time.

Overall, It’s not a bad movie but I wouldn’t say it’s very good either. It’s a forgettable thriller amidst a genre that is filled with many better ones. The revenge genre can be hit or miss depending on how edgy the writers want to approach it. This time they decided to take a more upbeat approach which is interesting but it does make Sean look a bit like a jerk at times. There are some liens that I found to be pretty funny during the movie though. It had a good sense of humor and the fights did live up to the hype. So in the end I would say to check it out if you really like a good battle but the story leaves much to be desired.

Overall 5/10

Sonic the Hedgehog, Volume 6: The Last Minute Review

Posted on February 3, 2024 by dreager1

It’s time for the next installment in the Sonic series. The arc is still going strong here with more and more characters being turned into robotic monsters. Shadow was taken off of the board last time and Sonic is already infected so the heroes are really on their last legs. There is a good amount of tension here and a whole lot to enjoy overall so this was definitely a win/win all around.

This volume spends the first 3 issues showing us events from a few different POVs. You have Tails, then Amy, and then Sonic. Each of them were embarking on different missions to try and stop the virus. Tails was working on a vaccine that could reverse the effects of the bug and in theory bring everything back to the way that it was. Amy was doing her best to keep the townsfolk safe until Tails could get back and then Sonic was trying to capture his speed data to see if that could be a lead on getting other people immune. Unfortunately all 3 of them suffer some setbacks here.

By this volume Sonic has started to lose a lot of his stamina as well which makes a lot of sense since he has been running for so long now. He may be used to running a lot, but not for nearly this long without a single break. I still like the idea of how running is able to regress the virus’ effects at least for a while since his speed is the real deal. Even that has a timer though so if Sonic stops running then it’s all over. he still does a good job of trying to keep morale up though and taking care of business. At the end of the day, virus or not Sonic definitely has the edge here compared to the rest of the characters and can lead the way to victory.

Even though it didn’t work for Shadow, I still like to think Sonic could go in there and take all of the robots and Eggman out. The main problem is of course he can’t destroy the robots since they are all innocent so at most he would just be buying time. Then since we find out that even Eggman doesn’t have a cure in this volume, that doesn’t leave the heroes with a lot of options. It’s fair to say that Tails is really the last chance here. Either he makes a cure himself or the heroes are basically doomed.

Tails takes the situation pretty hard in this volume but overall I’d say he’s still looking good. Cream is definitely more on the weaker side here though as the whole situation really did break her. She stayed strong in front of Amy but not in front of Sonic. Whisper also had it rough as she finally broke down too. She’s usually the tough member of the group so I was a little surprised to see her lose her cool like that. Now’s the time to buckle down and get read because the situation will only get tougher from here.

I would say one of the highlights here would be Tangle. Now here’s a character who really put everything on the line and she never gave up. Her abilities may not be the strongest but she used them in a creative way to hold everyone back. I’d also say even Vector looked pretty good here. Yeah he ended up contributing to the situation but I’d argue that wasn’t entirely his fault. That’s more on the stowaway and otherwise his bubble may have lasted. When it didn’t work, Vector was ready with the sacrifice play.

Eggman fans should be a little nervous right now. He hasn’t been looking great so far and while he could still make a full comeback depending how his next scenes go, it’s also possible that this will be played straight in which case he would look really awful. With Eggman you just never really know and in that way the writer has done a good job of keeping things interesting. There are really 3 enemy factions at play here with Eggman, the Deadly Six, and Dr. Starline. Right now it’s hard to say who will have the last laugh. The story is framing it as Starline being the smartest and most prepared but in a way that might be too obvious. For now I’m counting on Eggman to stay on top but we’ll see if he can pull it off.

As always the art is really good here. All of the characters look like they were taken straight out of the games. The designs are all on point and the backgrounds are all very dynamic. The comic is a real page turner and it’s definitely easy to binge the whole time. The writing is also good. This would make for a great TV show someday and the series has always done a good job of really incorporating a ton of the Sonic mythos. The universe is really big so it makes sense to bring a lot of elements in right? The comics have not let me down yet.

As always I do have to throw a little show at Silver here though. The guy was crushing Sonic back when they first met and it seems like he is a true B leaguer at this point. The guy is never given a ton of respect. Yes he holds back a few of the mindless drones but that’s it. That’s not actually all that impressive as a feat and that’s the role he is stuck with here. I just miss his days of being really serious and powerful but so far that’s just not happening. Maybe at some point the tides will turn.

Overall, Sonic continues to product solid comics in each batch. This one’s a bit less action packed as it’s more of a zombie survival right now. The heroes just have to keep on moving and try to stay one step ahead which is no easy feat. It works well and I’m ready to see how the arc ends. I am hoping that we get a true final battle though. In a way you could end the arc without one but it’s always fun to have a big ending. Maybe have the transformed version of Shadow show up to fight Sonic. Now that would definitely be hype.

Overall 7/10

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Review

Posted on January 30, 2024 by dreager1

All right it’s time to talk about the legendary Shibuya arc! Well this season covers more than just that but it is the big deal that people had been hyping up for years. You’ll have seen people throwing around the case that it is the best are in Shonen Jump history. That’s pretty bold words and Hueco Mundo would have a word with that but the arc was absolutely epic and the anime does it full justice. This is a season 2 that does end up defeating the first and I dare say that it is the absolute peak of Kaisen. Unless a certain fight ends up being a movie, I don’t see any single product beating season 2. This had too many highlights.

The show is really split up into two arcs. You have the Hidden Inventory saga which deals with Gojo’s past and then the Shibuya saga. I’ll talk about each one. The first arc is fairly short. Gojo and Geto are tasked with protecting a young girl because she is destined to be the vessel for Tengen. This does mean that she will ultimately lose her sense of self and so the heroes are reluctant about this mission. Additionally, assassins from various groups around the world are intent on taking her life. Usually there would be nothing to worry about with Gojo on the case, but the world’s most dangerous man, Toji is also around.

This was a pretty fun way to start the show. Fun may be an interesting term because the arc has quite the dark end but before that you could say that in a lot of ways it’s the most cheerful that the show will ever get. You actually see the characters having fun at the beach, playing basketball and just having a good time. It can’t last of course but it was a fun change of pace. Right away the show is able to show off the animation although I’ll get into that more later on. It’s just a really fun arc with some good fights in it. It’s got a good amount of replay value as well.

Then we jump into Shibuya and in a lot of ways you could say that the arc is just a bunch of nonstop fights. Right away you have Yuji thrown into multiple encounters and of course Gojo is dealing out some damage. Basically every relevant character in the series up until this point gets some kind of fight and it’s the big culmination of everything the show was setting up. In some ways it feels like a final arc and we just got it early. Due to how Jujutsu Kaisen is, you also don’t necessarily know which characters are safe and which aren’t which definitely amps up the danger. I’d argue that there are a number of fights here where you really don’t know who will win.

The anime also extends some fights like Mahoraga vs Sukuna which was an excellent move. I’ll always approve of making a fight longer, particularly when it’s two strong fighters going at it. It makes absolute sense that this would be a really long fight. Now’s a good time to talk about the animation in general, it is absolutely top tier. Some of Mappa’s finest work and it will hang in there with any other top tier anime title. Yuji vs Choso and Sukuna vs Mahoraga are my two personal favorite fights in terms of animation but Gojo vs Toji and Yuji vs Mahito are right under those.

Few anime can boast of having 1 fight of this caliber, let alone 4. I still enjoy season 1’s animation a whole lot and haven’t turned on it like many, but I will acknowledge that season 2 definitely wins. 1 I would say had the better artstyle but in pure animation this just can’t be stopped. When it clicks, it really ends up clicking. Gojo’s abilities really shine here and a fancy fight like Jogo vs Sukuna couldn’t stand out in quite the same way without all of the bright animations. It just wouldn’t be as hype and this arc deserved all of the hype that it could get.

The soundtrack is also top tier and in this area it does obliterate season 1. Again the first season had a great ost but this one is top 10 of all time good. It’s up there with Digimon Data Squad and Yugioh GX. There are so many different battle themes, remixes, epic themes, etc. The ost is so large and there are so many different battle themes within it. That’s the most impressive part for me because plenty of shows have a big ost but many fill it with slice of life themes and such while this one is mainly all action.

The show keeps up the nonstop action at all times and the plot is super engaging. Kaisen has really earned its reputation of being around the top. I’d also like to note that it is still really good about avoiding fanservice as well. I won’t say that it’s nonexistent, but it’s borderline nonexistent. It doesn’t fall into that trap and the writing is all on point. So this is solid on all areas. Now with this much intensity you can probably imagine that there are some slight issues.

We get a metaphor type scene where we see Wolves chasing a rabbit and it ends up breaking its foot while the others are about to get eaten. It’s 100% unnecessary and while it is fairly tame animal violence next to other titles, it’s a tad bit annoying. The show doesn’t hold back with the violence either. Most of it is in a full combat context so it doesn’t really matter much. In the fights I’d say it doesn’t go too far but when the civilians get roped in it can be a bit much. Get ready for tons and tons and tons of civilian deaths which all tend to be rather brutal. They seriously could not catch a break here. It’s part of the villains’ plan to be sure but you should expect a lot of violence here. Not enough where we enter Attack on Titan level or anything but enough for it to be fairly noticeable.

I had a slight power levels issue on the occasional fight that wasn’t given a big budget. Most noticeably in Nobara’s fight against one of the weakest villains in the series. The anime didn’t do a good job of making me believe that she would have any trouble here. She was just moving so slow that it didn’t make sense and came across like a rookie. I would blame this more on the animation than the writing because if you just had her move quicker or the villain attack faster then it wouldn’t be a problem. It’s a rare instance though.

Okay now let talk about the characters. First off is Yuji who is certainly put through the wringer here. He isn’t always able to stay strong among the events going on here but I give him credit for fighting through as much of it as possible. Things really don’t go his way and he is always put in impossible situation. The guy’s toughness keeps him going in fights but he is often outmatched. He has to go up against guys like Choso and Geto here who are considerably out of his league. Even Mahito would have been way too much for him one on one. Yuji is painfully aware of the fact that he’s not the strongest but he still goes out there and fights.

He may not stand out as much as some other leads but overall I do think he is a very good character. The final scene of the show implies that he’s got a new power depending how you interpret it but either way he’s going to need a whole lot for the next arc. His rival Megumi’s role may be a bit smaller but he still gets his share of fights. I really liked his team up with Yuji against the old man. It’s an underrated fight and it’s always great to see the duo team up. In most Shonens you have to savor the moment because the lead and rival won’t team up often. It’s also a fun fight because you don’t necessarily know who will win. The villain could claim victory since it’s not the most important fight after all.

Megumi does look good the whole time though and is willing to sacrifice himself to win. That always takes a lot of guts. Nobara absolutely gets the short end of the stick here though. She talks a whole lot of smack and does her best to contribute but the show presents her as being massively weaker than the main two to the point where she is an active hinderance at times. She lets her guard down and can’t react to the situation very quickly. I give her points for effort and I always like her personality but this was really not a great season for her.

Nanami meanwhile has a small role but really makes the most of it. He really is portrayed as a really mature fighter the whole time. He knows his limits and makes the most of his abilities to deal damage. It’s like someone with a skill level of 70 but using it to the max vs someone with 100 who keeps fluctuating. The fact that he was able to tank some attacks from Dagon was impressive and he did beat his share of monsters. I’ll always enjoy Nanami as a character, he’s a fun mentor.

Mei Mei and Ui Ui are more on the annoying side. The less said about them the better. They make for a good duo and can fight but never seem to contribute all that much. The last scene absolutely kills them as characters though. There’s an obvious angle that makes them look bad but also just running off is the worst. It means they have no internal fortitude and I wouldn’t trust them at all to have my back. The series has always been presented as a hyper realistic one and yeah you can picture that some people would do this. Doesn’t make them any more sympathetic or likable though.

Maki’s role isn’t particularly big here and like Nobara she doesn’t look great. She basically spends the season being outshadowed by everyone and not really being able to do much of anything. She desperately needs a power up. Outside of Todo, this was basically the fate of every sorcerer from the rival school as well. When Mechamaru was saying how they had almost no shot of surviving, you absolutely believe him because they’re so weak. Mechamaru at least looks powerful. Does he look good? No, because I lost a ton of respect for him based on something he does near the beginning of the season. Way I see it you can’t really come back from that. So I appreciate his power but I don’t like the guy. I’d also argue that he didn’t play the situation very smart at all. He put himself in a position where there was no way he could ever come out on top.

Then we have Riko from the early arc and she’s a good character. She risks a lot in the adventure and ultimately steals herself for what is to come. She should value her life more if you ask me but I understand that she wants to do what she feels is right. So I disagree with her choices but I wouldn’t lose respect for that. Would be nice if she could fight though.

Finally we have Gojo. The strongest sorcerer in history and he lives up to the title here. Every scene with him is the guy either unlocking a new power, or applying a new use to an existing one. It takes everything the villains have to try and create an opening even for a fraction of a second. I would argue that Gojo’s only mistake here is playing with his food. He tends to take too long to take decisive action even though narratively he does move right away. To an extent when you deal with a character this powerful, there will never be a way to resolve things in a way that doesn’t have some power level issues.

So I can see why you would want to get him out of the way because every second he is on screen is another second where the heroes have such a massive edge over the villains that you wonder how they could ever hope to make a comeback. He’s just way too powerful in every sense of the word. He is an awesome character even minus that though. Easily the best in the series and nobody’s ever passing him. He has a lot of style and is also a very practical character. If he needs to destroy his opponent to win then he will do just that. He mainly avoids it but when the stakes are high enough what can you do right?

All right, time for the villains. First just a quick shoutout to the Grasshopper. I really liked him as a villain, he may not be the most powerful villain but he has personality. He’s an example of a throwaway villain done right because he is immediately memorable and I really enjoyed the fight. That guy could actually fight. Compare him to someone like Haruta who has more screen time but is just really annoying. His whole gimmick is that he only goes after fighters who can’t fight back. That’s pretty lame even for a villain. Maybe if he was funny or something but nah you’re just waiting for him to get taken out the whole time.

Hanami is an interesting fighter because you remember her being so OP in season 1 and here she can’t do anything. It effectively shows the gap in power between fighting someone like Gojo or Yuji. In general I like how vast the power level fluctuations are here because it does show how without Gojo around, Jujutsu Society would have fallen immediately back in the day. So no shade to Hanami, but she literally wasn’t built for this kind of fight.

Then we have Dagon who has always been in the background but never got to fight before. After all of the hype, he does look good but isn’t as impressive as some of the others. He gains confidence in his true form which is good because in his intro form he’s nervous all of the time which loses some points. As a villain you always want to be as confident as possible.

The rest of the villains are all pretty high tier. First up is Choso. The guy hits way above his weight class and has a tremendous fight with Yuji. He’s fighting for his dead brothers from season 1 which is a powerful motivation. He may be evil but it gives him some sympathy points and you can get why he is fighting so hard. In that fight he had more to fight for than Yuji in terms of drive which really helped him out. Then he also gets an extended fight near the end of the season. His powers are very versatile and he’s just a lot of fun. I gained quite a bit of respect for him here and he ends up stealing the show.

Then of course there is Mahito who in a lot of ways feels like the main villain. He has the most to do with Yuji at the very least as the two absolutely hate each other’s guts. They have a lot of the best parallels here as they are each other’s complete opposites. The fights are always a lot of fun too since if he touches you even once it can be a fatal blow. You may wonder how he is never able to land any hits but the fights are very creative. I would even say the animators are at their most creative with him whether it’s showing how he can immediately turn someone into a sword and fight or how he reacts to instant teleportation.

His fights with Yuji are really a blast. It’s really one big fight that is broken up into parts you could say but each one is really excellent. I would say he may be the most interesting villain even if he’s not my favorite one. See, my favorite is Toji. He’s an ordinary human and yet he is able to go up against these gods and demons. In part that’s because of his heavenly pact which increases all of his abilities and in part it’s just because he is Toji. The guy has a ton of prep time and hand to hand abilities. He’s sort of like if Batman was evil. Any scene with the guy is incredibly hype.

Make no mistake, no matter what his last scene wants you to think, the guy is pure evil. He’s absolutely willing to murder anyone and I’m not going to let that slide. He’s a complete villain and in that role he is absolutely perfect. Then you have Jogo who is also a really good villain. He is noticeably scared of Sukuna which loses him some points. Yeah most people are scared of him but you have to hold your ground you know? The guy is always getting disrespected too which is the bad luck of fighting Gojo and Sukuna. So he’s pretty good and a great fighter but not as solid as some of the others.

Then you have the big man himself, Sukuna. As always the guy is really full of himself but he has the power to back it up so what are you going to do right? I like his confident demeanor, the guy even grabs some soda in the middle of a fight. He doesn’t accept any disrespect and even further, he demands absolute respect. Without it, he’s going to blow up anyone in his way. He likes having fun at his victim’s expense and the guy seems absolutely untouchable right now. A fight with Gojo would have been really awesome here.

Needless to say if you’re a Sukuna fan then there is a whole lot to enjoy. He gets multiple fights and shows why everyone should be scared of him. I also have to bring up Mahoraga because he has one of the best intros for any character in the season and also possibly has the best episode here. His fight is really a blast all the way through and also just starts so quickly. You wonder how anyone could have ever managed to tame the guy in a previous incarnation because he’s so unbelievably strong. This may be the only series I can think of where a summon is easily in the top 3 strongest in the verse. At least by the time this series ends I would say that is true.

Then we have Geto who gets a lot of screen time here between the first and second parts. It’s interesting to see him as more of a hero in the original parts. After going through what he did, it’s easy to see why he would turn though. I think the trickiest thing about a hyper realistic series where even a lot of heroes are corrupt is that it makes it much easier to imagine why someone would turn evil. Geto definitely went over the cliff but you can see why he would. Even Gojo contemplated just becoming a mass murderer on a whim.

Nobody would miss the guys he would have taken out but that’s not really the point anyway. At that point it becomes a question of when do you stop. Geto certainly made his choice there and actually has an answer, but the line that he has drawn is a rather large one. In terms of power set, I don’t find him super impressive yet though. He relies on summons with tons of monsters but none of them seem that crazy yet. Powerful to be sure and he could clear most fighters but you also don’t see him defeating the combo of Yuji and Todo or hanging with someone like Mahito. Based on his confidence you have to assume that he could but I need to see more out of him.

Oh yeah there’s one more hero in Todo. That guy is a lot of fun as always. He really inspires confidence in the allies around him and his Boogie-Woogie technique is so good. There are tons of applications for it and the opponent is forced to respect this as an attack option at all times. It’s part of what makes him such a dangerous character but he can also fight well in hand to hand. He sort of appears out of nowhere here and vanishes just as quickly but the role is really great. There are a few more characters like Panda and the ice girl at the end but this covers most of the main ones. Watch the season to see them all!

The ending also sets up the next season nicely. If I have a minor nitpick, it’s that the final episode does drag on a tad. I think they overplayed their cards of setting up how empty everything is. I would have cut those scenes a bit and also played the Yuji scene early. I’d absolutely end with the big guest star character. Why would you not make that the final scene? I don’t really get it because on a hype level that has to be the most hype moment without anything even being a close second. Like I said though, pretty minor stuff because I’m hyped regardless! That kid wasn’t very smart about walking towards an obvious monster though…

Overall, Jujutsu Kaisen season 2 lived up to the hype in every way. I would absolutely recommend checking it out when you have a chance. It’s a top tier anime that can compete with anything. It’s the full package with great themes, animation, fights, and characters. The story is great too and there are some solid twists as well. I hope that third season comes sooner than later because I definitely need this to continue!

Overall 9/10

	dreager1 on Godzilla vs Water Horse
	dreager1 on Goku vs Blackfire
	dreager1 on Sniper Review
	dreager1 on The Sword in the Stone Re…
	dreager1 on Horimiya Review
	dreager1 on King K Rool vs King Ghido…

DReager1.com

The Ultimate Fighting/Review Site

Tag Archives: Action

Ghost Rider Review

B’T X Neo Review

Magia Record Season 3: Dawn of a Shallow Dream Review

Spy X Family Season 2 Review

Safe Review

Granblue Fantasy: Relink Review

Altered Beast Review

An Eye for an Eye Review

Sonic the Hedgehog, Volume 6: The Last Minute Review

Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2 Review

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: