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Mob Psycho 100 Season 2 Review

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Time to look at the next installment in the Mob Psycho series. I wasn’t the biggest fan of the first season due in part to the experimental animation style and Ritsu’s plot line wasn’t all that good. This season improves quite drastically though and even the animation appears to be a big improvement. This is the kind of season 2 you want to see because it takes all of the good parts of season 1 and expands on them. It’s pretty short at 13 episodes but that is a normal length for a show even if you get used to the 26 and 52 episode titles. There’s a lot you can do with 13 and Psycho made the most of it.

Mob has been slowly improving himself physically through the body improvement club and even mentally as he has come to terms with his abilities. He is now almost ready to ask out one of his classmates. Unfortunately there is still a villain group at large which is making it difficult to find the time. He’s also starting to wonder if he should still be working for Reigen now that he knows more about the world and his place in it. He’ll have to find the answers to all of these questions as he fights and hopefully it’ll all just turn out well. He’ll have to be careful though as he may not be the most powerful psychic around anymore.

Mob Psycho and One Punch Man were both created by the same guy and feature a main character who is unstoppable. While that is still true for the latter and likely will always be, Mob does have some limitations. He’s actually a character who can be beaten due in part to the fact that his powers take up a lot of energy so he has to sleep them off and there are enemies who can actually keep up with him. We saw that briefly in season 1 and in this season the big 5 are able to match him for a while. When Mob completely loses control and goes into 999+ mode he is still one of the strongest guys out there though. Either he or Suzuki would be the strongest esper in the world. I wonder if the series will really keep trying to increase the power levels like DBZ or if this was the height of that.

The fights are really why this season is so great though. The action scenes are all top notch and one really great fight is when Shimazaki takes on the whole group of main characters. I always like a good group fight and this one did not disappoint. His teleportation ability is incredibly handy and I’ve always thought that it could be one of the most deadly abilities if used right. Alas, most characters do not use it very well but this guy definitely makes the most of it. A particularly impressive cut is when he smashes Teru through a wall and then through a car window as he teleported mid combo. It’s such a genius idea. I don’t doubt that a lot of writers have thought about doing cool tricks like this but hold back because they either can’t illustrate it well or are worried that the teleporting character would be OP. This guy would be insane in just about any series, but in a title with Espers who can use TK abilities that helps to keep him in check at least to a degree.

One thing I was happy about is Shimazaki doesn’t get nerfed or hit with plot hax. The guy actually improves while he fights and another great scene is when his eyes open and he ascends. No cheesy friendship power victory here folks, they ultimately do need Mob to show up. That would have been an awesome fight, but the resolution that we got was also really satisfying so I can definitely live with it. I talked more about his fights than the character, but Shimazaki is definitely a great character and easily the best villain in the series. He’s really a scene stealer.

That’s not to say that he has all of the best fights in the season though. Suzuki’s fight with Mob is excellent of course and we get a lot of other fights throughout. The last few episodes really focus on the big battles with Claw and ends the season on a high note. It’ll be extremely difficult for a possible season 3 to top this one. It’ll have to be firing on all cylinders, but that’s certainly something that can happen.

Meanwhile Mob has improved a great deal since season 1. He’s not a pushover anymore and he has learned more about the world so people can’t manipulate him as easily. Those are both good things and while it means that we may never get quite the same Reigen and Mob dynamic, their relationship will ultimately be a better one this way. I did get a little worried that Mob’s emotions would nerf him, but it’s a good tradeoff. As I mentioned earlier, Mob isn’t quite unbeatable anymore, but he’s still quite possibly the strongest character in the series. You can actually deal damage to him, but it’s unlikely that you will be able to claim victory. His rage modes in this season are definitely intense. I do feel like he should have been able to see through the fire ploy with his mental abilities but as the show points out, everyone’s mental abilities are different. Mob seems to excel more in defense and offense as opposed to miscellaneous abilities.

Reigen is still an awesome character and my favorite in the series. He goes through a rough patch where he starts to let the fame get to him and doesn’t give Mob the respect that the kid has earned. He takes Mob’s help for granted and learns a valuable lesson from that. It does involve having to get humiliated on a national level but everyone learns through different methods. You just have to find the one that works for you and then roll with it. Reigen also gets to take on one of the big villains here and is always a calm voice amidst a tough situation. He is a little different from characters like King and Hercule in that he may be a poser, but he does have a lot of legitimite skills. If not for half of these villains being crazy psychic powerhouses he would actually be able to really deal quite a lot of damage. I have high respect for how he faces off with these guys all the time without fear.

Then we have Ritsu who has come a long way from his season 1 days. Now he is on the hero side and has become a capable fighter. He may not be on the same level as Mob or Teru but he is strong enough to help out against the members of Claw. His fight with Shimazaki is pretty good. Ritsu’s always looking out for Mob and I do expect that his abilities will continue to grow as well. Another supportive character or characters in this case are the body improvement club. They’re always quick to rush to Mob’s defense even though they are a little outgunned. The fight with Dimple possessing the leader and fighting one of the Claw members was fun. I think what really makes these guys solid is how loyal they are. They really want to help make Mob a better person with no agenda or strings attached.

Dimple is still floating around with goals to eventually possess Mob. It’s at the point where it’s likely all talk though and he seems like one of the heroes. He may not be the most powerful guy around, but he does help out a lot when needed though. Then you have the heroine Tsubomi. She didn’t actually get to appear much in season 1 so it was good to see her get at least part of one episode here. She still has less presence than any other heroine I’ve ever seen, but at least this season gave her a real personality. She seems a bit jaded or perhaps just careful and won’t fall for a scam as easily as some of the other characters. I’m not sure where the series is going with her, but right now she is a solid character.

Teru also returns in this season and is still one of the strongest heroes around. Next to Mob I’d say that he is definitely the strongest although Sho and Ritsu may end up giving him some competition someday. I like Teru’s character. He’s able to keep a cool head under pressure and is one of the more strategic characters. His psychic abilities are versatile and he is able to adapt mid-match very well like when he predicted Shimazaki’s teleportation angles. I see him as a consistent Trunks type character who probably won’t be able to finish off the big opponents but he will always do well against the sub-villains.

As for Sho, he’s a pretty good character. His plan may not have worked, but it is admirable that he was trying to stop Suzuki on his own. We really don’t get to see him in action for very longm, but that’s fine. We get a general sense of his abilities. He was simply out of his league this time. Hatori is one of the Ultimate 5, but the guy gets no real screen time so we can skip past him. Serizawa is one of the more important members of the group. His abilities are quite high as well and he may be the 3rd strongest member behind Suzuki and Shimazaki. He has self confidence issues and gets manipulated a lot. It’s tough for him since Suzuki got to him at a pretty vulnerable time. While he ultimately gets a bit of a redemption arc I would have liked him to have stood up for himself a little sooner. By the time he acted it was pretty late. I can see him being a fun character in the next season. The guy means well after all.

Toshiki has plant abilities that are surprisingly formidable. He gave Mob a reasonable fight with them after all and rage mode or not that is a good feat. The guy did earn his way into the Ultimate 5. He doesn’t get a whole lot to do, but is a quality villain. Then there is Hiroshi who is the power hitter of the group. He isn’t terribly interesting since the guy is just there to punch people out, but he serves his purpose well enough. Then we have Joseph who isn’t actually part of the group. I thought he was a really interesting and fun character.

The series takes a page out of Index III’s book with various groups running around. In this case CLAW had another faction built in thanks to the government and Joseph was the mole. He went around trying to cause a civil war but ultimately it did not impede Suzuki’s plans. It was a good effort though and it’s hard to ever get tired of a good ole villain vs villain throw down. The whole concept of the government having their own Espers is also interesting and I really hope we get to see that plot pursued at some point. Clearly they have some offensive abilities at the ready which is good. That means this government is automatically a lot smarter than most.

Finally we have Suzuki who is the big boss of the organization. He’s a very strategic villain whose plan has been in the makings for around 10 years or so if I recall correctly. His abilities are sort of like All For One’s as he can give people abilities. What he does is he can charge his abilities for years to build it up and can power up other people. Then when he no longer needs to do this he can just re-absorb the abilities back into himself. He’s really a serious threat and there are multiple times during the fight with Mob where he just has the upper hand in raw power. Ultimately Mob proves to have a bit of a higher ceiling, but Suzuki seemed more impressive. Without a 10 year head start Mob definitely wins this, but with the 10 years Suzuki is a total monster. He’s an incredible villain and really ticks all of the right boxes for me. A confident leader who can fight like that makes for a really high quality villain.

Before the whole Claw arc we do get other stories of course which help to develop the characters. In one of them we see an innocent group of spirits and Mob doesn’t want to exorcise them because they weren’t doing anything wrong. This is one episode where Reigen was surprisingly slow on the uptake. I remember thinking that it would have been so easy for him to just pretend that they exorcised the spirits to keep things moving. It’s not like the humans would really know otherwise. Pressuring Mob to destroy them even while knowing the were innocent was pretty out of character. Mob also goes through a lot physically in these episodes like one villain who basically tormented him for years and years in a “what if” future world. That was pretty brutal from what we saw and definitely made for a very dark experience even if it was mostly off screen. Times like that are when you wish Mob had some more mental defenses to fight with. The mind seems to ironically be his weakness.

As I mentioned the animation is a lot better here. When the fights are happening it is near the top of the biz. At times it’s hard to even think that this is the same show. Everything looks so sharp and even from the screenshots I’ve attached you can see how vibrant it looks. Then the soundtrack is also a lot better. In particular Shimazaki has a great battle theme for when he is fighting with the group. There are a lot of familiar themes from season 1 as well and it all comes together for a very well rounded experience.

Overall, Mob Psycho 100 Season 2 is definitely a top notch show to check out. It’s got solid action, quality writing, a good cast, etc. You feel more of the One Punch vibes here as the supporting cast is gradually beginning to turn into a very solid cast. The episodes will really fly by and you may even feel like marathoning the last 4-5 episodes so you can really experience all of the fights in one shot. It’ll just be hard to tear yourself away at that point. Definitely watch this show as soon as you can.

Overall 8/10

Gen:Lock Review

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It’s time to take a look at one of Rooster Teeth’s latest shows. This one was getting quite a lot of promotion from the company since they were hoping it would be the next big thing. Some even believe that they took part of RWBY’s budget away to this show temporarily although I’m not sure if it was ever confirmed. This definitely isn’t the next RWBY, but few things are. It’s a solid show and I’d be game for a season 2. The company definitely does need to remember that RWBY is their starter show and this is the back-up though.

The world has been embroiled in a battle with a foe who uses virus type weapons which have enabled them to take control of a majority of the planet. Their spores destroy whatever they touch and so they are hard to fight again. Fortunately Dr. Rufus has come up with a new project to fight them. It is called Gen:Lock and it allows a pilot to merge his mind with a robot suit. This does provide a good amount of defense but only a few robots have been created. Will these be enough to turn the tide of war?

It’s a pretty good set-up here. Who doesn’t like the classic resistance vs empire storyline right? It’s always nice to see a futuristic world as the setting as well. We don’t learn a whole lot about the enemy of the current state of the world beyond this, but we don’t really need to learn more. The core concept is the focus and I’m thinking the world will be fleshed out more in future seasons. We do have an online world where people go to forget about their real world issues which makes sense. You always want to have something like that in a dystopian future.

Julian is the main character here and he was presumed dead early on before returning as the first Gen:Lock candidate. This causes a lot of drama between him and Miranda. I’m on team Miranda here at least in the argument that if he wanted to he certainly could have gone to meet her sooner. At the very least that would have been nice to give her confirmation that he was still alive. So, she ended up meeting someone else and rebounded after Julian was gone. Now he wants to come back together, but it just feels way too late. That whole romance is a bit iffy and I think Miranda should just stay with her second pick at this point. Going back and forth just wouldn’t be a good look for either of them. Right now Julian is the one trying to convince her so the blame is on him. Hopefully Miranda is able to stay strong.

Otherwise Julian is reasonable as the main character. He’s quick to jump into the action, which is always good. What isn’t good is that part of the time he’s just jumping in and not even totally hoping he’ll win. He just wants to end things with Nemesis and at times it feels like he’s just trying to throw his life away. Hopefully now that he has finally accepted the mind meld he’ll be more ready for season 2, but letting Nemesis get that last hit in was definitely a pretty big mistake on his part.

Nemesis is a solid villain for sure. He’s a solid threat and is able to basically take on the whole team on his own. The guy leaves an impact and his monster design was really solid. He reminded me of an early Accel World villain with his tendrils supporting the claw attacks. The guy definitely has a pretty rough sob story so you will feel bad for him to an extent. The show handled his twist pretty well since usually when there are clones and such running around it always ends a certain way. This one flipped things and so long as they don’t reverse this in the next season it was a really smart decision.

Then we have Robert who is easily my favorite character in the series. Technically speaking he isn’t the real Robert, but an imposter sent to get details on the heroes. The guy only appears for an episode, but man is he impressive. The guy outfights just about everyone in what is one of the best fight scenes in the series and would have escaped if not for making a terrible decision at the end. He may never become a very well known character because of his limited screen time, but he was good. When you’re a double agent confidence is key and this guy had that in spades.

Miranda is a decent heroine, but I do think she’s in a tricky spot in the show simply because she doesn’t have a robot. That means that she really can’t keep up with the others and the gap will only continue to grow. Any supporting character in an action show who can’t fight will usually just be in the way by the end so hopefully she can get a robot of her own. Right now she’s mainly here for the drama with Julian so I’m ready for that plot to wrap up.

Cammie is one of the Gen Lock pilots and definitely the most optimistic of the bunch. Unlike the others she actually tries to have fun the whole time and while she may not be as disciplined as the others she is a quick learner. Cammie definitely gives the group a lot of personality and is one of the better members of the team. Her robot is also very mobile so I’d say that in these group battles she is one of the most useful members. Then we have Kazu who mainly doesn’t speak English so most of his lines are subbed. He’s an okay character, but there was one scene that really hurt him for me. Towards the end of the series all of the characters are fighting and Kazu is getting wrecked by Nemesis. Kazu is a swordsman and his robot has a sword so you’d think he would use it right? No, he doesn’t use it at all until the others mind meld with him and remind him to use it. Then he swings it….but really? Using a sword should have been the very first thought he had.

Yasamin is a character who definitely has a lot going on in her backstory but we haven’t really gotten to learn a whole lot about her just yet. I fully expect that to change in the next season. Her character is already really solid and depending on how this goes she could rise up to be the best hero. She can fight and has a lot of street experience. Her robot is solid but since she isn’t having to rely on it this makes her a much more versatile fighter. Then we have Valentina who is the most jaded member of the group. I’m expecting her to betray everyone at least once before she fully joins the allies. Valentina definitely doesn’t mind riling up the rest of the group.

Then you have Rufus who is the professor type character in the series. He seems reasonable all things considered, but is a bit of a boring character. He’s not someone you really need to return because the series just does’t need him. It’s also a bold move to sideline him straight away. In general Gen:Lock has made some pretty bold decisions, but have walked back on a few of them. It’s a shame because the series was building a pretty good atmosphere of how serious this threat was to the heroes. Hopefully they don’t walk back too many moves.

I also have to say that the resistance leadership isn’t very smart. With the Gen:Lock robots they should really be pressing their advantage as soon as possible. There is a time limit to consider, but the longer the wait the more chance that the enemies will gather more mechs of their own. Right now with a group of robots I’m sure the rebellion could re-conquer a bunch of territories all at once. If they do that then this war will seem a lot more winnable. At the moment the enemies still have the advantage since they can erase cities in an instant with their chemical weapons so ultimately the heroes are going to need better protections against that.

The animation is okay. It’s not really my style, it sort of looks like Tron or Beware the Batman. It’s not as smooth as the former but a little smoother than the latter. I’m not sure if it’s a similar engine as RWBY, but the latter looks way better so maybe it’s a colors thing. The action scenes can be good though and that’s probably where the show is at its best. Also, with hos high the animation standards can get nowadays, having below average animation doesn’t equate to being bad. It’s still good enough to watch the show and not have any real issues. It could also look worse as at least the show is going for a traditional look. I think what the show needs to do is just make things look a little more vibrant. More color in the backgrounds would make a world of difference. As for the soundtrack, it’s okay. The show is going for more rap type songs as the lyrical tunes which doesn’t work great, but they’re okay. The instrumental battle themes are definitely more solid.

I won’t really get into comparing RWBY and Gen:Lock much since their isn’t much of a comparison but since they’re from the same company you gotta do it at least once. Look, RWBY is the greatest show of all time and excels in every category. There’s no way Gen:Lock could hope to compare in any aspect, but when you’re comparing anything to the greatest of all time that isn’t really even much of a slight. At least I wouldn’t look at it like that. That being said, I really hope Rooster Teeth doesn’t divert any profits or budget from RWBY to Gen:Lock. If RWBY earns more than expected then it should be used to make a movie or increase the amount of episodes. Sharing is caring, but sometimes you gotta keep things separate.


Overall, Gen:Lock is not very long right now as it’s only one season at about half the length of most. Still, it’s off to a good start and I think the series should have a good future. It’ll need to do something to hit the next level like throwing in more good tunes or enhancing the visuals, but either way I look forward to seeing how they handle it. Maybe one day we’ll get a Gen:Lock and RWBY crossover event. That would definitely be pretty fun. If you like mech shows and haven’t seen Gen:Lock yet then you should change that.

Overall 7/10

Detective Conan: Police Academy Arc Wild Police Story

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Looks like we’ve got another Conan spinoff in the works! This one continues to show us more about Zero which is always good and the title is definitely off to a great start. The guy is just an excellent lead and now he has a good rival too. I’ll have a review for this series up when it finishes.

Overall 8/10

Godzilla (1954) Review

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It’s time to take a look at the original Godzilla film. I saw this one a very long time ago, but it’s time to dive back in. This time I saw it subbed and while the dub is always the definitive version for me, it’s interesting to see the original version. Godzilla is a solid film for sure and it’s for good reason that the series got so popular. You can’t really have a definitive experience without a second monster for him to fight so this is still one of the weakest films in the series, but a good launching point nevertheless. After all, this works to introduce the character.

The film starts off with a few boats burning up at sea. No matter how many the government sends they all end up meeting the same fate. Eventually it turns out that this is due to a new monster known as Godzilla. He may very well be the most fearsome monster of all time and the government is unsure what to do against him. All conventional weaponry has failed and the only chance for success may lie with Dr. Serizawa. He has a secret weapon which can seal the victory, but has decided to never use it. His only mistake was in confiding in someone else. Placing trust like that is always an incredible risk if you really don’t want something to get out. The problem for him is that deep down he wanted someone to know about his invention so it was inevitable I suppose.

The best part of the movie is naturally Godzilla himself. His roar is definitely a lot more villainous here compared to in the later Showa films where it just sounds a little more heroic. Here he sounds like a wild beast who can snap at any second. While the effects aren’t quite at the level they would be at in later films, it’s still nice to see him smashing the buildings and laying the world to flames. He is an intimidating Kaiju and the film is a reminder that Godzilla is not the kind of monster you want to make an enemy out of. You do have to decide who you root for here of course, the humans or Godzilla. It’s tough because Godzilla doesn’t have any malice towards the humans, but he is still destroying millions. Meanwhile the humans have started the fight, but now you have to count on them to finish it in order to save everyone. I’m on team Godzilla, but I can understand why one would want to pick humanity.

There are 3 main characters. First is Ogata who is not having the best last few days. First he is unable to get the approval of Emiko’s father since they get into a heated debate about Godzilla. Then he takes a head injury and is put into an awkward spot with Serizawa. I wasn’t a big fan of his. While Emiko’s father may not have been very reasonable, Ogata handled the whole situation pretty horribly if he really wanted the guy’s approval. They don’t have to agree on the Godzilla issue, but he didn’t have to bring it up. Meanwhile we have Emiko who I also didn’t like.

Her friendship with Serizawa is exploited by everyone as she is unfortunately not someone who deals well with pressure. A reporter asks her to set up a meeting with the doctor and she does even though Serizawa didn’t want to see the guy. Then he tells her the secret of the Oxygen Destroyer and she spills it very quickly. She should have just said that she would be unable to keep the secret as that would be preferable to just telling Ogata the whole thing. Keep in mind that Godzilla already existed at this point so she should have known that eventually there would be more casualties. Emiko’s reaction to the weapon is also really overblown as she shrieks and almost faints from witnessing a glimpse of it.

Part of why she is my least favorite character here is because of these reactions. After she betrays Serizawa she is quick to ask him to forgive her for doing this but it doesn’t feel sincere since she doesn’t regret asking. Then Serizawa has to fight Ogata off when the latter tries to steal the research. Serizawa was really the only reasonable main character here and he ultimately paid the price for it. There are points to be made against him like not inventing such a terrible weapon in the first place. His only real defense seemed to be that he couldn’t help himself and naturally that isn’t the greatest defense to be used. I suppose it’s better than nothing, but that’s not great. I’d also argue that he just shouldn’t have told Emiko in the first place.

The soundtrack is definitely top notch. A lot of the themes that we hear here will be used in future Godzilla films. It’s an array of songs that have really withstood the test of time. The heroic theme, the Godzilla theme, etc. They’re true staples and especially for a film as early as the 50s this was extremely rare. Most movies in this era either didn’t have a soundtrack or it was incredibly forgettable. I’m impressed with how much detail was in these tracks.

Overall, Godzilla is definitely a pretty fun film. It’s certainly one of the original creature feature films and you can never get tired of seeing Godzilla show up. He had more screen time than I had remembered and we even did get to see some of his Atomic Breath. If you haven’t seen this film yet then I’d recommend changing that. It’s got good action and pacing. While the cast of characters is pretty weak, they don’t hold the movie back. You also have the government characters and the reporters who hold on to their ideals throughout. The side characters all hold their own and everyone is fighting in what they believe are the best interests of Japan. None of them are acting selfishly so you at least have to give them some credit there.

Overall 7/10

Hercules Review

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It’s time to watch another big Disney classic. This time we are thrown into the world of myths and heroes with Hercules. This is definitely one of the more action packed titles and it holds up quite well to this day. While the songs aren’t quite as memorable as some of the other films, we do get one of the best Disney villains in Hades. The guy has a lot of charisma and steals all of the scenes he is in.

The film starts off with Hercules being born and Zeus has a big party to celebrate this. He invites all of the other gods of course and it’s a perfect day. This changes when Hades shows up and hatches a plan to prevent this. He turns Hercules into a mere mortal and Zeus is forced to banish him to Earth. The only way for Zeus to re-obtain his godhood is to become a true hero by performing many feats. It’s not as easy as saving people though, he has to do something truly heroic for noble reasons. Can Hercules become a god again before Hades conquers both of the worlds.

Lets quickly just talk about some things here that are a bit iffy, but in character when you look at the myths. One thing is how Zeus can’t let Hercules stay once he is mortal. Zeus is the highest ranked god in this universe right? Why does he have to obey a law when he is the one making them? Most people who create laws rarely end up following them and Zeus is always shown to be a pretty selfish guy. I guess this one’s just too heroic for that, but it’s still a bit iffy. He’s also super oblivious like how he didn’t notice that Hades tried to stab baby Hercules. How he didn’t realize that Hades would be a bit upset after being banished to the Underworld is also interesting. I do like Zeus a lot to be fair. He’s just a lot of fun which is rare for most portrayals of his character. That being said, he’s not very smart of strong. In the climax he looks pretty terrible to be honest.

I also have to question how there is a potion that can take away your godhood so easily. Can’t Hades just trick the other gods into drinking it too and then he would rule the world? If the film mentioned that it only worked because Hercules is half human then I’ll have to retract this issue. Both of these are extremely minor observations that don’t effect my enjoyment of the film or the score, but were worth noting. I was definitely thinking about this as I watched the film.

Hercules is definitely a good lead. He reminds me of early Superman when he would work on the farm using his super abilities. Hercules doesn’t have a secret identity to worry about so he just works hard and does his best at all times. The townspeople are annoyed by him which is unfortunate. While Hercules can be a bit sloppy, he really seems like an earnest chap. He does fall for Megara pretty easily and doesn’t listen to Phil as much as he should, but all in all Hercules can easily hold his own film. He already seems more powerful than most of the gods which is also quite impressive.

Phil was always fun in the Kingdom Heart games and is good here as well. He definitely flirts a lot though so I have to doubt his concentration as a coach, but once he actually gets his hat on straight then he’s ready to work. He probably could have done a better job of explaining to Hercules what was up though. As for Megara, she’s a tough heroine. Megara is the kind of character who always tries to get the last word in and is pretty jaded on romance in general. This does result in what I would say was a pretty quick 180 with Hercules but I suppose he is basically a god so I imagine he was impressive in person. I do think it would have been a good dynamic to have had them stay friends though.

As mentioned earlier Hades is definitely the big character here. He is proactive compared to the rest of the gods and characters. While they sit back and eat he is always planning. His plan was pretty much fool proof and while his lackeys aren’t too helpful (They don’t really add to the film and could have been cut out) Hades is prepared for that as well. He probably should have just hurried a little more near the end so Hercules wouldn’t arrive in time. His abilities aren’t tough enough to actually fight head-on with Hercules and Zeus, but it would have been interesting to have seen him fight a little more. Most of the gods lost effortlessly to the Titans though so those guys got quite a lot of hype.

I did like that in the ending Hercules quickly went to the underworld to save Megara. In any story where the underworld is a place you can visit it feels mandatory that the characters should head on over. Hercules was able to win on his turf so he should at least believe that he can win here as well. That’s the level of determination you need in order to be a good main character. What would have made the ending perfect would have been if Zeus said that Hercules and Megara could both come to their world and they could just go back between Earth and the realm of the gods whenever they pleased. It’s the last the gods could do since they’d be dead otherwise.

The scene with Hades talking to the fates are interesting dialogue-wise but the whole eyeball thing was more gross than creepy. I could have gone without that scene to be honest. As for the songs, we do get some catchy songs from the fates, but none of them quite have the same heart that you would see in Aladdin or Frozen. I already can’t say that I remember the lyrics to any of the songs. They have that classic Disney auto tune (Not auto tune, but a voice modification thing that makes them all sound the same) effect which works well and I’m glad they had these songs as opposed to not having any, but it’s not the strength of the film.

The writing is really where the film shines and the pacing is tight. Then we’ve got the solid animation which is as sharp and colorful as you’ll remember. It holds up to any and all of the other Disney films. We also get some fun fight scenes which is great like Hercules vs the Titan or the first bull creature. I was surprised that Hercules didn’t win his first fight with more ease though. Even if he didn’t know how to fight yet, I figured that his super strength would make any fight an easy win. I guess it’s good that he’s not too OP yet, but then it does make you wonder how strong the gods are. It is reasonable to say that the humans could possibly win a fight with them in a few hundred years once they got gun powder.

Overall, Hercules is a very good movie. It’s definitely the definitive version of the story and I’d be down with Disney making a sequel someday. They’ve been doing a lot of remakes lately but not a bunch of sequels. A crossover of all their 90s classics would also be a blast. That’d be very ambitious, but it would make for an excellent watch. I was long overdue to watch this film and it lived up to the wait. If you haven’t seen this movie yet then I recommend changing that and watching it as soon as possible.

Overall 7/10

Batman and the Justice League

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Who’d have thought that DC comics would have another manga at long last right? This one’s actually got an ongoing plot and it’s the first time I’ve gotten to see the Justice League in this format. It’s off to a good start and I’m expecting good things to continue. I’ll have a review for this series up once I finish it.

Overall 7/10

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba

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Demon Slayer is definitely a title that’s been making a lot of waves lately. The fire fight in the forest sure got popular and in general it seems to have hit the mainstream. The manga’s off to a good start, the art style may not be great but I’ve only read the first volume so far so we’ll see how well it improves. I’ll have a review up for the series once it finishes.

Overall 6/10

Fairy Tail Gaiden Review

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It’s time to look at another Fairy Tail spinoff. They’ve definitely been a mixed bag over the years as some manage to rival the main series in how terrible they are while others are surprisingly classy. The Ice Trails manga and Fairy Tail Zero are good examples of solid spinoffs after all. They had good action, a solid plot, and good artwork. Then on the other hand you’ve got a title like Fairy Girls which was so bad that you can tell the author wasn’t even trying. That one still makes me cringe. Well, this one’s not quite as great as the first two and does suffer from some of the usual Fairy Tail moments, but at least there’s some effort here and some reasonable stories.

The first volume is about Sting and Rogue as they go on some adventures. In one case, someone sends a letter asking for help from Sting and Rogue to go take down this powerful rock monster. Unfortunately, the two friends are on the outs after Sting accidentally makes Rogue’s animal friend Froze cry. Sting figures he can handle this on his own, but naturally, it is a trap so that won’t be as easy as he believes. This is an example of a pretty solid story. You’ve got a good challenge that Sting has to work to overcome and while the conflict with him and Rogue is admittedly pretty forced, it’s still a good action story in its own right.

The other Sting story is the weak link and definitely the one that keeps this series from getting an extra star. One of his teammates is kinapped and man does she have bad luck. This isn’t the first time things have gotten dicey for her which led to Natsu’s best series of moments in the franchise. Well, fortunately Sting is here to help and we get to see him beat up the entire guild pretty easily. It’s a fun fight, but the whole situation is really just here to try and squeeze in some fanservice which was definitely not needed. Sting makes for a fun alternate main character to Natsu and while he is a lot more weak willed in general he tends to be the better character.

Next up is Gajeel’s volume and he reminds us why he isn’t always the most trustworthy fellow around. One story has him disappear for a while without telling anyone and he seems to have re-joined the villains. He is now re-taking over the town that Gajeel used to rule over with an iron hand and his friend is here to help. That’s pretty believable but of course there is a twist here. The problem is that even once the twist happens it’s hard to see why Gajeel had to make the choices that he did. The guy is definitely a solo act, but not even telling Levy is a bit tricky. Fortunately, Gray was around to help solve the mystery and I appreciated the cameo. He didn’t really get to fight this time, but you could tell that he was in control right from the start.

Then you have the final volume which is all about Laxus. The annoying part of his volumes is dealing with the Blue Pegasus group since those guys definitely aren’t very epic. They run a host club and the leader is definitely not the most reliable guy, but the moral is that he’s actually tougher than he looks. I’m not sure that I can really buy into that, but at the very least I’ll acknowledge that he isn’t a total weakling. One story has him getting kidnapped so Laxus heads out to save him. Along the way he learns that friendship can take many different forms and that you shouldn’t judge a person right away. It’s a nice moral, but the leader does his best to take away from the epic fights.

One reason why Laxus has the best volume is aside from avoiding fanservice entirely we actually get some fights. Laxus has a good fight against the guild master here. Yes, there is a plot twist about how powerful she really is involving illusions, but at least it looked like an epic fight which is what counts. The other story has Laxus and his team head to a village where there is a powerful mirror that can’t be broken. Their mission is simply to break it, but the owner of the mirror attempts to stop them. This guy’s pretty powerful since he is able to combat Laxus on even ground. There are also some mind games that get played on Laxus’ trio of teammates.

Laxus has always been portrayed as one of the strongest Fairy Tail heroes. While I would definitely say that Gray and Natsu have long since surpassed him, he’s definitely still top 5 in the guild. That gives a lot of hype to this new opponent which is why the ending isn’t too satisfying for that guy’s fans. It’s always a shame when you know that someone is never going to get to fight again. I doubt he’ll ever even appear again though so I suppose that’s the least of my worries.

The art is definitely pretty good. It looks like the main series and there’s a good amount of detail here. Actually, it may even be the main artist, I forget but either way it’s very good. You won’t be disappointed here. It’s easy to read and get engaged. The idea of each volume being about a different character who will get 2-3 stories is pretty nice. There are a lot of other characters who could get that treatment so hopefully the author does more spinoffs like this. One thing I can definitely say about Fairy Tail is the author is very passionate about the series. It’s cool to see how much it has expanded.

Overall, Fairy Tail Gaiden is pretty good for the most part. Really there’s just one story that really felt like a Fairy Tail adventure with the unfortunate fanservice and the others were pretty mild. As far as trilogies go it may not be top tier, but it’s an enjoyable read. The power levels get a little tricky at times, but the characters never lose to someone they shouldn’t. Even if it’s a little closer than you may expect, they clutch it out and that’s the important thing. If you’re going to get into Fairy Tail it’s always better to go with the spinoffs. This one isn’t a bad idea for a starting point since each story basically needs no extra context.

Overall 5/10

Mutant Turtles: Superman Legend Review

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It’s time to look at an old TMNT OVA. This is the kind of OVA that is so obscure you could easily be a big fan of the franchise and not have heard of it. I certainly wouldn’t fault you for missing out on it, but once you know that it exists you have to change that. It’s a very different take on the series which throws in giant robots, cosmic fights, and stuff like that. The first episode even seems to be a sequel to the manga I read a long time ago which is definitely cool. It’s very comedic and all, but it’s a fun enough story.

The first episode involves Krang and Shredder working to revive the dark fairy of legend. When they wake her up she will destroy the world which will eliminate the turtles once and for all. Shredder isn’t too happy about losing the planet, but he knows better than to defy Krang so he goes along with the plan. The Turtles quickly find out about this and step in to stop him. The rest of the special is basically a series of big fights which concludes with a battle in space with planets hanging in the balance. That’s not something you’d ever expect to hear about TMNT.

This episode was pretty good thanks in large part to the nonstop action. It was cool to see the back and forth as both group started out in base form and then gradually transformed more and more. It was also a little nostalgic seeing their manga forms make a comeback. I also can’t stress enough how nice it was to have a villain who could actually shatter planets with a single energy blast. She really felt like she didn’t belong in a TMNT adventure in the best possible way. It was like throwing an evil Sailor Scout into the mix. The turtles are lucky that they had the Saint form and even then they would have lost. She still had the upper hand and that’s not even considering that they had a 60 second time limit. She is truly the strongest TMNT villain of them all.

Then you’ve got the second episode which is certainly weaker. The turtles head to Japan where it turns out that the Shredder and his lackeys are attacking Splinter’s men. There is a ghost haunting the castle and artifacts of immense power. These gems will allow the turtles to transform again or it may just give the villains the upper hand. Either way the turtles have to make sure that they stop Shredder and his cronies but it won’t be easy. The turtles are in unfamiliar territory after all and haven’t exactly looked all that impressive so far. Although the same can be said for the villains.

Compared to the first episode this one just felt pretty uneventful. I also think it’s because this one was more dialogue based than the first episode and since this series isn’t exactly known for its writing that didn’t work very well. The ninjas who were made up for this special also weren’t all that interesting. There’s nothing really wrong with this episode, but I missed the high stakes and the cool action scenes. This should have been episode 1 instead.

In terms of animation it’s got that old Transformers vibe. It holds up pretty well without looking all that special. I’d consider it to be fairly standard animation quality, but that’s more than good enough to give you some good action scenes. I really did enjoy the fight between the divine turtle and the dark fairy. It was the highlight of the whole special. The battle with Godzilla Shredder was also really good. The energy blasts are nice and you may even recognize some of the sound effects. Animation is probably the best part of this OVA. If it had a good script and was taken more seriously this could have even been great.

Alas, that wasn’t the case. This is still a comedy with a sub-par script. It is really being carried by the animation. It’s not boring or dull though which is important. You will ultimately have a good time with these 2 episodes and is that not the point of a good TMNT adventure? I think the short length also helps. This may not sound quite right but some series are better in small doses. If this had 30+ episodes it would probably end up hurting itself more because the gags would get old very quickly. As a two episode OVA it doesn’t really get hit by this. It’s different enough where the jokes don’t grate on you as much as they otherwise could have. It’s just entertaining in a corny kind of way.

There’s not much to say about the characters. All 4 of the turtles basically have the same personality with Michelangelo just being a little goofier than the other 3. Splinter looks and feels old here as he steps in to help once in a while but is basically a non factor. He can’t even transform so he is really left in the dust. Meanwhile Shredder feels like just another lackey. At least he talks back to Krang here and there, but ultimately it feels more like he is trying to hype himself up. He knows that he won’t actually stand up to Krang. At the end of the day Krang bullies him around whenever he feels like it. Krang definitely gets the most respect from the villains, but even he is comic relief for the most part. His plans aren’t always super well thought out and his robot body is super slow so the turtles just make fun of him and leave. They don’t even bother fighting him at times which is the ultimate disrespect. You might even feel bad for him at times.

Overall, Superman Legend has a cooler title than the OVA deserves, but it’s a quality watch. These may not be the turtles that I grew up with, but I’m glad that I got to see them at least once in a Transformers homage of sorts. I don’t really expect we’ll ever see that kind of thing nowadays so it was a good experiment. If you’re a really big TMNT fan then you owe it to yourself to watch this one. If you’re not then I suppose you’re not missing much by skipping out on it. There’s no real downside to at least checking it out though.

Overall 6/10

Megaman X: Giga Mission Review

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This is a pretty short manga title clocking in at 10 pages. It’s basically a one shot to help promote the game and get you set for the incredible story of Megaman X. The series definitely has the most interesting storylines out of all the various Mega Man continuities so I would like to see the whole thing get adapted someday. Regardless, with solid art and good fights there’s no reason not to like this one.

Of course there also isn’t a whole lot to say about it. The manga throws you right into the middle of the action as X tries to stop multiple mavericks who are attacking him. They have a different name though as these robots are a slightly different variation. They can even fuse like the Constructicons which makes them even more dangerous. This is at a point in the story where Zero is out of commission so X has to go it alone. X is definitely a lot angrier here than usual which is likely related. Of course this could also just be the translators giving him extra edge but it’s rare to see him being so insulting to the villains as he claims victory. I suppose he finally just had enough of this.

The art is definitely very solid. It can be a little chaotic at times so if this was a full fledged title then the artist would probably need to work on that a bit. Still, either way I would definitely give it a thumbs up. The action feels very intense and you’ll still be able to recognize the characters right away. You’ll be wishing that the manga could have been longer to really take in what’s happening. I haven’t played these games yet (Takes place between X5 and 6 I believe) so it’ll be fun to see the story there but of course the games came out a long time ago so they couldn’t go quite as into depth as they would be able to in a modern version. That’s why a manga is a great idea to flesh out the story a bit.

Overall, if you’re a big Megaman fan then you definitely should check this out. It’s cool that the fans have been translating more of these obscure Megaman products. Hopefully they continue to do so and eventually all of the Megaman titles will be available online. I still think it’s a missed opportunity not to officially release them in the US though. I feel like they would definitely sell quite well if marketed correctly. It’s Megaman, everyone loves a good story about robots and mavericks. Ah well, this definitely does get me in the mood to go back and play the X Collection, but that game is quite long and hard so it’ll realistically still be a long while until then.

Overall 8/10