The Misfit of Demon King Academy II Review

Posted on July 6, 2025 by dreager1

Anos definitely started season 1 out like a champ as he took everyone down and proved his utmost brilliance. He conquered death itself and took the fight to the gods. I would say season 2 has a hard time topping that but Anos definitely looks as great as you’d expect. He’s still rocking gods and everyone else who gets in his ways. I always like when a main character is this OP and he even makes for a really heroic character. This is truly the character who has everything and while season 2 might not match the pop of season 1, it absolutely holds its own.

The first part of the season is really about dealing with Shin’s past as well as Misa’s true form as Avos. The past events naturally get a little more tension than in the present since the characters can’t interact with the past. That would be impossible right? Well…..this is Anos we’re talking about so lets just say he messes with the past anyway but it was a good attempt. Then with the Avos part, yeah Anos could crush her but he’s not the kind of guy to go all out against a friend so the real tough part is finding a way to defeat Avos without actually destroying Misa. Anos is a guy who always has the answers so we’ll have to see what he comes up with.

By this season the character cast is actually rather big. Like in Reincarnated as a Slime, it’s not enough for Anos to be completely overpowered, he’s also got the most overpowered squad backing him up. We’re talking gods, the strongest swordsman, the hero king reincarnated, etc. Anos and his squad really cannot be beat and to try and counter that, the villains have more gods of their own this time but it doesn’t ultimately make much of a difference. Some of these villains are indeed quite strong but this isn’t the kind of series where you are overly worried about the heroes. Anos will ultimately be around to save them should things go too far. The villains do their best to split the heroes up but it tends to be in vain.

Also like I mentioned before, the rest of the heroes are so powerful they rarely need Anos to bail them out at this point. I would say season 2 is a bit more of an ensemble product compared to season 1 where most of it was Anos humiliating everybody. No worries though, Anos is still an absolutely crucial figure so don’t think he’s getting written out of anything like that. Now that would have been sad.

On a technical level, season 2 doesn’t seem quite as high budget as season 1. Or maybe it’s more accurate to say it is less consistent. In season 1 the episodes were always super good looking while season 2 has its stand out scenes but also has some really average ones. So prepare for a bit of a bumpy ride at times but I will say that the important fight scenes always look really good. Additionally the soundtrack is still really good. I would say that the openings are not nearly as good as in season 1 but they are still catchy. Just not ones that you will listen to as often as the season 1 tunes. Those I ended up listening to quite a few times.

As for the characters, Anos is awesome as always. One thing they added in this season was to make Anos get an alternate identity as a kid which was pretty interesting. He’s still really smug in this form while also being able to offer advice to those who need it. It adds a little extra touch of humanity to the character. He’s always benevolent by nature but as a kid he is certainly more approachable for some characters than he would have been otherwise.

Meanwhile Shin gets a lot to do here. We get to meet his kid and wife. Turns out that the guy is a real softy once family is involved. His skills are still the real deal though as he continues to dominate Lay in combat. I like the rivalry that ends up developing as a result. Additionally, I tend to enjoy the trope of the doting father so seeing him be really strict with Lay is fun. That’s how the show is in general after all, maintaining a fun tone all the way. So this is another fun gag to add to the pile and I also really loved the battle of bonds with Shin and Anos taking on Lay and Misa.

It’s only natural that the love of a leader and subordinate would beat the budding love between boyfriend and girlfriend. Maybe in a few years once their feelings have had time to evolve even more then it could be different but could Anos lose in any competition? Yeah this was definitely a whole lot of fun. Reno also ends up being a really fun character. For most of the season you’re wondering exactly how her story is going to play out since appearing in a flashback is always a worrying sign. She is also fairly tough although in this verse at minimum you need to be top tier or you aren’t going to last very long in a fight. She goes through a lot but ultimately Anos ends up stepping in.

Sasha and Misha had their big character arcs in the first season but no worries they still get a lot to do here. They can now use their fusion form at will and in that mode they are also incredibly powerful. They even get a big fight of their own which was nice to see. Sasha still has her tough personality which always makes her a lot of fun to watch. Misha tends to still be quiet which isn’t as entertaining but she means well. I won’t be too harsh on her, she tends to be better than most of the quiet characters in this archetype at the very least.

Misa is a character who didn’t really stand out a lot in season 1 so this time she gets a massive role in the first half. It turns out that she is actually the true false dark lord and gets a massive power up along with her true form. In her true form she is much more assertive and I know that’s just a side effect of being evil initially but then later on she is able to utilize that personality at will. It’s still basically Misa in both forms and I would say it bumps up the character tremendously. It even makes her romance with Lay a lot more interesting. Season 2 absolutely bumped her up the most from all of the characters.

Meanwhile Lay still looks solid in the fight although his whole having 7+ souls thing becomes less and less impressive as the series goes on. Basically to actually defeat him you basically have to murder the guy a half dozen times right away before all of his souls regenerate. The big villains are able to do this rather quickly now and I would say Lay has had a real hard time keeping up with the other heavyweights in the verse. He is still really strong but the series goes all in on the power creep. It’s fitting for a title like this. Lay’s a good guy throughout the series though so his personality is on point.

One of the big OP villains for example is Nosgalia. The guy is one of those gods who can body hop and is always talking a really big game. From all of the villains I would say he easily shows the most arrogance against Anos. The guy is very powerful so I would say it is earned but of course at the end of the day he has nothing against Anos. While I respect his power, I can’t say that I cared very much for Nosgalia as a character though. Not my kind of villain and he’s definitely not the honorable sort.

Can’t say I was a big fan of Erdomaid either but that guy gets a considerable amount of hype too. Anos really tames him into being a forced servant for a good chunk of the season though. He almost literally cannot oppose Anos now that his powers are shackled but this guy is a real trickster. If anyone can have a second wind it’s him. In a way his goal is to make Anos the best demon lord possible but their sense of morals and what makes a good demon lord are completely incompatible. I would say Anos should just permanently off him but he is the kind of demon lord who tends to be merciful to a lot of characters so it’s not exactly surprising.

Now by this point you probably figure nobody can really do anything against Anos so what’s the next step? Well, what if Anos’ memories were tampered with. What if…he tampered with them? The only one who can possibly stop him would be himself so that makes things interesting. He meets up with the goddess of creation and she seems to know a lot but for now it’s fairly cryptic. Part of the second half is about Anos trying to regain those lost memories and find out why they were removed in the first place.

This actually leads into a tournament! The God Selection where 8 people will compete with their summoned gods in order to obtain true power. Anos doesn’t have a whole lot of interest in this but he is thrown into the mix regardless and at least this could give some clue as to where his true memories are. It’s not the most formalized kind of tournament as the combatants tend to do their own thing and everyone has an agenda but it was still pretty fun. I liked how high stakes it was and naturally this meant Anos would have time to style on everyone a bit more.

Away from all of the big battles, Emilia also gets a subplot to herself. Her character appearing in general was definitely a surprise. She was pretty awful in season 1 but now the true depths of Anos’ plan have finally hit. He is helping her to become a better person and the punishment of having to teach the pesky humans is just part of that. Her class was filled with a bunch of troublemakers and do-gooders but she is ultimately able to reach out to them. Thanks in no part to the corrupt headmaster who is just there to cause trouble. We see how Emilia had to eat lunch all by herself and was shunned by everyone. The scenes aren’t particularly long but do make you feel really bad for her. I was glad that she ended up getting a happy ending.

Eleonore and Zeshia also get to return thanks to the new venue. At this point the power creep has long since surpassed them but they still do well against the monsters that showed up. They’re generally fun characters like most of the cast so I was glad to see them around. Even the Anos fanclub gets to have their moment to shine with the songs so the series really made sure not to leave anybody behind.

Arcana is one of the god summons with the biggest roles here. She even gets a flashback and a pretty nice dynamic with Anos. He’s close friends with a lot of people but now he gets to be a big brother as well. She is certainly very powerful but when her master has her fight with Anos you know how that is going to turn out. Even literal gods have nothing on the Demon Lord of Tyranny. Arcana could have been at risk of being a little too naive and soft spoken but the show doesn’t play this up too hard so she ends up being fun.

Ahide is one of the big bosses of the final arc and he is strong but he also does spend a lot of time whining. He’s at his best when he maintains his cool, calm and collected outlook. It just never lasts for too long with these kinds of characters as Anos is around to shatter his illusion. Get ready for several tactical retreats as Anos always manages to convincingly crush him. Anos goes harder against him than usual as he really breaks the poor guy.

Then you have Ceris who claims to be Anos’ father. That definitely made for an interesting twist and he ends up being a very mysterious character. Finally someone who might be able to give Anos a run for his money right? Well at the very least I would say that it does make him very interesting. I thought he made for a fun wildcard as he seems to know a lot but stays cryptic during most of his appearances.

Diedrich is one of the first combatants to make a move so you already know that he’s doomed. He was quite powerful though and I did appreciate that he was always up for a fight. He also ends up being a lot more honorable than I would have expected so I ended up liking him. I was expecting him to be one of those crazy corrupt kings but I suppose that’s why you can’t judge a book by its cover. He perhaps overrates his abilities in relation to Anos’ just a tad but I won’t fault a character for being confident.

Golroana is another religious fanatic, the Pope himself! I did think it was pretty interesting to lean so hard on the religious angle for season 2. It makes sense though as this season focuses on how powerful legends and reputation can be for a character. This was especially relevant for Rena in the first arc but plays a role here too. Legends give you power and so likewise everyone believing in a religion would give those folks power. It’s the same concept as the Anos fan club giving him extra power when they sing his songs. So it’s not as if this is a new concept, if anything it has just been actively weaponized here a lot more than we had seen previously. It was a solid thematic element.

Yeah this season was definitely really satisfying. Now I won’t say it’s perfect or anything. it does still have the occasional bout of fanservice but on the whole I would say it’s surprisingly tame. It also helps that in general I love a good power fantasy so I don’t get bored of Anos being so overpowered. I could watch another 3 seasons of him just humiliating everyone and I would still be fine with it. They picked the perfect voice for him and it helps that he’s a generally nice guy. The show actually teaches you valuable lessons about friendship and everything.

Overall, Demon Misfit continues to be a great show. It’s another example of how solid writing will always be enough to clear the day. It may not have the absolute budget of other titles but it doesn’t ultimately need them. The show looks great when it counts like I mentioned earlier but it also absolutely nails the humor aspect. The character cast is also really strong so you have all the elements you need for a great show. This is one I could definitely recommend to anyone looking for a fun anime to watch.

Overall 8/10

Blue Exorcist: Beyond the Snow/The Blue Night Sagas Review

Posted on July 6, 2025 by dreager1

Yeah that title is a mouthful right? Well in this case each cour got a different subtitle and that’s more or less how they list it on Wikipedia so I figured ehhhhh I’ll write it out like this. Get ready for a pretty long flashback saga thrown in. It’s important to be sure but you’ll probably be more eager to see what is going on in the present so in a sense this will definitely slow your roll quite a bit. We do get more action in this season although I still find myself wanting for more Rin battles. This must be what Edward fans felt like in FMA where you could go 20 episodes without the guy getting a real battle. Some MCs just don’t get all the screentime.

The first half of the season mainly focuses on Shura as we finally see her backstory. She vanishes one day in the present and Rin/Yukio are sent off to find her. There is still a bit of tension here as Yukio is still acting really shady and irrational. Even Rin who is one of the more oblivious guys out there is starting to pick up on this. With Shura being in danger there isn’t a whole lot of time to think about it but the situation will only continue to get worst at this rate. Shura is being controlled by a villain from her past known as Hachiro. Defeating him won’t be easy and it would appear that Shura may die anyway due to a contract. Can she be saved or will the heroes have to make a sacrifice here?

Once your soul is partially owned by a demon then you’re going to be in for a rough time. It really isn’t easy to save Shura as a result and she’s secretly known what was coming up ever since childhood and just didn’t tell anyone so they wouldn’t worry. It’s a heroic mindset so I don’t fault her for that. She probably could have left some kind of word for the rest of the characters so they wouldn’t chase after her but I’m not really sure what kind of wording you could have even tried to say that would have stopped them. Odds are they would see through most lies.

Shura has always been one of the more powerful fighters so it was nice to finally see her in the lead again. For the most part she is no match for Hachiro but she still gets some good action scenes. She is still used a bit for fanservice at times and even this life or death matter couldn’t help but still ship her a bit with Yukio. Definitely a really weak ship especially when Yukio is acting all crazy but I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and say his actions here really were to help Shura. I like to think that he was totally faking everything he was saying even if it’s lightly implied that to a degree he meant part of it. Forming a pact would grant him more power which is something he desperately wants after all. This arc was able to continue his slow decent into darkness.

I can’t say Hachiro was one of the more interesting villains though. He’s certainly powerful but not particularly ambitious and it’s not like he has a super end game either. He’s someone you don’t want to cross but that’s about it. The heroes are way too lenient the whole time though and should have crushed him at the first opportunity. You will want to roll your eyes by the end of this arc. I would have liked to have seen Rin do more in the fight here but surprisingly he doesn’t play a pivotal role the way you might expect.

Rin still looks really solid throughout the anime though. He is really trying his best both in handling what the past brings in the next arc and even confronting his own feelings for Shiemi. It’s always best to take a pro active approach rather than sulking on the sidelines so that was really good. He may no look as good as he should in the fights by this point in the series but there are asterisks behind some of his worst showings so I cut him a tiny bit of slack here. By the next season I’m hopeful that we will be seeing more of prime Rin since he was down in the dumps for half of this season.

Unfortunately I can’t say that Yukio looks good at all here. At this point he is so jealous over Rin’s abilities that he is trying really dangerous methods to awaken his own. Even risking his life and basically coming close to ending it on the hopes that a life or death situation will manifest his powers. Yukio is willing to go to any level to wake them up including working with the Illuminati which is obviously a bad call. Not to mention pointing a gun at his friend Suguro. By this point in the series Yukio cannot be trusted at all and it’s a shame to see how far he has fallen.

It’s also a drop that has lasted whole seasons by this point so it’s certainly been a while since we’ve gotten to see him as a very heroic figure. Ah well, I guess that just wasn’t in the cards for him this time around. He is without a doubt getting stronger though so he will be hard to deal with. I expect that eventually he will be pulled back into the light, hopefully before he causes too much damage.

Aside from the Shura story, we also get the end of year celebration for the main characters. So we get a classic festival and interpersonal developments with the various characters. Not to mention that Lightning continues to discover more about the blue night massacre which is putting a lot of eyes on him. Lightning is a tough guy and not afraid to ruffle some feathers though, he just continues to work hard on that and doesn’t look back. I think he can be a bit too extreme at times to where he can feel like a villain but I can understand why he is tired of dealing with all the bureaucrats.

One thing to remember about this series is just how corrupt the government is. The “heroes” are working with Mephisto, a legendary demon after all. A lot of the issues they are dealing with in the present are due to crazy unethical experiments in the past. The whole second half of the season deals with a whole lot of that and the government doesn’t seem to have learned their lessons. They are still better than the villains who are trying to destroy everything but by no means are they innocent. You eventually need them to be taken down but right now that’s not really on Rin’s radar. The main characters will stop any evil in front of them but a systematic change is hard to do.

Rin’s various school friends are still around as well of course. Suguro helps Lightning out a lot and as a result he knows a whole lot more about the situation than most of the kids. Of course the more he learns, the more danger he gets put in. This is why Yukio targets him after all and at this point the guy definitely needs to watch his back as well. The villains can come from anywhere after all and Suguro isn’t the most powerful fighter by any means.

Meanwhile Shiemi is still dealing with romance issues. She is just unsure of what love really is and sorting out her feelings has been difficult. I appreciate that she is giving this some real thought rather than falling into anything too quickly. It’s not an easy concept to wrap your head around after all and once you have someone confessing to you, it just gets that much more complicated. It’s as if she’s on the clock now and has to decide much quicker than otherwise. There are so many kinds of feelings you can mistake for love as well so she needs to rule those out. She’s also started taking a route away from being a fighter which is a good decision, although now she’s being forced into a role that might put her in even more danger. Sometimes you just can’t win I suppose.

Shima is still working all the sides and continues to be an interesting wildcard. I can’t say I trust the guy at all though and none of the characters should. When you’re working all of the groups against each other, you have to be extra sure of where his real allegiance is or you will end up getting burned. He’s not the most powerful fighter so Rin could take him in a straight fight but the guy definitely feels like the assassin type so all he needs is a clean shot and he could still be a problem.

Then the second half starts and we have to take a break from the present right when things were getting real interesting. It’s time for Rin to learn the truth about everything that happened in the present. I know this flashback is a real big deal but it is the weakest part of the season in part because of how passive the main characters are. They just allow everything to happen rather than making moves to stop it all.

We see how Shiro grew up and joined the order. How he met a lady named Yuri who would be tasked with watching over Satan and would have a first row seat to how crazy the guy would get. It’s a very twisted dynamic to be sure and who would have guessed that Satan would turn out to be evil?? I would have liked the warning bells to have gone off within the organization a little bit sooner but they’re all just so arrogant and cocky that they could contain him. If there’s one demon you should not underestimate, it would surely be this guy right? Definitely not their best appearance and Satan definitely makes them pay for it.

There are a number of annoying things about the flashback but the would be romance with Shiro and Yuri has to be at the top of it. Ultimately he’s too gruff and stubborn to actually say that he likes her and allows her to keep on seeing Satan and basically sacrifice herself for the mission. Yuri also doesn’t seem to want to be a burden and so she takes on each mission even knowing about the danger. She also begins to care for Satan to a degree which was definitely a mistake. I was glad the series didn’t try to go out of its way to make him seem like a caring guy.

Satan may have started out as a baby but from the start his evil impulses are definitely there. It’s portrayed in a way where he would turn evil no matter who helped to raise him. It’s just in his very DNA and soul. You can’t fix that and I would say this is as clear as that’s going to get. At the same time I would say he loses whatever mystery is left within the guy. We just see him in a vulnerable/weakened position too often to take him seriously. He gets a whole lot of cringe scenes while growing up in the asylum and the fact that the humans were able to placate him for so long is rough. It’s the same thing that happened with Lucifer and I even dare say Mephisto gets hit with this. You can’t take them seriously when Lucifer and Satan are constantly spitting out blood and dying to be reincarnated later on. Then Mephisto takes a gunshot and winds up in the equivalent of the hospital? Yeah he’s probably trolling but cmon now.

Of the 3, Mephisto seems to be the most dangerous with his time manipulation but they all have full weaknesses. Mephisto at this point has been jobbing so hard for so long that I almost wonder if he still remembers how to be a fierce opponent. One thing’s for sure, he’s been playing the long game for a longer time than most other antagonists. He probably gets some kind of record for this. No matter what his end game plan is, I dare say I will find it to be way more convoluted than it needed to be.

I also would say Yuri having kids with him was definitely a mistake. The less said about this ship the better but the whole plot definitely makes you shake your head. Like I said, she took the job way too seriously and her feelings got way too confused the whole time. None of the characters make it out of the flashback saga unscathed. They all make their share of mistakes and all of them seem like self inflicted errors. Any of the characters could have handled it way differently like for Yuri abandoning the order, the Order could have just taken Satan down earlier and worried about the resurrection at another time, Shiro could have stepped in, etc.

The characters really allowed things to get out of hand and of course the ramifications of this are that we got the blue night disaster and all of the current events in Blue Exorcist. This also put Shiro further under Mephisto’s thumb which would really become a life debt. That’s probably one of the toughest things for the heroes in this series which is that they’re basically forced to work for the villains under penalty of death. Rin is really the only hope to shake off these chains if by now he is strong enough to change the world.

The animation for the show is good. Nothing amazing and I don’t think you will be seeing this on lists for best animation but the action works well enough. I expect that once we get a long Rin fight we will get to see the animation explode. When characters have fire powers, it really helps the animation to look extra sharp because the colors work well with the swordplay. If you mess up fire based fight scenes then the studio has a real problem I would say.

As for the soundtrack, they are still using a whole lot of the old tracks from previous seasons so there isn’t much new here. Neither one of the openings are particularly solid. I would say they are okay but definitely not game changers. They really aren’t doing anything innovative here unfortunately. It’s not bad or anything but I do hope they can spice things up a bit in the next season or just use some of the old tracks more. The electronic battle theme and the classic Blue Exorcist themes are right there begging to be used more!

While it feels like we are starting to approach the end of the series, it also feels like the title is dragging its feet a bit. Blue Exorcist has always had some weird pacing issues. It feels like the world is only partially fleshed out. The characters accept some rather odd situations without questioning it. Only Rin seems to know how twisted things are but half the time when he speaks up, Mephisto just threatens him to his face. There is no winning if the world is still ruled by demons and it’ll be interesting to see how Rin finds a solution to this. While trying to obtain more and more power is usually something the villains do, I think it is the heroes who need to crave it this time. That’s the only way they can overthrow the demons and really change things up.

At this point there really should not be much more time for school adventures. I like them as much as the next guy but the world is going crazier and crazier with the demons running amok throughout the country. I need to see some initiative for the heroes as they take them on directly. I also really need to see Rin taking a more prominent role. If they find a way to sideline him again in the next season then I’ll be shaking my head. It’s time for Blue Exorcist to get serious and give us some serious plot progression in the present timeline.

Overall, The season spends a lot of time in the flashback which definitely slows up the pacing. Most of it you can easily guess and piece together from the lore we already had so I think this could have been condensed a whole lot. I just want to know what’s going to happen in the present so the next season has the potential to be the most explosive yet. I would say as always, Blue Exorcist continues to be solid but still lacking things to make it a very good show. It’s a mix of characters and action. The series just has not been ready to turn the corner but perhaps that will change now. If you’re this deep into the series, you should definitely continue in order to stay current. It feels as though the series is starting to approach the climax so I doubt we will be getting another 4 seasons at this point.

Overall 6/10

Rurouni Kenshin Season 2: Kyoto Disturbance Review

Posted on June 29, 2025 by dreager1

It’s time for the return of Rurouni Kenshin. This season begins the build up to the most well known of all the Kenshin sagas. Shishio is here with his elite 10 swords and Kenshin’s sense of justice will be pushed to its limit. Can he manage to defeat them without going back to his killing ways? Winning as a Rurouni will put him at a disadvantage but this is still the way that he wants to win. It will mean potentially getting his friends out of the picture but they won’t let him do that so easily.

The series starts off pretty quickly with Kenshin deciding to head to Kyoto where the action will be. Saito will be there as well to fend off the invaders but first he takes out Kenshin’s friend Sanosuke to prove why Kenshin left him behind. This boxer is going to have to get a whole lot stronger. In general all of Kenshin’s allies have to strengthen themselves in order to be ready for this mission. At the same time, Aoshi has returned and he wants revenge on Kenshin even if it means joining up with the villains. Kenshin’s honor code may be stronger than ever but Aoshi has ditched all of that. At this point all he cares about is getting his revenge. His judgment may be clouded but his abilities are as dangerous as ever so this won’t be easy.

One thing’s clear from the start, Kenshin can’t possibly win this on his own. Naturally he does want to keep everyone out of harm’s way but he’s not really fighting at his best right now and he’s also completely outnumbered. While he could probably defeat any of the 10 swords individually, he wouldn’t stand a chance as a group. It’s also hard to say if he could beat either Shishio or Aoshi one on one. Fortunately Kenshin gets a whole training arc later on which helps him to finally regain his old abilities.

As always, you have to decide if you feel like Kenshin is going too far in his pacifism or if it is admirable that he would sooner die than take a life. Although when hostages are at stake then he is more likely to act. It’s hard for me to directly fault him for that but it can be rough to see him effectively be sandbagging mid fight when people can die at any second. Of course the remedy to this is to get so strong that you can win even while holding back. That is the path that Kenshin must go down.

Meanwhile you have Yahiko who is still trying to be one of the big main characters but just gets in the way the whole time. I know he means well but this is why the kids can be annoying. He knows very well that he shouldn’t be anywhere near the battlefield and yet he still comes to Kyoto with the others. Yahiko is just a kid and even though he has some training under his belt, he’s far too weak to be of any help at this point. It’ll likely be a very long time until that changes either so he really just needs to stay home.

I have the same criticism for Kaoru. She’s not a real fighter and Kenshin left her behind for a reason. Deciding to follow him after that is completely selfish and potentially puts all of their lives in the balance. You just can’t be doing that and of course it puts him in an awkward spot as well. It’s not like he can force her to stay back and he’s generally too polite to be too harsh about the whole thing. But this does mean that he has yet another person that must be protected.

Megumi is probably the smartest member of the side characters. She knows her limits and so she helps with medicinal herbs but isn’t trying to just constantly get Kenshin’s attention like the others. I definitely respect her for that and in general she has the roughest road because you know that for Kenshin she has no chance over Kaoru. He didn’t even give her a personal goodbye like the others and she took it in stride instead of immediately sulking.

Sanosuke is the only guy I can defend when it comes to defying orders. He is still a fighter after all even if he isn’t nearly as strong as Kenshin or Saito. Things work out well for him in that he is able to train and get stronger. So that definitely makes things even easier. Sanosuke has a right to die on the battlefield with the others and at least he will give it his all. So yeah in his case this is just what I would call proper determination. He even gets to contribute at several points in the arc. I look forward to seeing him continue to his best and get stronger still. With all of the sword fighters around, it can be fun to have an old fashioned hand to hand specialist.

Then we have Saito who is easily the best ally to have around. His sword fighting is top tier and he can even match Kenshin. The most impressive moment though was when he crushed Sanosuke in hand to hand combat. When you can defeat a hand to hand specialist in something like this when that’s not even your main weapon of choice, well that is absolutely a flex. He’s a very practical guy and while he is very aggressive, it’s never at the expense of strategy. Saito is even a good judge of character as he knows exactly who to leave the district with later on. Saito can’t be everywhere at once after all and unlike Kenshin, he is tied to the government. So there are limits to how far Saito can go and what he can do. The guy just does his best in maximizing all of it.

We know that he is ultra powerful, but Saito actually doesn’t get a ton of action scenes just yet. So that is something to look forward to. A fight that would be a lot of fun would be him for Aoshi. Both of them are extremely skilled and bloodthirsty after all. Aoshi may be a complete villain at this point but he is certainly an interesting one. I would even say he is more interesting than Shishio at this point in time. You get the feeling that Aoshi could possibly even take him on. We’ll find out the answer to this soon but for now it’s just fun to see how he fears absolutely nobody. Aoshi just does whatever he wants and fights when he pleases. He just lives for revenge now and his skills are sharper than ever.

He even surpasses his clan rather easily. Okina used to be the big leader there and the guy is still strong but I wouldn’t say it was a particularly close fight. Aoshi has reached new limits with his abilities while Okina has gotten old. Age is something that will ultimately defeat the strongest of warriors. The clan was fun to see overall but it’s not like any of them are a big threat to Aoshi. The member with the biggest role is definitely Misao and even then it’s more about her trying to find him and not because she is a deadly fighter. She is still a step up from Yahiko though without a doubt. At least Misao has a ninja background and can absolutely end the various enemies who get in her way. She’s also generally fun so I can overlook her being in the way to an extent. She actually adds some fun banter and humor.

Shishio is the big bad so you know he will be really strong but for now he’s mainly still aura farming. The guy will have to prove himself in the next season but he does enough as the main villain to still be solid. He’s perhaps winging it a little too much with his underlings though as they came pretty close to thinking about turning on him. With his right hand man Sojiro he would still be okay even against the other 9 deadly swords but he really doesn’t have time for any infighting right now. Kenshin and friends would absolutely be glad to have less opponents.

Sojiro has already gotten to prove himself with several really impressive moments. It’s why the guy is already a really fun villain. I tend to like the right hand man villain type who can hold himself at a really high level like this. In another series he could have even ended up being the main villain. So you definitely don’t want to sleep on this guy, even Kenshin was taken by surprise with his high level of skill. Considering how young he is as well, you could say that he is a true prodigy.

Hoji is one of those guys who is loyal to a fault. He’s not a top tier fighter or anything but he would definitely give his life to ensure that Shishio wins. He sees that as his absolute focus in life and will do anything to see it through. Certainly impressive, I can say that much. I ended up liking him more than I expected to by the end. I don’t always love the advisor types but in this case he was convincing enough in the role to get me to take him seriously.

Anji is one of the more honorable villains. At the very least he isn’t going around murdering for fun but it’s always important to keep in mind that he is still fighting on the side of the villains. By allying himself with them, he definitely takes on a large part of the guilt. No amount of grandstanding can change that. He seems like one of the more powerful villain members but we’ll have to see how that shakes out. He definitely seems stronger than Cho for example since that guy was captured pretty quick. He’s also portrayed as more of a rival to Sanosuke while Anji is seen as being above him.

Usui is probably the biggest wildcard among the villains since he is willing to openly go against Shishio and basically dare the guy to make a move. A bold play to be sure and I would even say that Shishio allows too much here. It would be a better look if he had taken Usui down already. I know he wants to conserve strength and all but that would be a way to really ensure that all other villains completely stayed in line. I know right now they do follow his orders without question and all but adding a little more oomph to that is certainly not a bad idea.

The animation is really solid as always. You really feel the various sword clashes between characters and the choreography is on point. The colors really stand out and the sounds do a good job of showing the power behind each blow. meanwhile the soundtrack has a lot of variety and fits the moments well. I wouldn’t say that the opening or ending particularly stands out but it’s not bad either. The show is definitely backed up well on the technical front.

Meanwhile the writing is good as always with the story being very interesting. The arc has a whole lot of fight scenes going on nonstop which is really exciting. This is the kind of story that is always fun even without fights but of course you are always glad to see them appear and take the story to the next level. Yes, definitely no complaints here. I felt like there was a big fight in nearly every episode and even when it was for characters I’m not too engaged with like Misao’s ninjas, it still worked well. The show was trying to get everyone involved including the villagers so I can appreciate the teamwork nature of it all.

Kenshin having to constantly deal with the fallout of his actions is also good. At the end of the day when you live by a strong creed, there will definitely be things that come with that. His mentor was also good at making sure Kenshin stuck by his decisions by even upping the stakes of them. The mentor is the kind of guy who always shows off a really gruff exterior but means well when it counts. I would say he still seems to be considerably stronger than Kenshin at this time so the hero will need more training.

Finally the show still depicts how a fairly simple story can still be super engaging. At its core this is a very simple show. A bunch of terrorists are trying to overthrow the government and Kenshin has to stop them. All of the heroes and villains are known, we’ve already got most of the matchups and the climax is approaching. There isn’t a need for a bunch of twists or mysteries, the show is just very confident in its story and rewards you with the strong banter and matchups. Due to how corrupt the government is, it also allows you to see the villains as more than 2D villains who are just trying to destroy the world. It’s not enough where you’d root for them over Kenshin but it is solid writing all the same.

Overall, Kenshin season 2 was a lot of fun as expected. We still got great fight scenes at every turn and the animation was really solid. I enjoyed the soundtrack quite a lot as well. It’s fair to say that the technical aspects across the whole show are fundamentally really strong. A lot of work goes into every part of it. I’m definitely looking forward to season 3 as it will be adapting the peak of the series. So long as the budget stays high this will be another all star title. It had one of the more satisfying climaxes to an arc in the manga as well.

Overall 8/10

Blue Box Review

Posted on June 8, 2025 by dreager1

It’s time for a sports/romance hybrid series. The romance eventually starts to overtake the sports aspect but I would say the series does a good job of keeping it mainly balanced at least in this season. The series got good production values and has fun characters so on the whole I would say it’s pretty good. The romance is handled in a serious way as a slow burn which is always the right approach, even if I may not be the biggest fan of the route it decided to go. You can’t win them all after all.

The series starts off by introducing us to Taiki who is a badminton player. He has strong ambitions of becoming the top player and going to Nationals some day. He has a long ways to go for that goal though as his skills just aren’t there yet. He is a first year player so he has time but he wants to make it to the top as soon as possible. Meanwhile he has a crush on the Basketball veteran Chinatsu. She is in her second year and also trying to get her team to Nationals. Can he accomplish his dream and go out with her? Taiki has to play this carefully or he could make the school environment very awkward. There is one thing in his favor though…due to her parents’ work, she will now be living at his place for the foreseeable future.

Naturally living together can make things a bit easier since he will get to talk to her more, but on the other hand it also makes him a lot more self conscious. After all you can think of it as being a selfish move because she is relying on his household right now. So asking her out in this situation may pressure her to say yes, or if she says no, now the whole thing will be even more awkward. So Taiki has to work through his feelings here and I tend to agree with him on staying silent. It just doesn’t feel like the right time. One of Chinatsu’s friends says Taiki should say something since otherwise it is creepy behavior to be secretly liking her.

I get the logic of the counter but don’t really agree with it. There’s nothing inherently bad about it so long as Taiki has no bad intentions. So long as he stays respectful and within boundaries then not saying anything is still the better call. Living together just brings with it way too many complications to have a relationship, although of course this series would be over if nothing happens so you can expect some shenanigans to occur.

Taiki can at times be a little too scared to move forward which causes other problems though. Particularly in the other main romance of the series which is that his childhood friend Hina likes him. Taiki ends up being put in the middle here where he doesn’t really know how to respond to her confession and then that sends a lot of mixed signals over to Chinatsu. So as you can see there are a lot of very messy storylines going on here but it works well because romance is often messy. It’s all about how you respond to all of these sudden developments that shows your true abilities as a character.

I do appreciate that none of the main 3 characters are the jealous types. You don’t see Taiki freaking out when other guys are talking to Chinatsu and vice versa. Not to say they aren’t a little irritated but they don’t suddenly start freaking out or being all sulky. It’s a more mature take which is nice. There are still boundaries of course but if you don’t trust your love interest then the relationship will never work out from the start anyway. So the series definitely gets that one right.

The series also has quite a few sad moments as well. After all, in matters of love there will always be someone who loses out. In this case there are two girls who like Taiki so one will lose and based on the premise and all promotional artwork for the series, you already know who that is gonna be. The series doesn’t pull any punches with this one when the rejection comes through and breaks her heart. Now for the record, once again I have to say that Taiki handled it very well. He didn’t beat around the bush and just offered a complete declination. It may be hard to hear but at least this way he offered up some closure. If he was half hearted or left any room for something to develop then that would have been a mistake.

So while Taiki can sometimes annoy me with how timid and oblivious he can be, this was something he did well. It’s not like there is ever a perfect way to reject someone without leaving them a bit hurt. That’s just going to happen but you can at least do you best to reduce the sting as much as possible. That’s exactly what he did here so I definitely had no qualms with him. Meanwhile the sport moments often don’t go smoothly for the characters either. They definitely get some reality checks and at the end of the day only one player/team can win it all. So statistically the odds of winning are pretty slim.

The series is definitely an emotional rollercoaster with everything going on. At the end of the day I would say it does have an upbeat tone though. The bad things that happen never overwhelm the positive moments. Nobody is falling off a building or getting a rare disease. The drama we get are personal losses and tragedies but nothing that can’t be undone. I think it would actually change the series tone if they went for any storylines that were a bit too dark and depressing. So for me this is the right amount of drama to bring tears to your eyes but by the final episode you know that you’ve had a good time of it.

The animation is pretty solid for the series and helps to elevate the Badminton scenes. The colors are striking and there is a good amount of movement here. It looks better than what you may have expected for a romance series. So I definitely appreciated that. The soundtrack is a little more on the weaker side though. You’re not really going to remember it all that well by the end. It’s not bad by any means but it just feels more like free domain type music. It doesn’t really do much to elevate the series to the next level.

As for the characters, I already spoke about Taiki a bit. Nice kid who means well but I would definitely like to see him act with more confidence. He allows himself to be manipulated too easily by others and tends to really overthink things which gets him into trouble. In order to improve both in romance as well as his sport journey, he will need to get past that and really reach the next level.

Chinatsu does well as the main heroine. She tends to be fairly quiet and keep to herself. Since the series is from Taiki’s point of view, we don’t see her thoughts quite as much. I do appreciate this though because often times it is good to keep to yourself. Chinatsu is always polite and doing what she needs to without being overly expressive. Definitely no issues on that. I’d say if anything her only weakness can be that even when she’s upset she doesn’t say anything which can just lead to resentment. When you’re upset and it’s a possible misunderstanding then you definitely gotta find a way to clear the air there. A big example is definitely when she has a bit of an unspoken fight with Taiki before Nationals that makes things awkward so they aren’t really able to talk and it leaves her a bit distracted. Of course that’s not a valid excuse during a game but still worth noting.

Then we have Hina as the other heroine and the most tragic part here is always when you have the losing heroine accidentally be written to be more fun than the main one. Hina is easily the best character in the series and a real go getter. While everyone else is being too quiet or nervous to say anything, she just marches up to Taiki and confesses. This is absolutely the best way to go about things. It’s a very old fashioned way of thinking to assume that the guy has to make the first move and you just gotta wait your turn. Hina liked him and decided to just go for it.

Immediately she got my respect there and was a very supportive person otherwise. She still didn’t try any underhanded tactics to get an edge and was honorable the whole time. That’s the kind of character you want to have in your corner. Hopefully things go well for her in the future but I’m not rooting for any rebounds here. Ideally she will just continue to do really well in her career and win at Nationals. That would be a fun way to complete her arc.

Kyo is Taiki’s best friend and usually he’s a decent guy but he does have some of the absolute worst takes possible. He spends a whole lot of his screen time constantly gaslighting Taiki and getting him to make the worst mistakes possible. If he didn’t say anything then Taiki would be in less trouble. The guy is mainly just around to confuse the other characters but hasn’t really had any important moments otherwise. You could take him out of the series and for now it wouldn’t really change anything.

Then we have Haryu who is Taiki’s rival. A strong player all around and his romance journey has mainly been rather smooth. His relationship with Karen is a fun one and they are a good example for Taiki to look at and see how things should be done. Haryu does have a rough moment near the end where he starts to fear Taiki and ducks him during all encounters. That’s not how you want the rival to look, but he eventually gets over it. Ultimately the guy is getting older and may have hit his limits in terms of Badminton skills. Meanwhile Taiki still has an opportunity to be the best that there ever was.

Nagisa is a good friend to Chinatsu but doesn’t get much of a role. I’d say she is mainly around because every main character needs at least one friend at their side so the characters can vent a bit. She tends to be rather straight forward which is good and she talks a lot more than Chinatsu. So if the heroine ever needs any help, she knows where to turn. So while Nagisa doesn’t do a whole lot, just being around is still supportive.

Another minor character is Hyodo who is currently the number one Badminton player. The guy is completely invincible and never loses. Anyone who challenges him is very quickly humbled and that’s the kind of ability you like to see. He quiets everyone down with his overwhelming power. Nobody can hope to easily take him down. His character gimmick is that he tends to take everything literally. Not the most interesting gimmick, but again it’s not like he appears all that much.

Then we have Yusa who is being set up to be Taiki’s more serious rival. The guy beat Taiki at first and then Taiki beat him so they are definitely very close in ability. He makes for a fun antagonist here. He’s not a bad guy or anything but of course he is standing in the way of Taiki’s dreams. The guy appears to be the more emotionless sort for now and is very focused on Badminton itself. That kind of drive is always hard to defeat.

Then we have Ayame who joins up near the end. Her ideas of romance are very different from the rest of the characters so she ends up rocking the boat a lot. She will go out with anyone who asks her out and will then usually break up right afterwards when it doesn’t work out. So for that reason she has a ton of ex-boyfriends but most of them end off on a positive note. Naturally she is there to give Taiki unfortunate ideas instead of just letting him trust his heart. She always means well but yeah Ayame has a lot to learn about romance. That much is clear early on and her meddling causes some really serious problems.

Overall, Blue Box was a fun romance title. I appreciate the fact that the series really goes into detail on the different relationship dynamics instead of jus running through it. We know that the series can take up to 2 years in universe because of the grade system so that leaves time for a really good slow burn. Slow burn romances are often the best way to handle things because it allows the characters to fall for each other organically. So I’ll definitely be ready for season 2 and in the meantime you should check this one out. Just watch out if you are a big Hina fan since things often go rough for her and even the opening animations foreshadow this.

Overall 7/10

Shangri-La Frontier Season 2 Review

Posted on June 6, 2025 by dreager1

Shangri-La Frontier is one of those shows that definitely took me by surprise with exactly how good it was. Now make no mistake, I knew the game would be excellent because the manga was. Yet the show still managed to be downright elite and this season starts to adapt my favorite arc in the series so it really ended on a high note. Definitely a title to keep an eye on because this is the kind of content I’m talking about when looking at excellent material.

The season starts on the more low key side with the devs fixing the Scorpion glitch Sunraku found so that he could no longer exploit them. The heroes also made an alliance with some guilds to get the pressure off but the first big event is that Sunraku and Psyger 0 run into the ultimate boss Lycagon. This is the ultimate rematch for Sunraku but the tough decision is deciding whether to go all out here or lose on purpose so he doesn’t give too much away. You understand the predicament but also realize that he has sunk too far into the social battles of the game. Giving up without trying your best would go completely against Sunraku’s character and it would have been a real shame.

Psyger 0 snaps him out of it quickly enough and then we get a really fun fight. The series excels in quite a lot of things, but one of them is definitely the fight choreography. You really get to see a lot of strategy in the battles like knowing what move to use and what cool downs are still in effect. It feels like a proper video game and I would say it’s probably the most realistic look at what a true VR game of the future could look like. I was definitely real impressed. Even Sunraku’s fights against minions tend to be fun for this reason although of course the bosses are when he’s at his best. At least with one exception, fighting other players but that’s really rare.

I tend to enjoy the quick voyages into other games outside of Shangri-La Frontier for that reason. In this season that means a quick journey into a mecha fighter game where Sunraku fights some old pals. This was a fun one because they did a good job with the robot battles and also because we get to see Sunraku strategizing against a real person. Outsmarting AI is one thing of course but it’s even more impressive when you defeat another player. Sunraku consistently shows that he is able to do this with minimal difficulty as well.

Then we begin two arc at once. This is a rare example of a big arc getting interrupted midway by another one. The main arc involves another unique scenario where Sunraku has to go to an underwater area to figure out how to take down the next monster. He brings the robot buddies along but this time Pendragon and Katzo have to miss out. It’s a fun enough arc but it does get completely overshadowed before long. The reason is because a giant tournament scrimmage is announced and Katzo has called Sunraku in.

Yes, this is the real final arc that the season ends off on. Sunraku is going to have to go toe to toe against the most powerful pro gamer in history at a game that he has never played before while she has played all of the other titles in the series. The one advantage he will have is that the game runs on the Shangri-La Frontier engine which is only available in Japan at the moment. It’s also a fun milestone because now the main characters are all going to meet each other IRL so we get a whole lot of banter. It’s pretty crazy to think that they had actually never met each other in real life before now.

The season doesn’t show us much of this arc yet, just enough of a taste to really get you excited. It still works tremendously well though and these episodes are top tier. The music, the directing, everything about this is extremely hype. In particular there’s one scene where Katzo basically admits that Sunraku and Pencildragon are the best gamers out there that stood out to me. The show played one of the new themes that is extremely hype (It’s not even out on Youtube yet) and really set the stage for how much this tournament means to him. I also love the rules as it is a real knockout style fight, meaning as long as you win, you keep on playing. Yeah the next season is going to rock.

As always the animation is really good here. It has a very solid style to it. You feel all of the blows and the movement is very smooth. It’s all very good and really goes to the next level during big battles. After that you have the soundtrack which gets full points. The first opening is spectacular as you’d expect. I didn’t care for the second opening as much but it’s still good. Then the tracks during the episodes are really incredible once again. Full on action themes that cover a wide array of genres. Nothing negative to say about any of those. It’s all just so good.

As for the characters, Sunraku is a great lead as always. I like how analytical the guy is while still acting like your ordinary gamer. He’s very down to Earth and competitive which are great qualities to have. His fighting style is fun and he always has a good time with the game. The show is far from being a comedy in any way but it definitely does know how to have some real fun gags every now and then. The show just has the perfect atmosphere and vibes for this kind of story.

Poor Psyger-0 still suffers from the fact that she has not worked up the courage to confess to Sunraku yet. So for now she just continues to hone her skills and do her best but it will be a while before she makes any progress. Fortunately inside of the game she is very powerful and she does great during the Lycagon fight. I’m generally not big on the more timid characters but she’s not bad. I would say it helps that she is really good at the game because at least in her own way she is trying to get closer to Sunraku. It’s not that she is passive or anything, she just can’t take that last step.

Meanwhile Pencilgon is one of those characters who has no problems getting whatever she wants. She generally just likes to be a vicious overlord in video games who has everyone at her beck and call. She is very skilled at deception and makes for a fun character. She may be a model in the real world but fortunately her friends are only into video games so it’s not like they care. They treat her normally and so it makes for a great trio of characters. They all just have fun with each other which is really the right way to go. Any scene with the main 3 in it is always a blast.

Katzo is the pro gamer of the group although I would say he is still often outshined by Sunraku. Not really his fault, that guy is just a legend. Katzo still holds his own the whole time and is a really good character. He does have connections and a lot of money which is how the final arc was even possible. He basically spent tons of money to get the best hotels and game equipment. His rivalry with Sunraku is always bound to bring in a lot of laughs as well.

I will say that the supporting characters in SLF tend to be on the weaker side though. Aside from Emul, we now know about 5 other rabbits and none of them are particularly interesting at the moment. They’ve all got their own unique gimmicks and all but you just don’t end up caring all that much. If the show has a weak point, it will be any scene inside of the Rabbit home world where it’s important for lore but that’s about it. You want Sunraku to get back out there and play the game some more.

Akane is probably the only interesting thing relating to that place and technically speaking she is still a separate character. She’s the second person to discover the unique quest and so now Sunraku is nervous that she might tell more people about it. The more people who know about this, the less valuable the info is as a bargaining chip. For now she seems trustworthy but we’ll have to see. Her overall level is much lower than the rest of the characters though so she’s a bit of a glass cannon at the moment.

Rust is the mecha pilot who ends up joining SLF temporarily along with her sidekick. She’s not a bad character but for now is on the weaker side. I don’t feel like she really adds to the dynamic at this point so she will need to do something to change that. Once that is the case then the cast will really be in an even better spot. At least she can fight though which is the important part.

The various leaders of the different clans like Animalia, Psyger 100, and the Professor haven’t done much yet. We got to see Animalia being rather overconfident and being stomped by Lycagon but that’s it. Each character seems interesting so I appreciate them being around to flesh out the world. They will be good for future confrontations even if they haven’t done much of anything just yet.

Lycagon of course is still one of the best monsters. She seems the most sentient out of all the unique creatures with how she plans and strategizes. She leaves the rest of the creatures in the dust in these respects. I also like how she even gets some plot twists which end up resulting in the power level going further up. You just don’t see that kind of dominance very often.

Then for the game arc, Sylvia is the most important new character for now. She’s basically a girl version of Sunraku with how talented she is. Her reaction times are insane and of course she is competitive as well. This is really what made her an opponent to beat. The series really cooked by making her the primary antagonist coming up. Sunraku will have to bring his A game if he wants to defeat her.

Then on Katzo’s team we have Megumi who is mainly used to hype up Sunraku and crew which I naturally don’t have a problem with. After all, the more hype they get the better. She definitely means well and her concerns are even pretty valid. After all, why would some random teens from Japan actually be better than pro gamers? I’d be concerned too and she was reasonable since after being stomped by Sunraku she stopped with that. She is a reasonable addition to the crew and I’d be cool with her sticking around.

Much better than the new underwater character in Araba. Nothing really wrong with him I guess but he just lacks depth. He’s a sea creature with a good honor code who can fight. I’m not sure if it’s the fact that he’s an A.I. ally and not a real player but I just don’t find him too interesting. I’d rather Sunraku be dominating the opponents on his own and monologuing instead of working with this guy. So he’s not a bad character but is an example of someone who does not add to the dynamic.

Also, while the tournament is far more interesting, we are getting closer to a climax here so in the next season that will still be fun. The battle itself is definitely quite intense with a lot of stand out moments all throughout. Next season will be a masterpiece regardless but definitely focus on the first episodes the most because Shangri-La really shows how you do a proper tournament arc. It’s absolutely impressive with no real weak points. I would maybe change one fight but it was still extremely satisfying either way.

Overall, This series continues to be an elite. The cliffhanger is absolutely spectacular and really gets you hyped for what is to come. I suspect it might be a while before we get a season 3 now that they are close to being caught up with the series but when it does return I shall be ready. In the meantime you should definitely watch this series. It’s really a great experience and not something you could find just anywhere. This is a series with a ton of heart an it reminds you how much fun video games are both to play and to see in action.

Overall 9/10

Solo Leveling: Arise from the Shadow Review

Posted on June 5, 2025 by dreager1

Solo Leveling is one of those titles that became a global hit almost overnight and it’s easy to see why. The series has a ton of action and the animation is really top tier. I can safely say that it is one of the best looking anime out there and I can say that with ease. So whatever you’ve heard about the show, know that it is even better than the reputation. If you’ve ever thought about what it would be like to continue leveling up, this show will answer that for you.

The series starts with Jinwoo still continuing to train and grow stronger. He is finally going to be promoted to S rank status and is really close to getting the ingredients needed to cure his mother from her eternal coma. You can say that things are just looking great all around but there are still dangers facing the world. The governments of Japan and Korea are teaming up to do a raid on an island inhabited by powerful insects. These insects murdered quite a lot of people over the years and so this mission will be incredibly dangerous. Jinwoo may be Mr. Invincible but what about the rest of the heroes?

Solo Leveling often gets some complaints for how powerful Jinwoo is. The guy is basically invincible but that’s part of the point of being a solo leveling warrior. When you are the only one who can grow stronger, it is only a matter of time before you outpace everyone. That’s not a bad thing, it’s just being realistic here. There are still some fights where he has to go all out here as well. it’s probably safe to say that you never feel a sense of danger when he is fighting but that’s where the hype comes in. When he shows up, you know that everything is going to be okay. The tension is really for when the side characters are running around because they are all expendable.

Generally any hero who isn’t Jinwoo may end up meeting a rather painful end and this happens quite often. There’s a whole montage of sorts where a villain takes out a bunch of heroes and naturally none of them are able to do anything against him. They’re not Jinwoo. The core thing to remember about this show is that is all revolves around the hero. You’re either with that program or you aren’t. Interestingly the anime actually tones down just how much Jinwoo dominates everybody and yet it is still noticeable. That’s just how good he is.

The power creep goes pretty hard in this season to the point where the S ranks are all basically fodder by the end. At this point you need to be a Nation level hunter in order to do anything here. Even then, the main rule here is to never bet against Jinwoo. Season 1 had him at his lowest and season 2 is basically the victory lap. I always enjoy his confidence and he’s just a really fun character to root for. In case it’s not obvious by this point Jinwoo is definitely one of my favorite characters and a solid reason why I enjoy the series.

Of course I should also get the technicals out of the way too because they are very positive. The soundtrack is really top tier, there are a lot of great themes all throughout the series. You’ve got battle themes, operatic themes, and of course the opening/ending is really good as well. Then you have the animation which is really top tier. The fights are extremely impressive and the backgrounds/character designs are on point as well. There are really no weaknesses to be found here as it is a consistent all star production from start to finish.

The show’s first big adventure has Jinwoo facing off against the ice demon Baruka. It works well as an intro fight because Baruka teases a bit more about the plot and how the system works. Additionally he is a strong fighter and this ends up being one of Jinwoo’s best fights in the season. Technically he is even losing for part of the fight. Baruka has a lot of confidence and a very memorable design. This makes him a solid villain right from the jump. If anything it’s a shame that he won’t be returning.

We also quickly see Jinwoo’s father II-Hwan which sets up further plot points for the next season. Definitely a very mysterious guy but you have to assume that he is crazy powerful because of the connection to Jinwoo. It’s not like he would just be some random pencil pusher next to the lead right? He will have a lot of explaining to do for me to find him likable though because he really left the family in a tough spot. Jinwoo nearly died in season 1 after all.

From there we have some smaller adventures before Jinwoo invades the demon castle to get the ingredients. We briefly see Hunter Cha who is a powerful S rank and someone who is fairly clever. Jinwoo has to be careful around her or she could find out his secret. She is a strong fighter and a fun S rank to have around. She has quite a bit of character and I would say it’s just her bad luck that she is often put into battle situations where she doesn’t really have a chance at turning the tables.

We also see more of Jinwoo’s friend, Jinho. Jinwoo can be a bit harsh on the guy at times but they are still friends at the end of the day. They each help each other out and while Jinho may not be the strongest guy around, he’s got a good heart. Jinwoo knows that he can rely on the guy when the chips are down which is always a good thing. Jinwoo may be a solo leveler but he can still have some friends.

At the demon castle we meet a demon named Esil who is fun. She is a fairly strong fighter who also knows when a battle is unwinnable. She ends up essentially being Jinwoo’s tour guide as he goes through the different floors. She’s a fun character and adds a bit of humor to the series. I would also say that by the end of the arc she even feels rather loyal and I couldn’t picture her betraying Jinwoo.

The final boss of the arc, Baran has a cool fight but there isn’t a lot going on with him in terms of character. He’s a good obstacle but that’s about it. Still, that’s all you really need in order to be a strong final boss. The demon castle was a fun mini arc here and of course it finally helped Jinwoo with his mother. The series actually gives us some emotional moments here and a rare break from all of the big fights.

After that it’s time for the Island raid. Along the way there is some training as the different countries spar with each other but then it’s all guns blazing forward. The Japanese hunters all feel doomed right from the jump but they had cool designs so I’ll give them that. I even think Goto made for an interesting antagonist. The guy may not be pure evil but he is certainly shown to be someone where the ends justify the means. He will take out fellow heroes if ordered to or if he thinks it will help them out in the long run.

Jinwoo had to put an end to that. In the actual raid, Beru is the only main villain to get a big name and role. He was all that they needed though. Beru is easily the most powerful villain up to this point and he really does well in the fight. I enjoyed the dialogue with him and Jinwoo the whole time. A lot of good banter there with Jinwoo basically making fun of him at the start. It’s one of those fights that the whole season had been working up to and I would say that it lived up to the hype.

I have real high hopes for all of Beru’s future appearances. There is definitely a lot more for him to do in the future. For the S ranks, hopefully you liked them by this point because otherwise they won’t have as big of a role as they did here. They are all decent characters but they’re taken out of the running quick enough where you don’t take any of them too seriously. By default I would say Hunter Cha is definitely a step above the others in terms of character by the end especially with how much future development is already foreshadowed.

During all of these episodes, another way the show managed to excel was in having great cliffhangers at the end of virtually every episode. They would just always find a way to get you extra pumped, even if the cliffhanger had to be forced in a little bit. It was definitely worth it though because the ending theme was really good so it ended up flowing well. The best cliffhanger out of the whole season is probably when Jinwoo activated teleport to go and join the battle.

Again, there may not be tension for the main character but it definitely exists for the other characters. They are constantly only one wrong move away from getting bumped off. They have to try and survive against crazy odds, even while knowing that they can’t get stronger. That’s probably the toughest part of this whole deal because in most other series you can at least get massive power boosts. That’s just not the case here.

Additionally, the monsters are only getting stronger and stronger. This means the heroes are slowly approaching extinction with no real way to combat it. Jinwoo is really the only chance that they all have and only a handful really know just how powerful he really is. Although by the end of the season you can definitely say that the circle of people who know about him has certainly grown. Hard for it not to with how Jinwoo ended up saving everybody.

Solo Leveling may have a rep of being a mindless action series with no real plot but at the end of the day there is a lot of story here. There are certainly plenty of plot twists yet to be uncovered and of course we still don’t know anything about the level up system. These are all mechanics that should keep you real interested. If none of them interest you, then I suppose at that point you really only have the fight scenes left. That said, the fights are good enough where if there was nothing but those, this would still be a good title. So it’s not the dunk that people might think it is.

At the end of the day the rule of cool definitely works for this show under any context. You feel hyped while watching Solo Leveling and it really succeeds in the primary goal of any show which is to let the viewer have a good time. Not I will say there is a high amount of violence in the series so keep that in mind. Characters are ripped apart here and there is definitely more detail than in other series. It’s not a show I would recommend to just anyone as a result. I would definitely need to first find out how comfortable you are with violence. If you have a hard time seeing the injuries like that then I would be forced to recommend something else.

Overall, Solo Leveling season 2 was definitely a blast. It kept all of the intensity from the first season and then added a bunch of hype new characters like Beru. The series is absolutely in a great spot for season 3 and hopefully it doesn’t take too long for that one to come out. In the meantime you will definitely end up regretting it if you don’t check this series out. It’s just way too much fun to leave on the shelf and the story is only getting more and more intriguing. At this point you’re probably going to be wondering how they can even find any more opponents for Jinwoo to go up against. All I can say is don’t worry about it, we have plenty of strong fighters coming up soon. You don’t want to miss even one moment of the experience.

Overall 9/10

No Guns Life Review

Posted on June 4, 2025 by dreager1

It’s time for a series with a very unique premise. I can’t say I knew what to expect when first getting into No Guns Life and I can say even now that there aren’t many shows quite like it. It’s sort of a steam punk Noir at its heart and the combination works pretty well. I’m not going to say it’s a great title or anything like that but it’s pretty good and has a lot of interesting concepts. I mean, what would you do if your head was an actual gun? I’m not saying shaped like one, I mean it’s an actual gun! Better be careful what position you sleep in or you might blow the ceiling up.

The story takes us to a world that is basically ruled by a corrupt company that is at war with a large gang. Just about everyone lives in slum-like conditions and even the rich seem to have quite hollow lives. So many people have lost limbs that there is a whole market for “Extended” which are when people have robotic upgrades to replace their missing parts. Some just get upgrades to be more powerful and then there are people like Juzo. Juzo was a weapon used in the last war. He took many lives and now he has sworn to never let anybody use his gun again. He works as a detective solving crimes everywhere and has gotten a pretty strong reputation. He has more enemies than he can count but this is the road he has chosen. His life really gets thrown for a twist when he meet a kid named Tetsuro. Tetsuro has a weird power that lets him affect all machines which is of course extremely handy in this world. Just about everyone is after him, can Juzo really protect him? At what point is he going above and beyond his actual mission?

There’s so much to the setting and story that it was hard to keep it to one paragraph. While parts of the story may sound a bit absurd and would never happen, a lot of it also feels very realistic. Is it possible that some day we will have so much daily violence that most people will be missing a limb? Absolutely I can see that. Is it also possible that anyone with a robotic limb will be seen as inferior and relegated to the slums? Yeah that can definitely happen. Obviously the world being owned by a corporation is also in the cards so yeah this definitely seems like a very dark future and one you can picture.

Juzo basically stays out of the politics of it all and is mainly just trying to do his job and ignores all the rest. He gets threatened constantly but handles it all smoothly. No matter what is going on, you can count on him to just be smoking his cigarettes. It’s not just to look cool though, those are what allow him to dull his never ending pain and also allow him to function normally. They’re basically filled with a kind of pain killer that he needs. Yeah being a living gun definitely sucks and he is put through a lot throughout the series. He never complains about his lot in life though.

The series ends before he can truly confront his past and get all the answers though. You’ll probably be able to notice right away as the series ends that not everything is answered. It’s definitely one of those titles with an early ending but it still works well enough where you don’t need the full adaption. I would still like to see more of it in the future though. Juzo ends the series as one of the strongest fighters and dominates most of his battles. Even the other gun units don’t tend to be able to defeat him.

As for Tetsuro, he’s a nice enough kid but he sure does get into a whole lot of trouble. It feels like he is constantly making more work for Juzo. The guy has a big heart and basically wants to be a hero but he doesn’t really have the ability for it. Yes, he can hack any extended but he doesn’t have a lot of stamina and can only control one person at a time. So when the control ends, then he is completely vulnerable. He also falls into his share of traps. So I like him well enough but he definitely doesn’t think things through quite as much as he could have.

Mary is a mechanic who helps Juzo out quite a lot by fixing him up and also supplying him with the special cigarettes. She even ends up getting a fairly big story arc involving her brother Victor. She has to do a whole lot of digging in order to find him and see what happened. He basically vanished amidst a huge conspiracy and with this world is can be hard to find the truth. There is also the question of who he truly is. There is an Extended with a copy of his mind, a hand that may or may not be controlled by him, and his real body only might be out there. There are a lot of questions floating around and she’s not exactly a fighter so it’s not like she will be able to just get out there and find the answers on her own.

So she makes for a good sidekick but like Tetsuro she can bite off a bit more than she can chew. Olivier is a police agent who seems rather corrupt and yet she is better than the average officer. She always enjoys a lot of banter with Juzo and throws threats around like they’re going out of style. That said, her hands are often tied when it counts and then she has to rely on Juzo either. Certainly not the position she wants to be in since it definitely undermines that tough image she is going for. I can’t say I was a big fan of hers. To a point her character was just an excuse for fanservice.

On the whole the show is pretty good about not having too much fanservice. There are some moments here and there but rarely anything too crazy. There was one pointless episode involving a perv who goes to the shop just to spy on the ladies there. He gets off way too easily as well. It’s the only episode where you are wondering why it is even there. It’s not the entire episode or anything but it was a pretty large chunk that was effectively just filler. I’m always up for some filler but it should be something a little more fun with good substance. Not whatever this was.

Meanwhile the graphics are good although the fights can get a little messy. It’s far from being a top budget show or anything like that but it looks good enough for me. The character models are good and the backgrounds really help fit in with the noir vibe. The show definitely nailed the atmosphere which was the most important thing. The ost isn’t bad. There are 2-3 themes that I enjoyed but otherwise it can be a little forgettable. It might have clashed with the noir aspect but I’d have liked some good rock themes.

Back to the characters, Kronen was a pretty interesting one. The guy is a human who doesn’t like Extended and that always makes for a fun character. The series doesn’t make him absolutely insane or anything like that either. In fact you could say he may be the most powerful full human in the series. He actually fights well against Juzo without any enhancements. This is due to his powerful throwing needles which can paralyze any opponent. This guy is very resourceful and while he will always be at a disadvantage, he still fights his absolute hardest at all times. You definitely have to respect that.

Wachowski is one of the big leaders of the Spitz organization and I really like his name. Yeah, not a great reason to like a character but it’s just such a fun name to say. The guy is ancient but plans things along pretty well and always has a backup plan in the works. He really comes close to succeeding in his ambitions and the guy even thought ahead enough to bring along some Extended equipment in his wheelchair. Now that is some proper dedication. I tend to not take these old timers too seriously but this guy at least had a decent plan so I’ll give him that. He just let his guard down too quickly.

Then we have our next psychotic villain, Pepper. She seems rather messed up from the start, thanks in no small part to a pretty dark backstory. She had to survive through a lot in a messed up environment and then basically made a pact with one of the gun units. The sob story did include some animal violence which was regrettable. Whether it is bugs or bigger animals, the show didn’t need to go that far. Even with the dark origin, I can’t say that I ever became a big fan of hers though. She’s just too crazy without having anything “cool” to back her up. So it’s just crazy in more of an aimless way and her twisted version of a bond with Seven never got through to me.

Meanwhile Seven gets a fairly raw deal here. After all he needs Pepper to use him as a gun unit, but at the same time he is now super attached to her. So he follows her every order and doesn’t really think for himself anymore. He gets jealous easily and ultimately just acts a lot like a kid. It’s too bad that Pepper was a villain since that ensured that Seven would be as well. Otherwise Seven could have gone on to be a decent hero. That said, when you don’t use your own freewill to decide what to do, it can be easy to make excuses. Ultimately it would have been up to him to have made the right moves.

Another villain we had is Kunugi who doesn’t actually get to do a whole lot. He uses needles to paralyze opponents as well and does pretty well in his fights. You get the idea that he is definitely more of a sub villain than a main one though. On his own the needles would be tough to defeat a more powerful opponent but I like his confidence either way. He’s a very interesting villain and works as a wild card since you can tell he has no feelings of loyalty. I like villains who just do whatever they please like this guy.

The show has 24 episodes and manages to fit in quite a few cases in those episodes. You’ll see traitors like Colt who are forced into hard choices and then other characters like Victor who are a true mystery. We also see Juzo’s origin story and how he used to act back when he was in the war. In a way the series is about showing how he has developed free will since then and won’t be anyone’s weapon in the future. It’s a big deal in the show when he finally lets someone use his trigger since that’s definitely a sign of complete trust.

On a lighter note, the show even talks about the other downsides of a gun head like the fact that it can rust so Juzo has to be careful in the water. It’s not like Juzo ever had any choice in the matter but he does have free will. That whole character arc with showing Tetsuro how to make his own choices was good. The series has a lot to say about not letting yourself be manipulated and making choices for yourself. Juzo ends up being a good role model for the other characters even if it is a role that he absolutely doesn’t want.

Ultimately I’d say the show is also about knowing that you can’t change every part of the world but you can make a difference locally. Juzo keeps on helping people even while the whole world is in such a sorry state and the two villain organizations are still doing whatever they want. Juzo doesn’t let them get in the way of his missions and fights back as necessary but he’s also not just trying to get out there and bomb all the villain bases. He can’t change the world on his own but he can at least change the paths of those right in front of him. It’s the core of a good Noir title.

I’d say the best mystery that represents the show would be when Juzo is called in to help a girl who is being haunted by a ghost. There are a number of twists here as well as set up for future missions but otherwise it is a good stand alone story. Juzo goes in, solves a case, and gets basically no gratitude for most of it. By the end people realize that he is a good guy but it’s not easy. The life of a Noir detective is rarely easy after all. I will say it’s funny how almost nobody reacts to his gun for a head though because of how crazy things are in this world. Juzo is always expecting a reaction so we can assume that off screen most people still get nervous but at least all of the main characters are a bit too busy for that. Why worry about a guy who has a gun for a head when you have to solve a string of murders right?

Also while a lot of the series is about setups and mysteries, there are certainly a good amount of action scenes here. Juzo goes up against everybody from other humans to Extended, to fellow Gunheads. He really runs the gauntlet on the kinds of different opponents who take a swing at him. He doesn’t just win every fight either, he takes his share of losses as well. It’s good that the pain killers remove most of his pain too because he tends to lose in rather painful ways. Juzo always finds a way out of the situation though. The series ends on a completely open note with the adventure continuing so at least it will be easy to get a sequel some day if they ever want to do one.

Overall, No Guns Life is a pretty good show. I like how unique it is and the show has solid enough production values. The writing is good and so you will have a good time here. It will keep your attention the whole time and you’ll be engaged with the cases. Generally it’s not a Sherlock Holmes kind of case where you’re interrogating everyone and getting to the truth but there are still mysteries regardless. Juzo makes for a good narrator in these moments as he walks you through what happened. He’s really got the voice for it. Yeah if you see this show around you should check it out.

Overall 7/10

Dragon Ball Daima Review

Posted on May 26, 2025 by dreager1

While we all continue to wait for the return of Dragon Ball Super, we at least got another DB title in the meantime. Daima was marketed as a very different title from the start, it would focus less on the action and be more of a down to Earth story. A return to the tone of classic Dragon Ball with the characters being involved in some crazy situations. It was a pretty interesting idea to be sure but I do miss the action. You can think of it as the third branching path after DBZ with the first being GT and the second being Super. This is another way that things played out after the Buu saga and lets just say that Goku and friends get put through the ringer.

It starts with Goku and Vegeta training as always when someone uses the Dragon Balls to turn all of the Z fighters back into children. They are weaker now and might not be prepared for future enemies. Additionally, Dende has been kidnapped. A helpful soul named Glorio shows up and informs the heroes that they will need to infiltrate the demon realm. This place is split up into 3 worlds and each one has a demon world dragon ball. Upon collecting all 3, the heroes can become adults again and save Dende. It sounds like a simple enough plan but the demon world is not for the faint of heart. Is Goku ready for this?

Well fortunately for him the demon realm isn’t one of the more powerful places. Generally it’s home to a ton of bullies and there are a few strong fighters but nobody that’s really at his level except for the guardians of the Dragon Balls who aren’t malicious. This allows Goku to finally take it easy and have fun a little more since the very universe doesn’t hang in the balance just yet. Although several demon world flunkies do have plans of their own.

The main villain of the series is Gomah and for better or worse he is definitely played for laughs for 90% of the series. He’s constantly crying and throwing tantrums because of how scared he is of Goku and friends. It shows just how far the demon world has fallen from the days of Demon King Dabura. Now there was a guy who really commanded respect. Gomah is just a sad character and your only hope is to find him funny. Because if you don’t then he will just be supremely annoying the whole time.

His partner is Degesu who completes the Team Rocket dynamic. This guy panics a whole lot but at least he has a bit more of an edge to him. He’s not above threatening babies in order to get what he wants. The guy just never backs down, he is always ready for action and that’s the best way to keep things. I just wish he could have gotten a little more to do because his conversations with Arinsu were interesting. Alas, he ends up squandering his potential by sticking with Gomah.

We do get two new Majins in Kuu and Duu but they aren’t particularly good. They’re both characters who don’t really take anything seriously and aren’t all that powerful. Duu actually does get some hype but at the end of the day he’s still not really on the level of the Z fighters. I guess for Demon World standards he is still pretty good though. The guy really likes his chocolate and is always demanding it. Kuu is a bit more responsible and mature at least even if it comes at the expense of his power.

At least Arinsu is fun. She has classic mastermind vibes and while it seems like the show won’t be going in that direction, at least it did add some tension in the show. I would have liked for her to have gotten at least one or two fight scenes but maybe next time. Her plan was a pretty solid one in terms of gathering the Dragon Balls although I would say her wish wasn’t the most inspired.

There were 3 main heroes added to the main cast. First up is Glorio who acts really shady the whole time. The kind of guy you don’t want to let out of your field of vision because you know he will end up back stabbing you at any moment. The guy would not hesitate for one moment. He will just go in there and finish you. As the show goes on he begins to learn the power of friendship though. He’s a decent fighter too, although the show has very messy power levels the whole time so I wouldn’t take that too seriously.

Most importantly, he’s a fun character who actually adds to the dynamic. Likewise Panzy is a fun character. She’s the resident genius of the series who knows how to keep the ships running. She has a good bond with Bulma and saves the group on more than one occasion. Of course it would be nice if she could fight but she still works well as an addition to the supporting cast. With most of the usual main characters stuck at home, you needed someone like that.

There is also a super old Namekian who trolls everyone the whole series but he’s more annoying than anything. I get the joke of this guy actually being super capable but he comes across as irresponsible. He helps out when he feels like it but otherwise doesn’t take a huge role in what’s going on. Then you have the comic relief character who is always dead pan. He can be pretty decent although it’s a bit much to see him constantly talking smack to Vegeta and then nothing happens with him. Vegeta should have clocked him a few times during the series.

From the main cast, I’d say that Piccolo probably gets the shaft here. He is constantly around but doesn’t get his own fights and chokes in his one big moment. It feels like he was added for the Namekian connection but it’s not like that is used a whole lot anyway. I think he could have been cut out and not much would change. I’m tempted to say the same for the Supreme Kai. He has personal lore connections here and knows one of the big villains so that’s all key but the Kai himself doesn’t do much. He mildly helps out in the occasional fight I guess. He just doesn’t feel very supreme.

Naturally it’s fun to see Bulma show up and help out. I do think she was a bit hard on Vegeta at some points though. Goku tends to steal fights to himself and everything so of course Vegeta tries to keep things fair. The show is actually not even that rough for the guy. Don’t count on him taking down the main villain or anything like that but he does still get in a lot of good shots and moments. Vegeta did good even if he is treated as the second fiddle next to Goku. At this point, I suppose that’s just how it has to be though.

As for Goku, he definitely acts a lot more like his kid self here. He really enjoys the situation and is mainly having a blast the whole time. He adapts to the wild life rather quickly and the whole thing is probably nostalgic to a degree since he’s been on many journeys like this before. It’s always fun to see him cut loose a bit but at times he holds back so long that it borderlines on him being a saboteur. The longer you drag a battle out, the more likely it is that someone else will get caught up in it after all.

So what I would say here is that the first 13-15 episodes are basically full on comedy and then we get to a big DBZ type climax. That’s why your enjoyment comes down to the comedy. I’d say Dragon Ball is fairly good on this. There can be some more juvenile moments but on the whole you already know most of the characters and that adds some of the journey to it. You don’t often get to see them all just having fun nowadays so that is a change of pace.

I would just say the show could have done something to make it a tad more energetic. It feels like most of the episodes would revolve around the heroes beating up some random thugs as they planet hop. It would probably have been better to have just gone straight to adventure mode and have them checking out some mountains or something instead. It’s not like the thugs post any kind of threat and it’s less cool to see Goku beating them up and almost boring instead. A lot of the fights really start to blend together.

The battles with the Dragon Ball guardians are a lot of fun but none of the minion fights can say that. The series was also a bit in a corner with how strong Goku and friends are. how can some randoms really take them on? Well, the series tries to convince you that the energy blasters are enough to get the job done and I have a hard time believing that. One episode in particular gets really dramatic as the characters try to survive a whole onslaught and you can’t help but think how easy this whole thing is. A single punch would take them out and yet this takes up a good chunk of an episode.

The first half of the show mainly relied on fake threats like this to keep you busy. At that point you should just lean on the comedy instead. My biggest complaint with the series comes down to the fact that some episodes can almost be a bit boring. The characters carry the episodes as much as possible but you really feel like it should have been way better. This is Dragon Ball after all!

Fortunately the climax does show up with the huge fight scene that spirals through several episodes. It does still have some issues like most of the battle feeling a bit repetitive though. The villain has complete regeneration but is selectively weak from scene to scene. So one moment he can handle Goku at his peak and then he’s getting rocked by fighters in their base form. So the fight has the hero land a ton of punches and energy blasts. Then the villain regenerates. Hero repeats the combo over and over as the villain regenerates over and over. It just makes you not take the fight as seriously after a while.

It’s an interesting way to show off just how powerful a certain artifact in the series is but it doesn’t always make for the best fight. The animation is really good for the battles though. It looks very flashy and the characters are constantly moving at a very high speed. The show does look like a very modern production which is always good. You can easily picture a lot of Youtube videos showing off the fights since you can then sub in your own music and streamline it. The final episodes do feel a whole lot like DBZ even if the enemy isn’t really able to fight back for most of it. It’s a great way to end thing off and it does allow you to end on a high note. At least on my end I can say that the discussions and everything relating to the series jumped up almost 10 times for the final episodes. You could say all of the viewers locked in at that point and I’d include myself with that.

One thing against the series is that the soundtrack is pretty weak though. It’s got very little variety and the tracks that are there aren’t very good. They should have gotten the Bruce Falconer music instead to be honest. There aren’t any Daima tunes that I would end up searching on my own because they just didn’t fit the action or suspense scenes all that well. It feels like a soundtrack aimed for a comedy that forgot to transition to action later on.

We do get a ton of lore within this show so maybe future products will utilize that in some way. Even if the show doesn’t get referenced later on, there’s never anything wrong with having a stand alone title in there. If anything I would say that it should happen a lot more often. Not everything has to be a big canon continuation or something like that. Sometimes it’s fine to just make a side story and have fun with it. I do think Daima could have been a little more high budget and frantic though. The animation was certainly high budget when it came to the big fights but maybe adding more action scenes here and there that didn’t revolve around the heroes knocking everyone out with an easy punch.

Also, I tend to look at it a bit harsher because I’m one of those DBZ fans who really loves all the high octane action and everything like that. I don’t have any real nostalgia for the kid Dragon Ball days in part because I never read it. So that part of Daima would end up being lost on me as a result. My counter would be that it still could have been more interesting and then it would work for all audiences. Since the power levels are the main issue here, I would have just made the wish a little different. Have it time travel the Z fighters’ minds to back when they were kids so they don’t even know each other, much less how to use their powers. Then it would explain why they are having trouble with grunts until the ending. You’d probably have to switch some other things to make it work but that might be a better approach.

Overall, Dragon Ball Daima is a good show but it can feel underwhelming just because of the huge bar that’s been set by the other titles like Super, DBZ, and even GT. The climax does some pretty heavy lifting here to show us Daima’s potential though so I appreciate that. The characters and their banter have to be enough to tide you over for the rest of the show. At the end of the day it is a fairly small title with 20 episodes and in a sense if it doesn’t get a sequel you could basically just call it an AU filler. That said, you have to savor any appearances by Goku and friends because it’s not like they are on TV all that often. So Daima did what it set out to do in keeping Goku at the front of everyone’s minds.

Overall 7/10

Azure Striker Gunvolt: The Anime Review

Posted on May 24, 2025 by dreager1

It’s time for a quick anime OVA that adapts the beginning of the Gunvolt game. That game was really a blast when I got to play through the trilogy and I can say that it was fun to see some of the events again here. It reminds me why Gunvolt is such a great character as he defies orders to get the job done. He does what he has to here and not many characters could have followed suit. It’s also nice to be following a prodigy who is known for the best as opposed to some rookie. It’s not like this is the only story like that but they are still rarer than the alternative so I enjoy each instance.

The story starts pretty fast as you’re thrown into some battles and we see Gunvolt get captured by the enemies The Sumeragi company basically owns the world and they are as corrupt as possible. Gunvolt is part of a resistance group that saved him a while back and he uses his powers to help out. There are people who have special abilities like Gunvolt and they are all basically hunted down or end up joining the villains. This should have been a routine mission of sabotage but it all goes sideways when it turns out that the thing powering up the villains is actually a little girl. Gunvolt is ordered to murder her but naturally he refuses such an order. What all these characters forget is that Gunvolt is a hero!

Naturally that should be an easy decision for any main character because murdering a child would make them no better than the villains. It also immediately ensures that you don’t like any of the members of the resistance since Gunvolt was the only one to stand against them there. Sure, it’s easier for him since he is the strongest one but the others still could have done something instead of just watching the whole time. So that’s why Gunvolt is the only true hero here.

We also get a glimpse of his fighting style when he takes out a bunch of minions and we even cover one of the boss fights. The cameo from the rival is a bit random as he fires some shots at Gunvolt and the villain before vanishing. I suppose it just took him a while to get there. He is a fun character to have around though. You just don’t really know what his deal is from this episode.

The animation is not the best but I wouldn’t call it bad or anything like that. It gets the job done in terms of the action and showing us the electricity effects. The voice acting definitely could use more energy as well. It feels a bit too low and the characters don’t sound as if they are in the middle of a deadly conflict. You can’t be quite so calm in such a circumstance. So that’s definitely something they really could have improved upon. It’s clear that the technical elements weren’t a top concern for this special but at least we did get a song.

This is almost like a pilot chapter for a series. It just gives you the intro and you’re on your own from there. So I would say that this one succeeds because it would have definitely made me want to check out the games. If I hadn’t played them already I would definitely be racing to order them off Ebay. While the video games feel like Mega Man, I would say the anime and concept are sufficiently different so this does feel like a new experience. Definitely full credit and bravo to Gunvolt here. The special is really over in the blink of an eye.

It’s why you don’t really want to buy any excuses for series that take until episode 10 or more to get good. You need to be good right out of the gate. If you aren’t able to be good by the end of episode 1 then you did something wrong. Even with the technical limitations, we had good writing and a solid story here. Right away you could buy into the bond between Gunvolt and the kid he saved. Gunvolt will definitely be a good mentor and protector. You can feel the hero vibes off of him immediately.

Overall, This was a good special. It certainly didn’t get top production values or anything like that but it told a good story. The concept is enough to hold the product up on its own after all. The game will just have to show you the rest of the content. Hopefully one day we will get a proper adaption of Gunvolt because this could really be an awesome story. It’s also a completed one at this point so that should also help in terms of helping the creators pace it. In the meantime this special will have to do though so enjoy it while you can.

Overall 7/10

Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai Review

Posted on May 14, 2025 by dreager1

Dragon Quest is one of those massive series where I haven’t really gotten to enter it all that deeply but it always looks super hype. Well it should come as no surprise that the anime is quite excellent. It feels like a DBZ adventure with all the big energy waves and attacks flying around. The series got quite a few episodes too which is nice to see since nowadays that gets rarer and rarer. If you haven’t seen this yet, I don’t blame you since the show didn’t get promoted a ton. That said, better late than never for you to get into it!

The story starts by introducing us to a humble kid named Dai. He grew up on an island inhabited by monsters. Fortunately they are all fairly nice but one day the demon king reawakens which causes a wave of evil to transmit around the globe. Monsters are being turned evil and the world is in danger. Dai’s master Avan sacrifices himself to buy some time while Dai and his best friend Pop now have the daunting task of ending the threat once and for all. Are they really equipped to take on an entire planet of evil fighters and monsters though? They will have some help but it will be the toughest fight imaginable.

I would say this anime even feels like an RPG with how it plays out. You’re not literally watching the characters save a cat out of a tree in episode 1 but they are fighting the weakest demons imaginable during the pre arc and by the end they’re taking on dark gods. This would be tough to pull off in 12 episodes but when you have 100? The sky’s the limit at that point and this series really didn’t hold anything back.

Right away I can tell you that the visuals for the show are really high tier. You can expect to get constant great looking fights throughout the adventure. Not just for Dai’s fighters either even if it’s fair to say that he tends to have the best one but there is a whole lot of shine to go around. Pop’s fights all look really good as well as Mam’s. The fights in the show have a good amount of strategy in addition to all the flash.

Then you have the soundtrack which is really solid. I may not be the biggest fan of the openings here but that’s fine since the music within the episodes is solid. You’ve got good battle themes and everything. There is also a good amount of variety here which is good so the show doesn’t have to rely on the same tunes over and over. No this one is going for the gold with an absolute master class of different tracks. You can feel the drama and cliffhanger hype with even the non action tunes.

I also like the character designs and outfits a lot. This is one of those series that isn’t afraid to switch up the costumes. Each of the main characters gets more than one design/outfit during the series and they really pop out. It may seem like a more minor point next to the others but a good design can really go a long way both in making the enemies look powerful as well as making the characters fun to root for. That’s really the balance you want to strive for.

Meanwhile there are definitely a lot of story arcs throughout the series as you can expect. I’ll definitely dive into a bunch of those as well as the characters. Strap yourself in for a long ride because there is a whole lot of detail to get into. I’ll also preface this by saying the ending is a bit open ended but not bad. You can probably choose how you interpret the ending to an extent but to me there was enough evidence going where it had a pretty bright spin on it. Certainly many ways you could go about doing a sequel some day if you wanted to go about it. Power levels could be tricky but hey in a fantasy world why not invent new even more powerful villains?

First up we have the main character Dai. In a sense you can say he starts out a lot like Goku. He grew up among monsters and definitely wasn’t the most knowledgeable about the outside world. Once he had to leave though, he quickly embraced his destiny as a hero of justice. Someone who would fight to defend the planet from all enemies but that could be humanoids or monsters. He’ll protect anyone who is on the side of justice. The guy has a lot of natural power as we get twists about his parents and why he is so strong. It all works out well and may even remind you of the Saiyan plot from DBZ.

Dai gets serious fairly early on. At times he does overthink things and gets himself into trouble but who doesn’t run into those issues from time to time right? He definitely works really well as the lead and he’s the kind of classic hot blooded Shonen character that you will find nostalgic. Definitely a character who has withstood the test of time.

Then there is his best friend Popp who gets a whole lot of character development. He starts out as the really scared, coward kind of character. He’s not particularly good at magic and has an inferiority complex but then he gradually gets more and more confidence as the series goes on. He really learns about what his strengths are and how to make the most of them. He eventually becomes one of the most consistent characters in the series and someone who can be counted on. He makes up for his lack of physical ability by being the greatest mage in the series. Popp has a lot of good strategic moments as well and while the guy has his share of setbacks, he is an easy character to like.

His romance plot can be a bit overly dramatic but it’s not like it ever really takes over the show. It’s what I would call a reoccurring background plot as opposed to ever being the central story plot. He could still handle himself a lot better in those scenes to be honest but it is what it is. The fact that the story has multiple serious romance plots definitely puts it a step ahead of the average Shonen where romance is usually relegated to whispers in the background and a big moment in the final episode.

Then we have Maam as the final member of the big 3. Initially she isn’t much of a fighter as she has a support item but it wasn’t particularly useful from the start. So she very wisely decided to learn martial arts and became extremely talented. In particular she learned a technique that bypasses defense and directly hits an opponent’s life aura. I thought that was really impressive and it stays relevant even to the end. For that reason every enemy finds a way to dodge it but the fact that she makes them aware of her is important. She is able to contribute to the fights and main dynamic the whole time. She also has a tough personality and is never afraid to jump right into the action so I really appreciate that. It’s another reason why the show is so good because when you have 3 solid main characters like this, you are starting the series off on the right foot.

Princess Leona also gets a fairly big role in the series. Although for most of it she cannot really fight which does limit her ability to stay in the fray during the climax of every arc. She does learn a specific magic move near the end of the series that helps a lot though. She is a solid ruler and can always be counted upon to help out. I would have liked her to have done a bit more but you can’t just have everyone become a big fighter I suppose. At the end of the day she is still always there to help.

Then we have the rival Hyunckel. Initially he starts out more as a full blown villain and gradually becomes a trusty ally. His abilities were always very high and he manages to stay on Dai’s level for quite a while. He’s a fun character who got a really effective backstory to support his character development. Definitely not the kind of character who stays on the backburner for very long. Whenever he does lose, the guy gets a good power up. His armor can stop nearly any projectile which is super handy.

Additionally, he tends to be the most pragmatic of the main fighters. You can count on him to stop the others from walking into obvious traps or anything like that. He also keeps Avan at arm’s length near the end of the series and for good reason since the guy seems super shady. Yeah you definitely want Hyunckel around to watch out for any suspicious activity and shut it down at the source.

Avan is certainly a big character here. As the original mentor he served as a goal to aspire to. Although it feels like the characters surpass him rather early on. I was glad that the series even acknowledged this since often times the original mentor can get a little too much credit. The next generation will often have enough screentime to pass the old fighters after all. Avan makes up for his lack of overall magical ability with smarts and tons of backup plans. If anything it makes him look even more impressive because not just anybody could pull that off. He regularly goes up against fighters many times his strength and still winning.

Yes, some of these fights may make you shake your head a bit but it’s the thought that counts. It’s also nice to have a mentor that you can really respect for a change. So many times you have mentors like Roshi and Jiraiya that you forget mentors can be cool as well. Avan shines as a beacon of justice for the rest of the characters the whole time and it’s really impressive. It took me a little time to really warm up to the guy but by the end he was definitely one of the best.

Gomechan is essentially Dai’s little animal mascot that is around for most of the series. The whole time you are waiting to see what Gomechan will end up doing. It’s a bit of a classic trope but always a fun one. In the end Gomechan comes in clutch as needed. Ultimately I wouldn’t say the character ever really became one of my favorites or anything but wasn’t bad. I would just forget about this character for large portions of time.

Then we have Crocodine who is another ally who initially started out as a villain but quickly became a powerful fighter. I do feel bad for him a bit though as his gimmick was being the power hitter of the group but that goes away very quickly. He is surpassed by a whole bunch of characters early on and never really ends up catching up to them. If anything the gap only continues to grow as the series goes on. He is still a good character and I like his honor code but he could have had a bigger role in the second half. At the end of the day he always did his best though.

Matoriv is a senior magician who helps Popp a lot on his journey. This master is of more questionable character and you get the feeling that he should be helping more than he actually is. At least you can count on him for advice and such. I never got super invested into his backstory or anything but you could do a lot worse for a mentor. The guy just feels too old and doesn’t have the super speed of the other old timer. You never really get too old for magic so he can help out in a supportive role but you probably don’t want him on the front lines.

Then we get to one of the big villains in Baran. This guy is seriously powerful and easily one of the most powerful characters in the series. Without him the heroes and villains would both be in a very different spot. I really like the idea of this guy as a wild card although I would have introduced him that way instead of making him a part of the villain’s group. We understand why he joined up after going into the backstory but it would have made even more sense to me if he had decided to be a loner. It would still achieve his objectives.

He is absolutely crucial to the events that close out the series and things would be a whole lot different without him. We rarely get to see him go all out for very long and when we do, he definitely impresses. The way his powers work is also very appealing because it’s all power that he wields from within. He doesn’t have to rely on technology, magic, or any assistance. The power is all his own and it can continue to improve as he trains. Given enough time I would say Baran would easily be the most powerful character in the series. He could have ended all the other threats at the start of the series if he wanted to.

Baduck is a nice character who isn’t particularly powerful or resourceful but he always wants to help. You appreciate how genuine the guy is. You can always count on him to do something and he ends up doing well in repairing equipment. He actually ends up getting power creeped in that department by a legendary blacksmith but he helped out for a while. He’s a good example of a character who was useful without the story having to really stretch to come up with solutions on how he could help out.

Merle is probably one of the more tragic characters because she likes Popp but she’s not the main heroine. You already know how this is going to play out and the worst part is you’re probably rooting for her because she is able to clearly articulate her feelings while the other characters keep on faltering. She’s a very nice character who just gets the short end of the stick here. It’s pretty hard to see even when it is completely expected. She was never really able to help much in the fights either which didn’t make it easy to get close to Popp. She did her best to make up ground anyway but sometimes things just aren’t meant to be.

Then we have Soala whose role is fairly small but pivotal all the same. She ends up jump starting a whole lot of events and proving once again why you can’t trust humans. She was a really nice character who had to go through more than she should. It’s always impressive when you can really hold this level of power in a series without even getting a whole episode’s worth of screentime. At least even with flashbacks I don’t think she reaches that mark.

Lon Berk doesn’t get a huge role until the series starts to close but he was definitely helpful. The guy is strong but what really put him on the map was how he could create immensely powerful weapons. Weapons so powerful that just using them was a risk in itself. He has a really strong finish to his character arc as well so he definitely did good. I had no real complaints with this guy at all.

Another supporting character who got more to do by the end was Nova. He starts out as one of those guys you can’t take all that seriously but he does genuinely want to be a great hero and so that ends up taking him far. He never gets anywhere close to the level of the main characters but he still arrives to the big battles. He even uses his own life force to amp up his attacks and make them even stronger. Definitely not something a half hearted fighter could do.

Brokeena is the definition of half hearted though. He’s an old man and all but the guy is incredibly powerful. We see how he can keep up with the fastest fighters in the verse and he has enough power to injure them. The way I see it, he had no business staying on the sidelines for as long as he did. He should have been there fighting from early on. The fact that he didn’t means I don’t have a ton of respect for the guy. He needs to do better.

I also didn’t really care for Chiu. I guess you could say the guy meant well but eh he was just annoying most of the time. The guy was completely out of his depth and really just getting in the way most of the time. There comes a time where the strength gap is so massive that it isn’t really bravery anymore. At that point it’s just a bad move and you shouldn’t be putting everyone in danger like that.

Hadlar is one of those villains that I did mock for most of the series. Look it wasn’t my fault, the guy was losing just about every fight in the saddest ways possible. He lost to Avann in the intro when the guy was far from his prime and then he lost to Dai and then he just kept on losing. Hadlar gets stronger with every defeat though and by the end of the series he was a legitimate threat. So I give him a lot of credit there. Usually determination is almost exclusively a heroic trait but this time he got a little bit of that action.

The series gave him way more credit than I would have expected so I can say he was actually a very good villain. He really gets the advantage of being in a long running series because this just wouldn’t have been possible if the series had ended sooner. So full props to this guy. Meanwhile Vearn has to wait until the end to really do much but he does make his screen time worth it. Certainly more than the dragon who talked tough but didn’t really get a role here. Vearn spends the whole series talking tough from the shadows so it was absolutely mandatory that he show up to take some names later on.

I would argue Hadlar was probably more powerful than Vearn near the end though. Yes, Vearn’s final form would scale higher but from their brief encounter before that, Hadlar had the edge. It was nice to have some in fighting among the villains and I was also glad that Hadlar didn’t just go down in an instant. It’s not every day that we have villain vs villain matchups after all so that was a real highlight.

Flazzard isn’t as big as the other villains but I have to bring him up because the guy was a lot of fun. He’s one of those villains you almost want to root for because he just has a fun personality aside from being brutally powerful. He ends up getting power creeped hard by the end but he left a good impression. Zaboera is the opposite as he lasts a long time but never gets even remotely likable. He’s the definition of a side villain as the guy has to try to keep on planning and planning to do anything interesting because he lacks the raw power to hang with the others.

I’m not saying that as a villain you have to be powerful but the hand wringing kind of minion like this is always hard for me to root for. I also think he got lucky with his chimera being as powerful as it was because that should have been no sold a lot easier. If I want a strategic villain then I’ll take someone like Mystvearn who can actually fight.

Mystvearn was incredibly impressive because he kept getting better with every appearance. The show treats him like a big deal but you wonder how strong he can really be. Well, he shatters all expectations and ends up easily being one of the strongest fighters in the series. I would even argue that on feats he is probably the strongest in the verse and the heroes got supremely lucky. His quiet rage is always something to give you pause and the guy has a super intimidating aura. Also a great design so yeah you can see how he was great in every way. He has a rival among the heroes but the power gap between them was colossal.

There’s a lot of Vearns in this series and so next up is Killvearn. This guy is a real enigma with his scythe and merciless way of attacking. He likes to mess around with his opponents and matching him up with Avann was a genius move since they are two of the smartest characters in the verse. I do think Avann probably should have gotten wrecked easily but hey I won’t let any power scaling get in the way of a fun fight. Killvearn introduces some interesting elements to the story but they weren’t able to fully be capitalized before the series ended. Something to definitely keep in mind for the future though. If the series ever got a sequel then I think his part of the lore would be really important. In the meanwhile he still made for a great villain.

Larhalt might be the most random character to suddenly get a big role near the end of the series. I only vaguely remembered him from his villainous days and then suddenly he showed up for the big teamup? Well I definitely wasn’t complaining. He ends up being pretty fun. He perhaps looks a bit more powerful than he should considering how he went down the last time though. It was a little hard to buy just how fast he had become in the present. He also showed up at an awkward time since he got power creeped anyway pretty quickly. I guess it can be hard to have the timing down perfectly though. He’s one of those characters who likes a good fight and doesn’t back down so he fit in right away with the other characters. Sometimes doing something random can really work out.

There is a whole villain group of chess pieces that show up in the series. They come a bit late into the game but are all rather fun. They can fight and each one has a moveset that makes sense based on the piece that they are. In particular, Hym gets the biggest role here. The guy really gets free will and is able to improve his abilities. He even learns how to use spirit energy which the characters initially did not think would be possible. Once he absorbs a certain energy, he really becomes a threat. I like the idea of a random minion really coming into his own and becoming a big threat so that was fun. Hym is also just a likable character in general so he is easy to root for. The show wrote him really well and this was a redemption arc I could get behind.

Yeah the cast here was really terrific all around. An elite show demands elite characters and so that was not surprising. Meanwhile there were also just a whole lot of great story arcs here throughout. The raid on the demon castle is naturally a contender for best arc. You get a ton of nonstop battles all around and everyone really got to show their stuff. Each character gets to show his/her worth here without any exceptions. All big series are expected to end with a mega climax after all and this one did not disappoint.

The series did a good job of gradually raising the stakes the whole time. The first few pre arcs have Dai and friends going around as rookie adventurers with everyone treating them like kids. We got the battles with Flazzard, opening meeting with Hyunckel, and of course the early battles with Hadlar when he was weak. Then we got more enemy generals and started expanding the side characters. The series even got to have multiple iterations of the villain groups as most of Hadlar’s generals died out early on so then he got a whole new set.

The 100 episodes go really fast because the pacing is super quick. There is still time for long character arcs for everyone but there is always a new threat around the corner. The older generation of heroes may not put in as much work as they should have but at least they do help during the climax and everything. This is really Dai’s story and he gets to shine. This title may perhaps set the bar too high for any other Dragon Quest titles but it does clearly show me why people really love the franchise.

Overall, Dragon Quest: The Adventure of Dai is definitely an elite series. Definitely an anime I could really recommend to anyone. It has such a retro feel to it in all of the best ways. It’ll remind you of the big anime you watched as a kid. The characters are really solid and it really succeeds on every technical element. Yes you’re not going to find very many shows like Dragon Quest, hopefully one day they animate the prequel is definitely quite good as well.

Overall 9/10

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