Tag Archives: Comedy

Police Story 2 Review

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It’s time to return to the world of Police Story. The first one definitely surpassed all of my expectations. Not to say that I ever thought it would be bad but it was just so excellent that I couldn’t have guessed it would be this good. It was definitely really impressive and the sequel while still great isn’t quite able to match how brilliant the first one was. From the fighting to the comedy, it just isn’t ready to match that.

The movie starts off right away with Ka-Kui being demoted since while he may have saved the country, there was a lot of destruction and the villain has powerful friends. So he’s out of jail already and intends to ruin Ka-Kui’s life. He does this by harassing the guy and threatening his girlfriend. He’s trying to goad Ka-Kui into attacking him and if successful then that will really put him in a jam. Can he really resist these attacks for long though?

The best scene in the movie happens fairly early which is always a risk. Do you have the peak right away to get the audience invested or leave it til the end to make a lasting impression? I doubt it’s something a film maker would think about for too long because in theory every scene is made to be great but for me the restaurant fight was definitely the best part. John Ko and friends finally push him too far so he just beats them all up and it’s super satisfying. You do not mess with this guy.

You’d think that the villains would have learned their lesson after the first film but they are just really confident that no matter what he won’t end their lives. In a way I suppose they are right since Ka-Kui is a hero but that doesn’t mean he has no boiling point. If they took things just a little bit farther I wouldn’t have been surprised if he took John down for the count. Either way it’s great because sometimes you do need to just beat up the villains.

Surprisingly John Ko and his boss basically get written out of the film after this. New villains show up to give Ka-Kui a run for his money while these guys vanish. There is a plot reason for this and it also works as a twist of sorts because the first time you learn this knowledge you just assume the villains were faking so when the twist actually happens it’s a bit surprising. It’s a solid subversion so I enjoyed it well enough. The main problem is that the other villains don’t feel like they are as much of a threat.

The climax still has Ka-Kui go into a very difficult fight to be sure but it never feels insurmountable. I guess the guy’s catchphrase of saying general nonsense while tossing the fire pepper onion wrappers is very memorable though. When Ka-Kui finally turns the tables on that guy it’s definitely satisfying. There are also a lot of explosives so the climax is definitely intense visually. You can’t beat the mall fight from the first film but it’s still a lot of fun.

In general the film has a lot of action, there are several other scenes with a lot of battles as well. The film also keeps the general happy tone that it has from the first with a lot of comedic moments. Ka-Kui still has a lot of trouble with his girlfriend May due to a lot of misunderstandings. While in the first film I felt like 90% of those were directly his fault, at least in this one it can be more 50/50 like when the cops pulled him off the plane. That was one example where there wasn’t really anything he could do. It’s probably not much of a consolation to May who still has to deal with the fallout but hey, it could certainly have been worse is all.

May also ends up going through a lot here as she is captured and actually injured quite a bit. The sequel does have a few moments that are actually rather dark like when May and Ka-Kui get tortured by the villains. So you also empathize with her even more for being upset with Ka-Kui since now she’s in constant danger. She always bounces back really quickly and tries to be cheerful but you wonder how long it can last.

Ka-Kui is taking steps to try and make the relationship be a bit smoother like going on vacation with her but it’s just never as easy as all that. I’ll give him credit for making the attempt though and in general I would say he looks pretty good in the movie. For the most part he takes the right steps and again I give him a lot of credit during the restaurant moment. He wasn’t going to let the villains get away with anything and just charged in there!

While John Ko doesn’t stick around for the whole film, I will give him credit as a persistent villain. The guy can’t even fight super well but he’s always around to make life hard for Ka-Kui and is really resourceful. He appears everywhere and takes his job as the boss’ right hand man very seriously. He’s the biggest thorn in Ka-Kui’s side despite not being a fighter which is impressive in itself. He’s certainly crazy but works well within the role.

In general the supporting cast are solid too. I liked both Ka-Kui’s direct boss and his boss’ supervisor. They’re both always playing an intricate game of appearances where they keep trying to pass the buck off. This can make for a lot of fun comedic moments all throughout. The film wouldn’t be the same if either half of the genre was missing. This is a great comedic action film. You need the high level martial arts but you also need the fun humor. Mi the two together and I don’t see how this series can lose. It’s of course easier said than done to make a film funny and action packed but this team clearly has the right formula.

Overall, Police Story 2 takes just about all of the strengths from the first film and keeps the series moving at a high level. It doesn’t really make any mistakes but it simply can’t keep up with the first movie. It’s close though and that’s the important thing though. You could watch both films back to back and it works really seamlessly. I’m interested in seeing how it goes from here. Can it go 3 for 3 or is this the last hurrah? Only time will tell but the track record is in this one’s favor.

Overall 8/10

The Three Musketeers (1973) Review

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Time for a classic tale of the Three Musketeers. They’re a decent group although to me they have never been one of the top ones. You see them now and again but I’ve never seen any incarnation that completely wow’d me. Well this one is more of the same. It’s not all that solid and sometimes messes up on the mix between action and comedy. Ultimately you want to root for a group that’s a bit more heroic and in a way a film about the trio without the main guy from this film probably would have worked better.

The movie starts with D’artagnan (I’ll just call him Dart after this) finally getting ready to head out on his own. He has his sword and his dignity and so he can finally become a knight and serve the royal family. Unfortunately his abilities are truly awful and he ends up getting on the wrong foot with every character imaginable. He must now face several duels to the death in a row and may find himself dead before he can even make a name for himself. Even worse, he has fallen in love with a married woman and is trying to take her away from the husband. Can he fall ever further?

That’s one of the big problems with the film which is that he’s just not a likable main character. You can’t root for him when he’s actively trying to convince someone to cheat. That’s awful and one of many reasons why the romance is really bad in this film. You already know he’s going to succeed and yet you’re just disappointed as that happens. I also think he should have looked a little more powerful. I get that he is in over his head but I’d have liked him to have at least had some kind of abilities to back up his bravado. Instead he just looks desperate. By the end of the film he can fight to a degree but I’m just going to say that he got lucky tbh.

In a way Dart being so unlikeable retroactively makes the intro even better as everyone clowns on him. The guy definitely doesn’t deserve much respect so I can also see why the team isn’t thrilled to have him around. The Three Musketeers already had a good dynamic going without him after all. On the roof they beat up the royal soldiers rather easily and based on the dialogue we have to assume that they do this rather often. They have a mutual understanding going where they beat up the enemies but spare their lives each time so it works out. At least you don’t have to worry about losing your life in the struggle.

The fights are handled well where you do get some good choreography at times before the gags come in. I also thought the most clever scene in the film is also one that involved the trio as they pretended to start fighting each other but were actually just stealing food left and right. It actually takes you a minute or two to notice that this is what they were doing so to my mind that means it was a very convincing moment. I was definitely impressed at any rate. There aren’t a whole lot of moments that impressed me so I’ll take what I can get.

I will still say that the movie is at its best during the battles. If it focused more on all of the fencing then the movie would have benefited from it. It also does have some solid moments of humor. I tend to enjoy the dialogue and the banter with the villains. So really the sticking point here is the sorry romance with Dart. It’s just no good and does a disservice to his character. There’s also a subplot with another royal having an affair and you really see just how depraved most of the cast is.

Politics and affairs tend to be a big part of any adventures back in the day like this but you expect the hero to at least stay away from them. The ending is really about them finally being a team but I think the better ending would have been to have the 3 leave Dart behind and say he just wasn’t ready or something like that. I think that would have worked out really well.

In the end this just isn’t a film that will end up being very high for you. It doesn’t have enough hooks to keep you engaged the whole time and you know that you’ve seen plenty of better films tackling similar themes. The newbie who gradually becomes good enough to become one of the big members of a team is a fairly common dynamic after all. The problem is that Dart just doesn’t have the work ethic or skills to seriously be considered no matter how well he may have done by the end.

Overall, The Three Musketeers is going to have to wait a little longer to get a definitive version of the characters. At least the villain was a lot of fun with his planning and usually being one step ahead. I can always appreciate a villain like that, someone to keep the heroes on their toes. If we can get the heroes to be a little better then it’ll work even better. Of course there is a sequel so it is absolutely possible that it’ll be the turning point. Only time will tell but in the meantime I’d say that you can skip this one. It’s not awful or anything but I don’t think there’s much reason to watch it imo.

Overall 4/10

Nothing in Common Review

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It’s time for one of those films that will have you knocked out in no time. There just isn’t much good to say about this film while there are certainly a lot of negatives to give it. The romance is everything you don’t want in a film, the drama makes all of the characters look bad by the end and so the ending isn’t particularly satisfying either. Yeah this is definitely one that you’re going to want to skip and fast!

The movie starts off with introducing us to David who has been moving through relationships like butter. He can just never stick with just one person for long and keeps on moving. Well now his parents are having issues as well and ended up splitting up. His mom wants to go back into the dating scene again while his father’s been fired and is trying to work again. Both of their issues are causing issues for David whose job had been going great but now he’s also being distracted. Can he continue to churn out powerful ads while dealing with all of this or is it all over for him? Only time will tell.

First off the film isn’t really able to make you like David as a character because he’s not the committed type. He ends up falling for the daughter of an executive and they have some flings but then he’s still ready to go back to another girl later when Cheryl leaves. David is someone who just never stays in one place and that’s a trait that’s hard to really change even if he does learn more about family later on. If anything seeing what happened to his parents would probably make it even harder for him to ever sustain a normal relationship.

Then the movie goes so far in making his father Max look bad that there isn’t really any way to recover his character later on. He cheated on his wife pretty much right after they got married and it ended up traumatizing her for life. It’s a really big weight to try and get rid of. Then Max is also irresponsible, doesn’t own up to his mistakes, etc. A character like that never ends up being sympathetic and since the film wastes a lot of screen time trying to do so, it’s just no good.

Meanwhile Lorraine comes across as way too desperate when she’s trying to get back into dating. Lets be realistic here, she’s older now since she was married for many years and it’s also not something you should be jumping right into like that. It’s all just too fast. I was glad that she still ended up leaving to try and reclaim her life on her own but the whole dating plot could have been taken out.

In general I think the saddest part about all of this is that the movie would have been so much more fun if it just focused on David. Just be about him and working on the advertisement business and we skip all of the family drama. I would have enjoyed it a lot more for sure and I think it’s fair to say that around the board it would have been a much better film. I still don’t think it would have been great mind you but at least things were happening in David’s plot that were interesting.

For example, seeing how the commercials was made was fun. We got to see the script phase where you write down what’s going to happen, the initial filming, etc. I rather enjoyed that and think you could easily make a whole film around the concept. I’d watch it at least and while it wouldn’t salvage the lackluster romance, the film would have something more to stand on. Ultimately David’s not a good character and he isn’t portrayed as one but you don’t have to worry about that while you’re watching the film.

The best character is definitely his boss Charley. The guy always had David’s back and was ready to defend him from all who would attack. Even to the end he was able to get David his job back and you know there was probably a lot of backlash for that. The guy’s a true friend who looks out for his people even when corporate tries to get in his way. I don’t think there are a lot of people who would have done that.

In the end I also think the movie is really just lacking a true hook as well. Even aside from the unlikable characters you have to ask yourself what the point of the movie was. David learns a lesson in finding a true romance instead of just playing the field and manages to achieve a proper work life balance but you could have done all of that in a much shorter timeframe. I think the film was trying for a fairly happy tone by the end where the redemption arc really worked and it was all good but to me that didn’t quite succeed either. Eh not every film can be a winner but this one just didn’t really have anything to enjoy about it.

Overall, I really didn’t enjoy this film. The whole backstory of what happened with the parents was a bit too tragic. In any plot like that you at least need to leave enough room for things to go well or to part on amiable terms but this wasn’t it. It would have been a more satisfying film if David just ran off to be honest. The whole thing happened a long time ago of course but since he just found out it would have still been rather fresh. In the end it just feels like a mean spirited title so stay far away!

Overall 1/10

Black Clover Sd – Asta’s Road To The Wizard King Review

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I wasn’t a big fan of the Rock Lee manga when it came out and I can’t say that this one was any better. With a series like Black Clover it’s always hard to picture anything short of pure brilliance but this series manages to go under my expectations time and time again. I dare say it has even more constant crude humor jokes than Pac Man which is absolutely crazy. You can barely go a page without something sad happening here. Yeah this is definitely a series to avoid at all costs.

The basic plot is the same as the main series. Basically Asta wants to become the Wizard King at all costs and he will do whatever it takes in order to achieve his dream. Along the way he has met up with many allies and has made a name for himself. Can he really become the king though or is that just a pipe dream? With only 13 chapters at the ready the series is over quickly at least which is really the only positive thing I can say about it. Otherwise it’s definitely brutal so lets dive into this.

The main negative of course is the comic relief as I mentioned. There are constant poop jokes in every chapter, the characters can’t seem to keep their pants up and the whole thing’s sad. The worst part about this is really just that it isn’t funny. At no point will you be cracking a smile or anything like that. You’ll just be wincing the whole time and I won’t even be able to blame you. That’s how sad this got after a while. A chibi spinoff or any comedic title needs to be able to generate laughs and this one just couldn’t pull it off.

The art itself isn’t even that bad. Technically speaking I think you could do some fun things with this style but the series never had any intention of being good. I feel like even fans of crude humor would probably get bored quickly since it is just the same joke on repeat for the entire series. Realistically who is going to have a good time with that? It’s also abridged enough where you will only really be following along if you’re a fan of the original Black Clover series so that narrows the audience (slightly) more. I’d have preferred a clever spinoff with fun references.

Think about Dragon Ball Sd for example. That was a really fun series because it actually throws in a lot of fun references and callbacks. You should be able to easily do that in any kind of homage because there are a lot of things to reference. Or give us some quality fight scenes for fun. I’ll always take that and maybe switch the timelines around so you can do matchups that we didn’t see in the main series. Basically any direction instead of the one that this story went in would have been a good idea.

None of the characters are remotely likable and basically they are all just one note versions of themselves anyway. It’s not like you’re reading this series for character development and depth anyway but at least give the characters some dignity. Without any character to like then there is little point in reading the series. You’re not going to get invested with any of the characters or what’s happening. I mean there’s barely a plot anyway but having good characters would have done a whole lot to get around that negative.

Because this is a gag manga there also just isn’t a whole lot to talk about. If there were funny jokes I could talk about that but there really isn’t. So after covering the crude humor which is 90% of the series anyway, and the art then that’s about it. This is absolutely a story that should be forgotten to time and I feel bad for the author who had to waste his time with this. This title only beats very few manga that I’ve ever read like Black Bird and Black Butler but otherwise this has to be in the runnings for the worst manga out there.

It stings even deeper when you consider how amazing Black Clover is. The Sd series should have been treated with respect like Chopperman and Vongola GP. Now those were chibi titles that really made the most of their runs time and time again. At least we got Quartet Knights a while back so the series had at least one good spinoff. I have to be grateful for that at least but then a part of me still just wanted so much more. I don’t think it’s too much to ask for.

Overall, Black Clover Sd is awful. Truly horrendous on all sides and you should absolutely skip this one. It makes for a very hard read because you’ll be cringing the whole time which can’t be good for your face. At least the series wastes no time in wasting your time because it starts off rough right from the very first chapter. It’s not a bait and switch where it started out good or anything like that so I can’t even say that it fell off. This was probably the worst route it could have gone with but the series decided to go through with it anyway. It’s a shame but sometimes that’s just how it goes.

Overall 1/10

Imadoki! Review

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It’s time for a blast from the past with this one. Imadoki is a romance manga that wasn’t particularly long but still had a lot going on. As far as romance titles go, it’s not bad but the character roster isn’t the strongest. There’s a ton of drama going on because the characters let themselves be overwhelmed by peer pressure so much. Over half of the series would just not exist if the characters had the strength needed to push themselves forward and just go after what they actually want. Instead all of the characters just end up feeling really frustrated the whole time.

The series starts off with Tanpopo transferring to a new school. She is eager to make some new friends but it won’t be easy since she isn’t as wealthy as the others. The instant that the students realize she is a commoner they quickly start bullying her as hard as possible. There is only one guy who seems nice named Kouki but while they’re at school he always pretends not to notice her. Additionally, since he is the most popular guy in school, this doesn’t help with the bullying. Tanpopo’s only chance here is to get close to Kouki while at the gardening club since they are some of the only members but can she pull this off? Also does she want to be just friends or more?

Kouki starts off kind of rough here because he is definitely a lot ruder than he needs to be towards Tanpopo. Pretending not to know her at school and not defending her is just a bit much. I get it if he wants to keep up his image but ultimately that just means he wasn’t a strong enough guy to deal with the consequences and do the right thing. Trying to fit in with the wrong crowd really isn’t a good idea in the slightest. Gradually he gets nicer until he doesn’t worry about those things as much but it’s still tough.

Then he falters in the second half because a girl named Erika shows up and he allows himself to become engaged to her out of obligation. See, she was promised to his brother Youji who ran off and so Kouki feels like he has to marry her now but that’s a pretty huge leap in logic. He then allows Erika to start bullying Tanpopo and chasing her out. At times he’s oblivious about this but it’s all so obvious that it doesn’t make him look any better since it’s basically his fault.

Kouki just gets pushed around a considerable amount throughout the series which puts him a level beneath a lot of the main Shoujo guys. It also feels like he’s rebounding a lot of times because there are several points where he basically decides he’ll settle with Erika and not actually go after Tanpopo. In fact this goes on for a long while since they were together all the way until the next semester started. Not a good look.

Of course Erika is an actual antagonist but at least she’s open about this. She does her best to crush Tanpopo and does this effectively by making bets with her and banking on the fact that Tanpopo would lose her nerve or something would go wrong at the last second. The worst part about this is definitely the fact that the plan worked so smoothly because in a lot of ways Tanpopo had the advantage but just didn’t have enough confidence to make it work. Erika is super dramatic and always trying for attention but I blame Kouki for falling for it just as hard as her for doing this.

Not to be outdone, we have another bully in the form of Tsukiko. She pretends to be Tanpopo’s friend at first while bullying her from the shadows and doing her best to wreck Tanpopo’s day. Some friend right? Ultimately she does turn over a new leaf after being exposed and from then on is a good character but it was another rough start. The series was almost like Dragon Ball Z where everyone started out as a villain and then gradually became a good person. Of course with less volumes there isn’t as much time to really develop them as heroes. At least she actually backed Tanpopo up by the end while most of the other friends scattered.

Arisa ended up being the most loyal friend by far but she wasn’t able to help out as much near the end due to being pregnant and as such not being able to run around with the rest of the gang. Her plot definitely got rather dark for a while there. Ultimately she has the best redemption arc as she got in with the wrong crowd and made a lot of mistakes but never tried taking anyone down with her. That’s the big difference compared with the others so you could root for her.

Then there is Aoi and you guessed it…he has a really rough start too. He is a hacker villain that decides to go after Tanpopo and Kouki, even going as far as to threaten Tanpopo’s life and take advantage of her in the process. The instant a character gets physical like that there really isn’t any coming back for him. He just went way too far so by the end when he turns good (Which isn’t even near the end. It’s basically immediately after the first appearance) then you have a hard time buying into it. He comes in handy a lot with how he stabs other villains and knows how to fight but in theory Tanpopo would never really be all that comfortable around the guy after that. He was just too much of a creep initially with the grabbing and licking.

Finally we have Youji and this guy’s not bad I guess. Of course within the story’s context he’s annoying since he shows up to cause more drama by getting together with Tanpopo but this isn’t actually a rebound per say from his side. See, he went after her after she had broken up with Kouki so she was a free agent at the time. Additionally, nobody was pressuring him into this and he seemed like a nice guy in general. Sure he definitely knew that Kouki liked her as well but Kouki was busy with Erika so that’s not a bad time to make a move. If he were to seriously get together with Erika afterwards then that’s more of a problem but while the manga hints that this will happen, I wouldn’t say that it’s confirmed.

Youji’s definitely not responsible with how he just ran off out of nowhere but he wouldn’t let the company control him so I get that. He just could have handled the whole situation better. So in a way he is the best character by default here. You also have Tanpopo who is nice enough but she falls into the rebound trap. She clearly liked Kouki from day 1 so she shouldn’t have even entertained the idea of being with Youji. This is the problem with rebounding, it’s like you throw logic out the window for a little bit and hang out with someone else while you get your feelings back in order but that’s not how it should be.

She also made a lot of the wrong calls when she was being pushed around by Erika. See, when Erika told her she had to leave the club after losing a bet, okay fine Tanpopo can leave. However, just tell the others this is why she left. Instead she says nothing and so they all get the wrong idea. You’re still honoring the bet but you’re at least letting people know that there was one. Of course Tanpopo shouldn’t have taken the bet in the first place since she was the head of the club. It just caused a lot of needless drama the whole time when there wasn’t any need for it which is a large part of the series really.

If the characters could just stick up for themselves then a lot of the issues wouldn’t have occurred here. The story is still compelling and I enjoyed the writing but a lot of it was rather contrived which does keep it from matching up against the bigger Shoujo titles. The art’s also really good. It’s very clear the whole time so you can easily read through the chapters right away. None of the characters are drawn too similarly either so each member of the main cast stands out. That can be tricky sometimes so I’m glad that this series didn’t run into that issue.

I’d also say that the humor works well enough. It’s personally not one of the funnier manga titles that I’ve read but the artwork could make for some fun comedic expressions. In general there is just more drama than comedy this time around. The tone always stays rather light so don’t think that this is a depressing title or anything but maybe some more joking around could have done the title some good as well. Give us more time with the characters just having fun and chilling out instead of jumping into the next school controversy or rival showing up.

There is very little time for the characters to just have their day to day adventures. I suppose the author wanted to just focus on the plot and keep things moving which is fine of course but perhaps this is what the series needed to make the characters more likable. Similar to how the Sailor Moon anime made all of the characters a lot better by throwing in a ton of filler. In the end that’s what filler is good for after all, developing the characters as needed.

Overall, Imadoki is a romance manga that can be fun but does end up being annoying a lot of the times. The characters need to learn to stand up for themselves and not just fall for every possible villain plan. That’s what this all comes down to after all. Also, the lack of a strong character cast is also what hurts this series. With better characters this absolutely would have been a much stronger adventure all around. Instead its potential does get rather limited. If you like romance manga then you should check this one out but otherwise there are a lot of better options.

Overall 4/10

The Thing with Two Heads Review

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It’s time to talk about this film which is definitely one of those titles that I really didn’t know about before watching it. It’s definitely not one that went on to win a lot of awards or anything like that but it embraces the absurdity of the whole story and ends up succeeding because of that. A certain car chase scene will either make or break the film for you though, that’s a guarantee!

The movie starts with Maxwell succeeding in his grand experiment to give a gorilla a second head through a surgical operation. This whole thing seems so crazy and yet it is now a reality. The real reason why he wanted to do this is so that he can put his head on another body since he is slowly dying. There ends up being a bit of a mixup though as the surgeons put Maxwell’s head on the body of Jack, an inmate who was sentenced to death. They wanted an inmate since the process will ultimately destroy the original host but Jack’s a little too smart for them. When he wakes up to find that he has an extra head, he breaks out and holds another doctor hostage, Dr. Fred. Now they are in a chase against the police. Even if Jack evades them, will his life ever be normal again?

There’s quite a lot to unpack right here. Lets put aside the fact that you can now remove someone’s head and put it on another body. That sounds pretty crazy but it’s the basis of the whole film so lets accept that as possible for now. There is a whole lot of plot convenience to Jack’s escape as he pretends to be asleep and then knocks out the staff but you’d think they’d be ready for that and have more security measures. Once he gets in the car though, that’s when things really get intense.

The police to their credit weren’t messing around. When they got the call that the convict was on the escape they basically sent the whole platoon of every officer in the state after him. We’re talking well over 40 police cars here and yet they all fall one by one to Jack. His car is just way more agile, nimble, and can hit those turns in a way that the police cars can’t as they all crash one on one.

The sequence goes on for an extraordinarily long time and like I said this is where the film will either lose you or you’ll be 100% on board. Personally I found the whole chase scene to be hilarious so this ended up helping the film in the end. Effectively this ended up making the film because it really got to embrace how hilarious the whole thing is. The same scenes just keep replaying like they were going out of style. I haven’t seen so much recycled footage in a very long time. that’s part of what makes it funny though even if it’s possibly a bit unintentional, it’s also fully possible that it was 100% intentional. We can’t rule that out.

In general the film has a lot of fun with the humor and I tend to enjoy the banter between Maxwell and Jack. See, a big part of the plot is that Maxwell is incredibly racist to the point where he tried to fire the new doctor Fred since he turned out to be black. Then when he’s merged with Jack….well he’s furious because Jack’s also black and so part of the dynamic is that Maxwell just can’t stand him. It’s to the point where Maxwell can’t even pretend to be nice to try and perform some kind of double cross. No, he’s as obvious as it gets the entire time.

Maxwell’s definitely the main villain of the film so the movie goes all in with making him as unlikable as possible. Meanwhile Jack’s a fairly calm guy who just wants to get out of this crazy predicament. He certainly never would have expected that he’d lose his body like this but he adjusts rather well. He doesn’t always make the smartest decisions like allowing Maxwell to knock him out but I guess as a scientist Maxwell would have a fairly strong will. Jack definitely has great skills with vehicles and escape though since he evaded all the cops.

There is a subplot about Jack saying that he’s innocent and trying to find the real criminal but that plot never goes anywhere so don’t worry about it. As for Fred, he’s hesitant to help the whole time so he spends most of the film waffling in the middle. Eventually he finally makes the big decision to be helpful though which was good. I feel like it should be an easy call to side with Jack in getting rid of Maxwell and restoring Jack’s body after all.

The cast is fairly small as those are really the main characters here. There are other scientist and you also have Jack’s girlfriend but for the most part the film is really focused around the main 3 here. They are the ones in the huge car chase scene after all and there isn’t really any room for the other characters. The film does throw an interesting misdirect at you with the gorilla that has 2 heads early on. Based on the title you’d expect that would have been the main plot so this was really a big shift. I got to watch the film without seeing the poster so that really helped to make the storyline a bit of a surprise.

I think it’s fair to say that the movie could have done more with the premise. Cut out the chase scene and throw in more dialogue and you would really have more opportunities for banter. That said, we still got a good amount here so I was satisfied. Honestly it’s the kind of film that I could definitely watch again because of how crazy it is so it’s got good replay value.

Overall, This is a pretty good movie. The plot certainly isn’t sound and you’ll find plot holes/conveniences throughout but the movie never forgets its sense of humor. There are a lot of good burns coming in from all the characters and you’ll have a good amount of laughs. Definitely check this out if the plot sounds intriguing to you. Not a whole lot happens technically since the plot goes on break for a while but you’ll still have a lot of fun either way.

Overall 7/10

Naruto: Konoha’s Story – The Steam Ninja Scrolls Review

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It’s time for us to jump back into the world of Naruto with a spinoff that ended recently. You may be wondering how any villain can possibly hope to give the heroes a hard time when Naruto runs the world with a wholesome fist. Well, with lots of power level shenanigans but we’ll get into that later on. My main issue with the series is it feels like 90% of it is just the characters messing around until we get some brief plot at the very end before the series ends. This is a miniseries so it isn’t trying to be super grand or anything like that but at the end of the day I still think it could have done better. Still makes for an entertaining enough read though.

The series starts by introducing us to Mirai who is the daughter of Asuma. She has been trying to prove herself for a long time now but the tough part is that the village has been at peace for so long. She feels like she was never given a fair shot to show what she can do and never will at this rate. So she’s thrilled when she is added as a bodyguard to Kakashi and Might Guy’s mission…before getting saddened again when she sees this was just a cover for them to visit hot springs and have fun. Things just aren’t going her way but she needs to be careful what she wishes for because danger might be just around the corner.

There are 15 chapters here and the story is basically weekly sized so you can probably guess that the adventure will be quick. As I mentioned the first 2/3 of the series really are just slice of life adventures with little hintings of a plot before we get to the big battle at the end. You can absolutely execute well on such a story with the Naruto characters because in theory they are well rounded enough to still be entertaining. The main problem is that the characters aren’t particularly funny. In large part this is because Kakashi and Might Guy are always great in a serious context but I was never too impressed with their rivalry. They aren’t exactly op tier contenders there and since Might Guy can’t fight very much anymore…that doesn’t help things.

Mirai tries a little too hard throughout the series to prove herself and as a result she tends to hold them all back. They needed a very well reasoned veteran to help out and she was too eager to the point of embarrassing them at times. At least she could make potato chips and yes we get a full chapter of that. It isn’t until the end where she finally proves herself but it was a tough road to get there and she fell for one of the most basic traps out there. I do think Mirai has all the makings of being a good character but if you just read this series then I don’t imagine that you will have a very high opinion of her just yet. She’s still got a ways to go.

In terms of fighting ability she seems okay though. She’s hard to scale though because everyone scales quite poorly in this adventure. So lets use that as a diving board to talk about the power level issues. First off, Kakashi and Might Guy are now so weak that they can’t even break a boulder. It felt like gameplay mechanics for a minute there as the villains drop a boulder in front of the heroes so they can’t proceed. There is clearly a lot of room to go around or over the boulder but they can’t for some reason. It doesn’t make any sense but it’s even worse that they just can’t break it.

So they call in Choji but I guess old age has hit him rather harshly because he needs constant food to use his power at even a basic level. So that’s why Mirai had to make him some potato chips and then he was ready to go. That whole part of the plot will definitely make you groan because it makes no sense. It’s like a poorly written filler episode. The mini arc with Kiba showing up and our seeing a dog vs cat civil war was also more on the petty side. You’ll definitely be rolling your eyes a bit on that one.

Things pick up once they actually bring back the cult of lord Jashin. Jashin was always a character that I felt was underestimated by the Naruto fandom because in theory this is another cosmic being on the level of Kaguya. He seems like he’s definitely real because of the fact that the rituals work so maybe one day he will appear. I’m still banking on that even if the odds aren’t great because it just makes too much sense. He’s the one villain that all of the heroes will really need to watch out for or else they are going to be doomed.

His minions here are fairly generic though. They can’t fight a whole lot and use hostages to get in the way. The fight is only close because Mirai messed up. I really don’t buy Kakashi thinking he wasn’t fast enough to step in though. The nerfs to the OG characters in Boruto land definitely hits hard I guess. At least it was an excuse to see Mirai fight though and while she performed poorly against the hostage, we got some decent moves against the villain himself.

The art is on point here and I definitely have no issues there. All of the characters are on model and it’s very easy to read. On a technical level it certainly adopts the style of the original Naruto very well. With the short length there is no real downside to checking this one out because it’s so short and it’s also nice to see some of the characters again. Does it hold up in terms of story? Eh not really but it’s still not a bad title. You just wish more had happened.

I feel like there isn’t a whole lot to say even after 15 chapters. Mirai basically goes through the same character arc as Shikamaru in learning about who the King represents but without all of the hype action scenes and danger around it. Now granted, I do like that things are mostly peaceful under Naruto’s reign because it wouldn’t make sense if everything was super dangerous. That said, few stories manage to properly explain why Naruto isn’t running around taking names. Even if he’s sick I don’t see that holding him back. This is Naruto Uzumaki after all!

Overall, I’m always up for a classic spinoff. This story probably would benefit from a marathon read more than weekly since you’ll get to the action part a lot sooner. The review may have sounded fairly negative because there were a lot of areas to take shots at here but it’s not bad. Ultimately it ended up squarely in the middle. It was looking like a 6 for a while but in the end it just couldn’t quite make it. Another fight or two would have been good or some kind of hype cliffhanger but in the end I don’t think the story was executed nearly as well as it could have been. It’s not the kind of title that has any kind of replay value so you should check it out once if you’re a Naruto fan but that’s it. Hopefully next time Kakashi and Might Guy will look a lot better. (I also don’t buy their explanation that nothing can bring his leg back. There are so many spells and ninjutsu in the world of Naruto that should be able to do this easily…..)

Overall 5/10

Double Dragon Review

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Double Dragon is a film that opens with its best fight scene right off the bat. That means you start off strong which is good but the huge downside to doing that is it means the rest of the experience is going downhill. Now granted, I did enjoy the film. It’s not great but I thought it was decently good. You are just surprised that the rest of the films aren’t as good as the opening because that showed you exactly what kind of potential this film had.

The movie starts off with Billy and Jimmy fighting against another pair of fighters in a martial arts tournament. They are doing well but unfortunately Billy makes a huge mistake and gets cocky which costs them the match. So they head home in disgrace and are then attacked by an enemy gang. See, this film takes place in the “future” which is the past at this point but the world’s not doing so hot. This is basically a dystopia as there is smog everywhere and a lot of acid all over the place. It’s really not safe after dark but Billy and Jimmy are rebels like that. They barely make it home where Satori lets them know about the dragon medallions. It’s rather sudden but they have to keep their half safe before the villain Shuko can get it or the whole world will be in trouble. Can these two teenagers man up and save the day or are they about to get absolutely rocked?

So like I said the opening fight is the best part of the movie. The fight scene actually has a lot of choreography to it and you can appreciate the stakes here. Nobody wants to lose in a tournament setting and Jimmy was actually doing really well until Billy ruined it for him. The fight had good music as well and with the film being based on a beat em up type game this is what you would expect. Unfortunately there are very few actual hand to hand battles after this and none of them are quite able to measure up.

Instead we have a lot of chase scenes and humor subplots but they don’t hit as hard. On the car chase I can at least appreciate the high tech gizmos that come into play with it but it doesn’t really stand out much. Then for the humor it’s often hit or miss. I like a lot of the puns and dialogue that the film is going for but some parts are just too outlandish and dragged out. For example one of the villains is named Bo and after he is defeated the villains decide to turn him into a huge Hulk type monster.

Now he’s nearly braindead and it seems like a rough fate for the guy but based on the music and scenes this is supposed to be funny to an extent. I’d say that the film definitely got lost in the sauce on this one. Any scene with Bo quickly became painful after this. You just did not want to see that guy at all and it’s not like he was a great villain before that but he definitely got even worse afterwards.

Then there is this whole subplot about Marian trying to unite the gangs and having what I guess you could equate to a nicer gang. They’re still vigilantes but they’re not so bad. With the police being extremely ineffective in this film as her own father the chief was nervous the whole time you do want this group out on the streets but it was a bit of a boring subplot. You were just waiting for the main characters to take the stage again.

The film does pick up again in the climax for the battle against Shuko though. We actually get to see the power of the Medallions in action and that also means that we have some more hand to hand fights at last. This does bring up some power level issues though because the medallion is supposed to be a big deal. It can even end the entire planet after all so what are two teenagers and their fists going to do about it? Well, at it turns out they can apparently do a whole lot about it. Kind of an odd way to dehype the object right?

Basically it can split you into shadows and has some other vague abilities including the ability to control someone else’s body but Shuko looks way too unimpressive. I just don’t buy him losing to the characters like that. Now I will say one hype thing about the climax is that we do get the iconic costumes at last. The costumes look really good too so the effects team held nothing back here. They should have given the heroes those costumes from the start but this was still a good way to end things. It showed you a bit of promise on how things could have been.

The movie tries to really nail the bantering dynamic between Billy and Jimmy but you just don’t feel like it works. There aren’t enough scenes of them actually being pals so it feels like they low key just don’t like each other. Even by the very end of the film one of the brothers tries to run away with the girl and ditch the other one only to be outsmarted by the guy already being in the car. It’s of course played up as a funny ending but yeah they spend most of the film being at odds with one another. The sequel probably could have fixed this but that’s not really in the cards.

Overall, At the end of the day Double Dragon isn’t a great film but it’s a pretty fun one. It’s a very old school title with a lot of campy action and witty banter. While not all of the film’s humor lands, I’d say that enough of it does. The villain has a classic base and the effects hold up well so you will appreciate the scenery behind him. The world isn’t very well thought out and it’s not super memorable but the film did try being grand here. There’s just enough unique elements about the film to make you want to keep coming back. I dare say there is a good amount of replay value to be found here although a modern remake could likely execute on the game’s premise way better. This could and should be an elite film just based on the game so I need the next one to focus on the fights a whole lot more.

Overall 6/10

Police Story Review

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Now it’s time for a film that I hadn’t heard of before but is apparently very big. The Police Story is a comedic thriller that works really well and I can see why people like it. I definitely had a lot of fun with it and it shows just how much you can do with a fairly small main cast and a plot that’s rather direct. There aren’t a lot of twists and turns here but the film’s fundamentals are on point so there is never an issue on that front.

The movie starts off with police officer Ka-Kui and the rest of the department getting ready to take some villains down. They have an elaborate scheme set up near the beach but unfortunately it doesn’t go too well. After a lot of destruction and mayhem they eventually manage to take down the villains and get them ready for court. It will be difficult though because the villains are as corrupt as they come and without a ton of evidence they may win the trial. So Ka-Kui is told to act as Salina’s bodyguard. She was the main villain’s secretary and so she should know a lot of secrets but of course she won’t want to sell him out. Time to trick the truth out of her but it won’t be easy since she is rather crafty too.

Right off the bat you do need to be prepare for this to be played in a very comedic angle as this is not a serious police drama. That said, I thought it worked really well because the humor is on point. You should be laughing quite a bit during the experience. At times the humor can be rather dark but for the most part it’s more on the slapstick side. Characters get beaten up in funny ways and there are a lot of fun lines as well. It’s mainly a very upbeat film which is why when characters do get really injured you can tell that things are getting serious indeed.

Unfortunately this does mean that Ka-Kui does look pretty bad at times because I do have to count some of the comedic stuff against him. For example Salina decides to prank Ka-Kui in order to make sure he loses the case by acting in a suggestive way while the recorder is on. This plan only works if Ka-Kui fumbles the ball at every corner and of course he does. For example when she offered to go to bed with him he flat out accepted which showed his true colors.

His girlfriend May has a rough time of it throughout the movie because of how thoughtless he can be but this is why she should have left by this point. If Salina wasn’t kidding then he was really ready to betray May at the drop of a hat. That’s not the kind of loyal man that you want by your side. Not by a longshot. Even if it’s played for laughs I would argue that his true colors shown through there and it was a low moment for the guy.

He is a great fighter though and of course the climax does live up to the hype. The fight is so very long and there are a lot of good moves being thrown out. I also appreciated that Salina actually tried to help at several points. She wasn’t just watching as you often see the heroines do in these films. She went out on a limb to help out and it was a great moment. She did this several times during the movie as well.

Salina made for a decent anti hero. You can absolutely see why she doesn’t trust Ka-Kui and why she set him up later on because deception was everywhere. She’s certainly no hero but Salina was caught up in a tricky place from the jump. If she crosses the villains then they’ll probably bump her off but if she crosses the heroes then they might put her in jail for any number of reasons. She really has to be careful here.

I really liked the police’s way of handling this in at least one scene to sow distrust among the villains. They kept her in the interrogation room for an extra minute but didn’t actually say anything. So when the villains confronted her later on and she said that nothing happened, it obviously makes her look very suspicious.

As I said it’s a fairly small main cast. Salina, May, and Ka-Kui are really the only main characters. Sure you have the main gangster, the lawyer, and Ka-Kui’s two bosses but they don’t actually do a whole lot beyond that. It’s part of what helps the film’s pacing flow so well as a lot of the film is just about Ka-Kui trying to be a big bodyguard and then a ton of fight scenes. The writing is good here and we even got a court case which was a lot of fun.

In fact, outside of the climax that would be the biggest highlight of the movie. I liked just how desperate the prosecutor kept getting as he tried to discredit Ka-Kui. Fortunately Ka-Kui always had a good comeback until the audio tape did him in but he was holding his own up until that point. I always like a court scene, whether it is serious or sometimes played for laughs. It’s still a court scene either way.

One thing that seals the deal here is the ending of the film. For a little while you’re getting worried that things will end on a bit of a whimper after an incredible climax. Instead that wasn’t to be and Ka-Kui comes up with one last initiative. The combo is great and the film was really good with the sound effects the whole time so this wasn’t a surprise when you felt the blows.

Finally, the film had an excellent soundtrack. The music choices were bold and popped out at you for every scene. This is how I would want more films to sound like because a lot of films tend to be more generic without many big tunes in them. This one sounded like an anime almost with how colorful the themes were and they really set the mood. It was a brilliant choice by the composer to make this film stand out even more.

Overall, Police Story is one of the funnier films that I’ve seen in a minute. It probably would have ended up being really solid even if there wasn’t action although obviously every film is better with some fighting in it. The action scenes are top notch just like the comedic ones so you’ve got a full mix here. I have a hard time picturing any of the sequels or remake matching up to this one in any way but I’d be curious to see how those turn out. This one really tackles everything, even the classic themes of betrayal and having to go against the agency. You don’t always get the complete package like that.

Overall 8/10

The Misfit of Demon King Academy Review

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It’s time to check out a series where the main character might be more popular than the actual show. That’s a bit of a bold thing to say of course but I feel like this guy gets mentioned all the time. The series is a lot of fun though. I think it did leave a lot of meat on the bone with the premise though since the next season is going to be pretty different based on how this one concludes. I would have stretched out the plot for another season at least but either way this is a great all around title.

The series begins by introducing us to a guy named Anos. He protects a fellow student Misha from bullies one day but then exclaims that he is actually the legendary Demon King that everyone worships. See, the characters may look like humans but the series takes place in a demon society. Everyone knows that the king is supposed to eventually revive but for some reason history appears to have been overwritten and everyone thinks the king’s name is actually Avos. Anos will have to prove himself somehow but in the meantime he must attend school like a normal person. He also ended up being branded as a “Misfit” due to the way the scanner processed his data. A bit odd since he’s the most powerful one there but that’s just how it goes sometimes. Can he uncover the mysteries unfolding around him?

One of the enjoyable aspects of the series is really just the extent to which Anos is confident at all times. The guy is extremely powerful to the point where he can almost literally defeat his opponents with a wave. He destroys someone’s fire spell just by breathing out and his physical abilities allow him to endure any blow. Anos can even come back from the dead at will and has perfect immortality. Now you also have to consider that this is all while the majority of his power is still sealed away. Anos is rarely in danger in this show so you’re not watching it to see him lose.

It’s more like One Punch Man where the fun is in the humor all around him. In one way Anos even has a big edge over Saitama which is that he has much more of a personality. Anos is strong and he knows it so the guy walks around with the confidence of knowing that he is the best. It’s just one of those facts that the others have to accept. He can almost be a bit oblivious about this as well as he doesn’t understand why others don’t recognize him as the strongest. As the series goes on we even see that he’s rather nice for a demon king and is always looking out for others.

It may sound cheesy to hear that the most invincible demon of all is also the most heroic one but on the other hand if he was a villain then it’s not like the world would stand a chance anyway. So it’s definitely a power fantasy type show here but the show holds nothing back and embraces this which makes it work. A show like this will need to still be strong all around to make it work and that’s not a problem here. I enjoyed the cast, the humor is on point, and the fight scenes are really strong when they happen.

I’ve already talked about Anos a lot but to sum it up he is a great main character. He’s a good guy who always tries to do the right thing and doesn’t let anyone impose their values on him. He’s always ready to lecture the other students on what it means to be a true demon king and the guy doesn’t waver. He takes everything in stride and that’s great. No panicking, no second guessing himself. Anos has already had any possible character arcs off screen so you’re looking at a hero in his prime.

The main heroine here is Misha. You can make a case for Sasha, but Misha is introduced first and I would say has a bigger role. She can be rather timid and doesn’t stick up for herself all that much. After meeting Anos she definitely starts to improve there though. Misha has a rather sad backstory and has been through a lot so you can see how she went down that path. I’m still not the biggest fan though as I tend to gravitate more towards the confident characters but she does earn points for stepping up to fight and help as needed. Ultimately she’s not bad and I expect she will continue to improve in the future.

Sasha is definitely a character that is more fun but also makes more mistakes. She’s like a roller coaster going up and down while Misha is someone who is very consistent. Sasha starts off great, gets on your nerves towards the middle of the series, and then bounces back again. Ultimately she has a lot of twists and by the end I can at least understand her choices. They weren’t the best and on the record I do think she should have found another way. Especially when….you’ve got an invincible demon king by your side who seems to have every power under the Sun. Just ask him for help. Seriously that’s all she needed to do and we would have skipped a whole lot of drama.

That’s why near the end it is satisfying to see her and Misha finally trust Anos no matter what and this helps during the climax. The guy has performed so many miracles that I feel like you have to be on his side by the end. There should be no room for doubt and you just keep following him to the end. It’s also the safest place to be…most of the time. More on that later.

Anos’ parents also show up which is rather nice. A lot of the time in these shows you won’t see the parents almost at all but they actually stay relevant the whole way through here. Anos has a good relationship with them and they take all of the twists and supernatural elements in stride. When he grows up in under a week from being a baby they just get excited at how fast he grew. When he ends up being the strongest most popular kid at school they’re still just happy for him. They still act like normal parents in cooking food and hanging out with him/building swords and it’s a surprisingly very wholesome plot. Naturally when they get injured you’d best believe Anos is going to be causing some major damage.

Then you have Lay who is one of the best characters without a doubt. The guy is a super skilled swordsman with a ton of confidence and the only one who can give Anos a fun fight in the kingdom. Sure the guy is still outmatched but at least he fights hard and is considerably more talented than most. The guy is a bit of an enigma as he shows up out of the blue and seems a little mysterious. The guy fits right in with the cast though and also has a lot of confidence of his own. He doesn’t fall into the social traps the other characters try to get him into and just cares about getting stronger. A solid motivation I would always say.

Emilia is the teacher for a while but she’s definitely more of a passive villain as she believes in the class system. The show has a bit of a subplot there where the demons are divided into different ranks based on power, family heritage, etc. Anos couldn’t care less about this though and same for Lay so as they continue to show off with their powerful deeds more people start coming around to this line of thinking. It’s nice that Anos is performing such a benefit to society!

The hero Kanon appears several times in the flashbacks as someone who worked with Anos in order to make the world peaceful. Anos is the one who came up with a way to stop the war between humans and demons and then Kanon helped him execute this. Kanon feels a little naive though and definitely lacks Anos’ power so things get a bit dicey for him but I did like the guy through and through. He’s someone that you can count on to do the right thing.

Then we have a villain who was actually really powerful in Eugo. This was the god of time and as you would expect that means he can actually fight someone like Anos. Perhaps he is still not a complete match but he would make sure that Anos at least had to use his abilities for real this time. I liked the guy’s design a lot too and against just about anyone else his time hax would have likely dealt big damage.

I didn’t care much for the demon generals like Ivis and friends because they all get mind controlled incredibly easy so you shake your head when they’re around. Anos really didn’t have the best followers if you ask me. I suppose they can still be good teachers at the school if needed but that’s about it. Put it this way, if Anos is ever in danger then these guys won’t be strong enough to help anyway. It’s rough but that’s just the facts of the matter here.

Avos was also a powerful fighter. He is someone who is always in the background during the pre arc around the school and then starts making his move during the underwater arc leading up to the climax. He has a good design and can actually fight which goes a long way. Definitely a worthy foe to end the adventure with, certainly more than the evil humans from the water arc who felt desperate the whole time. The water arc was fun with the fights but you were just waiting for Anos to end everyone as opposed to the climax where Anos was fighting for the world in a high stakes battle.

Now while I thought the show was great, it’s not devoid of issues. One of them for me is how despite Anos’ super powers he does let his friends and family get injured at times. I’m not saying he needs to be omnipotent but with his level of ability that should not be happening. It’s why One Punch Man tries to stay very light because if anyone seriously gets injured then you have to have a hard look at the lead and why he didn’t do anything about it. Saitama can get away with goofing off because he always makes it in time. Likewise you give Anos a lot of slack for being slow to the scene when he saves the day but there are times where he doesn’t make it in time.

A big example of this is him telling Misha to go take down a villain near the end of the series but then he just overwhelms her and stabs Misha a bunch until she’s basically dead. Anos eventually shows up to save the day but it doesn’t feel right because he allowed that to happen. He should have put a stop to that way sooner and then there would not have been any problems. Likewise letting his guard down enough for his Mom to be attacked by one of the vengeful villains was also sloppy. When you have a hero who is this broken with a million abilities then any time he doesn’t make it in time feels sketchy. This is something Solo Leveling did really well as the MC was always everywhere using his broken abilities to keep his family safe at all times.

My only other issue with the series is more of a narrative choice. It’s not bad, but as I mentioned before I feel like the plot just ends a little too soon. So a lot of the fun here is in seeing Anos stroll around campus like he owns the place (Because he basically does) but everyone scoffs at him and tries to put him in his place. People don’t know that he is the demon king and that makes for a lot of fun scenarios. By the end of the season this plot can no longer be used which means that the dynamic will be way different. Sure there may be some characters who deny reality but they will be the exceptions rather than the rule. Another season of Anos being the misfit would have been great because there are so many other fun scenarios they could have done with this.

Have him gradually get more and more people to believe him. I’m sure season 2 will still be fun of course and I look forward to what they will do next but I just enjoyed the premise so much. I guess we’ll see if they bring in new fighters who can give Anos a challenge, or more likely he’ll get some new teammates. When Anos sandbags long enough sometimes the villains do actually start to land some hits or put up a good fight. This season had several fights where he did come close to at least a temporary death even if he would regenerate later on. It just takes a whole lot of planning on the villains’ part and also some luck if we’re being honest. If Anos ever goes all out from the start then they don’t stand a chance.

In terms of the soundtrack I would say the show is in the middle. See, the opening and the ending are both great. Easily the highlights of the soundtrack and they have a lot of replay value. The songs are even used during some of the battle scenes which is a lot of fun. However, the themes within the episode aren’t very memorable at all and I would say are probably a little sub par. So enjoy the lyrical tunes but you probably won’t remember the rest of the ost much.

I thought the animation was really sharp. You get a good amount of movement here and a lot of bright attacks. When the show goes into its action phase the anime is able to keep up and that results in some pretty hype moments. The show always looks very modern and I didn’t feel like there were any times where it looked bad. The aesthetic works well for the vibe the show is going for and so you should be very satisfied here.

At its core one last reason why the show is great is because of its replay value. The humor lands so well that you definitely enjoy rewatching some scenes. The dialogue is absolutely on point and while I would never go as far as to say it beats the action scenes, it supports them extremely well. Every time Anos starts a sentence off with “Did you really think…” you know that he’s about to flex on someone yet again. It’s why I included extra images here so you can see some of the variations. It’s part of why this guy is such a great main character. The humor/action blend here is balanced just right so there is always something to enjoy. Mix that in with the fact that the series is really good about avoiding fanservice and you’ve got something that is also easy to recommend to just about anyone.

The show does have some violence to be sure but I’d say it’s never excessive. The two most brutal moments are likely when Anos murders one guy over and over again and then when Misha gets stabbed to death. The former is certainly more violent but because it’s played off as dark humor to an extent you won’t find it as twisted. Still really dark to be sure though. The second isn’t as violent but because you really thought Anos should have protected her and because she’s so defenseless there then it hits a bit harder. On the whole the show is not one that I would say is hard to watch though and is still tame by and large.

There are also other supporting characters I didn’t really talk about much earlier but in general the cast is still on the smaller side for now. I expect we will continue to get new characters from within the school and outside of it. This is the kind of series with enough world building to be a really long franchise so adding more characters definitely makes a lot of sense with that.

Overall, The Misfit of Demon King Academy is definitely a great show. The anime is off to a powerful start right out of the gate and we’ll see if it can keep this up now that the whole status quo will be way different. I’m confident that as long as the writing stays this good there shouldn’t be any problems though. Anos may not be able to surprise everyone anymore like when he entered the underwater battle to save the day but you can probably still work around that with new kingdoms and such. Anos can continue to spread his wise teachings across the land and beat up anyone who gets in his way. That’s the way to go.

Overall 8/10