The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim Review

Posted on April 28, 2025 by dreager1

This film had me shellshocked from start to finish. A Lord of the Rings film with good characters? A film that actually had an interesting story and good graphics? Even cool setup for the actual films to mess up later? What??? If you told me this was not a Lord of the Rings film initially but converted in post I would believe you because it is legions better than the previous films. Now it still does make its share of mistakes like some unfortunate animal violence but the difference is still night and day.

The movie starts off by introducing us to Hera who is the princess to the mighty Rohan kingdom. This kingdom is ruled by the mighty king Helm and his two sons Haleth and Hama are each formidable as well. These 4 members of royalty all have the blood of the gods within them which allows them to fight with superhuman strength and stamina. Helm has laid waste to entire armies in the past. Well, not everyone is happy about this and a rival province wants to have Hera married to Wulf to unite these kingdoms. They were childhood friends once but Hera points out that they are only friends. Wulf’s father dies in one blow to Helm when they fight and now Wulf has sworn revenge. He will destroy the entire kingdom. Can they stop him?

Right away I have to give major credit to the animation which is quite excellent. In particular Hera’s red hair really stands out by being several shades brighter than any other object in the entire film. She radiates main character energy the whole time and definitely does well as the lead. The battles look good as well and so this is a film that looks way better than I ever would have assumed. This animation would stay consistent throughout the movie. While the soundtrack may have been more forgettable, the animation more than makes up for this.

As I mentioned before, the film also isn’t a total bore fest like the live action films. I think in large part this also comes down to the animation because the film actually looks good unlike the others which all take place in dreary areas with no color. Everyone sounds boring in those films and the characters have no passion. There is nothing like that here as we have a fairly large cast that all have interesting personalities. The only real negative here is the animal violence which is unfortunately significant enough to notch the film down 2 stars.

Whenever you see a film that takes place in an old school fantasy land you can unfortunately assume that there will be casualties. In this case that means a few of the giant elephants running around. These beasts have a whole lot of power but are mainly still terrorized by everyone else. One is eaten whole by another monster which was quite brutal and two of them take blows to the face as one is stabbed to death. I definitely would have preferred for these beasts to not have been in the film at all. That would have been my preference at the very least. You could show the abilities of the various characters in other ways.

I will say that this is the first film in the series where the superhuman fighters actually feel strong. Yes, we know that several of the creature races are stronger than the others but in the live action films they all look like humans. Here we see Helm going toe to toe with a giant orc and you can feel his power. Likewise when he was taking down numerous foes in his warrior’s madness form. Those were impressive moments and likewise his two sons showed that they had far more power than the average fighter. It’s little elements like this which also made the movie more fun.

Hera is far more likable than Bilbo and Frodo. She knows what it takes to lead a country and never gives up. She comes out with plan after plan and also knows how to fight. Just because Hera was not picked to lead the country doesn’t mean that she slacked off on training. If anything she was glad not to have to rule the kingdom because this way she had her freedom. She didn’t agree to an arranged marriage or act docile at all throughout the movie. She kept on fighting and was only willing to make concessions to save her people. You couldn’t ask for a much better character than that. She may have been a little too curious at times and got the characters into trouble at times but that’s what happens when you’re an adventurer.

Her main defender was Olwyn, a powerful shield bearer from the past. Olwyn looks really solid here as she holds her own against the villains and comes in clutch to help Hera. This is the kind of fighter that you want on your side. She was still powerful even after decades of fighting which is not something that you can say for most characters. She was just in a league of her own and had a whole lot of confidence about her.

Meanwhile Haleth and Hama were also really solid. Haleth was always careful to look out for his sister and seemed to be a very reasonable fighter. He was the first to notice that they didn’t have as many soldiers as expected before the big battle and was the only one to take down one of the elephants in one on one combat. It’s a shame the way that he went out but it makes sense that the villains would use cheap tricks. In one on one combat none of the villains would have been close to his level. Likewise Hama was a great fighter although he seemed to be more of a long range specialist compared to his brother. Ultimately not investing in a stronger horse came back to hurt him but he never showed any fear in front of the enemy.

Helm was the most powerful character in the film and I appreciated that the film didn’t try to make him some faultless king. He had his issues like not listening to others and being quick to anger. The events of the film could have been way different if he had less pride and would listen to wise counsel. Of course this is likely also how he became King since you need a very strong will to pull that off. All in all I liked him. Yes he could be quite mean all the time but in his own way he was looking after the kingdom. The fact that he took out so many enemies amidst the freezing cold was really quite the feat. I dare say he would have finished the whole army if not for Hera’s rare misstep.

Frealaf was one character who suffered from Helm’s mistimed outburst. The guy was real loyal and having him around could have really changed the tide of battle. Perhaps they would have still lost as it wasn’t a huge squad but he was shown to be quite skilled and versatile with different weapons. I appreciated that his loyalty to the king and country were completely unaverred even after basically being told that he was useless. He had the mental fortitude of a strong warrior.

As for the villains, I can’t say as much for them. Wulf only does well in the film because of sheer numbers. It is made clear time and time again that they need dozens more men on their side to equal the fighting prowess of the heroes. Wulf basically loses every fight that he is in. He can’t defeat Hera in a straight fight, let alone someone like Helm or his two sons. He was struggling heavily against Olwyn as well. Wulf comes off as super whiny throughout the movie. You have to remember that his whole swearing revenge thing came out of a fair fight in which his father lost. There were no underhanded moves or anything of the sort. How are you going to be upset when you lose a fair fight like that?

Meanwhile he was expecting Hera to marry him because they were friends when they were kids? Nah that’s going far as well and even when they were kids he lost control of himself rather quickly. I ended up not liking Wulf pretty much at all when initially I thought he was going to be a really interesting villain. He services the plot well but that’s really all I can say for him. The guy also gets lucky on more than one occasion.

His general Targg was definitely wasted on such a man. Targg actually had good plans and words of wisdom. If Wulf had listened to him then he would have won the film several times over. Targg did look rather dumb in his last scene but in every moment before then he had looked good. It’s clear why he was well respected as a top general. The guy earned his station and ultimately just let his guard down a bit too soon.

That’s quite a lot of characters to develop in this film and so for a change I can say that the film properly utilized its long runtime. This was a movie that really needed the two hours and used it wisely. The film had a solid start, great setup, epic battles, and a satisfying climax. Like I said before, this doesn’t sound like a Lord of the Rings film. I was very impressed and I can say now that it’s time for more animated movies like this. Forget Bilbo, Frodo, Gandalf, and the rest of the realms. Lets do more prequels back when you had the age of the gods and more big fights like this.

Overall, This was a rather epic film. I can finally see why people like these classic war type movies. Now granted, for now I see this as an exception to the rule but what an exception it was. Honestly it would have been awesome if retroactively they made Hera the one to take down Sauron at the start of the first film. We did already have a cool twist with the name of the stronghold though so I can be satisfied with that. Yes, I highly recommend this to anyone looking for a solid fantasy film. It’ll really surprise you just how good this movie can get.

Overall 6/10

The Secret of NIMH Review

Posted on April 20, 2025 by dreager1

It’s time for a pretty well known animated film. It actually took me a little while to check this one out but I’ve finally done it. Ultimately it’s a good movie, but I didn’t find it to be as much of an all star as I usually hear. I dunno it felt a bit uneventful might be the best way to put it. It didn’t make any wrong decisions or have any big issues. It just wasn’t quite as engaging as some of the other animated movies that I’ve seen recently. I suppose that’s just how it goes sometimes though and the film is fairly short as it’s under an hour and a half so it never drags on. I do think they could have made this into a franchise if they wanted to and maybe that would have improved this one’s stocks retroactively. Not like it’s a competition though, as long as it’s a good movie that’s what counts.

The film starts off with a mouse named Brisby finding out that her son has pneumonia. It’s a pretty serious case of it too. This is bad timing because the mice need to vacate their homes since it’s plowing season. The pesky humans are going to be destroying everything as always but it’s not really safe to transport the kid right now. Fortunately she runs into a nice bird named Jeremy who may be a bit of a klutz but he means well. He’ll take her to see the wise Great Owl and then to meet the Rats who may be able to help with their high tech. Will they help her though?

I can say right now that it’s really lucky for Brisby that her late husband was such an important man. In pretty much every encounter, the other person is dismissive until they find out the connection. The Great Owl? “You’re all doomed”…”Oh you were Jonathan’s wife? Sure we can find a solution, go ask the rats”. She goes to the rats. “Get lost mouse!” “Oh you’re Jonathan’s wife? Sure we’ll go in and save the day”. It really shows how much clout Jonathan got as a proud warrior and a fine man. He managed to help protect his family even past death.

I also give a lot of credit to Brisby of course for going on this dangerous quest. Most of these animals are all several times bigger and stronger than her. They could eat her in an instant but she will go through any trial in order to save her kid. Brisby takes a pretty positive outlook on life and definitely sees the glass as half full. She’s also a quick thinker and will usually have an idea when in a pinch. Her quick reflexes definitely came in clutch when a rat monster randomly tried to murder her when she first entered the forest looking for Nicodemus. Did I mention how mean every character is? There is really a culture of just looking out for yourself here.

Meanwhile Jeremy is just plain likable. He comes in clutch once in a while but also gets himself into trouble constantly. Nearly chokes on different pieces of fabric twice. Without his flying ability Brisby wouldn’t have even been in position to save the day so we have to give good credit there. His romance scene at the end is super cheesy but I guess the film really wanted to give him a super happy ending. He adds a lot of the humor to the film so his presence was definitely appreciated.

The Great Owl didn’t live up to his hype to be honest so not much to say about that guy. Yeah he gave some direction but considering how much hype he got at first, I was just expecting more. At least we finally got a nice character in Justin. The guy has a good attitude about him and likes making jokes. He is stuck with some poor company though. Jenner is one of those guys. A classic power hungry villain but I was glad to see him because this ensured some action would be coming out way. The guy didn’t disappoint. Sometimes it’s nice to have what I’d call a basic villain here.

He wants power and when he sees an opening he takes it. It’s an effective piece of motivation. Interestingly, this also isn’t one of those “Animals can talk and do science just because” kind of films. We actually get a rather detailed backstory similar to TMNT about how they were mutated and this started the whole rat society. It’s pretty interesting and it’s also rare for humans to actually be getting a big role like this. Their presence is felt the whole time even in the meanwhile scenes are they are preparing to destroy the area.

The animation is unsurprisingly really good. The characters are very expressive the whole time and the movements go by really quickly. It’s this kind of hand drawn animation that I always miss as the years go by. It was really able to do so much here and the film holds up incredibly well. If you showed me a film with an alternate style I doubt it would be able to say the same, at least not to this degree. We even get some action scenes and energy effects thanks to the electricity. The music is more of a non factor but they can’t all be standouts there I suppose. Nothing immersion breaking or anything like that, it’s just that none of the tracks will stay in your head.

Overall, The Secret of NIMH is a fun movie. It has some danger throughout and the adventure is a good one. I think going into it without any knowledge of its big reputation will probably help you out a bit. Regardless it is well crafted. It may not have the same level of energy as some of the other big titles but being enjoyable is the most important part here. Thanks in part to the short length and of course the quality writing, there is a lot of replay value to be had here. There’s no reason to be skipping out on this one so just give it a whirl and see what you think.

Overall 6/10

Princess Arete Review

Posted on April 13, 2025 by dreager1

Princess Arete is definitely a unique title. It’s sort of like what would happen if you had an adventure film where the main heroine herself was actually captured for almost all of it. It’s definitely a way to stand out but at the same time I found the film to be a little uneventful at times as a result of this. Dare I say it approached being boring at times? I would say it’s a film that just focuses too much on set up for an adventure that never happens and you don’t have any loud characters to run in and shake things up. This could have used a Shonen lead type of character.

The movie first introduces us to Princess Arete whose life has been completely restrained by her father the king. He keeps her inside a tower and doesn’t let her leave the castle grounds. Instead she just has to wait as many suitors keep on visiting her over and over again. She has no interest in any of them and these guys all do seem pretty desperate for power. It might just be the animation style but she also just looks like a total kid next to all of these guys. It’s only natural that she won’t be interested. Well, unfortunately a wizard named Boax shows up and uses his magic to hypnotize Arete and the King so that he can marry her. He then takes her and locks her up in another tower so that she live up to the prophecy. Can she snap the mind control and get out of there?

It’s a bit of a long summary but I wasn’t really sure exactly where I should stop. In a way you could say this is where the main story begins but at the same time this is after a decent amount of time in the film has elapsed. You can also see why the whole thing is a bit annoying because Arete isn’t really getting to do much here. We do see that she is really interested in the outside world and so that’s nice but she wasn’t able to fight for her freedom there anyway. In a world of magic you’d think the King would have some defensive measures but the world seems to mostly be normal so maybe I can give him a slight pass.

I didn’t think the main villain’s plan made a whole lot of sense though. So the prophecy states that Arete will somehow undo Boax’s complete immortality so he locks her up to prevent that. At the same time we see that he is really lonely and is hoping to find another wizard. Maybe he wouldn’t be so lonely if he wasn’t immortal? In a way that’s what really makes it worse and of course he is also evil by hoarding the water supply. If he had friends then they could help him find more magicians.

Basically it doesn’t seem like Boax really thought anything through. He’s not a particularly interesting villain and the whole time you will be shaking your head at the guy. Meanwhile for Arete, I can’t say I was very impressed with her either. Yeah she made one attempt to escape the tower but I would have liked to have seen her be way more proactive. Honestly when the first guy broke in through the window, she should have knocked him out or tricked him and then used his escape method. Getting mind controlled isn’t totally her fault I suppose but it was annoying to see her basically be a zombie for a while there. It’s only in the climax where she gets to really help out.

There isn’t really much of a supporting cast to back her up either. Yeah you have the King from the beginning but considering that he is pushing for arranged marriages, he’s not the best guy. You have Ample who helps out with a lot of the exposition and letting Arete know the main facts. Not a bad character but not a very interesting one either. Nothing wrong with the writing either, there just weren’t any standout characters and even the designs were rather bland.

The animation’s okay. The colors are fairly washed out so the whole product ends up looking rather dated but the movement is good. The backgrounds aren’t bad and of course it’s just always nice to see things that are hand drawn. Meanwhile the soundtrack is more forgettable but on the whole the technicals aren’t bad. The whole thing just doesn’t pop out. It feels like the kind of film you my see a character watching in another movie. I was so ready for things to happen that for a minute there I was actually hoping Arete would go on the long quest to find the ruby that Boax asked for.

For a second there, the film was actually teasing you with the idea of a true adventure and I was all for it. This is what I’ve been ready for! Instead she turned back to accomplish her true mission and yeah that was the right call but it wasn’t the most entertaining one. I could criticize Boax further on why he would even suggest she go on such a mission when the hypnosis could break at any moment but perhaps nobody had ever broken it before so he didn’t see any potential risks in that.

Overall, Princess Arete feels like a film that is really missing a middle act. It could have used another 30 minutes where we see Arete escaping at some point and having a full adventure before being recaptured. I think that would have gone a long way to really making her a fun heroine and also livening up the film a bit. There just isn’t a whole lot of fun times for the film here and it feels too much like an ancient fantasy tale without the adventure. If you want to check out a more interesting anime title, you should watch Bleach instead. All of those films go hard!

Overall 5/10

The Return of the King Review

Posted on February 1, 2025 by dreager1

Lord of the Rings is one of those series that never has a whole lot of luck with its movies. In fairness you can say that it doesn’t really have much luck in any form of media. The only exception are the video games which are actually pretty decent. This movie does not end the trend as it ends up feeling incredibly drawn out even though it is not the longest film in the series by a long shot. Get ready for a lot of recycled music tracks.

The movie starts in the future with an old Bilbo Baggins being told the story of Frodo and pals. This will be done through music as the story jumps back and forth but Bilbo can hardly even say awake for all of this. So then they talk about the Hobbit and try again to go through the Lord of the Rings story. Definitely not the best attempt at it if I’m being honest here. Lets go right into my biggest problem with the story though. Are you ready for this? It’s the annoying songs that pop up and have absolutely no variety. You’re going to hear the same tunes over and over again.

Like I said before, it’s almost impressive just how repetitive it can be. By the halfway point of the film you’ll be wincing every time the same song shows up. You just know that you’re going to be in for another long sequence. It would help if the songs were actually good but of course I don’t think anyone was expecting that. The idea of a bard singing about the glories of war and the legendary victory makes sense in concept, but the execution was never going to be there. It’s just not the kind of song that would really take a film to the next level.

The animation isn’t as weird as in the last film but I still can’t say that it looks good either. I would say it gets by as a cookie cutter type of cartoon you might have seen on TV in passing when trying to get to the channel you were aiming for. I don’t want to go too hard on the animation though because by default it’s probably the best part of the film. So credit where credit is due because it’s not like they had a whole lot to work with.

As always Gandalf just doesn’t look all that good here. He’s sending these characters on absolutely outrageous quests because he doesn’t have the willpower needed to handle the ring on his own. I didn’t really go on about the story much did I? Well basically Frodo and his best friend have to deliver a cursed ring into the legendary fires by Sauron’s castle. If they can do this, the ring can finally be taken out of the equation and the dark lord will lose a lot of his power. The heroes will have finally conquered evil once and for all. It’s a pretty good deal and at this point it’s not like they have many other options either. Every other character refuses to associate with the ring. Its corrosive nature is too much for them.

The ring essentially tries to break your will at all times as it corrupts you into turning to the darkness. It’s a serious problem and so on one hand you can say it’s good that the characters know their limits. At the same time, it’s still pretty annoying to see the whole time because these “heroes” should do better. Gandalf especially since he is supposed to be such a powerful sorcerer.

I think the most ironic part about all of this is that Frodo is heralded as being the guy with incredible willpower. The songs are all about him and how he saved the world and yet in the actual movie he spends most of his screentime bending to the ring’s will. Like what happened here? He’s supposed to be the one in control the whole time, not just allowing himself to get absolutely crushed at each station. No matter how you slice it, this was a rough path for him. In fact, Frodo straight up lost and Gollum had to take the guy out. Otherwise Frodo was going to doom the planet.

I never liked Frodo and this film just makes me dislike him even more. His friend did all of the hard work throughout the movie and never got the proper credit that he deserved. He was able to resist the ring through good ole fashioned common sense. Seriously he mentioned that this was all that he needed to resist its effects. He made it look and sound so easy while Frodo was absolutely getting dominated the whole time.

Meanwhile we still have the war and everything but it’s not all that interesting. You’ll be paying more attention to the villains having fun singing songs as they prepare for battle. Classic musical rules apply which means that everybody bursts into singing at the drop of a hat. I suppose it was a decently catchy song…compared to the usual Lord of the Rings tunes.

Now I can at least say this was better than the live action version. It’s not saying much but hey that’s a slight start. It’s just that the original story is already so flawed that any adaption will be doomed as well unless it takes significant liberties. That would be the best way and I don’t think most titles would feel brave enough to do that since the main story is well acclaimed. At least for me though, I don’t see any other way out. The films need to try something super different and then maybe…just maybe the Lord of the Rings can be interesting.

Okay let me squeeze out one more positive for the film. I did like one of Sauron’s top lieutenants. He was some kind of embodiment of death and so he talked a really big game the whole time. Something about how he can’t be destroyed and he will always return. It was an impressive amount of tough talk so I could really respect that. It is obviously all talk but I’ll take my cool points where I can get them. Make this guy the main villain and Frodo’s best friend as the lead and maybe we would have some potential as a film. The key is just to make sure the movie isn’t super boring this time.

Overall, The Return of the King is a film that I would recommend skipping. It somehow pulls off the impossible by making the film fairly short but still being as dragged out as all the others. That should not even be remotely possible and yet the film pulled it off. Really makes you think right? Sauron doesn’t even get to do anything here even if he would have just ben getting wrecked anyway. Let me at least see this legendary figure of evil in the present when he wasn’t getting one shot by the random fighter. If you were thinking about watching this, check out Star Wars instead.

Overall 4/10

Tower of God Season 2 Review

Posted on January 26, 2025 by dreager1

We had to wait a long time for Tower of God to make its big return so everyone was eager to see just how good it would look. Well, unfortunately the series isn’t one of the more big budget ones to put it mildly. The story is a 10/10 though so the series was always going to be great unless they changed something about the plot. Fortunately the cuts weren’t all that bad here. Some stuff is missing to be sure but all in all I thought they did an impressive job with it. It’s no season 1 but this show was definitely a lot of fun.

The story takes place a long time after season 1. Our new main character is Wangnan who is trying to climb up the tower but he has been having a hard time so far. He owes a lot of money to the local Yakuza so this is his last chance. There are a scary batch of recruits this time around too including the mysterious Viole who is the latest Slayer candidate. Since he is sponsored directly by FUG, getting on his bad side would not be a good idea. As luck would have it, they are placed on the same team along with a variety of other colorful characters. Will they be able to succeed or are they all doomed to die? In the meantime, the old characters like Khun are still making their moves to climb the tower and get justice for Baam.

There is a lot going on here as you would expect since this was always a very dialogue heavy series with a lot of storylines going on. This one adds a whole lot of characters to the existing roster which was already quite sizable. There is definitely a lot to keep up with here and the story has to move fast so don’t expect to have too many moments to relax and digest what just happened. Naturally I tend to enjoy fast pacing so that was pretty fun. I’d say it is still enough where you can understand what is going on even without reading the original manhua. It makes things easier for sure though.

So the story is super compelling as always and that’s why I say the series was destined for greatness. As for the animation, it’s not bad. It went for a more traditional look than the first season and while I think that can be good to show off the higher power levels, it really isn’t taken to the fullest. This animation style feels very familiar after all but it doesn’t have the same budget that bigger titles have. So as a result the fights aren’t super fluid or tend to have a lot of movement. At the very end of the season we get some quick cuts but that’s about it. The big punch with Viole and Urek is still a lot of fun even if the animation isn’t super high tier or anything though. I guess it’s another moment where I would give the story itself the most credit.

Fortunately the soundtrack is still really good like in season 1. There are a lot of reused tracks but they still age well. The cliffhanger theme when Urek is fighting Viole is definitely the best one. The openings/endings aren’t as catchy as season 1’s were but they are still good. I’ve listened to them a whole lot and at this point I’m used to them but I still couldn’t say that they are elite or really stand out. They do work better when you ignore the images though. The first opening’s is still criminally low budget. There were some artistic ideas there but they failed.

The decision to make this season 2 cours was definitely a really good one because of how much content there was to adapt. They will probably need 4 cours in order to adapt the Hell Train arc properly but we’ll see how that goes. Hopefully the wait isn’t super long for the next season because it’s rough to have to wait for so long each time. The next arc is my personal favorite of the series after all so I need it right away!

Wangnan makes for a pretty fun main character and I would say he’s a lot more fun than Baam from the first season. That kid was nice enough but Wangnan has more of a personality. He has dreams and aspirations and works hard to make them come true. He may not be the most powerful fighter in the tower but he doesn’t need to be. He just needs good allies and gets some decent feats as the season goes on. He’s more of a comedic lead but that doesn’t stop him from getting serious moments as well. He does what he needs to in order to go higher in the tower.

Miseng is one of the main party members but she can’t really fight much which puts her in a tough spot. The tower is a cruel place and trying to climb it without being able to fight is a really terrible idea. I feel bad for her of course but cmon now. This is just not going to work. She just ends up holding the team back the whole time and since she knows it, this causes Miseng to make some pretty bad moves the whole time. The whole thing is really just a wash for her and she should probably have gotten kicked out of the exams earlier. It only gets rougher the more you climb up after all.

Then there is Goseng who is in a similar boat as she can’t fight. What’s with all of these civilians trying to climb the tower? It’s just such a bad idea and the series sets up a little romance for her but you can’t imagine it ending in anything other than a tragic way. It’s just not possible to climb while constantly having to protect others. She doesn’t seem to be working on her abilities either so for now she isn’t rising up for me.

Akraptor is the tough guy who seems unhinged at first but has a soft side. Still, this is finally someone who can really fight so I am on board with having him around. He is able to keep his cool and keep the others in line when needed. He also tries to put up a fight against Viole although going for cheap shots against Horyang wasn’t smart with how high the stakes were. The guy adds a little spice to the team dynamic by being someone who can’t 100% be trusted so I appreciated that.

Horyang is another pretty powerful fighter and he’s got a sinister past. Definitely someone to keep an eye on and he gets a big role in the arc as other figures from his past turn up. I think he can be a bit too soft spoken but once his mini arc starts, he did get more serious and pro active. So I would say I hesitantly like him. I would like him to do more in the future though instead of just being dragged around a whole lot. He also needs to not make such a reckless move in leaving the heroes again since that just puts them all in danger.

Yeon is a pretty high ranking individual among the family hierarchy so when she shows up you expect a whole lot out of her. Unfortunately she can’t control her flames which is a classic way to nerf her. She’s not bad but considering how much hype the flames themselves get, it can be annoying to see people blocking them or straight up tanking the blasts. She absolutely needs to improve her abilities and do it quickly. Fortunately for her, Tower of God is one of those titles that doesn’t put a ton of stock on speed so she will still be able to tag speedsters even if it doesn’t make sense. Still, you need more than flames to win in this world because being a one trick pony is a recipe for disaster.

Viole is the power hitter that the team needed so it’s always good to have him around. He also doesn’t live up to the hype as much as you would want in the show version. As the slayer candidate his abilities are supposed to be absolutely legendary and on a whole different level yet he doesn’t look quite as overwhelmingly powerful as you would expect. If anything it just seems like his aura is slightly greater than the others which isn’t the all powerful buff that you would think it is. I would have liked to have seen more out of him.

Even so, it’s clear that he is stronger than the rest of the guys on his team so that’s good. Additionally just the fact that he stood up to Urek even for a moment was impressive since everybody else was chickening out immediately. When you are trying to climb the tower, you sometimes have to have a defining moment where you stand against the strong and this was it. It’s a lesson that the other characters could definitely learn from.

Take Prince for example. He may have looked tough at first as one of the villains but the instant he joined the heroes, the guy lost all his hype. It’s not like we needed another kid type character on the crew either. He doesn’t really contribute much at all except to hold the heroes back so I can’t say that I was a big fan of his either. On the whole you can see why I preferred the team from the season 1 group. I tended to enjoy everybody there while here the team can be hit or miss.

Then of course we have Khun’s team led by the man himself. Khun is solid as always here as he thinks 3 steps ahead and always has a plan. This is around the time he became a full time strategist. In season 1 he was also rather dominant physically but I suppose by this time the opponents are getting stronger. I would like to see him fight more though because I have to assume he’s still stronger than a lot of people. He doesn’t see into every possible contingency nor does he win every battle but on the whole he looks good. Khun is great at adapting to the circumstance and always keeping a confident demeanor up no matter what.

Dan is the new recruit Khun finds who has super speed. Uh oh, we all know how super speed can get kinda dicey when it comes to power levels right? Well, naturally it’s not all that good for Dan and he doesn’t get to show it off as much as I would like. The show does a good job of making him immediately likable though. I thought he was a really well developed character though and somebody who was just fun to root for.

Most of Khun’s other members aren’t all that memorable but there were two others who left an impact. First up is Novik who is one of those strong guys who is always overshadowed by having someone more powerful than him on the team. That has to be rough to know that you are pretty powerful but will never get that elusive #1 spot. Doesn’t feel all that fair right? Well he doesn’t let it get him down. It’s a bit hard to gauge Novik’s strength as well because he’s often either much stronger than his opponent or much weaker. There’s not really much of an in between here.

Then you have Ran who is a lot of fun. The guy is super confident and powerful. He reminds me a lot of Killua from Hunter X Hunter. His smugness is definitely deserved with how easily he dispatches his opponents. I like his fighting style so you could say that everything about the character is great from start to finish. He’s really fun to root for and gets a good amount of screentime. Khun definitely did really well to recruit this guy.

Shibisu has his own team as well which is a mix of new characters and old ones. The guy has really come a long way from being more of a loudmouth to a strategist who is treated a lot like Khun. The first season set up the seeds for this and the payoff was really good. He’s still not really a fighter though so tactics are really how he shines in the battles. If you take that away from him then he will really be in a tough spot here.

One of his new recruits is Vespa who is a strong fighter. Vespa brags a lot about having an awakened form and being the fastest but ends up fighting people who are either faster or who have hax which is unfortunate. I still like the character though. I don’t like Verdi as much because she seems borderline evil. She likes to collect people as puppets and brainwash them. That’s not exactly hero behavior so I don’t know what she is doing with these guys. I guess it was one of those strategic partnerships to look the other way but that isn’t a huge consolation to me. You have to reign that “Anything goes” attitude a little bit or you will become the villains.

Endorsi is also part of the group but she really does whatever she wants. It’s fun to see her absolute freedom though and continues to be one of the more powerful fighters. She gets a lot of hype on this one and also on an intellectual level as she quickly figures out that something is a little off about Viole. I definitely look forward to her continuing to have a pretty big role.

Anaak also gets her own solid fight so her fans should be pleased. Her durability gets a lot of respect and she is a high end fighter as well. For the most part you would expect her to be able to defeat most of the other fighters in each group. She is quick to want to get revenge for Baam which I appreciate. That’s how a real friend does it. Unfortunately I would say Hatz looks far less impressive. I really liked him in season 1 but it’s clear that he has lost to the power creep. Gone are the days where he could fight on par with Anaak. Hatz gets his own sub plot ad everything but he just doesn’t have the edge that he used to which is a shame.

Then on the FUG team we have Refejo at the helm. He’s a rather mysterious guy who seems loyal but is always having a backup plan at the ready. In fairness to the guy, trusting anyone in the Tower of God is a really bad move so I don’t blame him. His suspicions turn out to be correct more often than not. He ends up making for a really good villain and is one of the standout antagonists here. The guy can back up his tough talk really well.

Varagav may be stronger but the guy has less character. We get to see him fight Endorsi but that’s about it. I do like the foreshadowing with Baylord Yama being mentioned though. Beta was a more impressive villain as he really gave Viole a tough fight. The guy was pretty whiny so I won’t say he’s as likable as some of the other villains but the guy made his presence known. He really gave all of the characters a really tough fight throughout.

Another villain is Quaetro but he stops being a threat early on. His fight with Wangnan was a lot of fun though. For the most part the fights in the series tend to be serious so having a little comedic moment once in a while isn’t bad. His partner Chang gets even less to do but does seem to be stronger. Maybe one day we will really get to see him cut loose although it feels like the power creep has already passed him. The series really moves fast when it comes to powers.

That’s not even counting characters who appear but haven’t fought yet. Karaka gets a few appearances to gloat and look tough. He’s a solid villain so I look forward to him getting a role. Then of course we have his master Jinsung who gets even more hype. The kind of guy who doesn’t mind walking into a villain’s base all on his own just to talk smack. Now that’s a good level of confidence that I like to see.

Of course Urek towers above all of those as one of the strongest characters in the whole franchise. The guy loves a good fight and really shows off his power. Definitely someone you will want to see more of and he really steals the show even with a very limited amount of screentime. It will be a while before he does anything again so you better savor the moment while you can. His appearance was like a glimpse into the end game.

Then we have Xia Xia who isn’t the strongest villain but she still finds ways to shake everybody up so I can appreciate that. She is crazy in a very dangerous way with no tactic being out of bounds. I thought she did a good job of playing everybody and while her role isn’t large, it was impactful. She’s almost like the reverse Hwaryun who also trolls everybody constantly. Hwaryun gets more hype though since as a guide her foresight is pretty much unstoppable. She will always be on the path that she needs to be. Granted, it doesn’t stop her from being knocked out but you always assume that she got knocked out at a good time for her or something like that.

Emily is a mysterious figure and most of her scenes had to get cut out for the anime. Not that it changes much since she keeps the mysterious aura either way. I wasn’t crazy about the subplot in regards to her true identity but I did like the idea of a texting app that everybody was using in order to stay ahead. That added a fun wrinkle to the Workshop battle arc and kept all of the characters guessing. The more mind games in Tower of God the better!

Still, any scene with the Traveler would usually be pretty uneventful and dare I say a bit boring. I just didn’t care about the guy and not even the anime adaption would end up fixing that. He doesn’t appear a ton fortunately so that worked out. As one more miscellaneous hero, Rak shows up for the second half and even gets some fights. I would say he is an unfortunate victim of the power creep so don’t expect him to look too overpowering but he gets his share of fun moments. He’s not exactly my favorite character but the guy is super loyal so I really appreciate that.

Somebody like Cassano can learn from that. Cassano is a solid villain but you wonder how far he has thought ahead in his plans. he makes a whole lot of enemies out of pretty much every faction which can’t be a good idea for his long term health. He’s a solid fighter but not one of the top tiers. I guess relative to the average fighter he would be considered near the top though. I think he works as an interesting wild card and just needs at least one more power up.

Then of course we have Rachel who is still a standout character. She’s just an absolute blast and always shakes up the tower. It’s clear to see why she is considered one of the destined ones by the tower itself. She also has the most brutal moments in the series. She doesn’t appear much in the second half but of course you can look forward to seeing a whole lot more out of her down the road.

Overall, Season 2 was definitely a blast. It’s a great show even if it’s not downright elite the way that season 1 was. There is a lot going on here and a lot of plot developments set up for the next saga. Regardless of how the animation ends up looking, the next part should be super elite. Although of course I will be hoping for better animation as well because why not have the full package right? A series like Tower of God absolutely deserves every bit of effort it can get. I definitely recommend this title.

Overall 8/10

The Lord of the Rings (1978) Review

Posted on January 20, 2025 by dreager1

It’s time for another Lord of the Rings title! The series is quite consistent with how sleepy each installment makes you. The plots are overbearing, the pacing is abysmal, the characters are annoying, and ultimately this makes for a very bad combination. When the Lord of the Rings is in your corner then you know quality will be left far behind. While I will put this above the average live action film, it’s still just not good. You would need to drastically retool the story in order to make it successful at this point.

The film starts off by giving us a farewell to Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf has returned to make sure he gives the ring to Frodo. He has to be forced into it but this works and so after a few years Frood is the next one in line to go on an adventure. He has to keep the ring really safe though because it is so alluring and tempting that everybody wants it. Even Frodo begins to fall to its charms as his legs get heavier and heavier. Will he be able to make it to his final destination or will the forces of evil stop him?

You have to always contain a lot of suspense for disbelief for the Lord of the Rings title because the heroes are just so much weaker than the villains. Frodo and the other hobbits for example can’t do much of anything against the villains. They will quickly be picked off an dismantled without a fight if it came down to that. There are a few allies who jump in later to help but the party gets split up most of the time. So Frodo lasting as long as he does is always a bit of a headscratcher.

Meanwhile Gandalf is still the biggest poser in the series. The guy is said to have unimaginable power but admits he would fold before the ring almost immediately. He then gets captured early on in the film and even once he returns, the guy spends a lot of time running instead of just ending the villain legions. I know there are limits to his abilities but the problem is that there seem to be countless limits. He is always on the defensive/back foot here. He does not live up to his prestigious title.

Unfortunately the animation is also pretty rough here. It’s not that bad when it’s just the hobbits running around as the animation is traditional but any time we enter a fight or have the villains on screen, it suddenly becomes very abstract with the colors all being very off putting. It’s not a flattering style for the film to say the least and that’s unfortunate. It makes the film appear way more dated than it already is and it’s not like this is a newer film either. The soundtrack is also basically nonexistent at this point so you don’t even have that to distract you from the repeated scenes and recycled animation. No, you’re stuck by that point.

The film could be surprisingly intense at times with how the characters are stabbed and murdered. The film doesn’t have to hold back so much since it is animated but I don’t think it ever goes too far. So it gets some credit there. The fight scenes are still lacking in choreography but at least we did have some battles. With more likable characters then this could have really been good. Instead we’re stuck with Frodo who seems to complain a whole lot. Perhaps less than Bilbo but Frodo is still not having a good time here for the most part.

Sauron continues to look very uninspired as well. He doesn’t even get a proper opening fight here as he loses the ring during narration as he suffers a humiliating defeat. I will still never be able to take that villain seriously after the way he lost. You wouldn’t see the average minion lose as easily as he did. How can you possibly come back from that? I just don’t think there is any way to do that. Not like the heroes look any more impressive though. On the whole the villains have cooler designs and abilities so it’s easy to see why they are always in the lead but even with that it’s just hard to get very engaged in what’s going on.

At the end of the day I would say that is the film’s biggest problem. Before working on the animation and fights, you need to focus on the plot because that is the most important element for a film. That is where you will either win or lose. You need to have a story that is interesting so the audience can identify with the characters and have a blast. Technically speaking the film has a fairly large cast of characters but the problem is that none of them are able to hold their own scenes at all and so what you really have is just a lot of things happening on screen with no way to really care about the outcomes.

As for how specifically you change this, that’s tough. There is no objective way to make a character likable after all. I’d say maybe a change of scenery and a big change to the writing structure as well. The characters tend to be a bit repetitive and while Gollum is intentional, the rest aren’t. Gollum ends up being one of the most entertaining characters because of how over the top he is but it’s in a very ironic way. I would never be able to say that I actually like him as a character because he doesn’t rank at all. He’s the kind of character who you are waiting for the heroes to bump off. They take some real chances letting him stay as close as he is.

I suppose the whole ring plot in itself is also a problem because it makes the characters look so weak. Gandalf exploding with anger and telling Frodo off because of his own weakness to the ring is just a terrible scene for the guy. Then another one of Frodo’s so called loyal companions has a bout of madness and tries stealing the ring as well. Not exactly the kind of allies you want around you and since this is our only context for the characters, they haven’t earned enough good will to survive such negative scenes.

Overall, The Lord of the Rings is about the same as you would expect. It’s still a rather boring experience which is unfortunate because you can feel the potential. It may not live up to this potential most of the time but it still exists. That is the kind of potential that shines through if you look at the video games because both titles for Gamecube were actually pretty good. That shows that this can work in at least one format and if you can work in one then you can work in all of them. They just need to speed up the pacing and make the characters vastly more interesting. If the films ever do that then it will be a step in the right direction but for now you should skip this one real quick.

Overall 4/10

The Imaginary Review

Posted on January 20, 2025 by dreager1

It’s time for a film about the powers of imagination. It’s a pretty nice film that even has a little more intensity to it than you might expect. I never got into the habit of having an imaginary friend when I was younger but I know that was a pretty popular thing for a while there. So a whole film around that premise seemed like a pretty interesting idea. I would have liked the climax to have been extended a little but all in all you’ll have fun.

The story begins with introducing us to Amanda and her imaginary friend Rudger. In this world, imaginary friends can only be seen and make contact with their human partners. They are real but exist on a different plane from the rest of humanity. When the human dies, the friend will die as well and the same goes for if they are forgotten. The only way around this is to reach a nexus of imagination such as a library. Amanda and Rudger have had a lot of fun times together but one day Rudger is attacked by a mysterious girl in black as well as Mr. Bunting. He is nearly devoured but gets saved by Amanda at the potential cost of her life. She is now in a coma and Rudger can only survive in the outside world for a day without her. Can he find a way to wake her up and stop the villains?

I was definitely glad that we had a villain here since it adds a big level of danger to the whole film. That sad, the film does have a hard explaining how the heroes aren’t destroyed in every encounter. Keep in mind that he is a grown adult with supernatural abilities but he gets shoved and tripped a whole lot in the battles. The girl of shadows has super speed and some strength but often gets overpowered at the wrong moment. Each time the villains lose you couldn’t help but think that they probably should have won. Mr. Bunting’s absorption technique is also comically slow to the point where it takes whole minutes to actually devour anyone. It’s no wonder that he is constantly interrupted.

That said, he is still hyped up as the master villain with all kinds of reality warping abilities so I would have liked to have seen him prove himself a bit more here. Towards the end we get a fun battle of imagination which I would say is the part you’ve probably been waiting for and it’s really over in the blink of an eye so you don’t get to properly enjoy it for as long as you would like.

The movie can also have a bit of a tonal problem but that’s normal when the main characters are kids. They don’t react quite as seriously to the dark moments as you would expect. Like Amanda grinning and laughing with happy music when they are nearly destroyed in the climax. You gotta overlook a little bit but with a better soundtrack the film would be that much more epic. There are a ton of really intense scenes here after all and the animation handles them well.

It may not be a top tier production but the film looks good enough. It’s not really an action film so it’s not going to be showing off a lot of special effects there. The music is more on the underwhelming side, no real tunes that you will be humming or singing afterwards. As for the writing, I’d say it was good enough. The film is fast so the pacing is good and it definitely doesn’t drag on at any point in time.

As the main character Amanda is fairly decent. She’s not the most well behaved little girl out there and definitely makes her share of mistakes but she tries her best. She did end up defending Rudger near the end when it counted so I give her full credit there. Without her he would have been taken out sooner. She did put him in a tough position to start with but at least helped to make it up.

Rudger is also solid as he is determined to help Amanda throughout the film. I appreciated his dedication as the other characters would have had him give up a long time ago. He was the one who had to keep on pushing for this and otherwise oblivion was the only outcome. He could maybe learn how to fight a little better but I suppose there wasn’t much time for a training montage.

At the spirit realm we meet Zinzan and Emily among some other characters but they weren’t too high. Zinzan wasn’t helpful when it counted. Despite all of his wise verbiage and all, he didn’t do anything against Bunting and didn’t show up when it counted. Nice enough but not dependable. Likewise Emily was disappointing when she didn’t want to hear about Mr. Bunting. Not realizing that he was real was a pretty big L especially with how scared everyone was of him. You wouldn’t see that for a simple rumor and so she ended up looking rather naive. It’s the world of imagination, it would stand to reason that some kind of antagonist is out there.

The most disappointing character had to be Amanda’s mom Lizzie by the end though. She looks unrealistically slow on the uptake by the end of the film. Imagine that you go to your daughter’s hospital room and the weird stalker is in there and suddenly she’s out of the coma but in a ton of pain? You should have a lot of quick reactions, most of them being violent but instead she just keeps asking what’s wrong and why Bunting is in there. Then even once she starts to get clued in on the supernatural elements, she refuses to say the name that Amanda and the others are begging her to say.

The whole scene will have you rolling your eyes because it just takes her an eternity to piece the two things together. It’s not rocket science, this should be 1-2-3. So while the film didn’t intend for her to be annoying or unlikable, that really took a big shot against her character. That was just really rough. Meanwhile the girl in shadows stepped up a lot quicker and for her quick character moment at the end. I’d rather she stay super sinister and just crush everybody but I could see how that would get old after centuries and centuries of being around. You’d want a break at some point.

Overall, The Imaginary is a pretty fun film with some nice concepts. Without the villains I don’t think it would have been quite as enjoyable but with them it’s a good adventure. It might be lacking a little in replay value but the initial watch is fun and creative. If you want to revisit your days of being a kid and enjoying your imagination then this is a solid flick to check out. You won’t be forgetting the villain any time soon!

Overall 7/10

Granblue Fantasy: The Animation Season 2 Review

Posted on November 16, 2024 by dreager1

Granblue has returned with the next season. It definitely goes by very quickly and makes for a good continuation. It does feel perhaps a bit aimless compared to season 1 at times even though we do have plot progression. That might be because in season 1 we picked up the main cast and got everyone’s mini arc while this one is mainly about learning more on the villains. Still good stuff, but I am ready for the heroes to make some proper headway against the government and learn more about what is going on in the background.

The story follows Gran and his friends as they seek to arrive at Estalucia, the land of the gods. Gran’s father should be at the end of this journey and in the meantime he is helping Lyria capture all of the gods so they stop causing a bunch of trouble. In the meantime the empire continues their attempts to recapture Lyria for their own nefarious purposes. These villains cannot be trusted, perhaps it is time for the heroes to take them down once and for all!

The first arc has the characters land on an island where Katalina is quite well known. The leader, Vira seems to hold her in particularly high regards. At first glance it seems like a fine place except it turns out that Katalina will have to stay on this island and leave the crew in order for them to be able to leave safely. Gran rejects this proposal and so the crew have to do battle with the government once more while also taking on Vira. As always you can’t really trust old friends in this kind of thing because over the years they tend to get corrupt and really join the other side.

It’s not a great look for Katalina though. I never really care for the “Heroic sacrifice” play in this kind of situation because it’s not necessary. She should have talked it over with Gran and the others right off the bat. Not doing so just implies that she doesn’t think they have what it takes. In this case she also had some feelings of guilt but at the end of the day all this means is that she would have completely abandoned her duties which is not cool. She did make an oath to protect Lyria after all and you can’t just stop that midway.

The fight with Vira is pretty fun though. Vira makes for a good villain and one of the stronger combatants that the heroes had to go up against. it would be nice to see her return at some point, maybe for a climax coming up. Would feel like a waste if she just never got to return although granted, if we don’t get another season then in a way that’s the fate of every character.

The second arc of the series is a lot shorter or it felt shorter at least. The heroes head to the next island where everybody is a zombie. That’s a bit strange and also rather unnerving right? Why did they die? What I liked about this mini arc is it felt like Grablue was finally trying something a bit different. This is an adventure show after all but a lot of the islands felt very similar. This one was really different even when it comes down to the tone. So that was impressive and while the villain was a bit of a generic scientist, he was still fairly strong. So this was a pretty fun pit stop on the way to the final arc of the season. It’s another case where they should have tried summoning Bahamut earlier but more on that later.

Finally we get back to what I would call the main plot. The heroes arrive on the next island where the government shows up again in full force. Gran finally has to take on the Black Knight while Lyria is faced off against her own shadow version. It’s pretty fun even if Gran feels completely out of his depth here. We also learn a bit more about his father like the fact that his moniker is the god killer. (Well it might have been Astral Killer or the equivalent of what they call the gods, but same effect) Then the Black Knight may actually have some ties to one of Gran’s members. These mysteries are clear set up for the future and the season itself has a massive cliffhanger with a trial about to start. I’d definitely be eager to see what happens there.

It was a good way to end off the season because that was probably the most action packed episode of the season. While the Black Knight did crush Gran, it was still cool to see them go at it after all this time. I’m not sure I buy what happens to the Black Knight at the end but it could still be part of some kind of a plan so I can’t judge too much just yet. There are still a whole lot of missing pieces to the puzzle.

Like last time, there is a bonus episode at the end. In fact this time there were two! The first one is about Djeeta and her group exploring a dungeon and it was fun to get a proper dungeon crawling episode. I’m not sure I’d want that for a whole arc or anything but for an episode it worked out well enough. I actually like her group more than Gran’s to be honest. It’s a solid stand alone episode with good action throughout so I definitely had no complaints there.

The second episode has two segments. The first one is about Gran wrestling one of the giant monsters and that was a fun one. He got to show off his determination and just how hard he can train when the stakes are high. I’s amusing in part because of how absurd the whole thing is. Then we have Djeeta and friends going to school in a made up alternate universe. A fun enough short. It would probably overstay its welcome if it went on for a whole cour but it can be nice to see familiar characters in brand new settings.

Okay, now lets talk a bit deeper about the show and some of the things that are holding it back somewhat. The first is the animation. I do have to say that it doesn’t look all that great. I would even say slightly below average. The colors aren’t strong and there isn’t always a lot of movement. We get the occasional fight scene but that’s about it. Stronger animation even for just the movement and all would really go a long way. Without it, the series just doesn’t have anything backing up the story.

Likewise, the soundtrack isn’t particularly good. I’m not going to say that it’s bad or anything because it’s not but none of the tunes stand out. The opening theme song is really uninspired as well. You’d almost think it’s all free domain type music and it doesn’t help the show break out of its shell. That is the core of the issues after all, which is that the show feels like a nameless fantasy title. Not the kind of story you will remember all that well even a few years from now.

The show needs a stronger hook. The main cast is okay but not all that interesting. The plot is fine but you don’t tend to make much progress on it at all. It feels like a classic mobile game plot in that sense with the carrot being dangled at the end without any sense of the progress you are making. The show just needs to do something because it all feels a bit too ordinary. I would also say the power levels feel off and in part it’s because the heroes never seem to get any stronger.

They have Bahamut and a bunch of other summons at this point. I would say that it’s about time they started using them. The fact that they don’t use Bahamut at times and get absolutely devastated tells you all that you need to know about this. Bahamut doesn’t get used throughout the whole season and Lyria only tries to use him once. That’s just not mart and in general these bad decisions are the only reason that the fights tend to be close. If Gran was allowed to use his energy moves then perhaps he would have beaten the Black Knight.

Gran’s also a bit of a cardboard cutout character. He doesn’t have a whole lot of personality to him at all. People tend to hit the Isekai leads with this critique, but I dare say he deserves it over most of those. It’s hard to really say what his personality is beyond being there to do the right thing. I would also like Lyria to show a bit more agency. She has had her quick moments where she has to confront her fears and step in to help but it is always a bit of a last resort.

Io doesn’t get much to do here but at least she has one key moment during the haunted village. Rackam’s role is also a bit on the small side here but at least as the driver he is always helpful. Rosetta is almost like a running gag where she shows up to help in just about every arc and then runs off. At this point she may as well just become a main character. Eugen has his big secret coming up but still feels redundant to the party as a whole since Rackam already has the guns angle.

On the villain’s side, I do like the Black Knight. She definitely earns her keep and always keeps things interesting. The rest of them though? Drang and Sturm are trying for a Team Rocket angle but it doesn’t really work. They really just have one gag that they repeat over and over again in the hopes that it will get funnier but it never really does. You’re just left shaking your head the whole time as a result. Finally we have Orchis who doesn’t have much of a character yet although they’re clearly setting her up for a big role. She certainly did way more here than in season 1 so I appreciate that. She will be a good foil to Lyria for now although eventually I do expect her to be one of the heroes eventually.

That seemed like a pretty negative stretch for the series but on the whole it’s just that there is a lot of potential here that is not being maximized because the series is trying to really stretch things out. The world building isn’t quite big enough to pull that off. If it could just focus on the actual story a bit more and the characters getting some action then it could really hit the next level. We absolutely should get more action at this point as we presumably get closer to the final island.

On a small note, it does seem like a crazy coincidence how the heroes bump into all of the same characters on every island. This is a pretty big world after all so the title may want to dial that down a bit. It comes off as a bit forced at times. The series has a massive cast in the games so it’s time to let other characters have their fun and maybe even switch up the main crew a bit. I think that would be a pretty interesting idea. The season at least tried that by adding two main characters which I appreciate. First is the character who is actually one of those god deities and then you have the girl from the supernatural arc, Ferry. So we need to keep doing that but with more of the pure fighters like the cool thunder guy from the season 1 climax.

In general this season was going for a more low key type of ending I would say. Sure, we did have the big fight with the Black Knight but it would have been really nice to have had an all star ensemble like in season 1. That was a whole lot of fun after all, especially since you usually don’t see that until a later season. Perhaps that set the bar too high for this season but there are so many characters that you can definitely do it again for season 3.

Overall, Granblue Fantasy is a perfectly serviceable show. I would say it’s a very safe watch and feels like a standard anime. If you wanted to recommend a title to someone who is not familiar with anime then this would be a pretty good option. It introduces you to basic anime concepts, doesn’t really have any fanservice or weird anime elements, and is about a hero and his party as they save the world. It’s a very innocent anime that is just trying to do the right thing and takes you from place to place. The episodic nature of the arcs can also keep it from being too overwhelming.

Overall 7/10

Wistoria: Wand and Sword Review

Posted on November 9, 2024 by dreager1

It’s time to look at a magic anime that got pretty big real fast. Wistoria is one of those shows that took the world by storm to the point where one person even said you could toss all other anime in the trash. That’s how good Wistoria was. I can say that it lived up to the hype and I would consider it to be a great anime. I’m definitely looking forward to the next seasons and in the meantime I encourage everyone to check it out. It really got the right amount of action and story.

In this world, most people have some level of magical ability. The best of the best rise through the ranks quickly and if you don’t have magic then you are in trouble. At all times there is a cabal of 5-6 master sorcerers who hold up the sky with their magic as it would crash otherwise and bring about the end of everything. Will’s best friend Colette was one of these super geniuses and so they are never able to see each other anymore. Will figures the only way to solve this issue will be if he can improve his skills and ascend to the top of the wizard tower. There’s just one problem, Will has absolutely no magical talents!

Now you might be thinking, where have I heard this before? Mashle, Black Clover, etc. Well that’s not a problem since both of those shows were excellent and this one really keeps up the streak. The high end production values really serve as a great backdrop but at its core the series is succeeding because of the strong cast of characters and story. I would say that it sucks you in right from the first episode. Will’s goal to be able to hang out with his best friend is a solid one and makes things sympathetic right from the start.

Additionally, Will still has a lot of physical talent so it’s not like he’s been slacking off or anything. He has a sword and is able to handle most dungeons on his own. He has the abilities to take on most of the highest ranking students in the school. The only reason his grades lag behind a lot is because the whole school is set up on the basis of magic. So the tests are focused on this in ways where his strength can’t compensate. So Will has to really take down as many monsters as possible in order to prove himself.

Naturally the series has a ton of discrimination which is a staple of any fantasy setting. People can’t stand Will because of the fact that he has no magical powers. They say he shouldn’t be here and the usual stuff. The main teacher tries to crush Will in one of the first episodes and with a few exceptions, all of the students enjoy messing with him as well. Will doesn’t really pay them any mind though and it takes a whole lot of insults and threats of violence to really get him moving. Of course once that point comes up, then he is ready to go to town on them.

I’d say we have 2 main arcs here, the opening tournament and then the dungeon crawl. The tournament comes rather early here so in a way you could say this is how we are really introduced to the characters. Guys like Julius and Sion had already appeared but this is where we got to the heart of their character development. It’s definitely a really fun tournament even if it is short and I like that Will is shown to be very competent and strong from the start. He doesn’t have to find his own way of fighting or anything like that. He just puts all of his skills to the test and goes in swords blazing. The amount of time he is an underdog in the series is extremely short so we get to skip the intro phase in a way and get right to the meat of things.

The peak of the series is in the dungeon crawl though as we get to see Will join the elite team. It’s the best of the best as everyone goes all out to prove themselves. Again, it’s an arc that you would expect to see much later in the series as Will has to reluctantly team up with all of the big rivals and new characters right from the jump. The fast pacing is just a lot of fun because it’s like you are speed running the whole series. You wouldn’t see this from many titles and it’s part of how Wistoria stands out. No worries though, the power ceiling for the series is quite high as there are many other characters to be introduced who are even stronger than the elites.

Like I mentioned before, the animation is really good here. There are a ton of great fight scenes and cuts throughout the series. The different magic spells all look really good and you can feel the power behind each swing. The colors are very vibrant and so this is definitely an anime you can point to when talking about high budget titles. Meanwhile the soundtrack is also good. The theme song is catchy and there are a number of solid tracks. It may not be an absolute home run hit that you talk about for hours and hours but it definitely pulls off its job pretty well.

Now lets get into the characters. First up is Will and he’s a pretty solid main character. The guy is trying hard to achieve his dreams and that’s always good. It’s more of a voice direction thing but I will just say that his voice can be annoying though. It always sounds like he’s close to laughing which ends up feeling condescending to an extent. It’s something I’ve never seen happen to a character before so hopefully it’s cleaned up a little bit for season 2. It’s not technically his personality or anything though so I wouldn’t dock his character any points for that or anything like that. I was surprised that he wasn’t going to initially enter the tournament though. It feels like he underestimates his own abilities quite a bit.

Considering that he doesn’t exactly have unlimited time to reach his best friend, you’d think that he would do every single event in order to climb up. It was the one moment that felt almost out of character for him. Still, the guy stands up to bullies and is always beating up on the villains so how could you not like the guy right?

Then we have the main heroine Colette who is pretty fun. She’s easy to feel bad for because she often tries to get close to Will but trolls stop her from really making it. She’s a strong fighter in her own right as well even if she doesn’t always run to the battlefield. If we ever get more of an arc that is focused on her then I think we’ll see more of that. She was able to beat a Julius clone and did it rather easily after all. I like that she always defends Will and is a sand up character so she is one of the better heroines.

The first rival is Sion and I’d say he is another character that the show did a really good job with. He has fire abilities which is always a must for a rival and the guy has a big ego. He is always running in to cause chaos and deal out a bunch of damage. The guy starts out as a petty bully but we quickly get a whole lot of development for him. I would say that it is all handled really well too. The guy speaks his mind and isn’t afraid to lose a fight if it means getting what he wants. I’d say he has more depth than your average bully and I already see him becoming one of the best characters in the series.

Julius is the first serious villain. He’s rather insane and while he quickly starts to become a better person, you can’t forget that he nearly did try to skewer Will. It’ll take a little longer to take him seriously as a good guy but the guy’s strength is definitely the real deal. He is one of the strongest in the school among the students so even with the others beginning to catch up, I imagine he will stay relevant for a long while.

He will always be in the shadow of Elfaria when it comes to ice users though. She is so far ahead of him that it’s scary. Apparently her skills as a toddler were enough to really be on his level which has to feel like crazy disrespect. She seems like someone who is rather aloof and doesn’t care about much. Still, she is supportive of Will and that’s the only time she shows her more emotional side. I would say that she is already more fun than Colette as a heroine despite how good the other character is. I look forward to finally seeing Elfaria fight at some point.

Wignall is another one of the geniuses in the school but his stocks definitely plummet as the series goes on. The guy is still tough to be sure but I would say he has way more weaknesses than the others. His illusion skills just never feel like they will be as handy as the more classic elements like fire and ice. Those can be used in basically every scenario after all while illusions always have so many rules and limitations. It’s really not a fair competition when you look at it like that. I think he could start to rebound for the next season but for now I’m not all that impressed.

Lihanna is one of the elites who actually lives up to her rep and looks really good. Her lightning fast combat skill is a fun one to watch and so most monsters will get absolutely shredded as soon as the fight starts. If anything, I just wish we could have seen her fight more. For the most part her final action scenes were off screen but we know that she did put in a good fight and lasted for a while. She trusts her gut instincts which is always important and of course she had enough skills to get a top rank in the first place. I look forward to seeing more of her soon.

Rosti is Will’s roommate and he likes messing with Colette. Well, not sure if I should say “messing with” to be honest since he does seem to actually be really possessive. Still, I felt bad for Colette the whole time so I’m waiting for her to take the gloves off and beat him up. For now Rosti is more of a supportive fighter and so I wouldn’t expect any fight scenes. That really does limit his potential a whole lot as well. He is unlikely to become one of the better characters without some massive changes.

Workner is a character I can’t take seriously just yet. He is on Will’s side and defends the kid but at the end of the day he isn’t actually defending him from any of the villains or those who would beat him up. So he’s not much of a friend in the end now is he? I want to see him actually fight and stand up for Will more. Right now it’s just not enough and if anything he doesn’t even believe in Will enough. Sometimes he trusts him to win and sometimes he just doesn’t. I prefer Edward as a character because at least that guy is actually very direct. He just wants Will out of the school no matter what and will do whatever he can in order to achieve this.

Edward is a total villain, there’s no way around that. He’s just a fun villain though so it’s easy to root against him. I’m sure he’ll come around eventually though. For now we haven’t seen many of the actual villains but two do appear in the climax. They already look quite powerful as they decimated a bunch of the teachers so I look forward to how that plays out. They have great designs and superb abilities so I have really high hopes. The monster fights are cool and all but I am definitely ready to be fighting some fellow humanoids here. It’s just a completely different game at that point.

We also briefly see the top tier heroes who were out on the expedition. For now it’s hard to say much about them until the next season occurs. I already like the kid though, he seems like another non magic user which is always a really good sign. You now the guy is going to be ultra powerful. He reminds me of Meliodas from Seven Deadly Sins but without any of the obvious downsides. We also have to see how Elfaria’s teammates fare since they all are naturally getting a ton of hype. There was definitely a whole lot that got set up here so this could end up being a really long running series.

Overall, Wistoria is a great title and I would definitely recommend checking it out. Hopefully the next season comes out sooner than later. Whether you are here for the big action scenes or the strong character interactions, you should be in for a good time. It’s a title that is easy to get into and you can never have too many titles like this. The commoner rising above the status quo and showing that magic isn’t completely necessary is great. Even in video games I always prefer to be a fast swordsman than more of a slow fighter who relies on magic.

Overall 8/10

Something Wicked This Way Comes Review

Posted on October 20, 2024 by dreager1

It’s time for another story about resisting temptation because the short term fun will quickly be taken over by something grim. It’s a pretty interesting concept but one that is slightly wasted by this film. I like the idea of someone sinister showing up in a small town and granting everyone’s wishes at a great cost. It’s just hard to really get the full scope of this when the main characters are kids so they can’t really do much about this. It would be a lot more effective otherwise. Still, it’s not a bad film.

The movie starts by introducing us to Will and Jim who have gotten in trouble at school again. It’s not easy for these two kids to live in such a boring town. There’s really just nothing to do except cause trouble at this point. Everyone in town has some issues that they deal with, one one guy missing an arm, one lady being really old, etc. Still, people do the best that they can. One day a strange old guy shows up and gives one of the kids a lightning rod. Seems like a dangerous thing to have at home, but eh the price was pretty good. Everything changes when a mysterious circus/carnival comes into town led by Mr. Dark. His shady name is already an indicator of things to come. He seems to have the ability to make your wish come true. The price? Well, he’ll come to collect that in short order.

Naturally you’d think it would be easy to just say no to the guy and run off but honestly Dark is rather smart about how he handles this. He’s not just cackling on a throne telling people to give up their immortal souls. He just strolls around and creates miracles in a rather low key way. It’s one of the few times I don’t totally blame the random locals for falling into his traps. On the surface the guy doesn’t seem all that crazy although the miracles are a red flag but it’s almost all like one big dream.

The character I do blame for this? Jim. Jim knows what is going on to a much larger degree than the others and yet he really wants Mr. Dark to grant his wish to become older. He is jealous of being a few hours or days younger than Will. That has to be one of the most petty things I’ve heard in quite some time now. He’s also quite ready to beat up Will over this despite the two of them being close friends. I thought that was really crazy! You don’t just betray your best friend on a whim like that. I couldn’t look at him the same after that.

In comparison, Tom had it rough because the guy was actually tortured by Dark for information. This guy never cracked no matter what he was put through. This is where the more interesting plot is at play with what’s going on here. The battle happening in the shadows so to speak so it is annoying when we have to continue following the kids who are out of their depth. There’s probably a TV trope for this but it’s when you are following the B plot while the A plot happens in the background. I feel like there’s a whole other movie in here that we are completely missing out on because the kids can’t handle what is going on.

They’re also way too passive like when one of the guys is de-aged to a kid and is pretending to be the teacher’s nephew. Maybe you don’t tell the teacher because she has no reason to believe you but you definitely handle the kid. Instead they ran off like chickens which was not a good move at all. Charles at least does good since he’s the only grown up to really be in the mix the whole time but the problem is that he’s really old. He can’t hold his own in a fight and at best is able to talk tough verbally to Mr. Dark. I still give him credit for that at least.

I don’t really have many issues with the film but the problem is that the one issue I do have is a pretty big one. The film can just be a little bit on the boring side. We see the process of everyone in town getting their wishes granted and all but after that we are missing out on most of the action because the kids can’t handle it. It feels like a strong opening without much of a payoff. The climax is decent but with adult or even teenage main characters you could have squeezed in a whole lot more action. I’d like to see a reimagining of this film some day because I definitely see the potential.

I’ll throw you out an idea right here, make Tom the main character next time. Lets explore more of what he knows about this and his ultimate plan about it. You could even choose to make a prequel instead. Usually I’m against that but in this case it could really work and I think it would instantly be more exciting than this film. Just something to think about but it would solve the protagonists issue right out of the gate.

Overall, Something Wicked This Way Comes is a very interesting film where the payoff doesn’t quite match up. The title is certainly a descriptive one and makes sense for the movie. The setting and backdrop is all there as well as a solid atmosphere. The decision to have the two main characters be kids is ultimately what buried this one though. You need leads who can fight, not kids who will just stay in the back the whole time getting dominated. I suppose kids need some stories where they can see protagonists their own age running around but it doesn’t really do anything for me. If you are really in the mood for a fantasy title and have seen most of the others already then you should check this one out. Otherwise, there are far better ones out there that you should watch instead.

Overall 5/10

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