Saint Seiya: Episode G Assassin Review

Posted on February 25, 2025 by dreager1

Saint Seiya is one of those franchises that is extremely elite but the anime titles never got as big as you would hope. This should be something that is consistently brought up along with the likes of Dragon Ball Z and Naruto. Episode G should absolutely have an anime by now and it’s a shame that they don’t. Well, either way I can definitely tell you that this is an absolutely elite series. Easy 9/10 and is one of the most satisfying sequel type stories with the original characters all getting a lot of respect which was absolutely due.

The series begins with Shura waking up in modern day Japan. He should be dead after he gave his life at the Wailing Wall at the end of the main series so why is he here? Something isn’t right with his memories either but he is quickly attacked by a mysterious foe who refers to Shura as King Arthur. It’s hard to say what is happening but Shura knows that he must protect the peace under all circumstances. So he continues to fight on as he learns more about this strange new world.

Episode G Assassin has to be one of the most hype manga out there. There’s just so much happening at all times and this i s the perfect example of why a good sequel should be amazing. You get the “cheat code” of getting to skip all of the character development and intros to get right to the big climaxes. That’s exactly what this series does as big characters will walk in and literally start throwing punches. No need to have an origin story or anything like that, they’re just ready to dominate. You will also get some extra mileage out of this series depending on how many legendary swords you know. By this point I know most of them from anime and manga so it’s cool to see them all show up. The true Excalibur, Caliburn, the Vorpal Blade, etc.

The sword fighting part of the series is relevant for the entire run. All of these legendary fighters are showing up to test their abilities and since the saints are forbidden to use any weapons, it puts them in a tough spot. It’s why Shura was a perfect match for these guys since his arm works as a quasi blade. It at least gives him something to clash with. Shura stays as the main character for over half the series although eventually he is replaced as we enter the big climaxes. Shura is fun though and he is a fairly likable Gold Saint.

It is hard to root against Aiolia when he first appears though. We just got to see Aiolia leading his own series and fighting against the titans so when he shows up to take down Shura, it just feels weird to see him as the antagonist. With the timestream going crazy and the dead returning to life, you could also make a valid point that perhaps Shura does need to be removed. I would not be on that side though as I never put preserving the timestream above someone’s life. The way I see it, Shura needs to stay in play especially while all of these villains are running around. Destroying him now would just be irresponsible.

There are also a lot of twists and turns here as this does play out like a true final saga. All of the gods from Athena and Hades to Poseidon and Zeus have plans going on. With this many wild cards in play you really can’t trust anyone. We know in the series that people can already be mind controlled and replaced so you really just have to trust in your own sense of justice. That is a main theme of the series throughout the adventure as well. As long as you know that you are doing the right thing then everything will eventually come into place.

The series does take a bit of a horror vibe near the end with some particularly huge twists. It’s a pretty cool concept although it’s also very dark so you can see why a lot of it was off screen. There are some similarities to the movie Us. If you had to fight off a doppelganger of yours that was your equal in every way but totally blood lusted, would you be able to win? Technically speaking you’d be the underdog in such a fight because it is hard to defeat someone that is absolutely crazy and doing whatever it takes to win. That’s also if you’re lucky as one character shows up without powers to fight a doppelganger that can destroy whole universes. Not a very fair fight.

Part of the intriguing thing with the story is that we’re also seeing it through a very narrow lens. We’re following Shura and then eventually the Bronze Saints but we’re not checking in on the various fights across the world. After the events of Saint Seiya, it seems like things are not going great around the world. Sanctuary itself seems to be losing status and funding after being around for so long and there just aren’t enough heroes to keep up with all the waves of villains although they are doing their best. There is still so much to explore even once the series ends. It feels like a large part of the story is still one big black box.

That could be where the 3rd title steps in of course. As intriguing as the story is, we’re ultimately here for the fights though. Fortunately the art has improved quite a bit since the first G title. It’s still not a big favorite of mine though but it gets the job done. The Saints all feel very powerful and majestic which is a strong point to the art style. They are portrayed as being larger than life which makes sense as the power levels have only grown stronger and stronger over time.

We get some really amazing double page spreads whenever the characters activate their true power. The new super forms and attacks all look really stunning while the old moves still get a lot of respect as well. The whole series being in color also lets them really show off the effects. In particular it’s so satisfying to see Seiya fighting again. Naturally he’s still injured from the Hades arc and that’s actually a pretty big deal for the whole series. Hades’ sword is special in that its stabbing effect lasts for all of eternity. Imagine constantly waling around with a sword in you that can’t be pulled out.

It shows what a trooper Seiya is. The series also re-establishes Seiya as the singular saint closest to Athena whom she can always depend on. He is the personification of hope in the series and the title goes as far as to say that if Seiya ever dies, the universe is doomed. He is needed in order for peace to stay without fail. Without him then hope itself dies which is really high pressure. There is a bonus chapter that also shows us how Seiya has stayed grounded and even helps out at the orphanage. He’s still beating up bullies as always which is great.

Then Shun has also had a lot of great character development. He is now immensely powerful. The guy still prefers peace over a fight but has kept his character development and will fight as needed. He is not someone to be saved anymore, Shun is able to handle just about anyone. He is portrayed as one of the strongest fighters in the universe now and even by the end of the series we didn’t get to see him fight seriously. That’s how strong he has gotten and so his character was handled really respectfully. This is quality character development done right.

Hyoga gets a particularly big role here. He may not look quite as impressive as Shun but he has also gone way stronger. Also due to some events that happens here, he even has a daughter named Natasha to look after. This gives him a reason to fight his hardest and that comes in handy since he gets some really personal fights in this series. It feels like Hyoga can’t catch a break when it comes to losing people and this title puts him through a lot as well. At least now he does have someone to protect once again.

Shiryu’s role isn’t huge but he is the first one to show up and help. It makes sense since of course he is the other wielder of Excalibur. His skills are the real deal and he is shown to be on par with Shura if not a bit stronger. Shiryu may not be an unstoppable force next to some of the others but he continues to get pivotal scenes. He really saves Seiya at one point in a really critical moment too. Without him Seiya would have been really doomed.

After that we have Phoenix Ikki who is the strongest as per usual. He is the first Saint to unlock a genuine cloth which is even above god status. The name itself doesn’t sound super impressive but that’s just how it goes. The only rough part here is that it takes so long for him to appear that he doesn’t get to properly generate those wins. By the time he fights he is going up against the craziest fighters in the verse. I would have liked to have seen some more dominating wins to really show off his power level. We still see narratively just how crazy strong he is but more screentime would be great.

As always Ikki also has to suffer in silence here as he dealt with a big threat on his own while the other Saints were busy. It’s really tough having his role but the guy never complains. He just keeps on going and does his best no matter what the cost. Meanwhile on the hero side we still have Death Mask and a few other Gold Saints who survived the Hades arc. The ranks have really thinned out over the years compared to how they used to be though. At this point it’s pretty clear that the Bronze Saints (Well they’re all gold now anyway) have to be the ones to save the world because the old guard won’t be able to cut it.

We get different cameos like Marin and Shaina as well which is cool. It’s nice to see that everyone is still kicking even if they wouldn’t be able to keep up with the power creep and at best have to deal with the minions the whole time. Put them up against any of the big threats and that would be it. Oh yeah Kiki gets a pretty big role here as he finally realizes his potential as a gold saint. He’s really changed a lot and is definitely a capable fighter now. It was nice to see his new form.

Now how about the new villains. Well first up you have the man who calls himself Aiolos. Is that really him or not? Well we get to see a lot of him and he’s a very fun villain. I do question his overall goals as the guy seems to be completely crazy by this point. I don’t know if he even knows what his true objectives are at this point or if he’s just talking to talk. Either way he is certainly taking a very long route to his final objectives. Then we have Zeus who is one of the most powerful entities in existence so you can bet that he is going to be doing a whole lot. His abilities are really impressive although his overall personality feels a lot more insane than I would have expected otherwise. He’s definitely not the calm and collected type like Hades or Poseidon.

You can’t doubt his passion though, the guy absolutely can’t stand humans in any form. He is convinced that the gods are leagues and leagues better than the humans could ever be. Then you have the various swords although most of them start to feel like the same character. They show up talking big about how they can’t lose and are virtually invincible and then they are taken down for the count. The main one to get a big character was Lancelot which makes sense since he’s so big in the mythos. Lancelot was a fun villain, one of those guys who is big on honor but seems to secretly be totally insane. I was expecting more out of the mysterious King Arthur though so maybe that’ll be in the sequel.

This is one of those titles that is directly going to lead into the next series though so as you can probably guess it will have a whole lot of cliffhangers. The plots aren’t going to end here and so there are quite a few villains on the loose. Assuming the third series is the final one, I do expect that everyone will be getting their final matchups there. There are more than enough heroes running around so they’ll probably have to add some new villains. That should be easy though with how the manga introduced the multiverse and everything. You really have an excuse to add basically anyone at this point. It can be any version of any character as well. We might even see an evil Seiya or maybe bring in Tenma from Lost Canvass. Definitely a lot of potential but that’s why you want to be careful not to get your hopes too high.

So we’ll see how it goes but this series was basically nonstop fight after fight after fight. The characters had some time for downtime and the occasional humor moment but these were definitely few and far between. It’s safe to say that the action was absolutely the focus of the series as you would expect. I can’t emphasize enough that this is the best depiction I have ever seen of the main Saints from after the main series and I don’t expect that any other title will be surpassing it. At least not in that regard, this series really set the bar crazy high there.

Overall, This is an elite title and I would recommend checking it out effective immediately. You are absolutely missing out if you don’t read through it. We finally get to see what became of the legendary heroes after all. Whether it is canon or not doesn’t even matter in the end. You are reading this to see the ultimate cast of fighters and at the end of the day you don’t need anything more than that. I’m definitely looking forward to checking out the next installment in the G series even if this one may have set a bar that was too high to be reached.

Overall 9/10

Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Review

Posted on February 10, 2025 by dreager1

After all these years I finally got to play through the legendary Lightning Returns game. I remember this one being pretty controversial when it came out and after playing it through I can see why that is the case. In a lot of ways it does invalidate parts of the first two games as well as putting the characters through a ton of grief for a very long time. Even with a reasonably happy ending….although a very mixed one, it’s not going to erase those memories. It is an epic story though and one that will keep you at the edge of your seat.

We start off in the future where the world is coming to an end. In 7 days it shall be no more. So the god of the multiverse awakens Lightning to be reborn as his herald. She is to save as many worthy souls as possible by achieving their heart’s desires. Then those survivors will make up the citizens of the new world and Lightning will rule alongside him as a goddess. She only agrees to help in exchange for bringing her sister back to life. This god agrees but is he really being straight forward with her? That remains to be seen.

The whole 7 days thing may make you a bit nervous and I’m afraid that your fears would be well founded. This game uses a day system similar to Pikmin. The minutes go by in real time as one second is roughly equivalent to one minute. As a result the days go by quickly. You have to complete 5 main quests within the 7 day period. This is a true open world game so you can do the quests in any order except for the 5th quest which requires you to complete half of quest 4 first. You can use your time abilities to freeze time temporarily but at the cost of your EP. This is a big deal because the EP is how you use your most powerful abilities within the game and you can’t actively gain any items to recover it. (You can get a 1-2 ethers in the game but that’s it. You can only recover it by defeating enemies or going forward to the next day. Of course with the enemies you typically recover EP very slowly and often times you will lose more time than it is worth.

If you are not able to beat the quests within the 7 days then you go back to the beginning of the game and get to start over. You do keep your stats and equipment (minus key items) though which is handy. Still, you lose all story and mission progress. I was not able to beat the game on my first try so I did have to go back and beat the game again. This time the final boss was not too bad, the Ultima weapon is an absolute must though. I was able to beat him with just 2 EP since I was rushing but with the full 9 set it would have been really easy without a doubt. Of course if you tell anybody that they have to play the game twice they’re going to give you a look.

It’s the one thing keeping this game from being an easy 9. I just can’t support the day system because it forces you to rush a lot. This is a pretty big game with a lot of content and it’s annoying having to skip so many quests and things to do. It doesn’t feel like good game design even if that is the purpose of the overall plot. Completing a lot of side quests can increase the 7 days to 13 but even then it’s ultimately not going to be enough to do everything unless you plan it perfectly with a guide or something. That’s really your only bet.

So that was unfortunate. The story is really interesting like I said before though. I feel bad for the characters as some had to live for centuries in the worst timeline imaginable but at least the ending itself finally brings back some hope. It’s a very depressing game in a lot of ways as we see how futile the first two games were. That is still a little hard to come to terms with but I give this game a lot of credit for really going there. It did not pull any punches at all as the heroes really had to contend with what happened. We also got a ton of homages and references to the first two games which was nice. It helped to tie this all together as a full trilogy.

Meanwhile the graphics are really good as you would expect. All of the characters look solid and I definitely enjoyed the special effects. The full cinematics are all really good and of course the soundtrack is on point too. I wouldn’t say it beats the original 13 but you’re bound to find some tunes that you enjoy here. There is a wide variety of tunes after all so the numbers are really in your favor.

The main game took me around 40 hours counting both playthroughs so there’s a lot of content here. Technically speaking it would be one of the quickest Final Fantasy titles if you were to speed run through this but I feel like most people are going to need 2 playthroughs to actually save the world. Having those extra stats from two runs is just so important since the final boss has 4 different phases and hits like a tank. You also have a hard cap of 12 recovery items so it’s not like you can just store a bunch of potions either. The game is made so that you have to make a whole lot of difficult choices.

Finally I’ll also give the game some credit for having multiple paths for several quests. For example on your first playthrough you tend to have to follow the rules. There are some stealth missions and you have to be careful not to get caught or you’re quickly murdered by the cult followers. On the second playthrough I just went ahead and attacked them all and it worked out since my stats were so high. I was breezing through everybody and you really feel like a goddess in that second playthrough.

Overall, Lightning Returns is controversial and rightfully so. The game played around with some mechanics that weren’t quite winners like the day system. The fact that Lightning is by herself for the whole game is also quite rare for an RPG. Usually you would definitely be expecting to have had a full crew of fighters with you. instead you have tons of costumes you can access which all have different powers. It’s fun and unique but I do ultimately prefer having a full squad. Ultimately this is a great game even with the limitations though and I would recommend checking it out.

Overall 8/10

Azure Striker Gunvolt 3 Review

Posted on February 9, 2025 by dreager1

It’s time for the next adventure in the Gunvolt series and this game definitely changes things up quite a bit. A new cast of characters, new plot direction, change in gameplay, etc. You name it and this game has got it. I appreciate their trying to reinvent the series and while I prefer the first two games, it is pretty close. This one absolutely still holds its own and I’m ready for a 4th game.

The title starts off many decades into the future with a new main character called Kirin. She works for a group that works with the main villain group from the first game. Turns out that while corporate is mainly evil, they are humanity’s only protector in the future. She ends up freeing Gunvolt from his seal and now he must help her take down all of the awakened dragons. The powers have been going on a rampage at this point and have to be stopped. Do they really have the abilities to handle this?

The story involves seeing a lot of familiar faces and also gives Gunvolt a chance to see the results of his actions. It’s not all good and the characters remind him of this a whole lot but he did his best. The guy can’t see the future so for the record I blame him for exactly 0% of this. He stopped the villains and saved the day. Characters particularly blame him for risking the whole world to save his friend but that was the correct decision then and it still is now. That’s the way I see it. I do think that having the evil company from the first game return was a good idea though. From the start it was one of those cases where the guy at the top was evil but it’s not like every employee was. So seeing them bounce back was pretty cool.

Gunvolt is a living legend in this game and one thing I really appreciate is that he’s treated with this respect the whole time. There is never any doubt as to his true abilities. He was the strongest Adept of all time and he is also the strongest dragon. The game even adds a mechanic for this. For the most part you play as Kirin and throw tarot cards to lead yourself to victory. It’s an interesting gimmick as the cards soften up your opponent and then you use your sword as a finishing move. It’s creative and yet at the same time you do miss Gunvolt’s classic Mega Man styled gameplay.

Well that’s where he comes in. Whenever you have your meter at 100 or higher, you can switch places with him and light the stages up using the old gameplay style. Even better, the old style is locked into the super saiyan mode so you have unlimited flight and energy attacks. You can only keep attacking until the meter goes to 0 and then you repeat the process. The meter goes up very quickly though so you will be able to transform again pretty quickly and it’s unlikely that any boss will survive one round anyway.

I didn’t die in any of the levels in this game while I definitely did in the first two so that’s something to consider. The game is definitely easier than the first two but you can always choose to challenge yourself by not playing as Gunvolt. I would argue you should instead enjoy it though and spend your time focusing on getting all of the collectibles. This game has a considerable amount of them and some you will have to get more than once in order to complete your image collection. You will need to get this for the true ending so the more of them you get on your first playthrough the better.

You can also unlock some that you can equip afterwards to make the game even easier. I didn’t really touch the loadout much at all but there is a lot of customization there. So we’ve got the replay value covered. Then you have the graphics which look even more polished than the first two games. They show off by having a snow level to start the game off with and the snow effects occur in the background the whole time as you are playing. That was definitely neat and really visually appealing. I also liked the idea of having a Christmas level since those are very rare. The soundtrack is also really good as always. We have solid lyrical songs and boss music going on here.

I’d like to bring the classic gameplay back for the next game but you definitely can’t call these developers lazy. This is probably the most straight forward game of the trio but when you factor in having to set up and balance a whole new gameplay style, it makes sense that they couldn’t go as crazy on the stages themselves. All of the bosses still have really cool designs and this was the first game to get a full English dub which was awesome. It really gets you even more immersed into the game.

Overall, Gunvolt 3 is definitely a great game and I would recommend checking it out. You’ll definitely feel bad for the main character since things seem to get worse and worse for him in each installment. He has to go through a whole lot of mindgames from the villain side on this one but he never gives up and that’s the important thing. It feels like there is still a whole lot they can do with the series so I hope they keep going with it. We need more futuristic sci-fi type games like this one. It’s always such a terrific atmosphere to be playing in.

Overall 8/10

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

Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire Review

Posted on January 20, 2025 by dreager1

It’s time for another Ghostbusters adventure and this one does its best to give everybody some time to shine. It almost feels like a bit of an ensemble cast with how many people are showing up now. Unfortunately one of my least favorite characters gets most of the screentime and keeps on making mistakes in this one. Ghostbusters making mistakes on the job is nothing new though. This is a fairly enjoyable film but one that is lacking the It factor to get higher.

The film starts off with an ice demon taking a bunch of people down for the count and then vanishing. Something mysterious is amidst. Unfortunately the cycle will continue as the orb that it is sealed in gets bought by one of the original Ghostbusters who has become an antique dealer now. As soon as that orb is opened up it could spell the end of the world. Meanwhile Phoebe is being visited by a mysterious ghost and since she has no true friends, she is a little more susceptible to social engineering. Will the Ghostbusters’ biggest weakness be one of their own?

So on the positives it is impressive how much is being juggled here. You have the original trio of Ghostbusters, the new fighters which comprises the 4 from the last film, a new guy who may be the next Firemaster, and the B team led by the social media guy and the girl who has taken more of a scientist angle. So that’s a ton to squeeze in along with all of the fight scenes and ghosts popping up. As a result the film does feel rather busy and it’s a good thing that it’s as long as it was. That said, the best characters tend to be the older Ghostbusters so you just wish they could take the starring role at this point. Even if it feels like a nostalgia cash grab, they would be way better than the kids.

Phoebe has the biggest role here as she has to deal with the fact that she’s still a minor and as a result cannot be a legal Ghostbuster. The government plays the antagonist role here but it really does make sense. It’s a super dangerous job even for adults and this wouldn’t fly anywhere else. Obviously the mayor does have a grudge so this is super personal but the argument itself is sound. Phoebe is there for the whole scene but still blames the rest of the team for not defending her.

The problem is that Phoebe proves them right time and time again with how immature she is. She has a habit of making a bad situation worse over and over and over again. There’s just no stopping her and that’s a very bad thing. The plot of her meeting the ghost is even worse though because she doesn’t know this ghost and yet they become friends really fast. Phoebe trusts her enough to let her into the base and even though the ghost acts really suspicious by going right to the generator, Phoebe doesn’t think anything of it. In fact, she leaves the ghost unattended for the rest of the night as she goes to sleep. Really bad idea right there.

I get the plot of Phoebe feeling lonely but this is still pretty inexcusable. This is a universe much like Frieren where Ghosts are just evil creatures and have to be stopped with no ifs ands or buts. For the nicer ones they get nicer prisons but you’re not just letting any on the loose. It simply isn’t done and so Phoebe needed to take her down right away. Now could Phoebe have won? Probably not, the Ghostbusters equipment continues to be incredibly unreliable, slow, and weak. It’s impressive that they have even lasted this long to be honest. The ghosts can dodge the laser, fly high enough so it doesn’t work, crash into things to get the humans off their tail, etc. Realistically they’re not catching anything with that laser.

Her brother gets the shaft this time which is probably good. He basically tries unsuccessfully to take down the garbage ghost and pays the price. Instead we have a big role for Nadeem who shows up early on. The guy is good at scamming and doing whatever it takes in order to make a quick buck. He may not be the most heroic guy out there but he knows what it takes to survive. So then we get a big plot about how he actually has super powers and it’s not half bad. The guy has a lot of good humor scenes and to be honest you’re rooting for him over the Ghostbusters. He quickly starts to steal the show in every scene that he is in.

It does lead to some wonky power levels but this is Ghostbusters so that’s par for the course. The main ice villain here is fairly decent as he gets cool dialogue and a solid design. He doesn’t look super impressive combat wise but the verse isn’t the strongest. I would have just liked there to have been more effort to defeat him or more reason on why he didn’t just immediately murder everybody with the spikes. Seriously in the climax the heroes go at him with no real plan and have to be bailed out multiple times. I think the “best” part here was when they all tried shooting him with the lasers that they knew didn’t work and then they looked shocked when…they still don’t work.

Gary and Callie have a subplot where they are trying to establish their relationship with the kids and make it way more convoluted and harder than it has to be. If they’re married then he’s the step dad and if they’re not, then he’s just plain ole Gary. It’s that simple and yet the whole time they keep stammering about this and by the end I’m not even totally sure of their status. It sounds to me like they’re still dating but I’m not sure. Either way the advice Callie has is for Gary to be tougher on the kids instead of just being a friend but I would argue this is terrible advice if they aren’t married yet. He would really not have much say and if they are, then sure that’s fine.

Felt like a bit of a waste as far as subplots go though. Still, Gary and Callie are at least fun and more entertaining than the kids. They are a bit useless in the actual Ghostbusting though so hopefully they amp up their skills. It is a bit sad that the kids really do all of the work. Back in the old days everybody had a super big role. As for the old timers, they had some fun moments and it was nice to see them in the mix. They may not be able to keep up as much as they used to, but they do their best.

So all in all this feels like a Ghostbusters through and through. I sort of mean it as a complement but to be honest it’s a soft one. The movie feels fairly interchangeable with the others and it feels like the series hasn’t been able to reclaim the fun vibes of the first title. There are some pretty good jokes here. The movie does manage to be pretty funny but the action scenes aren’t quite as entertaining and the movie has a very hard time keeping a straight face during the serious scenes. It’s like the movie is being really serious but the characters themselves can’t really acknowledge what is going on.

For that reason it should probably lean a bit harder on the comedy angle and really let the action just fade out. We can still have a fun climax of course but handling the tone just right is difficult and seems to be too much of a challenge for this film. We do get a remix of the classic theme at the end which was good though. I was waiting the whole film for that and I’m glad that it didn’t disappoint. They should really try to surpass it with a new song but I’m not holding my breath.

Overall, by the end of the film you will probably agree with the mayor that the Ghostbusters are a danger to society. They cause crazy amounts of collateral damage even dealing with a throwaway ghost like in the first scene. They didn’t plan out the storage well so a lot of the chaos throughout the film is directly their fault. In fact, I’d go as far as to say the whole film is their fault. It doesn’t seem like anybody else would have been able to unlock the seal on the orb and having all of the ghosts in one place is a massive security risk. They do their best with the ghosts but the mayor needs to just create some ghost guns and give them to the cops. I’m sure they’ll end up doing a better job.

Overall 6/10

Twisters Review

Posted on January 17, 2025 by dreager1

It’s sure been a long time since the first Twister film. That one was a classic and people still know it very well to this day. The question is, can this one achieve the same living legacy? I doubt it, I think it’s a little harder to do that with how many films are out nowadays with so many options to watch them but I would say they did a good job with this one and I actually liked it more than the first Twister. This film can perhaps be a bit obvious with the twists at times but it doesn’t take away from the fun experience overall.

The movie starts off with Kate and her crew deciding to take down a tornado. She has an idea on how to shut them down from the inside but it doesn’t work out and most of them end up dying. This includes her boyfriend who she was really close with and will have a hard time continuing without. As a result, she left the business and is more of a tornado consultant now. One day she is tracked down by the last surviving member, Javi. He is bringing in a new team and they’re getting data on the tornadoes. Kate is skeptical about going back in but reluctantly agrees. Will they be able to make a difference this time?

It’s easy to see why Kate wouldn’t want to get back into the field. I sure wouldn’t want to get back out there after nearly dying and watching everyone else get blown away. It’s not the kind of work that you can do without being 100% committed either. For that reason she is blinded a bit in the beginning and doesn’t really ask too many questions about what they’re doing. Honestly she’s not the nosy type at all because I would have been googling things immediately. An old friend shows up with some kind of big project? Yeah sounds like a pyramid scheme if I’ve ever seen one.

We’re also introduced to the rival Tornado Wranglers group who were a lot of fun. I immediately liked them as soon as they showed up. These guys are loud and in charge as they take the risks and make a lot of money off of livestreaming. I think you’re supposed to find them off putting at first before the film goes into this but I just love confidence. So I was on board right from the jump and why wouldn’t I be? The main characters take everything so seriously while these guys are just having a great time. It’s hard to turn that down.

Tyler is the leader there and he gets a lot of screen time. He trades banter with Kate right away and the two of them go back and forth a whole lot. Naturally this is Hollywood so you’re expecting a romance and that is the weakest part of the film. It’s just too sudden and I don’t buy it. The film also seemed to be hinting at Javi being in love with Kate too but it doesn’t fully go with that storyline which was a good idea. Even if he did like her, not saying anything was the heroic response there.

What I like about Tyler is that he isn’t your generic kind of loudmouth. Instead he knows his stuff and is actually quite the genius. The film did good to avoid the obvious tropes there and his whole crew was solid. They weren’t as stuffy as Javi’s crew and there is something to be said about staying relaxed in tight situations. It’s not like Javi’s group was bad or anything like that but you can tell that it would be a much more stressful environment.

By the end of the film, things do start to get a little exaggerated as the story beats you over the head with who the bad guys are. I would have appreciated a little more nuance there but nonetheless the film has enough good plots to keep it going well. The pacing is smooth and the effects are really solid. It was definitely great seeing the tornadoes up close and we got some great disaster scenes. That tends to go without saying but it does take a lot of effort.

A film like this lives or dies on the characters though because you have to care about them beyond just following the disasters. The film succeeds on that as I liked Tyler and Kate. I never quite warmed up to Javi but you can’t win them all. The film’s technology approach was also good to show how much progress we have made in tornadoes over the years. It’s an area that I expect we will never fully master but every improvement certainly goes a long way.

This is a very uplifting kind of movie. The characters go through their hardships and everything but it’s all about overcoming them. In that way this feels like a very classic kind of film that’s not trying to be too fancy or get too ambitious. This helps the movie really feel like a true successor to the first Twister film. We don’t even have a true villain who’s trying to blow everyone up or anything like that and the film still feels like a good thriller all the way.

Overall, Twisters is a pretty fun film. It’s easy to tease the whole premise of there being two twisters this time around but it is a well crafted movie. It can be very predictable at times and I think it could treat the audience with a bit more respect in terms of being less obvious but at the end of the day it is a movie that makes for a good watch. It has a lot of replay value and you’re never bored at any point during the story. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who likes some quality excitement and there is definitely room for a sequel with how it ends.

Overall 7/10

A Haunting in Venice Review

Posted on January 13, 2025 by dreager1

I remember when the trailer for this film first came out. The idea of a horror mystery was a pretty interesting one since Poirot is usually very down to Earth. I suppose the catch is that you know there will be a logical explanation like in Scooby Doo but it would be fun to try and piece together what was happening the whole time. The movie does a good job of giving you hints as the adventure goes on. That said, you feel like the horror stuff is a bit of a distraction from the mystery and ends up weaking the experience.

The main character as always is Poirot here and the guy has retired from the spotlight after the last cases. He just wants to eat his pastries in peace but this is all broken when an old associate of his shows up and says that she wants Poirot to come to Venice. There are some spooky things going on within a haunted house there and she aims to write another book. This one will be about how even Poirot got stumped (Or her fictional detective stand in anyway) since she believes it’s all real. Poirot is not convinced and heads over to discredit the whole thing. Will he be able to find the proof in time?

As always you have a bunch of suspects here and everybody is running around causing chaos. I’d be with Poirot in this case as I definitely wouldn’t trust the medium. It’s like with hypnotists where I just roll my eyes at the whole thing. Yes, people can be hypnotized but it takes time and effort, you can’t just do it in a matter of minutes. Well when someone gets murdered Poirot is forced to lock the place down. He must find the killer, whether it be a person or a specter. The victim craves justice and Poirot will obtain this…or die trying! Does he have what it takes?

For sure you will see Poirot panicking a whole lot more than usual. He’s super jumpy and falls for quite a few of the jump scares. There is even one really embarrassing moment where his head is shoved into one of those apple bobs and he can’t get out. The fact that he nearly died there is crazy. The film made the mistake of showing us the hold for the apples earlier and it was a small stand. He could have at least kicked it out of the way even if he couldn’t somehow find his footing and get up. Honestly, not falling seems like it would be harder than falling in this case.

So he looks pretty bad for most of this I gotta say. Sherlock Holmes would have handled the situation many times better. The fact that the film has an explanation for it doesn’t fully absolve Poirot either. He just felt off his game in this one and to an extent you needed that in order for the plot to proceed. Usually things probably wouldn’t have gone to this level although I expect we’d still have a number of victims since that happens every time.

The visuals are really sharp as always. Venice is certainly no somewhere I’d ever want to live because that much water really doesn’t call to me but it still looks nice. The mansion was on point too and the various jump scares are handled well. Some are perhaps a little too obvious and you can see them coming a mile away, but it’s still nice to see because it’s just so foreign for a Poirot film.

Now lets talk about the suspects. First you have the twins Nicholas and Desdemona who have been working for the medium. They want to get to the United States and so that’s a pretty good motive to start bumping people off. They need money and they need it fast! Desdemona is a fun character in particular as she isn’t afraid to be throwing punches and slapping people. Get in her way and you may be doomed! Not as much to say on Nicholas but he’s fun enough. Both of them seem very loyal once you have won their trust but whether you are on their side or not is the real question.

Then we have the kid Leopold who claims to be able to talk to spirits. He’s one of those kids who seems to have all the answers but you also wonder if he may just be bluffing. He’s definitely the most annoying character though. They say that thinking you know everything can be worse than not knowing anything and this is one of those cases. He causes a whole lot of problems. Perhaps he is actually the one going around murdering everybody.

Next up is Joyce who claims to be able to talk with spirits and has built a whole business around it. When Poirot tries to call her out, she flips the situation back on him. She destroys him verbally and even puts on a mask and cloak before he can react. It’s clear that she has the upper hand at all times here so perhaps this is all personal and she is the ultimate villain of nightmares. You definitely can’t discount the possibility.

Ariadne is Poirot’s old contact and as an author maybe she needed to murder someone in order to get the plot going. She’s a very experienced player in these things so it is definitely possible that she lost her humanity at some point. Sometimes it just happens and since she knows Poirot so well, it could help her in deceiving him.

Rowena is the mother of the girl who died (Alice) and it’s because of her that everyone is assembled here in the first place. She wants to know which ghosts are haunting the halls and if Alice has anything to do with it. Perhaps losing her daughter has made her want to lash out at everybody. Perhaps she is the one who took her daughter out. You can’t really count anybody out.

There is Alice’s fiancé Maxime who is a big time chef. The guy called things off but perhaps that wasn’t the full story and he needed her out of the way. He’s a bit of an enigma and is always ready for a fight so the heroes have to watch out for him. Even if he’s not the guilty party, it’s possible that he will lash out here.

There is the doctor Leslie who suffers from some serious trauma and doesn’t always seem stable. It’s certainly possible that something happened which put him down the wrong path. I will also say this is where characters can look a bit too similar as he gets in a fight with one of the other characters and it’s hard to tell them apart mid fight. The film could have really stood to make the characters all stand out a bit better.

Finally you have the housekeeper Olga. The housekeeper is often a suspect in these things but she seems nice enough upon first glance. As you can see, there are a ton of suspects here and the problem with the horror stuff is that they can’t all be fleshed out as well as they could have been in a standard case. You also start to pay more attention to the scares than the actual mystery so even the final explanation at the end isn’t as gripping as it could have been.

All this is to say that compared to the average mystery I had a good amount of issues with it. That said, as a stand alone title it is still good and beats the average horror flick. I’m not all that into horror after all so in this way the mystery aspect of the film helped to elevate the horror parts. It was able to reach heights that it wouldn’t have otherwise been able to attain. The pacing is good and the film does keep your attention without a doubt.

Overall, The actual mystery takes a backseat to all the jump scares and horror shenanigans. That’s more or less what you would expect so I’m not saying that’s a terrible move or anything but I do think the film could have stood to focus on the mystery a bit more. The best parts of the film are when Poirot is interviewing everybody after all. Give me more of that and less scares and you would have the classic experience. It is a change of pace though and if you’ve seen the rest of the films then you should check this one out as well.

Overall 6/10

Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Review

Posted on January 13, 2025 by dreager1

I was never the biggest fan of Beetlejuice admittedly. It relies a bit too much on shocking humor and gross visuals. That said, it definitely beats the sequel which tried going a little too far into this direction. It had some good humor but for every fun joke, there was another cringe one thrown in. Definitely not the kind of movie that typically uses a whole lot of restraint. They even managed to squeeze in animal violence which I was completely not expecting.

The movie starts off with Lydia hosting her big spooky show where she helps people who need to see ghosts. Her daughter Astrid thinks it’s all fake and wants no part of this so the two have really fallen apart. They are forced back together though when Delia’s husband dies tragically out at sea and she wants everyone at the funeral. Lydia’s manager Rory figures this is his chance to marry her and Lydia has almost no free will of her own so she basically just says yeah. In the supernatural world Betelgeuse is making his move though as he is being chased by his ex-wife Delores and so now’s a good time to marry Lydia again.

He has spent years trying to get her attention and slowly she is starting to see visions of him in the real world. The boundary between life and death has never been weaker. Meanwhile Astrid meets an emotionless hack named Jeremy who is really eager to have a relationship and Astrid is lonely herself so she figures she may as well but she will have to try and keep her composure. Mustn’t show too much emotion herself. There’s definitely a lot going on here.

So right away one of the big issues here is how ugly everyone is in the spirit world. I know that’s part of the point with how you move to the next stage of existence with whatever injuries you died with but even so, this just felt like a bit much. You have people with live fish still eating them, a skeleton that’s constantly gushing out blood and a janitor that is pretty much mid vomit. You’re constantly waiting for the real world to return because every scene in the spirit world is just plain gross. It may be the film’s main gimmick but it definitely could have held back a decent amount here. You basically want to look away whenever they are in this world.

Then for no reason two chickens get eaten and there is quite a lot of violence everywhere. Putting in animals in any context had no purpose being here to be honest. It just doesn’t make any kind of sense so that was annoying. In the real world the characters may have always made the wrong decisions and so they weren’t easy to root for but at least nothing too crazy was happening on screen. Although lets dive into the characters now because they didn’t help the film much either.

First up is Delia who feels like a waste of a character. She’s just way too over the top the whole time with how far into the supernatural bubble she’s fallen into. Her scenes were rarely funny because of how exaggerated they were. then you have Jeremy who is annoying from the jump. It’s obvious that he is trying too hard to be the perfect match for Astrid and the fact that she is buying this at all is what will also have you shaking your head. Astrid is supposed to be the smart one except for when she’s not.

Although while Astrid makes her share of mistakes she could be worse. Lydia is 100X worse and her character has been thoroughly assassinated since the first film. She is so crushed by life that she is willing to let herself get married to Rory just because he asked her. She doesn’t actually love him but is going to go through with it anyway? That’s just terrible and no reasonable main character would ever do that. It’s a massive L against her character and throughout the movie she is being manipulated so easily. It’s easy to see why the family fell apart.

The film doesn’t give us much reason to even feel bad for her either. Since it’s part comedy, it’s not like Rory is even being subtle here. Lydia didn’t trust her feelings and that’s always going to lead you to disaster. As for Rory, well he’s your average villain. He does his job pretty well and considering that his plan would have succeeded if not for Betelgeuse I can’t even say it was a bad plan. It felt like a bad plan but it was working.

As for Betelgeuse, well he’s about as crazy as ever. He fears nothing and treats every part of life like it’s a joke. I suppose to him it is all just a big grand joke though so that makes sense. With his reality warping abilities he can defeat anyone as needed and only loses when he feels like it. It does make the film feel a bit aimless though since everyone is at the mercy of his whims. This even undercuts the main villain of the film.

Delores is the main villain here and she has the ability to suck the life out of someone. Honestly I think that plot point is the only reason why she was even added in the first place. At no point is she even a threat to Betelgeuse and the way she goes out is very lackluster. The film seemed to want to include some tension but couldn’t figure out a way to weaken Betelgeuse and so they just gave up halfway.

There is a lot going on throughout the movie and that’s a good thing I suppose but just about none of the plots have a satisfying conclusion. Everything is just jumbled together and none of the characters are interesting enough to hold their own. The only really fun character was the actor because I like over the top villains like him. That said, it’s not like the guy even did much. Then as far as the comedy is concerned, one of the only really good gags was when Betelgeuse took on Jeremy near the end. Beyond that, there were way more misses than hits this time around.

Overall, Beetlejuice couldn’t really manage to have a solid second film. This film comes across more distasteful than the first one and the film didn’t have enough of a focus. You don’t really get the whole plot of Betelgeuse wanting to marry Lydia because if he was serious about it then they would be married already. The fact that he even caused her to have a kid as a gag is crazy. I know you can just say it’s a comedy over and over again but there still needs to be some kind of a real plot to hold it together. I don’t see how the series can continue without Betelgeuse facing off against an actual threat. Or maybe just write him out, he was gone for large portions of this film anyway. Although…the film wasn’t much better for it so maybe I shouldn’t hold out much hope here.

Overall 3/10

The Painted Hills Review

Posted on January 12, 2025 by dreager1

It’s time for another Lassie film and of course you know that means that the movie won’t be particularly good. Lassie movies tend to fall into the same holes time and time again. You want them to be good but deep down you just know that they won’t be. It’s unfortunate but that’s just how it goes. This one is another particularly weak installment and the whole time you’re waiting for Lassie to show up.

The film opens up with Jonathan and his dog Shep travelling through the mountains and finding a gold vein. They might be rich now! They head back to town to let Martha and her kid Tommy know but unfortunately a guy named Lin hears about it. Lin has always been a decent guy and he convinces Jonathan not to put a claim in just yet so they can make sure of what they’ve got first. Jonathan unfortunately listens to the guy and they head back up. Lin gets crazier and crazier about the gold until he finally murders Jonathan and decides to take it all for himself. He even poisons Shep and tries to bump him off. Will the guy face justice or is it all over for the heroes?

Obviously it’s sad for Jonathan but my main problem with the guy is that the whole thing is so obvious and predictable. How did he not suspect that Lin would do this? Lin was not hiding his greed at all. Not even for a microsecond was the guy staying sane after he saw the gold. He was quick to attack anybody and so Jonathan should have taken care of him sooner. Instead Jonathan talked about the rules of the mountain and how there was an honor code. A lot of good an honor code does you once you’re dead!

He had the foresight to give the kid Tommy the claim so that the government could get involved but still went up the mountain with Lin upon his request? That’s just not a smart move at all and it makes sense that he would be pushed. I’ll be less harsh with the dog Shep for eating the poison but to be honest even he should have known better. Lin is not someone who can be trusted and Shep knows pretty well that Lin is the one who bumped off his owner. This calls for drastic action, not simply going along with all of this. Shep does well in the end but it took a while to take care of Lin.

Tommy also didn’t look particularly good here. He knows for a fact that Lin bumped Jonathan off and tries to escape only to hit his head really hard and get gaslit into basically staying silent and not saying anything for a while. Tommy handled the situation as poorly as possible and it was all pretty disgraceful. I expected much better from the kid but he disappointed me in the end. I know he’s just a kid but we’re talking life or death here, you can’t be letting yourself go down so easily. At the very least he could have said that Lin was trying to murder him and beating him in a more convincing way.

Even punch yourself real quick if that’s what it takes and leave a bruise or something. The other adults were slow to believe him which is annoying but makes sense with Tommy shooting himself in the foot the whole time. As for Lin, well he definitely didn’t cover his tracks well so he shouldn’t have even lasted as long as he did. He’s just lucky that things kept on working out for him but the film can’t say it was so lucky. At the end of the day we had to go through more animal violence here as Lassie is poisoned and shot at.

The dogs always have a really rough time of it and while some of the other Lassie films have been more violent, this one’s still going too far. No reason Shep should have to go through all of this and the film as a whole isn’t super interesting. I’ve seen better films about people being corrupted due to the gold. In this case I wouldn’t even say it is corrupted though as the guy seemed shady from the start. The gold was just his excuse to get really crazy about the whole thing.

The first red flag should have been the whole reason not to put in a claim. He talks about how other people would go to the mountains to dig and ignore the law anyway. Sure that might happen but at least you’ve got the law on your side and by the time other people discover the spot you should have gotten most of the gold anyway. It didn’t feel like a real argument although Jonathan believed it so I suppose there had to be something to it.

The guy was just too trusting. Even with how casual he was about another guy walking over and helping himself to things within the house. Apparently on the mountains it is a tradition where this one guy will show up to cook a good meal and then leave. While Lin’s response was off the rails crazy, I would be a bit weirded out as well if someone was just randomly in my house. Back in the days of everybody carrying guns, I could see this being fatal real quickly as well. You don’t know what’s going on and only have half a second to react after all.

Overall, The Painted Hills is a film I would definitely avoid. None of the characters are smart at all and fall for the easiest traps. Once you are on a horse there’s no way a villain should catch you and yet Tommy manages to find a way. Lin should have been taken out way sooner and needs all the plot armor in the world to stay on top. Not a very good look for him at all. There’s also the whole irony of Lassie not even being in the film since Shep is a descendent. A very odd choice without a doubt. I don’t think the film would have been good either way but it doesn’t help matters.

Overall 3/10

Naruto X Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections Review

Posted on January 3, 2025 by dreager1

I may not have gotten this game day 1 but I knew at some point that I would need to take the plunge. The whole marketing was about a new Uchiha showing up and that’s like finding out that there is a new Saiyan. It’s an immediate way to build up hype and I can tell you that it succeeded. Really one of the only reasons this wasn’t a day one is because most of the story is old.

When you boot up the game you have your usual array of modes. Vs mode, the main story, and special story. The main story is basically compiled from all of the previous games where they paste a lot of those fights but apparently remove a lot of the interactable bits. From what I’ve heard it’s a straight downgrade which is a shame but that’s just how it goes I suppose. We weren’t hear for the main story either way and I skipped it entirely. At some point I’ll play through it for the trophies but that’ll be a while.

The special story starts off with Boruto getting hooked on this online game where he can play as Naruto. Unfortunately there is a deeper conspiracy here and someone is mind controlling Naruto and the others. Sasuke will have to hold Naruto off but Boruto had to stop the threat at its core. If he doesn’t succeed then that will be game over. Now while the main history mode is longer, they did put a good amount of effort into this special story and it lasted longer than I expected with the post game story chapter. It’s really got a lot of good stuff to it. The beginning of the story is certainly slow paced but once the game starts cooking, it really doesn’t hold back at all.

The gameplay is very familiar to long time Storm fans. You have your auto combos and then several ninjutsu and ultimate jutsu. Use them all to really get the edge in combat and absolutely dominate everyone in your path. The story is generally easy but you still can’t just approach it blindly. You need to have some strategy in mind or you will end up being defeated in short order. Generally I would say that the giant monsters are the toughest to deal with since they don’t really flinch or stagger.

As expected the graphics are pretty high end. The cutscenes still look really amazing as well as the in game graphics which are on that PS5 level. They definitely kept in line with what you would expect from the series. Additionally the soundtrack is also really good with a lot of different tunes. The game can get really dramatic and the themes are able to keep up with the tempo and themes the whole time.

In terms of replay value, this is a fighting game so of course it’s basically endless. You can keep on having new experiences with each fight as they will all be different. Additionally some of the trophies look rather difficult so that will buy some more time as well. Since the gameplay is a lot of fun, you’ll certainly be incentivized to play as much as possible.

The story also handled the new Uchiha, Nanashi really well. She’s a really well written character who manages to get interesting really quickly and ends up having a complete arc. The game even sets up a romance that you could argue is better than any of the romances in the main Boruto and even Naruto series. It definitely has one of those super tragic endings to it too. Naturally you usually want to have a very happy ending for any kind of plot but the tragic angle can sometimes work too and this one pulled it off.

I would say there are some power level issues here as I think Boruto could easily wipe out any of the old Uchiha soldiers. Maybe I’m underselling them but I just see Boruto winning that one. Likewise it feels like Sasuke and Naruto could do even better in the present but at the end of the day power level issues never hurt the game’s actual score and quality. This is still a very engaging story by the end and helps make the experience worthwhile.

This is also a gameplay style that I grew up with so it’s super nostalgic. I won’t say for a minute that I’m the best at it or anything like that but I feel comfortable in the system. Mixing up the combos and trying out new techniques is something I can do without too much trouble. The different cinematics for every finishing special is also another incentive to use each character and learn all of their finishers. Adds to the replay value without a doubt.

Overall, Boruto Connections is definitely an excellent game. It would have been nice to see them redo the whole story from the start to Boruto but it’s definitely easy to see why they would choose to just reuse the assets since they were already there. Naturally if this is your first Storm game then it’ll hit even harder because then this is really an amazing amount of content to go through. You have a ton of replay value here with the trophies and everything so there is more than enough value to justify the price. No downsides there so pick up the game as soon as possible.

Overall 9/10

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Naruto X Boruto Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections Review

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