Tag Archives: Shonen

The Elusive Samurai

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The Elusive Samurai is a classic action tale set in the samurai era sort of like Kenshin. The setting reminds me of Dynasty Warriors the most to be honest though with fighting over the land. Old settings like this usually aren’t my thing and the main characters are a bit young so it can be hard to picture them going up against the stronger foes but the battles are definitely solid. The series is also certainly not afraid to get super intense that’s for sure. I’ll have a review up for the series once it’s over. We’ll see if the main character can survive on evasive techniques alone or if it’s time for a big timeskip soon!

Overall 5/10

Call of the Night

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Vampires? Yeah it’s always hard to make a really good adventure revolving around that element and this title is no exception. We’ve got the usual blood sucking here but additionally there aren’t a lot of hype characters to try and counter this. The main guy/heroine definitely aren’t particularly likable yet. If you have an excellent plot like Records of a Fallen Vampire then perhaps you can make it but otherwise you’re in for a tough time. If we start getting a bunch of action scenes then this title may end up improving but for now it feels like it won’t be able to get beyond the premise. I’ll have a review for the series up once I’ve completed it.

Overall 2/10

Blue Lock

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Blue Lock has easily become the definitive Soccer manga and one of the all time definitive sport titles. It holds its own with heavy hitters like Kuroko’s Basketball and Prince of Tennis. We’ll see if it can keep the momentum up and I’ll have a review up once the series is completed.

Overall 9/10

Saint Seiya: Next Dimension

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I definitely have my share of issues with this series like the power levels making no sense and formally making Lost Canvas not canon but it’s still a great Saint Seiya story. It’s got all the action and fights you could want after all. I’ll have a review up for this series when it finishes someday.

Overall 8/10

Spy X Family

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Spy X Family has proven to be quite the hit so far and it’s easy to see why. The setup is really quite solid and the characters are all a lot of fun so far. I definitely see this being a great light hearted adventure all the way through and hopefully it can keep up that energy for a long while. I’ll have a review up for the series as soon as it’s completed.

Overall 8/10

The Seven Deadly Sins: Original Sins Review

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As you probably know, I was not the biggest fan of the Seven Deadly Sins main series. Much like Fairy Tail, it could have been one of the all time elites but was held back by fanservice issues and a really poor main character in Meliodas. Still, with the concept being good, that always means that the spinoffs have a lot of potential since you can possibly get all of the highs without the lows if the stories end quickly enough. I would say this spinoff does a good job of that. It’s not amazing or anything like that but it’s a pretty good collection of stories where the Sins get to do their thing and take out the enemies.

The main story in this book sees Meliodas and the crew take on the vampires. This story is from before they disbanded so it’s fun to see the team together from back in the day. Even at this point they were all incredibly powerful and I think you could do a whole prequel that would be a lot of fun about this era. There isn’t a lot of danger as the heroes completely outrank the villains in every possible way but at least we get to see them all use their signature techniques.

From the vampires the only real notable one is Gelda as she would later go on to have a big role in the climax of the series. She’s certainly smarter than the average vampire and quickly knew the score and exactly how everything would play out right from the beginning. Her request to be destroyed by Meliodas still isn’t the right move here though even if winning would have been impossible. At this point she had no true allies or reasons to keep on going but she could have found some if she stuck around. It all ultimately ended up working out for her but if you read this story before reading the main series then she will come off as being someone who gives up way too quickly.

The strongest vampire was probably the leader who fought Escanor but even then you knew that he was doomed from the start. The art is great as always though so you can really appreciate the villain designs here. They just emit power in every panel. Likewise the heroes all look powerful here and you can see why they are known as the ultimate fighting force in the kingdom. It’s rare to have a hero group who completely outshine the villains like this but that’s just how good they are. It would be difficult for any group of villains to match them. The fights are solid so that’s why the vampire story is very good.

Then there’s a very short story where a few bandits decide to break into the cafe Meliodas owns to harass Elizabeth. Fortunately the rest of the Sins show up and beat up/intimidate those bandits for a while. The group’s always ready to watch out for her that’s for sure. While the story may make it seem like they arrived by accident, you get the feeling they’re all always on the lookout so as soon as the bandits showed up they knew what to do. This was before the popularity poll results in the volume so it was a good way to give everyone a moment to shine first.

Finally we have the pilot to the Seven Deadly Sins series. It’s always interesting to read the pilot to see how things changed from the original oneshot. For starters, Meliodas actually seems like a decent person here. He has a huge sword as well instead of the hilt that’s missing a blade. The plot itself is the same as Elizabeth shows up to try and locate the Seven Deadly Sins to help her retake the kingdom but they are all scattered to the winds. Her personality is very different though as she doesn’t really have any manners here and is super oblivious to all social rules.

In this case, her being a princess means that she doesn’t have much common sense and doesn’t know basic tasks. Unfortunately this is an excuse for some fanservice. The villain here is a little more deranged and one of those pervy type villains who is extremely annoying so the main series definitely had a better introduction when it comes to the villain. Both the original first chapter and pilot have different positives and negatives so in a way the series just changed up what held it back. It’s a decent pilot but it’s easy to see how this could have taken us down the wrong path.

The artwork has certainly improved from then though. You can’t really compare the character designs from the pilot to the main series, it’s just a world of difference and that makes sense since the artist is a lot more experienced now. With these 3 stories in here, this makes for a fun one shot. It’s always good to see the gang again and I’m glad these stories were put into a manga volume instead of staying in limbo for all eternity. This is certainly the better deal.

The Seven Deadly Sins may not be the best group of heroes out there as I’m not a huge fan of most of their members but it is a nice dynamic with how they’re barely a team. They don’t work very well together to the point where it’s extremely rare to see them all teaming up at the same time. They’re all just too strong so naturally they all have big egos and rivalries of their own. Merlin and Gowther always seem super suspicious so it’s hard to know what they’re thinking. King and Ban are always fighting, same with Ban and Meliodas. Escanor’s personality does a 180 based on whether it’s night or day and Diane is nice enough. Their chemistry makes for a lot of fun banter but usually won’t turn into teamwork. They’re so strong that it’s rarely needed though.

From the 3 stories my favorite one was the vampire story for the reasons listed above. It’s just a very classic action story and seems like the kind of plot you could expect to see in a movie. Second would be the short story about the Sins beating up the random bandits. It was really short but it was nice to see everyone defending Elizabeth there. Finally the pilot would be in last. Still a decent story but between the villain being pretty bad and Elizabeth not being at the top of her game it just couldn’t compete with the others.


Overall, Original Sins is a clever title for having the original story in here but at the same time it makes you think that this might be more of a full prequel instead. I still say that a story about their original adventures in full would be a lot of fun. If you’re a fan of the main series then you’ll definitely want to check this one out. If anything you may enjoy checking this one out if you haven’t read the original as well as it’s a decent jumping on point. The vampire story at the beginning tells you all of the character personalities and abilities while the pilot gives you a good idea of the story. So that way you’ll have a good idea on if you will like the series or not.

Overall 7/10

Gintama

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I have started the myth, the legend, the all time comedy known as Gintama. It certainly got tons of hype back in its day that’s for sure. I can see how it got so big since it really leans into its own unique comedy style with confidence. I can appreciate how out there it is and things are off to a fun start. We’ll see if it continues to rise and I will have a review up once I have finished the series.

Overall 7/10

Hyde and Closer Review

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It’s time for an action series that isn’t super well known. It’s certainly on the more obscure side I’d say as even I hadn’t heard of it before starting the series. It feels like Reborn in a lot of ways with how the main character isn’t very brave but the chibi mobster helps him learn how to defend himself and fight back. Only instead of a baby gangster it is a toy gangster. So there’s a lot of similarities there but while this series never makes it up to Reborn’s level, I would say it’s still a pretty good title.

The manga starts out with introducing us to Shunpei who is a nervous wreck and never really developed his magical abilities. His grandfather Alsyd is known as the greatest sorcerer in the world and always leaves souvenirs for Shunpei. Well, one day the grandpa vanishes but not before leaving Shunpei with a stuffed bear named Hyde. Shunpei’s too old for toys but when he is attacked by one, Hyde is the only one able to come to his rescue. Hyde explains that sorcerers all over the world are going to be going after Shunpei to take him down for good. Each Sorcerer uses a toy of their own and if Shunpei wants to live through this then he’s going to have to man up and work with Hyde. Shunpei isn’t thrilled about any of this but doesn’t have much of a choice and he is worried about his grandpa.

The manga’s reasonably short at 7 volumes but gets to do quite a bit before the ending suddenly blazes in and everything just ends. It’s a very retro kind of story that feels old while you’re reading it. Not in a bad way per say but you can immediately tell that this isn’t a newer manga. Likewise the art is a bit old like that but it works out well enough for the fights. It’s the kind of artstyle that can get a little busy during the fight scenes so the pages may take longer to read. I would still say it looks good though, not very good or anything but it gets the job done. The series has quite a lot of action and all so it’s reasonably balanced. It just never hits its stride and becomes a great manga.

I would say that’s in part due to the characters. The cast isn’t bad but they’re not great and that seems to sum up most of the manga. A lot of the villains are quite forgettable and the side characters were only just coming into their own by the end. The strongest aspect of the story is the whole toys angle as that’s fairly unique. I also like the idea of the curses bouncing back at the user if they lose a fight. It makes each battle more high stakes for the villain for a change which is certainly a twist.

Shunpei starts out as a very underwhelming main character because I never like the nervous types but he really turns things around in the second half. I haven’t seen such a big turnaround in a minute but he gets very serious and is suddenly jumping into fights. Shunpei learned how to use the barrier skill which was his first big power up and he certainly does make the most of it. While it’s not an offensive move, it can protect him from almost all attacks. I suppose in that sense it’s more of an absolute domain since he creates the rules within the pocket he draws. Shunpei could directly contribute this way and when you mix in his confidence, that definitely helped a lot. You almost don’t recognize the guy from the first half.

Then you have Hyde who isn’t quite as charismatic as Reborn but he has the tough guy personality where he talks like a mafia member. He really wants Shunpei to learn what it is to be a man and has a lot of speeches for it. I like his personality and what they are going for here but the only underwhelming part is I feel like he’s quite weak half the time. He needs Shunpei to take out the Chainsaw from his back during the first fight and that seemed like a huge weakness. After that Hyde is able to fight on his own but he seems to “Meet his Match” in just about every fight so Shunpei needs to help out. I would expect more out of Alysd’s most powerful creation. I know he is always running on low energy due to plot reasons but I would have liked for him to have gotten more solo wins before he was outmatched.

As for the grandfather, he misses out on most of the story of course. When he does appear, Alsyd does look good though and lives up to his hype as the greatest sorcerer. The manga has a good reason for keeping him out of the action for so long even if it’s a shame that he had no way to contact anyone. He certainly performed his part well and bought the characters a whole lot of time. He’s one of those manga old guys who seemed to have gotten even more powerful with age given how long he was able to hold out without food or drink.

Tatsumi is the main heroine here and she’s fun enough. She reminds me of the heroine from Law of Ueki although she doesn’t actively help out in the fights quite on the same level. Tatsumi gets to see Shunpei’s character development first hand and is always around to support him. I wouldn’t say she ever makes a mistake of trips up and remains a loyal ally throughout the whole series.

The first big character to show up is Shindou as the first assassin to be going after Shunpei. He uses his doll Tomiko in order to fight and her hair is indestructible. Their dynamic is very similar to Yuta’s from JJK. A curse is essentially the reason why Tomiko is a doll now and Shindou fights in part to get rid of that curse. As a rite of passage usually the first villains are the ones who have the greatest chance of becoming a hero and he does end up helping Shunpei for most of the series. He’s the smart member of the group and is always careful to measure the odds. I liked him well enough and Tomiko was a good fighter. She’s the best shield you can have and is really the one doing all the heavy lifting since Shindou can’t fight at the same level. This series is all about teamwork and since these two have such a strong bond, they were in a good spot from the start.

Kazan is another one of the allies who helps out Shunpei. He protects a lot of kids but feels guilt over having murdered someone by accident. While he was ultimately forgiven and not hanged as a result, it took him a while to come to terms with that. Nothing a good speech and beating from Hyde won’t cure though. Kazan’s the tough kind of character who will rush into action but isn’t quite as powerful as some of the other members. His doll Desmond also feels weaker than the others. I like the suit of armor but beyond that it doesn’t feel like he has a game changing ability like Hyde or Tomiko.

Ana is another one of the fighters who wants Shunpei’s power. Initially she appears as a villain due to that and then gradually becomes another one of the allies. She actually gets a full backstory which ties into one of the villains later on and so she has a big role throughout the series. Her doll is one of the more versatile ones with the boombox abilities and music type skills although I would say that it lacks the raw power that some of the others have.

Then there’s Pacqwa who is an items seller but the gimmick is that she isn’t very good at being a seller which I wasn’t a fan of. I feel like she could have put more effort into her craft. Ultimately it works out since Shunpei is able to believe hard enough though and belief is how you get the magic to function in these things. He really had to do all of the work though so I hope she will improve in time for a sequel series some day.

There are a ton of one shot villains here of course which is good since that way you won’t be able to tell which ones will turn good and which ones are doomed. The more evil they are, the stronger the curse is when they lose so some of these guys end up dying or being sent to the hospital in critical condition. Either way, it’s a good explanation for why these guys don’t return since they won’t be in a position to do so for a very long time.

Schubert was personally one of my favorite villains. The guy’s a rich CEO and so of course he has a lot of toys. With his ability he is able to use tons of them at a time and it’s very much a quantity over quality kind of thing. Even with that he is able to give the heroes a good fight though and I would say he was the most impressive villain in the series. He really had them on the ropes for most of the fight and why does he want the power? Because as CEO he just wants everything of course. The reason is so simple that you just can’t help but find it funny. This guy was just a blast.

Enrique is another one of the villains who is ultimately being manipulated here. He thought that he needed to take Shunpei down and really went for it but the hero realized that something was up and didn’t finish him. Not that Shunpei finishes most of his opponents off but he was able to end the fight before the curse could flip so nothing really bad happens to Enrique. Nice enough kid but he definitely needs to be careful not to trust too easily.

Now as for The Watcher in the Window….this guy isn’t all that great. It’s probably the biggest risk of having a villain who is always hiding in the shadows when the series has to quickly end. He doesn’t really get to do anything until the very end where he is quickly dispatched. There’s no time to really get to enjoy his character or anything and since he loses quickly…he doesn’t look as impressive as he could be. Now, he is certainly powerful and deserves to be the final boss but I would have liked him to have done something a whole lot sooner. The egg plan wasn’t even that bad in terms of unlocking pure evil but the watcher’s whole character arc goes so fast that it’ll leave your head spinning. I would have handled his character in a different way as the potential there was great. Still, I imagine the author had different plans too.

There are a few more villains we should talk about though. Next up is Punch, he’s ultimately one of the stronger opponents and makes for a good rival to Hyde. Their battle goes to the wire and it’s always good to have the dark version of the lead show up. In a lot of ways he is like an alternate look on what would happen if Hyde turned evil. Fortunately that was never in the cards as it would go firmly against Hyde’s code of ethics.

Ronove is completely psychotic and basically just likes to see people and things die. She started from plants and went all the way to people with this. I can’t say that I liked her right from the jump. The psychotic villains like this tend to just be so over the top that there no longer is anything interesting about them. I’d rather if she had a lot of plans and ideas but instead she is just crazy with no bigger goals than dishing out pain. Of course her boss has big plans but she is only following to inflict damage. Her character was just sort of doomed but I can acknowledge that her flames made her one of the most powerful villains in the series. Possibly second to the Watcher.

Finally you have her partner Asmodai who is also evil from the jump. In fact, he was murdering people while he was still in the womb and wasn’t born yet which is kinda crazy. He starts murdering people over something super petty as well and just never went back from there. He’s not quite mindless but Asmodai is basically just a brute who goes around destroying everyone he can. There’s not a whole lot to this character and while that can potentially work if you are very charismatic or have cool powers, that’s not the case with him.

So that wraps up the cast. As you can tell I was much more impressed with the heroes than the villains. The Watcher was an interesting character though but I just don’t think he stuck the landing. Ultimately Hyde and Closer is a fun series but not one that you would call great. It doesn’t have enough special aspects that would cause you to really remember it among all of the competitors. The whole curse and puppet angle could have helped make it big since that’s a fairly small sub-genre. The biggest one I can think of like that would be Zatch Bell.

It felt like the series was gearing up for a big arc in the future but ultimately the series ended before that could happen. I think the author did have a lot of plans for this one but the series couldn’t manage to make it that far. Definitely too bad. The series did have a little animal violence during one of the sob stories and the final two villains were trying to be as twisted as possible so it’s possible that extending the length of the series could have hurt it. For example if the author decided to double down on that and keep making things darker. I don’t ultimately think the series would have fallen off of that cliff though so I would have liked a few more volumes.

The series does get to conclude its arc of turning Shunpei into a man though so the author made sure that wasn’t left unfinished. He does have a brief moment near the end of the series where he effectively gives up and reverts back to his old self but fortunately that was temporary. It would have been a shame to have wiped out his character development like that but instead he stays strong. It may be a rather basic message but it’s executed well. Shunpei learns how to stand up for himself and how to create his own sense of justice. That’s always good for a lead to have.

Overall, Hyde and Closer is a solid adventure title. I think that’s the best way to think about it as you will have a good amount of fun reading it and then the whole thing will be over. The art was good and we got solid fight scenes even if it could be hard to read at a glance sometimes. Shunpei showed tremendous improvement as a main character and I believe he would have only continued to improve from there. The monster of the week format was working well enough but it was nice to get a big villain organization near the end and amp up the fights. It all feels like we were still in the first act though and things could have really kept on going for a while yet. Don’t let that stop you from reading it though as the series does have an ending. Maybe one day it’ll get a sequel.

Overall 7/10

My Hero Academia Season 5 Review

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It’s always impressive how the MHA seasons keep arriving like clockwork. You can usually expect a season every year and the next one will certainly be coming soon as well. The seasons have all been rather consistent as well with really solid animation throughout. This is probably the first one where it felt like the production started to catch up with them in the end but ultimately you’ve got another great season here. There’s a lot going on so lets hop right to it.

The show quickly opens up with the aftermath of last season as Dabi shows up to taunt Endeavor a little bit. As one of the enemy top commanders it would be great if the heroes could take him out but he’s too crafty and slips away. We then go to the heroes who need to get stronger and have a tournament between classes to pull this off. Class 1A will have to try and take out Class 1B once and for all. Can they really pull this off though or are they already doomed? Class 1B has far less real world experience than 1A but of course their quirks are still the real deal.

This lasts for the first half of the season and it’s a fun arc. The animation really helps to increase how intense the battles are but either way I’m always up for a good tournament. We get to see everyone contribute this way and you know that Bakugo is going to be set. Honestly I think Class 1B should have won the third round based on how things played out but I’ll go into each individual match in a second. All of them were fun though and I liked how 1B’s teacher was openly rooting for them. He may not be impartial but he’s certainly loyal. I’d like 1A’s teacher to have been a little more supportive like that.

After the tournament ends we get the mini arc of Todoroki, Bakugo, and Deku working under Endeavor. We get to see more of his family drama and the heroes learn how to make the most of their quirks. In the background Hawks is working on a mission of his own and it’s hard to tell if he’s a double agent that the heroes can trust or if he’s gone off the deep end. Either way he’s their best hope for secret intel but of course he has to be careful how he transmits the data. This arc’s definitely more on the low key side but it’s another way to build up experience for the main characters and to get them strong enough for the battles that are to come. There’s not a whole lot to say about these episodes but of course it’s still going to be a long journey to even begin to forgive Endeavor. I don’t blame Todoroki’s brother for still being super sore about the whole thing. I can’t say Endeavor ever bounced back for me personally.

Then we get to the arc that most people were really excited for in this season. The big My Villain Alliance arc where Shigaraki and the gang are forced to fight against a new villain group led by Re-Destro. It’s always fun to see a villains vs villains arc and so of course that would be the case here too. The new villain group has the absolute massive advantage in numbers since it’s really hundreds against less than 10 fighters. The league of villains are also heavily weakened since they’ve been fighting almost nonstop for days already. With their abilities weakened can they claim victory here?

Imagine if Re-Destro hadn’t been so determined to beat the villains on his own and had called in the heroes? He could have ended up ending the series early but fortunately his hubris made him want to fight personally. I don’t think he realized that this would be the best path for him as well but figured he couldn’t lose either way. Now there was a lot of controversy about how the arc would be adapted though. The events got shuffled around a bit to try and build up synergy with the movie. As a result, the anime put the training arc with Endeavor before the villain arc. Not a really bad thing on its own, both events are far enough away where they shouldn’t reference each other.

The big problem here is that the anime still includes future scenes…including spoiling the ending of the arc with the result of who won the war and what happened to both team members. Everything is absolutely spoiled with a classic villain meeting scene where we see everyone. We hear about the destruction on the news in the episode and I don’t understand this choice by the writer/director. Surely it would have been incredibly easy to move that scene to the end right? Also, due to so many episodes being for the other events, the my villain arc had to be rushed quite a lot. Many scenes are cut and so the arc doesn’t feel quite as complete as in the manga. It only gets 6 episodes to itself (Although 5 since the last episode is really after the arc) so there just wasnm’t a lot of time. It’s still a very solid arc but it is heavily weakened to the point where it’s fair to say that the Class 1A vs Class 1B arc is stronger. At least in the anime I would say it absolutely is. The first arc has better animation, more big battles, etc.

So that part was unfortunate but even if you know how the arc will end, it’s still a fun journey here. You get to see the villains gaining more power and how this will make things tougher for the heroes going forward. They can’t hope to just roll on past the villains now, although that was never really an option. The heroes are gaining power at a much slower rate than the villains so now the villains may have even taken the lead. To be honest, I would say the villain group is more powerful than the heroes right now. Their abilities are simply too good to be stopped.

So lets go back to the battles for a minute here. Class 1B messed up in the first battle because they really had the edge once Kirishima was taken out of play. On paper 1A is much stronger there but 1B had such a promising start. Unfortunately for them they got a bit overconfident. It was a fun way to start the tournament off. Ultimately most if not all of the other battles would surpass this one but we got to see what Shinso could do in the fights.

In the second battle we had another match that appears to be a stomp for 1A on paper but 1B came out with the better plan once again. This time they were able to close the deal and I was glad to see that. Momo and Kendo have a big rivalry here and it was nice to see. Momo seems to usually come out on top so at least Kendo has a win here. Her plan was well thought out and they took advantage of how emotional the heroes could get. I liked how their shadow guy baited Tokoyami at one point. Ultimately this is a main theme for the tournament with how 1B would make up for their lack of physical abilities with really smart planning.

Then we go to the third battle which is the most lopsided because of how stacked it is for the heroes. I’m not a big Ida fan but I can still say that he is quite fast and a threat in a fight. Then you have Todoroki on the same team? Well, that’s a wrap. This fight may have had the best animation out of the 5. We got some great scenes of Ida dashing around at limitless speed and Todoroki’s fire was really sharp. That said, the tie was not satisfying here. While I think 1A should have won from the start, at the end they should have just lost if this is how it was going to go. With the bar hitting Todoroki like that Rocketti needed to come in clutch for 1B.

After that it was time for Bakugo to take the stage. It’s the most one sided battle out of the 5 and for good reason. Up until now 1B has had all of the planning but Bakugo had enough of that. He conducts a really solid plan for 1A and they have a perfect win. It was a good way to show how Bakugo has been improving over the course of the show and now knows how to be a team player. It isn’t something he likes doing but it makes sense that he would know how to work with others since that will be necessary when he is a pro.

Finally we get to the 5th match with Deku. Of course Deku could solo the entirety of Class 1B on his own so we have to have something to prevent this. In this case it was that Deku develops his new ability during the fight and loses control which gives 1B a chance to come back. I really like Monoma so I was glad that he got to have a good role here. Certainly the standout of 1B. The match is never in doubt but it’s suitably dramatic and works as a good way to end the arc off.

So the arc was definitely a lot of fun. Constant fights and everyone got to show off their stuff so I was satisfied here. I would like to see 1B get to do something more in an action context at some point though. I know that they’re probably outmatched against the League of Villains but surely there’s some fodder they can fight against. It would be good to show that they are still contributing and can fight when the chips are down.

In terms of people choking when they’re about to win though, that happens to Re-Destro’s side a lot in the villain arc. At the very least you feel like Shigaraki and Toga should have lost their battles. Toga was getting utterly devastated throughout the match to the point where she was exploded several times when her opponent rigged the blood flow. Toga should not be getting up from that, much less turning the tables. I know the reporter got overconfident but that was the match to me. Meanwhile Re-Destroy also had such a huge lead but then he started admiring Shigaraki and losing his resolve. It was a shame because that guy was so cool but now he has faltered. I guess that’s why he is no longer the mastermind though. He doesn’t have the grit for this.

Now lets talk about the characters. Of course the main cast has already been appearing for a while so I won’t go super in depth there. Deku still makes for a solid lead. As far as Shonen Jump leads go he has always been one of the weaker ones for me but just going off of this season he doesn’t really do anything wrong. He does well in the fights and you can excuse him sandbagging a bit because if he goes all out he could murder someone by mistake. As the seasons go we should see him displaying more and more power in a safe way.

Bakugo gets a really great role of course with how he commanded his team to victory. It was nice to see and he’s never lacking in confidence. Jiro had a great assist in the match and she is quick to act on the orders. I see them having a good dynamic on the field going forward. Uravity doesn’t get to fight a lot here but she does come in handy for helping Deku come to his senses. Ida has his speed moment and while he ultimately has a rough matchup here, he does help his team a lot.

Likewise, Todoroki has a good moment with his fire and ice abilities but ultimately it’s really hard to use those abilities at their peak without murdering someone so that nerfs him in the tournament. The rest of class 1A is mainly uneventful but of course they are all in this tournament so you’ll see all of your favorite characters doing their own thing and upgrading their powers. We still don’t get to see much of Invisigirl so she is truly living up to her name.

For Class 1B the standout characters start with Monoma of course. His ability to store powers and use them at will makes him a true threat. He even has his delayed effect on one of them which is used strategically. You can see how his ability has its own share of weaknesses since he always has to use borrowed abilities which means that he has less experience than his opponent but his high IQ helps to balance that out. He is not someone that you want to go up against in the field.

Kinoko is an interesting case because she’s like Deku where she has to be careful of how she fights. She can cause mushrooms to appear all over your body which impairs your ability to move and breath. She is also shown to be able to do this across an incredible range as she covered a good chunk of the battlefield. What this means is she could conceivably cause this to appear in your lungs and you’d be dead instantly. Her abilities have countless ways to be used but many are lethal and even with knocking out opponents she has to be careful not to suffocate them. I doubt she’ll ever get to do much again but honestly she would be a huge help against the villains.

As mentioned earlier, I was glad that Kendo got her moment to shine. Even if she doesn’t get to fight later on. That’s at least something she can hang her hat on and she really is a solid strategist. Mudman deserves some credit too for being able to react to Ida’s speed and still land his counter blows. He did quite well in using his ability creatively. Certainly not someone that you want to underestimate.

Shihai also gets kudos for the mind games he was playing the whole time. It was quite effective and he’s a good actor. Then you have Spiral who isn’t super remarkable but his abilities are so basic that it makes him feem like a very earnest guy. Ultimately I think he could have done better here but I won’t forget his abilities too soon. The way he punches while spinning reminds me of Jin from Yu Yu Hakusho.

Shinso gets a good role here as he gets to participate in both team sessions. His ability to mind control you is super handy. Even if it won’t work too well on Deku or Shigaraki, most opponents are immediately going to lose if he can hit them. The trick to his ability is that he needs the villain to talk back to him. Assuming that most don’t yet know about his ability, that makes him a real asset on the field. He also wants to learn mor close quarters combat which is a good idea since that never hurts.

Then we have Endeavor who is of course trying to turn over a new leaf. Props for effort of course. I may not like the guy but it is still important to start trying to make amends as it’s better than just continuing down the dark path. As the number 1 hero he has huge shoes to fill but is doing his best. I would still consider him to be the second strongest hero in the series (That we have seen so far) but I would argue Deku has surpassed him. Endeavor is just able to control his abilities better and then go all out.

Meanwhile Hawks still has the toughest job here as he has to hang out with the villains and learn things. He could be murdered at any moment so he really has to be careful. He does well in his role though and knows how to use his laidback attitude to his advantage. Now that takes us to the villains and of course quite a lot happens with those guys. I’ll start with Spinner since he gets the least to do. Most of his scenes are the ones that had to be axed although to be fair, if I had to axe any scenes I would have gone after Spinner too. He’s just not super interesting compared to the others and he’s a bit weak as well. Right now the guy doesn’t have nearly as much drive as the others.

So first off we have Twice who gets a lot of big moments here. For starters he is able to awaken his quirk so he can now copy anybody he really knows including their powers. That’s a huge power up especially considering that he can now make hundreds of clones. It was nice to see him be able to recover from his split personality issues as well. His backstory is definitely something I’m sure everyone imagined at least once in Naruto as a dark what if route. Well, he’s back and stronger than ever now. He may be a villain but Twice is the kind of guy who really cares about his comrades and so you end up liking him well enough. He’s easily one of the more likable members.

Then you have Toga who is still as crazy as ever. We get her backstory which doesn’t make her any more sympathetic but it isn’t really supposed to. We just learn now that she really was crazy from the start. I’m not a Toga fan and this certainly wouldn’t change my mind in that respect. I have to say that I was rooting for Curious from the start and I still say that she deserved that win.

Next up is Dabi who is great as always. It was a hype moment when the team called him in to help in the fight. Makes sense because without him things would be difficult. His fire attacks are great for fighting many enemies at once after all and one hit could be deadly. Surprisingly he seemed to still be on the losing side against Geten and is lucky that backup arrived. It was a rough matchup for him though.

Finally you have Shigaraki. Oh there’s a guy called Compress? Well he didn’t do anything so he may as well not exist. Anyway back to Shigaraki, I’m not really a big fan of his. I mean he’s your classic crazy villain who wants to see the world burn and all. The insane types can be good sometimes, sometimes not. I’ve always found that specific kind of villain to be very hit or miss. He’s slowly starting to get past his issues like always needing the hands which is good and he’s gaining focus. Down the road Shigaraki could end up being a stronger villain personality wise.

His origin story is also the weakest part of the show as of course he has a dog and you can imagine how that goes. He grew up in a toxic household which ultimately ended up speeding his descent into madness. It’s too bad since things could have been different for him otherwise but the heroes were just not around in time. Not like they can be in every household though. Shigaraki’s father just looks terrible here. You can’t really blame the sister since she’s just a child but he deserves a lot of the blame here.

Of course you aren’t likely to sympathize with Shigaraki much here. Even if his childhood was rough, he ultimately ended up becoming a mass murdering villain so that was that. With his new powers he seems nearly unstoppable though so the heroes are really going to have to put out all the stops here.

As for the other villain group we have to start off with Re-Destro. This guy was great at the start, he has a ton of confidence and has his own empire. He blackmails the league of villains openly and it shows you just how many connections he has. He was making a case for being one of the best villains in the series but unfortunately he completely cracks once he is humbled by Shigaraki. He goes to being someone that is absolutely loving being a minion but way too much. He has no more self dignity anymore and I lost all respect for him so fast. He’s just a shell of himself now.

Gigantomachia is sort of a third party villain until he accepts Shigaraki but now we can say he is in the league. He’s super powerful to be sure but one of those really big and not very fast guys so I can’t take him ultra seriously. He’s really good for obliterating tons of fodder quickly though and since it’s hard to damage him, he’ll end up being one of the big players in the upcoming battles.

Back to Re-Destro’s allies, we have Curious next. She’s effectively a twisted reporter who always has to get the scoop even during battle. She’s quite good at her job and made for a fun villain. Curious may be short lived at the end of the day but she certainly made the most of her screen time. Then there’s Geten who also doesn’t appear much but this guy stole the show for me. His fight with Dabi is great and I love the guy’s confidence. Usually you’d assume that ice won’t do anything against fire but Geten showed why his abilities surpass all of that. The fact that he can use water to create a near infinite supply makes me think that he may be more powerful than both Todoroki and Dabi at using his abilities. I dare say Geten was going to easily win if not for the fight being interrupted.

Finally we have Skeptic but he’s more of a support villain than someone who will go in personally. He uses his pseudo hypnosis to get everyone on board and fired up. His abilities also seem to give his fighters a little extra strength so he’s useful to have around. Not really my kind of villain though and he doesn’t leave the same kind of impact as Curious and Geten. Both of those villains you won’t be forgetting any time soon.

For the soundtrack we’ve got a lot of the really solid tunes that are from the older seasons which are always good. There are also some new tracks particularly in the villain arc which are solid. I’m not sure what the name of the theme is, but it plays quite a bit during the villain fights and is a good way to build things up. I like the idea of the villains having their own ost to counter the heroes as well. Ultimately the only aspect that still remains on the disappointing side is the openings. For some reason MHA has really started to have really below average openings. It reminds me of One Piece where the openings just never tend to be all that great. At least MHA had the first opening which was exceptional though, there’s never been a standout tune for One Piece. Maybe it’s a tough thing for long running titles in general as I can’t think of any really top notch Naruto openings. Black Clover would be the exception although Bleach had some solid ones in the mix.

I will give the show credit having 2 intro songs though which is how it should be. When you have 25-26 episodes you should have 2 openings, 4 for 52, and 1 for 13. Every 13 episodes you should have a new opening. Them’s the rules. As for the animation, well it’s pretty great as always. Particularly the first arc with the heroes against heroes. We get a lot of great animation cuts there and top tier moments throughout. The famous cubes for the big moments and the heroes look plus ultra as a result. You could say some of the best animated cuts in the whole series are in the first half.

As mentioned earlier, it does come at a bit of a cost though. The villains arc noticeably seemed to get the worst animation of the series. In the other seasons every episode always looked consistent so even if some fights got more attention than others, it was always at the same level. Here it just looks really different at times, almost outsourced. Even the color palette looks different as it gets a lot brighter and less detailed at times. It may not be on point compared to the rest of the show but I would say it still looks good if you take it as a stand alone. Additionally they still pull out the budget for the final fight of the season which is good. I would say even that one doesn’t look as good as most of the cuts in the first half of the season but it still ends on a solid note.

Also, a part of me is just wondering if maybe the show was just trying something different with the animation. Like if you see the Dabi screenshot above or watch some episodes, it just looks different. It’s why I mentioned potential outsourcing. Perhaps it was a different style they wanted to experiment with and it just didn’t work out as well. I remember Black Clover tried some experimental animation in one of its fights when things were going through a big time crunch and if the style is quicker to animate then it would make sense to use it.

The arc definitely had a lot of really solid animated moments as well even if I don’t think the style was nearly as good as the first half. The less detailed approach may help to mask if this was rushed which could be the intent. I love bright colors like this so the art style worked even if it was less detailed. To put it one way, I wouldn’t mind if it ultimately went in this direction next season even if I would prefer traditional. After all, I really enjoyed the Dabi fight and I thought the scene I attached a screenshot of looked great. It’s certainly eye catching and pops out at you.

Overall, My Hero wraps up another important saga in the mix. It may have been a little less high stakes compared to the last few seasons but we do have a solid cliffhanger to set things up for the next season. Season 6 is really going to be intense from start to finish with nonstop battles so if they need to take a few extra months to set this up that’s fine. It has the potential to be the best season in the show depending on how this all goes. Also, how many shows get to have 5+ seasons like this? Definitely shows how big the series has gotten and I’m expecting more movies coming up as well.

Overall 8/10

Saint Seiya: Heaven Chapter – Overture Review

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After all these years it’s time to check out the original sequel to the Saint Seiya manga/anime. After the big battle with Hades, Seiya was greatly injured and this movie explores just how bad those injuries were since the manga just ended immediately so we didn’t know exactly how this played out. I am glad that he gets up sooner than later though as writing Seiya out for the movie would not have been a great move. The film’s definitely a lot of fun, I wouldn’t go as far as to say it’s the best Seiya movie but it’s cool to see another original adventure and the ending’s definitely hype.

The movie starts with showing Seiya in a wheelchair and he is completely despondent. He has lost his ability to use his abilities and can’t even walk. One day, a group of fighters show up to assassinate him. These are angels led by Artemis. The gods have decided that Seiya and the other saints must be punished for taking out 3 gods during the Hades arc. Athena doesn’t like this but as always she chickens out and goes along with the villains. After meekly handing over her throne and saints, Athena is gone and Seiya is fortunately able to get up. He has to find Athena and take down Artemis and her troops. Can he pull this off now that he is truly back to being a bronze saint? (Even weaker than one to be honest) Also, where are his fellow Saints when he needs them?

If you can’t tell, I was not a fan of Athena at all here. Once again she is betraying Seiya….why? By now you’ve got to trust him since he has saved the day so many times. This is one main thing I would hold against the film which is that everyone’s betraying Seiya again. Aside from Athena you also have the other bronze and silver saints beating him up. Seiya really can’t catch a break and as always he’s got to do everything by himself. It would be nice if everyone could have his back for a change.

Athena in particular has to get the more criticism though. She saw what the Saints did against Hades previously. She should have confidence that they can beat Artemis and whatever army of gods are behind her. Just summon the Saints and announce a full war against them. Otherwise you lose any kind of turf advantage and Athena handing over her staff was not a good move. She’s just lucky that Artemis allowed her to take it back later on.

The other Bronze Saints like Unicorn do look bad here though. Come on now, you’re that eager to start working for Artemis now? A true Saint never stops their allegiance so calling this Artemis’ temple now and things like that make them look bad. I also thought Marin and Shaina looked really bad for going along with this. Enough about those Saints though, Seiya himself looks great which is good. He’s determined as always. Seiya knows how to take a beating, every enemy has the advantage at first and that’s true here as well. Initially he takes a lot of hits but that’s because he’s so weakened.

I can see why this nerf was necessary because otherwise Seiya was stronger than the gods by the end of the series. It should be easy for him to utterly dismantle all of the Angels and take down Artemis. The only opponent worthy of him would be Apollo and even then my money would be on Seiya. Because of this though I have no power level issues with Seiya’s fights. It all makes sense given what we know about his situation.

I do have some power level issues with the rest of the Saints though. Ikki, Hyoga, Shiryu, and Andromeda should all be close to Seiya’s level. Not quite as strong of course but strong enough to be taking these guys down for the count. Instead Hyoga and Shiryu are initially knocked out off screen and then Ikki and Andromeda are having a tough time winning a 2 v 1 against one of the opponents. They don’t have their gold armor at the ready this time (although I’d make the case that they should be able to awaken it with their burning spirit) but they should still be winning these fights. Only Apollo should be able to take them out at this point.

Still, it is nice to see these guys. Their role is very small but at least they all have an action scene which is good. Based on how the film starts to end, I do think they would have done a lot more in the sequel though. It’s a shame that this couldn’t have continued though. Even if we have a different timeline, just have some branching paths. It may not be canon or something but it’d still be nice to see. Or go the Fate route where you have 3 initial paths and then like 5-8 branching futures. The more expansive the franchise the better after all.

The animation here is really solid and I would agree with anyone who says that this is the best that the series has looked. The animation is really solid and this feels like a true theater experience. The colors are sharp and the backgrounds have a whole lot of detail to them. The fight scenes are also on point as well and it’s always fun to see Seiya’s classic Meteor Fist with the accompanying sound effect. The soundtrack is also good here. We get a nice song at the end and the classic fighting tunes are always good. The movie definitely delivers here.

On the other hand, the film’s only real weakness comes in part from the animation although it might not be related. At times the film tries a little too hard to be super grand and emotional. We get lingering shots at the water as it splashes or the moon in the sky. Characters will intently stand in the distance and it did make the pacing feel a little slow at the start. Everything’s just so dramatic and I think it gets to be a little too overdone at some points. Of course this isn’t the kind of thing that would hurt the film’s score but you tend to see this in films where they are really proud of the animation. Happens a lot in Pokemon as we stare at the grass blades twirling in the wind.

The film can also be a little cheeky with mild fanservice when Shaina and Marin are fighting. Could just be more dramatic shots that the movie is going for and since we see that for the environment, it’s possible that it just extends to the characters too. Nothing quite like the obvious camera angles you’d see in SAO though so it’s super mild at best. Saint Seiya is a franchise that really doesn’t have much fanservice in general and has always stayed strong there.

So we’ve talked about the heroes and how Seiya steals the show here. (Ikki’s role is just too small for him to take center stage this time. It was nice to see him and Andromeda teaming up as equals though. It shows some really good character development for Andromeda at this point) Now lets talk about the villains. Artemis is like Pandora in that she acts a lot more like how you would expect the evil god to be. She isn’t afraid to go on the battle field and talk tough to the heroes. I liked her well enough as one of the villains.

Then you have the Angels. From the 3, only the one who fights Seiya really gets a role. The other two look tough and talk tough but they’re obliterated in short order. The angel who fought Seiya actually got a twist involving Marin though and got a lot of moments to himself. He made for a good villain. Not good enough where I’d remember his name though although I could swear that they just called him “Angel” each time while the other two had true names. Either way he made for a good villain.

Finally you have Apollo who shows up at the end. He talks tough and backs it up with how he looks there. My money would still be on Seiya to beat him if he was at full power, but as discussed that wasn’t the case this time. Apollo works as a good final boss and I’d like to see where he stacks up with the rest of the gods who are so upset at this state of affairs. Seiya does land a good hit but it doesn’t seem likely that he would get a chance to win until the sequels. Apollo’s appearance is extremely brief as the film just ends but he makes the most of it.

I should mention the Gold Saints have a quick cameo here but they are quickly discarded as the gods have the last laugh. I would have liked to have seen them fight a bit or something but I guess there wasn’t much they could do there. It was a fun little cameo but at the same time it feels like they didn’t get to do anything. At least have them send the heroes some gold armor or something, that would have been cool. It’s been a rough road for the gold saints over the last few arcs….actually for the whole series to be honest.

As for the ending, it’s intentionally vague but here’s my take on it. Apollo decided to neutralize Seiya as a threat by erasing his memory along with Athena’s after defeating them. That’s why they’re now in a flower field just hanging out. It means the other Saints are going to have to hurry but it’s a fair bet to say there’s a slight time skip before the final scene so I wouldn’t be surprised if the rest of the Saints were already defeated as well. In the second film I’d expect to see the 5 Saints battling 5 gods or something like that. The more I think about a possible sequel, the more hyped I get.

Overall, Heaven’s Overture is a great film. We’ve got all the hype action you could want and a great cast of characters. The animation is excellent and there’s always something going on. The film can be a bit dramatic but I can appreciate the boldness of nerfing Seiya for a while. It’s better than just having these guys wreck him, now that would have been iffy. Maybe if we’re lucky we’ll get a novel continuation or something at some point. Either way if you’re a Saint Seiya fan then you’ll want to check this one out at some point. It’s a nice look at a possible future path.

Overall 8/10