It’s time to return to the world of Sakamoto Days with this spinoff. It’s pretty cool to finally have a new comedic title to check out. So far the humor is handled well and it’s not going for the usual kind of cheap gags. I can definitely respect that and automatically that puts this one above the average title. It was a good read and hopefully they can keep this one going for a long while. I’ll have a review for the series once it ends.
Overall 7/10
Time to look at the big spinoff to that iconic Spider-Man game. This one’s definitely quite a bit shorter and so it feels like a lean version. Gone are all of the science minigames and civilian levels. Instead you are really Spider-Man the whole time and some of the map navigation has changed a little. Some of these are positive changes while others are not but it works really well in this pocket setting. Ultimately I would say that it’s another top tier game and really does a great job of continuing the saga. I may not have been as thrilled if I paid $60 for it but otherwise it definitely does the job.
The game starts off with Spider-Man being defeated by the Rhino so Miles has to save him. Peter figures it’s about time for a good vacation so he heads off to be with Mary Jane for a while as Miles takes center stage to fill in. He doesn’t just want to fill in though, he wants to prove that he has what it takes to be the true Spider-Man and he may get his chance now. The new villain group known as the Underground is so powerful that they took out the Demons gang and they are planning something big that could destroy the city. Can Miles stop them even if it means taking on some former friends?
The story is around 6-8 hours give or take although it can be a bit longer if you spend more time on side quests. I didn’t do as many as in the first Spider-Man game in part because there were less of them so I wouldn’t pass them by in pursuit of the story mission. Also in part because in this game the crimes are endless compared to the first Spider-Man game where they would end. So as a result I didn’t feel like there was much of an incentive to working on those. Eventually there is a trophy that is crime related but that will be showing up later on. The trophies for this game don’t look all that hard and actually seem easier than the first Spider-Man title but the one that will take a while is beating the game again on New Game+. I suppose not that it’ll take a super long while or anything but noticeably more intense than the rest of them.
It gives you some good replay value though. I mentioned some changes earlier so of course the endless crimes was one so what about the others? Well, now you can turn invisible which is super helpful for getting the drop on enemies and landing more stealth takedowns. I will admit that it makes the game much easier as well. You can turn invisible mid combo to confuse the enemies and then keep on beating them up. Additionally Miles comes with his electric abilities which all land a real big punch. It makes for a satisfying way to beat down the enemies of course but it’s also another way to get yourself out of a tight spot.
So you should really be breezing through this game. That said, it’s a worthy trade off because I really like the venom abilities. They help to make the combos flashier and it’s like having special attacks in addition to the standard moves. The upgrade tree has been simplified so there aren’t as many upgrades. With far less collectibles as well, cleaning up the city has never been easier. I doubt it will take all that long after completing the game all the way through.
The combat speed itself feels faster with all of the combos but that might just be more of a feel and less of a fact. It’s hard to say for sure but I was definitely racking up the blows. Navigating the map is more or less the same as in the first game and moving the side missions to a separate screen feels about the same even if the location is different. The game has removed the quick time events which is too bad but I can’t say that I missed the human stealth missions. You don’t have a camera or anything like that this time which I’m also fine with.
These are things that show how this game is more like a mini version of the first but the important thing is that it still has a lot of content. It has less costumes for example but it still has a good amount of them. So there’s less of everything but compare this to another big game and it probably still comes out favorably. So I would say that’s pretty impressive. Meanwhile the graphics are still really good. It’s likely using the same engine which makes sense. Some costumes don’t always work as well in the cinematics like the cartoon one I wore but that’s to be expected since the art style is so different. I just chose it anyway because I like that costume a lot.
The soundtrack is more on the forgettable side. It’s good and all for the moment but there are no tunes that you would actually go and look up. I would have liked some rock themes or at least one when you fought the Prowler. That may be the best boss fight yet in these two Spiderman games. I like how you had to really rely on your spider sense. It’s something that hasn’t been utilized a whole lot yet so that was really nice. You had to trust in your reaction times and get the job done. Yes, the timing isn’t super tight so it’s a little on the easy side, but regardless the concept was really cool.
Naturally the game does lead into the big sequel with the ending so that’s definitely real exciting. As a whole the story did a good job of setting Miles up for the big leagues since he will need the experience here. At times the drama with Tinkerer could feel a little forced perhaps but all in all you were engaged the whole time. The stakes may not have been Earth shattering but that’s for the main games, not the spinoffs per say. It also will help and make Spider-Man 2 feel more like a crossover now that both characters have had their own games. I assume each one will keep their respective combat systems but we’ll see if that is really the case. I’m also curious on how switching between the characters will go.
Overall, Miles Morales really delivers with a superb game here. The original game set up the groundwork and this one took it all the way. I love these kinds of games with massive free roam over the city. It’s handled so well even to the basic things like movement. I actually want to go and grab the collectibles because the game is so fun. You’re encouraged to just get out there and have a good time which I appreciate. The more I play through these games, the more I’m curious to check out the final outstanding ones that I haven’t played like Web of Shadows or the home console version of Spider-Man 3. All in good time I suppose.
Overall 9/10
Whenever you see a book about Sasuke you know that things are going to get good. This one takes place shortly after the main series but before the big timeskips so that’s fun. Sasuke is early on in his journey to rediscover himself and this book has some good action scenes and a tight plot. Yeah you’re never actually worried for Sasuke but they still manage to throw in some good opponents for him to go up against and that’s what counts.
The story starts with Sasuke being asked by Kakashi to look into some disappearances that have been occurring as of late within the Hidden Leaf Village as well as the lightning area. He bumps into two ninja named Chino and Nowaki as well as an old man named Io. They don’t know much about the disappearances but they are busy dealing with a dangerous lightning cult led by a man who worships Sasuke as some kind of a hero. This troubles Sasuke since he is trying to put the villainous days behind him and in a way this whole situation goes back to him. So he will be forced to address this and perhaps it is related to his main mission. Does he still have what it takes to defeat opponents like this?
Obviously the answer is yes so I’m not going to keep you in suspense here. At best you could say that the only difficult part here is trying to defeat the enemies without murdering them and to be 100% fair that is a decent excuse. In fact it’s the only thing that gives Naruto and the others even mild difficulty because the brainwashed shinobi will blow up upon any kind of contact. So for example if Naruto punches one of these guys then he instantly dies. So this is the device used to keep Naruto from immediately saving the day. While I have a little doubt on this actually being a viable option (Since Naruto can create a few thousand shadow clones and still head to every battlefield like in the war) I like the attempt. It’s actually a reasonable situation and you could say Naruto just wants to really focus here.
In general I was glad to see him show up. Sakura and Hinata also get a solid role as they help out and everyone does their part. Seeing the various characters like the Raikage appear as well makes the novel feel more important than your average side story. Of course you would expect no less from Sasuke Uchiha right? The main story is obviously still with him as he is breaking out of his shell a little bit but also being rather difficult for the other characters to deal with. I liked his portrayal and the novel does actually give him a happy ending so that was nice. He’s definitely earned one after everything he went through there.
Sure there might be a few power level items here but in general he was always in control of the situation which is what you would expect. You guys can hype up all of these other eye techniques as much as you want but at the end of the day the Sharingan will always be the #1 technique out there. Nothing else can match it. It was fun to see a little tournament even get squeezed into the plot where Sasuke didn’t even need his Sharingan. At this point that is the level of ability you would expect from him. Sasuke and Naruto had power on the level of the gods relative to normal shinobi.
One theme within the series that would continue from here is about the secret darkness that still plagues the ninja world. What I never like about this is the implication that it all must be hidden from Naruto because he can’t handle it. Just tell him already so he can fix it. Apparently there is a bunch of human trafficking going on, illegal betting tournaments, corrupt people murdering others for sport, etc. I’m glad that Sasuke stepped in to shut it down but why is Orochimaru still on the loose? How can this whole thing still be so well known? I want to see Naruto step in and shut everything down. It’ll never happen and so it’s a very fair criticism of Naruto and friends (Kakashi should get a good chunk of blame too) because you can’t just change parts of the world and not finish the job. The biggest people who must handle the guilt though are guys like Yamato who had a first hand view of the shady elements of the world and could really spill the beans on everything.
That’s a bit of a tangent but it’s crazy how corrupt things still are. As for the new characters, I liked Chino a lot. She’s very casual with Sasuke and a bit too cheerful for his liking but she’s always a lot of fun. Her scenes are great and I thought she really went through a lot. Ultimately she knows how to take care of herself and has a whole lot of conviction. She was way more interesting than I expected. On the other hand, everyone else is rather forgettable. Io was just annoying and wouldn’t listen to reason. Nowaki was okay but more along for the ride.
I did like the villain Karyu though. He was a little simpleminded and not experienced enough to be more of a threat but he was a nice contrast to the more evil days of Sasuke. This was a good way to have Sasuke confront his past yet again although you could say there are no shortages of moments like that in this novel. In a way that’s the whole point of the adventure as he has to keep staring straight into the darkness while hoping to finally get away from it and into the light. It’s about forgiving himself a little rather than spending all of his days atoning.
Overall, these chapter books always go by so quickly. You just blast through them at a crazy fast pace and I’d say a lot of that is due to the plot being interesting and a lot of it is just because it’s short. The text is fairly large and the pages aren’t that big after all. For example the average Maximum Ride book is 400-500 pages while this one is only around 150. Given that, I’d say they managed to cover a lot here. It’s great supplementary material so if you read the manga then I would definitely recommend checking this out. I wish they would do many more books like this for other franchises as well. There’s always tons of side story ideas you can do to flesh things out and expand the universe.
Overall 8/10
The Slime series always has a fairly tough balancing act to follow. On one hand it needs to provide you with a lot of action and hype but on the other hand Rimuru has already surpassed almost every character in the verse so it can be tough to have a satisfying opponent. Ultimately this spinoff adventure just rolls with it. Nobody is ever actually a threat to Rimuru and at no point are you really worried about the side characters so it just ends up being a fun side adventure that is pretty much stress free. I’d say it ends up working out pretty well though. The series really excels in this niche.
The adventure starts off with Rimuru being sent on a mission to go and resolve a dispute between two princes that is threatening to tear the country asunder. He doesn’t really care about this mission all that much but is ultimately talked into it. Basically each prince thinks that the other is acting unreasonably and Princess Zenobia has ended up being poisoned. There are suspects on both sides and the King seems to have lost all reason so he won’t be any help here. The whole situation is more than a little fishy so Rimuru will need to play detective. Curing Zenobia is the easy part but finding out who is the true culprit could be slightly more difficult. Can he find this out in time to keep the country from fighting?
Well if he was only a detective then it might be a little tough but he’s so powerful that he basically cheats. At one point he has his minions just fight off one of the prince’s advancing forces to buy a little time. For a split second it seems like his fighters are having a bit of trouble so I was glad that it turned out that they were holding back. I’m cool with humans matching them in terms of pure swordplay but in overall ability? Nah that would have been a stretch.
Not to say that there are no powerful villains here though. We do have some vampires/demons running around whose abilities are the real deal. While Rimuru would still deal with them quickly enough, it makes sense that the minions could have a tough time. In the end Rimuru looks pretty good here. He can be a bit hit or miss for me as I liked him a lot in season 2 but not as much in season 1. It’s safe to say that he has come a long way as the series went on and by this point he’s a consistently likable character.
The film couldn’t resist the urge to throw in some more original characters though so one of his allies here is a guy named Paolo. Paolo is super weak but means well. The guy is genuine in wanting to use his skills and I guess comparing him to Rimuru isn’t fair but it would be nice if the guy thought about things more before jumping into action. The series does spare some time to have Rimuru give him advice which helps out in the end. It was a pretty nice little bit of character development and it’s always nice when a film/miniseries can squeeze in a stand alone character arc like this.
The highlight of the special is definitely the quick fight between two demon lords who still haven’t done much in the present. As soon as the issue of vampires came up you could bet that this fight was going to be coming sooner than later. At least with one of them, the other demon lord strikes me as more of a troll who just likes to cause a scene. It does add even more connections to the big budget movie though. They share so many plot elements that it feels like they just wanted to do the same adventure twice. Hey that’s cool with me of course but then Diablo should have gotten a fight here again too. The guy earned it.
Rimuru’s disguise is also one of the best that I’ve seen for a lead in terms of being able to trick everyone so it’s ironic that it basically doesn’t work from the start. The one time a disguise can be perfect because the main character is a shape shifter is ruined because one of the characters can see souls. Ah well, I guess that kind of thing just happens.
Zenobia was a pretty good princess all things considered. She had plans of her own and did a good job of not cracking under pressure. She took some fairly massive risks like letting the villains drug her as she pretended to be asleep but the fact that she had actual abilities was cool. The two princes also weren’t bad. I don’t think you will remember them a whole lot after a while though because they’re a bit generic. One was tempted by the dark side and the other is your classic tough guy.
As this special is part mystery you can expect quite a few plot twists though and those work out well. It should go without saying that the animation is pretty good here. There isn’t as much time for the animators to flex here but the brief fights that we do get are good. The characters are always on model and the special effects are on point. The soundtrack is pretty good but mainly just stuff from the TV show. I guess they wouldn’t want to make a whole new ost for something short like this.
Overall, Basically you will definitely enjoy this title if you already like the Slime series. If you are new to the franchise this would definitely be quite the way to start it. It’s stand alone enough where you’ll understand all the main story beats and the rest you can pick up from context clues. Like I said it’s fairly low stakes and just a good chance to see the characters solving a problem and having fun. It works as more background as we see Rimuru develop into a solid king that everyone respects. So that’s fun and it’s always cool to see everyone’s reaction when they find out what a big shot the guy is. Rimuru is certainly unassuming all the time. I’m definitely ready for season 3 to come out already with more adventures for the gang. Whether they are serious action adventures or just a quick breather like this one, they’re always fun.
Overall 7/10
This Blue Lock spinoff is definitely top tier stuff. It absolutely holds its own against the average sport series and then some. Of course the original Blue Lock is still the best but I’m impressed with how in depth this is going so far. I’ll have a review up for this series as soon as it’s been completed.
Overall 9/10
Madoka finally returns with this season 2! I am a huge fan of the original Madoka Magica show but I was far less impressed with the first Magia Record. Still a pretty good show of course but not great like the original. Well season 2 changes that as it brings the show back up to elite status. It may be very short with under 10 episodes but the action scenes are really intense and the animation budget has never looked better! Every fight is really top tier here and with the introductions/setup taken care of we are able to jump right into the story and battles. It’s easily one of the bigger jumps in quality I’ve seen from a season 1 to season 2.
The show starts with Iroha still missing and possibly dead after the events of the first season. Yachiyo blames herself for what happened to Iroha so she is determined to destroy the Wings of the Magius. Along the way she finds a lead on Iroha which then becomes the top priority. If she can bring Iroha back and stop the evil magical girl organization then balance will finally be restored in the world. Of course this won’t be easy since there are a lot of fighters in the group btu fortunately Yachiyo is one of the more powerful fighters around. Meanwhile Madoka and her crew are coming into town to save Mami so nobody better get in their way!
Lets talk about why this season is such a smashing success. I’ve already touched upon it of course but first up we have the animation. It’s really quite stellar here and you can tell that a whole lot of effort was put behind this one. It’s super flashy and the movement is like Attack on Titan. The characters feel a lot higher tier than usual as a result too. You see just how strong the magical girls are and while it may make you have a tougher time believing that the witches are a threat, it’s a worthy trade off.
In a way the only reason why the witches win is through sheer numbers and lucky shots so that tracks. In a fair fight ultimately the magical girls should usually come out on top. Part of what makes the quest depressing for the characters is how this is a truly never ending fight that just keeps on going forever. That’s where the Wings of the Magius get their ammo after all.
It’s a pretty tempting offer since they claim that they can end this violent cycle once and for all. It’s a rather bold claim of course but you can see how a lot of the characters would buy into this. On paper the plan isn’t even that awful at least as far as drawing all of the witches in to destroy them and then take out Walpurgisnacht. I don’t feel like the characters fully thought this out but that’s addressed later on. I think the show also did not want the group to come off as too sympathetic so they start going off the deep end later on. After all how can you really condone kidnapping magical girls and trapping them in cages? Well the simple answer is that you can’t and that’s when everything starts to fall apart here. The characters who support this or even the ones who ignore it definitely don’t look good in this season.
I always like the idea of fighting other magical girls as opposed to the monsters so I like this direction. The universe is already established in a way where it makes sense that they would fight eventually since there is a limited amount of grief seeds as it is. Now through in this difference in ideology and for the witches you’d think this is their opportunity to cause some damage. Of course they’re mainly mindless so not like they can plan about it. The heroes are lucky in that respect.
The soundtrack is also really solid here. At no point would I say that it surpasses the classic Madoka show or anything like that but it’s still really solid and fits in with the themes so I have no complaints there. I’d say the opening song is better than season 1’s as well. The technical aspects are all really on point here which is a solid foundation for a great show.
Now when it comes to the writing I do have a few problems with the ending although they all stem from one source. Part of the hype for this season was in seeing the original magical girls. Homura, Madoka, and Sayaka get fairly big roles here and Kyouko appears as well. As the originals it’s always fun to see them return since it’s like a crossover. In terms of power levels I’d still put them above the newer fighters but the gap isn’t all that huge. We sadly don’t get the big fight between groups, however their role is still a lot of fun. The main problem is in how they’re written out.
I just don’t buy it. They wouldn’t leave until the situation was resolved and if in the next season Iroha has any problems then the original cast is all to blame. With them around this would be really easy since they add so much firepower to the mix. Also it could have given Mami a chance to redeem herself since she’s the only one that looks pretty bad here. She ends up getting squeezed out of the plot and gets the shaft next to all of the others. You get it since she’s had enough screentime in the verse but a few moments could have helped her.
In the end it feels like an artificial way to amp up the stakes for next time. Well, I’ll take what I can get I suppose. Their scenes are all excellent and it’s part of why the very first episode is already a standout here. I’d also say their role helps support my theory that this all takes place during a failed timeline. We still don’t know exactly when this show takes place, however Walpugisnacht hasn’t appeared yet and Homura hasn’t changed her hairstyle yet. So it’s fair to say this is probably near the middle or maybe second half of Homura’s time travel adventures. I’m thinking she is just letting this play out in case the Wings of the Magius actually succeed.
The fun part in a way is we can assume that this means they existed in all of the timelines so since they never appeared in the main show, Homura must have prevented them from ever meeting Mami and dragging the main cast into this. It’s a pretty fun thought, or you can just say they’re an anomaly to this timeline. I suppose it’s hard to say for sure. One thing I love about the situation is how Homura is basically in new game plus mode. She pretends to be her normal unprepared self and yet she will have moments where the mask breaks and Homura knows something that she shouldn’t. She also comes close to saving the day when needed but holds back in the end when the new heroines show up.
That’s something I’d love to see a whole lot more. Fate abridged does well with this since one character is technically on his second playthrough there but in official works I can’t think of many plots like this. The only other one I can think of off the top of my head is Reverse Flash in the CW Flash show since you gain a lot the second time around when you know all of the twists. So yeah lets get some more Madoka content taking place before the main show so we can see Homura secretly manipulating everyone.
I do have one small negative to end things off with which is that the French magical girl basically does nothing. She randomly decides to leave near the end of the season and just bounces. We never got to see her fight, see why she’s even here in the first place, etc. I have to assume this was all either an elaborate troll moment or her story in the mobile game is extra content that couldn’t be squeezed in. Otherwise it’s just odd how she vanishes, but she was still a good character.
Now back to the positives, I really loved the ending episode and how Tsuruno’s character was handled. You better believe she went back to being the best Magia Record character by the time this was all over. I was definitely nervous since it seemed like she would be missing the entire season but getting a whole episode to herself was great. We got to see into the mind of the strongest and what motivates her. It ends up being one of the more tragic character backstories in Madoka. No her family wasn’t murdered by demons, she didn’t get amnesia or fall into another world. It’s a backstory that hits a lot closer to home because it’s one that’s realistic.
Everyone knew her as the strongest both physically and mentally. Tsuruno would always smile no matter how tough things were and so everyone could look up to her and rely on her. Deep down though it was all a front and the tough part is trying to get out of it. Once you are known in a certain way, how do you ever break the mask? If she were to not be smiling or saving the day then what would her friends think? She had to deal with all of this on her own and she did a great job of it. Short of being mind controlled and broken by witch powers she likely would have kept the mask on long term.
Nobody ever noticed so it’s not like you can ever really blame the other characters. It’s just a complex situation that Tsuruno tried to handle on her own and ultimately she would have broken at some point anyway. They say it’s lonely at the top and this is just one of the many reasons. It’s not like you get a day off when you’re a hero and the one time you decide not to go on a mission is when someone might get bumped off. Definitely a standout episode overall and Tsuruno really shines as a character. I’m not sure if she will get any more fights coming up but I definitely hope so. She is still a cheerful character so I’m sure her smile will be back and this time she won’t have to worry about any pressure or putting up a front.
Iroha’s role may be a bit smaller for the first episode or two but she quickly goes back to being the lead. She’s a fun heroine doing her best in this tough world and like Madoka she is a good inspiration to the others. I’m glad that she can fight as a higher level than the previous lead though so it’s not like this is a full retread or anything like that. The whole dream sequences within her mind and the sister who turned into a stuffed animal was pretty interesting. Definitely a lot to unpack in her mind and it continues the trend of the happiest characters having the most inner demons which I’d say makes sense when you’re always being relied on like that.
It would have been nice to have seen Madoka try to encourage her a bit but they don’t get too much dialogue together. In general by the time both groups meet up there is a lot going on and not much downtime so we don’t get very many conversations on this at all. Still as far as guest star characters go I’m definitely satisfied. Homura and Madoka had the strongest wills from the main 4 group which is to be expected. Sayaka still had a lot of doubts and had to be talked into things.
Kyouko is still more of a loner who talks a good game but tries to help everyone out. She had a fun subplot and looked impressive in the fights although I wish she had gotten more time for action. If you’re a big Kyubei fan I’m afraid that he doesn’t get much at all to do here. We have the mini one that can’t really talk but that’s about it. Also Walpurgisnacht never gets to appear so the new characters should consider themselves lucky. I still say that beast would have easily destroyed the artificial witch. Nobody’s stopping the original juggernaut, it’s known as the most powerful witch in history for a reason after all!
Yachiyo looks really good here throughout. In some ways you could say she is more the main character than Iroha. The season is largely about her trying to avenge Iroha and then later on coming to terms with her past. By the end she’s definitely become a much more secure person since she has overcome all of her demons. I will miss seeing her in a more vengeful state though. Even the villains knew to stay out of her way the whole time or else they would be taken down for the count. She definitely wasn’t dishing out any mercy there.
Then we have Kuroe who made a lot of mistakes in season 1 so she’s trying to make a comeback from there. She is trying hard to make things right so I’ll give her credit there. Unfortunately things still aren’t quite going her way yet. I also think the redemption arc is a bit harder to buy because her mistakes were so extensive. It’s not like she just yelled at Iroha or did something petty like that. She full on joined up with the big villains and was high enough up the food chain where she got to actually see some of the shady stuff they were doing. That’s where it becomes a lot harder to give her a free pass.
The characters who get the shaft from the Magia Record crew are definitely the other friends like Kaede, Rena, Sana, Felicia and Momoko. They’re around of course and get a little action but for the most part they are definitely relegated to just being background support. They don’t have any big character arcs or development left at this point. In a way that’s good, I mean it shows that they are complete characters but I also think this is more of a time constraints kind of situation. With only 8 episodes there is only so much that you can do right?
Finally we have the two big villains Touka and Nemu. Their goals may be good in stopping the whole magical girl situation but it’s definitely fair to say that they fell off the boat a long time ago. Once you start taking down the magical girls that you are supposed to be protecting then you know you’ve gone too far. Nemu at least seems to have some compassion but Touka is always rushing to destroy her enemies right away. If they disagree with her? Time to die. That’s basically her first inclination for every situation which is really not a good thing. We’ll see how things end up with these characters but for now at least I can’t say they are particularly sympathetic.
Season 2 does end with a massive cliffhanger so of course some things will likely be changing by season 3. We’ll see which characters move up and which ones move down. I’m not expecting the original characters to show up this time since they were written out so directly but at the same time you never know. The next season’s short enough to where it’s basically a movie so I’m expecting to jump into the action right away. If the budget’s as good as in this season then we’ll definitely be in for a treat!
Overall, Magic Record definitely continues on a really strong note here. It sets a bar that season 3 is not likely to reach but I’m eager to see how it all goes. The new cast is strong enough where they definitely don’t need the originals to carry them after all. It’s a nice bonus to see them of course but at the end of the day this is still the Magia Record series and you don’t want to forget that. If you haven’t seen this show yet then it’s definitely time to change that. It’s just awesome around the board!
Overall 9/10
Beyblade is a series that’s always great and this manga’s already off to a really good start. Having to climb a tower to prove that you are the very best sounds good to me after all. Ultimately if this one can run long enough I see no reason why it can’t become the next elite title. I will have a review for it up as soon as it’s completed.
Overall 8/10
When this manga came out I feel like I saw it everywhere because of how big the whole dinosaurs angle got. People were super stoked to finally see the dinosaurs getting their props and hey who could blame them right? It’s a pretty big deal for most to have the dinos around. Personally for me that’s not a big deal since I’m more here for the big battles but I can still get the appeal and they have a lot of screen time so it’s not click bait. While I have some power level issues like with the Mirai spinoff, this one has a real story with an intense plot and high stakes to cover that up.
The manga starts with Naruto getting sick again as his heart is giving him more problems. Sasuke heads off to a prison that might have the legendary particle needed to save Naruto’s life. This Heavenly Stardust will be a little difficult to acquire though as most people don’t even know it exists. It really is a mystery through and through but Sasuke is definitely the man for the job. Sasuke basically has to infiltrate a prison as a prisoner to get intel from the inmates but it won’t be so easy. Naturally a lot of them are very guarded around newcomers. There’s also one more wrinkle. This jail is built to keep people in as one of the most secure facilities in the world and there are even dinosaur guards. Sasuke may have gotten in…but can he get out?
I’m always very vocal about how I don’t like the “Lets get captures on purpose!” plans because I find them to be too risky. Sure it sounds good to get intel but while you’re in cuffs or depowered then the villains might just shoot you. In virtually every film I’ve seen about this I’ve always been very skeptical. In this manga at least Sasuke keeps his powers so it’s not as risky. When you can move faster than light and have the world’s top visual ninjutsu and teleportation techniques then I can cut you in some slack. In theory Sasuke is never in danger here but I also feel like he could have completed the mission a lot easier if he just went in and mind controlled everybody at once. Why even bother with stealth?
I see no downside to just using the Sharingan en masse here. So yeah the plot seems a bit forced in that respect but it’s not a big deal and since a lo of the info they had to find out from books and such that part still ended up helping. I’ll just get the power level stuff out of the way now too. Like I said, Sasuke is incredibly powerful to the point where he would really shine as a higher level being to the other humans in the cells. They can’t possibly keep up with his movements and he has a thousand ways around every scenario with his powers. You can’t get me to believe that he would have any trouble with any dinosaurs at any point in the story. I’m just not buying it at all.
The story tries to build up some tension and that’s always good but it’s never remotely believable. Later on Sakura gets punked by a random guy with a knife and then she is unable to lift basic rubble. Sakura may take a lot of heat from the online community but at the end of the day she is still a very powerful warrior with top fighting instincts. This just isn’t going to happen. Even if you say this takes place deep in Boruto where everyone seems a bit nerfed it doesn’t work. This is just the kind of problem you run into the more powerful your characters get. DBZ knows this problem well too. It’s not the kind of thing that would lower a title’s score for me as power levels tend to just be something I still want to point out unless it’s extremely egregious. That said, what the manga should have actually done was give us some kind of powerful Dinoaur chimera at the end. That would have been a really good idea to give a struggle because even though there were an army of dinosaurs at the end, it’s fair to say that they were still not a threat.
The art is pretty good here, it definitely looks like classic Naruto and the artist really understood the character builds all the way through. The action scenes we get are clean and streamlined. I definitely had no issues here at all. The pacing is good and the series is fairly short so you’ll be blasting through it. The story itself is good and the mystery elements were handled well. This would make for a pretty solid standalone movie if it wasn’t already adapted as a mini arc in the anime.
We even get some romance scenes with Sasuke and Sakura to try and set that pairing up a bit more since a lot of fans say they don’t show as much emotion as you would expect. It comes off a bit cheesy I have to admit because that’s just not really Sasuke’s character. He’s the kind of guy who just fights and gets the job done without worrying about the romantic gestures. You could probably tone that down a bit in this title even if the scenes are really just trying to be wholesome the whole time.
Otherwise Sasuke’s portrayal here is on point. Again just ignoring his power level since he should have easily crushed everyone in this series and not been knocked out once. You just don’t buy into him losing or getting injured at all. Likewise Sakura was good here as well. Definitely needs to keep her guard up more but it was nice to see her show up basically just to back Sasuke up and make sure he was okay. Having an ally when you’re behind enemy lines is huge.
There are a few prisoners running around but the main supporting character here was Jiji. Jiji is definitely not a likable character at all right from the jump. See he has a fiance at home but he still doesn’t mind flirting while at jail and tries to get together with Sakura. Even ignoring all of the twists and development later that already doomed his character. You just can’t root for a guy like that so he was awful and I feel like the ending lets him off easy. At the end of the day the guy made his own decisions and nobody was really holding a gun to his head. He’s a villain who really needed to pay for his mistakes. The guy also can’t really fight much so he mainly gets lucky.
The main villain here is Zansuru and he’s a good villain. The guy’s a bit convenient with how his glass eye can block the Sharingan. I don’t mind the glass pulling this off logically but Sasuke could still just knock him out. This villain was just so smug the whole time. He has his big master plans and everything so I don’t want to shortchange him. He’s a good villain and gets results but he’s not nearly as tough as he acts.
A fun supporting character was Meno. He ends up being the main dinosaur here and a solid fighter through and through. He’s someone who is easy to root for even if he also gets a bit of a cheesy scene where he resists Sasuke’s Sharingan. There’s no glass here so you can’t tell me that a living creature can just reflect it like it’s nothing. That’s not happening and they were trying a bit too hard to hype up the dinosaur. Meno is cool and I wouldn’t mind seeing him again but lets not get too crazy here.
Having dinosaurs around is also risky for animal violence. By the end most of the dinosaurs start to go poof when they are destroyed but some seem to take real injuries so I’m not sure exactly how it works. The series mainly avoids getting too crazy with this but it started to get worrisome at some points. At the end of the day you mostly do want to avoid getting animals mixed up in the action because it can be risky.
I think this is a title that ultimately reads even better as a marathon as you can blast through the adventure and enjoy all the turns. The manga is part mystery after all so that should really hook you in. I won’t exaggerate and say it’s super thrilling or anything but it’s pretty good which is all that it really needs to be. I was satisfied with my experience by the end and would be down for more Sasuke adventures like this. Just remember how powerful he is a little more often to avoid odd power leveling issues.
We also get to see a bit into how much easier life is when you have ninjutsu. Sasuke uses it when playing dice or escaping his room with some visual tricks. I’d actually be down to see a lot more of that. Just daily life and showing how useful ninjutsu can be. Considering that a lot of these villages and areas outside of the lead barely know what ninja even are, it puts the characters at a fairly massive advantage.
Overall, Sasuke and Sakura finally got their big team up so fans will be pleased with this. It’s not often that you get to see them going up against a villain without being backed up by Naruto. The plot starts to crumble when you really look into it so for the most part you’ll have to suspend a lot of disbelief. The romance is also a bit shaky but the series delivers on the action scenes and mystery. If you’re a Naruto fan or just want a fun adventure then you need to make sure that you don’t miss this one.
Overall 7/10
It’s time for us to jump back into the world of Naruto with a spinoff that ended recently. You may be wondering how any villain can possibly hope to give the heroes a hard time when Naruto runs the world with a wholesome fist. Well, with lots of power level shenanigans but we’ll get into that later on. My main issue with the series is it feels like 90% of it is just the characters messing around until we get some brief plot at the very end before the series ends. This is a miniseries so it isn’t trying to be super grand or anything like that but at the end of the day I still think it could have done better. Still makes for an entertaining enough read though.
The series starts by introducing us to Mirai who is the daughter of Asuma. She has been trying to prove herself for a long time now but the tough part is that the village has been at peace for so long. She feels like she was never given a fair shot to show what she can do and never will at this rate. So she’s thrilled when she is added as a bodyguard to Kakashi and Might Guy’s mission…before getting saddened again when she sees this was just a cover for them to visit hot springs and have fun. Things just aren’t going her way but she needs to be careful what she wishes for because danger might be just around the corner.
There are 15 chapters here and the story is basically weekly sized so you can probably guess that the adventure will be quick. As I mentioned the first 2/3 of the series really are just slice of life adventures with little hintings of a plot before we get to the big battle at the end. You can absolutely execute well on such a story with the Naruto characters because in theory they are well rounded enough to still be entertaining. The main problem is that the characters aren’t particularly funny. In large part this is because Kakashi and Might Guy are always great in a serious context but I was never too impressed with their rivalry. They aren’t exactly op tier contenders there and since Might Guy can’t fight very much anymore…that doesn’t help things.
Mirai tries a little too hard throughout the series to prove herself and as a result she tends to hold them all back. They needed a very well reasoned veteran to help out and she was too eager to the point of embarrassing them at times. At least she could make potato chips and yes we get a full chapter of that. It isn’t until the end where she finally proves herself but it was a tough road to get there and she fell for one of the most basic traps out there. I do think Mirai has all the makings of being a good character but if you just read this series then I don’t imagine that you will have a very high opinion of her just yet. She’s still got a ways to go.
In terms of fighting ability she seems okay though. She’s hard to scale though because everyone scales quite poorly in this adventure. So lets use that as a diving board to talk about the power level issues. First off, Kakashi and Might Guy are now so weak that they can’t even break a boulder. It felt like gameplay mechanics for a minute there as the villains drop a boulder in front of the heroes so they can’t proceed. There is clearly a lot of room to go around or over the boulder but they can’t for some reason. It doesn’t make any sense but it’s even worse that they just can’t break it.
So they call in Choji but I guess old age has hit him rather harshly because he needs constant food to use his power at even a basic level. So that’s why Mirai had to make him some potato chips and then he was ready to go. That whole part of the plot will definitely make you groan because it makes no sense. It’s like a poorly written filler episode. The mini arc with Kiba showing up and our seeing a dog vs cat civil war was also more on the petty side. You’ll definitely be rolling your eyes a bit on that one.
Things pick up once they actually bring back the cult of lord Jashin. Jashin was always a character that I felt was underestimated by the Naruto fandom because in theory this is another cosmic being on the level of Kaguya. He seems like he’s definitely real because of the fact that the rituals work so maybe one day he will appear. I’m still banking on that even if the odds aren’t great because it just makes too much sense. He’s the one villain that all of the heroes will really need to watch out for or else they are going to be doomed.
His minions here are fairly generic though. They can’t fight a whole lot and use hostages to get in the way. The fight is only close because Mirai messed up. I really don’t buy Kakashi thinking he wasn’t fast enough to step in though. The nerfs to the OG characters in Boruto land definitely hits hard I guess. At least it was an excuse to see Mirai fight though and while she performed poorly against the hostage, we got some decent moves against the villain himself.
The art is on point here and I definitely have no issues there. All of the characters are on model and it’s very easy to read. On a technical level it certainly adopts the style of the original Naruto very well. With the short length there is no real downside to checking this one out because it’s so short and it’s also nice to see some of the characters again. Does it hold up in terms of story? Eh not really but it’s still not a bad title. You just wish more had happened.
I feel like there isn’t a whole lot to say even after 15 chapters. Mirai basically goes through the same character arc as Shikamaru in learning about who the King represents but without all of the hype action scenes and danger around it. Now granted, I do like that things are mostly peaceful under Naruto’s reign because it wouldn’t make sense if everything was super dangerous. That said, few stories manage to properly explain why Naruto isn’t running around taking names. Even if he’s sick I don’t see that holding him back. This is Naruto Uzumaki after all!
Overall, I’m always up for a classic spinoff. This story probably would benefit from a marathon read more than weekly since you’ll get to the action part a lot sooner. The review may have sounded fairly negative because there were a lot of areas to take shots at here but it’s not bad. Ultimately it ended up squarely in the middle. It was looking like a 6 for a while but in the end it just couldn’t quite make it. Another fight or two would have been good or some kind of hype cliffhanger but in the end I don’t think the story was executed nearly as well as it could have been. It’s not the kind of title that has any kind of replay value so you should check it out once if you’re a Naruto fan but that’s it. Hopefully next time Kakashi and Might Guy will look a lot better. (I also don’t buy their explanation that nothing can bring his leg back. There are so many spells and ninjutsu in the world of Naruto that should be able to do this easily…..)
Overall 5/10
It’s been quite a while since this show aired. I ended up reviewing every episode of the show as it came out which is the first time I ever did that but ultimately I never actually reviewed it in its entirety. With volume 9 finished, now is a good time to check that out. I’ll even post my episode reviews below and then I’ll wrap the whole thing up. Basically Ice Queendom is the weakest RWBY show so I’ll get that out of the way first. It has some issues that the main show doesn’t have and ends up not pushing the anime medium to its limit. The show feels low budget and like an abridged version of the real thing. It hopefully brought some new people into the fandom but otherwise you’re better off just watching the original. Of course a copy can not beat the greatness of the original but I will say that it’s still a pretty good show, it’s just not up to the RWBY standard.
Episode 1
“The visuals were fantastic and it definitely moves through a good amount of material by knocking out 2 of the specials and the first episode plus some material from a volume 4 special. The fights look great as Ruby takes down some goons and Blake destroys a bunch of mechs. A lot of effort went into this one and at least at this point and time you can really feel the high budget effort behind this. I would also say it does work well as someone’s introduction to the series. You quickly get the plot and learn about the characters so that’s a win/win. I was quite satisfied here. If I am recommending someone to the series I would actually show them this episode first and then transition over to volume 1 from where this one left off. If episode 2 is as strong then I may do the same for that one.”
Episode 2
“Once again the quick pacing really helped this one jump up near the top. You could feel the budget already dropping from episode 1, however they quickly increased it again for the climax which I appreciated. The fight with the Nevermore was a lot of fun and it’s always nostalgic to see the group in the old days. The episode speeds through several from volume 1 and makes for a really satisfying watch. It still feels like a best hits montage but of course we’re getting closer to the original story so then we can see how that stacks up. Will Ice Queendom still be one of the best or will this be where it falters?”
Episode 3
“Naturally Ice Queendom has a lot going on here as it wraps volume 1 up but makes the very unfortunate choice of cutting out the fight at the docks. I think they definitely should have kept that in but at least we did get the fight between Weiss and the Grimm which was really solid. The animation really shone during that part and this episode had a lot of good development for the characters. The cliffhanger was also really epic. We’re getting into the original plot now so I’m definitely hyped to see how that plays out. Ice Queendom is off to a fast start and has been keeping up rather well so far. “
Episode 4
“Now we’re entering the anime only original story and it works quite well here. We get a whole new environment and get to learn about Weiss’ psyche. It’s an effective way of showing her true thoughts the whole time without having to make it appear too forced or anything like that. It’s the right way to go about it. The visuals still look really good and actually getting a Ruby vs Weiss fight is something we’ve been waiting for throughout the franchise. The battle theme is also on point even if it seems like the show always uses the same ones. The lyrical moments are on point though and this show just continues to operate at a very high level. I’m eager to see how this plays out for the rest of the show.”
Episode 5
“Ice Queendom comes back with another big episode as we get to see Weiss square off with Blake this time around. Ruby’s first mission didn’t go great so she brought Blake and Yang this time around but Yang was stuck on decoy duty for a while so it’s more about Ruby and Blake running around. I do like that Yang is a bit more no nonsense about the whole thing and doesn’t mind taking shots at Weiss here. That’s just her personality and it’s good to see her stay bold, it’s the Yang we’re used to after all. While the fight isn’t quite as good as the last one, the episode has a good mix of action and plot main for another solid episode in the saga. The dream world is certainly difficult to conquer.”
Episode 6
“Episode 6 has our big group fight against Weiss as even Yang gets involved. Interestingly part of the scuffle actually seemed to transform into CGI which was interesting but it was brief. The episode got to show off it’s animation a little more than the last one as Weiss spammed her energy attacks and the heroes had to deal with it. I’m a little skeptical about the main trio not being able to stop her though. It was shown that Weiss upgraded Yang and Blake’s weapons subconsciously so I like to think that they could defeat her. Just knock her out and then take out the Grimm. That would be the most direct way to solve all of this. It’s been fun seeing more into Weiss’ mind and that’s definitely been one of the most engaging parts of the show.”
Episode 7
“It’s Ice Queendom’s first time at the bottom. Mainly this episode allowed Jaune to see into the dream but because of that we’re seeing a lot of things that we already know. The Mini Weisses were fun though and then they even got to turn giant. The cliffhanger is definitely the best part though and that nearly bumped it up a spot but the volume right above this one also had a powerful cliffhanger like that. It’s nice to have Jaune in the mix but I look forward to the volume throwing in some more action in the next episodes.”
Episode 8
“Ice Queendom is in a similar situation to Volume 4 here. Sure, it’s good that the heroes are getting in a little deeper through the dream and learning more but it does feel a bit like they’re treading water by this point. Not much has really changed since the last episode to the point where it almost feels like this episode could have been merged into the last one. In a way I think I just miss the real world by this point as the dreamscape got old real quick. That being said you can tell that we’re getting close to the climax so I’m ready to see how this all pans out.”
Episode 9
“In Ice Queendom the heroes are trying to get closer to saving Weiss but seem to hit a dead end at every corner. It’s just not easy to get to her when she has the home field advantage in the dream world. Blake seems to go with a rather gutsy plan at the end though which leads to a great cliffhanger. The overall episode is a bit on the slow side but the final scene is really what pushes this above the other two volumes. It opens up a lot of fun possibilities for where the arc could go from here and I’m at least looking forward to a really big fight!”
Episode 10
“Ice Queendom is getting closer to the end now as we begin the big Blake vs Weiss fight. This episode spends half of its time showing us what led to Blake embracing the powers of darkness and then the second half continues us from where it left off. It’s definitely a very risky plan and one that I’m not a fan of since letting yourself be controlled can really not end well. I’d say just going up there and winning in fisticuffs would be the best way. Try a sneak attack to get the rapier away from Weiss or something like that. Beyond that I enjoyed our classic divide and conquer approach as each fighter will be going up against a different opponent. With better animation I dare say this could really be a top contender but I did enjoy the Weiss and Blake clashes regardless. Seeing Weiss immediately realize that something was up with Blake was also nice to show that she isn’t totally gone yet.”
Episode 11
“This was quite possibly Ice Queendom’s best episode in the batch. We finally get to see the team fight as a unit on more than one occasion which was really satisfying. The ost was top tier as you’d expect and they really saved up a lot of the budget for this episode. It was an excellent way to wrap up the arc and we got to see how strong Blake would be with the power of Adam. It all goes by really quickly with nonstop action so I had no issues with the episode. It’s just a lot of fun and I always enjoy team fights like this. I hope to see more and more combos from the team in the future.”
Episode 12
“Ice Queendom has been a fun ride and I’ll definitely have a full review up for it soon. In the meantime this works really well as an epilogue episode. A chance to just see the characters interacting and now that they have all had a lot of character development, they’re the best friends you remember. The series really nailed the characters for Blake and Weiss in particular and why they are so great. Both are usually considered to have the most development from the main group and it’s nice to see how they’ve changed. Even the little things like Weiss waiting for Blake afterwards so they could have one last talk and reaffirm how they will change the world was great.”
All right so from the episode reviews you can see how things started out on an excellent note with the volume 1 recap but then the show quickly lost some steam in the original plot. That’s pretty much how I would frame it. The volume 1 adaption was definitely a bit rushed but it was great seeing all of the iconic moments again. The only big miss here was completely cutting out the Torchwick fight at the climax of the volume. That would have been great to have seen in anime format instead of then jumping into the original story. The original story has an interesting premise.
Basically there is a nightmare Grimm that is ridiculously overpowered and ensnares Weiss. The other characters jump into save her along with Jaune but once inside they find out that this won’t be easy. Basically the entire world is in her mind but a twisted version of it and to get to her they have to defeat a lot of other obstacles like statues and such. Additionally once they get to Weiss she is quite powerful and won’t turn good unless they can destroy the Grimm behind her. Make any kind of contact with the Grimm and you too will be corrupted though. So dodging it won’t be an easy endeavor.
Where the show fumbles a bit is that the heroes try over and over to save her and fail multiple times. This causes the heroes to fall out of the dream and then re-enter so you see the same things over and over again. Once when Ruby lands, once when the team lands, and then once for Jaune. It feels like a way to save on the animation budget at times to be honest and the show unfortunately looks very low budget. Sometimes the fights barely have any animation. It will randomly change to CGI once in a while too and so nothing is very streamlined. The show looks solid during the first episodes for the volume 1 recap and then in episode 11 but that’s about it.
One of the most disappointing parts was when they set up the Weiss vs Ruby fight but then in the next episode it was done as lazily as possible. This happens quite a few times and it’s too bad because you were really looking forward to these battles. For example you have Weiss vs the rest of Team RWBY and there are no memorable shots there. Then you have Weiss going up against Blake for a few episodes and only one really had the good animation. The others were mostly them just yelling the same things at each other. The dialogue could get awfully repetitive as Weiss yells how the Faunus are destroying everything and Blake says that she will liberate them. We get this stalemate of sorts for a while.
It was fun to see a mind controlled Weiss figure out that Blake was mind controlled and swear to save her. I guess even when you’re not in your right mind you know when someone else isn’t either. Now I do want to underscore that the animation can be good at some times but it is rare and very scattered. This is a show that could have used a lot more time in the oven to really hammer everything out and deliver a more complete product. Trust me when I say that doing this would have absolutely been the right way to go about it. Because with top tier animation this would have worked so much more.
I did enjoy the soundtrack quite a lot though. It was different from the average RWBY title for sure but it worked well. Realm is probably the standout song from the ost. It plays a few times and always to great effect. There was another really solid lyrical song as well. The only one that didn’t really work well for me though was the opening but it’s not bad. I just like one part of it a whole lot and the rest is just okay. Still not bad though and while the soundtrack is limited, each tune in the episode ost are solid. You’ll definitely have a good time with the music, no doubt about that.
The show’s original characters don’t get to do much though so you don’t get much of an opinion on them. First up is Shion but I couldn’t tell you anything about that character’s personality or anything really. He’s mainly just a means of explaining the plot and the new Grimm but that’s about it. Likewise the new Grimm is basically just a mindless monster to be defeated so there isn’t a ton to discuss on that front either. At the end of the day most of the discussion will naturally end up being about the existing characters instead.
Weiss gets the most to do here and I’d say her character portrayal is on point. At first she comes across as a bit of a jerk and then tries to play nice with her teammates. In the main show people often mention how she seemed to change a bit too soon and so this show actually addresses that. Basically she was just acting the part of the nice teammate but she didn’t truly mean it. So by going into her dream they were able to have a true heart to heart talk and get to the bottom of this. I thought that was really a great way to use this nightmare bug. Now Weiss could be changed inside and out as opposed to just talking the part and that’s really the best kind of change. Weiss puts up a lot of resistance subconsciously with all of the monsters and such but she herself is trying her best. It was a really fun look into her psyche.
Likewise her whole issue with the Faunus and Blake. I think the premise was a little better than the execution there but the two of them being able to just talk things out was really solid but then when it didn’t work, going into a fight was on point. Sometimes you do need to end up talking with your fists a bit even if it’s not actually the final answer. It’s the driving force that allows you to connect at least. Blake’s new super form was also a lot of fun, I liked the design as there was a lot of inspiration from Adam.
This also led to the climax which actually was excellent. The budget went into this fight as they all fought evil Blake and really got to show off their abilities. It was a true team effort and you love to see it. The fight with the Grimm itself was also solid I’d say. Whenever RWBY is fighting as a team it’s always great to see, they complement each other well with the fighting skills and you get the feeling that if they did this more often the villains really wouldn’t stand a chance. Fortunately for them RWBY is usually split up for plot reasons.
I still can’t get over the fact that the show finally got its full anime treatment. Yes it may not have been quite as high budget as I would have liked but it’s still cool. I also think you really could show someone the first two episodes and then cut to volume 1 to finish it off. I would say the first 3 and then skip volume 1 but it’s rough to miss out on the Torchwick battle because he would go on to become such a major character later on. You really need to see him fight here so you can really understand just what a big threat he was. Ice Queendom’s power levels do get a bit wonky though so you’ll need to keep that in mind. There were a few times where I felt like the heroes should have had the decisive edge by a mile and it just didn’t happen. The show could have just been a few episodes long imo but they had to stretch things a bit.
In terms of characters, well they’re all in character so it works out. Ruby is still a good leader here and while Weiss’ insults may really cut her to the core, she always stands back up and keeps going. Her determination really comes through very strong here. Weiss has a masterful level of depth to her here and is executed perfectly. Yang may come off as a bit meaner than usual with all her shots at Weiss but I like how she always speaks her mind. She still comes through as the power hitter and Blake conquers her fears to allow herself to be taken over all to save Weiss. That’s a lot of dedication right there and so she gets a big thumbs up as well.
As a sidenote, I really liked their winter designs in general. The cold weather type outfits worked well and I always like when characters actually do change their attire based on the weather. Weiss and Blake both have really cool evil forms as well. The designers really held nothing back here and it ended up working out really well. I may take my shots at the animation but the art itself was great so the show always looks really good in the still images. It’s one that will hold up and ultimately I still do really want a season 2. Maybe lets just re-adapt the whole show this time and not bother with an original plot until it’s caught up. Then I can get to see volume 3 and all the tourney battles in the anime style.
Overall, RWBY: Ice Queendom is a fun side adventure. I think they should have planned things out a little better so that the episodes weren’t repetitive though. There’s really a lot of ways you could have done this like make Weiss’ dream world change completely each time or use more check points so it’s different. I think a little less repetition would have just gone a long way here and then you could focus on the story more. It may not match up to the classic RWBY adventures but those are all star titles which surpass the very medium so that’s probably not a super fair comparison. On its own this is still a great title either way and one that I would recommend checking out. So if you want more RWBY content, well you’ve come to the right place.
Overall 8/10
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