Image result for star wars rogue one

When the first trailer aired for this film, I'll admit it, I was scared for the franchise. Star Wars had never had a big budget movie side story before and I wasn't sure how they would be able to weave this into the main story. But goddammit, they succeeded. Rogue One is amazing. In fact I would put it in my top three Star Wars movies. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

The story of Rogue One is different than any other tale set in the Star Wars universe. If you've already seen Episode IV then you know the plot of this movie. "It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire. During the battle, Rebel spies managed to steal secret plans to the Empire's secret weapon, the Death Star, an armored space station with enough power to destroy an entire planet." That's all the major plot points to Rogue One but it isn't quite that simple. There are many more cogs working in this Rebel machine than it seems from that opening crawl that was written thirty years ago. 

The first problem that I noticed with Rogue One was the lack of backstory for most of the characters. Jyn Erso is the only one who had a significant amount of story given to. All of the others just sort of showed up, which is fine to an extent. For example, Chirrut Imwe, a blind man who sees with the force, doesn't need much to get me to like hiim because that concept is just cool on its own. One character where this problem becomes especially noticeable is with Baze Malbus. He is just there and he has a fast-firing gun. That's boring. He's boring. He's not funny or interesting besides his big gun and he certainly doesn't have e any memorable lines. He isn't a nuisance to the plot, though, unlike a certain Gungan from the prequels. My favorite character has to be K-2SO. He's funny and quick-witted and can also be a badass when the situation calls for it. Overall, the characters themselves are good but do play off of each other well. 

The second major problem I had with Rogue One was the pacing. It starts off very slow and only picks up after about twenty minutes in. That first twenty minutes isn't boring per se but isn't nearly as exciting as the rest of the film which is, might I add, a flooring experience. 

To me, a Star Wars movie is only as good as its villains and Rogue One surprised me in this aspect. Orson Krennic, the captain of the Death Star, is technically the main villain of the film but he is frequently overshadowed by past villains that make appearances throughout the film. That brings me to Darth Vader who, though is only in the movie for about five minutes total, completely steals the show every time he is on screen. James Earl Jones comes back once again to reprise his role and the performance is once again fantastic. The main villain of Krennic isn't bad, though. He just doesn't get as much screen time as he should. 

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story looks fantastic from title card to ending credits. It's directed well and the CG is used sparingly enough where it isn't distracting, except for one character. One character from a past film is rendered completely in CG. At first it is very distracting but by the end of the film I barely even remembered that he was CG. Even after the movie finished I turned to my friend to comment on it and he didn't even realize that the character was completely faked. Uncanny Valley. Rogue One is the only Star Wars movie, to my knowledge, to not have John Williams on the soundtrack and it is, unfortunately, noticeable. The music is still great, don't get me wrong, but it has a lack of... whatever John Williams did to make his scores so fantastic. 

Before my final analysis I must say one thing: Rogue One addressed and fixed a major problem that fans have had for many years with the original trilogy. That is all.

I really thought that this movie couldn't work. I was completely wrong. The film is a fun experience with great character dynamics and though it may warrant a yawn or two from the audience in the first act it will definitely be remembered for a long time.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story is a great experience.
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
This past week I've been catching up on one of my favorite shows for a long time now. Adventure Time started in 2010 on perhaps the best childrens' channel of date, Cartoon Network. This show means so much to so many people, including me. Why is that? Is it the diverse and interesting cast of characters? Wonderful music? Its progressive tones? The utter refusal to be condescending to young viewers? All of the above, unsurprisingly.

Earlier in the year I wrote about the progressive nature of a lot of childrens' cartoons nowadays. When writing that I only briefly mentioned Adventure Time among many others as being mature for their target audience. Nickelodeon's The Legend of Korra, Disney's Gravity Falls, and Cartoon Network's Steven Universe. It seems like it all started with Adventure Time. It mentions past same-sex relationships and even seems to deal with sexual identity if you analyze certain characters enough. What does this all mean. Not just that new and upcoming creators are brighter then ever but that they are fundamentally changing up the process in which the audience takes in their creations.

For this example I'm going to, obviously, use Finn from Adventure Time. When the show first started, in 2010, Finn was twelve. Now, 2016, he is 16. Okay, so the aging between the show and the characters aren't entirely one-to-one but that isn't exactly the point. Just think of the implications of having the characters in a show age the same as the audience. First of all, the show grows with its viewers. This means that the themes presented in the show itself can mature with the audience – at least that's the plan. At the start of the show, the plotlines were relatively simple. The Ice King is bad and he steals princesses. Finn and his magical dog Jake need to save them. Rinse and repeat. Right? No. Later in the series they give some backstory to Finn. He was an orphan, abandoned in the woods until Jake's parents saved him. Later still, Marceline the Vampire Queen gets some interesting stories as we learn about her complicated relationship with her father. Somewhere in the between we get some hints at the setting of this show. A post-apocalyptic Earth? Yes, really. The Land of Ooo is actually the aftermath of 1000 years of nuclear fallout. How do we know this for sure? In a Christmas episode where we learn of Ice King's tragic backstory as he witnessed the downfall of civilization and went mad (and immortal) in the process. That's only the beginning. I haven't even gotten into the masterful story craftsmanship that went into Finn's relationship with his father. The minds behind Adventure Time knew their audience and capitalized on the fact that they grow up and used it as an opportunity to keep the show interesting for the same audience that the show was originally crafted for, but older.

This show asks a lot from its audience. To the everyday viewer, every episode might just seem like a fun adventure for the whole family to enjoy. To a more inquisitive viewer, however, one can get a lot out of a single episode of adventure time. When talking about the deepness of this show I like to use the episode "All the Little People," one of my favorites. The episodes starts off with a surprisingly human conversation in which Finn asks whether it would be better to date someone who is exactly like you or your complete opposite and then goes on to ask if BMO and Ice King would make a good couple. Jake is perplexed by the latter but has an intriguing explanation for the former. He answers that love isn't about science and compatibility but that its really random of who will like who or the "pumps-'n'-bumps" as he so eloquently puts it. This sets up the entire theme for the episode. After this short exchange, Magic Man sneaks up and puts magic bag inside Finn's pocket. They discover that in the bag is miniature versions of a lot of citizens of Ooo. Back in the tree house, Finn starts interacting with them by putting them in various situations and spending days upon days just seeing what they will get up to. It turns out, Jake was right. Not only did the little people get into all kinds of strange relationships but the miniature version of Finn starts cheating on every girl that he goes out with. This causes the real Finn to step in and make everything right and, after a miniature dance party, the episode ends. This is a deep episode. It's funny and interesting to young kids but has a deep message that not many shows will dare to do. 

Before Adventure Time not many shows tried to do anything as new as this. In the 80s most cartoons were mostly about selling toys and in the 90s, while a lot of these shows were extremely creative they rarely had any deep morals while being entertaining. The 00's were special to a lot of people for its unique comedy but I believe that right now is when we can truly get excited. This show almost single-handedly changed the landscape of cartoons for years to come. It's been six years since the premiere of the show and, though I don't think anything can beat the Lich arc of a few years ago, it still shows no sign of stopping. Though I'm usually against television shows dragging themselves out until they become dry and uninspired (al a Spongebob) if this show keeps pumping out content like this then I might be okay with getting a few more years of it.



Monday, July 04, 2016
This spring season of anime was a little disappointing to me on the whole. I didn't get around to every show this season but the ones I did get to didn't really grab me. About four weeks in to the season I went on MyAnimeList to see what the most popular ones of the season were and I was surprised at just how much praise that My Hero Academia was getting. I didn't get on the band wagon right away because I've gotten really bored of super hero films and shows but I thought I would give this one a try. I was not disappointed. My Hero Academia is clever, fun, and really gripping right from the start but still not quite what I wanted from it.
Art by DeviantArt user corphish2
The premise alone originally got me into the show. At first it may seem like a generic super hero romp but it is surprisingly more than that. In this world the superpowers are known as Quirks and, contrary to most other hero tales, the ones who don't have a power are the odd-ones-out. This is interesting. I've seen enough X-Men to be able to sympathize with the ones who are considered freaks with their powers. In this world the ones who don't have a power are considered outsiders. After the first episode I wanted to see where this story would take me considering the differences that it fundamentally has with other super hero stories of today. In that aspect, I was disappointed. I suppose it's my fault as the name of the show is My Hero Academia - with an emphasis on 'Academia.' If I had taken this in mind I could have predicted that it would have the generic "school of heroes" set up. That set up, though not special, appeared at first to be uninspired but dang I just love these characters so much.

I've always been a believer that the setting doesn't carry much weight as long as the characters are relatable. This brings me to our main character, Izuku Midoriya. Izuku is quirkless i.e. he doesn't have any powers but he still strives to be a hero and even idolizes the so-called 'Symbol of Piece,' All Might. Because of his powerless position the other students make fun of him and he even develops a rivalry with a bully with a fire-based quirk, Bakugo. Izuku wants to take the entrance exam to the highest ranking hero-training school available but he can't pass without a quirk. This all changes, however, when All Might himself saves Izuku from a villain which leads to the discovery of All Might's grand secret - he can only do hero work for three hours a day. All Might explains to Izuku that he is looking for someone to hand over the reigns of 'Symbol of Piece' to so, after some rigorous training, All Might gives Izuku his powers of super strength and sends him on his way to take the entrance exam. You could consider this entire paragraph as a spoiler but this all happens in the span of the first four episodes.

The animation of My Hero Academia isn't the best I've seen this season but it is still very good in its own stylistic way. Thick lines and varied character designs make for a very memorable art style that accentuates the themes that the show is going for. The designs of the different heroes are especially great. There is a certain hero that goes by the name of Mt. Lady who only shows up in a couple scenes in the very beginning but her character design is so memorable even all these weeks later after finishing the series. All of the students eventually get their own hero costumes that do a good job of making them look cool while also giving them a lot of personality, not that they didn't have any before. I especially loved Asui, a frog-girl with (you guessed it) frog powers; Momo, who's powers were never fully explained; and Ochako, who has the power to make any object she touches lighter. One character that I was really hoping had a great design was Bakugo. The suit that he ends up with does fit with his explosive personality but it looks stupid. He just put grenades on each of his hands and, at least to me, it looks uninspired.

The music... I can't say much for. I think I liked it but I couldn't pick out a certain track over the others. Such a shame considering how great both the OP and ED are. The OP, THE DAY, is an aw-inspiring anthem that pumps me up for the show every time. The ED, Heroes, is always a good ending for almost every episode. Overall the sound isn't great but it does what it needs to which I can appreciate.

My Hero Academia is probably my favorite anime of this season with its good action, great characters, and wonderful designs and art.

My Hero Academia is thrilling!
Sunday, June 26, 2016
I freaking love Pixar. The company does churn out a few duds here and there I don't think that any of their films are bad. With that being said, however, their sequels worry me. Monsters University was pretty good but I couldn't even finish Cars 2. Needless to say, I was cautious coming into Finding Dory. They did not disappoint as this film might just be just as great as the original.

Finding Dory isn't about finding Dory. It's actually about Dory's quest to find her long lost family. I don't want to go into it too much in fear of spoilers but let's just say that this film hits you in the gut with the opening scene. Finding Nemo's first scene is sad but, because we've gotten to know Dory, this opener is just heartbreaking. Moving past that, Finding Dory really surprised me with the way it went with its story. I knew the basic outline because of the trailers: Dory gets the help of various new sea friends to find her parents. This film takes this scenario and rolls with it so hard. Frankly, that's what all movies should do with their given outline, but this one thoroughly surprised me with the locations that they go to and the adventures that they have. That is something that I've been missing from a Pixar movie. Is it just nostalgia? Maybe. I did enjoy Inside Out, despite its predictability and The Good Dinosaur... was... definitely a movie, but Finding Dory surprised me with every turn it took regarding its story. 

Finding Nemo possesses possibly my favorite movie soundtrack of all time. At least, that's what I would've told you yesterday. Now I would tell you that Finding Dory might just be better... but I can't let go of the original. Is it nostalgia? Heck yes and I don't care. The Finding Nemo soundtrack will always be closer to my heart but Finding Dory just sounds new and improved in every way. Bigger instrument variety and a bigger emphasis on set pieces which is a nice change. I may be a minority by saying it's better but it is certainly a welcome change. 

This film looks amazing. The animation is fluid and easy to keep track of and each character gives off so much emotion through their facial expressions. This does lead me, however, to my biggest gripe with the film. The set pieces were a little boring. That isn't the animators fault and I do like how this movie feels more contained than Finding Nemo but that doesn't let the animation really shine like it did in Finding Nemo. There isn't a vast and beautiful ocean that the characters explore in this one. It isn't  really the movie itself but rather its relationship with its predecessor that makes this part really stand out while watching it. Maybe that is something that I can get over with more viewings? Whatever the case, good or bad, it is different and worth mentioning.

Finding Dory is a great movie and a great sequel. Is it better? I don't think so but I sure as hell don't think it's worse. 

Finding Dory is gripping right to the end.
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
I absolutely love Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. I has to be in my top three anime of all time if not my favorite. Naturally, when I saw that there was also a follow-up movie for this 2009 version of the tale I was skeptical. The Sacred Star of Milos did have a different director but it was still under the same studio so I didn't really know what to thing. I should have gone in with little expectation. This movie isn't very good. The style and setup is great but quickly becomes generic and predicable.

The story of The Sacred Star of Milos takes place during the Brotherhood storyline, oddly enough. The audience never knows specifically when but from what I could gather it takes place after Alphonse remembers "the truth" (thus he is able to transmute without a circle) but before the brothers know of Father's plans of sacrifice. This bugs me. Because of the pace that the anime has I just don't see anyway that anything other than their main mission could take place between the these two plot points. Before or after, sure, but it's just odd that they chose this scenario of events to play around with in the first place. After doing some research, however, I have found that most of the fanbase doesn't consider this story canon so I don't really know what to think.

Anyway, at the start of the film we are introdced to two siblings, Julia and Ashleigh (strange spelling) Crichton, whose parents are famous alchemists around these parts. Two wolf chimeras slip into their house while they are distracted and kill the father and mother while Ashleigh escapes leaving Julia to fend for herself. Years later, Ed and Al are celebrating the generic Amestris harvest festival when suddenly a powerful Alchemist escapes from Prison and, when the brothers try to confront him, they are unable to detain him because of his strange alchemy. After a short investigation run by Mustang, they discover that this mysterious man is after a girl from Creta named Julia who has been recently detained for illegally immigrating to Amestris. With this information, Edward and Alphonse Elric travel to Table City on the border between Creta and Amestris to learn about this strange alchemy and capture the man.

I do like the premise here. All of the above takes up the first fifteen minutes of the film and I was never disinterested. I truly wanted to see where this went. When the brothers actually get into Table City is when the problems start. On the ride there, the train gets attacked by a group of gliding militants and Ed and Al have to fight both them and a wolf chimera. This action scene doesn't just look amazing but it creates a sense that something isn't quite right because of the warring factions. Then after they find Julia everybody makes up and the story turns into every Fullmetal Alchemist plot ever with the bad guys trying to create a Philosopher's Stone by sacrificing the story. We've seen it a hundred times and it's getting boring now.

It makes me upset because the film started out so incredibly strong with motivations other than "get the stone." We could have had Ed and Al taking sides with the mysterious man or the faction of militants who call themselves the Black Bats. Or maybe the brothers had to try to get them to work together in order to fend off either the Amestrian or Cretan military. Or the plot could have been weaved into the Brotherhood plotline nicely with meaningful conversations about Chimeras or Humunculi. After the first half hour of the film it feels tedious because of how similar it is to everything else Fullmetal Alchemist. Just another story about douche-canoes wanting more power through the Philosopher's Stone.

Despite the story and theming problems, the movie isn't all bad. The animation is top notch but I am very torn on the style. It's hard to explain.

Take this:
Versus this:











The main thing that I notice is the line composition. The Sacred Star of Milos clip is hard and rough while the similar Brotherhood clip is soft and clean. The style is different but not necessarily bad. It just took me a long time to get used to. The music is also very good. The nation of Creta is based on real-world Spain so, fittingly, the music takes a lot of inspiration from that region and culture. It isn't anything to write home about but I do appreciate the fact that the creators of Fullmetal Alchemist do their research on everything from architecture to music.

If you've seen the plot of the 2003 FMA or Brotherhood than you've seen The Sacred Star of Milos. The animation and music is different and interesting in its own right and the film starts out strong but the entire experience is predictable and honestly boring.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood: The Sacred Star of Milos is not interesting but any FMA fan should still give it a watch.
Saturday, June 18, 2016
I'll be honest, it's not easy for me to pick favorites. It just might be tacky to say this, but my favorite anime of all time is Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. The original 2003 series showed me the possibilities of what anime could be but Brotherhood solidified the idea that anime, just like everything else in this world, could be art. With that in mind, I simply cannot review this piece of art without spoiling the original series and at least a little bit of this one. So let this be known: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is one of my all time favorite things that exists and very well may be the best anime of all time. With that out of the way, I can talk about what makes this show so special.

For my first paragraph I would usually run down the general setup of the world and the characters and their motivations. I don't feel that I need to do that here. If you truly do need this then I recommend you read my FMA 2003 review. For this post, however, I am mostly just going to go over the differences between the two series.

For starters, the humunculi have changed slightly from their 2003 counterparts. The biggest change is their creation. The 2003 series had the humunculi being created from the people that had tried the taboo of human transmutation. I did like this idea because it gave each humunculus a connection to the characters but it didn't capitalize on this fact like I hoped it would. Brotherhood gets rid of this problem completely by having each of the humunculus being created by Father, who is a way more sinister bad guy than Dantes from the original series. Some of the humunculi's names and forms have been changed as well. Instead of Sloth being a liquid version of Ed and Al's mother, he is now a gigantic monster who is actually quite sloth-like. Pride is no longer the Fuhrer. Instead, the Fuhrer takes the name of Wrath.

I feel like these changes, even though they existed first through the original manga, are welcome as their names correspond more to their individual desires. In the 2003 series, Pride wasn't very Prideful, Sloth wasn't slothful, and so on. With these new identities, they each have to deal with the fact that they are based on the seven deadly sins and it makes me even feel bad for them at times. Especially Pride, Wrath, and Greed who all get more screen time then I ever would have expected.

The first twelve episodes of Brotherhood are equivalent to the the first twenty-four episodes of 2003. I have heard this as a complaint as some characters like Hughes and Shao Tucker don't get enough screen time but, to be fair, they don't get a whole lot of time to develop in the manga either. After the first twelve episodes, Brotherhood takes off into a whole new never-before-seen arc and introduces two new Brotherhood-only characters: May Chang and Ling Yao. If you've seen 2003 as many times as I have, these new characters and new surroundings come as a breath of fresh air. Later in the series we get even more characters and even more buildup to the eventual epic battle with Father.

In my FMA 2003 review, I mentioned on how amazingly emotional the soundtrack was. I am very proud to say that Brotherhood does not disappoint as it breaths new life into the music that the series is known for. We don't have the same standout tracks like Bratja but we do get a lot of new and unique tracks to take their place. With that being said, I do like 2003's soundtrack more because of Bratja. That one song is enough to tip the scales for me personally and I do truly wish that Brotherhood had included it at least once in the series.

I didn't mention the English voice acting in my 2003 review, but dang is it impressive. Every single voice actor does their absolute best in Brotherhood. Most of the talents reprise their roles. Alphonse's voice actor was too old for the part so Funimation went for a female actress and Scar's voice actor was replaced for one reason for another. Honestly, though, it's hard to tell. Al's very first line of the show is very noticeably a girl's voice but by the fourth episode sounds exactly like the actor from 2003. Scar sounds exactly the same from top to bottom. And, of course, Vic Mignogna returns as the voice for Edward Elric in quite possibly my favorite performance in any animated show ever.

As for the animation of this new re-imagined series, it is leagues better than anything that 2003 had to offer and I already thought that show's animation was really good. There are just so many moments of pure sakuga in this show. Any battle that involves Ling and the entirety of both the fourth and fifth seasons are just astonishing to look at. The one thing that I do think the show lacks, however, is its color palette. It seems like 2003 knew exactly what it was doing one-hundred percent of the time regarding the lighting and palette of each of its scenes. Brotherhood, on the other hand, wasn't as good. It is still far better than most shows out there even today, though.

Go watch Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. Just do it. It is my favorite anime of all time and I know that so many others feel the same.

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood is breathtakingly and believably beautiful.
Wednesday, June 15, 2016
The original Fullmetal Alchemist anime adaption is one of my favorite anime and shows of all time. Despite the alterations from the manga it has still held a special place in my heart all this time. The story was great and the ending was a perfect bittersweet experience. This sequel film continues from the series and is surprisingly great, from its themes to its story.

At the end of the 2003 FMA series, Edward and Alphonse Elric are split from each other and Ed is now on our Earth. Back in the Fullmetal Alchemist universe, Al has been training to become a great alchemist and find his brother despite him losing all memory of the past three years of their adventure to find the Philosopher's Stone. Edward is in our universe in 1920s Germany right after WWI and while Hitler is rising to power. After having some run-ins with the Thule Society, he has to stop them from invading Al's universe and thus clinching the victory of the next war. What a great idea! The original series only touched on the time period of Ed's new existence but Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie takes that setting and has it intertwine with Ed's struggle with this new world. 

It's not just the concept of this movie that is good. The film has a strong story of Ed trying to come to terms with this new world, Shamballa's version of Al inadvertently helping the Nazi's plan, and the original Al trying to find Ed. The only problem then? It is only one hour and forty-five minutes. Because of the short running time it doesn't have a whole lot of time to balance all the stories it is trying to tell. If the movie was longer or even a miniseries than there could've been plenty of time to flesh this world out, even though it is our own. Even though it could be better, The Conqueror of Shamballa does do a surprisingly good job of keeping itself in line. 

The visuals and music are what you would expect: great. The animation is as top notch as the show ever got and the music by the same composer, Michiru Oshima, is different but still fantastic. The musical style takes an even more European approach with large chunks of the soundtrack being played by the Moscow Ochestra. I can't really compare it to the soundtrack of the show though as the style is just so different but I do love it. The only problem I have with the animation is its use of 3D. I'm sure it looked great in 2003 but now it just looks dated. 

Despite all the praise I've given this show, there is just something that bothers me about it. Maybe because its the product of something so different than its original source material or maybe because I just feel anger that there are two versions of this great story. I can't quite explain it. Besides my personal beef with the film, Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie is a really good finale to the original 2003 adaptation and, though the ending isn't to my liking, it does a whole lot right from the animation and music to the story itself.

The Conqueror of Shamballa is great!
Saturday, June 11, 2016
Fullmetal Alchemist was the first anime that I ever experienced. I had seen American cartoons before but this was something completely new to me, despite its setting being European in nature. Amestris looked and sounded beautiful and the tale of two brothers trying to regain what they once had instantly gripped me. In 2009 there was an objectively better series called FMA Brotherhood based entirely on the original manga, but the original series will always have a special place in my heart.

Two boys try to bring their mother back from the dead and in doing so the older brother loses and arm and a leg and the younger brother loses his entire body; his soul bonded to a hollow suit of armor. They have since left the goal of resurrecting family and only now want to get their old bodies back using the Philosopher's Stone. This setup is what originally grabbed me when I was younger. Before this anime I hadn't experienced a show - a cartoon - to take itself as seriously as this from the get-go. No 'cartoon' before had dealt with death as serious and down to earth as this one. The darkest animated show that I had seen before this was Avatar: The Last Airbender who's themes drastically differ from this. From the first episode, I was on board with wherever Edward and Alphonse Elric would take me.

Fullmetal Alchemist's characters don't stop with the brothers. Winry Rockbell, an all-the-time-worried but strong mechanic acts as a shoulder for the brothers to lean on throughout the entire series. No matter what personal problems they may have, she serves as a constant reminder of not only where they came from but what they are fighting for. And then there's Mais Hughes. Though he is a fuzzy goofball at heart who tends to brag about his daughter, he is really an intricate investigator who will only answer to Colonel Mustang, his best friend. Mustang is quite the character. He is usually cool and collected but brash leader who tends to lead his troops into less-than-ideal places. He does have an eccentric side, however. Anyone who has seen the show remembers the "tiny mini skirts" ordeal. Mustang is one to not take anyone's crap, but still has a less serious side. I could go on for hours with each of the characters getting a paragraph a piece. Even the 'bad guys', the humunculi, have their own unique personalities, though not as expressed as the main protagonists.

'Bratja'. 'Brothers'. This song breaks my heart. No matter how or when I hear it, I cry. This song represents a bond. The bond between Ed and Al that, though clawed at, will never even scratch. This song is the lifeblood of anything Fullmetal Alchemist. The plucking of the strings create an intense melancholy and the russian choir singer starts out cold and distant but is picked up at the chorus for an uplifting feeling. No pun intended, this song is about brotherhood. Every single track in this anime is fueled by pure, raw emotion. 'Taboo' is the short, ominous theme about the sin that the brothers committed trying to bring their mother back and the repercussions of that action. On the flip side, 'Reunion' is just that. A reunion between family or friends. I don't have to even talk about why 'Koukai' is amazing. This soundtrack means so much to so many people for a great reason. The fact of the matter is that it is spectacular. To me, at least, no soundtrack to any movie, game, anime, or T.V. show has topped it or ever will top it.

For the time the visuals were fantastic but obviously don't hold up as well as Brotherhood's. I'm fine with this because the original FMA series does a much better job at one aspect of animation: lighting. Anything from Colonel Mustang's explosions to the dark corridors of Laboratory 5 look great.. This combined with the music makes a very personal experience for the viewer that cannot be forgotten easily.

Fullmetal Alchemist is something special to me and I've been ranting about it for four paragraphs now. This doesn't mean that it doesn't have flaws. I found that its main villain didn't have a whole lot of personality but they were sinister enough and their goals, though scattered, were good enough to keep me invested. Honestly, any other problems that I had with the series would be going into spoiler territory and comparing it to its 2009 re-adaptation which I don't think is fair considering, if I reviewed the 2003 series when it finished, Brotherhood wasn't even an idea in Studio Bones' collective consciousness. However, near the end of the show some of the characters introduced get a little ridiculous and I might even do a video comparing the two in the future. For now I don't think I should critique it any more than that.

Fullmetal Alchemist (2003) is utterly spectacular and one of my favorite shows of all time.
Wednesday, June 08, 2016
I've always been a fan of level making programs. Applications that allow ordinary people make levels for their favorite games. These can be hacking tools like Lunar Magic or even whole fan games with level editors built in like Super Mario Bros. X. Because of my love for the creator community I couldn't wait to get my hands on Super Mario Maker. Too bad that I didn't actually get the game until about a month ago. Oops.

Super Mario Maker is simply a Mario level creator. When creating a level you have the choice of four game styles (Super Mario Bros., Super Mario Bros. 3, Super Mario World, and New Super Mario Bros U) and six themes (Ground, Underground, Underwater, Ghost House, Airship, and Castle). When you are building your masterpiece you have a huge variety of items and enemies to use with new building blocks like the Donut Block and the Fire Koopa Clown Car. It sounds pretty simple but it can actually be a little overwhelming even with the game giving you the items in portions as you play the game. Sometimes I forget some features even exist until I am reminded of them through the community levels.

The community levels are where this game really shines in my opinion. For me, building levels takes an immense amount of time so most of my experience with the game has been through experiencing other peoples' creations. It can be hard to find good creations, though. The game itself doesn't have a built-in search tool that works through keywords. Instead, you have to find levels through a separate website and then type in the code of the level into the game. It just seems unnecessarily complicated. Is it so hard to have a keyword-based search bar? It shouldn't be. If I don't want to find a specific kind of level, however, the menus that Super Mario Maker does have work just fine. When the game was first released the 'Rating' tab was filled with levels without a whole lot of substance like 'Auto Mario' levels and really short but hard gauntlet-type levels. Since then, the 'Rating' tab has been updated many times in order to present the best levels.

Super Mario Maker also has a couple other modes in store. The 10 Mario Challenge and 100 Mario Challenge can be a great way to test your skill. The 10 Mario Challenge gives you 10 lives and has you surviving a number of developer-created levels while the 100 Mario Challenge gives you 100 lives and has you surviving a number of user-created levels of various difficulty. You can pick the difficulty you want to play on in this mode but it doesn't matter as it is very rarely you get an actually well-designed Mario level. Most of them consist of things flying at you from every direction or 'Auto-Mario' stages. This mode does have a 'skip' option by holding down the 'minus' button so if you realize a level is bad you can just skip it but this feature does cost you a life. I barely ever go on this mode and use it mostly to unlock the various Hidden Block Costumes that the game has to offer.

Super Mario Maker is fun to experiment with. There are ways to find really well designed stages but the amount of effort you have to go through to do so is way more than it should be. The level creator is really fleshed out and simple to use but I still wish that we had more. Who knows? Maybe we will continue to get updates that add new gameplay options.

Super Mario Maker is a really fun distraction.
Monday, June 06, 2016
At the time of writing this I have completed 50 anime according to MyAnimeList. Out of all of the anime I have seen, I have never been so divided on ERASED. It seems like the entire anime community is also divided as I have seen scores ranging all the way from one to ten. My score? Well for me it's a little more complicated than that.

ERASED, from the start, is a time-travel anime... kind of. The main character, Satoru Fujinuma, has the power to go back in time, usually from five to fifteen seconds. The catch is that he cannot do it at will and is instead willed to do so whenever somebody around him is going to be killed or greatly injured. He has been keeping this power of his a secret from everybody as, obviously, no one would believe him. It is established very earlier on that Satoru's past is a very dark one in which three murders in his home town. One of the murders was one of his good friends at the time and, though the police are convinced they have caught the killer, Satoru thinks otherwise. The man they have, Jun Shiratori (or Yuuki), was friends with a ten-year-old Satoru before the murders happened and the Satoru of today doesn't believe that he could have done it. Everything changes for Satoru when the killer from his past murders his mom for knowing his identity and, when the police are about to bring Satoru in for custody, he is whisked back to 1988 about two weeks before the murders start. From here on out it is up to him to catch the killer and ultimately save the day.

Let me just make it clear from here on out that I believe ERASED is a very subjective show and one's enjoyment of it all relies on how the individual can suspend their disbelief and accept certain scenes. For example, it is made very clear from the start of the show that Satoru can only go back in time when someone is in danger so it doesn't make much sense that he is brought back to 1988 after his mother dies. What the viewer thinks of this is completely up to them. I can really go both ways on this. If he was brought back before his mother died then Satoru wouldn't have a reason to find the killer that he suspects killed her. Throughout the rest of the series there is a number of plot holes that, though aren't too major, tended to slightly take me out of the experience. I can't dive into spoiler territory but I can say that there is a lot of cut content from the manga regarding secondary characters.

Damn, Yuki Kajiura. Calling back to my Sword Art Online review, I stated that, though the story sucked, the soundtrack was pretty decent. ERASED soundtrack is pretty great. I've only seen a handful of anime with Kajiura's works (mostly the Fate/Stay Night series and SAO) but from what I've heard she has greatly stepped up her game in the past year and I tend to agree with that statement after this anime's soundtrack. Though not every track is good there are a lot of stand-out pieces like "Only I Am Missing" and "Show Me Your Smile" and a bunch of others. She did some great work on this score.

I have a strong belief that it isn't about the end but about the journey. Though ERASED has a number of plot holes and plenty of cut content from the manga and the ending is lack-luster I still had a great time with it. To me and a lot of others the big picture is what counts for this show and its short comings are just a little too short to really matter. After I finished the show on MyAnimeList I gave ERASED an 8/10. The day after, I changed it to a seven. At one point I even brought it down to a six but then immediately raised it again to an eight. I am still torn on the series but I believe that it is at least worth the watch if you haven't seen it yet.

ERASED is whatever you want it to be. 

 Personally, I had a great time with it. 



Wednesday, June 01, 2016
Every generation there is a movie that does something new and innovative that kicks the industry in the backside and tells it to keep moving forward. Before 2009 it was hard for movie makers to take CGI to the next level because of its complexity. James Cameron changed the game with Avatar. Audiences and critics alike were astonished by how lifelike the world and characters of Pandora were and for good reason. There had been nothing quite this bold before. But does it stand the test of time seven years later?

Avatar is a strange movie. Whenever I talk with friends about it we don't discuss the intricacies of the story or the depth of the characters. Rather, they just say how amazing it was to look at seven years ago. The reason is, the plot isn't very deep or new. In fact, its rather predictable. If you've seen any adventure flick with a theme of "save the planet" than you've seen Avatar. It does have good characters but none of them really resonated with me in particular. This is where the Extended Edition comes in handy because the few extra scenes that it has do a lot to enhance some character motivations. Why does Neytiri not trust the 'sky people'? In the original her motivation could just be interpreted to be because of her culture. In the Extended Edition, however, it is explained that her sister was killed by the military which created friction between her and Grace and by extension, the humans. There are many more examples of this throughout the Extended Edition and I would say that it is the best way to view this movie, despite the three hour run-time.

Seven years ago, when Avatar was released into theatres worldwide, I was utterly amazed by how it looked. Back then I was just interested in how lifelike the characters and environments were but now I can appreciate the film and a whole new light. Not just is the directing very well done but Pandora itself is just beautiful. When I was younger I liked the variety of unique animals but now I even love the alive vines and the bio-luminescent flowers. Though some scenes look slightly more animated than I remember them, the design of the world is absolutely alluring.

The soundtrack for Avatar deserves a round of applause. At its core it may seem like basic tribal music but the way the film uses the score in specific scenes is aw inspiring. The flutes and percussion of "The Bio-luminescence Of The Night" and the high jingles of "Pure Spirits Of The Forest" help shape the world of Pandora to be quite a unique one.

Avatar has aged well since 2009. Though the CGI doesn't look quite as good as it did and the story is too easy to guess, the texture and sound of the world is great enough to keep me coming back.

Avatar is predicable wonderment. 
Monday, May 30, 2016
What ever happened to health bars in shooters? This seems like a very trivial question. The easy answer or at least the answer that most would agree on could be that, as games achieved the hardware to be more realistic, the games themselves followed suit with not only better graphics but with user interfaces. UI.



In most contemporary games, the UI shows information about the user as well as the world around them. In a modern shooter, say Halo 5, it can show ammo, a mini-map, items, and the player's shield. In modern games, mostly shooters, getting at

tacked is something that it shown very clearly on-screen with a red partial-circle in the direction of the bullets flying toward you in Halo, a similar red partial-circle with blood on the entire outside of your view in the newer Call of Duty games, and an arrow with blood smatterings in Uncharted 4. What do all of these have in common? They happen, then you forget about them.

It's very strange to me that games that are striving for realism, especially Call of Duty, are still using this particularly unrealistic trait of the human body. Taking five bullets to the chest isn't going to just slow you down and distract you for a few seconds; it is going to kill you. After the player has taken that initial hit, they are just going to forget about it an move on. In my ideal realistic game, that needs to stick with a person. A health bar would be a perfect place to implement that actual feeling of being shot without, obviously, having the actual feeling.

By this I mean that a health bar is there staring back at you as you trek through your space adventure, treasure hunt, or military simulation experience. When you get shot, a health bar reminds you of that and sticks with you. Say a man gets shot in the leg on the battlefield. By the standards of logic, that man probably won't be using that leg and thus has a higher chance of gaining another injury in the future. A developer can see a health bar in the same way. If a shot to the player takes off a certain amount of health, that player is more likely to die earlier because of it. That will stick with a player and can be a constant reminder of the vulnerability of themselves within the game world.


http://goo.gl/1Vtiuv

I first got the inspiration of writing this after seeing footage of Naughty Dog's “Uncharted 4”. I mentioned earlier that this game uses the same hit-then-forget system that so many other games with familiar shooting mechanics follow but this game seems like a special case for me. Though I have yet to play an Uncharted game (hope to get to that series soon), I do know that this franchise is about high-flying adventure and really wants to give the player a

sense of power not by tedious trips of the stuff, but by a having Nathan Drake being at a low-point, like dangling off a cliff side or escaping a sinking shit, and then rising above to conquer. Sure Nathan gets more tattered and torn the more he adventures, but there doesn't seem to be anything specifically gauging that level of stress. I am speaking entirely in hypotheticals of course because of my nonexistent relationship with the franchise but it's still something that I, at least, think about.


http://goo.gl/s618Wt

The standard shooting mechanic that we have now is fine but after seeing the same thing game after game it gets, frankly, boring. Maybe going back to the health bar mechanics of the early 2000's like in Halo: Combat Evolved or even older classics like Wolfenstein might be a fresh breath of air. I think that, recently, we have gone back to these to give our games a little more urgency. The new DOOM came out recently and has done just that. Sure its health bar/health pack system is ripped directly from it's first title, but I think the success of the game might have an effect of this mechanic coming back into the more mainstream titles like COD or Halo.

Am I basically just rambling now about something that isn't too important in the grand scheme of things? Yes, but I think that this particular ramble has some merit in a debate that I see no one having. Probably because it doesn't need to be had. I just find it humorous that gamers that strive for realism will defend the no-health-bar system of COD as being realistic when it is in fact the least realistic thing about the franchise. I'm no game designer, but realism is a component in the progressing gaming culture that will always lust for the next big jump. But I don't think that we should count something as trivial as a health bar out just yet.
Friday, May 27, 2016
Innocence is boring. This 2004 sequel to the 1995 hit Ghost in the Shell is generic, uninteresting, and boring. I dropped it at about 70 minutes in because I was not invested in the story whatsoever. Why is this? The previous movie and all the other anime based on the franchise are mostly critically acclaimed so why does this one fail where the others have excelled at?

I believe that the problems with Innocence start at the beginning. In this film, it has been quite some time since The Major and Batou have parted ways and since then The Major has been declared MIA. Batou is assigned a new partner, Tosuga, and has been assigned with solving the mystery of the sex doll murders. That's right! A number of customers who have bought androids for their private needs are dying from the hands of their toys. Skipping how needlessly stupid this is in order to get across a point, Batou and Tosuga have to find out who is really behind these murders, if anyone at all.

This whole plot dealing with the murderous androids exists to get across the question of "What actually is a human?" Our two detectives have to ponder this question while reciting quotes from long-since-dead people over and over again until my ears bleed. I'm not joking. Batou and most of the other characters constantly quote Caesar and you-name-it in order to sound philosophical when, in reality, they just sound stupid. I don't even think the initial plot is that bad but I don't care about any of the characters involved. For the majority of the film, it seems like the characters themselves don't even care about finding the answer to this rather deep question.

The utter lack of enthusiasm for action or mystery that any of the characters have isn't the only reason that I was never hooked on Innocence. The problem is that there was never hook to begin with. I get the feeling that the writers wanted Batou to somehow connect this theme with his past with The Major but that plotline is dropped so quickly and cleanly that I don't even get the chance to be intrigued as to where it might go. Because of all this, it makes for a story that is very unfocused at best and at worst just hard to continue with.

One aspect of the original Ghost in the Shell film that I praised it for was its animation. Innocence bumps up the quality of the 2D animation significantly and makes each movement of each character seem very natural and unique. The 3D animation is where it really suffers as, though it isn't necessarily bad, it doesn't fit with the style of the 2D segments at all and is way too heavily used. It seems like most of the backgrounds and anything that isn't a main character is CG which, in a way, explains as to why the quality of the 2D animation is so high; because there is very little of it.

Ghost in the Shell's soundtrack wasn't very great but it did fit the mood of the film. I can say the exact same thing about Innocence's soundtrack. This isn't because the quality of each soundtracks are the same but because each of the soundtracks are the same. The same generic tracks are used over and over again and, honestly, got a little grating on the ears.

Overall, Innocence is a huge let down and not at all what I was expecting from a sequel to a fairly great film. However, one thing that I can applaud this film for is that it helped me appreciate the original far more than I did before.

Innocence (Ghost in the Shell) is dull.
Wednesday, May 25, 2016
Where do I even start? Ridley Scott's Blade Runner is a fantastic piece of 1980s art. From its stellar soundtrack to vast and comprehensive world and relatable characters, Blade Runner impressed to a point that not many other films have. Even after a single viewing of the original 1982 version, this film has to be one of the best I've seen. Ever. 

Blade Runner stars Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard, a former Blade Runner who hunts down escaped replicants and "retires" them which is really just killing them. These replicants are manufactured AI that, for years, have been used all over Earth and subsequently on other space colonies. In 2019, replicants have become illegal on Earth and after an incident with a rogue replicant killing a Blade Runner, Deckard is told of four in total that have successfully made it onto Earth and is assigned to retiring all of them. 

One aspect of the film that I absolutely adore is the fact that I don't know who to root for. Sure Deckard is the protagonist but the rogue replicants have reasonable reasons for doing the things that they do. That reason being that they only have a lifespan of four years, despite looking like average adults. The only reason that they are causing trouble is because they want to find a cure for whatever is making them die after four years. This is exemplified when Deckard comes into contact with a women named Rachael who he knows for sure is a replicant. She, however, has memories from her childhood which convinces her otherwise and, as their relationship grows, the audience gets to realize just how human these replicants actually are. It's an AI story that, though done many times, seems to have been shown to its full extent if not started here. 

Blade Runner looks and sounds absolutely beautiful. Though the technology and effects used are noticeably dated, the cityscape is nothing short of stunning. Even on the city streets, everything is perfectly lit and themed in such a way to give me chills in certain scenes. As stated, the technology is dated but meshes so well with the world that I can lift my suspension of disbelief just enough to get absorbed in it. None of this would matter, however, without the music. Words for it: divine, ravishing, alluring, and even dark. The soundtrack is composed by the Greek composer Vangelis who has written for films of all types but surprisingly no mainstream films besides Blade Runner and he has done a fantastic job of capturing the noir feel of this futuristic (at least by 1980s standards) music with mostly jazz and operatic pieces. The visuals and the sound come together in a romantically stunning dance to give us the great atmosphere of Blade Runner.

I have seen so many films and shows that try to replicate the feel that Blade Runner gave us back in the 1980s. Now I know where it all started. From an absolutely brilliant film about a tense subject. Though other films from the era tried their hand at an AI-centric plot, Blade Runner has the bar set and I don't see it going dropping anytime soon.

Blade Runner is brilliant.
Monday, May 23, 2016
One type of show that I don't find myself watching very often is one that deals with psychology. Most television shows about this subject tend to be serious and down-to-earth but many of them don't try their hand at comedy like Wilfred does. My first impressions are only based on the first three episodes of a series, but I can tell that I will grow to love it.

Ryan (Elijah Wood) is depressed. So much so that the entire first episode is about him trying to take his own life by overdose. Wilfred (Jason Gann) is his neighbor's dog... kind of. To Ryan, a psychologically messed up bum, Wilfred is actually a fully-grown adult who just wears a dog costume. Confused yet? So was I for the fifteen minutes of the show. One day Ryan's neighbor asks him to take care of Wilfred while she's off running errands and so the friendship between the human and dog start.

One way I could describe the relationship between Ryan and Wilfred is bitter-sweet. These two are nothing alike but they get along very well. At least until Wilfred does something that Ryan has to fix by the end and learns a lesson from. These lessons are fairly straight forward and even predictable at times, at least so far. The main reason for this being that each episode is titled by the hump that the main character has to trek over. So far these have been 'Happiness', 'Trust', and 'Fear'. Maybe by the end of the show or even the season I can look back and see these as clever but right now it is kind of a spoiler for what's to come. I like to be surprised by a show but if I know exactly what the moral of the episode will be then it feels like I'm almost ahead of the plot at times.

The characters of Wilfred and Ryan are a great comedy duo. They constantly play off of each other in clever and interesting ways and, though I haven't died from laughter quite yet, they have gotten some good laughs from me. The only real problem I have with the two so far is the fact that Wilfred is always the one to incite trouble and Ryan is constantly the one to get them out of it. This, again, plays into the predictability that the show is having so far. There has only been a few stand-out moments of plot that have been instrumental in my motivation to keep watching.

Despite all that, I still want to keep watching. Why is that? The problems I have with the show would make me drop it like a hot rock with most others but why this one? Well, to put it simply, I want to see Ryan grow as a character. I love the fact that the series starts with Ryan at his lowest point. Though I can't necessarily put myself in his shoes I do want to see him get better and learn to be happy through his experiences with Wilfred. The comedy is great, the plot is only good, but what it could become is something that is yet to be seen.

I can't wait to watch more of Wilfred.
Friday, May 20, 2016
AI is a fascinating subject. There are some films that do a great job of presenting the subject in interesting ways like in Ex Machina and then there are films that don't like Chappie. But we don't talk about Chappie. I don't think I've seen any anime tackle this subject until Ghost in the Shell and, though the film doesn't dive as deep as I would like, it does present a very interesting AI-enhanced future with its great animation and directing.

Ghost in the Shell's world is one of the most fascinating animated worlds I've seen. In the near future, a majority of the human race is interconnected over a vast network by the use of cybernetic bodies called 'shells'. These shells are inhabited by the person's soul called 'ghosts'. Motoko Kusanagi, or 'The Major', is... well... a Ghost in a Shell. She works for the Public Security Section 9 where, in this film, she is given the responsibility of tracking down the cyber-terrorist known as The Puppetmaster. Motoko and her whole team are good characters but I wish I knew more about them. All I know about Motoko is that she has some sort of messed-up past but her teammates are really a mystery. The Major is a complete bad-ass. She only has a few short action sequences but they are all awesome to look at and do a great job of showing off her abilities. The villain, The Puppetmaster, is also a very fascinating one but it never shows him being much of a threat. Sure the characters say that he is but there isn't really any proof to get me to believe that he is. The world, characters, and villain are all just good. At the end of the day I just wanted to see more of each of these characters and was left a little disappointed.

The animation of Ghost in the Shell is top-of-the-line. It had a very nice blend of CG and cel animation that was really nice to look at all the way through. There were a few moments of CG where you could really tell that it was made by a computer but that is really just a sign of age and not really the filmmakers fault. The soundtrack is too well done for its own good. I enjoy listening to the OST on my own once and a while but the way the tracks are incorporated into the film feels kind of lazy. I love the overall mood of it and it fits the film but the film doesn't go as far as the OST wants it to (if that makes any sense at all).

Ghost in the Shell is a very good sci-fi anime with a lot going for it but I felt that it never went far enough with its characters, visuals, or themes. I had high hopes going into the film because I had heard a lot of fantastic things but to me it was only good. No more, no less. To my delight, however, there are a lot of other series and movies from the franchise so at least the road doesn't end here.

Ghost in the Shell is unique but seems very restrained.


Wednesday, May 18, 2016
I've never been into films that have a heavy action theme. Sure there are the incredibly memorable ones like Die Hard and the ones that can even define a generation such as The Matrix. Both of those films, however, try to go big or go home. They don't worry themselves about the feeling behind a scene. Rather they just want the scene to look good. Feeling is what drives a film like John Wick. Rather than huge explosions or learning Kung Fu in five seconds, the film's main drive is not how the protagonist gets rid of the bad guys but why he does the things that he does. Long story short; John is angry.

John Wick's anger is what fuels the movie. First, his wife dies. Nobody's fault as the audience assumes it boils down to some kind of disease. After his wife's death, Wick (Keanu Reeves) is sent a Basset Hound pup with a letter from his wife. It says that the dog is meant to help John mourn which, at first, is the case. At a gas station one day he meets a group of mafia men who want his beautiful car and, after he says no sale, they break into his house, kill his dog, and steal the car. So John Wick isn't just angry. He's furious and he wants to kill the men who killed his dog and everyone they work with. At first glance it may seem simple and maybe even cliche but the amount of emotion behind his actions seem justified. I shouldn't be rooting for him because he is killing people in cold blood but I am. Without giving away too much, Wick's obsession of revenge does tie into his past with the Mafia and the way the film introduces the Mafia's straight-up fear of Wick is brilliant. Even when cops show up to his house they leave immediately after finding out who's front door they've just stumbled onto. The characters are where this film suffers. It's obvious that they all have backstories and connect with John Wick but because of the runtime of the movie the writers can't go into too much detail. Even the main character, John Wick, almost has a personality. He doesn't smile once in the whole film and even though I know that that's his character I can't connect with him.

The gripes I have with the characters don't matter at all when you look at the film as a whole. John Wick is an incredibly directed action movie - probably the best action movie I've seen. There wasn't a single point in the entire experience where I couldn't tell what was going on. It used a lot of still shots with a lot happening. It reminded me a lot of how Marvel's Daredevil series is directed but even better. Remember that amazing scene in the first episode where Daredevil fights off ten guys in a hallway? That is this entire movie and it looks astounding. Even if one can't enjoy the story or the characters, the choreography and direction of the action is completely worth the watch. I even found myself thoroughly enjoying the soundtrack of John Wick. A lot of it is orchestral mixed with experimental rock and pop which sounds amazing on and off the screen. This film is one of the best sounding and looking that I've seen in a long while.

John Wick is an astoundingly refreshing action film which improves on every front that its predecessors have been remembered for. Though its characters and story aren't the best, the action sequences more than make up for it .

John Wick is refreshing.
Monday, May 16, 2016
Have you ever seen an anime that is so over-the-top and insane that you just need to turn your brain off to fully enjoy the series? Kill La Kill is that for me. It does have very apparent problems but just the general excitement and joy I feel watching it makes the whole experience seem perfect, even though the show is far from it. The explosive fight scenes and scenarios and dumb fun of the show tend to overpower but the lack-luster story and villain. And I'm okay with that.

The story of Kill La Kill is pretty stupid. If you are going into this anime expecting deep themes with interesting plots than you are in the wrong place. Ryuko has been tracking down her father's killer for an unseen amount of time and she believes that the criminal is Hounouji Academy's class president, Satsuki Kiryuin. Armed with her trust Scissor Blade and a magical talking uniform named Senketsu, Ryuko must fight her way up the ranks of the Academy's school clubs in order to avenge her father and find the other half of her blade. We've seen this plot a million times and it doesn't do anything new in this case but the show isn't about the story. Rather, it's main focus is on the relationship between the characters. As soon as Ryuko arrives at the Academy she befriends a no-star student ("Star" referring to power level) named Mako and during the series we even get to learn a lot about Satsuki's underlings. Every character has their own energy and finesse that I can appreciate, even though some of them can fit into archetypes. I also like how--- ugh, I can't take it anymore. This show has way too much fanservice than it needs to have. I don't mind it as much near the beginning because when Ryuko transforms she becomes embarrassed with her appearance which suppresses her power but once that hurdle is overcome the fanservice seems like it is there just to be fanservice. To the show's granted, however, a third of the way through we are introduced to a group of totally-to-almost nude men that one can argue balance it out but I felt it wasn't needed in the first place and just could've been an over-the-top anime. Maybe the fanservice is part of the show's nature, then? I don't know. Just something to think about.

Speaking of the characters, I absolutely love their designs and color pallets, fanservice aside. Ryuko usually wears black and red but can occasionally sport a "white-knight" type outfit that fits with the metal state of her character at that given time. Even Mako gets a variety of designs to show off her general craziness. I especially love her "fight club" outfit. I feel like the characters' various outfits were designed and then the writers wrote the story because of just how well they mesh with the tone of whatever story they might be on at the moment.

Before I started watching Kill La Kill I assumed a little too much from the animation. Sure it's good but from the screenshots and short clips I had already been privy too, it ended up feeling lack luster. It does have a few border-line Sakuga moments near the
beginning of the series but it seemed to take a dip in quality during the last six or so episodes. This is one of the most hype soundtracks I've heard in an anime recently. I absolutely love the militaristic style of "Blumenkranz" and "Before My Body is Dry" is just amazing all around. The only problem is how the show uses these tracks - that is to say too much. Every time Ryuko does something remotely cool I hear the chorus of "Before My Body is Dry" and Satsuki's theme is good but I can only stand it so many times! The constant abuse of these amazing tracks forced me to turn down my TV volume a number of times when they would play. Such a shame to pound such a great OST to the ground.

 Kill La Kill is one of the weirdest but funnest anime I've seen in a while. It does have a lot of problems which tend to bog down the experience but if you just turn off your brain while watching you won't mind the flaws all that much.

Kill La Kill is explosive.
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
The buildup for Captain America: Civil War was one of the most stressful and hype rides I've had with a movie in a long while. Bottom line: Civil War is the best film from the MCU since the previous Captain America film. It seems like almost every other franchise in the MCU has low points but all three Captain America films have ranged from great to fantastic and Civil War can rightfully take its place on the high end of that spectrum. With its fast and fun fight scenes, great character relationships, and the best on-screen Spiderman we've ever gotten there is no of the pure quality of this film.

A lot of has happened since the beginning of MCU Phase 2 and, though I haven't been there for all of it, there has been a growing  rivalry between Steve Rogers and Tony Stark though it might be most apparent in Avengers: Age of Ultron where the two's ideologies clash for the first time. That film set the framework that Civil War would build a tower out of. Though it has a few cracks on the outside and some beams seem misplaced, the film does mostly everything right with its characters. Not only do Cap and Iron Man get to shine, but so does mostly every other Avenger. I especially want to point out Scarlet Witch who acts as a perfect linchpin for the entire fight between the team. Within the first five minutes of the movie, she tries to throw the villain from the previous Captain America film into the sky in order to save citizens on the ground from his inevitable explosion but accidentally causes and entire floor of a building to explode harming even more innocent civilians than she would have otherwise. This, along with the team's actions of the past, causes the United Nations to try to suppress the Avengers so they don't do more harm than good. Captain America thinks that they should be able to control themselves while Iron Man believes they need to be put in check. One aspect about this that I absolutely love is that I couldn't decide which team I was on until the very end. Going into the film I was team Iron Man but while watching I was constantly switching between the two sides because they both brought up great points.

Scarlet Witch steals the show for the film but the two new characters introduced are also very good. These are, of course, Black Panther and Spiderman. Though Black Panther's reason for choosing a side seems like a cliche revenge story at first, by the end of the film I had gotten to really know the character so I felt that he was justified for feeling the way he did. Spiderman, in my opinion, is the best onscreen Spiderman that the film industry has ever gotten. Toby Macguire was too awkward both in the suit and out while Andrew Garfield was too cool all the time. The entire point of Spiderman is that Peter Parker is an awkward nerd outside the suit but becomes a confident new man inside the suit. Tom Holland captures this aspect of the character perfectly and I can't wait until his solo movie, Spiderman: Homecoming. The one character that I really did have a problem with was Hawkeye. I do like the character but the way he was introduced seemed lazy. He didn't give an explanation for why he chose the side he did nor did he feel like he cared or knew what he was fighting for. It seemed, at least to me, that the writers just wanted an equal amount of fighters for both side. The center of the entire struggle, though, is The Winter Soldier. He is what made this a Captain America movie. He had ties to each side and was struggling with himself in much the same ways that Cap and Tony were struggling with each other. It was truly astonishing the way they used him.

Another problem I had with the film is mostly a nitpick. The animation. Though not too important in this case, as the film was very character-driven, the CG was lacking to say the least. It was especially noticeable on all of Spiderman and The Falcon's wings. Spiderman felt way too rubbery similar to how he moved in the original Toby Macguire films, though then it was a limitation of the medium. The Falcon's wings didn't feel mechanical enough - as in the movement didn't match the look. And once again the music is very lackluster. It isn't bad but just lazy. With a super hero flick I want exciting and memorable themes but all we get is generic strings with a few standout tracks. Nothing to write home about.

Go see Captain America: Civil War. It isn't perfect but the good far outweighs the bad. The characters are great and the fights are fantastic.

Captain America: Civil War is astonishing.
Monday, May 09, 2016
Before Shantae and the Pirate's Curse I had never played a Shantae game. I wasn't avoiding them or anything but I had just never gotten around to it. What was wrong with me? I love everything about this game. It has smooth and satisfying gameplay, diverse and colorful levels, and extremely memorable characters. It does have problems, of course, but the good intensely outweighs the bad.



Shantae and the Pirate's Curse takes place shortly after the previous game in the story, Risky's Revenge. Though I've never played that game, Pirate's Curse does a fair job of explaining the previous events. At the end of the previous installment Shantae's rival, Risky, stole her genie magic so she has now become a full human who is just living a regular life. That is until a baddie by the name of Ammo Baron (who I assume was also in the other installments from the way the characters talk about him) comes to town and proceeds to pillage and plunder the place. Shantae rushes to the rescue in a fantastic opening level that hits all the right level design beats. After a short boss fight with the Baron, she discovers that the Ammo Baron isn't raiding the island out of pure malice. Rather, it is because the Mayor sold the town to him for food for himself. Because of her actions, Shantae receives a court summons where they will cut off her hair - the only magical part left of her. Just when she is feeling her lowest, however, she runs into Risky who is in dire need of Shantae's assistance. Risky explains that the evil Pirate Master is returning and they need to work together to stop him. I have to admit that, at the start of the game, the story seems convoluted and random but it does pay off in really well-rounded ways. The set-up isn't fantastic but it does give the player an intrigue that will last throughout the rest of the experience.

Though the story isn't great, the characters definitely make up for it. And there are a lot of them. Each of the characters are so memorable and unique that I could rattle off all the personalities and motivations of each one without breaking a sweat. This is mostly in part because of the very great and clever writing but is also in part by the memorable character designs. Each character's designs coincide perfectly with their personality. Rottytops the zombie is enthusiastic but lazy and even kind of a dunce sometimes which is reflected well by her constant dancing and bright-green skin. Rottytops is also very great with her constant joking around. Have I mentioned Rottytops yet? If I have it's because she is the best character in the entire game. In the latter half of the game she even gets her own arc that gives her a somewhat tragic backstory. All of the other characters are great in their own ways but Rottytops is incredibly memorable. The only problem with any character that I had was with Risky Boots. She wasn't bad but she really wasn't given much of a personality besides cynical and mysterious. Maybe if I had played the previous games I would have understood her better but what I got wasn't very great. Overall, the characters are unforgettable. Also Rottytops.

The gameplay in Shantae and the Pirate's Curse is very clean and very satisfying. The combination of the whipping sound when Shantae sends her hair flying with the animations that happen during and after the hit feel very good. I love every part of how Shantae controls. Her movement speed is a brisk walk and her attacks are instant. Her jumps are high and she can snap instantly while in the air. The only problem I had with this isn't with the controls itself but how some of the levels are designed. From the get-go it seems that Shantae's movement was made for levels with a focus on vertical movement as well as horizontal but in Pirate's Curse most of the levels are simply left to right with not a lot of vertical exploration. This is, however, a minor problem and is quickly remedied as soon as the player gets to a dungeon, which are all fantastic. Though their themes and mechanics aren't exactly new and innovative, their use of the powerups that you obtain in said dungeons can be very clever which makes for some interesting puzzle scenarios. Speaking of the upgrades, I just love all of them. In each dungeon you find more and more of Risky Boots' equipment which ranges from a pirate hat that lets you float in the air to a cannon that gives you three extra jumps while in the air. Though these aren't exactly new concepts the ways the game tends to use them are great. You can also buy upgrades for Shantae's pre-existing abilities as well as her equipment. Though most of these are just simply faster firing of your attacks and more damage output, some of them give you extra abilities like a handy dodge that lets you effectively get out of the way of enemy attacks.

Jake Kauffman is a mad genius. I had already known about him from other games he's worked on (and I also follow him on Twitter) but I find the Shantae soundtrack to be especially great. Jake "Virt" Kauffman does a great job at creating memorable themes in his tunes. And here we come full circle to the best song in the game - Rottytops. It perfectly encapsulates everything about her character and I love it immensely. The only negative I have about the OST is the boss themes. I still can't tell for sure but I'm pretty sure that they are all the same song. Either that or they are just plain unmemorable. Virt can't take all the credit for the atmosphere of the game. The sprite team that worked on the graphics need a huge round of applause. All of the characters just jump right out of the screen with their colors and animations. The backgrounds are also gorgeous.

I feel bad for myself that I hadn't played this game sooner. Take wonderful music and visuals, tight gameplay, and wonderful characters (mostly Rottytops), and you get Shantae and the Pirate's Curse. I can say for sure that I am very excited for the next game in the franchise Half-Genie Hero and I really want to play the previous installments.

Shantae and the Pirate's Curse is memorable. 
Thursday, May 05, 2016
Though I haven't seen a whole lot of productions by Studio Trigger, the are still one of my favorite anime studios. I think my love for them started with Kill La Kill. They are especially good at character designs and the use of colors. You can see this clear-as-day in Kill La Kill with the differing designs of Ryuko and Satsuki. Though that show didn't have a whole lot going for it story-wise, it was still a fun time with great animation and a great soundtrack. Needless to say, when I saw the promotional art for their Spring 2016 series, Kiznaiver, I needed to get my very own ticket for the Trigger hype train! A brand new interesting world with great character designs and (hopefully) over-the-top fight scenes! But does Kiznaiver live up to my expectations?

Kiznaiver takes place in a fictional city, Sugamori, in the real-life country, Japan. It stars a colorful cast of characters that so far are mostly stereotypes that we've seen in anime before. We have Agata, or Kacchon, who is a lonely downer with a strange ability not to feel pain; his best friend, Takashiro, who is turning out to be a tsundere who constantly tries to give Kacchon life advice; Nico, the fairy-loving oddball; Tenga, the rough-and-tough jock of the team; Yuta, the popular kid with an embarrassing past; Maki, the mysterious jerk; Hisomu, a pain-loving newcomer; and finally, Sonozaki who is the - from what I can tell - the antagonist of the series. Though none of these character have had a whole lot of development, besides maybe Agata, their personalities are interesting and entertaining enough that I can see where development could take place. And, of course, the character designs are great. I especially like Tenga's design. His bright-yellow shirt and slick-red hair explain his personality perfectly and all of the other characters' designs follow suit.

I didn't know what the story was going in but I was pleasantly surprised. The gist of it is that these seven individuals have been kidnapped and, after being released, realize that they now all share pain with each other. Whether falling down stairs, spraining a wrist, or even jumping off a bridge, the pain of their experiences are split between the seven of them - kind of. You see, as mentioned earlier, Agata doesn't feel pain. Though this ability hasn't been explained yet, it does give him a very interesting backstory which helps me find him interesting because otherwise I just wouldn't. The mysteriousness that each of the characters hold is one of my favorite things about the show so far and already, only three episodes in, I am learning more about each of them. The only question is what they will do with the story. Usually after the first two or three episodes of a series I can generally tell where it is going to go but with Kiznaiver I have no idea. At first I got the impression of a grand mystery that would focus on Agata but near the end of the third episode I was getting a 'fight against the establishment' vibe. This is two parts exciting and one part terrifying as Sword Art Online also kept me guessing and some may know what I think of the show.

I've already mentioned the character designs but the animation is especially top-notch. Though there haven't been any crazy fights yet, which is disappointing, the colors and overall amazing animation is still very interesting to look at. However, this does make me afraid that the budget wasn't meant for action and now I'm second guessing whether this will be an action-oriented series at all. At the time, I have no idea where the show is going to go.

So far Kiznaiver is a fantastic looking and wonderfully designed show with characters that, though not particularly interesting right now, have a lot of room to grow. So far this entire anime season is great and I can't wait to see what it has to offer.

Kiznaiver looks promising!
Tuesday, April 26, 2016
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