#i thought that one movie with the giant fighting mechs (the live action one) that everyone loved

[starcloud-nova]

ok actually can i confess

[introvertguide]

15 Badass Movies for a Fun Time at Home or with Friends

There is a buzz in the air as COVID-19 vaccines are rolling out and the hope of having a movie night with friends is again becoming a reality. Watching alone isn’t as fun because I want to talk to somebody about what I have just seen. A full theater does not agree with my introvert nature because somebody screaming or laughing or talking on their phone will ruin it for me. Watching with a fellow cinephile or two is perfect. But what to watch first? People have been stuck inside, so fantasy and alternative worlds have been overly popular. All I do is talk over zoom for a living. I think what I need most right now is a movie about realistic people with realistic skills that go into a situation and just wreck house. I need a badass movie. What is this “badass” movie you might say? Well, here are some basic criteria: 1) There must be a tough lead character who kicks butt while spouting one liners and doesn’t need superhuman powers (high levels of peak skill with speed, aim, or strength is OK if they are plausible in the real world), 2) most of the characters (good and bad) must be likable, admirable or at least memorable, 3) the lead must face and defeat overwhelming odds against them, and 4) extra points for memorable one liners. Also, I am only dealing with human protagonists (sorry Terminator), but slightly superhuman opposition is acceptable. This list is by no means exhaustive, it is just an example of some badass movies. So in no particular order:

1) Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

To start off the list, I want to mention the most well known American badass. Indiana Jones is a smart guy with a gun and a whip. He is rugged and punches guys in the face. He has weaknesses but works through them to get the job done. Harrison Ford was in his early 40s for this role and had this tough-as-nails and seen the world kind of feel while still being young enough to fight hand to hand. Any of the first three films featuring Indiana Jones would work here, but this is the original and it started the fun. Easy to watch. Easy to cheer for. Great movie. You can’t really go wrong with any age or group with this one. 

2) 13 Assassins (2010)

This movie is extremely badass but not for everyone. This is one of the goriest films I have ever seen as 13 warriors kill off a couple of hundred soldiers and the evil leader that they guard. The movie was directed by Japanese extreme horror icon Takashi Miike if that means anything to you (hey made Audition and Ichi the Killer). The movie has gallons of blood, but also an amazing story of redemption and honor. There are tons of scenes of a single warrior taking on dozens of soldiers and managing to overcome. Not for everyone, but still very much a badass movie.

3) The Raid (2011)

This is an Indonesian action thriller with the word action in bold. The film is directed by Gareth Evans and stars Iko Uwais as part of a small police force that tries to take down an old building that houses a drug lord and his violent gang. It has a lot of what I like in badass movies: one-on-one fights between the lead and almost superhuman villains, long well-choreographed scenes, a banging soundtrack, ridiculous weapons, and ridiculous gore. The fight scenes in tight places and the use of the environment for weaponry is amazing and the sound design makes sure you can feel every punch. The lead character should have no chance, but he makes up for it with skill and being a pure badass. This movie is one of the few that I would describe as having non-stop action.

4) Jon Wick (2014)

When did Keanu Reeves become so cool? I grew up with him being part of the Bill and Ted duo. He decides to learn martial arts and play a god-like being in the Matrix movies and then becomes a one man wrecking crew? I guess he is a badass because he does it so well. Keanu plays a retired hitman who is wronged and decides to go back to work for vengeance. He just won’t stop coming and seems to constantly survive out of pure hatred alone. There are 3 films in the series and any one of them will impress. Pure fun too watch.

5) Casino Royale (2006)

When I was asking around, there were many people who thought that James Bond was the ultimate badass. I disagree in that many of the older films show Bond as overconfident with the assistance of many people. In fact, Q is more of a badass in many ways than James Bond. However, when the series was taken back to its roots with the last book that had not been made into a serious film and made darker, it reached badass levels. From the parkour chase to a poisoning to an extreme torture scene, this was not like any James Bond movie before it. Roger Craig plays a much colder lead who gives no quarter, much more like what the greatest secret agent would have to be. Heavy on violence but light on gore, this film is more for all audiences than other films on this list.

6) Desperado (1995)

What makes this movie is not all about Antonio Banderas and Selma Hayek. It is that every other character is memorable and badass as well. The street standoff with Bucho’s men versus El Mariachi, Quino, and Campo is iconic. El Mariachi murders everyone in a bar with precise skill. The rogue assassin Navajas with all the knives played by Danny Trejo. Nothing but extreme shoot outs and fight scenes with a ridiculous variety of guns and explosives. I think what makes this movie so amazing is that all these amazing assassins are incognito and, when they suddenly produce an arsenal out of nowhere, it is always a pleasant surprise. Quino and Campo are amazing when they bring their guitars. 

7) Pulp Fiction (1994)

Truly the role that made Samuel L. Jackson into the ultimate badass. He and his partner Vincent are hitman that keep running into the worst situations. The thing about the film is that everybody is so cool. The characters are cool, the music is cool, the dialogue is cool, hell even the diner featured in the movie is cool. The movie only spans a couple of days (in completely separate segments shown out of order) but packs in 7 distinct situations that are all berserk. From the mind of Quentin Tarantino, this movie is dripping with the best characters traveling through the best story. Highly recommend.

8) Leon: The Professional (1994)

Also known simply as The Professional in the U.S., this film features the debut of Natalie Portman. It is directed by Luc Besson at his best period, right between La Femme Nakita and The Fifth Element. The lead is actually a quiet hitman who reluctantly takes a little 12-year-old girl on as an apprentice to become a paid assassin. Her parents were killed by a corrupt cop and she wants Leon to help her exact revenge. He is an absolute badass and somewhat of a caring surrogate father to the girl. Unlike a lot of the films on this list, the premise is not simply kicking butt in a bad situation. There is serious character growth. Apparently you can be a caring parent and a cold-blooded murderer...and that is badass.

9) Kill Bill (2003)

Being a badass is not exclusive to men and The Bride is a prime example of this. She survives a shot to the head, kills deadly assassins, slaughters a gang, and takes on a crazy school girl bodyguard. She is tougher then any lead I can think of and she has the bad attitude and sense of vengeance that makes for a badass. Combine this with the soundtrack and beautiful cinematography associated with director Quentin Tarantino and you have a beautifully violent movie in which the hits keep coming. Even on this list, the fight scene between the bride and Gogo Yubari is insane. Also note the nod to Bruce Lee with the bright yellow motorcycle suit. Beautifully badass film.

10) Aliens (1986)

In nature, there are few things more dangerous than a mother protecting their young. A mother will fight you to the death and make sure that, at the very least, you won’t be able to go after her kids. Now imagine an alien planet covered with hostile beings created in the mind of James Cameron and Stan Winston and you have a setting made to create a real badass. In the beginning, Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is just desperate to survive and barely knows how to use a weapon. She meets a little survivor named Newt and then has a real reason to become aggressive. She and a group of marines fight through a station filled with super destructive xenomorph aliens made straight from nightmares to save this kid. The transformation is truly amazing and culminates in a mech suit versus a giant queen alien and it is extremely badass.

11) Army of Darkness (1992)

Far and away the funniest movie on this list, this is the third film stemming from Evil Dead and again stars Bruce Campbell taking on the deadites that were raised by reading from the Necronomicon. The opposition is the undead evil that faces the world which makes the violence very unrealistic. This was early work from Sam Raimi and features a variety of different shots done to the extreme. What really makes this film stand out is how Bruce Campbell is amazing at delivering a one liner. His classic quips have been used as fun Easter eggs in video games like Duke Nukem and World of Warcraft for decades. The quintessential horror comedy and a perfect example of a badass.

12) Die Hard (1988)

Apparently, I am a big fan of single characters that need to work their way through a building of villains using mostly intelligence and the element of surprise. Throw in some one liners and I am all for it. That is exactly what this is with Bruce Willis crawling barefoot around a 40 story building and fighting off a gang of villains. The movie also has Alan Rickman as the main bad guy and he is chewing the scenery. This is a great example of being a badass, but it is too bad that the follow up sequels were so poor. Definitely stick to the original and let the rest pass by.

13) The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (1966)

An OG of the badass movie genre, this is some of the best of Sergio Leone and the spaghetti western. Instead of one badass, this movie has three different leads that are all amazing. You have the good, Clint Eastwood, who is an amazing shot and a heart of gold under a rough exterior. You have the bad, Lee Van Cleef, playing an conniving assassin that will kill anyone that he doesn’t have a use for. Finally, you have the ugly, Eli Wallach, as a desert rat that will do anything to survive. They all gain information about a gold stash and need to work together to get it, but this creates a vortex of cheating, undercutting, and straight up murder. Clint Eastwood is more of the classic badass with his cigar, hat, and poncho, It is an iconic look on an iconic character in an iconic movie. That is what I call badass.

14) Ong-Bak (2003)

This less of a badass movie and more houses some of the most amazingly badass fight scenes that can only be described as badass. This movie introduced the great Tony Jaa to the western world and showed the high flying nature of Thai boxing and Muay Thai in general. The main character is entered into a street fighting tournament and the moves include a flying double knee drop and a full splits kick. If the whole movie was the tournament, it would be the best movie that ever existed. The variety of opponents makes the fighting even better and the cinematography is top notch. Tony Jaa is truly badass in this film.

15) Dredd (2012)

Not the crappy version with Stallone, this movie is seriously badass. It features Karl Urban who is helmeted for the entire film (as Dredd would be) taking on a 200 story mega slum filled with residents that want to shoot him dead. There is a drug dealer high up in the building and she locks down the entire compound with instructions to kill Dredd, who only has his rookie partner to help. He takes on random resident mobs, groups of gang members, and even a trio of mini guns that have bullets that can rip through walls. He has a smart gun with a bunch of ammo that he uses judiciously to kill everybody. This movie was seriously underrated since it had not been that long since the garbage Judge Dredd came out in 1995. The 2012 is a far superior movie, being much more violent and dark instead of having Rob Schneider as the comedy relief (not badass).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

I know there will be a lot of opinions about what makes a badass film and what movies i didn’t add. Feel free to add your own movies or critique my choices. I will stand by my choices, however, and recommend any of these films for a night of cheers and badass action.

[davidmann95]

Your power is mine: thoughts on Kingdom Hearts’ newest, oddest character

Finished Final Fantasy XV over the weekend. Mixed feelings to say the least, but it does give me an excuse to talk about Kingdom Hearts again, specifically this weirdo:

And how it feels like most of the people discussing Yozora and trying to figure out what his deal is are missing half the point. Yes, there’s the apparent connections to Sora and Riku, and there’s his meta association with Noctis and the entire real-life corporate backstory there intertwining with the in-game narrative to an unknown extent. But when he’s discussed as some kind of fusion of Sora and Riku, or a literal reincarnation of Noctis, or that Verum Rex might end up a real game, or something similarly straightforward in terms of “he’s going to be a very important central character going forward”, the ideas or at least the tone of how they’re presented seem to miss an absolutely critical component of how he was introduced to us, in a way that shapes not only him but by extension the entire future of the franchise and its thematic concerns:

We aren’t just supposed to be surprised he’s important because he’s real where we thought he wasn’t. We’re supposed to be surprised because he’s introduced to us as a self-evident gag character.

Not that we’re not supposed to take him seriously where it counts: it’s clear he has an important role going forward and is a force to be reckoned with. But no matter what deep, foreboding connections to the Keyblade and Master of Masters may lie within his backstory that may determine the fate of more universes than one, he will never not have had the hilariously inauspicious beginning of being a toy played by Rex the Dinosaur. He doesn’t even have the dignity of being introduced as a game on one of the plot-heavy original worlds! He’s a throwaway gimmick to spice up one of the filler Disney segments, literally a child’s plaything.

Even before we learn the context he’s being presented in...well, look at him. He’s like Riku, who’s cooler than Sora, and Noctis, a Final Fantasy character and therefore cooler than all this Disney stuff, but also he has a LASER SWORD and a CROSSBOW - that are clearly functioning as cool future tech instead of dopey magical powers - and his eyes are MYSTERIOUS MISMATCHING UNNATURAL COLORS and he fights GIANT ROBOTS with a dude in a fedora in a city straight out of the REAL WORLD to save a helpless lady/prize: truly, let no mistake be made, he is VERY, VERY SERIOUS INDEED, AND ALSO, RAD. TO THE MAX. He’s every attempt at reframing contemporary Final Fantasy as slick and modern and cool dialed up and up and up until the tone breaks, without the barest hint of self-awareness even as it advertises its action figure tie-ins. I don’t think that his little Keyblade pattern on his jacket being near-impossible to spot unless you’re looking for it is just to preserve the surprise, but also because the sight of the big keys with the Mickey Mouse logo on them would be anathema to his entire vibe, so important as it may be it must be squirreled away where it can’t make him look dumb. Heck, when Dylan Spouse announced on Twitter he was playing this major character in a childhood favorite franchise of his, surely knowing more than we do about Yozora, his description of the part was “I have lived out my edgy JRPG character fantasies...I even got to say ‘Sorry, but I don’t lose.’” We’re supposed to receive him off the bat as Square Enix, and more specifically Tetsuya Nomura, poking fun at themselves, going ‘yes, we suppose this is all getting to be a bit much, isn’t it?’

And then he enters the story for real.

Obviously he’s much more than a joke now, but the idea of him as something off, something that doesn’t fit in these games, endures. His episode isn’t just in a modern cityscape but skinned in the graphics of the grittier, more detailed style of the Pirates of the Caribbean world meant to evoke photorealism rather than the look of the rest of the game. He interferes with the gameplay in ways no other enemy does, stealing your items and weapons (we’ll get back to that). When he casts you into a void to be attacked by the mechs, it’s not a pure empty white but a mass of abstract polygonal space, evocative of the visuals of early game development. What details we do get of his backstory frame him as a counterpart to Sora on a parallel journey all his own, but the associations with his other source material in Noctis are considerably more...cutting. Credit to @kitsoa, whose own extensive musings on Kingdom Hearts’ increasingly overt metafictional concerns brought to my attention the obvious parallel: that Yozora being changed ‘beyond recognition’ with his heart replaced by another’s is a reasonable, albeit scathing description of Noctis’s revised character in the shift from the Nomura-helmed Final Fantasy Versus XIII to the largely overhauled Final Fantasy XV (and by the same token, the Nameless Star’s identity being stolen comes across as a shot at Versus XIII’s Stella Nox Fleuret being entirely replaced by Lady Lunafreya. Who, by sheer coincidence, would have been corrupted in planned but cancelled DLC into a monster of darkness).

While the comparisons to his source material are not only intentional but textually overt - his introduction as a real boy is literally scored to the FFXV theme music - so is the distancing from that material, given that if Nomura simply wanted to use Noctis the very premise of Kingdom Hearts as a series could have allowed him to use Noctis, and even change him to fit his original vision however he wished given the design and backstory changes to the other Final Fantasy characters involved. Yozora has a distinct role in which he’s still meant to represent that tone and aesthetic, and all signs point to that being because as that representation, he hardly seems an endorsement. He’s a parody, offered up in a demeaning context and tangled up narratively in real-life creative bitterness before being placed as an antagonist, however well-meaning (though keep in mind every secret boss of his kind before - other than Julius, I suppose - went on to become an endgame boss later on), in the player’s path. He may not be a villain, but all signs seem to indicate he’s a figure to be regarded as a contrast to the heroes.

And it’s in that role as a contrast that I have my own theories about what his deal ultimately is, thematically if not plotwise.

For those who saw this in the Kingdom Hearts tag and aren’t superhero fans, that’s Superdoomsday, introduced in Grant Morrison’s run on Action Comics about 8 years ago. One among many takes on an ‘evil Superman’ from a parallel universe, the twist with his world is that rather than a survivor of Krypton, he is literally the materialized concept of Superman - imagined by his reality’s Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and Jimmy Olsen, who created a machine which could bring ideas to life - that when sold to a corporation was reimagined in service of wide public appeal into an all-powerful, uncompromisingly brutal monstrosity clad in armor somewhere between an iPhone, 90s Rob Liefeld battle gear, and Nazi regalia, who ultimately journeyed into the multiverse to stalk and kill other incarnations of Superman, seeing them as competition to his domination of the ‘market’. “The curse...of Superman...” murmurs the dying Kent of that world, “...he becomes anything you want...him...to be...our world...wanted that...”

Yozora is...probably not exactly a 1:1 to that. But as a counterpart to Sora, it absolutely seems as if the main factor by which he contrasts him is that he’s ostensibly the sleeker, edgier model, new-and-improved. He reworks Sora’s story arc and aesthetic into something theoretically cooler and more palatable, steals his power, ‘saves’ him by sealing him away to presumably fight in his stead and thereby take his place as the lead. He is the protagonist so many feel Kingdom Hearts has needed for years, the somber AMV-ready Secret Movie tone and aesthetic stepping into center stage at last rather than maintaining a sunshiney Disney-esque child hero lead to anchor the assorted conspiracies and horrors of much of the rest of the tale. The manner in which he is presented as to make metatextuality an in-universe concern (to call back to Grant Morrison again, his next work after Action Comics was Multiversity, where a major plot point was that the events of parallel universes were unwittingly documented in each others’ pop culture; in that case comic books, in here video games) for Kingdom Hearts to explore in the next main entry is I believe so as to ask what, in fact, Kingdom Hearts as a series should be; is it a Disney series with some incidental Final Fantasy stuff in it? A Final Fantasy spinoff with some Disney elements cluttering it up that should maybe be discarded as it grows up? Something all its own? Is it time for Kingdom Hearts to get Serious? Even if the Kingdom Hearts as imagined by a marketing executive vision of Verum Rex isn’t what’s next, what is, as things get darker and that vision is now part of the narrative whether for good or ill?

So yeah it looks like Kingdom Hearts IV is Kingdom Hearts vs. its own Gritty Realworld! Urban Fantasy AU fanfiction for the soul of the series, and I am extremely here for it.

[dorizardthewizard]

TLNM musings, part 2

Okay, here I ramble about problems with the movie. Ended up adding more stuff since I first wrote this :’P

Screentime and characterisation of the other ninja:

One of the biggest complaints from fans... they're all introduced individually with very different personalities, they’re told they each have a special element they control, making you feel like they should each get some moment to shine and affect the plot of the movie, but then none of that happens. Ultimately you could take out all the ninja and the story would be the same, you don't even necessarily need them for Lloyd's character since his journey of reconnecting with his father and bringing his family together can still work without them. It's so sad because if you read and watch extra material, you can tell thought went into their personalities, but we never get to see this as they're all just lumped together, mostly there to support Lloyd's development.

For someone who hasn't seen the show, it must feel a bit off seeing characters with distinguished personalities and no payoff for it; take Zane for example. Imagine not knowing anything about the characters and seeing one of them is a robot, for some reason? You wonder why he's a robot, what significance that has for the plot and why it's important for his character (I mean they missed a big opportunity to develop Zane from always trying to fit in and seem like a “normal teenager” to accepting that he's different but that that doesn't mean he's less valid), but then this really specific characteristic is never expanded on except for comedy purposes. People probably thought “oh, guess it makes more sense in the show”, but this just detaches viewers and makes them feel like they're missing something if they haven't seen the show beforehand.

Sigh, still gotta give the crew credit for fitting in a load of little subtle details about the ninja, I had to rewatch it a couple of times because there were things I didn’t notice at first, like Kai sliding down a bannister in the Temple of Fragile Foundations and falling off :’D

Group dynamic:

Another thing that bothered me is that the movie isn't that good at making you care about them as a team. They're already established as friends but I wish there were more material showing us how much they care about each other. The Kai hug scene was 10/10 but then when Chen and the other cheerleaders started picking on Lloyd, nobody said or did anything? In merchandise it said Kai is a hothead who isn't afraid to speak up or stand up to people, then show it in the movie! Him and Nya should have been on the verge of tackling that guy to the floor! Ok, I can see Lloyd asking them not to get into fights as it makes people hate him even more and he probably feels guilty if one of the ninja gets into trouble because of him. This would still have given more emotional connection between the characters but we're never shown it, except in the novelisation where Cole tries to block Lloyd from his locker so he doesn't see the insult written on it, I think. But again, we shouldn't have to read/ watch extra material for that.

Instead of moments showcasing the ninja’s friendship and close bonds, we got the opposite- everyone turned on Lloyd incredibly quickly for one mistake. Sure, it was a pretty big one and resulted in Garmadon taking over the city and their mechs being wrecked, but Lloyd was the only one doing anything about Garmadon at the time and he didn't exactly know what the consequences of using the ultimate weapon were; it's not like he knew it could potentially hurt his friends. In fact, how did the ninja know he used it anyway? That would mean they already knew about it and what it could do, yet Lloyd was not told? In which case, how can they blame him?? Damn it Wu, why couldn't you just tell Lloyd that using the weapon would unleash a cat that could destroy the city, instead of vaguely saying the weapon can be dangerous in the wrong hands. That's taking too many pages from TV Wu's book!

Honestly, it's like the ninja were just one character either shunning Lloyd or supporting him, depending on what the plot needed :/ That scene where they're talking with Garmadon while carrying him through the jungle really rubbed me the wrong way because first, no one seemed to care that Lloyd is so snippy because he's been forced to work with the man who made his life hell, and second they joke about Lloyd with that very same person and imply they don't respect Lloyd as leader, as Jay says he doesn't usually want to listen to him when he's talking? What??

 Lloyd and Garmadon’s relationship:

I mentioned this in part 1, but they really didn’t execute this well- I feel like they had so much fun playing up Garmadon being the worst dad in the world that they forgot to give him redeemable qualities. It took me a second viewing to realise his relationship with Lloyd was actually pretty messed up, because they played off his despicableness as comedic and glossed over it by suddenly giving him a flashback to make it seem like he’s sorry. They wanted to go for the father-and-son-have-issues-but-reconnect story, and had Lloyd say “I wish we didn’t have to fight all the time” in his emotional ending, but that’s a line usually present in a daddy-issue story where both have a part to blame and there's issues with communication. In this, though? Lloyd did nothing wrong! It was just Garmadon being trash, and there wasn't even a particular scene of him recognising and apologising for his actions- not the bit about driving Misako away, but how he treated Lloyd after.

The message is all mucked up - hoping to find some good in neglectful parents is just gonna get you hurt, and in a story like this it would make more sense for the protagonist to realise they don't need validation from this guy, shouldn't feel like they have to keep connected with toxic relatives just because they're family, and that they should focus on the friends and family who actually love them (although, whether Lloyd's friends were even portrayed as liking him is a different story). I mean, Koko could just teach him to throw and catch! Does he have to have two parents just for that?

 Tone and humour:

I think another main reason this movie didn't do as well was its more childish tone and dialogue; unlike the previous two movies, it was marketed at younger children. One of the main reasons TLM and LB were so successful is because of the self-aware jokes that could actually be enjoyed by adults too, while in this movie I may have properly laughed only a couple of times. Plus, in its effort to connect with kid's humour it just got cringy in some parts, like the Ultimate Weapon compilation. It would have been funny if it was ironic, like Amazing World of Gumball style, but it just didn't come across like that, so I can see why many jokes fell flat for older audiences.

People probably had different expectations for the overall tone as well- everyone loved the previous LEGO movies because of their constant barrage of action, witty jokes and a ton of references. This was never the selling point of Ninjago, but TLNM didn’t manage to capture the show’s dramatic style and deep lore-driven plot either.

The writers:

Okay last thing. This movie had three directors, six producers, six screenwriters and seven people working on the story. Compared to most animated movies, that's a lot, and its shows. It feels like they had a few different ideas and themes and couldn't quite patch them together, with vague messages like “looking at things from a different point of view” being thrown in as well to try and link it up. I guess at the end of the day, this is a father-son story, and that makes it very difficult to fit in a power-of-friendship plot at the same time, but still. Also, the shifting plot and ideas is really clear in the trailers, I mean half the stuff there wasn't even in the movie, it's as if the entire story was changed!

 Final verdict? I think an overall theme with this movie is that the writers wanted to overhaul Ninjago to introduce it to new viewers, but also wanted to keep the fans happy so shoehorned in lots of elements from the show without giving them enough development. This just disappoints fans and alienates general audiences, which is a problem since Ninjago doesn’t have a huge following already backing it up like LEGO Batman did, and could have been the pilot for more original LEGO lines making it to the big screen. It was a technically amazing movie, with beautiful animation and visuals, an epic soundtrack and stunning voice acting, but it was also such a waste of potential.

 The only other thing we can do is think about how it could have gone differently, so here's some of my ideas :'D

NOT using the deleted time travel plot. I know that after being disappointed in a movie you welcome any alternative, but giant mechs were already a big deviation from the ninja theme; flinging in time travel as well would be too much for non-show watchers. Plus, I thought we were all complaining about how time travel in Ninjago always just messes things up :'P

Also not following the show closer. We have over 10 seasons of the show, the whole point of a movie is giving a fresh take; using a giant snake or the Overlord possessing Garmadon again would just be boring.

Delete the first act? One of the best parts of the secret high school heroes trope is seeing how they juggle both lives, if you're gonna drop it after half an hour there's not much point of it being there.

Could instead just have Garmadon attacking again, the last invasion attempt being ages ago. Maybe the ninja rediscover a rich history of elemental masters protecting Ninjago when Wu decides to get a new team together to fight the new threat?

Make it about learning master building instead so they build their mechs at the end, and then gain elements in a sequel?

Or don't mention anything about elements and have every ninja individually go through an obstacle to obtain an elemental weapon, then they all lose them but don't know they're not necessary, so it's actually a surprise that the power is inside them? Everyone gets a sort of true potential moment?

Ninja having to warm up to Garmadon's son, so we have a plot of Lloyd slowly gaining their respect and becoming leader?

Higher stakes at the end, make the Shark Army more threatening and have them turn on Garmadon using Meowthra, so there's still an intense climax of the ninja fighting the army before Lloyd reaches Meowthra and gets his emotional ending?

Get rid of the live action sequence, or make it fit the message of the story more?

Feel free to add any ideas/ thoughts!

[kihocrystal]

Spring 2018 - Final Impressions

Sorry this post is so late (again)! I had a *really* busy July, which really didn’t help at all. But anyway, here’s my thoughts on the shows that I finished this past season! All but one are sequels, though (and the one non-sequel was a carryover from last season)... Don’t worry, I’ll watch stuff like Megalobox and Hinamatsuri eventually! :’D

All “reviews” are listed in alphabetical order!

Amanchu! Advance - 8.0 / 10 (B-)

I liked season 2 as a whole! (Except for one episode / thing…)

QUEERBAITING SUCKS

I dunno if this is the fault of the anime or the source material…

…but this is still the most blatant example I’ve ever watched >_>

episode 11 didn’t need to happen!!! Why couldn’t Kokoro just… be a girl

or y’know, just let Pikari and Teko continue to “love” each other as they have! OTL

maybe why it annoyed me so much is that it’s like�� a total bait & switch that went on for 2 SEASONS

to be fair, the reveal kinda went over my head? But when r/anime pointed it out, that’s when the salt began :/

yet the finale still has them blushing over reading thank you notes? It’s like this show wants its cake & eat it too

at the end of the day, the Kokoro stuff just… got in the way of Teko & Pikari’s interactions, platonic or not >_>

Also I’m one of the few people who actually liked the Peter arc

and it gave Ai some spotlight time!!!

it’s nice to have a little story arc to change things up (as opposed to an episodic structure)

(though I understand why many didn’t care for it… it leans a lot more towards supernatural than usual)

IMO they at least gave precedent w/ that one lucid dreaming episode w/ Teko, though

AND THERE’S ACTUAL SCUBA DIVING THIS TIME \o/

the underwater moments can be very magical… definitely the visual highlight

And the cast of characters is still enjoyable to watch too~ (def. a good group dynamic there)

Kokoro is considered a polarizing character for sure

I didn’t mind him that much until, y’know… his gender reveal led to the queer-baiting thing >_>

The finale was really nice though! It had pretty diving scenes and had cute Teko & Pikari moments~

In any case, this is still a very relaxing and heartwarming anime~

It has all the things I enjoyed about S1 here; it’s just the things added on top were a mixed-bag

Cardcaptor Sakura: Clear Card - 8.0 / 10 (B)

EVERYONE IN THIS SHOW IS BEING VAGUE AS SHIT

But at least the mystery is interesting!

It’s just too bad it took like… 20 episodes to start getting any kind of explanation :’)

I actually watched the original series through a r/anime rewatch at the end of last year!

(meaning there wasn’t much time for me going from that series to this sequel)

I enjoyed the callbacks to the original series as well!

(including going from *anime* canon! i.e. the 2nd movie actually being canon)

The visuals look nice! Even though it almost looks a bit… *too* rounded in comparison to the original

I enjoyed watching Sakura capture all the new cards in different ways~

Even though this season was VERY light on plot (mostly), this aspect provided the action~

Also I enjoyed watching the character interactions too ^^

But yeah… the lack of overarching plot development and VAGUENESS kinda holds this season back

that being said, the final episodes set up some potentially interesting developments to come

and the finale itself *definitely* was not a conclusive one, so S2 better be confirmed soon!

Overall, I still enjoyed this continuation for the things it did right! I’ll be looking forward to a S2~

Darling in the FranXX - 8.0 / 10 (B)

Well this is/was a… polarizing show, to say the least.

I enjoyed it overall, but certain things about it hold it back from a higher score for me.

There’s two main elephants in the room with this series, really

#1 is… the heteronormativity

this was basically from the get-go, and in the roots of the story / themes itself

since the themes revolve around male/female partnerships & the importance of that… Yeah

one of the core quotes being “a female and a male aren’t complete w/o the other” …Yeah, again

also the sex-like positions of the “stamen” and “pistil” while piloting also doesn’t help

the workings of this world’s society has hetero relationships as the standard and doesn’t really allow for other options

(i.e. the FranXX piloting, Ikuno’s female attraction not working out in both operating the mech & her feelings for Ichigo, etc.)

at least Ikuno and Ichigo got a scene to talk about their attraction feelings & make up somewhat ^^

plus the Nines are basically gender non-binary but are seen as antagonistic forces for most of the show… Yeah

and just basic hetero things (like sex & pregnancy) were like being attacked in this show (when it’s not in real life???)

there’s an image meme that’s like “no, Prime Minister Abe… this will not get people to have babies” (…agreed :’D)

sure, there are *many* ways you can interpret this show, but the fact that so many people have seen it as such is Not Good

#2 is… the show supposedly “jumping the shark” towards the end

the main culprit of this (for many people) seems to be the “suddenly aliens!” reveal in episode ~20

this didn’t really impact my enjoyment of the show at all, but I definitely understand why people would be disappointed

in a way, it does kinda shift the story away from the themes it was using prior to this…

perhaps the lack of foreshadowing was another reason the shift in plot didn’t go well

plus it tends to directly riff off of certain visual cues from other mecha (like Eva & Gurren Lagaan)

Those two main gripes aside, the directing & visuals in this show were what kept me interested throughout

music choices, visual choices, etc. just really made certain moments better than they probably should’ve been

I enjoyed the characters as a group as well (even if most of them individually weren’t anything to write home about)

Goro’s a good bro, Ichigo went through good development, Kokoro & Mitsuru developed as a good pair…

Futoshi ended up being kind of a fat joke to the end though (& it was interesting that him & Kokoro didn’t end up together)

of course, Zero Two is the one everyone loved (& I liked her & Hiro’s dynamic as well)

sure, some people felt like she had “no personality” after she realized the truth about Hiro, but I didn’t mind the change

Plus I like that this show had a… pretty good ending, actually! (All things considered)

Directing as always was on point, and we got to see everyone’s lives over time (& Hiro + Zero Two eventually re-uniting as kids)

I just wish the main group got to see the two of them again :’)

though I do wish VIRM actually got full-on destroyed instead of a “we might come back” ending :/

and the ending was also kinda like “oh yeah, all the Children sent away didn’t actually die!” ???

This show will likely have a legacy not unlike Guilty Crown going forward, but I thought it ended better than that show, for the record

But yeah, this show is far from perfect and has questionable themes. But I still enjoyed it over all for the things it did well~’

Nanatsu no Taizai S2 - 8.0 / 10 (B-)

Unfortunately, not as good as S1 (but I still enjoyed this season overall)

S1 felt like its own self-contained story, but this season is clearly a “Part 1” for things to come

I wish Diana had more to do this season… she lost her memory early on and STILL doesn’t have it back

she was out of the main conflict (& separated from the group) for most of it :/

she also had these WEIRD ANGLES & POSES all the time… the fan service w/ her was *Really* distracting

the only consolation is that we got to learn some backstory for her & meet her fellow giants

oh well, at least she’s met up with King again and is enjoying his company by the end :)

The Gowther twist is interesting, but the way they revealed it was kinda… underwhelming

plus that *also* hasn’t been resolved yet (like many other things this season)

Some good moments this season were centered around Ban

such as his relationship w/ Jericho, time w/ a resurrected Elaine, and the small arc w/ his foster dad :’)

Also the final Sin got introduced w/ Escanor! PRAISE THE SUN

he’s a fun character; skittish by night and INVINCIBLE by day

The addition of power levels was kinda weird

it wasn’t necessary in S1, so why add it now???

The training arc gave us a full flashback to Melodias’ past w/ losing Liza, which was nice (and sad ;~; )

plus the vs. 10 Commandments fight actually showed Melodias full-on dying? That doesn’t happen much

it was a brutal death too! Hard to watch ;~;

plus they even changed the OP animation to reflect that he died… now that’s commitment

of course he came back later on, but there’s a catch… (since he loses some emotions every time)

There were some good fights, mostly during the “tournament” arc

(especially Melodias vs. all commandments… a sakuga highlight for sure)

The finale had a good stopping point, but it definitely makes clear that the story’s not over

so yeah, unlike season 1, this season *needs* a season 3 to be worth the watch

So yeah, there were some good moments & fights this season, but as a whole, it’s weaker than S1

Shokugeki no Souma S3 (Part 2) - 8.5 / 10 (B+)

I enjoyed this season! Continuing on the darker tone that the first half of S3 set up

This plot line of Central taking over the school is still my favorite plot point thus far, tbh

in other words, shit is finally going down!

…even if many of Central are just mustache-twirling villains :’D

Erina’s gotten great development from this arc too…! She’s not just a typical stuck-up tsundere anymore

her backstory is definitely a harsh one. It was great seeing her gain the courage to stick up to dad!

We also learned more about Souma’s dad! :O

Especially about how he was seen as feared, and the pressure of success got to him :’(

along with how this backstory tied into Asami’s motivations as well

Most of the season was kinda a gauntlet of opponents for the “resistance” to face off against

seeing Akira turn evil (for a bit) was interesting, but it’s a good thing he turned good again~

we oddly haven’t seen a lot of the Elite Ten in cooking action yet???

The final part of the season started off the big Team Shokugeki! …but it only got through the first round

the stakes are definitely high for this one, and also seems like the big conflict of this arc for sure

it’s just, y’know… the season ending in the middle is not a good look, really

at least the ending wasn’t abrupt; it was open-ended but still had a sense of conclusion

All in all, a good second half of season 3 (with some of my favorite plot content thus far!). Keep it up!

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Fifty years ago, Japan’s Kaiju Boom was at its peak, with Ultraman and Ultraseven on TV and films from four of the country’s five major studios in the theaters: Toho’s Son of Godzilla and King Kong Escapes, Daiei’s Gamera vs. Gyaos, Nikkatsu’s Gappa, and Shochiku’s The X from Outer Space. Wouldn’t you know it, in 2017 there were five kaiju movies and two Ultraman shows too, as the transnational Kaiju Boom rolled on with no end in sight. Let’s take a look back at all that transpired.

1) Kong is King

If cinematic universes are the future, then the world’s greatest kaiju are lucky to have Legendary Pictures in charge of theirs. Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ Kong: Skull Island, the second entry in the MonsterVerse started by Godzilla in 2014, hit theaters during a busy March to rave reviews and respectable box office. Packed with monsters, helicopters, talented actors, and 70′s hits, it kept the action contained on the giant ape’s home; a restrained blockbuster by today’s standards. If the film’s post-credit scene ate up the conversational oxygen a bit too much, well, that’s the price you pay for teasing Godzilla, Rodan, Ghidorah, and Mothra in one scene.

But that wasn’t all for the Eighth Wonder of the World this year. BOOM! Studios’ Kong of Skull Island comic concluded with its twelfth issues. It was succeeded by a one-shot, Kong: Gods of Skull Island, and a strangely apt Planet of the Apes crossover, still being published. Legendary got in on the act too with Skull Island: Birth of Kong, a prequel/sequel to the film.

I have proposed a moratorium on Kong titles with “Skull Island” in them. Unfortunately, this confusing trend is set to continue, with Jonathan Penner and Stacy Title currently writing a King Kong Skull Island TV show for MarVista Entertainment and IM Global Television.

2) Godzilla is King of the Whole Stinking World, What Now

Another year, another new Godzilla movie. It’s been a while since we could say that, hasn’t it? Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters, the first in an animated trilogy by Kobun Shizuno and Hiroyuki Seshita, was released in Japanese theaters this November. A worldwide Netflix release will follow on January 17th. The next two are coming this year, presumably so Toho can atone for not releasing one in 2015. Godzilla: The City Mechanized for the Final Battle (or however it’s ultimately translated), due in May, will feature the return of Mechagodzilla.

Shin Godzilla, meanwhile, made kaiju history earlier in the year, becoming the first film in the genre to win Picture of the Year at the Japan Academy Awards. (It also netted prizes in six other categories.) On the American side of things, Legendary finally started filming Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), and Godzilla vs. Kong (2020) found a director in Adam Wingard.

On the home video front, Shin Godzilla hit DVD and Blu-ray around the world, and Criterion picked up the rights to almost every film in the Showa series, plus Rodan and The War of the Gargantuas. Physical releases have yet to be announced -- they’re currently streaming on Filmstruck -- but seem inevitable.

3) Sturm Organs, Chaiyo Vanquished, and the Phantom Channel

I could have made this post the 2017 Ultraman Year in Review without changing the format of the photoset one bit, although the tone would have been a shade more bitter.

Ultraman Geed, starring the son of arch-villain Belial, ran for 25 episodes. Ultraman Zero and his mild-mannered salaryman host Leito ended up stealing the show. (It also gave us the phrase “Sturm organs,” which I never want to read again.) Cruchyroll, as is tradition now, announced it was simulcasting Geed about eight seconds before the first episode aired.

Ultraman Orb: The Origin Saga, the prequel to last year’s series, concluded on Amazon Prime Video in Japan. A promised English release never worked out, although the fansubbers picked up the slack.

Ultraman Orb the Movie arrived in Japanese theaters on March 10. It wasn’t very good, but Ultraseven made a hell of an entrance.

Keeping the Orb train rolling, the 24-minute Ultra Orb Fight aired over the course of eight episodes of Ultraman Zero: The Chronicle, another one of Tsuburaya‘s compilation shows. 

Ultraman X the Movie and Ultraman Ginga S the Movie played in a handful of American theaters, with English dubbing from William Winkler Productions. Winkler also dubbed the three Zero movies this year; no word on when they’ll be released, nor what happened to the physical/digital releases of the X and Ginga S movies.

Tsuburaya Productions uploaded scores of Ultra Fight episodes to its YouTube channel. Unfortunately, no subtitles were provided; the show’s narration was significantly more intensive than Redman screaming attack names.

Toku, a ludicrously obscure on-demand channel, picked up the rights to a ton of Ultra shows, most of them without official releases in the U.S. -- Leo, 80, The Ultraman, Neos, Nexus, an English dub of Max, Ultraseven X, both seasons of Mega Monster Battle, and Neo Ultra Q. No one has recorded any of them. The channel is affiliated with Amazon Prime, but only 80 (free on Crunchyroll) and Neos (already fansubbed) are available through it. go90 also has Neos and Ultraseven X (also already fansubbed).

In November, Tsuburaya finally regained the international distribution rights to the first six Ultra Series from UM Corporation, setting the stage for more abrupt Crunchyroll additions in 2018 and beyond. Before the ruling came down, UM licensed Ultraman to a Chinese company, BlueArc Culture Communications, for three years. Dragon Force: So Long, Ultraman was released in Chinese theaters in October. I thought this ruling would make it rather difficult to see, but, uh, it’s on YouTube already.

The Ultraman manga by Eiichi Shimizu and Tomohiro Shimoguchi reached Volume 11 in Japan, with a 3DCG film adaptation by Production I.G and Sola Digital Arts due in 2019.

4) She is Colossal

Director Nacho Vigalondo and Voltage Pictures survived a Toho lawsuit to bring us a bizarre tale of alcoholics in an upstate New York town who have the ability to summon and control giant beings in Seoul under very specific circumstances. Kaiju are often metaphors for issues that are accordingly massive in scope, like nuclear warfare or environmental devastation. Here they embody more personal problems -- not a totally novel concept, but one handled with far more depth than, say, Ultraman 80. The movie was a thud at the box office (the producers apparently ordered an upgrade to the VFX after rave festival reviews), but will hopefully find a second life on Hulu.

5) What Do You Find Between a Dragon’s Teeth?

Based on a 2014 short, The Dragon Dentist is an anime film (well, a two-part TV special that’s 90 minutes long) in which dragons and humans have reached an unusual agreement: the humans clean the dragons’ teeth, and the dragon rain down destruction on their enemies. If that sounds strange, well, it’s just the tip of the iceberg. Unless Planet of the Monsters pulls off a miracle, it has my vote for best kaiju movie of 2017. Section23 released it on Blu-ray in October with an English dub included.

6) A Jaeger is You Times a Thousand

Pacific Rim Uprising, the sequel that refused to die, is mere months from release, and its trailer made a big splash at New York Comic Con this year. Mysteries abound about the plot, but we have details on an art book, prequel novel, prequel comic, novelization, and plenty of toys. (Still waiting on that tabletop RPG and the return of the Create-a-Jaeger site.)

7) Reddo Continuation, and Other Printed Works

IDW may be finished with Godzilla, but Matt Frank is far from finished with kaiju comics. He sold The Last Hope, his Heisei Gamera prequel doujinshi, at G-Fest this year, and announced in October that he would be writing and drawing a comic about Redman, the murderous Seventies “hero” of recent YouTube fame. Phase 6, the same company reprinting Godzilla: Rulers of Earth in Japan, is the publisher. Other kaiju comics this year: Season 3 of Xander Cannon’s always-excellent Kaijumax (which I need to finish reading), Greg Pak’s Mech Cadet Yu (which I need to start), and Marvel’s crossover event/miniseries Monsters Unleashed (which I am too intimidated to start).

And in the realm of prose: Steve Ryfle and Ed Godziszewski published their long-anticipated Ishiro Honda biography, providing a comprehensive look at the legendary kaiju director’s life and career. Raffael Coronelli threw his hat into the authors’ ring with Daikaiju Yuki and Y2K: Yuki Conquers the World, post-apocalyptic epics about the Pantheon Colossi and the human heroes who join with them to protect the world.

Oh, and some guy named Michael Callari announced he was writing a book on the Gamera series.

8) Every Monster Has a Country

The movie-mockers of Mystery Science Theater 3000 have been linked with giant monsters since the beginning, and this year’s Netflix revival saw them taking on two more: Reptilicus and Yongary, Monster from the Deep. The former led off the season, and the novelty of a monster from Denmark led to one of the show’s greatest songs.

9) In Memoriam

As I wrote in August, “Monsters, of course, live forever. The people who bring them to life are never so lucky.” 2017 saw the passing of four giants of the kaiju genre:

Haruo Nakajima (b. 1929) -- Suit actor and fight choreographer for Godzilla and countless other Toho/Tsuburaya monsters from 1954 to 1972.

Yoshimitsu Banno (b. 1931) -- Director and co-writer of the Godzilla vs. Hedorah, assistant director and co-writer of Prophecies of Nostradamus, executive producer of Godzilla (2014).

Yoshio Tsuchiya (b. 1927) -- Eccentric actor with a long tokusatsu filmography, including the titular role in The Human Vapor, the Xian Leader in Invasion of Astro-Monster, and Shindo in Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah.

Chikara Hashimoto (b. 1933) -- Suit actor for Daimajin in Daiei’s trilogy and Daimon in Yokai Monsters: Spook Warfare.

[overwatchleaguereport]

Overwatch League: Does it have Mainstream Appeal? My Family Watches the Preseason. TL;DR at the Bottom.

Does Overwatch Appeal to a Mainstream Audience?

As I’ve stated before, it’s no secret that the Overwatch League is trying to appeal to a mainstream audience. Unlike most eSports, OWL has a round table like the ESPN. OWL has an official, AR-type stadium. It has branding and teams based in cities and millions of dollars on the line. But the question remains: can the Overwatch League appeal to the average person?

Over the past week or so, I have spent my holidays with the most mainstream audience around—my own family. With that in mind, I decided to show them a round of Overwatch League and see if the eSport appealed to them in the slightest.

My goal here was to explain as little as possible. I created a hypothetical situation in which my family is channel-surfing and finds OWL being broadcast on a channel like ESPN. Would they want to keep watching? Would they be intrigued? Would they understand what was going on?

Let me introduce you to the individuals who I invited to join me

The Mainstream Audience in Question

Tabby, my sister, is nineteen. She is much more interested in television and movies than in video games. After hearing my explanation about the game, she graciously turned down my invitation.

Pam, my mom, is in her early fifties. Every time she watches me play video games for more than five minutes, she gets a headache and escapes to another room. She accepted my invitation.

Tim, my dad, is also in his early fifties. He watches a lot of traditional sports, and likes to occasionally play sport-themed video games, including those found in the FIFA franchise. He also accepted my invitation.

Jack, my brother-in-law, is in his late twenties. He plays a lot of Battlefield 1 and Destiny, though gaming is by no means his primary hobby. He also accepted my invitation.

Cati, my sister in her early twenties, mostly likes party games, like those created by Jackbox Games. She also watches Jack play whenever he sits down to game for a while. She also accepted my invitation.

Nate, my nineteen-year-old brother, games primarily using his tablet and phone. He also plays a lot of emulators. He has been seeking to play more “hardcore” games as of late, and is somewhat familiar with the concept of Overwatch as a whole, having watched me and some of his friends play. He accepted my invitation.

Finally, Kirsta, my wife, joined us. I introduced her to Overwatch, and she plays enough each week to at least earn all the loot boxes from the arcade. She also watched parts of the preseason with me.

I will point out that everyone who agreed to watch the match with me seemed more interested in helping me than in actually watching the round itself.

The Pre-Game Explanation

With six of the seven possible viewers assembled, I turned on a VOD of the Shock vs. Spitfire preseason matchup, only showing the round on Dorado. Before I actually hit play, I explained to my family the basic idea behind Overwatch.

“The game features a cast of colorful characters who are all fighting each other to bring peace to the world. Some of those characters include a hyper intelligent space gorilla wielding a tesla cannon and a Korean video game star who battles giant mechs in her smaller mech. You really don’t need to know all of the characters, though if you have a question about what a specific character is doing on screen, I will answer your questions about them.”

I then explained that the Shock was represented by the white-colored characters, while the London Spitfire were represented by the blue-colored characters. I compared the payload to a football game. Basically, one side tries to push the cart as far along the map as possible. Then they switch sides, and the other team tries to beat the first team’s push. I answered the few questions that they had. The most notable train of thought came from Mom.

“What are we watching? People playing video games? How many people are playing this? Twelve all at the same time? Ew. It’s not a sport, is it?”

Her questions suggested either that she hadn’t been paying attention to me, or that my explanation had been unclear. “It’s an eSport,” I said. For whatever reason, that seemed to make sense to her.

With that, I hit play.

Thoughts of the Mainstream Audience During the Game

Cati was immediately unimpressed. “With sports, at least you get to eat hot dogs,” she said.

“You could eat hot dogs while you’re watching this,” Jack pointed out.

“Yeah, but then I’d have to make them,” she said. “Why are there people talking?”

I explained that eSports have commentators just like traditional sports, and then paused the game when she asked if this was like what Pewdiepie does. Thankfully, Nate was able to explain the difference, and I hit play again.

Nate then asked if the professional league played across platforms. “No,” I said. “Just PC.”

He nodded. “I could see myself watching this while I worked on homework or something,” he said. “I would never just straight up watch it, but while I was doing something else? Sure.”

“I thought we would be looking into an arena,” someone said. “The first person perspective limits my understanding of what is happening.”

“This is horribly confusing,” Nate said. “The perspectives switching so much is really confusing.”

“I don’t know what I’m watching,” Mom said.

People were quiet as the offensive team made it to the first checkpoint.

“So if the point is to move the truck, why aren’t more people fighting at the truck?” Cati said. “These guys keeping running way ahead to fight away from the truck.”

“What is that tether beam between people?” Mom said.

I paused the game to explain that the tether was someone healing someone else.

“It would just be stupid not to have healers, right?” Jack said.

I nodded.

“I feel engaged,” he said.

After this, interest waned for a few minutes. People started checking their phones and discussing dog names. At the same time, everyone’s attention refocused by the end of the first push.

“I wish you could see the players’ faces as they played,” Nate said. “They show them every so often, but not enough.”

The second push continued on for a while in silence.

“Did someone get eaten?” Cati said. “The commentators just somebody ate something.”

I paused the game again as Kirsta explained what it means to “eat” an ult. Then

I explained that ult was short for ultimate. Then we spent the next few minutes looking for and identifying ultimates so everyone understood what they were. This was also an opportunity for me to explain the percentages next to the character faces.

At one point, the camera focused on a Genji. “What is that guy doing? Waving his hand?”

“He’s throwing ninja stars,” I said.

As the game wrapped up, Cati realized there was a in-person audience watching the players duke it out. “People watched this live?” she said. “What’s the point? You’re just watching a screen. A real sport game is actual people doing things. This? You’re either watching it on a screen at home, or on a screen on stage. Why go in person? What is the draw or appeal to watching it in person?”

When the game ended, everyone was confused by the lack of emotion on the side of either team. “Why aren’t they celebrating?”

I reminded them that this was the first round of at least four, and then took the opportunity to explain the point system.

With that, I asked them their final thoughts.

What are your overall thoughts about what you just watched?

Mom - “It was confusing for me to follow. I can’t tell cause and effect. I didn’t know what was happening because of what this guy or that guy was doing. And I would rather not see the outlines of players through walls. It just added movement and confusion to the screen. I’m intrigued this game exists, but I’m not a gamer, so it just was a mess of movement and noise to me.”

Nate – “This is not a great way to introduce the game to people. I was confused, and I’ve watched people play this. I think the problem was when I watch someone play, I’m only watching what they’re doing. When I watched this, there were too many perspectives. The camera changed way too much.”

Kirsta – “I get confused watching this, and I play the game. Maybe the camera should just focus on the payload?”

Dad – “If they want to attract non-Overwatch devotees, they need to create competitions that are more confined and easier to observe in total. They need to create an arena.”

Jack – “Coming from a Gamer’s perspective, now I kind of want to play this game.”

Cati – “I don’t like playing video games unless they’re very specific to my interests. I could never see myself playing or watching this. It is bizarre that people would watch this game who don’t even play it. I just don’t relate to video games.”

Is this more or less fun than watching real sports?

Cati – “I would rather watch sports on my phone than watch Overwatch in a theater. These people are real people playing fake people. It’s more interesting to watch real people. This game should be more like the Sims. Nobody in real life pushes a cart.”

Dad – “When I’m watching traditional sports, I can see the entirety of what is happening. The impact of each movement is crystal clear to me. Overwatch is a much more complicated, confusing game, and it was much harder for me to see how each individual action affects the outcome.”

Mom – “When I watch a traditional sport, it’s easier to see the physical abilities, the talent of each person involved. I’m more impressed by physical abilities.”

Nate – “It depends on the sport. Overwatch is better than golf or track and field, but soccer and football and basketball and hockey are better than Overwatch. I do think that Overwatch League can be changed to be more watchable, but as it is, it’s a bit much for me.”

Kirsta – “I would prefer any live sport over this.”

Would you tune in to OWL now that you’ve been introduced to it?

Mom – “No.”

Cati – “No.”

Nate – “I don’t know. It could potentially be better, but also some of my ideas, like showing the faces of the players, might make it even more confusing.”

Kirsta – “I will only watch this when my husband is watching this.”

Jack – “No.”

Dad – “Under social circumstances, yes. Would I seek it out? No.”

Conclusion (aka TL;DR)

Did OWL appeal to my mainstream family? No. Some thought the spectator hub could be improved to appeal more to them, and by extension, to the mainstream audience. The rest thought the game was too confusing. Some thought the game was too hard to understand if you didn’t already play the game.

If Blizzard wants to appeal to the same kind of person that watches football, they have a lot more work to do. There is too much going on for the average person to follow, and the perspective doesn’t allow people to fully recognize and understand the consequences of each player’s actions. If someone has to explain objectives, character powers, and what’s even happening on screen for the average person to understand what they just saw, it seems as though OWL cannot hold its own against something as simple as football.

At the same time, for the rest of us Overwatch enthusiasts, Overwatch League is exactly what we’ve been waiting for. While Blizzard may always struggle to get viewers from outside the immediate Overwatch community, they can rest assured that as long as they have players, they will have an audience for OWL.

With that, I’m going to conclude this super long post. Cheers!

[ohshimaacademy]

Someone....and I quote found the script for the sonic 2019 movie...this has to be fake

Here is what the guy said

Guy: A friend of mine managed to read a draft of the script for the upcoming Sonic movie being made by Paramount (don't want to go into too much detail about how so I don't get him into trouble), thought you guys might be interested in some of the details.

And here is The Setting and characters: 

The writers apparently looked back through all the various Sonic stories from the games in the early stages, ended up using some of the elements from Sonic Adventure and the classic games.

The movie takes place on South Island, which is mentioned as an isolated island nation in the script.The nation's capital is Station Square, a large city home to a large human population.

Animal-people (they're not really named in the script) like Sonic live in the island's wilderness in small villages.

The main characters are Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Dr. Eggman.

Sonic is pretty much the same from the games, he's described as a "free spirit" who's always on the move.

Tails is said to accompany Sonic on a lot of his adventures and is kind of Sonic's support, provides him with a lot of gadgets throughout the movie and has a lab in Green Hill.

Amy is a close friend to Sonic and his number-one fan, she's not as obsessed with him as she is in the games, but she still has a crush on him and always wants to accompany him on his adventures. She ends up teaming up with him and Tails to take on Eggman, who kidnaps her at one point to use as leverage against Sonic.

Dr. Eggman is the head of a large manufacturing company that owns much of the industry on South Island. His company's headquarters is Metropolis, a giant facility the size of a city. Eggman's workforce is made up mostly of robots, which also double as his personal army.

Another major character for part of the film is Grant, a journalist from the mainland (I don't know if it's explicitly mentioned where he's from, but from what I've been told he's supposed to be from America or some fake Sonic version of America), who is on South Island investigating the island's ruins as part of a story. He ends up getting caught up in the battle between Sonic and Eggman and becomes an ally to Sonic.

Rouge appears in the film, she runs a casino in the city that's owned by Eggman. She starts out as kind of a villain, but turns out to be working for the Sonic version of the UN or something to spy on Eggman. Apparently there's a fair amount of innuendo in some of the scenes with her, which is kind of weird in my opinion (but not unexpected).

Rouge's partner is Madonna, a lounge singer at the casino who is also a spy, she's one of the other principal live-action characters. I'm assuming she's based off of that one scrapped girlfriend of Sonic's, don't know if there's any connection beyond the name, though.

Chaos appears as one of the film's main antagonists. He's kind of like some giant ancient god who's imprisoned in some sunken city off the coast of the island, Eggman ends up freeing him in the second half of the movie and he floods the city. He only appears as a giant monster like the final boss of Adventure.

Orbot shows up as Eggman's personal assistant, he's not as quippy as he is in the games and doesn't play a very large role.

Knuckles doesn't appear in the movie, but there's a few references to an "Echidna civilization" that used to live on the island, apparently he might appear in a planned sequel.

And Here Is The Plot: Plot: he mostly copied this from his friend's account of the story, apparently he left out some stuff so this might not be 100% accurate

The movie starts with Grant arriving in Station Square, and there's a bit of exposition about Eggman and the animal-people, as well as South Island being home to an ancient civilization in the past. Grant is researching the civilization, specifically the legend of the Chaos Emeralds, seven gems that are said to bestow the user with ultimate power.

Over in Green Hill, Sonic is laying around, when Tails tells him that some of the villagers from the nearby town are getting sick. Sonic finds out it's due to pollution from Eggman's new Chemical Plant, and goes to try and shut down the pollution, running into Eggman's robots searching the island on the way.

It's revealed Eggman is searching for the Chaos Emeralds, and he's shown referencing ancient manuscripts. Eggman already has three of the emeralds, and expresses a desire to rule the world. Sonic and Tails fight one of Eggman's giant robots and shut down the plant, causing Eggman to take notice of them. Amy shows up, and convinces them to take her with them.

Over in the city, Grant sets off to explore some nearby ruins, and ends up finding one of the Chaos Emeralds. Eggman's robots show up and start attacking him, and Grant ends up getting framed by Eggman and gets his face plastered all over the city.

Grant goes into hiding, and meets up with Sonic and friends, who let them tag along with him to figure out what Eggman's up to. Sonic heads into the city, and investigates around a bit. There's a bit of him, Tails, and Amy just experiencing the city life, and Sonic discovers his love of chili dogs.

Eventually they meet up with an archeologist Grant was talking with earlier in the film, who tells them more about the Chaos Emeralds and points them towards the Labyrinth, a big maze underneath South Island that was built by the ancient civilization. He also mentions Chaos, an ancient god worshipped by the Echidnas that ended up destroying their civilization. The Echidnas sealed Chaos away and hid the Chaos Emeralds throughout the island so that he could never be freed, as the Chaos Emeralds also serve as the key to his prison.

Sonic also ends up going to the city's nightlife district. Eggman is supposed to be at Rouge's casino, but isn't there. Sonic meets Rouge, she flirts with him a bit as he tries to get info out of her, Madonna is introduced but doesn't get much dialogue or anything.

The three end up heading back to where Grant is and set off towards the labyrinth, where Eggman's robots have already begun to search for the Emeralds. Sonic ends up finding two of the Emeralds in the maze.

Next, they head to Eggman's oil rig, which is serving as a temporary diving platform for his robots, who unearth one of the Emeralds underwater. Sonic and friends manage to steal the Emerald, but Amy gets captured by Eggman, who demands Sonic hand over his Emeralds in exchange for her life, and to meet him at Metropolis in one day.

Sonic, Tails, and Grant try to come up with a solution, but can't. Sonic goes back to the casino (there's a bit kind of reminiscent of the casino game levels from the game here) and talks with Rouge, who seems to know more than she lets on. Madonna ends up following Sonic as he leaves the casino.

Sonic, Tails, and Grant all climb in the Tornado and fly out to Metropolis planning to hand over the Emeralds in exchange for Amy. Sonic has no intention of giving them to Eggman, and plans to rush in and bust Amy out of Metropolis' prison, but Eggman confronts him in his hover pod and nearly kills him. Tails and Grant arrive just in time, managing to rescue Amy, but Eggman steals the Chaos Emeralds and locks them all up.

Madonna shows up and busts Sonic and friends out, and it's revealed she's a spy, as is Rouge. Rouge tells them over Madonna's communicator that they have the last Emerald in their possession, but Eggman has cracked the signal and overhears this, saying he knew Rouge was a spy all along. Eggman's robots steal the Emerald from the military, and Eggman heads to the sunken underwater city.

Sonic and friends are joined by Madonna and Rouge, who follow Eggman to the ruins, where he confronts them with a giant mech. There's a pretty long fight scene, and after Eggman goes down, he flees to the undersea prison where Chaos is kept, using the Emeralds to free him. Eggman plans to control Chaos so he can use the monster to aid in his world conquest, but Chaos proves too much for him, and Eggman seemingly dies.

Chaos ends up running rampant on the city, and Sonic and friends team up to stop the monster. Tails sacrifices himself (but he's later shown to have survived and is perfectly fine), and Sonic uses the Emeralds to transform into Super Sonic and defeats Chaos, saving the day and restoring peace to South Island. Grant clears his name after Eggman is revealed to be a criminal, and gets a prize for his story on the events.

The movie has a post-credits stinger with Eggman in another base, constructing some giant machine. He's seen looking at more ancient manuscripts, and then the movie pans over to a stasis tank, where we see Metal Sonic being constructed.

Other stuff:

All the animal characters are CGI, apparently there were discussions about maybe making Eggman at least partially CGI as well to make him look like the game version, don't know if that went anywhere though

Most of the minor supporting characters and background cast are live action.

There's more swearing than usual in a Sonic game ("hell" and "damn"), but nothing above PG-13, the lines in question only come from the humans as well.

Sonic Forces was apparently supposed to coincide with the movie's release, a few things were put in because they was featured in the movie, like Green Hill, Chemical Plant, and Metropolis, and Sega apparently mandated Chaos be included due to his inclusion, which is why he doesn't really do anything in the game. The movie's production got delayed and Sega wanted them to get the game out before the holidays this year instead of waiting.

Guy: I'll see if I can get him to send me some pictures tomorrow as proof or something (or even bits from the script itself if I can), will update this post if he does.

This is fake..I mean come really..I'll let you guys know when I find these pictures

[black-strike-otp]

part 5

“Let Novastrike go. Stop holding her hostage,” said the fans.

“how ‘bout I don’t little shits?” replied Motormaster.

Do not be deceived, some appearances are short-lived, while others will make return appearances~

They’d failed. It didn’t matter who was at fault, but they’d failed miserably. All they had to show for their efforts was battered bodies and hollow screams that echoed through the brig like spark chilling melancholy music. It was horrifying.

Who was alive any who was dead? Novastrike didn’t know. There probably wouldn’t be an honest answer anyway out of the horrendous mech either. His armor was ridiculous thick and he found any of her attempts at fighting back laughable. She’d been removed of her guns after leaving a few scorching marks on Motormaster, and prior to him arriving she’d been restrained after half her cache left of grenades had been used to break out of her cell and try fighting off the guards on duty. The rest had been forcibly removed from her person.

Even with her teeth sank into Motormaster’s side, biting and clawing and scratching, he’d pick her off like a tick and flicked her into a wall. It was like he was completely unphased with pain. Or maybe she was just that weak.

She’d shake off her vertigo and go after him again and again. In one form or the other. For the most part he’d stand there, taking her attempts to hurt him, knocking her aside. Laughing at her expense. He let her work herself until she was getting too tired to be fast enough to outmaneuver him, and that’s when he’d strike back.

Picking up on how sluggish she was getting, Motormaster kicked Novastrike aside as she darted around his pedes. When she persisted to try attacking again he raised his pede and slammed it down, narrowly missing the small femme. She fell over from the sheer vibrations on the floor from the impact.

“Tell me what you and you were friends were after, minibot. You’ll make this a lot easier on everyone.”

A small growl escaped Novastrike. Her audios pressed back against her helm as she tried to stand up.

A large pede pressed into her backside and she collapsed onto the floor. The barest of whimpers fearfully escaped her as she struggled, trying to desperately pull herself out from beneath the light pressure of the mech’s pede upon her.

“You don’t want to end up like the other bots, minibot,” Motormaster snapped impatiently. “Come now femme, speak up.”

Panicked, Novastrike dug her digits into the floor and tried to pull herself free. She pushed with legs as best she could, maybe she could get one leg free and help propel herself forward. She wriggled like a worm desperately; one of her legs beginning to slip free.

Rolling his shoulders in a shrug, the mech placed his weight onto the heel of his pede. Metal began to buckle and crunch as it snapped inward.

A pained shriek escaped Nova. She tried to convulse and instead slammed her helm into the tip of the mech’s pede by mistake; seeing stars.

Giving a displeased ‘hurmph’, the mech removed his pede and reached down. His thumb digit and index digit gripped Novastrike by her helm as he picked her up.

The pressure and strain on her backstrut, neck, and helm was tremendous. Desperate to release some of the tension, Novastrike snarled and swung her legs- make that leg, she realized quickly as her hips pivoted with no reaction from her right leg but to hang limp- up until she managed to hook her left leg on part of the mech’s arm for support.

“I’m going to crush that tiny helm of yours and be done with it, ya traitorous little scrap. Nothing to say? Not a word? Not on behalf of any of your friends?”

Tears blurred Novastrike’s vision. She feebly tried punching and clawing at Motormaster’s arm, her helm pounding painfully.

“Tsk” he hissed, pulling his arm back just slightly and throwing the femme into the wall.

Novastrike flailed in the air and smacked hard into the wall. Her body fell hard onto the floor and she laid still. Each intake she took was ragged and tired. Her optics half-closed and energon splattered on the wall and upon her frame.

“What a waste of my time. I’ve had better fight out of sparklets,” the mech spat coldly. “I’ll be back for ya answer. Better think long and hard how you’re going to explain what you and the rest of your Autofilth friends sent out to ya buddies. If you think I’m being nasty now, ya just wait until I get real angry.”

Sent? Someone sent something? Novastrike tried raising her helm. Her vision was too blurry to focus on anything. She tried opening her mouth to speak and energon dribbled out of the corner and onto the floor.

The silhouette of Motormaster shifted in front of her and turned away. Novastrike tried to force her thoughts into words but just panted tiredly. What was sent? She didn’t know anything about something being sent. He could let her go right, she didn’t have the information he wanted.

The mech left the room before she could usher a single word.

~~~~

Motormaster slapped on the biggest shit-eating grin of pride and glory he could muster the moment that the latest recruits arrived. They came with supplies, new Cons, weapons, armor enchancements, seasoned warriors, you name it. All the creature comforts a senile Decepticon outpost’s leader could want.

A particular lone figure caught Motormaster’s optic. Letting his smug grin grow, the mech’s orange optics shone bright as he ‘casually’ strode over to greet the mech.

Casually being walking like some wanna be criminal into a saloon in an old western movie.

“Ah! Megatron sent one of his finest Generals to oversee the shipment here aye? Must be a pretty decent load.”

Blackout barely offered a glance towards Motormaster.

“Yep. Must be pretty important stuff sent to me, yours truly. Say uh, Blackout, has Megatron asked about me at all? Ya know he probably could use some more bots close at hand.”

A rumble echoed through the Giant Asshole. “Lord Megatron would contact you directly if he wished to speak with you about a promotion, Motormaster.”

“Yes of course. But you could always put in a good word for me. Say, you have time, right? Why not take a look around the good ol’ base.”

“I’ll pass,” Blackout growled.

“Ya could at least verify out prisoners! I sent Megatron a message but wasn’t sure it got through, he hasn’t replied to me...”

“Prisoners?”

“Aye, prisoners. Stole something from the database and sent it-”

Blackout turned sharply towards Motormaster. “They sent out information?”

“Aye.”

“Does your base not have a functional digital shield? No information should be leaving or entering the area without hitting the safety walls, someone should have noticed.”

Motormaster raised his servos. “It should be active-”

Blackout growled. He shouldered past the stupid mech. Leave it to Menasor’s leading idiotic head to screw things up.

Not even recognizing the hostility and irritation of Blackout’s actions, Motormaster was quick to turn and half jog to keep pace with the even larger mech whose stride was both fast and wide.

“We’re working on finding out what exactly was taken.”

“You’re following the trail of the message?”

“Well- no- but it was erased as soon as someone caught it’s signature.”

Blackout’s expression turned into a grimace. Either someone very skilled had been sending out that data, or Motormaster was really that stupid as were his bots. Both were highly probable. The later just seemed moreso than the former.

Looking over to the moron of a mech, Blackout stated in as slow and patient a voice as he could, “So, we’ve no idea what was taken, it seems its trail is lost, you have no other information, and there’s prisoners here who may have insight.”

“Prisoner.”

“One?”

“The others, well... Didn’t make it-”

“Didn’t make it?” Blackout repeated, mouth hanging open. His optics were locked on Motormaster, who seemed confused by the shocked looked in Blackout’s face.

“Well,” Motormaster began, “Some were taken out during the search for the intruders. Those that we captured were mostly fairly injured. We have to get information somehow.”

“Motormaster, you-”

Blackout felt something clip his pede and turned his helm quickly to the right to see what had hit him.

With a disgruntled expression on his faceplate and narrowed optics, the mostly red and black mech he’d accidently bumped while walking turned a scowl up to Blackout.

“Pleasant to see you, Hound.” the mech muttered.

“Likewise, Nighthawk,” Blackout grumbled, narrowing his gaze as well.

“Here on duty from Megatron I presume?” Nighthawk asked stiffly. “Or just flying aimlessly around, looking for something to destroy?”

Motormaster barked with laughter. He stepped between the two, whose eyes were locked in a glare that spoke of nothing but disdain for the other.

“Good one, Nighthawk,” Motormaster beamed.

With a sniff, the medic slowly turned his optics to Motormaster. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize my declared observation was noted towards this vacuous unhinged sadistic ruffin.”

For a moment, there appeared to be some confusion on Motormaster’s faceplate before he grinned brighter. “Always the funny one, ya are doc.”

“Right,” Nighthawk drawled. “Jovial indeed.”

The same puzzled expression flashed across Motormaster’s face. Blackout wasn’t sure if the obnoxious medic just earned a half a kilogram of his respect for his wit or irked him all the more.

“If you’ll excuse me, fine mechs, I have actual work to do around here.”

“Of course ya do Nighthawk,” Motormaster stated with annoying cheer. “Some of these bots will be needing your help before long if you know what I’m saying, ha!”

“Oh trust me,” Nighthawk replied in an icy tone as he turned away, “I won’t be keeping a pede in here any longer than necessary.”

As the seeker marched down the hall, Motormaster turned his dopy grin up at Blackout. “Medics, amirite?”

Primus help him, he’d rather bicker with the fragging medic than listen to this fool.

“Where’s the prisoner?” Blackout insisted curtly.

“Right this way,” Motormaster grunted, slapping a ‘serious expression’ on as he lead the way down the hall.

~~~~

If Blackout had to hear another plea from Motormaster about becoming part of the ‘upper crust’ of the Decepticons, or another shitty story, or another torture story, he was going to rip out the mech’s vocal cords.

Thankfully, just shy of coming to that point of insanity, Motormaster had stopped just outside the guarded brig doors and had the guards step aside to allow them entry.

“As you can see, we had a problem with the Autobots,” Motormaster began, ushering a servo to the hall stained with energon and shrapnel. Blackout’s optics studied the patterns on the walls, flood, and ceiling. Explosives; small. Grenades.

“They tried to escape?”

“One tried to escape,” Motormaster clarified. “The one we still have left.”

Blackout’s optics flickered into the open cells as they walked by. There were eradicon and vehicon inside, trying to clean up pools of energon from the latest victims that had been contained in those rooms.

Blackout curled his lip slightly. Torture was not in his taste. He prefered a quick death. The sooner a job was dealt with, the better.

A few rooms down and past a particularly blown up cell, Motormaster stopped at what appeared to be the only actively locked door in the corridor. Motormaster tapped a few keys on a nearby lock and a portion of the door’s one-way glass went transparent to show the prisoner inside.

Blackout almost lost his lower jaw. Almost.

“It’s a fragging minibot,” Motormaster explained like Blackout couldn’t see. “So ya know, gotta be extra gentle. Ya know how fragile they are.”

“I don’t,” Blackout stated bluntly.

“Really?” Motormaster muttered, trailing a moment before he continued. “Anyway, ya can tell Lord Megatron we got her contained. I tried getting her to talk, didn’t do much good. Think it may be better we try a cordial patch if we want some accurate and immediate progress. Would ya put that suggestion by him? Tell Lord Megatron it was my idea?”

The Extra Large Asshole offered a curt nod.

Lighting up like a kid on Christmas, Motormaster puffed out his chassis with pride. “Now, if ya’ll follow me out of ‘ere, I can show ya to the armory. I’d like your opinion on...”

Tuning the dim-witted mech out, Blackout pinged Scorponok through their partner bond. The scorpion stirred on his backside.

< What is it? > the bug inquired through the bond.

< I have something for you to do. > Blackout replied. While Motormaster’s back was turned, Blackout pressed his servo over the keypad for the room. He sent out a small EMP wave, blowing the circuits inside.

Scorponok shuffled through Blackout’s thoughts for a moment, and then groaned. < You’re trying to get us killed, or at the very least, beaten and stripped of rank. >

< I’m repaying a favor. >

Blackout could sense Scorponok’s disbelief, but didn’t try to argue with him now. As Motormaster yapped and walked ahead, Blackout followed behind him. His rotorblades spread apart and Scorponok undocked from his back and climbed carefully around to Blackout’s shoulders.

< Be quick, and meet me on the south side of the building. The majority of this base is meeting with another unit north to strike on an Autobot base. I’ll make sure the guards outside the brig are distracted. >

Scorponok clicked softly, balancing over Blackout’s shoulder. The large mech leaned down and the bug climbed halfway down his arm and to the floor, scurrying into an empty, bloody room nearby as Blackout stepped out of the brig with Motormaster.

Quick on his many-pronged legs, Scorponok stepped out of the room and nimbly snuck past the rooms the eradicon/vehicon were working in. He stepped over to the door Novastrike was imprisoned in, and tapped the doors lightly.

The doors slid part of the way open before jamming. Scorponok squeezed inside and scurried over to the heap of white and light gray armor lying on the floor. He reached out and prodded her side with one limb.

Novastrike sluggishly raised her helm. She stared at Scorponok’s face with utter confusion.

“Oh Primus, did they drug me,” Nova mumbled.

Scorponok gave a click and tapped Nova a little firmer.

“Ugh- go away, apparition, please. I just want to rest.”

“You come,” Scorponok stated in a mechanical, almost monotone voice.

Novastrike’s ears turned to the bug. She looked more confused than ever. She’d not heard that voice before, and certainly not from this minicon. The last time they met, he hadn’t spoke at all.

“Come now,” Scorponok stated with a hint of firmness now.

“Okay okay,” Novastrike agreed, not understanding the urgency. She tried to stand up and instantly collapsed, her broken leg not functional in the least.

Scorponok gave a click. He looked Novastrike over a moment. Judging her height, her injuries...

“Hey what are you-”

The bug awkwardly stepped over her.

“Crawl?” he suggested.

A groan escaped Novastrike. This was embarrassing.

“Gimme a second.”

 Twisting around slightly, Novastrike adjusted the potion of her leg. She transformed; her mostly shattered leg creaking and twisting as pieces of her leg fell off during transformation.

Resisting the urge to sob, Novastrike pressed her feline-like alt mode’s tummy to the ground. “Okay, how’s this going to-”

Scorponok started moving. His pace was slow without being obnoxiously obvious slow. Novastrike half army-crawled and half dragged herself beneath the bug to keep up.

Embarrassing.

“Wait wait- the others-!”

Scorponok continued walking down the hall. There was no need for him to say what could be seen. Novastrike’s optics looked at the doors as they past. The argument in her throat slowly died and she allowed her ears to droop sadly.

The bug walked up to the brig door and it opened smoothly. Off to the far left, Blackout was standing with four guards and Motormaster. Scorponok quickly veered right, with Novastrike barely able to keep pace beneath him.

“Where are we going?” Novastrike hissed. “Why exactly are you helping me?”

“Quiet,” the monotone-scorpion insisted.

Novastrike bit her glossia. Best not look a gift turbofox in the maw.

The pair traversed the hallways with caution. Novastrike could overhear some of the Decepticon’s gooding and bragging their kills, their weapons, their battle experience. It made her feel sick.

Eventually, Scorponok lead Novastrike to a doorway. She was almost giddy enough to charge out from below the minicon and out but quivered nervously beneath him As they turned to the left outside of the door, Novastrike glanced back. Energon droplets and splatters revealed her escape. She swallowed anxiously.

The bug stopped suddenly and Novastrike almost walked out from under him. She froze, ears twitching nervously.

Chirping, Scorponok looked at the shadow standing within the shadows just beneath an overhang. He scurried over, Nova awkwardly shuffling beneath him.

“Took you long enough,” Blackout stated gruffly.

“Femme bleeding,” Scorponok explained. “Left multiple trails.”

Blackout nodded. He reached down, offering an arm for the minicon to climb up.

As soon as Scorponok moved from over Novastrike, the cyber-cat flattened. Her optics wide, she looked left to right, and then up, spotting the Big Jerk squatting beside her.

“You?” Novastrike hissed.

“I prefer Blackout,” Satan replied.

Standing on all fours, Novastrike looked around. There were no Decepticons around, and a conveniently placed transport vehicle was parked in front of them to keep anyone from simply walking by spotting them.

“You had Scorponok help me?” Novastrike inquired.

Blackout didn’t respond. Instead, he nodded to his bug, which climbed over his shoulder and down his backside to dock. He moved to stand once his minicon was secure, looking down at Nova silently.

Lashing her tail, Novastrike shifted and her form morphed; switching back to bipedal. She winced as more gears and sprockets tumbled out of her leg; some locking up awkwardly.

“You helped me,” Novastrike repeated, “Why? You said the next time I saw you, our debts were paid. You’d kill me.”

“You lived because Scorponok lived that day,” Blackout stated. “Today I am repaying another debt. You helped me escape, I help you escape. There. We are even. Now I can kill you next time.”

“Without remorse?” Novastrike stated sarcastically.

“Precisely.”

Novastrike glanced around once more. “Where’s the others? Shouldn’t there be some Decepticons at work?”

“Sent to battle,” Blackout stated calmly. “Although I have no doubt someone has noticed your energon trail by now. Best take the opportunity you have, there won’t be another.”

Novastrike glanced back up to Blackout’s faceplate. She felt a tinge of pity in her spark for him. Why, she couldn’t explain.

“Thank you,” she whispered softly. “Both of you, Scorponok as well.”

Blackout blinked slowly. “Scorponok says you’re welcome.”

Ah. That’s how it is.

Shuffling on her good leg, Novastrike turned to leave. She started to limp away and then paused, turning back to see Blackout already turning to go.

“Hey,” she stated loudly, catching his attention. Novastrike pried the armor on her arm open and pulled out the usb, tossing it up to Blackout.

By reflex, Blackout caught the usb. He looked down at it slowly.

“Take it,” Nova muttered. “I won’t be needing it where I’m going.”

She turned and went to hobble off again, keeping her helm held high.

Blackout looked up to watch the femme. The very corner of his lip turned up by the slightest degree and he pinched his digits around the usb, pulverizing it into dust and shards of twisted metal he dropped to the ground.

< You respect her. > Scorponok piped up through the bond.

< .... Maybe a little, > Blackout agreed. < But any bot who can go this long in the war and uses stun guns when possible, and refuses to kill someone... She’s earned that respect. She’s true to herself. >

< How do you know she hasn’t killed yet? >

< I can tell. >

Scorponok didn’t question how he thought he knew this. But just before retracting from the bond, he made a final remark: < Careful, Blackout. One might say you even care about what happens to her. >

The bug was gone from this thoughts before Blackout could remark. However, that didn’t stop him from snarling with annoyance as he stomped off. The last thing he wanted was to be found at the end of that femme’s energon-trail.

[bonerhitler]

Check Out These Sweet Super Robots

So I finished Super Robot Wars V, finally. I thought it was very good and above and beyond all other cool things it does, know what I loved most about it? It really did make the plotlines, and ending in particular, way better than the original anime and OVAs it used as its sources did. Like, spoilers and all but having Full Frontal not just turn out to be a space ghost of char and burn into ashes was actually really cool because he resolves to become his own person and leaves on a journey of self discovery after coming to terms with the reality of who, and what, he is and that he doesn't -have- to be Char. Then comes back and bails your ass out. Cool Guy Frontal is a really cool moment, and it's way better than anything Unicorn delivered in his arc! That's not the only moment, but this isn't about SRW, and I'm going to have to stop myself there because; Super Robots are still awesome and as a brief companion to my word soup about Gundam last week, I'm here to talk about Super Robots, what they are and why they're rad and then tell you to watch them.

So lets start with something I'm certain I haven't covered covered yet; subegenres!

Super Robots tend to be more split than Real series. There are three major types of Super Robot shows. Traditional Super Robot shows are your Mazinger Z's, big chunky robots that fight off their villain of the week and whatever else the plot may have in store for them.

Transforming Robots, a middling sub-genre that's often forgotten, is best represented by the ever spectacular Getter Robo, tend to feature one or more headline machine that can change its form for different abilities. In Getter's case it has the Getter-1, a very traditional Super type that wields axes and over powers its enemies with its Getter Beams. Getter-2 is a more streamlined machine that wields a large drill on one arm and a claw on the other with a heavy emphasis on speed and motion, often capable of firing off its drill as a missile. Finally Getter-3 is a big, solid tank-machine that makes up for its limited mobility with long stretching arms and a multitude of long-range missiles. Transforming Robot series typically rely on teamwork dynamics and villains that necessitate the various shifts in form.

The third and often well-known and popularized is the Combing Robots sub-genre. Best summed up by shows like GaoGaiGar, a combining robot show features machines that, well, have robots that fuse together to make bigger and better robots. GaoGaiGar not only has its titular machine but most of its supporting cast consist of teams of smaller robots such as EnRyu and HyoRyu who can fuse together to form ChoRyuJin. Typically in these shows they feature a series of progressively bigger, and stronger villains that require progressively more, and more powerful, fusions or powers to beat.

Sub-genre malarkey aside, Super Robots are the mirror to Real Robots, the second half of the Mecha Genre and generally they are the stereotype people tend to imagine when they think about mecha in general. While Real series tend to have the mechs simply act as tools within the setting, no different than any other vehicle, in a Super Robot series the robot its self tends to be the heavy focus. Some series take it further and make the robot an actual character, other times the robot is merely the device which the plot revolves. More often than not a Super Robot will be unique in some manner, rather than mass-produced military tools and they tend to wield more unconventional weaponry such as swords, drills or even transforming their very bodies into weapons.

Narratively Super Robot series tend to differ from Real series as well. Super series, more often than not, tend to be about the tenacity and strength of humanity. About the spirit and ingenuity of mankand in the face of adversity and whatever mysterious force it is that drives us to be whatever we are. Antagonists in Super Robot series also tend to be mirrors of the protagonists. Unlike a Real series where the antagonist is often an ideaology, a nation or a mind-set  in Super Series you're often shown a dark, warped perception of humanity or society. An evil organization, an oppressive alien government or ancient super beings from below the earth's crust! But as the series goes on you're given more in-depth looks at these beings and what drives them and you see that they aren't different from humanity. Often, they literally are humanity – just divergent at some point in time. A Super Robot is less about showing how people communicate and ideas in conflict and more about showing the raw drive of mankind, and the conflict of man versus man on a more primal, almost even tribal level.

So all that being said, let me talk about why I love Super Robots more than Real Robots. On the most basic, shallow levels I like the designs for Super Robots a lot more. A gundam, like the Crossbones Gundam for example, is cool and I love it. But there's just something that I will always love about the huge chunky designs like Mazinger Z, Getter Robo or Big O. Even more than that, the more grounded and believable weapons of a series like Gundam will always have their place in my heart. But no matter how cool a gundam's beam rifle is, it just can't compete with the excitement of a mecha beast being blown to pieces by a rocket punch, or those radical pile drivers in the Big O's arms. Super Robots -feel- cool and exciting. Real Robots, by comparison, don't feel that much different from a jet fight or a car chase. They're still cool, but it's not the same to me.

On a less, but still somewhat, shallow note I will admit that grand spectacles appeal to me. In a show like Gundam, or even Martian Successor Nadesico, the grand finale isn't some rousing speech about how awesome everyone is. It's not going to be a world-ending battle to protect the earth. In Gundam the climax features two pilots desperately fighting for their lives, completely ignoring their broken down machines! While Nadesico features very little in the way of dramatic space battles, but rather tense diplomatic action. Then you take a series like The Big O, where the climax calls reality, identity and everything into question while the protagonist fights for his life against the man who stands against everything he stands for. That's not to say that Gundam or Nadesico weren't amazing in their own rights, in fact you should go watch them if you haven't, but that I am just heavily biased in terms of flash and style.

So, in the end what series do I  like, and do I think you should watch? Well lets start with Mazinger Z. There's a fancy new CG movie in the works and “Mazinger Edition Z: The Impact!” (often referred to as “Shin Mazinger Z”) is an excellent way to familiarize yourself with the grandfather of the Super Robot genre. It also features one of my personal favorite anime openings. Mazinger Z is a story so old, iconic and told so many times there's a good chance you know it already even if you don't know the names and fine details. Koji Kabuto is a young, if somewhat rebellious, teenager living with his young brother in absolute normalcy until one day he discovers his creepy grandfather is dead and left him a weird giant robot, telling him to fight off the sudden onslaught of robots known only as Mechabeasts sent by a strange and mysterious Dr. Hell. It's a very simple story, Mazinger is not known for it's depth or complexity. What it does have is a giant robot with rocket fists. Watch it.

Getter Robo: Armageddon.

An OVA series from the 90's with a distinct flair for ultraviolence, a spectacular OST and a distinct artstyle that I have no doubt held influence over the creators of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann (series I'm not fond of but is somewhat of a fan favorite among mecha fans.) You don't even need to be familiar with the greater Getter Robo mythos to dive in to this one as it's a stand-alone story in its own continuity;

Famous Getter Ray professor Dr. Satome is murdered and notable Getter Robo pilot Ryoma is unjustly accused and arrested! Meanwhile a new menace threatens the earth in the form of the Invaders – space faring shapeshifters that seek to wipe out all life on earth.

I'm not going to get into it more to avoid spoiling it, but seriously; it's an amazing show and you can practically pinpoint specific scenes that future Super Robot series would all but ape straight off of it. Also it has my absolute favorite opening.

The Big O

I thought long and hard about this, since I only wanted to write about three series. I almost gave it to GaoGaiGar, but Big O deserves it. The Big O experiments more with the art, the tone and the style of a Super Robot series than the vast majority of others. It's wholly unique and it's something that I think absolutely must be seen, whether you wind up liking it or not, simply because of how utterly singular it is. The soundtrack is outstanding, the art style is amusingly directly influenced by the long-running DC Animated Universe cartoons (Specifically “Batman the Animated Series”.) Meanwhile the character designs, the mechs in particular are incredibly distinct. There are no hotblooded heroes here, no courageous young heroes to save the day and the titular machine looks more like a humanoid steam train with lots of solid, flat surfaces and heavy plates rather than the more rounded, chunky designs of most Super Robot series.

Story-wise it follows Roger Smith, professional negotiator and slow steeping mystery of Paradigm City, a place with no memories and where identity is a fleeting thing. Gradually Roger finds himself sinking deeper and deeper into a strange conspiracy and the mysteries around him start unraveling.

Honorable mentions;

So without going into too much depth I'd just like to say you should also watch the following;

GaoGaiGar (peak 90's anime with a radical opening theme and a fun cast), Giant Robo (The OVAs, they're stylish and surprisingly dark.) and even though it's not a Super Robot series; Macross Plus for one of the coolest dogfight scenes in anime.

[entergamingxp]

Ian’s top ten best PSVR games of 2019 • Eurogamer.net

Welcome one and all to this year’s exciting instalment of the Ian’s VR Corner Top Ten list where I’ll be going over my ten favourite PSVR games of 2019. As per usual, the following list is completely my opinion and it only features games that I myself have played, so if I’ve missed out one of your favourites, chances are it’s either because I thought it was a bit bobbins, or that I just didn’t have time to give it a go. Either way, please do share the love for your favourite PSVR games of 2019 in the comments below and hopefully, together, we can inspire others to try them out too.

You can check out the video version of this list just below these words where you can watch footage of each game featured or, if reading is more your thing, you’ll find my entire top ten list just under that.

10 – Ghost Giant

Anyone who has watched the Ghost Giant episode of Ian’s VR Corner will know that I had a fair few issues with the game’s motion controls, or more specifically, the fiddliness of picking things up that were just a little too far out of reach. Thankfully, there’s a lot more to Ghost Giant than just its control scheme and I was able to push past those faults and appreciate the emotionally charged story at its core.

In terms of production values, Ghost Giant is way up there and it actually shares a lot of similarities with Moss, one of my favourite games of 2018. The level of detail in Ghost Giant is incredible and the paper-craft dioramas that make up the levels look stunning in VR. It almost feels like you’re sat, centre stage in your very own Tim Burton movie, able to reach in and touch and interact with every inch of the world.

I didn’t just enjoy playing around and exploring these ultra detailed, model villages though, I was also enthralled by the life and personality of the characters that were expertly animated and voice acted. If you can look past the unwieldy interactions caused by the less than accurate Move controllers you’ll find a beating heart which is full of sweetness and sadness and there lies a story that will stick with you for a long, long time.

9 – Everybody’s Golf VR

Someone famous once said that golf is a good walk spoiled, so it’s probably a good job then that Everybody’s Golf VR is a completely stationary experience. By cutting out all those boring strolls it means the game and its players can concentrate on pure, unadulterated virtual golfing across three gorgeous, 18 hole courses.

As the name would suggest, Everybody’s Golf is indeed for everybody. That means seasoned golfers will instantly be able to enjoy batting their balls around while newcomers can make use of an incredibly intuitive in-game interface to practice swings and judge the power and angle of each shot before going all in for a hole in one. The tracking of the Move controller is pretty much spot on with Everybody’s Golf VR and I didn’t notice any kind of drift or inaccuracy at all. Holding a single Move controller with two hands like you would the grip on a club feels just like you’re holding the real thing and this adds a lovely sense of immersion to the already relaxed vibe of the game.

While Everybody’s Golf VR is slightly watered down compared to other games from the series, especially when it comes to the lack of multiplayer, it does feel like a perfect fit for PSVR and it’s an ideal starting point for any golf enthusiasts out there who may be nervous about trying VR for the first time.

8 – Falcon Age

It’s hard not to fall in love with Falcon Age after mere minutes of playing it and a lot of that has to do with your cute as hell companion, whom I decided to name, Pudding. Pudding is a falcon that you raise from a squeaking ball of feathers into a fully grown, mech murdering bird of prey and it’s pretty safe to say that caring for Pudding is probably the closest I’ve probably come to treating a VR animal as if it were a real-life living being.

Falcon Age is a rather compact open-world affair in which you stick it to awful robotic industrialists one act of sabotage and rebellion at a time. You head out into this world with a neat whip-baton thing in one hand and Pudding on your other, and you can send pudding to attack things, collect things, yank things about and then hold them up while you give them a good shoeing.

Just having Pudding there on your fist makes you think about it on a very emotional level. Seeing Pudding get hungry was enough to make me want to learn the rudiments of the cooking system, but pulling spikes out of her after a fight genuinely made me furious in a way a dog owner might be if someone mistreated their beloved pooch while they were out on a walk. This is a game about nurturing, about trust, about friendship and loyalty and about having an awesome Falcon friend who’ll do your bidding and smash evil robots for you. I love you, Pudding.

7 – Sairento VR

You know that bit in The Matrix when Keanu Reeves goes, “I know Kung Fu!”? Well I had a few moments of realisation just like that during my first hands-on session with the PSVR port of Sairento VR. Don’t go into Sairento VR expecting to be a badass from the off though. There’s an incredibly steep learning curve here and there’s a lot of things you’ll need to learn in order to feel comfortable when navigating the levels.

In fact, this game should definitely be thought of as being on the extreme end of the comfort scale because it expects you to do double jumps, bounce off or run along walls and scale great heights. All whilst swinging swords, shooting guns and triggering super cool slow mo super powers. The first couple of levels really ease you into things, but by the third, the action is relentless and enemies come at you rapidly, shooting and hitting you from all angles.

This onslaught can be terribly frustrating at first but it forces you to learn quickly and it won’t be long before you’re chaining leaps and bounds together with slow-motion headshots and slick slide kills where you split opponents in two with your blade. When everything does start to click, the combat becomes so absorbing that it’s easy to forget about the normal world that exists outside of your headset. That’s why it’s well worth putting in the hours to practice your skills because when everything is going your way and you’re flowing through the levels, Sairento VR is one hell of an experience.

6 – Spooky’s Jump Scare Mansion HD Renovation

Spooky’s Jump Scare Mansion HD Renovation is the first game in the world to have ever made me swear at a piece of toast and for that it instantly gets a thumbs up from me.

This VR remake of the cult classic PC horror game sees you trapped inside an ever changing maze comprised of 1000 different rooms, each one potentially home to a jump scare or two. Despite the budget look to the graphics and a rather slow start, I was surprised by just how scary Spooky’s Jump Scare Mansion could be. Being stalked through the rooms by some of the games more unsettling specimens would honestly be bad enough in the flat version of the game, but in VR it’s panic inducing as you can almost feel their physical presence gaining on you as you try to escape.

That feeling of being chased never gets old either, as the rooms, locations and your pursuers keep changing in unexpected and unpredictable ways. Basically it’s like dropping acid and going to a Halloween Horror Fright Night even at Thorpe Park, except you won’t need to drop acid and there won’t be a massive queue to get in. Now hurry up and release this in the EU please, Albino Moose Games!

5 – Trover Saves the Universe

If you didn’t already know, Trover Saves the Universe is made by Squanch Games, a development studio run by Justin Roiland of Rick and Morty fame. So, if that kind of wacky, sweary, tasteless and self-referential sci-fi humour is your bag, Trover Saves the Universe will have you covered. In spit and poop, mainly…

Playing a bit like an Astrobot for adults, Trover Saves the Universe sees you galavanting around the galaxy, intruding on the often disgusting inhabitants of Alien worlds, all whilst trying to rescue your two pet dogs from the eye sockets of the evil Glorkon who is hell bent on destroying life as we know it.

There’s a fairly big game here and it basically includes everything you’d expect from a standard 3D platformer like combat, jumping, bounce pads, puzzles and item collecting. Everything in Trover has this dark and disgusting Roiland twist to it though and this leaves you constantly surprised and occasionally sickened by the events that occur. The bonkers scenarios and the imaginative characters that live within them are often either comically creepy or absurdly annoying and as such, fans of Rick and Morty are bound to be in VR heaven with Trover. For some, this constant barrage of weird humour may be a little too overwhelming and that’s totally understandable, but I played it through twice because I’m also super weird.

4 – Borderlands 2 VR

Technically Borderlands 2 VR came out in 2018, but it appeared on the Playstation store so late in December that my Top Ten list for that year had already been published. In fact, I didn’t even feature it on Ian’s VR Corner until January when I came back from my Christmas holidays so its inclusion on this list totally counts. Totally.

Far from being a short spin-off experience, Borderlands 2 VR is a complete conversion of the flat game, featuring the full 25+ hour campaign. Plus, after the release of the free Bad Ass MegaFun DLC pack in September of this year, it also includes the four add on story missions and a bunch of upgrade packs too. That’s a lotta bang for your buck indeed!

I had a lot of fun when Borderlands 2 VR first came out, but when Aim controller support was added in another update, the game just got better. Being able to hold, admire and shoot any of the bazillion guns that are available to you in VR while holding the aim controller just adds to the immersion and it makes shooting all those Bullymongs and bandits feel super satisfying. Borderlands 2 VR is an incredibly well produced title that looks beautiful in 3D so it’s well worth revisiting if you’ve played the game before in flat version. If this is your first trip to Pandora however, this is a must buy that’ll keep you busy for ages. WUB, WUB, WUB!

3 – Ace Combat 7

I’m absolutely terrified of flying in real life but flying in VR? Well that is a completely different story, especially when it comes to Ace Combat 7’s VR levels. There may only be three unique missions available in the VR portion of the game but when they’re this gorgeous, this exhilarating and this immersive, you’ll find plenty of excuses to replay them. I mean, I certainly did!

There’s just so much to love here, from the ultra detailed, interactive inheritors of the cockpits and the adrenaline pumping intensity of the VR dog-fights, through to the way that water droplets roll across your aircraft’s canopy as you leave thick cloud cover and burst out into the sunlight and thunder your way towards yours foes.

The sense of speed, power and of just ‘being there in the moment’ is truly exceptional here, so it’s a damn shame that Ace Combat 7’s biggest fault is that only a small portion of the game is playable in VR. Please, Bandai Namco, give us a full VR campaign and I promise you, I’ll buy it twice! Ace Combat 7 may have come out right at the start of 2019 but I still think about its VR missions regularly and I pull out my HOTAS and strap myself into my jumpseat whenever I get the chance.

2 – No Man’s Sky Beyond

No Man’s Sky Beyond is almost the perfect VR game. It’s infinite, it’s incredibly immersive and if it wasn’t for the low resolution of the visuals, I could quite easily spend a large portion of my life just pootling around the galaxy digging through planets for valuable minerals like some kind of space age mole man.

The experience of exploring the universe in No Man’s Sky in VR is every bit as jaw dropping and massive as you could have hoped for but the ever present blur does kill the magnificence a bit. All those stunning vistas and the mysterious alien flora and fauna that you may remember from the flat version now look like indistinct smudges on the horizon and this works towards dampening that awesome sense of discovery that made the exploration so compelling.

Get past that though as you’ll find that the rest of the game is an absolute joy to play. The sense of scale in VR is amazing and the ability to fly around from planet to planet and galaxy to galaxy while being encased in the game is incomparable to anything else I’ve played in VR. This is a straight up, never-ending VR adventure and depending on your patience for the survival genre, you could easily end up spending countless hours exploring brand new world after brand new world. No Man’s Sky Beyond is an amazing achievement and I’d recommend it to anyone with a VR headset, if only to get a taste of what VR adventures could be like in the future, if the platform continues to grow and expand.

1 – Blood and Truth

Right now, at the point of writing this feature, everyone in the world is getting excited about a brand new James Bond trailer. Everyone that is except me, because this year, thanks to Blood and Truth, I was James Bond.

The beauty of Blood and Truth though is that I wasn’t just James Bond, I was actually loads of things. I was a soldier in a warzone, a cockney gangster literally riding shotgun in a sports car and I was even some kind of parkour hitman, dodging machine gun fire from a helicopter as I legged it across the floors of a barely built block of flats before throwing myself through some plate glass windows as I shot enemies in the face during some glorious scenes of slow-motion gun-fu.

In Blood and Truth you are the star of your very own action movie, no more passively watching the action unfold on a flat screen, oh no. Here you’re right there in the thick of it, catching and throwing back live grenades, dual wielding pistols and generally living out all of those action movie fantasies that you never thought would come true. There’s an excellent supporting cast who’re brought to life by some top notch voice acting and motion capture and this serves to give you a real connection to the characters in some of the slower paced scenes, while each action set piece is just varied enough to make you constantly gasp out loud with the thrill of it all.

The gunplay is excellent too and while the on rails nature of the gameplay could be seen as a turn off for some, it keeps the pace rattling along and allows the developers to do some really clever and unexpected things with VR. If you own a PSVR you need this game and that’s the bloody truth of it.

And that, my lovely friends, is that! Hopefully you enjoyed this look back at my favourite PSVR games of 2019 but if I did miss any of your favourites out, do remember to tell us about them in the comments! Before I wander off to snaffle some pre-Christmas mince pies, I’d just like to say a big thank you to each and everyone of you for the continued support you’ve been giving my VR coverage. Can you believe Ian’s VR Corner has been going for over a year and a half now? Crazy!

Here’s hoping things get even more exciting for VR in 2020, whether that’s for PSVR or for the wider range of headsets, because if 2019 has proven anything at all, it’s that VR just keeps getting bigger and better and it’s definitely not going to go away any time soon! If this list is the first you’ve seen of my VR coverage by the way, Ian’s VR Corner happens every Sunday on this channel so do pop on over and subscribe for more VR videos whenever they’re uploaded. Oh and of course, do have a lovely Christmas and a wonderful new year!

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2019/12/ians-top-ten-best-psvr-games-of-2019-%e2%80%a2-eurogamer-net/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ians-top-ten-best-psvr-games-of-2019-%25e2%2580%25a2-eurogamer-net

[recentanimenews]

Crunchyroll Favorites 2018 Part Two: VIDEO GAMES!

Welcome back for Part Two of Crunchyroll Favorites 2018! Yesterday, we shared our favorite anime and manga of the past year, but this time, it's all about our favorite VIDEO GAMES!

  I always like to start these end-of-year lists by saying something like "2018 was no 1998 (or 2005, or 2017)," but y'know what? 2018 was a very good year for video games, and I don't feel right saying otherwise. Games about dads, games about the dead, people still playing Overwatch and Breath of the Wild with plenty of gas left in the tank, we got a new Call of Duty and a new Assassin's Creed as expected, and I told an ungodly amount of people to buy Stardew Valley for their Switches.

  The rules were simple: only games that were released (or received a re-release) in 2018, or had a major update or expansion. Now, let's get started!

  Nate Ming

Dragon Ball FighterZ- What a world we live in where the purest, meanest fighting game to come out in 2018 is also its most beautiful. FighterZ is exacting and ruthless when it comes to advanced play, but is still accessible enough to let new players have a total blast. And for once, it's a Dragon Ball game that not only plays excellently, but is filled to the brim with callbacks to the manga, TV anime, and movies--what absolute perfection.

Yakuza 6: The Song of Life- The end of Kazuma Kiryu's long, violent road took us from the sleepy streets of a Hiroshima neighborhood back to the bustling Kamurocho. The Yakuza games are so perfect, and full of so much to do: recruiting for a gang, managing a baseball team, adopting kittens, lifting weights, babysitting, beating the crap out of people--this was the best way to say goodbye to the Dragon of Dojima, and a surprisingly thoughtful and emotionally smart look at masculinity, fatherhood, and legacy.

God of War- The other Dad Game this year was also a great ride, this time dealing with a regretful father who wants to make sure his child never ends up like him. This game really felt like a long holiday weekend with my own old man, making it equal parts endearing and infuriating.

Return of the Obra Dinn- A rich, multilayered mystery from the creator of the equally-slick Papers Please, there were no games in 2018 that took over my life like The Return of the Obra Dinn. I was taking notes, studying the ship's layout and crew's roles, and basically becoming the investigator character as I worked to find out what killed everyone aboard the H.M.S. Obra Dinn. What a ride.

Into the Breach- I'm kind of a perfectionist, which makes a game like Into the Breach so much more difficult for me to play. This is a game about either making hard turn-based giant mech-vs-kaiju choices and living with them, or constantly resetting the timeline to try and get things perfectly right this time around. Spoiler alert: you very rarely will.

Honorable Mentions: GRIS, Yakuza Kiwami 2, Mega Man 11

Cayla Coats

    Hollow Knight (NS)- I’m a big fan of so-called “Metroidvania” action/adventure/platformer games, and Hollow Knight is the best I’ve played in a long time. The game feels wonderful to control, the player character and attacks both having a real sense of weight to them. Wrap it all up in some beautiful 2D sprite and background artwork as well as an ethereal and haunting soundtrack and you’ve got one great game and one happy Cayla.

Soulcalibur VI- I honestly haven’t played a Soul game since Soulcalibur II, and just happened to play this entry after my roommate bought it. And I love it. Every character is a joy to use, and offers the seemingly impossible mixture of accessibility and complexity. Also Voldo is still… Voldo, and that’s worth something, right?

Night in the Woods (NS)- I missed out on this indie gem when it first launched in 2017, but thanks to the surprising indie game oasis that is the Switch, I got to enjoy it early this year! Equal parts Animal Crossing, Gone Home, and Twin Peaks, this cute-but-creepy coming-of-age tale makes the best of its midwestern setting.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate- I mean… it’s Smash. It still rules. There are approximately 3 billion really fun modes to try out and 9 billion characters to unlock. It’s just good. Go play it.

  Nicole Mejias

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate- The amount of hype this game generated was one of an undying level. Was that hype warranted? Oh, hell YES! Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is an insanely fun game with unending hours of mayhem for you and your buddies! And most importantly, EVERYONE is there!

Yakuza Kiwami 2- I’ve been playing through every single Yakuza game available, and it’s been one gaming journey that I’m glad I took! The series really has it all: hot-blooded action, romance, heart-wrenching drama, and even comedy, which wasn’t something I was expecting at all. Some of the fights in this game had me on the edge of my seat and made me fall completely in love with the series. If you haven’t checked out the series yet, now’s the perfect time!

Battle Chef Brigade (NS)- Ever since I heard about this game, I’ve been itching to play it. A challenging puzzle game with some beat ‘em up elements? I’m ALL IN! Battle Chef Brigade did not disappoint; it’s such a charming game with a lively cast of characters and intriguing Iron Chef-like story! My only complaint is that it was over way too soon and it left me hungry for more.

Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee- Pokémon is pretty important to me; playing Pokémon Red as a kid helped me grasp the English language when I was still living in Puerto Rico. Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee is a passionate love letter to Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow, and experiencing all the battles and events from those past games in this brand-new one was a delight! A must for Pokémon fans for sure!

Deltarune- Deltarune is probably one of the biggest surprises in 2018, with Toby Fox giving us the most delightful of treats on Halloween! It didn’t take long for me to be smitten with this new world with some familiar faces we all know and love. This time around, your choices don’t matter, but what will that mean for the next chapter? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Daniel Dockery

Dragon Ball FighterZ- Finally, Dragon Ball gets a fighting game that lives up to the franchise’s immense legacy. Not only is it fun, but it’s a huge “LOOK AT HOW AWESOME THIS IS!” love letter to the series as a whole.

Monster Hunter World- I’ve been playing Monster Hunter since 3, and I must say that while I deeply enjoy the 3DS entries, it was nice to really feel the scale of these gargantuan beasties that I’m tracking down. Switch Axe 4 Lyfe.

Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu/Eevee- Didn’t expect to like this game. Ended up loving this game. Tattoo Pikachu on my eyeballs, for I need to see nothing else.

That One Mission From Red Dead Redemption 2 You Know The One I’m Talking About- Walking up to a mansion with your crew to rescue a boy, fighting your way through it, and then burning the whole thing to the ground is a high moment in a game that could go from satisfying to “JUST EQUIP THE RIGHT GUN, ARTHUR, COME ON” in a heartbeat.

Luigi’s Mansion 3DS- My favorite Mario-related game that isn’t Kart or Smash Bros. came out on the 3DS. Clear the mansion of its ghosts for the sixth time in my life? Gladly, Professor E. Gadd.

Peter Fobian

God of War- An awesome reimagining of an old franchise, and one of my greatest hopes for ambitious narrative single player titles in the AAA industry. It absolutely deserved every award it got in the Game Awards. The story, characters, and world were all top-notch. The cinematics were fantastic and brutal. I can’t wait for the sequel.

Monster Hunter World- My first dip into the Monster Hunter franchise, this game probably had the biggest skill curve I’ve ever seen in cooperative gameplay, with mechanics stacked on mechanics that seemed to have no bottom. I got a lot of frustrating and satisfying hours out of this game, and I’m still not sure if I’ve discovered even half the things you can do in it.

Hitman 2- There were a lot of questions about the future of Hitman that were riding on this release, and I’m very happy to report that the newest title in the franchise is extremely good. This one got particularly creative, with some of the mission set-ups and conditions and each new map was excellent, even making American suburbia into an interesting mission area.

GRIS- I’m glad I was able to find time to play this final addition before years end because it definitely deserves a spot. Although I can’t really say GRIS is unique in being a atmospheric platformer focusing on depression/loss, it might be the best. The visuals and soundtrack were amazing, especially together. The environments and use of camera were also excellent. Also go play The Missing.

Dead Cells- I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of indie roguelike platformers and Dead Cells, as above with GRIS, may be one of the best of its genre. It’s got a cool aesthetic, some wicked gallows humor, and an unlocking system of items and powers that can result in the player having to formulate some absolutely ridiculous strategies from life to life.

Joseph Luster

Celeste- Playing Celeste reminded me of all the fun I had when Super Meat Boy first came out, but this time I actually cared about the characters and the journey. The narrative is woven into the action, as it should be in a video game, and it actually has something interesting to say. The way Celeste treats difficulty and accessibility will no doubt prove influential, as well. At its core, though, it’s simply an unbelievably tight platformer that provides ample challenges for players of all skill levels.

Ni no Kuni II- The sequel to Ni no Kuni isn’t actually all that much like Ni no Kuni. The battle system is completely different, the Pokémon-esque monster collecting is gone, and the story has been boiled down to the bare essence of Japanese RPG motivation. It’s almost embarrassingly earnest, but it’s also gorgeous, and combat is a joy for the full 30-hour run. There’s plenty to play around with after the credits roll, too, but I was mostly just proud of myself for actually having fun with and completing an RPG in 2018.

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon- The award for “Game I Actually Bothered to Beat Multiple Times in 2018” definitely goes to this unassuming bite-sized prequel to Koji Igarashi’s upcoming Bloodstained. It’s so much more than just a downloadable “extra,” and in many ways it out-Castlevania IIIs the original Castlevania III. Play this game immediately if you haven’t, and take the time to get every ending for maximum satisfaction.

Dragon Ball FighterZ- I don’t really play fighting games anymore. I haven’t in years, despite trying to pick them back up seriously when Street Fighter V first came out. Not living with roommates anymore has a lot to do with it, but that enthusiasm roared back to life when Dragon Ball FighterZ arrived in jaw-dropping style. This is the essential anime fighter, and nothing made me and my friends cheer and shout at the screen more in 2018.

Iconoclasts- Like Dragon Ball FighterZ, Iconoclasts came early in the year and started 2018 out on a really strong note. This is probably the “smallest” a list has ever been for me in terms of the sheer scale of the games themselves, but titles like Iconoclasts just fired up my imagination more than the big AAA beasts. From the lush sprite-based visuals to the soundtrack and the excellent pacing, this one is going to stick in my mind for years to come.

Nick Creamer

Hollow Knight/Dead Cells- Though both of these were technically 2017 releases, their continuing developer support and my own delayed play schedule means I’m celebrating them now anyway. And they’re great! If you enjoy games like Metroid or Castlevania, you absolutely must pick up the richly atmospheric and remarkably vast Hollow Knight. If you want an experience like that in a more arcadey, roguelike package, Dead Cells cannot be missed. It’s nice to live in a golden age of challenging indie action games!

Celeste- Speaking of great indie titles, this year’s Celeste likely needs no introduction. Though it theoretically falls in the same punishing platformer space as something like Super Meat Boy, Celeste’s charming storytelling, neatly partitioned challenges, and robust assist features mean it’s a platforming experience that basically anyone could enjoy. Thoughtfully written and brilliantly designed, Celeste shouldn’t be missed by any platforming enthusiasts.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate- I am perfectly comfortable admitting I’m one of those Smash fans who up until now, basically just stuck to Melee. The combat in Brawl and Smash 4 always just felt far too floaty for me, with both my character jumps and the impact of my hits making me feel like I was constantly wearing a big balloon suit. Ultimate counters that complaint with crisp, speedy combat harkening back to Melee’s rapid-fire exchanges, along with the most luxurious suite of characters and secondary modes Smash has ever seen. This truly feels like the definitive Smash experience.

Monster Hunter World- MHW was my first experience with the Monster Hunter franchise, and it was glorious. Well, it was eventually glorious--the first fifteen or so hours were an interminable learning process, while I figured out the game’s inscrutable controls and systems, ponderous movement, and extremely vague directions. But after that, hoo boy! Monster Hunter is essentially “Boss Rush: The Videogame,” complete with dozens of intimidating creatures who all demand their own hunting strategy. As an insatiable gobbler of challenging RPG-adjacent action games, I had great times hunting deadly beasts all through last winter.

-----

And that's a wrap for Part Two! Be sure to join us at the same time tomorrow for our third and final installment, focusing on the EVERYTHING ELSE of 2018--movies, TV, books, comics, food, life experiences, and more! If you're in the mood for more CR Favorites, here are the links to past years' features:

  Crunchyroll Favorites 2017 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2016 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2015 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2014 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2013 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll Favorites 2012 Part One | Part Two | Part Three

Crunchyroll News' Best of 2011 Part One | Part Two

What were your favorite video games of 2018? Remember, this is a FAVORITES list, not a BEST-OF list, so there are no wrong answers--sound off in the comments and share your favorites!

-----

Nate Ming is the Features Editor for Crunchyroll News and creator of the long-running Fanart Friday column. You can follow him on Twitter at @NateMing. His comic, Shaw City Strikers, launches January 15, 2019.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[hentaihunblog-blog]

Best Anime Movies To Watch – OtakuKart

New Post has been published on https://hentaihun.com/blog/2017/12/12/best-anime-movies-to-watch-otakukart-2/

Best Anime Movies To Watch – OtakuKart

Looking for some Marvelous Anime movie? I have got you some astonishing hand-picked collection of the movie. Here is a list of  Top 10 Best Anime Movies You Must Watch.So without any further delay let’s start with our Top 10 Anime Movie List

Top 10 Best Anime Movies Of All Time

Patlabor: The Movie (1989)

Many of the films on this list are here because they’re landmark films for their directors, or that they move the art form of Japanese animation forward in meaningful ways. Patlabor is just a good-ass movie made by a bunch of talented people, including future Ghost in the Shell collaborators Mamoru Oshii and I.G Tatsunoko (the early name for the production company that would become Production I.G). Set in the distant future of 1999, Patlabor’s hardboiled sci-fi police procedural explores the connection between humanity and technology, and how we approach law enforcement in an age of automation. Also, this list would otherwise be sorely lacking in giant mech movies – this film has them in spades, and they fight a bunch. It’s pretty cool.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)

Studio Ghibli commissioned director Mamoru Hosoda to make Howl’s Moving Castle, but sent him packing after rejecting his initial concepts. Hosoda then turned around and directed The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, an abounding and inventive dramedy that’s as entertaining as it is thought-provoking. Based on a novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui, the film follows high schooler Makoto Konno as she learns that she has the power to quite literally leap through time. First, she uses these powers to get good grades, but she quickly learns that her actions have consequences. It’s a wildly imaginative slice of life and marked the emergence of an important voice in animated films.

Your Name (2016)

Since the release of his first short film Voices of a Distant Star (which he wrote, directed, and animated by himself over seven months), Makoto Shinkai has been described by multiple critics as the next Hayao Miyazaki. With his most recent film Your Name. (yes, the period is part of the title), Shinkai finally steps out steps out of the shadows of the greats and finds his own voice. To describe it as a mere body-swapping film does it a great disservice, as it finds the humor and humanity in a situation where two young high schoolers find themselves in each others shoes and desperately want to find each other. But then, Shinkai pulls the rug out from under you halfway through and Your Name. turns into a different kind of film entirely.

Vampire Hunter D (1985)

Vampire Hunter D is often credited as being one of the first anime films specifically targeted for an older audience, and its success paved the way for many of the films on this list. It’s a slow, haunting burn that follows the titular, monosyllabic vampire hunter as he aids and protects a young woman from a demonic menace. Featuring the brooding character design of none other than Final Fantasy concept artist Yoshitaka Amano, Vampire Hunter D is the dark glimpse into the maturation of anime as a genuine theatrical art form.

Ninja Scroll (1993)

If Akira and Ghost in the Shell were the opening salvos for anime’s initial resurgence in the West as more than Saturday morning fodder, Ninja Scroll was the knockout punch. Releasing in the West around the same time as Ghost in the Shell, Ninja Scroll is a stylish, hyper-violent flurry of over-the-top battles and geysers of blood. Ex-ninja Jubei is coerced under threat of death by a Tokugawa spy to hunt down and defeat the Eight Devils of Kimon, each one with its own mystical set of powers. In an hour and a half, Jubei fights a dude whose skin can turn into stone, a naked snake lady, a guy who can melt into shadows, and a woman who plants gunpowder in people’s bodies and uses them as living time bombs.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Studio Ghibli is perhaps second only to Disney in terms of cultural relevance and worldwide recognition in animation, and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is where it all started. It follows the eponymous young woman as she navigates a post-apocalyptic future where venturing outside small population centers means having to contend with giant insects and a deadly miasma. Here, you will see many of Ghibli’s themes on humanity, community, mortality, and environmentalism converge, accompanied by lush hand-drawn animation and swashbuckling action.

Perfect Blue (1997)

After working as an animator on other films, Satoshi Kon made his explosive directorial debut with Perfect Blue. It’s about a J-Pop idol who leaves behind a music career to pursue acting, and the further she dives into the role, the more reality and fiction begin to blur together. Kon’s signature style seems to spring forth fully realized from the first frame, his unique take on magical realism ensuring you never see the seams until he wants you to. Kon’s career was cut short due to pancreatic cancer, but his influence can be seen everywhere, including Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan and Christopher Nolan’s Inception.

Ghost in the Shell (1995)

Oshii’s adaptation of Masamune Shirow’s seminal graphic novel series is simultaneously one of the most influential and enigmatic anime films ever made. There’s definitely a plot here, as a team of armored police officers leads by Major Motoko Kusanagi attempt to hunt down a mysterious hacker known as the Puppet Master, but Ghost in the Shell is far more concerned with exploring the philosophical ramifications of its transhumanist themes than it is providing any sort of narrative payoff. It’s a strange one to watch, packing a lot of information and world-building into its brisk 82-minute runtime, but its length and structure allow for repeat viewings that are as rewarding as the first.

Spirited Away (2001)

If you want a good snapshot of Studio Ghibli’s history, first watch Nausicaa, then watch this one. Here is Miyazaki at the height of his craft, using advancements in animation technology to enhance but not overpower an Alice in a Wonderland-esque story filled to the brim with strange creatures and imaginative scenarios. It’s a coming of age story about a young girl who finds herself lost in a bathhouse for the spirits, interacting with an assortment of fantastical creatures as she attempts to rescue her parents. That Miyazaki still explores the consequences of the convergence of nature and technology shows how timeless and important these themes are.

Akira (1988)

Akira is a powerhouse of a film, every frame of animation exploding off the screen with kinetic energy and effortless style. It’s based off the first half of Otomo’s massive graphic novel series of the same name (the second half created after the film was completed, explaining the wild divergence in plotlines), following a group of delinquent teenagers in Neo-Tokyo decades after the end of World War 3. One of these boys, named Tetsuo, is abducted by a secretive government unit and experimented on, awakening his latent psychic abilities which quickly spiral out of control. What follows is a strange, gut-wrenching landmark of science-fiction, filled with rad bikes and an absurd amount of destruction.

Did you like this list.Comment your reaction after completing any one of these.Also if you want any list to be done by me feel free and lemme know, If you wanna get in touch with me on social media like Snapchat-Vibsz16 and Instagram you can follow me there ^_^

Top 10 Best Anime Antagonists And Their Quotes

A major and most part of a show’s appeal is the villain. Be they suave and sophisticated, or insane and genocidal, they’re always one of the more memorable aspects of a series. With this in mind, I have constructed a list of the Top 10 anime antagonists.

10.Future Rouge – Fairy Tail

Quote – The earth will crumble, the skies shall burn, and the flames of light shall be extinguished, for I am the Dragon King: the emperor born from the.Dragon King Festival!

9.Satou – Ajin

Quote- When I Play Games, I always play on hard mode.Because higher the difficulty….more fun it gets.

8.Neferpitou – Hunter X Hunter 2011

Quote- This person is important to someone who’s important to me.

7.Envy – Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Quote-uit your pathetic blubbering, you idiot! You were trying to kill one of our most important sacrifices. Do you understand me?! You could’ve messed up the entire plan! What would we have done then?! Huh?!

6.Vicious – Cowboy Bebop

Quote- I’m the only one who can keep you alive… And I’m the only one that can kill you.

5….

CONT READING…

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1189

Monday, November 20, 2017

 Ottawa ComicCon put on a special edition Holiday con this past weekend so I went to check it out because it was FREE admission. Still had to pay $8 to park at the EY Centre though. The main reason I went was to pick up the book D&D&D (D)ungeons & (D)ragons & (D)oodles The Tabletop Fantasy Art of Tom Fowler since Tom was there. Much to my surprise Craig Taillefer was sitting next to him on one side and Ronn Sutton was on the other. I spent a happy half hour geeking out and swapping stories with them. After Tom signed my copy and generously drew a sketch inside I walked around the venue checking out the booths. It's been years since I've attended a con and I was impressed by some of the set-ups. Still, the comic vendors looked like the ones that sold stuff 30 years ago. Same tables of long boxes and makeshift walls for the wall books. I saw a lot of old Snail customers that I haven't seen in years. Some I recognized and some that I didn't. They all knew me though. The reaction of some folks was "what is he doing here?" looks that made me grin. I ended my sojourn hanging out with my Jee-Riz partner Chris as he helped at a friends booth. I can't say that I'll go to another con but I'm glad I went to this one.

 Action Comics #991 - Dan Jurgens (writer & breakdown art) Viktor Bogdanovic (pencils) Viktor Bogdanovic, Trevor Scott & Scott Hanna (inks) Mike Spicer (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). "The Oz Effect" concludes with the question of whether Mr. Oz was Jor-El or not left unanswered. Throw in a mysterious super powerful villain and it's more than enough to keep me reading. I liked Viktor's slimmer Superman. He looks more natural than the muscle bound version that Nick Bradshaw & Brad Anderson drew for the cover.

 Runaways #3 - Rainbow Rowell (writer) Kris Anka (art) Matthew Wilson (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). It's time to catch up with Karolina Dean as Gert tries to get the team back together again. Karolina used to be one hot mess but she's a lot better now thanks to therapy.  I am really looking forward to next issue when the gang goes to find Molly, my favourite Runaway.

 Wildstorm: Michael Cray #2 - Bryan Hill (writer) N. Steven Harris (pencils) Dexter Vines (inks) Dearbhla Kelly (colours) Simon Bowland (letters). Michael's first assignment is to kill Oliver Queen. Yep, that Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow guy. His next assignment is to target another well known name. These characters are bad guys in the Wildstorm universe and I think that's cool.

 Spider-Man Deadpool #23 - Robbie Thompson (writer) Chris Bachalo (pencils) Tim Townsend, Al Vey & Richard Friend (inks) Chris Bachalo (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). Spider-Man tries to arrest Deadpool and mindless mayhem ensues. So a typical issue of Spider-Man Deadpool. But wait, what's with this lovely art that looks like the old Doctor Strange comic book? Why yes, it's Chris Bachalo. I am so happy and will be ogling the rest of "Arms Race" with glee.

 Star Wars #38 - Kieron Gillen (writer) Salvador Larroca (art) Guru-eFX (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). "The Ashes of Jedha" starts here. We've got Luke, Leia and Han trying to contact fighters against the Empire on the planet Jedha. That's where the Empire wants to strip mine the planet's Kyber crystals. The partisans appear to not want to play nice though. We'll see how the gang gets out of this fine mess.

 Not Brand Echh #14 - It was difficult finding every issue of the 13 issue run of the original series on the spinner racks back in the late sixties but I bought and read every one that I could. This title made fun of my favourite Marvel comic books back then and this latest issue doesn't spare the House of (sometimes bad) Ideas. It got a couple of genuine chuckles out of me so that's about $2.50 Canadian per chuckle. Here are the comedy sketches and their creative teams. Secret Empire Abridged: Nick Spencer (writer) Scott Koblish (art) Nick Filardi (colours). Better Than Canon: Katie Cook (writer& art). Gwenpool Absorbs the Marvel Universe: Christopher Hastings (writer) Gurihiru (art). Marvel Behind the Scenes: Nick Kocher (writer) Brian Churilla (art) Chris O'Halloran (colours). Love Can Be Nuts: Ryan North (writer) Erica Henderson (art). The Not Next Issue Page: Chip Zdarsky (writer & art). Forbush Man Returns parts 1 to 4: Jay Fosgitt (writer & art). The whole issue was lettered by VC's Clayton Cowles (letters).

 Batman #35 - Tom King (writer) Joelle Jones (art) Jordie Bellaire (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). "Rules of Engagement" concludes with a terrific sword fight between Catwoman/Selina and Talia, Batman's ex. The verbal repartee was great and just as great was the one between Damian and Dick. My question is "where the heck did Holly come from?". I hope that this family adventure theme continues because I really like having Selina, Damian, Dick and Alfred around.

 Maestros #2 - Steve Skroce (writer & art) Dave Stewart (colours) Fonografiks (letters). This is a beautifully illustrated Game of Thrones and Wands with wizard warriors plotting against each other. There's a rekindled romance and a shocking twist that makes reading the next issue a must.

 Champions #14 - Mark Waid (writer) Humberto Ramos (pencils) Victor Olazaba (inks) Edgar Delgado (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). Worlds Collide part 4. He's no Blue Fairy but the High Evolutionary pulls a Pinocchio on Viv Vision and all seems lost. The heroes fight through but there's still a ways to go to prevent total destruction. We'll find out what happens when Avengers #674 hits the racks on December 6.

 Aquaman #30 - Dan Abnett (writer) Stjepan Sejic (art & colours) Steve Wands (letters). Atlantis Uprising. The revolution starts here. Orin joins the rebel forces and King Rath becomes more unhinged. Meanwhile, Mera is in deep water. I am enjoying this book again. You should give it a try.

 Mech Cadet Yu #4 - Greg Pak (writer) Takeshi Miyazawa (art) Triona Farrell (colours) Simon Bowland (letters). It's all-out action as the four cadets and their robos fight against giant alien crabs and orders from their superiors. The General is not pleased. Let's see what happens to keep them in their mechs and not get kicked out of the program.

 Deadpool vs. Old Man Logan #2 - Declan Shalvey (writer) Mike Henderson (art) Lee Loughridge (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). This issue tells us why the two heroes are teaming up. Makes sense. I like these straightforward good guys versus bad guy stories with witty repartee that don't tax the brain pan too much.

 Superman #35 - Patrick Gleason & Peter J. Tomasi (writers) Travis Moore, Stephen Segovia & Art Thibert (art) Danei Ribeiro (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). Hey, I thought Lex's armour was mostly green. The battle for the throne of Apokalips continues with Lois and Jon's lives still hanging in the balance. I still think that Lex will save the day in the end.

 American Gods #9 - Neil Gaiman (writer) P. Craig Russell (script & layouts) Scott Hampton (art & colours) Rick Parker (letters). This is like reading the novel again but better. The art enhances the story so much.

 Defenders #7 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) David Marquez (art) Justin Ponsor & Paul Mounts (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). This is the funniest comic book on the racks for the week. Yes even funnier than Not Brand Echh #14. Brian has a great sense of humour. I'm wondering now if all the great artists that he works with are also going to work for DC. That would be ideal for me because he really clicks with David Marquez and Sara Pichelli. The five page fight scene between Elektra and Iron Fist is the best I've ever seen. Just as good as watching Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon.

 Wonder Woman Conan #3 - Gail Simone (writer) Aaron Lopresti (pencils) Matt Ryan (inks) Wendy Broome (colours) Saida Temofonte (letters). Some sorcery is added to the swords this issue.

 Mighty Thor #701 - Jason Aaron (writer) James Harren (art) Dave Stewart (colours) VC's Joe Sabino (letters). I must have missed Mangog's origin story back when Jack Kirby first drew him but Jason recaps it very well here. Mangog isn't the only long unseen character to pop up. The Odinson's best buddy reappears too. This issue is one awesome battle. The visuals are so striking I could feel each punch. What a great fill-in by James Harren.

 Super Sons #10 - Peter J. Tomasi (writer) Jose Luis (art) Scott Hanna (inks) Hi-Fi (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). I like the contrast between Jon's youthful enthusiasm and Damian's grim cynicism. The three year age gap feels like decades but each one is subtly influencing the other. This issue sets it up so that the two lads will be spending even more time together learning how to be heroes. This is one of my favourite comic books on the racks right now.

 Amazing Spider-Man #791 - Dan Slott (writer) Stuart Immonen (pencils) Wade von Grawbadger (inks) Rain Beredo (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). I am enjoying this point in Peter Parker's life where things are going well for him. His relationship with Mockingbird is sweet and chaste. His new job is challenging. The super heroics aren't too over the top and he comes out a winner this issue. I know the good times won't last but I will feel good while it does. My fanboy crush on Bobbi Morse is even bigger now because of the way Stuart and Wade draw her. Sigh.

 Incredible Hulk #710 - Greg Pak (writer) Greg Land (pencils) Jay Leisten (inks) Frank D'Armata (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Return to Planet Hulk part 2. Hulk has to survive a gauntlet to save lives and he smashes admirably. It looks like next issue swipes scenes from the Thor Ragnarok movie. I am looking forward to that guest appearance.

 Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #297 - Chip Zdarsky (writer) Adam Kubert with Juan Frigeri (art) Jason Keith (colours) VC's Travis Lanham (letters). Totally different Peter Parker. Totally different life from Amazing. The two titles aren't even trying for continuity and that's okay. I just want to read a good story and this one where Peter and Spider-Man are being pursued by the authorities is a good one. Throw in recent revelations involving Jonah Jameson and this fan is anxious to see what happens next. According to the next issue tease T'Challa will come calling.

 Star Wars: Darth Vader #8 - Charles Soule (writer) Giuseppe Camuncoli (pencils) Daniele Orlandini (inks) David Curiel (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). We are witness to some Jedi rage this issue along with finding out what the stakes are for the good guys. Wondering what Vader is going to do keeps me coming back.

 Weapon X #11- Greg Pak & Fred Van Lente (writers) Marc Borstel & Ibraim Roberson (art) Frank D'Armata (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). The Hunt for Weapon H concludes. Will Hulkverine be a good guy or a bad guy? The jury is still out on that. I like this team and am enjoying their adventures so far.

 Spider-Men II #4 - Brian Michael Bendis (writer) Sara Pichelli (art) Elisabetta D'Amico (inking assistant) Justin Ponsor (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). Miles's search for his evil twin takes a terrible turn but he's got the Amazing Spider-Man helping out now. The two webslingers should be able to figure things out but you never know.

���{

[hentaihunblog-blog]

Best Anime Movies To Watch – OtakuKart

New Post has been published on https://hentaihun.com/blog/2017/12/12/best-anime-movies-to-watch-otakukart/

Best Anime Movies To Watch – OtakuKart

Looking for some Marvelous Anime movie? I have got you some astonishing hand-picked collection of the movie. Here is a list of  Top 10 Best Anime Movies You Must Watch.So without any further delay let’s start with our Top 10 Anime Movie List

Top 10 Best Anime Movies Of All Time

Patlabor: The Movie (1989)

Many of the films on this list are here because they’re landmark films for their directors, or that they move the art form of Japanese animation forward in meaningful ways. Patlabor is just a good-ass movie made by a bunch of talented people, including future Ghost in the Shell collaborators Mamoru Oshii and I.G Tatsunoko (the early name for the production company that would become Production I.G). Set in the distant future of 1999, Patlabor’s hardboiled sci-fi police procedural explores the connection between humanity and technology, and how we approach law enforcement in an age of automation. Also, this list would otherwise be sorely lacking in giant mech movies – this film has them in spades, and they fight a bunch. It’s pretty cool.

The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (2006)

Studio Ghibli commissioned director Mamoru Hosoda to make Howl’s Moving Castle, but sent him packing after rejecting his initial concepts. Hosoda then turned around and directed The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, an abounding and inventive dramedy that��s as entertaining as it is thought-provoking. Based on a novel by Yasutaka Tsutsui, the film follows high schooler Makoto Konno as she learns that she has the power to quite literally leap through time. First, she uses these powers to get good grades, but she quickly learns that her actions have consequences. It’s a wildly imaginative slice of life and marked the emergence of an important voice in animated films.

Your Name (2016)

Since the release of his first short film Voices of a Distant Star (which he wrote, directed, and animated by himself over seven months), Makoto Shinkai has been described by multiple critics as the next Hayao Miyazaki. With his most recent film Your Name. (yes, the period is part of the title), Shinkai finally steps out steps out of the shadows of the greats and finds his own voice. To describe it as a mere body-swapping film does it a great disservice, as it finds the humor and humanity in a situation where two young high schoolers find themselves in each others shoes and desperately want to find each other. But then, Shinkai pulls the rug out from under you halfway through and Your Name. turns into a different kind of film entirely.

Vampire Hunter D (1985)

Vampire Hunter D is often credited as being one of the first anime films specifically targeted for an older audience, and its success paved the way for many of the films on this list. It’s a slow, haunting burn that follows the titular, monosyllabic vampire hunter as he aids and protects a young woman from a demonic menace. Featuring the brooding character design of none other than Final Fantasy concept artist Yoshitaka Amano, Vampire Hunter D is the dark glimpse into the maturation of anime as a genuine theatrical art form.

Ninja Scroll (1993)

If Akira and Ghost in the Shell were the opening salvos for anime’s initial resurgence in the West as more than Saturday morning fodder, Ninja Scroll was the knockout punch. Releasing in the West around the same time as Ghost in the Shell, Ninja Scroll is a stylish, hyper-violent flurry of over-the-top battles and geysers of blood. Ex-ninja Jubei is coerced under threat of death by a Tokugawa spy to hunt down and defeat the Eight Devils of Kimon, each one with its own mystical set of powers. In an hour and a half, Jubei fights a dude whose skin can turn into stone, a naked snake lady, a guy who can melt into shadows, and a woman who plants gunpowder in people’s bodies and uses them as living time bombs.

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

Studio Ghibli is perhaps second only to Disney in terms of cultural relevance and worldwide recognition in animation, and Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is where it all started. It follows the eponymous young woman as she navigates a post-apocalyptic future where venturing outside small population centers means having to contend with giant insects and a deadly miasma. Here, you will see many of Ghibli’s themes on humanity, community, mortality, and environmentalism converge, accompanied by lush hand-drawn animation and swashbuckling action.

Perfect Blue (1997)

After working as an animator on other films, Satoshi Kon made his explosive directorial debut with Perfect Blue. It’s about a J-Pop idol who leaves behind a music career to pursue acting, and the further she dives into the role, the more reality and fiction begin to blur together. Kon’s signature style seems to spring forth fully realized from the first frame, his unique take on magical realism ensuring you never see the seams until he wants you to. Kon’s career was cut short due to pancreatic cancer, but his influence can be seen everywhere, including Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan and Christopher Nolan’s Inception.

Ghost in the Shell (1995)

Oshii’s adaptation of Masamune Shirow’s seminal graphic novel series is simultaneously one of the most influential and enigmatic anime films ever made. There’s definitely a plot here, as a team of armored police officers leads by Major Motoko Kusanagi attempt to hunt down a mysterious hacker known as the Puppet Master, but Ghost in the Shell is far more concerned with exploring the philosophical ramifications of its transhumanist themes than it is providing any sort of narrative payoff. It’s a strange one to watch, packing a lot of information and world-building into its brisk 82-minute runtime, but its length and structure allow for repeat viewings that are as rewarding as the first.

Spirited Away (2001)

If you want a good snapshot of Studio Ghibli’s history, first watch Nausicaa, then watch this one. Here is Miyazaki at the height of his craft, using advancements in animation technology to enhance but not overpower an Alice in a Wonderland-esque story filled to the brim with strange creatures and imaginative scenarios. It’s a coming of age story about a young girl who finds herself lost in a bathhouse for the spirits, interacting with an assortment of fantastical creatures as she attempts to rescue her parents. That Miyazaki still explores the consequences of the convergence of nature and technology shows how timeless and important these themes are.

Akira (1988)

Akira is a powerhouse of a film, every frame of animation exploding off the screen with kinetic energy and effortless style. It’s based off the first half of Otomo’s massive graphic novel series of the same name (the second half created after the film was completed, explaining the wild divergence in plotlines), following a group of delinquent teenagers in Neo-Tokyo decades after the end of World War 3. One of these boys, named Tetsuo, is abducted by a secretive government unit and experimented on, awakening his latent psychic abilities which quickly spiral out of control. What follows is a strange, gut-wrenching landmark of science-fiction, filled with rad bikes and an absurd amount of destruction.

Did you like this list.Comment your reaction after completing any one of these.Also if you want any list to be done by me feel free and lemme know, If you wanna get in touch with me on social media like Snapchat-Vibsz16 and Instagram you can follow me there ^_^

Top 10 Best Anime Antagonists And Their Quotes

A major and most part of a show’s appeal is the villain. Be they suave and sophisticated, or insane and genocidal, they’re always one of the more memorable aspects of a series. With this in mind, I have constructed a list of the Top 10 anime antagonists.

10.Future Rouge – Fairy Tail

Quote – The earth will crumble, the skies shall burn, and the flames of light shall be extinguished, for I am the Dragon King: the emperor born from the.Dragon King Festival!

9.Satou – Ajin

Quote- When I Play Games, I always play on hard mode.Because higher the difficulty….more fun it gets.

8.Neferpitou – Hunter X Hunter 2011

Quote- This person is important to someone who’s important to me.

7.Envy – Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood

Quote-uit your pathetic blubbering, you idiot! You were trying to kill one of our most important sacrifices. Do you understand me?! You could’ve messed up the entire plan! What would we have done then?! Huh?!

6.Vicious – Cowboy Bebop

Quote- I’m the only one who can keep you alive… And I’m the only one that can kill you.

5….

CONT READING…