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historyman101 · 3 years ago

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Fena: Pirate Princess First Impressions

I watched the 1-hour premiere on Toonami with my friends on Discord. After sleeping and having a chance to collect my thoughts, I have a few things to say about it, both positive and negative.

Toonami has fallen by the wayside for me in recent years as they did not have any anime that grabbed my interest. This is actually the first time I’ve watched Toonami in many months. Fena: Pirate Princess and Uzumaki, first announced back in 2020, caught my attention as potential shows to latch onto.

It’s obvious to me that Adult Swim is investing heavily in this anime’s success and I thought that was one reason why we had a 2-episode premiere on Saturday night. However, after watching, I realize that it was also strategic: the two episodes don’t really do much other than set up the main conflict going forward and introduce the core cast of characters. Episode 3 seems to be where the action kicks off.

I’ve noticed a lot of people compare Fena to One Piece, and while I can see why given the importance of pirates and the vaguely 18th-century world, but beyond that initial aesthetic, that’s where the similarities end. If I can compare this to anything, it reminds me more of Scrapped Princess or Yona of the Dawn, especially the pirate arc of that story. In fact, the anime hits a lot of the same beats from shows of the late ‘90s and early 2000s from the animation, character designs, and overall plot.

Fena: Pirate Princess follows the titular Fena Houtman, who escapes an arranged marriage to uncover the secret of her deceased father’s final mission and become an independent woman. She’s accompanied by a troupe of ninjas who are all sworn to protect her family. I will say that it’s a fun, clever way to put an end to the eternal ninjas vs. pirates debate and I can’t help but think the folks at Adult Swim had a hand in that.

Starting off with the positives, I’ll begin with the center of the story: Fena.

We’re only two episodes in and I already love Fena. She’s cute, funny, upbeat, and clearly has a wild, independent streak to her. That being said, some people may be a little chafed to see her largely being a distressed damsel for the majority of the first episode. However, that was never really a problem for me, as it’s obvious the anime is about her personal growth to being a take-charge woman. Her positive personality is also a good contrast for the world around her, since she starts off initially treated as an object to be bought and sold to the highest bidder. Fena’s introduction also serves as another positive for me in the series: the comedy.

I’ll be honest: I was rather taken aback to see the use of comedic slapstick in this anime when it looked to be billed as an action/adventure anime, but I never found it so overused that I started rolling my eyes. The comedic lighthearted moments weren’t too obtrusive for me to stop watching it, but it did catch me off-guard to see so much comedy in what I thought would be a serious show.

Speaking of disparate elements, there is some romance in this anime. The reason for this might be because of who’s directing the anime: Kazuto Nakazawa. In the runup to this anime’s premiere, Nakazawa cited one of his influences for Fena as shojo manga and it’s obvious that those elements are very present here, from the very first episode. And that wouldn’t necessarily bother me if Fena’s love interest wasn’t so cold and distant.

That brings me to my first criticism: Yukimaru.

I’m sorry, I just don’t like this guy. At one point I even called him “bargain bin Sasuke” in the stream and people immediately agreed with me. I get that he’s supposed to be this cool and aloof tsundere type who undergoes growth, but for someone who is supposed to be Fena’s oldest childhood friend, he treats her more as a nuisance than as someone to protect. For god’s sake, the first thing he does when they reunite is knock her out when she gets too chatty (a potential running gag that may turn off some viewers). I’m willing to give him a chance since we’re only two episodes in, but he still has a long way to go before he gets into my good graces.

Speaking of Yukimaru, the other problem I have is the other ninjas don’t really stand out to me in any meaningful way. Karin is the only one who I could potentially like as she’s portrayed as not only a gun afficionado and a gearhead (channeling some Winry Rockbell here) but I could also see her as a good friend and foil to Fena. The twins Kaede and Enju I see as either the funniest characters of the crew or the most annoying, depending on who you ask. Shitan is another cool hot guy that could provide grounds for a love triangle. Again, we’re only two episodes in, but if this starts going into shojo romance territory, I may be turned off. I can’t even really say anything about the others as they lack any kind of presence for me.

Let me circle around to another positive: the art direction. This anime looks visually striking and has some interested and varied locales so far. The island Fena escapes from reminds me a lot of sets from Pirates of the Caribbean. The entire island is covered in this purple light which gives it a foreboding air, especially in the red light districts. Fena’s room was packed with a lot of intricate details that tell me a lot of work went into the backgrounds and sets.

The animation is no slouch, either. All the action sequences are eye-catching, the opening and endings are gorgeous to look at, and even the comedic asides looks visually appealing. If nothing else, this anime is pretty to look at, which is to be expected from a studio of such high caliber as Production I.G. (Ghost in the Shell, Psycho-Pass, Haikyu!!).

My last criticism I have is the pacing of the show, which is rather breakneck and could cause some problems later if it continues at the current rate. Even the dialogue moves at a fast clip. I never felt like I got a chance to know all of the characters in this anime (except Fena) or understand the world. It might be because Jason DeMarco (VP of Toonami) has said this will only get more seasons if the first one does well in ratings, so they might just be going at the pace of a 1-cour anime to play it safe. However, I think that might work against the anime since there is only so much you can hope to accomplish in 13 episodes.

Overall, Fena Pirate Princess doesn’t get off to a perfect start, but it’s sure a fun ride along the way. Fena is a cute and endearing protagonist who has the potential to be more, the world is a visually beautiful and interesting blend of 18th century steampunk, and there are even some moments that will make you laugh out loud. The potential love story might turn out to be lacking and the pacing may be too fast for some, but I’ve learned to never say never and always give everything a fair chance.

Can’t wait to see Episode 3.

#fena: pirate princess #toonami #Adult Swim #anime #production i.g.#fena houtman #fena #yukimaru #japanese animation #anime review #first impressions #kaizoku oujo

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fandomofhappiness · 4 years ago

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Kim Possible Crossover! Milo Murphy’s Law

I created a small crossover MML with KP, because almost all the characters in both fandoms are incredibly gorgeous and I love them.

1. Melissa Possible and Milo Stoppable. I won't say that the characters are similar in character, but there are certain similarities: the amazing fighting spirit of Melissa and Kim, the destructiveness and friendliness of Ron and Milo. And one more thing: Milo, like Ron, has a pet friend who always saves the day!

2. Savannah and Dr. Block I believe that it was Savannah and Block who could perfectly fit both the characters and the traits of our beloved Disney villains Shego and Dr. Drakken. Both are formidable opponents of Melissa and Milo. In this crossover-au, I would make them more than just villains trying to conquer the world with weapons, oh no. Dr. Block would have a time machine that he and Savannah would use to travel through time in an attempt to interfere with the time stream. This would be the main problem of our protagonists.

3. Zack Okay, I think Zach would be just a great friend for the team Possible, like Monique is for Kim and Ron. And yes, the Pistachio Club. I'm very witty, thank you.

4. Dakota Fist Someone kill me if this isn't the funniest thing anyone could imagine. Okay, I really love the monkey-ninja concept that Monkey Fist used. I think Dakota came out quite menacing in this black suit, what do you think?

5. Duff Cavendish What to say? Cavendish could be the best villain golfer ever.

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journaloftomfooleryandjapery · 5 years ago

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All the TOP 10 OF THE DECADE posts made me want to make one of my own, so here’s my 10 fave games this decade:

Yakuza 0 Shovel Knight Nier Automata Metal Gear Rising Gunvolt Chronicles Luminous Avenger IX Final Fantasy XV Scott pilgrim vs the world the game Undertale Persona 5�� Doom

Danganronpa 2, New Vegas, Touhou Luna Nights, Katana Zero and Mario Odyssey all only barely missed out, and it was a tough decision not to include them. I loved the shit out of those games but thinking it through I decided they were just slightly less loved by me than the above.

Below the cut are some extended thoughts (of varying length) on the games included:

Just CTRL F if you wanna find a specific one

Yakuza 0

Every Yakuza game is delightful and this is definitely the best one, in my opinion. The Yakuza games appeal to me for a lot of reasons: the combat, the story, the variety of activities, the look of it all and the music. I feel like its a very unique game experience with its blend of weird in-depth side activities, serious crime drama, manly man masculine combat friendship melodrama, metal gear-esque convoluted conspiracies and a surprisingly compassionate view of the world it takes place in.

The combat is what drew me in initially because it just feels good, the feedback of stomping on a dudes face in yakuza is delivered perfectly, and the attacks are brutal, hard and flashy. Its a very solid and satisfying combat system and in 0 its the best it has ever been. The ability to switch between 3 different and equally fun fighting styles on the fly really lets you mix things up and adapt your approach, every style feels fun and useful. If i had to pick a favorite it would be slugger, but its a tough choice, and they are all very viable and FUN.

Yakuza 0 also gets big points for having the best story in the series. The protagonists feel much more interesting in this era, the fights feel more earned in this game than others, the relationships are incredibly touching (I’m almost mad majima didnt stay with makoto) and the substories (and some parts of the main story) are the funniest they’ve ever been. Stuff like the quasi-stealth mission where you have to make sure women don’t see you buying a porn magazine for a child, and the extended scene of kiryu trying to guess the right business manners for a meeting had me laughing so much i was i was almost in physical pain.

The extensive business and host club substories get you tons of extra game content and are good enough to almost be there own game. The other games in the series have extended side activites of varying quality, but i think 0 had a rare case of all of these being, basically, perfect. The team obviously agrees since host club management came back repeatedly, but never as good as it was here.

Being set in the 80s elevates almost everything in the game because of the outfits, money flying out of every enemy you attack, the classic sega games you can play at the arcade (Outrun is so much fun and I’d have never have given it a proper go otherwise) and the disco minigame everyones made a meme out of (that music is so catchy).

As a final note this game has the best boss fights and music in the series, which is a very high standard to surpass when you look at the rest of the series. The dual final boss fights, the recurring boss for kiryu and almost every majima fight are highlights of the entire series for me.

0 is going to end up being one of the few games I’ll never sell my copy of because i want it available for me to play forever, its a complete delight.

Shovel Knight

This game has been analysed to hell and back, so i wont have much original to say i suppose. Admittedly i did enjoy the first campaign but it didnt completely win me over, plague knights campaign and beyond was what really made this an all time greats for me. It’s one of very few games that gets the NES+SNES platforming appeal 100% right and essentially surpasses most games of the day, with almost perfect pacing, challenge and level design. IT helps that the whole world and story and look is charming as all hell. It’s an easy game to love and the more you play it the more that feels justified. Being PACKED with great content is also a plus. If you liked the first campaign you can just keep going through a set of campaigns about as good that only really rehash some level assets. I would say its one of the best 2D platformers ever for me, if not quite my true number 1.

ALSO JAKE KAUFMAN KNOCKS IT OUT THE PARK WITH THIS SOUNDTRACK

Since i have little else to add to the shovel knight discussion, here’s my ranking/thoughts on each campaign

Plague of shadows. BEST storyline, great levels with a really cool gameplay gimmick, the characters are all cute and the ending really makes me feel for him. both sorry for him at first and then a very real AAAAAAAWWWWWWWWW for LOVE

King of cards. king knight is just fun as hell to play as, he doesnt have that many tools but his movement is just crazy fun and i love the flair in all his animations. also has that rad final boss. joustus is ok i guess.

Shovel of hope. uuuuuuh what can i even say about this. its good, and the melancholy dream bits add a lot to the mood of the story. we’ve already analysed this campaign within an inch of its life i dont think i can say anything new. wish we could fight the battletoads on pc.

Specter of torment. still fun and i appreciate the tone change, but i didnt care as much for the characters and the mega man-esque level select doesnt suit shovel knight imo. specter knight has a lot of fun movement options though. mainly i just love GRINDING and the diagonal slash. i dont give a fuck about reize

Nier Automata

I feel a tiny bit ashamed i have so little to say about this considering it is one of the most emotional experiences i have ever had with a story. If i lsten to the final version of weight of the world i still cry just from remembering this game and how it made me feel. i think its one of the greatest narratives of the century but i can barely get across the appeal to anyone who hasnt already played it. its a story about hope, despair and the nature of the human race that never feels like its preachy or pretensious or taking on more than it can handle. it made me feel all kinds of emotions deeply and intensely, it genuinely made me burst into tears about 10 times, maybe more. even putting aside the ggrand narrative, theres so many cool character moments and bits of world building and visual eements and tragic little side stories that you would need a whole book to talk about them all while doing any real justice to them. i loved it so much that im paying £70 to see an orchestra do the soundtrack live. I want to hug and kiss 2b and 9s better. i just love it deeply and i find it hard to explain why it makes me feel that way, but its a dark beautiful and hopeful story where every moment feels earned. the despair of the story giving way to genuine hope with the rest of the world helping you fight for it is such an intensely emotional moment that you could never replicate outside of this kind of story and medium. how the fuck do i explain that to anyone that doesnt already get it. I’m glad this game exists

Metal Gear Rising

Well, complete tone shift here. Platinum made a lot of great action games in the last decade that all dig into that same itch for DODGE SLOW MOTION BANG BANG BANG alongside great soundtracks, visuals and awesome set piece moments. Just intense, flashy, awesome combat. Picking a favorite of the decade was the hard part, because a platinum game had to be one of my faves of the decade. The closest was transformers, but mgr has a couple of things about it that put it above the rest of the platinum catalog for me.

The story actually works very well at still being metal gear while in the platinum formula, its about the cycle of violence and FINDING YOUR OWN PURPOSE and it works weirdly well. The strangest part is that it feels like a legitimate sequel to metal gear 4 tonally while still being the crazy action game it is

Raiden is just super fun to play as, while I’ll always miss the DODGE SLOWMO in a platinum game parry and zandatsu give a great flow to fights and there’s real exhilaration to parrying a hard chain of attacks and tearing out a bunch of enemies spines at once every time

raiden is also just a fun protag, it truly allows me to embrace that kind of stereotypical edgy cool anime swordsman he embodies

BEST PLATINUM SOUNDTRACK DO NOT @ ME

Bosses just rule

one of the best final bosses ever, in my opinion? maybe that’s controversial, but armstrong gets an insane amount of characterization and pure PRESENCE out of such a small amount of screen time and the fact he feels like such a perfect rival to raiden so quickly is kind of nuts to me. within about half an hour you are ready for the ultimate final showdown with everything at stake, and then the gameplay 100% delivers on that with a fight that is challenging as hell and just feels climatic and intimidating. its a little thing, but having this dude just smack you around with his hands and almost no fighting skill after a game filled with crazy flippy cyborg ninjas makes him feel TOUGH and the way you finish him off? it just rocks, plain and simple. I don’t think i need to justify slices a massive dudes chest open and ripping out his giant still beating robot heart as the music climaxes and our cool edgy protag literally says WE’RE DONE HERE. truly, it has to be this way.

Gunvolt Chronicles Luminous Avenger IX

For fast twitchy 2d platformers this barely beat out Katana Zero and Touhou Luna Nights, but i think its just a little better. The skill ceiling on this game is high as hell and once you really get to grips with it, its an experience you cant find anywhere else. its just satisfying as hell to be able to get through the point where you can ZOOM through these levels by making use of copen’s dash and lock-on and weapons well enough. once you get good enough to get through a hole level without touching the ground, you just cant go back. I liked this enough to get an S rank on almost every level. this game just rules, man.

story, art and music are all great as well. but they pale in importance next to zippy jetpack zoom zoom fun time.

also great for having a cool twist that i genuinely did not see coming at all

Final Fantasy XV

For context, my experience of FFXV was not the base game so i cannot personally address the concerns of the version at launch, which i hear from others was a total mess! The game has been updated and changed so much that it is probably almost unrecognizable aside from the absolute base aspects of it. The version i am talking about is, as far as we know, the “final” version released right before Episode Ardyn. There was of course an update after this, but it only added DLC compatibility and a few items, so it means very little in the grand scheme. I also played all of the dlc and watched all the periphery material to get the full, messy disjointed experience. it is also worth noting that the only other FF game i have played is the classic title Mario Hoops 3 on 3 Basketball. I feel it important to tell you this before getting into things so that you can have a full idea of the perspective i come at the game from.

This was chosen over Mario Odyssey and someone will probably kill me for that. I just think its a great emotional story that does a fantastic job of making you care for all the characters, and the world feels massive and full of cool stuff to see. It’s my favorite open world game and i love The Boys. its not the kind of thing i usually play but i think it genuinely had a great story and its a very fun game to just explore and spend time in. ffxv truly understands the emotional bond between The Lads and it is fun to kill big monsters with your party

(they kinda ruin the last cutscene in english, in japanese he says I LOVE YOU GUYS and it makes me cry but in english he goes U GUYS ARE THE BEST which just isnt the same. a small nitpick though. a lot of this game made me cry regardless, its just great at creating an emotional bond)

I admire the insane level of ambition in the visuals and scope, and i bought every dlc for it because it was just that good. the ifrit boss fight and all the giant monsters are just amazingly epic in scale. the “found a cool rock” post is what i truly admire about this game summed up.

all the ancillary material for the game is great and worth getting into, with the exception of the Comrades multiplayer expansion. Everything else adds depth to the story and the world without being entirely necessary for you to get through the story. the anime and the dlc all really feel worth getting into without being something you have to see to get The Full Experience

the giant monsters are cool

Scott Pilgrim vs the World: The Game

Being from 2010 this game only just makes it in, but it was my favorite beat em up this decade and a source of great nostalgia for me. It had a pretty big impact on music and art tastes in regards to games, and in retrospect this games existence was very much a dream team scenario. Paul Robertson is a great sprite artist who does a lot of good work, Anamanaguchi have gone on to become one of my favorite bands (another winter is still one of their best tracks imo) and at the time this came out i was obsessed with scott pilgrim. That plus the beat em up gameplay makes this kind of a perfect blending of a lot of my specific tastes. Playing this brings me back to the time in my school life that i played it very distinctly, a more comfortable time in my life for sure, and i think the game still stands up excellently. I hope that someday it will get a rerelease so others can enjoy it. I give this another play through every year or so, but i wish id gotten the dlc while it was still available

Doom

ITS VIOLENT ITS FAST ITS FUN ITS METAL

i like this game because of the intense adrenaline rush and violent catharsis it gives me, essentially a constant dopamine rush

fun game good

Undertale

I’m glad i got to this before the massive wave of spoilers and popularity came about. It’s a great story with some fun gameplay, and i think SANS UNDERTALE was one of the best boss fights this decade. Its a shame that for so many new players this experience is going to be ruined by spoilers

Persona 5

Danganronpa 2 and fallout new vegas were close contenders for this last spot. I actually made a post about my thoughts on this game before https://journaloftomfooleryandjapery.tumblr.com/post/184341270554/nue-is-great-love-his-goofy-design-when-life-will but essentially

Essentially, its got a great cast of characters, a cool slick look, great monster designs, a fun gameplay loop of collecting monsters and grinding stats while waiting for the next big event, and a surprisingly good story

No idea if royal is any good, but its on a pretty small list of games that i might actually take the time to replay

#game thoughts

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himitsusentaiblog · 6 years ago

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Top 10 Season of Sentai Pleaseee

It has been a VERY long time since I have done a top ten list and it seems about time I do one.

That said, this is a VERY subjective Top 10 and if you asked my next week or even two days from now, it might change. I will not be including the currently airing series for it is not over yet and could totally screw up the ending and spoil the entire show. I totally doubt that, but it could.

So, without further ado here is:

MY TOP 10 FAVORITE SEASONS OF SUPER SENTAI

11. Hikounin Sentai Akibaranger

Ok, yeah, these guys don’t make the official Top 10 because they aren’t official but I love these geeky weirdos and their adventures so much. If Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger is tribute to 35 years of Super Sentai, Akibranger is a tribute to the fans who have loved the show and still love it no matter their ages.

Ok, now to the official list.

10. Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger

This series is here not just because it’s a ton of fun, has some great characters and was a radical departure from the Sentai series that came before it but because it’s American adaptation inspired me to hunt down the original source material. For a long time, the original Zyuranger was kind of a Holy Grail for my collection. Thanks to Shout Factory, it’s a grail that now has pride of place on my DVD shelf.

9. Taiyo Sentai Sun Vulcan

A fantastic series from the early days of the franchise, Sun Vulcan places so low on the list because it lacks a female member of the team. It makes the list though because of how inventive it was and for featuring Machiko Soga as one of the main villains. I have yet to watch the series before it (Denshi Sentai Denziman) due to lack of subs but seeing her here tempts me to dive into that precursor even raw.

8. Choshinsei Flashman

This series had a great premise and a devious plot device in having five children abducted from Earth, raised on alien planets and then return to defend their birth planet from invaders. The twist was that they could not remain on Earth because they had adapted to their alien adopted homes and staying on Earth would eventually kill them! It also featured one of my favorite tokusatsu actresses, Sayoko Hagiwara, as a catwoman villain.

7. Himitsu Sentai Goranger

The original from which all other Sentai series (and some other shows) descended. This is the origin point, the first of its kind and a truly special show. It may seem a bit primitive now but so would Homo Erectus compared to a modern man. You can trace a lot of the evolution of tokusatsu team shows back to them and their place in history will always be special. It helps that all of the characters were fun, the villains wild and ridiculous and action engaging.

6. Choujuu Sentai Liveman

Another great 1980s series and one that introduced the concept of starting with 3 heroes and adding more later. This show had one fantastic banger of a first episode, beginning with the utter annihilation of everything our heroes hold dear and forcing them to suit up and fight the enemy they feared was coming. The villains are great with one rat bastard of a main antagonist and the stakes never felt anything but high.

5. Samurai Sentai Shinkenger

The best show of the first decade of the 2000s, Shinkenger had everything I look for in Super Sentai. It has great characters, a tight plot, engaging villains and a fun theme. The only thing I knock off points for are the mecha, which were weird on their own and then an absolute disaster when combined.

4. Kagaku Sentai Dynaman

This show is just a blast. It has two of my favorite characters of all time (Rei Tachibana played by the previously mentioned Sayoko Hagiwara and the villainous Princess Chimera), great villains, neat mecha designs, a catchy theme and some of the funniest episodes of 1980s Sentai I have ever seen even without the American parody dub.

3. Gosei Sentai Dairanger

On the opposite end of thing we get probably the most tightly plotted, well-written and all around dramatic Sentai of the 1990s (maybe ever). There is very little that can be considered filler in Dairanger. Even the episodes that don’t deal with the main plot (or one of the hero’s side stories) are engaging and fun. This is one I cannot recommend enough now that it is available to purchase on DVD in the US.

2. Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger

A celebration of 35 years of Super Sentai, this show could easily have just been a nostalgia trip but instead we got an engaging series with some of the most lovable characters in franchise history. Yes, it had a lot of returning guests from previous series but it used the Anniversary to tell a good story that naturally wove the homages and cameos in amidst a greater narrative of a group of friends chasing their dreams. This is one I go back to time and again and have actually watched all the way through 4 times with different groups of friends and by myself.

1. Ninja Sentai Kakuranger

Anyone who knows me and follows my blog long enough learns that this is my favorite Super Sentai series of all time. Is it objectively the best? Probably not but it has my all time favorite tokusatsu character of Tsuruhime/Ninja White, great villains in the Yokai Army and some laugh our loud silly episodes. It was also the very first Super Sentai I got to watch in the original language back on raw VHS tapes rented from a local Japanese grocery store every few weeks. This one holds a very special place in my heart and for that reason it will always be my unassailable #1.

Ok, quick addition. If there was a real #11 it would be Ressha Sentai ToQger, that show makes me smile, the theme song always lifts my spirits and I adore those Precious Train Babies.

Or maybe they would be higher on the list…. GRRRRR, it’s so hard to rank my favorites!

Anyway, thanks for the question and I hope you enjoyed the list!

#Askbox Replies #Super sentai #Top 10 #1970s #1980s #1990s #2000s #2010s

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sambart93 · 6 years ago

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2019.03.20 and 22 Tsuki ni Hoero, Yoru wo Kogegase-kun Yo [Review]

I was highly anticipated the sequel to a stage I saw last year -- first stage’s review is here.

Official Website here Official Twitter here Press Coverage and Video 1, 2, 3, 4

CAST and CHARACTERS

Oguri Ryo as Byakki / Byakomaru Satake Uki as Mibu Sumika Maruyama Shogo as Gedomaru (Young) Hattori Takeo as Yumemaru Yamamoto Mayu as Suzuran Kadono Sho as Kagami Saizou Hanaoka Meika as Nadeshiko (Young) Iwasaki Koji as Yagara Keiji Harigaya Saori as Kohaku Sekiya Mayu as Yukikusa Kimura Yuryou as Kumasaka Gyouki Aina as Hikime Shouji Masato as Takagai Eiji Nishimura Misaki as Tsubaki Tanaka Hiroki as Sayo / Tenkokumaru Mizuki Momoko as Nazuna Araki Miyu as Yukinashi Matsuda Misato as Fuji Oobaya Chieri as Kaki Tsubata Maruyama Raiden as Gedomaru (Old) Ogura Erika as Ayame Ishiibe Yuichi as Mibu Taigoku Takeda Tomohiro as Sunayama Ukon Ensemble: Umeda Shohei, Oda Shunpei, Uruhata Mirai, and Soga Kaoru

NON-SPOILER REVIEW

Overall: Unfortunately my gut instinct that I got before the show started, turned out to be true: This didn’t live up to past ASSH stages, and this is the first ASSH stage that I’ve been somewhat disappointed in them. This play is still very good: great acting, great characters; the stage, the costumes, the music are all beautiful; and the comedy is very good and had a lot of the audience laughing really loudly.... I was especially in love with the background of the stage this time around, and I thoroughly enjoyed the falling cherry blossom petals that we got throughout the play too. One of my favourite scenes is a ‘in the river/lake’ scene; the sound work during that scene was great. And I also loved the Ryo vs Sho fight scene too! BUT the story didn’t have anything new or surprising. I felt the character introductions were too long (it’s something we’ve seen a billion times, no need to explain who’s fighting against each other etc.), and that they were trying to fit in too many story lines -- There are like 6 or 7 storylines in this and at least 2 of them have nothing to do with one another. Upon my second rewatch, you could’ve easy cut out the 3 - 5 characters who were part of this Women’s Only Fight Club, and that would’ve made the story stronger and would’ve cut the play down by about 20 - 30 minutes (the play is 2 hours and 25 minutes!) -- which we could’ve used to develop other character’s relationships. A thing I can’t blame them for is, I went on Shonichi (the very first performance) so of course it’s not going to look or be perfect. But in the first show, their fight scenes and choreography was very slow. But luckily at the Friday night show, their movements were much more refined and the speed was up and I could really appreciate some moments. Personally, this stage would’ve flourished more if they’d either: A. cut a storyline out, OR B. cut out about 2-3 characters, OR C. cut the introductions down, in order to make it a tighter show. I’m still hoping for a third stage though but it would be nice to have Sayo/Tenkokumaru as the main this time and not as the Storyteller as he has been the past 2 times. Rating: 6/10

SPOILER REVIEW

STORY:

So we follow Gedomaru and the Young Boy around on their travels when they end up at a village where someone recognises Gedomaru. Soon, they are ambushed by a group of girls who claim that Gedo is the reason for their mother's death and that they are out to avenge them. All the while, the Young Boy is curious as to how he and his father met, so Gedo recites how. Soon enough Gedo realises that the group of girls' mothers had a part to play in that part of his history and the stories begin to entwine.

The backdrop to Gedo and Byakko's meeting is in the middle of two warring states (which are coloured Green and Orange). But in order to create peace, one side, Green, sends their daughter to be married to the other, but the other side (Orange) had other mischievous plans in mind.

COMMENTS

☆ I absolutely adored the background this time around. They made it look like the starry sky and had lots of glitter on it! It was so beautiful!

☆ I also loved what they did with the lighting! Depending on which side of the war we were on, the lights were either more green/blue, or more orange/red.

☆ The sound was great too! There is a scene where two characters are in a river and the timing of their movements with accurate water sounds were perfect! The music itself was great! Some tracks I could recall being in the first play too so it felt very familiar and nostalgic at times, especially some of the fighting and high tension(?) songs/tracks.

☆ Once again, Oguri (along with Sho this time) did the choreography for the fighting scenes! You could tell they were the more skilled ones, because the fight between them two (compared to everyone else') was so tense and so high speed and their movements were much more fluid. I really enjoyed one specific move Hiroki did too. It was when the Girl Gang attacks them and he does this move where, in order to stop/block the person behind him, the wings his sword around and behind him without even looking where his target is! And I thought it was hella cool. I also really enjoyed the choreography with the two Ninjas, they had lots of high kicks, lots of slides, lots of cartwheels etc. which I enjoyed watching (as an ex-gymnast myself).

But I will say, on the first day, all the fight scenes were very slow. You could tell it was their first performance, because there were a lot of minor slip ups, and it wasn't perfect, and it looked very, very clunky and slow. But on my second viewing (which was the 5th show), they had drastically improved and I could see how fast and how comfortable they had gotten with the fights.

☆ Of course I thoroughly enjoyed the acting! There were some moments and some characters that really stood out.

☆ BUT, and this is a big butt, I didn't really enjoy the antagonist this time around. I don't know why but I found the bad guy very 1D and very bland. I don't even have a specific reason why. But he felt very much like an after thought; it felt like he was put in at the last minute because 'damn we need a big bad guy'. I'm not sure how to describe it. But, let me tell you his arc: So he's on one side of the warring states, the Orange side, and he's very much ready to fight and battle with the other side til one of them is standing. But agrees to take their sister and 'marry her'. But as soon as she's in his hands, he holds her hostage and eventually kills her. He then starts a big battle against the other side. But when his henchmen go against him, he doesn't hesitate to kill them, even though he was having a sexual relationship with one of them. To stop him advancing, the Greens and Byakki team up and defeat him. His arc and his story takes up like 10% of the entire play. He's killed off about 30 - 40 minutes before the end (or at least felt like that) so.... I don't really understand WHY he was chosen as the 'antagonist'. This play could've very easily stood well on it's own without him. We could've cut his stage appearance out completely and just had people discussing him and it would've had the same amount of impact. Maybe I missed something but I personally didn't find him compelling or interesting. In fact, I was more interested in his daughter's story.

☆ His daughter, Sumika, has ran away and gone into hiding because she holds the power of seeing the future when she sleeps. She believes she's cursed, and because of her power, she believes she's to blame for everything bad that has happened and now she's on the run, because both her father and the Greens are trying to find and capture her (for different reasons). She finds Byakki via one of her dreams and manages to track him down; she begs Byakki to kill her. But he refuses, twice. Her journey is basically questions why she was born, why she has these powers, and finding solace in Byakki who has also been ostracised for his 'abnormality'. I loved her and Byakki's relationship! And there's a scene where the Ninjas track her down and Byakki defends her, but once he's taken too many blows, she gets in the middle of them and yells 'he's not a monster! He's a human just like us!' and it really hit me in the feels.

☆ Another character I thoroughly enjoyed was Nadeshiko. She was played by Hanaoka (and if you remember, I absolutely loved her in Zigoma!) who is just one of the funniest women I know. Her comedy and the way she delivers her comedy is always so spot on and so well done! She has the perfect balance of being cutesy-funny and then switching to a 'deep-voice' funny. She's also not afraid to make fun of herself or her fellow actors. She had some GOLD comedy moments in this.

☆ There was a cast change with Young Gedomaru... I have to admit, I was not happy the first time around. I felt like there was a complete change in his personality compared to the first version we saw of him. But then I saw how much laughter he was getting from the audience and how much the audience accepted him. Also this is set before the events of the first stage so of course he'd be a bit less mature, and more child-like and would have a more happy, positive view on things, so then I came around to this new Gedomaru and I just enjoyed his upon my second viewing. He is very funny and is another main source, besides Nadeshiko, of the audience's laughter and the comedy. He falls in love with Sumika straight away and vows to protect her. Also his stubbornness of wanting to win against Byakki so much. It's both admirable and stupid at the same time, and Byakki feels the same. But fighting against each other is what tightens and strengthens their relationship.

☆ Sumika was really cute. I loved how quiet and how pleasant she was. But she was also going through a tough time and kept it to herself which proved how strong she was. She was also determined about dying while also showing how vulnerable and scared she was which was beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed her relationship with Byakki too. BUT I really wish we'd removed a character or a storyline or two so we could've expanded other scenes and relationships like this one. I would've loved an extra 20 or so minutes with Sumika and Byakki building a relationship, because it felt very much like: They met -> he protects her in a fight or two -> crying and super sad because he has to kill her -> End. It felt very rushed and I couldn't get emotional about the scene at all! So I would've appreciated it more and would've been more invested if we'd actually spent time to develop their relationship and feelings.

ALSO! The entire show I was like: Yo is this Young Boy's mother?! Are we finally finding out who she is?! But alas, she dies in the end so we're still left wondering who tf his mother is!! Grrrrr. We better be getting a third stage to finally answer that god damn question!

☆ Also on the topic of Young Boy and Hiroki; I was so pissed he was playing the story telling again! He was barely in the stage because he was only needed when we were in the present or hoovering over some of the past scenes. COME ON! GIVE HIM THE LEAD ROLE HE DESERVES! I was disappointed we got him as the Story Teller again -__-

☆ In this we got to meet Gedomaru's older brother! Who is a priest at a temple. I loved how much obvious love he had for his brother, but also allowed his brother to grow independently and learn from his mistakes. I thoroughly adored the last scene with him where he tells Gedo that he's going back to the temple and accepts that Gedo will be going off with Byakki, and his last line is something like 'you know you can always come back to your home at the temple' which was really sweet. But now there's the mystery as to what happened to his brother, because in the present Young Boy asks 'how's your brother now?' and Gedo replies very vaguely like 'it's best if we don't meet again.' so I'm like super suspicious! What happened to his brother?! I hope he gets killed and Gedo goes on a manic revenge spree or something that Byakki has to save him from! Ohhhh that'd be good!!

☆ Towards the end of the play, we get sakura / cherry blossom petals falling down from the ceiling and oh my did it look beautiful! It was such a beautiful touch and I am so glad they added it into the stage because it's so emotionally and visually beautiful! I know it's such a simple thing and it IS used in so many stages, but every time, I can't not appreciate it!!

Now I want to get into the negatives in detail for a moment.

☆ For me this was their weakest stage so far. I've always been so impressed with their stages, and I had a feeling this one wouldn't quite hack it, and unfortunately, I was right.

☆ For me, I didn't find anything surprising or new in this stage. I am so used to ASSH taking a simple story and just having them put in such surprises that my mind is blown by the end of the story. But I feel they played it very safe in this one. There were no surprises, and nothing new. Also ASSH are known to be brutal with their killing off of characters but no one major died. No one's death was really that surprising or emotionally hurt.

I will admit that Sumika's death was impressive but that was all thanks to the actress' skills. She first gets her ear cut off and her scream during that moment is just pure gold and absolutely amazing voice and physical acting! But in terms of WHO died, there were no high stakes at all. Like ASSH have killed of WHOLE casts before!! Now that's theatre! That's drama! That's WOW! But this one was just ... safe.

☆ I also felt that even though the story was very stereotypical: two warring states/kingdoms and their daughters getting caught up in the shit shit, yet I spent we OVER-spent time introducing the war and who was on who's side. I seriously think you could've completely cut out the two leaders and just had his underlings talking about him. I felt the presence of the two big leaders were unnecessary and you could've easily just had them AS spoken characters -- I hope you understand what I mean: they could've just been talked ABOUT rather than actually getting actors and having them physically onstage.

☆ They also spent a whole scene dedicated to the three Girl Gang members and explaining their tragic past and why they joined this group. You could've cut out both of these parts.

☆ There were also too many story lines. Let me break down the groups and relationships:

Present Day:

(1) Old Gedo with Young Boy, eventually Old Nadeshiko joining. (2) Girl Gang: out for Revenge on Gedo because of what happened to their mothers.

Past Day:

(1) Orange Clan: We have the Leader who's marrying Green's girl but ultimately wanting to battle, and absolutely hates his daughter and trying to track her down thanks to his ninja henchmen. His henchmen are slowly questioning their leader's leadership, sanity and motives. (2) Green Clan: Just wants a peaceful land, sends daughter to marry Orange so they can have a peaceful, political agreement. After the daughter gets killed, they try and find Sumika for either help or entrapment. (3) Girl Gang (4) Nadeshiko and Sumika on the run and trying to find Byakki. (5) Byakumaru bumping into Gedo, becoming spar buddies and eventually friends. (6) Gedo and his brother: Out on their travels and find Byakki and won't leave until Gedo defeats Byakki. (7) Sumika and Byakki: After finding Byakki, she really wants him to kill her so her powers can stop. (8) Gedo falls for Sumika at first sight and now sees Byakki as a love and fighting rival.

As you can see... there is just too much. This stage/story would've benefited if they had either: cut 2 or 3 characters out, OR cut one story line out completely. Upon my second watch, I realised that there is literally NO POINT to the Girl Gang at all (besides gender equality and girls can fight too and being a conflict to present Gedo), so I think they should've cut them characters out completely. Also physically cutting out the two leaders and having them only in the dialogue would've saved a lot of time too.

☆ This play is 2 hours 35 minutes long. If they had cut out the parts I wanted, this could've been under 2 hours. AND if they really wanted, they could've used that extra time to actually DEVELOP relationships between the remaining characters. I have no problem giving that time to Gedo and Byakki, or Byakki and Sumika! We need their development in this story in all honesty! And thinking about it, to say Byakki is the same character, he's in it almost a little as Young Boy is! He's barely in the stage compared to some many other characters.

☆ Also I went there for Hiroki and his has the smallest part... again! He's playing the story teller... again! So of course my bias heart is sad about this! I really thought we were going to get HIS story this time around! I really thought we were going to find out who his mother was this time around! But alas, this stage was set in the past and he's just a bystander again *cries* I really hope we get a third stage and that he's main next time!

Don't get me wrong, this is still a solid play, with amazing acting and lots of great characters. Also it has a lot of charm, a lot of amazing scene and nice moments, some great lines, some very funny parts. However, this was just their weakest one for me. 'Safe' is definitely the word to describe this play. I am still hopeful and wanting a third stage! But seriously, if the next stage is not about Hiroki and his mother, I swear to god! xD Anyway, thanks for reading as usual!

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seouldynasty · 7 years ago

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Ryujehong All Access Pass AMA 2018

Translation by Danny Lim | Transcript by @nyoomyatta on Twitter

Q: What was it like meeting and playing with Jjonak, someone who apparently considers you a role model and Inspiration? RJH: I actually knew Jjonak thought of me as his role model before the season started- and it was really great to just play with him and go against him even though he's in a different team, it was just great seeing someone as talented as Jjonak considers me as a role model. Jehong to Jjonak: Jjonak, you're playing well, so just keep playing well- so lets see for how we do with Winston as well.”

Q: When switching from support to main tank, what gameplay aspect did you find the most difficult? RJH: There's nothing that's too difficult from changing from Support to tank. Q: So what's a good thing about this change? RJH: One of the good things about being a MT, is that I can actually initiate and do more stuff in the frontline.

Q: What is your favourite thing to do outside the OWL? RJH: Other than playing games, I just sleep in. Q: What's your maximum sleeping time? RJH: I can't sleep for more than 10 hours

Q: Your best tips to Quickscope Ana? RJH: I think this the case for anything with games, just putting the practice time. Just practicing with Ana is the best way to improve your quickscoping skills.

Q: What separates good support players from GREAT support players? RJH: You have to be mentally ready for anything- you have to have a strong mentality - makes or breaks being a great support player.

Q: As you have a long history in Overwatch eSport, What is your favourite memory? RJH: The most memorable thing I remember was when I participating in APEX S2 when we got the winning 1st place title match.

Q: What advice would you give to improve my Zenyatta? RJH: Think about each gameplay- I'm not sure which direction you wanna improve your play- in a general sense,think about certain situations about how you can help your teammates or help the game as Zen.

Q: What’s your favourite American Food so far? RJH: Popeyes - I love the chicken and the burgers are really great to- so Popeyes would be my go to place.

Q: What tips do you have for an Ana v Brigitte Matchup? RJH: Honestly? If its 1on1- there's no tips because Brigitte is going to win.

Q: What is a key aspect of leadership and how do you utilize it to lead your team? RJH: There's a lot of ways where a good leader can lead their team- but for me the most important thing as a leader is being friendly- it’s is your connection and friendship with your teammates. That’s one of the things that I truly focus on to get close to my teammates to listen to their concerns and everything and I use that to be a good leader for Seoul Dynasty.

Q: What do you miss most about being away from home for so long? RJH: I miss home the most whenever I think about my parents, it’s been quite a time since I haven’t met them - and they’re still in Korea. So whenever I think of my parents, I want to go home.

Q: Why did you choose to use your real name as your player handle when most pro players choose an alias? RJH: In eSports/everywhere else online others make up a nickname use an alias for their IGN but I wanted to use my real name so I could be known to people. I just wanted everyone to know that it’s me.

Q: What sensitivity do you play on and do you rec higher or lower sens for performance? RJH: My sensitivity is set so I'm comfy to play games with it...As for overwatch, I recommend a higher sensitivity. As for me, I play on a lower sensitivity because I’m used to playing on it. If I move to a higher sensitivity, I feel my accuracy isn’t as good.

Q: Do you listen to K-Pop? If so, who is your favourite group(s)? RJH: I actually really like Black Pink - Playing with Fire (Clip of this question - Danny tries to get Jehong to sing along)

Q: Who do you think the funniest player on your team or in the Overwatch League is? RJH: Gido Q: Why? RJH: I’d have to go with him - there are certain reasons why I can’t say why now- but he’s the funniest person in the Overwatch League

Q: Who was the hero you played/mained initially? - how has that changed as time has passed? RJH: So when Overwatch first started, I actually went with McCree. I had to change my main- instead of DPS I had to go with a tank hero, I went with Zarya.

Q: What is your worst character to play and what's your favourite? RJH: My worst character to play has to be Genji. But my favourite character to play is… Genji. I feel like I like Genji because he can do a lot of stuff- and because he’s a ninja, he can climb and do a lot of stuff.

Q: Does it mean a lot to you to be in the leadership for your team? RJH: I feel like leadership does have a lot of meaning to me- I like taking care of people- even in my play style, even for my teammates- I like playing games to gear towards my teammates needs and fulfilling that role.

Q: What sort of Fashion DO you Like? RJH: I'm not into fashion, or clothes in general- so.... I would have to choose our team jersey and sweatpants.

Q: What’s your favourite Dessert Food? RJH: Ice cream! Q: Favourite type? RJH: Bumta

Last Words from Jehong: “Thank you for all our fans who kept supporting us- and even for today’s gameplay (against SFS), we didn’t have the ultimate result, but I just want to say we’re really trying our best so please keep supporting us and loving us and thank you so much for tuning in.”

Other Seoul Dynasty / Ryujehong Q&As

1. Seoul Dynasty - Ryujehong Interview by Overwatch Score

2. Seoul Dynasty Viewing Party Live Video Call AMA - translated by @gatamchun on Twitter

3. Ryujehong Sudden Q&A Session (In Stream)

4. Ryujehong AMA (OWL) - 18052018

5. Seoul Dynasty ryujehong: "I believe my team's realistic goal is making it to playoffs." by Inven Global

#owl2018 #overwatch league #Seoul Dynasty #ryujehong #jehong #links #official #original content #AMA

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crystalelemental · 6 years ago

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You know, talking even briefly about how I don’t care much for the Gen 5 starters has resulted in me wanting to share my opinions about starter Pokemon as a whole. Like, what I think of each of their evolutionary lines. So let’s do that. Not really a ranking or anything, just my opinions on each.

BULBASAUR LINE Bulbasaur’s evolution line is great, fight me. They’re little dinosaur creatures with a giant flower that blooms on its back as it evolves, how is that not cool? Grass/Poison was super redundant in Gen 1, putting it into conflict with every other grass type bar Tangela, but nowadays it’s...slightly less common of a typing? Okay, it’s pretty standard. But I really like the concept behind them. Also, I can’t remember where I saw this, but someone insulted Venusaur’s design and I want you to know I’m judging.

CHARMANDER LINE Okay, Charmander? Super cute, love the little lizard creature. Charmeleon? Okay, bigger and angrier, kind of a thing with Pokemon as they evolve. Charizard? The most stock-standard “dragon” you can imagine. It’s literally just a Dragon. Had they not been cowards about the typing back then, it probably would be Fire/Dragon. But no, Fire/Flying. I really don’t like Charizard. It’s so standard and yet it’s held up as one of the best Pokemon designs, and for what? For being a standard, boring-ass dragon. Listen kids, dragons are boring, and we need to get over them.

SQUIRTLE LINE Squirtle itself is just adorable. I love this thing so much, it’s honestly becoming my favorite of the gen 1 starters, even over Bulbasaur who I adore. I’ve heard others mention that Wartortle is kinda underwhelming, but really, it’s not worse than Charmeleon or Ivysaur, and they’re just fine, so I think those people are just mean. As for Blastoise itself, it’s a cool concept, though you do have to wonder how it got metallic cannons coming out of its shell. Really doesn’t make much biological sense at all, which proves once again that anything that genwunners complain about Gen 5 being stupid for, Gen 1 did it too. Overall great, probably turning into my favorite of the evolution lines.

CHIKORITA LINE Okay, I really like this evolution line, but for contrarian reasons. Chikorita is not the cutest of the starters in Gen 2. Cyndaquil is. Its concept of having a giant flower around its neck isn’t bad, but Venusaur’s just a little more interesting in concept. But ultimately, I still really like this line. Because it’s the worst starter line from a competitive standpoint. It’s so bad it’s hard to use even in the main game. This poor thing deserves love, and if you hate on them, you are a bad person.

CYNDAQUIL LINE Okay, real talk: Cyndaquil was my go-to as a kid. It’s so cute! It’s such a cool concept, too. The evolution line is a little stale, though? I know the other starters aren’t exactly much better, but it really feels like it’s just slowly elongating with no substantial differences between the forms. Also, mono-Fire feels like a huge waste on such a cool concept. Like, imagine if this thing got a secondary Electric or Ground type or something. Yes, horrific 4x weaknesses, I understand that, but counterpoint: it’d be cool. And that’s really what matters. Not like Typhlosion’s exact copy of Charizard’s stats did it any favors to begin with. Still, this line is probably my favorite of the generation for one, singular reason. It’s not a reptile. Every other starter up to this point was some kind of reptile! Gen 1 had this whole dinosaur motif going on, and Chikorita’s basically a dinosaur thing while Totodile is an alligator...crocodile...thing. Thank you, Cyndaquil, for being the most unique animal type of the starters. Even if your evolution path is kinda boring.

TOTODILE LINE Totodile’s line is...interesting. It starts out as a cute little critter, and as many evolutions do, becomes a huge hulking monstrosity in its final form. Feraligatr is pretty cool, and I do think it’s interesting how it’s the lowest level for final evolution of all starters. That was a neat trade-off. But man, Croconaw’s design just looks...odd. It’s probably supposed to be like an egg pattern, but it really looks like a weird caveman cloth print, and it doesn’t look great. It’s like an awkward teen years before getting to be a fairly cool adult.

TREECKO LINE Treecko was always my least favorite of the Gen 3 starter lines, and I never really knew quite why I was so lukewarm about it. Spoilers, I adore the other two, but Treecko never really stood out. I think my comments on Cyndaquil gave me a realization as to why: it’s another reptile creature. It’s a cool-looking evolution line, but it’s still a reptile. And I’m about reptiled out. Still, we have to admit that Grovyle is super cool, both because of its sleek design, and its role in Explorers of Sky.

TORCHIC LINE Prior to Gen 6 producing the greatest starter of all time, Torchic was my stated favorite. Listen, Fire/Fighting was a cool typing back when it happened the first time. It wasn’t until it kept happening that everyone got sick of it forever. A kickboxing chicken is also just about the funniest way to go with the typing, too. You can’t deny how imaginative this line is. Plus, the first form is super adorable. Tiny little chicken, doing its best. I love it so... And its final form looks nice, too. Really, the designs of Gen 3 were all spectacular.

MUDKIP LINE Mudkip was the one that gave Torchic a run for its money. Mudkip itself is super adorable and precious, and while it and all its evolutions can look a little dopey, they have a lot of charm in their design. Plus, Water/Ground is an awesome typing. Quagsire did it first, yes, but that didn’t make it any less cool.

TURTWIG LINE Believe it or not, I don’t have very strong opinions about most of the Gen 4 starters. Like Gen 5, I feel like none of them stuck with me that strongly, and any playthrough of the game, I’m perfectly fine dumping the starter. That said, if I had to pick a favorite of them, it’s Turtwig. I guess I just like turtles. It’s mostly the concept behind its final form that I love. It carries a giant tree on its back, and packs a fairly unique Grass/Ground typing.

CHIMCHAR LINE And now the exact opposite. From day 1, I never liked Chimchar. First off, I do not like monkeys. I just don’t. Secondly, Infernape stole the exact same typing as Blaziken, which is not only shitty, but also really boring. Every other starter so far has been fairly unique in typing choices, and this asshole is gonna just do the exact same thing as last gen? Oh, I’m sorry, it gets to be way faster but a bit less strong but still really strong. Fuck Infernape.

PIPLUP LINE Piplup is cute, though. And having its final form be some emperor penguin that’s apparently made of steel is awesome. Torterra is the favorite from this gen, but man, Empoleon had such a cool typing it was hard to not consider it the most interesting.

SNIVY LINE Snivy’s alright. It had a solid design, and I can understand why Smugleaf caught on as the fan favorite. That said, that’s kinda all it’s got. Serperior is plain boring, and it’s the only Grass starter not to get Earthquake for coverage at any point. The only thing to its name is Contrary, and somehow it’s on its way to being the highest competitively ranked Grass starter, even above Mega Venusaur. Which just goes to show that competitive Pokemon is broken beyond all repair and we should probably torch it all and start over.

TEPIG LINE I can’t believe they gave us three Fire/Fighting types in a row. I’m gonna say it: if Emboar had gotten literally any other typing, it’d be my favorite of this gen. Not even a contest, really. Emboar looks cool, and Tepig is adorable. Sure, Pignite is...a little awkward of a design, but that’s fine, it stood up. It’s not lying to me unlike some middle stage fire starters I could mention. But the fact that it’s part Fighting means it’s a huge disappointment.

OSHAWOTT LINE Oh wait, except Oshawott is also a huge disappointment. An adorable little otter to a cool samurai otter, to whatever the hell is going on with Samurott. “Steve, it can stand on its back legs and has the sword thing so-” no. No it does not. You know why? Because it’s not drawn like that. If you wanted to keep the samurai thing going, it’d be drawn and displayed as bipedal. Instead, you gave us water horse, whose special attack is higher than its physical attack. This should’ve been the favorite of the generation, but that final form does not look good, does not make sense for the line, and is mono-Water. Not even a dual typing to keep things interesting? Sad. So I guess I don’t have a favorite of Gen 5 starters. Because none of them are consistently good.

CHESPIN LINE Gen 6 did many things wrong. Starters were not one of them. Chespin is adorable and wonderful. People made fun of Quilladin, but really, it’s the same deal as Pignite: it looks a little awkward but ends on a high note. Chesnaught looks great, and the paladin concept is great, giving it a lot of good support moves and a Grass/Fighting type that is never really good but is interesting. I like it a lot, but it’s massively overshadowed by...

FENNEKIN LINE Behold, the greatest starter line ever made. They gave me a fox! A Fire/Psychic fox! Do you know how long I had waited? Literally since Ninetales. Fennekin is adorable, Braixen is the sassiest thing ever I love it, and Delphox is still an excellent witch design. If there is any flaw this line could possibly have, it’s that Braixen should have the Psychic typing and access to some of the tech Delphox does. Oh, and that the evolution line is competitive trash and has gotten literally nothing of value while a certain bastard-ass frog gets like 12 different favors over nothing.

FROAKIE LINE This is the worst starter line of all time. Froakie itself was fine. The idea of going ninja-theme on the frogs? Fine. I don’t care about ninjas at all, but fine. That should’ve been the end of it. But no. It could’ve been just as simple as “not my preference” and move on. And it should be. But instead, they give it Protean, one of the most broken abilities in the series, on top of its blistering speed. Hell, in ORAS, they gave it Gunk Shot, which rounded its coverage so perfectly it got banned to fucking Ubers. So obviously, we went too far, right? Time to dial it back. Haha, idiot. In the change to Gen 7, they give its multi-hit priority move a special designation instead of physical, because god forbid this bougie-ass frog have to work for anything in its goddamned life. Oh, and we gave it a special snowflake form based on the anime, that gets like 50 more base stat points than a goddamned mega evolution. Because, again, god forbid this bougie frog have to work for a damned thing in its life. I thought it was blatant favoritism that Charizard got two megas. I thought it couldn’t get any more obvious who their favorite starter was. I was a goddamned idiot. They could’ve gone way harder, and they did. Greninja deserves nothing but getting its ass nerfed into the ground where it belongs.

ROWLET LINE You know, I actually wish the Rowlet line was better than it is. Rowlet itself is cute, and while the final form’s design isn’t really my thing, the concept of it being an extinct bird and thus being part Ghost is...morbidly hilarious. It’s also an archer! That’s really neat! But...it’s not very good. I blame the speed. Why did they want to make everything so bulky offensive this gen? It didn’t work. Whatever their reason, it’s a nice enough evolution line that just doesn’t quite hit the mark for me.

LITTEN LINE Ooooh boy, okay. Look. Litten’s super cute. Torracat? I can work with that. But Incineroar... Oh my god it looks so weird. I don’t know what it is. I think it’s similar to Bewear, in that it really just looks like someone’s fursona, only instead of being a really bad and lazy fursona with no personality, it’s a surprisingly high-quality one with a backstory about being a wrestler that’s simultaneously endearing but also concerning how much effort was put into it. I know it’s a fire-type thing to stand up in the final form, but maybe...you shouldn’t have. Maybe you should’ve been like Samurott. Actually, maybe the two of you should trade places! Samurott should stand its ass up, and you should sits yours down. Then everything would be fixed. Forever.

POPPLIO LINE Were it not for Fennekin being an adorable fox with the best typing, this would be my favorite evolution line. Popplio was cute. Maybe a little odd looking, but still cute. Brionne was one of the prettiest middle evolutions in starter history, and it ends on the most elegant thing in the world. Primarina is gorgeous, and I adore it. Much like Fennekin, if there’s any real detriment, it’s that the middle stage doesn’t get the secondary Fairy typing. Then it would truly be perfect.

#pokemon #starter pokemon #for anyone wondering my favorites by type #water has 2 #grass has 2 #technically grass has 1 but someone from gen 5 had to win #and fire has 3

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darringauthier · 7 years ago

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The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017)

Genre: Animation

Who’s Voices Are In It: Dave Franco, Jackie Chan, Justin Theroux, Fred Armisen

Who Directed It: Charlie Bean+Paul Fisher

Plot: Shunned by everyone for being the son of an evil warlord, a teenager seeks to defeat him with the help of his fellow ninjas.

Running Time: 1 Hour 41 Minutes

Rotten Tomatoes Score: Critics 55% Audiences 46%

Why I Watched It: Two main reasons, it was on sale at itunes for .99 cents and my oldest daughter(who’s 8) wanted to see it.

Random Thoughts: So Lego movies are their own thing now, I do like that every Lego Movie has to have Movie in the title. So this one started as a TV show but to be honest I hadn’t heard of it but since the Lego Movie and Lego Batman did well I guess they’re looking for more big screen material.

What I Liked: To be fair this seems like a lesser title, or I guess it feels a little slight. Ninjago seems less ambitious than their Movie or Batman and seems aimed at a much younger crowd more of a kid’s movie. I’m alright with that, you take a movie at their level and for me I had fun with it. The set up was fine, I liked the big theme of the father is the bad guy and the son is on a team that fights him and both really want to connect with the other. Not subtle but you see where they’re going with this and the humor works pretty well.

The standout n the voice cast is Justin Theroux, he makes a different bad guy but he’s the funniest character and he really milks the laughs. The character itself is a good comedy character and I think a better character than in the Lego Movie.

The animation is good not as good as the other Lego movies but I did like the colors and also the locations they use again I think the film is just silly fun and the animation worked at that level.

What I Didn’t Like: The characters are a little thin and even more so they’re pretty stock, the Jackie Chan character is so stock he’s boring, again they just did what they needed they weren’t aiming for the stars this left like a B-Movie.

The film is way too long at 1 hour 41 minutes they just didn’t have the story to fill the time and with that the story does drag, this movie is aimed at kids and they should have trimmed it down and made it much tighter of a story.

I think they missed an opportunity to do more with the Ninja team they pretty much just focused on the Dave Franco character, the other members really don’t standout, which is too bad cause they had some good voices to work with but they didn’t flesh them out enough, frankly they weren’t needed.

The Wraparound live action scenes they did in the film was also a little boring and they didn’t work as well as the Lego Movie, I kind of wished they didn’t do they same thing, do something different so this stands on it’s own.

Final Thoughts: I liked it, it’s not great but I had fun with it now both my daughters didn’t like it, my 8 year old thought it was boring and my 6 year old stopped watching it about a third of the way in.

Rating: 6/10

#movie reviews #the lego ninjago movie

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captainrandomstranger18 · 4 years ago

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My dearest Captain,

I would love to hear your ghost story, if you are willing!

1. I’d like to go to another country at some point. My sibling and I are the only people on my mom’s side who haven’t been overseas yet

2. A star

3. I’m pretty fond of brownies at the moment

4. Yes, there was a huge one last summer that my cousins and I named Thaddeoso

5. Currently it’s probably anything within the feline family

6. Chocolate!

7. Last month was actually the first time I haven’t dressed up for Halloween. Often I think of a costume at the last minute, but I didn’t this year. We couldn’t go anywhere anyway (I think trick or treating was happening but we live with my grandparents (covid risk b/c of their age) and a ton of the houses on Main Street are trump supporters so)

8. I have had brilliant ideas in the middle of the night, but I always think I’ll remember them so I never write them down and then I forget them

9. Sail the world and commit crimes against the rich. I’m not sure what sort of rules I’d impose

10. Absolutely

11. I would go to the far future because I would like to visit the aliens

12. I used to watch unus annus, so I’m beginning to watch some markiplier stuff to fill the void. But I also watch channels like jammidoder and one topic at a time

13. Ummm sometimes my art is good, the things I write tend to be pretty good, and I have a pretty good memory

14. I guess I would make myself less anxious so I could actually do more stuff

Don’t worry about the amount of questions, I don’t mind at all! Perhaps I will some of my writing at some point, I’m not sure yet.

I return to school tomorrow, so I won’t be able to respond during school hours because I don’t have data right now and my school is determined to keep us there in person, but I will still be able to get online after school.

Sincerely,

Dearest L,

Thank you for expressing interest in my ghost story!

This happened at the start of this school year. I was at a party, the sun had set, and we were going to play capture the flag. I’m lazy and I hate running, so me and these two people who also hated running decided to be on guard duty. Me and the two people were talking and looking at the neighbor’s yard when we saw this shadowy figure in the neighbor’s yard. It looked like a person who was sort of hunched over, but it was too dark to make out any details. This was weird considering the fact that the neighbor’s yard was off limits for the game. However, I was like, “that’s probably just a member of the opposing team.” So me and the other people started waving and being like “Don’t come close!” But the figure didn’t even move. That’s when a car drove past, and as the light from the car hit the grass, the figure disappeared. Which was crazy perfect timing. We started screaming and freaking out. To this day I’m not sure what it was that I saw. Chances are it was probably this one kid who insisted on wearing a ninja outfit, or it could have been an animal of some sort.

Tldr: At a party I saw a shadowy figure at night and it disappeared when a light from a car hit it.

As for the questions....

1. Some things on my bucket list:

- Fill my entire stomach with temporary tattoos and go to the beach or the pool (Don’t worry, I’m not implying that I want to eat the temporary tattoos. That would be unhealthy, probably. I’m implying that I want to apply them to my stomach. Omg imply rhymes with apply. Or does it? I’m not sure.)

- Hug a giraffe

- Publish a novel

- Sprint through a field of flowers (I might hate running but I’ve always wanted to do this)

- Write a musical (I already started writing a musical with my friend called ‘Existential Crisis: The Musical’ once. We never finished it unfortunately.)

2. A tree!

3. Any and all desserts. (Brownies are awesome btw. Have you ever tried a brookie? It’s like a half brownie / half chocolate chip cookie combination and it is delicious.)

4. Of course! (Also Thaddeoso is a top tier name for a frog. I’m curious at to how you all came up with it.)

5. Squirrels. They’re underrated in my opinion. I also like foxes.

6. chocolate as well!

7. I was a pineapple because I have a pineapple onesie. I was originally going to be SpongBob’s house but I didn’t have enough energy or time or money to print out pictures of his door / windows. I didn’t go trick or treating either since it was mostly outlawed in my area this year.

8. yep, frequently

9. I would impose general kindness and respect for each other, but that’s it. We’d sing sea shanties and play card games when we aren’t pillaging treasure and having epic battles. (Good answer btw. Be the Robin Hood you wish to see in the world.)

10. Indubitably. I asked for a sword for Christmas, after all.

11. I’m gonna have to agree with your answer. That would be awesome.

12. I watch Kurtis Conner, Danny Gonzalez, and Drew Gooden. I also watch a lot of random meme-ish stuff and commentary type-things. Sometimes I watch ASAP Science. (I also watch Jamidoder and One Topic At A Time, from time to time.)

13. I like the fact that I’m short? Also I like some of the poems I write, and I think I have good taste in music.

14. I would make my parents not be homophobic / discriminatory.

If you do choose to show me some of your writing, that would be great! If not, that’s totally fine. I’m kinda shy about a lot of the stuff I write so I understand.

Also that’s okay about the school hours thing. You can take all the time you need.

As for new questions:

1. If you could tell the entire world one thing, what would it be?

2. Which Star Trek is your favorite?

3. Do you have any favorite Star Trek characters?

4. Do you relate to any of the Star Trek characters? If so, which ones and how/why do you relate to them?

5. Do you like any musicals?

6. What is your favorite kind of tree?

7. Feel free to write a long rant about literally anything for #7. It can be a positive rant or an angry rant or literally just the word “meow” in bold. I’m sure that the proper configuration of the word “meow” is rant in some cat language.

8. Do you have a favorite pair of socks?

9. What’s the funniest thing you overheard someone say in public lately?

Thank you for continuing to write!

Yours Truly,

Captain M

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the-desolated-quill · 7 years ago

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The H Word - The Defenders blog

(SPOILER WARNING: The following is an in-depth critical analysis. If you haven’t seen this episode yet, you may want to before reading this review)

Truth be told, I wasn’t really looking forward to this. For starters the showrunners are Douglas Petrie and Marco Ramirez, the incompetent twosome behind Daredevil’s lacklustre second season. I knew the Hand were going to be the focus again, which I wasn’t excited about because the Hand are by far the stupidest, most nonsensical and downright uninteresting villains in these Netflix shows. Also... why? What’s the point of all this? Marvel are acting as though this has all been building up to the Defenders, but it really hasn’t if you think about it. With the Avengers, each movie in Phase 1 felt like another piece of the puzzle clicking into place before the grand finale. Here the Netflix shows don’t really have any sort of link with each other. It just feels like they’re doing this Defenders crossover because... well the characters are there. They might as well do something with them.

So did this first episode of The Defenders win me over?

...

Not really, no.

Well, okay, I suppose it’s not terrible, but it’s a tad underwhelming. Not a lot of ground is covered and there were a number of aspects about The H Word that were very irritating.

Let’s start with my biggest pet peeve. The colour coding. I can understand doing it in the title sequence, but the entire fucking show? Are you taking the piss? See all of the Iron Fist scenes are highlighted in green, all of Luke Cage’s scenes are highlighted in yellow, Jessica Jones’ are in purple, and Daredevil’s... okay, that doesn’t even make any sense. What in-universe reason could there be for his flat to be in red? Is Matt running a private brothel now?

Oh but wait! The courtroom scenes are brown! And the scene in the hallway with the disabled kid is in yellow! Doesn’t that make this a Luke Cage scene? I’m so confused... except I’m not because I’m an intelligent adult that can keep track of a story quite easily without requiring a fucking colour palette as though I’m in kindergarten.

I know this must seem like a massive nitpick, even by my standards, but this genuinely got on my nerves. It felt as though I was being patronised. That Marvel think I couldn’t possibly follow their little magnum opus without having all the characters colour coordinated for me. How about crediting your audience with some intelligence?

Still at least the villains aren’t colour coordinated... OF COURSE THEY ARE! Why stop there Marvel? Why don’t you have a flash of lightning and wolves howling in the background too, just to really ram the point home for us?

Let’s quickly talk about the villains. Only Marvel could take a group of Japanese ninjas and not only confuse Japanese with Chinese, but also have a corporate white woman as their supreme leader. It feels as though they’re doing this on purpose now. Still, I can’t deny Sigourney Weaver adds a touch of class to the proceedings. Although it was hard to stomach watching Madame Gao being ordered around like a skivvy. Not even Kingpin treated her like that.

What I’m really confused by is how come the Hand are taking orders from Sigourney Weaver? Wasn’t it established in Iron Fist that the Hand were made up of separate factions? Doesn’t having a supreme overlord figure kind of defeat the purpose of that? Where was she during Daredevil Season 1? Why would she allow one of her subordinates to work for a rival? Why allow her organisation to become so fractured and so splintered? Maybe all of this will be answered in a future episode, but I doubt it. At this stage the Hand have become so convoluted that I’ve practically given up trying to make sense of how their nutty organisation works and the mechanics of their incomprehensible plots.

Also Elektra is back. Yeah, because I TOTALLY wanted to see her again. And she’s wearing black as opposed to white. Typical. There’s always one nobhead who doesn’t get the memo and ends up clashing with the aesthetic. As if I need another reason to hate you, you monster!

Anywho, let’s talk about the main protagonists. And for future reference Marvel, if you want to win over your audience in the first five minutes of your story, maybe don’t start with arguably the most hated character in the franchise. What’s more, don’t then put said hated character into a fight scene that’s so poorly lit and poorly filmed that it becomes difficult to make sense of what the fuck is going on. The shaky cam in that first Iron Fist fight was so bad I was actually starting to feel seasick.

So Danny and Colleen have been travelling the world looking for the Hand (even though they already know the Hand are in New York, which begs the question why don’t they just go back to New York? Oh look! They’ve gone back to New York! I knew they’d work it out eventually!), while Danny keeps having nightmares about K’un L’un. Yes it seems we’re going to be getting a bit of a messiah complex from Danny now as he experiences intense levels of guilt for leaving K’un L’un undefended and possibly letting the Hand slaughter the inhabitants. It’s either that or constipation. I don’t know. It’s hard to tell with Finn Jones’ so called ‘acting.’

So far there are two problems with this (well technically three. The most obvious problem being I don’t give a shit about Danny because he’s about as likeable as a nettle rash on my bottom, but apart from that). The first is that it’s hard to believe that K’un L’un would be completely defenceless without the Iron Fist. They must have warriors. How else were they able to train Danny? So I doubt there’s anything for Danny to really be worried about. The second is a problem I mentioned in my Iron Fist reviews. If K’un L’un’s only defence against a potential army of ninjas is one man with a luminous fist, then frankly the citizens of K’un L’un are clearly too stupid to live.

Next is Jessica Jones (the purple one, in case you’re lost). Now Jessica was in a very interesting place when we last saw her. Her abuser Kilgrave is dead and she looked like she was ready to pick up the pieces and move on with her life. I wonder how she’s grown and evolved since... Oh she’s lying unconscious in a pub. She’s still an alcoholic. Her private eye business has gone to shit. In fact she seems to be in a worse place than she was before. Bummer.

Obviously I don’t want to trivialise any of this. Recovering from sexual abuse and alcohol addiction can be extremely difficult and there can be ups and downs in one’s recovery (I can personally attest to this), but I’m extremely disappointed that the writers have made no effort to try and have Jessica improve her life. I’m not saying she needs to make an instant recovery, but show that she’s at least trying to get her life back on track. What we’ve got instead is what feels more like a caricature of Jessica Jones. The writers also seem to have confused being a hardened survivor with being an obnoxious prick. I’m not going to lie. I straight up hated Jessica in this episode. The way she talked to that woman outside her apartment was so unnecessarily cruel and there just doesn’t seem to be any good reason for it. Why doesn’t she want to take her case? Why has she allowed her business to fall into disrepair when she seemed ready to get back on the horse at the end of her first season?

In the end Darth Vader gives her a tinkle on the old dog and bone (on a side note, I do hope that voice scrambler wasn’t supposed to be intimidating because it wasn’t. It was probably the funniest thing in this episode), and threatens her not to take the case, which paradoxically causes her to take the case.

Having traced the phone number almost insultingly easily, Jessica encounters an empty apartment and a box full of explosives. I wonder where this is going.

Luke Cage’s story is by far the most underwhelming. Remember at the end of Season 1 when he got sent back to prison? Exciting, right? I wonder what they’re going to do with this? Maybe have Luke break out of prison when he hears about the Hand. Maybe have Claire and the other Defenders break him out. Maybe have the police illegally release him because they figure he’s the only one that can do something about this. i wonder... Oh they just release him as though nothing had happened.

Okay, what’s the fucking point of setting up interesting scenarios if you’re just going to reverse them immediately afterward? You might as well have not sent Luke to prison in the first place. (Also Foggy Nelson is there because... um... Foggy Nelson is there).

So Luke returns to Harlem and has vigorous sex with Claire (considering his superpowers, I’m amazed he didn’t accidentally break her in half. Also I hope they’re going to give that coffee table a wipe before they eat or drink anything off it. Cum stains can put people right off their cornflakes in the morning, I can tell you), before he takes a pleasant stroll with Misty Knight who deters him from pursuing Mariah and Shades because they want to save that for Luke Cage Season 2, instead informing him of some kid who’s gotten involved with a mysterious organisation whose couriers end up dead. Luke goes to visit the kid and tries to persuade him to leave, he tells Luke to fuck off and then Luke saves some woman from a lamppost. Well that was pointless.

The only character I in any way gravitated towards was Matt Murdock, who has given up being Daredevil and gone solo in his legal career becoming very successful. In my reviews of Daredevil Season 2, I described his vigilantism as being like an addiction and this episode continues with that theme. His conversation with Karen certainly reflects that as they try to figure out how their whatevership should progress from here. While Matt is really making something of his life now, he still misses being Daredevil as he confesses to his priest (he’s also still mourning Elektra for some reason. Yeah, I’ve never bought their supposed romance and probably never will) and feels slightly empty and unfulfilled without his alter ego. Charlie Cox really sells the internal conflict exceptionally well. At the end when the earthquake happens, we see Matt start to contemplate a metaphorical relapse of sorts (while the cameraman films him as though he’s on a merry-go-round). The difference here is that before he was acting out this Daredevil power fantasy as a way of getting back at the people who killed his father, but in this case (because he doesn’t know this is a criminal conspiracy. It’s just an earthquake) he seems to be contemplating becoming Daredevil again in order to perform a public service and actually help people. It could be the start of a slippery slope, but it could also represent a significant transition in his character. We’ll have to wait and see.

On the whole, this first episode of The Defenders feels like a bit of a letdown, truth be told. Hopefully things will pick up in the next seven episodes, but at the moment, colour me unimpressed.

Ha! Do you get it? Colour me unimpressed!... Because... of the colours and... Oh fuck off.

#the h word #the defenders #marvel cinematic universe #netflix #review #spoilers

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recentanimenews · 5 years ago

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Bookshelf Briefs 4/25/20

Caste Heaven, Vol. 1 | By Chise Ogawa | SuBLime – I have to wonder why I read this. The warning signs are right there on the back cover—once the ruthless king of his class’s secret social hierarchy, Yuya Azusa is dethroned and given a choice to “become the new king’s plaything… or service the entire class!” I had hoped for more psychological suspense, perhaps, but instead there is sexual assault (that the protagonist later says he enjoyed), threat of more sexual assault, several scenes in which the sadistic new king (a rich kid named Karino) inserts foreign objects into Azusa’s orifices, and once-proud Azusa growing clingy and desperate. The last two chapters are about a different pair who seem to have a healthier relationship, but the main story so put me on edge I kept waiting for the double-cross to happen. I’m still not convinced it won’t, but that doesn’t really matter as I likely won’t be reading further. – Michelle Smith

Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku, Vol. 1 | By Yuji Kaku | Viz Media – Gabimaru is a notorious assassin whose ninjitsu skills are so great that he’s nearly immortal. Unfortunately for him, that means he spends most of the first chapter of Hell’s Paradise being subjected to (and surviving) a series of increasingly gruesome executions. His death sentence is temporarily stayed by a highly skilled swordswoman who offers him an opportunity to earn a full pardon for his crimes. If Gabimaru can find and retrieve the elixir of life for the shogun, he will be released. But he’ll also be in direct competition with other convicts and not everything is as it seems. There are many aspects of Hell’s Paradise that I found reminiscent of Hiroaki Samura’s Blade of the Immortal (a manga that holds a special place in my heart), so it’s probably not too surprising that Kaku’s series appeals to me. I’m very curious to see where it goes from here. – Ash Brown

Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku, Vol. 1 | By Yuji Kaku | VIZ Media – I’m not ordinarily drawn to grim-looking Edo period manga with ninjas in it, but something about Hell’s Paradise intrigued me (maybe it was simply that striking cover) and, ultimately, I’m extremely glad I gave it a chance! The infamous assassin Gabimaru the Hollow always thought he felt no emotions until his wife proved otherwise. Set up by his clan for daring to want to leave their lifestyle, Gabimaru is sentenced to death, though he keeps resisting the various execution methods that are attempted. When he’s offered the chance of a pardon—and the chance to reunite with his wife and pursue a simple life together—he accepts, even if it means journeying to a mysterious island with a bunch of other bloodthirsty criminals in search of an elixir of immortality for the shogun. This is a pretty fascinating, if grisly, premise, and I’m very keen to see how it develops! – Michelle Smith

Himouto! Umaru-chan, Vol. 9 | By Sankakuhead | Seven Seas – Again, the basic theme of this series, which otherwise tends to run on “cute girls doing cute things,” is that sometimes you need to grow up and mature, even though it can be hard… but it doesn’t have to be right away. This can also sometimes lead to odd continuity—there’s a brief moment where Umaru imagines her brother moving out one day, and he’s clearly meant to be seen with Ebina… only Umaru doesn’t seem to have realized Ebina’s crush on her brother in reality. Despite that, this is another fun, fluffy volume in the series, with gags about trying (and failing) to cook, buying furniture, and being a bit nicer to your brother even though you think he’s a creep (that last is for Kirie). Fans should enjoy it. – Sean Gaffney

The Ideal Sponger Life, Vol. 5 | By Tsunehiko Watanabe and Neko Hinotsuki | Seven Seas – As ever with this series, the so-called “romantic rival” introduced at the end of the last volume, isn’t one at all, mostly becaase Zenjiro is still completely besotted with his bride, polygamy or no. The politics remains the reason to read this, and while our hero is getting better at it, he still screws up on occasion. He’s also up against a master, as seen on the cover, a goofy and over-the-top prince sort who is in reality using that as a front… but it’s so much a part of him that it’s very hard to tell the difference even if you’re an expert. As for Bona, she genuinely does bond with Zenjiro right away, causing Aura to get a bit jealous. Something might eventually come of that, but for the moment the series is content to be about glass and politics and not about haremettes. – Sean Gaffney

I’ll Win You Over, Sempai!, Vol. 3 | By Shin Shimoto | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – This is the story of a relentlessly positive girl (Koharu, who refuses to be rejected by her crush and so confesses to him day after day) and the tsundere object of her affections (Kanzaki-sempai, who repeatedly shoots her down). When I embarked upon this series, I thought it might be annoying and was delighted to instead find that I love it to pieces! Kanzaki-sempai is quirky and prickly yet also compassionate and Koharu truly cares about his happiness more than her own. In volume three, Kanzaki-sempai advises Koharu when her childhood friend confesses his love for her. There are many sweet moments where the main couple shows they really get each other, and though I do not love how often he calls her a moron, I’m still enjoying this series very much overall. Only two volumes to go, alas! – Michelle Smith

Komi Can’t Communicate, Vol. 6 | By Tomohito Oda | Viz Media – It’s good to see that although Komi is starting to make friends and get her thoughts across to people… even if it’s only just Tadano… she still has an amazing amount of difficulty with communication—the title is not any less wrong in the sixth book than it was in the first. Given that just talking to others is tough, karaoke proves a shivering nightmare, and even clothes shopping with her equally-bad-at-extroversion father is tough. As for the rest of the cast, well, the three guys who discuss which girl would be best as a girlfriend would be a bit creepy if it weren’t also pretty wholesome, and we meet a new guy who has resting thug face, so also has trouble communicating to people. Fun comedy. – Sean Gaffney

Ran the Peerless Beauty, Vol. 7 | By Ammitsu | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – Since I last briefed Ran the Peerless Beauty, not only has she gotten together with Akira, but we’ve even had the first female rival come and go. This volume is mostly about the first male rival, and I will admit he can be hard to take—he’s very blunt in the fact that he likes Ran, and tries to force a kiss on her at one point (she deflects him), so the reader is really not loving him. He also has a past with Akira that we’re starting to find out about, and comes from a farm/greenhouse family environment, so his story will continue to tie into the flowers motif. I admit it’s probably a good thing we have him, as Ran and Akira are so soggily sweet that they’re best taken in short, adorable doses. – Sean Gaffney

Sleepy Princess in the Demon Castle, Vol. 11 | By Kagiji Kumanomata | Viz Media – I also seem to have missed briefing the tenth volume of this. I’m sure it was funny, because this one is quite funny. The jokes are no longer “how does Syalis sleep,” though the final page does still end most chapters on her settling down for the night. Sometimes we see stressed-out demons ashamed she’ll see their old cringey photos. Sometimes it’s about Syalis trying to give out Valentine’s chocolates and not understanding the meaning of the word embarrassment. And in the funniest chapters, it IS about her sleeping, as she accidentally ingests some demonic No-Doz and also tries to have a “typical” girls’ pajama party that isn’t typical at all. I love this series. – Sean Gaffney

Something’s Wrong with Us, Vol. 1 | By Natsumi Ando | Kodansha Comics – Remembering my disappointment with the finale of Arisa, I wasn’t sure how I would like Something’s Wrong with Us, Natsumi Ando’s foray into josei suspense. Happily, I enjoyed it quite a bit! Our protagonist is Nao Hanaoka, a 21-year-old confectioner whose mother was accused of murder fifteen years ago and died while on trial for the crime. After Nao receives a note proclaiming her mother’s innocence, she’s willing to do anything to gain access to the renowned confectionary where it all happened and find out the truth, including agreeing to marry Tsubaki Takatsuki, who as a boy was the one to accuse her mother in the first place. She thinks that neither Tsubaki nor his cold and calculating mother recognize her—they knew her under a different name—but is that really the case? I hope the rest of the series is as fun as the first volume. – Michelle Smith

Teasing Master Takagi-san, Vol. 8 | By Soichiro Yamamoto | Yen Press – This series has proven that it works at its best when there’s more structure or more at stake. This isn’t to say that the chapters that are just “there’s a thing, Nishikata challenges Takagi, he loses, she teases him” aren’t funny and cute, because they are. But sometimes things get better when there’s a bit more than that, such as the start of this volume, which has… no, not the festival that was implied at the end of last time—not sure where that went… but Valentine’s Day, showing off Takagi having fun torturing Nishikata all day before and confessing in such a way that he would get a real answer if he manned up but he doesn’t. And as usual, Nishikata wins when he doesn’t try, like rock skipping. My favorite “teasing girl” series. – Sean Gaffney

By: Ash Brown

#Anime #News #Manga Bookshelf

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operationrainfall · 5 years ago

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Title SENRAN KAGURA Peach Ball Developer MARVELOUS!, Honey ∞ Parade Games Publisher XSEED Games Release Date July 9th, 2019 Genre Board Game, Pinball, Party Game Platform PC, Nintendo Switch Age Rating Mature 17+ – Language, Partial Nudity, Sexual Themes Official Website

In a way, I’m really happy I’m the one that got to review SENRAN KAGURA Peach Ball. I’ve been a fan of the series from the beginning, and it’s been nice to watch it grow over the years. On the other hand, I kind of feel like a displaced time traveler, since I played the first couple of games, took a long break, played Bon Appétit! and that’s it. In other words, while I am familiar with the series, there’s a lot I’ve missed out on for various reasons, mostly my ridiculous backlog of games. But that didn’t stop me from deciding I would review Peach Ball. The question then, was this a great SENRAN KAGURA side story? Or should I have stayed put in my time machine?

Much like Bon Appétit! before it, Peach Ball is not a game that’s supposed to be taken as seriously as the main franchise. Which is saying something. So if you come here expecting a deep plot and agency for the various characters, you’ll be disappointed. While I kind of expected that, I still was hoping for just a bit more story here. Part of the fun of SENRAN KAGURA isn’t just the action and fanservice, but rooting for the girls as they overcome their fears and pursue their ideals to become stronger human beings. For better or worse, that’s not the theme of Peach Ball.

Peach Ball starts at Haruka’s new side job, working at an arcade. Several of her shinobi sisters are there to watch Yomi and Murasaki compete for the grand prize in a fighting game, when Ryōna sets chaos in motion. She’s just washing her hands in the bathroom and she finds a bottle hidden away that she thinks is soap. Instead it’s a dangerous chemical concoction, called Beastall, that Haruka made in her spare time (idle hands and all that), and it quickly goes into hilarious effect. Ryōna suddenly transforms into a dog version of herself, and runs about licking everyone in sight. Thus the contamination spreads to everybody she touches, and suddenly you have 5 rampaging ninja girls who think they’re animals on the loose. Now it’s up to Haruka and a random bystander from the arcade (played by you) to set things right.

Story mode is split into 5 separate, though largely similar, campaigns. In each, after you pick the shinobi whose campaign you want to try, they are quickly returned to sanity and work with you and Haruka to bring the other girls back to their senses. The one nice thing in this mode is there’s pretty solid writing for each campaign, and there’s some gut busting humor here if you don’t mind things getting a bit raunchy. Each campaign, except one, also culminates in a confrontation against the girl you start out with, as they are inexplicably reinfected by Haruka’s Beastall concoction. You’re probably wondering how you can cure your friends, and the answer is pinball.

Yes, I was confused too. Haruka gives some explanation about needing to use the titular Peach Balls to cure your friends. By accumulating enough vibrational energy, it will release a cleansing mist that returns the girl to her senses. It all is pretty much an excuse to get crazed shinobi girls to sit and jiggle atop pinball machines and bop them with balls until they are fixed. And because it’s a SENRAN KAGURA game, there’s plenty of fanservice. I wasn’t bothered by it, but it can get pretty risque, especially when you start participating in the various mini games required to save the girls. It’s definitely not the sort of game to play on a crowded bus or in polite company, since the moans and various sound effects can be very distracting. There’s also definite suggested elements of BDSM here. But rather than harp on all that, let’s move onto the meat of the game – the pinball itself.

I should note that the last time I played an actual pinball machine was probably a good decade ago. Having said that, the pinball mechanics in SENRAN KAGURA Peach Ball are pretty entertaining. You control the flippers with either of the shoulder buttons, and can shake the machine with the joysticks. Like any pinball game, your goal is to keep the ball in play as long as possible and bop things to get points. But because this is SENRAN KAGURA, there are some weird little twists. Your goal is to accumulate enough Peach Points, but you don’t just do it once. In story mode you need to fill up the meter 3 times to win, and you have a limited amount of Peach Balls. Each time you get enough energy, you can bop the girls to initiate a Sexy Challenge, where you play a mini game to increase your rank and it ends with something ridiculous happening to the girl. Examples are an ice cream truck spilling onto their cleavage or an explosive blowing up part of their already flimsy clothing.

Ryōna may enjoy pinball a bit too much…

None of the mini games are that challenging, but they throw some curveballs at you. One are when Faeries appear on the field of play. You get points for wiping them out before they disappear, but they are also really good at deflecting your pinball in awkward directions. This brings us to the Peach Missions. Basically, each machine has small goals you can accomplish for more points, such as bopping the girl a set amount of times or hitting the bumpers frequently. There’s a lot of variety, and that’s great, though it can be hard to keep them in mind as you’re frantically trying to keep the ball in play. Frankly, I was a bit overwhelmed by all the different things you have to keep track of while playing. Thankfully, I found that by just doing your best to keep the ball from falling off screen, you’ll usually be able to win. You might get less points overall, but that’s hardly game breaking.

There’s a lot to enjoy in these mechanics. I loved hitting the Luka Hole, where a demented dolphin would reward me with a random usable item, or bouncing the ball off spinning teacups, or even hitting a heart to temporarily put the girl in a state of ecstasy. However, as much as I enjoyed the amount of things to do, I do strongly wish there were more pinball machines. I only encountered 2 different ones in my entire story mode playtime. I was really hoping each girl would have her own machine with unique gimmicks but that wasn’t the case. Unfortunately, this phenomenon of wanting more content translated to several other aspects of the game. Much as I enjoyed all the girls in Peach Ball, there were so many more that could have been here. There’s only 2 Hebijo girls, 1 Hanzo, 1 Gessen and 1 Crimson Squad. My personal favorites Hibari and Hikage don’t show up at all. If you love characters like Mirai, you’re also gonna be disappointed, since there are no flat shinobi in the game. And while Haruka is front and center the entire time, you never get to cure her of Beastall infection. Though to be fair, you can pester her in the credits.

It wouldn’t be a SENRAN KAGURA game without tons of extras you can purchase, and that’s the case here. There’s tons of accessories you can buy to dress up the girls, as well as entirely new outfits. You’ll want to buy everything, including the music and story art. You can even buy different types of Peach Balls, though I’m still not really clear on the differences between the Yin and Yang balls, and whether it really matters strategically. My only complaint regarding all these extras are that altogether they cost a ton of money, and even after beating every story campaign, I’m nowhere near flush enough to buy them all. On the other hand, that does give me proper incentive to play the free play mode a lot more to get enough cash.

Visually, Peach Ball is a great game and it looks fantastic on Nintendo Switch. It’s very colorful and the designs for all the girls’ animal forms is distinct and attractive. The many cutscenes further add to the fabric of this humorous adventure, as well as reminding me why I love this series. The banter is especially hilarious, and Ryōna quickly cemented herself as my favorite girl in the game. Her lewd nature and twisted sense of pleasure made her by far one of the funniest shinobi in the entire story mode, with some amazing one liners. Musically, the game is okay, but the voice acting more than makes up for it. Each actor does a wonderful job of presenting a distinct personality, and none sounds identical to any other. The sound effects do their job, though you might want to turn down the volume when the shinobi start getting loud.

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Overall, I did rather enjoy SENRAN KAGURA Peach Ball, though I feel it will mostly appeal to longtime fans of the series. It’s fun and colorful with good replay value, but it also feels very repetitive and lacking in terms of content. I saw there’s a tab in the game shop for DLC, which makes me hopeful they will add additional character packs later on. But I still can’t help but feeling they should have loaded the base game with more content from the get go. Cause while I do feel you get your money’s worth for $39.99, I also feel there could be much more variety here. That said, I easily got some 10 hours playing through campaign, and it will take many, many more hours to unlock everything. If you’re a fan of SENRAN KAGURA, you’ll find a lot to love here. If not, you might want to wait for the next main game in the series.

[easyreview cat1title=”Overall” cat1detail=”” cat1rating=”4″]

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REVIEW: SENRAN KAGURA Peach Ball Title SENRAN KAGURA Peach Ball

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