SONIC PRIME; NINE [tw for slight blood]

don't expect much sonic or prime content, just posting it bc i like it

Jojo bizarre adventure dio

The first half of the adaptation already showed plenty of Stands ranging from one that can attack via reflective surfaces, a parasitic being that can enter a victim’s brain, or even a Stand that can attack in dreams with Freddy Krueger style. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure Stardust Crusaders: Second Season (or Egypt Arc) provokes the question of what the audience wants to see next.

Kakyouin - Really stayed the same from the first season though his bonds with his comrades grows stronger.ĭefinitely wasn't as enjoyable as the first season as the encounters with the other Stand users felt very repetitive and monster-of-the-week.Īt this point, it just became repetitive until we came to the final showdown between Dio and JoJo.Īn action-packed adventure of fun, bizarreness, crazy gimmicks, and dangerous distinction. Things actually happen to him which makes him feel mortal and human. Iggy - I initially didn't like him as his existence felt out of place most of the time as he didn't do very much, but in later episodes his character really develops and I liked him near the end.Īvdol - A firm, stable character that really cares for his friends and even sacrifices himself. Polnareff - Basically the comic relief of the show but his character really shines during his emotional moments with his comrades, especially Iggy. Jonathan - Not as cool as when he was younger with all his predictions but still a staple character that is hilarious when he swears/yells in Engrish. Any encounters that involve Joutarou is basically resolved before it even begins and all you're left doing is thinking how far his legs are going to be apart this time and how angled is his body going to face. Initially, this was kind of cool, the nonchalant, tough without overtness attitude, but after two seasons of this composure, it starts to become dull and repetitive. Joutarou - If you can call standing around, posing 'cool' and saying "Yare Yare Daze" as being a character. Each one was basically just 'bad guy with certain bad trait' repeated over and over every episode until we got to Dio.ĭio - Dio maintains his arrogance and threatening nature which definitely made him feel like an end raid boss and reinforces his antagonistic role. The villains felt very cliched in that they're always over the top sadistic with no redeeming qualities. The voice acting is the same as the first season so if you liked it there, you'll like it here, especially hearing Jonathan yell "AWEEE MAIII GAWDDDDD" or "SHIIIIITTTT". But this second season's op just reminded me of Rozen Maiden, it doesn't fit. The op of the first season was really good and it got you pumped up and it made you feel manlier just by listening to it. The characters themselves are very detailed with proper shadings of clothing which makes them look 'realistic'. Good view of what Egypt looks like (at least from someone who hasn't been there). The art style definitely made everything feel more dramatic and dark, while the backgrounds gave a really The fights varied somewhat but in the end I was expecting a little more than what was essentially an RPG grind until you hit max level and go do an end game boss. It became a monster-of-the-week series and it just felt really bland. Most of the episodes were: Go from current point to next point, encounter enemy Stand user, defeat stand user, repeat until we reach Dio. The story became very repetitive at this point. Definitely some spoilers, don't read if you don't want to be spoiled.

Belated Spring 2020 Anime Overview: My Next Life as Villainess

For the Spring 2020 anime season, I mostly watched continuations of shows I was already into. The one new show I did pick up was My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!

My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! follows Katerina Claes, a spoiled young noble girl deviously scheming to win the heart of a prince- oh wait, never mind, she hit her head and remembered her past life! Turns out she’s an eighteen year old Japanese otaku chick who died and got reincarnated as the villainess in her favorite otome game. 

If you don’t feel like reading the wiki article, an otome game is basically a female- targeted dating sim where you play as a blank slate main character and date a bunch of pretty boys (and sometimes girls, but usually only if you go outside the mainstream ones), unlocking their backstories and collecting all the romantic endings.

Having played this game, Katarina is well aware that the Villainess character- who constantly tries to interfere with the game’s heroine and whichever boy she’s pursuing- is either exiled or killed in all of the games endings. And now she IS that villainess, living in the world of the game and all its characters! Does that mean she’s doomed to a horrible fate? What’s a girl to do?

Well, if you’re Katarina, what you do is be supportive and kind to the people around you and in doing so accidentally get every single character in the game to fall in love with you. And yes, this includes all the boys the heroine is supposed to date, the other female romantic rivals the heroine is faced with and the game’s heroine herself.

That’s right, we finally got us some bisexual romantic comedy hijinx last anime season, my friends! My Next Life as a Villainess was the delightful little show I really escaped into during these anxious pandemic times . All these girls casually falling in love with Katarina without it being treated as ‘weird’ was what particularly drew me to this show and warmed my gay little heart to see. It was honestly the perfect fluffy, low stress watch during these high stress times.

Anime has long been oversaturated with ‘harem’ stories- where a usually unwitting protagonist somehow gets a bevy of beauties in love with them- but it’s still unfortunately really unusual to see bisexual harems, especially ones with a girl at the center, so right away there’s a big draw to this story that helps it stick out from the rest.  (And worry not, the story is largely focused on Katarina having fun with these pals-who-are-not-so-secretly-in-love-with-her, rather than having a ton the dubious shenanigans you see in more sexually charged tales.)

Harem protoganists also famously tend to have the personality of potatoes, being so painfully bland it’s unclear why so many people would fall in love with them in the first place. But that definitely not the case for Katarina. She’s brash, ridiculous, kind and INCREDIBLY dense, and that for a pretty dynamic combination in this setting! She does genuinely come off as a fun person to be around. Unlike a lot of modern isekai shows, she doesn’t stumble into having incredible magic powers or skills, so her compassion is genuinely her greatest strength and what saves the day and wins hearts time and time again.

Katarina’s five brain cells doing their weekly check-in

(The moment she won my heart was when she responded to a tragic Frozen style situation with her friend locking himself away from people because he believed his magic was dangerous by taking an axe to his door. My kinda girl!)

The premise also allows for some plausible built-in reasons for the characters to take such special notice of Katarina- having been raised in a different world, she isn’t beholden to all the social rules, class divisions and noble family drama all the other kids in this very specific midevial-esque fantasy world are so embroiled in. This combined with her naturally earnest, accepting and straightfoward nature means she’s able to cross boundaries and reach out to them in a way they aren’t accustomed to. She was significant in each character’s life because she genuinely was the first to show them acceptance and affection without pretense, if only because she isn’t even aware there was supposed to be a pretense.

Katarina’s focus on trying not to die and her fear she’s going to meet the same fate as the villainess in the game also at least gives some kind of a basis to her comical obliviousness to everyone being in love with her. She assumes that everyone has to be into Maria (the heroine) and terrified of her because that’s how the game GOES okay, that’s CANON! Of course, this logic stretches thin as time goes on and it would be abundantly clear to most people that things have diverged greatly from the game’s storyline, but the show makes it clear that Katarina’s determined, one track mind is as much a gift as a curse. 

Her bullheadedness when it comes to picking up how everyone REALLY feels about her is an intentional gag on the show’s part and even her love interests are well aware of what a colossal dumbass she is and not afraid to point it out!

My Next Life as a Villainess isn’t without its flaws, and the personalities/backstories of some of the ‘love interests’ Katarina gathers may be a stumbling block on some- mostly the male ones.  Geordo, “the black hearted prince” has a bit of the “ possessive shoujo bad boy” archetype about him, and though he’s far from the worst that genre of love interest has to offer (there’s not much bad he can get up to due to Katarina’s obliviousness, the lighthearted nature of the show, and his rivals constantly getting in his way), the way he refuses to break Katarina and his engagement off despite her repeatedly asking him to, as well as some of his lines here and there, are definitely NOT cute. 

Keith is Katarina’s adopted brother, but clearly has a thing for her too. On one hand, they only first met when they were nine and he fell for her pretty immediately. On the other hand, he still refers to her as “sister” constantly which is kinda eesh. 

The other two guys are all right- Nicol’s big thing is he’s inexpressive and doesn’t talk much which, considering show doesn’t spend much time inside his head, doesn’t make him a very interesting character in the ensemble (maybe he comes across better in the novels) but there’s nothing wrong with him. Alan is undoubtedly the Best Boy in my book. He’s another common trope- rambunctious and competitive with Katarina but clearly soft for her- but he’s done well and they have a lot of cute moments together.

I find the girl love interests to be a much more interesting group overall, though this may be my obvious bias talking. Sophia has the strongest connection to Katarina, their backstories being intertwined in a surprising and touching way (I’m told in the novels her affection for Katarina was treated as more platonic, but the anime definitely plays it up as having romantic elements). Maria’s original role as the game’s heroine puts her in the most interesting position (and would make her the most narratively satisfying choice of love interest, if the show was actually interested in choosing). And while Mary is comically tenacious in her pursuit of Katarina, she’s doesn’t ever act ‘sinister’ or overstep boundaries in the way Geordo does, her “scheming” only really amounting to straightforwardly asking if Katarina wants to ditch her fiance and run away with her. 

As I mentioned, one thing that really contributes to My Next Life as a Villainess being a relaxing watch is that the queer characters are treated with casual acceptance. Mary in particular isn’t subtle about her crush on Katarina, but nobody bats an eye at her and she’s completely open and comfortable with herself too. The observing maid notes that the girls are in love with Katarina with the same bland affect as when she notes she notes the guys are. And while the social practices of the nobles are pretty heteronormative- girls are always engaged in arranged marriages to guys, the guys are expected to dance with the girls (something Mary complains about!)- there’s apparently a booming queer romance novel industry that inspires our young wlw.

Katarina, having grown up in a different world, seems to be the one most prone to heteronormativity of her group. She never really considers  that a girl would ever fall in love with her, but is also never hostile to the idea. It’s telling that when Mary very clearly indicates her desired romantic partner would be a girl, Katarina’s the only one that gets tripped up and has to walk back her assumption that Mary would be talking about a guy. 

Mary LAYING DOWN THE LAW

Also, Katarina has  SEVERAL “she’s so cute! My heart is beating faster!” moments with the other girls, on par in frequency with her moments with the guys. This strongly hints she’s an oblivious bisexual disaster.

So, My Next Life as Villainess is a fun, frothy watch and the rare positive example of silly wish-fufillment that’s inclusive to a wlw audience. But is the actual plot good, or remotely complex? The answer to that is no, the plot is fairly predictable and one definitely shouldn’t got into this story expecting a deep examination of the nature of fate or anything like that.There’s no real explanation of big reason as to why why Katarina was reborn into this game world and so on.

 The antagonist that does eventually emerge plays off otome game tropes a bit, but ultimately isn’t that interesting or built up all that well. . The attempts at drama the show makes towards the end fall a little flat, especially since it tends to rely on very-late-in-the-game-exposition-dumps (dark magic isn’t even MENTIONED as existing in this world until like, the second to last episode where it becomes relevant and we get a vague infodump explaining its mechanics). The conflict honestly almost feels shoehorned in and the climax is pretty standard and doesn’t really utilize the big cast of characters all that well

But in the end, that’s okay! The show makes it abundantly clear from the beginning it’s not here to be Deep, but to be some silly fun. And it really fulfills that purpose well, from it’s catchy, peppy theme tune to its consistently warm tone. It MAY get repetitive at times for some, and I do have some quibbles- like how I found the childhood segments to be some of the shows best material and wish we could have stayed in that section for a bit instead of rushing through it, how I wish Katarina had kept her cute little scar, etc- but overall, it was definitely the soothing balm I needed during a very rough time and I absolutely recommend it if you’re looking for a chill, feel-good watch.

 And hey, a second season’s supposed to be on the way too, so there’s something to potentially look forward to!

Falling Inn Love (2019) dir. Roger Kumble

summary:

When city girl Gabriela spontaneously enters a contest and wins a rustic New Zealand inn, she teams up with bighearted contractor Jake Taylor to fix and flip it.

1.5 stars

Spoilers, duh, but you can enjoy this movie even if you know exactly what’s going to happen next, just like how everyone who watched it for the first time did. In fact, you don’t even have to read this review to guess what happens in this film. Without reading spoilers beforehand, you could probably guess 90% of the unremarkable plot points in this predictable and bland rom-com.

My biggest general problem with Falling Inn Love is that every single character has absolutely no personality. On top of that, each aspect of their personality (or lack thereof) is pretty much only included for the sake of furthering the plot. I’m pretty sure if you took away the characters’ main defining features, you would have the amount of fucks the writers put into developing their characters. They’re just not appealing, relatable, or interesting.

For example, the main character herself. Gabriela’s entire backstory is that she broke up with her boyfriend Dean. That’s literally all we get. You could not ask me to describe what I think Gabriela’s views on orgies, communism, or vegans look like. I should be familiar enough with the character to answer at least one of those. If I had to, I’d say she appreciates vegans, but that’s only because her entire personality is green housing and renovations and clean solar power and energy efficiency. You could not tell me if she planned to secretly run away from home as a child, but at least I know she brings her iPad to dinner with her boyfriend to show him her closet renovation ideas. This is a biiiig example of characters only being the way they are in order to further the plot, but also an example of the writers’ irregularity of bringing backstory into the story. Gabriela’s save-the-planet can-do attitude is only ever applied to the inn, when she decides to stay and renovate it into a clean energy facility. Not when she’s driving her clunky, CO2-emitting van all around town to places to which she could easily walk, which I’m sure is like the top biggest tip to saving the planet—to walk, bike, or take public transportation. Minus ½ star for hypocrisy.

The one thing I could tell you about Gabriela, besides that she sure does love her solar panels, is that she has an awful amount of Main Character syndrome, where she believes everything is about her and the entire world rotates around her. I’m fairly sure that wasn’t the writers’ intention, but they sure projected a ton of pride and self-esteem onto a pretty lackluster character, making her seem conceited. When Jake bumps into Gabriela at the hardware store, she says, “Why are you everywhere that I am?” Seems like she’s got a lot of confidence in her importance and relevance to Jake for someone who has no personality!!!!! It could just be a small town and Jake’s just minding his own business and knowing more about home renovation than Gabriela, which she finds annoying because she’s a strong, independent woman who takes no shit from men.

Charlotte is probably the world’s most pathetic villain. Her hobby is owning a hotel filled with porcelain dolls that belonged to her mother and the stink of old people breath. That’s all we know about her. Oh, and she really, really, really wants to buy the Bluebird from Gabriela because she’s an inn supremacist and believes only she can host an inn that restores the value of tradition and honesty to society. It’s so sad.

Jake has no personality. His backstory is that his girlfriend died 3 years ago and so he’s reluctant to love. That’s a new one. I wonder where the writers came up with that. He likes possum taxidermy because it reminds him of his grandmother. He likes to help out literally everywhere, for free, because he’s just such a nice guy. That’s all there is to him.

Even in Harry Potter, where you could clearly sort each member of the Golden Trio into a very obvious stereotype, you could still find more in-depth characterization beneath. Remove Hermione’s book-nerd, know-it-all personality. Underneath, she’s still a sassy, exasperated girl who cares for her friends and would choose them over anything. She’s flawed, and will act on her annoyance in rash, but calculated ways. Remove Ron’s comedic best friend, runt of the pack personality. Underneath, he’s loving and loyal, and is tired of simply being seen as the nobody. Finally, Harry himself, who beneath the Chosen One archetype, is snarky and witty and driven. Though fairly common and typical, there are multiple layers to these characters, which you just don’t get in Falling Inn Love. But Han, you say, that’s the appeal of a rom-com. You get to see how characters react to specific tropes. Fine, but I raise you this: pacing errors and plot convenience (woo alliteration!).

Similarly to the previous point, not only do the characters’ personalities seem to serve no purpose but to create a coherent plot, but in fact, almost everything that occurs in this movie seems to just happen out of thin air. There is literally no reason or motive behind any of the plot points, which is an indicator of a very weak story. It’s as if the writers had two plot points laid out— “Jake and Gabriela kiss” and “Gabriela decides to stay in New Zealand because she discovers she loves the Bluebird inn”— and halfassedly crammed in as many of the most contrasting tropes as they could find underneath a Wattpad novel from 2013 titled Falling for the Jock. Minus 1 star for plot convenience.

Gabriela’s boyfriend Dean is a douchebag. He is always on his phone during dates, cannot shut up about his job (Man, that sure does sound like someone else we know) and is always having his manager make decisions for the both of them. But Gabriela doesn’t break up with him beacuase he’s inattentive and ignorant. She breaks up with him because he doesn’t want to move in with her. Not wanting to move in with someone is a perfectly valid opinion to have, and Dean even gives a good reason: he’s happy with the things are now. And sure, you could break up with a partner if you felt strongly enough about things, but it would have to be a mutual understanding, an agreement that your lives were being hindered by this decision, or a realization that you both want different things. When Gabriela dumps Dean, it is entirely her end of the rope that is left hanging. It doesn’t feel like a satisfying ending to the first chapter. It feels forced, and that’s because they need Gabriela to apply for the Win an Inn scam. If Gabriela had dumped Dean because he didn’t put enough effort into the relationship, at least we would have felt happy for her, knowing that she deserved better. But because she dumped him because he didn’t want to move in with her and her eco-friendly dishwashers, we’re left thinking, Wow, that was pathetic.

There’s also a scene where Gabriela’s close (and only?? we’re not led to see any of her other friends, but then again, maybe she has none) friend tells her to give Dean an ultimatum—that’s what she did to get her boyfriend to propose to her. This is supposed to look like bad advice from an unqualified friend, since later the same friend tells Gabriela that she’s attending couple’s therapy with her fiancée, because apparently forcing your partner to either marry you or break up with you could lead to trouble in paradise. Who knew? Even though the movie makes it appear that ultimatums are not what to do in a strained relationship, that’s essentially what Gabriela does internally to Dean. Move in with me or we’re done. Minus ½ star for hypocrisy.

Falling Inn Love is supposed to be an enemies-to-friends-to-lovers story. But the pacing of Gabriela and Jake’s relationship is so out of control that it doesn’t seem realistic at all whatsoever. They go from being at each others’ necks constantly, always exchanging cliche retorts, to smiling lovingly at the other in the span of two minutes. Once again, nothing happens to spur on this change. All of the sudden, they’re acting completely civil to on another and now there’s a romance out of nowhere. It’s not realistic or believable.

The climax of Falling Inn Love was probably my least favorite part about it. After Charlotte’s creepy doll hotel is burned down, she, Jake, Gabriela, and the contractor meet to discuss the selling of the Bluebird. And oh boy. After 90 whole-ass minutes of Gabriela claiming she wants to sell the inn, she suddenly gives a Dramatic and Raw speech about keeping ahold of what’s precious to you. Actually, I’m not completely sure if that was she was talking about because it wasn’t worth listening to the entire thing. It was only like 20 seconds, but it was just like every other speech where the main character drastically changes their mind for the better. It was just sad. And after her motivational speech? Charlotte, after 90 whole-ass minutes of trying to buy the Bluebird and get Gabriela to forfeit her inn through most likely illegal manners, nods admirationally and tells Gabriela, “You’re one of us now.” Like, what even happened there? What exactly happened to make Charlotte change her mind? Wouldn’t she want to buy the inn even more now that she doesn’t have one of her own? I know no one with such high demands who would back down that easily, at such a lame speech. For that, Charlotte is a weak antagonist, and lowers the rating by ½ a star, because shouldn’t you despise the antagonist? Shouldn’t you have a little crawling feeling in your stomach whenever they appear onscreen. For me, that was true, but only because she looks like Hannah Meloche and her sickly, whiny voice made me want to throw myself off a cliff.

About halfway through the movie, Charlotte texts Dean from Gabriela’s phone, telling him to bring her back to America if he really loves her. Firstly, why doesn’t Miss Badass have a passcode on her phone?? But when Dean finally arrives to New Zealand to take Gabriela back, there’s no mention of the text. There’s not even a simple “How did you know when the opening launch party was?” “Why are you here? I did not invite you,” on Gabriela’s end, and a “You asked me to take you back, that’s what I’m here to do,” on Dean’s end. It feels like we didn’t get closure on something that was really hyped up to create suspense.

Again, nothing happens to make Gabriela change her mind about keeping the inn. even when Jake is whining to her about being authentic and real and keeeping the Bluebird for the first 7/8ths of the movie, she is adamant in telling him off. And… then nothing happens. Nothing remarkable shifts in their relationship. Nothing remarkable shifts in Gabriela’s daily life. The only thing we can assume is that Jake’s whining has started to borderline on manipulation, and Gabriela feels pressured to keep the inn if she wants to keep Jake. This would be supported by the fact that Gabriela and Jake began to ignore each other when their initial discussion about selling the Bluebird came to blows. Minus 1 star for unsatisfying conclusion.

This movie apparently really wants its happy ending, since almost everything in it is forced to get there. But I don’t know if there’s really much that’s that great.

Overall, I don’t hate Falling Inn Love because I watched it with my best friend over a FaceTime call and we were having fun. But I’m pretty sure if I had watched it on my own I would have clicked out of the tab about thirty minutes in.

My horror dislikes list

I love horror, particularly Gothic Horror as a genre. However there are certain common types of horror or sub-genres of horror I don’t really care for.  Just because I don’t like it, it doesn’t mean I don’t understand it or can’t appreciate that others might like it.    This is just my personal opinion and I mean no offense to anyone.  And some of what I may list will be controversial to some.   Bear that in mind.  Horror that I don't care for:

1.  This one is probably the most controversial so I’ll list it first. 

Most controversial:  H. P. Lovecraft.   It's not that he is "too wordy" or "long winded." (Never insult me like that.)  It's not that I "don't get it."  It’s not that he uses “archaic language.”  (These are real things people have assumed when I tell them I don’t like Lovecraft).  I just feel he's overrated.  I don't like his antisemitism, which was considered extreme by 1930s American standards.  And I don't like how he's credited with creating certain concepts that weren't really his doing.  His ideas about long sleeping ancient / forgotten Gods or Old Ones can be found as early as Goethe's Faust Part 2, if not earlier.   Other authors that had similar ideas before Lovecraft include George MacDonald, author of Lilith.     Sometimes I like when other people adapt Lovecraft.  I liked Neil Gaiman’s A Study in Emerald.  I liked the origin of Morpheus’ helm in Sandman: Overture (also Neil Gaiman).  I liked the two episodes of The Real Ghostbusters animated series inspired by Lovecraft.  I even like the spoof Lil Cthulhu.  But I’m just not a big fan of actual H. P. Lovecraft. This doesn’t mean I haven’t read it.  Nor does it mean I don’t understand it.  And I do appreciate his influence on pop culture.  I just feel he’s overrated.       2.  I don't like Rob Zombie movies.  It's all the same to me.  Boring, grimy, sweaty, eldgelordy- full of overused modern tropes like flickering lights, jump scares, and "I haven't showered in a month" antagonists.  He sucked the supernatural out of Halloween and there's nothing truly distinct about any of his films.  It's just a style that doesn't appeal to me. 3.   CG.  I love practical effects.  Most CG is lazy, cartoonish, and doesn't look like it's really there.  I know it can look realistic and gorgeous at time but most horror films don’t take that route.  Most horror directors use it lazily. There’s a Night of the Living dead 4 or 5 by the Syfy Channel where a manhole cover is clearly CG.  Why did a manhole cover have to be CG?!  And there’s CG blood in Spartacus: Blood and Sand, which is very distracting because it looks like jello flying at the camera.  The werewolves in An American werewolf in Paris are already dated and very fake looking yet the transformation in An American Werewolf in London still gets to people today.  The werewolves in An American werewolf in Paris didn't even look real by 90s standards.  They looked like beasts that escaped Who Framed Roger Rabbit.   In the Fright Night remake there's a scene where a windshield shatters in front of Amy's face and she screams on que but she doesn't flinch or blink, making it very clear the glass isn't really there.  Had it been sugar glass or ice to give the effect, there would have been a natural flinch.  I feel practical effects, if you can't guess how it was done, can be more unnerving and the reactions seem more real.  That's why some 80s fantasy is more unnerving for kids than some modern horror.    4.  Jump scares.  Jump scares are lazy.  Being startled is not the same as being afraid.  And when they add a musical chord to accompany the scare it's like idiot proofing ot say "This is where you should react."   The only jump scare that ever worked on me was when I was twelve-years-old watching Interview with the vampire.  Louis says "It's the carriage." and he goes down to the door. And you know damn good and well it's not the carriage.  He opens the door, there's no one there.   You know it's coming, but when he turns his head and Lestat's hand grabs his throat, I jumped the first time I saw that.  I knew it was coming.  But I still jumped.   To me a good scare is when it creeps in and crawls under your skin. When I was watching Let the Right One In I remembered thinking “Ah, this isn’t so scary.” and it was at the part where Eli climbs up the side of the hospital.  It was snowy outside, just as it was in the movie, and late at night.  And at that moment the power went out. For a split second (It was only a second) I thought “Oh, crap!  Vampire child’s gonna get me!”   And I was a grown woman in 2008.  I was twenty-six-years-old. Another incident that made me realize just how scary Gothic horror truly is was when I was watching a History Channel show about the real Castle Dracula.  And it mentioned the locals seeing mysterious lights and noises up in the castle so some priests were sent to bless the place.  A storm came in suddenly and the priests had to do the blessing from a distance.  (This was Poenari castle, not Bran.  Bran is used for tourists.  Poenari is where Vlad spent most of his time but it’s considered unsafe).  And as I watched this I remembered that storm summoning was supposed to be one of the vampire Dracula’s powers. At that moment the door creaked open And I practically leapt out of my skin.   That’s when I knew Dracula is actually scary.

I also had a nightmare once about being a werewolf in the style of The wolfman. In the dream I blacked out during the transformation and then suddenly it was hours or a day later and I knew I must have done something terrible and I found loved ones slaughtered.   I remember the guilt in that dream and I knew The Wolfman had reached me on a level most horror doesn’t, on a fear of what it must be like to be like him.           My most recent experience with a truly good sense of my skin crawling horror was watching an episode of DC Universe's Swamp Thing. A child is possessed with the ghost of Abby Arcane's dead childhood friend.   She's been singing their old song and acting ...well, weird.   "If you're her than prove it?"  She is smiling menacingly.  It looks like she'll do nothing.  Abby turns to walk away.  This is where most jump scares happen.  But it doesn't.  As she nears the door it slams shut but that isn't the end of it.  It's not just a stupid psych out jump scare the way most horror movies do now.  Instead the whole atmosphere of the room changes.  Everything becomes damp.  The lighting dims.   Everything becomes slightly off-kilter or "wrong" like in a nightmare.  It was so atmospheric, so spooky... It was the best Gothic horror moment I had seen in literally years.  I had goosebumps.  5.   The polarization of vampire fiction triggered by the Twilight fad.  Thankfully this is dying now.   But for a while vampires were divided into two styles.  The broody, whiny emo, or the mindless killing machine AKA "the Shark with legs."   I missed the balance of charming and charismatic, but also predatory.  I missed the likes of Frank Langella as Dracula and Chris Sarandon as Jerry Dandridge. The Fright Night remake was disappointing for this reason.  I hate that vampires rarely shapeshift now.  I hate the nerfing of their powers.   And I hate that Jerry's human-side was erased as a reactionary response to be anti-Twilight.   It ruined the remake for me.  6.   Ghosts that movie like a broken VHS tape.  The jerking movement ghosts of ghosts that suddenly flicker or spasm and suddenly are a few stepped forward without actually moving...  This works in Ringu / The Ring because she IS a damaged VHS tape but in other ghost stories it doesn't really work for me.  it takes me out of the story and I notice it's following a trend. 7.    Torture porn.   Pity, and gross-out is not fear.  It's like how that game show / reality show  "Fear Factor" confused fear with disgust. "eat these random cow pies" isn't fear, folks.   Actually Torture porn kind of bores me . I don't feel fear.  It's just drawn out mutilation and torture.  I may feel pity for the character or be disgusted by the graphic mutilations but I'm not afraid of it.  And it's lazy and cheap.  8.   Next on Lazy and cheap...  Found footage.  I HATE found footage movies.   Shaky cam and screams into a camera don't do it for me.  And they all feel the same.    9.   Most Zombie Apocalypse movies.  Most recent Zombie apocalypse movies bore me.    There are a few exceptions like the original Night of the Living Dead, which, at the time it was made was unique and atmospheric but many zombie films attempt to imitate it and it becomes bland and formulaic.   I also liked Return of the Living Dead because it was one of the first Zombie Apocalypse movies.  It hadn’t yet become dull and predictable to me that everyone huddles together and it becomes more and more futile until there is no one left or it’s utterly hopeless.  And so as things became repetitive I started to dislike the ‘zombie apocalypse genre.”   Exceptions include Night of the Living Dead and Return of the Living Dead.  I also like the original White Zombie and I walked with a Zombie but those are pre-Zombie Apocalypse.   There are a few zombie films I like that aren’t that scary but I like them because they are different.  Those include “My boyfriend’s back.”  (Daddy, I love him!”  “He’s a zombie, you freakin’ idiot!”  I love that line).    And Warm Bodies.   And please don’t use Warm Bodies to discredit my status as a horror fan.  I just like it because it’s different.  First, R isn’t that bad of a protagonist.  He’s more well developed than Edward Cullen and he spends half the movie eating the brains of the dead boyfriend of the girl he’s pining for, carrying bits of brain in his pocket.  There’s no sugar coating that.   Also it’s one of the few zombie apocalypse movies to have a happy ending.  Yeah, it’s sappy and a bit hamhanded bu tit has a sweet message.  Sometimes it’s okay to like sweet.

 10.   Remakes that suck the supernatural out of a supernatural story.  I’m tired of gritty.  I’m tired of “grounded in reality.”  The supernatural is scary because it is unknown.  In the case of Child’s Play, a hacked AI doesn’t seem as creepy to me as a soul of a serial killer seeking a new host body. Also the cynical part of me suspects the “grounding in reality” is a direct ploy to get a release in China, which does not like supernatural content in American import movies. This is part of why Disney / Marvel has been downplaying Marvel’s supernatural side.  I miss supernatural horror.   I’m tired of remakes literally sucking out the soul.  

11. Bonus: Anything based on a “true case” by The Warrens.  I believe in the paranormal.   I respect paranormal research but The Warrens were known con artists, even among paranormal researchers.   If you look at most of their haunted house cases there’s a particular formula.  Woman moves into dream home with loving, Catholic family. Weird things slowly start to happen. The husband is skeptical / getting possessed.  The wife goes to the church for help.  The priests can’t help or nothing happens in front of them.   Desperate she attends a Warrens lecture.  Never fear, The Warrens are here!  And lo’ and behold, the house is full of demons!  Demons only The Warrens know how to Handle.  This happens in The Haunted (Not to be confused with The Haunting), it happens in Gave Secrets: the story of Black Hope Cemetery and pretty much every other haunted house story they got involved in.   They made book and TV movie deals and later bigger Hollywood movie deals.  Now half the horror and Parapsychology world thinks they were demonology heroes and not the con artists who once ‘exorcised a werewolf” (Look it up.)  I am not a fan of The Warrens.

Isekai, Ranked

If Anime is escapism, there is no better way to escape than plunging Into Another World, where our niche skills and routine possessions may shake the fabric of reality! From MMO-inspired, to hard fantasy, there are many types of shows on this list but no movies nor series we haven’t seen recently. Bring all disagreements to the comments below!

1. Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World Re:Zero takes Isekai’s love for fish-out-of-water stories on step further: through brutal, expectation breaking blind sides, it makes the viewer a fish out of water too! Dripping with fantastic animation, Re:Zero true strength is the balance of its highly detailed world without over explaining its magic system, time loop mechanic and political systems. It also earns bonus points for  limiting the application of its protagonist’s powerful magic and technological advantages.

2. Sword Art Online (1st season)  In the narrowest of second places, SAO pairs top shelf animation with an approachable cast and easy to appreciate central conflict. Its lovingly constructed MMO setting aside, Kirito’s mistakes and occasional darkness elevate him above his potentially generic good-at-everything character type and Asuka plays the strongest heroine/love interest on the list.

3. Now and Then, Here and There Imagine if Digimon told a bleak about story sex trafficking child soldiers trapped on a waterless world with a maniac king? NTHT’s intense swerve from adorable into darkness is on par with Re:Zero and, much like Natsuki Subaru, HTHT’s Shu must rely on ‘durability’ and ‘heart’ to make it through. While some of it’s later tragic moments are predictable, this f’ed-up little anime scores major points for telling a complete story and having that story grow Shu from simpleton into a conflicted young adult.

4. Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet While Red’s post-earth scifi origin may stretch the common definition of Isekai, being trapped in a primitive culture that treats him (and his AI-driven mech Chamber) like a hero of old does not. Beautifully, Gargantia flips the script and makes Red’s overwhelming power, and killing in general, at odds with the local people.

5. Yōjo Senki / The Saga of Tanya the Evil Give us World War I with magic, a gender swapped villain as our protagonist, and God as our antagonist, and you’ve given us something pretty damn original. Like Gargantia, this reborn in another world captures thinking differently about the world can be as powerful and terrifying as unworldly strength. Without question, Yojo Senki’s cast is the most uniquely imagined on this list.

6. No Game No Life Like Tanya, the Blank twins piss off god and are sent to another world as punishment. However, their punishment is much more stylish and… harem. Underneath NGNL’s acid-soaked panties, over the top protagonists and the psychedelic color pallet, lives a show featuring thoughtful puzzles and imaginative spins on classic gamble to win story telling. Sadly, its story ends unfinished…

7. KonoSuba One part jab at Isekai and one part love letter to the starting town of every fantasy MMO, KonoSuba is all parts ruthlessly funny!  While this reborn in another world (with a goddess!) show is not be as smartly written as NGNL, and it becomes repetitive after a time, the constant frenetic action more than makes up for it.

8. Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash Quiet, thoughtful, and full of sadness, this hard fantasy Isekai doesn’t care if its heroes are reborn in another world or trapped in a dungeon crawl afterlife. Building family bonds and connecting with people who would not normally be friends is all that matters… and it’s lovingly animated to boot!

9. ReCreators As a reverse Isekai, ReCreators distinguishes itself by bringing the other world to us. The experience is fantastically animated and packed with clever dialog that somehow breaths sincerity into a profoundly silly plot. The cast is quite diverse, both in design and personality, which keeps the action fresh, yet somehow cohesive throughout. It’s only major flaw is, the final act, which is way to drawn out.

10. The Devil is a Part Timer No I’m not kidding! This reverse Isekai’s premise that the Devil is trapped in our world and must work at McDonnald’s to get by is charming. While DiaPT’s humor isn’t particularly specific to the devil, the jokes are punchy, and the overall plot develops at a respectable pace. As an added treat, the opening gothic fantasy fight scenes are surprisingly well animated.

11. Log Horizon (1st season) Most exposition heavy, trapped in an MMO themed Isekai featuring ‘top ranked’ players crumble after a few episodes. More often than not, these shows try too hard to sell the coolness of their game worlds, user interfaces, and central characters. Miraculously, Log Horizon gets better mid season with a simple question: if former NPCs have personalities, can grow and learn, and even die, are they more human than the former players that dismiss them as background texture? Still, it takes Log Horizon six episodes to get going and good lord is it gray looking…

12. Overlord (3 Seasons) This transported into an MMO Isekai mirrors its main character: it is competent but not sure what it should be doing at any given moment. Sometimes the protagonists are villains and sometimes they are heroes. More often than not, characters are given lavish screen time to develop, only to be slaughtered whimsically. The resulting narrative is full of call backs and revealed foreshadowing… yet hasn’t gone very far in 3 seasons and hasn’t asked any interesting questions along the way.

13. El Hazard – The Magnificent World (OAV/TV) Predestined paradox, trans-dimensional time jumping high school students (and their drunk gym teacher) are trapped in an Arabian Nights’like land besieged by sentient bugs, a secret tribe of assassins from another dimension, and a death star like eye of god orbiting nearby. If you watched anime in the 1990s it will all be familiar but it still manages to feel original yet cohesive production. The character abilities are wonderful, the tragedy is nice, and plenty is left up to your own imagination to fill in the blanks. A bland, fault free, protagonist and a boy-crazy harem vibe are the only reasons it isn’t higher on the list.

14. Gate: Jieitai Kano Chi nite, Kaku Tatakaeri This invading the other world Isekai flips the script to deliver political intrigue, clash of culture, and commentary on Japanese society. It loses points for being a overly harem, relying on super dumb/super evil antagonists, and a dull protagonist but it’s fun enough to watch.

15. Drifters Stylishly violent, strikingly ugly, historical character filled and utterly bonkers, this reborn in another world Isekai’s uniqueness will hold your attention. Even if you do not want it to.

16. Rise of the Shield Hero (2 Seasons) On paper, this transported to an MMO world Isekai’s “treat the hero like crap,” “watch him accept the role of a slave-buying villain” and ultimately “rise to become the true hero” concept is great. Revealing that the world he’s saving may be less redeemable than the world the invaders are trying to save is also great. Too bad its padded and many of the arbitrary delays and narrative dead ends feel like cop outs.

17. That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime While it lacks the initial hardcore’ness of Shield Hero, this reborn in another world Isekai is pleasantly animated and full of heart. The idea that naming monsters grants them power is a pretty neat mechanic too. It just sort bounces from idea to idea without a sense of purpose of resolution. One minute it’s a story of unlikely friendship, then magic destiny, then town builder, then harem, and onto magic school and isn’t about anything in particular until a hastily thrown together plot ties it up at the end. It scores points for making its hero a slime… although the reborn aspect never feels played with or justified.

18. Angel Beats! If the gun fetish, kids fighting a loli-angel instead of attending school in the afterlife plot weren’t so dumb and drawn out, this rebirth story’s touching moments would push it much higher. There’s a really good tale of life cut short, reunion after death, and again after rebirth here and it gets major bonus points for finishing the story it had to tell. Totally squandered.

19. Death March / Kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyousoukyoku Like Shield Hero, this reborn in an MMO Isekai is actually quite good looking. However, its Gary-Stue protagonist, harem and absurd narrative padding make it far less interesting.  OMG how many episodes are about making lunch?! That’s too bad because the concept of code-like “copy and paste” magic system is pretty neat.

20. Wiseman’s Grandson / Kenja no Mago Despite opening with a modern day man being killed, this reborn into a fantasy world Isekai is more Magic School than Isekai. The only thread that connects the protagonist’s lives is that he can look at magic with an eye for process instead of outcome. The result is harmless easy watching but harem elements, a slow pace and lack of getting anywhere narratively hold it back.

21. How Not to Summon a Demon Lord This summoned into an MMO Isekai starts off as charming, but ecchi-heavy, before abruptly turning dark at the end of the season. We’re talking ‘make a child watch as her best friend is slowly tortured to death’ and creepo ‘finger-bang a loli cat girl in order to give birth to the demon inside her’ level dark. While those elements elevate HNtSaDL above niche appeal of its harm and MMO content, they aren’t so interesting to earn my recommendation.

22. Problem Children are coming from Another World, Aren’t They? The non-ecchi poor man’s No Game no Life features a talking cat that only some characters can understand and dreadful music. TFW smooth jazz? There’s some cuteness to be had, and the solutions to gambling games can be clever, but the overall vibe is low energy. It loses drama points because its protagonist is as smart as a god and physically stronger.

23. Do You Love Your Mom and Her Two-Hit Multi-Target Attacks? This poor man’s Konosuba is occasionally funny, satire of RPG conventions and family relationships. Mama’s skill that interrupts whatever her son is doing, no matter what it is or where he is in the game world, is particularly charming. Unfortunately, there’s no avoiding the creepo factor of sexualizing that family relationship.

24. Restaurant from Another World My mom is secretly from another world and my restaurant’s front door connects back to that world each day is certainly unique, but it’s structured more like a food-porn show than Isekai. While the linkages of each patron become clear over time, few characters are not aware of those connections themselves. The result never feels like it gets anywhere.

25. In Another World With My Smartphone Stories without risk are still watchable when they immerse us an interesting world, or delve into niche details like food or how magic works, or sleeze us with harems and sex appeal. Smartphone fails all of these things. Worse, it does nothing with it’s one idea: protagonist Touya is reborn in a fantasy world with smartphone. Except, GOD GIVES HIM GOD TIER MAGIC FROM THE GET-GO! Ironically, Re:Zero and No Game No Life both use of a cell phones in more interesting ways, and Tanya’s God isn’t even comparable. Unoriginal, unfunny, not dramatic, not sexy, not worth watching.

26. Maou-sama, Retry! This transported to an MMO Isekai’s trash production values, and bizarre characters are hard to take seriously. The results are sometimes so terrible they are funny, such as incompetent background music transitions and detailed horses hiding at the edges of the frame. Sadly, a bland harem and complete lack of narrative objective kill the mood.

27. Isekai Izakaya Imagine a low energy, public access style show, with a tourism theme, that featuring a modern Japanese restaurant that serves fantasy world patrons…

28. Isekai Cheat Magician A loveless summoned to a fantasy world Isekai who’s protagonists are the most powerful and purely good characters could deserve a niche rating. Not this one. The narrative sort of ‘skips the boring stuff’ and, in doing so, skips character development. Hilariously, what the narrative does show is poorly animated, always underwhelming magic battle scenes or people standing around talking.

29. Endride Without dialog, this stumbled into a magic world Isekai’s vibrant color and crisp art would be watchable. The fact that the world is somehow inside of Earth’s core and the sparse use of mythology are unique, but its dumb-as-bricks whiny teen protagonists have the maturity of a small children. There are many unintentionally funny moments like scientists using gigantic laptops or the king’s magic weapon looking like a safety pin. Ultimately, the cast is so unlikeable that the show itself is unwatchable.

By: oigakkosan

Thoughts on She-ra

Just finished watching She-ra and the Princesses of Power today.  My overall feelings are positive.  I might consider doing a full blown review one day, but I have too much on my plate to do that.  So a list of pros, cons, and thoughts will have to do.  A clarification does need to be made before I write down the list:

I am pro-lgbt and believe in equality between men and women of all races.   That said, I will have opinions that may challenge your viewpoints and that is okay.  Great even.  Having different opinions does not make anybody enemies.  It is the refusal that there are opinions besides your own that animosity is born.  Now, onto the list.

Pro

The main cast of characters are likable and each have their character arcs (will get into those later). Design-wise, their outfits look great and I can imagine plenty of great cosplay to come from it.

Writing is not perfect, but is not awful overall.  There are no giant gaps of logic that make you go, “That doesn’t make sense.”

Main heroine, Adora, is a great character as she displays both weakness and strength that make sense of her character. There is still plenty to learn about her past as future seasons will likely dive into.

Bow is just a great support male lead.  He is written to be somebody who is in touch of his emotional side, and also show competency when the need rises.

Glimmer was somebody I thought I would find annoying because she was sort of a brat.  As the show went on, she slowly became one of my favorites as she eventually learns to be more mature.

The villains are great.  Not only are they as evil as I would hope the villains should be, but they also have a lot of depth to them.  Shadow Weaver is a great antagonist as she demonstrates an emotional obsession that is both dangerous to the heroes and the Horde.  Hordak is also really great despite his lack of screen time. But the best villain has to be...

Catra.  Catra is the best character hands down.  She goes through a character arc that absolutely steals the show for me.  Her design is great, her personality is perfect, and her relationship with Adora is filled with so much nuisance and depth that short summery isn’t enough to describe it.  If there is one character to love, it has to be Catra.

Con

The animation, I feel, could use with some improving, Certain action scenes have less impact to them as several characters and objects don’t have as fluid a flow to them as they are meant to.  I suspect budget or time restraints to be the cause of this, and any improvement will have to wait until the second season.

While the main characters are written well, the side characters (the princesses for example) are mostly bland or one note.  They aren’t bad, but they mostly depend on personality quirks rather than something more complicated. Entrapta and Scorpia started off seemingly to follow this path, but later episodes actually gave them more depth.  The Dragon Prince also suffered from having too many quirky characters being quirky during serious scenes.  The balance of levity is hard to master as most creators try to please a large range of viewers without alienating any of them.  Success is mixed, but later seasons always help that balance.

Glimmer’s mother, Queen Angella, is not a bad character, but she falls into an archetype that is sadly very predictable. The overprotective mother that wants to keep her daughter out of danger. While I sympathized with her more than Glimmer at first, her shtick kinda got old as she acted more motherly than queenly.  Makes me glad that she and Glimmer upgraded their relationship as I hope a season 2 will allow her to “spread her wings” as far as characterization goes.

Princess Frosta’s eleventh hour moment felt... unearned.  I feel like there should have been a scene of her talking with somebody that convinces her to aid the heroes and rejoin the alliance.  Last time we saw her, she was telling off Adora for being a rude guest and cementing her neutrality within the war.  After all that, why does she join them?  It is a plot hole that needs to be addressed.

This is something I imagine would tick off some people as it is about the canon lesbian couple, Netossa and Spinnerella.  Not because they are a same-sex couple.  No, that is great.  What isn’t great is that they are given the worst screen time out of all the princesses.  They don’t even get any lines or characterization other than “And then there is those two.” until the final episode of the season with powers that would have great to have around during the Best Friend Squad’s previous adventures.  Even their relationship wasn’t made clear until their proper introduction.  I think they might’ve been mentioned during the Prom episode, but by that point, they were mostly forgotten already.  Season 2 will need to do better to include them more often so it doesn’t feel like they are just background characters.

Related Thoughts

It is a pain but it would be ignorant to not point out the controversy that bloated to the point where it’ll make an inflation fetishist blush. So, yes, most of the female characters in this cartoon are super flat.  For the many teen characters, this isn’t a big deal, but it becomes odd when all the adult women are depicted in the same way.  Especially the motherly Queen Angella who people would expect to have breasts after childbirth and rearing. The fact that everybody is flat is not a problem for me.  If it was, this would be in the Con section.  No, the reason I am even mentioning this potential ball of toxic drama is because there are a few female characters in the show that do have breasts and they are not depicted in a sexual light.  If the fear of sexualization was behind the decision to make every female character flat, then why are these characters exempt from the rule?  Was it something that was looked over during character modelling process, or is it something that the show runners intentionally done?  That is something to think about if you are trying to form an argument for either side.

There are people that feel like breasts are a sexual taboo and that giving breasts to girls under the age of 18 is an act of sexualizing minors.  Others say that the removal of breasts is a form of body shaming towards those who were naturally endowed.  Everybody has their reasons and chooses a side.  Both seeking to set up a victim they swear to protect, but is more like an excuse to get their teeth and nails soaked in blood.  It is just sad to think that it should happen over a cartoon that is suppose to introduce a younger generation to a show that my generation loved.

There were a lot of references towards She-ra’s connection to He-man in this show.  It is actually an overarching plot point really.  Eternia and Grayskull are name dropped, and I am getting a good feeling that the “First Ones” are them.  Now what this could mean about this show’s version of He-man and the Masters of the Universe is hard to tell.  They could have Eternia be from a different dimension or from another planet.  Maybe Eternia is destroyed by this point?  It is all a mystery.  All I can imagine is that Adora’s family (Prince Adam and his parents) will become important within season 2 or 3.  The circumstances behind why Shadow Weaver is so obsessed with keeping Adora so close to her should also be revealed then as well.

There is a Kowl plushie and it is pretty cute.  They should introduce Kowl next season and make him as cute and lovable as 2011 Thundercats’ Snarf.  Even that new Thundercats reboot, which people hate with a burning passion, based their Snarf off that one.  Cute sells.  It sells more than sex.  This is the absolute truth.

Phew!  This was more than I intended but I feel like I got my points across.  Despite those cons you see, I feel like Netflix’s She-ra did a good job for its first season.  As somebody not blinded by hate or rainbow-tinted lens, I feel like this is good enough to introduce my niece to. I can only hope that Catra will be her favorite.  It will fill me with pride if she can recognize who the best character is.

A Darker Shade of Magic Review

Overall Score: 3.5

One of the more unique premises I’ve read in a while, though with some cliched tropes and aspects thrown in for good measure. Predictable? Perhaps, but ultimately quite enjoyable all the same. If you’re into a classic-feeling fantasy with a newer spin on the world, maybe this give a shot! 

More detailed review under cut: 

(All scores are out of 5 - tried to keep spoilers out this time around, but very minor ones might still be ahead!) 

 For clarity here, this is a book that’s been hovering around on my TBR shelf for a while, but something else has always piqued my interest just a little bit more. I picked this up eventually after the whole Crooked Kingdom fiasco, when I was waiting on a replacement to arrive, and wasn’t feeling anything else on my TBR. 

It took me quite a while to get into this book, I found. Not that it wasn’t good or interesting, per say, I just never really clicked with the story. So, it was a slow read, but I got more invested about half way through, and finished it quickly after that. 

Writing Style: 4

This is my first experience with Victoria Schwab���s writing, and I’ll admit, I’m into it. She’s very good at getting us into the character’s head and emotions, and equally as good at keeping secrets secret still, without the reader sensing something’s being held back. I found her very easy to read and get into - even though I was reading it bit by bit this week due to work. I’m afraid there’s not that much more to say here, really! 

Plot: 3.5 

I... am torn over the plot. Overall, it was interesting and engaging. It made sense, there weren’t too many glaring plot holes, and it kept you invested. I did find it, however, incredibly predictable. It followed a pretty classic fantasy/adventure story cycle, though that in itself didn’t make it bad (those cycles can be great fun), but I struggled to find myself too surprised by anything that happened. As a result, it does sometimes take away from the suspense, because I never really felt any. For what it was, I will say that it was done very well - formulaic, yes, but you know what else can be a little formulaic? Baking a cake. And cake’s that are made properly are pretty damn nice. 

Characters: 3

The characters were good. They were interesting, the rapport between the two main protagonists was fun to read, but I did feel they were somewhat lacking. I’m not sure what with. I just couldn’t really connect to any of them. Kell didn’t seem to have that much of a character, or at least, what development he had came a little out of nowhere - he was something of a blank slate during his introductory chapters, and so perhaps that’s why, when the plot got going, it felt like he suddenly had a personality. Matching him up with a character as big and developed as Lila, just highlights how bland he is, though I guess he does provide a good balance to her. 

The two big antagonists felt a little ‘bad for the sake of bad’ to me, I struggled to really see what they wanted other than ‘power and to be bad’, and I’d hoped that the relationship between the two might have been developed and explored a little bit more, as I think it could have been really interesting. The two characters I was intrigued by at the start of the book turned out to be somewhat minor in the plot, and so I was disappointed, especially with how quickly their roles were brushed aside. 

World-Building: 4.5

This is where I’m giving most of the props. I did really enjoy the world - it was what drew me to the book in the first place. The premise of the different Londons being connected, but ultimately leading to different worlds was unique and intriguing, especially with the magic system and how it changed depending on which London/world you were in. It seemed to be really well developed, and I’m extremely curious about the history of the world, especially when it comes to the much mentioned ‘Black London’, so if anything is going to keep me reading ahead in the series, it would be this. 

Overall again: 3.5

It was good. I enjoyed it. Took me a while to get into the story and I don’t think I ever cared about the characters as much as I wanted to, but it wasn’t a bad book. It was just... good. I’m a little disappointed, but only because I wanted to feel really passionately about this book. I think I will still give the next book in the series a go - I’m hoping the characters and world are developed a little bit more, and that the plot is a little less predictable - but I’m not rushing to read it. It’s a low priority read at this point. 

I Don’t really like My Hero Acadamia

I can already hear the angry screaming. Let me just put this out there. I’m not attacking anyone who likes the show. I’m just stating my opinion because well that’s one of the functions of social media. Notice how i said i don’t like my hero acadmia. I’m not saying you shouldn’t like it, i’m just saying why i don’t like it. With that said, if you like the show and don’t want to get angry feel free to move along but, if you’re like me and don’t like the show feel free to stay. Now I've only seen season 1 and 2 and a little of 3. I’m not going to see the rest on the slight chance that i might like it. So with all that out of the way, let’s get into why i hate my hero academia.

My hero academia follows the story of Deku who became the world's greatest hero ( kind of a spoiler since he says that literally at the start of each episode). He was one of the minority who didn't have a quirk (superpower) in a world where most of the population has a power (useful or not). He's given a power by his hero All Might due mostly to luck (and a little to the creator either being to lazy or cowardly to think of something a little more interesting). Being a hero is also an occupation. And the show goes on to introduce it's characters and follows how they learn to be heroes in school UA and fight bad guys.Now, let's get into why My hero academia is a boring generic show that is been for some reason over hyped 

---Opening

I don't know why but, many people think that spoiling the show's ending of Deku becoming the world's greatest hero is somehow an interesting way to start a series. It might be different but that doesn't mean it's good. I'm sure the audience will obviously assume that the heroes will win but, spoiling the ending is not how you're going to make the viewer feel engaged. Let's take avatar the last airbender for example ( I don't usually like to compare shows but I just want to show how one show did showing their protagonist's destiny correctly and how the other didn't. In atla, Katara tells us about Aang and how he's the avatar and, the main thing, how she believes he can save the world even though he has a lot to learn. This tells us that he has flaws, how he has to work hard and the main thing how they believe he can win. They don't tell you the story of how he saved the world. You follow him on his journey to do it. A biography show often fails because you don't get the same vibe as being in the journey, interacting with the world, and being with the characters and seeing them as more like actual people instead of characters. You sacrifice that when you take the route of a story that just tells someone autobiography. By doing that, the viewer just feels like their just watching a story instead of engaging in it. A story's main function is to put the audience into a different world instead of showing a world. There's a difference. A good story can either force to engage in the story or it can fall flat on it's face and my hero academia has leaned towards the latter.WORLD-- So, the majority of the global population has quirks (which is probably just a way to make the something sound different without taking too much of a risk) and has shown, only through Deku though, that the minority, people who don't have powers are looked down upon. Most heroes are greedy and don't actually care much about saving lives and are just there for Fame and money. I don't have much to say about this other than predictable and lazy. It feels like the creator didn't spend longer than a few minutes creating this world. This is what I mean by generic. It's like the creator went people like superheros and magic and high school stories so I'll combine those. These might have been good ideas if the creator had brainstormed a little longer but he didn't so what we end up with is the epitome of generic.Speaking of ideas that could have been useful.

Being quirkless--

Deku is introduced as an underdog. He's bullied and treated like dirt because he has no powers but, if you thought he was going to be an inspiration to people who are born at a disadvantage in life you get to feel a slap of disappointment. He's ambushed by some glob villain and is rescued by his idol All Might which leads to him inheriting All Might's power. This effectively destroys a narrative that could have been different and inspiring. Instead of being a bad ass hero who has claimed the ladder and even surpassed people who were were already lucky with a quirk maybe a version of batman ( this show is already just a copy of shows and tropes so why couldn't they have actually copied something to make the show interesting) we are stuck with a protagonist who's success could only start if he's like everyone else. What makes this that much more stupid is that Deku is sub textually a disabled person. Someone who's at a disadvantage in life and born different from others and is bullied because of this difference. People with disabilities irl relate to this as they have had to go through life differently than people who weren't disabled. And it's not like no disabled character in a show has succeeded before. Take Toph for example. She's blind but is still talented and a respected bender also using her disability to her advantage by using seismic sense. Instead of doing something something that smart and creative, the creator decided to just make Deku not disabled, as if that's something possible for millions of people. It's not just disability, he can also be seen at a disadvantage because of his race. Obviously being quirkless isn't seen as a race but take the U.S. when African Americans were still seen as second class citizens. They were treated horribly for being black and people in power either treated them like that or they looked the other way when that happened ( Deku is bullied and treated like dirt because he was born quirkless and none of his idiot teachers seem to give a damn about his whole class bullying him). African Americans were always at a disadvantage, from living in poverty to segregation (Deku was at a complete disadvantage especially in the hero industry and wasn't even treated like a human being). So could African Americans suddenly change their race to White to get better lives? No. They had to protest and fight back against injustice to improve their lives. Deku doesn't get something this close to fighting against injustice and as someone who's aiming to be a hero, that's not a good sign. So, the only way that you can succeed is by changing your biology. Great my hero academia, great job.

All Might--

 yeah yeah he's the greatest hero in the world and his powers are just boiled down to really strong punches. He's introduced as a symbol of hope, peace, and justice probably because heroes and authority figures were incompetent before and after he showed. But, he's got a secret, he used to be quirkless but then he got a quick and he's actually got a very shrimpy body and he thinks if that gets out then people will lose faith in him being the thing that solves their problems. But that doesn’t even make any sense.. Like I guess it's a problem that his powers are depleting but did nobody think that this guy just can't go on forever? Are the heroes that unreliable to them? I just don't get it.

Hero industry--

Nearly all the heroes are greedy assholes who don't understand how important their job is. They are obsessed with fame and fortune and this gets to the point where todoroki's father abuses his wife and children because he's obsessed with one of them surpassing All Might. Like I get that some of them are assholes but the majority? Seriously? That few people put their lives at risk just to save other lives. They even put their loved ones at risk by not masking their identities like All Might’s master who had to send her son away because being with her was too dangerous. This might have been a point where more heroes should have realized the magnitude of their job the dangers they the people they know in and maybe secret identities are useful because they keep the people they care about out of harm's way. I find it very unlikely that all might master was the only one who had this problem but, since the Creator is the lazy kind of creator, no hero in the world goes through this problem and the majority of heroes are insufferable assholes.

Characters--

Deku- I haven't mentioned what a bland character he is. I'm all for perseverance and kindness but those aren't the only things that make a character. It's also their personality. Deku is just a good goody, no nuance, just that. You might be thinking that a nuance might come out of no where except it's actually weird that he isn't more of a grey area. He was bullied since he was young and given no hope of success. And the people who bullied him were all people who had quirks. That past should have an impact on him. A good example of a relatable and believable protagonist is Judy from Zootopia. Deku and her have lot in common. They're both hard working and perseverant and they reached their dreams despite their obstacles ( except Judy actually had to work through the obstacles instead of somehow changing the fact that she's a rabbit). But, one of the biggest differences is that Judy's incident with Gidean the fox wasn't forgotten or treated as a joke. She carried that into her adult life and when she met Nick she was suspicious but she worked through that. Deku is not given a journey that important. His past of being horribly bullied is written as a joke and doesn't have as serious of an impact as it should have. All we get is a protagonist that is only capable of doing good for everyone and that is just boring and unrealistic.

Bakugou- Now the biggest thing I don't understand is why we're rooting for the guy? Why is he working as a hero? Why is he not an antogonist? Even a secondary antagonist? Even as a child Bakugou was already an asshole that should have been arrested. He beats up another kid and Deku and it looked like he used more than punches: fucking explosions. Now they probably weren't that big but, they're still explosions and extremely dangerous and likely left severe marks and burns on the kids and nobody has arrested this crazy child yet. Going into middle school now. He's still a scum bag who is so egocentric, so crazy that he threatens Deku if he signs up for UA. He literally uses his explosion power right on his desk inches near Deku (and his idiot teacher does nothing) and threatens to blow his arm off when he puts his hand on his shoulder while it’s smoking. And tells him to jump off the roof and hope he gets born with a quirk in his next life and that is treated as a gag. I wish I was joking but apparently bullying is just that funny. You might think that it's just Deku trying to use humor to deal with this but show treats this like a joke too. With that suicide remark ending with a joke to Deku actually still friends with this asshole. I don't care if they're childhood friends he is fucking nuts and Deku has no reason to want to stay friends with him because all he has done is make his life miserable. I’ve been picked on before and it hurt so i can promise you that Bakugou not being made to suffer severe consequences and Deku wanting to be friends with him is just ridiculous unless Deku has a case of Stockholm Syndrome. Maybe actually treat him as what he is: a bully. Have him go through consequences or have Deku prove him wrong that he can become a hero even if he’s quirkless, like Judy did with Gidean. I forgave Gidean because Judy proved him wrong and he also grew up and knew that what he did was wrong but, we don’t get anything that smart or realistic, we get a bully who supposed to be treated as a good guy by the narrative. And this guy is going to be a hero. Yeah, Bakugou. The guy that wanted to beat the shit out of two kids when he was a kid, that told his childhood friend to go kill himself, that brutally attacked Deku in the first exercise that all might planned for them not because he was playing the role of villain but because he has a gigantic ego and he was angry. Who in God's name would ever trust the job of protecting life to him? He's not even doing it to protect people. He's just the younger version of todoroki's dad who just wants fame. He's an asshole. And when an asshole like him isn't made to suffer through the consequences, your whole pack of characters fail because they're just that: characters. You failed in the task of making them feel like people.

Uraraka-- The hetero normative love interest. Now i’m not saying this as a shipper or anything. I don’t ship anyone in this show. I’m saying this as a viewer who is just so bored of the cute nice girl x nice guy protagonist trope. Only reason Deku has a crush on her is because she’s cute and she’s the only girl that didn’t treat him like dirt and the only reason Uraraka likes him is because he nice and... inspiring, i guess. She’s teased that she likes him by Aoyama because apparently a boy and girl can’t just be good friends that admire (not romantic) each other as impressive people, they have to be in love. This causes her to get extremely flustered because i guess she’s never been teased like that but, whatever and goes on to future episodes with her being nervous around Deku. Soooooo, another cliché. I can’t realy say much about this because i don’t really expect much from shonen (and even shoujo) anime in terms of romance. So let’s move on to why she wants to be a hero. She wants it for the money to help her parents out with expenses. Sure she seems grounded and realistic and all that except there’s one massive flaw in that. When you work a job, especially a dangerous job, that you don’t enjoy it starts to drain the life out of you. Are heroes really the only occupation that are allowed to use powers. Like 80% of the GLOBAL population has quirks and you’re telling me they haven’t properly integrated quriks into the world. Take atla for example. In avatar, bending was a way of life, it made the world move and there were just as benders as there were non-benders. And you expect me to believe that with 80% of the population having a quirk, nobody decided that they might be useful, maybe help the economy. Anything,use your imagination. You might say that more jobs using quirks would put quirkless people at a disadvantage but, the thing is that they are already treated like dirt. And that could have lead to a whole new story, with a quirkless people demanding better treatment ( sorta like legend of korra with non-benders being oppressed by benders) maybe even taking inspiration from Deku who should have been the first hero without a quirk. Uraraka’s character is just a whole minefield. That’s all i can say.

Todoroki-- He’s the cliché cold cool guy. But, that cliché actually has some grounds. He and his mother ware abused by his father so, it makes sense that he’s like that. But, instead of maybe working towards something that makes more sense like i don’t know working in family services, fighting for laws to make heroes face consequences for their crimes, anything that would fir his character. He’s an abuse victim but, he working to become a hero and also working under his father as a sort of intern. Yeah... wait what? He wants to become his father’s occupation, which i’m not that mad at because he still has dreams, i guess, but he’s working with his abusive father and the childhood abuse is to be forgotten. He could have one of my favorites if they had taken his past remotely seriously and not just assumed that it’s okay to forget about abuse,work with the abuser, as long as the abuse victim is still a little angry. Like seriously creator, that is all kinds of fucked up. On a side note about Todoroki’s mom, who exactly sold her to todoroki’s dad. She calls her mom to tell her what she’s going through but, how would that make sense if her parents agreed to sell her. Did only relatives have a say in this and the parents consent doesn’t fucking matter? Like how does that make sense?

Mineta-- He’s a pervert who wants to be a hero to be popular with girls. All i can say is..WHY IS THIS PIG A GOOD GUY? If anything he’s just going to be a rapist not a hero. His sexual harassment is right up your face and you’re supposed to root for this guy. I’ve never liked fanservice because it’s insulting to so many different people on so many different levels (women are sex objects, gay people are bait, men are all disgusting and no body will care) but there comes a time when it gets ridiculous and wondering “where are the police?” and “where are the laws against rape and sexual harassment?”.For God’s sake, he tried to peep in the girls’ bath in front of everyone, nobody doing much to stop him, and the teacher suspected this, and what does he do?, he posts a kid as guard instead of expelling the pig. When your teacher, who’s also a hero, does not get obviously sexually harassing pig, you should already be asking yourself a lot of questions.

Asui-- She’s apparently a cinnamon role.You can sum up her character to that. I’m sorry but, i don’t understand everyone’s obsession with her. Sure, she’s cute and all that and she got some screen time in the internship episode but, being a cinnamon role is just that. It’s not important enough. If she had some more qualities, maybe a backstory, and if we know more about her resolve and dreams, maybe why she wants to be a hero then i guess her cuteness might have been icing on the cake but, it just falls flat because there’s just not much to talk about.

The rest of the characters are just pretty boring and i can’t really find much to say about them but i think you get my point on how i feel about them.

Narrative---

I’ve already said that the story follows how these kids become heroes. And now i’m going to say how boring that is. The story can be summed up to learning their future occupation and fighting some bad guys. I have no problem with the narrative itself, it’s just maybe they should have put more story into it other than learning how to become heroes. How about we see more stories about the characters, anything that doesn’t have to do studying to be a hero. Take atla for example. We know aang is working to learn the elements and defeat the fire lord but, how that differs from my hero is that the story often deviates from the plot allowing even more stories in, stories that some people will enjoy and other stories that other people will enjoy. We know the world is at war and we know aang is the avatar and what he’s working towards but, the show doesn’t dwell on that too much. It’s the right mix of new stories and interesting ideas while also having the main goal in mind. It might not be a good idea to compare my hero to atla but, i just want to show how one show showed it’s goal correctly and a how one didn’t. My hero falls towards the latter. The show can be summed up to studying to be a hero which doesn’t open the opportunities for more people to enjoy different stories.

I’m going to end with this. This show does not have anything to differentiate it from other superhero shows or give it depth. There a fuck ton of superhero shows out there and Tiger and Bunny was one of them that was different and did well. It gave it’s characters depth, put more stories in that weren’t summed up to just fighting bad guys, and it did something different by putting ads on heroes. My hero academia isn’t different. It’s genericand does nothing to sepereate itself from other shows. All I can say is that it’s cliché after cliché after  cliché..

  The End-

Personal Opinions on Choices Villains

In this post, I'm covering the antagonists of the series, not subordinates (e.g. Cecile Contreras) and side villains no matter how loathsome they are (e.g. Priya Lacroix). However, I'm not including everyone, such as those who are too early or appear in multiple books in the same series as significant characters but are villains in one or two books (one of the villains I will mention is an exception).

Everett Rourke: I seriously despise Rourke, both as a character and as a villain. Saying that I hate him for his heinous actions isn't enough. While I acknowledge that he's a force to be reckoned with, most of what he says and does boils down to him being an egomaniac who wants to take over the world just to satisfy his ego. This kind of motive is really shallow and makes him a mere plot device. The only moments I admire about him being more than just a villain is his fondness for Olivia Montoya, such as the way he talked about her. But even then, he liked her just because she gave birth to a child he considered perfect in any way. In short, I find him a pathetic and short-sighted individual. Would be really fitting and satisfying if there's an option to flip him off. At least it was cathartic to see him go crazy in the Vaanu ending.

Azura: I feel like she's less like a character and more like a plot device, so there's little I could say about her other than her being a psychopath who wants to conquer places and prolong her own life by sucking other people's life force. Reminds me of Rourke in some ways.

Luther Nevrakis: He is, in my opinion, one of the best villains Choices has ever produced. Not only does he exercise his acumen well to the point of posing a challenge against Kenna, but he has understandable motives that still doesn't excuse his actions. I understood his frustration at the disunity of the Five Kingdoms against the Iron Empire, even as I despise the massacre he perpetrated at his fellow rulers at Stormholt. Compared to his son Marco and henchman Bartel Gremley, Luther maintains his composure and guile while brokering deals with his enemies and uses them for his own ends.

Rowan West: I'm glad he has motivations that don't necessarily boil down to solely god complex, making him a compelling villain in his own right. It started with his childhood experiences that lead to his talk of wanting to help humanity evolve. That, and coupled with his competence as a villain and persistence, makes him someone I can fear and respect at the same time.

Dorian Delacroix: I find him rather forgettable aside from his resemblance to Donald Trump. Not to mention his offer comes across as fake and paper-thin. He practically exists to give Sebastian some sort of challenge in him. I mean, I like Sebastian more since The Sophomore, Book 2, but it still doesn't erase his initially selfish behavior in The Freshman, up to and including committing a crime.

Nathan Sterling: Nathan is a bland and inept villain with shallow motives for being bad, really predictable when it comes to him being the culprit behind the car crash and the mastermind behind the pranks, and an utter failure at covering his tracks. To quote Kaitlyn if she records his monologue: Drop the evil mastermind monologue, you knock-off Draco Malfoy!

Anton Severus: Anton takes the bad stuff about Nathan Sterling (bland and inept) and applies it to a nation. Sending a bunch of assassins to target the bride (or brides), only for said assassins to end up defeated is an example of his failure as a villain. If you're plotting to overthrow a country's government, you better succeed in doing what you have to do, and Anton fails big-time. Even his motives for becoming king are weak aside from wanting to have all power for himself.

Jonathan Spencer: Another forgettable villain. I feel like he's there to give Matt a chance to stand up to him the moment he was exposed as the one who leaked the secrets.

Viktor Montmartre: Viktor is no doubt a poorly written villain who not only commits sexual assault towards actresses and ruins their lives if they don't comply, but also gets away with a mere slap in the wrist. I get that the story involving him is supposed to be based on the #MeToo movement, but it gets shoved aside in favor of building up Thomas Hunt as a forced love interest. It's distracting. Not to mention that he's pretty much a mere plot device with passing reminders of his importance to the story. Not saying that I should change him, because he's supposed to be a monster like Azura and Rourke.

Silas Prescott: I like that he really cared for his family and tried to bring his late wife back, though it certainly doesn't excuse his heinous actions. In terms of effectiveness, he pretty much succeeds in what he does, particularly having Hazel get info on the MC. Nevertheless, he's an acceptable challenge.

Trent A.K.A. ex-fiancé: What can I say about this guy? All he does is being an utter douche to his ex-fiancée, such as cheating on her, roughly grabbing her, and even conning her into signing a marriage certificate. Granted, the latter is partly the protagonist's fault for not consulting with others, but it still shows how much of a jerk he is. I have mixed feelings on his disappearance, however. I was relieved I didn't have to deal with him anymore, but also felt that having closure with him costing diamonds is a disservice to the plot, since it explores a character's motivations. Even with the closure, cheating on his fiancée was a stupid move in his part.

Aunt Mallory: Oh, boy. Where do I start? Her actions are consistently loathsome while her motives came too late. She even continued being horrible (giving real weapons to kids, casually suggesting that her daughter give her child up for adoption against her will, tampering with her niece's boat, etc.) even after she mentioned her history with her daughter, which shows that she made a choice and must face the consequences. Unfortunately, she gets away with nearly killing her own niece and future nephew-in-law, which makes it all the more infuriating.

Brian Crandall: Oh, Brian's definitely one character I really detest with a passion. On one hand, it's easy for me to dismiss him as some mere bully, but on the other hand, his actions and motivations are more than just being a bully. His lack of remorse without compelling concerns, selfish attitude and mindset, creepy gestures towards Myra, and refusal to see his own mistakes are the topreasons. I think PB did the right thing by characterizing him as unlikeable as possible, as it's their intention to do so. Even worse is that he comes off as persistent even in presence. It's like I can never escape from him.

Principal Amanda Isa A.K.A. Ashley Faris: Since her dictatorial rule in Berry High, I suspect two different things about her: either she was sincere in enforcing order and discipline by going too far because of her bad experience with chaos, or her policies were ultimately a facade to cover her criminal activities. I wasn't surprise that the latter was true because she picked Morgan, a notorious opportunist, as hall monitor. As for Isa herself, I really hate her for her actions and motivations. Sure she was indebted to a couple of criminals since she fell for a pyramid scheme that ruined the three of them, but that doesn't excuse what she did, especially since she probably should've turned Phantom and Blackbird in. Still doesn't make me hate her as much as I hate characters worse than her.

Max Warren and Kara Sinclair: I swear, these two are the kind of people I love to hate, but even then they pale because they don't do something genuinely threatening, like usurping the club leader positions from Julian and Mia, respectively. That would've made them threatening, I guess.

Danielle: Honestly, I find her rather pathetic and immature because of her obsession with Rory that reaches possessive levels. She knew what she did could've injured the Class Act protagonist, but she did it anyway. Even if she didn't know about the true purpose of the play was no excuse for her misdeeds, which screams Aunt Mallory to me. Moreover, what she said in the premium options didn't even explain the reason why she considered Rory her friend. I wish she develops differently, however. And what's with her motivations being paywalled?

Redfield A.K.A. Jane Marshall: Oh, this is an interesting one. I find Jane (and Redfield in general) a very interesting villain because she still maintains her childish personality even after becoming Redfield, which warps her way of helping her old friends. Even after her rejection and rampage, she still retains a childlike view of what's right and wrong. She's dangerous and tragic at the same time, and I like that.

Countess Henrietta: I swear, for someone meant to be a villain, Henrietta has the personality of a walking cliche. Sure she wants Edgewater and lives in an era where women had less rights compared to nowadays, but her behavior and characterization just boils down to unnecessarily abusive towards others, including her own husband and son. I feel like Duke Richards is more of a villain than she is, though that was because his establishment as one was gradual and just the beginning. I swear, I'm starting to find her slightly less unbearable, but if Pixelberry pulls a Mallory on her (have her do horrible deeds that threaten people's lives yet expect sympathy in the end), I'll be furious.

Duke Tristan Richards: I find it a bit funny that he quickly dwarfs Henrietta in terms of the threat he poses. That aside, he's utterly vile like Rourke and Montmartre and has shown no humanizing qualities thus far. All he does is act like he owns everything and that he's the only person that matters. Sick of his attitude.

Jeff Duffy: Like Luther Nevrakis, Jeff Duffy is a very well-written villain who not only succeeds in his goals, but also has a sympathetic motive that still doesn't excuse his actions. It helps that he has a really scary grin when his true colors are revealed. Sure I'm angry at him harming Kate, but I can also step into his shoes as he gets angry at the Sterlings for ruining his life. In the end, I chose to let him die in the Endurance while saving Pierce, who I think deserves to watch his family's legacy crumble.

John Tull and Hayley Rose: These two are interesting villains that surprise me in the end. While their actions are despicable, their motivations show them as still human. Tull going great lengths to protect her daughter, who was wronged by several men. That makes them interesting villains in their right.

Adam Vega: This one's tough. I find him an effective villain when it comes to gaining good publicity, framing Adrian, and gaining the upper hand in some situations. What bugs me is how and why did he start adopting Gaius Augustine's agenda. I mean, he was rather shocked about it when Gaius revealed his master plan about a century ago.

Gaius Augustine: He may not have a lot of free screentime, but he has proven to be an interesting villain who works behind the scenes for a long time, and effectively, no less. There's still not much I could see of him so far, but here's hoping Bloodbound, Book 2 treats him with justice by making him a three-dimensional character with believable motives that explain his reasons well while not whitewashing them.

Garret Redmond: Honestly, this guy comes across as forgettable. I know that he's a threat to the Oakleys and Mendozas (attempted to bribe them, then damaged the Oakley ranch by burning the barn and destroying the fence), but I see nothing much in him besides being a ruthless and corrupt business tycoon.

Martin and TJ: Honestly, these two piss me off because all they do is treat other people, including their co-workers, like dirt for no real reason. Even worse, TJ forcefully grabbed MC, which shows his willingness to cross the line. What I find outrageous is that we don't get to see their reactions to their defeat in the finale. The only assuring thing about them is that they're intended to behave that way.

Rose Waverley: Eh. I get that Rose is paranoid, pessimistic, and suffering from a mental illness, but whether being undead has warped her mind or her behavior was naturally that wasn't fully explained in detail. I think she could've been more interesting, if only THoBM isn't so short.

Ivy Fisher: OK, so I feel like I should hate her for taking advantage of the competition with Carson's help, but the truth is I don't. The reason is because I was reminded by Adam/Handsome Stranger to not take game moves personally, so I wonder why the love interests start taking offense at her targeting my protagonist? It's like they know the reason to participate in the competition is to have fun, yet they disregard it anyway.

Overall Senjyushi review+ explanations

Hello~♡ I am here again to review anime~ Just kidding just kidding~♡ I never review anime before. I kind of doubt this "Senjyushi" anime review will help anyone, but here we go! Be Noble!

Ah? Why I type it overall? Let's read to find it out!

It is because, Senjyushi/Senjuushi is divided into three branches so far: game, manga and anime.

About the game, The game is still in JPN only, so far. Sorry, it is not a very good information, right?

Although, if you have Qooapp, you can find it by typing "The Thousand Noble Musketeers" on search bar. This game is relatively new, it is just out few months ago, so it the story is still developing with many hints thrown all over from events, affection stories from all playable characters. A strong will to analyze the story and expanding theories about the plot is necessary to predict next hints and onwards, it is like playing a puzzle! which makes it interesting!

Let's join their adventure! This game is not all about good looking bishounens, they are strong kijyushis/antique guns too! What is the point of good-looking if they are weak anyway?

About the manga? There is not much I can tell you, my fault, I guess. I only believe that this manga will be the key to understand the plot. The art is good and blood is uncensored, yay! There are much story and drawing details, and expressions inside the manga.

For the manga, it can be purchased on Young Ace, and I hope a kind hearted translator can translate it here! It will be the greatest support to be a patron for this small fandom! A big fandom need big and reliable source right?

There are 2 chapters out so far! It is out once a month!

Oi! Now! Let's talk kick back and chill for a bit! Do you believe in second chance? Yeah!

I give this anime second chance on second episode, the animation quality rise a lot, the fighting scene got prolonged and excitement rises! It is funny to watch that red-coat bastard, or Brown Bess (yeah, I call him that 👌) got so persistent about his decision and got unlucky on most of times. The other characters have entertaining personilities and not all bland stereotypical bishounens. Charleville seemed most worrying, Spring is like a child that runs his mouth whenever he wants, Ieyasu is so mature and senpai-like although a bit strict, but he is kind! The interaction between kijyushis/characters are hillarious so far! They are basically bright and funny!

Oh do I forget to mention you that Kentucky legitly say yee-haw and what in the tarnation

Oh everyone is bright Except this guy:

He is so sour that he can melt any iron and anything including your heart (maybe). His name is Chassepot, he is a kind of smug person but pay attention to others much. But!!! He is still so sour that I just want to feed him lemonade all day and watch that smug suffer.

Somehow I wonder why there are so much scenes about well, there are so much that I ended up laughing lololol

Sorry! I have not explain the plot, right? Sorry about that, hahaha! Pinch me if you like, but not too much okay?

The plot so far is about weapons sabotage and tyrannical oppressions from World Emperor, and The Resistance are the protagonist to restore democracy in the world. The weapons got taken by force to make peace, and yet...it is kinda sad to see people can't do anything without help right? I guess we need weapons, afterall!

So the Kijyushi got summoned by Master, whose face can't be seen YET, but i am sure Master is a good people! Without it, there will be no kijyushi or walking and breathing guns (no, don't make cryptic image, omg).

Ah! Oddly enough, there are modern guns who are apparently got personified too, it is very dangerous! But somewhat the resistance will defeat them all, Yay! Good Kijyushis will stay loyal on master side and march forward on missions!

Now, now~Can I tell you about the modern guns?~ they are very strong! There are Mikhail, F, Ghost, Kirsch, Belga, Hokusai, Ninety, 89, Eins and..

FAL.

(Characters named from upper left until bottom right, and the last photo)

(The anime so far only has Belga, Eins, and F.)

(Please play the game to find out their faces! Enemy interactions can be found there too!)

Mikhail is an odd ball. He really loves playing piano and conducting orchestra, how stereotypical classic era dude will do right?~ it is a mystery of why he is blind though..also he likes to bring piano to battlefield

F is another weird guy, he likes to lick burning hot gun barrel. He is both sadistic and masochistic character, he likes to hang around Eins. I can't comprehend my thoughts about him...

Ghost is a man that has semi groom-bride design, but talk like a thug, fear him. He has a good kansai accent. If you like a cold thug bride and thug groom, you can have him. Thug life is a good life y all, be a thug with him, go yee-haw ing around.

Kirsch is the child figure, or like a brat. He is a sadistic type and like to toyed around his underlings, a very dangerous child. He is like the child from "Let me see what you have? A knife!" Meme. Other than that, he behaves cheerful like child and gossiping with F (it is viewable in game story on his chapter).

Belga, or should I say the secondary thug? He has a bunny ears on his military jumpsuit, he laugh and talks in rough thug manner, but he have cute side aka owning a gold fish whom he loves much! He also can't read, a poor kid. Ahn, I feel bad for shooting him during gaming~</3

"what is the color of your blood?" Is Hokusai's catchphrase, he modified his own blood to have blue color, it is unknown why he likes blue color~ but either way, he has a bratty and smug personality~ he is a crazy scientist but kind to other modern guns! Modern guns are odd family afterall..

Ninety, he is a mute guy..but it does not mean he can't enjoy his life. He likes to eat snacks in exchange of going to battle. I don't have any information why he is mute.

89 is a hardcore all nighter mobile game gamer. I have no idea why there is such an average NEET type character can be an antagonist. Behold! This is just Senjyushi thing. He have a glaring eyes, kind of scary. 10/10 will stay away from him.

Eins, he is a strict, cool and dense man, he sticks to mission, his cluelessness about romance and dense personality is beyond amazing. To put it shortly: Hetalia Germany/Ludwig Beilschmdit. Oh wait- They even share same seiyuu haha~

Fal is a new enemy in Senjyushi game during event "ESCAPE". He has ability to stop Supreme Nobility (it is like full power mode) from growing. He has a sadistic personality and likes to torture his gun master, and I have no idea why.

⛦♡~I guess that is it! See you later!~♡⛦

Y’know, today I feel like talking about Disgaea, specifically my problems with Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance.

Spoilers for Disgaea 1, 2, 5, and Makai Kingdom, I guess.

So, first off, let’s talk about...

The Narrative.

Disgaea 5 tells the tale of edgelord Squall Leonhart wannabe Killia, a former asshole who got redeemed by falling in love with the daughter of the only demon to ever give him a proper ass-thrashing, who spent his time teaching Killia how to find inner peace blah blah blah it’s actually pretty bland.  Killia speaks in a constant monotone, half-heartedly tries to get his rapidly accumulating party of Overlord-level demon pals to leave him the hell alone, and is generally just really goddamn boring.  It’s not to say this kind of character can’t be interesting--in fact, I name-dropped Squall earlier, and until Final Fantasy VIII went completely off the rails in the second disc he was a legitimately nuanced character and I was interested in seeing where he went.  Here’s the problem with all that, though:

The Disgaea series is a parody.

Now, full disclaimer--I’ve only played Disgaea 1, 2, 5, and Makai Kingdom.  I have Disgaea 3 and 4, but I haven’t been able to secure a PS3 to play them on yet, so I’m leaving those out of the discussion (though from what I’m aware those are parodies as well.)  However, of the four games I have played, Disgaea 5 stands out as being the only one of them to really take itself seriously.

Well, 2 did as well to a certain extent, but other than the looming issue of “we’re trying to off your evil dad, Rozalin,” Disgaea 2 takes itself about as seriously as Disgaea 1 did, and Disgaea 1 is a farce.

A beautiful, glorious, hilarious, one hundred percent intentional farce.

Laharl is a ridiculous creature.  He’s petty, narcissistic, and childish, and while there are serious story beats (Etna being blackmailed, that asshole Angel stealing Flonne’s protective pendant, etc) Laharl never stops mocking his foes, his friends, and the genre itself.  Disgaea 1, in short, is taking the piss, parodying the most ridiculous parts of anime and JRPGs (and, hell, American raygun gothic) with delightful glee...which is why, when things turn deadly fucking serious in the final chapter, it’s so goddamn heart-wrenching and effective.  That slow burn of Laharl growing to care about Flonne enough that he tears the Heavenly Host several new assholes to try to save her from their judgment (and, even in the best ending, has to talk himself down from murdering the head angel in cold blood because she wouldn’t have wanted him to take revenge for her sake) is one of the most effective tonal twists in the history of media, in my opinion: all of a sudden, it’s not funny anymore.

While Disgaea 1 lampooned the genre as a whole, Disgaea 2 takes a different tack, and lampoons common anime/JRPG character archetypes.  The hot-blooded, idiotically honorable melee fighter; the spoiled rich brat of a princess; the annoyingly perverted goblin of a third wheel (and, ugh, I wish that archetype would die already), the plucky little kids who are the least innocent characters in the whole crew other than the aforementioned perv goblin, on and on and on.  The goal may be serious, but the characters are almost as silly as they were in Disgaea 1, and I actually think 2 manages an even better balance of humor and compelling storytelling than 1, because not only is the romance between Adell and Rozalin natural, enjoyable, and endearing, the dramatic beats come along without undermining the sheer silliness of our protagonists until it can have the most impact.  There’s a moment in one of the later chapters where Laharl from the first game appears without warning, pissed off, heavily geared, and more than a thousand levels your superior.

(Yes, I said a THOUSAND levels.  For those of you in the audience who aren’t familiar with the series, the level cap is 9999, and you can reset a character to level 1, storing attained levels for bonus stats.  I’ll be talking about the grind later, don’t you worry.)

The encounter with Laharl accomplishes several things over the course of the two fights with him: it delivers a joyful reunion with the protagonist of the first game, which turns to terror when you see his stats, which turns to horror as you send your team into the meat grinder to die helplessly...and then it shows us that something is frighteningly wrong with Rozalin as she is seemingly possessed and tears this impossible foe apart effortlessly.  From there the story really kicks into high gear, and like Disgaea 1, transitions into a deadly serious final assault on Zenon’s stronghold, but unlike Disgaea 1 it’s not a shocking swerve in tone--the story’s been building to this over time, gradually reconstructing the genre it gleefully tore to pieces over the previous game and a half.

Makai Kingdom is a very different affair, and can actually be most closely contrasted with Disgaea 5.  In the Disgaeaverse, an “Overlord” is a very powerful demon who rules a pocket dimension called a “Netherworld.”  Laharl’s an Overlord, for example.  Makai Kingdom deals with a set of protagonists on a whole other level of power; these are the Overlords that other Overlords view as gods, and they essentially sit around on their asses playing card games and throwing popcorn at their TV.

I think you can see where I’m going with this.

Makai Kingdom is a return to Disgaea 1′s attitude--relentless silliness, mockery of itself, with a sharp turn at the end.  Whether it accomplishes this goal as well as Disgaea 1 isn’t all that relevant, but it is something we can compare to Disgaea 5.

Disgaea 5 starts off similarly--hideously powerful Overlord-level demons gather together, but the characters are...not exactly dour, but played straight, I guess.  There’s no parody, no lampooning; it’s very stock JRPG comedy (and “comedy”), with dramatic tension, a serious approach to its story and antagonists, and predictable story beats obvious to anyone who’s ever seen a mediocre anime or played a mediocre JRPG.  Hell, the main villain’s name is Void Dark, and not a single character makes fun of that!  There are some interesting designs, and I actually think Majorita is a compelling villain for Usalia, who I likewise enjoy immensely, but the story abandons almost everything that made the previous games’ plots entertaining.  Topple an empire, murder some baddies, get your homes back, save your dead love from the creepy brother with the incestuous undertones.  That’s it.  That’s all.  As a story structure, it works just fine, and as evidenced by my love for the rest of the series I absolutely think challenging established conventions is a good thing, but it doesn’t do so successfully enough that it stands out as a worthy entry in the series.  Where it does shine is in improvements to gameplay quality-of-life and beautiful animation, which brings me to...

The Gameplay.

Disgaea 5 improves the UI, adds all sorts of neat little quirks to character customization, and improves game control substantially.  It adds extra ways to gain stat points (like I said before, character levels cap at 9999 and can be stored for stat bonuses--this game also allows you to train stats for stat points via minigames) and is just generally more in-depth than its predecessors...at the cost of being stupidly easy to grind out.

Yes, I think an easier grind is a bad thing.  Let me explain: I have over ten thousand hours in Disgaea 2 alone over the last twelve years.  I picked the first two games up when Disgaea 2 was brand new, and have beaten the game dozens of times in the intervening span.  Most recently, about five years ago, I created a save file on the PSP port of the game, and I spend idle trips or the time I’m falling asleep grinding it out as kind of an idle game.

Literally everything you do in a Disgaea game gets you experience for something.  Weapon mastery, skill exp, character exp, you name it.  Hell, you can run randomized dungeons inside your items to level those up, too.  It’s incredibly satisfying and makes for a constant sense of progression--even if you don’t level up in a fight you’ve still gotten experience points for the skills and weapons you’ve used, making it stronger, more effective, etc.  My personal goal is to, eventually, have one of every character class maxed out on stored levels and every skill and weapon proficiency in the game, which is a deliberately impossible task because it’s just so much fun to chase it forever.

Here’s the other thing: the Disgaea series, due to the ludicrous level cap, is known for its absurdly deep pool of ever-stronger bonus bosses, stretching, yes, all the way up to the level cap.  The hunt for those is likewise extremely satisfying, and takes quite a while, especially since the campaign usually caps out at around levels 70-90.

With all this in mind, imagine my dismay when I realized I was blowing through skill and weapon exp and hitting the caps on everything in a tiny percentage of the time I was expecting.  To be fair, there is a “Cheat Shop” NPC who can adjust the EXP you gain up and down, which is neat, but I have to crank it down to literally single-digit percentages of normal to get the same amount of chase-time out of it.  This is not to say that the game should be inaccessibly grindy; in fact, Disgaea 1 and 2 aren’t.  The story campaigns in those games are perfectly completable with the normal skill progression and a small but admittedly grindy amount of extra leveling in unlocked areas.  It’s all the extreme bonus content that’s gated behind the postgame grind, and the huge ceiling on skill levels and weapon proficiencies means you’re constantly rising in power and challenging new heights.  I think that’s a fantastic reward for being dedicated to the game!  And Disgaea 5 in its default state takes that away.  I had a character capped out on all proficiencies, subclasses, and aptitudes within my first hundred hours of the game.

It was...disappointing, I guess.  All around, mostly; for every step forward it took, it also took a step back.  Ultimately, the story takes a backseat to my points about the grind, because the campaign in any Disgaeaverse game is literally about 2% of the game’s content.  Disgaea 5 took my grind from me, and that’s why I’m salty enough to have just spent an hour typing up a book report on its failings, I guess.

I just finished watching TFATWS 01X04 and here are some scattered thoughts:

There's literally only so much you can do with acting and cinematography. Even when they're both stellar. If your plot is weak and the motivations and side characters are bland, and the antagonists' plans feel rushed and not thought through then what can I say, I'm gonna end up glancing at my phone instead of paying attention. Predictability is just your average day when it comes to superhero stories but there's a limit as to how much you can actually excuse.

I'm gonna go backwards since the ending is what I have freshest in my mind right now but from the top of my head:

You… want to kill Captain America. You make plans to meet up with the Falcon but you have already stated your desire to kill Captain America. You're the leader of an organisation which has allegedly worldwide reach. You're supposed to have a plan. But when you throw Captain America's buddy against a pillar and he stops moving you just… leave? Like that? Without finishing the job? Okay.

I get it if she's scared. I do. But she literally blew up a building with multiple people inside just last episode. Where'd that determination go? Where's the fire of your revolution at? You see Cap get mad and you just haul ass and leave??? What kind of nonsense bullshit is that??? Didn't want to leave any plot points unanswered for next episode did you, writers???

No seriously what the actual fuck you make a move against Captain Walmart and when he's about to retaliate you just... retire? Leaving yourselves vulnerable? And don't tell me it's because they're fucking amateurs because those people were wielding combat knives and clearly had had training (regardless of how much; clearly less so than any of the other main characters but case in point is they're still trained). Now you just have a havoc Walker going on a bloodthirsty killing spree which of course is very plot convenient but it just feels so... poorly written.

Speaking of poorly written: Lamar. They did the man dirty. And I don't mean no disrespect but he was the blandest, most plain character in the entire show thus far. No amount of outstanding acting from the performer's part (who intuitively led us to believe Lamar was, in fact, a character with nuance and potential) will save him from what he ended up being: cannon fodder to fuel the white man's motivation. One would assume content creators learn from their mistakes; apparently, they do not.

Something else... "the Dora Milage have no authority here"... and America does... in European soil? Don't forget yourself.

Sorry but as an European it makes me mad that they just gloss over these scenes like so. Excuse you.

Anyway that's just colonialist American television bullshit for you.

Military propaganda blablabla

I really have nothing to say about Karli other than the fact that no matter how honourable her motive and how strong her determination, she'll probably just end up being a weak minded leader (because this is Disney and supremacists who go against xenophobes are bad). I mean… I don't dislike her. I just don't like her. Massive kudos to the actress for her performance though, the scene where Zemo shoots her and destroys the serum vial was brutal. Less so the funeral speech scene but it was all in all pretty good so no complaints from me there.

Speaking of no complaints: Wyatt Rusell. He's killing it. The acting he does in close-up shoots is just, amazing. It's a shame such talent and, let's be real, genuine passion and work is being lost with all the fucking idiots plaguing the fandom who are deadass sending him death threats over what may possibly be one of the best performances in an MCU project, ever. I literally have nothing but praise for this man's work. Absolutely outstanding.

Speaking of (x2) one of the best performances in the MCU: Not only is Anthony Mackie showing us the full Juilliard graduate experience, he's finally being able to give Sam the complexity and nuance his character so rightfully deserves. Sebastian Stan is of course a top tier actor and, let's be real, the opening scene with the WS conditioning being lifted was simply heartbreaking, but his talents cannot compare to Mackie's (this episode in particular)

However they generally even each other out and their chemistry makes their complimentary roles shine even further. Massive kudos to both of them for giving two characters who would otherwise be left in the dark extreme realism and in the case of Sam, an innate compassion and humanity I would have never expected from a show like this. Sam is an intelligent and driven character who is so preoccupied both by his loved ones and by the people he's supposed to be up against that it's just absolutely mind blowing how anyone could take a look at him and say he does not deserve the shield. He is what the shield ought to represent. He is what the shield should aspire to be. Not what it'll ever be nonetheless (can you tell I fucking dislike America's guts)

The Dora Milage were a very welcome addition and the fight scene might just be my favourite this episode. The choreography was a little clumsy in my opinion but that might've been just the way it was shot in order to make it more chaotic so... it'll pass. I hope to see more of them in the future (especially if they beat Walker's ass again)

Zemo my beloved war criminal ❤️

I have many more thoughts regarding scenery and music and of course the nuance of the acting in specific scenes but mainly yeah this was it

Uhhh 7/10 could do better but overall enjoyable let's hope next episode doesn't disappoint XOXO gossip ralph

Star Wars The High Republic: Into the Dark Review

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Into the Dark by Claudia Gray, the first young adult entry in The High Republic series of Star Wars novels and comics, is inventive and adventurous. Ancient aliens, a space station haunted in more ways than one, and space pirates make it a grab bag of what the new era has to offer, all of it explored by well-meaning but burdened Jedi. The main character is the least compelling of the gang, and some twists are signposted as bright as a lightsaber. Despite that, Into the Dark, which is set 200 years before The Phantom Menace, is a good introduction to the High Republic era, and a fun but not particularly deep Jedi fantasy.

When a group of Jedi and smugglers are stranded on a space station, they find something strange: ancient idols and plant life that shouldn’t be able to grow so well in space inhabit the alien structure. Jedi apprentice Reath Silas, in particular, doesn’t feel ready for this mission; he’d much rather be reading about someone else’s adventures. But when the Jedi’s choice to disturb the idols releases ancient and murderous alien captives, the station becomes a problem only Reath can solve.

Stream your Star Wars favorites right here!

Unlike Light of the Jedi, the first adult entry in the series, Into the Dark does very much have a main character. Whether or not you like Reath will probably affect whether you enjoy this book. I found him a strange point of view character. He doesn’t tell us anything particularly new about the Jedi or this era, and he doesn’t have a personal connection to the space station. He’s most interesting when he’s grieving, and the plot does deal a lot with his discovery that adventures also involve a lot of death, but that it’s worth it to be brave and forge on anyway.

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But nearly everyone else has a more personal and specific emotional through-line. My favorite characters were the older Jedi, Cohmac and Orla, whose doubts on an earlier mission lead to disaster and make interesting cracks in their friendship. Cohmac and Orla have the most characterization out of the bunch, with Cohmac interested in folklore and Orla trying to figure out whether she should become a Jedi Wayseeker, authorized by the Jedi Council but working independently. Both seem unstable enough to be amusingly unpredictable and also to genuinely care about each other.

On the other hand, Reath is more predictable, and feels disconnected from his peers. His perspective lacks humor, and instead is at its best when he sinks into the kind of angst that might play well with certain readers. In particular, Reath and his friend Dez have good chemistry, but only when they’re in mortal danger. Until then, I kept waiting for one of them to reveal a hidden talent that would make me want to root for them a little more. Not accomplished enough to be cool nor inept enough to be a sympathetic underdog, Reath fails by falling right in the middle.

The smugglers have strong relationships, too: young pilot Affie and her stoner mentor Leox (yes, you read that correctly) clearly care for each other. During the adventure, Affie discovers her foster mom’s smuggling enterprise uses shady indentured servitude, and has to choose whether to secure her own spot in the business or tear it all down to expose the injustice. Affie, Leox, and their navigator Geode are all so funny and energetic. Geode never speaks, never moves on screen, and ends up being one of the funniest characters in the book. Meanwhile, even though Leox’s speech is elaborate, he at least sounds like he could be doing that on purpose.

The Jedi dialogue is stiff, and I’d be more likely to believe this was an intentional choice to reflect their cloistered upbringing if the prose itself and the Nihil’s dialogue didn’t sometimes slip into the same choppiness. This book also contains the line “Your sorcery cannot save you!” which I adore, actually. I just wish it was more intentionally over-the-top.

The space station setting creates a locked-door mystery with traps and secrets piled on top of one another. I really enjoyed the several reveals toward the end that showed things were about to get more complicated than expected. However, the “surprise” introduction of the Nihil, the punk pirates who seem to serve as the series’ main antagonists, was easy to spot from a mile away.

Read more

Books

Star Wars The High Republic: A Test of Courage Review

By Megan Crouse

TV

How Star Wars: The Acolyte Could Explore the Sith We Never Saw in the Movies

By Megan Crouse

Into the Dark also has the same problem all of The High Republic books do so far. Needing to create a connected universe of characters, settings, and events from the start, the beginning is a flurry of new character names and ideas without any time to sink into them. At worst, The High Republic feels like it was designed by committee rather than individual voices, erring on the side of bland rather than weird. The tone flip-flops between antics that could suit an episode of Scooby-Doo and heavy angst. But at other times, it’s charming and funny. You can almost see this book becoming more sure of itself as it goes on, the ending touching on coherent character arcs in a way that should have been more present from the very beginning.

Sometimes, reading The High Republic has felt like watching authors develop their characters in real time. I can’t wait to see how the dice will roll for these people, how I’ll gradually become more interested in their relationships as experiences flesh them out. But for now, the character work already on the page isn’t strong enough to fully fill the Jedi in to the point that they feel like people. Affie and Leox do, but it’s easier for them: they have home worlds, and unique experiences.

In a book all about Jedi, Into the Dark doesn’t quite seem to know how to differentiate the space monks. And in a series like Star Wars, where the original appeal came in part from natural-sounding dialogue and natural-looking cinematography in an outlandish setting, the fact that The High Republic seems keen to swap those traits isn’t an encouraging start.

The post Star Wars The High Republic: Into the Dark Review appeared first on Den of Geek.

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First thoughts on NDRV3

Actually, first off, has everyone seen the way of changing the tutorials to talk about PC controls rather than Xbox ones? It’s supposed to give you the option as you start up, but it isn’t for a lot of people, including me. You have to find the local folder (you can also do this by right-clicking on the game in Steam and going to properties) and then activate V3launcher.exe. Then you get the options.

Okay, back to first thoughts:

Seriously, fuck the Monokubs. No-one fucking needs any Monokubs.

They’ve loaded up on the Chuuni, haven’t they? Not that that’s a bad thing, but...

Still trying to work out if this’ll be in the same universe as Hope’s Peak. I thought it wouldn’t, but unless the opening cinematic was just them scratching their own back it might be. On the one hand it feels weird by this point to have anyone other than Junko as the bad guy, but on the other hand I really don’t want any more canon in the Hope’s Peak setting

So, obvious twist is obvious; less obvious twist is also obvious; I think I trust Spike Chunsoft to have more on top of that.

Rather jarring start? Like I was hoping for a dip in the interest curve after the prologue, but then we get that despair pipe nonsense.

Very heavy on the Kaede/Tenko during the introductions.

More VLR references in the achievements! What more can you ask for?

My current opinions on the characters, from least favourite to most, along with wildly over-confident predictions about what will happen to them.

16 - Tsumugi Shirogane: She’s committed the twin evils of a) having the same talent as a character from my fic and b) having 100% uselessness as the core of her being. I guess those add together to be a plus? (Prediction: Murderer. I don’t think they can save her as a character if they don’t.)

15 - Gonta Gokuhara: About the only thing he’s got going for him is that he’s a different big-guy stereotype from before. (Prediction: Murderer. They never have the big guy survive, but I think they’ll be tempted to switch it up this time.)

14 - Tenko Chabashira: They’ve done the whole “hates guys” thing before, and Mahiru was a lot more nuanced with it. (Prediction: Victim. Too strong to make an interesting murderer, too strong to keep around for long.)

13 - K1-BO: He hasn’t really accomplished anything other than “being a robot” and “yelling at Kokichi” yet. Plus, he’s really stepping on Miu’s territory just by his very existence. (Prediction: Vicitm. When has Danganronpa ever gone well for robots?)

12 - Miu Iruma: Coming into this, I was absolutely certain Miu would be my favourite. I was wrong. If you’re gonna be aggressive, stick to your guns rather than flip-flopping over to channel Mikan Tsumiki every five seconds. (Prediction: Survivor. Mostly I just selfishly want her to have the chance to recover and rise to my expectations.)

11 - Angie Yonaga: Interesting concept. I suppose I’m not really feeling the interaction of that concept with other characters yet, which is leaving her a bit 1-D. (Prediction: Vicitm. I best she’ll be used as a red herring in one trial due to doing something completely suspicious but not actually the murder, and she’ll be killed in the next one.)

10 - Shuichi Saihara: Bit bland, at the moment? I’m guessing we’ll be seeing a lot of him, so he’ll have a chance to develop, but he’s probably the weakest of the deuteragonists from each of the games. (Prediction: Survivor. If someone forced me to declare who I’d guess for the mastermind, I’d pick Shuichi, but it’s far too early to tell so I’ll guess that he survives)

9 - Kokichi Oma: He’s maybe a bit obvious in how evil he is, but he’s fun to have around. (Prediction: Victim. It would be too obvious if he killed someone, and I think that he’ll be attracting a lot of hate his way sooner rather than later.)

8 - Maki Harukawa: Interesting that they’re trying someone who doesn’t like their own talent. I won’t focus on her for free time, but if she lasts long enough I gladly look forward to prying into that backstory. (Prediction: Survivor. I think she’s someone who’ll be sympathetic enough to reach the end, without having the sort of hooks that could drag her into the plot of one of the murders)

7 - Ryoma Hoshi: Interesting character, but maybe a bit to ridiculous to move into the big leagues of character ranking. (Prediction: Victim. He’s killed before, which makes him someone the game’s gonna want to get out the way quickly.)

6 - Kaede Akamatsu: An interesting new protagonist who’s cleanly distinguished herself from Makoto and Hinata right from the start. I vaguely noticed some more teasing/sadistic tendencies from her at first; obviously she’s suppressing them now because of the situation they’re in, but it’ll add something if/when they come back. (I swear I heard something before I blacklisted NDRV3 spoilers that they’d mix it up on this one, but I don’t think I believe it. Prediction: Survivor)

5 - Korekiyu Shinguji: While he’s channelling all the crazier parts of Komaeda, I’m enough of a Komaeda fanboy to actually appreciate it. Plus, the way that his talent is always present in the atmosphere and actually being used by him is very welcome. (Prediction: Survivor. There’s always someone who’s antagonistic at the start but then is forced to see the error of their ways and escapes as a different person. Kokichi, or perhaps Ryoma, more fit the mold set by Byakuya and Fuyuhiko, but a slight change gives the trope some spark.)

4 - Kaito Momota: He’s just a cool guy. What else can I say? (Prediction: Murderer. Okay, so that prediction completely contradicts everything I said before, but... I’ll enjoy that case when it happens?) 

3 - Himiko Yumeno: She hasn’t had the chance to show it yet, but definitely best girl. (Prediction: Murderer. They’ve never had the short cute girl as the killer. Spike’s got to have noticed that as much as I have.)

2 - Kirumi Tojo: Competent from the get-go. Sure, she appears to have no goals or direction yet, but unless they kill her off in the first round she’s got room for some great character development all while still being a badass. I’m pretty much reminded of Sachi from Grisaia, though I expect they’ll take Kirumi in a different direction. (Prediction: Murderer. It’s an obvious way to take her, but I think there’s enough depth available to not make it cliche.)

1 - Rantaro Amami: All of the best parts of Nagito Komaeda, none of the worst (Prediction: Survivor. They need to keep him around at least long enough to reveal his secrets, and I think they’ll be important enough to keep him to the endgame.)

These’ll have to change, of course, as I find out new stuff and the characters develop.

Tomorrow I’ll do the first few Free Time’s. I’m thinking Rantaro, Kirumi and Himiko, maybe Maki if there’s a fourth one or if I don’t have the gifts for my first choices.

Narcos season 3 review

Narcos. Season 3 episodes 1-3

I went into watching this, knowing that there have been parts of the previous seasons I have not enjoyed but that the overall entertainment I received certainly made it worth my while sticking with it. It is quite often the case with recent TV series, I think of Hannibal and Boardwalk Empire , particularly the latter with killing off, to my mind, the strongest character at the end of season 2 (Michael Pitt as Jimmy Darmody), that you get episodes that do not live up to previous standards. Sometimes this can be more than just one or two episodes, sometimes half a series. This is particularly risky when (as in the aforementioned Hannibal, it is the first episodes in a new season. That is how you lose a viewer. Hannibal nearly lost me in the first tedious half of season 2 but I was very glad I stuck with it as I found the latter portion of said series to be impeccable entertainment.

So in series 3 of Narcos, I have found both aspects. They have killed off a major character, pretty much the main character, especially considering the blandness of the narrator and hero of the first two series, Steve. He is rather an empty vessel, and more so up against the colourful and grandiose Pablo Escobar, who was (more or less) in sync with history, killed at the end of the last series.

So we have gone into the new series with the charismatic villain dead and some businessmen and a playboy taking over.

When the new series starts we are left to deduce for ourselves that the main protagonist from seasons 1 and 2, Boyd Holdbrooks DEA agent Stephen Murphy, is not in in with us for season 3. Our new narrator is the womanising previously decamped agent Pena. A man with a Derek Zoolander approach to facial expressions, except he has two looks, apologetic and sorry.

He is back in the fray due to his knowledge of the current antagonists, the Cali Cartel. The rivals to Escobar who have taken over in his absence and increased cocaine production and distribution to the USA, particularly New York as we find out. I did like Javier Pena. I wish they had eased up on the reluctant womaniser cliche, it's very tired, but if the first episode is anything to go by. They are not.

He is back on the case. After a really arbitrary group of scenes at his home town, one of many really clumpy and lazy season 3 exposition scenes, where he meets an old flame who he apparently treated badly but has forgiven him because after he left her she found true love, then with his sage-like father warning him, just as he did years before, to not be naive in the big bad world, we see him back in Colombia. He has been asked back but told it has to be by the book. He has a well meaning but geeky team under him, and he is told that it is not a gunfight. It will not be like Pablo. It will be intelligence led. A welcome return is made by the convincing Bill Stechner as the contentious CIA station chief who previously ousted Havi Pena only to be the one who called him back. They get off to a predictably unfriendly start as they meet in a bar (halfway through agent Pena picking up on a woman in a bar when he is feeling down about things ...yawn…) but I think he is a better foil for Pena than the beige-misted Steve Murphy.

As far as the baddies go, as the end of season 2 showed us, its the Cali Cartel. They are very different to Pablo and his Medellin outfit, they are known as the “Gentlemen of Cali”, where Pablo welcomed publicity,fame, and public adoration, they eschew it. In the last series, they were shown to be very tough but not as ruthless as Pablo. In the last series we were shown that they were like bankers. They were cutthroat but only in a business sense, at least at the top.

However, at the beginning of series 3 we have been shown, rather clumsily I think, that they can be as violent and brutal as El Padrone was. For example, the non-related member of the Cali bosses, Pacho Herrera, was shown to be as sadisticly violent as anyone else when he had a rival narco with whom he had an undisclosed beef, ripped limb from limb by motorcycles. Unfortunately this incident was so clearly nothing more than a force-fed way to show the audience that the Cali guys were also tough and nasty that it felt obtuse and clunky. Remember in the Godfather II when they have the prostitute murdered by Al Neri just to blackmail the Senator? Apparently that was included to remind the audience how vile the Mafia was, after the seemingly quite forgivable actions in the first made them come across as sort of rough diamond bad guys killing worse guys. So imagine if that subtle and excellent subtext had been done at the end of the first movie in a post credits scene, if Al Neri after he had expertly gunned down Don Barzini went to his hideout apartment and after a hallway encounter over nothing more than a loudly slammed door had been shown gutting an innocent mother in front of her children and giving a wink as the camera closes in on his eye, then that is what we have here.  Anyway, they are all reintroduced, the leader, Gilberto Rodriguez, is cold blooded, yet maybe a bit distanced from the day to day cocaine business and therefore not maybe as aggressively ruthless as the more involved bosses of past and present, but it seems in no way unclear, he is numero uno. Then his brother Miguel, a rather enigmatic type, who seems to have a motive in playing saviour to a rival's wife (the aforementioned chap ripped apart by suzukis) but it appears sex is not the reason. It leaves a question open but I am not sure if it is interesting enough to take up much screen time.

The main issue, revealed at the close of the first episode is that the Cali cartel is disbanding, withdrawing from Cocaine and will hand themselves in. This is to happen in six months. The plan is for deals made through bribery and legal manipulation, the top guys will serve no time and will have plenty to retire on, and for the mid levels who will serve some time, they have six months during which they are to go all out to make as much money as possible, to go totally balls-out so they can serve a few months and have plenty saved to make it a worthwhile sacrifice to be able to live free of legal scrutiny. This decision was made purely by the top bosses. Obviously there were voices of dissent. The way they are discovered is classy television. Great editing and gripping action. The goal will now be for the authorities to get them before the six months expires.

We have the snidey accountant. The immensely well played (by Javier Camara) Guillermo Pallomari.  A man who seems to be what the Nazi propaganda tried to make Jewish people look like to German children in the mid 1930s. Slimy, unethical, selfish, and happy to see others suffer. He is certainly likely to be a pivotal role in this seasons shenanigans. Also there is the equally enjoyable yet far more likeable Jorge Salcedo. He is the Cali’s head of security. A tortured man, he was planning on leaving to start his own security firm but after being told of the six-month plot he is asked (“asked”) to stay on. Alongside a burgeoning resentment from the obviously spoiled and incapable David Rodriguez, son of the Cartel's boss,Gilberto We see soon how he is not a man of cartel ethics. At the party where the Rodriguez brothers announce their grand plan he discovers a waiter who is wearing a wire. We also see what a fully competent security operative he is. HE shows the waiter he knows who has sent him and why and gives him a final and clear chance to leave Cali, he then disorientates the DEA agents who set the trap with consummate ease. Also we see him expertly foil a DEA raid to the aforementioned icky accountants office. The accountants arrogance nearly cost the Cali boys everything but Jorge using his strength, guile, and wit prevents it. I really do look forward to seeing how he arcs through the series  

Agent Pena is for some reason being cited as a hero at the agency. He has gone from a regular agent to some sort of supercop, which given the sacrifices made by the Colombian forces and the other domestic and foreign agencies coupled with the fact he was not present at Escobar's death seems a little unlikely. Anyway, with this status he is in some sort of role (referred to as a “promotion” but at no point yet given a title or description) that leaves a vacancy for the roles filled by him and the strangely unmentioned Stephen Murphy. So step forward agents Feistl and Van Ness. Introduced as such a blatantly low grade version of Pena and Murphy I thought I had tuned into a franchised remake on a public access channel. They even look the same, but come across as….remember the movie The Beach, the two air head surfer stoners Sammy and Zeph that end up ruining it all with their stupidity? They reminded me of exactly those guys (not the book characters, for those who remember the book will know why).

They are made out to be bumbling and incompetent. One (Feistl) is played to be over zealous and naive and the other one (the other one) is played as phoning his job in and completely disinterested.

However, they appear by episode three to actually be very able, determined and, were it not for the sharp response of the Jack Bauer-esque Cali security chief, the guys who could have bought the Cartel down.

So If you want to know is it any good? Yes it is. If you had asked me that after episode 2 I might have replied differently, but episode three just like in Hannibal and Boardwalk, has made me glad I persisted and reminded me why I liked this series so much.

There are many careless scenes. Some really clunky exposition, and there are gaps left where there needs to be a bridge of some sort.

If I am asked can this series survive without Escobar, I would have said after two hours, no. Yet I am starting to think that the threads cast by the accountant, security chief, new agents, and the political tension wickedly stirred up by CIA spook Stechner are all going to weave into a really gripping re-telling of  real life events