Tokyo Majin is an action horror anime about 5 high school students that acquire magical powers after a series of unexplained murders. In 26 episodes, you are told the story of these 5 students as they become friends and overcome personal demons, also kill a crap ton of monsters.
Each of their powers are related to their personalities and backgrounds. Three members of the team seem to be more the focus of the show, with the other two almost as side characters.
The first season of the show was more coherent than the second. During the second season they tried to introduce more characters, only diluting the plot. The ending of the series makes sense coming from the philosophical view of the writer, but didn't leave me with a proper sense of closure. It felt rushed as well. As if they weren't told that there wasn't a third season until the last minute.
My favorite part of this series was the themes. The writer delving into the darkness of the human heart, and showing the self justification used to commit horrifying deeds. Seeing how depression clouds judgement. How hatred and the vengeance it leads to is empty and unfulfilling. This show was constantly bringing up the dichotomy of justice and mercy. I don't know how many times I yelled at the show for not doing as I thought they should have. I found myself invested into the plot lines of each episode.
Now for the technical stuff. The voice acting was high quality through most of the show. There were only a few times that I found it too over the top or underplayed. The art style was good, but most generic. The sound track was recycled from other anime, but the opening them for the first season was awesome.
There wasn't too much fan service from my recollection. There was quite a bit a swearing and even a few F-bombs. And Violence, lots and lots of blood and killing. Literally thousands die in this show. So if any of this bothers you I'd say pass.
I give this show 7 out of 10. It would have gotten an 8, but with the second season and how the show ended, I was left unsatisfied.
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
Diablo lll
Why!? Why oh why oh why!?
Really Blizzard, this is what you had me wait 5 years for? Now don't get me wrong, it was a fun game, but it wasn't a step forward in the series. It took all but 3 weeks to get bored. I played Diablo 2 for years and years after beating it. I've talked to several other people, and they say the same thing, "Diablo 2 was a better game." "I kinda think Diablo 2 was a better game." "I think Diablo 2 was more fun." Just goes to show, Blizzard has lost it's touch. They even stop their original work on the game and remade it from scratch.
The graphics are great. This game has very stunning views and wonderful cinematics. The combat is smooth and fairly intuitive. Voice acting was great, you'll recognize some top notch voice actors, even.
So why was this game not as good as the second. The second had bad graphics, poor voice acting, and carpel tunnel inducing combat. The second had a constantly changing map. You never knew where something was going to be. There was that sense of wonder, especially in the second and third acts. There was also a great variation in which to customize your characters skills. The skill tree was so big and had so many ways to go. In D3 it feels like there really are only a few options with skills that are even practical to use. Almost as if they came up with a fun character and realized they still had skill slots open, so they came up with what ever inane thing they could.
The story was actually pretty good. It made you want to press on and see where it would take you. Even the personal stories of your companions where a point of interest. This was a step forward in the series. I just wish the third and fourth act weren't so short. They left it open for some expansions, but I doubt I'll be interested by the time they come out.
This game was fun in it's own ways, and even a good game. I just wish I didn't have to wait so long for it, which is why it was such a let down. I'm giving it a 7 out of 10.
Really Blizzard, this is what you had me wait 5 years for? Now don't get me wrong, it was a fun game, but it wasn't a step forward in the series. It took all but 3 weeks to get bored. I played Diablo 2 for years and years after beating it. I've talked to several other people, and they say the same thing, "Diablo 2 was a better game." "I kinda think Diablo 2 was a better game." "I think Diablo 2 was more fun." Just goes to show, Blizzard has lost it's touch. They even stop their original work on the game and remade it from scratch.
The graphics are great. This game has very stunning views and wonderful cinematics. The combat is smooth and fairly intuitive. Voice acting was great, you'll recognize some top notch voice actors, even.
So why was this game not as good as the second. The second had bad graphics, poor voice acting, and carpel tunnel inducing combat. The second had a constantly changing map. You never knew where something was going to be. There was that sense of wonder, especially in the second and third acts. There was also a great variation in which to customize your characters skills. The skill tree was so big and had so many ways to go. In D3 it feels like there really are only a few options with skills that are even practical to use. Almost as if they came up with a fun character and realized they still had skill slots open, so they came up with what ever inane thing they could.
The story was actually pretty good. It made you want to press on and see where it would take you. Even the personal stories of your companions where a point of interest. This was a step forward in the series. I just wish the third and fourth act weren't so short. They left it open for some expansions, but I doubt I'll be interested by the time they come out.
This game was fun in it's own ways, and even a good game. I just wish I didn't have to wait so long for it, which is why it was such a let down. I'm giving it a 7 out of 10.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Hulk vs Thor & Hulk vs Wolverine
I decided to bulk these two movies together. Yes technically they're different, but the form in which I saw them, they were marketed as a two in one. So lets jump into the plots.
Now these two movies aren't meant to be heavy on the story. They aren't heady, or even intellectually motivated. Just pure action and destruction. The plots only serve to get you to more fighting. We'll start with Hulk vs Thor. The evil Loki jealous of his father's power, brings the Hulk to Asgard to defeat Thor. Hulk being the only being known to him, to have beaten Thor. Hulk smashes, he bashes, and threatens all of Asgard. Finally in order to stop him, Loki has to swallow his pride and help Thor to turn Hulk back to Bruce Banner.
Hulk vs Wolverine had a bit more story to it. It starts off with Wolverine flying through the air and smashing into the ground. Hmm? I wonder why that could be? Then it takes you back to the beginning. Wolverine is hired by S.H.I.E.L.D to find "the monster" attacking a town in Alaska (maybe Canada, who care?). He gets there, and low and behold, the Hulk shows up to fight him. Eventually they both get shot with tranquilizers and are taken to a super secrete bad guy base. They want to use Hulk as a super weapon, and re-brainwash Wolverine to fight for them. Plan is foiled, and lots more fighting.
As you can tell, these two movies are excessively violent. Which is why I loved every minute of them. Lots of blood and killing in vs Thor. Less killing, but more blood in vs Wolverine. Less cursing in vs Thor, tuns more in vs Wolverine. When I say tuns I mean, level of words used. I don't mind, but I know lots of people do. Zero sexual content from what I remember.
The animation style wasn't anything fancy, but it didn't suck either. Each had their own uniqueness. Utilizing the art style of each respective comic book. I found the sound tracks to be quite fitting as well.
When comes down to the end of the day, I loved these two movies. Wolverine is, has, and probably will be my favorite super hero. Thor is pretty kool. I don't hate him by a long shot, but I never really got to know him. Hulk though, being the main character of both features, is awesome. I've always liked the Hulk, from the first time I heard of him. So these match ups, especially Hulk vs Wolverine, were a dream come true. So as a Marvel fan, I give these movies a 8 gamma irradiated fists outta 10. It could have used more fan service (in a non-gay way). For the average view 5 if your female/boring male adult, 7 if you're a teenage boy and want to see blood.
Now these two movies aren't meant to be heavy on the story. They aren't heady, or even intellectually motivated. Just pure action and destruction. The plots only serve to get you to more fighting. We'll start with Hulk vs Thor. The evil Loki jealous of his father's power, brings the Hulk to Asgard to defeat Thor. Hulk being the only being known to him, to have beaten Thor. Hulk smashes, he bashes, and threatens all of Asgard. Finally in order to stop him, Loki has to swallow his pride and help Thor to turn Hulk back to Bruce Banner.
Hulk vs Wolverine had a bit more story to it. It starts off with Wolverine flying through the air and smashing into the ground. Hmm? I wonder why that could be? Then it takes you back to the beginning. Wolverine is hired by S.H.I.E.L.D to find "the monster" attacking a town in Alaska (maybe Canada, who care?). He gets there, and low and behold, the Hulk shows up to fight him. Eventually they both get shot with tranquilizers and are taken to a super secrete bad guy base. They want to use Hulk as a super weapon, and re-brainwash Wolverine to fight for them. Plan is foiled, and lots more fighting.
As you can tell, these two movies are excessively violent. Which is why I loved every minute of them. Lots of blood and killing in vs Thor. Less killing, but more blood in vs Wolverine. Less cursing in vs Thor, tuns more in vs Wolverine. When I say tuns I mean, level of words used. I don't mind, but I know lots of people do. Zero sexual content from what I remember.
The animation style wasn't anything fancy, but it didn't suck either. Each had their own uniqueness. Utilizing the art style of each respective comic book. I found the sound tracks to be quite fitting as well.
When comes down to the end of the day, I loved these two movies. Wolverine is, has, and probably will be my favorite super hero. Thor is pretty kool. I don't hate him by a long shot, but I never really got to know him. Hulk though, being the main character of both features, is awesome. I've always liked the Hulk, from the first time I heard of him. So these match ups, especially Hulk vs Wolverine, were a dream come true. So as a Marvel fan, I give these movies a 8 gamma irradiated fists outta 10. It could have used more fan service (in a non-gay way). For the average view 5 if your female/boring male adult, 7 if you're a teenage boy and want to see blood.
Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Planet Hulk
Planet Hulk is a movie based off of a comic book series of the same title. It takes place in a future where hulk is sent into outer space, because he is too much of a threat to the earth. He is caught up in a worm hole and crash lands on different planet then the one he was intended to. The planet is inhabited by several different races, with one being the ruling class. Hulk is captured and forced to fight in an arena for the entertainment of the king.
The movies starts off very fast paced and hard to understand. You can only pick up on the basic concept, but any emotional connection to the characters, if ever, won't happen till half way through. The story does start to pick up, and it gives a new side to Hulk then most people are used to.
This movie is very violent. Lots of fighting and killing. People turning into monsters and even a nuke being dropped. There wasn't much noticeable swearing, only the occasional damn. There was also only very mild sexual content, like very mild. I'm talking a kiss on the cheek kinda stuff. I would have no problem letting a kid, seven years or so old, watch this movie.
So is this movie entertaining for adults? If you like action and super heroes, then hell yes. If not then I wouldn't even bother. The story has little appeal to non-nerds, and the art work isn't all that special. All in all I give this movie 6 outta 10 for grown ups, and 8 outta 10 for kids and teens.
The movies starts off very fast paced and hard to understand. You can only pick up on the basic concept, but any emotional connection to the characters, if ever, won't happen till half way through. The story does start to pick up, and it gives a new side to Hulk then most people are used to.
This movie is very violent. Lots of fighting and killing. People turning into monsters and even a nuke being dropped. There wasn't much noticeable swearing, only the occasional damn. There was also only very mild sexual content, like very mild. I'm talking a kiss on the cheek kinda stuff. I would have no problem letting a kid, seven years or so old, watch this movie.
So is this movie entertaining for adults? If you like action and super heroes, then hell yes. If not then I wouldn't even bother. The story has little appeal to non-nerds, and the art work isn't all that special. All in all I give this movie 6 outta 10 for grown ups, and 8 outta 10 for kids and teens.
Thursday, April 19, 2012
Review of Shuffle!
Shuffle! is a harem style anime based off of a dating sim. For those of you that don't know, dating sims are some of the most popular games in Japan.
The story revolves around a young man by the name of Rin. Rin's parents died when he was young, so he lives with a friend of his parents, who's wife died in the same accident, and the daughter. The show starts out while the father is away and Kaede, the daughter, is taking care of Rin, almost like a mother or older sister. You find out that there is a whole fan club based around Kaede, so Rin has to fight them off constantly. When they get to school on the first day, you are introduced to the last three members of the "Love Hexagon", Asa, Sia, and Nerine. Asa is and old friend, Sia is daughter of the king of the gods, and Nerine is daughter to the king of demons. Sia and Nerine's fathers both want Rin to marry their daughter and both have a friendly competition between each other to that end.
The all around plot was very consistent. This young man that knows nothing about girls or even whether he likes any learning what love and friendship are. There are some nice plot twists and good foreshadowing. The dialogue wasn't really all that good. Lots of over stating and all around basic conversations. There was not a single point when I was emotionally moved, other than when I was moved to laughter. Even though the dialogue sucks, this show is pretty funny. What can be funnier than a male fantasy gone wrong?
The voice acting wasn't all bad, but some of the actors were very lacking, such as the voice of Rin and Nerine. Both kings put on great performances, and probably the funniest characters in the show.
As content goes. There is atleast one topless or bath scene every or every other episode and loads of fan service. Not to much vulgar language, just the occasional dammit, ass, and bastard. Along with fan service and brief nudity, there are a few sexual innuendos in the dialogue.
My final verdict is 6 out of 10.
The story revolves around a young man by the name of Rin. Rin's parents died when he was young, so he lives with a friend of his parents, who's wife died in the same accident, and the daughter. The show starts out while the father is away and Kaede, the daughter, is taking care of Rin, almost like a mother or older sister. You find out that there is a whole fan club based around Kaede, so Rin has to fight them off constantly. When they get to school on the first day, you are introduced to the last three members of the "Love Hexagon", Asa, Sia, and Nerine. Asa is and old friend, Sia is daughter of the king of the gods, and Nerine is daughter to the king of demons. Sia and Nerine's fathers both want Rin to marry their daughter and both have a friendly competition between each other to that end.
The all around plot was very consistent. This young man that knows nothing about girls or even whether he likes any learning what love and friendship are. There are some nice plot twists and good foreshadowing. The dialogue wasn't really all that good. Lots of over stating and all around basic conversations. There was not a single point when I was emotionally moved, other than when I was moved to laughter. Even though the dialogue sucks, this show is pretty funny. What can be funnier than a male fantasy gone wrong?
The voice acting wasn't all bad, but some of the actors were very lacking, such as the voice of Rin and Nerine. Both kings put on great performances, and probably the funniest characters in the show.
As content goes. There is atleast one topless or bath scene every or every other episode and loads of fan service. Not to much vulgar language, just the occasional dammit, ass, and bastard. Along with fan service and brief nudity, there are a few sexual innuendos in the dialogue.
My final verdict is 6 out of 10.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Blue Gender Review
First off, I couldn't finish this show. I just couldn't. One of the main characters got increasingly more and more obnoxious. I made it to episode 20 out of 26.
Lets jump to the story. Blue Gender is set in the mid 2000's. A world over run by bug like monsters, named Blue. A young man is awaken from over a decade of slumber. A young woman from a space station comes down with a rescue party and finds young man. Romance, action, and gory violence ensue. Did I mention that everything in this anime is graphic?
There is a lot of cursing and death, a few episodes with nudity and brief sex scenes. Not for kids!
The voice acting was rather poor. I'm not sure if this is due to a bad Dub Script or that the actors just didn't care. The show has it's moments with good acting, but mostly it's over the top or dry.
The art work isn't bad for it's time. Bodies are pretty fluidly drawn. The Blue are pretty grotesque looking, which works very well to bring you into the story.
The entire show wasn't bad. The first 10-12 episodes were very exciting, and had a great progression to them. Then they get on the space station and the plot.... slows way the hell down. By the time it picks back up they decide to completely change the leading male characters personality. I could see how logically he changed, and they do give a reason for it. But why did they turn him into such a whiny jerk? I assume that they were going to use it to show some sort of redemption, or a lost man finding his humanity again. After watching 3 more episodes then I really wanted to. I lost any interest in finding out where they were going with it.
If you're going to watch this show, watch Blue Gender: The Warrior. It takes 26 episodes and reduces it to an hour and 30 mins. I give Blue Gender 6 exploding monsters out of 10. (I would have given it a lower score, but those first 10-12 episodes are great.)
Lets jump to the story. Blue Gender is set in the mid 2000's. A world over run by bug like monsters, named Blue. A young man is awaken from over a decade of slumber. A young woman from a space station comes down with a rescue party and finds young man. Romance, action, and gory violence ensue. Did I mention that everything in this anime is graphic?
There is a lot of cursing and death, a few episodes with nudity and brief sex scenes. Not for kids!
The voice acting was rather poor. I'm not sure if this is due to a bad Dub Script or that the actors just didn't care. The show has it's moments with good acting, but mostly it's over the top or dry.
The art work isn't bad for it's time. Bodies are pretty fluidly drawn. The Blue are pretty grotesque looking, which works very well to bring you into the story.
The entire show wasn't bad. The first 10-12 episodes were very exciting, and had a great progression to them. Then they get on the space station and the plot.... slows way the hell down. By the time it picks back up they decide to completely change the leading male characters personality. I could see how logically he changed, and they do give a reason for it. But why did they turn him into such a whiny jerk? I assume that they were going to use it to show some sort of redemption, or a lost man finding his humanity again. After watching 3 more episodes then I really wanted to. I lost any interest in finding out where they were going with it.
If you're going to watch this show, watch Blue Gender: The Warrior. It takes 26 episodes and reduces it to an hour and 30 mins. I give Blue Gender 6 exploding monsters out of 10. (I would have given it a lower score, but those first 10-12 episodes are great.)
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Chobits Review
For many of you that know a little about anime, you've atleast heard the name Chobits. It took me awhile to finish the show. It wasn't long. It wasn't boring. I just had a lot of different shows to watch. So here it is. My review on Chobits.
Chobits is a show set in modern Japan. It's a parallel universe in which humans have finally discovered how to make real AIs. These AIs are called persocoms. Persocoms are walking computers that can do just about anything. You like your Iphone? Well does your Iphone do the dishes? Does it find you a good restaurant while it walks your dog for you? I think not.
The story revolves around a young man named Hideki and his persocom Chi. Hideki has to move to Tokyo from his small town to attend a college prep-school for adults. Hideki for the most part is a kind and genuinely honest guy. He has a tad bit of a perverted side to him, but how many 18-20 year old guys don't. While in Tokyo he sees persocoms for the first time and wishes he had one. On his walk home he finds one in the trash, in perfect shape, and decides to take it home. Chi is adorable and clueless. Most persocoms come pre-programmed, but Chi for some reason needs to be taught everything. So shes very child like and innocent. How shes not child like is her full womanly form. Which produces some wonderfully awkward moments for poor Hideki, who tries his damnedest to be a polite gentlemen. I had some friends complain about the ending being half-assed, but I think those friends missed the point of the show. I thought the ending closed off all the important loose ends and left you feeling a sense of closure.
The artwork can be pretty lazy. Not really top shelf animation. The faces look pretty bad. And yet they do a great job at drawing the female form. Go figure.
The voice acting isn't really top shelf either. It's not Negima! bad, but it can get very reading off a script I'v never read before bad. As you get to know the characters more you start to ignore any bad acting, because the story is very captivating.
Chobits has a lot of sexual content. Fan service galore. It deals with sex trade, the porn industry, adultery, humans and robots having sexual relationships. There isn't any nudity or sex scenes, though. So in that way its clean. I wouldn't let a child younger than 14 watch this show still. So parents watch out.
Overall, Chobits is a very cute love story, filled with hilarity and awkward sexual tension. If you enjoy romantic comedies you'll most likely enjoy this show. I give Chobits 7 chibi lolitas out of 10.
Chobits is a show set in modern Japan. It's a parallel universe in which humans have finally discovered how to make real AIs. These AIs are called persocoms. Persocoms are walking computers that can do just about anything. You like your Iphone? Well does your Iphone do the dishes? Does it find you a good restaurant while it walks your dog for you? I think not.
The story revolves around a young man named Hideki and his persocom Chi. Hideki has to move to Tokyo from his small town to attend a college prep-school for adults. Hideki for the most part is a kind and genuinely honest guy. He has a tad bit of a perverted side to him, but how many 18-20 year old guys don't. While in Tokyo he sees persocoms for the first time and wishes he had one. On his walk home he finds one in the trash, in perfect shape, and decides to take it home. Chi is adorable and clueless. Most persocoms come pre-programmed, but Chi for some reason needs to be taught everything. So shes very child like and innocent. How shes not child like is her full womanly form. Which produces some wonderfully awkward moments for poor Hideki, who tries his damnedest to be a polite gentlemen. I had some friends complain about the ending being half-assed, but I think those friends missed the point of the show. I thought the ending closed off all the important loose ends and left you feeling a sense of closure.
The artwork can be pretty lazy. Not really top shelf animation. The faces look pretty bad. And yet they do a great job at drawing the female form. Go figure.
The voice acting isn't really top shelf either. It's not Negima! bad, but it can get very reading off a script I'v never read before bad. As you get to know the characters more you start to ignore any bad acting, because the story is very captivating.
Chobits has a lot of sexual content. Fan service galore. It deals with sex trade, the porn industry, adultery, humans and robots having sexual relationships. There isn't any nudity or sex scenes, though. So in that way its clean. I wouldn't let a child younger than 14 watch this show still. So parents watch out.
Overall, Chobits is a very cute love story, filled with hilarity and awkward sexual tension. If you enjoy romantic comedies you'll most likely enjoy this show. I give Chobits 7 chibi lolitas out of 10.
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