Category: Anime review

Batman: The Long Halloween

It began with Johnny Vitti on Halloween. Every holiday, another murder linked to the once untouchable Falcone crime family. Each month, more bodies, more unrest as the Falcone’s numbers dwindle and there bloody feud with the Maroni family comes to a head, and less answers for the Dark Knight, Commissioner Jim Gordon, and DA Harvey Dent. The trio of Gotham’s heroes face a bitter line between taking down the biggest threats to Gotham, but at what cost? How far will the old crime-lords go to to preserve there empires? After a fateful tragedy and a shocking reveal, the year long caper comes to a close but nothing will ever be the same.

So first and foremost, this is one of the best Bat stories put to page. Hands down, no contest. The book is well written with dark themes, a genuinely well written mystery, and well done characters. The book was a huge inspiration behind The Dark Knight as well as The Batman. The art style is interesting with some seriously iconic imagery and sets up a creepy, vintage noir mood.

I’ve also seen the 2 part, R rated, animated movie counterparts that also do the story justice. Jensen Ackles (the GOAT of Red Hoods) was great voicing Batman but I was more surprised at Josh Duhamel doing a fantastic job voicing Harvey and eventually Two Face.

The story has a few flaws and some things I felt like in the book should’ve been expanded on more like Catwoman’s vendetta against Falcone and Gilda Dent’s mania in correlation to her husband’s ( the movie versions go much deeper into this). Another small gripe I have is I wish we got more Grundy, Scarecrow, and Mad Hatter in both versions, but that’s just me.

In the end, I can’t recommend the book enough and the movies are damn good adaption to follow up on. May the gaming god’s bring you glory and an end to your own Long Halloween.

Predator: Killer of Killers trailer

Recently I covered the Predator: Badlands teaser. which I;m pretty pumped for, but we’re getting a pretty awesome appetizer with this dark, animated anthology film. I love the idea of 3 Predator stories told throughout human history: the Viking era, Feudal Japan, and WWII. I like seeing the different Yautja types and even what seems to be some space combat, which is something new to the series. I’ll definitely be checking it out this summer. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Spongebob Squarepants: Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated

Are ya ready kids? Bikini Bottom has been invaded by an army of robots (that totally didn’t come from the Chum Bucket, which is mysteriously locked down.) It’s up to our favorite yellow fry cook and his friends to save the undersea town from the machines that are wreaking havoc.

First, I just got to say I’m currently 31 years old and I still love Spongebob. This game stole my life for a couple weeks. Ultimately, the game is a solid platformer from a bygone era (PS2). Each character offers a different playstyle with different abilities; Sandy was my favorite and Patrick made me want to scream. The game is pretty simple, complete puzzles and get Golden Spatulas to open the next area. While this is the Rehydrated edition, you can tell this is still an old game with some old game problems- the NPCs are stiff, everyone constantly repeats their limited dialogue over and over again, and some of the more ambitious parts are frustrating to get through. Not all the voice actors returned which can be jarring to older fans. In the end, it’s a solid game, better for younger kids but not bad for grown-ups who want a little childhood nostalgia. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Green Lantern: Beware My Power trailer

This made my week. I do get particularly giddy over new Lantern stuff. I’m ecstatic this is a Jon Stewart movie and I love we got Hawkman from the upcoming Black Adam movie to voice him in this movie. I’m excited because the designs seem to harken back to old JLA animated series days. I can’t wait until it hits HBO. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Injustice (film)

What happens when Superman, the shining hero of the DC universe loses everything? After Joker pushes him to his breaking point, Superman decides the JLA must take a more brutal stance on crime and peace must be ushered in by any means necessary. The league divides, many doing everything possible to distance themselves from Superman’s extreme regime. Batman and a few others stand against them but can they beat their friend turned foe?

I love the Injustice games so this movie really bummed me the hell out. While I was never huge on the story of the first game, it had some interesting ideas and I felt bad for totalitarian Superman; I didn’t really feel much in the movie. The movie feels really overstuffed which kills the pacing so after a while things just feel like they happen to happen. The movie never reaches the ultimate dystopia of the games and comics and ultimately ends really abruptly. A lot of the characters I wanted to see throw-down were either cut completely or relegated to cameos. The voice acting fell flat mostly but Arrow and Harley stood out. The movie looks pretty nice and I do like the character designs which many are close to the games. My favorite thing was the brutal kills in the movie, made more satisfying by the R rating. In the end, the Injustice movie was a pretty big disappointment I’d recommend skipping, opting out for the much superior games instead. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Superman: Brainiac/ Superman: Unbound

Superman had always known of the fate of his and his cousin, Kara Zor El’s, homeworld of Krypton. What he didn’t know was the massacre and eventual capturing of the city of Kandor at the hands of Brainiac; Kara, scarred by the horrors of watching her family being blipped away by the biomechanical tyrant, has never forgotten. When Superman comes upon a lonely probe, Supergirl fears the worst- Brainiac is coming. Hosting knowledge from throughout the universe garnered from billions of conquered species as well as an army of drones and a devastating mother ship connecting to his body, can the duo save Earth from the same fate as so many others?

I have to admit, I always loved Brainiac so I was glad to read the story as well as watch the movie based off of the book. They follow pretty closely but if I have to choose, I like the movie Unbound better than the book. There is a lot of action and characterization in the movie and I feel like Superman and Supergirl’s character arcs are realized much better in the film. The book feels blunter and to the point. Regardless I do love how cold and menacing Brainiac is portrayed as and I do love that he is shown to rightfully be one of Superman’s biggest threats. How he is defeated is also pretty creative and satisfying. I really like Supergirl; in the movie, I like that she has a pretty badass streak and I like how a lot of her story is about overcoming her fear of Brainiac. For the movie, the animation and voice acting are top notch; as for the book, it’s written fine and the artwork is really good at points but the pacing feels off and because of that, you don’t get everything the movie offered. In the end, it’s a really good story but I much more recommend the movie Unbound vs the book Brainiac. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Kingdom Hearts 4 announcement trailer

https://youtu.be/mcm_dfhnP8Q

Over the years, Kingdom Hearts has been a series I desperately wanted to dig into but I can’t say I’ve found the time to. 4 looks pretty damn cool so far but I hope we get Square Enix characters in this one rather than just Disney ones. Hopefully I’ll at least have some time in the KH series before 4 drops but the new installment looks promising. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Tokyo Ghoul: √A (season 2)

We pick up right where Tokyo Ghoul (season 1) left off, the 13th district has become a warzone as the radical Ghoul terrorists of Aogiri Tree clash with the human Doves of the CCG openly. Kaneki, though free, has changed. No longer timid and quite harmless, after awakening his true powers he’s become a truly brutal force. He leaves his friends of the Ghoul sanctuary Anteiku in pursuit of power, knowing g he needs more to keep his friends safe in the growing war- joining Aogiri to do it. Kaneki faces his own horrors as his body starts changing and his urge to kill dramatically increases as he becomes the scourge of human and ghoul alike, but can he stop the war to come before losing everyone he loves?

I adored the first season with all my heart and still do but all my friends warned me the series gets…different to say the least. Admittedly this season is a hard call. Overall I like it but I think it’s definitely a mixed bag. Overall I’m ok with the story but some parts of it really do feel like you’re watching fanfiction then a part of the series; characters do things that make no sense and sadly you really don’t get as much of the Anteiku group but more of the Aogiri group which I was nowhere near as interested in. There are great fights but the pacing overall feels bloated even though the season is only 13 episodes. The animation and score are great but I don’t really like the new opening theme ( I do love that Unravel returns for the very end.). In the end, I get if you liked or hated this season so I urge you to keep an open mind after season 1. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Wonder Egg Priority (season 1)

Ai, Neiru, Rika, and Momoe are four lonely girls dealing with depression, loneliness, guilt, and the traumas of experiencing suicides in their lives. What they have in common is finding a seemingly normal egg, an egg that opens another world. From that egg spawns the tortured soul of a suicide victim and it’s up to the girls to slay the monstrous tormentors of the victim to free, with the promise that enough freed victims will return their own loved ones. In the acts of battle, the girls find friendship and the strength to move on but are they willing to face the costs of a second chance?

Seeing the sunny exterior in the horror section of the Funimation catalog intrigued me; if it hadn’t been for When they Cry I would’ve cast this deep series as a miscast. This show beautifully covers some really bleak subjects and does them with genuine humanity and depth. I loved the four main characters and their own private struggles; I love the main theme of using dark fantasy to combat the real traumas of the world as well as mental illness. The artwork and score are fantastic. One of my only real complaints is I found it really hard to gauge if the series if merely over or meant to return in some way. There are a lot of unanswered questions I have and I feel like Frill was set up to be a great antagonist that we didn’t get a full conclusion to and Ai was a heroine we didn’t get a full resolution to either. I really hope we get another season so I don’t have to feel the ache of Deadman Wonderland all over again. In the end, I highly recommend checking this series out on Funimation. May the gaming gods bring you glory.