Category: Anime review

Black Dynamite (adult swim)

black dynamite

What can I say, he’s mother f$%king Black Dynamite. Whether he’s kicking a racist Kermit’s ass for trying to hypnotize kids or defeating a racist conspiracy to eliminate legendary black porn stars, and even guarding Richard Pryor, Black Dynamite straight up kicks ass. Through an insane few seasons, I got to say I loved this cartoon based on the exploitation film of the same name. The voice acting is great and the animation is really well done. I love the celebrity parodies throughout, whether it’s a alien Michael Jackson or my favorite,  a maniacal Mr. Rodgers. If you are looking for a quick watch full of ass kicking and humor, I recommend checking this show out, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Aqua Teen Hunger Force

athf

Again, here I was watching adult rated cartoons as a kid when Aqua Teen Hunger Force. In seasons it’s changed names but the theme always kept the same: Anthropomorphic food stuffs Master Shake, Frylock, and MeatWad act as “Detectives” from there New Jersey home and deal with crazy shit like 8 Bit aliens from the moon, giant robots, the robot ghost of Christmas past, and there arch enemy Dr Weird- and occasionally there pissed off, perverted neighbor Carl. With only 15 minute episodes, the many seasons can be eaten up in a flash if you want something quick to watch. I got to give the show credit, it stays pretty damn inventive and never really feels played out. As a childhood favorite, it’s worth looking into if you need something weird in your life. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Expelled From Paradise (2014)

expelled from paradise

Expelled From Paradise is the story of what happens after humanity almost wipes itself out. Humanity now lives in two places, some on a barren Earth struggling to survive and the other in Deva in space living in cyber space. Living inside a computer program in a paradise of their own making in a world where everything they could possibly need or want.

When a hacker starts breaking into Deva security member Angela is sent to the real world and down to earth to discover this hacker and put an end to it. Upon arriving on Earth, Angela will take her Human for a test run by eating, well dirt. Then she will fight a bunch of bugs and meet the necessary male friend Dingo.

The movie is fun, looks good and is full of a few twist and turns that were quite fun and the late movie action scenes were great. The only real issue I had was at times the story could be predictable and the characters were pretty much stereotypical anime characters, tho they do work. That said it was still fun and most anime fans will enjoy it, best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

 

Beavis and Butthead

beavis and butthead

Before the dawn of South Park and Family Guy, this was the cartoon that pissed off parents and scared PTAs because no one wanted to say they spawned idiots like Beavis and Butthead. These two dimwit teenage headbangers were the nightmare of there school, neighborhood, and all of Highland with there raw stupidity as they persevered in the name of scoring chicks and getting beer and nachos. And god love you if they get there hands on power tools. One of my favorite shorts was them stealing poor Mr. Anderson’s (prototype Hank Hill from King of the Hill) riding mower to destroy peoples flowers, get drive through, and ditch it in a four way intersection. May favorite times were when Beavis got jacked up on sugar or caffeine and became the Great Cornholio- which on a personal note, I went trick or treating as when I was 18. Don’t judge. Indeed the show is dumb but some of the satire and parodies are pretty clever and if anything, it’s very much a time capsule of the 90’s for all it’s worth. In the end, I recommend the classic 90’s seasons, not the newer ones they tried in this generation. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Ghost in the Shell: Ghost Pain (2013)

download

So I was looking for something to watch and came across something called Ghost Pain. I am not really an Anime guy, @torstenvblog normally takes care of that. However this looked interesting so I figured I would check it out.

A couple things to note, I had no idea this was Ghost in the Shell until after I had watched it. Another, I had never seen Ghost in the Shell until I saw this. I am essentially watching this as a guy that has no idea what the hell is going on. Also this movie has a bunch of different names as you can tell from the picture so pick your poison on that one.

Essentially our main heroine here is investigating a murder after a bomb goes off and kills a major arms dealer. She also has an issue with her memory which turns out to be some sort of a memory hack causing false memories. There is honestly a lot going on and explaining it all would ruin much of it. It is a fun watch but I honestly can’t say its for me. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

 

 

Little Witch Academia:Enchanted Parade (2015)

download (6)

Now I am not a fan of Little Witch Academia, in fact until I saw this I had never even seen it. This just happened to catch my eye and I figured I would kill an hour watching it. It was actually pretty funny because the English subtitles did not at all match the words they were using, it kind of reminded me of the old Godzilla movies where people would stop talking but their lips would keep moving.

The story itself is a rather cute story about these magic students having to manage the annual witch parade. Clearly this show is meant for kids and teens, but its cute and fun and despite the childish nature of the show I had a lot of fun watching it. The local kids disliking magic and preferring their technology was also a nice touch of social commentary. It is definitely a series worth checking out for anime fans, best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Godzilla: Monster planet

godzilla monster planet

Full Disclaimer: unlike many of my friends, I’m not a avid Godzilla fan nor a particular fan of Kaiju in general. Not to say I don’t mind the promise of giant monster crashing and thrashing through the civilization we busted our asses o build- if you had my job, you would find yourself wishing a radioactive iguana would tear through your workplace to break the monotony of the day.

Humanity has been brought to the brink of extinction and is forced to live in space, isolated, losing oxygen, supplies, and hope. But Why? What caused our ultimate downfall? Godzilla. What’s left of the human race is desperate to find another habitable world to no avail. Suddenly Earth becomes the only option, despite the unkillable beast. 1000’s of years passed and the environment and it’s creatures have changed, but the king of the monsters still lives. In the end, it’s up to an enraged major and a vast quantity of Earth’s last military to make a final stand against the insurmountable…

I have to say I wasn’t really a fan of this episode, and at 90 minutes it is a episode. Minor spoiler, there is generously 15 minutes of Godzilla in the whole thing but a hell of a lot of people telling you how either OP he is or how much they hate him. The animation quality varies. Sometimes good, sometimes strange. Like something about the way Godzilla is animated feels wrong or out of place. The rest of the time feels like a somewhat generic space plot. The action is kinda neat but I couldn’t help but think of Attack on Titan at times. For the casual fan, I can’t really recommend it honestly. Best wishes and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Pokemon 3

pokemon 3

By 2001, I began falling out of the Pokemon craze and appropriately so we get a epic finale to the original trilogy of Pokemon movies.

Pokemon 3, also titled Spell of the Unknown,is a strange tale of imagination, loneliness, and coming to terms with reality. A girl named Molly is sad after her father disappears after going on a archaeological dig. All she has to remember him by is the pieces of a old puzzle, awakening the Unknown, warping reality to Molly’s whim. She generates Entei, fusing the legendary Pokemon with her father’s voice but all that is missing is a mother. Entei steals Ash’s, so now Ash and his friends are left to save her and defeat the Unknown.

Of the 3, I would say it is my favorite story. There is something dark and rather sad about this particular story. On a personal note, I lost my mother right around the time this came out so not being much older than Molly, it impacted me a lot as a kid. I enjoyed the fantastical elements. There are sweet battles and cool dreamy settings. The end I found sad but wasn’t grim. If you want something a bit deeper and a little bit darker than the first two movies but I highly recommend it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Pokemon 2000

pokemon 2000

Hey anyone, remember the hype over the year becoming 2000? Well, like Pepperidge Farms, we remember. And so did Pokemon.

Pokemon 2000, also titled The Power of One, is the story of the balance of the planet getting thrown violently out of whack because a collector of rare Pokemon decides to capture the 3 legendary birds. Moltres- the bird of fire, Zapdoes- the bird of lightning, and Articuno- the bird of ice; each a force of nature in itself that once unsettled begin fighting themselves. Because of a prophecy, the world will turn to Ash as a new force emerges, Lugia. It’s up to young Ash and his friends to set them all save the world…

Much deeper into the Pokemon universe, Pokemon 2000 is on par with the first in my opinion. There is more action, more epic locations, and a deep story. The legendary birds are freaking awesome to behold. Again the ending is happy but this time it fits better. In the end I highly recommend this animated film and may the gaming gods bring you glory.

Pokemon: The First Movie

pokemon 1

Many, many years ago Pokemon was everywhere. Trading cards, video games, the cartoon and when the MewTwo Strikes Back hit theaters, everyone lost there shit in my first grade class.

Team Rocket’s leader, Giovanni, commissions his most evil deed yet: an experiment to create the world’s strongest Pokemon. Created from legendary Pokemon, Mew, MewTwo is born but is furious with the prospect of existing solely as a human’s slave. After mastering his devastating powers, MewTwo sets off to cleanse the world of man and reign in a whole new era of Pokemon dominance. Standing in his way are Ash Ketchum and his friends, as well as Mew in a epic showdown for the fate of the planet…

I’m a huge fan of the movie. If you were a fan of the show, you’ll like this darker next step; if you are a new comer, I think you’ll enjoy the epic tale and awesome fights. MewTwo sells the movie. He is a great, complex villain. The animation is beautiful and there a nice balance between light and dark elements.  My only personal peeve with it is the last five minutes or so, it’s a hardcore happy ending. In the end, I do highly recommend as a cool animated film. May the gaming gods bring you glory so you catch them all.