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One Punch Man Episode #1 Review
Ah, yes. The day we’ve been waiting for. This review is going to have a story time attached to it following the review. I hope you guys enjoy.
One Punch Man Season 1 and 2 are both available on Hulu with sub and dub options.
One Punch Man promises to be high octane, action packed, bloody knuckle brawler of an anime. It firmly did not disappoint in that regard. It has been praised for it’s animation and well that also was a knock out. In fact, the positives are just straight forwardly good. The music is good. The action is spectacular. Saitama is a lovable nut. The coloring (for a setting that is being destroyed in nearly every scene) is beautiful. The villains, despite existing for literally one punch, are still well thought out, provoking, and detailed characters. In fact, that is a luxury of the show. The villains all are good. The design of the show causes them to not be memorable or stand a chance in a fight. However, the screen time they do get, they absolutely kill it.
His fight with Mole King Dream Form and all the smaller mole people was top notch, peak anime perfection. Saitama thinks at long last he has rediscovered that spark and it is exhilarating. The prior 20 minutes are spent roughly showing how Saitama has lost that spark himself.
It is funny. The day of his origin story, life had lost all meaning to the point he was ready to die. Now, he questions if his work even makes a difference. Thus, zapping all emotion from the man. He fulfilled his dream of being a superhero and it brought no gratification.
So, yeah. You get it. I love Saitama and the art style. That is fine and dandy. What about the bad? Well, it is still the same. The show is incredibly boring. Don’t get me wrong. The manga is waaaaay more boring though. The anime gets the benefit of voice acting, quick cuts, lots of color and all the moving pieces. The manga is held together by black and white pages over word bubbles and imagery that is hard to keep up with inked out. In that regard, the anime is 100% more enjoyable. Still, the show lacks depth and remains a satire of genre that probably needed a good deconstruction.
If we wanted to commentate on the ridiculous nature of these animes, this is probably as close to perfection as it gets. The over the top training leading to baldness. The over muscularly villains. However, the show hasn’t really made any commentary on women in anime or the obsessive eating disorder main characters have (I’m half way surprised Saitama did not get his powers from ramen like Popeye meets Naruto.). The lack of a real rival still hinders the show, but than again, there’s still a lot of show left.
I’ll probably give the anime another shot before I ever buy volume 2 of the manga. Still there is no denying the shows popularity and the staying force it has. I liked enough stuff to give episode two a go soon enough. The show is just not at the top of my list though.
Score: 8 out of 10. My qualms with the show still have plenty of time to get fixed as the show goes on. In the mean time, what I liked far outweighed what I didn’t. Watch this anime. You will enjoy it.
Story Time:
One Punch Man Season 1 debuted back in 2015! It was a hit right out of the gate. I personally try to read the mangas first if I am interested. Hence, why I am only on season 2 of My Hero Academia. I ran out and bought One Punch Man Volume #1 in January of 2016, about a month after season 1 wrapped up. I was soooo disappointed and bored. My friends could not believe I did not care for it. However, once they found out I had only read the manga and not watched the anime, they all said I would think differently after watching the show. Again, they are kind of right. All the problems still exist they are just less noticeable due to all the eye candy on screen. Another factor is making yourself read the several chapters as opposed to watching an action packed cartoon for 25 minutes.
In short, they are completely different animals. One Punch Man as a concept works soooo much better in anime form than in manga form. So, yes. As my scores suggest, I do enjoy the anime way more than the manga.
When I first started I shared my blog post with all my friends. Now, the blog is bit more personal and most of them no longer read it. So I doubt any of them will actually read this review. If they do, I hope the 4 year wait was worth it. Haha.
An Unplanned Break
I love this blog. And this year in particular, I have made what feels like several post marked as life updates. This is just the next one in that long running tradition.
This break was completely unplanned and one of those things where I had to sit down and make sure I prioritized ending the long draught of post. Which is a shame. I wrote what I consider to be some of my favorite reviews this years. I had watched a handful of animes that I planned to review (including Tower of God Season 1 which I actually did write up.)
So, if I love the blog and had all these plans, why has it been over a month? Let’s break it all down.
School- School also ruins my motivation towards hobbies. It’s a shame. It’s not always a bad thing though. Sometimes it is because I enjoy my classes so much, I actively prioritize school (weird, right?). Other times, school provides that good ol existential crisis of what am I doing with my life? This semester has been a mix of both. For starters I’m taking 6 classes which is near, if not, the maximum amount of classes you can take in a college semester. Only one is actual hard, but it is plenty hard. 2 or 3 require a lot of reading and video watching. and about 2 of them are actually pretty easy, thankfully. Well, 2 of these classes encourage me and are helping me decide what I want to do for work. Others, are making me reconsider everything. However, I am way too deep into the college tank to jump ship. Regardless, I was on a tear over the summer and during the covid break. School being back in session has hurt motivation which, in return, has hurt production.
Hobbies- I am a collector. I collect a lot of stuff. Mangas, comic books, and video games are some of the bigger hobbies I have. That’s without counting how much anime, movies, and Youtube/Streaming I watch. As a result, I rarely stay on the same hobby too long. These last two months my interest shifted from animes to video games. Now, I’m mostly reading comic books and I’ll occasionally fire up a game when I’m in the mood. This blog mostly centers around anime. When you’re not watching anime, it makes it hard to constantly write about anime. I’m trying to reprogram my brain into anime but is tough with all other good forms of media that exist right now.
Youtube Channel- On top of running this blog, I run the companion Youtube site, Dahubbz, I run a completely separate Youtube channel with some friends. That channel uploads almost daily this entire year. I am in almost every video as well as edit every video and I come up with most of the ideas. I would not call it a full time workload but it keeps me busy. (In fact, I have put off editing the video for today to focus on the blog.). I’ve tried to teach the other members how to create their own concepts and edit the videos, but they are not ready for that yet. Which is fine. The 2nd channel was my idea and I’m super proud of it. Nevertheless, there are definitely days, weeks, and sometimes months, where I am focusing on that channel more than this one. Back in August I came up with several high profile video ideas. However, I was really struggling with which channel I would put them on and as a result, I just have not done those videos yet.
As it stands, I have big plans for this blog and the channel. However, I might have to consider one day I’ll shift all my attention on to one channel. That time is not here yet. So, let us continue to enjoy the ride together. If you watch any of our videos or read any of our post, thank you.
I don’t want to make any promises, but tomorrow I plan to review One Punch Man Episode 1. Fingers crossed.
I’m Standing on a Million Lives Episode #1 Review
After a month break, it’s time to finally get another review out. This time around we will be reviewing a new anime called I’m Standing on a Million Lives. Episode 1 and 2 are available on Crunchyroll.
The Plot: Not too much is known of the plot up to this point. At least 3 kids who all attend the same school, Yusuke Yotsuya, Iu Shindo and Kusue Hakozaki, are all teleported to a video game world. Admittedly, I have not watched to many shows from this genre of anime. However, one thing that makes it seem different, to me anyway, is the fact the characters can leave the video game world and than return back to said world at later points. Though, it does not appear they get to chose when to warp back between each world. Once a player arrives in the video game world, I am not sure if the world is named yet or not, they are greeted by a strange avatar that grants them their quest. A neat aspect to the team dynamic is the players can die as much as they want with no consequence. That is, as long as at least one party member is currently alive. If they all die before the other players can respond, they stay dead. It is not yet fully revealed if this means they die in the real world. The players seem to be acting as if they would though.
Characters:
Shindo: First up is Shindo. Technically not the main character, she is still the first of the 3 to arrive in the video game world. In the real world she is considered the total package. The guys find her attractive. She receives good grades. She’s even athletic. In the video game world she assumes the role of a wizard blessed with the elemental powers of wind.
Hakozaki: Hakozaki is not a complete polar opposite of Shindo, even if she appears so on the surface. She is tasked with being the sword wielding warrior. However, she lacks the confidence to be the fearsome brute the group needs her to be. She has a lot to learn and room to grow before she becomes the hero of this story. I’m sure her character will undergo some growth as the series develops but the jury is still out on whether she can reach that status or not.
Yotsuya: Yotsuya is the main character. He is uninspired to say the least. He cannot envision a future for himself. Instead, he would just prefer to play video games. As you can imagine, getting transported to a virtual reality is almost a dream come true. He is told once he finishes his missions he can go home. I’m not convinced he even wants to return home to Tokyo. Yotsuya is not very likable as a character. Though he seems to be a quick thinker and group player. Despite owning the occupation of farmer (one of the weaker titles), he has already carried his weight up to this point.
The World: Animes like this are always fun for this section. The story is divided into 2 locations. The first one seems to be a plain Jane interpretation of Tokyo. The second one is a brand new mystical video game dimension. So far, it has mythical creatures like sea beast and trolls, magic, and good old fashion towns and villages. I’m not sure if anything is named yet. Every player is assigned a title and than a status bar full of typical RPG stats. The players can summon weapons (and I assume other elements as the show continues) at will. I’m under the impression that whenever a player arrives in the world they are greeted by the same avatar (or Game Master as he is referred) and tasked with building a team and completing quests.
Recap: Though I am not overly familiar with the genre, this seems like a perfectly fine jumping in point for fans or newcomers of the genre alike.
Action: Not over dependent on action up to this point. The first scene is pretty bloody all things considered which, to me, implies there could be plenty of blood and violence in future episodes.
Romance: Who knows? There’s nothing overly hinting at romance at this point in time. I think Yotsuya at least has a crush on Shindo. Not confirmed explicitly though.
Plot: I don’t have a definitive opinion on the plot. It is plenty fine enough to carry this kind of story and that is probably good enough.
Characters: Despite my earlier comments, the characters here are fine. They are not in the same class as many of the animes I have watched. However, they just formed a squad and most of them lack charisma but they have a certain charm. Not an elite cast by any means, but still enjoyable in their own right.
The World: The worlds in animes like this are so important. This world seems to have some nice tricks thanks to the digital nature of it. One example being the data logs scattered throughout the world. If the show keeps doing cool stuff with their design space, I will like this world a lot. As of now, it is fine.
Verdict: This show seems to be a pretty surface level anime packed with room for plenty of potential.
Score: I’m going to sound really harsh here. I was going to go 6 out of 10, but I think I’ll just say 7 out of 10. Episode 1 did not blow me away like some Episode 1’s I’ve seen. It did do enough to get me invested in some of the character’s well being and motivate me to look forward to the coming episodes. This is a new anime. I may try to watch it weekly or so as they air and revisit it down the road here on the blog. Who knows?
Bonus Thoughts
I Mean You No Farm? I have to wonder if Yotsuya was only given the title farmer to make him weak at the start or maybe even just for comedic effect. Could this job have secret abilities or top notch skills he will discover in later episodes? Seems like a pretty big plot point to just do for a gag or to kneecap the main character at the start of the story.
Life is But a Stream. In the real world Yotsuya bumps into a table outside where a girl is streaming, inadvertently messing up her angle. She makes some comments that I cannot quite remember off the top of my head. I just wonder if this girl or streaming will come into play. The camera and the show itself took some time away from Yotsuya and the plot as a whole to show us this girl, though her face was not revealed if I recall right. She could be a throw away scene or important to the story.
Random Wednesday #2: Cells At Work Episode #1
Welcome to the second installment of “Random Wednesday”. A series where I review random anime. Read the first one here: Girlish Number- Random Wednesday Number 1
Typically, I let Crunchyroll roll a random wheel and that decides it. Today, I let Jessica pick the anime. I was very happy when she announced Cells At Work as the choice.
Boy, do things change. 5 years ago when I started this blog I was a Biology Education major. Now I am in the school of business. However, some things never change. Like my love of science. That’s why many times I grazed over at the manga form of Cells At Work and almost grabbed it on several occasions.
Without further ado, let’s dive into episode #1.
Cells At Work is like a modern day Osmosis Jones, if you kiddos remember that gem of a show. Every vital uh, species in the human body is working together to fend off viruses, fix problems as they arise and keep the body running smoothly.
(Osmosis Jones and Drix)
Our plot centers around two types of blood cells, red and white. Red blood cells deliver nutrients and other goodies throughout the body via oxygen. White blood cells act quickly to dispatch any foreign invaders the body may come in contact with. Our heroes are a veteran white blood cell clearly trained to eliminate viruses pretty efficiently and a rookie red blood cell on her first day, a la Leon Kennedy. And, if you’ve ever played Resident Evil 2, then you know what happens next.
A red blood cell on her first day to work gets assigned a simple enough task, deliver oxygen to the lungs. Mere seconds later, like a gaggle of geese, 3 or so viruses looking like rejected extras from the Cell Saga emerge. White blood cell makes quick work of them and then bathes in their blood all manly like. One camera pan later, and the audience sees one virus survived. So, as to not spoil the rest of the episode, I’ll end the rehashing of the story here.
It is a quite enjoyable, pseudo rom-com, The Office lite, fantasyesque adventure anime. I had a lot of fun with this one. It is very funny. There’s light elements of romance budding but not in your face, yet anyway, while anatomy and biology nuts are going to have a lot of fun exploring the human body in this delightful anime.
I liked a lot of what I saw and I think most demographics will too. There’s nothing too vulgar or offensive, though when they kill the viruses at the start it is a little bloody (see previous pictures for references). Personally, my backlog of animes to watch is growing larger by the day, but this one might start to tick up the pecking order at this rate.
What do you guys think of Cells At Work? Am I bias as a science lover or does this show have legitimate chops as an anime? Let me know down below.
Thanks for reading and have a great day everybody!
Continued Readings!
In Defense of Nintendo Switch Ports
Goblin Slayer Anime- A Good Start but Where Do We Go From Here? (Episode #1 Review)
Manga Monday Dragon Eye Volume #1
Pikmin 3 Deluxe Confirmed!
Today, Nintendo confirmed Pikmin 3 will be coming to the Switch. This isn’t just a basic port over to the switch either. The name deluxe might tip you off, but there’s going to be added content. The game features, as stated by Nintendo, “multiple difficulty modes, new side-story missions featuring Olimar and Louie, and all the DLC from the original release.”. Not to mention, every port to Switch adds new portability via the handheld mode. That’s just always an added bonus.
A few months back I made a list of Wii U games I thought could get ported over. Among them was Pikmin 3. Here’s the direct comment I made about the likeliness of it being brought over to Switch
“4. Pikmin 3. The first game on the list I have never played. So I cannot speak to how dependent on the Gamepad this game is. Regardless, I kind of disregarded this port considering all of the talk about Pikmin 4. Also, Ive heard people say they would prefer a Trilogy much in the way Metroid Fans are clamoring for. However, if we dont get the trilogy the more and more I write this the more I think this could be a solid port. Pikmin 4 looks like it is taking longer than expected so giving us Pikmin 3 remastered could solve a lot of issues. A. it would tide over Pikmin fans while finishing up Pikmin 4. B. It would introduce a new generation to Pikmin. Pikmin 1 and 2 came out on the Gamecube and a lot of hardcore players jumped off the Nintendo bandwagon with the Wii meaning plenty of people could have missed the 3rd installment after loving the first 2.”
Here’s a link to the rest of that article: Games that COULD come to the Nintendo Switch this year! (2020)
I feel like this was a pretty good guess. Pikmin 4 doesn’t seem like it is on the horizon yet. With Covid slowing the world down I guess adding Pikmin 3 Deluxe was easier than rebuilding Pikmin 1 and 2 for the Switch. Beats me, that just seems to be what this announcement tells me.
So, there you go. Nintendo quiet year might begin to make an uproar. Only time will tell. What do you guys think about this announcement? What games do you guys want to see added to Switch?
Have a great day and thanks for reading!
Goblin Slayer Anime- A Good Start but Where Do We Go From Here? (Episode #1 Review)
Hey guys. We have an interesting and somewhat divisive anime review today. Episode #1 of Goblin Slayer. I do need to do a small content warning.
Content Warning- Goblin Slayer’s Episode #1, I cannot speak for the whole series, has very graphic scenes of murder, mutilation, and even rape. Personally, I will not be touching on the rape scenes during the overview. We may address it later on in the review because it is one of the factors leading to the divisive nature of reviewers. So, if you are someone who gets triggered, not using the word in a negative manner but in the way the word was intended to be used, I will keep talking about those scenes to a minimum. However, I can already tell you if any of the above factors sound like too much, you will not like this anime. Now let’s get on to the review.
The anime starts off promising enough. The animation production is high quality. The main character is a vibrant and happy lead character. The Adventure Guild is a sprawling hub full of cheery inhabitants bragging about their strengths. From here, Priestess, the main character, is quickly introduced to her team. 3 eager adventurers dead set on stopping a tribe of goblins who kidnapped some girls from a village. The show is littered with foreshadowing and irony from this point on.
The bright undertones are swiftly replaced with the caves dark setting, void of any color except for a single torch frantically flickering, clinging to what little light there is in the world. There are several mentions of them all being rookies, and lackadaisically, almost mockingly, asking “they’re just goblins, what could possibly go wrong?”. Midway through the cave the camera pans showing just darkness, but trained eyes will notice it is a secondary pathway housing several Goblin soldiers. The young boy in the group, like the rookie he is, hits his sword against the top of the cave. In hindsight, for such a dark cave, their doom was clear as day.
The adventurers inadvertently separate into groups of 2. This makes them easy pickings for the goblins who single out the mage first. Breaking her staff then stabbing her and infecting her with poison. Don’t worry, I will describe bits of the violence but I will not touch on the more graphic details, for those of you who still may be reading but aren’t comfortable with that level of disturbing content. Just know, Goblins 1-Adventurers 0
Of course, Action Lad jumps in and kills a goblin or two just for the foreshadowing to now be in the forefront. His blade hits the top of the cave, dislodging it from his grip. The goblins make haste swarming him. They leave only his corpse behind.
Goblins 2- Adventurers 0
Lastly is Ms. Kick Boxer. She gets a few good kicks in (Papa Roach would be very happy). In the end though, she attempts to kick the big cheese, the Hobgoblin. This does not, in fact, end well. Her face promptly makes contact with the rocky, rough sides of the cave walls. Her body, not quite lifeless, is left for the goblins own devices
Goblins 3- Adventurers 0
All that’s left is Priestess as she tries in vain to carry the dying mage to safety. An arrow emerges from the darkness and breaks skin, penetrating her shoulder. The goblins close in on her in the same menacing manner. The goblin are about to claim the victorious 4-0 sweep. The adventurers are finished. Right? Well, not quite. Not yet.
The titular Goblin Slayer ambles stoically from the bowels of the cave. From here, the anime completely switches gears. The goblins are annihilated one by one. The bonus points part is that they are slain in a multitude of ways. Sure, there is a lot of head cleaving, but we also see spears, traps, setting the hobgoblin on fire and rolling him down a hill. Most are brutal and brutish in nature, but that’s okay too. The story for this episode really wraps up at this point. The Goblin Slayer and the Priestess kill all the known goblins in the cave and rescue the kidnapped girls. The Goblin Slayer and the Priestess reconvene at the guild ready for more days of goblin slaying.
Okay so, that’s your recap. Now, normally I try to avoid just recapping the episode, so why did we spend a lengthy time summarizing the first 10 minutes of the show? For several reasons. Let’s discuss.
Setting the Tone- A lot like with Attack on Titan and Akame Ga Kill, it is important to know that characters just get brutally murdered sometimes. Life is meaningless, to a certain degree anyway. If you don’t respect death and all the critters under your feet, in this instances goblins, you will be utterly and completely destroyed even if you are the hero. The gruesome mutilations and the depiction of rape scenes had many in the Crunchyroll comment section turned completely off of the anime. I understand that.
It Perfectly Tells You How To Feel- It’s a cartoon. Sure. But murder and rape are real life things. So, while I dont glorify these actions, I think this anime uses them to great conviction. What do I mean? Because the first 10 minutes are so brutal, so barbarian, it really paints Goblin Slayer as the most heroic and lifesaving dude in all of anime. You spend 10 minutes watching goblins molest, violate, and butcher a bunch of kids. Its’s grisly and savage, yet so commonplace in this world. When Goblin Slayer slices a goblin’s head open you cheer. Then he sets one on fire and you fist bump. He pierces the heart of a goblin with a spear and you let out a “Get em!”. He finds four baby goblins and bludgeons them to death and you ponder if the only good goblin is a dead one. Then you get flashbacks of Star Wars 3.
It Felt Real- Some people may disagree with this part. That’s fine. Kids today are clueless about a lot of parts of life. When adventure lad felt so sure of himself and that he was a hero just to get slaughtered by a world that felt nothing for his heroism, it just felt real. Kids today aren’t taught how to manage money, how to pay for a house, or how to change a tire. Yet, they still get thrown out in the world (most thinking they are ready for it). A lot of them get mercilessly fed to the beast. So many people I know are buried on financial burdens. The younger ones under student loans while the older ones are crushed under credit card debt or trying to pay off a house or what have you. And all those financial woes are just commonplace. I feel like you could go on and on and on about people just being unprepared for the real world but I think you guys get the point.
Now for the Bad.
Priestess is a Lame Character- Maybe she gets cooler or stronger in later episodes. I just did not relate to her as a character. Sure, I could sympathize with her in that situation. I mean, your crew was just brutally murdered before your eyes. There was an interesting discussion in the CR comment section about how what finally broke her was the baby goblins dying. One person defended her saying it was the weight of everything and that was the first moment she was able to breathe. Personally, I don’t buy it. I think they wanted to create a sense of moral ambiguity about killing baby goblins. Too which there is none. You kill them. They are not like humans which have at least a shred of humanity, even if buried real deep. So, she gets no sympathy from me in that moment. Couple the crying with the fact that she literally needed no time mourning her fallen teammates before she eagerly joined Goblin Slayer again felt disingenuous. There is a way to make it feel more real and earned. Show her grow in the cave. Honestly, I didn’t really see any growth on her part. Sure, she cast Holy Light twice. So what? How about more internal monologues? She gave plenty but yet I never really saw her say anything about a rush of adrenaline from killing goblins or how she wants to avenge her dead members. She just talks about how scarring and common events like these are but she is definitely an adventurer. It just felt like an ending they forced instead of a natural progression of her character. Maybe the novel dives more into it? Even so, we are judging the anime, and this has got to be one of the most unsatisfying endings. I’m not against the product of the outing being a stronger, more brave Priestess, just that they did nothing to make it a believable evolution.
Hopefully all my thoughts about Episode #1 are clear and not too confusing. I’ve read some other people’s reviews and everyone tends to have a lot to say about the anime. Personally, I saw some metaphors for life today. maybe I’m off base with those connections. I don’t the anime is completely tasteless or void of substance, but I can see other people not caring for it. I had a lot of thoughts and just wasn’t entirely sure how to structure everything.
Goblin Slayer Episode #1 is good. It certainly is not for everyone. It is important to remember that some people will not be able handle this level of disturbing anime. That’s okay. And if you enjoyed the darker side of this anime, that is okay too. Everyone’s taste is different.
My score for this episode changed a lot over the course of writing this. Episode #1 was an adrenaline trip of mixed emotions. Ultimately, I was ready to watch the next one and rate this one a very solid 9 out of 10. But after bouncing everything in my head a few times, I still really liked the first episode, bad ending aside, I landed on 7.5 out 10. Goblin Slayer more than makes up for how meh Priestess is. The ending didn’t deter how action packed the first episode was. Though I do question where we go from here. Not perfect by any stretch, yet still solid. Here’s a recap for anyone interested.
Action- Some of the best of any anime I have reviewed.
Romance– Not the good kind.
Plot- As of right now it is very grounded. There is no immanent, greater danger. In comics, we call this street level villains. Yet I’m not sure where we go from here.
Characters- Priestess was easily the most boring, so of course she is the one who lived. I loved the goblins as far as villains go. Perfect villains. And Goblin Slayer is the perfect hero.
The World- Most of the episode took place in a cave. Other episodes might follow suit. The world is cool as a whole. I’m just not sure how much of it we will see.
Humor– I’m not sure there was a single funny part in this whole anime. Maybe something chuckle worthy before the cave, but virtually nothing past that. I did laugh a couple times when goblins died, but who didn’t?
What did you guys think about Goblin Slayer? Which side of the coin did you fall under? I’m not really sure where the anime goes from here. It did get a 2nd season so I guess it has to go somewhere, right?
Thanks for reading! Have a great day everybody!
More Continued Readings Below:
The God of High School Episode #1 Review (Anime)
The God of High School Episode #1 Review (Anime)
The God of High School drew me in with an absurd name and tournament combat scenario akin to the classic animes I grew up watching. Did it disappoint or did it manage to live up to a name like The God of High School?
The God of High School positions itself as an all out brawl of an anime. If you can, imagine Dragon Ball’s Strongest Under the Heaven tournament style. Whoever happens to win the tournament gets their wish granted. Talent scouts have been testing many contestants to gather what they assume to be the strongest fighters. The big day arrives and BOOM, it is go time. The first episode has a fun little mini arc revolving around a petty thief who steals a grandma’s money and how our three main characters team up to stop him. It only takes about half the episode but it is a great introduction. This opening showcases each character’s personality and strengths. It’s fast-paced, action packed, and a fun joyride.
After that sequence, we get right into the heart of the premise. Our three heroic teens from the start: Jin Mori, Han Daewi and Yu Mira, all happen to be entered into the contest. Well, it is mostly action from this moment worth. A lot of cool characters are introduced, but few to none are named.
That’s about it as far as plots go. There’s something going on at the very beginning about running the country or some other babble, but that is lost on me at this point. No other hints of world danger are present, so we just have to wait and see what the dangerous, world threatening organization has in store for us in later chapters.
So, with plot out of the way, let’s dive into characters. We will be talking about 3 in particular.
Jin Mori- Our main character. As of right now, he does not have any super powers. He is just really well trained in taewkondo. He seems to be of pure heart as he drops everything he is doing to help recover the grandma’s money. So far, he is a likable lead character.
Han Daewi- As of right now, he come’s across as another good intentions kind of guy. He works hard and still needs more shifts for more money. I don’t believe the show reveals why he needs the money. However, he is the one who ultimately stops the thief. I don’t think he takes any of the recovered money either, even though it is documented he needs more money for something.
Yu Mira- Admitted, I don’t know what to make of her. She is introduced just going ga ga over some muscular men. With little to no hesitation, she joins Jin on his quest to stop the thief. I don’t quite understand the source of her power but she is very strong, no doubt.
This is normally the time when I address the world. However, the world seems pretty normal outside of the fact that there is a fighting tournament going on.
This show is just 3 or 4 episodes into the anime. My plan is to get caught up over the coming days and then maybe do a review of the show in a few weeks. Maybe after it hits 12 episodes or whatever it calls a season. This was a very strong start to an anime. It gave the lighthearted vibes of One Piece at times while also having that battle royale tournament set up that old school animes perfected in the 90’s and early 2000’s. In other words, as of right, this anime is right up my alley.
Continued Reading
Top 5 Most Anticipated Xbox Series X Games
Super Mario 64 Remake Want List! (Super Mario 35th Anniversary Rumor)
Super Mario 64 Remake Want List! (Super Mario 35th Anniversary Rumor)
Hey guys, The Nintendo Direct may have been a little lackluster if you wanted more Mario. However, on my Youtube channel, I took the time to make a want list for Super Mario 64 Remake. Below are 5 things I want added to the eventual Super Mario 64 Remake!
P.S. Dont have time to read or just prefer a video format? Here’s the link to my video: Super Mario 64 Remake Want List!
#5 Better Mechanics and Controls: Come on. This is almost a no brainer. The only way this isn’t implemented into the game is if we get a basic bare bones port. Anything above that should bring Super Mario 64 into the modern generation including an actually useful camera, tighter controls, and improved movement. Regardless of what artistic approach they take with the remake/port, better mechanics and controls is an absolute must.
#4 Better graphics- duh. Yet, there’s a sliver of a chance the game doesn’t get any graphical oomph. Honestly, I’m not the most technical savvy person so I’m not going to rabble on and on about video outputting and other jargon, I’m just going to say, I hope this is an HD remastering and not just simple porting.
(I do not own this picture)
#3 2 Player Co-OP- Mario hacks have existed for a while now that have enabled a co-op mode, so in 2020, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to enable a co-op mode in a home console release of Super Mario 64. Something Nintendo has been pretty stingy about. Mario 64 and Sunshine have no co-op mode to speak of. Galaxy 1 and 2 have extremely lack luster co-op functions allowing the 2nd player to play a disembodied pointer grabbing star bits using the Wii remote. Odyssey features the best co-op to date if we aren’t including 3D World. The 2nd player assumes the role of Cappy and can greatly help or hinder Mario on his quest for endless moons. As stated, people have pushed the boundaries of Super Mario 64 via rom hacks, meaning I’m sure Nintendo has the tools needed to do the same, but do they have the guts to utilize it?
(I do not own this picture)
#2 New Hat or Mario Powers- Mario Galaxy 1 and 2 gave us plenty of new power ups which would be cool to see here. I think an obvious power up to include would be the fire flower or ice flower. This could introduce new puzzles such as torches, water walking, enemies that can only be killed by fire, burning down bushes, etc. etc. I wouldn’t mind Boo Mario or Bee Mario but the cap power probably would make it redundant. Giant Mario could be another viable option. Giant Mario has been a staple of Mario since the very beginning, however, on the DS Mario was made ginormous. Wario even got in on the giant action in Mario 64 DS.
(Duh)
#1 New Stars in each level – Blame Odyssey if you must, blame not wanting a standard port or even blame the DS remake, but its time to start adding new content to the game. Super Mario DS added 30 new stars (I think). Odyssey allows the player to nearly double the number of moons found in each kingdom. I think implementing some system like this would be genius. These additional stars could be sprinkled in the game after beating Bowser. This way old school players can still enjoy the game the way God intended while players like myself who want a little more oomph in their remakes can get that added content. This could be done by adding some remixes of old stars such creating 5 new secret spots, making the Koopa race harder or a different route altogether, modifying existing stars in the same manner that comets did in Galaxy. The Mario team is normally pretty darn creative so I know if they tried they could come up with something good that also fits Mario 64.
So there you have it. I have a few more items on this want list. If I can come up with five more, I’ll make a follow up to this post. If you want to see what those items are now though, you can check the video in the link above!
Thanks again for reading guys! If you are excited for the remakes, leave a comment down below and let me know what you would add.
Continued Reading:
Somali and the Forest Spirit Episode 1 Review!
Manga Monday: Clay Lord Master of Golems
The Mandalorian Review
Girlish Number- Random Wednesday Number 1
Reacting to my very first post “To all Potential Readers,”
I’m going to just copy and paste my very first post here so we can talk about it.
This is my very first post so this will be a run down of what content I will be putting out!
I am going to be blogging on mostly what anime I am watching, what comic books I am reading, what video games I am playing. Every now and again I will post about movies music or sports too!
Here is a list of what anime’s I am watching and how far I am into them: Naruto(415), One Piece(170), Attack on Titan(Episode 27),Parasyte-The Maxim(24) Assassination Classroom(17), Death Parade(12) Is it Wrong to Try and Pick up Girls In A Dungeon(10),
Ones i plan to start watching: Akame Ga Kill, Punch Line, Kill La Kill, Fairy Tale, Reborn, etc.
Games I currently Playing: Madden 15, Fallout New Vegas, Pokemon, Super Smash Bros, Majora Mask 3DS, Borderlands Pre-Sequel, Fable, Wind Waker(wiiU)
Comics in 2015 I am reading: Aquaman and the Others(1-7) Lobo(1-5), Secret Wars(0-1), Convergence(0-5) Suicide Squad(3,5). I am mostly a 60’s-80’s kinda guy.
Also, I will be doing weekly Top Fives!
If this sounds like stuff you want to talk about and hear my opinions on be sure to check out often!
Okay, lets break it down.
“I am going to be blogging on mostly what anime I am watching, what comic books I am reading, what video games I am playing.”
I would say I kept this part pretty faithful. Anime and manga reviews make up the bulk of my content. I’ve kept comic books off for the most part. I’ve talked about Pokemon and Zelda a good bit.
“Here is a list of what anime’s I am watching and how far I am into them: Naruto(415), One Piece(170), Attack on Titan(Episode 27),Parasyte-The Maxim(24) Assassination Classroom(17), Death Parade(12) Is it Wrong to Try and Pick up Girls In A Dungeon(10),”
Okay, so I have seen all of Naruto since making this post. One Piece, I am up to 300 and something. Attack on Titan, I am a few episodes into season 2. Parasyte only ran for 24 episodes if I remember right. Death Parade I think only ran for 12. I’m not sure I’ve seen anymore of Assassination Classroom. I think I finished season one of Is it Wrong to Try and Pick up Girls In A Dungeon. However many was that.
Since this post, I’ve watched Season One of My Hero Academia and Food Wars. Im on episode #10 of Tower of God. I’ve seen all of Girlish Number, The Devil is a Part Timer and Amagi Brilliant Park, loved all of them. I’ve seen up to about episode 4 of Dr. Stone. I’d love to revisit this one. I actually finished season 1 of Monster Musume oddly enough. Not sure if it got a 2nd season. Case Closed and Yu Yu Hakusho are two I’ve seen a lot of but I couldnt even tell you where I was on them. I’ve seen a handful of episode 1s that havent been brought up on the blog yet.
“Games I currently Playing: Madden 15, Fallout New Vegas, Pokemon, Super Smash Bros, Majora Mask 3DS, Borderlands Pre-Sequel, Fable, Wind Waker(wiiU)”
So, I actually have restarted playing New Vegas but on PS3. Not with any consistency though. I still play Pokemon of course, but now I am up to Sword.
Here’s the games I am playing now: A Hat in Time, Yo Kai Watch (3DS), Super Mario Odyssey, DOOM (XBOX ONE), The Outer Worlds (XBOX ONE), Pokemon Sword, Shovel Knight (Wii U), Bloons Tower Defense 5 (Steam).
“Comics in 2015 I am reading: Aquaman and the Others(1-7) Lobo(1-5), Secret Wars(0-1), Convergence(0-5) Suicide Squad(3,5). I am mostly a 60’s-80’s kinda guy.”
A few things may jump out to you. A. Nothing really Marvel. I had Secret Wars 0-1. Not super impressive. Truth be told, aside from Daredevil and Ghost Rider, I don’t read a lot of Marvel anymore. One day I may try to read more of the new X-Men titles. B. This was all DC New 52 stuff. I love that era. I actually quickly fell out of New Comics shortly after this past. In fact, at the time, I don’t think I got another new comic until 2018 during DC’s Universe/Rebirth (Their modern iteration). I may go back an update this part with all my new comics later. I don’t have it written down and again, comics have never been a big part of this blog.
Okay, I am going to add a teaser part. Mangas. At the time of this post, I never really owned a manga that I didn’t get from my brother. It didn’t take long into the blogs life for me to rectify this problem. Here’s a list of the major manga’s I collect
Dragon Ball (3-1 editions of Volumes 1-18), Dragon Ball Z (3-1 editions of Volumes 1-6), My Hero Academia (Volume 1-13), Eden Zero (Volumes 1-5), Rave Master (Volumes 1, 3-4, 15-17), Samurai 8 The Tale of Hachimaru (Volumes 1 and 2. Current up to this point). I’ll go more in depth about my manga collection later, but these are the ones I really care about.
Also, I will be doing weekly Top Fives!
If this sounds like stuff you want to talk about and hear my opinions on be sure to check out often!
Top Fives are the longest running topic on the blog! It got started with top 5 Pokemons, than top 5 reasons to own a Wii U, and then 5 things I want from E3. I just put out one like last week or so talking about Mario levels. Later this week, I will be revisiting my original top fives. Safe to say this might be my favorite section but they are thought provoking.
Well, thats it for today. I might revisit this post over the next few days an add more as I reflect on my five years here. That’s if I get the time. I have been surprising busy this week. I might just leave it as it is. Just depends how I feel I suppose.
As always, thanks some much for reading. You can read the original on its original page here.
Manga Monday Dragon Eye Volume #1
Dragon Eye was created by Kairi Fujiyama and published by Kodansha, a company I don’t think I was familiar with up to this point. It ran for 3 years and produced 9 collected volumes. Interestingly enough, it seems the series may have a had a resurgence in Japan under the name Dragon Eye RT. I believe this book is still exclusive to Japan, so I’m not sure how much news actually exist for that iteration of the book.
Spoilers- Typically, I say there’s only spoilers for the first volume. However, this is one you will absolutely want to read first if you want to stay spoiler free. There’s two big reveals early about 2 of the 3 main characters. So if you want to experience those for yourselves, I recommend reading the book before reading this review any further.
Plot- In the world of Dragon Eye, a virus is running out of control which turn the living into monsters. These monsters are dubbed Draculas. Usually, a scratch from a dracula will convert the person into a monster as well. However, for a select lucky few, they are immune to the virus. These people are fighters known as VIUS. These fighters, band together to fight the monsters and protect those weaker than them.
Characters: Characters are certainly a strength in this book. The 3 main characters shine right a way as Squad Zero. First up Issa Kazuma
Issa Kazuma– As stated, if you want to remain spoiler free, then you’ll want to skip this entire section. Issa is disguised as a student coming up through the VIUS program. He is sent on a recon mission like all the other trainees. While there, the students learn their intel was bad and that there are actually really strong draculas lurking in their area. Issa is forced to reveal that, not only is he actually a high ranking proctor for the academy, he also has a Dragon Eye, one of the strongest weapons in the world. Issa is super interesting. If you are familiar with comics, he almost falls into that antihero role. Everything he does is most likely for the betterment of people, however sometimes those things are very shady. Like, it is lead on to believe that he straight up murdered a little girl. More on that later. Still, Issa is awesome and I wonder if I am wrong to think that. He is extremely powerful as he wields one of the few known Dragon Eyes to exist in this world and he is not afraid to use it. I feel like we are going to have more to write about him as time goes on.
Leila Mikami- She is an interesting character. Often times in the earlier pages she takes over as the main character, yet she never really does anything. She is brave at times and really determined. Still, she is a passive character who has yet to be given her time to shine. It’s really unfortunate. I kept waiting for her to have a big moment and it just hasn’t happened yet. I don’t have a lot to add, yet. Issa sees potential in her but I doubt his judgment so far.
Sosei Yukimura– Now this dude is hyped. He is formerly of Squad Five. Now disclaimer, squads haven’t really been explained too well. Sosei volunteers to aid Squad Zero because they are light on members. It is quickly revealed Sosei was only so eager to help so he could get close to Issa. Remember how I said Issa murdered a little girl. Well, it was Sosei twin sister! Talk about some drama. Well, Sosei wants revenge, go figure. However, his efforts are constantly thwomped by the fact wherever Issa goes, so do Draculas. Talk about inconvenient. For now, they must team up to keep humanity safe. But Sosei swears to have his day in the sun. It doesn’t help that all records from that mission have been falsified to cover it all up.
The World- What is there to say about it? It’s like ours but humans are fighting for survival. Towns are designed to keep Dracula sightings to a minimum. However, there’s talks of mountain ranges in the north that seem to differ than the cityscapes of where we are now.
Recap- The first chapter seems slow, but when this book is rolling it is real good.
Action- One of the books strong suits.
Romance- Nothing at the moment, but Issa and Leila have potential.
Plot- I say it all the time with mangas like this. I don’t know if this plot is revolutionary or original, but it is good.
Characters- Leila is cute and likeable. Issa and Sosei bring the hype. It gives me Sasuke and Itachi vibes in a very good way.
The World- The world exist.
Humor– While this isnt a Shonen Jump comic, it felt like that same style of humor. Maybe a little less funny than say Naruto or One Piece.
Verdict– I look at this book and I wonder where it lands among the best. I don’t know. I do know it was an enjoyable read. I found Volume #2 and already bought it.
Score- I’m going with a 7 out of 10. I just reviewed Rave Master. I think Dragon Eye might have had better characters, but I think Rave Master was slightly more enjoyable.
Thanks again for reading and have a great day everybody!
Continued Reading down below!
Somali and the Forest Spirit Episode 1 Review!
Manga Monday: Clay Lord Master of Golems
The Mandalorian Review
Girlish Number- Random Wednesday Number 1
Da_Hubbz 