Incredibles 2…Wait Well Worth It!

For those of us of a certain generation, it has been 14 years. 14…long, long years since the first Incredibles movie, and the confirmation of its sequel. Now, on June 15, 2018, we finally got what was promised to children and adults alike!
Incredibles 2 gave audience members exactly what they 

were promised: same animation quality, amazing storyline, beloved superheroes along with new ones, and the best of all…the reveal of Jack-Jack’s powers!

Without giving anything away, the main plot of Incredibles 2, was Elasigirl (Holly Hunter) is offered a job to help put superheroes back in the light and make them legal once again. While she’s doing that, her husband Bob, AKA Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson), is left in charge of their three children, Violet (Sarah Vowell), Dash (Huck Milner), and of course baby Jack-Jack. Many see this as a bit of a reverse scenario from the first movie where Bob was away from home doing work while Helen stayed home with the kids. The only difference is there are no secrets about what Helen is doing.

Unfortunately, a villain going by the name ScreenSaver, is using his powers to take control of people’s minds. Elastigirl has to think on her feet and follow clues and leads to uncover the person behind 
the screen. Despite ScreenSaver’s attempts to knock Elasigirl off her game and hinder the development of bringing supers back, Elastigirl manages to solve every trap set for her. After her first successful mission, she becomes proud of herself, and gets excited that she is making a name for herself like she did before she met Mr. Incredible. Meanwhile, Bob is home struggling with the daily tasks of having to help with homework, bond with his preteen daughter and of course…a baby with newly developed powers.

Seeing Bob attempt to take care of the daily needs of Dash and Violet makes us laugh, but also to those who are fathers whether single or with a spouse, they can relate to the pressure he faces. Now dealing with a baby who can teleport, burst into flames, turn into a demon and multiply…is a whole other challenge. Even Frozone (Samuel L. Jackson), can’t help his longtime friend and super partner out of this struggle. An interesting development is that the movie has some minor language in it. Small ones that aren’t super serious (to us adults) but still, they went edgy like old PG movies from early 80s and 90s.

Probably the best thing about this sequel, is that the main cast makes an apology to the audience for making us wait so long for this movie (as well they should)! But…the wait was definitely worth it. Incredibles 2 is a cinematic masterpiece and does the first movie justice.

If anyone hasn’t seen it yet, check it out and experience the action, suspense and amazing animation from Disney and Pixar! For those in their mid to late 20’s and 30’s who saw the  first Incredibles movie, this sequel is beyond satisfying and they’ll be bouncing in their seats like they’re a kid again.

Fullmetal Alchemist Live Action Movie: Was It What Fans Expected?

 

When it comes to live action adaptations of anime, fans divide themselves into two categories: excited and pumped about it, anticipating amazing visuals and doing the original material justice. Or those who are skeptical about the idea, worried that it won’t represent the anime as well as they expect and don’t get into the hype the adaptation gains.

Fans of anime everywhere have their own opinions of live action anime. Some are amazing and can sometimes be just as good or even better than the original, or disappointing and frustratingly insulting to the franchise, as well as the fans of the show. Whether we are excited or skeptical, the urge to watch it and buckle down till the end is irresistible.

When the public heard about a live action Fullmetal Alchemist movie, social media blew up with hype and excitement. The trailer showed all of the awesome visuals, character designs and costumes and the special effects that made the whole thing look like the anime itself. Produced by Square Enix and Oxybot Inc., the film was released as a Netflix Original. After the abomination of the Live Action Attack on Titan movie, many fans have been on edge when it is announced that an anime is being turned into a live action movie. Fullmetal Alchemist, however, was actually kind of a blessing. Despite leaving out certain characters and minor points in the story, the movie was actually visually stunning and keeps the watcher engrossed in what’s going on, even if someone isn’t too familiar with the original anime.

To start, the movie opens towards the climax of the “Father Cornello” arc (that’s what I’m calling it). Edward Elric (Ryouske Yamada), is confronting Cornello (Kenjiro Ishimaru) about the Philosopher’s Stone embedded in his ring. For those who are unfamiliar with the original anime, Ed and his brother investigate a town where rumor has it that the priest can create “miracles” from nothing. Ed discovers his powers come from a Philosopher’s Stone he believes is the real thing.

Despite the movie getting into that arc without any warning, it’s actually a fitting opening. The battle between Ed and the priest gives perfect representation of Ed’s skills in combat and visually stunning alchemy effects, also showing a bad-ass reveal of his auto-mail arm and leg. The dramatic save and reveal by Ed’s little brother Alphonse (voice: Atomu Mizuishi) is just…amazing! The CGI suit of armor looks like it stepped right out of the anime. Perfect 10!! The other cool thing, is that as any fan of Fullmetal Alchemist knows, Al still sounds like a kid even after a few years passed from the time he and Ed tried to bring their mom back to life, and Ed had to transmute his soul into a suit of armor. In the movie, his voice sounds deeper, aging even though he’s just a soul trapped in hollow armor. 

Working with the military, Ed’s goal is to find the Philosopher’s Stone and use it to restore his little brother’s body. The movie stays focused on this main plot, building up the same tension as the anime; Ed getting so close to the answers he’s seeking only to be pulled into something more that either puts him one step closer to the stone, or several steps back.

Okay, now let’s talk about…Shou Tucker (Yo Oizumi). Not much needs to be said about him. Like his anime persona, the brothers are introduced to Tucker, another state alchemist who studies the creation and development of chimeras. Roy Mustang (Dean Fujioka) puts the boys in his care so they can learn a little more about alchemy. Ed and Al immediately befriend Tucker’s young daughter Nina and their big white dog Alexander. Tucker reveals to Ed that his wife left him two years ago, leaving him to care for their daughter. As a state alchemist, every year he has to present to the military a breakthrough in his chimera research to keep his title and grant money he receives. However…in order to meet his deadline, Tucker goes to drastic measures.

To meet his deadline, Tucker fuses his own daughter and his dog Alexander, creating a talking chimera. When Ed sees the creature, he’s at first amazed at what Tucker has accomplished. But quickly puts two and two together, realizing that Tucker experimented on his dog and daughter, just like he experimented with his wife two years ago. To fans, this scene is the most heart-wrenching moment, labeling Shou Tucker as one of the most hated characters in all of anime. Ed beats Tucker almost to the point of death until Al tells him he has to stop. Fact: this scene in the anime enraged so many people that when it is made into memes, the main response is “TOO SOON”.

The military step in and arrest Tucker for what he’s done. Now, this is where things get a bit confusing and disappointing because they just arrest Tucker, while Nina never seen again. Originally, a character named Scar kills Tucker and Nina. But in the movie, she is never brought up again. They could’ve taken her in to find a solution, maybe the military killed her off screen. Either way, the audience is left wondering what happened to it. Scar in the anime, kills Nina out of mercy; so she would no longer suffer her new existence.

At the climax of the movie, it’s revealed that General Hakuro (Fumiyo Kohinata) used military research as well as information given to him by the homonculi Lust (Yasuko Matsuyuki) to produce thousands of genuine Philosopher’s Stones, and using them to create homonculi puppets to act as his army, so he can dominate the world as a king. But his creations kill him just as fast as they were created, leading to Ed, Al and the military containing the dummies so they wouldn’t get out to the public.

The final battle is between Roy, Ed and Al versus Envy (Kanata Hongo) and Lust. To get revenge for murdering Maes Hughes (Ryuta Sato), Roy uses his fire alchemy to burn Envy to a crisp. Ed discovers that despite the homonculi being immortal due to having Philosopher’s Stones for hearts, their healing factor takes longer if they are dealt severe damage to their bodies. Roy then goes after Lust, killing her in a beautiful fiery death. 

As stated previously, despite leaving out characters and changing certain circumstances and plot points, the Live Action Fullmetal Alchemist movie was actually very good for what it was. Even though there were situations where certain scenes, battles and development happen differently in its anime counterpart, the movie still made it work very well, still giving the audience the anticipation and drive to root for the Elric brothers as they go through their journey.

Even if one doesn’t agree with how the movie handled some points, no one can argue that the visuals and special effects are just amazingly stunning and pleasant to look at. Not to mention the costuming. All of the actors give their best to bring these characters to life all over again. It is definitely worth a watch, even just once. Viewers will not be disappointed in what they see in this awesome, action pact and dramatic live action remake of one of the most memorable and popular anime/manga series anime fans know and love today and possibly forever.

 

FNAF: The Silver Eyes- A Light Read filled with Mystery

If you haven’t heard of Five Nights at Freddy’s…what is wrong with you!? It is only one of the most entertaining and scary game anyone can play.

Created by Scott Cawthon, Five Nights at Freddy’s takes place in a pizzaria called Freddy Fazbear’s Pizzaria. You play a night security guard, who watches over the facility from midnight to 6 a.m. Your goal is to keep an eye on the animatronics, which are possessed by the spirits of children who were murdered. There are five games in total, and have gotten world-wide recognition, including from YouTubers like Markiplier.

The game also inspired a book written by Kira Breed-Wrisley called Five Nights at Freddy’s: The Silver Eyes. The book plot and story line is very different from the game’s story line and is not related to it at all.

In the book, a group of friends reunite with one another in their hometown of Hurricane. All of them remember Freddy Fazbear’s; more specifically, they remember the day when their friend Michael was abducted and murdered at the pizzaria.

The main character, Charlie, is the daughter of the founder of the pizzaria and remember when her father would work on his animatronics.

The story starts slow, but that’s because it builds up everything that happens throughout the character’s time in Huricane, and within the abandoned pizzaria. When Charlie and her friends all decide to go investigate Freddy Fazbear’s and get trapped in there, that’s when everything begins to pick up and put the reader within this creepy location filled with mystery and murder.

Probably my favorite part is when Charlie and the group go to Freddy’s after finding out that one of their friends, Carlton never made it out. When Charlie found him, he was inside a yellow suit, filled with spring traps that would pierce his flesh and organs if he moved even the slightest. Because Charlie watched her father create spring traps and the mascots, she steadily locates the spring traps within the suit and stopped them from going off, so Carlton could escape the suit.

I love that part because the spring traps come back into play that allows everyone to escape the wrath of Freddy Fazbear’s. I’ll leave that as a suspense builder to get people to read the book.

Throughout the rest of the book, Charlie and her friends discover who it was that killed all of those children, including their friend Michael. For people who played the games and understand the story, the culprit is someone simply known as Purple Guy. He would lure children to the back of the pizzaria, murder them, and them hid their bodies within the mascots. The spirits of the children are now part of the costumes, taking them over and walking around the pizzaria, not remembering who killed them.

The Silver Eyes is just enjoyable for light reading. When everything picks up, this book becomes near impossible to put down. I believe there is a sequel book that follow, and I plan to read that once I find a copy (and go through my reading list).

My Hero Academia: Tomorrow’s Heroes Today!!

 

Everyone loves super heroes. They fight crime, protect us and ask for nothing in return. But, what if everyone had the potential to become a hero based on an ability they developed in childhood? 

That’s what My Hero Academia is all about!

In this anime, people can develop powers, or “quirks”, if they are born with only one joint in their pinkie toe. Most people with quirks go to school called U.A. High, to become professional heroes. The most famous hero in the series is known as All Might (Christopher Sabat). His quirk is called “One for All”, which gives him super human strength and agility, and also makes him bulk up with enormous muscles. However, All Might’s power has a time limit to how long he can use it per day. When not doing super hero work, All might reverts to a scrawny man with sunken eyes.

Izuku Midoriya (Justin Briner), has a big dream to become a great hero like All Might, who is his idol and role model. As a child, Midoriya waits to see what kind of quirk he’ll develop. Sadly, he is told that because he has two joints in his pinkie toe, it’s concluded that he would never develop a quirk of his own. Despite this blow to his dream, Midoriya’s passion to attend U.A. doesn’t falter. 

Everything changes for Midoriya when he meets All Might, and learns the secret of his quirk. All Might even tells Midoriya that a quirkless human can’t make it into U.A., and that he should accept they way things are. Hearing this from his idol, Midoriya is lost. That is…until he sees his childhood friend Katsuki Bakugo (Clifford Chapin) being attacked by a sludge monster. Even though he has the power to explode anything he touches, Katsuki is engulfed by the monster, and even the professional heroes are having trouble stopping him from killing the boy. Seeing this scene, without thinking, Midoriya rushes through the crowd and tries desperately to save his friend.

All Might, watching this ordinary boy rush into danger with no hesitation, realizes that Midoriya could be the one to possibly take his place as the next greatest hero the world has ever known. He confronts Midoriya, saying that he does have the potential to become a hero based on his actions.

This series has grown so much in popularity, that the second season, which was released April 1, is being dubbed the same time the subbed version is uploaded. It shows how much of a following the anime has. Not a lot of anime series gets this kind of attention.

The reason I will not go into more details about this anime, is because the comedy and twist within the series are just too good to spoil and just need to be witnessed.

As a bit of a bonus, the studio who helped develop My Hero Academia, Studio Bones, is famous for releasing other anime series such as Full Metal Alchemist (original and Brotherhood), Ouran High School Host Club, Soul Eater, Space Dandy, and so much more!

Check out My Hero Academia for yourself, and watch future heroes prove themselves. New episodes of Season 2 is uploaded every Saturday night.

If you were born with a quirk, what would it be?

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Ending of an Episode was Unsatisfying and Disappointing.

There is no question that Buffy the Vampire Slayer was and, to many, is still one of the most awesome shows ever to hit television. It was created by Joss Whedon in 1997 and ran for about 6 years with 7 seasons.

While I was too young to watch Buffy, I caught the series just as it was coming off the air. Instead of watching it, I found the spin-off series, Angel, which I absolutely love and have watched twice. But recently, I went to Netflix and finally sat down to watch Buffy, and it is as amazing as everyone said (like I ever doubted).

However, I just watched an episode that I thought ended in an anti-climactic and unsatisfying way: Season 2, Episode 11, Ted.

In the episode, Buffy’s mom, Joyce, introduces her daughter to Ted, an average man who works as an office salesman. On the surface, he seems genuinely kind and trusting, winning over Willow and Xander. Like most teens, Buffy isn’t too happy to have a new man enter her life, especially when this particular man begins to threaten Buffy to her face. Buffy finds out that Ted plans to marry Joyce in two months, and takes out her aggression on a vampire while out on patrol.

Buffy sneaks back in to her room to find Ted waiting for her and reading her diary. Ted threatens to tell Joyce about Buffy’s “delusional fantasies” if she got in the way of his plans. When Buffy tries to stop Ted from walking out with her diary, he attacks her. Pushed to the limit, Buffy retaliates, holding nothing back, especially when her mom witnesses Buffy assault and then kick Ted down the stairs, killing him.

The reactions in this episode was powerful. Giles and the others find out that Ted had a clean record. Buffy is shaken up that she had killed an innocent human. She confesses everything to the police, who don’t press charges because they believed that she was defending herself. Throughout the episode, Buffy is fighting the guilt that she had hurt not only an innocent person, but her own mother. It is just a strong scenario that keeps you wondering what will happen next and if Buffy and her mom would ever go back to the way things were.

Just as suspected, at least by me, Ted returns, ambushing Buffy in her room again, this time knocking her unconscious. He appears before Joyce, making up a story of how he woke up just as he was taken to the morgue. He attempts to take Joyce away to another home he claims to have made for the two of them, but is stopped once again by Buffy.

This is where the episode went downhill.

Xander, Willow and Cordeila find Ted’s address and go there to see if there is anything they can use to prove he was up to something. Xander opens a closet, discovering the bodies of Ted’s previous wives. They don’t actually show them. The camera is on Xander the whole time, showing his reaction.

Meanwhile, Buffy’s fight with Ted is just her ambushing him in the kitchen and whacking him across the face with a frying pan. He turns to get up and half of his face reveals he was a robot. Buffy hits him again and he’s dead for real. Then the episode ends with Buffy and her mom sitting on the front porch, supporting each other.

We never know exactly what Ted is, how he was able to come back as a robot, what his motivations were, nor anything about his previous wives and how he managed to kill them. The whole time I was watching, I kept thinking he was just using Joyce to get to Buffy. I thought he would be some sort of demon or evil sorcerer who was able to get close to Buffy so he could kill her or threaten her mom or…SOMETHING!!!

But no. Instead, he was a robot from who-knows-where who went after Buffy’s mom for God-knows-why. He mumbled to Joyce that a husband and wife should be together and live happily. It gave way to some sort of background, whether he had a wife that left him, or he did something horrible by accident and just goes after any woman who reminded him of his wife. That’s what I thought was going on when he said that.

I know Whedon is good at throwing the audience off and keeping us on our toes, but I don’t get what this episode was supposed to do. Other than showing the audience the young main character coping with the reality that she used her abilities to kill who she thought was an average person in self-defense, this episode ended so poorly.

I get that this episode was just a filler episode (maybe), and has nothing to do with the main plot, but the other episode with one-time bad guys at least had some sort of satisfying ending with answered questions. If Whedon just wanted the episode to focus on Buffy growing as a character and showing just how 3-Dimensional she really is, he did perfectly. But this was an episode that just left me unsatisfied when it came to the villain.

If anyone believes I’ve misunderstood this particular episode, please leave a comment. As I’ve said, I’m still watching the series for the first time and I know there is going to be a crap-ton of stuff that is gonna play with all of my emotions and perspectives. I can’t wait!!

Servant + Vampire = Hilarious and Dramatic

Short but sweet, Servamp is an anime that will catch the attention of all vampire fanatics! I have heard about this series from friends but never got a chance to watch it until recently. I first read the first two volumes of the manga, then started watching the anime. I was hooked after two minutes!!

Servamp starts off with 15-year old Mahiru Shirota (Japanese Voice: Takuma Terashima; English Voice: Clifford Chappin), who is an independent high school Freshman. When he was younger, his mother had passed away. His family were pondering what to do with him, because no one wanted to take him in. But his uncle stepped up and said that he would raise Mahiru on his own. Because of his uncle, Mahiru has a mindset of “If you want something done, you have to do it yourself.” Because of this, he’s always the one in his class to step up and takes on any task no one else wants to do. His friends and classmates are amazed by his motivation.

One day, as Mahiru is on his way home, he comes across a small black cat huddled in an alleyway. Feeling sorry for it, Mahiru takes it in and opens the plot. This simple black cat that Mahiru named Kuro (Japanese Voice: Yuki Kaji; English Voice: Chuck Huber), is actually a vampire who is referred to as Sleepy Ash of Sloth. As his name suggests, Kuro is often lazy and spends most of his time sleeping, eating, watching TV or playing video games. While he can change his shape from cat to human and visa versa, he immediately transforms back into a cat when in direct sunlight.

The two end up accidentally forming a contract together, binding them as master and servamp (Servant + Vampire). Because of this contract, Kuro must obey his new eve (that is what a servamp’s master is called), and stay close to him. Once the contract is formed, if a servamp and eve are separated for too long, the eve will become weak and eventually die.

Everything begins to change around Mahiru as he discovers another vampire is after Kuro. The culprit is Kuro’s youngest brother, Tsubaki (Japanese Voice: Tatsuhisa Suzuki; English Voice: Micha Solusod), also known as the servamp of Melancholy. He is actually the 8th brother of the servamps. However, because no one in his family knows him and don’t acknowledge him, he hates all of them and wants to make everyone know him by slaughtering as many people as he desires. In order to stop him, Mahiru and Kuro team up with the rest of Kuro’s brothers and try to stop Tsubaki from killing innocent humans.

As you watch Servamp, viewers will see that all of the servamps are named after the Seven Deadly Sins. Kuro is Sloth, there is a servamp of Greed, Gluttony, Wrath, Envy, Lust, and Pride. Out of all these siblings, Kuro is the eldest brother.

Mahiru and Kuro are total opposites in personality and motivation. However, of course opposites tend to attract and work together in balancing each other’s flaws. Mahiru is determined and is always willing to help with anything. Being thrown into this new reality and given power, Mahiru feels like he has to stand up and take action against Tsubaki in any way he can. Kuro on the other hand, is reluctant to jump into battle. Most of the time, it’s because he’s lazy and thinks it’s a pain to fight. The other times he doesn’t want to fight, it’s because he feels like Mahiru rushes into battle too quickly, often without telling anyone and having extra back-up. This is, again, because he believes he has to do everything himself if no one else is around to do it. His impulsiveness leads to many failures in battle and complications with his bond with Kuro, making them useless in battle. Through his faults and emotions, Mahiru realizes why everything has happened and eventually pulls it together for the final battle against Tsubaki.

So much drama and confrontation goes on in this anime, which keeps me invested in the plot. Despite this show only having 12 episodes, every episode is satisfying. I do hope it gets a second season, but until then, I’ll keep reading the manga and re-watching the anime over and over.

Speaking of the manga, it’s also important to note that there are significant differences between the manga and the anime. The main one is, there are more characters that show up in the manga. For example, in the anime, Mahiru’s uncle is shown only in flashbacks. He is still alive in the series, but the anime suggests he may be away on a business trip because he never shows up as the anime goes on. But in the manga, it shows a scene where Mahiru runs into Tsubaki in a sushi bar and they talk for a bit. In the manga, Mahiru’s uncle shows up and is introduced to Tsubaki, thinking he and Mahiru are friends. Mahiru even tells his uncle about how he found Kuro and if they could keep him Of course he’s okay with letting Kuro live with them. His uncle doesn’t know Kuro is a vampire and Mahiru tries to keep it that way.

Bottom line, Servamp keeps viewers entertained with just enough information and plot development with each episode to make us want more, and gives us just enough conflict and action to keep our attention. It puts a different spin on vampires and turns viewers on their heads with surprises and character development.

 

Hunter X Hunter: An Adventurous Anime

Full of action, drama and just all around awesome characters and story, Hunter X Hunter leaves people on the edge of their seats with every episode and every tiny moment.

The original series aired in Japan from 1999 to 2001, with 62 episodes. Then it was re-released again in 2011, which is the adaptation that is currently being dubbed in English and airing on Toonami Saturday/Sunday at 1:30 a.m. There was an English dubbing in 1999, but in honesty, that version is annoying and possibly the worst dubbing I’ve ever heard. When people search for Hunter X Hunter, they make sure to be specific. i.e. “Hunter X Hunter 2011.”

The series follows 12-year old Gon Freeces, who lives in a small village with his aunt. His father abandoned Gon to become a Hunter. Rather than resenting his father for leaving him, Gon decides to follow his father and become a Hunter, so he can see what it was about becoming a Hunter that made his father leave his family.

At the start of his journey, he meets Kurapika, the last member of a race of people called the Kurta Clan. His purpose of becoming a Hunter, is to hunt down a mysterious group known as the Phantom Troupe, who is responsible for the slaughter of the Kurta Clan. The Kurta were hunted down for their eyes, which turn red when their emotions are heightened.

Gon also meets an aspiring doctor named Leorio. He is taking the Hunter Exam just so he can make money and live a good life. Although he seems selfish and jaded, he is actually caring and has deeper motivations that explain his views on everything.

During the first part of the Hunter Exam, Gon meets another 12-year old boy named Killua Zoldyck, who is a member of an assassin family. Because of his background in killing and family upbringing, Killua is confident in his skills and abilities during the exam. He becomes impressed and fascinated with Gon’s optimism and strength. The two eventually form a strong friendship.

Along with friends, Gon also come across an enemy: Hisoka. The way most fans would describe Hisoka is…creepy pedophile psychopath times 100. To formally describe him, he  is a character who loves murder and playing with his victims.

Hisoka takes an interest in Gon because of his hidden potential. Hisoka has quoted in the show that if he finds interest in an opponent, killing them too soon would be boring. He almost kills Gon during one part of the Hunter Exam, but spares his life because he believes Gon can become stronger. Once he does, Hisoka plans to kill him.

Throughout the anime, Hisoka talks about Gon, comparing him to a fruit that is still growing and will ripen with time. The other factors of Hisoka that make him extremely creepy, is that after fighting Gon, or witnessing Gon and his friends fight, he makes the comment, “I’m starting to get excited,” while making a very uncomfortable expression that is described as a ‘pedo-smile.’ Watch some of his scenes and you’ll understand. He also is designed like a jester, and uses playing cards as weapons.

Watching the anime, I have compared Gon to Goku from Dragonball Z. The two are very similar in character and personality. They both value the people in their lives and will do whatever it takes to protect them. Both characters are a bit reckless during combat, while at the same time tactical, and they are both overly optimistic and have positive outlooks on certain situations. Also…they are both extremely stubborn. Once they both make up their minds,. there is no changing them.

Personally, my favorite arc is the sixth one called “The Chimera Ant arc.” To summarize it, an ant queen creates creatures called Chimera Ants, who go out and feed on humans as well as bring humans to the queen as offerings. She gives birth to the Chimera Ant king, who goes to assert his dominance over the world and harvest humans to consume.

Also in this arc, Gon meets a man whom he has met before and is an acquaintance of Gon’s father. They gather other Hunters to fight the Ants.

The whole season is so powerful in plot and twists. You think you have a character all figured out, but then one episode will change everything, making you look at those characters in a totally different light. I seriously finished this season in like, two weeks cause I couldn’t stop watching it!! Going through all the seasons is worth it to get to this one!

Seriously, Hunter X Hunter is a pretty awesome anime. If anyone wants more twists and unexpected turns and events in an anime, this is the show to check out!!

Pixels Show the Glory of Nerds (may contain mild spoilers)

Whoever said video games were a waste of time, have officially been proven wrong. They are the key to saving the planet!!

Pixels is a fun, nostalgic film for just about anyone. People who played games like Donkey Kong, Galaga, Pac-Man, and other arcade games back in the 1980’s, will get to take a trip back to the past.

The movie star Adam Sandler as one  of the main characters, Brenner, who is a tech installation guy. He is talking with his childhood friend Cooper, played by Kevin James, about his life choices. Brenner got a degree at MIT, hoping to create games of his own. But because of his loss in a video game competition against Eddie, played by Peter Dinkler, Cooper gave up on his dream and settled with installing flat screens and game stations for families.

Cooper, on the other hand, is president of the USA. However, the public is not happy with some of the decisions he has made while running the country. The news ridicules him when a story goes up of him reading to a girl’s scout and mispronouncing a word. A girl corrects him and he raises his voice at her, causing the little girls to call him mean.

Meanwhile, Brenner is at a home, installing a flat-screen and a other high-tech systems, when he gets a call from President Cooper, telling him to rush to the White House. When Brenner gets there, Cooper shows him a video feed of an Air Force base being attached by what looked like ships and missiles from Galaga.

They are informed by their friend Ludlow, played by Josh Gad, that an alien race had found a pod Earth sent to space, featuring old arcade games, and received it as a sign of war between the two races. The aliens send messages to the government, explaining that each challenge decides the fate of mankind. If Earth lost a challenge, they would lose a life, meaning the aliens would abduct a random human as a trophy. If the aliens lost a challenge, they would give Earth one of their warriors; playing on the concept of arcade games giving each player three lives per game. Three losses for Earth, meant the destruction of the planet.

Of course some of the best parts of the movie are the battles Sandler and the others have to go through. President Cooper commands that the military let the nerds train them in dealing with the aliens, because of their skills in classic video games.

Sandler’s performance in the movie wasn’t bad. He helped produce the movie, according to the opening credits, and while there were some scenes where his lines were cheesy and his humor was dry, it didn’t kill the movie. There were times when he was funny and entertaining. Sandler’s action scenes were amazing, as well as times in the movie that were serious.

In the trailers, it shows Sandler and Gad trying to get the military to follow the pattern of Centipede as it attacks. They don’t know the pattern of the game, so Sandler grabs a blaster from a soldier, and uses it to shoot the Centipede in the head, killing it. Seeing that scene in full is just as epic as the trailer depicts it. The same can be said for their battle with Pac-Man. All of the effects of the video game characters interacting with the actors, and the video games breaking down objects and pixelating them were phenomenal. 

Nerds kicking ass and aliens using video games to go to war with the planet Earth, Pixels is a fun movie for parents and kids to go see. For people who played these classic games as kids and teens of the 80’s and 90’s, they’ll get a sense of nostalgia. It is definitely a movie to go see this summer!

Magical Girls Replaced by Magical Boys!!

The genre of Magical Girls has been a very popular on in anime. From the classic Sailor Moon, to Tokyo Mew Mew, anime fans have alike have always been fascinated by Magical Girl anime shows. Now, this concept has taken a unique turn- Magical Girls are now Magical Boys!

Cute High Earth Defense Club Love. Just take a second to read that title and see if it makes you laugh. The Japanese name is Binan Koko Chikyu Boei-bu Love! It is a long title for an anime, which makes me think it mocks itself. I was curious as to why they had to have the word “cute” in there. Maybe it was to draw attention to the title, and make people so curious, that they’d check out a few episodes. Well, it sure got my attention.

This is a new anime, released in Japan on Jan. 6, 2015 and ran on the air until Mar. 24, 2015 with 12 episodes, features five young men, Yumoto Hakone (Kazutomi Yamamoto), En Yufuin (Yuichiro Umehara), Atsushi Kinugawa (Kotaro Nishiyama), Io Naruko (Yusuke Shirai), and Ryuu Zaou (Toshiki Masuda). They all attend Binan High School, where they are part of a school club called The Earth Defense Club.

The anime starts off with Atsushi and En enjoying a bath at Yumoto’s family bathhouse. Out of the blue, a pink creature in the form of an Earth Wombat (Mugihito) appears before the guys, and begs them to help him save the planet. Atsushi and En don’t know what’s going on, grasping the concept of a Wombat speaking perfect Japanese, and talking about saving the Earth through the power of Love.

At the school the following day, Wombat appears in front of all of the club members, this time being held by a teacher who he controlled in order to move around freely. With his powers, he gives the guys magical bracelets that clasp to their wrists. When they shout the phrase, “Love-Making”, the five guys turn into the Battle Lovers. Yumot, who is obviously the leader of the Magical Boys, transforms into The Sparkling Prince, Scarlet. En transforms into The Flashing Prince, Cerulean. Atsushi is The Piercing Prince, Epinard. Io is transformed into The Roaring Prince, Sulphur. Ryuu transforms into The Thrilling Prince, Vesta.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a2sk-XfiyOc Click this link to see the Battle Lovers Transformation!

Now, let’s talk about the transformation sequence for the Battle Lovers. In my opinion, I think this show was greatly inspired by Sailor Moon. The outfits are flashy, the boys are nakes and surrounded by glittering hearts, and the poses are on par with Sailor Moon and other Magical Girl series. The first episode is hilarious, because before they all transform, they are forced by the bracelets to pose and declare how strong the power of Love is. I found myself laughing at the fact that they were doing it against their will.

When they defeat a monster, Yumoto, AKA Scarlet, uses an attack with a weapon called the Love Stick, and calls out “Love Shower”. When that happens, the monster is turned back into a human, and their understanding of love is returned, and increases tenfold. After the battle ends, Scarlet declares, “Love is Over”, which of course doesn’t make sense. Even his friends say that the line makes no sense, but eventually rolls with it.

Of course, this being a Magical Boys anime, there have to be main antagonists that call forth the monsters. The villains of  Cut High Earth Defense Club Love are The Conquest Club. In Binan High, they are the members of the Student Council, Kinshiro Kusatsu (Hiroshi Kamiya), the council president (center), Ibushi Arima (Jun Fukuyama), the vice-president (right), and Akoya Gero (Takuma Terashima) (left). They are led by a green creature in the form of a hedgehog (insert Sonic the Hedgehog reference here LOL), named Lord Zundar (Hiroki Yatsumoto). Their goal is to take over the Earth and cleanse it of everything uncivilized and ugly. Kinshiro transforms into Chevalier Aurite, Ibushi is Chevalier Argent, and Akoya is Chevalier Perlite. Using a quill from Zundar, they can fill it with dark energy and shoot it at an ususpecting person, bringing out the darkness in their hearts and transforming them into a monster. Every episode, they manipulate a person, and get them to threaten the school and fight the Battle Lovers. Every episode, the Battle Lovers thwart them.

Now, there are two final things in this anime that need to be addressed. One of them is the identities of the Battle Lovers. In Sailor Moon, Tokyo Mew Mew and Magical DoReMi, no one seems to ever recognize them, despite the fact that they aren’t wearing masks. Cut High Earth Defense Club Love is clever with explaining why non of the boys’ classmates can recognize them. Wombat explains that he uses advanced technology to censor the Battle Lovers’ faces and voices from the general public. I found this funny just because of the way they explained this, and the fact that this is an extremely creative and smart approach as to why no one knows who they are. The Conquest Club have the same technology protecting their identities as well. The Conquest Club and the Battle Lovers cannot even identify one another because of this technology. Of course, later on they figure it out.

The final issue, is the one that took me up to at least episode four to realize: There are LITERALLY no females in this anime. Okay, the characters attend an all boy’s school. But, whenever the characters are outside pf the school, there are still no sign of any girls. Anywhere! Ryuu talks about being popular with girls, and at one point is seen talking to a possible girlfriend over the phone. However, he gets picked on a few times for lying about his status with girls. There is no yaoi in this anime, nor does it fall into the category. Personally, I thought it made the show unique about having it focus on guys. Plus, the anime is geared towards females (and maybe gay men who like anime), so it does make sense to not have females in the show.

All in all, this anime is…interesting. That’s all I can say about it. All of the characters, main and supporting characters, have individual personalities that allow viewers to pick favorites, and it just keeps you laughing to the point where you want to watch the next episode to see what happens.

Believe me when I say, this anime has tons of surprises that no one will see coming.

Owari no Seraph: From Manga to Anime

Owari no Seraph (Seraph of the End), is a shonen manga series that takes place in the year 2012, when a human-made virus infects and kills humans over the age of 13. The human race is brought to the edge of extinction. At the same time, vampires rise and take control of what’s left of the surface. They lure in the surviving children below the Earth, seeing them as livestock, harvesting their blood.

The manga is written by Takaya Kagami and illustrated by Yamato Yamamoto. The storyboard for the series was done by Daisuke Furuya. So far, there are 20 chapters posted on various online manga sites, which calculates to about 6 volumes that have been physically released. The manga got its debut in the 2012 Shonen Jump issue.

The series has done well with anime/manga fans everywhere, that in August 2014, it was announced that there will be an anime adaptation coming soon. The directors of the anime are Daisuke Tokudo, also the director of anime series such as Attack on Titan and Guilty Crown, and his deputy Masashi Koizuka, who has also worked on Attack on Titan.

The series focuses on young Yuichiro Hyakuya, who lives underground with other kids that have become his only family. His closest friend/brother is Mikaela Hyakuya (nickname: Mika). Tired of being a tool for the vampires, Yuichiro gathers his family and attempts to escape to the surface. But they are caught by Felid Bathroy, a vampire elite. Felid attacks the children, including Mika, slaughtering every one of them. Yuichiro is the only one who manages to escape to the surface, swearing vengeance upon the vampires.

He is given his chance at revenge when he is recruited to the Japanese Imperial Demon Army. He goes through years of training until he is ready to wield a demon weapon and go out to fight the vampires with his team. He is assigned to the Moon Demon Squad, along with his superior, Shinoa Hiragi, and his teammates, Shihou Kimizuki, Yoichi Saotome, and Mitsuba Sanguu. Throughout the manga, his comrades and family refer to him as “Yuu”.

As the protagonist, Yuu is a hard worker and very brave. As stated previously, his only goal is to destroy all of the vampires, as revenge for what they did to his family. Before he was taken by the vampires, Yuu’s parents claimed he was a Demon spawn and tried to kill him. When his mother went insane and killed herself, Yuu was sent off to the Hyakuya Orphanage. This is where he met Mika and the other orphans. He was distant from them at first, but Miak assured him that they were all the same because they both were born into abusive families.

While fighting for the Imperial Demon Army, Shinoa and Glen explain to Yuu that he has to unleash the full power of his demon weapon. Their weapons contain demons within them, and the soldiers must tame them in order to control them in battle. If they don’t, the demon will feast on their soul and possess them. Eventually, Yuu manages to tame his demon weapon and sees the power he can unleash with its help. Having this power, Yuu becomes more confident that he can reach his goal and kill the vampires, in order to reclaim Earth for the humans, as well as avenge his family.

Later in the manga, it is revealed that Mika wasn’t killed during the slaughter. Instead, he is taken to the Head Vampire, Kururu, and is turned into a vampire against his will.

As a vampire, Mika refuses to drink human blood. Instead, he requests the blood of Kururu whenever he feels his hunger rising. Because of this, his transformation is incomplete and still ages. He doesn’t smile like he used to as a child, and is set on protecting Yuichiro when the vampires declare war on the humans. Yuichiro is the only one he cares about. Besides Yuu, Mika has admitted to hating humans and vampires. He distances himself from the other vampires, ignoring whatever they say to him. But if any vampire mentions anything about hurting Yuu, Mika retaliates with threats to kill anyone who harms Yuu. Despite growing a hatred for humans, Mika doesn’t see them as livestock like other vampires do. When it comes to combat, Mika rushes in without thinking. He wears an expressionless face as he fights, showing no remorse for harming humans when he goes against them.

The manga creators have released a Japanese voice cast for some of the main characters:

Miyu Irino- Yuichiro Hyakuya

Kensho Ono- Mikaela Hyakuya

Yuchi Nakamura- Glen Ichinose

The three voices listed have been in well-known anime shows, movies and video games. Miyu Irino has been the Japanese voices of Astral from Yu-Gi-Oh! ZeXal, Haku from the famous movie Spirited Away, and is the Japanese voice of Sora from the Kingdom Hearts video games.

Kensho has done voices for Hakuryu Ren from Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Brinda Jr. from Ghost in the Shell: Arise, and he was even the Japanese voice of Andy in Toy Story 3!

Finally, Yuchi Nakamura has been the voice of Gray Fullbuster from the Fairy Tail series, Greed in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and Rex Raptor from Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters.

It has been announced that the anime is set to air in April 2015. It is also known that VIZ Media will be publishing the English translation of the anime, and that a trailer has been released recently on YouTube. To keep up with the news about Owari no Seraph, follow the Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/OwariNoSeraph