In the News: Battlefield 4 "Fishing in Baku"

This new Battlefield 4 trailer is up to show off some of the graphics, gameplay, and story in the highly anticipated next installment in the franchise.  This trailer, like Battlefield 3's story, starts you out near the end, trapped in a rather heart-pounding and unpleasant spot.  From there, the clock turns back to a prior point, leading you along the course of events leading up to the unfortunate situation you started out in.  The graphics and gameplay look incredible, throwing you into the action with your standard weapons, but we're seeing what might possibly be more work on squad mechanics, with air support and suppressing fire being used in the gameplay to give the player the importunity to flank enemy positions and clear out concentrations of enemy troops.  This give the game, at least so far, a very grounded feel, where you need to use your head more in order to progress in the story.  I hope some of these ideas come to play in the multiplayer as well, improving on the squad mechanics introduced in the previous titles.

Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13

Buy now at Amazon.com

Review by Sean Dibble

Goku and Chi-Chi are out shopping around town. Suddenly something has gone wrong in the city, two of Dr. Gero’s creations have come to destroy Goku. Fearing the destruction of the cities and the deaths of its citizens Goku and Trunks lead these killer androids to a frozen wasteland. As the fight begins another android appears, seemingly more dangerous Goku and Trunks will need all the help they can get to defeat this new threat.  

“Super Android 13” is the seventh movie in the Dragon Ball Z series. The movie is set sometime after Dr. Gero’s death and sometime before the Cell Games.  “Super Android 13” is the first movie to show Future Trunks, and the first time we get to enjoy the sight of three Super Saiyans at the same time on screen. “Super Android 13” does something that DBZ films have not done yet, providing a lot of action from start to finish. And with the movie being only forty-seven minutes long you get a good thirty of it packed with DBZ style fighting. The plot is the same as all DBZ movies have been, Earth is in trouble from some evil person/persons and Goku and the gang must save it, which gets a little old after a while. Music wise there is very little to be heard and what you do hear is music from the show. The characters we all know and love are in this film including future Trunks. One of the best things about “Super Android 13” is at the end when Piccolo and Vegeta are sitting on a sheet of ice and talking. One thing that I found odd is how Goku fights toward the end.  All in all, “Super Android 13” will become one of your favorite DBZ movies of all time with the action top notch and with good comedy any DBZ fan and even ones who have never seen the show can enjoy.

Good:

-ACTION ACTION ACTION

-Last scene will have you laughing

-Fast paced

-What Goku does with the Spirit Bomb is just amazing

Bad:

-Unoriginal plot

Scully Rating: 8 out of 10

Meet the Staff: Ben Scully

(Note from Zach) Scully is keeping his picture secret, so I chose a character from an anime that approximates his personality.

My name is Ben Scully, I am the founder and creator of ScullyNerdReviews.com.  I have been an anime fan for well over 12 years now and in my internet searches for a new anime to watch I could never find a good review website that offered any feedback on what anime shows were good and which ones were not.  So during my undergrad years I started up ScullyNerdReviews.com as a way to help other anime fans in this dilemma of finding a new anime to watch.  Since then this website has grown and expanded with the help of my friends in a complete nerd reviews website including not only anime but, video games, Magic the Gathering, movies, and music. 

My interests have always been in the action genera of anime my favorite anime include, Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z, InuYasha, Hellsing, Full Metal Panic, Berserk, Gungrave, etc, just to name a few.  My most inspirational anime for me growing up would definitely have to be Dragon Ball Z and InuYasha for sure, my favorite characters out of the two shows oddly enough are Vegeta and Sango.  Vegeta; for the simple reason that he is a man driven by a goal and he in turn works very hard to obtain his goal, he will endure any hardship and sacrifice anything he has to be the best.  Sango from InuYasha is a more disciplined, down to earth, loyal, and dedicated character that is always ready to sacrifice everything she has to achieve success or to save the lives of others, her simple devotion and dedication makes her one of my favorite anime characters.      

Personally, I am a jack of many trades, I do writing as a hobby and I am always in the process of writing a new book varying in genre.  I am constantly traveling and I have been to Japan, as well as China, and have studied both languages so when it comes to anime especially it is something I enjoy to say the least as a hobby.  This website is another hobby for me and my friends and we enjoying doing it and we hope that our readers appreciate the time and effort we put into giving them reviews to help in their nerdy activities.

If you wish to contact myself or any of the other Scully Nerd Reviews staff please Email us at: 

scullynerdreviews@gmail.com

Enjoy,

Scully    

Dragon Ball Z: The World’s Strongest

Buy now at Amazon.com

The eternal dragon has been summoned once again, this time to bring back Dr. Wheelo from his icy tomb. Dr. Wheelo’s men capture Master Roshi and Bulma looking to defeat the world’s strongest person who they assume is still Master Roshi. Goku worried about his friends heads to the mountains to save his lifelong friends. Dr. Wheelo ready for Goku’s arrival uses his three biotech warriors. Defeating these three is easy for goku, but he faces a bigger threat: Dr. Wheelo wants Goku’s body for his own.              

“The World’s Strongest” is the second Dragon Ball Z movie made. Most DBZ fans are unsure when the movie takes place like most other DBZ movies. Some believe it happened during the Vegeta Saga and some say that it happens during the three year training before the androids appear in the Trunks saga. The movie has a lot of short quick action scenes most of which have Goku fighting. The action in this movie though are poor most of the fights are not even a challenge to Goku. During the action scenes there is little to no background music playing like there is during other movies. In all this movie was one of the worst movies made for the DBZ franchise. Only serious DBZ fans will go out and buy this film. Non diehard DBZ fans will find themselves fighting off sleep with this movies lack of interesting story.

Good:

-Gohan actually fighting not being a little baby

-Goku saving the earth from an evil dictator

Bad:

-Again unable to pinpoint time frame this was set

-Short Action and a lack luster final battle

-No music during battles

-Plot puts you to sleep

Scully Rating: 3 out of 10

Bleach 531: Everything but the Rain OP. 4

Read at Manga Stream: http://mangastream.com/read/bleach/46466494/1

Written by Zach Goodier

This week's manga continues the story of Isshin Shiba, captain of squad 10, as well as Masaki Kurosaki.  As always, this article contains spoilers, so read at your own risk.  Masaki is heir to a pure-blooded Quincy family, and she doesn't really have any interest in her heritage; at least not in any way that includes hiding while innocent lives are at risk.  Isshin is confronted by a mysterious hollow; one with a strong spiritual pressure that not only has power and image resembling a soul reaper, but also bears some similar features to Ichigo's 2nd hollow form.  Coincidence? Maybe. Or maybe this will have some link to Ichigo's Fullbring powers and how his abilities have been shaped.  But for now, can Isshin survive this vicious hollow? And who is behind these mysterious incidents?  Check out Bleach 531  to find out.

Naruto chapter 625: The Real Dream released

By: Robert Murphy

Read the manga here: http://www.mangapanda.com/naruto/625/3

Hey everyone, time for the thing I wait for all week to happen, the latest manga chapter is out for “Naruto” *hold for applause*. Chapter 625 The Real Dream is out for fans and promises to reveal some more exciting insight into the founding of the Leaf Village, when last leaving off Hashirama was trying to get Madara to merge the Uchiha and Senju clans to end the never ending battles and bloodshed. Madara would agree to such a union however after Hashirama would make a choice, either kill himself or kill his brother. What will unfold in this chapter? Well jump right in and find out.

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3

Buy now at Amazon.com

By: Robert Murphy

Well it looks like the anime phenomenon Naruto is coming back to our gaming consoles once again in the fighting action game “Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3”. This time around players will be picking up right where they left off in “Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2” except for a quick flashback to the beginning of Naruto all together when the Nine Tailed Fox first attacked the Leaf Village. From there players will be taken right up to the moments following the attack made by The Six Paths of Pain as the village is beginning to rebuild, now if it wasn’t clear by now people who haven’t either played the previous games or followed the story at all, you may be pretty lost and you may want to buy the other games to catch up. However (I’m just assuming) since this is the third installment to the Ninja Storm franchise, I’d think you’ve all been following along with the story if you’ve bought this game, so let’s dig right in.

At this point in the story we are dealing with a much more mature Naruto Uzumaki , far from the annoying little kid who felt compelled to shout out “Believe It” every five seconds, now this mischief maker is viewed as the hero of Konoha Village who stopped Pain and saved the village. And even though Naruto is still foolishly chasing after Sasuke (still, I know right?), Naruto will now be making peace with many of his demons as well as questions from his past. In fact this time around players will be hitting plenty of touching/tear jerking moments for fans of the series and casual players alike as every character through the shows entire span will be coming back and will be having battles with the ones that would cause the most heart ache for these characters. For example the battle which Choji, Ino and Shikamaru must fight their former teacher Asuma, literally put in just to bring a tear to your eye as it is with most of the battles you face throughout the game.

 a look at the character selection

As it was with previous games, excluding “Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Generations”, battles in the game feature free movement where players can move all over the battlefield during your fights. The game however features some significant changes to the game play with things like Awakening Mode which use to be used as your last resort in battle that would increase your characters strength and sometimes even transform characters to a powerful form when you needed it most. Now though players can activate their characters awakened forms any time during the battle as long as you don’t mind losing control over special moves for a short time. Another addition to the game is the Hero/Legend system which is mainly used to help give your character more powerful items to use during your battles but it also affects the level of difficulty you will face in certain battles. Completing battles through the game will give you points in both categories but when players are given the option to choose whether they want a Hero battle (easy) or a Legendary battle (hard) you will only gain points in one category. Choosing one over the other might mean you simply fight a different set of enemies in a mob battle, a new feature that sees players taking on multiple enemies at once, or it could result in a completely different boss fight entirely. These are profound decisions, at least until you realize you can replay any of the game's sequences from the Ninja World Timeline option in the menu, exploring untraveled branches at your leisure.

Again skipping over Ninja Storm Generations, players will once again experience amazing boss battles that are cut together with quick time events, while pointless seeing as if you miss a button sequence you are taken right back to before you missed it; I myself find it highly enjoyable while seeing the beautifully designed battles unfold.  Once the book is closed on the Fourth Great Ninja War and the last quick time events have been input, Naruto is free to wander the world, engaging in side-quests, collecting items and playing a mini-game involving strengthening your relationship with your fellow ninja. Although not on par to what it was in the previous Ninja Storm game, this still provides for some added fun after you’ve gone back and S-ranked the story.

 Naruto and Sasuke clash

Finally, for those competitive Naruto fans out there who want to take their favorite characters from the series and show off their moves, players can head on over to the multiplayer. Players can battle with more than 80 different playable characters however the characters aren’t at all as balanced as they have been in previous games. This results in a very unfortunate multiplayer experience where players all find the same over powered character and beat the crap out of any unfortunate late comer to the game.

Being a Naruto fan I could pick at a few things in the story, but they are easily overlooked by the game that is brought before you, not only is the game set in the storyline, players get a chance to unleash their favorite characters most devastating moves. “Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3” is definitely a step in the right direction after Naruto Generations straight forward and scripted approach to things. Ginormous, mildly-interactive boss fights  as well as giving players the ability to enter awaken mode whenever they so choose are a good start to making future games (which we all know are coming) even better. And if you can side step the horrible multiplayer element, players and fans will undoubtedly get a lot of enjoyment from what the game has to offer.

Good:

-Exploring a great part in the Naruto storyline

-Amazing boss battles are back and better than ever

-Tear jerking moments that are well put together for the fans

Bad:

-Horrible multiplayer

Scully Rating: 8.0 out of 10  

Claymore

Buy "Claymore" at Amazon

By: Robert Murphy

Taking a step into a dark world, “Claymore” is set in a relatively medieval time period that is plagued by demon like creators known as Yoma that feed upon the humanity and cause panic and fear among kingdoms and villages all across the land. These shape shifting creatures come with different levels of ability and strength with smaller weaker Yoma who use things like shape shifting to feed upon humans and other more stronger Yoma who freely could show up in a village and start attacking without fear. The only thing stopping these monsters is a mysterious and nameless organization, whose fighting force is comprised of nothing but female warriors that have been infused with the blood of Yoma making them half Yoma themselves. These woman or Claymores as they are called, namely for the giant swords they wield, they will go to any town or land that pays a fee to the organization and wipe out any Yoma that are attacking humans there. Claymores also known as “silver eyed witches” are a powerful ally to humanity in this world but are almost as feared as the Yoma plaguing their lands for the Yoma blood inside them and if they should lose control could turn full Yoma themselves. The story follows one Claymore in particular known as Clare as she fights her way through Yoma and becomes tested along the way on just how fine a line it can be from Claymore to becoming a Yoma.

 The Abyssal Ones, strongest among the Yoma

“Claymore” almost immediately comes to viewers as a fast paced action series with quite an interesting take on the world of sword and magic genre but also features an emotional level as Clare and the other Claymores all have their reasons for becoming what they are and their own hardships faced after years of fighting Yoma. Also as a change of pace we have a predominantly all female cast of characters who also aren’t either a big breasted group of girls or looking like they are bunch of twelve year olds and while most of the Claymores share the same silver eyes and blonde hair, they all poses their own uniqueness that allows viewers to distinguish their favorite characters. But if you still couldn’t tell them apart which is highly unlikely, each of the Claymores swords are inscribed with a mark of their own choosing that distinguishes them among one another. In fact Claymores often don’t know one another or their “ranks” among the organization until they either introduce themselves to one another before a mission or they see the others mark on their sword. These rankings are often important for lower members of the organization like Clare so they know to be wary of who they are dealing with.

Clare slowly transforming into a Yoma

However, the show is not without its faults, like so many shows to come before the anime is cut short and has only one season or box set, and while the manga continues the show does not and this can be a big deal for people especially with how “Claymore” in particular ends. Having similar situation with shows like “Black Blood Brothers” and “Highschool of the Dead” I can tell you it’s a disappointing experience but who knows these shows may get their second seasons eventually. Also the shows suffers from the classic “Dragonball Z” effect where big boss fights are drawn out along maybe three or four episodes with lengthy dialogue on whatever new thing is happening during a fight. This meaning that right in the middle of a fight characters will be having an internal thought about whatever their opponent is doing and basically saying “Woah that’s incredible” or “How is that possible that they are doing this” but this for me was a minor flaw.

In closing, “Claymore” is an excellent show with a unique story, interesting premise and great amounts of action where a fight is in just about every episode with not many slow lulls in between but when there is characters are engaging and intriguing enough that they hold your interest. Clare makes for a good strong female lead character devoid of those over endowed qualities that defy logic and her own back story behind why she became a Claymore is incredible to follow right till the end. Its sword and sorcery in medieval times but with a whole new twist, no Merlin and King Arthur here folks, “Claymore’s” a whole different story.

Good:

-Unique story

-Strong female character whose actually just a normal woman, not one with breasts the size of watermelons

-Action filled episodes with not to many lulls

-All the characters are engaging an interesting with their own story to tell that you want to find out about

Bad:

-Drawn out boss fights

-Mid conflict conversations that you feel could wait till a later time

-Show only has one season (at the moment)

Scully Rating: 7.0 out of 10 

In the news: Battlefield 4

By: Robert Murphy

As some of you may or may not know there have been some recent rumblings about a new video game coming soon to follow the popular “Battlefield” franchise and that is “Battlefield 4”. As a fan of the last “Battlefield” which was “Battlefield 3” I can say that I am very excited to see what the franchise has coming our way this time. While not much has been revealed about the game there have been two brief trailers released (see links) as well as an image of the maybe a possible cover art to the game which can be seen above. The trailers give a brief glimpse of things to come in the next game, the first trailer shows a brief clip of a tank rolling out to battle and the second video shows the propeller of a submarine spinning. Naval warfare has been something we’ve seen in the past versions of “Battlefield” so who knows what we have in store. Also as an added bonus the “Battlefield” twitter feed as well as other sources have revealed a date which is 03.27 which is in a few days and promises to reveal even more about the upcoming title. DICE the developers of the game have confirmed that “Battlefield 4” will be released on the next generation of consoles and I for one cannot wait for the newest addition to the franchise. 

In the News: Far Cry 3 Patch

By: Robert Murphy

Hello everyone, we’ve got a bit of news here for you at Scullynerdreviews in the world of video games, specifically with “Far Cry 3”. Players are now receiving a patch for the game that allows players to have a few more options in gameplay that comes as music to my ears as I’m sure it will to some of you all as well. For players who have beaten the game and realized that there is not much to do on the island developers are adding a new Master difficulty that allows for much tougher enemies and animals or if you’ve beaten the game and liberated all the outposts, players will now have the option to reset all the outposts and capture them again. This comes as a happy addition to the game not only for the fact that it gives players something to do on the island again, it also helps me and my fellow achievement hunters who need enemies in order to unlock achievements they missed out on the first time through. Multiplayer also sees a few improvements too, most notably the ability for players to beta test their created maps via a special playlist before releasing them publicly. Additionally, you can now search for maps by author, idle players will no longer be kicked out of private or custom matches, and map voting time has been increased. These additions to the game come as a happy addition to a great game and are available for all platforms, Xbox 360, PS3 and the PC. 

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Review by Zachary Goodier

Buy "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" at Amazon

Peter Jackson's return to Middle-earth follows Frodo's uncle, Bilbo, on his quest to help a party of 13 Dwarves, led by Thorin Oakenshield to reclaims the lost kingdom of Erebor.  Bilbo starts out in his home in the quaint region of the Shire; however, the peace is soon interrupted by Gandalf the Grey, who seeks to find someone to join in an adventure.  Bilbo quickly refuses, saying that his place is in the Shire.  Hobbits are naturally grounded, and rarely travel.  However, after having a party of Dwarves show up at his home, Bilbo can't help but join in on the journey.  Their journey takes them through the wilderness; facing Goblins, Orcs, Wargs, as well as a sinister presence that is beginning to spread across the land.  And even if they ever manage to get passed all of that, there is still the threat of having to face a dragon once they reach their destination.  However, this movie is the first installment in a trilogy that will chronicle this entire quest.

Sure, this is a picture of Bilbo going off to join in his adventure, but I did the same thing going to grab this from the delivery guy.

Probably the very first thing people will be concerned with is, "Is The Hobbit as good as The Lord of the Rings?"  Well, that is a difficult question to answer.  In short, this is completely worthy of being placed alongside LOTR, but this is a different story.  As much as I love the original trilogy, its' story is somewhat generic in its' "good vs evil" theme.  On the other hand, The Hobbit isn't that profound with its' "dungeons and dragons" theme to the story (excuse the pun, couldn't resist).  However, what is crucial is to realize that The Hobbit was published in 1937, and obviously it must have been worked on for years prior.  These stories serve as THE basis for almost all contemporary fantasy works, including our beloved Dungeons and Dragons. 

Dungeons? Check. Dragon? ....That is a very big check, a check with sharp teeth, big eyes, and some killer breath that I could only imitate after eating a triple helping of my "Surprise Attack Jalapeno" omelet. 

Is the story completely fresh? Of course not.  However, it's the execution that makes this story so great... Once you get started about an hour into the movie, or so it felt.  The brush strokes may seem broad; however, that opinion is quickly forgotten once you get into the details.  However, if you have read the book by J. R. R. Tolkien, which I highly recommend, then there will be a lot of changes to the story here.  Namely, the addition of a "Azog, the white Orc" who serves as an old enemy of Thorin Oakenshield, as well as the inclusion of the Necromancer.  While the Necromancer was technically in the book, that story was never delved into fully within the book; merely serving as a side quest that Gandalf is forced to undertake separate from the quest of Bilbo and the Dwarves.  What is important to know is that this won't leap out at those who haven't read the book; it is written in rather smoothly and seamlessly, and proper credit to the writers for pulling it off.  Still, this is part of the reason that this one book is being stretched out into three movies.  I will definitely go to see all of them, but part of me feels like this is just an attempt to shake more money out of the fans.

Christopher Lee and Hugo Weaving return to reprise their roles as Saruman and Elrond, respectively.

How are the characters?  Well, this is one of the reasons the old LOTR trilogy appealed to me more, while there are a great many faces returning to their old roles, the new faces might not all hold a great deal of appeal for you.  While The Fellowship of the Ring took the time to showcase each individual character's personality, this movie doesn't quite do that.  You will literally have a pile of Dwarves fall into the door, and sure they all get a couple of moments in the spotlight, but this doesn't feel as personal as the old movies did.  That isn't to say that the new Bilbo and Thorin don't do well as central characters, because they really do.  However, the rest of the party is not as involved.  While they definitely have a great deal of charm and humor to them. They are obviously not to taken seriously, except for those couple of scenes where the tone becomes more serious.

With enough crazy Dwarves, you can solve just about any problem.

That brings me to another thing that differs from the LOTR trilogy: The tone.  While the LOTR was a very dark and serious story about the battle to save Middle Earth, this story is much lighter and not as dark as the old movies.  While this is by no means a bad thing, it does lead to this movie lacking some of the seriousness and weight.  The reason for this is primarily because the original book was written for children.  So, not a great amount of death takes place, aside from the heaps of Goblins and Orcs that our heroes slay.  Does that make this a children's movie? Well it's still PG-13, but then again, our ratings system is touchy compared to what children were allowed to read back in Tolkien's day.

The dialogue is also worth noting, with more of the brilliant lines that you would expect after watching Lord of the Rings.  Gandalf stands out, as always, but Bilbo and Thorin, as well as some of the Dwarves, also have their stand-out moments where you really come to understand them and respect them for it.  This may not seem like much, but it's the cherry on the sundae for these stories.  We meet a lot of familiar faces, like Sauroman  One wonderfully done scene is the meeting between Bilbo and Gollum/Sméagol, where they begin a game of riddles to see whether or not Bilbo will be allowed to escape the caverns.  This is also a powerful scene because it is where we are introduced to the Ring of Power, which will help Bilbo more and more as the journey progresses, but will also be the center of the quest that takes place in Lord of the Rings.

Give actor Andy Serkis and the computer team credit for turning this...

Into this.

Overall, does this replace The Lord of the Rings?  Of course not, those movies will forever be the brilliant, almost classic works that I still love to this day.  However, The Hobbit: an Unexpected Journey is plenty worthy of standing alongside them as a worthy addition to any fan of either Tolkien's writing or Jackson's directing.  The only thing that bothers me is the attempt to drag this out into another trilogy.  However, the general switch from the costumed actors to CGI Orcs and Goblins has a negative impact on this movie in relation to the old ones.  While the additions and alterations to the details are somewhat extensive, they don't get in the way of enjoying the ride, and in many ways they help supplement an already brilliant story.  Whether or not the attempt to make this one-book story into 3 separate movies is an attempt to take more money from us is debatable.  However, I will gladly pay to see all of these movies, just to visit Middle-earth one more time.  These aren't the same movies as you've likely already seen, this is a brand-new adventure with different characters, mostly.  I would definitely recommend this for anyone who wants to revisit Middle-earth, or simply go on a brilliant, epic adventure that served as one of the main origins of contemporary fantasy and fiction.  Would I call this as great as the old movies? No... 

This movie, while not the same as its' predecessors, is still.... "Precious" to me (pun obviously intended).

The Good:

-Brilliant story and characters to follow throughout this lengthy quest.

-Lot of old faces to tie this into the story you may already know.

-Good old-fashioned "dungeons and dragons" style to this story; kill the dragon, get the loot.

-Lighter tone makes this more accessible to a broader audience, I think.

-Still plenty of those powerful moments that helped define the LOTR trilogy.

The Bad:

-Takes a while for the story to truly kick off.

-Well, I could cite that the attempt to make this single, not-so-large book into three movies adds a somewhat greedy overtone to this new trilogy, but I'd say just shut up and enjoy it, not like they're not giving you your money's worth.

Scully Rating: 9.0 out of 10

Naruto Chapter 624: Aiko

By: Robert Murphy

Link to manga: http://www.mangapanda.com/naruto/624

Hello once again Scullynerdreviews readers looks like Masashi Kishimoto has another chapter ready for us readers of Naruto. A little recap from last week (spoilers folks) the friendship between Madara and Hashirama has been discovered by both of their fathers, now the twos dreams of a peaceful world is shattered by the fact they are of different clans. What will unfold in this chapter between these two and their clans? Well that’s for me to know and you to find out, enjoy everybody, Murphy out.

"Deadman Wonderland" Chapter 53 is out!

"Deadman Wonderland" 53 @Mangastream.com

(Post by Zach Goodier)

If you haven't been keeping up with the latest chapters, then I suggest you go back and read through them.  I would actually start at the beginning, since the animated series left out a lot of details that the manga had.  But anyhow, this chapter continues the final arc of the manga series, and what an interesting one it is.  So, this is where the **SPOILERS** start.  Ganta and the rest of his fellow Deadmen are all trying to reactivate the "Mother Goose" system in order to put the Wretched Egg to sleep and save Shiro.  This has been one tense arc, because it seems apparent that Shiro's duality is making things difficult for Ganta.  Now that he knows the truth, he has had to overcome some strong mixed feelings on what he should do.  On one hand, he truly loves Shiro, and wants to do everything in his power to save her; however, Ganta also loaths the Wretched Egg for killing all of his former friends and causing him all this grief in the first place.  Ganta has finally seen into the past through the Director's memories, and has seen that the Wretched Egg was born from the inhuman torture that Shiro was put through.  This really helps you understand that this embodiment of "original sin" definitely applies to Shiro/Wretched Egg.  They took an innocent young girl and turned her into a monster, and afterwards you can hardly blame the Wretched Egg for having these twisted views on the world.  Her notion of "playing" with Ganta is to try to kill him, and in some ways she seems to love Ganta almost as much as Shiro does, but her twisted and malevolent nature means that her only way to express it is through violence.  She very much embodies a character that you hate to love, but her story is so tragic and inhumane, I can hardly blame her for becoming what she did  **END SPOILERS**

I am looking forward to the next chapter, and I'll do everything I can to keep everyone in the loop.  The action is still excellent, the story is extremely compelling and thought provoking, and if you haven't read up on this manga series I highly recommend it.  Be warned, however, that the series contains a great deal of violence, blood, and language.  Still, as long as those things don't put you off too much there's a lot to enjoy here. 

Meet the Staff: Robert Murphy

Hi everyone, my name's Robert, but I typically go by Murphy and I came to the site to lend a hand to the founder, Scully, initially for video game reviews since there weren’t too many reviews done at the time for games and I spend large portions of my life and my cash to playing and purchasing video games. But I’m not only subject to playing video games though, I’m also an anime lover and as those of you may or may not have notice as I do anime reviews for the site as well. So you can definitely call me a nerd and a good fit for a nerd website since most of my interests cover things from all walks of nerd culture. Some of my favorite games/animes include Black Butler, Full Metal Alchemist, Death Note, Code Geass, Halo and the entirety of its franchise, Borderlands, Fallout 3 and Battlefield 3, but this list would go on forever if I were to list all of my favorites, so I’ll cut it off there.

I’m mainly here because I figured why not put my anime and gaming love to good use after watching and playing games for about three quarters of my 20 years on this Earth since my very first Playstation and Gameboy Color. I hope that one day the site could turn into something profitable and that I could get paid for what I love doing which is play video games, ahh what a pipe dream but hey you never know it could happen, right?

Now when it comes to video games, I myself enjoy a good shooter, but I’ve played all sorts of games over the years, when I was young in the 90’s I fell in love with Pokemon like most 90’s kids and I still to this day buy the newest Pokemon games. As for my first console, I use to be a diehard Playstation gamer but made the transition to Xbox 360 and it what I do most of gaming on to this day and look down on me if you will but I am an achievement whore and proud of it. It isn’t what I get video games for but I do enjoy going after all those unique achievements that game developers include in their games. As for anime, what can I say I was raised on it, like the other members of Scullynerdreviews, grew up on Toonami spending my afternoons watching Dragonball Z, Gundam and much more. And like with my love for video games I don’t have a set preference for the anime I watch, I love a good story that makes me think and I can sink my teeth into but I can also enjoy the tit bouncing/ panty showing shows that pander to male audiences such as a favorite show of mine Highschool of the Dead.

In closing, I hope you all enjoy my reviews and my writing and I will continue to keep doing what I do best and that is nerding out on anime and games so you can hopefully find something to your liking out there. I also hope you all continue to enjoy all that Scullynerdreviews has to offer and we all here at the site will continue to do our best to bring you solid reviews and much more. 

Dragon Ball Z: Tree of Might

Buy "Tree of Might" at Amazon

(By: Sean Dibble)

                

A group of evil power hungry warriors led by the Saiyan Turles, have come to Earth to plant the Tree of Might. King Kai has warns Goku about the danger that Earth faces if the tree is left standing. Fearing the worst Goku and the rest of the Z-Fighters go out to destroy the tree. While doing so they face an even bigger danger Turles and his band of warriors are strong, and Goku and the Z-Fighters will need to pull all out all their tricks to defeat this evil.

(The characters of the film)

                

The Tree of Might is the third installment to the Dragon Ball Z movies. No one is sure when exactly this film takes place in the anime. Most believe that it is set during the Trunks saga, but there are a lot of inconsistences in that belief; most of which is in time of trouble Goku didn’t turn Super Saiyan, but was able to during the Trunks saga. The fight scenes are a lot shorter than most other Dragon Ball Z fight scenes are, and only one fight is worthwhile. The soundtrack is from the show nothing spectacular at that. The character of Turles strikes an unmistakable resemblance to Goku and it is believed that he is a metaphor to Goku that he is what Goku would have become if he never bumped his head as a child. The movie is ok not the greatest Dragon Ball Z movie ever made but it holds its own. The plot is like all DBZ movies of old; the earth is in trouble, and Goku seems to be the only one who can save it. All in all, The Tree of Might is a movie that all DBZ fans should own and will enjoy to watch, but the non-DBZ fan may want to stay away.

Good:

-The metaphoric battle between Good Goku and the Evil Goku

Bad:

-Not a lot of action

-Plot is the same as almost every other DBZ movie

-The inability to tell where in the story line this movie takes place

Scully Rating: 3 out of 10

For the LOLZ

Here's a little humor to lighten up your day.  And you can also take this as a life lesson to show you how to conduct yourself in everyday life.  I mean, how can someone not take you seriously if you're throwing furniture across a room?

Garden of Sinners AMV

By: Robert Murphy

Credit goes to BestMiscOfAllTime

Hello again everyone I’ve got another AMV for all of you to enjoy, this week’s AMV is set to The Used song Blood on my Hands and is cut to scenes from the anime Garden of Sinners or as some of you may know it’s Japanese title Kara no Kyōkai. While I myself have not seen this particular anime, from what I’ve seen here in this AMV makes me very interested in getting into the show. As for the AMV itself, the song featured is an absolutely awesome tune that has me watching over and over again and also the overall video is presented in a flawless way, scenes are put together well and fit the song like a glove. I hope you all enjoy this week’s AMV, now if you’ll excuse me I’m going to watch it again.

In the News: Toonami Update

By: Robert Murphy

Hello Scullynerdreview readers, while scrolling through the web the other day I came across some information that will excite those of you who (myself included) who’s prayers have been answered and have been able to relive the joy of Toonami. For those of you who don’t know Toonami is a five hour block of animes that begin Saturday nights at midnight and use to be on tv afternoons back in 90’s, all of which are hosted by our host Tom. Viewers may have noticed that Tom is still has the same look as he did before he left our tv sets (and our hearts) but coming this April, Tom will be receiving an upgrade to Tom 5 which can be seen above. Also in the news department of Toonami, premiering this Saturday we will be receiving the premiere of Evangelion 3 which is an OVA movie that has just been released and I for one am really excited to watch. And finally, another show that will be making its way to the Toonami lineup at the end of 2013 and that show is One Piece, the pirate adventure series starring Luffy and his Straw Hat pirate crew. For those of you who haven’t been watching Toonami, you are dead to me, kidding but seriously check out the new lineup of anime that Toonami has to offer and for  those of you already watching keep it up so we never lose Tom again. 

Bleach Manga Chapter 530 is out!

http://mangastream.com/read/bleach/45526504/1

Article by Zach Goodier

**SPOILERS** This week's manga chapter continues the look into the past, focusing on what happens when Isshin Shiba, captain of squad 10, goes to the world of the living to investigate the deaths of Soul Reapers.  There is also a look at Masaki Kurosaki, who at the time was living in the Ishida household as the last of the Kurosaki family.  The chapter closes with two more soul reapers killed and Isshin being confronted by a Vasto Lorde: the most powerful class of hollow said to be even stronger than a captain.  The battle will likely begin next chapter but we'll have to wait a couple weeks since Bleach is on break next week. 

**ADDITIONAL SPOILERS** I rather like these "Turn Back the Pendulum" style arcs, they give a little additional insight on some of the characters and how events have turned out the way they have.  Most importantly, we gain some insight as to what sort of person Masaki herself was; closely resembling Orihime in terms of her childish attitude and mild temperament.  We're obviously building up to when she and Isshin meet, and eventually fall in love.  This is an attempt to fill in some important gaps in the story, particularly just how Ichigo is tied to the Quincy.  This arc is probably going to lead into just who these Quincy that have reappeared truly are, and just what Ichigo will have to do in order to stop them.  As usual, I'm eagerly anticipating the upcoming chapter, and getting a little more of the veil lifted around the story and the characters involved in it.

“Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog”

Buy "Dr. Horrible" at Amazon

(By: Sean Dibble)

How many super villains do you know have a blog? None? Well now you know of one. Dr. Horrible has a blog that he uses to tell the world of his evil deeds; like the creation of his freeze ray, and to answer fan mail, or the occasional invitation to fight his so called nemesis, Captain Hammer.  He uses an odd technique for descripting his plans on his blog, he sings most of his plans or how he feels about Penny the girl he secretly loves and purposely goes to the Laundromat to see. Any who his friend Moist, another super villain, drops by to talk to Dr. Horrible. He opens the letter from Bad Horse who is the leader of The League which sings that he must do a heinous crime must be done and that The league is watching and whatever grade he gets will be his last. While attempting to get Wonderflorium he needs for his Freeze Ray, Penny sneaks up behind him to get his signature to help the homeless and introduces himself as Billy. Though frazzled by her beauty he still manages to gain control of the carrier van that is carrying the Wonderflorium of course while singing. That’s when Captain Hammer shows up and foils Dr. Horrible’s evil pot doing “what a man’s gotta do.” When sparks fly between Penny and Captain Hammer begin upset and disgusted Dr. Horrible walks away with the Wonderflorium. With the wonderful success of his freeze ray, well not wonderful because he inadvertently introducing his nemesis to the love of his life he still walked away with the Wonderflorium. But sadly for Dr. Horrible, he learns two lessons; one that the freeze ray takes a few seconds to warm up, and that the police (and Captain Hammer) are some of his blog viewers. Foiled at the mayor’s dedication Bad Horse says that the only way he can join the evil league of evil by assassination,  He vows to kill Captain Hammer, can he do it? Will he go through with the assassination or will he never join the Evil League of Evil?

(best song in the film)

Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog is a 43 minute movie of Joss Whedon’s creation. With great comedic lines and  well written songs you will laugh and actually sing-along. Neil Patrick Harris, Felica Day, and Nathan Fillion are the main Actors and Actress in this movie and without them this movie would not be the same. Each person sings and is very good at it. Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible is great a small, wimpy, evil villain who only wants two things: Penny, and to join The Evil League of Evil. Felicia Day plays Penny, a caring and stunningly beautiful person with a beautiful voice. As a viewer you will hope the Dr. Horrible gives up on his evil ways and gets together with Penny. Captain Hammer has different motives though Nathan Fillion who potrays him is supposed to be the good guy but you end up hoping he gets pushed out of the picture because all he wants is to ruin Dr. Horrible’s life. All in all, this movie is a great watch; it moves quick, it seems to end way to soon and you will find yourself hoping that Joss will make a sequel for “Dr. Horrilbe’s Sing-Along Blog”

Good:

-Amazing Cast

-Great comedic lines

-Actually well written songs

-Songs that you can sing along to with ease

Bad:

-Too short

-Made in 2008 and still no sequel at this point looking like there will be none

Scully Rating: 7 out of 10