Bleach 649: The Theatre Suicide Scene 3

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/649

Kyoraku's bankai seems to have dealt a deadly blow to Borro, but he then falls into the arms of his zanpakuto, calling her "Ohana," who comforts him in her own way, as Borro's body floats in the water. However; the fight isn't over so soon, as Kyoraku is struck by another of Borro's attacks. He then seems to replace his missing head with some new form, and then declares that no soul reaper's bankai is capable of killing him. Can Kyoraku turn this around, or is he about to meet his end at the hands of "God's Messenger?"

The Last Witch Hunter

Robert Murphy

Fantasy movies are a tricky beast to maneuver around because so many directors just assume you can throw some monsters at the screen and have an epic hero come in and save the day to make the whole thing work. The movies are not taken too seriously most of the time, despite the growing popularity of science fiction, but what is clear is the care that went into the latest fantasy film to garner my attention The Last Witch Hunter.

Now despite following many of the fantasy tropes I just laid out Kaulder (Vin Diesel) is still a charming superhuman style character that graces the movie viewer. He is the last of the original Axe and Cross witch hunting members, cursed with eternal life after he and the rest of his party put an end to the Witch Queen (Julie Engelbrecht) centuries ago. Now he has spent the years continuing his efforts to prevent any new threats of witches uprising and trying to conquer the world, protecting humanity for all this time and doing with a half cocked smile across his face. Diesel is exactly the type of character you want at the forefront of this style of film as he helps suspend some of the disbelief that viewers have going into it. It is exactly the same thing you want when you're making an action movie, there are unbelievable car chases, explosions and female encounters that would make your eyes role but with a strong lead behind it you just don't care and that's exactly what Diesel does here. 

This isn't to say that the action or the special effects that went into The Last Witch Hunter aren't top notch. Being an obvious fantasy dork means that I love when a movie finds a new way to bring out something I have seen before and believe me I have seen plenty of witch stories before this one. In a modern age however they blend in a more unique way, modern witches can practice magic and are regulated by Kaulder as well as the Axe and Cross to keep them from harming humans. This means that they use magic for things like making mind altering cupcakes or running hookah bars like our female protagonist Chloe (Rose Leslie). She and Kaulder share a bit of a romance throughout the film that is thankfully not overdone, they like each other and everyone knows it so let's leave it at that basically. This style of self explanation transfers over to the magical elements of the story, Kaulder explains a few minor details but everything is presented in a manor in which the audience figures it out quickly on there own so the movie doesn't have to.   

It also helps that Kaulder has been a round the blocks a few times though, actually more than a few as one his lines in the movie indicates just how old he is by calling his Dolan Ellic (Michael Caine), watcher and keeper of Kaulder's exploits, a kid or going off about being around when the first block of the Axe and Cross's hideout was laid. This leads him to be extraordinarily cocky when it comes to life and dealing with witches because nothing can really challenge him. The story will eventually point out though that he has more than a couple weaknesses to exploit as powerful witches plot to bring back their queen. But, until you get to see her again you are left with her lesser underlings which don't fill the time between the queens second coming. 

The man pulling the strings, Belilal (Olafur Darri Olafsson) has some impressive magic at his disposal but his motives remained unclear for the entirety of the story, he showed up to smack Kaulder around and stop him from interrupting his plans and that was it. It's capped off by the fact that he is ultimately dealt with in a simple manner and makes you question why Kaulder couldn't defeat him in the first place. From here the rest of the story gets exceedingly rushed over as it makes it's way to the finish line by pumping out some quick action and adding a weak twist right before the movie ends. It's at this point that you start to realize that the narrative runs a bit too thin when everything is all on the line and this includes adding dialogue that suggest a possible sequel to the story. But, despite this the majority of The Last Witch Hunter's story remains grounded on what it sets out to do and accomplishes it quite well. 

Like so many other fantasy tales The Last Witch Hunter should count it's blessings and be considered just what the title implies "the last." Vin Diesel is set perfectly in his role as a swarthy former viking, living his life as an immortal witch hunter, and he even gets a happy ending out of the deal. The magic and special effects are also brought out in a new and interesting way that is touched on ever so lightly and doesn't not need lengthy exposition to fill in the details. This works well for most relationships the story offers up to Kaulder as well with Michael Caine and Rose Leslie playing well with Kaulder's charms. So, even if it is a tale with a similar tune to others you've seen, it is still one you will enjoyed listening to even now.

Good:

- Vin Diesel as Kaulder

- Secondary character such as Caine and Leslie

- Magic is presented in a unique and simple way

Bad:

- Flat villain for a majority of the film

- Story runs on empty at the very end

Scully Rating: 6.8 out of 10

Life is Strange: Episode 5 - Polarized

Robert Murphy


There are countless times throughout a persons life where they wonder what would happen if I could have changed the past, would things turn out for the better. Max Caulfield spent the entirety of this five part series finding out just what it would be like to change your fate but in the end, will it be enough and can she make the tough decision to save everyone she has come to know? 

It is an understatement to say that Max has not evolved as a character thanks to her new abilities and the challenges she has overcome with them. When we first met her she was a shy and timid girl who was comfortable silently walking through her life without making waves or getting on anyones radar. That has now drastically changed as she throws all her cards on the table in this final chapter and is thrown throughout multiple time lines in order to stop the horrible future that has come about. My heart strings were being tugged to the extreme as multiple futures led me to have to make insanely difficult choices and relive some of the previous episodes darkest moments. Max is faced with mind bending realities and it seems as though the worst fears that lay in the back in her mind came out in order to torment her. Even when I thought that the ending could have come to a happy one I was proven insanely wrong. 

That being said, as you time hop from one reality to the next the experience can be a little desensitizing. Max often must return to a pinnacle moment for this episode in order to move forward and the rehashing of this scenario over and over again was where the story loses it's momentum. It is already obvious that this is the lowest moment for Max so there was no need for it to be capitalized on repeatedly. This main villain that is created from one of the games least obvious characters was a low point for the story and having to come back to it made things even worse. The dialogue between Max and the character amounts to nothing but frequent cursing and psychotic delusional blabbering that was capped off by some irritating rewind sequences.

What comes of this though is what made this final chapter bring out what the game does best. Life is Strange has always been able to capture a sense of everyone's feelings no matter how small they or nonessential they are to the overall story as well as a drama to life that many people don't experience but one that Max has to live through in each chapter of the game. This is especially true for your relationship with Chloe as you two rebound throughout each episode and it would seem that that is what everything has truly been about. The bond you two have begun to share was admittedly much deeper than I realized by the ending of Polarized and made me think back on a choice that had been so minor before but now seemed really relevant. Whatever the case, Max and Chloe's relationship brought the story back to life and it won't just be Max doing all the saving this time around.

While there is multiple endings to the concluding chapter of Life is Strange, there is frankly only one satisfying conclusion to the story. The diverging ending follows along the same lack luster tropes and cliches that make moments throughout every episode feel like a let down. That being said this final chapter tended to lead you towards the more satisfying conclusion to the tale and make the hard choice in order to put a stop to the impending destruction. It's funny to say this about a game character but as I closed on the last moments of the game I felt that even Max was happy with the choice I made as a player.

Polarized continued to bring out what the series does best and that is tell a story with a deeply emotional look into teenage relationships, drama and their daily issues. Even though Max's problems tend to go to an extremely larger scale she was still a girl with normal everyday issues and by the end I feel that point came full circle. I still don't argue with the dialogue choice and the overuse of the word "hella" but oh well. There is however a large amount of after taste to take in when you process with the conclusion to the murder mystery that was hiding in the background till almost the end of the story. But by the end I was still able to find a satisfying conclusion to this emotional roller coaster ride despite the dark twists and turns that were thrown at me.

Good:

- The psychological journey

- Deeply emotional moments and dramatic conclusion

Bad:

- Horrible villain

- Unsatisfying alternate ending

- Rehashing of the darkest scene of the episode

Scully Rating: 6.8 out of 10

Prison School

Robert Murphy


Any number of anime out there are guilty of putting in a little bit of kink when it comes to their characters, maybe there are some very short skirts or a ditsy girl who uses crude innuendos in everything she says but then you have shows like Prison School who throw out the rule book entirely and go as lewd as possible. The story follows five teenage boys; Kiyoshi, Shingo, Jouji, Takehito and Reiji, who are the first boys to ever be enrolled in an exclusively all girl school. While this would normally be any teenage boys dreams all the girls in the school appear to be ignoring them and so they end up going on a peeping spree for some sign of female contact. This leads them to being caught and incarcerated on an on-sight prison camp within the school that is run by the Underground Student Council and the three insanely frightening girls in charge of it. 

Now while I'll admit that a bit of peeping deserves some punishment, being locked up in a prison for an entire week, made to wear actual black and white uniforms and perform manual labor governed by some evil female wardens is taking things a bit too far. When you get down to it Prison Schools story is non-existent and ends up being a grouping of disgusting escapades that were meant to be cheaky but turned out horribly wrong. Kiyoshi and his friends start out simply wanting some interaction with the girls around school but then end being the most hated pariahs the school has ever seen. The peeping itself should have been gotten over within a few months but the boys end up in a series of other gross situations that end up garnering more hate and more prison time as the show goes on, and when I say gross I mean really gross! 

There are multiple times where Prison School decides to include bodily functions into it's story of misguided sexual encounters. Some were as simple as accidentally pooping your pants to being aroused by being urinated on in a public restroom. The whole time I was watching the series it felt as if I was watching some S&M show that just would not end and while I know that there are people who subscribe to this genre I feel as though it was all done here for shock and humor that does not deliver. Also in the department of S&M the boys are repeatedly punished physically by their female captures numerous times. While you would think the boys would all stand up in protest of this, it turns out they actually like this.

Meiko Shiraki is the balloon breasted vice president of the Underground Student Council and is charged with watching over the boys manual labor and sentencing. Her character wears outfits that are far too tight and too short for her body and walks around with a riding crop to punish all the boys when they do something slightly to her disliking. Kiyoshi and his friends rather enjoy Meiko's outward appearance but they enjoy it even more when she is wailing on them for the slightest of reasons and it is something I just couldn't wrap my head around. Meiko also has an interesting relationship with the Underground President Mari Kurihara where she sweats profusely at any slight compliment she gives to Meiko. Then you have the final member of the council Hana who has a rather chipper demeanor till you tick her off and she kicks you bloody. Her and Kiyoshi's relationship delves into some of the urination arousal I mentioned earlier which ruined her for me as she was quite possible one of the few redeemable characters starting out.

The boys themselves are nothing to write home about either, Kiyoshi is technically the stories main focus and follows his attempts to make contact with the one girl that actually talked to him before he was sentenced to the prison. The romance is nothing interesting though and is repeated latter in similar fashion with Shingo and a girl who has interest in him as well. The only real winner of the group is probably Takehito or Gakuto as he is nicknamed and he portrays himself as a masterful genius the group while also performing unspeakable acts in order to help the other boys out. His rants about being a genius and military tactics were a welcomed chuckle to a story with so little to offer especially since Jouji and Reiji simply fade into the background with only minor character attributes introduced about them. Jouji being a sickly boy who loves his pet ants and Reiji is a large and portly fellow.

By the end of watching Prison School I could not think of any conceivable reason why anyone would make this into a series. Besides the total absence of an engaging story or characters the show fills large portions of it's run time by parading scenes of body excrement and fluids in your face. I have watched a few Ecchi anime in my day and never has one been as bad as this one and frankly the show belongs in an M-Rated bin somewhere and bought as a gag gift for your buddy but never actually watched in earnest. 

Good:

- One or two chuckle worthy characters such as Gakuto

Bad:

- Total absence of an engaging story

- Most characters have little appeal to them

- Disgusting grouping of scenes featuring urination, bodily excretions and more

Scully Rating: 1.0 out of 10

Bleach 648: The Theatre Suicide Scene 2

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/648

Ichigo faces Nakk, who casually jests about losing direction in the confines of the Quincy structures. Meanwhile, Kyoraku's bankai is unleashed, darkening the entirety of the Soul Palace. Borro confidently claims that a messenger of God has no fear of darkness, but then wounds begin to appear on his body, matching the ones he gave to Kyoraku previously. Then, more appear, and Kyoraku explains that it's one of his bankai's abilities to inflict the wounds he's received on those who inflicted them. Kyoraku then activates another ability, and both are sent to an empty underwater realm, in which Kyoraku claims they will both reside until one of them runs out of spirit energy.

Space Pirate Captain Harlock

Zach Goodier

Harlock is a 2013 sci-fi anime feature film that takes place in a future where humanity left earth to find new resources. After centuries, humanity has exploited and depleted resources throughout space, and after the Homecoming War: a fight over the rights to return to planet earth, the Gaia Coalition has emerged to maintain peace by forbidding anyone to settle on the now holy grounds of our home world. The story follows the character of Yama, as he joins up with the pirate crew of the Arcadia, a cursed pirate spaceship under the command of the Gaia Coalition’s most wanted fugitive: Captain Harlock. Yama joins on a mission to end Harlocks reign of terror on the galaxy, as his ship has handily dominated the skies for 100 years. Yama is eager to do this on behalf of his older brother, admiral Isola, who offers this mission as a means of redemption for Yama, who he holds responsible for the death of his own wife.

The story is interesting, with some decent twists and turns involving the origins of Harlock himself, and immortal, seemingly invincible pirate with an unstoppable ship. The only issue is that it all feels a little excessive, as the Arcadia handily decimates entire fleets of military vessels and only trivial damage itself, which is almost instantly repaired because the ship can self-repair. This is all explained by the ships dark-matter drive core, which is the only one of its kind currently in existence, which factors heavily into the history of the ship, as well as Harlock’s strength, but it still feels far-fetched that a 100 year old ship has no equal in a modern armada of hundreds of ships that comprise the Gaia Coalitions fleet.

From a character standpoint, there is some tense drama taking place between Yama and Isola, as Yama struggles to find his way after losing someone close to him, and being condemned by his brother for it. Yama is truly the center of the film, despite the title, with Yama struggling between the voices of Isola, pushing him with guilt, and Harlock and his crew, who encourage freedom and moving forward. There was some frustration, however, as Yama tends to change his mind… a LOT. I felt like he spends half his time trying to go back on the choice he made 20 minutes ago, just to change his mind again and… well, it can make him feel less like a conflicted character, and more like a mess who can’t commit to any choice at all.

Harlock, on the other hand, feels more like the haunted character Yama was meant to be, as he is carrying a hefty burden himself, as the story eventually shows, and he attempts to place 100 detonators around the galaxy to somehow turn back time (which is never quite well explained how that works), to undo a terrible mistake he made a century ago. This parallel between Yama and Harlock is intentional, as both characters struggle with the weight of their pasts as they try to make the right decisions moving forward.

The animation is very well done, but it is computer-generated for those who aren’t into that style, so be warned. With lots of space battles between ships, and some boarding going on. Some elements don’t really make sense, like pirates swinging from ship to ship in space (no gravity… duh.), but if you can suspend your disbelief about the setting, and see this as the fun flick it is, then it isn’t too bad. The big draw is the characters, though, which almost all look exceptional.

Overall, this film is a decent stand-alone story about Harlock and Yama, and the themes are simple, yet relevant to most of us. However, Yama can feel like an irritating character with his indecisive behavior, which results in a lot of death and destruction, undermining his “redemption.” Characters like Harlock as much more interesting, but ultimately have to share the spotlight with Yama. With a lot of unanswered questions about the details of how Harlock’s plan could possibly work, or a sci-fi film sometimes feels more like Pirates of the Caribbean.

Good:

-Great character models.

-Some great story elements with interesting themes here and there.

-Some great space battle animations.

Bad:

-The Arcadia seems a little overpowered.

-Yama can be a little irritating with his moral back and forth.

Scully Rating: 7 out of 10

Gangsta.

Robert Murphy


You would often expect that a town would be run and protected by the police and it's government officials but every once and awhile you run across a town like Ergastulum with it's own way of doing things. The city is a breeding den for crime, drugs and violence on a daily basis but is kept in balance by the three laws and the families that run the city behind the scenes. Things here also fall under a special case since the town is filled with people known as Twilights, people with super human abilities that must regulate their life style with special drugs in order to live out their limited life spans. The story follows one Twilight in particular as well as his partners in a "Handyman" agency where they take any odd job that comes their way.

Gangsta. immediately caught my attention as it bore so many similarities to another drug and violence fueled anime Black Lagoon. The shows share similar styles in their environments and their approaches to action, Ergastulum is a vibrant city that offers just about anything a criminal might ever dream off but it is held together by a well balanced system. Nicholas (a deaf Twilight) and Worick (smooth talking ladies man) work in a sort of neutral area of the city where they take jobs given by anyone who pays them but they stay on friendly terms with each of the families that lord over it. Their jobs usually involve showing off a good degree of muscle or taking out some pesky upstart trying to make a big name for themselves in the city. The most recent punk to try to cause trouble leads the two to meet Alex who is a former prostitute with a muddled past due to years of forcefully being made to take drugs, she now joins Nicholas and Worick at their agency until she gets back on her feet.

While the series starts off focusing on the three of these characters and unraveling each of their sorted pasts, along the way the story gets pretty muddled. Nicholas and Worick have known each other since they were both young and their is an obvious history there. Even though Worick is not a Twilight he is still an outcast in his own way and grew up in a tortured household. Alex on the other hand has a whole other situation on her hands as she struggles to regain any semblance of her life before entering into prostitution. This was all compelling stuff through and through especially when you add in the action sequences that present day Worick and Nicholas get involved in. Nicholas is a high ranking Twilight with an A/0 on the Tag that all Twilights have on their person (rankings go D/5 to S/0) so he is capable of amazing feats with his katana at his side. Worick too is just as impressive and while he can't jump across buildings he is quite handy with a regular weaponry, mainly a knife and two suppressed pistols.

I feel that Nicholas also deserves some special recognition for he is the all around draw to the show. Worick is an equally valuable character to the show but he often takes a back seat to the appeal of Nickolas and his skills. There are also some secrets revealed about Nicholas' rank later on which garner some attention but what makes his character appealing most is the fact that he is deaf. I have never seen this sort of thing done before in an anime and you certainly wouldn't expect it to work for a main character. The fact that Nicholas does so much but says so little is a real winner for the story I was watching, it also makes his past that much more interesting to get wrapped up in. Twilights in the present are now protect by the three laws which are brought up time and again but in the past they were used as tools for killing and looked on as freaks. This doesn't ever appear to have bothered Nicholas but it all around his journey is an interesting one. 

About midway through Gangsta. is where we lose sight of all this however and diverging stories begin to flood in from every direction. Many nonessential characters are introduced into the main storyline at an alarming rate and just when you start to get some interest in them they are steamrolled right over in order to keep the story going. Between the families that run the city, the group of armed Twilights that do odd jobs around the city and a number of lesser character, there is just no end to characters bogging things down. This is particularly annoying when the mysterys behind Alex's past start to slowly come to light and a key character is left out in the dark for the remainder of the series. There's also a redundant love story, a lost brother and sister story and numerous other points that the story tends to get lost on. Various and quite frankly awesome action scene are picked up along the way but the story itself is all over the place and by the end I didn't know exactly what was trying to be accomplished, there seemed to be no clear goal for the ending.

Though it gets bogged down it's story and the sheer number of characters it throws at it's audience, Gangsta. had something unique come out of it in the end. The adventures of Nicholas and Worick start of the show with quite a bang and I loved watching the two of them work, Alex also became an interesting partner in the two's lives as she searched for answers to who she is. If the overall story had focused more on the core group rather than getting lost in a sea of characters and side stories then I could have seen the show working out for the better with it's excellent action, backstory and catchy tunes.

Good:

- Worick, Nicholas and Alex were fantastic

- Some enjoyable side characters

- Excellent story and action till the halfway mark

Bad:

- Far too many characters are added and left unexplored

- Story gets lost with all of it's characters diverging interests

Scully Rating: 6.0 out of 10

Minecraft: Story Mode Episode 1 - The Order of the Stone

Robert Murphy


Open world gaming is perhaps the most sought after genre of the past decade, players no longer want a linear story and want a vast world to explore and do what they wish with it. Minecraft is probably the purest among this genre of games where you literally start in a world with nothing but the materials to build whatever you wish so there has never been a need for a story nor a real concept of one, until now. 

The story revolves around Jesse (voiced Patton Oswalt) or Catherine (voiced by Catherine Taber), depending on your gender selection, who is an aspiring builder and sort of the leader of his group of friends who are trying to become the next big name in building. While it isn't flat out said what being a prestigious builder means, you are in Minecraft so building literally is everything. In order to prove yourself, you and your friends head off to the local Endercon which is where local builders set out to show their creation in order to be crowned champion. You guys however are frankly known as the local loser in this category but this doesn't stop you from entering in once again for fame and glory.

The situation turns dire for your friends (and your pet pig) though when a world ending scheme begins to unravel before your eyes. The local legends known as The Order of the Stone have a rich history and their tale is one that has been passed down throughout the world for years but their is more to the story than what everyone knows. There is a powerful lie hiding from the world and now a terrifying evil is being unleashed that threatens to destroy the world, block by block. Heavy stuff, right? While the story is mostly full of laughs and makes use of excellent material from the Minecraft universe, there is a degree of life threatening danger to the story but it's played all in good fun. There also heavy conflict choices that you are faced with among your friends and former enemies players will face along the way which made the story all the richer.

While the main story is jam packed with characters that will be joining you on your quest, very few of them actually prove to make an impact with you. Jesse/Catherine are greatly explored main protagonists and I had a blast playing along with them but as for the rest of your friends there is little to be invested in. Axel (voiced by Brian Posehn) and Olivia (voiced by Martha Plimpton) are with you since the beginning but only recieve the basic of character backgrounds, Axel is loyal and strong and Olivia is smart and assertive, that's about it. This can be said for all the other characters you meet as well, Petra (voiced by Ashley Johnson) is strong and Lukas (voiced by Scott Porter) is your enemy turned friend. It leaves little to be invested in when the action starts to kick in and I was left to reflect on the  one real connection I had with any character Reuben, my pet pig. 

Now, one of my biggest gripes with Telltale over the years has been that while the story choices you make in each of their games can be very impactful to what you're playing, things never truly felt that different if you went back for another playthrough. In Order of the Stone however, players can experience a variety of different circumstances depending on their choices, in the very first episode no less. Twice the story had given me a choice that I barely thought anything about as they were happening, I acted on instinct and what I thought would truly happen if I went one way or the other. Later I came to find out that I could have gone through a whole other ordeal by going on a rescue mission for one of the characters. These were the biggest by far but there were other small choice that I went back a second time just to test out just because my curiosity was so strong and all of it leading to a finale where you could essentially decide what adventure you will be going on in episode two. 

Even though our story features little in the way of free roaming and actually collecting of materials to build massive in-game structures, there was more of the Minecraft charm to go around with The Order of the Stone. Players will be able to build, to the themes of an 80's style montage I might add, as well as craft items and enter a world where some of the most iconic and ridiculous things Minecraft players have ever built are brought to life. The drama and choices were also an excellent direction choice that fit the overall story perfectly, even if I wasn't entirely invested in the characters I was involved with. Whatever the case, I am wrapped up in the story and I cannot wait to find out what mysterys lie in wait with the legendary members of The Order of the Stone.

Good:

- Plenty of laughs

- A great story filled with mystery and intrigue

- Excellent decision making problems and actual effects to them

Bad:

- Characters are mostly generic

Scully Rating: 8.0 out of 10

Bleach 647: The Theatre Suicide

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/647

The rest of the group is headed off by Gerard, the muscle-bound viking-esque warrior. Meanwhile, Kyoraku contends with the unleashed Borro, who seems invincible in his new form. However, Kyoraku isn't ready to call it quits, as he readies himself to face his fate as he unleashes his bankai. Will his bankai be able to overcome this seemingly invincible foe, or is he going to fall at the hands of the demi-god, Borro?

Overlord

Robert Murphy


Going back to the first time that I had watched Sword Art Online I found that an anime about being trapped in a game was quite an interesting one since I have always been an avid game lover and the concept of virtual reality becoming actually reality quite excites me. Other shows have popped up and followed the same kind of logic and so one would think that the idea would become stagnant but Overlord takes a new approach to the story. 

Momonga was a member of an extremely prestigious guild from the MMORPG Yggdrasil and even though he was simply in charge of the guilds finances he was still a max level spell caster. Now the game is unfortunately going to see it's final day as the servers are being shut down and Momonga logs in for the final moments of the game but his fellow guild members have long since abandoned the game and all that they have earned after countless hours of playing. Something unprecedented happens once the clock strikes midnight and the game was suppose to shut down though, Yggdrasil was still online or at least in some fashion it was. All of the player made servants in the guild hall have been made real and Momonga has been transferred to entirely new world with new people and places but it is still a world where he retains all of his magical skills and power which makes him practically a God among it's inhabitants. 

Momonga or Ainz Ooal Gown is a character who takes over powered status and does it the right way. Normally you wouldn't like a character who can do anything and has no chink in his armor, it's boring, but in this case there are two reasons why it works. On the surface Ainz appears to be this menacing skeleton creature (Undead character class) who knows high level magic and has knowledge beyond that of anyone else in the world. Underneath the surface though there is a stressed out human character that freaks out when his second in command Albedo does things like confess her undying love for him. There are moments of inner monologue for his character throughout the story and while he remains calm and calculating in most of the crucial situations but he has quite a few moments of pure embarrassment with his female subordinates and remnants left from the days when the world was just a game.

His intelligence and raw power is the other key component to his appeal. Since the moment Momonga found himself trapped in this strange new world he calculated every move he made, testing what abilities he can still perform and setting out to explore the world in the hopes of concurring it for himself. Yes, Ainz is a bad guy and I often forgot this fact since he refrains from doing too many things that would be considered "evil" but everything he does is ultimately for his own gain. Anyone who is foolish enough to attack him learns quickly about his strength as casting 8th tier magic is nothing to him where the humans of this world cannot go past the 3rd tier. This leads to him outclassing just about everyone you see Ainz come across and while this world normally be dull the show shows off his power in a variety of different ways to make stellar action scenes and explore Yggdrasil's game mechanics.

The fights are often short but they are nonetheless a treat to behold while you're watching Overlord. Yggdrasil was a game unlike any other MMORPG that is out on the market today or at least to my knowledge it is, the players can create their own weapons using items, create their own home bases (Nazarick is the main base for the show and Ainz) and even create their own servants and most of these player created NPC's are our main cast members along with Ainz. This should give you some idea as to the magnitude of the fights that take place across the show, Ainz has God level magic at his disposal as well as former in-game items, weapons and all the power of Nazarick/his former companions, he isn't afraid to use it either. His subordinates are just as powerful too which made the final fight between Ainz and a turned Nazarick member, Shalltear, quite an interesting one to watch.

Outside of Ainz and the members of Nazarick though there is some work to be done. Overlord clearly has a rich world to be explored and near the end of the series the story began to unravel quite a bit of information about the people who live here. Ainz does his best to learn all he can but there are moments where we were strung along for very little reward such as Ainz's first quest to a nearby city where he joins an adventure guild. The characters he meets were interesting at first but are all thrown away later on and this happens more than once, you are introduced to a new character who seems important but is dropped before you get to know them. Later seasons may prove to pull the overall story together more coherently but for the time being it is a show all about the glorious Ainz Ooal Gown.

Overlord proves that you can still do something new with the trapped in a game style anime with what is presented here. With a more coherent overall story then things would have gone exceptionally well as I watched the series but it was still wonderful meeting Ainz and seeing the power he commands. His subordinates at Nazarick are just as exceptional to watch and it is hard to believe that these characters were technically all designed by video game players, now brought to life. 

Good:

- Ainz Ooal Gown is a fantastically overpowered monster

- Other Nazarick members like Albedo are great

- Yggdrasil is a world that would be spectacular to be trapped

Bad:

- Characters outside Ainz and Nazarick are interesting but get no screen time

- Story has potential but needs time to bring it together better

Scully Rating: 7.5 out of 10

Shimoneta: A Boring World Where the Concept of Dirty Jokes Doesn't Exist

Robert Murphy


Suggestive themes in anime has always been a hot button issue for people, I know I have spent hours talking to my friends about it and whether or not it is really needed or if it ruins the show entirely. Shimoneta: A Boring World Where the Concept of Dirty Jokes Doesn't Exist stands out from all other anime in this grey area of viewing though by jumping right in front of the bus on the whole situation. Yes, it is without a doubt the second most lewd anime that I have watched this year but it does so in a more humorous way than you would expect.

The story follows Tanukichi Okuma who is about to start at a new school with the highest decency ranking across Japan and he aims to dismiss all the negativity surrounding his family name after his father was sent to jail as a Ero-terrorist (erotic terrorist). This is due to the fact that the world of Shimoneta has gone in a different direction entirely by effectively outlawing all public forms of nudity, obscenities and foul language. Yep, you can't even swear in this universe and it is monitored by advanced government agency as well as PM's (Peace Maker) devices worn by everyone to make sure the law is enforced. You can't even use the correct syntax for medical purposes either, it's completely ridiculous, so it wasn't at all surprising to find that there were organizations known is Ero-terrorist hell bent on fighting back. Okuma would find himself set on an entirely different path than the one he originally planned on because of all this when a woman known as Blue Snow recruits him for her group called SOX.

The idea may be a completely ridiculous one but it does have it's layers to it in more than one way and the show brings this up. Blue Snow reveals herself as Ayame Kajou who is vice president of Okuma's student council and is the last person you would expect to be in a Ero-terrorist group, let alone running it. She has a special program on her cellphone which allows her to disable her PM in order to make lewd gestures and express her inner most self to Okuma. This is where the ridiculousness kicks in as Kajou slips in her own twisted metaphors into just about everything she says which often is laid at the expense of Okuma. As the story progresses Shimoneta finds a number of other ways to express itself though by using things like an Eel given to Okuma in order to express certain male functions along with finding a way to make lewd drawings and stories by painting with your teeth, a function used by one of my favorite characters Saotome.

Behind all of the jokes and witty banter there is an underline message to the story being presented and that is how censorship can negatively affect people. Our story is innocent enough when it first begins, the kids at Okuma and Kajou's school are curious and get flustered at the slightest sexual conduct and it is hilarious to think about trying to explain all these functions to a generation that knows nothing about male and female relationships. The negative points begin to add up when we meet Anna who is Okuma's love interest and main reason for joining this particular school in the first place. She is far more oblivious than any of the other students and even hangs up a picture of a "mushroom" in the student council office because that's legitimately what she thought it was. 

Due to certain events in the story however, Anna becomes insanely infatuated with Okuma, super insanely incredibly infatuated! Her character basically stalks Okuma for the entirety of the series and more than once takes him against his will, she offers him water that is in no way water and threatens to kill anyone who is female that ever touches him. The scenes are all censored of course and despite the undertone they had me bursting out in laughter just by the sheer ludicrous circumstances behind it all. Shimoneta may take it to the extreme with some of themes but the point still remains and that is you can't have people be completely oblivious to all things sexual, you will end up with a world of repressed and confused kids like the one presented here who can't even express their feelings to someone they like. Again, it's still a bit of an extreme here but it's more humorous than harmful. 

Shimoneta creates an interesting dystopian society of people and one where I truly hope that SOX and the other Ero-terrorist win in. The story takes a fresh new approach in how certain fan service ideas are presented but at the same time there's actually a great underline message to be found buried underneath the mountain of obscenities. Everything isn't perfect especially when you meet the stories main bad guy and his obsession with cloth undergarments, they're used by the way. Still, if you can get past the one or two extremely obscene moments then you will be laughing your way all the way through.

Good:

- Solid main cast of characters especially Blue Snow/Ayame Kojou

- An interesting dystopian society where lewdness is banned

- Hilarious all the way through

Bad:

- Some of the themes go too far even by the shows standards

Scully Rating: 8.2 out of 10 

Rick and Morty (Season 2)

Robert Murphy


One of the wonderful things about cartoons and animation as an art form is that you can do just about anything and everything you set your mind to with it. Take that idea and add on top of it a time travel function where you can go anywhere in the universe, multiverse, parallel universes and all of that stuff, then you have something with boundless potential and that has always been true for the Adult Swim series Rick and Morty (both voiced by Justin Roiland). The shows first season served as an introduction to the characters, Rick being the self centered genius doing whatever he wants and Morty is just along for the ride because what's the point of being clever if no one is around to see it, but now there is so much more to it.

The dynamic for the newest season of Rick and Morty is very much the same only with some slight changes. Before it was just Rick and Morty going around on adventures together but now the rest of the family is along on more than one or two adventures throughout time and space. Rick, of course, is still doing whatever he feels like and dragging everyone else along for the ride. He has a hardened look at things compared to most, I guess that's what happens when you're generally the smartest person in the room and know just how grand the universe truly is. Rather than being able to enjoy this though, Morty, Summer (Spencer Grammer), Beth (Sarah Chalke) and Jerry (Chris Parnell) all get to see the darker sides of the universe rather than the better sides of it. I'm sure they do exist but I rather enjoy the gritty version of things that Morty has to show all of us.

This is the shows main appeal as well, it isn't horrible and cruel for the sake of it but the series definitely goes to some harsh places. A great example of this happens in the second episode "Mortynight Run" where Morty tries to save the life of someone he believes is an innocent life in need of help. Rick usually ignores these situations and figures nobody is worth actually saving, sadly the show proves him to be right in most cases and the situation goes horribly for Morty from there on out. It's easy to see Rick's point of view in a lot of ways but the entire universe and craziness of it all is the real fun part about Rick and Morty because no matter whose involved things will turn out horribly.

All of this is business as usual for the series and while it is great to see this concept expanded upon with new amazing adventures, funny creatures and interesting worlds, there is a new component to the show that will hit viewers hard. Not too much is known about Rick before he returns home to reconnect with his daughter, Beth, and the rest of his family and you won't learn too much more about it until the season finale either. Needless to say though Rick has been through some tough times and that's why he is so jaded now and this is something that comes out more than once this season. The first hinting of this happens in an episode title "Auto Erotic Assimilation" where Rick meets up with an old fling and is having a blast up until she leaves, Rick is okay or so we think until the last scenes of the episode. More than once stuff like this happens and it shows that there is a good level of heart and emotion to a show that admittedly tells fart jokes on a regular basis.

One thing that I did wish would have changed for is the relationships that go on with our main characters. Things do get shaken up as I said earlier and most everyone goes on adventures with Rick now that the family is more aware of what he and Morty are doing and it's great that everyone's along for the ride. This doesn't change some of the bad dynamics that continue forth though specifically with Beth and Jerry. Last season their marriage was obviously on the rocks and needing plenty of work but this season it became more of an annoyance than anything else. They kept bringing it up how bad their relationship is but they never do anything about it, the best moment was when Rick says "Either get divorced or shut up!" There was one shining moment where the jokes were all still worth it, it happened in episode "Big Trouble in Little Sanchez" where the two go to outer space marriage counseling and they end up destroying the place with their toxic marriage.

Rick and Morty's second season ends by setting in motion an actual story arc and leaving viewers with a hefty cliffhanger to think about as we eagerly await the third season. It's also great to see a series that you would never expect to see be something with emotion to it actually grow to become more than some really bad (but hilarious) jokes. 

Good:

- Same level of humor and laughs as the first season

- Rick and Morty have a wonderfully dysfunctional relationship

- A deeper look in Rick and the makings of an over arcing story

Bad:

- Beth and Jerry's over done marriage issues

Scully Rating: 8.8 out of 10