Bleach 602: Bane Licking Good

Zach Goodier

http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/602

Sternlichter "D," Askin rises up to challenge the seemingly unstoppable Nimaiya, he reveals the nature of his power (always a bad move), and claims that he has already defeated Nimaiya by making his own blood toxic to him.  It doesn't take long for Nimaiya to find a solution, calling on his teammate Kirinji to use his "Blood Hell" spring water to replace his blood, which works in curing his sudden ailment.  He then proceeds to strike down Askin (again), with a much stronger strike, and then turns to challenge Juha Bach.  Does he have what it takes? Or will Ichigo have to arrive to finish the job?

I'm still fuzzy on a lot of the details of Askin's power, such as how he is able to alter the "lethal dose" of anything, let alone make blood toxic to particular people in the first place.  Furthermore, it seemed as though Askin cannot die at all, yet a second sword strike was able to put him down for good?  A lot of details on how these characters have and control their powers seems to go unexplained, and it makes the story as a whole feel somewhat sloppy or unrefined.  A lot of these concepts are neat, but when they go without explanation, it begs the question of how they're doing it in the first place.  Maybe, assuming Askin isn't truly dead, we might see an explanation later, but for now it raises a lot of unnecessary questions.

Black Lagoon: Roberta’s Blood Trail

Zach Goodier

This is a short, but incredibly sweet, OVA series to follow up the anime hit, Black Lagoon.  This, as the title suggests, goes back to one of the fan favorite opponents from the original series, Roberta.  After her master is killed in a South American bombing, she goes on the warpath looking for revenge.  Of course, the Black Lagoon crew gets caught in the middle of things, and it all goes to hell from there. 

The characters are more of the same, with one new face: Fabiola.  She’s an apprentice maid, and basically serves as a younger, warmer version of Roberta.  She has most of the punch without the feeling that her soul got scared and ran away a long time ago.  She is the one that contacts the Black Lagoon company to get Roberta back.

Even Death knows to give this chick a wide berth. 

One thing I loved about this OVA series is that it brings Rock further down to the level of the low-lives and all around bad people that we’ve seen in the main series.  Rock is more willing than ever to get his hands dirty, if only in the figurative sense.  He’s a mastermind, at heart, and we’ve seen that since he first planned the counterattack against the mercenary gunboat.  However, this does mean that he is less of the “good guy in a den of wolves” since he starts showing his teeth, too.

Our feisty little maid is a regular ball of fire.

Another major point of interest is the addition of more back-story for Revy.  You learn more about her past, and can finally understand how a girl like her got to be so rotten, yet still on some level have a heart at times.  This show accentuates two of the most dangerous women in anime, and both are given a great deal of attention, and their pasts are more defined than ever, giving you an insight into what makes a person lose their soul. 

It's all hands on deck, your favorites are sure to be back from the regular crew.

The story all works well, and even though it’s only 5 episodes, you don’t feel like it was rushed or stretched, the pacing all comes together rather well, with enough excitement to keep your interest without pushing things along at an unnatural pace.  The only real problem is the ending might not leave everyone satisfied, but it felt appropriate.  If you liked Black Lagoon, this is more of what you loved, plus a little more story behind the characters.  Despite being an OVA, this didn’t feel at all like it didn’t belong with the main series, which is rare.

Good:

-More Black Lagoon action and excitement, ‘nuff said.

-Adds more to the characters and brings Rock further into the den of wolves than ever before.

-Roberta is awesome, who better to revisit in the series?

-Intro remix is the best thing since... Well, I included it, so you know.

Bad:

-Short, which only really has an impact if you want to buy it for your collection.

Scully Rating: 9.8 out of 10

Strike the Blood

Zach Goodier

Strike the Blood is a show much like what we’ve seen before in the supernatural genre in anime.  Supernatural creatures inhabit a man-made island in the center of the Pacific after revealing their existence to the world.  Akatusuki Kojo is a seemingly normal guy attending high school, except for the fact that he’s a vampire, and the “Fourth Progenitor” none the less (The most powerful vampire in existence).  Fearful of what it might mean to have this dangerously powerful vampire running free, Yukina Himeragi is sent to observe Kojo, and deal with him if necessary.  This supernatural action show jumps right into it with action, magic, and some good old fashioned fan-service for the 13 episodes I’ve seen thus far.

These are the main characters in the first mini-arc, others are introduced as the series progresses.

For starters, Akatusuki is a cool, laid back dude for the most part, he has a sister that he lives with, and they both attend school.  This really helps anchor the feeling that despite all of the magic, vampires, demons, and what-not, the world really hasn’t changed all the much.  The city looks just like any other city at first glance, but on closer look a lot of the city is driven by magic of some kind.  It’s an interesting setting, and it all makes sense for the characters to be there.

Floating city? Sounds like a home just waiting to sink.

Yukina, while fairly well performed and portrayed in the story, serves as the generic fan-service device in the show, with her skirt being blown up in a gust of wind almost right after we meet her.  The rest of the show has a similar feeling, with her school uniform only being shed for either partial nudity or other showy outfits.  This can be a little overdone, at times, but there is still some substance to her character, just not much beyond what you’d expect from a typical show of this genre.  She tends to be overly aggressive towards Kojo whenever he winds up in a suggestive/indecent situation, even if it wasn't his fault.  While this provides some comic relief, the dead horse is beaten just about every episode, so it does get old eventually.

Sights like this are common.  While I don't mind it, it just feels like a one-note song after a while, as fan-service usually does.

A real hook for me was the story surrounding the “Fourth Progenitor.”  This, at first, is a mysterious, ominous-sounding title that hints at some dark power.  The reality, at least thus far, hasn’t been scary in the sense of it feeling dark, but Kojo’s power is very real, he just has no means of controlling it.  The fan-service kicks back into full-swing by requiring Kojo to drink blood from different girls to awaken his powers.  This just reeks of lame-fan-service, but you can roll with it, I guess.  I’m looking forward to seeing more of the story surrounding what happened to Kojo, as it has been hinted that there was a tragic event, but details are still sketchy.

Familiars and magic provide a lot of exciting action, and show off some great animation on the part of the studio.

Other characters include Asagi Aiba, Motoki Yaze, Nagisa Akatsuki, Sayaka Kirasaka, who are more important as the series moves forward, and many of them help Kojo to awaken his familiars, the agents he summons that embody his power.  While there are several magical races, each with different abilities, much of it has been done before, but there are a few interesting surprises to be enjoyed if you stick with it.

Regulus Arm, one of Kojo's familiars.  I just called him the "Energizer Lion" until I remembered his name.

So far, this show is a decent watch.  It hasn’t really broken any new ground, but then again, coming off of Future Diary would make just about anything look mediocre.  However, this is definitely a solid series.  The concept feels a little like Dance in a Vampire Bund, but the characters don’t look or feel pre-adolescent.  In all, I would recommend at least giving this show a shot, the series is well-animated, with a feeling of fast-paced, intense action when fights erupt, and the fan-service can be considered a decent little bonus, even if it somewhat cheapens the experience, in a way.

Good:

-Interesting, mysterious male lead.

-Cool premise, with magic, familiars, and lots of action.

-Bit of mystery to carry the plot forward.

-Sweet music.

Bad:

-Fan-service, as it usually does, cheapens the experience.

-Doesn't really break any new ground in the genre in terms of concept or story.

Scully Rating: 8 out of 10

Bleach 546: The Last 9 Days

Zach Goodier

Link: http://www.mangapanda.com/bleach/546

Typical *SPOILERS*

It looks like we may be coming up on the end of the story arc soon (and maybe even the series), but there's still a good amount of story left.  Kyoraku, the new head captain of the Gotei 13, tells Ichigo's friends that even if he wins his final battle, there's a small chance that he may never be allowed to come home.  While the specifics are not discussed, it seems to be related to the powers he is gaining.  Kyoraku them proceeds to hand out "Soul Tickets," that will allow Ichigo's friends to come visit him should that eventuality come to pass.  However, while this is going on, the Seretei is replaced by buildings that resemble Juha Bach's palace. Juha Bach and Uryuu then discuss the full version of the "Kaiser Gesang:" 

"The sealed King of the Quincy,

shall regain his heartbeat again after 900 years,

regain his intellect after 90 years,

and regain his power after 9 years,

and regain the world after 9 days."

This obviously doesn't bode well for the Soul Society, and it seems that it's possible that even if Ichigo is to succeed in his quest to stop this ominous prophecy from coming true, he may still find himself trapped in the Soul Society for eternity.  But Ichigo will likely have to make that sacrifice, since he will lose everything he wants to protect if he doesn't gain the power he needs to in order to win.  It looks like Bleach may be going on break for a while before getting to the end of the story, but we'll be waiting for the next chapter, and we'll be sure to pass it along to you guys.  Remember, stay nerdy my friends.

Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon

By: Robert Murphy

Well it’s an 80’s film come to life folks in “Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon,” a game that was once thought to be a clever April Fool’s joke was quickly revealed to be in fact a game that brings you back to a game somewhat like “Far Cry 3.” This neon lit world is straight out of a bad movie that you’d think couldn’t possibly be real but brings with it the terrible puns and outrageous action that made you somehow love the horrible effects of the era it’s from. Now we won’t be seeing much of the same old same old from “Far Cry 3” formula, even though it has the name on the cover the game it takes a step away from the somewhat realistic realm of “Far Cry” and ramps it up with sex montages, in your face action and is pretty much everything we wanted from “Duke Nukem Forever” but didn’t get.

Meet Rex Power Colt

This time around we aren’t put in control of a novice at the whole violence game or a reincarnation of our former protagonist Jason Brody, no this time we are put in control of cyborg commando Rex Power Colt, who is the epitome of the ultimate 80’s badass movie character/action hero. Rex is basically a walking cheat code; he doesn’t get tired from running for extended periods of time, doesn’t die from falling of ledges and has the strength to rip the heart out of your rotting corpse. All the while he shoots of cheesy one liners and spurts out general profanity that use to be socially acceptable for a movie and even have a PG-13 rating at the same time, which would be shot down in an instant in today’s world, but I doubt anyone would want to see this movie anyways. As you progress through the story- and yes there is a story here- you are greeted with more and more cheesiness as each mission objective that references classic movies like “Die Hard.” However, as it does with these old one liners and jokes, it does get old and not as fresh as Rex re-use catch phrases and jokes over and over, but hey they all can’t be winners.

 Gatling laser machine gun, I’ll take it!

Our super powered cyborg also comes packed with a new arsenal of weapons as well as new sets of skills to help him take down his enemies. Rex comes pretty well stocked right from the beginning as you run around feeling untouchable, it makes progressing through your skill trees feel a little redundant but ultimately is still enjoyable to unlock new moves that take down the soldiers you’re up against. Even more pleasure comes from the guns you are sporting along the way, running the gambit from things like a quad barreled shotgun, laser machine guns, cyber katana and yes even the classic bow makes a super powered comeback to the game. These come definitely come in handy as well when you take a look at the creatures the games named for, blood dragons roam the island glowing in the dark and shooting lazers from their eyes, these giant reptiles prove to be quite a challenge early on so thank God for all the weapons and tools you’re sporting.

 Sweet Jesus, run!!!

So what else is there to say, oh right umm this game is hilarious, between the action, the eye rolling humor and the out of this world cyborg hero you’ve got control of, there is a lot to be enjoyed from what “Blood Dragon” has to offer. While you may get a little tired of the one liners and over drawn cut scenes in the game, you can quickly take a side step over it while you’re blowing up bad guys with outrageous explosions and weaponry. My inner child screamed out while playing this game and truly ad me laughing the whole time I was playing and while it doesn’t have some of the same aspects of “Far Cry 3,” it was just as much fun to play.

Good:

-Hilarious humor and quotes that made me flash back to some of my favorite films

-Fantastic gunplay/upgrading abilities for your weapons

-Blood Dragons are completely ridiculous but the whole game is so let’s role with it

Bad:

-Upgrading can feel a little pointless since you start out so powerful already

-Not as much freedom to move around as “Far Cry 3”

Scully Rating: 8.5 out of 10