The Accountant (2016)

The Accountant follows a public accountant by the name of Christian Wolff.  Through flashbacks, we learn that he is diagnosed with high functioning autism and currently makes his living by uncooking the books for dangerous criminal organisations.  Currently, he was keeping a low profile but he was employed one day to investigate a possible fraud at a robotics company.  Through this, he uncovers a bigger plot although this never feels like it takes center stage.  Rather, we learn about Wolff, how he works and how he functions.  Wolff is clever and has military training, able to best most professional killers.  The pacing is steady and keeps its tense atmosphere throughout most of the film.  Ben Affleck's performance as Wolff is quite good although the film is let down by its lack of mystery or anticipation for the big reveal.  A few characters feel shoehorned in like the government agents as you'd expect a big clash between them and Wolff, but it never eventuates.  The Accountant is an above average film but its plot needs more refinement.

Clannad After Story (2008-2009)

Clannad After Story adapts the second part of the visual novel and continues from the first part of the anime.  It comes in at 22 episodes long with 3 extra episodes / OVAs.  Unlike the visual novel, the anime continues on with the high school life and carries the same lighthearted tone, at least in the beginning.

After Story adapts some of the various remaining scenarios that they didn't manage to fit in the first season and it does seem like the pacing and humor is better here.  It actually takes the time to build the atmosphere more solidly such that when the punchline comes, you feel the same emotions as the characters would be feeling.  By spending two to three episodes for each scenario and having it at a slower pace, it allows the viewers to invest into what's happening more.

The anime has a strong first episode where it continues to build up the friendships established in the first season to great effect.  As all the characters cheer for each other during the baseball game, you can't help but feel positive and happy for Tomoya.  It is good to see all the characters again and how they interact with each other since it felt that the first season breezed by them so quickly.  Fleshing out the rest of the supporting cast was a good choice and reinforces the story that develops later on, emphasizing the friendships and experiences that Tomoya had.

The mysterious girl and her robot reappear, and in addition, certain strange things happen after the major character arcs.  These end up being vague foreshadowing of what will happen in the later part of the anime.  The jokes and gags seem to work a lot more and are genuinely funny.  Not only are the ones from the visual novel executed perfectly, the anime original ones are great too (the best part being Nagisa presenting the Hyper Rainbow Bread).  The story lulls you into a false sense of security with a happy and heartwarming first half before slowly becoming sadder and sadder, until it destroys you with emotional hit after emotional hit.

One of the best things about Clannad After Story is the themes that it deals with.  You understand the love stemming from the selflessness of family to the warm embrace of your friends.  It deals with the concept that time goes on, even when you want to stop at a particular place that you were happy to stay at forever.  Tomoya graduating, along with the rest of his friends, really reinforces this aspect.  It's from this point on that the season has a massive tonal shift.

Tomoya experiences heavy character development as he thinks about his future and then become mature, taking responsibility for himself instead of lazing around.  We see him deal with the normal day to day struggles of working, supporting himself, and this is punctuated through by the sweet tender moments with Nagisa.  What makes Clannad resonate with you is how the characters go through the tough times as well as the happy times.  Tomoya and Nagisa encounter problems and by working through those rough times together, they build a bond that's believable and idealistic at the same time.  Seeing Tomoya try so hard to make it work as well as Nagisa being understandable to the issues Tomoya is currently experience feels special.

As Tomoya and Nagisa's journey together continues on, they move through the phases of their relationship.  There really isn't anything extraordinary about it, but because it is so natural and normal, it makes you appreciate it all the more.  With each hurdle that they encounter and overcome, both of them grow stronger with each other's support.  After Story is an inspiring and moving story.

It's pacing starts to move faster, maybe a bit too fast and that is when you know a big event is coming up.  Blink and before you know it, things have progressed significantly.  Considering the decisions made by Nagisa, you start to get an inkling of what might happen.  This sense of unease and foreboding atmosphere only increases.  It is a little bit frustrating since there's no rational reason why Nagisa is doing the things she is doing.  What she ends up deciding upon on serves to hurt everyone all the more.  With each affectionate moment that happens between Tomoya and Nagisa, it will only come back to haunt you later on.  It takes on a whole different set of meaning.

The anime does a better job of justifying why the events happened as they happened when compared to the visual novel.  On the flipside, it cuts out some of the dialogue which made it so Tomoya seemed a bit more selfish.  The thing with Nagisa is that while she is innocent and naive, she is so positive and adorable that you can't help but want to protect her.  You understand why Tomoya would stick by her through tough times and do his best to grant her what she wants even though it hurts him.

The heaving hitting scenes just keep on coming.  You aren't given enough time to recover from the previous one before the next one hits.  After Story loves to get your hopes up as things get better only for another thing to happen.  It is actually painful to watch.  Painful as in it is heart-wrenching and soul despairing yet it highlights the warmth and strengths of others.  It's the effect that the events have not only on Tomoya, but all the other characters, that gets you.  The way that they are suffering yet find a way to deal with it and continue on is inspiring.

After Story has the same music as the first season and the visual novel, and the most emotional scenes use some of the most moving music.  The atmosphere is so perfect that even the characters saying a simple name could be so powerful and meaningful.  The ending can be a bit messy and confusing.  While supposedly there was foreshadowing throughout the whole anime, it doesn't spell it out for you.  Nevertheless, after this long, long journey, going through so many ups and downs, and basically experiencing Tomoya's life, it is a satisfying ending.  The scene where it calls back to the first season felt perfect and the dialogue was moving.  You really can't help but smile during the final scene when the song plays.

There are three extra episodes / OVAs after the last episode.  The first one is a prequel taking place one year before the events of the first season.  It follows Nagisa in her senior year, and Tomoya, Sunohara and Kyou in their second year.  We see how Tomoya and Kyou got to know each other, and as a bit of a bonus, how Tomoya and Nagisa briefly crossed paths.  The second extra episode is a recap episode presented in the guise of Tomoya reflecting on his past (and elaborates a tiny bit more on the ending).  As it summarizes two seasons' worth of story into 20 minutes, it is very brief.

The last OVA is similar to one from the first season but starring the alternate route of Kyou.  Unfortunately, as it fits the whole scenario from the visual novel into a 20 minute episode, it is super abridged and loses a lot of the nuances and emotions.  That being said, it is nice to get closure to since Kyou's feelings were hinted more than a few times during the anime.  This final episode pretty much completes the set and the anime has covered all the scenarios from the visual novel.

Overall, Clannad After Story starts off similar to the first season, as a slice-of-life with seemingly little direction.  However, once it gets going and becomes a lot more focused in its plot, it only gets better from there.  It is one of the saddest stories you will ever experience but the themes that it explores family being the biggest one) makes it much more personal than most stories.  Personally, the visual novel is hands down much more superior but as far as anime adaptations goes, this is a damn fine job.

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Book Review: Accel World 14: Archangel of Savage Light

Review:  #840
Title:  Accel World 14:  Archangel of Savage Light
Series:  Accel World - 14th volume
Author:  Reki Kawahara
Comments:  After two volumes of just barely advancing the story, Archangel of Savage Light finally moves it forward a bit more.  Split into two major sections (which was interconnected), Nega Nebulus, joined by Scarlet Rain and Blood Leopard go ahead and save Aqua Current from her state of perpetual death.  It’s exciting albeit obnoxious that such a small group of players can tackle such an intimidating boss.  As if that isn’t enough, the second half deals with the battle against the superboss Metatron, and once again, the small group manages to hold their own against a boss which would normally require a full raiding party.  Nevertheless, you feel that at least the characters are getting closer to their objective even if there were so many distractions along the way.  Silver Crow is becoming more and more overpowered, which you can be in two minds about.  He already had the advantage of being able to fly which was offset by his weak attack power, but now he gains various additional powers that is unique to him and it can feel too contrived.  As expected, the volume ends once again on a cliffhanger.
Rating:  7/10

Toy Review: Transformers Generations Studio Series Dropkick (Deluxe)

Review:  #499
Name:  Dropkick
Brand:  Transformers
Allegiance:  Decepticon
Line:  Generations - Studio Series
Year of Release:  2018
Size Class:  Deluxe (Wave 4)
Mold Status:  new

HELICOPTER MODE:

Dropkick transforms into a Bell AH-1 SuperCobra attack helicopter, as based off the Bumblebee film.

This is a slim helicopter due to its nature.  While the tail rotor spins freely, the main rotor is a lot tighter.

In terms of size, the Deluxes in the Studio Series line seems to be shrinking with each wave.  Above is a comparison against Deluxe Lockdown from the same line.

Nevertheless, it has plenty of great sculpting.  He has two Gatling guns, one on each side, as well as a smaller one in front of the nose.

A great helicopter mode that feels like a lot of thought was put into it.

TRANSFORMATION:

At this size, there was no way that Dropkick could be a triple-changer.  That doesn't mean that the designer skimped on the transformation because it is fairly clever and might surprise you at what it does.  While the tail forming the arms is nothing special, the way that the body of the helicopter twists and unfolds, as well as combines to form the torso and legs is interesting in how it bulks up the robot mode.

ROBOT MODE:

Dropkick's robot mode is not super accurate to the movie but does have familiar elements such as the cockpit on his chest and the rotor blades on his back.

Dropkick does well with the kibble.  The major piece is of course the rotor blades, but the annoying ones is the tail rotor and tail fins on the outside of his forearms.  They are just angled so awkwardly.

The headsculpt is a mess.  It tries to cram in too many details and ends up looking muddled and undefined as a result.

Dropkicks is not only a skinny robot but he is also shorter than most other Deluxes.  It's hard to blame him when the alternate mode was so small already.

As part of the Studio Series line, Dropkick comes with a cardboard stand, showing off an aerial battle.

Dropkick easily fits onto the stand.

Articulation is not too bad.  He has all the standard joints that you'd come to expect.

If need be, you can even use the tail rotor underneath his arm as a type of melee weapon.

For ranged weaponry, the two Gatling guns unfold a longer barrel and becoming handheld weapons.

Unfortunately if you don't want Dropkick to hold the guns, then there is no other place in robot mode to place them since the spots where it plugs in helicopter mode has been folded away.

The designer tried to carry some of the vehicle elements to mimic a triple-changer, the major element being the vehicle-like taillights on his knees.

The shoulders can struggle when angling out but otherwise, this is a fantastic robot mode.

OVERALL:

Dropkick focuses on being a good Transformer.  The biggest downside is the small size (and no matter how you argue scale for the line, the fact is, Dropkick is smaller than your average Deluxe and hurts in the value department) but the engineering makes up for it.

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Crash Bandicoot (PS1)

Crash Bandicoot is a platformer game developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation.  Designed as the mascot for the system in order to compete with Nintendo's Mario and Sega's Sonic, Crash Bandicoot ended up spawning several sequels.  Considering that this was an early PlayStation game, the graphics manages to hold up okay.  At the very least, it isn't a mess of pixels and you can still easily tell what everything is supposed to be.  As this was the first game in the series, the gameplay is quite limited.  The player controls Crash, who can only jump and spin.  Some enemies can be defeated by either of these abilities and some only by one of those moves.  Unfortunately, you cannot tell if an enemy is immune to either jumping or spinning until you actually try it, leading to a few deaths.

The trial and error gameplay extends to the platforming.  Crash runs through linear levels, smashing open crates to get the Wumpa Fruits inside.  Collect 100 of these and you get an extra life.  The game requires patience from the player, you cannot rush through levels as the timing of some obstacles do not allow for that.  You're also expected to die a few times in order to know what is coming and prepare for it.  This type of gameplay isn't so bad if not for the fact that you have limited lives.  Checkpoints are scattered through the level but you will be repeating the same platforming challenges again and again.  The levels start off really easy but before the first island is up, the difficulty spikes up and a few sections certainly feel cheap.  Lose all your lives and then it is back to your last save.  Checkpoint will be thinly spread across the later harder levels.  This artificially extends the length of the gave and is not fun when you passed those same challenges multiple times to get one more chance at the one you missed.

The hog levels are the worst in terms of forcing you to memorize the patterns.  Since you're going forward at a fast speed and the corridors are so narrow, it can be hard to tell first time around which side of the moving enemy you are supposed to go through.  You pretty much just keep dying and advancing one more obstacle each time.  Going back to your last save wouldn't be much of a pain if not for the archaic save system.  You can only save once you have either completed a bonus level, defeated a boss level, or complete a level breaking all boxes without dying.  This means you might not have saved for several levels, it is a really stupid save system and does not make any sense at all.

When everything does go well and you execute a series of perfect jumps, it is rewarding.  There are a few control quirks where due to the 3D nature of the game and how the level was designed, you might not be able to judge distances correctly the first time and fall to your death.  The game is filled with tiny platforms to jump onto, requiring certain precision to get past them.  The d-pad serves you well most of the time but when you require the finicky jumps then it is a freaking nightmare to use.  It is too inaccurate and because spinning carries your momentum, all too often you'll accidentally spin a box and then fall off the ledge.  Seriously, what is up with this horrendous design choice?

There are 32 levels in total, including boss levels, spread across three islands.  Since the island is the only setting, there isn't a whole heap of variety in the scenery except for jungles and temples.  The gameplay remains the same throughout the whole game but the obstacles get more numerous and dangerous.  You might ride a hog or run towards the screen away from a boulder from time to time.  In each level are boxes and some other secrets, collect all the boxes without dying and you get a gem which can unlock hidden paths.

Crash usually run forward in levels with the camera following behind him.  Certain sections may swap the perspective to 2.5D.  Another cheap way the game causes you to die is the horrendous camera angles that block what is ahead.  You pretty much have to die at least once to know next time that you needed to jump.  Crash dies in one hit which can be infuriating at times.  He can gain Aku Aku masks that allow him to take one hit, collection two and he can take two hits, if you collect a third than Crash gains invincibility for a limited time.

As expected of a platformer, the story elements are light.  There is an opening cutscene to show how Crash gained the ability to run, spin and jump.  He has to travel across the islands to get to N. Cortex in order to save Tawna, a female bandicoot.  Overall, Crash Bandicoot has its good moments but the later levels have too many unfair obstacles and checkpoints being spread too far apart.  Yes, you are supposed to "git gud" but it is not fun and extremely repetitive when you are pit against the same challenges YOU HAVE ALREADY PASSED again and again and again and again in order to try once again at another one.

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The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017)

The Lego Ninjago Movie is the third in The Lego Movie series (although the franchise already had a few animated shorts and features before this point), it carries the same quirkiness and mixture of real-life characters into its plot.  This time, it takes on the form of a child going into an old relic shop, where the shop owner tells the story of the Ninjago.  Ninjago is a Lego city, and Garmadon is a serial villain who keeps trying to take over the city but is always thwarted by the five members of the secret ninja force, and their master, Wu.  The viewpoint is mainly from Lloyd, whom we are told right at the beginning is Garmadon's son.  There is a heavy emphasis on the lack of a proper father-son relationship, stealing the focus of many scenes.  The movie tries to get wackier than the previous two installments but it comes off as just trying too hard.  The reuse of certain scenes and gags (two separate clips that each occurred twice easily comes to mind) makes it feel forced and as if they are needing to pad out the runtime as they are running out of budget.  The story itself is quite simple, being just fighting the villain and then traveling in order to get abilities to fight the villain again.  Despite that, it's quite enjoyable and there are still plenty of gags that works but is starting to show fatigue.

Book Review: Accel World 13: Signal Fire at the Water's Edge

Review:  #839
Title:  Accel World 13:  Signal Fire at the Water's Edge
Series:  Accel World - 13th volume
Author:  Reki Kawahara
Comments:  Unfortunately, Signal Fire at the Water’s Edge doesn’t do much to advance the plot.  Once again, the pacing is slow and it stalls with too many distractions.  This time, it is the school festival and the whole novel is basically a wish fulfillment episode where Haru spends time with all the female characters in the novel.  The subplot of Wolfram Cerberus is put onto the backburner and over the course of the novel, only two major significant events happen.  One happens near the beginning with the introduction of a new character (well, more like the return of one) and the second happens at the end.  This means that the middle is all fluff, a decent sized portion of it the author summarizing past events.  While it never gets truly boring, you can’t help but think that this is yet another volume of filler and padding.
Rating:  6/10

Clannad (2007-2008)

Clannad is based upon the 2004 visual novel of the same name.  It adapts the first part of the game where it takes place during high school.  Clannad is comprised of 22 episodes plus 2 OVAs.  The story follow Okazaki Tomoya, who lives in a small rural town.  He is in his last year of high school.  Bored by his life, he does not want to go home due to familial issues, instead spending most of his time at Sunohara's house.  He is late to school every day and it is made quite clear that he has nothing to look forward to.

The first few episodes are speedy as all the characters are introduced within the first two episodes.  Most of the screentime goes to Nagisa though so you instantly know that she is the heroine and the main love interest of Tomoya.  The events fly past, feeling that it goes by too quickly.  This is probably because we don't get to hear too much of Tomoya's thoughts unlike the visual novel and as a result, you don't feel you understand Tomoya's feelings as deeply.  The viewer never feels like they are Tomoya, unlike the visual novel where players could see themselves in his shoes.

Sunohara is Tomoya's best friend and he is picked upon by pretty much anyone and everyone.  While you feel sorry for him, it is hilarious nonetheless, particularly since he isn't terribly clever and is clueless about a lot of things.  Tomoya himself does some pretty good pranks to both Sunohara and one of the heroines, Fuka.  Most of the gags from the visual novel carry over into the anime.  Some of them works better animated and some of them don't.  Some jokes are over too fast before you realized what happened.  The gags usually rely on melodrama or a character completely oblivious to what's currently happening around them and blurts out something random.

Compared to the visual novel, the anime has toned down the aesthetics.  The characters' eyes are not as proportionally large compared to their faces but it is still different to most anime of that era.  The writers had opted to cover the major events of all the routes and then merging them together such that it works chronologically.  This means you'll get situations where Tomoya is helping a particular girl but suddenly gets sidetracked and helps another.  More jarring are the scenes where Tomoya jumps between the various girls to advance their scenarios a tiny bit at a time.  It becomes better as the episodes go on as whole episodes will then be dedicated to a particular heroine and her problems.

Basically, the anime wraps all the routes around the Nagisa route, so it adds in various new scenes in order to make this flow.  Naturally, by necessity, various routes from the visual novel are heavily shortened, such as the Sunohara Mei scenario.  Other routes are completely absent, with only a cameo of the character here and there.  It is a shame since it means that some of the characters' backstories aren't as fleshed out.  Thanks to this, the anime doesn't quite capture the same intense emotions as the visual novel did but is a very good adaptation nonetheless.

While the anime is mostly grounded in reality, there are some slight supernatural elements.  The mysterious girl in another world appears and you are still left wondering how she relates to the story by the end of it.  The music is really good and captures the atmosphere of each scene perfectly.

The first emotional ending moment happens around halfway into the season and it is definitely bittersweet when you think more deeply on the implications of what just happened.  The fact that you might have forgotten about the friend you have spent so long together, or the result of all their hard work, it can be thought provoking.  Unlike the visual novel where once you go down one character's route, you don't get to see much of the feelings of the other characters, this is not the case here.  As Tomoya will develop feelings for only one character, and everyone else still retains their attraction to Tomoya, it is sad towards the end when they realize that their affections will not be returned.

While it never fully depicted Tomoya's laziness stemming from him giving up on life, by the end of the season, you can see that he had gradually put in a lot of effort.  This is thanks to Nagisa's influence on him and you feel that while he was lost before, he has been slowly bought back on track and it is a heartwarming thing.  The anime puts in extra scenes involving Tomoya and Nagisa and this allows the viewer to see their interactions and growing affections.  It is really cute especially in the last few episodes where they finally start to realize and accept their feelings.  It is sweet, funny and awkward (in a good way) at the same time.

The final episode has probably the most emotionally intense scene purely because it digs deep into the theme of the parent child relationship.  The fact that a parent's dream changes to their child's resonates pretty hard with you.  It doesn't hurt since this plotline was the most developed out of everything and it lead to a satisfying and happy ending.  It was a great idea to have all the supporting characters help out in this final event.

There are two OVAs, with the first tone taking place after the final episode.  It is more of a breather episode and one that continues to build the relationship between Tomoya and Nagisa.  It is a really nice episode in that it had a great balance between humor and portraying the delicate feelings of the pair.  In hindsight, there were some significant pieces of dialogue here that carries a different meaning if you know what is going to happen in Clannad After Story.

The second OVA is a heavily abridged version of Tomoyo's route from the visual novel.  This was one of the best scenarios in the game so it's nice to see it get adapted.  It skips the setup (which was already somewhat covered in the anime proper) and straight to the boyfriend/girlfriend stage.  Unfortunately, with only one episode's worth of time, it doesn't quite build up to the same emotionally intense final scene as the original did.  However, it does manage to touch upon the insecurities that Tomoya feels and has him reflect on his decisions and his influence on other people.

Overall, Clannad feels very much like a typical teen drama following a high school boy's life.  As it tries to adapt various different scenarios from the visual novel into one coherent storyline, it can jump from place to place and meanings are lost in the process.  The higher focus placed on Tomoya and Nagisa works well leading to a happy ending.

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