Book Review: Kokoro Connect Vol. 2

Review:  #900
Title:  Kokoro Connect Vol. 2
Series:  Kokoro Connect – 2nd volume
Author:  Sadanatsu Anda & CuteG
Comments:  The second volume continues exploring the friendship within the group and the various problems that slowly surface due to the predicament they find themselves in.  It feels a lot more personal, particularly since we see some of their deepest secrets, things that affect them as a person to their very core.  It’s an interesting premise and it works well here.  We follow Taichi who is too much of a nice guy, to the point where it hurts the others.  There are some funny dialogue and scenes, especially when Taichi has to compromise in an effort to help the others.  The problems that the others face are very real; they’re something that you would also be suffering from if you were in their shoes.  It finishes with a cliffhanger involving a character whose problem you’d thought was resolved, this was actually a pretty nice touch.
Rating:  6/10

Pokemon Detective Pikachu (2019)

Who would have thought a live-action Pokemon film would be made.  Perhaps more surprising is actually how well it works.  Based upon the 3DS game, this movie is set in a world where Pokemon forms the wildlife, and each person generally is paired with a Pokemon as a partner.  That is, until the main character Tim is introduced, being 21 and having had his childhood of becoming a Pokemon trainer shattered.  Now working in insurance, he ends up being informed with the unfortunate news of his father being in an accident.  While sorting out his father's apartment, he chances upon a Pikachu, and one that he can understand in fact, something that is never heard of.  Thus begins the mystery part of the movie in which Tim tries to uncover what his dad was doing before he died, and Pikachu finding out how he was involved being that he has amnesia.  The movie's renditions of each Pokemon is interesting, with its own spin and how it could work as a live-action.  While sometimes it is hard to take in given that the Pokemon's colorful designs don't quite gel with the live-action nature, the movie surprisingly works extremely well.  Every scene is enjoyable as you try to seek out another Pokemon that you recognize.  While the plot is nothing to write home about, you can feel that each piece of the movie is crafted with care, and it oozes with charm.  The performances are solid and the climax at the end was well worth the build up.  Pokemon Detective Pikachu is a fun movie in its own right, but even more so if you have knowledge of the Pokemon.

Lucky Star (2007)

Lucky Star is based upon the manga with 24 episodes.  This is a slice-of-life anime with the characters in high school and mainly follows four girls.  Unlike the manga though, the anime adds in a heavy dose of references to other popular anime and manga of the time.  Konata Izumi is the main character.  She is into anime and games while being lazy at school as a result.  However, she is naturally gifted and able to get somewhat decent grades through last minute cramming.  She's very carefree and don't have a care in the world.

Then we have the twins Kagami Hiirage and Tsukasa Hiiragi.  The older Kagami is diligent and have strong study ethics with excellent grades to back it up.  While the younger Tsukasa is more of an airhead and forgetful.  Last is Miyuki Takara and she tends to get the least spotlighting.  She is smart and wealthy although she is not snobbish at all.  Konata does like to describe her as the ultimate moe character.

Lucky Star starts off with random scenes that will set the tone for the rest of the series.  It goes from scene to scene, each one with a random topic.  To really put the viewer into perspective, the first topic was extremely mundane that it somehow works.  It talks about how to eat a certain type of bread "properly" and how the characters eats other types of food like strawberry shortcake and curry rice.  While you may struggle through the first few episodes where it is disjointed, it gets funnier and more natural as it hits its stride.  While the humor isn't absurdly funny it'll still elicit a few chuckles and smiles out of you with its seemingly endless supply of random everyday topics.

We slowly get to know the various characters and their individual quirks.  Konata's addiction with gaming and anime is her downfall at times.  This is because it causes her to sleep in and be late for school such that even when she is actually sick, no one believes her.  Her relationship with her teacher, whom they both play the same online game, is interesting and often played for laughs.

On the other hand, Kagami’s commentary on Konata is a highlight because it’s to the point.  The things she says is true yet it does not seem like a flaw of Konata.  There are times when Kagami even seems to be a little bit envious.  Her sister Tsukasa is naive to the point of being a massive personality flaw but makes her endearing.  The twins provide most of the humor, with Kagami often covering for Tsukasa’s clumsiness and forgetfulness.  All the characters are deliberately designed to be overly cute.

While the anime mainly focuses on the four characters, there are various recurring side characters.  Some of them are fairly stereotypical like the “older” teacher that is still single and the overly chilled adult that drinks a lot.  Konata’s dad is really weird.  It makes sense considering the personality of her daughter.  Despite that, it can be totally creepy and funny at the same time.  There is a really good scene involving the Konata’s family towards the end of the anime which brings out all the good things of familial bond and warmth.

In the second half of the series, it focuses more and more on the side characters.  There are gems such as Yutaka who is even more excessively cute and innocent than the main characters.  Whether this is a good or bad thing depends on how much you like the new characters.  Lucky Star tends to rely on a lot of recurring gags.  We get the ones such as Konata never doing her homework in time and ends up relying on others.  Then we get the constant references to Haruhi Suzumiya (particularly since Konata shares the same voice actor).  And this is hit or miss but we get an art shift every time Konata visits the anime shop.  The staff are all hyper with over exaggerated dialogue and body language.  It’s very over the top and works only half the time, with the other half being overwhelming.

There’s a short segment at the end of every episode called Lucky Channel.  This features Akira and Minoru.  Minoru is the poor guy who suffers while Akira is supposedly a cheery girl but hides a darker self.  Like the main portion of the series, it takes some time to hit its stride but can get very funny.  The ending of the anime feels like it tries to close things up but stops just short of it.  The episode just kinda… finished.  It had a good atmosphere, saying goodbye to the characters as well them having hope and looking towards the future so you can’t help but feel that there should have been more.

And yet there is more in the form of an OVA but doesn’t really conclude it any more.  The OVA is really random with some wacky scenes that do not actually make any sense at all.  At the same time it does contain some of the best humor in the series.  Overall, despite showing its age since it references a lot of old popular anime and manga, Lucky Star is still enjoyable.  The slice-of-life aspect is fun and it has charming characters.  The simple art style works well.  It’s not the amazing stellar piece of comedy that you might hope for but it is pretty enjoyable all the same.

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Book Review: Kokoro Connect Vol. 1

Review:  #899
Title:  Kokoro Connect Vol. 1
Series:  Kokoro Connect – 1st volume
Author:  Sadanatsu Anda & CuteG
Comments:  Kokoro Connect, like a lot of other manga, has an interesting premise.  Set at a high school, following a club of five students, they experience the phenomenal known as body swapping.  They only swap bodies between the five of them, and this can happen randomly with no warning.  It is a mystery as to why this occurs and the only hint they got was that they were being observed.  Throughout it all, the story focuses upon the effects this has on their friendship and their fears.  There starts to be no secrets between them and while the pacing drags on for most of the volume, it picks up towards the end when one character reveals their past trauma.  It was an interesting facet of their personality.  Although there are few panels of pure fan service (of the clichéd kind), there is something promising here.
Rating:  6/10

Toy Review: Transformers Generations War for Cybertron Siege Omega Supreme (Titan)

Review:  #538
Name:  Omega Supreme
Brand:  Transformers
Allegiance:  Autobot
Line:  Generations - War for Cybertron:  Siege
Year of Release:  2019
Size Class:  Titan
Mold Status:  new

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS:

As a Titan class figure, Omega Supreme comes in a huge box with a fantastic piece of artwork for its cover.

There are no windows to show the actual figure and there isn't really a need, since the size and heft will sell the figure.

The set includes a bunch of fire effects, that can combine into a bigger fire effect or you can separate it into its smaller components.

COUNTDOWN (ALTERNATE MODE):

Lets begin with Countdown first, which is Omega Supreme's buddy.  Countdown transforms into some type of red rover, complete with a radar dish.

The vehicle mode isn't that great to be honest, but you gives it some more slack due to its size and the limitations that stem from that.

Above is a comparison against Legends Barricade, so you can see that Countdown is more of a Micromaster size.

Since Countdown is not the focus of the set, it doesn't matter too much that this mode is average.

TRANSFORMATION (COUNTDOWN):

The transformation is extremely simple.  The front unfolds to become the legs, then you swing the arms down and you're done.

COUNTDOWN (ROBOT MODE):

Countdown's robot mode is pretty good, especially considering its size.

He doesn't carry much kibble, only the radar dish on his back.

The head is fixed and he has a 5mm post for his chest which is a shame since it means he doesn't have better sculpting there.

Again, he is shorter than your normal Legends figure.

Articulation is disappointing since he lacks elbow joints.  He has shoulders, knees and hips, but you're quite limited in what you can do since Countdown doesn't have good heel spurs.

While a good looking robot mode, it's not the best, but then again, he is effectively a Micromaster.

ALTERNATE MODE:

Based upon the G1 version of the character, Omega Supreme transforms into a rocket base, complete with a tank and rocket.

The base itself is comprised of a central tower, a track, and some ramps.

There are heaps of 3mm pegs and 5mm ports that allow you to peg in all the different fire effects.

There are also more than a few places that you can put Countdown in, or other Micromasters.  There's a compartment at one of the support pieces (Omega Supreme's leg in robot mode) that opens up.  It's a bit of a tight squeeze, but it is designed for this purpose.

The central tower also has a big open space that you can put a few in there too.

The second component is the rocket, and it is absolutely giant, if a bit bland.

Above is a comparison against a Leader figure to give you an idea of how ridiculously tall this rocket is.  It is most hollow inside so it isn't too heavy.

You might notice that there are a lot of "battle damage" effects which are little more than burn marks.  It could be a lot worse I'd suppose.  Anyway, the rocket also has a lot of places to put those fire effect parts.

The rocket has three legs, and each of those legs have multiple joints which help to keep the rocket securely upright.

The top of the rocket has panels that open up to reveal another compartment that is big enough for Countdown to sit in, and the inside is even sculpted to look like a control room.

Lastly, there is the giant tank, and this is a big thing.

It holds solidly but unfortunately the turret does not rotate.  This is due to how it is formed, since the robot's head forms part of it.

The tank is as big as a typical Leader figure but of course, is nowhere near as complex.

Despite the turret being unable to rotate, this isn't to say that it is completely static either.  It can lift up, as does the two other small guns.

Plus, of course you can attach the fire effect parts to the end to simulate firing.

So, put all three parts together to get the complete Omega Supreme rocket base and it looks absolutely awesome.

The track is actually wide enough for a Deluxe to roll on but of course, this means it is completely out of scale.

Once you have a few other figures to put on the base, it forms an excellent play set.

TRANSFORMATION:

As you'd expect, Omega Supreme is a bit of a partsformer, since the three separate components combine to form the robot.  To be pedantic, the tracks separate too to form the wings.  Otherwise, the rocket form both arms, the tank forms part of the upper torso, and the base itself form the lower torso and legs.  It is not difficult (and the way the rocket forms the arms is pretty interesting), as the figure is so big and the plastic pieces so chunky, there is a lot of clicking thanks to the multiple ratchet joints.

ROBOT MODE:

Omega Supreme's robot mode is stunning, and only part of that is due to the size.  It is superb at being recognizable as the character.

Despite being such a big figure with multiple parts, there is hardly any kibble.  There's only like a plastic cover that clips securely on his back.

The headsculpt is perfect, right down to the lightpiping and the yellow face visor.  The neck is on a joint that allows the head to move forward and look nearly straight up.

A quick shot to show how small Countdown is compared to Omega Supreme.

If you want to keep the pair together then Countdown can actually peg onto the shoulder.

Now it's time for some size comparisons.  The bad (or good) news is that Fortress Maximus (slash the Metroplex mold) still remains as the tallest / largest Transformers ever.

In other news, Omega Supreme absolutely towers over everything else without question.

In terms of weaponry, while Omega Supreme doesn't have any handheld weapons to speak off, he can uncover the missile pods in his chest (this is a carry over from the base mode).

You can other use the fire effect parts to simulate shots coming out from his hands.  I mean, he's got a claw in his right hand...

...while his left hand is a gun shaped limb.  It doesn't take much to imagine that it can fire stuff.

One of the neat things is that you can use the fire effects with other figures in the line.

In terms of poseability, Omega Supreme has pretty much all the joints you would hope for, and they are all ratchet joints for extra strength.

He has articulation in his neck, shoulders, elbows, each individual claw, waist, knees and ankles.

The ankle joints are extremely useful to as much of his feet on the table to assist in staying upright in robot mode.

Being such a big figure, there's no way to avoid how heavy he is.  While it is not unmanageable, you will definitely get tired holding him in one hand.

The claw is big enough, and articulated enough, to hold Deluxes in his hands.

The robot mode is what you buy the figure for, and it does not disappoint.  It's big, it's imposing, and has enough options to give it great, but unobtrusive, play value.

OVERALL:

Omega Supreme is an absolutely amazing figure and well worth the higher asking price of a Titan.  It has a fun base mode that packs quite a punch as a play set.  The robot mode manages to top that with a great looking aesthetic with plenty of sculpted detailing.

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