Hataraku Maou-Sama! (The Devil is a Part-Timer!)

Hataraku Maou-Sama! is also known as The Devil is a Part-Timer! which is a 13 episode anime released in 2013 based upon a light novel series. These episodes cover the events of the first three light novels. Hataraku Maou-Sama! begins in the world of Ente Isla, during a final battle between the Demon Lord against the Hero.  Surprisingly, the Demon Lord nearly loses and creates a portal to escape, along with his general, Alciel.  The hero follows.  They arrive in Japan on Earth and as the title suggests, the Demon Lord ends up working at a fast food restaurant.

Before all that happens though, we learn that the Demon Lord, now known as Maou, along with Ashiya (formerly Alciel), take on the form of a human due to running out of magic.  Therefore, they cannot return to Ente Isla and must somehow survive in this new and weird world.  The first episode is funny in how Maou and Ashiya is at a lost at where they are and what to do, especially when the police finds them.  It doesn't help that they do not speak the same language.  As a matter of fact, a surprisingly significant amount of the anime has characters speaking in a foreign language.  It's a made up language that's not Japanese but it sounds interesting.

Time asses and Maou finds work at the fast food restaurant MgRonald, while Ashiya becomes a house wife.  They settle down easily into the human life and actually does quite well considering that they started off with nothing.  Of course, that doesn't last for very long when Maou gets attacked by a stranger one day.  The assailant turns out to be the Hero who followed them through the portal, known as Emilia in Ente Isla but took on the name of Emi in Japan.

Emi seemed to be doing even better than the demons, having a better job at a call center and earning more money.  The difference between Emi and Maou is the fact that she managed to retain her magic and can summon her sacred sword.  Maou manages to hold his own and we eventually learn how he can regain magic:  by absorbing the fear, pain and all other negative emotions that humans emit.  For some reason, he doesn't use this knowledge to take over the world just yet, isntead going for the honorable way of working his way up.

The rest of the episodes alternate between the everyday mundane life of Maou at his fast food restaurant, where he works towards being promoted and other beings from Ente Isla arriving to kill him.  The everyday life is where most of the humor comes from, although to be fair, it can be a bit boring too.  Chiho is a coworker of Maou's who falls in love with him.  Despite her best intentions, we see Emi start to slowly side with Maou even though they are natural enemies.

More and more characters are introduced, including another of Maou's generals, Lucifer, an archangel Sariel and a mysterious girl called Suzuno who becomes Maou's neighbor.  All of them have personalities that are stereotypical and fall into cliched area, and the chemistry between all these characters seem... lacking.  You don't really develop any attachment towards these characters, mainly because they don't do much that is meaningful.  Sure, Emi is there to save the world and Maou is there to protect all these other characters that he ended up honor-bound to protect, but they don't face many challenges and overcome any obstacles very easily.

Hataraku Maou-Sama! is primarily a comedy series and while it holds huge potential, it isn't consistently funny.  Most of the gags are predictable and most of the episodes aren't too funny.  However, the interaction between Maou and his aspirations regarding MgRonald never ceases to cause a laugh, as does the interactions between Ashiya and Lucifer.  What little action scenes the series has were pretty cool, elevate by the fact of a great soundtrack, particularly "The Devil Regains His Strength".  The series needed a quicker pacing to elevate some of the more mundane bits.  The animation is top-notch and the aesthetics is pleasing.

The second to last episode was great and one of the best in the series; it gave us a glimpse at the potential of how great the series could have been overall.  The final episode wasn't much of an ending though since it wasn't closing anything and felt tacked on.  More than that, it didn't give us a sense of achievement; it just sort of... ended.  The series will tease you with some light fan service, it's nothing major but worth noting.  Overall, Hataraku Maou-Sama! isn't nearly as funny as what some reviewers and sites would have led you to believe, but it is an entertaining anime all the same, if a bit stale at times.

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Alien: Resurrection

In order to have the same lead character as the past three films, Ripley is cloned, along with the alien Queen inside of her when she died in the third film.  You can see where this is going, as the aliens proved to be far more than what the scientists can handle.  The film ended up not turning out to be too bad and there were a few sequences where it was quite intense.  However, the plot felt lacking even though it had showed potential.  The aliens weren't too much of a threat and they didn't show up that much, it felt like Ripley was more like the antagonist, as well as some of the other human characters.  It introduces more variations of Aliens thanks to the way the Queen was conceived.  The mercenaries felt like they were superficial additions to the film, not really gelling in.  Needless to say, you expect most of them to die anyway.  The ending felt like a letdown and felt improbable that they could have survived what had happened.

Book Review: The Son of Sobek

Review:  #481
Title:  The Son of Sobek
Series:  Percy Jackson and the Olympians / The Kane Chronicles - 1st book
Author:  Rick Riordan
Read Before:  no
Comments:  The Son of Sobek is the long awaited crossover story between Percy Jackson and The Kane Chronicles.  It stars the male protagonists of both series, Percy and Carter, as they combine forces and fight a monster.  Being a short story, naturally it doesn’t go in depth.  Basically, they meet, they size each other up, they combine forces and then they leave.  Annoyingly, the author went with the cliché route of Percy and Carter not trusting each other and having a fight.  While understandable, considering the limited amount of words, it would be nice if we get some more chemistry and teamwork happening.  Nevertheless, it is told from the point of Carter and since he is completely unaware of the Greek gods, we get a lot of confusing comments from him.  Nevertheless, it was a good story and it was handled well.  The ending was nice and it left a lot of potential for future crossovers.

Rating:  6/10

Virtue's Last Reward (Vita)

Virtue's Last Reward is a visual novel puzzle game by Spike Chunsoft (also well known for their Danganronpa series).  The gameplay is broken down into two distinct parts:  visual novel and escape the room puzzles.  The visual novel section is where the story is told.  These sections comprise the majority of the game and are text-heavy with a complex story.  The game boasts over 24 different endings but the endings cleverly interconnect with each other to create a cohesive and engaging story.  However, it is due to this that it feels the game could have linked all the endings into one narrative instead of forcing you to branch off the storyline since certain paths are locked until you see another ending while others are a dead end giving you a "Game Over"  screen.

These Game Over screens and locked storylines wastes time as you had to guess which path you should go down next after encountering one of these obstacles.  Therefore, in order to minimize time wasted, it is recommended you use an optimal path guide, and there are plenty on the internet.  The story focuses upon the scheming and betrayal of characters as it integrates the Prisoner's Dilemma into the player's choices.  These choices are what causes the game's story to branch away.  The completed narrative tree is complex and confusing to follow at first.  You are able to open up the "Flow" screen and jump back to any point in time, which is handy.  You're also able to skip text that you have read which is very useful.

Unfortunately, different branches can contain some very similar text with tiny variances and you end up not being able to skip the text as the game recognizes it as "different".  The plot is about nine people who are kidnapped and forced to participate in something called the Nonary Game.  These nine people are placed in six groups:  three teams of pairs and three teams of solo members.  The final aim of the game is to escape from the facility that they are currently trapped in.  The general structure is that they go through doors into a locked room in which they find clues to escape.  Then they return and play the "Ambidex Game" which is a variation of the Prisoner's Dilemma.  Each player wears a bracelet which starts off with three points, to escape the facility, a player will require nine points.

If the number on the bracelet gets to zero, poison is pumped into their body via needles, killing the player.  In the Ambidex Game, each team has two choices, they can Ally or Betray the other team.  If both teams select Ally, they each get two points.  If one Betrays while the other Ally, then the betraying team gets three points and the allying team loses two points.  Finally, if both team Betray, then there is no effect to their points.  Therefore, it would seem at first glance that the best choice in self-interest is to select Betray all the time, giving the biggest rewards and does not risk any loss of points.  However, the optimal choice may surprise you (search the Wikipedia page on Prisoner's Dilemma).  After the game, new teams are randomly formed and the process repeats.

Throughout the course of the story, you will learn about why the characters are at the facility, each character's motivations and play into the politics of furthering their own agendas through betrayal and lies.  While the game does boast many endings, some of the branches feature extremely similar events which can feel dull and repetitive.  These multiple endings can sometimes feel like they're cut short and more should have happened or elaborated.  The game also loves to tease you will small tidbits but leave you remaining in the dark.  The story is one huge mystery and even the final true ending doesn't provide all the answers.  It leaves a huge cliffhanger that as at this point, doesn't look like will be answered as Zero Escape 3 is put on indefinite hiatus.

What can be said is that the story is complex and well written but can feel disjointed with the constant jumping between different points of the story.  To unlock the true ending, you need to play through all the other endings.  What's really cool is that the game incorporates theories from physics, such as Schrodinger's Cat, matter/antimatter annihilation and the different dimensions that we experience.  The ending contains huge revelations, especially if you have played Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors (henceforth referred to as 999) before.  That said, it can take a while to get your head around all the plot devices.  As mentioned, the storytelling is via text, with some backdrops rendered in 3D and rare pieces of 2D artwork.  There are 3D character models with limited animations.

The voice acting in the European version is Japanese only but the subtitles and translations are top-notch.  All the characters are a mystery at the start but by the time you're halfway into the game, you will empathize with them, which is a testament to the quality of the writing and storytelling.  While the story is intense, it also feels as if there is a lot of time wasted.  The aim of the game is to see the number nine door open (i.e. the escape door) but in most endings where someone opens it, you're forced to watch it slowly open, the voice over announcing it is open etc, and then watching it slowly closing.  This happens with other animations too.  The game also loves flashbacks to previous sections and dragging events outwith repetitive dialogue such as during the Ambidex Game by having the countdown to zero every single time.

Onto the actual gameplay, this is effectively ancillary to the story.  These are the escape the room puzzles in which you are trapped in a room and investigate the surroundings to solve puzzles and obtain the password to open the safe, which contains the key to get out.  In total, there are 18 puzzles.  These puzzles are hard.  Make no mistake; it will take you a while to solve each room puzzle.  Some of them contain such obscure clues and solutions that it can get frustrating.  You investigate each area of the room to see what you can interact with.  You might get an object to place in your inventory or unlock some vital piece of dialogue.  You'll eventually have to play minigame puzzles, which range widely in terms of content.  They are all skill based such as figuring the combination of a lock, placing items in the correct order or working out the password.

What lets down this aspect of the game is that the controls can be clunky.  You can either use the physical buttons to look around and interact, or you can use the touchscreen instead.  The game is in first person view, swinging the camera around is awkward.  It likes to stutter as it positions itself to show a particular area from a particular angle.  For some areas, you need to touch it in that exact spot in order to zoom in, so unless you already know that area is interactive, you'll most likely miss it and be stuck at that puzzle.  Aiming with the physical controls is slow and imprecise, while using the touch controls can cause you to overshoot and miss things too.  You're also expected to memorize random letters as passwords for later endings, which is annoying as the game doesn't retain that for you.

If you use a guide for the puzzles and can read at a decent speed, the game can be finished in under 20 hours, which includes obtaining the Platinum Trophy.  Solve the puzzles on your own though and it can easily take over 30 hours.  Speaking of which, it would have been nice if the developers added in a text speed option as the rate was too slow for me.  Overall, Virtue's Last Reward tests your wits with devlishly hard puzzles and a complex storyline.  However, that is what makes the game so enjoyable.  While it is recommended to have played 999 before to fully appreciate the twists and references, this is still a great standalone story and doesn't impede you from appreciating it.

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Alien 3

First things first, Alien 3 is not as good as Aliens and is a mediocre movie to boot.  Alien 3 undid the plot points of Aliens within the first few minutes by killing off nearly everyone.  That was disappointing and it makes viewers felt as if Aliens was just a waste of their time.  Alien 3 also seemed to dialed back a lot of the action elements, there are now only one alien and no guns at all, similar to the first movie but lacking the tension and horror.  Most of the movie is also spent with the characters talking about the alien.  The main character, Ripley, is unlikable this time around.  She becomes tight-lipped and acts irrationally at times, being hostile towards other characters.  The other characters, who inevitably will be killed, aren't developed enough for you to care about them.  Ripley's... situation with the aliens is never fully explored, it would have been nice to know how that thing came to be and the significance of it.  Instead, it is glossed over with one or two lines.

Toy Review: Transformers Legends LG-02 Optimus Primal

Review:  #230
Name:  Optimus Primal
Brand:  Transformers
Allegiance:  Maximal
Line:  Legends
Year of Release: 2014
Size Class:   Ultra (LG-02)
Variations:  a repaint of the Beast Wars Reborn release, which in itself was a retool of the original Beast Wars toy

PACKAGING:

Optimus Primal comes in a big box, he is packaged in gorilla mode and there's a fantastic piece of artwork on the front and right side.

There's a bio on the back as well as some stock photos which show off the slight differences in paint for this redeco.

GORILLA MODE:

Optimus Primal transforms into a gorilla.  This is the leader of the Maximal in the Beast Wars series and he is quite faithful here.

There are some breaks in the fur, with some white and red peeking out, these are from the robot bits.  It's not too distracting and overall, this is a plausible gorilla.

In comparison to the original toy released back in 1996, the face is resculpted to being more show-accurate.

There are some fantastic sculpted elements, including the fur over his body.  The chest is also nicely detailed.

While he may not be much height-wise, Optimus Primal is really big, bulky and heavy in this mode.

There's a gimmick here in which if you jiggle the lever on his back, it spins his arms to mimic a gorilla thumping their chest.  It doesn't actually work very well, thankfully, you can somewhat disable the mechanism through a switch on his shoulders (makes it so the gimmick bends his elbows rather than spin the whole arm around).

For the most part, he is static in this mode.  You can move the arms around a bit.

However, the legs are effectively fixed.  Any movement and you'll start to reveal robotic parts.

A great beast mode with hardly any faults.  The designers did a fantastic job.

TRANSFORMATION:

Optimus Primal has a really simple transformation, you straighten his legs, rotate the waist and pull the gorilla face down.  Despite that, it's effective and clever.  I also always used to love how animators animated his transformation in the show, which is toy accurate.

ROBOT MODE:

Optimus Primal looks absolutely stunning in robot mode.  Ignoring the fact that he is absurdly show accurate, he just looks so buff, so powerful and so ready to carry out whatever heroic deed he needs to.

He does carries a big chunk of kibble on his back though, being the whole back of the gorilla.  Don't fret, because this will be put to good use later on.

Another retool to this mode from the 1996 release is a resculpted head to resemble the one in the series.  It looks amazing.

The last resculpted part is his chest detailing, which once again, looks great.

Optimus Primal gains quite a bit of height here, now towering over Deluxes, but still approximately Voyager height.  Do note that he is much bulkier and heavier than your standard Voyager toy though.

Remember how I said the kibble on his back will be put to good use?  If you press a button on his back, it'll release the two shoulder cannons!  They're spring loaded so it looks cool in action.

This also means that his back kibble is cut in half.  It's still a fair chunk since it needs to house the gears for the rotating arm gimmick (which can still work here if you really desire).

Each shoulder cannon is a spring-loaded missile launcher.

Here is Optimus Primal with the recent reimaginations of the Maximal cast (plus Waspinator).  Despite the mold being 20 years old, the aesthetics still stand up to contemporary offerings.

You might have noticed that he also has some sword attached to his back kibble.

There are two swords in total which he has use.  They're curvy blades though which is a bit unusual.

You can also plug it in such a way that it forms a double ended blade.

However, that's not all.  You might recall that in the Beast Wars series, Optimus Primal had forearm guns.  The inspiration is the left hand that opens up and reveals a twin-barreled blaster.

There are two extra blue missiles which store behind his head.  Take these out...

...and place them into the two barrels to create a huge weapon.  The blaster is also a spring-loaded missile launcher.

But wait!  There's more gimmicks packed into this figure.  Open up the right hand and you'll see this skull grinning back at you...

Take it out to reveal a flail.

The skull is attached to the handle via a piece of string.

While it's not the best weapon or most versatile in terms of poses, it's still pretty wicked and awesome.

That's about it for all the gimmicks on this figure, and boy, does he sure pack in a lot, this more than compensates for the simplistic transformation.

Of course, play value can also be derived from the amazing poseability Optimus Primal has.

From waist swivel to elbow swivels and a balljointed head.  It may not sound that impressive when you list it out, but the range is unhindered and wide.  The only thing that you might miss are knee or thigh swivels.

Optimus Primal is very stable in this mode, his large feet anchors him securely, coupled with the poseability of the legs make him easy to balance.  I guess the heft helps as well.

The only difference of the Legends version compared to the Beast Wars Reborn version from 2006 is maybe the shade of paint used for his face plate and the gorilla fur.

An amazing robot mode that oozes character even when you have him in a neutral pose.  Optimus Primal looks so powerfully built and all the gimmicks are fun and does not compromise anything at all.

OVERALL:

Optimus Primal is one of the best toys ever made.  Even if the mold originated in 1996, the fact that twenty years later, it still stands up with the very best of recently released figures is a testament to how well he was designed.  Both the gorilla and robot mode are amazing, with the robot mode edging out as the better of the two.  He contains a mindboggling number of gimmicks which somehow does not compromise the figure at all.  Optimus Primal is a must buy if you haven't gotten the mold already.

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