Book Review: Sword Art Online: Progressive Vol. 4

Review:  #829
Title:  Sword Art Online:  Progressive Vol. 4
Series:  Sword Art Online:  Progressive - 4th volume
Author:  Reki Kawahara
Comments:  The whole volume dedicates itself to the boss battle of the second floor, as well as resolving the arc involving the blacksmith scam.  The battle was fairly exciting, although at the same time subdued since Kirito was forced into the background taking out the sub-boss instead.  The way the conflict involving Nezha and his scam of stealing other players’ weapons was idealistic.  Due to that, it felt cheesy and corny as a result.  As is the way for Sword Art Online to be melodramatic, it is in full force here, with various characters turning up at the last second with some sort of heroic action to save the day which can really kill the mood.
Rating:  6/10

Toy Review: Transformers Masterpiece MPM-6 Ironhide

Review:  #493
Name:  Ironhide
Brand:  Transformers
Allegiance:  Autobot
Line:  Masterpiece
Year of Release:  2018
Size Class:  Masterpiece
Mold Status:  new

PACKAGING:

The sixth Movie Masterpiece figure (which, coincidentally, released after MPM-7) is none other than Ironhide from the original movie.

The packaging is different in the fact that it has defaulted to being placed not length-wise but height.  Otherwise, it's the same packaging you'd come to expect from the line.

VEHICLE MODE:

Ironhide transforms into a licensed GMC Topkick pickup truck and he looks great in this mode... provided you could get it to hold together (more on this later).

It is not perfect though and it's disappointing in what is supposedly the high end figure.  The robot toes are visible from behind and as there is plenty of space underneath the bed, it's cost-cutting to not have extra joints to allow to fold out of view.

There's plenty of excellent detailing including the sculpting of the grill, the GMC logo, the "Road Armor" words.  It is an impressive vehicle mode.

In terms of size, it is approximately the size of a Leader, above is a comparison against Leader AOE Optimus and you can see that they are about the same length and height but Ironhide is much heavier.

The robot weapons, which are his signature arm cannons, peg conspicuously on the side.  Functional but looks ridiculous.

There are no gimmicks in this mode.  One thing to note is good luck trying to get all the panels to clip together and sit flush, the tolerances are not designed well and it is a frustrating mess.

Assuming you managed to get it into this mode, the truck looks awesome.  Unfortunately, for the huge amount of effort required, it might not be worth it in the end.

TRANSFORMATION:

If you thought MPM-6 Bumblebee (VW) had an annoying and weirdly designed transformation, Ironhide is ten time worse and this is no exaggeration.  The figure comes in robot mode and the instructions start off fine, the legs form the back of the truck and there are some neat elements there.  The struggles come from trying to fold his torso and arms into the front of the truck.  At this point the instructions are useless (they are one of the most rubbish instructions for a Transformer ever) and you realize that the figure is horribly designed.  The amount of panels is not the problem, it is the way the joints are situated (the shoulders being an big offender, and then the hinges on the various panels) and the small tolerances that makes it frustrating.  You will never get everything to peg together and stay that way as something will pop off from another piece.  It's no joke to say that you'll spend an hour trying to massage the pieces together and they just refuse to stay.  It is one of the most unpleasant transformation scheme since its counter-intuitive and painful.  In theory, the arms just fold into the cab and the vehicle shell clips together but it just does not work.

ROBOT MODE:

This is probably one of the most, if not the most, screen accurate Ironhide we've got.  The key word is that it looks like it because as we'll touch on a bit further, it's not a good figure.

The back is a mess of panels.  Considering only the front halves are visible vehicle kibble, naturally every other bit of the truck are panels that fold upon each other on the back of his arms, his biceps and his back.

The head sculpt is super detailed and looks amazing.

The gimmick here is that his mouth can open and close.

In robot mode, he isn't as tall as a Leader, but is a bit taller than a Voyager.

He features finger articulation for his thumb, index and then the remaining three jointed as one.   A nice touch but unnecessary.

Ironhide has diecast in his feet and torso.  This adds considerable heft to the figure.

His weapons are a pair of arm cannons which peg onto the panels underneath his arms.

The problem with the cannons pegging onto the arm kibble instead of the arm itself is that it situates a tad bit too far from the arms.  In addition, the folded panels aren't actually pegged together so the weight of the cannon sags the panels and it is just another mess to deal with.

Articulation is okay.  The leg has hips, knees and ankle joints but the knees do not bend that much more than 45 degrees.

The biggest flaw here is the fact that there is no way to peg in the hood pieces.  While there the joint below is locked (but easily comes undone anyway), any movement in the arm will dislodge the hood pieces and it is frustrating.  The whole thing is a mess of joints and kibble.

The shoulders are also situated behind the kibble which means it is difficult to have meaningful poses since the skinny arms don't have useful joints to overcome this liability.

While there are positives such as how the rear wheels ended up as his thighs, Ironhide just looks good but plays horribly, which is extremely disappointing of such an expensive piece.

OVERALL:

It really feels that after they put in the effort to create the amazing MPM-3 Bumblebee, everything else afterwards feels like a rushed job.  Ironhide is currently the worse in the line.  It is unbelievable that the issues with transformation, as well as the mess of joints in robot mode was not picked up during the testing phase and corrected.  While Ironhide looks great as a display piece, as a Transformer, it is hard to recommend.

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The Lone Ranger (2013)

The Lone Ranger stars Johnny Depp as Tonto, a Native American who teams up with the Texas Ranger John Reid.  Together, they hunt down the outlaw Butch Cavendish.  Unfortunately, The Long Ranger has a bloated run time at 2.5 hours long, of which it takes 30 mins to an hour before the plot starts picking up pace.  Dragging it out for this long means that most of the film is quite boring and bland, and despite the efforts to make Tonto quirky and charismatic, it never succeeds in keeping your attention.  It doesn't feel like there is chemistry between the two leads and it is only at the climax of the film where the big chase begins that The Lone Ranger delivers what it promises to.  Surprisingly, there are a few disturbing scenes such as the cannibalistic nature of the villain Cavendish, to the onscreen deaths of characters.  While the presentation was predictable and cliched in having an older Tonto as the narrator, there are enough thrills to make The Lone Ranger passable.

Book Review: Sword Art Online: Progressive Vol. 3

Review:  #828
Title:  Sword Art Online:  Progressive Vol. 3
Series:  Sword Art Online:  Progressive - 3rd volume
Author:  Reki Kawahara
Comments:  Vol. 3 covers the arc where Asuna and Kirito investigate the blacksmith who had broken Asuna’s rapier when she was trying to upgrade it.  The humor is actually quite good here, with a lot of visual gags.  However, the flipside is that there is more fan service compared to the light novel.  Nonetheless, the volume focuses on developing the relationship between Asuna and Kirito, and already you know that they are a great team and have gotten used to each other.  The mystery isn’t structured well since the reveal happens too soon, feeling anticlimactic.
Rating:  6.5/10

Gurren Lagann (2007)

Gurren Lagann, known as Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann in Japan is an original anime spanning 27 episodes.  This is an over the top mecha anime and it knows it.  It has so much fun throwing out random stuff each episode that you can't help but smile and be pleasantly surprised.  The story takes place on Earth in the future where humanity has been forced into the undergrounds.  As the protagonists, Simon and Kamina, discovers, this is because Beastmen who pilots gigantic mecha known as Gunmen, come at sunrise to attack any humans on the surface before retreating at night.  This immediately creates an intriguing plot thread as the protagonists sets out on a journey to discover the secrets of this mystery.

In order to be able to stand up to these Gunmen (who will turn up no matter what, at the worst possible time), Simon and Kamina has access to their own Gunmen, which are able to combine to form the titular Gurren Lagann.  What seems like stock footage is shown when those two combine and while it is fairly cool for the first few times, it feels overused thereafter even though there are some differences each time it is used.

During their journey, they meet other characters and their group grows bigger, including the fan service girl, Yoko.  Gurren Lagann is unique in that it is extremely lively and feels like the classic anime from the 1990s, filled with refreshing ideas and lack of strictness that allows it to break free to try new things.  Eventually, the band of characters known as Team Gurren, become a formidable force marching towards the city of the Beastmen.

The anime packs a big surprise one-third of the way through.  Up until that point, it had a more depressing tone as the characters find out how oppressed humanity truly was.  With each human village being isolated from the rest, and the never ending onslaught of the Gunmen, it is thanks to Kamina's brashness and his attitude of constantly moving forward that gives the series its atmosphere.  The tonal shift then happens and shying away from aimlessly wandering around Earth, they have a destination in mind and an objective.

The surprise event also forces Simon to undergo heavy character development, finally propelling him above Kamina as the true protagonist of the series.  Then as kind of expected since the characters were getting very close to their goal by that time, they reach their destination by midway through the series.  The resulting battle between the Beastman and humans were action packed and really brings out the emotions that comes from having your teammates back you up.  The designs of the mechas are different than you would expect.  Some have odd proportions (with a tendency for short stubby mechas) but most of them for whatever reason has a gigantic face as the torso.  Even the titular mecha, Gurren Lagann, isn't exempt from this.

While Yoko is the main source of fan service, there are a lot of scenes involving a few other characters.  Fan service isn't too extremely in most cases in the anime so it doesn't detract too much from what's happening in the plot.  Most of the times, it is just strategic camera angles and beach scenes.  You can't help but get excited whenever a fight scene is coming up since it usually comes with some interesting over-the-top action sequences.  The rapid camera shifts and quick movements is a joy to watch.  Gurren Lagann's multiple and adaptable weaponry is just icing on the cake.

Midway through the series, another significant event happens and this time it is a lot more drastic.  The show then wastes an episode providing a clip show before it takes on a completely different tone and direction.  It gives insight to what happened in the first half of the series.  The only real negative is that various characters undergo character developments... into unlikable characters.  It feels like people eventually do not appreciate what Simon and Kamina had done, which is frustrating and feels like a significant betrayal.  However, this is the point where the story actually starts proper.

There are a few emotional scenes where it can be somewhat painful.  The characters that you have gotten to know, suddenly either change or leave, and it feels like a big shame.  The ultimate objective for the characters is finally revealed and while it is on a huge scale, at the same time, it doesn't feel like it deserved all that suspense and build up.  The final seven or so episodes are the best among the series.  At this point, it culminates into an amazing finale as the characters band together, showcase their teamwork and get even more over the top in order to defeat the enemy.  While a few characters go astray, you can see the core theme of the anime shining through, being that if you have the spirit, you can achieve anything.  This works really well especially with the amount of emotion in the voice acting.

As everything becomes bigger and better, you start to wonder when it will start to hit the cap.  It never does, all the way until the ending, it keeps breaking your expectations.  From the sacrifices that each character makes, to the truly spectacular final battle between two massive mechas, no matter what you thought of Gurren Lagann before, the last episode will make you glad you watched it.  Overall, Gurren Lagann is an excellent action packed anime.  The first half can feel predictable and nothing overly special.  However, the second half rapidly increases the stakes and the driving force behind the characters, leading to an amazing ending.

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Kirby's Adventure (NES)

Kirby's Adventure is the sequel to Kirby's Dream Land and is the second game in the Kirby series.  Released for the Nintendo Entertainment System, it features a ton of improvements compared to the original game on the Game Boy.  The first thing you'd notice of course is Kirby is now in color!  This provides a lot more visual variety and thanks to the more powerful hardware, the levels have more complexity with plenty of hidden rooms to find.

The game is a 2D sidescroller platformer where Kirby can run, jump and float his way to the destination . The twist with Kirby is that he can suck in enemies and then spit them back out as projectiles.  He gains the additional ability of a slide kick and being able to dash in this iteration, significantly increasing the pacing.  This game is also the one where Kirby gains his signature ability of being able to swallow his enemies to gain their abilities.  There are a lot of abilities including fire-breathing, turning into stone, freezing enemies, firing a laser, and wielding a sword.  This drastically increases the variety of gameplay compared to the original.

After playing this game, you will be surprised at how refined the gameplay already is.  The controls are tight and fluid, and later games haven't really drastically change the gameplay.  The biggest criticism of the original was the short length, being able to be completed within an hour.  Kirby's Adventure rectifies that with 41 levels across seven worlds.  Each level is decent in length, with great level design.  Scattered in each world are also minigames which helps you gain extra points.  You can repeat stages as each world is represented by a separate level select stage, with doors being unlocked progressively as you finish each level.

The game will take less than three hours to complete but search through every nook and cranny of each level to unlock all the bonus stages and you're looking at 1-2 hours more.  Boss battles are more involved and gained an increase in difficulty.  Their patterns are a little bit more unpredictable and if you try to rush things, then you may just find yourself losing a life.  Kirby has a health bar so it's not as if you will get one-hit KO'd but seeing that gaining back health in the middle of a level can be rare if you don't find the secret rooms, then you have to be careful.  Dying just means you restart at the start of the current segment, not from the beginning of the level.  Losing all your lives though only results in a penalty to your high score.

The final boss was pretty epic for its time, and it is surprising that the visuals are so stunning and the music so fast paced for a NES game.  The final cutscene was funny too.  The game contains a lot more secret rooms now, mostly with health restoring items but on the off chance, unlocking minigame rooms.  While the game is still on the easier side, it gets progressively harder during the later levels but never gets unfair.  You'll more likely to die by rushing through the levels than by any real threat.  The plot is still simple but when it is a platformer, it doesn't need to be any more complicated.  King Dedede returns to steal the Star Rod and splits it into pieces.  Kirby sets out to retrieve those pieces and save Dream Land once again.

If you have a Nintendo 3DS, then this game was remade into a 3D Classic.  This means you get to play it in 3D, while this is purely a gimmick, it still looks pretty snazzy.  Overall, Kirby's Adventure is everything you would hope for in a sequel.  It has significantly improved graphics (and one of the most impressive on the NES), excellent music and a gigantic leap forward in gameplay.  The addition of Kirby's copy ability makes the game extremely fun to experiment around with and the gameplay still holds up well to this very day.

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Toy Review: Transformers Cyberverse Shockwave (Warrior)

Review:  #492
Name:  Shockwave
Brand:  Transformers
Allegiance:  Decepticon
Line:  Cyberverse
Year of Release:  2018
Size Class:  Warrior (Wave 1)
Mold Status:  new

TANK MODE:

Shockwave transforms into a spider-tank but is what is basically the robot on all fours.

Despite that, it looks decent enough and recognizable in what it is supposed to be.

In terms of size, this is the Cyberverse line where it feels less sturdy and definitely a lot more hollow.  Above is a comparison against Titans Return Quake.

Since it uses the same joints as robot mode, the articulation in tank mode is pretty good as well.  You can create some cool walking poses.

A good tank mode even if it is a little uninspired.

TRANSFORMATION:

Very simple as one would expect both from this line and also from the alternate mode.  The four limbs of the tank mode become the four limbs of robot mode.  To complete the transformation, you fold the chest piece down to reveal the head, and fold the turret onto the right side of his back.

ROBOT MODE:

This version of Shockwave looks great.  Naturally, he retains his signature features such as the gun arm and chest detailing.

He has the turret on his back but it doesn't get in the way at all.  He also features molded gun grips on the sides of his legs but only the ones on the outside are painted.

The headsculpt is great but due to the way it was sculpted, it gives him an angry eye.  It's too bad they didn't paint the secondary eye on top yellow as well, since it is one of the more distinctive features of this incarnation of Shockwave.

He is roughly the size of a Deluxe but again, a lot more hollow and light.

For the Cyberverse line, Shockwave has decent articulation.  He as balljointed elbows and hips, while his shoulders and knees have hinges and swivels.

Unfortunately, the head is fixed.  However, considering that the other Warrior figures in the line don't have knee joints or elbows, Shockwave came out pretty good.

The gimmick is that as you rotate the turret up onto his shoulder, it automatically flips out two pink attachments.  It's pretty neat although the color and sculpting of the extensions are questionable.

A good and menacing looking robot, albeit more static than you'd expect of something this size.

OVERALL:

Shockwave is the best figure currently in the Cyberverse Warrior line, although that isn't much.  This is because everything else in the line is so crippled and Shockwave managed to come out relatively scot-free.  Unfortunately, he still suffers from a fixed head which hurts.  Otherwise, the design of both modes is pretty good but the figure is only recommended if you can get him on sale.

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