Hotel Transylvania 3 (2018)

Hotel Transylvania 3 once again follows Dracula, his daughter Mavis, son-in-law Johnny and their family who originally owns the hotel for monsters.  It starts introducing a villain from a while ago who was ruthlessly tracking down Dracula and then fast forwards back to the present.  Wrap in a love at first sight story involving Dracula and you have the making of a really well trodden plot that's predictable and generic.  However, the bright side is that the silliness really works in the film's favor as there are plenty of gags and humor that makes it enjoyable to watch for most of the way.  Some characters are very goofy and the ending while is a bit of silly fun on the one hand, also feels like the animators were trying too hard on the other.  The plot never really feels like it picks up and Dennis has all the hallmarks of an annoying child character.  It's an enjoyable film at the end of the day and a fun way to pass the time.

Book Review: Attack on Titan Vol. 9

Review:  #904
Title:  Attack on Titan Vol. 9
Series:  Attack on Titan – 9th volume
Author:  Hajime Isayama
Comments:  This volume is full of intrigue and mystery.  Thankfully, it does it in such a way that isn’t frustrating (yet) because we don’t get any answer at all.  There are heaps of obvious foreshadowing and of characters that know more than what they’re letting on, but they refuse to talk.  Now that the group of characters is further split, it jumps around from viewpoint to viewpoint, which can be a tad bit annoying at times.  Despite that, their stories are interlinked our expectations are constantly being challenged.  A little bit of time is spent on some backstory, which tends to be some of the more boring sections.  In the end, the story wraps you back into it with its promises.
Rating:  6/10

Sword Art Online: Alicization (2018-2019)

Sword Art Online:  Alicization is the third season of the anime that adapts the light novels.  It covers the first part of the Alicization arc in 24 episodes.  The anime starts with a 40 minute first episode where the very beginning will throw you off.  This is because it depicts a young Kirito in a fantasy world that seems to have gaming elements.  It will eventually be revealed what is happening providing much needed context and kick off the setting but it can be confusing at first.  After everything has been explained and is settled, Kirito finds himself in a virtual world called Underworld.  There, he ends up befriending Eugeo, training him in the art of swordfighting.  Together, they set out on a journey to the center of the land where the capital is.  They want to reach the capital in order to find their childhood friend Alice.

Underworld is your typical fantasy world and there are many game inspired elements.  From how everyone can call up status windows that shows the remaining life of all items and objects as hit points, to sword skills making an appearance again, things can feel familiar.  This also means that Kirito has the advantage thanks to all his time from being trapped in Sword Art Online and then moving onto Alfheim Online.  The familiarity can come with discomforting frequency, especially when it starts to tie in with Accel World.  The result is that you can see what is coming.

While most of the anime takes place in Underworld, there are still a significant amount of scenes taking place in the real world.  These scenes most focus on Asuna but the animators will find an opportunity here and there for other supporting characters to make a cameo or two.  As the season progresses, these become rarer and rarer, especially once it gears up to its climax.  One of the more unusual aspects of the storytelling is how the anime frequently time skips.  Just when a situation has stabilized, it time skips ahead and you have to get used to the new scenario and current circumstance that Kirito finds himself in.  Thanks to this, the pacing feels slow since it is comprised of a lot of dialogue that does not add much to the plot.

The weakness of the plot doesn’t end there.  There are more than a few predictable turn of events.  With Kirito being the all around good guy that he is, he will often get into trouble for helping others.  He is overly nice to the point of being slightly annoying.  The various antagonists are also one-note characters.  We’ve seen these types before so there are no surprises on what they plan to do.  Therefore, since you know what’s upcoming, you want the anime to quickly get it over and done with.  This causes some scenes to be hard to watch, not because they are bad but because they are cliched and predictable.

The plot developments feel like it is being made up as it goes along.  There are way too many contrived coincidences that do not feel natural and is an easy way out.  Characters spend most of the episode talking, explaining, conjecturing, and standing around, basically anything except moving the story forward.  Once that is over, the decisive moment that has been building up until then is over in a minute or two.  This happens with such frequency that it turns into a serious annoyance.

The quickness of the climax in each mini-arc leads to underwhelming fight scenes.  They are flashy but insubstantial.  It either feels like a bunch of random sword waving or random actions that lead to some “ingenious” victory.  There’s no sense of proper skill or strategy.  Kirito is still an overpowered character but he often holds himself back.  The anime goes out of its way to not allow Kirito to outright curbstomp his opponent which ends up being contrived.  Viewers who have come here to see Kirito defeat everyone singlehandedly will be denied this pleasure, for good or bad.

As Kirito and Eugeo gets closer and closer to their goal, arriving at the capital and then making their long journey to face the antagonist, the plot tries to dive into deeper issues.  It displays the unfairness of the laws of Underworld, which in a way, mirrors reality.  It goes so far as to make whether an action is acceptable based on subjectivity, so it goes too far to be believable.

There is a heavy reliance on the series’ original concepts such as sword skills and dual wielding as a method to boost Kirito’s power.  Thus, Alicization cannot step out of the shadow of its past, causing it to feel derivative instead of original and fresh.  This extends to the ending.  Kirito’s method of resolving the conflict against the antagonist is unsatisfying.  The ending is supposed to be a cliffhanger but even then it is a bit abrupt.  One thing that is excellent is how the original music psyches the viewer up, as well as using remixes from previous season to evoke the feeling of being familiar yet new.

Overall, Sword Art Online:  Alicization is an okay anime.  To be fair, it is hard to move forward in the series considering the direction of the previous seasons.  Unfortunately, the story and characters are too predictable causing the anime to feel generic at times.  It’s still a great watch for fans but things are starting to become tired and cliched.

-------------------------------------------

For other anime reviews, have a look at this page.

Atelier Escha & Logy: Alchemists of the Dusk Sky (PS3)

Atelier Escha & Logy:  Alchemists of the Dusk Sky is the second game in the Dusk trilogy and is a direct sequel to Atelier Ayesha.  It was originally released for the PS3 but like other games in the series, it was ported to the Vita as a "Plus" version with all DLC included, bonus dungeons, and superbosses.  The game has the same graphics as Atelier Ayesha.  Since it is set in the same world, it has the same darker color tone to it.  Despite the dying world, the game itself remains lighthearted.  Unlike the Arland trilogy and even Atelier Ayesha, this game is a lot more relaxing.  The time limits are even laxer than Ayesha and you'll get plenty of time to try things out without worrying about missing anything.  There are plenty of quality of life improvements to improve the flow of gameplay.  A major one is the inclusion of icons to indicate when an event is available.  No longer do you need to cycle through each screen of the town in order to see if it triggers an event with a character.  Another neat improvement is the consumables that you equip and use during battles will automatically be replenished once you return from dungeons at no cost.

The structure of the game is split into nine assignments.  Each assignment gives you 120 days to complete and you can usually finish it within half that time if not less.  It then gives you one year at the end to beat the final boss, craft and redo any objectives that you may have missed.  A neat aspect is the grid-like structure that shows off 25 objectives for each assignment.  To pass the assignment, there is just one main objective.  Then there are eight minor objectives and 16 optional ones that provides some bonuses that are not essential to progress the game.  Even if you fail the main assignment, you'll still be able to progress.  The game follows two alchemists, Escha and Logy.  This is a first for the series but at the start of the game, you get to pick one of them to play through their perspective.  The vast majority of the game remains the same no matter who you pick but there are some exclusive story events for each protagonist.  This is a superficial choice and a way to artificially extend the game by forcing you to play through it twice to see everything.

Escha grew up in the town of Colseit while Logy had traveled in from a large city.  Both of them joined the government to help out the R&D section.  That's pretty much it for the story.  The scope of the story is even smaller scaled than past games and takes on more of a slice-of-life aspect.  They meet various characters, some that are playable, and some that are not.  The story is a tad bit too simple with no overall objective which makes it less focused than previous games.  Escha and Logy basically travel and explore the surrounding areas.  The world is dying and you can see this from the harsher environments devoid of plant life.  Tying into the title is how certain areas are accessible only via the airship which you will upgrade as part of the story.  The story only feels substantial in the last year with some great music and animated scenes.  The music, while not to the same level as Atelier Ayesha, is still really good and perfectly captures the melancholy tone that the game was going for.

There are some specific sub-stories involving each of the side characters.  Unfortunately, most of those characters are forgettable, even more so than Atelier Ayesha, which already had a problem with bland characters.  The combat is familiar but the UI has been revamped.  It is a turn-based system with support attacks from others in your party that have varying layers to it, giving additional strategic elements.  Characters can protect others and there are heaps of items to use with different effects that keep it interesting.  Only the pair of alchemists can use the items that you have alchemized.  However, everyone has access to their own unique skills that uses MP.  Performing an action charges a bar and once it is full, you can use those support abilities from other characters.  Your party is comprised of three main members, and then allowing three more in the back.  This allows you to swap out characters between the frontline and back with no penalty.  The characters in
the back can even participate in chaining support attacks, which can lead to some ridiculous damage.

Enemies roam the environment and encountering them will cause the game to transition to a separate screen for battle.  The game ramps up the difficulty by having enemies to multiple attacks per turn or have area effects that weaken the whole party while leaving the enemy immune.  Each area/dungeon is separated into individual screens.  Traveling between major areas uses up time, as does harvesting and battling.  However, traveling between areas within the same dungeon doesn't use up a day and you can use this to your advantage.  This is because harvesting and battle will charge up a separate % bar and once full, you can activate a special effect.  This can range from obtaining rare items to summoning tougher monsters.  Item crafting is a major component of the game and the synthesis system feels better than Atelier Ayesha.  The aspects and features of the system feels better explained and are easier to experiment to discover what the end result would be without committing.  Item crafting remains a really fun aspect of the game and there's plenty of interesting nuances that you can discover.

There is also an improvement over Atelier Ayesha in terms of the pacing of difficulty.  As you are restricted to 120 day blocks, you feel like you're constantly progressing the story, even if you have too much free time afterwards.  The bosses are better spaced and require you to have upgraded you equipment, giving you incentive to do just that.  There is a bit of a difficulty spike in the final few bosses but nothing that cannot be overcome if you put in a little bit of time.  Overall, Atelier Escha & Logy:  Alchemists of the Dusk Sky is another great entry into the Atelier series.  While some may be annoyed with the simplification of the time limit system, it makes for a more relaxing experience.  The item crafting is addictive and being given the freedom to experiment without fear of missing an event is welcome.  The two protagonists is a good concept but there is not enough to differentiate their perspectives to warrant two playthroughs.

------------------------------------------

For other game reviews, have a look at this page.

Toy Review: Transformers Generations War for Cybertron Siege Spinister (Deluxe)

Review:  #541
Name:  Spinister
Brand:  Transformers
Allegiance:  Decepticon
Line:  Generations - War for Cybertron:  Siege
Year of Release:  2019
Size Class:  Deluxe (Wave 5)
Mold Status:  new

HELICOPTER MODE:

As part of the fifth and final wave of Siege, Spinister is a brand new mold that transforms into an assault helicopter.

This is a fantastic helicopter code.  The garish purple and blue, which you would have thought would look horrible, actually works really well.

Spinister is decently sized, above is a comparison against AOE Deluxe Lockdown.  In terms of play value, both rotors can spin.

If you have seen the robot mode and was wondering what trickery that the designer used to have two cockpits for the legs, then it's because there are physically two cockpits.  The second one is hidden in the belly of the helicopter and you can just assume it's some sort of gunner cockpit anyway.

A fantastic helicopter mode that looks great.

TRANSFORMATION:

A big upside of the Siege figures is how the transformations are not complicated, yet still interesting at the same time.  Spinister is no exception.  The front forms one of the legs, while the secondary cockpit underneath forms the other.  The arms are from the sides (and is fairly boring) but it is nice how the helicopter collapses onto itself to form the torso and reveal the head.

ROBOT MODE:

As great as the helicopter mode was, it has nothing on the robot mode.  Spinister is one good looking robot.

The rotors that fold to form a "V" shape behind his body is a great feature and gives him a distinctive silhouette.

The headsculpt is evil looking, as fitting for a Decepticon.  However, it is quite hard and can be hard to make out the eyes.

Spinister is tall for a Deluxe figure, but he is also lankier than most.  Above is a comparison against Siege Sideswipe.

In terms of articulation, Spinister has it all.  He's got joints for his head, shoulders, elbows (double-jointed), wrists, waist, hips, knees and ankles.

He doesn't have the usual balljointed hips either, they're a pin and hinge assembly.

In terms of weapons, he has a pair of guns.  One has molded Gatling guns while the other are normal barrels.

The guns can be held in both his hands.  It is interesting to note that the guns are each cast in a different colored plastic.

However, the other way to use those weapons is to attach it to the outside of his forearms.  They look so much better there.

The color scheme works well and there are silver highlights.  The battle damage is limited to only his thighs which is easily ignored.

Note that the rotors don't actually peg in, they rely on a notch to keep it in place and it's wobbly there.  Otherwise, this is a wonderful robot mode and one of the very best.

OVERALL:

Spinister is a solid figure and yet another winner in the Siege line.  He has two fantastic modes and is a solid Deluxe that presents a lot of value.

---------------------------------------------

For other Transformers reviews, have a look at this page.

Purchase from Amazon using this link.

(As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases)

Book Review: Kokoro Connect Vol. 5

Review:  #903
Title:  Kokoro Connect Vol. 5
Series:  Kokoro Connect – 5th and final volume
Author:  Sadanatsu Anda & CuteG
Comments:  While this is the last volume in the series, the story doesn’t really resolve itself since this only finishes off the second arc from the light novel series it was based upon.  Now that the group is being affected by the “unleashing of desire” phenomenon where they cannot control their emotions at random times, we can see how dangerous it could it.  This tears the group apart, each dealing with their own issues and it is a hard situation to watch.  Taichi tries his best to pull the group back together again and it takes the whole volume to do that.  Just as the relationships were getting complicated yet being sorted out at the same time, the whole series end which was a shame.  In this volume, Inaba truly becomes one of the more interesting characters in the series.  It’s such a shame that We’ll never get to see what Heartseed’s motivations were and the other experiments that they had for the group.
Rating:  6/10

Venom (2018)

Venom is a standalone film spin-off from Sony's Spiderman but not connected to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in anyway.  It only stars Venom though and presents him as an anti-hero.  Unfortunately, this doesn't work well at all.  The first part of the film, predictably, focuses on Eddie Brock and tries to make you sympathetic to him but he is just feeling the consequences of his own stupid actions.  It takes a while before Venom himself appears and the way that he is portrayed in this film incarnation is questionable.  Venom is effectively a separate entity, and there is supposed to be funny banter between Venom and Eddie but the film cannot makes it mind on whether to portray Venom as sinister/powerful or funny/sidekick.  As a result, the film's tones clashes with itself and makes it hard to take Venom seriously.  His motivations are off and hard to believe with the villain being a one-sided boring cliche.  The amount of destruction with no consequences done by the characters are laughable and Venom's powers feel like a cop-out.  Venom is not a great film and lacks a lot of the fun and charm that you'd want.