Wake Up, Girls! (2014)

Wake Up, Girls! is a 12 episode anime following the film.  The film is somewhat of a prerequisite in order to already know the characters, and how they got together as the anime starts off straight where the film ended and the group struggling to find work.  The general premise is that a group of seven girls formed a local idol group based in Sendai, calling themselves Wake Up, Girls!  However, with the president of their production company running away with all the money, they are struggling to find work or even just break out after their debut "concert".  We see them doing non-glamorous jobs as they work in defining what they stand for.

The seven members are Mayu (ex-member of the super popular I-1 Club idol group), Airi (quiet and reserved), Minami (cheerful), Yoshino (originally a model and the leader of the group), Nanami (13 year old, the youngest in the group), Kaya (18 year old, the oldest in the group) and Miyu (works at a maid cafe).  Like the film, the plot is slow paced but the buildup is worth it as they define their goals and slowly work towards reaching it.  By around episode 5, it gets much more interesting as the group's struggles to make an impact cause issues between members within the team.  We see that they are not perfect from the start, with constant mistakes in their choreography, and dismal turnouts in their early concerts.

As the group sort out their problems with each other, learning about their backgrounds and personalities, they begin to be more coherent as a team.  It's good that the group isn't amazing already otherwise it would be boring.  They are criticized by their instructors and given tips to improve which they act upon.  While it still sucks that they fail, at least it is showing that they are working hard to improve and get the acknowledgement they deserve.  Characters start to question whether they made the right choice in joining the group as it is no what they expected.

The episodes categorically go through each team member, their past and the experiences that have shaped them until now.  They share it with the rest of the team such that they bond better and improve their relationships to be more than just being superficial.  It deals with family members' views on them becoming an idol and their eventual acceptance which is quite emotional.  The mystery carrying over from the film is Mayu's past with the I-1 Club, and the circumstances in which she was kicked out, leaving her traumatized by idols in general.

Mayu's previous ties with the I-1 Club also creates insecurities within the group and in particular, Yoshino, as Mayu is already famous and the anchor of the group, potentially outshining them all.  Thankfully, we do get to learn about Mayu but it's just the harsh reality of life to be fair.  On the other side, we are shown scenes involving the I-1 Club, who is seen as a rival of sorts against the Wake Up, Girls!  It's really no competition since the I-1 Club is nationally known and already super popular.  Nevertheless, they are shown to be the opposite of Wake Up, Girls! and more "evil", being more corporate focused such as popularity and making money.

The I-1 Club's manager is harsh and cruel, with team members working very hard in a competitive and stressful environment for fear of being cast out of the group.  The climax of the season is the Wake Up, Girls! competing for the spot to perform at the I-1 Arena as part of the Idol Festival 2014 contest.  Within the final two episodes, you'd wish that they did away with the cliched gimmicks and allow the team to compete the best performance that they can without any handicaps.  The end result is still worthwhile and a culmination of all their efforts which created a stellar performance.  The ending was slightly abrupt but fitting for this small team.

A bit of fan service pop up here and there, such as swimsuits for the whole team during one episode.  The animation and aesthetics are top notch.  Overall, while the anime is drama heavy and there is less singing and performances than you'd expect of something focusing on an up and coming idol group, Wake Up, Girls! is enjoyable and strangely emotional stirring.  It feels like it ended too soon just as you were starting to get to know the group and that's a good sign of a solid offering.

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Book Review: Hostage

Review:  #721
Title:  Hostage
Series:  Alpha Force - 4th book
Author:  Chris Ryan
Read Before:  no
Comments:  Chris Ryan once again weaves a compelling tale of Alpha Force (a group of five gifted teenagers) and cleverly merging actual survival tips and dangers.  This adventure takes place in Northern Canada, close to the Arctic, where the characters have to survive in the cold and wilderness, as well as exploring underground cave systems.  Naturally, they encounter a dastardly plot of a businessman who stops at nothing to make a profit, illegally polluting the environment.  Eventually, as the title would suggest, Alpha Force deals with a hostage situation and every step of the way, the reader is engaged and wanting to find out how the characters are going to get out of the situation that they are in.  It’s fast paced and at times, you’d wished that the author could have slowed down and fleshed out some scenes more but otherwise, this is a great story.

Rating:  7/10

Toy Review: Transformers Legends LG-52 Misfire

Review:  #431
Name:  Misfire
Brand:  Transformers
Allegiance:  Decepticon
Line:  Legends
Year of Release:  2017
Size Class:  Deluxe
Mold Status:  heavy remold of Generations Titans Return Triggerhappy

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS:

As part of the Legends line, Misfire comes in a fancy box with a clear window and a nice piece of artwork on the front.

The box is designed in such a way that it is very easy to put Misfire back into the packaging without destroying it.

The front of the instructions booklet has the full body artwork as well as one of Aimless.

Finally, there is a two-page comic.

HEADMASTER:

As a mold from the Titans Return line, Misfire comes as a Headmaster.  He has painted head and hands to help not make him look like a solid lump of plastic that the Hasbro versions always do.

Articulation is limited to balljointed shoulders and head.

JET MODE:

Misfire transforms into a purple/pink Cybertronian jet.

The back falls apart a bit since it is the folded up robot legs.  He also doesn't have proper landing gear in this mode although he lies flat on the table perfectly fine.

Size-wise, Misfire is your typical Deluxe.  Above is a comparison against Legends Brainstorm.

Misfire is a heavy remold of Triggerhappy, only sharing the same pieces for the back of the jet, everything else is new.  He looks great with Slugslinger as well.

For the Legends release, TakaraTomy decided to include a new mold Targetmaster instead, and thus we have Aimless.

The Headmaster can sit in the cockpit.

While Aimless in weapon mode can peg on top of the cockpit.

This is a great jet mode, even though the color scheme is not your typical one for Transformers.

AIMLESS:

Aimless is the Targetmaster partner for Misfire and he is a light blue color with silver and grey highlights.

He has the double barrels on his back, this is cast in clear plastic but has silver paint over half of it, leading to a hodgepodge look.

The face is nicely sculpted and painted gold with red eyes.

Articulation is good except for the fact that he doesn't have outward hip movement, which severely limits his balance making a lot of poses impossible.

Aimless is much smaller than a Legion toy, above is a comparison against RiD (2015) Sideswipe.

Finally, Aimless can transform into a gun mode by pretty much folding upon himself.

TRANSFORMATION:

Transforming Misfire into robot mode is extremely similar to Slugslinger, with the only difference between the wings who are attached to his shoulders and require a few rotates to get out of the way.  While simple, it's still a lot of fun.

ROBOT MODE:

In robot mode, Misfire looks good although the solid purple/pink can be a bit too much.

He has a bit of back kibble but since they're hollow, it doesn't affect his balance at all.

The headsculpt is great, however, like the rest of the Titans Return Deluxes, proportionally, the head is slightly too big for the body.

Misfire is fairly bulky in this mode, particularly the upper torso, making his legs look thin as a result.

In robot mode, you can see the extent of remolding, only the legs are shared with Triggerhappy and everything else is brand new.

Articulation is pretty good, especially the helpful ankle tilts which makes myriads of poses possible.

Aimless is a nice partner although the blue color scheme clashes with Misfire's.

Misfire can hold Aimless in weapon mode and it is the perfect size.  The two-barreled weapon also looks better than Caliburst's from Slugslinger, even though they two share similar sculpting and engineering.

While the wings are attached to the same pylons as the shoulders, they don't get in the way at all thanks to being able to fold back.

Misfire has a waist swivel.  In an interesting choice, TakaraTomy painted his heels grey for whatever reason.

A fantastic robot mode that rounds out the trio.

OVERALL:

Misfire is an excellent toy, whether this version of the Hasbro version.  Aimless is a nice Targetmaster and adds a lot more to the figure than hollowed guns though.  If you have the means and he isn't too overpriced, then Legends Misfire is a definite must.

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Book Review: City of Heavenly Fire

Review:  #720
Title:  City of Heavenly Fire
Series:  The Mortal Instruments - 6th and final book
Author:  Cassandra Clare
Read Before:  no
Comments:  The final novel in The Mortal Instrument series and the actual final one closing off Clary’s story this time, not like the semi-reboot/continuation that was the fourth book.  If you expected bloated text and heavy descriptions of relationships, love and the characters’ feelings for each other, then you won’t be disappointed.  Again, it feels overbearing at times but surprisingly, the author cuts back just ever enough during the last third of the book to deliver a fantastic climax.  This was always the potential of the series, with an interesting world and mechanics, that the author neglected in favour of focusing on teenage love, it is finally somewhat realized in Heavenly Fire as surprise after surprise is told.  Considering the fourth and fifth books were slogs in terms of story pacing, Heavenly Fire does a much better job of pushing the plot forward towards the end, and how the Shadowhunters overcome the immense odds against them.  Clary’s brother, Sebastian, is going to destroy the world and it is up to her and her friends to find a way to defeat them, when he is effectively invincible.  The ending closes off most of the plot threads which is great, and while it ends up being a happy ending, it sure took a long time.  Considering the novel is 700 pages long, it’s a bit annoying when the epilogue takes 100 pages, the author definitely unnecessarily droned on for too long to wrap things up.  There were some events that were disappointing, such as where characters who were heavily focused in the previous books were shafted here, giving readers a sense of what’s the point.  City of Heavenly Fire is a surprisingly better conclusion to the series than expected.

Rating:  6.5/10

The Jungle Book (2016)

The Jungle Book is based upon the novel of the same name and is a live-action film that's also borrow elements from the original Disney animated film.  It follows Mowgli, a boy who was raised by wolves in the jungle.  Being a man though, he ends up being targeted by a powerful tiger, who vows to kill him.  As a result, we see Mowgli traversing through the jungle and learning to just be himself, instead of trying to be a wolf.  Due to the nature of the film, there is a heavy reliance on CGI, the only live-action elements is Mowgli himself, and possibly some of the environments.  It's unavoidable but it doesn't mean that you cannot criticise it because there are more than enough scenes where the CGI technology cannot capture the realism of the animals.  The plot is also predictable, with the staples of Mowgli maturing and believing himself, using the lessons he learnt from the beginning of the film at the climax to defeat the tiger and getting lucky and braving out the dangers he faces.

Severed (Vita)

Severed is developed by DrinkBox Studios, the ones behind the hit Guacamelee!  Severed is for the PlayStation Vita, iOS, Wii U and 3DS because the gameplay requires the touchscreen.  Exploration is a big aspect of Severed but the map is essentially split into "rooms".  The character stands in the middle of each room, while you can freely rotate the camera to check for any hidden items.  To move to the next room, you push the analogue stick to the exit.  It actually works really well and seamlessly.  It is in first-person view though so moving too fast may cause some motion sickness in the beginning.

There are hidden collectables in all the areas and you will need to backtrack as you gain more powers in order to clear previously blocked paths.  It's fun though you wish that the developer could have implemented a fast travel system such that you didn't need to trek a long way to another section at the end of the game (but that said, it takes less than a minute to trek across the whole map).  To aid in the exploration, there's a handy map which shows off the parts you have already visited and which ones you haven't.

You can zoom in and out of the map while also checking the various levels of the current dungeon to plot your path.  It is definitely a joy to explore and find all the hidden secrets.  The combat is interesting.  It uses the touchscreen and while this may raise red flags, it's implemented well.  You slash enemies by dragging your finger across the screen.  Understanding your enemy is important because their stance will tell you whether they are blocking your attacks or not.  Swiping will allow you to slash your sword, with longer swipes causing more damage but shorter swipes are faster and weaker.

Multiple slashes in succession will fill your Focus meter where once it gets full, you can "sever" your enemies on defeat to gain body parts for upgrades.  Upgrades ranges from increased attack to passive effects to special abilities.  This creates an addictive cycle of defeating enemies to gain their body parts for upgrading to efficiently kill more enemies.  The enemy health is shown at the bottom of the screen and there is also a meter which warns you when they are about to attack.  You can block attacks by swiping against their attacking limb.  This gets important because you will soon fight against multiple enemies at the same time and need to strategize.

During battles against multiple enemies, you need to think on the spot and determine which enemy to face, block their attacks and also time your defeat properly in order to maximize the amount of body parts that you can gain.  Some enemies are great for charging Focus while others are quick to die so you need to leave them for last.  It can quickly get hectic when you're facing off three or more stronger enemies at once that each require a gimmick.  The number of enemy designs is limited as you'll soon encounter reskinned enemies.  The new enemies each have additional quirks which you must be careful of and keeps things fresh and interesting.  To increase the difficulty, enemies will appear with buffs and time limits, where if you time out, you die.

Certain fights towards the end of the game are tough.  Dying only respawns you to the last checkpoint which isn't a problem since checkpoints/saves are frequent enough that you don't really lose any progress at all.  While exploring there can be traps such as being ambushed by eight enemies at once, falling through a hole or encountering poison gas which whittles down your health until you get rid of the source.  Environmental hazards may also carry into battle leaving you at a handicap and in a mad rush to defeat the enemies so you don't lose too much health.  Enemies do not respawn which is great, since it makes exploring and backtracking much less frustrating without the interruptions.

Severed follows the protagonist Sasha as she travels into another world in search for her family, who were killed by monsters and taken into this world.  The story is light and you're mainly just thrown into the game and expected to explore it yourself with limited guidance, which is fine since the game is really easy to pick up.  The art style is simple yet charming.  It works wonderfully and makes the game extremely pretty to look at.  The excellent atmosphere will be downright creepy and eerie at times thanks to the aesthetics and the fact that you know that this is some sort of other world of the dead.

As you'll most likely be holding the Vita with one hand since the other will be using the touchscreen, hand cramps will happen.  The game is short with a first playthrough of only around 5-8 hours, this is including getting to 100% completion.  However, it is an amazing experience.  Overall, Severed is a fantastic game and an immense amount of fun.  DrinkBox Studios managed to create an engaging and fun combat system revolving around the touchscreen without feeling too gimmicky.  The story has enough to keep you intrigued and the exploration aspect is top notch.  Severed is highly recommended.

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