John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)

John Wick:  Chapter 2 begins soon after the first film.  It is revealed that when he was able to retire as a professional killer he had to provide a "Marker", a sort of promise to do any one thing for the person he gave it to.  Unfortunately, this means that John is unable to settle down and returns back into the killing world.  While the first film gave a personal and justifiable motivation for John's killing spree, it just doesn't feel the same in Chapter 2.  The sequel doubles down on the violence, with blood spattering and even kills with the much mentioned pencil, but at no point do you feel the same feeling that John is righteous in his quest for revenge.  Nevertheless, there is still a really good reason for John's rampage (i.e. the big bad has sent people out to kill him).  It takes a long while before the action truly starts, which can feel dragged out especially compared to the original.  John's character remain charismatic and it is always interesting to see how the underworld works with its connections.  Overall, John Wick:  Chapter 2 may not top the original with its plot, but we still get plenty more of the same kind of fist fights and gun fights that makes it very watchable.

Book Review: KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World 3 – You’re Being Summoned, Darkness

Review:  #820
Title:  KonoSuba:  God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World 3 – You’re Being Summoned, Darkness
Series:  KonoSuba:  God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World - 3rd volume
Author:  Natsume Akatsuki
Comments:  Following directly after the previous volume, Kazuma is arrested and put on trial for allegedly sending the bomb to a lord’s mansion, which accounts to treason.  Before that happens, he is locked up and a few hilarious things happen when Aqua, Megumin and Darkness hatches various plans to free him.  After the trial, we learn a lot more about the pasts of Megumin and Darkness, both of which are fairly surprising.  These lend to funny yet lighthearted adventures, and are a great slice-of-life portion of the novel.  While the structure of the plot is very similar to previous volumes, right down to an encounter with a boss at the end, each individual quirk of the characters are explored and we actually get to see their strengths.  Who knew that Darkness’s masochistic tendencies could come in useful against a boss?  The scenes and subplots flow a lot better and more naturally such that it doesn’t feel disjointed or aimless anymore.  While we always see what Kazuma’s thinking, it’s nice to see a small section where we can hear the other characters’ thoughts, and makes it even funnier when you realize that in their eyes, they are not the troublemakers.  A great volume overall with plenty of originality.
Rating:  7/10

Love Live! School Idol Project - Season 2 (2014)

The second season of Love Live!  School Idol Project is also at 13 episodes long.  Love Live! itself is a multimedia project comprised of two seasons of anime (plus a spin-off), CDs, manga and video games.

The first season had the school idol group μ's led by Kosaka Honoka, form together with its nine members.  Originally, the purpose of the group was to save their school from closing down by attracting more student applications.  This was a huge success and the group put their sights in competing in the national school idol tournament, Love Live.  Due to various circumstances, the first season ended before that could happen.

The second season takes this missed opportunity and has the group try to qualify for Love Live, with the ultimate aim of winning it.  Naturally, there was a sort of existential crisis in the beginning as the group comes to realize that in the New Year, they won't be a group of nine anymore as some members would have graduated.  It is a harsh reality although this gives them the motivation required to give it their all.  Love Live paints a rosy picture of the idol scene.  Even when μ's is confronted with their biggest threat, A-Rise, it is all sunshine as they support each other.  This carries on during the character interactions too, the overall atmosphere and tone is cheerful and positive.

The season continues to fail in conveying how much effort goes into μ's performances, although not to the same degree as the first season.  Usually, we're given a milestone deadline, the group gathers to discuss on how to approach it.  We see them start to practice and work it up, and then a time skip happens and it is the day of their performance, with them doing a stellar job.  However, a bit of focus has been given to some other characters that were neglected in the first season, fleshing out their backstories.

The other major trend is the overly carefree atmosphere.  Despite the pressure of having to perform well at Love Live, the group doesn't seem to properly consider it.  The dialogue suggest that they are worried but their tone and their actions are at odds against that.  Thus, coupled with a few of the more outlandish scenes, and you can take the plot seriously at times.

Each episode will usually have at least one song performance, complete with CG models that is so noticeable different to the rest of the animation.  The songs and performances themselves aren't bad can be some of the scenes that you look forward to the most.  Each of the nine characters retain their stereotype, from Honoka's overly cheerful attitude, Maki's seemingly outside cold demeanor to Nico's forced cuteness.  They don't deviate too much from it and gags are either reused or has been used so much in other anime that it doesn't work as well as the animators would have hoped.

There are some cheesy and corny scenes which can be extremely cringe-worthy.  For example, you get a scene where all the students of the school band together to physically help out the group and cheering them on.  Despite that, when the ending comes, no matter what the result, there is a sad scene as three members of μ's will graduate.  Overall, the second season of Love Live!  School Idol Project is more of the same as the first season.  It improves on some aspects but still lacks in showcasing the efforts that the group puts into their performances, such that when they complete one, you don't feel like they deserved it.

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Book Review: KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World 2 – Love, Witches & Other Delusions!

Review:  #819
Title:  KonoSuba:  God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World 2 – Love, Witches & Other Delusions!
Series:  KonoSuba:  God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World - 2nd volume
Author:  Natsume Akatsuki
Comments:  The second volume has five main sub-stories and each one is better than the last.  You can see the quality of the storytelling and humor improving when compared to the first volume.  Perhaps the most impressive aspect is how efficient and formidable Kazuma is, even though he is supposedly of the weakest class being an Adventurer, and having average stats.  They way he used his combination of abilities, including entry level magic (which mages don’t even bother learning due to how useless they are during combat) in novel ways highlight the fact that Kazuma is fairly intelligent.  Then there’s the part where the party needs to clear a haunted house during a winter quest, leading to equal parts freaky and hilarious.  The humor continues to hinge on Kazuma’s perverted nature which is an acquired taste.  However, the characters such as Megumin and Darkness really start to become their own, being a lot more memorable and likable as we learn more about them.  The ending is a lot more solid too with an impossible boss and surprises left right and centre.  Of course, as we learn more about how this world works, it also becomes a lot more enjoyable when we see Kazuma adapting to it and manipulating it to his advantage.
Rating:  7/10

Toy Review: Transformers Generations Studio Series 18 Bumblebee (VW) (Deluxe)

Review:  #487
Name:  Bumblebee
Brand:  Transformers
Allegiance:  Autobot
Line:  Generations - Studio Series
Year of Release:  2018
Size Class:  Deluxe (Wave 3)
Mold Status:  new

VEHICLE MODE:

Bumblebee is a brand new mold based off his appearance in the Bumblebee movie.  He transforms into the classic yellow 1967 Volkswagen Beetle.

This is a fantastic vehicle mode and look so good.  The yellow is all painted on and has a nice creamy rich texture to it.

Size-wise, he is a tad bit smaller than other Deluxe classed toys.

That being said, when you look underneath, you'll notice that it's packed.  A neat thing is the three additional accessories for robot mode all store underneath.

Unfortunately, there are no other gimmicks in this mode.  Getting all the pieces to fit together can be a nightmare as the tolerances are tight.

Once you manage to get it to stay together then this is a fantastic vehicle mode.

TRANSFORMATION:

The transformation is one of the best parts of the figure.  It is a good blend of simplicity and complexity.  Granted, most of the vehicle is a shell that ends up on his back but it was a fun process.  The pieces for his legs are a bit awkward though.  The scariest part is forcing the roof pieces into the groove on his back as it requires the plastic to bend a bit...

ROBOT MODE:

Bumblebee's robot mode looks great, although the shins are a tad bit too big to look natural.

He carries most of the vehicle on his back but they are very compact.

The headsculpt is your typical Bumblebee head, we've seen it so many times that there's really not much to say about it.

So once again, Bumblebee is a tiny figure, other Deluxe figures absolutely tower over him.

He shares the title with Studio Series Jazz for being one of the smallest (if not the smallest) Deluxe figures ever.  However, Bumblebee has a tinge bit more heft and complexity to him that he doesn't feel like the rip-off that Jazz was.

As part of the Studio Series line, he comes with a cardboard backdrop.

The backdrop this time around is based off the garage from the Bumblebee movie.

Bumblebee's articulation is good and stock standard for a Deluxe nowadays.

His legs are a bit weird though, particularly since he lacks ankle articulation so getting him to stand flat on the table is not always possible.

Bumblebee comes with three accessories, a battle mask, a blade and an arm cannon.

The blade clips on to the outside of his forearm, no problems there.

The mask is harder to utilize since you need to pull the face off.  This wouldn't have been a big problem if not for the fact that the head is small (and so the amount of surface area to grip the face is small) and that it's on pretty tight.  Once you get the mask on though, it's wickedly awesome.

Lastly, to attach the arm cannon is similar to how The Last Knight's Bumblebee was, you need to pull the arm off and replace it.  This is not ideal to say the least...

When not in use, the various pieces can attach to his back in different spots.

The design of this version of Bumblebee is cool in the fact that despite the different vehicle mode, it shares a lot of common design elements with the original Camaro version.

A surprisingly good figure.

OVERALL:

Yes, Bumblebee is small.  However, in this case, the engineering and and complexity of the figure helps to offset that.  Both modes are great, although the transformation leaves some to be desired.  While you may already have plenty of Bumblebee figures, this figure is definitely recommended.

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Pokemon White Version (DS)

Pokemon White Version, along with Black Version, marks the beginning of the fifth generation of Pokemon, released for the Nintendo DS.  It features 156 new Pokemon in the new region of Unova and the biggest difference between the two versions is a new area exclusive to each version.  Unlike Pokemon Diamond, Pearl and Platinum, which barely made any visual improvements compared to the Game Boy Advance games, Pokemon White makes some progress to showcase the DS's 3D graphics capability.  It retains the same overhead view as previous games but the outside areas are 3D, it's just not too obvious.  The inside of buildings are still 2D though and 2D sprites are still used during battles.  The camera angles and cutscenes try to showcase the 3D world but it doesn't quite impress when most of the time, it still looks and plays the same as previous 2D games.

There are a bunch of new features but most feels incremental rather than revolutionary.  There are now seasonal cycles which is based upon the current month, as well as day and night based on the DS' dates and clock.  As the seasons change, so too does some of the scenery as well as areas you may be able to access (e.g. in winter, snow has piled on too thick and blocks an optional area).  Two new types of battles are introduced.  Rotation Battles and Triple Battles.  Black Version has mostly rotation battles where you can rotate a trio of Pokemon at any time.  White Version has the triple battles, where three Pokemon fights onscreen at once, with the twist being that each Pokemon can't target all three opponents depending on their position.

The game's premise is similar to all the previous games before it.  You've just grown of age to be able to get your very first Pokemon and then travel the world.  You're paired with two of your best friends as all three of you pick your starter Pokemon and then aim to battle the eight gym leaders scattered around Unova.  The ultimate aim is to get all eight gym badges, challenge the Elite Four and take the title of Champion.  You'll be battling your friends constantly on your travels.  Mixed into all this is the usual villainous team, this time being Team Plasma.  They are one of the oddest team yet and their schemes aren't as clear cut or obvious as previous villains.  They work on the guise of freeing Pokemon... by stealing them from their trainers.  As their theme music is somewhat creepy, you probably won't have the best impression of them.

Surprisingly, White isn't a cakewalk.  The first gym is somewhat challenging and while after the second gym, it gets back to really easy, there are certain sections of the game that might give you a bit of trouble.  However, the difficulty really depends on the type of Pokemon you end up using.  Changing Pokemon often is necessary but adds to the grind because the Pokemon that gym trainers use are usually around 10 levels higher than the wild Pokemon.  The experience gained by Pokemon has been changed somewhat.  Your Pokemon gain experience for participation in battles, however, the bigger the level difference, the more experience they get.  This means that they'll only get a measly amount if your levels are more than 1-3 levels higher, making it frustrating to level at times.

Running through caves and over grass will trigger encounters with wild Pokemon, of which you can either capture for your own use or to gain experience.  The problem with using random encounters is that some areas have absurd encounter rates.  This is not a joke, in some areas, you just want to run through it but are forced into a battle every SINGLE step.  If you're lucky, you may be able to make it two steps before you hit a random battle.  It's tedious, annoying and ridiculous.  It severely hampers exploration and makes the game really hard to enjoy at times.  Using a Max Repel to remove encounters is annoying even if you try and hotkey it to a button, requiring multiple layers of menu to use it and it doesn't even last long.

The other extremely annoying thing is that the AI spams status effects on you.  When they use it, more often than not, it works in their favor (you missing an attack, hitting yourself during confusion etc), but when you use it against them, it feels like there is no effect.  A good example is in the beginning of the game when you use sand-attack to lower the opponent's accuracy four times in a row yet they still never miss.  Compared to them using it just once on you and you miss four times in a row.  Compounding the issue is the way the game wastes your time with slow menu transitions, slow battles (even when you turn off animations) and the fact that the AI still keeps on spamming moves such as protect which just delays the inevitable.

Some of the cities and towns you get to explore are impressive and large, featuring plenty of optional things to find and get.  Trainers are also scattered in the routes in between that force you to battle them.  However, there is a tendency for these trainers in the same routes to use the same Pokemon, which can get really repetitive and stale.  Unfortunately, the game has a few features that either rely heavily on wireless or with interacting with players of the other version (or if you just buy the game twice and have two DS's).  Certain Legendary Pokemons are locked to wireless events or require you to catch Pokemon that is exclusive to Black.  This includes certain Pokemon encounter rates too.  This means that you cannot see everything the game has to offer with only one version of the game and you have no friends who are playing at the same time.

There are some 3D cutscenes that uses both screens at once which are pretty good and looks great.  The difficulty ends up scaling well for the main story of beating the Elite Four, becoming the Unova Champion and foiling Team Plasma's plans.  The final trainers that you battle against have levels that are close to your own if you did not end up grinding much for experience.  Beating the game takes only 20-25 hours, but Pokemon White has a decent amount of postgame content, which brings with it a massive difficulty spike.  This is because trainers now have Pokemon that are 10+ levels about the Elite Four!  While with some strategy this is no issue, there's simply not enough to do to grind the 20+ levels required for a rematch against some of the tougher opponents and rematch against the Elite Four.

Overall, Pokemon White Version is what you'd expect of a Pokemon game.  It makes a few changes and marginally improves the graphics and presentation of the series as a whole.  The decision to limit the first part to only new Unova Pokemon is somewhat weird but gives a sense of cohesion to the game.  There are some niggling issues such as the high encounter rate and random difficulty spikes though.

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The Lego Batman Movie (2017)

Batman was one of the standouts in The Lego Movie and now getting his own movie is great news.  Set in the world of Batman including the bigger DC Universe, we get cameos from all of the Justice League superheroes which is great.  The movie takes place in Gotham and has a deeper plot than you'd expect.  Batman is already successful as a vigilante but unknown to everyone else in Gotham, he is lonely at heart and afraid of losing the ones he loves.  This movie will focus on how he overcomes this and turns from the arrogant and sometimes unlikable character into one more accepting (but still dark and brooding).  Joker focuses heavily as the antagonist but Batman's other supervillains are not left out and they even included some obscure characters.  One of the surprises is how well The Lego Batman Movie surprises you, whether it is cameos from other franchises to the awesome action packed climax to the sentimental dialogue.  It is not afraid to take jabs at Batman's own history and other franchises like Marvel.  The animation is slick and fantastic, making this a great movie overall.