Toy Review: Transformers Generations Studio Series Gamer Edition Sideswipe (Deluxe)

Review:  #795

Name:  Sideswipe

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Autobot

Line:  Generations - Studio Series

Year of Release:  2024

Size Class:  Deluxe (Wave 24)

Mold Status:  new

VEHICLE MODE:

Sideswipe transforms into a red Cybertronian sports car, based upon his appearance in the War for Cybertron game.

This new figure makes the vehicle sleeker than the original, and looks pretty nice as a result.

Size-wise, he is small-ish, unfortunately, he's a little bit hollow underneath as well, most of the vehicle is a shell.

His robot weapon can peg onto the roof, but there's nowhere to store it.

You can see from the side profile the slim side windows.  He has four rolling wheels and that pretty much encompasses all the play value in this mode.

He's well painted, with the silver highlights, red on his hubcaps, and the black windows, so this isn't a bad mode at all.

TRANSFORMATION:

Transformation scheme is not too hard and is fairly fun.  It'll pleasantly surprise you at how solid and intuitive it can feel.  The front folds onto his back, and his arms come from underneath the.  The back forms the torso and the feet from the sides.

ROBOT MODE:

Sideswipe's robot mode isn't perfect, but he looks better in person than in phot.s

He carries a fair bit of kibble on his back, namely the whole front of the car, but it is tucked quite closely against his torso, allowing him to feel solid in hand.

The head sculpt is fine, nothing spectacular and he has a neutral facial expression.

He's about on par with the standard Deluxe in terms of size and height.

As part of the Studio Series line, he comes with a cardboard stand that depicts a scene from the game.

Articulation is fine, he has joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, knees and ankles.

He comes with a weapon, a gun.

Like other Gamer Edition figures, you unplug his right arm and replace it with the game, but the gun is too small for it to look good or like that his hand morphed into it...

The gun can peg onto his back when not in use.  The other good thing though, is that the peg used to peg it onto his back is 5mm in size, meaning he can actually hold it in his hands, rather than you having to replace his whole arm with it.  That is a great improvement over previous figures.

The other weakness of the robot mode are the feet, which looks insubstantial, being thin panels.  Thankfully, they hold up better in hand than photos show but it is another area for improvement.

To be fair, this is a good looking robot mode and that tiny change of allowing the weapon to be handheld now, really helps improve the line compared to previous offerings.

OVERALL:

Sideswipe is a solid figure.  The vehicle mode is really nice, it perfectly captures the alien but sleek and speedy nature of the vehicle.  The robot mode is also an improvement over the original figure from over a decade ago, with better proportions, although this figure is not without its own set of flaws.

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Little Witch Academia (2017)

Little Witch Academia is an original series of 25 episodes. It first started with a short film, followed by a second longer film. Watching the films beforehand is not required given that the anime retells the origin story and changes up a few things. This is more like a retelling or reboot. It follows Akko, who saw a magic show by Chariot, a witch, when she was young. Akko was inspired by the amazingness of magic and admired Chariot so much that she wanted to be a witch when she grows up and spread the same magic of magic to the world. She attends Luna Nova Magical Academy, and we see her journey to become a witch.

We quickly learn the history of magic and how it is perceived in this world. Magic used to be a strong and powerful thing in the past, but it seemed like with each passing day, the world is moving on from it. There are many doubters, and witches are not held in as high a regard as they once were. In fact, magic is well in decline, which is further emphasized with the poor financial state of the academy.

In other aspects, there are students where they come from a family of witches. However, Akko is not one of them and it shows in her magical ability. Her magical ability is limited, and you might expect that given that she’s the protagonist, she might be naturally gifted or would suddenly awaken to her power. The anime likes to tease this time and time again only for reality to hit. The only thing special about Akko is that she managed to obtain the Shiny Rod, the wand that Chariot used to use.

Akko’s goal is to meet Chariot, who had disappeared. Despite how much Akko had idolized Chariot, she is considered a joke amongst the witches, which can feel harsh. The beginning of the anime is a bit of a slow burn as it is a slice of life taking place at the magical academy. Akko gets into all sorts of trouble despite her limited magical ability. At least she manages to make friends quickly, as she is joined by Lotte, a nice girl, and Sucy, someone who is obsessed with poisons. Akko also promptly meets her rival, Diana, a much more gifted witch from a line of prestigious witches.

The season is mostly episodic as it focuses on Akko struggling to fit in at the academy. It’s not that she cannot make friends, but her weak magical abilities are causing issues. It doesn’t help that Akko’s personality is one of impatience and while it can be endearing, a lot of her actions are that of a petulant child. It feels like Akko wants a shortcut and the anime is about her learning that there are no shortcuts in life if you want to achieve your dream. It’s an interesting choice for a main character, but there are snippets here and there where the underlying plot of Chariot and her Shiny Rod comes into play.

All the hints about Chariot and her background come together by the middle of the season. However, since the hints were so obvious, the revelation will not surprise you. You would have figured most of it out, if not all of it. Obviously, it will involve Chariot, and the Shiny Rod, given their focus and obsession by Akko. Despite that, the rest of the season continues to feel episodic with the plots for each episode being shallow. They continue to highlight how Akko is not a loveable character. There’s nothing about her that you’d hate but she has too many flaws that crosses the line from being cute and adorable to being outright negative to a fault.

The anime lacks a villain for most of the season but when one arrives, they’re still constantly regulated to the background in favor of that episode’s plot of the week. That’s unfortunate since some direction would have allowed the anime to focus and shine. When Akko is getting into trouble due to her sticky beak nature for the twentieth time, it is hard to stay engaged. We rarely see Akko’s other friends except for a spotlight episode here and there.

What this means is that the anime has uneven pacing. Akko will progress several steps towards her goal in consecutive episodes only to stop all progress for the next several episodes. As suspected, the final few episodes of the season have an overload of plot to dump onto the viewer. Some of it is good and might surprise you in an otherwise predictable anime, and some of it is stuff you’ve already known. Was the payoff worth it? Not really. There is a lot of action in the final few episodes, much more than the rest of the season combined.

While the finale was explosive and visually spectacular, it left a lot of things untouched. It felt like the anime teased so much potential for several of the side characters, yet never did much with any of them. From Akko’s two best friends to her rivals Diana and Andrew, it’s like it was trying to play your expectations but instead of doing something clever with it, it just dropped them instead.

Overall, Little Witch Academia is an average anime. The studio’s past works are great, which might lead to some heightened expectations, but the slice of life aspect is too bland and boring here. Akko is not a likeable character, she has too many flaws with little else to help counterbalance it. She doesn’t seem to develop much as a character, since despite all that she’s gone through, her personality is pretty much the same as how she was in the beginning. In fact, there are several moments where Akko’s actions are completely stupid and unjustifiable.

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Toy Review: Transformers Generations Studio Series Scorponok (Deluxe)

Review:  #794

Name:  Scorponok

Brand:  Transformers

Allegiance:  Predacon

Line:  Generations - Studio Series

Year of Release:  2024

Size Class:  Deluxe (Wave 23)

Mold Status:  new

ALTERNATE MODE:

Scorponok, based upon his appearance in the Rise of the Beasts movie, transforms into a purple robotic scorpion, seemingly also taking some inspiration in its color scheme from the Beast Wars version.

To be honest, this is a pretty decent robotic scorpion mode.  He looks good from all angles.

Size-wise, beast Transformers usually have an advantage, and Scorponok is an okay size here.

There are a few excellent details, such as the Predacon insignia on his back, and his claws just look really nice and wicked.

Unfortunately, he is not great in the poseability department, despite you probably thinking otherwise.  The most movement are in his arms and even then, it is limited.  You can give up on his legs as well, since they don't move too much either.

A good looking robotic scorpion mode, his only flaw is lacking some articulation.

TRANSFORMATION:

While simple, it is also clever enough to keep your interest.  The rear legs forms the robot legs, and that's to be expected.  The interesting part here is how the claws form the robot arms, which is that the hands had wrapped onto the scorpion claws, so now you can separate them.  The scorpion claws form the shoulder pads and it's simple but effective.  After that, you just basically stand him up and fold the other legs and tail onto his back, out of the way.

ROBOT MODE:

This is a much better effort than the first movie, and Scorponok actually looks good here.

The back is a bit messy given how the scorpion legs just kind of hang there.  There's no way to move them out of the way so you'll have to live with it.

The head is the same one as the scorpion head.  This always seems lazy whenever a Transformer uses it.  It's not a bad head sculpt though.

Robot mode, you can see that Scorponok is the similar small size that most Deluxes are these days.

He comes with a cardboard stand but the movie never really had Scorponok appear in that location...

Articulation is great here, with joints for his head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees and ankles.

You might notice that his tail is plugged on his back and doesn't have enough articulation to hang menacingly over his head, instead, it can detach to form a weapon.

The tail pegs onto the underside of his forearm and his hand then kind of grips over it.  It looks awkward at first.

Yet you'll soon start to appreciate how menacing this weapon can look.

This is a strong robot mode, even though it never appeared in the film.

OVERALL:

Scorponok is a surprisingly good figure for a character that only showed up on the finale of the film as cannon fodder, and one that doesn't even transform.  He looks great in both modes, and his transformation is simple yet effective.

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Root Film (PS4)

Root Film is a visual novel and a spiritual sequel to Root Letter. It tells a completely new and unrelated story. It follows Max Yagumo, who is a newbie director. The game feels like a step up from Root Letter, which while it was still solid, had some rough patches in its story and presentation. This game instead feels more polished with some fantastic art direction. The backgrounds and environments look beautiful with their own unique aesthetic. The character models are more striking with their cartoonish aesthetic but can feel somewhat out of place in certain scenes as they stick out so much.

The game is a visual novel so there is limited gameplay. It’s mostly reading, and the story is supposed to be its hook. You progress the story by going through different areas and then exhausting most of the dialogue options. The game is split into various chapters and each chapter has its own mystery that adds to the overarching mystery of the story. Max will find clues, and these are vital as there will be a section at the end where an interrogation type scene will play out. You will then need to select the correct clue to unravel the mystery, and this is quite exciting and fun.

Thankfully the story is good enough to hook you pretty much instantly. Max is on the verge of obtaining a breakout role but first, he needs to solve the ten-year old mystery of the cursed film. Due to the “cursed” footage, a project had been shelved ten yeas ago and Max’s new role relies on him solving this mystery. It is intriguing from the beginning and the way the story approaches the mystery to naturally unravel it grabs your attention.

The game has dual protagonists, each with their own set of events. Although Max has most of the focus, Riho is an aspiring actress that encounters her own set of mysteries. The pair does feel like they force their way into things, given that they’re not the police and shouldn’t have any authority to get the information that they need to solve the mysteries.

Most of the chapters are short which manes that each chapter does not fluff around. It gets straight into quickly presenting the setting, having the mystery happen, and then the characters go about gathering all the blues for their climactic showdown. Despite the fast pacing, there is enough set up and context to hook you in, as you also try to figure out what had happened based on the clues.

There are seven chapters to the game and every chapter has a self-contained mystery, that will eventually link to the overarching mystery. The downside with the fast pacing in each chapter is that whenever new characters appear, you will suspect them immediately, whether that they will be the murderer or that they will be the victim. Once it happens, the mystery isn’t so much as to who did it, but more so on how they did it and their motivations. So at least in that aspect, the game still delivers the thrill and anticipation.

With the two protagonists, you will have your suspicions in how their stories are linked together. Your guesses will probably be correct but again, the anticipation will be to see how the game expands on that link. Despite the earlier chapters feeling irrelevant, they do eventually link, even in a small way, to the grand scheme of things. The final few chapters dramatically raise the stakes. It is an interesting ride all the way to the finish and while there are a few areas where the story can be improved upon, especially with the big revelation at the end, it still delivered a good and satisfying conclusion.

While it is dependent on your reading speed, this is a short game by visual novel standards. It’ll take only around eight to ten hours to complete. Even during that short time, you would have grown to love the characters and their individual quirks. The humor is on point, coming in at the right moments, and doesn’t rely on cheap fan service to do the job. The disappointing part is that you would have wished the game could have continued for a bit longer, with a few more mysteries. Even a longer epilogue would have been great. Once the final culprit has been revealed, and their motivations laid bare, the game ends there. The end credits have a short montage and that’s it.

If you’ve played Root Letter, then a lot of the music in this game will feel familiar. In fact, it is too familiar given that the tuns were so iconic to that game that you can’t help but remember events from that game instead when it’s being played in certain games in Root Film. While it is great that PQube localizes these sorts of games, they continue with their usual typos, especially later in the story. It’s like they either lose interest or most likely, ran out of time, to properly proofread. It can be distracting especially when it’s during the most important parts of the story.

Overall, Root Film is a stellar visual novel. Root Letter was fine, it was a bit clunky and rough in many places. Root Film on the other hand polishes it up and gives us a focused story, higher quality artwork, and a good gameplay loop that doesn’t make it feel like it has too much fluff. The fast pacing works in its favor and working out the mysteries is fun. The overarching plot has its ridiculous moments, but the combination of its humor, charm, and strong storytelling makes this a great visual novel to try, even if you haven’t played the first game.

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