GAME REVIEW | Splatoon

You're a kid now! You're a squid now!

Splatoon is the recently released, super-colourful 3rd person shooter from Nintendo. I had zero interest until I saw how fun and and hectic the versus mode is! You get to play as either a guy or girl squid... thing... but other than changing your eye and skin colour there isn't much customization for your physical appearance. The gameplay focuses around your ability to turn into a squid, as well as your ink-shooting water gun. As you gain experience, you can unlock many different attachments that alter the playing style of your gun. You also have access to different sub-weapons like grenades and turrets that spray your colour of ink.

Where this game really shines is its team-based versus mode. With four players on each side and short match times, you can easily get addicted to re-queuing for hours! In this mode, the aim is to cover as much of the map in your colour as you can. Rather than Call of Duty or other shooters where the aim is to kill as many people as you can, killing other players in this game only serves to temporarily give you a respite from the action. You can maintain control of one corner of the map and have a huge kill count, but unless your team works together you'll probably lose more games than you'll win! I think I really like this because the nature of the game is more casual and friendly for people of all ages. I find the different gun types work well for different team roles too. 

For instance, I really like the paint roller so that my team can race forward to secure more territory while I paint the base! Plus, it has a large area of coverage so it feels super epic when you find a spot that isn't painted. On the other hand, the PVP of the paint roller isn't very strong since it's very close range, so someone with a strong gun can shoot you from afar! It's all about what you want to bring to the team...

I've only played a little bit of the story mode so far only because PVP is so much fun! What I can say though is that story mode aims to hone your skills (which is should), while providing a fun platforming experience. The puzzles aren't necessarily hard at first, and I think the difficulty is gradual. The bosses are really silly, with tiny little feet and funny character design. One thing about story that I feel they missed out on was the concept of more collectibles. So far, you only need to collect pages of lore in each level, but I think it'd be neat to also have areas where you can fill in outlined graffiti with ink that provide other little boosts or maybe Miiverse stickers! Something extra to reward your exploration of the world would be appreciated, I think.

Another thing I think may put some players off is the ultra-cutesy and 'hip' style the game fronts. For instance, the fashion in the game is very urban so some players might feel limited in the customization of their character. Especially at first, since you have to play the game a ton first in order to even unlock the ability to buy different clothes! There's this whole theme in the game of being fresh enough (seafood joke, anyone?) and practically every NPC says this on a regular basis. It's a bit cheesy, but kind of endearing at the same time.

Finally, I think one other thing this game excels at (especially for Nintendo) is the integration of the Miiverse messages players can create in-game. In the Plaza, the overworld in a way, players can access their Miiverse and created messages. These messages will be displayed with your character as they appear in the Plazas of other players. After a PVP match, your Plaza will refresh to display new players. It's really fun to walk around and look at all the neat artwork people have created for the game! A lot of Squidward memes though, haha! Your artwork can even be featured as graffiti in the Plaza, or in the arena during PVP matches. I was able to find one of my drawings during a match today!

tdlr; Splatoon is addictive and crazy! I think you'll really enjoy the PVP!---- WAIT A MINUTE $70?! *SWEATS PROFUSELY*

MANGA REVIEW | Yona of the Dawn

I'm a sucker for historical romance. There, I said it.

And In particular, shoujo manga does a really good job of empowering female characters in a historical setting. For some reason, a lot of them has red hair though which I find a little weird... Anyways Yona of the Dawn or, Akatsuki no Yona, is your typical yet not-so-typical shoujo that falls under the historical romance genre.

I say it's typical in that there's the same general setup for these kinds of stories. You can typically choose between Plot A, in which a modern girl is sent back in time as some sort of chosen one in a reverse harem. Or, choose Plot B where a rich/poor girl has her situation reversed against her will so she ends up poor/rich, forcing her to change and grow in a coming-into-her-own. Plot B likes to include poor girls being forced into harems by princes, or princesses being exiled so she has to hide her identity for survival. Akatsuki no Yona falls into the latter. Circumstances occur where her spoiled ways of life are forced to change. Of course in all cases the protagonist finds herself in a reverse harem situation, generally with perhaps one other female figure to keep her company.

How Akatsuki no Yona isn't typical though, is that I think Yona's growth happens a lot sooner than most female leads. She becomes a strong leader and very fierce when provoked. When she get's fired up you can't help but feel so pumped along with her. Like, "Oh wow shit's going down". All of her talents derive from hard work that they spend time showing you trhoughout the story. There's no hidden abilities that she obtains through ease. You see her sweat and work for it, failing sometimes and getting back up. I think it's refreshing! And for the male characters that do have special over-powered abilities it's for a good reason. It's because they're freaking dragons.

So yeah, Yona after being forced to flee her kingdom has to find different dragons in order to have the strength to take back her kingdom. In a way, Akatsuki no Yona also draws from Plot A in that Yona's a kind of chosen one, but nothing is ever stated definitely and it's more of a general feeling that the various characters feel towards her. Another thing I like about this protagonist is that she doesn't expect anything from anyone either. She approaches these dragons with the hopes that they'll join her, but is totally open if they reject her too. It's by earning their friendship and trust that she gains their loyalty, and while they do feel that strong mystical attraction towards her I like that it's not the sole reason. 

This manga (and anime now) is one of the few stories where I enjoy reading about every character involved. They all feel like characters I can relate to and I don't find myself skipping through scenes because I'm bored. Even the antagonist, Yona's childhood friend, I find myself rooting for because he's not evil for the sake of it in the slightest. I wouldn't even use evil to describe his character at all! In fact, I find myself torn between rooting for him and rooting for Yona as I think they both have the potential for being great rulers. It's rare that I feel this way for this kind of story.

As for the romance, yes I ship her with pretty much every man in the show she interacts with. It's a harem, of course. There's the base romance triangle between her, Hak and Soo-Won which is very cute and necessary for this genre to work. While it provides the basis for the romantic sub-plot of the story, I find Akatsuki no Yona really isn't driven that much by romance. Initially Yona's attraction to Soo-Won feels more like an innocent infatuation, while her relationship with Hak doesn't really develop until much later. I actually found they pushed it much more forward in the anime than they did in the manga... I also found it more subtle when reading.

Even the other men in the harem seem more devoted to her out of respect and loyalty than out of romance. I think Yona kind of just takes them by storm and they just get swept up in it all. I think her relationship with the quiet Shin-Ah is very sweet though and Jae-Ha's more explicit interest in her keeps my shoujo spirit in tact while reading.

The artwork is beautifully drawn and the character designs have that Chinese-inspired feeling to it which feels suitable for the characters' environment. The series isn't finished yet as I write this, but I look forward to each update! I highly recommend this series for people who like political, romantic, or historical plots.

MOVIE REVIEW | Mad Max: Fury Road

Remember to breathe...

Mad Max: Fury Road is one of the best action movies I've seen in a long time, if ever. I'm not a huge fan of the genre, I think a lot of it is overdone, but I really liked this movie. Here's why: review

1) Visually STUNNING

Holy crap is this a gorgeous movie! Despite the gore, disturbing content, and disfiguration throughout the shots are beautifully composed. I felt immersed in the world and wasn't distracted by the CGI (in fact, I hardly noticed it). The way the director shows off the world makes me wonder about the lives of characters outside the movie, how one could live in such a hostile environment.

2) Diabolical ACTION

As soon as I saw the trailer in theatres it stuck in my mind. I loved the amazing variety of thrown-together weapons and vehicles. It reminded me a lot of the game Borderlands in that many of the hostile characters just look too crazy to be real. Insanely suicidal, no-holds-bars....... Just madness. I think maybe the only thing that would have been cooler is if they used the environment just a tiiiiiny bit more. Of course there's the huge sandstorm you see in the trailer (cool scene by the way), and another scene with some wicked motorbikes on mountainous terrain, but other than that the violence really centered around the vehicles. However, the vehicles were so varied that it kept the action fresh. From start to finish it really is non-stop, with brief breaks in between scenes.

3) Interesting WOMEN-CENTERED Plot

I was wondering to myself if I would call this a movie with a feminist goal in mind. I had read a couple reviews before watching the movie so I already had an idea of what was in store for me. Furiosa is a breath of fresh air for me and I'm ecstatic that there was zero romance inclination towards Max. She kicked ass, yet felt relatable in a struggling human-being kind of way. While Max is the eponymous hero, I genuinely felt as though he and Furiosa were equal as partners. They both needed to survive, they had to take care of their own and they worked together to get it accomplished. Max treats her with respect, and Furiosa values his opinion. I did hesitate near the end when Max offers the final decision they have to make, but it was ultimately Furiosa's decision. Furiosa wasn't just an emotionless character either, nor was she completely masculine like the common tendency with female characters these days. After watching her I really want to explore her backstory some more. As a mainstream viewer (one who hasn't seen the original nor any other Mad Max content before his movie), the only thing that confused me was how she had gained so much influence within her community. She tells us she was abducted, and this is a place that uses women for breeding only, and yet she seems to hold a lot of respect in the beginning. It makes me really curious!

I also really enjoyed the symbolism surrounding the notion of womanhood. You have motherhood in the form of the women escaping, in attempts to protect their unborn children. Then you have the elders, forms of knowledge long forgotten in our current society (for the most part). I recognized some interesting adaptations of native American teachings from my own culture in the forms of land-based storytelling (the satellites) and the seeds. There was also a great display of physical strength by women with Furiosa and the awesome grandmother biker gang.

I loved the metaphor of the water being controlled by men, who are overthrown by a group of women. At the beginning of the movie, this world is oversaturated by men in power. It's clear that the people aren't happy, being able to barely survive with what little he gives them. He literally controls their lives by controlling their water supply, which is also a common symbol for life in of itself. Given the rest of the movie and who is seen issuing the water at the end, I like to think of it as woman's position in society today. Men control the resources, the positions of power and women are thirsty for their own independence. An extreme image, I know, and I'm not saying it's this extreme in real life. What I feel though is that women are struggling to find a space in society where they can exercise their own autonomy. The grasp at whatever figurative drops of water they can. By the way, it's not just women suffering in this community either, but it's made clear that both men and women in this movie are subject to torment by the hands of a few.

It's implied that Furiosa and the other women will be the ones to take over the city after the movie ends and the only male left alive who helped them (Max) decides to step down and let them handle it. It's as if to say "Look what we did (men) and where it's brought us. Perhaps it's time for someone else to have a shot at it." He's also the lone ranger type, but the image of the women rising up (to power) and him being lost in the crowd below them was an optimistic scene for me. It was subservience on Max's part either since he grins up at Furiosa while she grins down to him. It's not hostile, it's not because one is better or worse... just respectful. I really liked that.

Perhaps my only criticisms...

I think the antagonists were a bit thin in character. They were just evil for the sake of evil in the eyes of the audience. I don't even remember the main guy's name. I don't even remember most of the names to be honest! But do you really go to see Mad Max for an epic storyline? No. So it was appropriate.

Just look at this guy! He's sooo evil it's not even funny! Right down to his 80's haircut.

By the final chase scene, I felt so exhausted from vehicles crashing into each other that I might have been a bit desensitized to it in some parts. They were still really enjoyable, but by that point explosions and the like can only look different so many times. You could probably summarize the whole movie as just one giant chase scene. Not a bad thing necessarily, it's actually a very neat concept to me. Sure, lots of movies have the good guys running from the bad guys the entire time, but a movie with only vehicle chases done as many ways possible? Pretty cool!

Oh ya, also... I guess almost all POC die in post-apocalyptia...

tl;dr You should go see Mad Max: Fury Road in theatres because it's a really wicked movie.

ANIME REVIEW | Yamada-kun to 7-nin no Majo

In which they literally find the plot in the 5th episode...

Yamada is a your run-of-the-mill delinquent protagonist. He arrives late to class if he isn't skipping and his grades are terrible. In contrast to honour student Shiraishi, they're polar opposites. One day their lives change when Yamada accidentally slips while climbing the stairs, kissing Shiraishi below and....  switching bodies.

So I think you know where this is going!

If you're at all familiar with the concept of the whole body-switching plot then you'll probably be able to guess what happens in each episode. 

What I'm glad to see though is that it isn't strictly a reverse harem scenario, which I was anticipating it to be! There's a good balance between guys and girls in the show and everyone gets some good moments.There's a lot of "Oh, hey, I have boobs now" after they body-switch, among other powers to be uncovered over the course of the episodes, and it's all in the name of silly ecchi fun.

I found myself laughing out loud a few times each episode. The show's upbeat and great for mindless enjoyment.

I'm currently on the 5th episode and they've only just found the plot. It appears as a dusty manuscript left behind by the previous club members of the Supernatural Studies Club. I'm interested to see what the other powers will do!

ANIME REVIEW | Shokugeki no Souma

Shokugeki no Souma is about a bunch of students cooking food... really intensely.

When I first saw the trailer I thought it was playing off that trend where people are paid to eat in front of a camera... and enjoy it (boy sign me up). And while I wasn't surprised in some areas, I can say that this is a really weird show.

Source: Huffington Post

The show centers around a kid named Yukihira Souma, who wants to defeat his dad in cooking and take over the restaurant his family runs. Sound familiar? Change the cooking theme and you've basically got your cookie-cutter plot for a shounen. What I didn't know was apparently either the artist or director was involved with hentai for the longest time before taking on this project. I guess that explains a couple things...

I swear they're just eating food...

One of the things that sets this anime apart from some shounen is the incredibly risqué nature of some of the scenes. People take a single bite and suddenly their clothes get ripped off in a dramatic display. It's super over-the-top and ridiculous. Lately though this sort of thing isn't really groundbreaking if you think about it. It's common for shounen to have bursts of promiscuity in the shows, and with things like Kill la Kill and Jojo's Bizarre Adventure, the whole over-the-top themes aren't anything new.

Where the show is interesting though is taking these common shounen strands and placing them in cooking. Honestly, waiting for something to bake isn't really that exciting in real life. Shokugeki no Souma is a fun show because it sits right at home with these other shounen shows. It's surprising at first and entertaining, plus the art style is accessible for people not entirely keen on the typical shounen. I wouldn't recommend this show for young kids though, while it's not explicit it's still very sexual in nature. If that's something you don't want your kid watching, then maybe look for something else.

MOVIE REVIEW | Avengers: Age of Ultron

AVENGERS TWO WAS.... pretty good!

After the wake of the first Avengers's success, we've had an absolute flood of superhero movies showing up in the theatres. It's not going to slow down either, now with Justice League coming up and even more Marvel films. I'm sure you'll get a healthy dose of comic book adaptations to last you a while!

So how did this sequel stack up to its predecessor? I went in feeling it would be hard for them to pull off something equally as entertaining as the first Avengers when they're adding so many more characters this time around. And yes, I count Hawkeye as one of those new characters since he got completely left behind last time around. I'm happy to say that this film devotes a lot of screentime developing Hawkeye's character so that we end up caring about him a little more.

Some other characters were Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver, who are Russian twins initially against the Avengers but eventually join them to fight against Ultron. Overall these two characters were alright, but obviously we don't care about them as much when their backstory takes up a few minutes here when we've had years to get to know the other Avengers. Also I'm just not a fan of the fast guy powers of Quicksilver, so I wasn't too interested in him. Scarlet Witch had a little more development, and I liked the savage nature of her powers but not so much her Buffy the Vampire Slayer gothic look. (I guess that makes sense if it'd Joss Whedon, though!)

Ultron was pretty cool, and an interesting shift from the more emotion-driven Loki. He was suave and philosophical... I'd like to go on a dinner date with him so long as I'd come out alive. Did I feel the threat though? Not really. It felt sort of like he was there just to provide plot and Tony Stark's character development. He was entertaining to watch though, and the CG was really well done I thought.

One criticism I have with this movie is what they did with Black Widow. She had some technical upgrades because I guess she needed to be a little more special to play with the other boys, but her getup wasn't what I liked about her to begin with. Remember those scenes at the beginning of the last Avengers? When she's in an interrogation and then kicks ass? Yeah. When she outsmarts Loki? Yeah! I don't like Black Widow because she can fight or calm down the Hulk, I like her because she smart! I don't recall a time in this movie, at least not one that sticks in my mind like those other scenes do, where she used her spy skills to get ahead. I found the focus with her was entirely on her relationship with Bruce Banner. How disappointing.

And that scene where she calls herself a monster for what happened to her in the Red Room? No thanks. They missed an opportunity for inclusion there for other women who can't conceive and I would have liked to have seen Bruce Banner do something other than stare blankly at her. And she get's kidnapped and imprisoned? Bruce Banner saving her? I was waiting for her to bust out on her own!

Maybe I'm being harsh on her character, but when female characters are so limited in these movies, the spotlight and pressure needs to be on them so that they improve. Otherwise they never will...

I want to end on something positive because that's how I roll. I really liked what they did with Tony Stark. I thought the scene with the Hulk Crusher was pretty cool and shows the relationship between the Hulk and the Avengers really well.

I also feel like they're setting up Tony Stark to retire or something. He screwed up pretty bad in this movie with the creation of Ultron and it seems like while he learned a lesson, I think he'd still end up doing it again. Some might think that limits his development, but I don't believe that humans learn from their mistakes after only one time. Stark's a man of science, and I don't think a setback would keep him from experimenting again because that's not science.

In all, I would recommend this movie if you've invested in the past movies. It's enjoyable to watch, but it's obvious that there will be holes in future movies if you don't see this one first.

ANIME REVIEW | Ore Monogatari

Ore Monogatari (My Love Story in English) isn't your typical shoujo.

First off, it's written from the perspective of Takeo Gouda, a freakishly large and strong young man entering high school. He's a hopeless romantic, but frequently gets sidelined for his freakishly handsome friend Makoto Sunakawa.

At first glance, I thought I had it all figured out.

"Oh! Obviously Gouda will like the cute girl, but she'll go for his friend instead. Then the whole series will be him trying to win her over." Right? RIGHT? WRONG.

What the show does really well is establish a subtle, realistic way that someone might second guess themselves. The love interest, Rinko Yamato, is a freakishly feminine person and so Gouda is quick to step aside and cheer her and his friend on. What he doesn't realize though, is that she's been dropping all sorts of hints throughout the first few episodes that Gouda's the one she's interested in!

It can be hard to get passed the SUPER sweet style of Yamato at first, but her gentle character wins you over eventually.

This sort of low self-confidence, while fresh when written from a guy's perspective, is really familiar in the shoujo setting which is why it sits so well when the tables are turned. I also like how the main male love interest isn't your typically drawn protagonist (like Sunakawa). This show has taken all the standard tropes in a fresh way, with some really good comedy thrown in!

The animation is minimal, nothing crazy like Kill la Kill, but the style of the characters like Gouda keep the show interesting for me. I love the extreme expressions he has when juxtaposed with Sunakawa's nonchalant energy. They make a really good pair!

Obviously this is a story driven by character, so someone new to shoujo might find it a little slow. However by shoujo standards this show is amazingly fast! I think the show's only on episode 5 and Gouda and Yamato are already together! Sometimes this small thing could take an entire season. Denial is one of shoujo's strong points as a genre. Many stories end up being such a slow burn that I get burned out, when relationships typically aren't like that anymore (at least where I'm from).

I would definitely check it out if you're a long-time fan of shoujo whose looking for a twist on the typical story!