My Hero Academia Season 1 Review

After 13 episodes, the first season of My Hero Academia has come to an end, with a second season announced to be aired either late 2016 or early 2017. Other than the plot, which I've explained in my First Impressions review, there really isn't much to say about the first season.

This is because one of the show's biggest flaws is its incredibly slow pacing. Thankfully, it's not as bad as Naruto Shippuden, but it's very much visible and can't be ignored. I mean, it's understandable considering that the manga has produced 96 chapters so far since it first came out on Weekly Shonen Jump in July of 2014. The first season of the Anime covered the first 20 chapters.

When you think about it, 96 chapters over the course of two years seems small compared to the hundreds made from Naruto, Bleach, and One Piece. But such is the case, and since the manga is still ongoing, the last thing the Anime adaptation of My Hero Academia needs is either another long hiatus so the manga can produce more chapters, or go with the Naruto/Bleach route and throw in fillers. It may have worked back then, but I doubt it works now.

It doesn't help either that the action sequences in the first season are minimal and only lasts a few seconds. Compare it to One Punch Man and Tiger & Bunny, which are both superhero-themed works. With the exception of Saitama, who almost finishes everything quickly with his One Punch, the action sequences in One Punch Man and Tiger & Bunny last several minutes. But in the case of My Hero Academia, there's just like a few moves and a lot of commentary thrown in. That's it.

Granted, a similar formula is featured in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, but the cheesy commentary in JoJo is one of the franchise's charms and there is a good use of the action sequences. I can't really say much in My Hero Academia.

The second problem, which I don't really consider a problem, but it's something I honestly am not fond of, is Deku's character. The character talks a lot, thinks a lot, and whines a lot. I simply find him awfully annoying that I wanna Bright-Slap him and say "Get Over It!".

That being said, I do understand the appeal of Deku. He is the culmination of what it's like to be a teenager struggling for acceptance in this world that we live in. A lot of teenagers can relate to Deku and many have seen him as the new hero of this generation of Shonen heroes after Naruto, Ichigo, Luffy, and Goku.

If I were a teenager, I would relate to Deku's struggle and appreciate him a lot, as he is a reflection of my own struggle. So I get it. But I am an adult now and I just find Deku's character to be just that annoying he deserves that Bright-Slap.

Third is its cast being incredibly large. I'm already struggling to remember the cast of Game of Thrones, and this one is just as troubling to me, if not worse.

In spite of the issues I have with My Hero Academia, I actually enjoyed it. There is this charm to the show that, even with its problems, makes you come back for more. Yes, I'm not fond of Deku, but I do want to see how he manages with the power he is given. How long will All Might can hold on to his power? Will Bakugo turn heel just to defeat Deku?

And because this is a superhero-themed Anime, I couldn't shake off this feeling that My Hero Academia deserves to crossover with either One Punch Man or Tiger & Bunny. Make it the same way as Marvel or DC Comics and have an event where they do crossover, and how they interact and deal with a common threat. When the League of Villains attack, I really wished the S-class heroes of One Punch Man come to assist and see how Saitama deals with Nomu.

Last but not least, I cannot forget Porno Graffiti. I first heard of the band when they did the theme song "Anima Rossa" for Bleach, and they did a solid job with the theme song "The Day" for My Hero Academia.

So again, in spite of my reservations towards My Hero Academia, for what it's worth, it deserves to carry the torch of Shonen Anime from those before it. While I'm waiting for Season 2, I'll of course look up on the manga until it does arrive. I know it's still wishful thinking, but I do want it to crossover with One Punch Man or Tiger & Bunny. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give Season 1 of My Hero Academia a 3 out of 5.

So How DO You Bring Young Justice Back?

In the interview with Young Justice Creator Greg Weisman from Christopher Niosi's Youtube channel, Weisman provided the strategy that would help convince Warner Bros. Animation to consider making a third season of Young Justice.

Simply put - buy the merchandise like an obsessed Otaku who buys millions of copies of the same album to support his/her idol. Yeah, it's extreme, but you get the idea. This is also essentially the REAL reason the series got canceled.

According to Weisman:

"... I'm sure there are other little complications involved, but they're minor compared to the big thing, which was the budget for the show was paid for by money we received by Mattel in exchange for the toy license. When the toy line for Young Justice failed, and you could have a whole eight hour discussion on why it failed, that's so beside the point that it doesn't matter. The toy line failed. The money from Mattel stopped coming in. There was no money to make the show. It's that simple."

This, of course, contradicts what Paul Dini said in an interview with Kevin Smith from 2013:

"They're all for boys 'we do not want the girls', I mean, I've heard executives say this, you know, not [where I am] but at other places, saying like, 'We do not want girls watching this show.

...But, the Cartoon Network was saying, 'F***, no, we want the boys' action, it's boys' action, this goofy boy humor we've gotta get that in there. And we can't—' and I'd say, but look at the numbers, we've got parents watching, with the families, and then when you break it down—'Yeah, but the—so many—we've got too many girls. We need more boys.'"

What is certain is the old saying that merchandise sales DO matter when it comes to the success or failure of a show in Cartoon Network. This was essentially how Sym-Bionic Titan and Thundercats got canceled, while others like Teen Titans GO thrive because of both merchandise sales, and the fact that the show was very cheap to produce. In the end, the basic principle of trade that is "Buy Low, Sell High = Profit" is what matters.

I hate to be a party pooper here, so to speak, But Weisman's strategy is a tall order. Simply put, fans who want either a new Young Justice, or bring back the old Teen Titans or the New 52 version must give money that equals to, or surpasses, the money Cartoon Network earns from Teen Titans GO. Hate TTG all you want, but as long as it makes money for CN, and LOTS of it, they will never pull the plug. How can you convince that not only is Young Justice a much better show, but also rakes in MORE money than what TTG earns?

My hats off to you if you can provide a convincing argument. But don't respond to my article. Contact Cartoon Network and convince THEM that YJ is quite the cash cow.

Nick Premiere List July 2016

Tentative Premiere Dates for Nick and its sister networks for July:

Nickelodeon
All in With Cam Newton
Friday, July 8th-8:00 pm "All in With Grant and Tori"
Friday, July 15th-8:00 pm "All in With Joshua"
Friday, July 22nd-8:00 pm "All in With Tarra"

Crashletes
Tuesday, July 5th-7:00 pm "False Starts" (Series Premiere)
Wednesday, July 6th-7:00 pm "Spring Breakers"
Thursday, July 7th-7:00 pm "Heads Up!"
Friday, July 8th-7:00 pm "Truck Stick"
Monday, July 11th-7:00 pm "Gimmes"
Tuesday, July 12th-7:00 pm "Agony of Defeat"
Wednesday, July 13th-7:00 pm "Crashletes Foot"
Thursday, July 14th-7:00 pm "Partial Arts"
Friday, July 15th-7:00 pm "The Gronk Down"

Henry Danger
Sunday, July 17th-TBA "I Know Your Secret"

Legendary Dudas
Saturday, July 9th-9:00 pm "The Worst Best Day Ever" (Series Premiere)
Saturday, July 16th-9:00 pm "The Great Cricket Caper; Carpe Duda
Saturday, July 23rd-9:00 pm "Blazing Pedals; The Chest Hair"

Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn
Saturday, July 9th-8:30 pm "Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Sicky"
Saturday, July 16th-8:30 pm "Mission: Un-Quaddable"
Saturday July 23rd-8:30 pm "A Brief Case of Popularity"

Sanjay and Craig
Monday, July 18th TBA "Quitetude Dudes; Diaper Drinks"
Monday, July 25th TBA "Friend Card; Beach Butts"
Friday, July 29th TBA "Booyah for Bollywood"

Shimmer and Shine
Wednesday, July 6th-12:00 pm "Starry Night Sleepover; Wild Carpet Chase"
Wednesday, July 13th-12:00 pm "Lost and Found; Freeze-amay Falls"

SpongeBob SquarePants
Monday, July 11th TBA "Lame and Fortune"
Tuesday, July 12th TBA "Sandy's Nutmare"
Wednesday, July 13th TBA "Food Con Castaways"
Thursday, July 14th TBA "Pineapple Invasion"
Friday, July 15th TBA "Idiot Sauce"

The HALO Effect
Friday, July 22nd-8:30 pm "Reboot for Youth"

The Loud House
Monday, July 18th TBA "Toads and Tiaras"
Tueaday, July 19th TBA " Two Boys and a Baby"
Wednesday, July 20th TBA "Horse Sense"
Thursday, July 21st TBA "A Novel Idea"
Friday, July 22nd TBA "Overnight Success"

The Thundermans
Saturday, July 9th 8:00 pm "I'm Gonna Forget You, Sucka"
Saturday, July 16th 8:00 pm "Beat the Parents"
Saturday, July 23rd 8:00 pm "Can't Spy Me Love"



Nick Jr.
Hey Duggee
Monday, July 11th-2:00 pm TBA (Series Premiere)

Teletubbies
Friday, July 1st-8:00 am "Party!"



TV Land
The Jim Gaffigan Show
Sunday, July 3rd-10:00 pm "The List"
Sunday, July 10th-10:00 pm "No Good Deed Part 1"
Sunday, July 17th-10:00 pm "No Good Deed Part 2"
Sunday, July 24th-10:00 pm "No Good Deed Part 3"
Sunday, July 31st-10:00 pm "He Said She Said"
Sunday, August 7th-10:00 pm "My Brother's Keeper"
Sunday, August 14th-10:00 pm "Jim at the Museum"
Sunday, August 21st-10:00 pm "Bosom Buddies"
Sunday, August 21st-10:30 pm "The Mike Gaffigan Show"

Specials
2016 Kids' Choice Sports-Sunday, July 17th-8:00 pm (Simulcasted on Nicktoons and TeenNick)

Hollywood Adapting One Punch Man???

These are rumors hanging about in places like 4chan and Reddit, so take these with a grain of salt.

According to one who claims to have visited this year's Licensing Expo, rumors of several movie studios, namely Fox and Warner Bros, wrestling over the rights to One Punch Man to be adapted to a movie, seeing it as a potential competitor to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In addition to OPM, the upcoming Ghost in The Shell movie starring Scarlett Johansson will be treated similarly to the movie Edge of Tomorrow (based on the manga All You Need is Kill) starring Tom Cruise. So Johansson's character, based on Motoko Kusanagi, will be simply named "The Major". Furthermore, the plot of GiTS will be loosely based on the Stand Alone Complex TV series.

Again, I CANNOT PERSONALLY CONFIRM THESE. So take them what you will.

Justin Bieber - The Manga (I Kid You Not)

Seriously, there will be a manga starring Justin Bieber as reported by Sankaku Complex (NSFW Warning).

I'm well aware there was a Sherlock manga based on the BBC series starring Benedict Cumberbatch, but this.....no. 

Happy 25th Birthday, You Hedgehog

Sony will produce a movie based on Sonic The Hedgehog as part of the franchise's 25th Anniverary. Other news include a new Sonic game and another season of the Sonic Boom CG Cartoon series. More info at SDCC.

Looks like I'll have to dust off my old Genesis console and play the Sonic games again.

MORE GUMBALL CONFIRMED!

BREAKING NEWS: Gumball gets a 6th Season order!

Gumball feels so lucky

One Punch Man Artst Announces New Manga Series; Season 2 Anime in Definite Hiatus?

Crunchyroll reports that Yusuke Murata, creator of Eyeshield 21 and artist of the manga version of One Punch Man, announced a new manga project to be serialized in Weekly Morning starting next month. This could possibly mean Murata will be taking a break from doing the One Punch Man manga, where the Garou Arc is still ongoing.

For those waiting for Season 2 of One Punch Man, this could mean it may be delayed for at least another year.

Steven Universe is an Anti-SJW Show

A member of Toon Zone recently published a piece explaining why a show like Steven Universe is contrary to being SJW-themed as many SJW advocates believe.

Coincidentally, this blog is published during Pride Week. I'd be surprised if this blog goes up unscathed from the wrath of the SJW faction of the SU fanbase.

Disney Premiere List July 2016

Quite early if you ask me, but here are the tentative premiere dates of shows from Disney Channel and its sister networks (credit to Toon Zone):


Disney Channel
Backstage
Friday, July 10th-9:00 pm "Play Well With Others" (#112)
Friday, July 17th-9:00 pm "Hold On" (#113)
Friday, July 24th-9:00 pm "Twelve Hours to Showtime" (#114)
Sunday, July 31st-TBA "Showtime" (#115)

Best Friends Whenever
Monday, July 25th-TBA "Princess Problems" (#201) (Season Premiere)
Tuesday, July 26th-TBA "Worst Night Whenever" (#202)
Wednesday, July 27th-TBA "Epic Girl's Day" (#203)
Thursday, July 28th-TBA "Girl Code" (#204)
Friday, July 29th-TBA "Derby Little Secret" (#205)

Bizaardvark
Sunday, July 10th-8:00 pm "Draw My Life" (#102)
Sunday, July 17th-8:00 pm "Frankie Has a Hater" (#103)
Sunday, July 24th-8:00 pm "Superfan" (#104)
Sunday, July 31st-8:00 pm "The Collab" (#105)

Elena of Avalor
Friday, July 22nd-7:00 pm "First Day of Rule" (#101) (Series Premiere)

Girl Meets World
Friday, July 8th-8:30 pm "Girl Meets Upstate" (#306)
Friday, July 15th-8:30 pm "Girl Meets True Maya" (#307)
Friday, July 22nd-8:30 pm "Girl Meets Ski Lodge Part 1" (#308)
Friday, July 29th-8:30 pm "Girl Meets Ski Lodge Part 2" (#309)

K.C. Undercover
Sunday, July 10th-8:30 pm "KC Levels Up" (#212)
Sunday, July 17th-8:30 pm "Bounty Hunter" (#213)
Sunday, July 24th-8:30 pm "Sup, Dawg?" (#214)

Stuck in the Middle
Monday, July 18th-TBA "Stuck in the Harley Car" (#112)
Tuesday, July 19th-TBA "Stuck in Lockdown" (#113)
Wednesday, July 29th-TBA "Stuck Without a Ride" (#114)
Thursday, July 21st-TBA "Stuck in the Quinceanera" (#115)
Friday, July 22nd-TBA "Stuck in the Diaz of Our Lives" (#116)


Disney XD
Avengers: Ultron Revolution
Sunday, July 24th-8:30 am "Inhumans Among Us" (#309)
Sunday, July 31st-8:30 am "The Inhuman Condition" (#310)

Counterfeit Cat
Friday, July 1st-12:30 pm "Staring Dog; 28 Seconds Later" (#113)

Guardians of the Galaxy
Sunday, July 3rd-8:00 am "Inhuman Touch" (#121)
Sunday, July 10th-8:00 am "Welcome Back" (#122)
Sunday, July 17th-8:00 am "I've Been Searching So Long" (#123)
Sunday, July 24th-8:00 am "I Feel the Earth Move" (#124)

Kirby Buckets
Monday, July 11th-12:00 pm "Buckets of Money" (#221)
Monday, July 25th-12:00 pm "Torched" (#222)

Lab Rats: Elite Force
Monday, July 25th-TBA "Coming Through in the Clutch" (#108)

Lego Star Wars: The Freemaker Chronicles
Monday, July 11th-10:00 am "Crossing Paths" (#106)
Monday, July 18th-10:00 am "Race on Tatooine" (#107)
Monday, July 25th-10:00 am "The Test" (#108)

Pickle and Peanut
Monday, July 18th-11:00 am "Night Shift; Scalped"
Monday, July 25th-11:00 am "Australia Parts 1 and 2"

Star vs. the Forces of Evil
Monday, July 11th-10:30 am "My New Wand!; Ludo in the Wild (#201) (Season Premiere)
Monday, July 18th-10:30 am "Mr. Candle Cares; Red Belt" (#202)
Monday, July 25th-10:30 am "Star on Wheels; Fetch" (#203)

The 7D
Saturday, July 2nd-9:30 am "Smarty Tooth; Surely, You Jest" (#212)
Saturday, July 9th-9:30 am "Hop To It, Dopey!; What Are You, Five?" (#213)
Saturday, July 16th-9:30 am "Bedknobs and Gloomsticks; Take Care of Your Elf" (#214)
Saturday, July 23rd-9:30 am "7D and the Beast; Game of Grumpy" (#215)
Saturday, July 30th-9:30 am "Bummer Vacation; They Growl By Night" (#216)

Ultimate Spider-Man vs. the Sinister 6
Sunday, July 3rd-9:00 am "Symbiote Saga: Part 1" (#413)
Sunday, July 10th-9:00 am "Symbiote Saga: Part 2" (#414)
Sunday, July 17th-9:00 am "Symbiote Saga: Part 3" (#415)

Walk the Prank
Tuesday, July 5th-11:30 am "LOL the Vote" (#106)
Wednesday, July 6th-11:30 am "Fish You Were Here" (#107)
Thursday, July 8th-11:30 am "Baby Please" (#108)


Disney Junior
Doc McStuffins
Saturday, July 30th-TBA "Welcome to McStuffinville" (#401) (Season Premiere)

Goldie & Bear
Saturday, July 2nd-TBA "Sing Froggy Sing; Forget Me Lots" (#120)
Saturday, July 23rd-TBA "Do You Know the Muffin Kids; Jack of All Trades" (#121)

Jake and the Never Land Pirates
Tuesday, July 12th-TBA "Beardini's Apprentice; Mummy First Mate" (#413)
Tuesday, July 19th-TBA "Crabageddon!; Night of the Stonewolf (#414)
Tuesday, July 26th-TBA "Tales of Captain Buzzard" (#415)

Miles from Tomorrowland
Tuesday, July 19th-TBA "Galloping Groundshakers; Galatech: March of the Robo-Penguins" (#204)
Tuesday, July 26th-TBA "The Tiny Ailens; The Adventures of Jet Retrograde" (#205)

Sofia the First
Sunday, July 3rd-TBA "The Secret Library: The Tale of the Noble Knight" (#320)
Sunday, July 10th-TBA "The Bamboo Kite" (#321)

Sheriff Callie's Wild West
Tuesday, July 5th-TBA "How the Water Was Won; Double Trouble" (#216)

The Lion Guard
Sunday, July 10th-TBA "The Imaginary Okapi" (#116)
Sunday, July 17th-TBA "Too Many Termites" (#117)
Sunday, July 24th-TBA "Janja's New Crew" (#118)

Voice Acting Award For The Oscars?

An OP/ED piece from Variety talks about Ellen DeGeneres's performance as Dory in Disney's 'Finding Dory' and criticizing the Academy Awards for never recognizing voice acting.

Quote the article:
"Don’t expect her to get any awards recognition at the end of the year. That’s because Oscars have never once nominated a vocal performance in the acting categories. Although members of the Academy can vote for them, and studios have occasionally campaigned for actors for their voice work (such as Jennifer Jason Leigh in last year’s “Anomalisa”), Academy voters have been too rigid to actually celebrate acting in an animated film.
.
Which begs the question: do the Oscars need a separate category for these kinds of performances?"

Considering the Academy Awards never really took Animation seriously and intends to keep it that way after Beauty & The Beast won Best Picture, same applies when it comes to voice acting. That's why I stopped caring for the Oscars anymore.

Of course, we have the Annie Awards, but even that has its issues of bias with its members being mostly from Disney and the like.

Skylanders Series Coming to Netflix

Popular Skylanders Toy/Game franchise coming to Netflix as an animated series.

I never got into Skylanders, but I am well aware it's very popular and only rivaled by Nintendo's Amiibo toys. There was also Disney Infinity until the House of Mouse shuts down its entire game division because they simply lack confidence in it. Shame, since Disney Infinity was doing so well.

Collider Now Pushing Voltron's "Transgender" Issue

Here's the headline that came out of my Google news feed and I actually took the time to read it.

You know, if Collider refers to Pidge's 'coming out' as a metaphorical representation of being transgender (much like how the X-Men is a metaphorical representation of diversity), I'd be ok with this. But Collider just pushes the idea that Pidge IS transgender when the entire narrative dictates completely otherwise.

In other words, Pidge has always BEEN a girl from the very beginning, and only assumed the identity of a boy to infiltrate the Galaxy Garrison undetected. She only 'came out' as a girl to everyone so there is no more secrets for her to hide and that she is in sync with the whole team. She is NOT transgender or anything of the sort by any means.

And does anyone from Collider or anyone else pushing for Pidge to be a transgender person ever heard of 'Mulan'?

Samurai Jack News (4th UPDATE)

copypasta from /co/

From a bunch of tweets I've found:

>It's official #SamuraiJack first look, darker, better, for adults but still funny ! @ Annecy https://www.instagram.com/p/BGrM4MixdFL/

>The new season is taking place 50 years after the original series and delves into the toll its taken on Jack #SamuraiJack #annecy2016

>#SamuraiJack is still here and there but doesn't act. Which puts Aku in a "blased"-ness, he's all bored and kill for fun #AnnecyFestival

>#SamuraiJack 10 episodes, same format. No indications on "when" he'll be aired on @adultswim but Tartakovski says "Soon" !

>Jack has new gear, samurai styled armor and a wicked motorcycle. His katana is missing..this will be a plotpoint #SamuraiJack #annecy2016



Oh, and we won't get a trailer. Damn. Least we have these pics. 

UPDATE: According to the tweet below, Samurai Jack will be 10 episodes and presented as a 5-hour film with a much darker, and more adult tone, and will serve as closure to the series.
https://twitter.com/AlexLoos/status/743065076211560448

The 2nd Tweet reveals that despite the 50 year gap, Jack doesn't appear to have aged at all and that will be one of the show's mysteries.
https://twitter.com/MidouMir/status/743066594776092672


2nd UPDATE: with new pics. Also according to the tweet, what is presented are only storyboards for the Opening Sequence as the animation itself isn't finished.  Expect the series to premiere late this year if not early next year. 
https://twitter.com/AlexLoos/status/743121987845955584

3rd UPDATE: Even MORE pics plus some rough sketches of what Jack looks like now and another pic of him in Samurai Armor and riding the motorcycle. 

4th Update: Even more pics from this year's SDCC. Also, the series' release is delayed to 2017, according to Tartakovsky. We also see perhaps the first HUMAN death in the series.

How Soon Until New Episodes of Voltron: Legendary Defender Come Out?

One of the staff members of the Netflix series gave info on his Tumblr post. Here is the full excerpt:

"For everyone put-off by Voltron: Legendary Defender’s pacing, ending, and seemingly low episode count for the season: the “Netflix season” is technically not that. When it comes to their animated shows, Netflix has recently been splitting up season orders into two different seasons in order to have a decent amount of episodes as fast as possible. It’s a bit annoying, but it beats the alternative of having to wait a long time for updates of five new episodes.

So, “season one” is less a full season and more of the first half of the actual season. It also means that, yes, there are more episodes to come later on. "

With the upcoming Comic Book series coming next month, my bet is that the next season comes as soon as the comic is finished.

Voltron Comic Book announced.

Want more Voltron: Legendary Defender? A comic book series is on the way that will bridge the gap between seasons.

That was pretty quick, if you  ask me. Then again, the show is a huge hit just a few days after its release and I'm proud of it. Here's hoping those who enjoy it would delve deeper in the the mecha genre.

Voltron's Ending (SPOILER ALERT)

Basically the final scenes of the season finale of Voltron: Legendary Defender, with a little spice on top. Made by request.

Warcraft Movie Review

There's been some talk regarding the Warcraft movie, which is an adaptation of the video game franchise by Blizzard. It recently came out in the US, but was released overseas much earlier.

On the one hand, the movie is panned by critics getting a 27% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a 32/100 score on Metacritic, and as of this review, it's estimated to earn less than $30 million at the US Box Office.

On the other hand, regular moviegoers give Warcraft a favorable rating. IMDB ranks it at 7.8 out of 10 from its user base. Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic users give around the 8's and 9's. And according to BoxMojo as of this review, it earned $276 million internationally.

With the production budget of $160 million, and that it's not as heavily marketed as the Marvel and DC movies, I would say financially speaking, the movie did well.

So we have yet another scenario of movie hated by critics, but enjoyed by the audience. And it's a video game-turned-movie to boot. Where do I stand in this? Well, before I give my review, a few things to consider: I have played the first 3 Warcraft games and the only one I never bothered playing was World of Warcraft. Furthermore, I am not as invested of the mythology of the Warcraft franchise as its hardcore audience. So one can say between a hardcore fan of Warcraft and someone who never heard of it before, I'm somewhere down the middle.

The simplest way to explain the plot of Warcraft is that it is loosely based on the first game that sets up the war between the Human race and the invading Orcs. The movie shows the war from both sides through the eyes of its two main characters - Durotan of the Orcs, played by Toby Kebbell. You probably know him as Dr. Doom in Fox's reboot of Fantastic Four. And from the Human side, we have Sir Lothar played by Travis Fimmel, who plays Ragnar in the Tv series Vikings. Between them are an ensemble cast of characters who play a much bigger role within the franchise's mythology as opposed to the movie itself.

And that's where I find the biggest problem with Warcraft - it's cast of characters. There's just too many of them and very little time for the audience to know who these characters are. As a result, I could not care less about them at all. The only character that the movie really gave time to develop and ergo for the audience to connect was Durotan. For Warcraft fans, no doubt they will know who these characters are and will cheer for them, but not so much for everyone else, me included.

And because I care little for the characters, the overall narrative of the movie suffers. Though it is not a total loss as Durotan's arc is quite interesting up until the very end.

The movie tries to be a clone of sorts of the Lord of The Rings movies, and thus shower you with all these CG sequences. Yes, they are indeed good looking. In fact it is awesome and makes you feel like you're watching a cutscene from an actual video game. But it's in such excess and some have little to do with the actual plot and is nothing more but an eyecatch.

The reason why The Lord of The Rings were three movies long is because it is quite a very long story, and therefore there must be time to develop and connect to the characters and the conflict they are in. I believe it would have been better if the Warcraft movie is divided into two films - one about the Orcs, and one about the Humans, much like the first 3 games. Obviously, the studio cannot afford that so everything has to be jumbled up in one movie, and this is the result.

The action sequences are what you would expect from a typcial fantasy movie. However, because the scenes do have that video game cutscene feeling, it's not bad at all. While not in the same league as the cutscenes from Metal Gear Solid, if this movie were an actual game and these scenes appear, I would set my controls aside and enjoy watching it while eating popcorn.

And overall that's what Warcraft really is. It's neither a bad movie, or a good one. You just sit down, relax, eat your snacks and kill time by watching the movie. And there really is nothing wrong with that. This movie unfortunately won't convince the general audience to invest into the franchise. But for those who have already done so, you'll be quite happy with it.

As for me, the Warcraft won't convince me to spend $20 a month to get my ass kicked in World of Warcraft by those who played the game in like forever. But it does motivate me to go back and replay the first 3 games for nostalgia. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give the movie adaptation of Warcraft - a 3 out of 5.

New Berserk Anime Teaser

New Teaser Trailer for the latest Berserk anime airing July 8th in Japan. Unlike the first series and the movies, the new Berserk anime will begin with the Retribution arc, which is the second major story arc in the series.

Berserk is a long-running fantasy-horror manga series by Kentaro Miura. Cursed with a sacrificial brand that makes him the target of demons for the rest of his life, the swordsman named Guts travels across medieval Europe to fight both demon and human armies alike to seek and destroy the man responsible for his curse and the deaths of all his companions.

Americans DON'T Dig Giant Robots

Anime News Network has an article explaining why the Gundam franchise isn't popular in America unlike native Japan.

This is something I have known for a very long time. Unless the robot being featured is Optimus Prime, mainstream Americans simply have no interest in the mecha genre of anime, period. Even in Netflix's Voltron: Legendary Defender, of which there is a huge positive response to it, the title robot only appears in less than half of the season's episodes, with the rest focused mainly on its characters. It's not essentially a bad thing, but in mecha anime, the featured robot is always the very center of it all, be it from Evangelion, the Gundam franchise, Astro Boy, and Gurren Lagann.

Pacific Rim is another example of American audiences very disinterested in giant robots.

The Iron Giant is the closest thing to a fictional work about mecha that really connected with American audiences, and that the Giant itself is a major character. But that's such a stretch.

Netflix's Voltron Season 1 Review

So Netflix in the US has aired Voltron: Legendary Defender today. It actually was up at around 3 in the morning where I live and I binge watch the whole thing. And I have to say, even though I'm still tired as of this recording and my eyes are burning red, it's all worth it.

Now since there are so many versions of the franchise, I will refer to the Netflix series as "Legendary Defender", while the original series, which is itself an adaptation of the GoLion anime, I will refer to as "Defender of The Universe".

If you've seen the past incarnations of Voltron, or even the original GoLion anime, you have a good idea of the general plot of this latest series. If this is your first entry into the Voltron franchise, you're in for a treat. This is especially if you happen to be a fan of Nickelodeon's Avatar franchise, as Legendary Defender is co-produced by Joaquin dos Santos and Lauren Montgomery, who together not only worked on The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra, but also Young Justice, a number of animated films for DC comics, and Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. What made those other shows great, they carry it in Legendary Defender. However, I wouldn't call it a perfect show.

The best way I can describe Legendary Defender is that it is The Legend of Korra with Giant Robots and a sausage fest. Now for anyone who's complaining that the team is an all-boys team (which I personally see nothing wrong with it. It IS an action-adventure mecha series, after all.), don't worry. There is going to be a change in the roster that surprises even those who know the franchise all too well. As such, there is a feeling that you're watching a sort of a spiritual successor to the Avatar franchise in Legendary Defender. Lance, in particular has his character so heavily inspired by The Last Airbender's Sokka, you would think he's the exact same character.

Like the Avatar franchise, there is a significant amount of light-heartedness and comedy that helps you warm up to the series, followed by the action and drama of its core characters. Lance again, thanks to his character and charisma, would obviously be a fan-favorite. And even more so as he is played by Adventure Time's Jeremy Shada. I really give a lot of credit to Shada for playing the character as he sounds completely different from that of Finn The Human. Though there are times you will hear Shada sounding like Ooo's champion.

I personally find my favorite in Takashi Shirogane, or Shiro in this series played by Josh Keaton. Not only was he a nod to the original character in GoLion aka Sven in Defender of The Universe, for a character that's the team leader, he plays such a grand role and I really like him for it. Metaphorically speaking, he is like the modern version of Kambei from Seven Samurai, or if you prefer, a lot like Optimus Prime in every sense of the word, yet still have issues of his own that makes him quite vulnerable.

Giving Shiro the team leader role actually suits him much better than Keith, who is the traditional leader in Defender of The Universe and other incarnations. Keith being a hot-headed loner instead of being the leader is actually a welcome change, as the Keith in other versions of Voltron sans Defender of The Universe is, well, terrible.

Furthermore, the Voltron team's persona, while designated to being like a Super Sentai or Power Rangers group, of which I expect as such, their personas compliment one another to a point of being symbiotic. Though it's not always the case.

More often than not, you will see pairings of Lance and Keith together, as well as Shiro and Pidge. And believe me, not long after the show finally premiered, I'm already seeing fan art pairings of the characters. Even for a straight guy like me, I am all for a Shiro x Pidge shipping because "they have a great chemistry".

For mecha afficionados like myself, I find it surprising that much of the premise of Legendary Defender comes more from the GoLion anime than Defender of The Universe. The staff behind Legendary Defender also appears to have taken quite the time to look at other mecha shows and applied those elements in this production, but arranged to suit the modern audience.

 

 

In a typical mecha show, the giant robot is called into action virtually every week to take on the big bad of each episode. Though that element has changed over the years, nonetheless it is still around even in today's mecha like Macross Delta, Knights of Sidonia, and Aquarion Logos. In other words, although this is technically a giant robot show, you'll only see Voltron in action in nearly half of the season, while the rest focuses entirely on the characters.

The showrunners also try to make Legendary Defender slightly more realistic. What I mean by that is, for example, in the Power Rangers franchise, when the Rangers get on their Megazord, it's assumed they already know how to operate it and use its weapons even if it's their very first time. In Legendary Defender, the team tries to learn more about Voltron as the season progresses, learning more weapons and abilities along the way. And just because it's described as the most powerful robot in the known universe (which it does), the enemy giant robots are no pushovers either. Furthermore, the first season of Legendary Defender is actually one huge story arc divided into a series of mini arcs. So there is a lot of continuity going on with barely anything that would be a stand-alone or "filler" episode.

And I must say, I love the Voltron design. It has that look and feel of a true Super Robot that you can also imagine as a toy with the combining lions. I also love the CG battle scenes as it's smooth in its execution and looks amazing that you can watch it again even if it's many years later.

Oh and if you are a die-hard fan of 80's anime, there are quite a number of cameo appearances and other easter eggs if you can spot them.

Despite all the raves I give for Legendary Defender, it does have a number of problems. One, for a series that is one long narrative, we know very little about Voltron itself and its origins, as well as that of King Zarkon. I am hoping, however, that the next season takes us deeper into that, especially given the season finale's revelation.

This part, I will include spoilers, but certain elements of the plot are very questionable. In the first episode, when Princess Allura suggests to use Voltron to fight Zarkon head-on because it's the most powerful weapon in the universe, her father instead chose to split the robot and hide it across the cosmos, for no apparent reason. That was very idiotic for a king, and from the writers who made that scenario. And you'll be seeing similar plotholes a lot. The show also suffers from their dialogue that makes me cringe every time they made those quotes, like the show is somehow still stuck in the 80's or something and is aimed at 5 year olds.

I would say episodes 6-9 are the weakest of the bunch. They don't provide the excitement and interest like I thought it would. You need to watch them still because they are part of the greater narrative. 

Because this is an American cartoon and not a Japanese one, death is taboo unless the one who dies is either a) a villain; b) a non-organic being; or c) a very minor character nobody cares about. Legendary Defender isn't as mature-themed as Legend of Korra or Batman: The Animated Series, either.

And I really, REALLY, hate the soundtrack. There is no theme song and all you get is just generic background music. It's so bland it actually kills off any excitement and anticipation for the show. And because Dreamworks isn't afraid to have a dragon burn you into crisp when it comes to distributing content, I can't post how the Voltron combination sequence would look like using the Opening theme to GoLion, which I find it a thousand times BETTER than their stock music. So if you want to check it out, you can visit my post here.

Finally, the season is incredibly short at just 11 episodes (12 if you divide the pilot into two). So it feels like you were left hanging by the end of the run.

Having said all of that, and that it's not exactly THE definitive mecha series, I have to give kudos to the showrunners and everyone behind Legendary Defender, as this essentially gives justice to both Defender of The Universe and the GoLion anime. If you enjoyed watching the latter two, you will love this one as it is the best incarnation of the bunch. If you're a mecha fan, you will also dig in. If this is your first entry into Voltron, or giant mecha in general, you will have a good time watching it. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 1, a 4 out of 5.

X-Men: Apocalypse Review

So this week, my brother and I finally managed to watch X-Men: Apocalypse, the latest in the X-Men movie franchise from Fox. And the best way I would describe the movie is from one of the scenes in the movie, in which the X-men were watching Return of The Jedi and  Jean Grey, played by Sophie Turner, quoted as saying, "the third one is always the worst".

No shit, Sansa Stark. The third in this rebooted franchise is just as bad X-Men: The Last Stand, if not THE worst of the bunch.

Basically much of the movie was just plain boring, especially the first half. I was so disinterested in the presentation of Apocalypse's origin and setup, along with that of the younger X-Men that I stopped paying attention to it and left to do something else.

One reason Joel Schumacher's Batman & Robin was heavily panned is because the movie completely ditches the source material and gives characters like Bane and Poison Ivy an entirely different origin and character. Not only did these depictions alienate those who are familiar with them from the comics, but they aren't appealing to the general audience either.

That was the case with the characters of X-Men Apocalypse. In particular the way they write the character of Apocalypse (or by his ancient name "En Sabah Nur") and the Four Horsemen. To keep it short, NONE of these characters are anything like their comic book counterparts other than by name.

I am well aware that Apocalypse has a very complicated history and that there is little room for Fox to fill it in the movie, so they rewrite the character so that he is established quickly to the general audience. But the end result is Apocalypse being "just another villain" with nothing in his character or in his abilities that makes him a really threatening character on a global scale.

Seriously, the animated series from the 90's and the 2000's have done a much better job of making Apocalypse as intimidating and cool as his comic book counterpart. The people who worked on this movie just does a very bad job at this!

What I hate most about this movie's version of Apocalypse is that he has to follow the trope in that the villain, spoiler alert, gets killed off. For a character like Apocalypse, that's not supposed to happen because of his character! This simply undermines any future stories of this movie franchise (if Fox is gonna continue at all) because the villain that comes after Apocalypse must be bigger. And as someone familiar with the comics, with the end credits pretty much hinting at who next villain is, it's underwhelming.

As for the Four Horsemen, they are another disappointment as the movie makes them nothing more but just mere lackeys. It's even more disappointing that among the Four Horsemen is Storm, one of the most well liked characters in the X-Men comics and a huge player in the X-Men's history reduced to a being a minor character. It's sad that throughout the movies, the character of Storm has always been this way.

As much as I love Olivia Munn from her days as a co-host on Attack on The Show, after all that promotion she's been doing prior to this release, it turns out, she didn't do very much. It's as though her only purpose in the movie is just for sex appeal because, quite frankly, Psylocke was hot in the comics. I'm surprised the SJW community isn't giving two cents on Psylocke and instead is focused on raining their complaints on a billboard of all things.

Speaking of which, the movie places Jennifer Lawrence's character of Mystique as the main protagonist. While she was a great protagonist in The Hunger Games, the same cannot be said in this one. In fact, we barely even see her use her mutant powers effectively in this movie and just moves around saying things with very little action. And because she is Jennifer Lawrence, there are calls to to do a solo movie of Mystique. People seem to forget that Mystique is a super-villain. And if you want to do a solo Mystique movie with this kind of performance by Lawrence, I will tell you right now it'll just end up like that dreadful Catwoman movie, if not worse.

I get that Hugh Jackman can't play Wolverine forever and Fox is trying to find an X-Men character who can really carry the franchise. Whether Fox likes it or not, James Howlett, aka Logan, aka Wolverine, is what really carried the X-Men franchise to what we know today. There is no one within the X-Men roster that is even close to Logan in terms of his placement in Marvel history. Although Laura Kinney is the current Wolverine in the comics, she is definitely not THE Wolverine.

If there is anything good about X-Men Apocalypse at all, it's the story arc involving Magneto. He's basically the only interesting character throughout the movie as we see his rise and fall and back again. If anything I would rather see a solo Magneto movie and how he progresses into becoming a recurring villain for the X-Men and founding his own faction than a solo Mystique movie.

I'm sorry, but other than Michael Fassbender as Magneto and Evan Peters as Quicksilver, who is far more interesting than Marvel's version of the character, I simply have little care for everyone else because they are simply not interesting enough for me.

To get right down to it, Fox's X-Men movie franchise is having the same issues with Sony's Spider-Man movies in that there isn't much content in terms of characters and stories to make a good movie. Often the most interesting stories of the X-Men involve them crossing over with other Marvel characters. The situation is even worse when the movies tend to kill off key villains like Apocalypse, essentially destroying any key stories that involve the character, thus further limiting the amount of content that they can use.

This is why Sony is making a deal with Disney so that the Marvel characters can cross over to the Spider-Man movies and vice versa. I would pay to see a Maximum Carnage movie where Spider-Man and Venom along with the Avengers try to stop Carnage and his team of misfits. Fox should follow Sony's example and re-negotiate with Marvel. If they can do that, then that means tons and tons of great stories they can use for their movies. They redo the Dark Phoenix Saga, or do House of M, or Onslaught, or even Avengers vs X-Men.

But if Fox prefer to go solo, then they better make the next line of X-Men movies really damn good because Deadpool and Captain America: Civil War have set the bar. My advice to Fox is this - STOP making X-Men as a superhero genre of movies and start making the X-Men movies based on what made them well-known in the first place.

The X-Men serve as metaphors for social issues that relates to everyone who has ever read their stories. Instead of seeing the X-Men struggle because of a supervillain on the loose, why not see them struggle because of the fact they ARE mutants and are faced with huge discrimination against them by the general public? I remember a short X-Men story where Wolverine and Jubillee discuss the greatest foes they ever faced and Wolverine showed the young Jubillee that the X-Men greatest foe are the ones they simply can never fight back against - regular people.

There's a reason why X-Men Apocalypse is given a low rating - it's boring, the characters not interesting or relatable, the action is unsatisfactory, and Apocalypse is just too generic of a villain. I'd say even Batman v Superman is a much better movie than this. I just can't find anything positive to defend this movie even for die-hard X-Men fans. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give X-Men: Apocalypse, a 1 out of 5.

New Digimon Series

I've been hearing about this for awhile, but I had to wait until the news finally come out for confirmation. Here's a first look at the latest incarnation of the Digimon franchise.

Viva la France for Doing New Ant-Man and Rocket Racoon & Groot Shorts

According to Variety, Marvel is producing a series of Animated shorts based on Ant-Man and Guardians of The Galaxy's Rocket Racoon & Groot. The shorts are part of a deal Disney and other studios made with the French Government on producing Animation in France with tax breaks included. A similar case happened in Cartoon Network's The Amazing World of Gumball as the series is produced in the UK with tax breaks from the British Government that resulted in the quality of the animation we see in the show.

Below are samples of animated works by Ugo Bienvenu and Kevin Manach, the French Directors hired by Marvel to do a series of animated shorts based on Ant-Man. The video is NSFW since it contains some nudity (it is from France after all).

I'll admit, I'm impressed and if they can do this kind of animation and not like the one from Disney's Ultimate Spider-Man, I'm all for it.

https://vimeo.com/131078311

Netflix's Voltron - Transformation Sequence With A Twist

In anticipation of the upcoming Voltron: Legendary Defender on Netflix, and due to public demand, here is the transformation sequence of Voltron, but with a little added spice - the Opening theme of the original Hundred Beasts GoLion Anime series*.

I originally wanted to put this up on Youtube, but Dreamworks has blocked any uploads of the show worldwide, so I'm putting it here instead. Enjoy!

*FYI Hundred Beasts GoLion is the original Japanese title of Voltron: Defender of The Universe.

Dragon Ball Super Just Doesn't Get Better (in a bad way)

I'm starting to realize Toei's mismanagement of both their resources and their projects is hurting the overall presentation far more than I thought. In the case of episode 46 of DBS, most of the Goku vs Copy-Vegeta is done off-screen with barely any choreography at all. Only key frames are shown with the two characters striking, but otherwise the fight scene is quite lacking.

What the show really needs is a season break. Give the staff more time to fine tune the show from a production standpoint. But DBS is not like other anime shows like Assassination Classrom or JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, where it had 6 months of preparation. Instead, it falls on the weekly schedule in the same manner as other Shonen Jump shows like One Piece and Naruto.

A compromise would be dividing the staff into teams. The ones with the least experience do the minor arcs or the smaller episodes. Key episodes and major fights should be done by the more experienced. But that's a stretch and Japanese companies aren't known for being mindful of quality and such so long as they get a profit.

Why else did Konami announce a Metal Gear Solid Pinball game? Toei can do that too, you know. Iin fact they already did.

I'm just crossing my fingers now that for the Future Trunks arc, Toei does something to make the arc decent overall.

Suicide Squad Spoiler Thoughts

So someone spoiled the plot of Suicide Squad. Will not spoil it here, but I will give my thoughts:

- The team is definitely based on their New 52 versions

- The foundation of the Suicide Squad is loosely based on Project Cadmus (read: a way to defeat Superman)

- Like X-Men Apocalypse, a number of the SS members have very small roles up to having no dialogue at all

- Take a good guess why WB is doing a solo Harley Quinn movie

- Batman and Joker's appearances are just as frequent as the Assault on Arkham movie (meaning not so much)

- Deadshot is literally just Will Smith in a costume


I'd say the movie is a 50/50 split. Well, I'll see for myself when it comes out eventually.

When Food in Anime Makes You Hungry

Who would've thought that in JoJo's Bizarre Adventure you get to see food that looks so appetizing you can actually make one at home? This is Harlot Spaghetti, by the way from the most recent episode. And I intend to make one.

Iron-Blooded Orphans Season 1 Review

With Toonami airing Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans this weekend, I thought I took the time to give the series a second look after seeing it in Japanese a few months back. I explained the general plot of Iron-Blooded Orphans in my First Impressions review, which you can find in the video description. So instead I will give quick thoughts on the first season overall.

First off, Iron-Blooded Orphans, or IBO for short, or simply just 'Orphans', is part of the Another Gundam or the Alternate Universe line of the Gundam franchise. In other words, it's a stand-alone series with no ties to any previous Gundam works, so if you happen to be new to the franchise, this serves as an entry point of sorts.

I like that Orphans is very much grounded as far as the tech is concerned. The Gundam franchise prides itself as being sophisticated in its technology that is on par, if not surpass the technological concepts found in Star Trek and Star Wars - from Beam Rifles to Remote-Controlled Weapons, Radar-Jamming Particles, etc.. In IBO's case, they still use conventional weapons and ammo used today. And for close combat, instead of Beam Swords, it's large melee weapons made of steel so menacing you don't want to get hit by one of those, ever!

One thing I've listened to from other Gundam and mecha fans who've seen the series is that they don't like the lack of action this series has. More often than not, you have to wait around 3 to 5 episodes before an actual armed conflict takes place. To me, it's actually just fine as it gives time to know more of the characters and the world around them. It also shows the everyday lives of the Tekkadan crew and eventually, I get to form an attachment to them.

That being said, I find the Tekkadan crew as essentially the only group of characters that really matter. Everyone else just deserves to be cast aside because I really couldn't care about them at all. The show does try its best to make the other characters relevant, with a very small degree of success.

And when the fights really do come, unlike other Gundam shows, the Gundams here are indeed powerful, but are not by all means invincible. Even in the early episodes, the Barbatos suffered quite the damage against a grunt unit. This helps make the fights more interesting with the knowledge that there is a good possiblity the Barbatos and the other Gundams will end up wrecked.

What I really dislike about Orphans is how predictable the plot is. You can easily tell what will happen in future episodes and which characters are more than likely to get killed off. Ironically, when the latter does happen in the case of some specific characters, you do feel that weight being placed upon you. Even more so if the scene is followed by any of the show's 2 ending themes, which does have a great sense of sadness into them, but also a sense of peace and tranquility. Still, despite all this, you are compelled to see what happens next.

And then we have Mikazuki Augus, the series' protagonist. This guy is both cool and scary at the same time.

The Cool part: the show reminds you as awesome as Mikazuki is as a soldier and the Gundam Barbatos's pilot, he is still a young lad and shows as much. I find it humnling how Mika wants to learn how to read and write. And the awkwardness of him trying to learn social manners, especially when it comes to his relationship with Kudelia, and to some extent, Atra.

The Scary part: when Mika fights, he is the most ruthless person you ever see on-screen, far more than any other Gundam protagonist. He can basically shoot you in the head without ever giving a flinch. I guess that's why some fans see Mikazuki as some sort of human guard dog where if given the word, he takes out the target quickly and very efficiently, all while still looking like a badass.

IBO may not be a definitive Gundam series for fans of the franchise. And it's certainly not a perfect show as it has quite a number of flaws. But for what it's worth it is far more interesting than the other stand-alone Gundams out there. Besides, the series is only in its first season and another one is coming up this October, so there is plenty of chances the show can improve itself.

As far as the first season goes, in spite of its flaws, it's still a great series to watch. If you are new to the Gundam franchise, go ahead and check it out. If you are die-hard Gundam fan, your tastes may vary. Personally, again, it's a great show so far and I am looking forward to its 2nd Season, as well as its future involvement in the Super Robot Wars, G-Generation, and the Gundam Vs games. On the scale of 1 to 5, I give the first season of Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans, a 4 out of 5.

The English dub of Iron-Blooded Orphans is airing right now on Adult Swim's Toonami block on Cartoon Network in the US. Check your local listings. If you prefer the subtitled version, for US viewers, you can catch all 25 episodes on Daisuki.net, Crunchyroll, and the official FUNimation website.

Cartoon Network Pilots 2016 Review

Well, another year, and we have another round of pilots being pitched to Cartoon Network to hopefully become a brand new series. Strangely though only two new pilots have been released this year and it's been several weeks since they've aired. In any case, here's my review of these two new pilots.

The first one is 'Bottom's Butte' by Minty Lewis. Regular Show fans will remember her as the voice of Eileen, as well as one of the show's storyboarders. And I think she also did one of the shorts for Adventure Time before the Stakes episodes, though I can't really remember.

In Bottom's Butte, Beverly Bottom was a teacher who got bored with her job until one day her butt got so tight, her persona and intellect changed drastically, becoming a slacker/party animal, and spending time with her best friend Peanut. When Beverly accidentally destroyed a Slushee machine that is a primary asset of her family estate, she and Peanut then try to raise money to fix it. But Beverly's ideas and antics just go from bad to worse.

I kept getting facepalms a whole lot in this short because of how completely dumbfounded Beverly is, which shows just how much IQ she lost when she changed. And I couldn't help but see her as a female fusion counterpart of Mordecai & Rigby, but with some added personality of Carol from last year's 'Jammers' short, and the reduced intelligence. I also kept saying "WTFs" alot in this short rather than getting a laugh, let alone entertained.

Earlier this week, Cartoon Network released an interview with Minty Lewis as she explained the show and Beverly's character in detail. While it helped me understand the show and its characters a bit more, it didn't help me increase any appreciation on them.

I do remember last year that my niece and nephew enjoy the grossness in Jammers, and this one just has as plenty. Going back further, I remember also how much I enjoyed the slime bits on Nickelodeon's early years. Being an adult, I do find these things just being an absolute "NOPE". But I get it and that kids also dig these things, and I'm told the Tumblr community likes this as well. So, I'm giving Bottom's Butte a 1 out of 5 because I simply can't stand the grossness.

Having said that, I am very much aware that there are those who really enjoy the pilot. It's just not for me.

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Apple & Onion is created by George Gendi, one of the storyboarders for The Amazing World of Gumball. Apple & Onion are two best friends whose childish behavior alienates them from their peers. After the two were accidentally invited to a party, Apple and Onion jump at the chance, but were told that it's a "grown-up party" and therefore must behave as such. The duo then got into a misadventure trying to act like grown-ups.

At first I was a little off because the animation was similar to Secret Mountain Fort Awesome, but the writing is just great and I got a lot of laughs out of it. And for the worrying parents out there, Apple and Onion also brings out a positive message on being yourself, so it's something kids can watch. Apple and Onion does have some weirdness in it, but it's quite subtle.

The only thing bad about Apple and Onion are the characters themselves. They are simply not charming or memorable like Gumball for example. So the writing is definitely what is carrying this pilot. If it goes bad, everything else goes down the drain. But considering the track record Gumball has with its writing and storyboard staff, and George Gendi being one of them, there is that confidence it'll go well if this becomes a full series. On a scale of 1 to 5, I'd give Apple & Onion a 4 out of 5.

And that is essentially it. If I were running CN and had to pick which one becomes a full series, I would go with Apple & Onion. Of course, there are others who would go with Bottom's Butte, and that's ok. As Cartoon Network recently released interviews with the creators online, it seems there is a possibility both of these will be picked up as a new series. Hopefully we'll find out for sure as it happens.

Civil War II #1 Review

So despite the huge mainstream hype on Captain America revealing to be a Hydra agent, it didn't help at all in comic book sales and ultimately, the winner goes to DC's Rebirth #1, being the No 1 comic book sold last week. I would say good news for DC indeed as it's a start to get back in the game.

This week, however, Marvel has a brand new arsenal that would continue their commanding lead in comic books, and that is the release of Civil War II #1 that is out now.

If you managed to get the Civil War II issue released on Free Comic Book Day, then you have a good idea what is going on, and Civil War II #1 just embelishes those events that eventually leads in to the new conflict.

Otherwise here is a quick summary of the events.

Civil War II begins with the introduction of Ulysses, an Inhuman who has the power to see visions of the future. If this sounds familiar to you, the character Charles Hinton from Agents of SHIELD also has a similar abilitiy as an Inhuman. The difference being the latter gives another person a vision of his/her own demise.

Ulysses was later found by the Inhumans, and after learning of his abilities, was taken in by the Ultimates, the superhero team led by Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel, and comprised of members like Black Panther, Maria Hill, and Ms. America among others.

Danvers sees Ulysses as a valuable asset in knowing every possible future threats and disasters and stopping them at all costs before they even happen. Tony Stark aka Iron Man, isn't keen on Danvers's motive and therefore against using Ulysses's powers. In a way it's something like Minority Report.

As depicted in the Free Comic Book Day issue, Ulysses sees a vision of Thanos on Earth in search of the Cosmic Cube. You know, the one that's currently being fought over by Red Skull and Baron Zemo in the new Captain America issue? The Ultimates of course responded and that's when tragedy struck when two Marvel characters are killed off. Stark is determined to stop the Ultimates from using and abusing Ulysses's powers. Danvers is determined to do otherwise. So the new Civil War is born.

The Pros. I like the fact that Civil War II is another entry point for new readers who don't need to learn too much backlogging on Marvel's history and can jump right in. The issue also provides quick intro to the numerous characters involved in this event, so you can identify them whether you truly know them or not. I'm glad as well that the X-Men are involved too, though in extremely small roles. Also surprised that Tony, a type of guy who's SUPPOSED to be on board with Ulysses's abilities because he's a futurist himself, choses instead to oppose the idea. This is, in part, due to  his past experiences including the events of the first Civil War.

The Cons. The two characters that got killed off? They're among my favorites, so I am NOT happy at all, especially since the other one isn't supposed to die THAT easily. I also find the first issue a waste of character use as in one scene it had every Marvel team involved to face a threat, but literally didn't do anything and the threat was ultimately stopped by an all-magic team led by Benedict Cumber-- I mean Dr. Strange.

And I honestly don't know what to think of this conflict as it's so cliched. Again being similar to Minority Reprot, though writer Brian Michael Bendis assures it's not.

That said, I didn't find Civil War II #1 as awful. It just didn't impress me as much as Secret Wars #1 last year. I am pretty much joining Team Iron Man's side on this one. All-in-all not bad, but it's not enough to make me invest on the event and I'll just learn the plot elsewhere as time goes by. So if I were to give a scale right now for Civil War II #1, I'd give it a 3 out of 5.

As for the numerous tie-ins for both Rebirth and Civil War II, I've decided I'm not gonna invest in those because it's just too much for me, so I will just focus on the main event stories. If I managed to find some wiggle room, then I'll check those out.

So yeah, DC pretty much gets the upper hand on this one and I would personally prefer Rebirth over Civil War II at the moment.