Berserk Season 2 Review

So the 2nd Season of the new Berserk anime finally ended over the weekend, and I will admit, I am relieved. This season of Berserk is pretty much my vote for the Worst Anime of The Year. This is in spite that last season, it was one of my Top 10 personal favorites. Let me explain.

The 2nd season covers the early part of the Falcon of the Millennium Empire Arc. At 107 Chapters long in the manga,  the Falcon of the Millennium Empire is the longest arc of the series. So my guess you need about 50 or more episodes just to cover this whole saga. And I'm just deeply disappointed with how Liden Films presented this arc and just surprised how creator Kentaro Miura, who is also the executive supervisor for the anime, is ok with all of this.

When Liden Films announced the 2nd Season with the visual of the Berserker Armor, I pretty much guessed how far the 2nd Season will cover parts of the manga. In fact, this was done in the Playstation 2 video game of Berserk, which does end  with Guts getting the Berserker Armor. The way the PS2 version ended, it does leave room for a continuation, as it should be. But at the same time, it does feel like you've reached the end of the chapter and feel very satisfied with it.

When Liden Films do their version in the anime, for whatever the reason, they decided to rush the story so Guts can get the Berserker Armor as soon as possible! As a result, the entire narrative of the 2nd Season is totally ruined! Nothing in the anime is ever exciting or draws you in because it's terrible even with Guts in it! The CG animation's quality is much further down than the last season, as though it was made by amateurs without a care for quality control, ever!

Worse, the studio realized they're moving the pace SO quickly, they had to a recap episode! That's like the biggest insult to Berserk's integrity as a great story! And by the time the series finally ended, it felt totally incomplete and I'm just left hanging without satisfaction.

Is there anything at all in the 2nd Season that's actually good? Yes - the Opening and Ending themes and animation, for one.  "Sacrifice", the opening theme by 9mm Parabellum Bullet, is a vast improvement from "Inferno" last season and if you know Japanese, the lyrics, along with the Heavy Rock melody, really speaks alot of Guts's resolve against Griffith and the Apostles.

When we see the rare spots in which the characters are portrayed in 2D than 3D, it's when it truly shines and it's actually very very good. You can totally see it in the final moments of the finale when it was all 2D. I simply do not understand why they have to resort to 3D here other than Liden Films thinking it's a good gimmick. The voice actors did a great job with their roles, and I liked the soundtrack, though I got tired of listening to Susumu Hirasawa's insert song "Hai Yo" because it was so overused in this series.

As of this recording, there are currently no plans for a 3rd Season. Not to mention the manga also taking another long hiatus. I actually prefer the Berserk anime take a break for awhile until a new team comes in and make the series better. I'd like the series get a proper reboot with the 2D animation in, and include the arcs that were omitted previously. But I definitely do not want Liden Films to tackle this again. I'd rather the series goes back to OLM, the studio behind the first anime series, which are a doing very well with "Yo-kai Watch". Same goes with their recent "Atom: The Beginning" series airing on Amazon. So let OLM take Berserk back, reboot if they have to, and no pun intended, make Berserk great again.

I really cannot recommend even hardcore fans of Berserk to watch the 2nd season. It's just bad. If you didn't the like the first season at all, this one is much worse. If you must get into the Falcon of the Millennium Empire arc, I strongly suggest you read the manga. If that's not possible, just watch the cutscenes from the Playstation 2 game, which you can easily find on Youtube. Or even play the "Berserk and The Band of The Hawk" video game. Even that is far more better telling the story than what Liden Films did. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give the 2nd Season of the modern Berserk anime, a 1 out of 5.

Resident Evil: Vendetta Review

Resident Evil Vendetta is the third animated CG film based on the Resident Evil franchise. Unlike the live-action series of films starring Milla Jovovich, the CG films are directly linked to the games themselves, serving as a bridge to fill in the gap between the various installments.

All three CG films feature Leon Kennedy, the protagonist of Resident Evil parts 2, 4, and 6. But rather than once again play the protagonist like in the previous films, Leon plays a more supportive role, with the main protagonist mantle given instead to Chris Redfield - the protagonist of the first Resident Evil game, as well as in Resident Evil 5.

Vendetta takes place between the events of Resident Evil 6, and most recently Resident Evil 7. We are introduced to Glenn Arias, the latest baddie creating a brand new virus strain for making zombies under his command. Aside from using the new strain to sell it to the highest bidder as bio-weapons, Glenn also has a personal vendetta against the US government for wiping out his fiancee and the rest of their families during their wedding day.

Anyhow, Chris has a personal grudge against Glenn after the latter wiped out the former's entire team during a search and rescue operation that took place in the mansion from the first Resident Evil game. Another character from that very game, Rebecca Chambers, learns about the new virus and develops a cure, making her Arias's target, and acting as your typical damsel-in-distress. Leon is seen as a total drunkard after his team gets wiped out on a mission. (somehow characters acting drunk and alone after losing their team is becoming a bit a staple in the Resident Evil games)  Leon refuses to help at first, but after Rebecca is captured, he teams up with Chris to rescue Rebecca, as well as to stop Glenn's latest outbreak of the new virus.

If you think the plot seems a bit awful, you are right. It is. Though I honestly don't know if it's from a really bad scriptwriting, or is made intentional. This is because Resident Evil Vendetta has plenty of homages to the games. And one of the staples of the early games was the bad writing and dialogue. Thankfully, the voice acting is great, so the dialogue isn't entirely horrible.

Speaking of homages to the games, Vendetta also shows the transition of the franchise from a survival horror to an action shooter. The early parts of the film really give that creepy horror feel and a few jump scares that went really well. I'm just disappointed that this didn't go throughout the entire film as the rest was pure action. The action is great, I won't deny it, but the film would've been much better if it stayed with the horror element.

Vendetta's best comes from its overall animation, which along with the character designs is superb. I really enjoy the detail given to these characters. And yes, I find Rebecca to be incredibly cute. If there's one thing I would complain, it's Leon as he's given a major overhaul to look like he's one of the characters from Final Fantasy XV that got booted off because he's too sexy or something.

Despite the great CG animation, homages to the games, and being produced by the man behind the Ju-On/The Grudge movies, Resident Evil Vendetta doesn't look like an actual bridge between Resident Evil 6 and 7, and is more of a filler movie at best. The transition from horror to action didn't make the film any better and totally missed the mark. It's still not a bad film and you can still watch and enjoy it as is. It's just that it had plenty of chances of being a great film, and it blew it. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give Resident Evil Vendetta, a 3 out of 5.

Attack on Titan Season 2 Review

The anime adaptation of Hajime Isayama's Attack on Titan has recently concluded its Second Season with a planned Third Season to come out in 2018. This has many of the franchise's fans, as well as those within the anime commuinity, to rejoice as we don't have to wait that long for the Third Season to show up. Indeed the huge popularity of Attack on Titan has made it the defining anime of the 2010s, surpassing even the likes of My Hero Academia,  and Dragon Ball Super.

I was awfully late to the Attack on Titan bandwagon as I didn't watch the first season until I saw it on Netflix two years or so after the Japanese release. And it didn't turn me entirely into an Attack on Titan fan at that time. Let me explain.

When I was observing fans talking about what made Attack on Titan great, the one common thing I find in their conversations, is the amount of gore like it was the most brutal and horrifying thing they've ever seen. I was like "Seriously, you're into this because of the gore?". I'm not a gore fan, or 'guro' in the anime/manga world, and I do understand that Attack on Titan is a horror-fanstasy series. But I've seen a number of guro works and I have seen much more brutal and sickening gore scenes than the stuff Attack on Titan portrays.

And once you strip away the horrror-fantasy, the gore, and all that, at the heart of Attack on Titan, is your typical Shonen story. Believe it or not, despite what Attack on Titan portrays, it's primary audience is the young boys crowd - the very same demographic that watches Dragon Ball Super, One Piece, My Hero Academia, Boruto, etc. In case you haven't noticed or you haven't been into the anime or manga industry for that long, Japan, unlike the US and other countries, has a unique way of determining which content is ok on which demographic.

Even in shows like Doraemon and Shin-chan, both aimed at the Kindergarten crowd, it is acceptable for the characters in these anime shows to be at times shown in their birthday suits. Imagine if this was Dora The Explorer, for example. That kind of thing would no way in hell be allowed in other countries, let alone the US! But in Japan, it is ok. And it is just as ok for the Shonen demographic, meaning the boys in the 7-12 year old range, to feature female characters showing off their 'assets' like in Keijo, or in the case of Attack on Titan, the extreme violence.

Anyway, going back to the Shonen genre of Attack on Titan, Eren Jaeger is your typical Shonen protagonist. He is outclassed by his peers, but he makes up for it by having a special power that plays a vital role on him to defeat the other Titans. We've seen this before in many other Shonen anime out there. Throw in the many common tropes and this is exactly what Attack on Titan is. All that gore is merely a garnish. It's not a bad anime, by any means, but I don't find it as great as what others say it is. For me, the First Season of Attack on Titan is just average, or if I give it a rating, a 3 out of 5.

After four years since airing in 2013 (more on that later), Attack on Titan's Second Season finally came out this year, though with a much shorter 12 episodes than last year's 25. Prior to the release of the Second Season, I was actually reading the manga and I already know what to expect and what arc the 2nd Season would cover. Despite all this, even though I know what was going to happen, the anime adaptation just blows me away. Director Tetsuro Araki really did an amazing job drawing viewers in to the series, glued to what was going on, and just as things were getting intense, he pulls the carpet right under you by ending the episode in a cliffhanger, making you yell "WHAT THE ****?!" and wanting to come back for more.

And while it is tradition for Shonen anime to show a bit of background on some of the supporting cast like Sasha and Ymir, it was very well executed. We've seen a side of Sasha in which she is more than a gag character who just wants potatoes, and Ymir's story lets you sympathize with her, and her relationship with Christa. I dare say that if you're looking for a female character that would go alongside the current Wonder Woman film, that would be Ymir.

It comes at a bit of a cost, though. Because the Second Season is focused on the supporting cast, not much character development is given to the main characters - Eren, Mikasa, and Arwin. I find that ok, however. And in the end, Eren and Mikasa did show a bit of development. Mikasa all but confessed her love for Eren, and Eren "kind of" returned the favor, somewhat.

A small picking, but I already knew Hange is a woman, though she was androgenous in the manga and the first season. But in the reprint editions of the manga, and in the 2nd Season of the anime, it is made official that Hange is fact female. Besides, while I haven't read that far in the manga yet, I hear Hange and Levi are to be paired up, so I'm pretty much all of it.

As to why it took four years for the Second Season of Attack on Titan to be made, it's from a variety of factors. The first is that the original manga series releases new chapters on a monthly basis, unlike weekly like we see in others such as One Piece and Naruto back then when it was still running. The first season covered the first 34 chapters of the anime and the manga is still ongoing to this day currently at 94 chapters. So time is needed for Isayama to advance the story further before it can be animated. The last thing we all need is for the series to have filler arcs like we saw in Naruto and Bleach. And you know what happens when it comes to filler arcs.....

While Isayama continues doing the manga, Wit Studio went out to do other projects. Among them is Kabaneri of The Iron Fortress, which is a huge hit that a Second Season has been announced also for a 2018 release.

Another factor is that the Anime Industry is currently experiencing a crisis on the shortage of animators. I won't go into the details, but the short version is it sucks to work in the anime industry because you do so much and get paid for so little. Wit Studio doesn't want the animation quality of their works to suffer the way Toei did with Dragon Ball Super. So they had to find the right people for their works, but those said people are slowly become scarce to find.

On that particular note, it does explain in part why the recent Berserk anime is so bad in terms of animation because of the lack of really talented animators.

Having said all that, the Second Season of Attack on Titan is well worth the wait and is everything fans wanted and even more. I personally enjoyed it just as much that yes, this Second Season indeed turned me into a fan of this series. I, and everyone else, am looking forward to the Third Season in 2018, where things really kick into high gear. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give the Second Season of Attack on Titan, a 4 out of 5.

OK, K.O. First Impressions

It won't be out on Cartoon Network until this August, but the channel has decided nonetheless to upload the first 6 episodes of OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes to their Video On Demand service. So if you have the V.O.D., you can watch them in advance. Naturally, I got to watch them, so here's my first impressions on the show.

Before I get to that, however, a little brief history. The show was originally titled "Lakewood Plaza Turbo" and was created by Ian Jones-Quartey, best known for working with Rebecca Sugar on Steven Universe. He also worked on Adventure Time with series creator Pendleton Ward, as well as the voice of Wallow in Bravest Warriors.

After working on Steven Universe, Quartey began developing his own cartoon and in 2013, his animated pilot "Lakewood Plaza Turbo" was released. Done in an 80's aesthetic with a superhero concept, protagonist K.O. and his super-powered friends, defend Lakewood Plaza from their neighboring villains in the retail business.

No, seriously, they're just fighting over selling stuff. Imagine Spongebob Squarepants being focused entirely of the rivalry between the Krusty Krab and the Chum Bucket, with everyone having superpowers. It's a crazy concept that, for Lakewood Plaza Turbo, it actually worked. The pilot was well received by critics and fans that Cartoon Network has decided to order it into a full series. After four years of development, the series, renamed as "OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes", is ready for its grand debut.

OK K.O. follows the same premise as Lakewood Plaza Turbo, but this time it's a  more story-based series and less episodic, at least for these first 6 episodes. K.O. long dreams of becoming a hero like the many superheroes he admires, especially Mr. Gar, the plaza's owner. K.O., decides to learn everything on becoming a hero by working as an employee at Lakewood Plaza. Our main bad guy Lord Boxman just cringes at the thought of friendship and wants it ruined by any means necessary. Boxman's character made me think if at one point he called up Black Hat from Villainous for some stuff he can use against K.O. and company.

The show's intro is a mix of 70's funk and 80's style action sequences, which gives a nostalgic feel for someone like me. Also worth noting the opening sequence is made by Hiroyuki Imaishi, the co-founder of Studio TRIGGER. Like Steven Universe, the character designs vary depending on the storyboarder. The ending theme is performed by Rebecca Sugar, with the end scenes being unique to each episode. It's probably one of the reasons these 6 episodes were on V.O.D. this early, as you will not be able to view these unique, individual end credits in the broadcast version.

It's hard not to see so many references to other works in animation and games in this series - Megaman, Dragon Ball, My Hero Academia, even Steven Universe and from Studio TRIGGER as well. The overall presentation is so over the top that I was shedding tears from laughing so hard. The voice acting is great with a number of talented people lending their voices - Quartey himself plays Rad; Enid is played by Ashly Burch, whom anime fans know as the voice of Sasha in the Englsh dub version of Attack on Titan; Voice acting legend Jim Cummings is Lord Boxman; and K.O. is played by two voice actresses depending on the episode - Courtenay Taylor, who played Ada Wong in the Resident Evil franchise, as well as Starla in Regular Show, voices K.O. in the first 3 episdoes. While in episodes 4 to 6, as well as the pilot, K.O. is voiced by Stephanie Nadolny, the voice of Kid Goku and Gohan in the FUNimation version of Dragon Ball, and Dragon Ball Z, respectively.

Four years is quite a long time to develop OK K.O. as a series, but it's well worth the wait as the end product turns up really good. A nod to great animation and video games of the past, incredibly funny, and a great cast and staff. Among the newly released Cartoon Network originals, OK K.O. Let's Be Heroes is the one show I will definitely be watching on a regular basis.

OK K.O. Let's Be Heroes will premiere on Cartoon Network in the US this August, but the first 6 episodes are now available online via the channel's Video On Demand service or the Cartoon Network app.

Wonder Woman Review

So I got to see the Wonder Woman movie, which is far sooner than I would expect. By sooner I mean a few days after the premiere. I was planning to watch it on premiere day, but real world issues has gotten me into quite the flunk, if you know what I mean, that I may not be able to watch the film for a long time even with the Home Video release. But a stroke of luck has managed to have me watch the film. And I must say, it did lifted my spirits.

Another is that Wonder Woman is a breath of fresh air on so many levels. One, it helps you forget the previous movies from the DC Expanded Universe. Let's face it, despite the money raking in from those movies, they were pretty bad. Wonder Woman is basically what Warner Bros. SHOULD HAVE done with their Cinematic Universe, instead of what they've been doing lately. And in spite of the production problems Wonder Woman has faced, it was well worth it.

Before I give more thoughts on the film, a quick summary of the plot - It is indeed an origin story, though how much accurate it is to the comics, I have no idea as I am not that knowledgeable with regards to DC's lore.

In Wonder Woman, Diana is the only female child living in Themyscira, the Land of The Amazons. The history of the Amazons and its ties to Greek Mythology have been revamped for the modern audience. In the film, the Amazonians are given character that of the goddess Athena, with the role of providing wisdom and guidance towards humankind before Themyscira isolated itself from the world after the battle between Odin and Aries. Now the way they told the history of these two Greek Gods got me surprised a bit, as it made me question how it affects the history of Shazam, aka Captain Marvel, with regards to his origin story in the upcoming film.

Anyhow, fast forward to World War I and a grown-up Diana encounters Steve Trevor, a spy of the Allied Forces on the run from the then German Emprie. This resulted with the latter entering Themyscira and a battle ensues. I have to say I commend whoever constructed this battle scenario - on one hand, we have the German Empire with their firearms; On the other, the Amazons on horseback, bow and arrow, sword and shield. You'd think the Germans have this, but in reality, it was the Amazons who have the advantage and the fight comes out nicely without feeling like it's forced to make the Amazons look good.

Or to put it another way, imagine the sword fight scenes from 300, except with the Amazons taking down German troops. Yeah, that kind of bad ass-ery.

Steve reveals that he has information of the German Empire developing a poisonous gas as a WMD - Weapon of Mass Desruction, and thus he must report  to the Allied Forces. Diana thinks that Aries is the cause of the war and naive-ly believes killing Aries will end all wars. And so she joins Steve in the war in hopes of finding Aries and ending him for good.

The one thing I hate about the current DC films is that they happen to be totally dark, literally speaking. It's not just the tone, but the overall atmosphere and scenery as well. Color and brightness, as trivial as they seem, play a big role in making a visual work appealing. Dark and bleak colors may work in horror or suspense films, but in the case of Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Suicide Squad, it only made them less appealing to watch.

Wonder Woman fixed that by making the colors brighter and more attentive to the naked eye. Essentially they followed Marvel's example, directly or otherwise, when it comes to using these visuals even in projects like Daredevil. Another way of seeing this is in Bruce Timm's "Batman: The Animated Series". While much of the show's setting is at night and in dark places, it still uses bright colors. This means your eyes are indeed glued to the screen because "ooh! birght colors! me likey!"

And thank god, the so-called ban on 'no jokes allowed' on DC films is gone. Because you get a lot of humor in this film and all of them are quitte funny. There is great chemistry with Gal Gadot and Chris Pine as Diana and Steve, while the rest of the supporting cast really helped keep the film on a steady course of its greatness, as opposed to having Gadot take the bulk of the film.

Gadot really pulled it off as Diana and presented herself worthy of being the definitive version of the modern-day Wonder Woman. If there is any criticism I have of Gadot, it's that for a Amazonian who tends to fight a lot, she sure as hell wears a whole lot of makeup.

Some say Wonder Woman's plot seems simlar to Captain America: The First Avenger. Understandable, but I think the similarities don't harm the film in any way. I would say it's more of a flattery. That being said, Diana's interactions with the outside world reminded me a lot of Starfire from Teen Titans, which I find amusing.

The fact that the movie neither has an End Credits scene, nor provide any reference to the upcoming Justice League film makes Wonder Woman itself a stand-alone DC film you can watch and enjoy without having to backtrack to the previous films to get an idea what's going on.

Not to talk about feminist themes, but they are indeed present in Wonder Woman. Unlike others such as The Powerpuff Girls and Ghostbusters reboots where the themes are pressed against your face, Wonder Woman presents the theme naturally, it isn't forced, and is presented in a way that lets you appreciate, and even support, its existence. Diana is a feminist in this film, but also shows a lot of compassion and even learns to love Steve, making her all the more appreciative and likable.

The success of Wonder Woman by both critics and the box office have some analysts believe that Warner Bros can just throw their money with Justice League and not worry about it, pointing to the success of the Wonder Woman film. I honestly hope they don't do that and the studio does work hard to make Justice League a really good film, and not because Wonder Woman is in it. What is certain is that DC has laid the groundwork f a very good superhero film with a female lead, and the pressure is on for Marvel to do the same, if not better, with their upcoming Captain Marvel film starring Brie Larson.

It may sound bias of me saying this, but Wonder Woman has redefined the superhero genre in the 10 years since the Marvel Cinematic Universe began and has raised the bar on how to make such films, and not just the superhero genre itself. Marvel and other studios should take note from this. Whether you are a long-time fan of Wonder Woman, or just stepping in to the character herself, the movie is, no pun intended, a "Wonder" to behold. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give the Wonder Woman film, a 5 out of 5.

OK, K.O. Episode 1 Screenshots and Preview

Here are the images and the first 2 minutes of the debut episode of OK, KO - Let's Be Heroes, from former Steven Universe Director Ian Jones-Quartey.

Screenshots:

Click Here for 2-Min Preview

Steven Universe - Wanted Review

Last week, Cartoon Network USA aired the 5th (and possibly final) season premiere of Steven Universe. As part of the promotion, the first four episodes of the 5th season premiered under the "Wanted" event. Unlike the Stevenbomb events where viewers watch a week of new episodes, "Wanted" aired the first four on the same day. Another reason for this is that Lars plays a major role in this story arc.

The first episode, "Stuck Together" was actually leaked weeks before the broadcast premiere and it continued where the last season left off. As Steven remains under the custody of Topaz and Aquamarine, he runs into Lars, who was hiding in the ship the entire time. During their captivity, Lars confessed that his insecurities and cowardice got the better of him and ditched his arrival to the pot luck with Buck Dewey and the Kool Kids before he was captured (uhhh, what a waste of that delicious Ube Cake...).

 Steven for his part revealed his insecurities with the responsibility left to him by his mother. Steven and Lars's conversation leads to a sentimental moment between the two, which got Topaz to finally speak and sympathize with them. Topaz tries to help them escape, but was stopped by Aquamarine.

"The Trial" is as the name implies, where Steven is put on trial for crimes committed by Rose Quartz. We are introduced to the Zircons - gems whose primary purpose is to act as attorneys. Steven is given a Blue Zircon to act as his defense attorney, while the Diamonds serve as Judge and Jury.

During the trial, Yellow Diamond was very eager to end it quickly and have Steven executed. (I know it's supposedly "shattered", but let's not put up with the word game charade. We all know Yellow Diamond wants Steven dead)

Blue Diamond, however, constantly intervenes as she wants to know the details regarding Pink Diamond's death by Rose, demanding Steven, who claims he is Rose, to provide answers. So the revelation is that Pink Diamond's death is part of a grand conspiracy regarding the Diamonds themselves, with Rose framed to take the fall. The Blue Zircon presents this, which got Yellow Diamond furious and poofs her, along with the Green Zircon who was the prosecutor. As Blue Diamond restrains Yellow Diamond for the latter's outburst, Steven and Lars made their escape.

It was clear from this episode that Yellow Diamond was the mastermind behind the conspiracy and set up Pink Diamond for her death, then pinning the blame on Rose Quartz. It gives merit to Yellow Diamond wanting Earth to be swallowed up by the Cluster, so to speak, as it will remove any traces of evidence that lead to her pulling the strings. The motive for this is a mystery for now, but we can theorize that Pink Diamond may have the same feelings as Rose Quartz in which the inhabitants of Earth are worth protecting and not to be transformed into a gem cluster.

In "Off-Colors", as Steven and Lars flee from the drones that are hunting them down, they are taken in by the 'Off-Colors'. To put it more bluntly, the Off-Colors are gem rejects that are deemed as outcasts within Homeworld and are to be shattered on sight. The Off-Colors remain in hiding for thousands of years, in fear of the Homeworld Gems, something Lars could relate to.

Eventually, the drones arrive to attack Steven and the Off-Colors. But Lars, being human with no gems, cannot be detected by the drones. In a rare feat of showing courage, Lars takes down the drones, but was killed after destroying the last one.

Now this would've been quite a shocker seeing an on-screen death of a character. But this is Steven Universe. And as with the unwritten rules regarding American animation for kids, Lars's death is not a permanent one. In fact, he's been dead for just a full minute! Besides, the next episode is titled "Lars's Head", so that's a giveaway already.

Anyhow, Steven's healing powers allowed his tears to revive Lars, though the latter was brought back with his skin color changed completely - pink. At this point, everything is predictable within seconds. Lars is basically the same as Lion, with their hair serving as a gateway to a another dimension. Steven would be able to return to Earth by going inside Lars's hair, and out through Lion's mane.

So Lion, for his part, was a pet that Rose adored, and when he died under unknown circumstances, Rose revived him, and used his mane to store some of her valuables.

Lars made the resolve to remain in Homeworld to serve as a bridge between the planet and Earth, while Steven makes his way home. The Off-Colors, being offered a chance to go to Earth with Steven, chose to stay with Lars to guide him around Homeworld. Steven returns home to reunite with the Crystal Gems, Greg, and Connie, just as they also arrived home via the Warp Pad.

As of this recording, 132 of the planned 156 or so episodes have been aired. This means there are 24 episodes left in this series unless Cartoon Network announced it has ordered a new of episodes. But give that the CN Upfront has already passed, and there are 24 episodes left, and we heard nothing from Cartoon Network or the staff of Steven Universe so far, the chances of a Season 6 are very, very slim.

The way the first four episodes of the 5th Season are presented, these final 24 episodes will be pretty much story-based, with probably a few breaks here and there. It would be weird if the next episode is Steven going off on a random slice-of-life episode, given what has happened. How would everyone react, especially Sadie, upon learning what happened with Lars? What are they going to do now that they can go to Homeworld directly? Exactly what is Yellow Diamond's grand plan? We can expect these and more to come up much sooner than we think...

...episode-wise of course. The show is once again on another hiatus, which is expected and has been the norm for Cartoon Network. Personally, I hope it goes back to the weekly format and enough with the Stevenbombs as it only makes the lifespan of the show much shorter than it already is. Cartoon Network should only look at Adult Swim and how the final season of Samurai Jack was so successful, airing 10 episodes on a weekly basis.

As for this "Wanted" event, the 4-episode premiere is a great start for this season, and a great follow up from the last one. Honestly I find no problems with it other than something new viewers should not jump in unless the watched the previous seasons to catch up. While some may be disappointed that this arc is focused on Lars rather than Steven, I personally find his character development great.

Looking back, Lars from the beginning was very mean to Steven, but as the series progresses, the two do become friends, and Steven is the one who Lars opens up to. Some may probably go for a Steven x Lars ship at this point. I've already seen fan shippings of Steven with other male characters (as very few as they are in this show), so eh, why not?

Anyhow, expect more revelations and resolutions from Steven and the gang in their conflict against Homeworld as this series continues. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give Steven Universe's "Wanted" event, a 4 out of 5.

Samurai Jack Season 5 Review

After 16  years, the saga of Samurai Jack has officially reached its end. It may not be the best ending out there, but an end, nonetheless.

Beginning in 2001, Samurai Jack is the tale of the titular character, who was sent into the future by the shape-shifting demon Aku, where the latter has already conquered the world. Jack wonders in the future for a way to return to the past, defeat Aku, and change history.

Unlike the previous seasons where the series is episodic with some continuities here and there, the fifth season of Samurai Jack is a 10-episode story arc that ends with the final confrontation between Jack and Aku. Fortunately, for new viewers, it is not a requirement to watch the past seasons, as the start of Season 5 marks as an entry point for those said viewers. For Samurai Jack fans, they will be happy seeing connections to past seasons, though relatively minor.

The first 8 episodes deal mostly with Jack's character, as he goes into a downward spiral of guilt. As Jack noted in his opening monologue, he and Aku have been fighitng for 50 years in the future, but continues to end in a stalemate. Aku is just too powerful to be defeated by the Jack's Magic Sword, while Jack is simply too persistent to be killed by Aku or his minions. This stalemate, however, did not stop the indiscriminate attacks by Aku's forces against the rest of the world, turning it into a wasteland along with an incredibly high death count. The grim depiction of the future is a stark reminder that for Jack to truly defeat Aku and save the world from destruction, as the show's description tells it from the very beginning - he must get back to the past.

However, that goal has become complicated when in the first episode of the final season, it was revealed that Jack has long since lost the Magic Sword. Despite this, Jack still shows he's a formidable warrior, defeating many of Aku's minions and even one of his top hitmen, Scaramouche.

As this was going on, we are introduced to a new character who will play a key role that would end the conflict for good - Ashi. She, along with her other siblings, are trained since birth by an all-female cult that worships Aku as their god. Calling themselves the "Daughters of Aku", Ashi and the other girls are given the sole task of hunting and assassinating Jack.

Ashi would eventually end up being the only surviving member of her siblings, and the cult overall. Her relationship with Jack is trope-ish, but well executed. She first sees Jack as an enemy, then eventually her ally, friend, and ultimately lover.

On the part of being Jack's significant other, the negative reactions from the minority within social media outlets is for the most part, very laughable. In defense of this suddent development when it happened, it's true that the final season was only 10 episodes long, so there are points in the narrative, especially coming to the end, that ends up rather rushed. But in the case of Jack and Ashi, it was already clear cut from the visuals in one or two episodes that they have been travelling togehter for quite some time. This was already a foreshadowing that two would eventually become a couple and that relationship turns out to be vital in the final battle with Aku.

We then learn that when Jack lost the only remaining means of returning to the past, it left him in a blind rage, which made him lose his sword, not just literally, but figuratively as well, as he is deemed no longer worthy of being its wielder. Kind of like what happened to Thor Odinson in Marvel when he is no longer worthy of wileding Mjolnir, passing it instead to Jane Foster. Jack's loss of the sword also put him into a downward spiral. He does eventually returns to his old self, thus getting his sword back. And allowing him and Ashi to prepare for their fight against Aku.

At this point, a narrative in the original series was retconned. There was a prophecy in which Jack would never return to the past, but has came to terms with it and become the King of the Future, leading an army of his allies in the fight against Aku. This was explored furhter in the comics, which was deemed canon at the time until the final season of the show was announced, making the comic's canonity moot.

Instead, in the final battle with Aku, it was revealed that Ashi was indeed literally his daughter, having Aku's blood flowing in her. Ashi was turned into Aku's minion and Jack is forced to surrender. Aku then announced to the world of Jack's capture, causing all of his allies to make one last charge against Aku to save Jack.

One of the things I enjoyed in this moment is that for Aku's announcement, Genndy Tartakovsky used pre-recorded clips of the late Mako, who provided the original voice of Aku, as the intro monologue to the series is played. Then it is followed by Aku's present monologue this time by Greg Baldwin, who took over as Mako's replacement for not just as Aku in Samurai Jack, but also Iroh in the Avatar series. The transition from Mako's to Baldwin's in the dialogue is seamless and you virtually could not tell the diference between the two. That's where I praise Baldwin for being able to emulate Mako's voice in playing Aku.

On the other hand, I find it weird that Aku is the only one present in his fortress and none of his own army showed up for the final battle. I get that it's because of the rather rushed production and Aku can easily take out the intruders and has done so in the most brutal way possible. Still, it's just weird Aku doesn't have any minions nearby. 

Jack's love for Ashi allowed the latter to break free of Aku's control, which also meant she too has Aku's powers. This allows her to open a new Time Portal, allowing her and Jack to finally return to the ending of the first episode, moments after Jack was sent to the future, and Jack finally kills Aku for good.

Jack's victory however, was a bittersweet one. By killing Aku in the past, it also meant that his friends from the future are erased from existence, and that also includes Ashi, who dies moments before the two are married. It ends with Jack now standing alone as he watches the fields, no longer touched by Aku's evil. Unfortunately, I didn't get emotional on this as it was done before in the anime series Gurren Lagann. It was good and well executed, no doubt. I was just slightly turned off by its similarities with Gurren Lagann.

Looking back at the season in general, it is indeed one long story arc to end the series on a high note, and it has done quite well, despite a few loose spots and a somewhat rushed ending. Jack's character development is great, as is the animation and smart use of the soundtrack. You do see moments of violence, slightly disturbing imagery, and even nudity, but they serve as more of a garnish than the highlight. Jack and Ashi's progression as characters, along with the main plot, remain the center of attention throughout the season.

16 years is a long wait for a series to finally reach its conclusion. But it ends well and is very satisfactory. I praise Tartakovky, the voice actors, and the staff for doing such great work on this series. Whether you are new to Samurai Jack, or have seen it before in the past, it was an incredible journey to the end and is well worth it. On a scale of 1 to 5, I give the final season of Samurai Jack, a 4 out of 5.