I understand that I am a little late on this review, but I enjoyed this anime enough to recommend it. If you are looking for a new anime to get into, go stream Chainsaw Man on Hulu.
Denji was a normal kid, burdened by the crippling debt that he inherited from his father. He works it off by doing all the odd jobs and hunting devils. Denji and Pochita, a chainsaw demon dog he befriends, live on the scraps left after each payment. Denji’s life changes when he is sacrificed by the gang he owes money to. In order to save Denji, Pochita gives Denji his heart. Denji now has the power to turn his body parts into chainsaws. Denji gets recruited to serve with the Public Safety Devil Hunters to keep Japan safe from devils. With his new power and job, Denji can live the life he’s always dreamed of. A life with three meals a day, jelly on toast, and boobs.
I liked this anime quite a bit. The art style and animation are interesting, the concept is neat, and the story is fun. There is a bit of shameless fan service, and the tone does get a bit silly, but the story is good enough that it doesn’t matter. What I liked most about this anime is that the protagonist isn’t the traditional hero who is overly good with an unbeatable sense of justice. Denji chooses to join the Public Safety Devil Hunters because he gets to live a better life. He has a warm place to sleep, all the food he can eat, and for the first time in his life, people treat him nicely. There are some very interesting moments where Denji will doubt his humanity or selfishness, but he always does what’s right. Denji is slowly learning to be heroic even if his motives aren’t as righteous as his colleagues. It is also interesting to have the point of view of someone who has never had anything. What he values, his reactions to new experiences, and the way he finds motivation is a refreshing take on the protagonist.
The first season is on Hulu and I believe it does a great job of introducing the series. You get a good sense of the world and what drives it, a taste of the big bad and his powers, the stakes involved, and its cast of interesting characters. It reminds me a lot of suicide squad and I am interested to see where this series will take me. In the meantime, I think I will attempt to catch up with the manga.
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Series Review: Make My Day (2023)
Do not let the awkwardness of the art and animation stop you from enjoying Netflix’s newest survival horror anime, Make My Day. If you are a fan of the genre and enjoyed the Dead Space series, this series should be on your watchlist. Make My Day is a short and manageable series that will keep you on the edge of your seat.
Companies have started mining the planet of Coldfoot for a new energy resource. Unfortunately, mining on this planet has awoken an ancient and nearly indestructible creature that is quickly wiping humanity off the planet’s inhospitable surface. Jim is a low-level guard at one of the prisons when disaster strikes. With the help of the survivors he gathers along the way, Jim must find a way off the planet. Can they make it before it is too late?
I loved this series. Although some of the production can be awkward, it does enough to tell an exciting horror story. I haven’t felt so anxious as I watched the survivors face increasingly impossible odds as they tried to leave the planet. The action is well choreographed and exciting, the voice acting is solid, although the quality does waiver with some of the extras, and the story is well done. There is enough buildup and tension to keep the pace moving, and enough character development to keep the story interesting. The ending does get a bit cheesy, but it was still satisfying enough to earn my recommendation.
My favorite part of this series is the main character Jim. Jim starts off the series as this scared kid who isn’t ready for conflict. The series does a great job of setting up Jim as a capable character so that when he has to act, his transformation is believable. When Jim first encounters the aliens, he is paralyzed by fear and can only watch in horror as people die to save him. As the series progresses, he slowly finds his courage and takes more of an active role as the hero. I had a lot of fun watching Jim grow as a character, although I did feel that his development suffers a bit.
This series is a lot of fun and very intense. If you like horror and need something to watch, check out Make My Day on Netflix. The series has English dubbing available but I couldn’t find an English trailer.
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Image by ThankYouFantasyPictures from Pixabay
Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre (2023) – Series Review
I haven’t been a fan of horror anthologies. I do not like the inconsistency, nor have I found one that can tell a decent horror story within its short format. Since watching Junji Ito Maniac: Japanese Tales of the Macabre, this opinion has shifted. If you like creepy narratives and don’t mind it being in anime, you should give this series a try.
Each episode focuses on a single story or theme. Some of the stories do connect, but they exist pretty independently. If you return to this series after a break, you won’t be lost or need to rewatch episodes to understand what is happening. Some episodes are better than others, but they never got so bad that I was ready to skip them. You will want to finish this series at least once for the experience, then rewatch your favorites afterward. Although there are some inconsistencies in the quality of the narrative, they are small enough that they don’t matter.
There is a lot to like about this series. The voice acting is great, the animation fits the tone, and the stories are creepy. The animation may not be for everyone, but the stories are creepy enough that it won’t matter. A few of the episodes had my heart racing from how genuinely creepy they got. I doubt it will give you nightmares, but I can appreciate a good story when I see one. This series is a great collection of ghost stories, and I love how contained they are within this format.
If you are a fan of horror, anime, or both, add this series to your watchlist. There aren’t cheap jumpscares or overdone gore for a cheap fright, just well-told stories that you can stream on Netflix.
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Game Review: Samurai Maiden
I got Samurai Maiden as an impulse. I wanted something to do while I waited for Fire Emblem Engage. I liked the art, and I needed something to do. Unfortunately, my interest faded quickly the deeper I got into this series.
You play as a high school girl who finds herself in the past. It has prophesied that she would come to save the world from a great evil. With the help of a group of sexy ninjas, you must now fight against the forces of evil and fulfill your prophecy.
I don’t believe I need to be any more specific because the narrative is as generic as it gets. There is an audience for this game, but it wasn’t me. The writing for this game is bad. This might be due to a poor translation, but I just couldn’t get past it. The voice acting is okay, but it bothers me that they constantly pause after each line of dialogue. I couldn’t get invested in a story that was poorly executed. The only aspect of this game that I liked was the art. Samurai Maiden is a beautiful game, but it remains a shallow experience.
The main gameplay exists within this very stiff hack-and-slash game. As the main character, you fight your way through small dungeons and call on your friends for support. There are some dating sim elements to this game. You gain friendship with your support characters as you use them. You can also form romantic relationships with the other ninjas. You unlock more combos and back story as you develop relationships with the other characters. I liked this mechanic and thought it was an interesting way to handle support characters and worldbuilding. It wasn’t good worldbuilding, and I didn’t care for the dating sim bits, but it was an interesting mechanic.
If you like these kinds of games, you might have a better time. There is enough fan service and cute moments, but the gameplay just isn’t there. For everyone else, it isn’t worth the trouble, especially for the price of $59.99. It looks great, but the game isn’t. But for those interested, you can get it on Steam, PlayStation, and the Nintendo Switch.
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Game Review: The Legends of Heroes: Trails from Zero
I played The Legend of Heroes: Trails from Zero on Luna for a bit when it was free, but the game quickly become unplayable. When Amazon finally came around to fixing their copy, I had already purchased it on the Nintendo Switch. This review will be based on the Switch version.
Trials from Zero is a 2D turn-based strategy game. You play as a team of misfit detectives brought together to form the SSS. The SSS is a special unit of the police force created to try to repair the relationship between the police and the citizens of Cabell. The game has you fighting monsters as you run errands and solve mysteries.
I thought this game was cute. I loved the art, the voice acting is fantastic, and the story is fine. This game certainly has its niche. Unfortunately, I am not part of this niche. While I did enjoy sitting through the dialogue, I just couldn’t get into the combat.
Combat in this game is like most turn-based strategy games. The gimmick in this game is that you have to collect gems that give your character stat boosts and magical abilities. The grind involves finding the perfect combination of gems to optimize your team. The problem I had with the combat is that I found it boring. Most of the time I found it easier to keep bashing my way through combat rather than attempting to think tactically. I admit I am terrible at these games, but I can usually force myself through the grind to enjoy the story.
In the end, the grind proved too much for me. I am sure someone smarter who enjoys the genre will have a greater appreciation for this game’s mechanics, but I just couldn’t. A neat feature about this game is that it does have 2x speed mode. I recommend keeping this on because it makes movement through the overworld and combat that much quicker. This setting helps make the grind feel a little better so that you can enjoy the story, but I still found it too dull.
This game isn’t terrible, the bits of the story I got through were fine, but I just couldn’t justify grinding through combat just to get the next bit of story. This is a niche game. If you are looking for a turn-based strategy game and don’t mind the anime tropes it exists within, give it a try. For the rest of you, I would hold off.
You can play this game on Amazon Luna, Steam, Playstation, and the Nintendo Switch.
Image By Nihon Falcom / NIS America – https://image.api.playstation.com/vulcan/ap/rnd/202208/1119/mf0k9jlnC3mMwggEjz3sfkGp.jpg, Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=72088799
Blue Protocol
Amazon’s newest MMO has certainly piqued my interest. With every new bit of news that comes across my desk, I continue to grow more excited. I love MMOs and am always looking for a new one to sink some time into. Blue Protocol seems like a promising title that might fill a void in my life.
Blue Protocol is a sci-fi open-world MMO that was announced sometime in 2023. A trailer was released during this year’s Game Awards, and I have to say, it looks pretty cool. I am a huge fan of the art, but then again I love anime. The world looks beautiful, with huge maps and a very open-world experience. I have a terrible sense of direction, so I will most likely be spending most of my game time trying to figure out where I need to go.
What excites me most about Blue Protocol is the combat. From what I have seen, it is a very active experience. A problem I have with some MMOs is that I don’t have the patience to wait around for cooldowns. If I am not actively moving, dodging, or attacking, I get easily distracted. It is why games like Guild Wars and PSO2 rank among my favorites. Blue Protocol seems to have a similar combat system to PSO2, I just hope it has more content. There also seems to be an elemental system, I hope it allows you to switch between different elements. Blue Protocol features all the traditional classes, although I didn’t see a healing class. I am very excited to try the mage class, but as an alt-aholic, I will be trying them all.
I’ll admit, the fact that Amazon is tied to this has me a little worried. I am scared the monetization will be too predatory and the gameplay will be too grindy. The few Amazon Titles have left me with mixed feelings, but I am willing to give them another chance. I did sign up for the Beta and will be reporting on my experience as soon as I can. Until then, I will be monitoring the official site closely. In the meantime, I guess I’ll try giving Lost Ark one more go.
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Game Review: YS IX: Monstrum Nox
I got to play YSIX: Monstrum Nox when it was free on Amazon Luna, and I quite enjoyed the experience. This isn’t a promotion for the platform, it was a game I was interested in, and I got it free through my Twitch Prime membership. If you don’t know, Luna is Amazon’s cloud gaming solution. For 9.99 a month, you are able to play any game in their library without the need to download the games. This is a great solution if you have a good and stable internet connection but don’t have the money for the hardware. I mostly played on my iPad, but it ran nicely on my PC as well.
YS IX is an action RPG that sort of plays like Genshin Impact. You take control of characters with unique abilities as you try to solve a mystery and fight monsters. I was able to solve the mystery immediately, but I enjoyed the journey. The game is divided into chapters and each is dedicated to a playable character you unlock along the way. The stories are a bit of an anime trope, and the cast is full of familiar archetypes. I like anime so I had no problems with the story or the characters.
The gameplay is a lot of fun. Like any RPG, you can craft items, buy upgrades, and change the skills you use. I am not the best at theory crafting so I often went with whatever was fun. The game is limited in its exploration, but I was here for the story anyways. Combat was fun and the game does a good job of keeping it fresh by giving you new characters and abilities to use as you explore the city and advance the story. I loved that I could switch between characters at will so I was always allowed a unique combat experience. There is a slight grind as is tradition in these types of games, but I didn’t feel like it was that bad. I never felt the need to spend hours fighting the same mob in the forest in order to advance. This is also a pretty contained game, I was able to finish it quicker than most of my RPGs, but your mileage may vary.
This game is the 9th installment of the YS series, but it isn’t necessary to play any of the others. This was my entry to the series, and I never felt lost. Outside of a few references to the previous game, the story in IX exists independently. YX has been announced for 2023, and I can’t help but feel excited about more news.
You should get this game if you are in the market for something new. The combat feels great, the story is fine, and the art is awesome. YS IX: Monstrum Nox is available on PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Steam, and Amazon Luna.
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Series Review: Spriggan (2022)
Spriggan Is anime’s generic attempt at bringing Indiana Jones to the future. While a neat concept, it feels rushed and underdeveloped. It may not be the worst anime I’ve seen, but it makes it hard to recommend.
Spriggan is about a secret government agency whose mission is to collect powerful ancient artifacts and keep them from the clutches of evil. The story focuses on Yu, a talented high school kid who, with the help of a powerful mech suit, goes travels the world hunting these powerful relics. Each episode focuses on the lore and retrieval of a different artifact.
Right off the bat, I am not a fan of the art style. It feels stiff, fragmented, and cheap most of the time. The combat is okay, but it is anticlimactic. Most of the problems are solved by ex-Machina. My biggest issue with this anime is that Yu is a generic cocky male protagonist who is perfect. Most of his dialogue involves him being cocky about his skills, and it gets annoying. When he does struggle or start to get beat, he is saved at the perfect time, and the whole thing doesn’t matter.
Another issue I have with this series is that there isn’t a good villain to drive the narrative. This series revolves around different organizations whose motives are uninspired and lazy. Most people are evil for the sake of being evil. It doesn’t help that they are destined to lose to Yu.
The problem with this anime is that it is limited to six short episodes. While I appreciate that they didn’t drag this out as much as they could have, it isn’t long enough to build the world or develop its characters. Each episode is a different adventure, and all of them are generic. This series left such a small impression on me that I have already forgotten what it was about.
You can stream Spriggan on Netflix, but it isn’t worth it. It looks cheap, the story is rushed, and there isn’t anything worth watching in it. I could make the case of throwing it on for background noise, but there are better anime out there more worthy of your data.
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Game Review: Frontier Hunter: Ezra’s Wheel of Fortune
I want to start by saying that I was sent this game as a review code. While I am very grateful for the opportunity, I will not let this sway my opinions. This will be an honest review of the game.
Frontier Hunter: Ezra’s Wheel of Fortune is an anime-themed Metroidvania game available on PC that you should consider if you enjoy the genre. I love the art, the voice acting is amazing, and the gameplay is solid. The game is still in early access, and while the bugs don’t leave the game unplayable, they do exists. That said, the developers have been very consistent with updates, and I don’t do that they will continue their efforts to make this game perfect. This game is not in the early stages of early access, but it is something to consider before buying.
I’ve had a fantastic experience since booting up the game. I have never been able to get into the genre until I got this game. I can’t compare it to any of the classics, but I found that this was a great place to start.
You can play Frontier Hunter with a keyboard and mouse or a controller, but I believe the controller offers a better experience. Ultimately, this choice comes down to reference.
There is a story to this game, but it feels like your typical anime story. The story isn’t bad, but it isn’t amazing either. I would say that the main draw to this game is the gameplay. It is a lot of fun but be warned that this is a bit of a grind. You will find yourself cycling through the same rooms and beating the same enemies as you farm materials and levels or are rushing toward a save point. The types of enemies do change the deeper into the game you get, and bosses and crafting breaks keep the game feeling fresh. Make sure you explore everything to ensure that you always have the most powerful builds.
Don’t let the waifu art fool you. There is a complexity to this game. The gear, abilities, and orbs you put into a character matter in this game. You will constantly have to fiddle with your builds if you want to make any meaningful progress in this game. While it may be easy to memorize enemy patterns, having the right weaknesses, abilities, and resistances is the only real way to get through this game. Trust me, this is an easy mechanic to pick up. I am usually terrible at these types of mechanics, but I was able to bash the right combination together. It is very satisfying to be able to finally easily overcome an enemy once you have figured out a build that works. It is a bit of a grind to get the right materials and blueprints, but it isn’t a terrible one.
This game is worth the $18 it is asking for. If you are curious about the genre or already enjoy it, this game should be on your wishlist. I loved the feeling of accomplishment I got when I was finally able to find a new checkpoint. The boss fights are fun, the music is great, and the combat is very satisfying. What more can you ask for from your Metroidvania?
If you buy this game, make sure you are always well-fed and try to break all the walls! You can buy this game now on Steam, but there are plans to bring it to the Epic Games store.
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Music by Stockaudios from Pixabay
Game Review: Digimon Survive
This was not a review code. I bought this game when it came out because I love Digimon. Digimon Survive is a visual novel with some survival and RPG elements. You can play it on all major consoles, but this review is for the Switch version.
If you are a fan of visual novels, this is a solid one based in the digital world. The art is cool, the voice acting is amazing, and the story is fine. Most of the gameplay involves flipping through a visual novel with a bit of exploration and combat sprinkled in.
The exploration is simple. You move between rooms and talk to other characters to unlock more of the story. The game does encourage exploration by hiding useful items in each room, so be sure to click on everything. The exploration is limited to whatever rooms are relevant to the current events in the story. There is no voice acting for the exploration scenes, so you will have to do the voices yourself. This isn’t a criticism because I love the sound of my own voice.
Combat is where I had the most fun, but it is a bit limited compared to other RPGs like Fire Emblem. You control a team of Digimon that you can continually edit as you progress through the story. You can move, make attacks, use abilities, boost your Digimon, and even befriend enemies. I recommend you mess with the settings to speed up the combat unless you don’t mind the tedium of sitting through the animations. Compared to other games in the genre, the grind is almost non-existent. You can grind as much as you feel necessary, but it wasn’t a life-sucking endeavor that others have been. You can enter combat whenever you want in between stories, but I wish there was a bit more in the form of dungeons personally. I had a lot of fun with the combat. It was my favorite part of the game.
The visual novel makes up most of the gameplay in Digimon Survive. The story is fine, but if you don’t like anime, you are going to have a bad time. I watch a lot of anime and felt the story to be a bit on the generic side. It wasn’t bad, but it didn’t do much to break the mold. If you are a fan of anime and love Digimon, this will be a decent experience. The story is voice acted by very talented actors. It is in Japanese and I couldn’t have it any other way. I can only hope that this can become adapted as an anime because the fights would be amazing!
So is this game worth it? It depends on your tastes as a person. This is a very niche game made for a specific audience. If you are a fan of Digimon and anime and enjoy visual novels, pick it up. If you don’t mind spending your gaming time reading and want to dive into the visual novel genre, this is a decent place to start. If you are on the fence, I would wait for a sale. While I did enjoy this game and am glad I bought it, I could only play it in small bursts because of my short attention span.
You can play this on the Switch, Playstation, and Xbox. Links are for my affiliate shop.
Now for a shameless plug, check out Canva. If you need a quick and easy photo or video editor that works in your browser, try Canva. It is free, easy to use, and you get access to a wide selection of templates for those who are like me and aren’t that creative. Check out my affiliate link today! You can also try Amazon Prime with my Affiliate link!