Despite never getting around to reviewing Ghost of Tsushima, it is a game I have found myself returning to again and again over the years. With its great characters, excellent sword combat and some of the most beautiful visuals in all of gaming, it has slowly climbed the list of my favourite videogames of all time. Needless to say, I was excited to see how Suckerpunch would continue the story of Jin Sakai and his friends. So, you can imagine I was slightly disappointed to learn the sequel, Ghost of Yotei, would focus on a different main character centuries ahead of the first game. Despite this, I still had faith that Suckerpunch would deliver a compelling story and, even if that tale did not live up to the original, the gameplay and visual style would more than make up for it. Sure enough, this is exactly how I felt about the game by the end of my first playthrough.
The sequel to Tsushima has many great qualities.
Ghost of Yotei follows Atsu (Erika Ishii), a woman whose family was murdered when she was a girl by the notorious Yotei Six, led by Lord Saito (Feodor Chin). After many years away, Atsu returns to Ezo, determined to see revenge. Aided by a mysterious wolf and other allies, Atsu’s reputation grows with each member of the Six she executes, earning her the title of Onryo, a vengeful spirit. I would say that the story of Yotei is an enjoyable one, although not as compelling as Tsushima’s. Jin’s struggle with the samurai code and the necessity of the Ghost is just more interesting that Atsu’s standard revenge quest.
The game does have a great side quest centering around Jin’s story though.
Just because Atsu’s storyline is nothing new does not mean it is not interesting, however, because I still cared about Atsu across her journey and the bonds she made with her Wolf Pack. This pack is a collection of characters across Ezo, who range from important to the story to only involved in minor side quests. The way these quests are tracked with a card system presents a rather unique way to keep track of everything going on in Yotei’s open world. Speaking of that open world, it is just as gorgeous as I expected it to be. I went wild with photo mode during my first playthrough, capturing the brutal fights and beautiful landscapes every chance I got.
The art style of Yotei is so beautiful I just had to mess with it in photo mode.
Adding to these environments and confrontations are the different modes, like Kurosawa Mode from Tsushima, and Japanese dubbing with accurate lip syncing, providing a much more immersive experience. The combat has also been advanced from the first game where, instead of stances, combat is tied to which weapon you are holding. You can even be disarmed, leading the desperate choice of retrieving your weapon or switching to another one. This choice is especially tense in boss fights, which hold a lot more challenge than they did in Tsushima.
Each of the Yotei Six presents a challenge.
The combat is not the only draw of the gameplay, though. I have already said the beautiful environments offer a lot, but so do some of the side activities, like the Zeni Hajiki minigames. I spent most of my first playthrough riding around on my horse, doing side quests, fighting alongside the wolf, and hunting down bounties. That alone speaks to the quality of Ghost of Yotei’s open world. Unfortunately, it also leads into my big flaw with the game, which is its pacing. I would say I spent around 60% of my time playing Yotei in the first act of the game, leaving the second and third act with a mere 40%. As a result, it felt like the game speeds towards a conclusion once you reach Act Two, making the final hours feel a little rushed. This is not even due to the side quests because dealing with those left on Atsu’s list from Act Two onwards felt a lot quicker than Act One.
By the story’s end it felt like it was rushing to finish.
Overall, though, I would still say Ghost of Yotei is a worthy sequel to Tsushima, even if it is not as good. Sure, the revenge story it tells is nothing new and the pacing between the first act and the other two is inconsistent. But the characters are likeable, the gameplay is a lot of fun and, of course, the visuals are spectacular. Say what you want about the Ghost games, but you cannot deny they are beautiful. Fingers crossed we get DLC for Yotei in the future.
My biggest issue with the first season of Hazbin Hotel was the pacing. It often felt like important events and character moments were skipped or rushed because of the limited eight-episode runtime. So, after learning the second season was also eight episodes, I was concerned the issue would repeat itself. Well, after seeing the final two episodes of Hazbin Hotel Season Two, I can happily say that I was wrong because the pacing this season has been great. The penultimate episode, “Weapons of Mass Distraction”, follows up from where “Scream Rain” left off, with Lucifer being lured into a trap set by Vox. Lucifer is immediately captured with the use of Angelic weaponry, but he is more antagonized by Alastor than Vox. It is quite humorous to watch Vox’s captives have more beef with each other than their literal captor. Not only that, but it leads to one of my favorite songs of Hazbin Hotel, “Brighter”, which fully reveals Vox’s backstory. In life, Vox was named Vincent Whittman, a weatherman so envious of those around him that he killed again and again to reach the top. Eventually earned a cult-like following, this all culminated with him giving a speech in a pool, ranting about being “baptized into a new era of entertainment.” Overlooking the pool are dozens of suspended TVs, which turns out to be a rather poor decision design wise because one of these TVs falls and crashes onto Vox’s head, killing him and sending him to hell for his murders. Vox’s death is both gruesome and ironic, considering his hell-form has a TV for a head.
It is also a deserving end considering all the murders he committed in life.
It also may explain how Vox became so powerful in Hell because, when the TV kills him, it also electrocutes all of his followers standing in the pool as well. So, when Vox arrived in Hell, he already had a group of loyal followers to use. Through this, we can see that Alastor is actually right in his understanding of Vox. He always has a desire to be “brighter,” never satisfied with what he has, but relies on others to gain his power, whether that be his followers or the Vees. We see this with him hypnotizing Angel Dust into publicly bad mouthing the hotel and supporting the Vees. He uses this event to unveil his weapon, powered by Lucifer, which he fires at Heaven, destroying Sera’s barrier. Although terrifying for Heaven, it was funny for me, what with the shot of Peter being spun around when Vox’s weapon punches through the pearly gates.
This moment got a good chuckle out of me.
Vox gives Heaven 24 hours to surrender, and the turmoil this causes leads into the episode’s second song, “Live to Live”, where Pentious advises Sera on her next move, with a great callback to last season’s “It Starts with Sorry.” While this is happening, Vox continues to fall into Alastor’s trap, further distancing himself from the Vees, and is also manipulated into inviting Charlie to his party. Following Vox’s invitation, Emily arrives to help Charlie, and the group formulate a plan to rescue Angel Dust and stop Vox. Baxter is key to this plan, and more than willing to help, showing his role in the season.
I think Baxter’s characterization is a little wonky, since his initial goal of proving the hotel wrong has been completely brushed aside, but it is not a big deal.
The newfound confidence of the hotel results in the final song of the episode, “When I Think About the Future”, which calls back to multiple songs sung previously in the season, before setting up the big finale. That finale, “Curtain Call”, kicks off with the hotel crew going through their plan to stop Vox, free Angel from mind control, and show everyone that Pentious was redeemed. Two things, though. First, it feels like a scene was skipped over where the characters realize Angel was brainwashed, since in the final scene of Episode Nine they were confused about him siding with the Vees. Second, I still find it pretty convenient that Pentious is not allowed to leave Heaven. They just say he is not allowed to leave and provide no reason why.
I just wish they would explain why Sir Pentious cannot leave Heaven.
At Vox’s party, Baxter attempts to provide a connection with Heaven to show Sir Pentious’ redemption, while Cherry and Husk go to save Angel Dust, and Charlie distracts Vox. The plan quickly goes awry because, although Baxter is hilariously able to silence Vox, Velvette and Nifty fight around him, while Cherry and Angel Dust are ambushed by Valentino. The fight quickly grows, and Charlie is unable to get a signal to prove her point, leading to the best scene of the finale. Vox mocks her and, in his moment of triumph, orders her to admit his power. Unexpectedly for Charlie, Alastor chimes in, using their deal to force her to admit that Vox is the strongest sinner in Hell. This breaks Alastor’s contract with Rosie and, to top it all off, Vox celebrates his victory by landing his hands on Charlie, breaking his contract with Al. Alastor’s laughter as Vox falls right into his trap was great to see. You can see how he perfectly planned all this right from Episode Four and it went off without a hitch.
Vox and Alastor’s rivalry has been a highlight this season.
And if you thought the fight between Alastor and Vox in that episode was hype, you have not seen anything yet. Watching the two old friends turned rivals fight at full strength is greatly improved by some top-notch animation. The budget for Season Two clearly went up after Season One’s success. Vox predictably needs help from his giant robot shark, but this allows him to get back to his weapon and shoot wildly at Alastor. This has the unfortunate side effect of decimating Pentagram City with an angelic blast, killing many sinners for good. So, Hell’s entire population just saw their supposed savior annihilating a bunch of them. Yeah, there is no coming back for Vox’s reputation after this.
As Alastor predicted, Vox really did lose his marbles in Act Three.
Even the Vees are sick of Vox’s antics because, after their respective fights, they stop him from blowing them all up just to kill Alastor. Valentino rips off Vox’s head before attempting and failing to leave with him and Velvette. Say what you want about the Vees, but they do care about each other. Well, Valentino and Velvette do at least; not sure about Vox at this point. However, while Vox is finished, his weapon remains. For a moment, it looks like Emily is going to sacrifice herself to save Hell, but this is thankfully instead used to build into the final song of the season, “Hear my Hope,” where all of Hell’s overlords band together to stop the explosion.
Admit it, we all thought Emily was going to self-sacrifice at first.
“Hear My Hope” is a hopeful, and emotional song with two interludes. The first sees Lute and Abel arrive, and the former attempt to get her revenge, only to be stopped by Abel in a moment of character growth. While this moment is well sung, I kind of feel like it needed a little more build up, and it kinds of just feels thrown in there. The second interlude of the song is far better, and sees Rosie confront Alastor, who threatens to let everyone die unless she fixes his staff. What is interesting to me about this part is how Alastor says, “You’ll watch them die, unless you do,” making it seem like Rosie cares for Charlie and the others. This adds more layers of mystery to Rosie, of which I have seen a few theories about. One such theory is that Rosie is Lillith in disguise, which would retroactively make her talk with Charlie about Vaggie in Season One a lot more emotional. Although, if Rosie is Lillith, then that raises the question of who the Lillith in Heaven is? But that is just a theory.
A Hazbin Hotel theory!… I’m sorry.
Rosie fixes Alastor’s staff, and the two join the circle, along with Velvette and Valentino, much to Vox’s dismay. The power of friendship puts an end to the explosion, saving Hell. From here, Lucifer pulls himself from the remains of the weapon, Sir Pentious proves his redemption to Hell, and Angel Dust decides to go back with the Vees because he believes he is a danger to the hotel and his friends. I originally did not like how Angel was playing very little role in his own rescue, but it seems like they are setting up an arc for Season Three here, so I will reserve judgement on that. As for the Vees, Valentino has had to become the face of the organization. Speaking of face, Vox is still just a head, and I think it would be pretty funny for him to remain that way for the foreseeable future. He has had his time in the spotlight, but man did he ever shine brighter. The writing team quickly proved me wrong with how much of a convincing threat Vox would prove to be. For next season’s antagonist, I am pretty confident it is going to be Alastor, based on things Viziepop has said. It makes sense too, what with Alastor having no more strings, and being free to do whatever he wants.
Alastor’s official villain arc may be about to begin.
Back at the hotel, it sees even more success, but for the right reasons this time. Surprise, surprise, Vaggie has also kept her name but dropped the E. Blitzo would approve. Still, I am glad that this storyline did not take up as much time as I thought it would back in Episode One. The final scene of the season sees Lillith finally call Charlie back, ending on yet another Lillith cliffhanger. Hopefully, Season Three will arrive sooner than Season Two did, and keep up the quality. Overall, Season Two was a vast improvement over the first. The pacing, animation and songs were so much better. Speaking of the songs, I am currently planning to do a top ten list of my favorite Hazbin Hotel songs. So, you can expect to see that in the next few weeks or so.
A few weeks back, Hazbin Hotel gave us one of its best episodes with “It’s a Deal.” Well, I am pleased to say that Season Two continues to exceed expectations with Episodes Five and Six, “Silenced” and “Scream Rain,” both of which have standout factors that place them above other episodes. “Silenced” has the best animation of the series so far, and “Scream Rain” is easily the funniest episode of Hazbin Hotel yet. Episode Five begins with the musical number, “Bad with Us”, which is used to depict Vox going around to recruit other Overlords for his plan to attack Heaven. The song has a few humorous moments, like Vox’s attempts to recruit Carmilla, embarrassing both Valentino and Velvette. It also shows off the extreme talent of Christian Borle, as he sings through multiple different musical subgenres to appeal to different Overlords.
It makes so much sense that Vox was a cult leader, given how convincing he can be.
Meanwhile, at the Hazbin Hotel, Charlie is desperately trying to get Emily and other angels’ attention, leading to Vaggie asking Lucifer for help. It is here that we get the perfect explanation for why Lucifer lets the sinners do as they please. It is revealed that, since Lucifer being in Hell is a punishment, he is unable to harm sinners, meaning he has had to watch them abuse each other for thousands of years. This explains why he was so nihilistic back in Season One. It also answers my question of how Vox would be able to take over Heaven, since I figured Lucifer would try to stop him. However, just because Lucifer cannot harm sinners, does not mean he is unable to bluff them into thinking he can. At the same time, it is revealed that Emily and Sera are actually watching Charlie, but Sera has doubts about helping, unsure how she can make up for what she has done Pentious provides both good advice and a pretty great callback when he tells her, “A wise woman once told me, ‘It starts with sorry.’” About Pentious though, I do find it strange that Sera and Emily did not bring him with them when they decided to appeal to the Sinners. You would think seeing one of their own redeemed might sway some of them? Unfortunately, Pentious is still unable to leave Heaven for undisclosed reasons, which does feel a little too convenient.
Just replace Lute with Pentious and I think this whole scene might have gone a little better for Charlie.
The angels travel to Hell and Charlie convinces them to go with her to apologize at one of Vox’s rallies, a decision which I am sure we can all agree was an excellent one with absolutely no chance of backfiring, just like every other decision Charlie has made this season… right? At Vox’s rally, we potentially see the beginning of Alastor’s plan, with him goading Vox into pushing Valentino and Velvette to the side in favor of himself. Vox’s show is quickly interrupted by Lucifer, however, kicking off the second song of the episode, “Vox Populi.” The first half of the song is a Lucifer solo, which is great, before Vox takes over the song, exposing Lucifer’s weakness to the crowd, going so far as to even bring up Lillith to his face. It is here where we get our first showcase of excellent animation, with the camera panning around Lucifer circling an unimpressed Vox.
The animation during this song is the best of the series.
Following this, Charlie and the angels arrive, but Vox is able to quickly turn the situation against them, which Charlie really should have expected at this point. Vox certainly does not have to try hard, what with Lute calling him demon filth (seriously, why did they bring her?), the angels apologizing for genocide with gift baskets, and Sera revealing her true form and stating demons like Vox were the reason she approved the Exterminations. Vox uses this to build into the final song, “Vox Dei,” a short number but probably my favorite of the episode for the sheer aura it provides Vox. I will admit that at the beginning of the season I had my doubts about whether Vox could be a threatening antagonist, but this episode more than convinced me. The animation for this scene is once again amazing, with another panning shot perfectly showing Vox’s threatening presence.
I apologize, Vox. I was not familiar with your game.
On top of that, it is abundantly clear that Vox is meant to represent extreme right-wing rhetoric in media, given his statements of “manifest destiny”, “make Hell great again”, and “I’m the furor (führer)”. It is not subtle, but it is definitely effective, both on the viewer and the angels, who flee, leaving Charlie alone. She returns to the Hazbin Hotel, infuriated with her father and Vaggie. It is here we get the long awaited calling out of Charlie, with Vaggie pointing out how she is making things worse by not listening to her and engaging with Vox. Seeing Charlie finally be called out was both a great moment from Vaggie and a worthy conclusion to another really good episode with stellar animation. Following “Silenced”, we move on to the funniest episode of the series so far, “Scream Rain.” The episode opens similarly to the last one, with Vox attempting to convince Carmilla to join his cause. He enlists the help of Velvette to do so, who delivers the most totally not fake apology of all time.
Wait… you mean this smile ISN’T genuine?
In the end, Vox does convince Carmilla by leveraging her daughters’ safety. As for Velvette, if last episode saw Valentino souring towards Vox, now it is her turn. Vox belittles her and he did not even need to feel inferior to Alastor to do so. Back at the hotel, Charlie and Vaggie are still at odds but have to work together after word of Carmilla supporting Vox spreads. They go to confront her together, leaving Nifty in charge, since Husk quit because Alastor is no longer there to force him to work at the hotel. Afterwards, we get our first song of the episode, “Love in a Bottle”, which sees Husk return to his old ways at a casino, winning again and again, until he eventually loses and falls into a drunken stupor. The song is both catchy and sad, what with Husk’s spiral.
Plus, hearing Keith David sing is always a win.
Meanwhile, upon Charlie and Vaggie’s meeting with Carmilla, we get the first of a few great laughs in the episode, with Carmilla complaining about “lesbian drama” while Charlie shouts at her for helping “the TV man!” We also get a surprising look into Vaggie’s past when Carmilla reminds her of her time with the exorcists. Through brief flashes, we see Vaggie and another exorcist recruit being mistreated by Adam and Lute. It looked like whoever this other exorcist was, they were close to Vaggie. Even stranger is the appearance of the exorcist woman. They all look alike, with the same hair coloring and facial features. It makes me wonder if this was a deliberate choice by Adam or something else? Before we can get answers, the scene transitions to Husk again, where he is shocked to see Angel Dust singing in drag at the casino. Husk’s shocked “Angel!?” got a good laugh out of the me, and the following song from Angel, “Losing Streak” is so good it makes a few of the sinners in the audience question their sexuality. Unfortunately for Angel, Vox has plans for him, which we see when he requests his time from Valentino. Both he and Velvette diss him for using them, to which Vox attempts to lay on the charm until, of course, Alastor starts goading him again. Seeing Alastor spin in the chair to reveal himself got another big laugh from me, and the idea that he and Velvette were just gossiping about Vox is very humorous and already inspired multiple fanarts. As for Vox, Alastor triggers his inferiority complex again, and he tries to force Valentino to comply. This ends with the funniest moment in all of Hazbin Hotel for me, when Valentino storms off while speaking in Spanish, Vox makes a racist remark, and Valentino responds, “I’m from fucking Flordia!” and then decks Vox in the face with a glass.
Sadly, this humor would not last long. Just ask Angel.
While hilarious, this scene also pushes Alastor’s plan further. He has spent the past two episodes manipulating Vox into pushing the other Vees away, and it definitely seems to be working. I would not be surprised if Velvette and Valentino betrayed Vox in the last two episodes. How this will tie into the rest of Alastor’s plan remains to be seen. While Alastor’s plotline is still ongoing, Charlie and Vaggie’s fight is thankfully resolved this episode, when Charlie realizes the error of her ways, and goes all out on an apology by making a romantic setting for her and Vaggie. This culminates in the last song of the episode, “Easy”, which shows how good Vaggie is for Charlie because, when she gets overwhelmed, Vaggie soothes her back to calmness. Well, “calm” is probably not the right word considering the whole song is pretty much a substitute for Charlie and Vaggie doing the do, proven by it ending with the two of them in bed.
I am glad see Charlie changing while continuing to get closer with Vaggie.
The episode goes from one couple to a potential one, cutting to Husk and Angel talking in the aftermath of Angel’s performance, where the two further connect, before Angel has to leave for a job. It is here that the episode goes from funny and feel-good to depressing, when we finally get the scene of Vox hurting Angel from the trailer. A big twist also happens here because Vox reveals that he has been hypnotizing Angel into spying on the Hazbin Hotel, which is how he knew numerous things, such as the fact that Lucifer could not hurt him. Vox now plans to use him to make Charlie kill herself somehow, but we will have to learn the details on how this will work in the final two episodes. Another interesting detail are the eyes watching Angel when he enters the apartment. These eyes have been seen throughout Hell, but this is the first time the show has deliberately focused on them. They do not seem connected to Vox, so I am interested in seeing what the explanation is, although I think this might be foreshadowing for future seasons.
Seriously, what is up with the eyes?
Angel Dust is not the only factor is Vox’s plan though because we see him imitate Charlie’s voice to draw Lucifer in, planning to use him as a power source for something. Vox’s plans are going to come to their climax soon but, with him pushing aside Valentino and Velvette, Cherry and Husk’s suspicions about Angel’s location, and Alastor’s currently unknown plan, I think it is pretty safe to say this will all blow up in Vox’s face in a spectacular and satisfying fashion. We will know in an hour, when the final episodes of Season Two drop. As for Episodes Five and Six, they are both great, with excellent animation and hilarious moments. Season Two has exceeded my expectations so far, and I hope the last episodes will not disappoint.
I did not care for 2018’s The Predator, to say the least. I disliked it so much that I did not watch Dan Trachtenberg’s Prey for a while, even though I heard it was good. Once I finally gave in and watched the film, I highly enjoyed it and was left anticipating his next installment in the franchise. Well, I recently saw Predator: Badlands in theatres and, I have to say, it is definitely my favorite since the original Predator. Departing from the series’ usual formula, the main character is not a human being hunted by the Predator, but the Predator himself. Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Kolomatangi), is a runt among his fellow Yautja, so decides to prove himself by travelling to the most dangerous planet in the galaxy, where he plans to hunt down the supposedly unkillable Kalisk.
This movie has the Predator facing off against a bigger threat.
Going into the movie, I was wondering if it could succeed in making me sympathize with the alien, considering how often we see them hunt humans in the series. Well, the movie succeeds in spades, with the opening ten minutes doing an excellent job investing you in Dek’s story. Due to a combination of writing, CGI, and the actor’s performance, Dek is one of the best Predators of the franchise.
Despite all the barriers in place, like language and CGI, the beginning did an excellent job of making me feel for Dek.
His journey is not one he can undertake alone, however, for he quickly realizes he must team up with the stranded and damaged android Thia (Elle Fanning) to survive. Fanning does a great job with her performance as well, and her connection with Dek is fun to see grow throughout the film, creating a lot of good humor.
Thia’s joyful nature contrasts well with Dek’s constant deadpan.
Granted, this comedy does sometimes stray a bit too far towards the quippy humor Disney has long overused, but it does not quite crosss the line into obnoxious. This is honestly the only issue I had with the film. The action is fantastic, especially with the CGI, which never drew me out of the movie. Some may be concerned about the lowered rating, but this is only because there are no human characters in the movie. There is still a lot of carnage candy to enjoy, rest assured. Along with this, the soundtrack is also stellar, adding to the film’s intense action sequences and emotional beats.
The soundtrack by Sarah Schaschner and Benjamin Wallfisch absolutely pops off at times.
It is the growth of Dek in his hunt that is the true beating heart of the movie, however, and the ending made me excited to see his story continue. Overall, Predator: Badlands is a hell of a lot of fun. While the original Predator is still the best film of the series by a mile, Badlands is also an easy second place. Now, I just have to find the time to watch Predator: Killer of the Killers.
Hazbin Hotel’s second season started strong with its first two episodes. Now episodes three and four continue the formula of the second being better than the first. “Hazbin Hotel: Behind Closed Doors” is still a lot of fun in its own right, though. The episode begins with Charlie in mid-freakout over Emily’s reveal that Sir Pentious has been redeemed. But, if you thought that Charlie’s spiraling would halt because of the good news, this is unfortunately not the case. If anything, Charlie spirals more, making bad decision after bad decision, which only furthers Vox’s plans.
Hopefully, Charlie has learned her lesson about the media after these two episodes.
I have seen some people complain that Charlie is acting out of character here, but I honestly do not see it. Charlie was shown to be an emotional wreak in Episode One following Pentious’ supposed death and, given her personality, of course she overcompensates when learning he is alive in Heaven. This is most likely part of an arc for Charlie, which we will see resolved by the end of the season. Unfortunately, Vox and Velvette are quick to take advantage of Charlie’s character flaw, marching into the Hazbin Hotel at Charlie’s invitation, ready to blacken her name again. They get ample opportunity when Charlie announces Pentious’ redemption but, as we suspected, she is not believed because she cannot prove it since Heaven is in lockdown. Charlie decides to redeem Angel Dust, ignoring his warnings about the Vees. This leads into the song “Speedrun to Redemption”, where Charlie attempts and fails to redeem Angel by following Pentious’ example. The end result is her staging a fake rescue, with Husk tied to train tracks while Angel plays the hero. As for Charlie herself, she plays the diabolical mastermind, Danny Do-Bad. Watching Charlie play at villainy was so over the top and cringeworthy, but oddly enough to such an extreme that it became funny.
NOT DANNY DO-BAD!
Vox turns the scene potentially deadly by interfering, leading to Angel actually having to try and save Husk. Vaggie finally gets through to Charlie, convincing her that Angel Dust needs to be redeemed his own way, but this builds into Vox revealing Angel killed his dad, which was the sin that landed him in Hell. In a similar moment to when Valentino assaulted Angel in Season One, Charlie’s demon form begins to emerge, showing just how much she values her friends. She even manages to get under Vox’s skin, maintaining that she believes anyone can be redeemed, even him. As for whether Vox actually will be redeemed in the future, that is going to take a lot of work given his many sins and current actions. Charlie’s storyline is not the only one this episode because we also follow Cherry deciding to stay at the Hazbin Hotel. Given the romantic tension between her and Pentious, Cherry is hit the hardest by the news of his redemption, going to Baxter for information because he used to work with him. It is here we learn that Baxter was the one who helped Pentious create the Egg Boys, before Pentious took them away to protect them from Baxter’s experiments, and to continue his feud with Cherry. This builds into a song between Pentious and Cherry, reflecting on their many battles titled… “Piss”?
Leave it to Hazbin Hotel to title a love song “Piss”, I guess.
In the aftermath of Vox’s hit piece against the Hazbin Hotel, we see many residents returning their keys to leave, while Cherry takes a key, telling Angel she intends to stay . I look forward to seeing her and Pentious eventually reunite and how their relationship will progress. “Hazbin Hotel: Behind Closed Doors” is another solid episode, but it is far exceeded by Episode Four, “It’s a Deal,” which I would go as far to say is not only the best episode of the season at this point, but the best of the show so far. The episode follows two central storyline’s, Charlie and Alastor’s the first of which is the funnier of the two. Charlie continues to underestimate how badly Vox and his minions can shape a narrative, planning to go on live tv with Nifty to try and change the hotel’s image. It is here Charlie talks with Katie Killjoy who, of course, does everything she can to paint Charlie in a bad light, including making it seem like she wants Sinners to be killed. As a last resort, Charlie calls on Nifty for help, and we get out first Nifty solo song, “Clean it Up.” Not only is this song really catchy, but it is also hilarious.
The Adam Slayer has quite the song.
The first half is Nifty talking about how disgusting the hotel is, which she views as a good thing because she loves cleaning it. The second half of the song is sung entirely in Japanese with an anime style, and it is here where Nifty talks about the actual good qualities of the hotel. What makes this funnier is that Charlie asked her to “help differently” and Nifty interpreted this to mean singing in another language. If Charlie had just let Nifty keep singing in English instead of interrupting her, everyone would have understood the good things about the hotel. Although, there obviously have to be some sinners who speak Japanese, so it would be pretty humorous for a bunch of them to show up at the hotel because they understood Nifty’s message.
I did not expect an anime style song in Hazbin Hotel but I am glad we got one.
As for Nifty believing in Charlie’s dream while thinking Sinners are trash, it makes her even more endearing. In fact, I would go as for to say that Nifty is my favorite character in Hazbin Hotel at the moment. She always gets a laugh out of me, and it is for this reason I love her more than Alastor. This is not to sell Alastor short because he is also fantastic in this episode. Alastor has barely been present in the last three episodes, so I was glad to see him finally get a focus here. After another spat with Lucifer, Alastor decides to quit the hotel, and goes to tell Rosie the good news. Too bad she wants him to stay at the hotel, and he has no say in the matter because she is his soul owner. Yes, the big mystery of who owned Alastor’s soul is revealed to be Rosie. The two seemed like genuine friends in Season One, so I did not see this coming. It changes the whole context of Alastor bringing Charlie to Rosie for help. We also get a reveal of Alastor’s backstory, like we did Sir Pentious’ in Episode Two.
I did not expect an Alastor backstory this quickly, even though I asked for one in my previous review.
Alastor was a radio broadcaster and serial killer in the 1930s, who was mistaken for a deer by a hunter and shot. However, before his death, he made a deal with Rosie for power. In return, he would do some unknown job for her. What this job is, we still do not know, but it is safe to say it has something to do with his presence at the Hazbin Hotel. While answering the question of who owns Alastor’s soul, this twist also raises a bunch of questions about Rosie. Who is she really, and why does she want Alastor to help Charlie? Whatever the reason, I would wager it has something to do with why both Alastor and Lillith disappeared seven years ago. It was also revealed this episode that the Exterminations also then, so something big happened seven years ago that we are not yet privy to. Angered about not escaping his deal, Alastor then comes up with an unknown plan, leading to him confronting Vox, Valentino and Velvette.
This fight is very well animated.
Nifty and Husk also get involved, but the fight ends with Alastor making a deal to be Vox’s prisoner, so long as Vox does not lay a hand upon Charlie. What follows is a barrage of humiliation for Alastor, with Vox dragging him throughout the city, bragging about defeating him. Whatever Alastor hopes to gain from this, it has to be worth the humiliation because there is no way he would subject himself to it otherwise. Perhaps Charlie’s deal to do him a favor will come into play again? But even though Alastor is Vox’s prisoner, he still gets under his skin more than anyone. We get another flashback, this one proving that Vox and Alastor used to be friends. Or at least that is what Vox thought, because the moment he suggests a partnership to Alastor, the Radio Demon laughs in his face, calling him pathetic and weak. I never thought I would feel bad for Vox, but Alastor’s rejection was so cruel it had me temporarily forgetting how terrible of a person he also is.
“The worst he can say is no,” my ass!
It is also pretty funny to think of how hypocritical Alastor is. He judges Vox for needing the Vees while he conveniently forgets he owes his power to Rosie. Back in the present, Vox attempts to regain control through the song “Don’t Your Forget” (itself a reprisal of a song Rosie sung with Alastor earlier), which references Season One’s “Stayed Gone.” The episode then ends with Valentino saying the two should just screw already. While you could cut the sexual tension with a knife in this moment, unfortunately for Vox, Al is asexual. Kidding aside, Episode Four is definitely my favorite of the series so far. It reveals a lot of Alastor lore, has great action, and funny Nifty moments. What more could a Hazbin Hotel fan ask for? Season Two has been great so far, and I hope the quality can continue later tonight with Episodes Five and Six.
Well, I got around to reviewing this late, didn’t I? I thought that the first part of Wednesday’s second season was a good beginning, and I began the second half with fingers crossed that the quality would continue. Thankfully, by the end I was satisfied. That is not to say the last four episodes do not have their downsides though. Part Two picks up with Wednesday Addams (Jenna Ortega) in a coma, where she learns that Larissa Weems (Gwendoline Christie) is her new spirit guide. Upon awakening, Wednesday now has to deal with her, the escaped Tyler Gaplin (Hunter Doohan), and her vision of her best friend Enid Sinclair’s incoming death. For starters, I will say it was good to see Gwendoline Christie again. Sure, it is pretty convenient for her to be a distant relative of Wednesday, but any excuse to have her back is good enough for me.
Kind of wish they did not spoil her return in the trailer though.
One of my big criticisms of Season Two’s first half was the lack of focus on Enid, considering Wednesday’s entire goal was to save her. It felt weird that most of Enid’s time was spent on a romance with a character who is so boring his name escapes me. Unfortunately, that relationship is still there. Fortunately, the focus is brief and Enid’s friendship with Wednesday takes center stage again. This is best shown through a body swap episode, which gives both the acting of Jenna Ortega and Emma Myers time to shine. They do excellent jobs of portraying polar opposite characters trapped in the other’s body.
Emma Myers does an especially good job of depicting Wednesday’s mannerisms.
However, while I was glad to see Enid and Wednesday’s friendship receive focus again, I did not really like how the second half of the season developed Wednesday’s vision of her death. It felt kind of handwaved, with the prophecy switching at multiple points throughout the season to the point that it felt of little consequence. Still, for all the negatives of this half of the season, there are plenty of positives. The Barry Dort (Steve Buscemi) storyline unfolds nicely, the humor still gets a laugh, and there is even a dance scene to rival Wednesday’s in Season One, this being between Enid and Agnes (Evie Templeton).
Who would have thought after the first half of the season that Enid and Agnes would share a dance?
Agnes remains a highlight, with her receiving plenty of development, making her by far my favorite addition of the season. Also improved from the first season are the twists, with them being unexpected and lacking annoying red herrings. This makes Season Two easily better than the first for me, overall. While there was still an annoying love triangle, it did not take as much of the focus, and the mysteries were not incredibly transparent.
After seeing both halves, I definitely prefer Season Two.
The upgrade makes me hopeful the show will continue to improve with its third season, especially because Season Two seems to be leading into it well because of a few cliffhanger storylines. Although, as I mentioned in my review of the first half, the inevitable long wait will be annoying.
I found the first season of Hazbin Hotel to be an enjoyable but flawed season. It had fun characters and fantastic musical numbers, but the pacing felt especially off. With the show being a success, I hoped it would convince the bigwigs to greenlight more episodes for Season Two. Unfortunately, we are stuck with eight again this season. To be fair though, that does not necessarily mean the pacing is doomed, since Viziepop could still find a way to craft a completely concise story with eight episodes.
We will have to wait for the rest of the season to release before we find out if the pacing will work.
As for Episodes One and Two of Hazbin Hotel Season Two, they provide a decent start to the season, which has me excited for the extra six. For starters, I actually like how these episodes were structured together, with Episode One showing Hell’s side of the story, while Episode Two shows Heaven’s. That being said, Episode One “New Pentious” is definitely the weaker of the two. In the aftermath of the Hazbin Hotel fighting off Adam’s Extermination, the hotel has received lots of interest but for the wrong reason. Instead of demons seeking redemption, like Charlie hoped, they are all there to kill angels. Well, almost all of them. A demon named Baxter joins the hotel, hoping to prove his hypothesis that redemption is impossible. He is quite similar to Pentious, leading to Charlie constantly calling him that, since she is still grieving her friend. As for Baxter, we do not get enough of him for me to really judge if I like his character or not. And then there are the hotel’s regular residents. It was great to see Charlie, Vaggie, Alastor, Angel Dust, Nifty and Husk again. My favorite of the bunch this episode was absolutely Nifty, with her newfound fame for killing Adam being pretty humorous.
Never change, Nifty, you murderous gremlin.
On the other hand, Vaggie has a subplot with her trying to figure out a new name for herself. I am absolutely convinced this storyline will just end with her choosing to keep the name Vaggie, so the subplot already feels predictable. That being said, if it does ends in a different way I will withdraw this criticism. What I will not be withdrawing is my complaint regarding a specific joke concerning Angel Dust. Back in Season One, we saw how terrible Valentino treated him, so to see a slapstick joke of Valentino repeatedly abusing him felt really out of touch. On the subject of the Vees, they seem to be stepping into their roles of main antagonists this season, especially Vox. The TV Demon intends to use his control of media to manipulate Hell’s populace into turning against the hotel and rebelling against Heaven. This storyline has a lot of potential with its topical relevance to the problems of today’s media. I am also curious to see how Vox intends to take over heaven.
To be honest, I cannot imagine the Vees lasting long against Lucifer, let alone the high-ranking Angels of Heaven.
We see one such Angel at the end of the episode, Emily, who arrives to quickly tell Charlie about Sir Pentious’ redemption before leaving. Charlie screams in response, ending the episode. Her learning that redemption works may seem like a good thing, but one key detail is that Charlie was the only one who saw Emil. It is also later revealed Sir Pentious cannot leave heaven. Therefore, I can see Vox twisting Charlie’s boasting about Pentious’ redemption to be a lie, turning the populace of Hell further against her. But we will have to see. Now that I have the story content of the episode out of the way, I will discuss the musical aspect. “New Pentious” has two musical numbers, “Hazbin Guarantee (Trust Us)” and “Once We Get Up There.” “Hazbin Guarantee” is my favorite of the two, with a great contrast between Charlie failing to get clients with her songs of hope, and the Vees succeeding with their manipulative lies.
The Vees are easy to hate because of how they use and then throw people away as if they were things.
As it stands, “New Pentious” is a good episode, but “Storyteller” is even better. I will start with the songs this time; Episode Two having three of them, “Like You”, “Sera’s Confession”, and “Gravity”. Going from weakest to best, “Like You” does a good job of showing Pentious’ situation in Heaven, and how he just wants to get back to his friends. “Sera’s Confession” succeeded in making me invested in Sera, due to the exploration of her moral conflict. But by the far the best song is “Gravity”. This number was teased a while back, and you can absolutely see why it was chosen to advertise Season Two. Lute’s rock ballad with a hallucinated Adam is incredible to watch and listen to; already being the best song in the season thus far.
“Gravity” crushes it, pun very much intended.
Getting back to the story of the episode, it opens up with Pentious on trial after appearing in Heaven. Things look bad for him until the Speaker of God arrives and gently asks him to tell his story. We flashback to the 1800s when Pentious was alive and it is revealed he knew who Jack the Ripper was but failed to report him, resulting in the deaths of five more women. His failure to act damned him to hell, until he redeemed himself by risking his own life to save his friends, exactly the sort of thing he should have done for those women. I loved the exploration of Pentious’ human life, and I hope we get more for other characters. Vox was revealed to have been a cult leader in Episode One, but I want to see what made Nifty so crazy, and just what the hell Alastor’s deal is?
More backstories like Pentious’ please?
Pentious is released after his redemption is revealed, and the episode then follows Emily guiding him around Heaven, Sera trying to decide Heaven’s next move while dealing with her guilt, and Lute planning revenge while being absolutely pissed that Adam’s son Abel got the position of Exorcist leader over her. The one time nepotism paid off, I guess. Sera also tells Lute to back off Lillith, and we later see the woman herself ignoring Charlie and Lucifer’s texts, so the mystery around her is still ongoing. The end of the episode ties in with the conclusion of the previous one, with Emily rushing off to tell Charlie about Pentious’ redemption before Sera closes Heaven off. Overall, “Storyteller” is the better episode of the two. It has great character work, especially for Pentious, Sera and Lute, and incredible songs, most notably “Gravity”. As for where Season Two goes now, the Vees are probably going to stoke tension further between Heaven in Hell, which will lead to some confrontation with Alastor, as seen in the trailer.
The eventual fight between Alastor and Vox should be hype.
Whatever comes next, though, whether it be good or bad, I have no doubt that we will be getting more excellent songs to jam to. I already look forward to hearing these musical numbers when episodes Three and Four air next week.
There was a rather strange disconnect between English speaking and Japanese viewers in regard to their opinions on the first season of Chainsaw Man. Many English speakers, myself included, loved the first season, especially with how it paid homage to various aspects of film, which the mangaka Tatsuki Fujimoto is a big fan of. However, the Japanese viewers’ reactions were mostly the complete opposite. There was a lot of hate directed towards the first season, due to the style being seen as different from the manga, and a few other reasons I do not quite understand. Therefore, for the movie continuing Chainsaw Man’s story, it was decided a different director would take on the job with a different animation style. To be honest, I was a bit concerned with what I would think about the new art style, since I really liked the old one. Today, I got the chance to sit down in a theatre and watch Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc and see this change for myself.
Kind of fitting that the arc chosen for a film has a scene where Denji and Makima go to see multiple movies.
You can imagine my relief when I absolutely loved the new style and actually think it is better than Season One’s. That is not to sell the old art style short, but the new one has so many unique moments, with many shots looking like a manga panel brought to life. Along with this, the animation quality is incredible. Whether the scene was a slow, thoughtful one, a comedic one, or an action extravaganza, I am sure you could pause the movie at any point and end up with a great shot.
See?
Likewise, the music and sound design are top notch, with the sound of explosions being particularly gripping to hear in the theatre. And then there is the voice acting. Everyone from the First Season does a great job, as expected. Kikunosuke Toya brings the perfect mixture of emotion and comedy to his portrayal of Denji. Tomori Kusunoki makes Makima sound creepy as ever. Then there is the new voice on the block for Chainsaw Man, Reina Ueda as Reze. Talk about perfect casting for the character. Because of her and Toya’s performance, Reze and Denji have great romantic chemistry, making the events that play out later in the film both tragic and epic to witness.
It was a joy to see Reze finally animated.
All in all, The Reze Arc is a fantastic adaptation of the storyline from the manga. The portrayal of its two leads is excellent, and the animation style, its quality, the music and sound design are all peak. I am honestly so glad that they chose to adapt the Reze Arc as a film instead of in an episodic format. Watching Chainsaw Man on the big screen really reminded me of my love for Part One of the story. I cannot wait to see the rest of this adaptation, whether that be with more movies, or another season. Unfortunately, we will probably have to wait years to find out which format it will be. Oh, well, at least Chainsaw Man is still going strong with Part Two, so us fans of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s work are not starved for content.
Every Chainsaw Man fan remembers the door reveal from Part One of the story.
Tatsuki Fujimoto did an excellent job of building up to the reveal that Denji was the one who killed his father.
Now, over 100 chapters since that reveal, Fujimoto has revealed another door twist, only for Asa instead of Denji.
And, whereas the reveal in Part One was a moment of trauma, the reveal in Part Two is a moment of healing.
Chapter 217, “Two Good People” begins with the aftermath of Asa finding her mother after running down her dream alleyway.
Asa reveals to Denji that when she was little, a Devil came out of the river and cut off her father’s leg before her mother killed it.
Asa ran to get help, tripping along the way, only to find upon her return that her own mother had murdered her father.
She did this because Asa’s father was an abusive drunk, who was cheating on her, although there was also some financial incentive, since Asa’s mother tells her the money from his life insurance will help her go to school.
The reveal of what happened to Asa’s father was a great bit of misdirection from Fujimoto.
At the beginning of Part Two, we are told that Asa’s parents were killed by a Devil.
We then see Asa’s mother and a man being killed by the Typhoon Devil in a flashback.
Back then, I assumed the man was Asa’s father, but I did find it odd that Asa seemed to remember her mother more than him.
Now, it makes sense because her father died at a different time and was abusive.
Asa tells Denji she does not know if her mother’s actions made her a bad person or not, before explaining that she tripped on purpose while running for help, hoping her father would die.
This raises questions about how many times Asa tripping in the past has been intentional.
Asa asks Denji if he thinks she is a bad person for what she did and Denji responds, “I killed my dad and made it look like a suicide… but I’m a good person.”
Never did I think a character confessing murder could be positive development.
All the way back when Denji remembered what he did to his father, he hated himself, believing he did not deserve to live a normal life.
Now, here he is telling Asa that he is a good person despite what he did, cheering her up to the point that the two break out into laughter, while Yoru and Pochita continue their fight in the real world, ending the chapter.
Denji turned this potentially traumatic moment for Asa and used his own experiences with it to turn it into a moment of healing.
The two of them really are made for each other.
They have similar, traumatic pasts but they use that to bring out the best in each other.
“Two Good People” is a great chapter, which provides a lot of growth for its two lead characters.
Its uplifting ending, despite the subject matter, made me even more excited for the Chainsaw Man movie, which is finally releasing in my country this week.
I already have my ticket booked and you can expect my review for it after I see the film.
The Alien series has had a resurgence with the recent success of Romulus, and the newly released Alien: Earth developed by FX. Created by Noah Hawley, Alien: Earth is set a few years before Ellen Ripley had her first encounter with the iconic and terrifying Xenomorph in the original movie. The corporation known as Prodigy, run by the declared “boy genius” Boy Kavalier (Samuel Blenkin), is experimenting with immortality, attempting to transfer human consciousness to android bodies. Their first test subjects are a group of terminally ill children, whose minds are transported into the adult bodies, before they are given new names based off characters from Peter Pan. At the same time, a Weyland-Yutani ship carrying five invasive species from different planets, including the Xenomorph, crashes on Earth in a city owned by Prodigy. Wanting to recover the subjects, and test out his new toys, Boy sends the children to retrieve Yutani’s property, led by Wendy (Sydney Chandler). However, Wendy has her own goals, wanting to rescue her brother Joe (Alex Lawther), who has been sent on a rescue mission to the crash site, unaware of the monsters that lurk inside.
Wendy’s goal is to protect her brother, but she encounters many terrifying monsters along the way.
Alien: Earth has a fantastic premise, and I was very intrigued to see how it would all end when I started watching. The show definitely leaves a great first impression, with gripping commentary on what makes someone human and the dangers of corporations, while also having awesome Alien content. The Xenomorph is an absolute menace in the first few episodes, as it wreaks bloody death upon all it encounters. That is not to sell short the other newly introduced alien species in this show because they all have horrifying ways of killing their victims. By far my favorite (and I am sure a lot of other people’s favorite) new alien is the T. Ocellus, a parasitic species, which rips out its host’s eye and then takes its place, controlling the body from there.
I hope we see more of T. Ocellus in the Alien series.
The practical effects and the CGI for these aliens, both old and new, are all great. Just as amazing are the performances, across the board. The actors for the hybrids, Wendy, Slightly (Asah Gourav), Smee (Jonathan Ajayi), Nibs (Lily Newmark), Curly (Erana James), and Tootles (Kit Young) all do fantastic jobs of portraying children transferred into adult android bodies. Samuel Blenkin is also perfectly detestable as the narcissistic Boy Kavalier. I spent most of the show just wanting to punch his smug smile.
And will someone get this man some goddamn shoes? What is this show, directed by Quentin Tarantino or something?
However, my favorites of the cast are definitely Timothy Olyphant as the android Kirsh, and Babou Ceesay as the cyborg Morrow, with the two of them having an excellent rivalry throughout the show. Morrow is especially excellent, given his time to shine as the star of Episode Five, which is the best of the series so far. Although, one criticism that you could level towards this episode is that many of the characters (excluding Morrow) are monumentally stupid. But, hey, I guess if they were smart the aliens would have never got loose and there would be no story.
Morrow is the only smart guy in a ship full of idiots.
Unfortunately, I have what I feel are far more valid criticisms as the show progresses. First of all, there is Wendy. I like her and think she is a well written character. The issue I have is that she is ridiculously overpowered, especially for an Alien story. She has multiple incredibly powerful abilities, and it is never explained how she got them. Thus, when the final episode rolled around, I held no fear for her safety because I knew she could power through whatever threat she faced.
Wendy absolutely needs to be powered down if Season Two is going to have any stakes.
She and the android hybrids are definitely the main focus of the series, which is my second criticism. This show is called Alien: Earth after all, but the aliens definitely play second fiddle to the hybrids, with the Xenomorph being less threatening by the end as a result. Finally, there is the last episode of the season, where nothing is resolved and it ends on a massive cliffhanger, which we will probably have to wait years to follow up on. Going into Alien: Earth, I thought it was going to be a limited series. I honestly think I would have preferred it to be so. Then we would have a complete story where the conflict is resolved. Instead, we got a finale with multiple issues and a cliffhanger ending which delivers no satisfaction for lingering questions.
The first half of Alien: Earth is way better than the second.
Ultimately, I will still watch a second season if it happens. I am invested in the characters and creatures, so I want to know what happens. That being said, I hope they learn from the mistakes of the first season and make Wendy less overpowered, put the Aliens forefront and, for the love of god, offer some resolution with their ending this time. I recommend Alien: Earth but definitely be prepared for disappointment with the way it concludes.
THE REVIEW MONSTER 