Category: Review

Chainsaw Man Chapter 158, Gyohnee Guillotine Review: Meet Guilly.

After Asa hilariously tripped again at the end of Chainsaw Man Chapter 157, I was intrigued to see what kind of Devil Fami would use to protect them.
Chapter 158, “Gyohneee Guillotine,” starts by revealing this Devil.
As the Public Safety officers fire their guns, Fami drops the totem, releasing the Guillotine Devil, whom she calls Guilly.
A giant bird with a tilted head, like Fami, a skeletal body beneath its wings, and a guillotine hanging below its neck, Guilly makes for quite a unique and unsettling design.
It certainly makes an impression as well because, when Fami orders it to kill the Public Saftey officers, Guilly instead cuts apart their guns and clothes with a flap of its wings, leaving them all naked.
This also raises the question if Guilly is just dumb or reluctant to kill, the latter of which would be interesting for the literal Guillotine Devil.
Asa demands to know why Fami did not release Guilly earlier, before she fell and embarrassed herself, and Fami explains that the Devils she summons are weakened.
It is pretty terrifying to think that this means the Falling Devil was weaker than usual when Fami summoned it.
Despite this weakness, it was still strong enough to have consequences for the entire world.
That just goes to show the overwhelming power of the Primal Fears.
Another reason Fami did not use Guilly sooner is because her power to use Devils has restrictions.
When Asa asks what Fami means by this, she refuses to say.
I smell something being hinted at which will be important later.
Asa and Fami’s conversation is then interrupted by one of Public Safety officers, this one thankfully wearing underwear, who tries to attack them.
Asa manages to parry them, however, and Yoru takes them down, before complimenting Asa’s skill.
It’s nice to see these two getting along and I am interested to see if it lasts.
Before they can deal with the other Public Safety officers, they are again interrupted, this time by Haruka, Nobana and Akoku, who appear just like I predicted in my review of the previous chapter.
Thinking that Fami is there to save them, Haruka instead demands that she leave them alone.
“Okay,” Fami responds.
Haruka then declares himself his own man, free from Fami’s influence, and expels both her and Asa from the Devil Hunting Club.
“Okay,” Fami responds again.
Fami’s deadpan, uncaring response to Haruka’s character growth is by far the funniest moment of the entire chapter.
Haruka gives this big speech he thinks is going to shake Fami to her core and she just does not care.
Instead, Haruka is the one who actually comes to care because, as soon as Asa tells him they are only there to save Chainsaw Man, his decision flips entirely.
The chapter then ends with Haruka, Nobana and Akoku following an unwilling Asa and Fami, while Guilly continues to squawk behind them.
Of course, being a Chainsaw Man fan, Haruka would immediately throw his character development away to meet his hero.
I wonder if he will be disappointed to learn that this hero is Denji?
However, him, Nobana and Akoku going with Asa and Fami will probably not end well, if the theory of Akoku being the Fire Devil turns out to be true.
Overall, “Gyohnee Guillotine” is another hilarious chapter for Chainsaw Man, with Fami and Guilly delivering the best laughs.
I am curious to see if Guilly lasts a while or is simply a Devil who will leave the story quickly.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 157 College Fund Review: War and Famine it is.

In the week following Chainsaw Man Chapter 156’s release, there was a lot of debate about who was going to attack the facility Denji is being held at.
Asa was the most obvious candidate, but Reze’s name was also being thrown into the ring, along with Kishibe’s as a joke.
Chapter 157 “College Fund” begins by confirming that it was indeed Asa we saw preparing to free Denji.
While it would have been good to see Reze again, I am glad Asa is finally back in the story.
She has only shown up in a couple of chapters since the Falling Devil Arc, so it is good to have her back as an important character.
It is also interesting to note that Asa’s arm has not grown back.
This makes her fundamentally different from hybrids like Denji and the Weapons.
It also reminds me a lot of Aki, which I hope is not Fujimoto hinting that something terrible will happen to her, like it did Aki.
Asa is not alone, however, because Fami is joining her in the assault on the facility.
We get a little more insight into Fami’s personality, as she refuses to respond when Yoru calls her “Famine,” only answering to “Fami.”
There is also this curious question from Asa: “Beating Chainsaw Man… will really save Chainsaw Man, right?”
Unless this is a mistranslation, Fami seems to have manipulated Asa into believing that she needs to beat Chainsaw Man now.
I am not sure why she would do this since Nayuta stated her plan is to make both Chainsaw Man and the War Devil stronger, but I guess we will have to wait and see.
In any case, Asa and Fami make their move on the facility, only for the staff to try and kill them with turrets.
This does not work because of how Asa’s power has increased, due to the growing fear of war.
Fami wrote up a fake contract to buy the turrets, which Asa believes she bought using her college fund money, from the work she did with the Chainsaw Man Church.
Not only is this humorous because of Asa’s naivety but it also shows how powerful she is now, being able to turns things into weapons without touching them.
Asa uses her “College Fund Turrets” to blow a hole in the facility.
She and Fami then run inside but the latter refuses to fight because she is the trump card which should be used last.
The two come across armed guards waiting for them and attempt to sneak past but, Asa being Asa she, of course, trips and faceplants.
The recurring joke of Asa tripping at critical moments, followed by an inevitable panel of her dying inside, always gets a good laugh out of me and this time was no different.
With the guards now aware of them, it forces Fami to release her trump card early.
The chapter ends with her calling Asa a klutz, and pulling out a small figurine, similar to one she put the Falling Devil in.
Does this mean that Fami is about to release the Falling Devil or some other Primal Fear on the facility?
That would be pretty overkill, but it would definitely ensure success.
As for what happens next chapter, it was stated that the leaders of the Chainsaw Man Church were being held in the facility.
This means Haruka and Nobana could be returning so Asa might just free them.
It will also be interesting to see if this is the arc Asa will finally learn Denji is Chainsaw Man.
Either way, “College Fund” is a great, short chapter.
It reintroduces Asa and brings back a funny, recurring gag.
With there once again only being a week break between chapters, it will not be long before we see what happens next.

Dune: Part Two Review: A Spectacular Sequel.

I absolutely adored Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Part One.
Adapted from Frank Herbert’s novel of the same name, which is widely regarded as one of the greatest science fiction novels of all time, Part One did a fantastic job of setting up this world’s story, characters and themes.
I had been anticipating the sequel ever since I saw the first one in theaters, even waiting through a few delays.
Once I got the chance to see it, I figured there would be no way better than to watch a double feature, with both Parts One and Two played back-to-back.
This resulted in undoubtedly one of the greatest cinematic experiences I have ever had, and it is through watching this double feature that I can confidently say that Part One flows perfectly into its sequel.

Both movies feel at their best when watched together.

Dune: Part 2 sees Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) and his mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) take shelter with the Fremen of Arrakis after the Atreides family is massacred by their old enemy, the Harkonnens, under the orders of the Emperor (Christopher Walken). 
From there, the film follows Paul’s journey to get revenge upon the Harkonnens and help the Fremen, while also attempting to avoid the messiah role being crafted for him.
After watching the first movie, some fans of the book were concerned that Villeneuve was not leaning into the theme of not trusting charismatic leaders, which was Herbert’s key message when writing Dune.
This second film, however, should dispel any doubts about that.
Timothée Chalamet does an excellent job of showing Paul’s gradual transition into becoming the Lisan al Gaib, culminating in a confrontation scene which left the audience I saw the film with in stunned silence. 

Chalamet nails his performance as Paul Atreides at his most tyrannical.

Everyone else in this film does a fantastic job as well.
Rebecca Ferguson is unexpectedly terrifying in her manipulation as Jessica.
Austin Butler is also terrifying but for very different reasons as Feyd-Rautha.
Then there is Javier Bardem who somehow works as both the comedic relief of the film and a chilling representation of radicalization.
Josh Brolin, Stellan Skarsgård Florence Pugh, and Dave Bautista all do great, as well.
The most surprising character in the film, for me though, was Chani, played by Zendaya.
She has so much more agency than her book counterpart, and the way her ideas differ from Stilgar’s helps make the Fremen feel much more realistic as a culture.
This also makes her movie-only conflict with Paul interesting, and I look forward to seeing how this is followed up on in the inevitable adaptation of Dune: Messiah. 

I much prefer movie Chani to book Chani.

So, the characters and the themes they portray are all excellent, but what about the visuals and soundtrack?
Well, if you saw the first movie then you definitely had no doubt that they were going to be just as amazing.
Watching this movie on Xtremescreen was a sight to behold, and I would not be surprised if Greg Fraser received at least an Oscar nomination for his cinematography.
The same goes for Hans Zimmer, whose score is just as epic as it was in the first film.
These visuals, supported by excellent CGI, along with the score, made for a jaw dropping experience.  

Part Two is full of stunning shots like this.

As you have read, I have been heaping praise upon this movie from the moment the review started but do I have any criticisms?
Well, yes but those issues really only come down to things from the book that were not included.
For example, one of my favorite characters in the novel had their role greatly reduced and this was disappointing to see.
However, at the same time, I do acknowledge that this character would have been difficult to adapt completely.
Besides Part Two clearly sets up their importance in the future of the story.
Not only this, but I cannot deny that if I had never read the book then this would not have been an issue for me. 

Although I was sad to see a certain character’s role reduced, I liked how their importance was foreshadowed.

Other than a few, biased, book reader issues, Dune: Part Two is just as much a masterpiece for me, as the first.
It and Part One are the greatest science fiction movies in years.
If you still can, I would highly recommend watching them as double feature, like I did.
Watching these movies on the big screen was a cinematic experience I will remember for years to come.
Whenever I decide to rewatch these films, it will definitely be back-to-back.
Let the sequels continue to flow.     

Chainsaw Man Chapter 156, Whup Whup Whup Whup Bzzz Split Split Review: War, Bomb or Dress?

After Nayuta’s fate was once again left uncertain in Chapter 155 of Chainsaw Man, I had no idea where the story was going to end up.
Well, I certainly did not expect what Chapter 156 gave us.
First of all, when looking at the chapter’s title, “Whup Whup Whup Whup Bzzz Split Split”, I was a little baffled.
Yes, Fujimoto is known for getting creative with his titles, but I wondered what exactly that supposed nonsense could mean.
I did not have to wait long to find out.
The chapter begins with Denji in his hospital room being confronted by Yoshida, who reveals that Denji has been asleep for a week.
He also has no idea what happened to Nayuta, so we are still left in the dark on her fate.
The Darkness Devil must be getting stronger from that.
Joking aside, Denji tries to get up but collapses and is berated by Yoshida for refusing to live a normal life.
He leaves the room and, after Denji falls unconscious, it is revealed that Public Safety plan to dismember him.
Now, I’m doubly curious about what happened to Kishibe because I refuse to believe he would be willing to have this happen to Denji after his actions at the end of Part One.
Well, Kishibe is not there.
Unfortunately, Fumiko is.
As if she could not get any more unlikable, Fumiko wants to pluck some nails and hair from Denji before he is dismembered to add to her “collection.”
Yeah, I’m now 99% sure the sob story she told Denji was a complete fabrication.
As for Denji himself, we see him having another dream about Pochita.
Denji tells his old friend how he has to save Nayuta, only for Pochita to chillingly reply, “How can you do that without your legs?”
The chapter then cuts to reveal Denji on an operating table, his legs being amputated by surgeons.
And so the disturbing meaning of the bizarre title is revealed.
While “Whup Whup Whup Whup Bzzz Split Split” might sound like nonsense, it is actually the sound of Denji being dismembered.
Even more sickening, it appears that the surgeons have amputated Denji’s limbs multiple times.
The lead surgeon says they have amputated “right leg 26” and will amputate “right leg 27” next.
This whole “surgery” also reminds me a lot of what happened to Sun in Fire Punch. 
It is always nice to see Fujimoto making callbacks to his prior works, even if those callbacks are disturbing.
I have to wonder why Public Safety are subjecting Denji to such torture, though.
Is it just so they can keep him from escaping or is there some other reason?
Public Safety’s whole motivation in Part Two is one of the story’s biggest mysteries right now.
Another mystery going on at the moment is where exactly Asa and Yoru are, but Fujimoto may be just about to reveal that.
The Devil Hunter guarding Denji during the operation states that he is being held in the Tokyo Devil Detention Center, which is so secure that, “It would take a war to compromise this facility’s safety.”
The chapter then ends on the panel of a woman’s legs facing the prison, with the implication being that whoever this person is will save Denji.
Given the mention of a “war” being the only thing that could breach the facility, Asa and Yoru seem to be the most likely candidates.
It would be great to see them again, and perhaps Fami put them on Denji’s trail in the week that passed.
However, there is always the possibility that Fujimoto is trying to trick us into thinking it’s Asa.
Another candidate being thrown around is Reze.
She is the only Devil Hybrid missing, would have a motive to save Denji, and the “war” foreshadowing would still apply to her since she is the Bomb Hybrid.
Although, if I had to choose between the two, I would want it to be Asa since I am more emotionally attached to her character.
Reze is still great and I want her to come back, but I would rather see what Asa has been up to first.
Or, who knows, maybe the person coming to save Denji is Kishibe in a dress?
Hey, it could happen.
This is Fujimoto we’re talking about.
Overall, Chapter 156 is a disturbing read but for the right reasons.
What is even better about it is that there is only a week until the next chapter, so we will not have to wait long to see who Denji’s savior will be.
Asa, Reze or Kishibe in a dress?
Take your pick.

Avatar: The Last Airbender, Netflix Adaptation Review: A Great Divide of a Season.

When the Netflix live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender was first announced, I was cautiously optimistic about it.
This optimism faltered a bit when the creators of the original show departed, but my hopes started climbing again when I saw the trailers, which were quite good.
Well, the show is out and the consensus is in.
Turns out, the fandom is as divided as the two tribes in “The Great Divide” episode. 

I have seen plenty of people hating and liking the adaption.

As for me, I quite enjoyed Netflix’s adaptation of Avatar.
Is it as good as the original?
No, but it was never going to be.
Going into the show, I wanted a retelling of the story with changes that stuck true to the soul of the original and, for the most part, I got that.
Like the cartoon, the adaptation follows Aang (Gordon Comier) who, as the Avatar, is the only one who can master all four elements of Water, Earth, Fire and Air.
However, after being frozen in ice for a hundred years, he awakens to find that, in his absence, the Fire Nation has been waging war on the world and killed all of the Air Nomads. 

The depiction of the Air Nomad genocide was grim but thankfully pulled its punches where it needed to.

Teaming up with Katara (Kiawentiio) and Sokka (Ian Ousley) from the Water Tribe, Aang sets out of a journey to master all the elements to save the world, all the while being pursued by the disgraced Prince Zuko (Dallus Liu) and his tea loving uncle Iroh (Paul Sun-Hyung Lee).
For the most part, I would say that the actors chosen to play these iconic characters do a good job portraying them.
My favorites of the bunch were definitely Ousley as Sokka, Liu as Zuko, Sun-Hyung Lee as Iroh, Daniel Dae Kim as Ozai, and Ken Leung as Zhao.
Ousley in particular is excellent as Sokka who, while some of his character growth is unfortunately cut, still portrays the character with a lot of spirit and humor. 

Ousley was, in my opinion, the perfect casting for Sokka.

The comedy of the adaptation is definitely in keeping with the original, with a lot of great laughs from both Sokka and the interactions between Zuko and Iroh.
The maintaining of this humor was good to see since this adaptation is darker than the original cartoon, what with the showing of the genocide.
The series also has plenty of good emotional moments, with the hardest hitting being an added scene at Lu Ten’s funeral.
This scene had me tearing up, although I will admit that this was mostly due to the context I had as a fan of the original show. 

The added scene between Zuko and Iroh will leave fans in tears.

So, the adaptation definitely maintains the soul of the original in regard to its tone with the good mixture of humorous, dark and emotional moments.
Where it deviates from the original is what I was most interested to see going in.
I wanted to see how the writers would introduce characters in different places and blend them into other storylines.
I think the writers nailed this in some areas and failed in others.
For example, I think episodes three and four did the mixing of different storylines and characters to create a new and cohesive storyline excellently.
However, I think the writers also dropped the ball with it, as Episode Five feels quite disjointed and like things were only added for fan service reasons, rather than them being necessary.  

Hei Bai’s storyline takes a considerable drop in quality.

I would not say that Episode Five is the weakest episode, though.
No, I think the first episode is, what with its constant clunky exposition.
This clunky exposition is an issue which sadly persists throughout the season, and I hope future seasons can improve upon it.
Another thing I hope they improve upon is the CGI.
Don’t get me wrong, the CGI is not bad.
There are a lot of moments of fantastic computer-generated environments across the season.
It’s just that sometimes, when the actors interact with these environments, I could clearly tell that they were looking at a green screen.  

Some moments in the season definitely could have used more work in the CGI department.

And then there are a few things that the adaptation did which I just think were straight up bad ideas.
The first of these is the portrayal of Roku (C.S Lee).
He is the first past Avatar we see in the original show, and he is by far the most important as he warns Aang about Sozin’s Comet.
In the adaptation, however, he is overshadowed in importance by Kyoshi (Yvonne Chapman) and Kuruk (Meegwun Fairbrother), and he feels completely different from the Roku of the original.
The second, and by far the worst thing the adaptation did was Aang not learning Water Bending.
Seriously, this season is an adaptation of Book One.
You know, the book named Water.
Each season of the show focuses on Aang learning an element.
Book One is water, Book Two is earth, and Book Three is fire.
Aang not learning to Water Bend is honestly baffling to me. 

The Avatar is supposed to learn to bend the elements, yet Aang takes no time to do so, even when there clearly is.

Aang is probably going to learn to Water Bend in between now and the next season, and I really hope the show does not do the same for earth and fire.
Still, there are a couple of changes that I think are actually improvements the original show.
Having Zuko’s crew be the division he saved, and having Han be an actually pretty nice guy were both great decisions.
So, with plenty of positives and negatives in this first season, it is easy to see why the fandom is divided.
For me, I would say that I am satisfied with this adaptation, so far.
Yes, there are some questionable deviations but there are also plenty of good changes as well, and the soul of the original show is still there.
I look forward to seeing the next season of this adaptation and hope they can improve upon it. 

Chainsaw Man Chapter 155, The Old Me Review: Another Worrying Cliffhanger.

The previous chapter of Chainsaw Man left Nayuta’s survival up in the air.
Going into Chapter 155, “The Old Me” I was interested to see what the resolution would be, only to be meet with another cliffhanger concerning Nayuta’s fate.
The chapter begins with some members of the angry mob regaining their senses, not wanting to attack Nayuta because she’s a kid.
Of course, Barem has to ruin this positive change, as he puts the gun to his head, pretending that Nayuta is trying to make him kill himself.
This turns the mob against Nayuta again, and they all lunge at her, right as her and Denji’s burning apartment collapses.
The chapter then transitions into a flashback from Nayuta’s perspective, showing what happened when Denji first took her in.
We see that Nayuta looked into Denji’s memories while he slept and learned of her past life as Makima.
Wanting to know who she was, Nayuta decided to continue Makima’s plan of making Denji happy and then destroying that happiness.
Fortunately, Denji’s role as a big brother in Nayuta’s life changed her for the better, as we see her running with Denji and their dogs, an adorable smile on her face.
The chapter then changes to Denji’s perspective of the flashback, with him reassuring Nayuta that they are family one night.
This memory causes Denji’s negative emotions to emerge, with a younger version of himself appearing out of the darkness to remind Denji that he told Nayuta he no longer needed her.
“There’s no way I could ever have a family,” the younger Denji says. “I mean, I killed my own dad.”
Denji killing his own father is what haunts him the most, and he is clearly still traumatized from how Makima weaponized this against him.
The chapter then ends with Denji waking up in a hospital, with Nayuta’s fate once again left up in the air.
I have to hope that Nayuta is alive, considering that I don’t think even Fujimoto would kill her off screen.
There is also the mystery of where exactly the story goes now.
Since the mob saw Denji transform, is the whole world going to know he’s Chainsaw Man now?
Is Denji in the custody of Public Safety, or just in a regular hospital?
And what happened to Asa and Yoru after they got that power-up?
Those two have been gone for what feels like forever.
We will have to wait for the next chapter to hopefully find out some of these questions.
“The Old Me” is another short chapter, but it still does a good of characterizing Nayuta, and how Denji’s influence has changed her for the better.
Let’s just hope she survived.

Chainsaw Man Chapters 153 and 154 Review: A Valued Character and a Useless Character.

There have been a lot of breaks with Chainsaw Man Part Two but, thankfully, there was not one between Chapters 153 and 154, “Chainsaw Man Hunters” and “All Pets.”
They are, as usual, brief chapters, although they both highlight the characters.
In particular, Chapter 153 shows how great of a character Nayuta is, while Chapter 154 shows how useless Fumiko is.
Chapter 154, “Chainsaw Man Hunters” begins in the aftermath of Denji defeating the Weapons.
Now severely wounded, he faces another threat, this being the ire of the public.
As expected, many of them are terrified of him now because of the attacking Chainsaw Man clones.
Despite Nayuta and Fumiko’s protests, the angry mob attacks Denji, throwing a net of barb wire over him and then attempting to set him on fire.
Fujimoto has done an excellent job of showing how the public has turned against Chainsaw Man out of fear.
They do not listen to reason, many of them wanting to save their own loved ones, and when Denji defends himself, it only cements his danger in their minds.
The woman who led Nayuta away in the previous chapter attempts to get her to safety, but Nayuta protests, declaring Chainsaw Man her family.
The woman insists he is not her family anymore, calling Denji a “thing” as we see a panel of him being brutalized by the mob while laughing.
We then get my favorite panels of the chapter, where the mention of family causes Nayuta to remember Denji displaying just how much he loved her in a previous chapter.
Nayuta’s decision to save her family is clear as day in the following panel, and she uses her control powers to take over the mind of the woman trying to pull her away.
The chapter then ends with the controlled woman and Nayuta screaming, “Run Chainsaw Man!”
“Chainsaw Man Hunters” is a solid chapter, which elevated my love for Nayuta’s character.
However, if Chapter 153 made me love Nayuta more, Chapter 154 brought my opinion of Fumiko to rock bottom.
Beginning with Nayuta taking over more people to help Denji, Chapter 154 “All Pets” has her turn to help from Fumiko next.
However, Fumiko is completely unwilling to help, stating that “risking my life falls outside the scope of my job.”
Newsflash, Fumiko: If you’re not prepared to risk your life defending someone, then you should not be a bodyguard in the first place.
If this were not bad enough, Fumiko makes herself look even worse by dismissing Nayuta declaring that her family just died.
“Weren’t they just pets?” she asks Nayuta, without a shred of sympathy, before making her escape.
After that display, I would say that Nayuta calling Fumiko a “diarrhea woman” is completely fair (and also hilarious).
But seriously, what has Fumiko even done at this point?
She groped Denji when they first met without his consent and has proven to be a spectacularly terrible bodyguard.
She did not help Denji during the karaoke brawl for most of the fight, spied on him taking a dump, and now abandoned him and Nayuta with barely any effort to help them.
And yet she claimed in a previous chapter that she could protect them?
If I was Yoshida, you can bet Fumiko would be out of a job with her awful track record.
Unless Fumiko leaving is some kind of bait and switch (which I doubt considering her harsh words to Nayuta), then she is easily Chainsaw Man‘s most useless character.
With Fumiko now gone, Nayuta loses control of the crowd, and they quickly turn on her, with an injured Barem stoking the flames.
Before being completely surrounded, Nayuta manages to get control of one person to rescue Denji, using this person to tell him he was wrong about not needing her.
I do have a hard time believing Denji could get away when he was completely surrounded before, but I guess the crowd’s attention had turned towards Nayuta.
The Control Devil’s last stand then begins, with Nayuta taking over more people to defend herself.
It is not enough, however, and she is quickly overwhelmed.
In a last attempt to save herself, Nayuta screams that she is just a kid.
Thankfully, the angry mob has just enough morality left to hesitate.
Barem, on the other hand, has no such morality, aiming a gun at Nayuta.
“All Pets” then ends, leaving Nayuta’s fate up in the air for another two-week break.
For these past two weeks, I have been wondering if Nayuta will survive.
I hope so because she is quickly becoming one of my favorites.
Although, Fujimoto has certainly not been afraid of killing beloved characters before, and Nayuta’s last words to Denji really felt like a goodbye, so it could happen.
When we get the next chapter tomorrow, I will have my fingers crossed that someone will save her.
Who knows, maybe Asa and Yoru will finally return to save Yoru’s sister?
If Barem does kill Nayuta though, I will be all abord the “Denji better kill him” train.
“Chainsaw-Man Hunters” and “All Pets” are both enjoyable chapters for how brief they are.
I would say I prefer Chapter 153 because of how great Nayuta was, while Chapter 154 made me wonder what the point of Fumiko’s character was.
I hope Nayuta survives in the next chapter, tomorrow.

Hazbin Hotel Season One Review: One Helluva Musical.

I first became aware of Vivienne Medrano (Viziepop) when YouTube recommended me the Helluva Boss pilot.
After binging the web series, I moved onto the Hazbin Hotel pilot and was surprised by the fanbase it had amassed, despite only having a single episode.
Due to the pilot’s popularity, Viziepop was able to get the series picked up by A24, with it eventually airing on Amazon Prime; the final two episodes having aired yesterday.
I have to admit, it is quite inspiring to hear of all the hard work it took to get Hazbin Hotel to the point it is now, and Viziepop and her team have definitely earned the show’s success.

It took over four years for the show to air after the pilot released.

But, after so much hype for it, how is the actual series?
Hazbin Hotel follows the Princess of Hell, Charlie Morningstar (Erika Henningsen), who wants to stop Heaven’s yearly Extermination of sinners.  
Her plan is to start the titular Hazbin Hotel, a place dedicated to redeeming sinners so that the Angels will not have to kill them.
Helping Charlie is her girlfriend Vaggie (Stephanie Beatriz), Hell’s biggest porn star Angel Dust (Blake Roman), the mysterious Radio Demon Alastor (Amir Talai), his servants Husk (Keith David) and Nifty (Kimiko Glenn), and the snake demon Sir Pentious (Alex Brightman).
The story follows these and many other characters in Hell’s misadventures, and almost each and every one of them are well designed and interesting. 
My favorites of the bunch is definitely Alastor as, just like in the pilot, his sketchy nature and unclear motives mix excellently with his entertaining personality. 

I look forward to finally knowing what Alastor’s motives are in future seasons.

But by far the best part of Hazbin Hotel are the musical numbers.
Yes, the series is a musical and pretty much every number is a hit. 
Songs like “Happy Day in Hell”, “Stayed Gone”, and my personal favorite “Loser” are all excellent and they played in my head for days after first hearing them.
It got to the point that, every time an episode was about to air, I looked forward to hearing what the next musical number would be. 

“Loser” is very catchy with a great message about accepting yourself.

These vibrant characters and fun musical numbers are aided by mostly solid animation throughout.
There are a few dips in quality, like in the first episode where Vaggie disappears from where she was standing beside Charlie.
Aside from this and a few other issues, the animation is quite well done, especially in Episode Eight when the action pops off.
One thing I was worried about going into Hazbin Hotel was the humor.
Although I laughed at a few of the jokes in the first couple Helluva Boss episodes, it has been a long time since I laughed at any of the humor in recent episodes.
It just felt most of the jokes just boiled down to demons swearing and saying sexual things, so I was worried Hazbin Hotel’s humor would be the same.
Thankfully, the comedy in the series mostly lands, with the jokes surrounding Nifty’s craziness always making me bust a gut laughing. 

Nifty creeping out everyone around her will never not be funny.

Unfortunately, even though the humor works, this does not mean Hazbin Hotel is without its issues, especially when it comes to the pacing.
I would argue that the first season’s eight-episode length is its biggest issue.
Because of this short time to tell the story, it feels like we are missing multiple moments of character development.
Angel’s self-improvement mostly happens off screen, and Charlie acts like she trusts Alastor one episode and distrusts him the next.
Along with this, characters like Carmilla Carmine (Daphne Rubin-Vega) and Emily (Shoba Narayan) get these big emotional beats when we are just getting to know them and don’t have time to adjust. 

The pacing of the show often feels rushed.

If Hazbin Hotel had got twelve or thirteen episodes, like most animated shows these days, I think the quality of the story could have been a lot better.
Hopefully with the series’ impressive success, it will convince A24 and Amazon Prime to greenlight more episodes for Season Two so this problem will not be repeated.
Other than the pacing, I quite enjoyed Hazbin Hotel.
The characters are great, the humor usually lands and, of course, the musical numbers are catchy as all hell, pun intended.
I’m already looking forward to Season Two and hope it can improve upon the issues of the first.  

Avatar: The Last Airbender Trailer Breakdown: The Quenchiest Trailer.

The first trailer for Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender did an amazing job of hyping up fans for the show.
Now, we finally have the second trailer, which easily topped it.
The first part of the trailer seems to be narrated by Monk Gyatso, who we then appear to see briefly fighting Fire Lord Sozin during the Air Nomad genocide.
From the brief shot we get, it looks like Gyatso has subdued many attacking Fire Benders before Sozin intervenes.
Seeing Gyatso’s last stand will be a great addition, since we did not get to see it in the original cartoon. 

I am curious to see if this will be the first scene of the show, or a flashback when Aang visits the Southern Air Temple.

The trailer then shows Aang being freed from the iceberg, which is much more explosive than in the cartoon’s first episode.
The music from the original show also kicks in here, bringing a comforting feeling of nostalgia.
From here, we get a brief look at the performances we will be getting for the show.
Kiawentiio sounds good as Katara, and Ian Ousley seems to be a perfect live-action Sokka, with his bits of comic relief.
Dallas Liu also looks great as Zuko, and we get shots of him rescuing Paul Sun-Hyung Lee’s Iroh.
We also see Azula using a bow and arrow, which is interesting because I don’t think she ever used one in the original show.
They could just be holding off on showing her blue fire until the second season.
As for Gordon Cormier, he seems to play Aang’s uncertainty of his destiny well, as we see him being comforted by a wonderfully animated Appa.
Momo also looks great when he jumps on Sokka’s head in another solid comedic bit.

The humor of the show looks to be on point.

The trailer then shows us brief shots of many characters from the original.
We see June, Hei Bai, Zhao, and Aang fighting alongside the Blue Spirit.
There are even hints of some of the conjoining storylines we will get in Netflix’s version of the story.
For example, we see Aang flying with Teo but, rather than being at the Northern Air Temple, they are clearly in Omashu, where Bumi’s storyline takes place.

I hope the shortened or condensed storylines still work.

Speaking of Bumi, we also see him briefly fighting with Aang.
The shot of him doing this is intercut with many other action shots, which flow togethor beautifully in a fantastically edited moment.
It’s the best moment of the trailer, which shows off the fighting styles of characters like Bumi, Aang, Zuko, Katara, Sokka and Jet perfectly.

The last few action shots are perfectly edited together.

The trailer then ends with the iconic music playing over Aang going into the Avatar State at the Southern Air Temple.
The first trailer for Netflix’s Avatar was great, but this second trailer brought my excitement to a whole other level.
My only criticism is that there is one CGI shot of Aang accidentally Airbending himself into a statue which looked a bit dodgy.

Something about the physics of Aang’s body hitting the statue here just didn’t look right to me.

Otherwise, this trailer was perfect.
The CGI was mostly pretty good, the acting looks fun, and the action was edited to flow into the trailer nicely.
I am now more excited for this show than ever.
February 22nd cannot come soon enough.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 152, Massage Review: Revenge Best Served Bloody.

Chapter 151 of Chainsaw Man ended on the ominous note of Denji laughing after finally transforming into the titular Devil.
The disturbing feeling this cliffhanger left us on definitely builds well into Chapter 152, Massage, where we see Denji’s complete mental breakdown.
The chapter begins with a panel showing off Chainsaw Man in his demented glory, before revealing that there were plenty of witnesses to the transformation.
These witnesses think Denji is just another Chainsaw Man wannabe, but I think this impression is definitely proven wrong to them by the end.
Having got what they wanted, the Weapons release Fumiko and begin their own transformations.
As this is happening, Nayuta tries to get Denji to run away with her, but he callously tells her to get out of his way.
The panel of Nayuta’s shocked expression when Denji says this is excellently drawn by Fujimoto.
Nayuta is led away by a woman in the crowd and Denji begins talking to Pochita again.
He states that he is the worst because, despite his apartment being burned down with his pets supposedly inside, he still feels “like a million bucks’ because he gets to be Chainsaw Man again.
What follows is, unfortunately, a messily drawn fight.
Before this point in the chapter, the art was actually really good, but when it gets to the action it is pretty hard to tell what is going on.
Perhaps Fujimoto wanted to make the fight chaotic to show the danger of Denji’s transformation?
If that was his intent, I would say that he did too good of a job.
Still, despite this fight being hard to understand in certain panels, I would still not call it bad because we can get the general gist of it.
Denji is stabbed from behind by the Spear Hybrid but then bisects the both of them so he can start to eat him.
When the Whip Hybrid tries to intervene, Denji does the same to her, while she begs Sugo to help.
It is kind of funny seeing the Weapons be so overconfident in the previous chapters, only to now be dealt a hand of extremely bloody revenge.
Sugo does attempt to fight Denji, but this goes as well as you would expect, with both impaling each other, although this clearly affects Sugo more than Denji.
Nayuta tries one more time to convince Denji to flee with her, but Denji instead says she should not be around him anymore, resulting in another gutting panel of Nayuta’s reaction.
Denji then compares the fight he is having to a massage, “where it hurts just right, and damn do I feel good!”
A chapter then ends on Denji’s maniacal laughter for the second time.
“Massage” is yet another great chapter for Chainsaw Man.
My only issue is that some of the action is hard to follow.
Otherwise, it delivers both satisfying karma for the Weapons, and gut-wrenching moments of Denji pushing Nayuta away.
This likely will not end well, considering it was Denji’s influence which stopped her from becoming another Makima.
There is also the question of what will happen to the Weapons.
Barem is still yet to jump into the fight, and the Whip and Spear Hybrids could be in danger of disappearing forever.
Keep in mind that Chainsaw Man’s power is to erase what he eats from history, and Denji did start eating them.
However, he ate Makima and this only reincarnated her, so we will have to wait and see what happens to the Weapons.
As for Denji, he seems to have completely lost his mind and is powered up by the public’s fear of Chainsaw Man.
This would be the perfect time to bring Asa and Yoru into the conflict.
They could be drawn in by the sound of battle and be the only ones capable of fighting Denji, considering they have also been powered up by the fear of war.
We will have to wait and see if this happens though.
Overall, “Massage” is another good chapter, which delivers satisfying, if a little hard to follow action.