(SPOILER WARNING!!)
I would say something about still being in my revitalised Transformers craze thanks to Bumblebee (review here, by the way), but I don't think I ever lost my love for it, hence why I've done reviews on The Headmasters (here) and Masterforce (here). Ever since I watched the first Bayverse film in 2007 and was exposed to re-runs of the original show on Kix! (or Pop Max, whatever), I simply never stopped with my love for the franchise, even when I stopped collecting toys for three years straight as I was in my "Im GrOwN uP nOw, MuM!!" phase. I would watch toy reviews; I would see the films as they came out; I would re-watch older series on YouTube (chiefly Beast Wars, Beast Machines and the original Robots in Disguise [before copyright kicked them off, ffs]); I would even read about the IDW series even if I didn't collect the comics myself.
I bring all of this up, because I really wanted to show my love for this series will simply never die (unlike the Bayverse [too soon? I don't think so]). But even with all of these shows in my head, one will always stick out as one of the best:
Yeah, this was an oddball when it was initially announced by Hasbro, especially when it was originally conceived as a tie-in to the Bayverse as something of a prequel story. Though for obvious reasons (even with how convoluted the continuity for the films got), that's not what ended up happening. Instead, somewhere along the lines, this became it's own original property that homages basically everything in the franchise while still creating it's own standalone tales to establish it as it's own canon. It's essentially what Hasbro is doing right now with Cyberverse, but doesn't need a voiceless Bumblebee to market it to kids (though because of his popularity in the films, Bumblebee was included into the main cast and replaced Hot Shot).
I think most people even vaguely aware of the Transformers knows the story by now; Autobots, Decepticons, war, Earth, GO! However, the approach is quite different. This time, the war has been over for centuries, with the Autobots winning the war and driving the Decepticons off of Cybertron. The focus is on a rookie Space Bridge repair crew consisting of Academy drop-out Optimus Prime, cool-headed and stubborn Ninja-bot Prowl, cranky medic/war veteran Ratchet, clumsy oaf Bulkhead, and egocentric speedster Bumblebee. In the pilot, they come across one of Cybertron's most heralded artefacts; the Allspark. Upon its discovery, however, they are quickly intercepted by a Decepticon warship, aboard it the tyrannical overlord of the Decepticons; Megatron.
During a scuffle involving Starscream planting an explosive on Megatron's back (because of course he would do that), the Autobots ship goes through a Space Bridge activated by the Allspark and crash land on Earth, Megatron burning up in the planets atmosphere in the process. The ship crashes in Lake Erie, Michigan and the Autobots are left in Stasis Lock for 50 years, during which Detroit has gained an actual economy again through it's advances in robotics technology. The man responsible for this technological boom is Professor Isaac Sumdac, who is leading some kids on a tour of his facility and introduces them to self-replicating Nano-bots. However, the Nano-bots get out of control when introduced to a cockroach, turning it into a giant monster that gets stronger whenever it eats machines.
This grabs the Autobots attention as they wake up and try to lend a hand, adopting Earth based vehicle modes in the process and eventually befriending Isaac's daughter, Sari, who gets chosen by the Allspark to hold a portion of its infinite power within a key. And thus, the Autobots (who don't even bother hiding due to the abundance of automatons everywhere) are made the defenders of Detroit and must learn of Earthen customs to understand their new friends better, all the while dealing with numerous threats ranging from the mundane, such as a thief with a speed suit, to the extreme, namely appearance from Decepticons. And from behind the scenes lies a dormant threat, as well as Isaac's inception for his robotics empire; Megatron's head inside of his personal lab.
Again, from the outset, Animated quickly becomes a noticeably different beast from most other Transformers shows. Usually, you'd have the situation of the week with Megatron doing something dastardly and then Optimus and his Autobots would come in to stop him so they can fight another day. That's been the set-up for almost 25 years at that point and, aside from Beast Wars/Machines, it hasn't really been shaken up to this extent. Even with the major cast change between Seasons 2 and 3 in the original cartoon just moved things to space and had Rodimus and Galvatron instead of Optimus and Megatron. Sure, the general set-up is the same, but the execution of it is more focused around having more personal stories as opposed to simply having both factions fight in disguise. The series starts off light-hearted and silly, but when you get to the 7th episode, "Thrill of the Hunt", it becomes clear that there is more to the characters than meets the eye (pun intended and relished).
In that episode, Ratchet is forced to confront a demon from his past in the form of the bounty hunter Lockdown. We see Ratchet is afraid of confronting him because of the past that they share, with Ratchet being responsible from erasing Arcee's memory core to stop Lockdown from getting activation codes that could turn the tide for victory in the war. This not only makes it one of the darker episodes (both figuratively and literally, as Lockdown causes black-outs throughout Detroit), but also makes Ratchet a more emotionally complex character; his crankiness is a facade to mask his fears of losing someone he cares about and unintentionally being responsible for them getting hurt, hence why he blocks himself from getting to know people. Helped that Lockdown is a legitimately intimidating presence, with his voice provided by Lance Henriksen and him quickly becoming a large highlight for the series whenever he pops up.
Sadly, the first season does falter with the human villains. Most of them are one-dimensional and simply exist for someone the Autobots have to catch. Nino Sexton, also known as Nanosec, is just a basic thief with a suit that enhances his speed. Couple that with an annoyingly nasal voice and you get a really annoying antagonist. Henry Masterson, inventor of the Headmaster unit, is more like one of those narcissistic MLGs you'd find on Halo 3 message boards with a voice equally annoying as grating to match. Angry Archer (based on toy designer Aaron Archer) is at least an entertaining goof with his reverse Robin Hood shtick, but there is otherwise nothing to him. Really, the best of them was Prometheus Black, also known as Meltdown, due to his hatred of Isaac Sumdac leading to him becoming a being made entirely of a corrosive liquid, but he is otherwise a bland villain who was just a bland weirdo before his accident. Frankly, just watch his performance again and tell me you could ever take him seriously as a threat.
Thankfully, while the Decepticons are used sparingly in this show, they are the main attraction whenever they show up. Starscream in this show, while being the traditional backstabber we expect him to be, is still a powerful foe worthy of being a true challenge for the Autobots to overcome. He also provides a good laugh with his faux-sycophancy whenever he plays kiss-ass to Megatron, which is accented by his performance given by Tom Kenny. He's no Steve Blum, but he can still get a laugh. Lugnut and Blitzwing make for a great duo, with the former working brilliantly as an extreme loyalist to the GLORIOUS Decepticon cause, and the latter also giving the audience some levity thanks to his three personalities to coincide with his nature as a triple-changer. Blackarachnia also makes for a great villain, with it being revealed that she was previously the Autobot Elita-1, but after Optimus unintentionally abandoned her on a planet infested with spiders, she was mutated into a techno-organic with a burning hatred for the ones who had left her behind, when all she wants is to be rid of the plague of being a techno-organic; to be Elita-1 again.
And while I still have my grievances with the human villains, all of it is balanced out with the shows reinvention of Megatron!
This may be my favourite reinterpretation of the character. While he still retains all of the arrogance and villainy of the traditional Megatron, he is far more cold and calculating, biding his time to make his grand return to not only take revenge of the Autobots (and Starscream), but finally grab the Allspark to rid Cybertron of all Autobots and scorch Earth of any organic beings. He makes for a great, intimidating threat and his power is built up throughout the show, so that when he makes his comeback in the first seasons finale, it was worth it. Even when he's stuck as a head inside of Sumdac's lab he is still able to manipulate everything to his advantage just so he could get a new body; from something as simple as tricking Sumdac into thinking he's an Autobot to the more extreme of using Sari to upgrade Soundwave into becoming self-aware, he is always thinking ahead and using everything at his disposal to benefit him and reach his end goal. And of course, his voice provided by Corey Burton is simply bone chilling while also giving the character a sense of sophistication.
The newer versions of the Autobots are also more interesting than before. I already mentioned Ratchet and he emotional complexity, but that's not to say the others don't have enjoyable characterisations. I like how this show had Optimus be an inexperienced rookie for a change, as it actually gave the character a chance to learn and grow as a hero. If he were still the wisdom spewing, morally righteous saviour that he usually is, it would've been boring because it was something we had seen before. Sure, I love Optimus Prime, but a change of pace is always welcome. Bulkhead may be an oaf, but he makes for an entertaining one, especially when he gets to smashing things. Prowl, like Optimus, is a nice change of pace; he may be as stubborn as the character normally is, but he is still able to give helpful advice to the others and still shows a willingness to help, even if it's to get a little bit of quiet away from everyone else. Also, he's not a prick in this one; which helps. As for Bumblebee, he can best be described as a less annoying Scrappy-Doo; he's small, loud and full of himself, but it never gets to the point of being irritating, as he actually learns his lesson by the end of the day while retaining his fun-loving attitude. I can definitely see why he was originally going to be Hot Shot.
As for the human cast, it is thankfully kept to a minimum, consisting only really of Isaac, Sari and the techno-phobic police Captain, Carmine "This is why I hate machines" Fanzone. Isaac seems like a decent enough guy for much of the series, though he is ironically quite naive about a lot of things. Again, Megatron easily tricked him into building him a new body, but then Isaac acts all aloof when the speed suit he invented goes missing and is given to Nanosec who uses it to carry the material Megatron needs. These are some obvious things that most people would catch, but Isaac pretty much misses them at every opportunity. Granted, he does try to help stop Megatron when he learns the truth, but he still does things that don't seem right for a supposed scientist. As for Fanzone, I actually enjoyed the character whenever he was on-screen, especially when he makes his hatred for machines clear, even to the machines. It makes a nice change for someone to be cynical of something in their everyday world, and yet Fanzone still has a good sense of right and wrong, trusting the Autobots to protect the city just as he does. At least he ins't an inherently bad guy, and his techno-phobia is more based on bad luck with machines instead of being malevolent.
And this brings me to Sari, the main kid who hangs out with the Autobots and helps them get acclimated to humans. In the first few episodes, she does come off as somewhat annoying and bratty, especially when she keeps on getting involved in the conflict. But at the very least, this trend of annoyance doesn't last with how she does legitimately want to help the Autobots during their stay and also provides a good lead in to humanity. That, and with her Allspark key she at least has more of a functional purpose in the show. She also becomes more important and relevant to the main story later in the series, but that's for another day. Again, she can be annoying at times, but she is still far from the worst human character in the franchise. Trust me; there are still far worse *cough* Kicker *cough* than Sari.
Admittedly, this show is not perfect, especially early on. While the animation style is certainly a given taste, my only real issue with the animation revolves around the overall consistency. At times, the animation has a lot of energy and life to it, which allow the action scenes to pop off the screen. Other times, however, it can be really stilted, and I blame that on the show trying to have an Americanised anime style. There are instances when the characters stand still and stare at something coming right at them when they have ALL the time in the world to just get the fuck out of the way! One instance was in the 4th episode, "Home is Where the Spark is", where the Autobots are dealing with equipment trying to kill them at their home base, and Sari is about to be shot by a nail gun... and she stands perfectly still, standing in horror, as it fires at her. And from how the scene is framed, she had a good 5 seconds to GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE WAY!
This, in turn, also affects the tone of the show as well. At some points, the show can be rather serious in tone, as evident with the episodes "Thrill of the Hunt", "Along Came a Spider", "Sound and Fury" and the two-part finale, "Megatron Rising". Each of these episodes took a more serious tone and showcased the characters facing legitimate struggles. But then there are episodes like "Nanosec", "Lost and Found" and "Nature Calls", which are silly in their concepts and presentations, don't really develop the characters in a meaningful way and mainly exist as excuses for comedy. While they can sometimes provide a decent laugh, this also acts as a detriment to the show and creates a conflict in tone, thus making it somewhat difficult to take seriously at times. It also doesn't help that the humour could be cringe inducing at some points. The second episode, "Transform and Roll Out Part 2", as an example, has Sari whisper into Optimus' ear about where babies come from... yes, really.
Still, even with these things holding the show back, it is still a quality series with it's story, characters and music. Even when it gets dumb at points, it's still fun with how you get to enjoy the characters and their interactions. Also, count the references; there are PLENTY to spot.
Overall rating: 8/10 (really damn good).
So until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!
Monday, 25 February 2019
Friday, 15 February 2019
Transformers: Choujin Masterforce (1988-1989)
(REDUNDANT SPOILER WARNING!!)
While I wasn't the biggest fan of The Headmasters, I was still willing to give the rest of the Takara Trifecta a chance to see if they were, in any way, better. The main problem I had with Headmasters was the lack of a storyline and the characters being absent of any actual personality, which I feel should be the main parts of a series that hooks an audience in to watch.
Oh, and Daniel and Wheelie. Never. Forget. Daniel and Wheelie.
Besides, I have heard some other peoples thoughts on the next series, Choujin Masterforce, on how it was a vast improvement over Headmasters. And having finally seen it all the way through... Yeah, it is. Not just on a character and story perspective, but also on other levels such as action scenes and music. Choujin Masterforce is a massive improvement in every sense of the word, and is one of my favourite instalments in the franchise (that I have seen, at any rate).
And once again, I'll be using the Japanese names and judging the series based on the version I saw in the Complete Takara Collection box set released by Metrodome, as the SHOUT! Factory releases are apparently terrible and it's surprisingly difficult finding other subs of the series that are, otherwise, easily accessible. Also, I refuse to torrent. It just won't be happening. So, if there are any incorrect translations present that I am not aware of, I'm sorry; I'm working with what I got.
Anyway, TIME 4 BACKSTORY!
In the future of... the future, Earth is at peace. That is, until the reemergence of Destrons who have been on the planet since the Stone Age; a trio of Pretenders with monster forms consisting of Blood, Gilmer and Dauros, along with a seemingly endless horde of Seacons. And of course, to counter them are the Cybertron Pretenders who have lived on the planet disguised as humans; lead by Metalhawk and consisting of Diver, Lander and Phoenix. Both sides are now uping their game, as there comes the revelation of the Godmasters, lifeless Transtectors that can harness Chokon Power (or, "Super-Soul power") through a unity with a human wielder. Thus, the race is on for the Cybertrons to recruit people who can use Godmasters to fight on their side to stop the new Destron Emperor of Destruction, Devil Z, from wiping out humanity. Helping both the Cybertrons and Destrons along the way are the Headmaster Juniors, human children who can also use the titular Masterforce to fight alongside the robots in battle; the Cybertrons helped by Shuta Go, Cab and Minerva, and the Destrons recruiting Wilder, Bullhorn and Cancer.
Oh, and the Godmasters, too; made up of Lightfoot, Ranger, Road King, Double Clouder, Grand Maximus, Overlord, Hydra, Buster and Ginrai.
Oh, and Black Zarak and Sixknight. There are a LOT of characters in this show.
The main critique that most fans tend to agree on is that the series has difficulty deciding who the main characters are. The best one could say is that Ginrai is the main character by the end of the series, but it otherwise seemed to juggle between the Pretenders, the Cybertron Headmaster Juniors and the other Godmasters, but they get less significant time than Ginrai does. Some of this might have been due to the fact that Ginrai, for an in-story reason revealed AFTER the events of the series, was designed after Optimus Prime (or Convoy), or it could have been due to the fact that this series was initially conceived as something of a fresh start disconnected from the original series and Headmasters. Nonetheless, there is a form of incoherence of who the main character is supposed to be.
As a consequence, some of the characters, specifically Hydra, Buster, Sixknight, Lightfoot, Ranger, Double Clouder and Road King, don't have much in terms of focus or character development and lose relevance to the story pretty quickly after their debut. I can at least let the Pretenders, both Cybertron and Destron, have a pass, as they have been on Earth longer and are more of mentor figures to the younger, less experienced characters, no too dissimilar to the Spirit Rangers from Kyoryuger. Nonetheless, some of the characters feel like extra support just there to sell toys. I understand that that's the main aim for any Transformers series regardless of quality, but I counter that with the argument that the character should be would encourages viewers to buy the toys, not just a promotion of them.
Heck, there even a few missed opportunities with them, most notably Double Clouder. In reference to his toy and Western counterpart, Double Dealer, Clouder is a Transtector with a neutral missile truck mode, a Destron beast mode and a Cybertron robot mode. As such, he is initially cast as a double agent working for the Destrons so that they can discover the Cybertron's base of operations and destroy it. However, it's over and done with after two episodes and, because the Destrons left him to die, Clouder joins the Cybertrons and is automatically a good guy. The episodes focused on the base attack and it's destruction are some of the best in the series, especially with the ramifications of it's destruction and the effect it has on everyone, but Clouder's sudden shift of allegiance doesn't, especially when he is never punished for what he has done and the hand he had in ruining everything for the Cybertrons, which lessens the impact of the bases destruction.
There could've been more time focused on Clouder and his interactions with the others, slowly showing his shift of allegiance and his guilt for when the base is destroyed, not dissimilar to how the Teen Titans animated series would handle Terra. But instead, due to the lack of filler plots, we gone none of that. Kind of a waste if you ask me.
Thankfully, the characters who DO get focus and development have easily identifiable personalities that I got to like quickly. Ginrai is a nice breathe of fresh air for the commander type, as he isn't entirely fond of being the leader at first, but slowly learns his responsibility of being the leader and how important it is to take those responsibilities. The Cybertron Headmaster Juniors, though initially one of the dumbest ideas in the franchise, prove to be incredibly likeable very quickly. Shuta has an understandable motivation, having lost his father early one in the series; Cab is energetic and straight forward, but never to the point of being a liability; Minerva shows herself as smart and a pacifist, but is still willing to stand up for the others while understanding that not everyone can be a good person.
Even the Destrons have more of a personality than before, as none of them, aside from Black Zarak, Hydra and Buster, are just basic:
I will never tire of that clip.
Giga and Mega, the Godmasters for Overlord, still seek the destruction of the Cybertrons to prove their loyalty to Devil Z, but they otherwise treat their fellow Destrons as some kind of bizarre family unit, mainly due to Mega doting excessively on the Headmaster Juniors as they were they're own children. Wilder and Bullhorn, even through their violent antics, still have a sense of respect for their comrades, and despise other children or people that aren't involved being used hostages or bargaining chips, due to hating any sign of weakness or frailty. This helps elevate the villains to being more than basic mooks standing in for the main villain,
But the most surprising of characters has to be Cancer... Yes. One of my favourite characters in this show is a kid named Cancer. At least you could justify the name as a reference to the Horoscope, as his beast mode is (apparently) a bipedal mutant crab monster.
Regardless, what made this kid appealing to me is how he is actually exposed to the chaos that the Destrons, and by proxy himself, have been spreading. He is a victim of bullying due to being orphaned as an infant, but he was taken in by a martial arts master and spent his years trying to master his techniques as a sign of gratitude to the old man. But a combination of the bullying and his own desires are what lead to him leaving his master and joining the Destrons to advance his skill. But when Minerva shows kindness to him in a time of need, which lay the seeds for his eventual turn on the Destrons when he sees the destruction they spread, especially when his home and few friends at the dojo are threatened by an invasion from Black Zarak. When he learned that his master dies alone and saddened by Cancer's departure, he finally took the chance to try and save people and actually redeem himself for what he has done. The character who I thought would be my least favourite actually ends up being my favourite character this series.
Thankfully, due to the absence of filler plots, more focus is put on the overall threat of Devil Z and his machinations, even if not much is revealed about his past aside from being the creature that powers the Godmasters and their ability to absorb Chokon energy for their fights. Their antics start off small time, due to the Pretenders being more old-school evil, but they are still leading to their goal of humanities destruction. Even with the more outlandish plots of the week, they are still smart in the execution of their goals for those plots. Although, Blood's plan of causing a stampede in African to try and get humans to kill their cattle? Yeah, that one was stupid. Nonetheless, this Destrons are probably some of the best written in the franchise as none of them are just one dimensional or really all that stupid. If only Headmasters or (spoilers) Victory had villains this smart or interesting... yeah, I'm not liking Victory thus far.
The music, even if the theme song once again is slow and disconnected from the themes of the show, is far more exciting and fitting for the scenes that they are used for. One of my personal favourites is probably "We Believe Tomorrow", mainly due to this feeling of both despair and hope that contrast perfectly with the more mellow musical accompaniment that helps to convey the scenes where it is used. Hell, it was first used for the destruction of the Cybertron's base, and it actually left a strong emotional impact with me when seeing it fall apart and the Cybertrons are left without a feeling of hope.
The action, despite its reuse of stock footage and not being the best animated, is always engaging to watch for due to the characters being more entertaining and, get this, VITAL TO THE STORY! One of the complaints that I alluded to in my review for Headmasters was that the action was never engaging due to the absence of any form of character development or personality, feeling more like a lower grade generic super robot anime. While, yes, Masterforce also uses several anime troupes, the use of them do not supersede the story or character development, but instead is accented by such, thus making the final victory in the battle between Ginrai and Devil Z at the Matterhorn all the sweeter and feels earned.
Choujin Masterforce is a far better series than Headmasters. I understand that isn't saying much as Headmasters was more of a corporate cash in than the Prime Wars Trilogy, but it doesn't detract the idea that Masterforce is a really good show. The characters are better defined and likeable, the villains have more complexity to them than previous shows (or even a few modern ones [looking at you, RID '15]), the music fits the series near flawlessly and the story has emotional weight that leaves the viewer satisfied by the end of it. Masterforce really is a series that any Transformers fan should check out for themselves.
Overall rating: 8/10 (really damn good!)
Until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, and you too can use your Masterforce, and TRANSFORM!!
While I wasn't the biggest fan of The Headmasters, I was still willing to give the rest of the Takara Trifecta a chance to see if they were, in any way, better. The main problem I had with Headmasters was the lack of a storyline and the characters being absent of any actual personality, which I feel should be the main parts of a series that hooks an audience in to watch.
Oh, and Daniel and Wheelie. Never. Forget. Daniel and Wheelie.
Besides, I have heard some other peoples thoughts on the next series, Choujin Masterforce, on how it was a vast improvement over Headmasters. And having finally seen it all the way through... Yeah, it is. Not just on a character and story perspective, but also on other levels such as action scenes and music. Choujin Masterforce is a massive improvement in every sense of the word, and is one of my favourite instalments in the franchise (that I have seen, at any rate).
And once again, I'll be using the Japanese names and judging the series based on the version I saw in the Complete Takara Collection box set released by Metrodome, as the SHOUT! Factory releases are apparently terrible and it's surprisingly difficult finding other subs of the series that are, otherwise, easily accessible. Also, I refuse to torrent. It just won't be happening. So, if there are any incorrect translations present that I am not aware of, I'm sorry; I'm working with what I got.
Anyway, TIME 4 BACKSTORY!
In the future of... the future, Earth is at peace. That is, until the reemergence of Destrons who have been on the planet since the Stone Age; a trio of Pretenders with monster forms consisting of Blood, Gilmer and Dauros, along with a seemingly endless horde of Seacons. And of course, to counter them are the Cybertron Pretenders who have lived on the planet disguised as humans; lead by Metalhawk and consisting of Diver, Lander and Phoenix. Both sides are now uping their game, as there comes the revelation of the Godmasters, lifeless Transtectors that can harness Chokon Power (or, "Super-Soul power") through a unity with a human wielder. Thus, the race is on for the Cybertrons to recruit people who can use Godmasters to fight on their side to stop the new Destron Emperor of Destruction, Devil Z, from wiping out humanity. Helping both the Cybertrons and Destrons along the way are the Headmaster Juniors, human children who can also use the titular Masterforce to fight alongside the robots in battle; the Cybertrons helped by Shuta Go, Cab and Minerva, and the Destrons recruiting Wilder, Bullhorn and Cancer.
Oh, and the Godmasters, too; made up of Lightfoot, Ranger, Road King, Double Clouder, Grand Maximus, Overlord, Hydra, Buster and Ginrai.
Oh, and Black Zarak and Sixknight. There are a LOT of characters in this show.
The main critique that most fans tend to agree on is that the series has difficulty deciding who the main characters are. The best one could say is that Ginrai is the main character by the end of the series, but it otherwise seemed to juggle between the Pretenders, the Cybertron Headmaster Juniors and the other Godmasters, but they get less significant time than Ginrai does. Some of this might have been due to the fact that Ginrai, for an in-story reason revealed AFTER the events of the series, was designed after Optimus Prime (or Convoy), or it could have been due to the fact that this series was initially conceived as something of a fresh start disconnected from the original series and Headmasters. Nonetheless, there is a form of incoherence of who the main character is supposed to be.
As a consequence, some of the characters, specifically Hydra, Buster, Sixknight, Lightfoot, Ranger, Double Clouder and Road King, don't have much in terms of focus or character development and lose relevance to the story pretty quickly after their debut. I can at least let the Pretenders, both Cybertron and Destron, have a pass, as they have been on Earth longer and are more of mentor figures to the younger, less experienced characters, no too dissimilar to the Spirit Rangers from Kyoryuger. Nonetheless, some of the characters feel like extra support just there to sell toys. I understand that that's the main aim for any Transformers series regardless of quality, but I counter that with the argument that the character should be would encourages viewers to buy the toys, not just a promotion of them.
Heck, there even a few missed opportunities with them, most notably Double Clouder. In reference to his toy and Western counterpart, Double Dealer, Clouder is a Transtector with a neutral missile truck mode, a Destron beast mode and a Cybertron robot mode. As such, he is initially cast as a double agent working for the Destrons so that they can discover the Cybertron's base of operations and destroy it. However, it's over and done with after two episodes and, because the Destrons left him to die, Clouder joins the Cybertrons and is automatically a good guy. The episodes focused on the base attack and it's destruction are some of the best in the series, especially with the ramifications of it's destruction and the effect it has on everyone, but Clouder's sudden shift of allegiance doesn't, especially when he is never punished for what he has done and the hand he had in ruining everything for the Cybertrons, which lessens the impact of the bases destruction.
There could've been more time focused on Clouder and his interactions with the others, slowly showing his shift of allegiance and his guilt for when the base is destroyed, not dissimilar to how the Teen Titans animated series would handle Terra. But instead, due to the lack of filler plots, we gone none of that. Kind of a waste if you ask me.
Thankfully, the characters who DO get focus and development have easily identifiable personalities that I got to like quickly. Ginrai is a nice breathe of fresh air for the commander type, as he isn't entirely fond of being the leader at first, but slowly learns his responsibility of being the leader and how important it is to take those responsibilities. The Cybertron Headmaster Juniors, though initially one of the dumbest ideas in the franchise, prove to be incredibly likeable very quickly. Shuta has an understandable motivation, having lost his father early one in the series; Cab is energetic and straight forward, but never to the point of being a liability; Minerva shows herself as smart and a pacifist, but is still willing to stand up for the others while understanding that not everyone can be a good person.
Even the Destrons have more of a personality than before, as none of them, aside from Black Zarak, Hydra and Buster, are just basic:
I will never tire of that clip.
Giga and Mega, the Godmasters for Overlord, still seek the destruction of the Cybertrons to prove their loyalty to Devil Z, but they otherwise treat their fellow Destrons as some kind of bizarre family unit, mainly due to Mega doting excessively on the Headmaster Juniors as they were they're own children. Wilder and Bullhorn, even through their violent antics, still have a sense of respect for their comrades, and despise other children or people that aren't involved being used hostages or bargaining chips, due to hating any sign of weakness or frailty. This helps elevate the villains to being more than basic mooks standing in for the main villain,
But the most surprising of characters has to be Cancer... Yes. One of my favourite characters in this show is a kid named Cancer. At least you could justify the name as a reference to the Horoscope, as his beast mode is (apparently) a bipedal mutant crab monster.
Regardless, what made this kid appealing to me is how he is actually exposed to the chaos that the Destrons, and by proxy himself, have been spreading. He is a victim of bullying due to being orphaned as an infant, but he was taken in by a martial arts master and spent his years trying to master his techniques as a sign of gratitude to the old man. But a combination of the bullying and his own desires are what lead to him leaving his master and joining the Destrons to advance his skill. But when Minerva shows kindness to him in a time of need, which lay the seeds for his eventual turn on the Destrons when he sees the destruction they spread, especially when his home and few friends at the dojo are threatened by an invasion from Black Zarak. When he learned that his master dies alone and saddened by Cancer's departure, he finally took the chance to try and save people and actually redeem himself for what he has done. The character who I thought would be my least favourite actually ends up being my favourite character this series.
Thankfully, due to the absence of filler plots, more focus is put on the overall threat of Devil Z and his machinations, even if not much is revealed about his past aside from being the creature that powers the Godmasters and their ability to absorb Chokon energy for their fights. Their antics start off small time, due to the Pretenders being more old-school evil, but they are still leading to their goal of humanities destruction. Even with the more outlandish plots of the week, they are still smart in the execution of their goals for those plots. Although, Blood's plan of causing a stampede in African to try and get humans to kill their cattle? Yeah, that one was stupid. Nonetheless, this Destrons are probably some of the best written in the franchise as none of them are just one dimensional or really all that stupid. If only Headmasters or (spoilers) Victory had villains this smart or interesting... yeah, I'm not liking Victory thus far.
The music, even if the theme song once again is slow and disconnected from the themes of the show, is far more exciting and fitting for the scenes that they are used for. One of my personal favourites is probably "We Believe Tomorrow", mainly due to this feeling of both despair and hope that contrast perfectly with the more mellow musical accompaniment that helps to convey the scenes where it is used. Hell, it was first used for the destruction of the Cybertron's base, and it actually left a strong emotional impact with me when seeing it fall apart and the Cybertrons are left without a feeling of hope.
The action, despite its reuse of stock footage and not being the best animated, is always engaging to watch for due to the characters being more entertaining and, get this, VITAL TO THE STORY! One of the complaints that I alluded to in my review for Headmasters was that the action was never engaging due to the absence of any form of character development or personality, feeling more like a lower grade generic super robot anime. While, yes, Masterforce also uses several anime troupes, the use of them do not supersede the story or character development, but instead is accented by such, thus making the final victory in the battle between Ginrai and Devil Z at the Matterhorn all the sweeter and feels earned.
Choujin Masterforce is a far better series than Headmasters. I understand that isn't saying much as Headmasters was more of a corporate cash in than the Prime Wars Trilogy, but it doesn't detract the idea that Masterforce is a really good show. The characters are better defined and likeable, the villains have more complexity to them than previous shows (or even a few modern ones [looking at you, RID '15]), the music fits the series near flawlessly and the story has emotional weight that leaves the viewer satisfied by the end of it. Masterforce really is a series that any Transformers fan should check out for themselves.
Overall rating: 8/10 (really damn good!)
Until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, and you too can use your Masterforce, and TRANSFORM!!
Monday, 21 January 2019
My issues with modern Sentai (and potentially Ryusoulger)
(SPOILER WARNING!!)
I will freely admit that I'm not the most familiar with Super Sentai as I am with Kamen Rider, though I have enjoyed the handful of series that I have watched and still acknowledged the importance of the franchise to Tokusatsu. Granted, the extend I had watched is more in lines with Gokaiger onwards as well as the first 5 or so episodes of Shinkenger and Goseiger, but I hope that is enough for me to be qualified to talk about today's subject; modern Sentai.
Since the end of Zyuden Sentai (Vamola!) Kyoryuger, I have noticed a drop in quality with the storytelling and characterisation not seeming anywhere near as refined as what was seen in previous years. Much of what was appealing with the likes of Gokaiger or Kyoryuger was either missing or outright dismissed in the narrative for the sake of promoting more and more toys and ridiculous gimmicks, which would then strangle the appreciation a viewer may have for a series. I am fully aware that Toei measures the success of a show based on toy sales nowadays as opposed to the actual ratings and viewership, but that is no excuse for how they keep on repeating the same bad elements from failed series instead of learning from their mistakes and trying to make good shows again.
Sadly, however, much of my problems with modern Sentai can be boiled down to what I consider the last legitimately good Sentai; Kyoryuger.
While not a perfect series, Kyoryuger was still nonetheless an enjoyable one, with entertaining characters and villains, as well as a nicely fleshed out storyline that allowed everyone a chance in the spotlight, no matter how brief. Despite the executive meddling and Riku Sanjo's difficulty in managing his cast the larger they get, the series still did well enough financially for Toei to overlook the decline in ratings and viewership statistics to call it a legitimate success story. Unfortunately, due to the series more comedic nature in contrast to Go-Busters' "serious" nature, this left Toei with the mistaken idea that making a show as silly as possible is what makes your show successful. And it all starts with... the train dorks:
Ressha Sentai ToQGer is, simply put, an awful series. The main 5 characters were insufferable brats with little in terms of growth, the soundtrack was either grating on my ears or lifelessly bland, the costumes were ugly to look at, the Megazords (calling them that for simplicity) were equally ugly, and it's Red Ranger, Right Suzuki, is one of the worst Sentai Reds ever in the franchise; a conceited, selfish moron who has no right (pun not intended) to even be considered a Sentai member let alone the leader. While the villain's main motivations were interesting and the ToQGer's 6th member, Akira, had some cool ideas behind him, it wasn't enough to save this series from being a financial and critical flop. This series was bad. And Yasuko Kobayashi should feel bad.
And yet, Kento Shimoyama would go on to do worse:
Somehow, through black magic or something, Shuriken Sentai Ninninger was not only bad, but it was actually worse than ToQGer. All of the issues I had with ToQGer were present in Ninninger, with even more problems on top of that. Takaharu Igasaki, the idiot Red for this series, is pretty much the same character as Right, only with a passion for combat instead of eating and the actor was absolutely atrocious, which thus results in none of the characters getting development that didn't in some way insult them or make them worthless. The villains for the series were blatant imbeciles who's own intentions completely sabotaged their plans for world domination, which ruined their overall status as a threat. The Megazords (bar Bison King) were awfully designed, especially that stupid visual of a robot sitting inside of another robot. Normally, that would be cool, but this series somehow made it suck, which resulted in Ninninger not only having worse ratings than ToQGer, but some of the worst toy sales in the history of the franchise. Ninja Steel may have sucked, but it still did more than it's source material with it's characters and storytelling.
These problems would negatively impact the next series, despite the obvious improvements showing from the first episode:
Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger (or Jyuohger, I forget which) was a MASSIVE improvement from ToQGer and Ninninger. The characters were not overshadowed by the Red and actually shown some growth from their early stages. The Megazords had some decent designs and I actually enjoyed the cube theme for the Zords. The villains felt like a legitimate threat, with each one having their own style of attack and having deeper connections than just "the bad guy". Yamato Kazakiri made for a breath of fresh air, with how he was actually a compassionate person who legitimately tries to help his teammates with their issues, showing no complaint or hesitation to do the right thing for his friends. But even with these improvements, the series was still underwhelming and lacked a sense of urgency due to the lack of complex villains or any real expansion on Zyuland. I still like the show, but it does take a while to show it's strengths with it's storytelling and characterisation.
But it is still a masterpiece when compared to when Kento Shimoyama took the writer's chair again:
Ninninger was ruined after the first episode. This series fell apart in it's first scene.
If there is a word to describe Uchu Sentai Kyuranger, it's this; LAZY! The characters are completely superfluous as none of them have a character arc. The villains are completely pathetic unlike any other in the franchise, with how they somehow take over the galaxy and yet have several squadrons destroyed by a stupid looking space-bike. This show does NOTHING with the outer space setting and makes it another "save the Earth" story despite the fact that they could've gone ANYWHERE ELSE and had a much more interesting story. And Lucky is the worst Sentai Red ever. He's a compulsive, reckless, selfish, egocentric, narcissistic, moral aggrandising dipshit, but the entire cosmos pretty much bends over backwards to make him right when everything presented says he should be wrong; instead, they reward him with power-up after power-up that he has not in any way earned, and only gets them because of his nonsensical Deus Ex Machina powers.
And need I even mention his catchphrase?
Yes. There is 7 and a half minutes of him shouting his stupid catchphrase. It is about as annoying as it gets.
And I'm not gonna bother talking much about the next series, Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger vs Keisatsu Sentai Patranger, as I pretty much dropped it after Lupin Blue gets into a cooking contest with a monster. While still an improvement on Kyuranger, LuPat was still doing nothing for me due to the storytelling issues and the characterisation getting frustrating at points; namely Keiichiro, Patren#1, being a complete smeghead with no clue about what the fuck he's even doing, not to mention sucking at his job as a police officer. From what I've read, the show has done little to mediate the issue, despite doing better than Kyuranger has been.
When looking over all of these series, I think I've decided what the main problem is with most of them (not counting Zyuohger as it avoided this troupe); the idiot Reds. At the end of the day, the protagonists for ToQGer, Ninninger and Kyuranger were insufferable assholes, braindead idiots, or both rolled into one. Their actions prove caustic to everything and everyone else because of how often they are made the main focus of a series where one of the core themes is the importance of a team. They are made right despite all evidence saying they should be wrong, yet are never called out for their damaging actions and the way they mistreat those around them for the sake of their petty egos. Whereas good Sentai Reds like Captain Marvellous or Yamato act as a prism for the others to shine through, Right, Takaharu and Lucky are planks of wood that stop the lights of the others from ever coming together as one. Thus, it is all the more irritating when these conceited jackasses get more spotlight than any other potentially interesting characters.
Which is were the newest series to arrive at the time of writing this, Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger, comes into play. Thankfully, neither Kento Shimoyama or Shinichiro Shurakura seem to be nowhere near this series, thus there is hope that it will at least be adequate. But with how most modern Sentai just regurgitates the previous elements of successful series and do them worse, and how Ryusoulger's set-up directly contradicts any sense of canonical relevance with Kyoryuger, it's still likely that we'll get a dud of a series, not helped with the preview images of the suits and mecha looking really underwhelming. Here's hoping Sentai can pick itself out of it's creative slump and get back into creating good content again.
So until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off.
I will freely admit that I'm not the most familiar with Super Sentai as I am with Kamen Rider, though I have enjoyed the handful of series that I have watched and still acknowledged the importance of the franchise to Tokusatsu. Granted, the extend I had watched is more in lines with Gokaiger onwards as well as the first 5 or so episodes of Shinkenger and Goseiger, but I hope that is enough for me to be qualified to talk about today's subject; modern Sentai.
Since the end of Zyuden Sentai (Vamola!) Kyoryuger, I have noticed a drop in quality with the storytelling and characterisation not seeming anywhere near as refined as what was seen in previous years. Much of what was appealing with the likes of Gokaiger or Kyoryuger was either missing or outright dismissed in the narrative for the sake of promoting more and more toys and ridiculous gimmicks, which would then strangle the appreciation a viewer may have for a series. I am fully aware that Toei measures the success of a show based on toy sales nowadays as opposed to the actual ratings and viewership, but that is no excuse for how they keep on repeating the same bad elements from failed series instead of learning from their mistakes and trying to make good shows again.
Sadly, however, much of my problems with modern Sentai can be boiled down to what I consider the last legitimately good Sentai; Kyoryuger.
While not a perfect series, Kyoryuger was still nonetheless an enjoyable one, with entertaining characters and villains, as well as a nicely fleshed out storyline that allowed everyone a chance in the spotlight, no matter how brief. Despite the executive meddling and Riku Sanjo's difficulty in managing his cast the larger they get, the series still did well enough financially for Toei to overlook the decline in ratings and viewership statistics to call it a legitimate success story. Unfortunately, due to the series more comedic nature in contrast to Go-Busters' "serious" nature, this left Toei with the mistaken idea that making a show as silly as possible is what makes your show successful. And it all starts with... the train dorks:
Ressha Sentai ToQGer is, simply put, an awful series. The main 5 characters were insufferable brats with little in terms of growth, the soundtrack was either grating on my ears or lifelessly bland, the costumes were ugly to look at, the Megazords (calling them that for simplicity) were equally ugly, and it's Red Ranger, Right Suzuki, is one of the worst Sentai Reds ever in the franchise; a conceited, selfish moron who has no right (pun not intended) to even be considered a Sentai member let alone the leader. While the villain's main motivations were interesting and the ToQGer's 6th member, Akira, had some cool ideas behind him, it wasn't enough to save this series from being a financial and critical flop. This series was bad. And Yasuko Kobayashi should feel bad.
And yet, Kento Shimoyama would go on to do worse:
Somehow, through black magic or something, Shuriken Sentai Ninninger was not only bad, but it was actually worse than ToQGer. All of the issues I had with ToQGer were present in Ninninger, with even more problems on top of that. Takaharu Igasaki, the idiot Red for this series, is pretty much the same character as Right, only with a passion for combat instead of eating and the actor was absolutely atrocious, which thus results in none of the characters getting development that didn't in some way insult them or make them worthless. The villains for the series were blatant imbeciles who's own intentions completely sabotaged their plans for world domination, which ruined their overall status as a threat. The Megazords (bar Bison King) were awfully designed, especially that stupid visual of a robot sitting inside of another robot. Normally, that would be cool, but this series somehow made it suck, which resulted in Ninninger not only having worse ratings than ToQGer, but some of the worst toy sales in the history of the franchise. Ninja Steel may have sucked, but it still did more than it's source material with it's characters and storytelling.
These problems would negatively impact the next series, despite the obvious improvements showing from the first episode:
Doubutsu Sentai Zyuohger (or Jyuohger, I forget which) was a MASSIVE improvement from ToQGer and Ninninger. The characters were not overshadowed by the Red and actually shown some growth from their early stages. The Megazords had some decent designs and I actually enjoyed the cube theme for the Zords. The villains felt like a legitimate threat, with each one having their own style of attack and having deeper connections than just "the bad guy". Yamato Kazakiri made for a breath of fresh air, with how he was actually a compassionate person who legitimately tries to help his teammates with their issues, showing no complaint or hesitation to do the right thing for his friends. But even with these improvements, the series was still underwhelming and lacked a sense of urgency due to the lack of complex villains or any real expansion on Zyuland. I still like the show, but it does take a while to show it's strengths with it's storytelling and characterisation.
But it is still a masterpiece when compared to when Kento Shimoyama took the writer's chair again:
Ninninger was ruined after the first episode. This series fell apart in it's first scene.
If there is a word to describe Uchu Sentai Kyuranger, it's this; LAZY! The characters are completely superfluous as none of them have a character arc. The villains are completely pathetic unlike any other in the franchise, with how they somehow take over the galaxy and yet have several squadrons destroyed by a stupid looking space-bike. This show does NOTHING with the outer space setting and makes it another "save the Earth" story despite the fact that they could've gone ANYWHERE ELSE and had a much more interesting story. And Lucky is the worst Sentai Red ever. He's a compulsive, reckless, selfish, egocentric, narcissistic, moral aggrandising dipshit, but the entire cosmos pretty much bends over backwards to make him right when everything presented says he should be wrong; instead, they reward him with power-up after power-up that he has not in any way earned, and only gets them because of his nonsensical Deus Ex Machina powers.
And need I even mention his catchphrase?
Yes. There is 7 and a half minutes of him shouting his stupid catchphrase. It is about as annoying as it gets.
And I'm not gonna bother talking much about the next series, Kaitou Sentai Lupinranger vs Keisatsu Sentai Patranger, as I pretty much dropped it after Lupin Blue gets into a cooking contest with a monster. While still an improvement on Kyuranger, LuPat was still doing nothing for me due to the storytelling issues and the characterisation getting frustrating at points; namely Keiichiro, Patren#1, being a complete smeghead with no clue about what the fuck he's even doing, not to mention sucking at his job as a police officer. From what I've read, the show has done little to mediate the issue, despite doing better than Kyuranger has been.
When looking over all of these series, I think I've decided what the main problem is with most of them (not counting Zyuohger as it avoided this troupe); the idiot Reds. At the end of the day, the protagonists for ToQGer, Ninninger and Kyuranger were insufferable assholes, braindead idiots, or both rolled into one. Their actions prove caustic to everything and everyone else because of how often they are made the main focus of a series where one of the core themes is the importance of a team. They are made right despite all evidence saying they should be wrong, yet are never called out for their damaging actions and the way they mistreat those around them for the sake of their petty egos. Whereas good Sentai Reds like Captain Marvellous or Yamato act as a prism for the others to shine through, Right, Takaharu and Lucky are planks of wood that stop the lights of the others from ever coming together as one. Thus, it is all the more irritating when these conceited jackasses get more spotlight than any other potentially interesting characters.
Which is were the newest series to arrive at the time of writing this, Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger, comes into play. Thankfully, neither Kento Shimoyama or Shinichiro Shurakura seem to be nowhere near this series, thus there is hope that it will at least be adequate. But with how most modern Sentai just regurgitates the previous elements of successful series and do them worse, and how Ryusoulger's set-up directly contradicts any sense of canonical relevance with Kyoryuger, it's still likely that we'll get a dud of a series, not helped with the preview images of the suits and mecha looking really underwhelming. Here's hoping Sentai can pick itself out of it's creative slump and get back into creating good content again.
So until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off.
Monday, 14 January 2019
Transformers: The Headmasters (1987-1988)
(SPOILER WARNING... for a show that's about 30 years old!!)
As I'm still in my re-emerging Transformers craze thanks to Bumblebee, I think now would be a good time to talk about one of the stranger points the franchise in between G1 and Beast Wars; the Takara Trilogy.
This is referring to a trifecta of Transformers fiction that was originally released exclusively in Japan, carrying on from where G1's third season left off. In the same vain as was seen with Scramble City, this trilogy (comprising of The Headmasters, Super-God [or Chojin] Masterforce, and Victory) acted more of deviation from the traditional formula of Autobots and Decepticons (or Cybertrons and Destrons) with how their story is presented. But while Scramble City was essentially a prequel story for Trypticon (or Dinosaurer), The Headmasters acted as an alternate version of the American G1's "The Rebirth" three part finale to the series. Unlike "The Rebirth", however, the story was continued passed The Headmasters with how both the shows and the toylines were continually popular, with Masterforce being the most well received... at least, among fans.
Still, talking about The Headmasters will be tricky for at least 2 reasons;
1. There are not that many subs of the series (that I am currently aware of, at any rate), and I am not the best when it comes to judging the accuracy of the translation. Thus, the version I am reviewing is the one that came in the "Transformers: The Complete Takara Collection" boxset from 2007, which I only found at my local CeX by complete accident for £50 (steal of a deal, I'd say).
2. The Headmasters actually DID get some notoriety outside of Japan, when Omni Productions dubbed the series in Malaysia and Singapore and released it on the TV channel RTM 1. And the overall quality of the dub is... well:
Yeah, it's terrible. Infamously so. From the abysmal voice acting, to needless changes in dialogue, to the bizarre renames for major characters and plot Mcguffins (Fortress Maximus is renamed "Spaceship Bruce", for fucks sake); it proved to be one of the single worst "English" dubs for any anime ever. As such, I avoided watching it for this review so that I wouldn't have the terrible, not in any way matching voices stuck in my head as I watched it.
Still, even as I avoided this dub and tried to not let it cloud my judgement for this series, I still couldn't bring myself to actually like this show. Even with the crazier subplots and stories presented, I felt like I was wasting my time watching this series, as it simply refused to make the characters or their situations interesting.
Also, I'll be using the Japanese names for the characters despite the subtitles using the American ones.
With that said, what is The Headmasters even about?
Well, it has been a year since Convoy has returned, and the Destrons, lead once more by Galvatron, are back attacking Seibertron with their new servants; the Destron Headmasters of Weirdwolf, Skullcruncher, Mindwipe and their shadowed leader, Zarak. Due the Matrix of Leadership losing it's power, there's nothing keeping the Vector Sigma computer operating fluently, thus it may lead to the planet dying for good, which the Destrons use as the opportunity to attack the Cybertrons. What they did not expect, however, was the arrival of new Headmasters who have allied themselves to the Cybertrons; Chromedome, Hardhead, Brainstorm, Highbrow, and their leader operating from their ship the Maximus, Fortress. With Convoy dying... again... and Rodimus abandoning the Cybertrons when their planet gets blown up by Zarak (yes, seriously), Fortress is made leader and they continue the good fight with new toys being added to their forces every other week; chiefly, the Destron Ninja Six-Changer Sixshot, and Fortress acting as the head for the Spaceship Maximus to become... well, Fortress Maximus.
Now, from the outset, the first 3 or so episodes are not that bad. They act as a decent set-up to the basic plot-line of the show and there are some decent moments where we get a better glimpse at not just the personalities of the Headmasters, but their abilities as well. I actually like how they swap their heads in order augment their abilities in different ways. I also appreciate how it actually shakes up the status quo a little bit by not having Rodimus or Galvatron be the focus of antagonism, but instead building up the mystery behind Zarak and his machinations. Also, Sixshot is easily the best character in the show, with how he shows himself as a legitimate threat, but still has a sense of honour and grace. He's isn't just run of the mill evil.
But sadly, that's pretty much where the good stuff of this begins and ends, as the rest can be chalked down to either filler or plain stupid.
And it all begins with THESE two nimrods!
Look; I never liked Daniel or Wheelie. They just felt like unnecessary additions to an already colourful and entertaining cast of characters. Whenever they were the focus of an episode, they would often end up being the worst part of it, as their stupid antics would eventually grate on you. That said, while I didn't like them, I wouldn't say they were outright awful characters. At the very least, their inclusion in the story didn't supersede the importance of the rest of the cast whenever said cast were the focus of an episode. They were certainly more pivotal to the narrative then Blurr was.
But with Headmasters, there weren't any other characters that I wanted to see killed off more than these two. While they didn't supersede anyone in G1's third season, they pretty much become the main fucking characters in Headmasters, with how a majority of their antics are not only annoying, but they took time away from the actual plot of the episode just to focus on some stupid shit they would be doing. For instance, a plan to stop an asteroid from destroying the Earth stops, comes to a complete fucking halt for a few minutes... because Fortress tries to stop Daniel crying by making some silly faces... fucking, REALLY?!
This not only robs any tension or suspense the episode may have previously had, but also paints Fortress, the newly christened and dignified leader of the Cybertrons, as wasteful idiot too busy focused on stopping this little bastard from throwing a hissy fit! Daniel's very presence in this show is robbing the cast of it's dignity! Made worse by the fact that Daniel is apparently the ONLY person who could stop this asteroid, thus the entire story pauses for a few seconds just because it's waiting for Daniel to get off of his lazy fucking ass and do his goddamn job!
What. A fucking. Joke!
Then again, Daniel robbing the dignity of the cast could be worse if any of the Headmasters had any kind of endearing personalities. But instead, the Headmasters, at least in this iteration, have to some of the blandest, most generic characters in the entire franchise. They're just "the good guys". That's about it. Oh, they try to give some kind of quirks to them to have them stand out from each other, but not in any way that gives us a chance to even know who they are. Chromedome? He's just the hot head who charges first and asks questions never. Hardhead? The bruiser who likes fighting. Brainstorm? I guess, the science guy? It's never made clear. Hell, I can't even describe Highbrow's personality, because they didn't even bother to give him one. He's just the guy who turns into a helicopter and will sometimes shoot something. How can I care about what these characters are doing if I don't even care about they are?
Same goes for the new villains, especially Zarak. Zarak has to be the most bare bones villain in ANYTHING I've seen in this franchise. He wants to destroy stuff, because:
With an extra dose of:
I couldn't choose between the two, so I included both. You're welcome.
And that's not even getting into how ridiculously stupid some of the filler plots can be. And when I say filler, I don't mean the good filler that's actually used to get to know the characters and enjoy our time with them. No, I'm talking about Steven Universe Season 4 type of filler; the filler that just exists to lengthen the list of episodes in a given series. Just for an example, there is an episode where the Headmasters encounter an alien planet. And the inhabitants... are Bees.
It was either that or the "Not the Bees" scene from Wicker Man. Take your pick.
And most of these filler plots just follow the same formula; someones/somethings in danger, go save that someone/something, Daniel and Wheelie antics, vague moral lesson, never call back to the event. Lather, rinse, repeat. There is such little continuity in this series, that I forgot what either the Cybertrons or Destrons want. At least with Zarak, I get him; destroy because evil. But everyone else? What purpose do they serve? What role do they serve? How do their actions affect the narrative? Do they have an end goal to any of the random shit that happens in this show?
The answer to all of these questions is, of course:
By the end of the series, very little was actually accomplished. In fact, it kind of felt like everything just went backwards, and I ultimately feel like I know LESS about these characters. And frankly, the less I know about Daniel and Wheelie, the better!
Overall, I won't say that The Headmasters is terrible, but there is one word to describe it overall. Or rather, one song:
Even with my frustrations with Daniel and Wheelies pointless shit, or the subplots being ridiculous in their presentation, I was just in a constant state of boredom. I probably could've skipped over this show entire and missed absolutely NOTHING by the end of it. As of writing this, I am at least 12 or so episodes in Masterforce, the series that comes canonically The Headmasters. And even though I think the "Headmaster Jr" stuff is just a dumb excuse to have kids be the heroes, the show thus far has been far more entertaining and well written than The Headmasters. I actually want to keep watching Masterforce, whereas I really struggled to get through Headmasters before turning it off and watching something else.
So, take my opinion for what it's worth, but I just can't recommend Headmasters, either to die hard fans or casual viewers.
Overall rating: 5/10 (BOOOOOOOOOOOOORIIIIIIIIIIIIING!)
Thanks for reading, and until next time: This is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!
P.S: The theme song, as well as most of the music in Headmasters, sucks.
As I'm still in my re-emerging Transformers craze thanks to Bumblebee, I think now would be a good time to talk about one of the stranger points the franchise in between G1 and Beast Wars; the Takara Trilogy.
This is referring to a trifecta of Transformers fiction that was originally released exclusively in Japan, carrying on from where G1's third season left off. In the same vain as was seen with Scramble City, this trilogy (comprising of The Headmasters, Super-God [or Chojin] Masterforce, and Victory) acted more of deviation from the traditional formula of Autobots and Decepticons (or Cybertrons and Destrons) with how their story is presented. But while Scramble City was essentially a prequel story for Trypticon (or Dinosaurer), The Headmasters acted as an alternate version of the American G1's "The Rebirth" three part finale to the series. Unlike "The Rebirth", however, the story was continued passed The Headmasters with how both the shows and the toylines were continually popular, with Masterforce being the most well received... at least, among fans.
Still, talking about The Headmasters will be tricky for at least 2 reasons;
1. There are not that many subs of the series (that I am currently aware of, at any rate), and I am not the best when it comes to judging the accuracy of the translation. Thus, the version I am reviewing is the one that came in the "Transformers: The Complete Takara Collection" boxset from 2007, which I only found at my local CeX by complete accident for £50 (steal of a deal, I'd say).
2. The Headmasters actually DID get some notoriety outside of Japan, when Omni Productions dubbed the series in Malaysia and Singapore and released it on the TV channel RTM 1. And the overall quality of the dub is... well:
Yeah, it's terrible. Infamously so. From the abysmal voice acting, to needless changes in dialogue, to the bizarre renames for major characters and plot Mcguffins (Fortress Maximus is renamed "Spaceship Bruce", for fucks sake); it proved to be one of the single worst "English" dubs for any anime ever. As such, I avoided watching it for this review so that I wouldn't have the terrible, not in any way matching voices stuck in my head as I watched it.
Still, even as I avoided this dub and tried to not let it cloud my judgement for this series, I still couldn't bring myself to actually like this show. Even with the crazier subplots and stories presented, I felt like I was wasting my time watching this series, as it simply refused to make the characters or their situations interesting.
Also, I'll be using the Japanese names for the characters despite the subtitles using the American ones.
With that said, what is The Headmasters even about?
Well, it has been a year since Convoy has returned, and the Destrons, lead once more by Galvatron, are back attacking Seibertron with their new servants; the Destron Headmasters of Weirdwolf, Skullcruncher, Mindwipe and their shadowed leader, Zarak. Due the Matrix of Leadership losing it's power, there's nothing keeping the Vector Sigma computer operating fluently, thus it may lead to the planet dying for good, which the Destrons use as the opportunity to attack the Cybertrons. What they did not expect, however, was the arrival of new Headmasters who have allied themselves to the Cybertrons; Chromedome, Hardhead, Brainstorm, Highbrow, and their leader operating from their ship the Maximus, Fortress. With Convoy dying... again... and Rodimus abandoning the Cybertrons when their planet gets blown up by Zarak (yes, seriously), Fortress is made leader and they continue the good fight with new toys being added to their forces every other week; chiefly, the Destron Ninja Six-Changer Sixshot, and Fortress acting as the head for the Spaceship Maximus to become... well, Fortress Maximus.
Now, from the outset, the first 3 or so episodes are not that bad. They act as a decent set-up to the basic plot-line of the show and there are some decent moments where we get a better glimpse at not just the personalities of the Headmasters, but their abilities as well. I actually like how they swap their heads in order augment their abilities in different ways. I also appreciate how it actually shakes up the status quo a little bit by not having Rodimus or Galvatron be the focus of antagonism, but instead building up the mystery behind Zarak and his machinations. Also, Sixshot is easily the best character in the show, with how he shows himself as a legitimate threat, but still has a sense of honour and grace. He's isn't just run of the mill evil.
But sadly, that's pretty much where the good stuff of this begins and ends, as the rest can be chalked down to either filler or plain stupid.
And it all begins with THESE two nimrods!
Look; I never liked Daniel or Wheelie. They just felt like unnecessary additions to an already colourful and entertaining cast of characters. Whenever they were the focus of an episode, they would often end up being the worst part of it, as their stupid antics would eventually grate on you. That said, while I didn't like them, I wouldn't say they were outright awful characters. At the very least, their inclusion in the story didn't supersede the importance of the rest of the cast whenever said cast were the focus of an episode. They were certainly more pivotal to the narrative then Blurr was.
But with Headmasters, there weren't any other characters that I wanted to see killed off more than these two. While they didn't supersede anyone in G1's third season, they pretty much become the main fucking characters in Headmasters, with how a majority of their antics are not only annoying, but they took time away from the actual plot of the episode just to focus on some stupid shit they would be doing. For instance, a plan to stop an asteroid from destroying the Earth stops, comes to a complete fucking halt for a few minutes... because Fortress tries to stop Daniel crying by making some silly faces... fucking, REALLY?!
This not only robs any tension or suspense the episode may have previously had, but also paints Fortress, the newly christened and dignified leader of the Cybertrons, as wasteful idiot too busy focused on stopping this little bastard from throwing a hissy fit! Daniel's very presence in this show is robbing the cast of it's dignity! Made worse by the fact that Daniel is apparently the ONLY person who could stop this asteroid, thus the entire story pauses for a few seconds just because it's waiting for Daniel to get off of his lazy fucking ass and do his goddamn job!
What. A fucking. Joke!
Then again, Daniel robbing the dignity of the cast could be worse if any of the Headmasters had any kind of endearing personalities. But instead, the Headmasters, at least in this iteration, have to some of the blandest, most generic characters in the entire franchise. They're just "the good guys". That's about it. Oh, they try to give some kind of quirks to them to have them stand out from each other, but not in any way that gives us a chance to even know who they are. Chromedome? He's just the hot head who charges first and asks questions never. Hardhead? The bruiser who likes fighting. Brainstorm? I guess, the science guy? It's never made clear. Hell, I can't even describe Highbrow's personality, because they didn't even bother to give him one. He's just the guy who turns into a helicopter and will sometimes shoot something. How can I care about what these characters are doing if I don't even care about they are?
Same goes for the new villains, especially Zarak. Zarak has to be the most bare bones villain in ANYTHING I've seen in this franchise. He wants to destroy stuff, because:
With an extra dose of:
I couldn't choose between the two, so I included both. You're welcome.
And that's not even getting into how ridiculously stupid some of the filler plots can be. And when I say filler, I don't mean the good filler that's actually used to get to know the characters and enjoy our time with them. No, I'm talking about Steven Universe Season 4 type of filler; the filler that just exists to lengthen the list of episodes in a given series. Just for an example, there is an episode where the Headmasters encounter an alien planet. And the inhabitants... are Bees.
It was either that or the "Not the Bees" scene from Wicker Man. Take your pick.
And most of these filler plots just follow the same formula; someones/somethings in danger, go save that someone/something, Daniel and Wheelie antics, vague moral lesson, never call back to the event. Lather, rinse, repeat. There is such little continuity in this series, that I forgot what either the Cybertrons or Destrons want. At least with Zarak, I get him; destroy because evil. But everyone else? What purpose do they serve? What role do they serve? How do their actions affect the narrative? Do they have an end goal to any of the random shit that happens in this show?
The answer to all of these questions is, of course:
By the end of the series, very little was actually accomplished. In fact, it kind of felt like everything just went backwards, and I ultimately feel like I know LESS about these characters. And frankly, the less I know about Daniel and Wheelie, the better!
Overall, I won't say that The Headmasters is terrible, but there is one word to describe it overall. Or rather, one song:
Even with my frustrations with Daniel and Wheelies pointless shit, or the subplots being ridiculous in their presentation, I was just in a constant state of boredom. I probably could've skipped over this show entire and missed absolutely NOTHING by the end of it. As of writing this, I am at least 12 or so episodes in Masterforce, the series that comes canonically The Headmasters. And even though I think the "Headmaster Jr" stuff is just a dumb excuse to have kids be the heroes, the show thus far has been far more entertaining and well written than The Headmasters. I actually want to keep watching Masterforce, whereas I really struggled to get through Headmasters before turning it off and watching something else.
So, take my opinion for what it's worth, but I just can't recommend Headmasters, either to die hard fans or casual viewers.
Overall rating: 5/10 (BOOOOOOOOOOOOORIIIIIIIIIIIIING!)
Thanks for reading, and until next time: This is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!
P.S: The theme song, as well as most of the music in Headmasters, sucks.
Tuesday, 25 December 2018
Bumblebee (2018)
(SPOILER WARNING!!)
Recently, I have started to sour on the previous Bayverse Transformers movies. After a while, it did start to feel as if the films where made with this sense of cynicism and contempt for the franchise, which is not how one should be approaching a film series based on one of the single most popular and profitable franchises of all time. I will always have an appreciation for the first film, as that was my gateway into the overall franchise. Even for a dumb action film, it still felt like the beginnings of a decent franchise. But despite the billions that the films has earned, fans and critics would nonetheless feel like they were just being bombarded with the same shit over and over again. And judging by The Last Knight's disastrous critical reception and lagging box office results, it seemed to finally break the camels back for a lot of people. This might by why people weren't really looking forward to Bumblebee, as they had finally gotten tired of watching these movies, in particular Michael Bay, and just wanted them to go away.
That said, I was still cautiously optimistic about the film, thanks in part to Travis Knight replacing Bay as director and the film itself being a soft reboot to the franchise, allowing for something of a fresh start and a means of making up for TLK's mistakes. Granted, doing yet another soft reboot just 4 years after Age of Extinction, the other soft reboot, seemed like a bit of a hasty decision, as that would also result in a lot of the set up storylines either being abandoned or incoherently retconned.
Fortunately, however, now that I've more than a week to fully process it, I can safely say that Bumblebee is by far the best live action film, as well as the closest to a modern G1 movie that we'll ever get. Although, thanks to Aquaman and Mary Poppins Returns (looks like shit) coming out at the exact same time, it'll probably be hit the hardest in the race to the top of the box office. So yes, I am in the right to blame Disney if Bumblebee doesn't do well financially.
Regardless, it's time that we finally address the film that actually matters. The war for Cybertron is reaching it's peak as the Autobots, lead by Optimus Prime, have no choice but to abandon the planet and find new places to stay. The scout B-127, later named Bumblebee, is sent to Earth by Optimus to protect it until they can mount a small team together and build a new home. Upon arrival in 1987, however, Bumblebee is intercepted by Starscre-- I mean, Blitzwing, who proceeds to tear out his voice box and leave him without a memory, before the Decepticon is blown to pieces in a spectacular fashion. Thanks for the cameo, David Sobolov!
After the fight, Bumblebee scans the signature Volkswagen beetle alt mode and goes into stasis lock, until a few months pass and he is found and taken in by Charlie Watson, played by Hailee Steinfeld. Charlie, on top of having a less than amicable relationship with her mum after her dad died, is shocked to see her new car turn into a robot barely twice her height, but helps him out in keeping him disguised and even gives him his name based on the buzzing and beeping from his no longer existent voice box.
Meanwhile, the Decepticon Triple Changer duo for the film, Shatter and Dropkick, arrive on Earth after learning of Bumblebee being on the planet, and manipulate the more militaristic Sector 7, seemingly lead by Agent "Insert John Cena joke here" Burns, into helping them to find Bumblebee by framing him as a fugitive and member of a resistance trying to disturb the peace on their planet. With Bumblebee learning more about humanity and even forming a familial bond with Hailee, while said human companion deals with her own personal issues with regards to connected to people and reconciling with the people she already has. All the while they avoid getting captured or killed by the Decepticons on their tail in a film that ISN'T 2 and a half hours long.
It's nice to see the story go back to basics, which is something this franchise desperately needed. The Last Knight tried too hard to create a shared continuity, but failed as it didn't resolve any of the lingering plot threads from the previous films and over-complicated it with a needless "chosen one" narrative, made worse as it was coupled by several retcons that almost completely wipes the other films from ever being possible to have happened in spite of relying on those films to even exist.
I really wasn't joking when I said I soured on the previous Transformers films.
But Bumblebee, as said previously, goes back to basics with it's story. It doesn't try to be something that it isn't, nor does it just retread what was already done beforehand. It just takes the classic scenario of "kid with a pet alien", and showcases said alien learning what it really means to be human and how their connections with their "owner" lets them grow and change over the course of their journey. This is the first time in the entire series that I really saw Bumblebee become more than just the kid-appeal toy seller, and it shines through with giving us a character to route for. On top of that, he's not just relegated to the background as had been the complaint with the other films. It may have a good amount of the focus be on the humans, but this is still Bumblebee's journey through and through. I finally have a chance to really appreciate whenever he is on screen instead of groaning whenever he talks through the radio.
Speaking of characters I really enjoy, I think Hailee Steinfeld was fucking great in this film. I've always enjoyed her work in movies (especially the remake of True Grit) and this film is no exception. Her fantastic performance really helps to bring who would otherwise be a generic character to life, as you really do feel for her when she is going through the toughest shit in her life. Stuff like her dead father, or her overbearing mother, or her inability to interact with people because of what she has, and is still, going through. Her chemistry with Bumblebee is beautiful, whether it would be light-hearted banter or Hailee seeking comfort from the troubles in her life. It never feels like she's just talking to a tennis ball on a stick, it really does feel like Bumblebee is in the scene with her at all times.
Remember what I said earlier about this film being the closest to a modern day G1 film? That's not by accident, as is evident in the scenes with the war on Cybertron at the beginning. The character models are exactly what the original characters would look like with a live action update, which instantly allows you to tell them apart much easier. I could actually recognise the characters as who they are meant to be, which was especially true for Optimus, the Seekers, Shockwave and Soundwave. Other stuff like the Seekers turning into the Tetrajets, Soundwave launching Ravage out of his chest, Prime having his mouthplate on all the time, Shockwave with his British accent and arm cannon, and of course, the Noise:
Even getting Jon "Epic Trailer Voice Guy" Bailey to do the G1 voices for both Soundwave and Shockwave, my two favourite Decepticons, shows that Travis Knight really cared about making this as G1 as possible without feeling like a farce. Even smaller stuff like a tiny snippet of "The Touch" (called it, by the way!) helps to sell the idea of making "G1: The Movie" and showing respect to the franchise again. I felt like I was there in the 80's watching the Autobots duke it out with the Decepticons for the first time, and I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face the entire time I was in the theatre and getting all of the references and call-backs.
The only complaint I could think of, and to be fair it is more of a nitpick, is that none of the Decepticons are actually named in the film. This is strange, especially seeing how Shatter and Dropkick are the main villains of the picture and we never actually know their names. Hell, Cliffjumper got to say his name three bloody times in his brief cameo before being called, and even Ravage gets namedropped, but unless you knew who Shatter and Dropkick were beforehand, you never would've known otherwise. Again, that's just more of a nitpick, but I think it would still help to really sell the film to both fans and regular audiences.
But otherwise, I can easily say, with no hyperbole or shadow of a doubt, that Bumblebee is exactly the Transformers film that we deserved the entire time. It's charming and funny when it needs to be, but it can also be action packed and heart-warming as well, allowing us to really appreciate the characters even more thanks to having slower paced scenes that let us breathe without being bombarded with exposition and mind-numbing stupidity. If this film is successful at the box office, I would gladly buy it twice on regular DVD and Blu-Ray, as it deserves to be seen by anyone and everyone. I'll probably see it a couple more times while it's still in theatres just to show my support. This may be my pick for best film of the year.
And yes, I say that after remembering Infinity War.
Overall rating; 9/10.
So, until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, rolling out!
... You know what? I'll just put both "Back to Life" "The Touch" here, if only because I love these songs and this film so flippin' much.
Recently, I have started to sour on the previous Bayverse Transformers movies. After a while, it did start to feel as if the films where made with this sense of cynicism and contempt for the franchise, which is not how one should be approaching a film series based on one of the single most popular and profitable franchises of all time. I will always have an appreciation for the first film, as that was my gateway into the overall franchise. Even for a dumb action film, it still felt like the beginnings of a decent franchise. But despite the billions that the films has earned, fans and critics would nonetheless feel like they were just being bombarded with the same shit over and over again. And judging by The Last Knight's disastrous critical reception and lagging box office results, it seemed to finally break the camels back for a lot of people. This might by why people weren't really looking forward to Bumblebee, as they had finally gotten tired of watching these movies, in particular Michael Bay, and just wanted them to go away.
That said, I was still cautiously optimistic about the film, thanks in part to Travis Knight replacing Bay as director and the film itself being a soft reboot to the franchise, allowing for something of a fresh start and a means of making up for TLK's mistakes. Granted, doing yet another soft reboot just 4 years after Age of Extinction, the other soft reboot, seemed like a bit of a hasty decision, as that would also result in a lot of the set up storylines either being abandoned or incoherently retconned.
Fortunately, however, now that I've more than a week to fully process it, I can safely say that Bumblebee is by far the best live action film, as well as the closest to a modern G1 movie that we'll ever get. Although, thanks to Aquaman and Mary Poppins Returns (looks like shit) coming out at the exact same time, it'll probably be hit the hardest in the race to the top of the box office. So yes, I am in the right to blame Disney if Bumblebee doesn't do well financially.
Regardless, it's time that we finally address the film that actually matters. The war for Cybertron is reaching it's peak as the Autobots, lead by Optimus Prime, have no choice but to abandon the planet and find new places to stay. The scout B-127, later named Bumblebee, is sent to Earth by Optimus to protect it until they can mount a small team together and build a new home. Upon arrival in 1987, however, Bumblebee is intercepted by Starscre-- I mean, Blitzwing, who proceeds to tear out his voice box and leave him without a memory, before the Decepticon is blown to pieces in a spectacular fashion. Thanks for the cameo, David Sobolov!
After the fight, Bumblebee scans the signature Volkswagen beetle alt mode and goes into stasis lock, until a few months pass and he is found and taken in by Charlie Watson, played by Hailee Steinfeld. Charlie, on top of having a less than amicable relationship with her mum after her dad died, is shocked to see her new car turn into a robot barely twice her height, but helps him out in keeping him disguised and even gives him his name based on the buzzing and beeping from his no longer existent voice box.
Meanwhile, the Decepticon Triple Changer duo for the film, Shatter and Dropkick, arrive on Earth after learning of Bumblebee being on the planet, and manipulate the more militaristic Sector 7, seemingly lead by Agent "Insert John Cena joke here" Burns, into helping them to find Bumblebee by framing him as a fugitive and member of a resistance trying to disturb the peace on their planet. With Bumblebee learning more about humanity and even forming a familial bond with Hailee, while said human companion deals with her own personal issues with regards to connected to people and reconciling with the people she already has. All the while they avoid getting captured or killed by the Decepticons on their tail in a film that ISN'T 2 and a half hours long.
It's nice to see the story go back to basics, which is something this franchise desperately needed. The Last Knight tried too hard to create a shared continuity, but failed as it didn't resolve any of the lingering plot threads from the previous films and over-complicated it with a needless "chosen one" narrative, made worse as it was coupled by several retcons that almost completely wipes the other films from ever being possible to have happened in spite of relying on those films to even exist.
I really wasn't joking when I said I soured on the previous Transformers films.
But Bumblebee, as said previously, goes back to basics with it's story. It doesn't try to be something that it isn't, nor does it just retread what was already done beforehand. It just takes the classic scenario of "kid with a pet alien", and showcases said alien learning what it really means to be human and how their connections with their "owner" lets them grow and change over the course of their journey. This is the first time in the entire series that I really saw Bumblebee become more than just the kid-appeal toy seller, and it shines through with giving us a character to route for. On top of that, he's not just relegated to the background as had been the complaint with the other films. It may have a good amount of the focus be on the humans, but this is still Bumblebee's journey through and through. I finally have a chance to really appreciate whenever he is on screen instead of groaning whenever he talks through the radio.
Speaking of characters I really enjoy, I think Hailee Steinfeld was fucking great in this film. I've always enjoyed her work in movies (especially the remake of True Grit) and this film is no exception. Her fantastic performance really helps to bring who would otherwise be a generic character to life, as you really do feel for her when she is going through the toughest shit in her life. Stuff like her dead father, or her overbearing mother, or her inability to interact with people because of what she has, and is still, going through. Her chemistry with Bumblebee is beautiful, whether it would be light-hearted banter or Hailee seeking comfort from the troubles in her life. It never feels like she's just talking to a tennis ball on a stick, it really does feel like Bumblebee is in the scene with her at all times.
Remember what I said earlier about this film being the closest to a modern day G1 film? That's not by accident, as is evident in the scenes with the war on Cybertron at the beginning. The character models are exactly what the original characters would look like with a live action update, which instantly allows you to tell them apart much easier. I could actually recognise the characters as who they are meant to be, which was especially true for Optimus, the Seekers, Shockwave and Soundwave. Other stuff like the Seekers turning into the Tetrajets, Soundwave launching Ravage out of his chest, Prime having his mouthplate on all the time, Shockwave with his British accent and arm cannon, and of course, the Noise:
Even getting Jon "Epic Trailer Voice Guy" Bailey to do the G1 voices for both Soundwave and Shockwave, my two favourite Decepticons, shows that Travis Knight really cared about making this as G1 as possible without feeling like a farce. Even smaller stuff like a tiny snippet of "The Touch" (called it, by the way!) helps to sell the idea of making "G1: The Movie" and showing respect to the franchise again. I felt like I was there in the 80's watching the Autobots duke it out with the Decepticons for the first time, and I couldn't wipe the smile off of my face the entire time I was in the theatre and getting all of the references and call-backs.
The only complaint I could think of, and to be fair it is more of a nitpick, is that none of the Decepticons are actually named in the film. This is strange, especially seeing how Shatter and Dropkick are the main villains of the picture and we never actually know their names. Hell, Cliffjumper got to say his name three bloody times in his brief cameo before being called, and even Ravage gets namedropped, but unless you knew who Shatter and Dropkick were beforehand, you never would've known otherwise. Again, that's just more of a nitpick, but I think it would still help to really sell the film to both fans and regular audiences.
But otherwise, I can easily say, with no hyperbole or shadow of a doubt, that Bumblebee is exactly the Transformers film that we deserved the entire time. It's charming and funny when it needs to be, but it can also be action packed and heart-warming as well, allowing us to really appreciate the characters even more thanks to having slower paced scenes that let us breathe without being bombarded with exposition and mind-numbing stupidity. If this film is successful at the box office, I would gladly buy it twice on regular DVD and Blu-Ray, as it deserves to be seen by anyone and everyone. I'll probably see it a couple more times while it's still in theatres just to show my support. This may be my pick for best film of the year.
And yes, I say that after remembering Infinity War.
Overall rating; 9/10.
So, until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, rolling out!
... You know what? I'll just put both "Back to Life" "The Touch" here, if only because I love these songs and this film so flippin' much.
Sunday, 23 December 2018
Aquaman (2018)
(SPOILER WARNING!!)
While I still think that the DCEU thus far has been mostly trash, that doesn't mean everything in it was God awful. This is where Aquaman comes into play.
Much like Wonder Woman, Aquaman is a character who is otherwise underused in terms of cinematic representation. That's not to say he's never been a part of any other DC related properties, as he was one on the main members of the Justice League almost since it's inception. But either due to Batman and Superman overshadowing the rest or creators not knowing what to do with the character, Arthur Curry has otherwise played little part in the overall franchise outside of the comics.
But with his out of nowhere introduction in the Justice League film, and Jason "Khal Drogo" Momoa himself in the role, there were still fans clamouring to see the character in his own cinematic adventure, especially with director James Wan attached to the film. So long as Snyder and Goyer stayed as far away from the project as possible, we'll be good. And thankfully, I can safely say that we finally have another good DC film that isn't Wonder Woman.
And hey, it's still better than Titans.
The story, at it's core, is simple; Arthur Curry is the half breed child of a lighthouse keeper and the Queen of Atlantis, the latter leaving due to an arranged marriage and to keep the ones she loves safe. This hasn't worked fully, however, as Curry grows up to act as the defender of the seas and kick some major ass along the way. Things change, however, when his younger half-brother Orm, a.k.a the Ocean Master, is planning to launch an attack on the surface by uniting the remaining legions of Atlantis together and Arthur has to dethrone him before that can happen. With the help and coercing from Princess Mera, Arthur sets out on a quest to find the spear of Atlantis to stop Orm, despite the fact that he doesn't exactly see himself as king material.
Oh, and something about a mercenary who eventually becomes Black Manta who also has some kind of connection to Orm and wants to kill Arthur for leaving his dad to die, but that's nothing major.
One of the things that helps the film stand on its feet outside of the DCEU is that they don't try to weave in a larger, interconnected story that will be resolved in a crossover film, nor does it act as if the universe this far existed. They briefly mention Steppenwolf from Justice League, but otherwise, they try to keep the film rooted to Aquaman and his journey. This was desperately needed after the mess that resulted from BvS trying to be more than it could've ever hoped to be. We needed more of a (so to speak) down to Earth story that actually allows the characters to breathe and develop beyond what was seen of them in a previous film. We finally have the chance to really appreciate Arthur's character and see him become a true hero in his own right, while still working off of what little was already established about him.
It's ALMOST as if having a character grow and develop before throwing them in with a bunch of nobodies allows us to appreciate their interaction more and thus doesn't come off as forced or narrative contrived... seriously WB, it's not that fucking hard.
What also helps is the fact that much of Arthur's journey makes sense for his character. He's someone with simple needs; he wants to just protect both land and sea without much else in terms of being a full on hero. And he wants to have fun while doing so. He isn't ignorant of what he can do, he simply doesn't want to break away and betray what he is and what he knows. Thus, him not wanting to be king in spite of his heritage makes absolute sense in the films context and with how he interacts with everyone.
This contrasts well with Orm, who, while still being a pompous, arrogant prick, still does what he does for the sake of Atlantis and it's intrinsic to his characterisation. He was simply raised that way and knows no other alternative, as he lived most of his life without someone to teach him right or wrong. He's still a manipulative and conceited bastard, but you still understand where he's coming from and he is never depicted as just "the bad guy". Helped that he isn't just killed at the end; he faces the consequences of everything he has done and is going to answer for them.
If I had any real complaint about the film, it's mainly around one of the chief villains; Black Manta. Which is a shame, as they do a good job building him up from the start of the film. Arthur is actively responsible for Black Manta's father getting killed, and is in cahoots with Orm as both want Arthur dead for one reason or another. He is provided with Atlatean equipment and he builds various weapons and a cool looking helmet to prep himself to kill Arthur, taking on the Black Manta title in the process.
And he only gets about 5 minutes of screen time before he gets his ass kicked and isn't seen until the mid-credit scene to build up a sequel... laaaaaaaaaaaame.
I understand why he didn't have as much presence as Orm, as he is one of the lesser DC villains when comparing to the likes of the Joker of Lex Luthor, but he still felt like an afterthought who was mainly thrown into the film to sell more tickets. Very little of what he does actually matters to the films narrative and he could've saved the Black Manta suit for the next film.
Otherwise, I'm happy to see this film embrace the fact that it's a comic book film. With a character as inherently ridiculous as Aquaman is, it really is surprising that the film treats the character and his lore with such respect and dignity. Even right down to taking the costumes from the comics and translating it into live action. Seeing the orange and green spandex brought to the big screen and have it done in a simultaneously elegant and badass way shows how much the filmmakers really cared about pleasing both the fans and regular audiences. They don't just simply through a bunch of images from the comics for the sake of visual appeal; they integrate it and give a brand new sense of importance and legacy.
This film is what was so desperately needed after such misses like BvS and Justice League. It's fun, well-written, acted wonderfully by the entire cast, and finally gives me that excitement that has so desperately been missing from the DCEU for a very long time. I can finally look forward to seeing more DC movies again without having to just go back and watch Dark Knight for my DC movie fix. So, what's next?
*sees trailer for Shazam*
... At least I'm not groaning in frustration.
Overall rating: 8/10.
Until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!
While I still think that the DCEU thus far has been mostly trash, that doesn't mean everything in it was God awful. This is where Aquaman comes into play.
Much like Wonder Woman, Aquaman is a character who is otherwise underused in terms of cinematic representation. That's not to say he's never been a part of any other DC related properties, as he was one on the main members of the Justice League almost since it's inception. But either due to Batman and Superman overshadowing the rest or creators not knowing what to do with the character, Arthur Curry has otherwise played little part in the overall franchise outside of the comics.
But with his out of nowhere introduction in the Justice League film, and Jason "Khal Drogo" Momoa himself in the role, there were still fans clamouring to see the character in his own cinematic adventure, especially with director James Wan attached to the film. So long as Snyder and Goyer stayed as far away from the project as possible, we'll be good. And thankfully, I can safely say that we finally have another good DC film that isn't Wonder Woman.
And hey, it's still better than Titans.
The story, at it's core, is simple; Arthur Curry is the half breed child of a lighthouse keeper and the Queen of Atlantis, the latter leaving due to an arranged marriage and to keep the ones she loves safe. This hasn't worked fully, however, as Curry grows up to act as the defender of the seas and kick some major ass along the way. Things change, however, when his younger half-brother Orm, a.k.a the Ocean Master, is planning to launch an attack on the surface by uniting the remaining legions of Atlantis together and Arthur has to dethrone him before that can happen. With the help and coercing from Princess Mera, Arthur sets out on a quest to find the spear of Atlantis to stop Orm, despite the fact that he doesn't exactly see himself as king material.
Oh, and something about a mercenary who eventually becomes Black Manta who also has some kind of connection to Orm and wants to kill Arthur for leaving his dad to die, but that's nothing major.
One of the things that helps the film stand on its feet outside of the DCEU is that they don't try to weave in a larger, interconnected story that will be resolved in a crossover film, nor does it act as if the universe this far existed. They briefly mention Steppenwolf from Justice League, but otherwise, they try to keep the film rooted to Aquaman and his journey. This was desperately needed after the mess that resulted from BvS trying to be more than it could've ever hoped to be. We needed more of a (so to speak) down to Earth story that actually allows the characters to breathe and develop beyond what was seen of them in a previous film. We finally have the chance to really appreciate Arthur's character and see him become a true hero in his own right, while still working off of what little was already established about him.
It's ALMOST as if having a character grow and develop before throwing them in with a bunch of nobodies allows us to appreciate their interaction more and thus doesn't come off as forced or narrative contrived... seriously WB, it's not that fucking hard.
What also helps is the fact that much of Arthur's journey makes sense for his character. He's someone with simple needs; he wants to just protect both land and sea without much else in terms of being a full on hero. And he wants to have fun while doing so. He isn't ignorant of what he can do, he simply doesn't want to break away and betray what he is and what he knows. Thus, him not wanting to be king in spite of his heritage makes absolute sense in the films context and with how he interacts with everyone.
This contrasts well with Orm, who, while still being a pompous, arrogant prick, still does what he does for the sake of Atlantis and it's intrinsic to his characterisation. He was simply raised that way and knows no other alternative, as he lived most of his life without someone to teach him right or wrong. He's still a manipulative and conceited bastard, but you still understand where he's coming from and he is never depicted as just "the bad guy". Helped that he isn't just killed at the end; he faces the consequences of everything he has done and is going to answer for them.
If I had any real complaint about the film, it's mainly around one of the chief villains; Black Manta. Which is a shame, as they do a good job building him up from the start of the film. Arthur is actively responsible for Black Manta's father getting killed, and is in cahoots with Orm as both want Arthur dead for one reason or another. He is provided with Atlatean equipment and he builds various weapons and a cool looking helmet to prep himself to kill Arthur, taking on the Black Manta title in the process.
And he only gets about 5 minutes of screen time before he gets his ass kicked and isn't seen until the mid-credit scene to build up a sequel... laaaaaaaaaaaame.
I understand why he didn't have as much presence as Orm, as he is one of the lesser DC villains when comparing to the likes of the Joker of Lex Luthor, but he still felt like an afterthought who was mainly thrown into the film to sell more tickets. Very little of what he does actually matters to the films narrative and he could've saved the Black Manta suit for the next film.
Otherwise, I'm happy to see this film embrace the fact that it's a comic book film. With a character as inherently ridiculous as Aquaman is, it really is surprising that the film treats the character and his lore with such respect and dignity. Even right down to taking the costumes from the comics and translating it into live action. Seeing the orange and green spandex brought to the big screen and have it done in a simultaneously elegant and badass way shows how much the filmmakers really cared about pleasing both the fans and regular audiences. They don't just simply through a bunch of images from the comics for the sake of visual appeal; they integrate it and give a brand new sense of importance and legacy.
This film is what was so desperately needed after such misses like BvS and Justice League. It's fun, well-written, acted wonderfully by the entire cast, and finally gives me that excitement that has so desperately been missing from the DCEU for a very long time. I can finally look forward to seeing more DC movies again without having to just go back and watch Dark Knight for my DC movie fix. So, what's next?
*sees trailer for Shazam*
... At least I'm not groaning in frustration.
Overall rating: 8/10.
Until next time; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!
Sunday, 9 December 2018
My Revelations on Adel
(SPOILER WARNING!!)
I think that I've made it clear in the past that I'm not particularly fond of Kamen Rider Ghost, and one of those reasons was the fact that Adel, the eldest prince of the Ganma World, is one of the worst villains in the entire franchise (that I had seen, at this point; maybe someone in Zi-O will be worse). But one of the reasons why he is such a waste of a villain is his sudden moment of redemption.
Essentially, Takeru is somehow able to forge a connection with him and reminds Adel of his long dead mother and brother, which somehow snaps him out of his stupor and he suddenly doesn't want to be a villain anymore. Thus, while the Ganmaizers somehow overtake Adel's body, Takeru is allowed to deal the finishing blow that kills Adel and somehow he ends up going to Ganma Heaven or wherever the fuck a Ganma goes when they die.
Have I mentioned that this show does not explain ANYTHING about how the Ganma World works?
But yeah, for no reason, Adel is just forgiven of regicide and potential genocide and he's suddenly supposed to be a sympathetic character. This, however, fails, as we were never alluded to the idea that Adel had any form of sympathy or empathy, or even the whole dead relatives thing that in no way relates to Adel's scheme of making everybody him. We were never given the impression that Adel ever regretted his actions throughout the series, and thus never feel sorry for him when he breaks down crying and allows Takeru to kill him.
But of course, this blog is more about a revelation I've had about Adel as well as why he was a terrible villain. Namely, as I've seen this exact character type done before to great effect, with how it was done correctly.
Here's some hints; a prince, themes of death, ideology twisted by sociopathic influences, is revealed to have a tragic back story, is meant to be a figure of sympathy and regret by the end.
You know who that reminds me of?
Yes, really. I've just described, word for word, the characters of both Adel from Ghost and Asriel Dreemurr from Undertale, as both are actually eerily similar.
Ignoring the fact that both Undertale and Ghost were first released in 2015, Asriel and Adel are actually quite similar in their purpose; an all powerful being who wants to change the nature of reality itself. This difference, of course, is that Adel simply does what he does out of his own ego to make everyone him, whilst Asriel wants to constantly reset the timeline so that they always have the chance of facing off against Frisk.
But see, here's where the two continue to diverge, and this will involve spoilers for the True Pacifist Route for Undertale (which I have not addressed yet as I haven't wrote the next part of my Undertale review [it likely isn't coming]). So if you aren't aware of the ending, you have been warned; there are massive spoilers.
Anyways, Asriel is the long dead son of Toriel and Asgore. Sometime before he died, however, he befriended a human that fell into the Underground; Chara. The child was able to convince Asriel to go through a crazy scheme that would involve Chara poisoning themselves and having Asriel absorb their soul so that they can return to the surface, gather six human souls, and return to break the barrier preventing the monsters from returning to the surface. Upon arriving at a village, however, the townsfolk blamed Asriel for Chara's death and attacked him, eventually forcing him to return back to the Underground where he turned to dust, said dust covering Asgore's yellow flowers. One flower, however, was used in Alphys' Determination experiments and thus, life was given to that flower, who would eventually be known by us as Flowey. Flowey retained all of the memories he had when he was Asriel, but was incapable of feeling compassion and empathy. This could be chalked up to him either being a completely soulless monster, or some leftover influence from Chara.
That last point is relevant for later, trust me.
Still, at the end of the True Pacifist Route where everyone finally meets one another and stops the fight between Asgore and Frisk, Flowey shows up; stealing the human souls as well of the souls of every monster in the Underground to finally regain his original form as Asriel, with him beginning his plans to reset the timeline over and over again just so they can play this little game with Frisk (whom he actually believes is Chara).
But do you want to know WHY exactly Asriel is what could've happened if Adel was in any way competently written?
Well, it's namely because Asriel is actually a sympathetic character and evidence in the game show him as more of a victim of the machinations of a sociopath.
See, Asriel himself admits that Chara was not a good person, as they wanted to use the monsters to wipe out humanity and have a semblance of peace. When Asriel carried Chara's soulless body back up to the surface to be laid on a patch of golden flowers, Asriel wasn't the one in control; Chara was. Chara was trying to force Asriel to use their new God-like powers to destroy humanity at their own leisure. Asriel, however, simply refused, which was what lead to his death and his ashes being spread on Asgore's garden. This not only paints Chara as a complete and utter sociopath, but also allows the players to have some of sympathy with Asriel as it's clear that everything he did as Flowey was merely a result of him going insane without the ability to feel any compassion towards other creatures, as well as the left over influence from Chara that twisted his goals into becoming the God of Hyperdeath (yes, really).
Furthermore, even before the revelation in the True Pacifist ending of Flowey being Asriel, we were still allowed the chance to sympathise with Asgore once we learned of the entire reason as to why he wanted to see humanity die; he was grieving over the death of his children and, in a fit of rage, swore to everyone in the Underground that human kind would pay. Heck, even during the Neutral and True Pacifist runs, there were illusions to Asriel's existence and the importance he had in the story.
Namely, after Frisk is left unconscious when they lose Undyne in a fall.
Ignore the "Joseph" bit, that was just the guy playing the game. But I hope that this helps you understand where I'm coming from, right?
This is what culminates in one of the most heart breaking moments in the game, when Frisk realises the main reason why Asriel is trying to RESET the timelines over and over again; it's not because he wants to keep killing Frisk, but because Asriel had yet to truly accept that Chara was truly gone.
Chara was the only friend that Asriel ever had in the Underground, and losing them rocked his world to the core. He wants to be able to relive those memories again and again, even if it meant hurting other people. It was only because he was finally able to feel compassion, thanks to him absorbing all of the Souls in the Underground, that he was able to accept that he was just afraid of really saying goodbye to the person he cared about the most, even when he acknowledges that Chara wasn't really a good person, as they manipulated Asriel into trying to destroy humanity.
But do you want to know what truly sets Asriel apart from Adel? It's this:
He earnestly, and honestly, earned his forgiveness, not through any story contrivances, but through his own machinations with him destroying the Barrier. He earned his redemption, because he actually tried to make amends for everything he has done, at the cost of his own happiness. After he used up all of those Souls, he would eventually turn back into Flowey, but he willingly made that sacrifice for the everyone else's sake.
Which is why, after everything he had gone through and everything he did to earn our forgiveness, I always have Frisk do this:
That simple few seconds of Frisk comforting Asriel is one of the most touching and heartwarming parts of the entire game, as it shows how you're supposed to do the whole "sudden villain redemption" troupe that I often otherwise despise. They built up to this moment, and thus it was earned.
Adel, in comparison to all of this, never deserved anything less than my ire and distrust. It was never alluded to that he missed his family, thus it makes no sense as to why we should suddenly feel sorry for him. There was never a point where Adel realised the error of his ways, but was instead forced by the narrative to suddenly be a crybaby brat. And of course, after he "saw the error of his ways", he never actually did anything to earn our sympathy or forgiveness, as the story was so hastily rushed that Adel never even got the chance to show his change, hence why it's so difficult for the audience to sympathise with him.
In short, everything that was done right with Asriel was done completely wrong with Adel. When an Indie game often derided because of its fanbase can do this story far better than a TV series with themes of death, you know you done fucked it up.
I'm not saying Adel has to be a word for word copy of Asriel; I'm saying that Asriel is an example of how to do the "fallen hero turned to villain" troupe far better.
Still, that's just the revelation I had only recently, maybe other people who've watched Ghost and played Undertale had that revelation before me. For all I know, it could just be me.
But until we next meet; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!
[You have finished reading the review; you are filled with DETERMINATION!]
I think that I've made it clear in the past that I'm not particularly fond of Kamen Rider Ghost, and one of those reasons was the fact that Adel, the eldest prince of the Ganma World, is one of the worst villains in the entire franchise (that I had seen, at this point; maybe someone in Zi-O will be worse). But one of the reasons why he is such a waste of a villain is his sudden moment of redemption.
Essentially, Takeru is somehow able to forge a connection with him and reminds Adel of his long dead mother and brother, which somehow snaps him out of his stupor and he suddenly doesn't want to be a villain anymore. Thus, while the Ganmaizers somehow overtake Adel's body, Takeru is allowed to deal the finishing blow that kills Adel and somehow he ends up going to Ganma Heaven or wherever the fuck a Ganma goes when they die.
Have I mentioned that this show does not explain ANYTHING about how the Ganma World works?
But yeah, for no reason, Adel is just forgiven of regicide and potential genocide and he's suddenly supposed to be a sympathetic character. This, however, fails, as we were never alluded to the idea that Adel had any form of sympathy or empathy, or even the whole dead relatives thing that in no way relates to Adel's scheme of making everybody him. We were never given the impression that Adel ever regretted his actions throughout the series, and thus never feel sorry for him when he breaks down crying and allows Takeru to kill him.
But of course, this blog is more about a revelation I've had about Adel as well as why he was a terrible villain. Namely, as I've seen this exact character type done before to great effect, with how it was done correctly.
Here's some hints; a prince, themes of death, ideology twisted by sociopathic influences, is revealed to have a tragic back story, is meant to be a figure of sympathy and regret by the end.
You know who that reminds me of?
Yes, really. I've just described, word for word, the characters of both Adel from Ghost and Asriel Dreemurr from Undertale, as both are actually eerily similar.
Ignoring the fact that both Undertale and Ghost were first released in 2015, Asriel and Adel are actually quite similar in their purpose; an all powerful being who wants to change the nature of reality itself. This difference, of course, is that Adel simply does what he does out of his own ego to make everyone him, whilst Asriel wants to constantly reset the timeline so that they always have the chance of facing off against Frisk.
But see, here's where the two continue to diverge, and this will involve spoilers for the True Pacifist Route for Undertale (which I have not addressed yet as I haven't wrote the next part of my Undertale review [it likely isn't coming]). So if you aren't aware of the ending, you have been warned; there are massive spoilers.
Anyways, Asriel is the long dead son of Toriel and Asgore. Sometime before he died, however, he befriended a human that fell into the Underground; Chara. The child was able to convince Asriel to go through a crazy scheme that would involve Chara poisoning themselves and having Asriel absorb their soul so that they can return to the surface, gather six human souls, and return to break the barrier preventing the monsters from returning to the surface. Upon arriving at a village, however, the townsfolk blamed Asriel for Chara's death and attacked him, eventually forcing him to return back to the Underground where he turned to dust, said dust covering Asgore's yellow flowers. One flower, however, was used in Alphys' Determination experiments and thus, life was given to that flower, who would eventually be known by us as Flowey. Flowey retained all of the memories he had when he was Asriel, but was incapable of feeling compassion and empathy. This could be chalked up to him either being a completely soulless monster, or some leftover influence from Chara.
That last point is relevant for later, trust me.
Still, at the end of the True Pacifist Route where everyone finally meets one another and stops the fight between Asgore and Frisk, Flowey shows up; stealing the human souls as well of the souls of every monster in the Underground to finally regain his original form as Asriel, with him beginning his plans to reset the timeline over and over again just so they can play this little game with Frisk (whom he actually believes is Chara).
But do you want to know WHY exactly Asriel is what could've happened if Adel was in any way competently written?
Well, it's namely because Asriel is actually a sympathetic character and evidence in the game show him as more of a victim of the machinations of a sociopath.
See, Asriel himself admits that Chara was not a good person, as they wanted to use the monsters to wipe out humanity and have a semblance of peace. When Asriel carried Chara's soulless body back up to the surface to be laid on a patch of golden flowers, Asriel wasn't the one in control; Chara was. Chara was trying to force Asriel to use their new God-like powers to destroy humanity at their own leisure. Asriel, however, simply refused, which was what lead to his death and his ashes being spread on Asgore's garden. This not only paints Chara as a complete and utter sociopath, but also allows the players to have some of sympathy with Asriel as it's clear that everything he did as Flowey was merely a result of him going insane without the ability to feel any compassion towards other creatures, as well as the left over influence from Chara that twisted his goals into becoming the God of Hyperdeath (yes, really).
Furthermore, even before the revelation in the True Pacifist ending of Flowey being Asriel, we were still allowed the chance to sympathise with Asgore once we learned of the entire reason as to why he wanted to see humanity die; he was grieving over the death of his children and, in a fit of rage, swore to everyone in the Underground that human kind would pay. Heck, even during the Neutral and True Pacifist runs, there were illusions to Asriel's existence and the importance he had in the story.
Namely, after Frisk is left unconscious when they lose Undyne in a fall.
Ignore the "Joseph" bit, that was just the guy playing the game. But I hope that this helps you understand where I'm coming from, right?
This is what culminates in one of the most heart breaking moments in the game, when Frisk realises the main reason why Asriel is trying to RESET the timelines over and over again; it's not because he wants to keep killing Frisk, but because Asriel had yet to truly accept that Chara was truly gone.
Chara was the only friend that Asriel ever had in the Underground, and losing them rocked his world to the core. He wants to be able to relive those memories again and again, even if it meant hurting other people. It was only because he was finally able to feel compassion, thanks to him absorbing all of the Souls in the Underground, that he was able to accept that he was just afraid of really saying goodbye to the person he cared about the most, even when he acknowledges that Chara wasn't really a good person, as they manipulated Asriel into trying to destroy humanity.
But do you want to know what truly sets Asriel apart from Adel? It's this:
He earnestly, and honestly, earned his forgiveness, not through any story contrivances, but through his own machinations with him destroying the Barrier. He earned his redemption, because he actually tried to make amends for everything he has done, at the cost of his own happiness. After he used up all of those Souls, he would eventually turn back into Flowey, but he willingly made that sacrifice for the everyone else's sake.
Which is why, after everything he had gone through and everything he did to earn our forgiveness, I always have Frisk do this:
That simple few seconds of Frisk comforting Asriel is one of the most touching and heartwarming parts of the entire game, as it shows how you're supposed to do the whole "sudden villain redemption" troupe that I often otherwise despise. They built up to this moment, and thus it was earned.
Adel, in comparison to all of this, never deserved anything less than my ire and distrust. It was never alluded to that he missed his family, thus it makes no sense as to why we should suddenly feel sorry for him. There was never a point where Adel realised the error of his ways, but was instead forced by the narrative to suddenly be a crybaby brat. And of course, after he "saw the error of his ways", he never actually did anything to earn our sympathy or forgiveness, as the story was so hastily rushed that Adel never even got the chance to show his change, hence why it's so difficult for the audience to sympathise with him.
In short, everything that was done right with Asriel was done completely wrong with Adel. When an Indie game often derided because of its fanbase can do this story far better than a TV series with themes of death, you know you done fucked it up.
I'm not saying Adel has to be a word for word copy of Asriel; I'm saying that Asriel is an example of how to do the "fallen hero turned to villain" troupe far better.
Still, that's just the revelation I had only recently, maybe other people who've watched Ghost and played Undertale had that revelation before me. For all I know, it could just be me.
But until we next meet; this is Callum Lewis, the Media Hood, signing off!
[You have finished reading the review; you are filled with DETERMINATION!]
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