The Slayers Part 5 Episodes 19-22

Much to the shock of Lina and The Slayers, Rezo the Red Priest is still alive…or is he?  Regardless of the mans return, he’s still more dangerous than ever.  Even with the return of Zelgadis and aid from Gourry’s old friend, Sylphiel, the team is way more outmatched than ever.  The only hope of bringing Rezo down for good is to track down his ancient vault and retrieve Rezo’s Legacy, whatever it may be.  It wont be easy as the last of Rezo’s forces stand in the teams way, and theyre the deadliest bunch yet.  The end is in sight and it’s time to settle old scores and, quite possibly, save the world in the process.  The Slayers are on it.

I cant really put it any better than Lina did.  It doesn’t matter if this new Rezo is the original or a clone.  Watching him blow up half off Syraag without much remorse is probably the coldest, darkest moment of Slayers yet.  And this is a Rezo using his own power, no Demon Lord hidden within him (at least not yet).  Though im not sure if, beyond this, I can accept this new emotionless Rezo.  When he appeared last week I was excited, hoping maybe he could make up for some of his lackluster appearances in the first half of the series, especially after Shabranigdo showed up and totally outclassed him.  Now, Rezo’s just a smug smile with a lot of firepower…and that’s about it.  There are still four more episodes to turn him around.  Which is more than I can say for his overzealous fangirl servant Eris, who has done absolutely nothing since she appeared last week and proclaimed herself Rezo’s Number One Fan.  Just what is her connection to the Red Priest and is she in for more than just ultimate power if she finds Rezo’s Legacy?  Yeah not even a cute outfit can forgive any of Eris’ shortcomings and that’s saying a lot coming from me.

But where the main villain and his “number two” have failed, Zangulus made up a lot this week.  He’s always been a blast, whether serious in combat or the comedy department and this week was a good combo of both.  Best of all, it looks like we got a solid conclusion to his arc as he and Gourry faced off in one last duel.  There was no doubt in my mind Gourry was going to win, especially after Lina fibbed about making him dinner if he did come out the victor.  But to see Zangulus take his defeat like a man and offer The Slayers one crucial bit of intel before dipping out, you cant ask for a better resolution to one of the best antagonists of the series.  Heck, Gourry even gave Zangulus his due as a great swordsman.  Here’s hoping Zangulus pops up again in later seasons, especially for his fun banter with Gourry.

As we get ready to head into the end of The Slayers (Season One), it does feel like everything is coming to a head.  While the hunt for “Rezo’s Legacy” dragged on for far too long (especially the cast stuck in a labyrinth led by a deceitful chicken…it’s Slayers just run with it), there was excitement to be found in other spots.  Lina seems to have become quite the leader of the band, coordinating spells and maneuvers utilized all of the teams magic users (theyre up to four now), and she isn’t afraid to step back and let the others get some of the glory when she cant use her most powerful attacks.  It shows growth in her…and gives a good excuse for Zel to kick all kinds of monster ass (seriously, if I had seen this show alongside Dragon Ball Z long ago, id’ve killed to see Zel and Future Trunks team up.  The series even took a moment to shed some light on how far Lina and Gourry have come as a pair.  Last week saw the introduction of Gourry’s old friend Sylphiel, who is basically just a female version of Gourry with poor magic skills and a more airy personality.  She hasn’t contributed much to the tale besides being a conduit to explore a potential Lina and Gourry romance and to reflect on the possibility that she herself might not end up with the dim witted but gallant swordsman.  Sylphiel just isn’t doing it for me and the team feels one magic user too many because of her.  Extra bonus points go to the war of the Chibi Linas and Gourry’s during the cloning machine disaster, showcasing once again that even with a nuclear wizard on the loose, The Slayers still knows when to crack a joke under pressure.

Heading into the final stretch, my feelings are…mixed.  Ive enjoyed this first season for the most part but I cant help but wonder if the best is still to come in later seasons and its really just a matter of getting through these last four episodes and enduring the good (Lina, Gourry, Zel…even Amelia) and the not so good (Rezo, Sylphiel, Eris).  Who knows, next weeks finale might end up surprising me.  We’ll see, one more week to go and then we’ll discuss when were getting to Slayers Next.  See ya then.

Bleach (2018 Live Action)

Ichigo Kurosaki is a high school student with a special gift: he can see spirits.  One night, an encounter with a monster known as a Hollow brings Ichigo face to face with a Soul Reaper named Rukia Kuchiki.  Through a twist of fate, Ichigo gains Rukia’s powers and becomes a Soul Reaper himself.  With Rukia as his mentor, Ichigo begins to embrace his new abilities.  However, great challenges lie ahead for both of these souls.  Ichigo must face a great darkness from his past while Rukia’s own actions threaten her future. All points converge on the ultimate battle between good and evil, with Ichigo and Rukia caught in the middle.  The legendary Shonen Jump classic comes to life at last.

In the vast universe of Anime, Bleach is a title you’d think would be tough to tackle for a live action project.  Based on the long running Manga of the same name, Bleach is a tale that spans multiple worlds on a beyond epic scale and has all points action, comedy and drama.  Taking even a sliver of that to make into a roughly two hour film is a difficult task.  And while I think this film feels a couple years too late (it’s been ages since Bleach was at the height of it’s popularity), the live action Bleach film at least manages to do a better job adapting a beloved story than Fullmetal Alchemist.  It still, however, falls incredibly short of matching the perfections that are Rurouni Kenshin and the Death Note Duology.

The film covers the first arc of the series, the Substitute Soul Reaper Arc.  It’s pretty faithful to the source material, at first, until we get past Ichigo’s first battle.  Then we begin to see things both diverge, merge and clash together.  In a way, it’s not a bad choice to take two of the biggest conflicts of the arc and purge the rest.  It helps make Bleach a little more focused than most live action Anime while also giving the film its own identity to stand apart and focus on telling a stand along tale without setting things up for a long running franchise…yet.  This is helped greatly by the characters and the world they live in.  Rukia, Renji and Byakuya are all dead on in their portrayals but the MVP is definitely Ichigo.  Ichigo is still the all around tough guy with a very strong sense of honor and loyalty and a good heart that made him so endearing in the Anime and Manga (a far cry better than the dismal portrayal of Edward and Alphonse Elric in Fullmetal Alchemist).  His actor gets some of the films best moments (especially in the films climax), even if the film itself isn’t working as well as it could.  I also liked how the battles of the movie played out in a very “secretive” manner, not unlike X-1999.  While warriors are slicing away at monsters, normal humans cant see them and instead believe a natural disaster, like a small tornado, is unfolding.  That was pretty neat and visually, the rest of the movie keeps up.  The Hollows do look terrifying and id be lying if I said seeing the brief glimpse of the Soul Society and Renji’s Zabimaru didn’t leave me wanting more.

However, the story, for all its credit for trying to condense, is where the film falters the most.  While the movie clocks in at about an hour and forty five minutes, Bleach seems to drag on ALOOOOOOTTTT.  For a movie based on an Anime about Reapers hunting Monsters, things couldn’t be more dull for more than 3/4s of the film.  The film lacks a clear energy to keep the viewer engaged, no matter how cool the characters look on screen.  Worse yet, while there are a couple of good action scenes, especially the centerpiece Ichigo vs. Renji, they are few and very far in between.  Seriously, after Ichigo’s first Hollow battle I don’t think we got another action scene til about the one hour mark and even then it was very brief before going back to tons of talking.  There is a sense of urgency brought into the story at about the last act but that should have been something going through the film as a whole.  The pacing is terrible and ruins what Bleach already had going for it which had been lacking in other recent live action Anime adaptations.  Would it have been better had the film tried for a beat for beat retelling of the Anime or Manga and carried the energy those versions had along with it?  I also feel like the movie is coming in a little too late for it to matter in the grand scheme of things.  Like I said, it’s been a long time since Bleach was even in the Anime spotlight along with it’s other two Shonen Jump brethren, Naruto and One Piece (together forming SJ’s Big Three for many years).  I wonder if I would have been more pumped to see more had this come out back during the near apex of the shows popularity.

Bleach has a lot of good going for it with a smart approach to the source material, a great cast and visual style.  However, the smart approach isn’t executed very well and the movie suffers from a lack of action and way too much exposition.  It is a better movie than Fullmetal Alchemist but Bleach could have been a heckuva lot more had it quickened the pace and added more fight scenes (id hoped it would at least rival Gintama, which, despite it’s third act stumble, was a very good time).  I’m kind of mixed on whether or not id want to see more from this version of the story but at the same time, it seems right that the film ends on a stand alone note rather than being prepped to launch another long running live action Anime film franchise.  It’s not the worst attempt to bring one of Anime’s greatest legends to the screen.  It just had a lot of potential to do things a lot better than many recent films had.  But hey…at least everyones swords looked bad ass (which is why I got into Bleach in the first place).

6/10

FIF#60-FLCL: Alternative

High school senior Kana and her best friends: Hijiri, Pets and Mossan, are content just chilling out in their hometown.  The future lies ahead but the present has their full attention and theyre going to live it up how they want.  And then she arrived; a girl with pink hair, a wacky attitude and a penchant for pulling random weapons out of peoples heads.  Haruko Haruhara has arrived and so has the future that Kana and company cant avoid forever.  No one ever said 17 was an easy year to live…especially when you’ve got giant robots coming out of your skull from another dimension.

FLCL: Alternative is set to be the third, and supposedly, final entry in the now FLCL trilogy.  Those of you who managed to catch Toonami’s April Fool’s airing of it’s first episode (in Japanese), id say you were lucky to get a glimpse of future/more FLCL (at the time, not only did I miss it but I was still unsure if more FLCL was a good idea).  Much of what little I heard about Alternative was that it was going to be a whole different beast compared to the supposed direct sequel that was FLCL: Progressive.  Well, now that Episode 1 has come and gone, what are my thoughts on the beginning of FLCL’s final chapter?

Well it certainly does feel different compared to its predecessor.  Kana and her trio of besties have a bit more of an upbeat energy compared to Naota and Hidomi.  The first half of the first episode starts very differently from Progressive.  There are no nightmare sequences, no ones running plowing into a poor kid with a moving vehicle.  Instead, we get a rather tranquil look at the life of Kana, Pets, Hijiri and Mossan.  It does feel like both a slow burn and the furthest from the FLCL vibe of past seasons.  But kind of like Progressive, this new approach helps the series premiere stand out and give a sense as to how greatly things are going to get shaken up when the crazy kicks into overdrive.

While Kana and her friends are the oldest leads thus far in FLCL, being high school seniors, they do seem to behave more like kids than Naota and Hidomi ever did.  The way Kana scoffs at teachers trying to prepare them for post high school grad life is incredibly childish and naive.  Funny enough, the others might just be humoring that world view of hers since they seem to have a sense of direction as to what they might want to do with their lives: Pets as a social media queen, Hijiri as a cute model, and Mossan as an artist.  I did enjoy most of the scenes with these girls together though.  Again, it’s a big change from the dark and brooding atmosphere of Progressive.  Sure it’s not kicking things off at warp speed like the first episode of FLCL did.  But I like the chill of it all.  It’s further helped by The Pillows continuing to provide the greatest rock tunes ever conceived even this late in the FLCL saga.

And what about our resident crazy girl Haruko?  Oh yeah, she’s back and in a big way.  It’ll be interesting to see if the events of Progressive are mentioned in Alternative because Haruko feels very different, despite her zaniness.  As much as she clearly enjoyed teasing Kana about the huge life upheavel  headed her way, she did tell Kana she could just start building her precious group rocket all over again…and not in a demeaning way.  Maybe Haruko has accepted the growth she went through in Progressive.  Or I’m just reading too much into it so soon.  To counter this, yeah, Haruko still gets to kick her fair share of ass in the premiere, with both her fists and a new guitar from Kana’s head.  One thing that stood out was Haruko’s interactions with a man who clearly knows who she is.  This guy appears to work for the same group as Amurao and I wonder if it could be him (the eyebrows do stand out even if theyre not as huge). I’ve heard a rumor he could be another familiar face…but ill stick with my own theory for now.

Overall, FLCL: Alternative takes its time with its premiere to let us hang with the four new protagonists but still lets FLCL do what it does best: crazy action with Haruko Haruhara in the drivers seat.  I liked the lightened atmosphere and the more music we get from The Pillows the better.  That said, if this is the last of FLCL, what is the grand endgame of it all and is everything going to tie together?  Or should I just shut up and enjoy one last ride with my favorite wild child and her kick ass Vespa?  If nothing else, I love the new end theme and welcome the return of mixing Anime with a live action montage of various spots in Japan.  FLCL is back, one more time.  Let’s sit back and enjoy the show.

T5W#161-Top 5 Anime Characters Who Could Take on THE PREDATOR

Predator is one of my all time favorite scifi/action films.  How can it not be?  The action is spectacular, the Predator itself is very unique and cool and, yeah, the one liners and Ahnuld still hold up and rock to this day.  Since the films debut, there have not only been sequels, a new one of which comes out this weekend, but various spin off stories seeing the alien hunter taking on pretty much all pop culture icons from Batman, to Judge Dredd, to Robocop, to even Archie (yes that’s a thing, ive never read it).  Well the Predators had its share of battle with US heroes across the spectrum…but what about the world of Anime?  Surely there are a couple of tough as nails warriors, or people with a mad death wish, willing to battle the greatest trophy hunter in the universe.  Well today im gonna pick five of them id put to the test.  So GET TO DA CHOPPA and get ready for my Top 5 Anime Characters Who Could Take on THE PREDATOR.  One minor rule: im making my choices based on challenge and uniqueness of how creative these guys could take on the Predator.  So OP characters like Saitama and Goku, aka guys who could kill the Predator in One Punch or with a planet sized fireball wont be included.

 

#5-Haruko Haruhara (FLCL)

I had to hold back from making this a guys only kind of list.  Unlike the predator franchise, Anime has plenty of girls just as bad ass as the Govenator who could give The Predator a run for his money.  In the end, I chose Haruko because, unlike most other characters on this list, she’s far more unpredictable and hard to read.  She doesn’t really have a plan that doesn’t involve smacking things around with her guitar until it just stops moving…or something pops out of its head.  And I’d die of laughter seeing The Predator get run into by Haruko’s amazing vespa scooter.

 

#4-Jubei Kibagami (Ninja Scroll)

It’s a shame we’ve never gotten a Predator prequel set in a different time period.  As Predator 2 shows us, these guys have been hunting on Earth for centuries.  So why not see the Predator take on the ultimate historical samurai warriors of the Edo period?  And what better choice than Ninja Scroll’s Jubei, the man who almost single handidly defeated seven devils, all of whom are just as tough, if not tougher, than the Predator himself.  If you ever bothered to see 2010’s Predators, you’ll no doubt remember we got one of the best fight scenes in the franchise where a Yakuza Enforcer battled a Predator with a ceremonial Katana and managed to take it out…that alone is enough proof we need way more of these battles in our lives.

 

#3-Batou (Ghost in the Shell)

It would have been easy to choose Motoko Kusinagi cause she’s the main heroine of this cyberpunk franchise.  But Batou I think is a more fun choice because he’s as close to Schwarzzeneger as you’re gonna get on this list.  He’s got a wide assortment of big guns and explosives, military training, a shotgun in his arm and plenty of wit and one liners to make the Predator feel right at home.  Also, Batou’s spent a lot of time in jungle combat (where all of the action of the first Predator took place). And maybe it’s just me but I wonder if he could find a way to use his hacking abilities to short out the Predators cloak, heat vision mask and nuke device…hey it’s a skill set, he might as well put it to some use.

 

#2-Shunya Kogami (Psycho Pass)

The second I thought about doing this list, Kogami was my first pick.  All throughout the first season of Psycho Pass, this man was able to match both mind and muscles with the best of the worst, especially his eternal rival, Shogo Makashima.  Just seeing Kogami have a workout with high level set battle android shows me he’s always preparing for the ultimate fight.  He might not be able to wax philosophies with The Predator but Kogami’s ability to adapt and outthink the most horrific killers could come be a huge advantage.  Forget the Dominator too, if I want Kogami to take down the Predator, its going to be in a no holds barred fight club cage brawl.

 

#1-Sousuke Sagara (Full Metal Panic)

The Serious Sergant has been known to plan out his battles wayyyyy far in advance.  Besides the more deadly combat he’s been in throughout the franchise, let’s not forget some of the crazier stuff Sousuke did in Full Metal Panic: Fumofuu, like steaking out a spot behind the school for five hours with a sniper rifle thinking he was being led into a duel; and he set up an insane amount of sentry guns to stop Kurtz, Shinji and Onode from peeping into the girls bath at a hotspring.  So how Sousuke would handle things isn’t unlike how Arnold plans out his final battle with the Predator in the first film with old school jungle tactics. Even without his Arm Slave, Sousuke could bring all kinds of pain against the Predator.  For further proof, just wait til I get to Full Metal Panic: Invisible Victory in the fall.  Sousuke proves there he is more than worthy of the title, “Army of One”, the perfect trophy for the Predator.

The Slayers Part 4 Episodes 15-18

With a price on their heads, Lina, Gourry and Amelia make their way to Syraag, and supposedly to whoever put said bounty on their heads.  But the road is long and treacherous.  And with every town on the lookout for them, it means the Slayers aren’t getting any money (or food) any time soon.  There’s no greater threat to the balance of nature than a hungry and broke Lina Inverse.  From fake weddings to stage plays to a mission to exterminate a Sea Dragon, there isn’t much the Slayers are willing to turn down to reach their destination.  And boy are they in for a shock when the true mastermind behind their recent troubles is finally revealed.

This weeks set of episodes is kind of what I expected Slayers to be from the very beginning: various stand alone adventures with tiny hints at a larger plot brewing.  Don’t get me wrong, the first half of the series keeping things more connected wasn’t bad at all.  And while the final destination of the second half of the season might be in sight, the bulk of this weeks episodes, much like last week, were about the journey, not the destination.  Things did get a little repetitive early on, hell even Lina made a comment about the endless attacks by bounty hunters galore.  But there was plenty of fun to be had as well.  After all, even when it’s not on it’s A Game, Slayers is still a show about fun.

There were three stand alone adventures this week that sort of followed the same format in the beginning but still did enough to stand out overall.  Lina being forced into a wedding was fun if only to see Lina in a wedding dress.  Somehow I doubt even an actual marriage for Lina would happen without her blowing something up.  The play reminded me of Avatar: The Last Airbender, specifically the episode where Team Avatar sees a Fire Nation play about their exploits and how wrongly theyre portrayed.  Of course it’s no surprise everyone views Lina as a monster except for Lina herself, which made it all the more entertaining.  My favorite part though was when Lina and Gourry used the final play to their advantage to take down Zangulus and Vrumugun.  Zangulus definitely seemed right at home on a stage…Vrumugun is still as dull as ever so whatever, forget him.  Lastly, we had Lina and Amelia dress up Gourry to look like Usagi Tsukino in order to sneak through a town and defeat a Sea Dragon before they could reach their final destination.  Poor Gourry.  Not only did he get hit on by a hulking swordsman but the same guy also proposed marriage…huh two marriages in one set of episodes, weird.

Things picked up again once we got to Syraag.  Finally, it was time for answers.  And just who did put out the bounty on Lina and Gourry?  Another sorceress named Eris, who is a disciple of Rezo the Red Priest.  Not gonna lie…that feels kind of underwhelming.  If anything, I feel like Eris should have been built up a bit more besides the teeny mentions to her then undefined character by Zangulus and Vrumugun.  Nothing really made her stand out besides her skimpy outfit.  However, this meant we could finally get a true, no holds barred showdown between The Slayers and Team Rezo. Zangulus and Vrumugun’s defeats were both epic, though im not positive Verumugun’s dead cause apparently he can copy himself.  And who did Vrumugun in?  ZEL!!! Hell yes, my man Zelgadis is back and now Team Slayers is complete (also he’s got Crispin Freeman debuting as his longtime voice, so this is even more momentous).

Unfortunately (and I mean this in a good way actually), Zel wasn’t the only returning face….yeah Rezo’s alive.  I should be questioning and denying this return out right but man, a chill ran down my spine when he spoke and emerged.  I know I ragged on Rezo a bit in the first half of the season cause his goals were overkill.  That’s actually why im excited to see him back, this seems like a possible do over (even if he’s probably an impersonator or even a clone).  In any case, Rezo’s return was a big cliffhanger to end an uneven but fun week of Slayers antics.  We’ll see where this heads next week right here on the Gundam Anime Corner.