Street Fighter II V Part 1 Episodes 1-4

Ryu and Ken are childhood friends and martial arts experts and a reuniting for the first time in years.  After the pair get into a bar room brawl with a tough Air Force fighter named Guile, Ken decides that he and Ryu need to seek more challenging foes. To this end, the pair begin a round the world fighting trip, seeking out the toughest Street Fighters they can find.  Together, Ryu and Ken will hone their skills, strengthen their resolves and get into plenty of trouble along the way.  The world is their battleground and there are no rules…and Ryu and Ken wouldn’t have it any other way.

 

A few months back, I reviewed the feature film adaptation of Street Fighter II.  A good friend of mine mentioned that if I wanted more of what made that movie good, I would enjoy the TV Anime, so I promised her I’d add it to the roster.  And here we are.  Now that the Summer of 2019 is starting to close out, how about we take one more vacation around the world with Ken and Ryu?  Welcome to Street Fighter II V.

 

One complaint I had about the Anime Movie was the fact that the central story wasn’t focused.  You had Chun Li and Guile teaming up to hunt down M. Bison while Ryu searched for a missing Ken and got into some fights along the way.  Sure both converged in the finale but I would rather have gone with one way or the other in terms of which characters to follow (and did wish we’d stuck with Guile and Chun Li all the way).  SFIIV doesn’t look like it’ll have that problem as it makes it clear from the beginning this is Ryu and Ken’s show.  It’s a simple set up too, nothing complex at all: Ken invites Ryu to visit him in the States and after one little fight, they decide to go see the world and get into more little fights.  There isn’t a world to save (yet).  There is just the fight…and the bromance between our two leads.

 

Ryu and Ken are instantly likeable for more than just their ability to kick ass all day and all night.  Their brotherhood is genuine, from their friendly spars to just rough housing around the apartment or dojo of their choice.  Ryu is very much in the Goku vein of hero: super strong, dedicated to training and loves a good meal.  Ken can match Ryu blow for blow but comes with more charm for the ladies and a bottomless pit of a fortune that can land him and Ryu a $20,000 a night penthouse suite for a week.  But thankfully, Ken isn’t one to pay for his victories with cash, he’s more than willing to back up a challenge with his fists.  I actually like that while Ryu and Ken have no problem with low level thugs, getting their butts kicked by Guile solidified that theyre far from the top of the Street Fighter food chain.  The pair have a ways to go before theyre probably anywhere near what they are in the video game, especially since Ryu doesn’t seem to know or have shown us he knows his signature Hadouken technique.

 

Speaking of taking on Guile, if you’ve come here for action you are gonna be right at home if these opening episodes are any indication.  Ryu and Guile’s battle is full of fast paced, bone crunching action, as is pretty much every brawl in the first four episodes.  Much like SFII The Animated Movie, it’s clear that the animators are carefully studying the video game in order to recreate the fighting patterns and signature moves of the diverse cast of characters.  The end result are a slew of crowd pleasing brawls including the aforementioned barfight and Ryu’s endurance match with the worst of the worst in Kowloon City.  This is the kind of action 90’s Anime was best known for and its so much fun to watch.  Man I felt some of those hits and all I can say is…ow.

 

This opening set isn’t without it’s drawbacks.  The first is we don’t get to see what was probably a really amazing fight between a furious Ken and a hungover Guile.  We see them exchange a couple of punches and then cut to Ken recuperating back home.  Really?  We watched an awesome fight with Ryu and Guile earlier on but are denied seeing Ken get payback for his friends beating?  Makes me hope this isn’t the last we see of Guile, though Im sure some familiar faces might only stick around for quick arcs before disappearing.  The second is the latter half of the Kowloon City arc.  On the brightside, we get to see Chun Li in this arc and even though she isn’t rocking her iconic video game costume and is a bit younger than she was in the Animated Movie, Chun Li is still a beauty to behold and a great addition to Ryu and Ken’s adventures.  That said, Chun Li doesn’t really show much of her incredible skill until the end of the arc when she defeats the big boss of Kowloon City.  Up until then, she’s kind of a bystander and damsel in distress while Ryu and Ken clean house in what turns into an Anime version of The Warriors/Escape from New York and Streets of Rage all packed into one.  That doesn’t sound too bad given the setup of the arc itself.  But still, I liked when Ken told Guile that his and Ryu’s code was one on one fights.  Group battles seem a bit out of place but maybe ill get over that.

 

I’ll be honest, Street Fighter II V has been sitting on my shelf for a long, long time and I feel like it’s overdue for both a watch and review from yours truly.  Some flaws aside I think the series is off to a good start and should be packed with lots of guest appearances from Street Fighter II’s roster, nicely animated fight scenes and tons of 90’s cheese to enjoy.  Let the world tour continue…and bring on more Chun Li, I cant wait to see her finally get into a match.

Project A-Ko

Sixteen years after an Alien Spacecraft crashed into Graviton Island, life goes on for the human race.  A-Ko Magami and her best friend C-Ko Kotobuki have just started at a new school and have quickly found themselves on the radar of the beautiful B-Ko Daitokuji, who is determined to win the heart of oddball C-Ko and crush the overly powerful A-Ko.  As their unexpected war threatens to consume their school, a threat from deep space is fast approaching Earth and has it’s sights set on one member of this peculiar trio.  All A-Ko wants to do is be a normal school girl with her best friend.  But between a crazed beautiful genius and her entourage, an Alien invasion and the search for a missing princess from space, that’s easier said than done.

Anime is a medium that has no ceiling and no limits.  It is a sandbox of possibilities and is capable of bringing to life any kind of premise anyone can dream of.  Will it always make sense?  Probably not but sometimes it doesn’t have to so long as your having fun making it and watching it.  Why open this review with that sentiment?  Because it is the best way to sum up Project A-Ko, an over the top and glorious love letter to the best elements of 70’s and 80’s Anime…that just so happened to be made during the heyday of the 80’s.  That means its action packed, loaded with beautiful girls and brought to life with some of the best looking animation in the genre.

If you come into Project A-Ko with any kind of expectations, you’ll either come away surprised, confused, or disappointed.  But hopefully it’s more of the former two of those outcomes in combination, that’s the best way to look at this movie.  There is a central plot brewing in the background but honestly, it’s meant to play second fiddle to what amounts to a series of short skits involving the misadventures of three beautiful high school students, each with their own likeable quirks and scene stealing moments.  The titular A-Ko is a fun loving cutie with superhuman abilities and a penchant for being late (kind of a mish mash of a few very familiar superheroes if you can spot the references…and man are there a lot in general but we’ll get to that).  Her best friend, C-Ko, might look like an overbearing crybaby…and she is BUT her whinning and constant crying never comes off as truly annoying and you love the bond she and A-Ko have, as well as her oblivious reactions to any kind of danger around her (one such instance late in the movie produces one of its most laugh out loud moments).  And then there’s B-Ko, who is easily one of the best and yet creepiest characters here with her beautiful and proper attitude matched only by her hilarious obsession with C-Ko and the lengths she’ll go to win her heart.  When these three share the screen together, you’ll almost forget that there you’re supposed to be worried about the bigger threat heading their way.  Even in the face of an alien invasion, this is A-Ko, B-Ko and C-Ko’s world, everyone else is just living in it.

Project A-Ko could’ve just been about the three main girls getting into various trouble around their school and that would’ve been fine.  But this movie is about blasting away the excess and going full on crazy at the drop of a dime.  Not only do we get A-Ko fighting B-Ko, who’s sporting bikini battle armor (it’s as ridiculous and hot as it sounds), but you’ve also got super powered masculine school girls, insectoids battle fighters being used as projectiles during one of A-Ko’s battles, slick looking fighters charging into battle against a miles long spaceship, missile barrages, sword duels and a bombardment of mecha suits built by B-Ko just to kill A-Ko…yeah there’s a lot and it always feels like steam might come out of your head from all this crazy.  It’s the best kind of crazy though.  Thanks to some absolutely stellar animation, Project A-Ko invites you to the action that never lets up or the absurdity that never tries to justify itself.  It’s just about having fun and making jokes at the expense of Anime classics like Macross and Fist of the North Star.  All of this is done to some amazing sequences that even more modern Anime might have trouble matching and one of the most kick ass soundtracks I have ever heard in an Anime film and should be owned by all fans.

Hoo boy, I feel like ive tried my best to avoid going full blown fanboy with this film.  In truth, I could’ve just written “THIS ANIME IS EPIC AWESOME AND FUN” multiple times and just left it at that.  Project A-Ko isn’t out to be the next great epic like Gundam, Macross or Legend of the Galactic Heroes.  It’s here to have three totally different female leads get into trouble on a galactic scale and God help anyone who is dumb enough to get in the way of their carnage.  If you’re looking for things to make sense, this isn’t the Anime for you.  But if you want a full blown demo of what Anime in the 80s was capable of, aka filmmaking with no limits beyond those of the imagination, then Project A-Ko is the Anime you’ve been waiting all of your life to see.  It’s a love letter to the fandom during one of Animes biggest and most blossoming time periods and I think you’ll fall in love with it too if you give I a chance.  This is Anime, as Neo put it, “Without rules and controls, without borders or boundaries, a world where anything is possible.”  So simply…this is Anime…and a great reminder of why I love this genre so freaking much.  Thanks Project A-Ko.

9.5/10

FIF#85-Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai

Ever since a traumatic “Hospitalization Incident”, Sakuta Azusagawa has been withdrawn and trying to keep a low profile.  That all changes one day when he spots a beautiful girl wandering the library dressed as a Bunny Girl…and no one seems to notice.  This girl is Mai Sakurajima, an upperclassman as Sakuta’s school and a famous child actress.  Mai finds herself drawn to Sakuta as he is one of the few who can see her when the world cannot.  And Sakuta figures Mai’s case relates to a much larger mystery going by the name “Adolescence Syndrome.”  How has this made Mai invisible and how is it connected to various other youths with their own curses?

Well this was…not quite what I expected.  Going into the first episode of this Anime, I wasn’t sure what I was getting into.  But then again it’s easy to get distracted when the central character that’s most advertised is one of the most beautiful girls ever created for recent Anime who also happens to be wearing an eye catching bunny outfit.  Not once did I think I was going to see another boring main male lead who might as well be cousins with Hakuno from Fate/Extra: Last Encore, nor a scifi-ish mystery about disappearing youths or scars attained from vicious internet chats.  In short: Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai is kind of bizarre.

And really, the mystery of the series and Mai Sakurajima herself were the only things holding my interest through the first episode.  Sure the show is pretty to look at.  But when your protagonist is more or less a block of wood with little reaction to the world around him, it’s hard to get attached, even if his behaviour is part of the overall plot (that did become more clear to me as things went on).  Sakuta definitley has a dark past and his sister has had some trauma too.  So it’s hard to look at this series as a romance when there’s some really darker elements maybe creeping around the corner.  Maybe im reading too much into this other than this is one huge and really deep metaphor for real life matters.  And what about Mai?  Well…she’s incredibly cute and feels instantly more likeable than Sakuta.  Even though she seems withdrawn despite the circumstances that have left her invisible, you’ve gotta give a girl cred points for testing a theory by running around in a bunny girl outfit, consequences be damned.  And even when Hakuno…er I mean Sakuta sees her, she takes it in stride.  For a second I thought Mai might hail from a fantasy realm of sorts.  But seeing as how this “Adolescence Syndrome” has popped up with Sakuta, his sister, and various others, the coincidences cant be ignored and Mai might be key to making a break in this mystery.

The questions is: do I want to see more to find that answer?  Welllll…the show might be worth another episode or two but im not certain ill prioritize it to be honest.  Sakuta did show signs that he had more personality to him later in the episode so that could be a sign that things improve for his character.  And Mai is…well Mai and I know for some that could be enough to keep oneself invested in a show with a really long name with a perculiar mystery at the center.  Like I said, this is not what I was expecting when I cued up a show called Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai.  I might dream of Mai Sakurajima but as for watching the rest of the series (and the movie that came out earlier this summer I believe), that we’ll just have to wait and see.

Mind Game

Nishi is an aspiring Manga artist who is this close to losing the love of his life to another man.  Then, one night, he is killed in a hostage situation gone wrong.  What should be the end turns into a new beginning for Nishi when he meets God and gets a second chance at life.  What follows is a journey unlike any other as Nishi and three friends find themselves at first on the run and then lost in a world with no exit.  To find their way back home, these four wayward souls must face their own insecurities and let go of inhibition in order to survive.  Who knows, if they can survive this seemingly unbeatable Mind Game, they might just learn how to have some fun living life to the fullest.

There were multiple times where I was looking at the barrage of insane images brought to me by Mind Game and I wondered “What the heck am I looking at?”  The funny thing about that question was, under normal circumstances, it would mean I wasn’t enjoying the movie.  That was not the case with Mind Game, a trippy, down the Anime rabbit hole experience from the director of Devilman: Crybaby.  Does it rank up there with some of my all time favorite Anime film titles like Akira, Your Name or Ghost in the Shell 2?  Not quite but Mind Game is still an experience im glad I witnessed.

Mind Game is one of those Anime that dares to try asking thoughtful questions about how one approaches life, deals with personal insecurities and becomes a better person with a bit of clarity while also injecting a cocktail of rapid fire imagery that is all experimental and all as trippy as the craziest episode of Panty and Stocking.  If you come away remembering anything from Mind Game, it will be the animation, no ifs, ands or buts.  This is not your typical looking Anime.  If anything its style fits the same vein as say FLCL, though Mind Game is trying to be it’s overall own thing while FLCL was a massive love letter to the Anime medium.  The best way to describe Mind Game’s animation is unpredictable.  One of the most pivotal scenes of the film sees Nishi talking with God, a character who never looks the same for more than a couple of seconds.  If you think you know what might be coming next, I guarantee you, Mind Game will throw you a curveball of an animation trick that you never see coming.  Just be ready to sit back and enjoy (or try to survive) the onslaught of visual mayhem that this film achieves in spades.

Beyond the wall of randomly coated paint, there is a surprisingly sincere story to go with Mind Game.  As I said above, it is asking some good, facts of life type questions in the middle of all the crazy.  Nishi, Myon, Yan and the Old Man all have their own trials to overcome at the start of the film and are all given ample time to develop as characters…well almost everyone.  I feel like between the sad life story of Old Man and the blossoming romance between Nishi and Myon, Yan kind of becomes the odd girl out.  Sure she has some outrageous moments but I never felt like we learned quite what made her tick like the other three members of her party.  But everyone does get their moment to shine, especially Nishi, who not only talks with God and provides the film with an unwavering sense of childlike optimism…he’s also responsible for several of Mind Game’s best moments including one of the best gun sequences in all of Anime you’ll have to see to believe.  Overall though, everyone starts at a pretty low point in their lives and Mind Game gives you plenty of reason to cheer them on and hope that they’ll escape their personal and shared prisons.

I feel like Mind Game should be hailed as a perfect product of Anime genius for the animation alone.  However, I don’t think it’s without its flaws.  I’ve already discussed Yan’s lack of true character exploration.  I do think the erratic pacing and constantly changing animation does take a little bit to get used to and some of the timeline jumping kind of had me lost, though I’m sure that was intentional.  But most of me knows that this is both a thinking mans Anime and an Anime not meant to be analyzed too deeply.  Mind Game feels like a passion project that has a destination even if the map is all over the place.  The messages of never giving up even when life hits rock bottom are powerful and very heartfelt.  You do have to wade your way through some visuals that will leave you asking that same question I asked at the start of this review.  But, for me, Mind Game accomplishes a lot and I don’t think it’s a story that could be told in any other medium other than Anime (Ralph Bashki maybe?).  It’s not perfection but it is a fun experiment to check out at least once.  If nothing else…Mind Game is one helluva ride through the mad house of Anime…one you’ll never forget.

9/10

T5W#207-Top 5 Otakon 2019 Moments

In ways, it’s easy to think of Otakon 2019 as “just ok”.  Some panels weren’t so stellar (a couple were downright awful) and a few of the photoshoots lacked the magical punch they usually do despite a larger venue (albiet without the cool background view and light of the city).  And yet, there’s so much that went right when things went right.  In fact, I had a lot of trouble narrowing down 5 precise things because I easily came up with a much higher number when I started jotting down options.  From amazing roommates to panels that were actually fun and hilarious to some new kind of experiences in the game room, Otakon 2019 definitley left a smile on my face when it came time to part ways (though it still doesn’t match the dizzying heights of Katsucon 2018).  So, without further ado, I give you my Top 5 Otakon 2019 Moments.

#5-Date’s Yandere Panel/Craziest Anime Deaths

These two panels tied for the this spot because both of them saved me from a Friday night and early afternoon of subpar or boring panels.  My good friend and roommate DJ Date Masamune brought her ever awesome brand of harsh language education to the subject of Yanderes.  She touched on plenty of greatest hits psycho cuties from Code Geass to School Days to Higurashi.  Of course, clips of all three of those examples were shared, eliciting some great reactions from everyone present (pretty sure the room was packed to capacity).  I followed that up with Craziest Anime Deaths, which gave the people exactly what they wanted.  And they didn’t have to be extremely gory choices either.  Some went for style points like two perfect headshots…actually make that 3 cause we did get to see Char Aznable blow off Kycillia Zabi’s head with a rocket launcher.  But nothing and I mean NOTHING could prepare us for seeing a Polar Bear get into Mortal Kombat with a demon…and then crush it in half with the most epic bearhug…that’s what I did with my Friday night.

#4-Manly Battleships Game Show

Unfortunately, the ultimate comedians/deep analyzers of Anime and Fandom, Manly Battleships, didn’t get an 18+ Panel this year.  Confusing as this was, Panda and his team still had a great panel for Saturday night, a game show that was all about gaming.  Contestants were given random challenges to complete in random games…all from the beginning of the earliest days of console gaming: Atari 2600, 7200 and NES.  This also meant taking on some of the hardest video games of all time: Silver Surfer, Ninja Turtles, Ninja Gaiden, Contra, Donkey Kong and that’s only the NES titles.  The end result was a great time where the audience cheering on (or ridiculing) some of the most epic attempts at gaming ever.  Whether you supported them or playfully Booed them, the people who took to the stage were brave souls for even attempting these battles of the ages (thank God no one picked Battletoads, that would have been a nightmare).

#3-Ninja: PS4 Wand Edition

So just to clarify…I have no idea what the heck this game was called and I never bothered to ask.  Ive never really had a full blown night of fun in the Otakon Game Room, mostly cause I was having fun in other places.  This little experience, however, more than matched some of the best nights ive had in the Katsucon Game Room with Just Dance.  The game involved keeping your wand from turning red from too much movement.  This meant moving in tandem with awesome music and trying to avoid getting bumped into or slapped by opposing players (up to 7 could play at a time).  Yours truly sucked at it but the regularly rotating roster of players for the hour I played were all great sports and anyone was welcome from seasoned veterans to massive giants to even some ever eager kids.  We all laughed and had a blast…oh and Rock Band was playing Fat Bottom Girls not far from us and that Queen song is one of my favs, so I was happy.

#2-Dejavudea Reunion

It wouldn’t be an Otakon Top 5 list or Otakon in general without an appearance from one of my favorite vloggers, Dejavudea.  She’s been pretty quiet on the vlog and social media front for reasons that at hers to explain alone.  I will say that when I heard about them, I message a promise of one thing: it didn’t matter if we got to chat and see each other super long, all I wanted to do was give her a hug and I made good on that promise.  Running into her on route to the Dealers Room, the tired Dejavudea smiled as always and we had a hug that lasted about 10 seconds (maybe 15?).  We of course said hi but very little was said and nothing really had to be said.  This girl is such an awesome part of my con going experience that just getting one of her amazing smiles is more than enough.  Running into her also clued me into a Final Fantasy XIV shoot the next day that was pretty fun too.  In small doses or at large events, Dejavudea is always one of the brightest stars of my Anime universe.

#1-Sarah Comes to Otakon

I am forever greatful for the friends ive made at Otakon and Katsucon.  Many of them I see as dearest family and have told them as such.  However, for years ive tried (and only succeeded once) to get some of my non Anime friends to attend Otakon with me and for the better part of a decade I’ve failed…until this year.  Sarah is one of my best and closest friends from Baltimore, now living in DC, and she is a fun nerd who has influenced many things ive gotten into over the last few years.  When I confirmed for her that Otakon was doing day passes and she said she’d like to attend on Saturday, it was something more than a triumph.   Got to show one of my best friends a world I only get to visit once or twice a year, a place where I am at my truest, happiest self.  And the best part?  Sarah was always interested in what to check out next as I gave her the tour.  She even took lead when we got to the Dealer’s Room, giving me a more in depth look at the new kingdom better than ever before.  She might’ve bought me a Kakegurui shirt as a gift…but the true gift was Sarah being there, def making those few hours of Otakon a landmark event.