Godzilla: King of the Monsters

It’s been five years and the world is still reeling from the first appearance of Godzilla.  In that time, the existence of other ginormous creatures, known as Titans, begins to come into public view.  Some, like the organization Monarch, seek to find a way to coexist with the giants.  Others wish to use their power for their own nefarious ends.  An act of despair causes the awakening of one of the greatest Titans of all and sets the world on a course towards extinction.  Once again, Godzilla must arise to face some of his most fearsome rivals: the beautiful Mothra; the fiery Rodan; and the most dangerous of them all, the three headed Dragon, King Ghidorah.  The fate of mankind hangs in the balance as the battle for the title of “King of the Monsters” begins again.

The first thing that popped into my head after finishing Godzilla: King of the Monster was…why did we need the 2014 film in the first place?  I know that movie has its fans and defenders, but I personally felt letdown by Godzilla 2014.  Though it was good to see the big guy looking better than his disatrous 1998 US appearance, Godzilla himself was barely in the film which was more focused with Kick Ass trying to avoid getting crushed by giant monster battles.  Well, King of the Monsters clearly heard that major complaint and more and sought to rectify that.  The end result is a good American version of a more old school Godzilla adventure complete with epic scale battles, human logic that makes no sense even though it tries to sound important, and a much more abundant amount of Big G himself.

 

As I said, the plot of the movie is kind of just there because…well you do need more than just “giant monsters beating the crap out of each other” to justify a little over two hour movie.  To it’s credit, I did enjoy the human cast more than the 2014 film.  The family dynamic between Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga and Millie Bobby Brown had a surprising amount of engaging weight to it, with Bobby Brown especially delivering a great performance showing us she is far more than her star making role on Stranger Things.  There’s some good banter between the new Monarch characters, with Zhang Ziyi (of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Tiger fame) standing out as a lover of the lore of the Titans, she’s kind of a Kaiju Otaku.  We get some familiar faces given much meatier roles.  After being given next to nothing to do than exposit trailer lines in the 2014 film, Ken Watanabe’s Dr. Serizawa is more front and center than ever in King of the Monsters, alongside his returning assistant, Sally Hawkins’ Dr. Graham, and David Stratharin’s Admiral Stenz (though he has less to do than anyone in the film really, which is a shame cause I liked the scenes of him and Watanabe chatting in the 2014 film).

As for the plot, like I said, it feels like a classic Godzilla tale being adapted into a Hollywood blockbuster.  Man’s arrogance thinks it can control the mountain sized Kaiju to bring about some kind of cleansing event for the planet.  The more you listen to one of the villains basically outline their entire evil plan you just wonder…why?  Who would be so dumb as to think they can control Godzilla or any of his giant monster brethren?  It’s a recipe for disaster and feels silly.  This plot is far from 2016’s more historically inspired Shin Godzilla (taking elements from the two big disasters that befell Japan in 2011).  It’s a hard balancing act to find sometimes: trying to focus on Godzilla as the nuclear nightmare while also having epic showdowns between monster rivals.  I’m not saying it cant be done, it’s just not particularly done right here.  The human relationships between Chandler, Watanabe, Bobby Brown, Farmiga and Ziyi pick up some of the slack and offer far more heart than anything involving the Brody family in the previous movie.

 

But forget about people talking.  You know what you came here to see: the fights.  And let me tell you, this is where King of the Monsters really needed to shine in lew of the lack of good fight scenes in the last film and it stepped up big time.  I highly recommend seeing King of the Monsters on the biggest screen possible to appreciate the scale and gravitas of each brawl, chase or simple arrival of a new monster.  I will say that maybe the darkened scenery could have been dialed back so we could see more of the action a lot clearer.  But what is there does impress.  Godzilla’s first showdown with King Ghidorah in Antarctica and the chase between Rodan and Monarch’s Hellicarrier esque vehicle, The Argo, are two of the most stand out spectacles you’ll see on screen.  Then there’s the big climax itself where the battle royale we were promised in the trailers and production reports arrives.  Tack on the much appreciated use of classic Godzilla character themes and you’ve got grand scale battles that must be seen to be believed.  You thought you saw city wide destruction in the 2014 film?  You aint seen nothing until this film takes the Kaiju conflict to a global level.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters has a plot that will make you groan at how dumb humans can really be…which isn’t too off par for the course in a Godzilla film really.  However, the film feels like an entirely different beast than its predecessor.  It’s bigger, faster, better paced, features new and more likeable characters while doing better justice to returning favs.  And Godzilla himself is still a marvel to behold and its exciting to see him clashing with some of his decades old enemies once again, this time in a US feature that doesn’t suck.  King of the Monsters gets the ball rolling fast on the shared Monsterverse of  Legendary Pictures but also manages to be a fun ride all on it’s own (helping it stand out from other films too focused on setting up their own mini universe like The Mummy or The Amazing Spider Man 2).  I wanted more Kaiju clashes and more Godzilla, I got them both and I cannot wait to see how they try to top this when Godzilla vs. Kong arrives next year.  The King is back…hail to the King baby.

8/10

Slayers Try Part 6 Episodes 23-26

It’s finale time isn’t it?  Well yeah you could say that.  Maybe it’s the fact that Darkstar is breaking though into the world.  Maybe it’s that Lina is getting some unexpected reinforcements to shove Darkstar back into his dark dimension.  OR it’s the fact that Darkstar’s final form is a very familiar one.  Whatever it is, Lina, Gourry, Zelgadis, Amelia and Xellos have been here before but the situation has never been as grave as this as Dragon and Demon fire threatens to consume all.  They say “if you cant take the heat, stay out of the kitchen.”  Clearly whoever said that never met Lina Inverse.  She loves the heat and the kitchen will be her conquest…or her reward if she can save the world for a third time.

At the time Slayers Try originally aired its finale in Japan, it would prove to be the end of Slayers for over a decade.  Supposedly there was an original 4^th Season entitled Slayers Again in the works.  But that never came to pass.  So at the time, this was it.  If Lina Inverse and friends weren’t coming back, there needed to be a huge finale, bigger than anything before.  And while the final set of episodes definitely went for the grandest stage of all…they also highlighted just how uneven of a ride Slayers Try has been overall.  For every cool action and character moment, there was always something holding everything back.

After last times look at how everyone who wasn’t Lina, Gourry, Zel, Amelia or Filia could be a villain, it seemed like a cheat for everyone to just say, “screw it, let’s all just be good guys and save the world.”  The only person I think gets a pass in this regard is Xellos because of his unique reasonings.  He’s out to save the world…just so his kind can destroy it themselves.  Otherwise, Xellos and his kind could never call themselves “true monsters.”  Does it make sense?  The more I think about it, it sounds shaky.  But it did put Xellos back in my good graces and Lina was able to give him the pummeling he deserved for knocking her out last time.  Also, cudos to giving a shoutout to the probably much supported Filia/Xellos ship when Filia gave him one more insult and Xellos replied that he was glad to hear that again from her.

So everyone got a Darkstar weapon.  A plan, more or less, was put in place.  But this is the final battle we’re talking about, things could never be so easy.  This time, Valgaav made a long awaited return, fueled by Darkstars power itself, and ready for a huge cleansing act.  Yep, Valgaav wanted some good old death and rebirth action as his final act as villain of Slayers Try.  It feels like a generic villains endgame but Valgaav’s depth and the deeper look into the fate of his people give him a pass.  The only problem with all of this was the overall pacing.  There was only so much slicing and blasting at a demon the size of a continent bearing down that could be done.  And then there were very long pauses to wax philosophies and ideologies and repeat the same prophecy over and over again.   It sucks to say but it dragged everything out longer than it had to be across four episodes.  This could have been wrapped up in three with the final episode being a much needed breather to send The Slayers on their merry way if this was their final season.

One thing I have to talk about with this finale is Filia.  Up until last time, I thought she was the weakest part of Slayers Try.  However, she was forced to drop her hollier than thou attitude and look right at the atrocities her people had committed.  She could no longer stay blind and she stepped up because of it.  Not only did Filia renounce her Priestess status but she also tried to reach Valgaav with greater understanding of his pain.  Im sure that for all the Xellos/Filia supporters, there are equal amount Valgaav/Filia shippers too.  Though I never did see them as romantic (possible though it could be), I do wish that Slayers Try had spent more time looking at Filia and Valgaav’s relationship as it could have been deeper and more fleshed out instead of trying to shove it into the last battle (though it was partly effective).  Luckily Valgaav did get his own happy ending by being reborn into Filia’s care…that’ll make shipping awkward though.  An even stronger moment for Filia was getting Jillas to let go of his vengeance and joi the good team.  At least one absolute wish was granted, Jillas getting a happy ending…though I do hope he goes back to little Tails after helping Filia with her new shop.

Lastly, maybe it was just me, but with all the focus of the final battle being on settling matters of the past of a subtly sad land, The Slayers almost seemed along for the ride instead of being front and center.  Both prior season finales seemed to make better use of the team rather than just standing around and attacking for two seconds before minutes of debate and info dumping.  Sure Lina got the show stealing kill shot on Darkstar and Valgaav…but she still seemed to play a smaller role in her own shows finale…that didn’t sit well with me.  Maybe I was just too focused on how drawn out everything was.  I will say this: I was never eager to see Slayers and Slayers Next reach their ending.  Slayers Try, I was always wondering how much longer they were going to plod things out…that’s sad.  It makes me happy that Slayers Revolution and Evolution-R did eventually arrive because ending the journey of Lina Inverse and The Slayers here would have been kind of a letdown.

Guess we should wrap things up one more time eh?  Slayers Try attempted to ride the success of Slayers Next by changing the landscape and doubling down on the mature storytelling while still trying to be the same comedy that the Anime world fell in love with.  Mostly, it did not work that well.  One of the newest key players in the season, Filia, took way too long to become bearable.  The constant changing of allegiances and motives bogged down a set of otherwise very promising villians (and they still ended up being some of the better ones in all of Slayers so far).  The stand alone adventures teetered back and forth between classic Slayers and attempts to change the comedic formula when it wasn’t broken to begin with.  Luckily, our core merry band of sorcerers, swordsman and monster were as likeable as ever.  Whenever a Slayers show is announced, ill always look forward to more scenes of Lina, Gourry and Amelia fighting for food while Zel moans about it and Xellos chuckles in the background.  Some of Slayers Try did work.  The scale was always amazing, especially when you had Dragons, Monsters and Gods all fighting on the same screen at once.  Lina with the Bow and Arrow of Light was amazing (if terribly underutilized).  They did dig deep into the sad history of the Ancient Dragons and Golden Dragons, something you’d expect more from Record of Lodoss War than Slayers but still.  I just wish we could have seen more of the new world rather than jetting back and forth between the same three temples Legend of Zelda style.  And while the season seemed to get itself on good footing during the excellent mid season cliffhanger, the rest of Slayers Try seemed to struggle afterwards to match that good quality (despite a couple of fun stand alones that followed).

In the end, Slayers Try gets a…6/10.  It’s the weakest season so far for (full pun intended) trying too hard and in the process forgetting about enjoying the journey instead of rushing to get to its end (and even then it dragged a lot).  If it weren’t for the ever enduring energy of Lina, Gourry, Zelgadis, Amelia and Xellos, with a few welcome new additions, this season would be rated much lower.

But is this truly the weakest point for the Slayers franchise?  Well we’ll find that out later this summer when we tackle Slayers Revolution and Slayers Evolution-R back to back, probably after whatever big summer series I decide to tackle.  Til then, see ya on the flipside Lina Inverse…never stop firing those Dragon Slaves or filling your black hole of a belly.

T5W#198-Top 5 Godzilla Movies (Written by JMT 117)

This is going to be kind of hard for me to admit.  As much as I’m a fan of Anime and Japanese cinema…I haven’t seen a lot of Godzilla movies.  Oh sure I know who Godzilla is and I know the names of many of his foes.  When it comes to the King of the Monsters extensive filmography, I am ashamed to say ive only seen a handful.  However, with the long awaited arrival of Godzilla: King of the Monsters at the end of the week, I wanted to do a Godzilla themed Top 5.  As I said though, I haven’t seen many of his films…but I know someone who has.  So, in a first for this blog, today’s Top 5 will be entirely written by my good friend John aka JMT 117.  He is a huge Godzilla fan and it’s thanks to him ive seen some of the aforementioned handful of Godzilla films.  So, without further ado, please enjoy today’s Top 5 Wednesday, Top 5 Godzilla Movies, by special guest writer JMT 117.  And be sure to check back Friday for my review of Godzilla: King of the Monsters.  John, take it away buddy.

#5-Return of Godzilla

‘Godzilla, I thought I’d never hear that name again.’ While I borrow this line from the dubbed Godzilla 1985, it’s a fitting one for the return of the King of the Monsters. Return of Godzilla was made 30-years after Godzilla had first menaced Japan’s big screen. The Heisei Era of films were all released between 1984 and 1995. They were part of a reboot of the Godzilla franchise which stated only the first film, Gojira had taken place. This was done to give the Godzilla franchise some fresh life and shake off some of the silliness of the Showa Era films (much like how comics shifted from the Silver Age to the Bronze/90s Age).

This film sets the plot around the return of Godzilla and how modern Japan (of the mid 80s) deals with the Big G. A lot of Godzilla's behavior and tone for the Heisei Era; Godzilla needing to feed on nuclear energy from nuclear plants or submarines; shifting him more to a force of nature, rather than an allegory for nuclear weapons; and introducing fanciful but for now ‘believable’ items/technology to fight him.

The film isn’t as good as the original. One of the aspects that doesn’t work well here compared to the original film is the weaker characters. I feel like they don’t get much characterization outside of Professor Hayashida. Even he too seems to be at the end of his character journey, as we’re told he once hated Godzilla and studied him to find a means to kill him; but now no longer views Godzilla as a monster. The themes of the film aren’t as strong either, with a general view of Japan’s massive material an economic power of the 80s being humbled by the force of nature, i.e., Godzilla.

Despite being a bit weaker, the film does have its moments. The Japanese convey their position in the Cold War well, during the arguments between the Soviets and Americans on how to respond to Godzilla’s return. While both sides agree nuking Godzilla is the only solution (ironically with the American ambassador declaring his Soviet counterpart being right) the Japanese stand firm against that policy. Japan, having to find the middle ground between the two angry school children. The effects are also well done, and a marked improvement over the latter half of the Showa Era. It’s quite the compelling sight to see Godzilla, while still massive, dwarfed by Tokyo’s massive towers (and equally powerful to see Godzilla destroy these structures).

#4-Shin Godzilla

This is the most recent Godzilla film produced in Japan. Released in 2016, the film was a first for Toho. With all their previous reboots of the King of the Monsters, they had acknowledged that at least the very first film, Gojira, had taken place before the new film. Shin Godzilla, however, was a true reboot, where this was the first time our favorite radioactive lizard had appeared.

The premise of the film is classic Godzilla. A creature mutated by radioactive waste rises from Tokyo Bay and proceeds to bring destruction to Japan. Much like the original Gojira was a product of the time, Shin Godzilla is a reaction to the 2011 Tsunami and resulting nuclear meltdown at the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant caused by the tidal wave. Many in Japan were critical of the Japanese government’s response to the disaster, and it’s no surprise that in the film the Japanese Prime Minister and his cabinet are shown to be indecisive, unimaginative, and in the end suffer for it. While the main character Yaghuchi and his band of misfits are shown to be quick thinking, and their willingness to think outside the box saves the day.

The strengths of the film are a return to the classic theme of Godzilla being a conveyer of destruction. While he’s not quite the living embodiment of the nuclear bomb that the first film portrays, there’s a real sense of Godzilla’s destructive power in the film. Hideaki Anno, the creator of the Neon Genesis Evangelion series, wrote the film, so the apocalyptic gloom at times is conveyed well. Godzilla himself goes through several forms, and his design is reminiscent of the original thoughts for Godzilla, that he’s burned and scared by the atomic blast which created him. The effects are top notch as well, using a mixture of motion capture, models, and CGI. The weakness of the film is way too many characters, which will leave you struggling to remember their names; and they lack characterization. Still, it’s an excellent Godzilla film and a worthy addition to the franchise.

#3-Godzilla vs. Biollante

Godzilla vs. Biollante is the first of the Heisei Era of films to feature Godzilla fighting another monster. A genetic scientist in an effort to preserve his daughter combined her DNA with that of a plant. However, when Godzilla’s pending return causes the plant to be damaged; the scientist blends the weakened plant with some of Godzilla’s DNA. Soon, a new creature Biollante is formed, and she and the King of the Monsters soon clash.

One of the reasons I enjoy this film is Godzilla begins his theme of the Heisei Era, of not being a good guy when another monster is involved. In fact, Godzilla is far more presented as a threat in the movie than Biollante. I prefer this when portraying Godzilla, he’s not on our side, and when Godzilla comes ashore, it’s always a disaster.

I also enjoy this film as there’s more of a serious plot (as serious as you can get with Godzilla fighting a giant plant mutant) than what been used before this point. Our characters in the film have to struggle with foreign agents, rogue companies, and of course Godzilla himself. Another aspect I like about the film is the creation of an original monster. I especially like that genetic engineering was used, as I’ve always seen that as a good science fiction way to make a Kaiju. Plus, the film even has a few shades of Jurassic Park both the novel & film, with characters debating the use of genetic power. Throw in some awesome action pieces (Godzilla vs. the Japanese navy being a fav of mine), and I feel you’ve got a great Godzilla film from this era.

#2-Destroy All Monsters

While the controller of this blog, would like me to slot Godzilla: Final Wars into this slot (no), I prefer the original film which inspired it, Destroy All Monsters. From the Showa Era, this film was originally planned to be the last of the Godzilla films for Toho. As a result, they decided to go all out with this one. Putting as many monsters from their films (including those from outside Godzilla) into the movie, even if just in the background.

The premise is wonderfully perfect for the era. Set in the ‘future’ of 1999, the UN has gotten a major space program going, with bases on the Moon. In addition to that, all the world’s monsters have been collected in Monster Land aka Monster Island. However, the peaceful existence of the monsters is ended, when aliens from between Mars and Jupiter take control of the kaiju. Soon, they’re tearing down Earth’s major cities, and the heroes have to defeat the aliens and get control of the monsters before it’s too late.

I love this movie. It’s just a straight up fest of classic 60s space action, monsters destroying stuff, and a huge monster fight at the end of the film. Godzilla, who had shifted from menace to hero during this time, got to return to his city destroying roots. While the story is silly, the effects are top notch for the time, and it’s a real joy to see so many monsters on film. The reason I rank this above Final Wars is that film feels unnecessarily dreary. It’s fully emphasized in Final Wars that most of humanity has been wiped out, with the world destroyed. While that can work for films, I don’t know; it just rubs me the wrong way. Though I’d credit Final Wars for emphasizing how bad-ass Godzilla is throughout it. Destroy All Monsters, however, has more charm to it. It’s basically the film I say that best sums up the Showa Era.

#1- Gojira (Godzilla)

So yeah, if you didn’t assume this one was going to be the number one choice…I don’t know what to tell you. Gojira is the best of the Godzilla films, due to its serious nature and allegorical storytelling. What you’re watching on screen is not just a giant radioactive fire breathing dinosaur destroying a city, but Japan’s reflection on the Atomic Bombings.

The premise is simple enough. Nuclear testing in the Pacific has awakened a prehistoric monster, irradiating it and the creature soon named Gojira unleashes devastation on Japan. What makes Gojira stand out from the western film that inspired it (The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms) however, is the quality of the story. The characters in the film feel like real people, and that’s even true of the side characters who we don’t stick with. One of my favorite little bits of the background characters is a woman reflecting on the train with her friends on how she’ll need to find a shelter again. Remember, Gojira was made just short of ten years after the end of the Second World War. For the Japanese filmmakers and filmgoers, the memories and very real wounds of that war were still fresh for many.

The imagery of Gojira is just stunning at times. Seeing Tokyo emblazed in flames must have been a powerful sight to the Japanese theatergoers. It’s important to note many of Japan’s cities Japanese were destroyed by B-29 firebombing raids. Tokyo itself suffered terrible from these raids, so seeing their modern (at the time) rebuilt city going up in flames again, must have been sobering. The film also doesn’t pull any punches, showing us people in the buildings before they’re destroyed. Rescue workers cast aside by Godzilla’s raw power. And the most disturbing one, of a mother holding her children as a wall of flame approaches; promising they’ll be with their father soon.

Nothing is played for laughs or treated as childish wish fulfillment of seeing monsters destroy things. In a way, it’s almost a shame Godzilla films became more childish or even kid-friendly as they went forward. A parallel I like to make is the journey of Batman through comics/media to that of Godzilla. Both started out much darker than what they became known as in the 60s and 70s. While it’s a fun show, the 60s Batman TV show and changes made in the Silver Age comics, took the dark nature of Batman away. Same with Godzilla who went from villain to hero. Later, both characters returned to their darker and more serious roots and have generally stayed there since.

If you’re a fan of kaiju films and Godzilla specifically, then you owe it to yourself to see Gojira, preferably in its original Japanese cut and format. The 1956 American adaptation, Godzilla: King of the Monsters is actually a decent adaption, done with the same serious style (it’s basically a film noir Godzilla story if your curious). Raymond Burr delivers a real weight to the film as a narrator, especially his opening lines.

Well, those are what I consider my Top 5 Godzilla films. While I weighed the list heavily to material where Godzilla does not fight other monsters, I feel that at his core; Godzilla should be not on anyone’s side. There’s plenty of monsters out there who protect the planet, Mothra or Gamera. The King of the Monsters should be his own category. Not pure evil but not good, either. He’s Godzilla, and all you can do is stay out of his way.

Slayers Try Part 5 Episodes 19-22

Lina, Gourry, Amelia, Zelgadis and Filia are finally reunited and set to resume their quest to finally destroy Darkstar.  But their quest has now become a race against time.  Almace’s other allies have no qualms about destroying Lina’s world to rid themselves of Darkstar and are just as strong a foe as Almace once was.  That’s right, The Slayers are picking a fight with Gods from the Overworld now and it’s shaping up to be a battle for the ages when Gods, Monsters, Demons and Lina Inverse clash to see who will gain the final key to unlocking Armageddon.

Well you know a situation has gotten really bad when Gourry actually asks the right question for once, “Who are the real bad guys?”  While Slayers Try has done several of the confirmed bad guys a favor and given them genuine depth and motivations for doing what they do, this season seems content to keep trying to one up everything by changing allegiances and shifting the spotlight so much…that yeah you have to wonder just who should Lina and The Slayers really be trying to defeat this season?  In the end, I guess you could say everyone who isn’t Lina, Gourry, Zel, Amelia or Filia deserves an ass kicking, and that definitely includes Xellos now.

One person I hope doesn’t meet a bad end is Jillas.  We discovered that after the mid season battle, the one eyed pyromaniac had found a happy life with a beautiful fox and her son who looks like a cuter version of Tails from Sonic the Hedgehog.  They even had the same Australian accent gifted to Jillas and it was sooooo cute to hear little Tails call him “Uncle”.  But the lull of peace couldn’t outweigh the lull of vengeance.  Jillas wants payback against Lina for her taking his friends away.  It was tear jerking to watch Jillas say goodbye to the people who had saved him but it was also pretty impressive to see him use gunpowder to create a weapon as powerful as the Dragon Slave.  Jillas could be the MVP of Slayers Try where Martina was MVP of Slayers Next.

Besides setting things up for the season finale in grand fashion, this weeks episodes were about examining the sins of the past, especially when it came to Filia’s people.  The Golden Dragons, especially their Grand Elder, had their crimes on full display when The Slayers found their temple where the remains of hundreds of Ancient Dragons like Valgaav still littered it.  It was horrifying and finally got Filia to drop her pompous, righteous attitude and really question the people she had sworn her loyalty to all this time.  If the Golden Dragons are willing to go to such extremes, especially when the Ancient Dragons were just trying to save the world themselves, should we call them the true bad guys of the season?

Then there’s Almace and his other Gods from the Overworld.  Clearly communication isn’t their thing because everyone in this trio had their own agenda.  Eurologos was absolutely gung ho about bringing Darkstar through and just stranding him there to save their world.  The soft spoken Sirius seemed to teeter back and forth (all the while earning the admiration of a girl who was pretty much Aerith from Final Fantasy VII…but that didn’t really go anywhere).  And Almace ended up paying for not being more watchful of his allies by biting the dust at the hands of Eurologos.  The Gods aren’t the good guys either it seems.

And finally Xellos…man I was willing to give him a pass the last time but now he might be edging into unforgivable territory.  In his quest to restore one of his masters, he’s willing to let the world burn and sell out Lina and her friends for good.  It’s almost a wonder that Xellos has never just done this from the start.  Clearly, he’s more powerful than even The Slayers combined and could end any fight in a single attack.  Maybe him holding back is a sign he could still turn things around and return to the uneven line between good and evil despite being on the full side of evil right now.

Jeez with all these double crosses and deep cross examinations, it’s a wonder were even still watching the same series.  It’s hard to judge if we’ll ever return to that great balance of humor and action that makes Slayers Slayers but right now, it’s all about making things as epic as possible.  And when you aren’t trying to keep up with who is and isn’t a bad guy right now, Slayers Try is going for big with scale.  The animation is still just above Season One level right now but it did step it up a notch in several places, such as Gourry’s duel with Eurologos and the Overworld Gods slaughtering hundreds of Golden Dragons.  The fact that we did see hundreds of Golden Dragons flying on screening with tridents and unleashing fire was something I never thought id see outside of Record of Lodoss War.  Oh and Lina getting the last Darkstar weapon, a bow and arrow, was pretty cool too, here’s hoping she keeps that.

For every good thing about this season, there’s always something to shake your head at with Slayers Try and not in a good way.  Things have been pretty uneven til this point and its not fully because of tone issues.  Slayers Next had the same worries with me but made up for it by making the drama really damn great.  Slayers Try is…well trying to hard and now I feel it has to try harder to nail its season finale.  At the very least it looks like we’ll have a battle royale for the ages…and hopefully it’ll just be Lina and friends and Jillas coming out of it in one piece.  Check back this Friday for the Season Finale of Slayers Try.

T5W#197-Top 5 Best Slayers Villains (Season 1-3)

Every hero needs a good villain to stand against, to battle to the bitter end, to triumph over to show that good always wins.  And Lina Inverse knows how to attract the best of the best (or worst of the worst, it’s all the same really).  We’ve reached the halfway mark of Slayers Try (almost the halfway mark of Year of the Slayers) and across 2.5 seasons of adventures, we’ve gotten an incredible rogues gallery of walking time bombs and hilarious evildoers.  This week we’re highlighting some of Lina Inverse’s Rogues Gallery with the Top 5 Best Slayers Villains (Season 1-3).  Goes without saying but in order to qualify, these big or recurring baddies have to have appeared in either The Slayers, Slayers Next or Slayers Try.  Might do a “redux” list later this year when we get to Slayers Revolution and Evolution R but we’ll see.

#5-Red Priest Rezo (The Slayers)

Looking back on my reviews of The Slayers, I thought pretty ill of the Red Priest during his first couple of appearances.  But for all his overblown plans to restore his sight, even if it meant ending the world (like I said, overblown), Rezo and his clone successor stands at the first true big bad of The Slayers franchise.  He also has a personal connection to many side characters and Zelgadis, bringing out some of the more dramatic moments of the series.  Plus he pushed Lina to the brink in their final battle, even nearly killing her.  Flaws or not, Rezo isn’t a guy anyone should ever take lightly.

#4-Zangelus (The Slayers, Slayers Next)

The Anti Gourry.  Zangelus was a perfect rival for Lina’s swordsman bodyguard.  Possibly more capable with a sword, Zangelus matched Gourry’s dimwittedness with his own flair for the dramatic that made him so damn fun to watch whenever he showed up on screen.  He does go through a bit of a redemptive arc and even ends up with another character on this list.  Short lived his tenure as villain might be, I’ll always think of Zangelus as Gourry’s rival and a guy who brought out some of the best fights in Slayers.

#3-Martina (Slayers Next)

Martina doesn’t exactly have the best track record as a villain in Slayers Next.  She actually feels like she’s cut from the same vein as Team Rocket from Pokemon with dozens of schemes that fail in spectacular fashion.  However, Martina is persistent and that makes her so endearing.  Cute character design, perfect comedic timing, a never shakable belief in a “God” she made up (ALL HAIL THE GREAT ZOAMELGUSTA!!!), and her always hilariously golden encounters with Lina made Martina one of the main highlights of Slayers best season to date.  As a reward for all of her misadventures, Martina even got to marry Zangelus and ill admit, I hope we see how theyre doing later down the line in the franchise.

#2-Jillas (Slayers Try)

He may look like Tails from Sonic the Hedgehog with a pirate eyepatch and an Australian accent, but Jilias might just be viable for the MVP award in Slayers Try.  He may be a secondary villain but Jillas has been able to hold off Lina and the Slayers using his mind and his mastery of explosives and firearms.  In a world where magic is the dominant deterent in any battle, Jillas has changed the game with his own man (or Fox?) made creations.  His never questioned loyalty to Valgaav adds further love for this adorable rival of The Slayers, one you always wanna root for when he appears on screen.

#1-Valgaav (Slayers Try)



Besides rocking one of the coolest monster designs (he looks like something out of classic Devilman) and a twin beamed Darkstar Weapon, Valgaav is the first big bad of Slayers with an interesting backstory and motivations for wanting to go after Lina Inverse herself.  Sparred from death by Slayers Next villain Gaav, Valgaav got a second lease on life and extended the courtesy to other down on their luck baddies like Jillas.  When Lina defeated Gaav (though techinally Phibrizzo finished him off in one blow), my favorite Sorcoress took away the one person Valgaav owed everything too.  Plus he’s got a major bone to pick with Filia’s order.  Valgaav has way more depth than Gaav or Rezo and continues to shine in an otherwise so-so (so far) season of Slayers.

Slayers Try Part 4 Episodes 15-18

The world was THIS CLOSE to the end of days.  But the door to Darkstars realm was closed by two mysterious beings and Valgaav was seemingly vanquished.  Should be cause for celebration…except the aftermath of the battle has scattered The Slayers.  Spread out in a world most of them don’t recognize, Lina, Zelgadis and Filia must reunite with Gourry, Amelia and Xellos in order to figure out what to do next.  If Valgaav is gone, what about the other Darkstar weapons?

I know I said I wanted some random adventures in the new land this season but I never expected to get such a mixed bag out of that wish.  One the one hand, yeah, we got four unconnected tales with the team split up and getting into trouble while trying to find their way back to each other.  On the other hand, as much as this was a return to basics for Slayers Try, some quests weren’t as wacky and over the top as they could’ve been.

Splitting up the team wasn’t a bad call and the team ups were a testament to how well everyone can play off each other after two and a half seasons.  While I still think Filia is still annoying, she and Lina were fun to watch while Zelgadis chilled out on the ghost ship playing a guitar…cause he’s just cool like that.  Meanwhile, Gourry found himself at Amelia’s mercy and im sure he’s somehow debating which partner can run him more ragged: Lina by just being herself, or Amelia with her justice obsession.  I was hoping Xellos would end up with Gourry and Amelia but Lina’s right, he comes and goes as he pleases and I doubt he could bring anything more to these episodes…though he could have tried in some regards.

As for the adventures themselves, like I said, a mixed bag.  Lina and Zel trapped in Wonderland went on a bit longer than it needed too and im surprised Lina didn’t just Dragon Slave the whole place sooner than the end.  That and the “pig” who turned out to be a park patron of the popular attraction Lina and Zel were trapped in kind of overstayed his welcome.  On the upside, seeing Lina in an Alice in Wonderland style dress was nice.  Lina really is pretty (though her apparent lack of beauty is still always played for laughs).  Then there was Amelia’s first adventure with Gourry (each set of characters got two episodes to play with).  While ill admit, the forbidden love between a fish girl and a human was better than the boring Warring Kingdoms story a couple weeks back, it still lacked the same kind of manic energy that Slayers is best known for.  Granted we still got to see Amelia and Gourry get in over their heads battling a cool looking Water Dragon.  Still, the love story was a straight up love story without a lot of chuckles, a little unlike Slayers really.

However, there were two rebounds in the waiting.  The Ghost Ship episode was classic Slayers.  Ghosts, creepy interiors and fog, plus the aforementioned Zel on a guitar being chill.  This episode also holds a special place in my heart as it was the first episode of Slayers I think I ever saw when I was younger.  The ending where Lina and Filia realized they ate false maggot ridden food was icing on the cake.  Then there was Amelia and Gourry teaming up with an aged would be Super Sentai team.  Not only did this poke fun at all the usual Power Rangers like tropes (especially dramatic posing with smoke explosions) but it also made me wonder…could this be a vision of Amelia when she gets to this elderly age?  Her obsession with the power of justice made her easy to side with the old folks (even if they were just playing and weren’t really heroes in the end).  It’s both an amusing and worrisome thought.  Amelia has gotten better as a character for me since Season One but id hope she’d know when to hang up the cape and poses when she reaches old age…nah that’s wishful thinking.

There really isn’t a whole lot more to say about this weeks set.  It was very much straight to business with the randomness and when it came time to reunite the gang, Gourry and Zel both remarked on how it might be time to get back to work and the main plot.  I know there wasn’t an immediate answer to where things are going following that explosive mid point finale.  Part of me didn’t care cause I was enjoying the journey and silly sidequests.  Part of me wanted more from them but also is curious about what the status quo will be when the main quest resumes.  Either way, break times over for The Slayers and it’s back to saving the world next week. 

T5W#196-Top 5 Wabash College Anime Memories

This Friday marks a big milestone for me.  On May 17, 2009, exactly ten years ago, I graduated from a small college in Indiana called Wabash College.  Smack dab in the middle of nowhere, this little piece of Midwestern heaven became my home for four years and to this day remains the greatest irony of my life: in the beginning, I didn’t want to go there; in the end, I didn’t want to leave.  So you better believe that there were some formative Anime experiences for me out here, some even I brought about myself.  So to celebrate my 10^th anniversary from college, todays Top 5 Wednesday is dedicated to my ala mater and my Top 5 Wabash College Anime Memories

#5-Special Screening of Appleseed

Wanna say this was…Junior Year.  The Asian Students Society was putting on a series of special screenings for the campus in the spring of 2008.  While I could put their screening of Battle Royale in the spot, im choosing to focus on the Appleseed screening for one reason.  Appleseed isn’t a great film by anymeans: the animation my have been innovative but it wasn’t perfect and the story isn’t any better (I should really review it and its sequels one day).  Most importantly, however, it was one of the few (if only times I can recall) that some group at Wabash did a public screening of an Anime for the campus.  Could they have shown a better flick, oh yeah.  Am I happy I got to see what the rest of my classmen and professors thought of the genre because of it, most definitely.

#4-Code Geass

Thanks to the long extinct Anime Insider Magazine, I first discovered Code Geass and even presented it to one of my Professors seeing as how it might’ve had something to do with a Post Colonial Literature and Theory course I was taking in 2007/2008 (more on that later actually).  The article did some hyping like it did with most shows coming of Japan.  But in the early winter and spring of 2018, I sat down to watch Code Geass’s first season and I was blown away.  I was in a bit of an Anime slump at the time, fearing it was even burnout.  But Code Geass reignited my Anime passions at the right time.   I couldn’t even remember the last time I binge watched an Anime as quickly as I did the first season (maybe Gundam Seed Destiny my Freshman Year).  Anyway, I got up to speed rather quickly and got to follow Season 2 week to week thanks to old school Youtube.  So yeah I got to experience the finale in real time and gush over the brilliant ending.  8 years later, id end up reviewing the entire Code Geass saga right here on my blog.  But nothing will ever top watching that series for the first time in my dorm room over the course of a week or so.

#3-An Impromptu screening of Ghost in the Shell for a Class

One of the first classes I took at Wabash was one focusing on Man and Machine, interactions both in real life and in fiction.  Because Scifi features this kind of subject matter prevalently, it also meant we could check out some movies from time to time.  One day, a classmate was supposed to bring in I, Robot to show us…and he didn’t.  But I had an idea and I chanced it, running back to my dorm and grabbing Ghost in the Shell so we could watch it in our very tight one hour and fifteen minute class time.  That’s right, I saw an excuse to watch Anime during classtime and I took it…no regrets.

#2-Anime Saturdays

No one survives college alone and I have an overwhelming amount of love for my fellow Wabash classmen who helped me adjust to being the farthest distance ive ever been from home for an extended period of time.  Some in particular were key to helping me pass certain classes and I always sought to return the favor.  For one such Freshman who was a bit of a loner anime fan, I introduced the idea of us doing a sort of Anime Saturday, where we’d chill in our dorm and watch a volume of an Anime week after week.  Evangelion, Hellsing, DBZ, we didn’t get through a lot because I was close to the end of my Wabash tenure, but these were fun times.  When I look back on these hangouts now, they kind of were the precursor for this blog (especially my one volume a week rule with reviews).  Guess that’s another one I owe Wabash in general.

#1-Using Fullmetal Alchemist for a Class Presentation

So, remember I when I mentioned that Post Colonial Literature and Theory course?  Well turns out that ended up being one of my favorite courses of my entire Wabash career.  I began to see many of the lessons and themes used outside of the classroom…specifically during a screening of the Fullmetal Alchemist movie, The Conqueror of Shamballa, one night with a group of friends.  This little revelation stuck with me during the following semester. For our “Critical Theory” final, we all had to choose a medium (Movie, TV series, novel etc) and a special kind of theory to use for a ten minute analysis.  I decided to do a Post Colonial Theory analysis of Conqueror of Shamballa and I cant believe how well it worked.  I knew what scenes to sight, I knew where Post Colonial elements mattered to them.  I think I overshot the ten minute mark by almost a minute but im still so proud I was able to look at my favorite entertainment genre and explain it to my class in a unique way.  It’s one of my all time greatest Wabash victories.

Slayers Try Part 3 Episodes 10-14

The Darkstar Weapons.  When these five weapons of powerful light are united, they can bring forth one of the most terrible forces of darkness in existence.  And Gourry Gabriev has been walking around with one his whole life.  Now it’s up to The Slayers to protect it and keep the others out of Valgaav and Almace’s hands.  Easier said then done when warring kingdoms, dangerous temples and Valgaavs ever faithful servants are standing in their way.  Everything comes to a head as Lina and company confront Valgaav once again.  Is there anything they can do to stop the summoning of Lord Darkstar and prevent Filia’s prophecy from coming to pass?

I’ll admit, I was worried going into Slayers Try this week.  At the end of the last set, we kicked off a stand alone adventure that sadly ended up becoming pretty boring and when it continued it decided to throw in some central storyline elements to shake things up when all it did was make me question if some of the feel good magic of Slayers had begun to fade.  What should have been a fun tale about two waring nations and young love played second fiddle to advancing the search for the other Darkstar weapons.  It felt like a big misstep.  I should have known Lina Inverse and the Slayers couldn’t stray totally off course as Slayers Try came back big time after this.

I haven’t had a chance to talk much about Jillas, Valgaavs ever faithful eyepatch sporting fox demon servant.  If it’s one thing I have to credit Slayers Try for, it’s the bonds between the villains.  Jillas and his former Ogre partner were saved by Valgaav in similar fashion to how Valgaav was saved by Gaav.  That kind of loyalty is a good breath of fresh air for one of the weaker aspects of Slayers as a whole, the bad guys.  Jillas got to steal the show this week when he managed to outsmart Lina and the gang and steal Gourry’s sword.  It gave a rather underappretiated (until now) character a chance to prove he’s a great adversary for The Slayers, using smarts, nearly pitting the team against one another and using his bombs to great effect (his weapons and tactics have been a great foil for the magic based skills of Lina’s crew since his introduction in the season premiere). 

Jillas also did the unexpected and drove the team right into an epic mid season finale.  There was a lot to take in and unpack once we reached Valgaav’s HQ.  Xellos’ true monster nature seeped through, turning out some scary moments when he nearly beat Valgaav senseless while cackling.  It’s easy to forget that Xellos has never been a good guy considering how easy going he is around Lina.  But he is a monster and a trickster and he’s hardly on the side of Angels.  In one of the most surprisingly touching moments of all of Slayers, Lina forgiving Xellos for wanting to sell her out to Valgaav didn’t seem all that out of place.  There’s a strange understanding between them, always has been and, somehow, Lina and Xellos can both depend on each other (to a certain degree).  For better or worse, Xellos is a member of The Slayers and that will always count for something.

Then there’s Almace, who was revealed to NOT be a bad guy.  Turns out he was playing the villain because he couldn’t think of a way to get anyone to go along with his rather crazy plan: summon Darkstar so he could destroy him.  It’s a risky plan for sure and logically, no one would go along with it.  Heck, Lina had to remember how quick the Golden Dragons were to sell out another world to keep their own safe.  I like how Lina was all business and rather mature while she heard out Almace’s story and managed to strike a truce with the former Deity.  Even Lina Inverse knows how to step back and take in the facts before its time to blow stuff up.

And man did stuff get blown up…like a lot.  The all or nothing brawl with Valgaav brought out the best Slayers Try has had to offer yet.  The animation stepped up its game after being rather stiff and stilted since the season premiere.  It didn’t feel quite as smooth and fluid as Slayers Next but it was a huge improvement regardless.  Everything from Valgaavs summoning of Darkstar to Lina shooting him with a Dragon Slave point blank in the chest was epic and worth every moment to get here.  Special mention should go to the creature designs once again.  Sure Valgaav’s look matches a lot of the dark angel bad boy style of the 90s.  However, ive always liked his hybrid monster/ancient dragon look.  And Darkstar proves once again that when Slayers wants to make your nightmares come to life…well it can.  Though, the sad trade off is that it looks like Valgaav was willingly atomized by Darkstar before the portal could be sealed (by beings of light?).  So…who’s going to be the big bad for the second half of the season if he is truly gone?

Despite a rough start, Slayers Try brought it’s A Game to one of its biggest events yet and closed things out on a very good cliffhanger, cause Slayers is very good at that.  Lina adrift at sea, the others nowhere to be found?  Whoa can you even imagine a better way to cap off the first half of a rather shaky season?  It might look bleak for Lina but if she needs to locate her comrades one at a time, I might finally get my wish of stand alone adventures in the new world.  Oh yeah, I cant wait to get to next week now.  Slayers Try is finally on the same kind of fire as Slayers Next.  See ya next week.

Pokemon: Detective Pikachu

When Tim Goodman receives word that his father, a famous detective, might be dead, he travels to Ryme City to investigate.  Here, in a city where humans and Pokemon live together as equals, Tim stumbles onto a case involving experimentations that might have gotten his father killed.  He also finds his fathers Pokemon partner: an amnesiac Pikachu that can talk.  With a hunch that Tim’s dad is still alive, Tim joins forces with Pikachu and a beautiful news intern to unravel a lingering web of deception building underneath the utopia that is Ryme City.  Little do Tim and Pikachu know that the search for Tim’s father will soon become a battle for the fate of both mankind and Pokemon…and they are the only hope to save both species.

 

Whether you’ve been into it or not, there’s no denying the impact Pokemon has had on Anime and nerd culture for the last two decades and change.  From the early days on the Gameboy Color to the long running Anime franchise to the somewhat still socially relevant Pokemon Go, this massive army of Pocket Monsters is as synonymous with us all like Disney or Star Wars.  And yeah, it may have taken the better part of 20 years to get a live action Pokemon movie into existence.  However when you consider the colossal failures of the Super Mario Bros. Movie, most of the Resident Evil franchise and the potentially doomed to fail Sonic the Hedgehog movie, I’m happy for the long wait.  It isn’t flawless by any means, but Pokemon: Detective Pikachu is a win nonetheless for anyone who has been a Pokemon fan for even the most fleeting of moments.

 

For this movie to work on any level, Detective Pikachu needed to excel at three things: bringing a fully realized Pokemon world to life; the bond between Tim and the titular detective; and, maybe most importantly, the adorable fluffy detective himself.  Rest assured, all three important factors are the best parts of the entire movie.  My fears the Ryan Reynolds was going to try and go for a more child friendly Deadpool as Pikachu were erased quickly after a couple of minutes with the coffee chugging furball.  Sure, there’s a lot of Reynold’s signature smart ass snark and comebacks but there’s also a great deal of wisdom and care in his performance.  He’s having an absolute blast bring to life one of the most unique portrayals of Pokemon’s signature mascot.  You could imagine talking to him like any normal person while also hugging the crap out of him for being so adorable. And props to the visual effects department, which clearly worked overtime to bring Pikachu and his hundreds of Pokemon brethren to life.  These aren’t some swiftly thrown together visual effects that the actors have to dance around.  Never, for one moment, was I not convinced that Ryme City was a living, breathing Pokemon world plucked right from one of the video games.  The movie begs to be freeze framed every second on Blu Ray in order to play the ultimate game of “Who’s That Pokemon?”  Bulbasaur, Charizard, Jigglypuff, Psyduck, Mr. Mime, freaking Mewtwo.  I had to turn to my sister during the Ryme City intro and just freak out that I was actually seeing a real life Pokemon world on the big screen and it was glorious.

 

Of course, the fully realized onslaught of Pokemon can only get a movie so far if the human actors aren’t up to the task.  While the supporting cast isn’t nearly as strong, Justice Smith as Tim is giving every scene his all from the moment he first appears.  From being a cynical ex-Pokemon fan to his wide eyed freak out at a talking Pikachu to his sadder moments thinking about the family he’s missed all these years, Smith is the very strong third of the beating heart of Detective Pikachu (alongside Pikachu and the world they live in).  This helps the bond between Tim and Pikachu soar.  One second theyre a bickering pair of buddy cops (especially during the movie stealing Mr. Mime interrogation scene), the next they’re having a heart to heart like they’re brothers.  It makes me glad that long time Pokemon hero Ash wasn’t chosen to be the lead character in this film.  Pikachu can bond just as flawlessly with other humans and Tim is one of those great examples.

 

As I said, the supporting cast isn’t nearly up to Reynolds and Smith’s level in the movie.  Kathryn Newton’s Lucy is kind of all over the map with how hyper and serious she tried to be at the same time.  Bill Nighy and Ken Watanabe could have been serviced better with stronger roles too, I really like both of them as actors.  The plot of the movie also tends to get a little familiar.  At times I felt like Detective Pikachu was taking cues from the first Pokemon movie: Mewtwo Strikes Back, though it righted that ship throughout the movie.  There are some twists and turns that, frankly, I saw coming from one of the earliest trailers and the reveals did make me shake my head a little.  Honestly, im not sure how I would have personally corrected some of these nitpicks.  The movie as a whole does feel like it could have been one of the many Anime features in its pacing and overall feel.  I just wish the mystery was less predictable and that the villains of the movie were more memorable.

 

Well folks, I can safely say that despite some nagging flaws, Pokemon: Detective Pikachu does prove that a competent Live Action Video Game movie is possible to make, not just an OK one like Mortal Kombat (though that movie is still a guilty pleasure, the second one is trash).  The story falls a little flat but we’re still looking at Pokemon interacting with humans in a real world setting, something myself and many others have dreamed of seeing ever since we first plugged Pokemon Red and Blue into our Game Boys.  Better yet, the titular gumshoe and his human partner shine the brightest with their bond and character arcs.  Throw on your nostalgia goggles and prepare for a fun trip down memory lane.  Perfect it may not be but that doesn’t mean Pokemon: Detective Pikachu isn’t trying it’s hardest to be the very best…like no one ever was.

7.5/10