The Legend of Korra Episodes 1 & 2

 After several years, Avatar is finally getting a sequel. I for one, never really wanted a sequel, and was somewhat hesitant to jump on the Korra bandwagon initially. When I saw the first trailer a year ago, I was quickly hyped for my return the world of Avatar. Does the show live up to the hype though?

 I wasn't the biggest fan of the original Avatar. It was pretty good, but I never really devoted time to it. I was kind of growing out of cartoons targeted at children, even though I have went right back to watching them when I got older and pulled my head out of my ass. I did watch most if not all of the episodes of the original and would have enjoyed it a lot more if it was released today. I'm going into the show with a little less bias than most fans of the original, because I never got around to rewatching the original to truly enjoy it. The Legend of Korra is fantastic though.

 The Legend of Korra is a really good children's action show. The series takes place 70 years after the original, with Katara as the only surviving member of the original crew. Before their deaths, Suko and Aang have turned the fire nations into Republic City, a place for benders to live. Korra is the new incarnation of the Avatar, and is somewhat similar to Aang, but also totally different. The show is now set to the back drop of Hong Kong and Manhattan in the 1930s'. The series picks up with Korra already knowing three of the four elements, and only needs to learn how to bend air. The streets of Republic City are also on the verge of collapse with hostility between the non-benders and the benders.

 The new setting leads to more varied soundtracks, battle scenes, and themes. The Legend of Korra deals with the themes of class war, and the power the upper have over the lower. The benders use their powers to control the non-benders out of fear. This leads to public protest from non-benders demanding that they do something about the benders. This has the potential to be developed very well, and seems to be the unkown villian's motivation.

 The soundtrack is a mix of oriental instruments, and jazz. The jazz plays over most action scenes, and is highly reminiscent of Cowboy Bebop. The music fits the setting, and is energetic enough to elevate the scenes of action to make them intense.

 The animation is also done very well, and is top-notch for a television series. The action scenes in particular flow very well and look very fluid. The action doesn't look choppy and is very fast paced. The scenes flow like a live action martial arts film. The slower scenes also look decent, and are done with enough care that they don't ruin the mood of the scene. The scenery is also very grand, and high quality. The scenery also never clashes with the characters and it all blends very well. The character designs also look good, and fit with the series. They maintain the anime style, and mix the old Hindu and Budhist designs with a 1930s' noir gangster design. The two mends together to give a fell of the show and never seem out of place.

 The action scenes are very creative and exciting. The battles use a good mix of bending, and martial arts. They are also quite fast, and don't feel sluggish. The use of bending has always been a blessing for comeing up with clever action sequences, and are use to a decent effect in The Legend of Korra. Having a new setting has also lead to some exciting chase scenes involving cars, and a polar-bear-dog, which have potential to be very creative.

 The new characters seem to be likable, but most of them have had very little screen time to devlop yet. Mako the fire bender, voiced by Bud from Married With Children, is just the quite badass, and will most likely get with Korra near the end. His brother Bolin, the earth bender, is popular with the ladies, and is friendly with Korra from the start. Both of them play on a probending team, and bend for sport. Tenzin is Aang and Katara's son, and is a calm and collected air bender. He does seem to have a bit of temper when people make a mock of his bending practises. The titular Korra has had the most time develop over the two episodes. She is brash, quick tempered and impatient. She wants to know how do something, and she wants know how the instant. She has no intention on learning about the spirit, and just wants to learn how to fight. She's similar to Aang in the way that she is childish, but also radically different in the details. Other characters appear but do so little, it's impossible to alk about them.

 Overall I enjoyed The Legend of Korra great deal, and will most likely be rewatching the original series while I watch Korra. The animation, action and music are all superb, and the rest has potential to be one of the truly great action series. The Legend of Korra lives up to the hype.

The Whole Head of Gurren Lagann

 I finished Gurren Lagann a few days ago, and I can make my final conclusion on this rollercoaster of robots and explosions. What a fantastic rollercoaster ride it was.

 Since I'm a slowpoke and just finished this series, this "review" is not going to be relevant in the slightest to most people, but I want to write about it, because I said so. The show got a hell of a lot more entertaining after the timeskip, where it just becomes a huge mass of tropes and cliche that I can't help but love it. The show is very well made, but every single one of its ideas are taken from other sources. Gurren Lagann takes these ideas, paints them red, sticks fire decals to the side, and revs up the engine to max speed. The end result is an exciting homage to classic mecha shows from the last 30 years.

 After the events of episode 15, the series jumps seven years starting with episode 17. During this time, Simon becomes the supreme commander of the Earth, and the humans are living in peace. Simon and Rossiu worry about the prophecy told by Lord Genome at the end of the first part, and are forced to keep track of the human population. This puts pressure on both them, and as the millionth child is born, Nia goes missing, and fortells of the destruction of the planet. It's up to Simon and team Dai-Gurren to save the planet.

 This second half has pretty much the exact same cast as the pre-timeskip, with minimal changes among them. Simon is more Kamina like. Yoko has a semblance of a personality, instead of being walking cleavage. Nia is barely seen, and the rest of team Dia-Gurren do very little out of character. Rossiu and Kinon have the most drastic change however. Kinon is no longer the quiet girl from before. She's now assertive and seems to have an unhealthy devotion to Rossiu. Rossiu is not to different personality wise, but acts much more drastically than before, and is essentially one of the villian for the first half of this arc. Viral returns, but not in the way you would expect.

 Again like the last part, it brings up some cool themes, but never goes anywhere with them. It doesn't matter though, because that's not what makes Gurren Lagann great a series. I went in with the wrong expectations. I went in expecting something meaty to latch onto and disect, but I should have went in with some sunglasses, and to get ready for some intense action. The action in the second half, is so over-the-top it is truly a sight to see. Most of the show is a homage other super-robot shows through the fights and settings, but it doesn't make them any less amazing. The final fight in particular is so insane, that you can't help but be pumped. The show will always leave one on the edge of their seat and anticipate the next episode.

 The animation as usual is top-notch. The fight scenes are all very fluid and flow with finese, which is rare in a Japanese series, which usually look sub-par compared the the US. The crisp and clean animation makes the the combat much more exciting, and the little details help elevate even the dramatic scenes.

 One problem, which is also a blessing, is that Gurren Lagann is not very original. Everything is a homage to other mecha shows, and it's written on tropes and cliché. This is also the saving grace of the series, because it's what makes it fun. It's not caught up with teaching a message, or being deep. It just wants to be fun, like the shows it loves. It doesn't want to be Neon Genessis Evangelion, and be a convoluted mess. It would much rather be like Getter Robot and be fun.

Overall, I really enjoyed Gurren Lagann. It didn't have a deep plot or character development, but it was entertaining, which is the job of entertainment. I would much rather watch something entertaining than something deep and boring. The writers clearly had a love for the genre, and it shows throughout the work. It's what helps the show become what it is, and it is entertaining.

Back to the Origins of Rayman Origins

 Rayman finally returns to his 2D origins in Rayman Origins. After years of being Ubisoft's bitch and playing second in command to those Rabbids, he finally gets another game. What a glorious game it is.

 Rayman Origins is a return to form for our limbess hero. It's the long awaited sequel fans of the original wanted, but never got. Even though Rayman 2 was great, it never felt as good as the first Rayman to me. I always preferred 2D platformers to 3D platformers as a whole. There's something about running to the right dodging everything in your way that is strangely satisfying. I have had a lot of fun with 3D platformers as well, and even rank a few in my favourite games of all time list, but I can name more 2D platformers than 3D ones that I have liked. I can also safely say that Rayman Origins deserves a place on my list of great 2D platformers. It is quite possibly the best 2D platformer of the generation, just rivalling Donkey Kong Country Returns.

 The story if you can call it that, is done in a 16-bit SNES/Sega Genesis way where it's just an excuse to have the character run across various themed worlds. Rayman and his buddies are too loud, and bother an old dead woman in the Land of the Livid Dead, and summons the darktoons to imprison everything in the Glade of Dreams. No one really cares, and it's not really in the game except for a few cinematics. It's mostly there just to give light context for why Rayman would be jumping on giant watermelon.

 Rayman Origins is a 2D platformers in the purest use of the term. You run, jump, and collect various hidden collectables to unlock more levels to run, jump, and collect various hidden collectables in. What sets Origins apart from other co-op platformers, is the animation. Ubisoft has used their new UbiArt technology to put and emphasis on hand-drawn visuals, and the visuals are stunning. The game is brimming with colourful and detailed worlds. As well as fantastic character animations that look like you're watching an animated feature instead of a game. Normally I would be against something like this, but it never gets in the way of the game. Unlike Metal Gear Solid 4, which wants you to look and not touch, Rayman Origins want you hands-on at all times.

 The controls are incredibly precise, and require you to pull off most later levels with such finese, that almost everything put in the game was in there on purpose. Every jump, enemy, and platform are put in just a spot to let you create a precise acrobatic show that it's very impressive. The level design is so well thought out, that after a while, you can clear a level without ever breaking momentum. The game makes you to use every power Rayman learns, but it never feels forced, or unwanted. you never use one power far too much, that it gets to the point of boredom. There are also the signature mosquito stages that play like an old bullet hell game from the 90s.

 The game may sound easy, but the game is anything but. It's not hard, but it's not easy either. The difficulty is like an easier version of Super Meat Boy, where you will spend numerous lives on the level trying to perfect that one jump, but it never feels frustrating. The abandonment of lives is the main reason the game can pull off such feat. You never lose several lives in one area and gameover, which leads to a lot less anger and quiting from the player.

 The worlds are all very well designed, and imaginative. All of the worlds are very oddly themed, like a traditional platformer. You have the forest level, music level, food level, ice level, water level, etc. Although these kinds of areas are done to death, they never feel old. They always feel interesting and strange, even though we have seen them so many times before.

 The soundtrack is also a God send. The soundtrack has so many catchy tunes, that you will find yourself humming them long after you're done playing. Each world uses music and instruments that fit the setting of the area.

 The game also features four player co-op, but that's no longer new or interesting. Every 2D platformer is doing that now, it is implemented better in Origins than most others. Little Big Planet for example, had the shared lifebar, that would lead to new players wasting all of the lives the others had, which just caused problems. Super Mario Bros. Wii had all of the character made out of rubber and caused them to bounce all over the place, which also caused many feuds among friends. Rayman Origins does none of this, which makes it better to play with others, but you can hit your friends. There were numerous times where we smacked each other mid-air, which caused both of us to die. If you can look past that one little thing, multiplayer is great fun.

 Overall, Rayman Origins is one of the best 2D platformers this generation, and I would even place it on an all time best list. The game controls great, has fantastic music, and imagative worlds. It's almost the perfect platformer, but only almost. The game just recently was released on Steam and the Vita, and has been released on the 360, Wii, and PS3 for some time. I would highly recommend this to all fans of platformers, young and old.

The First Face of Gurren Lagann

 So I just finished watching the first part of Gurren Lagann. I know I'm late by half a decade, but it came out at a time where I treated Japanese animation with hostility. I have finally gotten around to what has been dubbed "the greatest mecha production ever created," by that obese girl at your local anime club. I'm also going to assume you have watched Gurren Lagann already, or at least knows what happens in the eighth episode, because I will be discussing them later on. I'll put up a spoiler warning, but I doubt many will care.

 My main problem going into Gurren Lagann was the hype. The show grabbed millions of weaboos by the balls and gave them the greatest orgasm of their lives, making them think that this is the greatest achievement in animation since animation was created. I laugh at these people. I laugh right in there face and tell them that they are wrong. The show is good, hell it's great, but it's not great for the reasons they claim. The show is not deep, and the story is shallow. I don't know if all of the great plot comes in the second part, but so far it's just a fun mecha show, and that's all I want.

 I went in expecting Gurren Lagann to be edgy garbage like Elfen Lied, but I was surprised. The show is just a wild romp through a world where humans have resorted to living underground. A digger boy named Simon, lives in the underground Jeeha village. He digs to help the village expand, but is constantly bombarded by earthquakes. Simon is made fun of in his village, and is shunned from most people, with the exception of Kamina. Kamina acts like a big brother to Simon, and has always dreamed of going to the surface, but is often punished for his attempts to breakthrough. One day while digging, Simon finds a giant mechanical face in the ground, and wants to show Kamina. While trying to show Kamina, another large face, known as a Gunman, falls through the cieling, and starts to destroy the village. Simon then pilots the mini-Gunman and defeats the giant Gunman with the help of the barely dressed woman Yoko. Together the three of them with the help of a mechanic name Leeron, they set forth to stop the person sending these Gunman to kill the humans.

 The fun comes from the characters they meet, and adventures they have, not the actual goal. The plot does become interesting after episode eight, where it basically turns into an unpretentious version of Neon Genesis Evangelion. The comparisons to Neon Genesis make sense, because both shows are by the same studio. Simon's character development is also similar to that of Shinji, but Simon doesn't make me want to slit my wrist. The show also isn't trying to shove its ambitiousness down you throat screaming, "look at me I'm so deep!" Gurren Lagann does touch on some interesting themes, but it doesn't really explore them or do anything at all with them, but I prefer it this way. If I wanted a philosophy lesson, I would have taken a course on it, or watched Neon Genesis again.

 One of the shows best parts is the characters. So far, the characters don't really develop with the exception of Simon, but they're still fun, over-the-top and full of personality. Kamina is mainly the embodiement of masculinity, and serves as an older brother role for Simon. Yoko is Kamina's love interest, and is in the show to move the plot occasionally, but is mainly there for fanservice. Leeron is the stereotypical homosexual, which is amped up in the English version of the show. Leeron is actually one of my favourite characters, because he is surprisingly the most competent of the whole cast, and is a source of much of the show humour, even if he only has one joke. The other characters introduced later, such as Kittan and Rossiu, are both fun as well. Kittan is basically a blonde Kamina, and Rossiu is the patient priest. Both characters get their fair share of screentime, and are fun to watch. Nia introduced later on, is one of the worst mary sues I have seen in a while. She is perfect in everyway, and it's just horrible. I'm calling it now, that something happens in part two that will cause a huge character shift. Viral, one of the main villians, doesn't do much besides fight for his honour, but has potential to be great. The rest of the cast, barely get enough screen time for the audience to remember their names. They're only in the battles, and then never seen again.

 The music is another one of the flaws of the show. The music isn't bad, it's just generic. I know I will get shit on for this, but all of the music in the show is generic metal and rap. There's one instrumental song that fits the mood of the battle, but most of the time they use some Japanese heavy metal song that just isn't exciting. Or they use "row row fight da powa," which has quickly become one of my most hated battle songs. The opening and ending songs are catchy though.

 The voice acting in the English version is surprisingly good. I grew up in a time where all dubs were trash put together by a homeless man in a dumpster, but the majority have improved greatly with time. A majority of the voices fit the characters, they emote well, and they time their sentances properly. I don't know Japanese, so I can't comment if the voice acting is good, but they do emote and the voices fit the characters. I can't say whether it's good or not, since there are too many factors in voice acting that you can't grasp without being fluent in the given language. I'd say watch it either sub or dub, the dub script is the identical to the sub, but occasionally rewords the dialogue to sound natural in English. Just don't expect Cowboy Bebop levels of quality.

 The animation in the show is fantastic for a Japanese animated series. My problem with Japanese series, is that they are usually animated very poorly and flat. They rarely follow the basic principles of animation. I have come to understand is that Japanese animators have very low budgets and tight deadlines, causing the quality to drop. With the exception of episode four, which looks like someone wiped their ass with the cels and called it a day, the show is actually animated very well, and does not feel flat. The mech battles in particular reach FLCL levels of quality and look stunning. The animation helps ramp up the battles to a brilliant level of intensity. The battles are a spectacle and are the selling point of the show. They are fun, imaganitive, and over-the-top. What else could you ask for in a show about giant robots.

 It's now spoiler time, so if you're the one person who hasn't watched Gurren Lagann, I suggest you skip this next paragraph, unless you have seen the first part, or know what happens in episode eight.

 The plot doesn't become very interesting until episode eight, where a huge battle entails, and you have people all around stealing Gunmen and helping fight the beastmen. The reason that this becomes interesting, is because they kill off one of the main characters. Kamina is killed in combat, and is now the driving force of the show. It's interesting the way they do this, because he's what has been keeping Simon together this whole time. This event cause Simon to lose self control, which leads to the next few episodes being about Simon's self discovery. Kamina is seen as the definition of manhood for Simon, so when Kamina dies, it's as if Simon's manhood has died with him. Simon has a short mental breakdown, where he claims that he will never be like Kamina. This is the part where Simon learns what it means to truly become a man. He learns it had nothing to do with Kamina's attitude, or ability. He realizes that it's about taking responsability, and protecting the people that rely on you. This is Simon's first transition into manhood. This whole character arc is done well, and does not overstay its welcome. This is also when they introduce Nia, and the concept of human life, and what it means to be human. It's too bad that the show rarely touches on these themes very much, but I have hopes that they will later in the second part of the show.

Spoilers over.

 Overall I'm really liking this show. It's animated very well, has great over-the-top characters, and giant robot battle, and is just entertaining. I don't know if later in the series the show does become the greatest mecha show ever, but it's still very entertaining, even if it's a bit shallow. I hope that the second season touches more on the themes that the show deals with, but doesn't go overboard like Neon Genesis did. It's like a Japanese Megas XLR. I'll be back to write more when I finish the whole series.

Wubble Wobble Down the Mountain Top

 If you haven't guessed from the title or image, I've been playing the new SSX game, which has an original soundtrack composed solely by blenders. I'm not a fan of dubstep, but I am a huge fan of SSX and invested ridiculous amounts of time into SSX Tricky on my PS2, so naturally I picked up SSX on my PS3, even if I rarely buy games at a price higher than $40.

 For those who are not familiar with SSX, the whole series is about going fast on a mountain, and defying gravity. The games are known for their goofy presentation, over-the-top tricks and wacky characters. Tricky and SSX3, and often considered some of the best sports games ever made. The games often have a race mode and a trick mode, which are pretty self explanatory. Trick It is to get as much points as possible, and Race It is to win a race. The fun comes from the ways you can get down the mountain. There are tons of shortcuts and collectables on each of the mountains in the series. The other major factor are the often goofy and strange characters, such as the Eddie, the young afroman.

 The game follows SSX tradition by being about break-neck speeds, and gravity-defying tricks. The game is the most faithful SSX game since SSX 3, but has still lost some of its "fun" side. The game is still a blast, but it's no longer as goofy as the original. It's trying too hard to appeal to the current generation of kids with it's dubstep soundtrack, "realistic" aesthetics, and edgy Survive It mode, the game only suffers slightly. The game also feels a bit loose, and easy. It is very difficult to miss a trick or fall off of a rail. The game is still good fun, but there are several problems that I have to look at in more detail.

 My main gripe with the game is the difficulty. It's still somewhat difficult to get a gold on every mountain, but the controls feel much more game assisted. I rarely ever fell off my board while doing a trick, and when I did, it was always because I slammed into a wall for aiming my jump wrong. You don't really have to time your tricks anymore, you just have to let go before you reach the ground. It makes the races quicker, but it also kind of ruins the fun of the game. If I'm not timing a trick right, I expect to be punished, not rewarded. The same rule can be applied to the new grind system. It is impossible to fall off a rail in this game. It does make the races quicker, but I can't help but feel the game has become too easy to play for it. Once on a rail, you're on it until you choose to get off, there is no balance to manage. It makes the creation of long lines, and high combo's far too easy.

 There is also the soundtrack, which has removed all electro, hip-hop and punk, and replaced it with dubstep. This is clearly a move to appeal to this generation of kids, but for my ears, it is just a terrible soundtrack. After I had a few listens I used the handy custom soundtrack option and made my own out of the soundtrack of previous SSX games and Jet Set Radio. The new interface, and character designs are no longer fun and goofy like they use to be. All of the character look pretty generic, and have colour swapped outfits. I believe this is again to appeal to this generation of "serious" gamers, but I can't help but feel the game suffers from the lack of wacky charm Tricky and 3 had. This a nitpick, but I do feel the game suffers slightly from it. If they went a more Amped 3 like route, where they embraced the insanity of the game, it would have benefited.

 There are the same race and trick modes that I mentioned earlier, but the elephant in the room is the Survive It mode. Survive It mode is about getting down a slope alive. They discourage you from doing tricks or going to fast because you can die. Once you add death into an SSX game, you may as well call it quits. Besides the gliding suit, it just not fun. It's not fun having to manage a health bar, or your oxygen levels. It's just boring and frustrating when you have to restart a whole mountain because you crashed into a wall and died. It also goes against everything the series stands for. The series is supossed to be fast, crazy, and goofy, but Survive It is none of these things. Thankfully it does not come up in the game too often, but it really does hinder the experience.

 The multiplayer is an odd thing. There is no tradtitional multiplayer, but oyu can race a friends ghost. I was hesitant at first, but it did grow on me and I found myself constantly racing for top spot on my leaderboard, trying to beat my friends current times, or defending my honour. The online is the saving grace of the game, and provides hours of entertainment, trying to stay at the top of ladder.

 Overall the game is still fun to play, but it does feel subpar compared to the other games in the series. It would have benefited if they stuck with the old formula, instead of trying to appeal to people who never played the original games. I would recommend the game if you know people who are also playing it, because the online is what makes the game worth it.