Welcome to my weekly JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure episode impressions. This week, I go through episode 3 of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. What did I think of the episode? Watch below to find out.
Got any questions for Anime Say? You can send me a tweet on my official twitter or alternatively drop me an email at [email protected]. I will do my best to respond to your tweets and emails as well as try read some out on the show.
What do you think of this episode impression? Let us know in the comments section below.
Before The Avengers, Robert Downey Jr. once stated that Iron Man 3 was one of the best scripts he’d read in five years…and now we finally get to see a bit of it ourselves! Recovering from the attacks on New York in The Avengers, Tony Stark’s battle gets a little too close for comfort when even his very home is under attack. With appearances of The Iron Patriot and The Manderin, Iron Man 3 is sure to be one hell of an action packed adventure!
Iron Man 3 is set to blast into theaters April 26th, 2013.
Shifting World Developer:Fishing Cactus / Armor Games Publisher:Rising Star Games Platform: 3DS Release Date: 28th September (EU) Price: £14.99 – Available Here
Overview:
Alongside the review game for Shifting World came a set of drink placeholders, each with a different optical illusion. I’ve always had a liking for optical illusions and the way they can play with your mind, so naturally I hoped this meant there’d be some mind-boggling things to be seen in Shifting World – aside from the 3DS’s dizzying 3D effect, that is. Sadly, there’s not much to speak of in the way of optical illusions, although what did present itself was a simple yet effective ‘Shift’ mechanic linked to the black and white visuals.
Story:
You’ve got to love the abruptness of Shifting World’s story. You receive a strange letter, an invitation from the ‘Duke of Shadows’. You follow the instructions to the specified address, only to be whisked into a parallel dimension when you open the front door. Little more than two panels of a comic strip, three boxes of text and then you’re sent on your merry way to get on with the game. While there’s no reason to want for anything more detailed, it’s just one of the many aspects of the game padded out to try to fill the boots of a retail release with a flash game.
Gameplay:
As the 3DS debut of what was originally a free to play web browser game, you can sense Shifting World felt the need to step it up with this retail offering. It was now to be considered a ‘proper’ game, so it required the sounds, visuals and mechanics to back that up. But along the way it lost something – namely the simplicity that made it good in the first place. Although it’s true most wouldn’t be satisfied if it wasn’t spruced up a bit for the 3DS, I can’t help but feel the developers have gone about the upgrade in the wrong way.
To call it ‘Shifting World’ is to describe the mechanics pretty accurately, as the world shifts around you when you use this power. Up becomes down (the level is rotated 180 degrees), and black becomes white (everything is inverted so air becomes floor and vice versa). There’s even some movement using its new three-dimensional plane which the original shift games didn’t have to make use of. However, this twisting and turning isn’t so much mind-bending as it is disorientating. It’s often a case of walking until you can’t walk any further, then using the shift power to see what that does.
Although you do get to grips with the shift system after a little while, you never fully feel in control or know exactly where you’re going, primarily due to changes made for the 3DS version. On the top screen you get a rather zoomed in view of the level, which fails to give a sense of the wider goal of the level and where you should ultimately be heading; this is the job of the mini-map crammed onto the bottom screen. But, with the shape shifting and the tiny icons, it proves too small for its purpose.
There are 7 worlds of puzzle-platforming, each broken down into levels. While the scenery doesn’t deviate much from black and white blocks in this twisted, lonely alternate dimension, new puzzle elements are gradually introduced which you must navigate through using correct movement and use of the shift power. Also introduced are dangers, to challenge your platforming in addition to your mind.
Both new gimmicks and increased peril are to be expected as measures to up the difficulty as you progress. However, due to a hard to interpret mini-map, misleading arrows and ill-conceived platformingm these measures pose more of a challenge than I expect was intended. Making the puzzling any deeper while the confusing navigational aids remain can lead you to become stuck in an irritating loop with no hope but to restart and see if you fare any better. Dangers like spikes, on the other hand, are all the more frustrating because it’s easy enough to fall victim to these through little fault of your own due to unresponsive jumping controls. The idea behind puzzles which have you moving around and manipulating the world in order to find a way through is sound, but movement around the level is laboured.
Visuals & Audio:
While some problems arise through the close-up view of the level that accompanies the new 3D graphics, the audio proves less problematic. As well as a couple of sound effects to reflect in-game actions there’s music which is in keeping with the style of the game, with a dash of the era it has tried to base itself on, a hint of solitaire menu music, and a repetitive loop to drive you up the wall if the puzzles don’t.
Overall:
The two pieces in Shifting World’s jigsaw are platforming and puzzles. Unfortunately, it can’t be complete if one is present without the other, meaning as clever as the shift puzzle mechanic is, the sub-standard platforming as well as a number of niggles awoken by the transition to 3DS mean it doesn’t amount to anything special.
Director James Mangold has confirmed that his upcoming film The Wolverine is not a sequel to X-Men Origins: Wolverine as many have assumed, but a sequel to X-Men: The Last Stand.
This changes everything! Rather than being yet another prequel, we are now looking at dealing with the aftermath of the 2006 film, where Wolverine was forced to kill Jean Grey, Professor Xavier and Cyclops were believed dead and the X-Men have been separated. A lot of questions are finally going to be answered! On another note, it is currently unknown if The Wolverine will tie into the upcoming prequel X-Men: Days of Future Past, which is a sequel to X-Men: First Class. Confused yet? Here’s what Mangold had to say to Empire Magazine:
“Where this film sits in the universe of the films is after them all. Jean Grey is gone, most of the X-Men are disbanded or gone, so there’s a tremendous sense of isolation for him…..That’s something that for me was very important, that I land in a very specific place in his timeline.I wanted to be able to tell the story without the burden of handing it off to a film that already exists and having to conform to it. The ideas of immortality reign very heavily in this story and the burden of immortality weighs heavily on Logan. For me that’s such an interesting part of Logan’s character that is nearly impossible to explore if you have a kind of league or team movie.”  – Director James Mangold
Sounding a little bit like The Dark Knight Rises to me!
The Wolverine is set to slash it’s way into cinemas July 25, 2013.
The Great Giana Sisters, if you weren’t around and self aware during 1987, was a platformer released across the Commodore 64 and other home consoles of the time. 2012 sees the ip revitalised via Kickstarter, this time under the name Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams. The game has just seen release on the PC (in part thanks to a great success on Steam’s Greenlight), and is due to have a release on PS3 and Xbox 360 in early 2013.
A platformer featuring the dream hopping Giana, Twisted Dreams follows up on it’s predecessors characterstic soundtrack with music created by Chris Hülsbeck and Machinae Supremacy. Hülsbeck worked on the original Giana Sisters game, whilst Machinae Supremacy bring some Swedish heavy metal chip tune style to proceedings. This is certainly a throwback to the platformers of years (sadly) gone by, when platformers ruled the gaming roost with never a thought given to military FPS’ and MMORPG’s.
You can check out the trailer for Twisted Dreams below, and keep an eye out for a full review here at Capsule Computers.
Episode 10 of CC: Anime is now live. Each month, thanks to our good friends at Siren Visual, we will be giving away a prize in a monthly competition held through CC: Anime.
To win, listen to the podcast for the question and once you have an answer email it in along with your name and address to [email protected]. At the end of the month, a winner will be randomly selected from the pool of entries. The winner will then be announced on the next podcast.
This month, we will be giving away a copy of Shiki Part 2, on DVD thanks to our good friends at Siren Visual. If you have yet to listen to CC: Anime you can do so here.
Listen to the podcast and then send your answer in along with your name and address to [email protected] Good Luck!
Welcome to another episode of CC: Anime, Capsule Computers Monthly Anime Podcast! In our tenth episode, the CC: Anime crew discuss the latest anime and manga news, take part in the “Anime Anarchy” game show segment, as well their thoughts on the Kuroko’s Basketball Incident and the Fall 2012 anime season.
We also have a huge giveaway this month. Do you want a chance to win a copy ofShiki Part 2 from Siren Visual? Follow this link to find out how.
Cast:Â Luke Halliday, Travis Bruno, Benjamin ‘Linkage Ayexe’ Webb and Trey ‘Slend’ Partin
We hope you enjoy CC: Anime Episode 10, be sure to let us know what you think.
Toradora Part 1 Studio:Â J.C. Staff Publisher:Â Hanabee Format:Â DVD (Subtitles Only) Release Date:Â September 20, 2012 Price:Â $49.95 –Â Available Here
Overview:
The romantic comedy is a genre that most anime fans should be accustomed to by now. It is easily one of the most popular genres of anime but it’s also a genre that has grown stagnant, routine and formulaic over the years with very few true gems in between. Those gems I speak of are series that break the mold and stand out as something truly different and remarkable. Toradora is one of those series. It takes the romantic comedy formula and throws it for a loop resulting in what is one of the most popular anime series of the past decade and also one of the most requested titles for localisation. After so many cries from anime fans to see the series get an English release it has finally made its way to our shores and it’s about damn time.
Story:
Toradora can be defined as a slice-of-life romantic comedy anime, but it is so much more than that, it is an exploration into the things that we don’t see and the importance of those invisible intangibles.
All true great comedies have the same things, a colourful and likable cast of characters, genuine emotional beats, storylines that comedy can spring from and a world in which these things all collide. Toradora has all these things. It is both humourous and touching, all the while featuring characters and a world you can become invested in.
The series plot revolves around a scenario I haven’t seen tackled in romantic comedy anime before, two protagonists helping one another with their potential crushes all the while getting closer and closer to one another. It is a simple concept that works better than it’s simple nature promises. The reason why the story works so well is because it is supported by a cast of characters that you can care about.
Ryuji for example is not your standard male protagonist in this genre, instead of being utterly unremarkable other than the fact that he somehow has a bevy of women falling all over him like most protagonists in this genre, he is a much more deeper character written with great nuance. The thing that Toradora does so well with Ryuji is that it both simultaneously makes him appear to be a potential partner for all 3 of the women in the main cast whilst also showing us why he is also not the best choice for them. It creates an interesting balance that very few series even try to achieve, true unpredictability with the series possible romances.
But of course the thing that stands out most about Toradora is it’s overarching thematic message. This is without a doubt an anime about the things that we do not see. It is about the importance of those things that aren’t apparent at first sight. But moreover it is all about the things we hide, the things we reveal and why we do.
Through this theme we get some excellent character development and some truly powerful moments that definitely struck a chord with me personally. In particular there is a multi-episode story arc in this part of the series focused on the return of Taiga’s father. She is at first adamant about not wanting anything to do with him, however Ryuji does not understand why she feels this way. Of course Taiga is hiding something from Ryuji, the truth about her father. But through Ryuji revealing a little of what he hides (in regards to his own father) he manages to convince her to give him another chance. Ryuji later admits he wanted her to be happy for selfish reasons, in a way to live vicariously through her, because he himself knows that his father won’t be coming back.
This story arc in particular was so well executed and filled with nuance that I truly began to understand why this is hailed as one of the greatest of all time. These characters are so well conceived with multiple layers that aren’t so obvious from first impressions and as the series goes on and the characters grow closer and closer, we the audience grow closer with them as well. More and more of what they hide becomes revealed and it is through this that Toradora is truly captivating, people aren’t always as they seem, if we didn’t judge perhaps we would come to see who these people truly are and heck we may even come to like them. This is what Toradora is all about and it’s a theme that anyone who has ever felt the need to hide part of who they are can relate to.
Sometimes there are things you can’t see, but does that mean that they don’t exist? Just like Kushieda’s pondering on ghosts, Toradora as a whole ponders this question and teases drama, comedy and most of all meaning out of it. This is without a doubt a series to behold, there is a reason it is so popular and I personally can not wait to get to know these characters more when Part 2 is released.
Visuals and Audio:
If you are looking for something visually appealing then you’re in luck with Toradora. This series is absolutely gorgeous and in this reviewers opinion is easily J.C. Staff’s most consistent work aesthically. The character designs are instantly memorable and a joy to watch. The animation overall is top quality and is consistent throughout with no drops in quality whatsoever. It is simply a delightful visual feast.
The soundtrack of Toradora much like the visuals is simply phenomenal. The incidental music is perfectly timed and sets a perfect atmosphere for the crazy goings on of the Toradora crew. The opening theme is downright addictive and makes for what has to be one of the best opening themes of all time. It is instantly memorable and a classic by all senses of the word. The ending theme likewise is great but is of course overshadowed by the brilliant opening theme. Top to bottom it is a great musical experience to behold. Now if only Hanabee could license the soundtrack…
Extras:
In terms of special features this release is unfortunately on the light side with only a clean opening, clean ending and a few trailers for other upcoming Hanabee releases. I was looking forward to a bit more extras with this release but they could always be holding them back for the second release later this year. So here’s hoping that Part 2 will have some more to chew on.
Overall:
Toradora is addictive fun from start to finish with a soft gooey heart underneath all of it’s crazy. If you like romantic comedy series this is the one to watch, it is the height of the genre. If you like series that with make you think, touch your heart and make you laugh all at once then once again this is a series to watch. If you haven’t already done so already do yourself a favor and check out this anime classic, it’s an absolute joy to experience. Believe the hype, Toradora is every bit as good as they say.
Hellsing Ultimate: Volumes I-IV Studio:Satelight Publisher:FUNimation Format: Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack Release Date:October 30, 2012 Price:$59.98 – Available Here
Overview: Over the last few years the vampire mythos has become so watered down that not only were there a few Western movies and television series focusing on romance and drama, but even a number of anime series simply saw vampires as a plot device. However there is one anime series which saw vampires as powerfully deadly creatures of the night capable of grotesque super human abilities.
That series was Hellsing and back in 2001 a thirteen episode anime series was released. Now a number of years later a special OVA version of the series was planned called Hellsing Ultimate. While Geneon USA may have originally released the first four episodes of Hellsing Ultimate, FUNimation now is handling the entire franchise. Now that they are planning on releasing Hellsing Ultimate V-VIII in a few months, the company has released Hellsing Ultimate I-IV on Blu-ray for the first time ever. Now is Hellsing Ultimate I-IV worth your time on Blu-ray? Let’s find out.
Story:
In the world of Hellsing Ultimate, normal people believe that vampires are simply myth or creatures used for scary movies. The only reason they can get away with thinking this is because there is an organization of people who work every day to destroy the horrible creatures which lurk within the darkness. That organization is the Hellsing Organization which is headed up by Integra Hellsing and her special weapon, a vampire by the name of Alucard.
However, a police woman by the name of Seras Victoria has no knowledge of this dark side of the world and she simply was sent on a mission with some fellow police officers to investigate a disturbance. Unfortunately for her and her partners, the reason for the disturbance was a vampire had killed everyone in the building and turned them into mindless blood thirsty ghouls. When her partners are killed and Seras is about to be tortured and eaten, Alucard appears to introduce her to a world unlike anything she has ever known. She just has to die first.
As Seras joins the ranks of the Hellsing Organization, the first volume is mostly spent showing her new vampire powers as well as just how unstoppable Alucard can be when put up against a difficult opponent. However with a sudden rise in vampire and ghoul attacks throughout England and other parts of Europe, Seras, Alucard and the other members of Hellsing quickly realize that a force far more sinister than the vampires pulling the strings. When the origins of this group are revealed, it may turn into a blood bath that will drag the whole world into a never ending war. Can the Hellsing group put a stop to it? But what else could they be unleashing by doing so?
Considering the fact that Hellsing Ultimate is an OVA series, the story moves along at a rather brisk pace with only a little bit of downtime in the series’ action driven storytelling for levity and conversations. That being said, there are still a few comedic moments throughout Hellsing Ultimate, though these focus heavily on Seras and her reactions to the strange things in her new world but Alucard himself also looks for fun in his own way. By killing everything in his way as brutally as possible. As such, the story is very dark in nature and many of the characters in this series are absolutely insane so prepare for plenty of over-the-top moments.
Hellsing Ultimate’s story is at its best when the action is at a fever pitch, with Alucard fighting against another vampire or even a member of the church. Now the story does seem like a bunch of fights strung together by a rather simplistic plot and you would be partially correct in thinking so. However Hellsing Ultimate’s story is far from deep once the shadow faction is revealed and the fact that Alucard provides the badass vampire with seemingly unstoppable powers while Seras (Police Girl) fills the role of an inexperienced newcomer nicely.
This creates an interesting balance between the two main characters of the series, though it does seem that Alucard can be a bit too strong at times, making it so that his character never feels like it is in danger, which does lower the tension of his battles somewhat, though this loss is usually made-up with some brutal ability.
Now it is worth noting that this release is Hellsing Ultimate Volumes I-IV so only the first four episodes are included with this disc. As such, the story does end up on a cliffhanger, but one that fits well and leaves plenty of anticipation for the next release in the series.
Visuals: One of the most noticeable things about this release of Hellsing Ultimate is how the Blu-ray version of the show has seen a rather nice jump in visual quality compared to the DVD versions of the show. This is a major plus for a show which can be absolutely grotesque at times with horrific action scenes containing the stuff of nightmares. The art style of Hellsing Ultimate is gorgeous and it’s animation is wonderfully executed, which is exemplified by how expressive the characters’ faces are throughout these episodes.
The same can be said for most of the action scenes found within the first four episodes of Hellsing Ultimate contained in this release. A consistently high level of animation quality provides satisfying combat with over the top powers that truly make Alucard and the creatures he faces off against seem like something supernatural. It is worth noting that the show isn’t for someone who minds a lot of blood and gore because Hellsing Ultimate contains plenty of it, with it all portrayed quite brutally.
Audio: Fans of the older Hellsing series will be glad to hear that Hellsing Ultimate’s English dub is absolutely wonderful. While the Japanese voice track is there for those who want it, any viewer choosing to do so would be doing themselves a great disservice. It is worth noting that the cast for this dub is the original one that handled the Geneon release back in ’07, but that is for the best as not only are their various European sounding accents a joy to hear, their tones match the characters personalities and actions perfectly, especially when the crazier characters begin to appear.
While the voice work may be top notch, ultimately the series’ background music is rather mundane most of the time, only standing out in certain scenes, such as in Volume IV, which is a shame considering how over the top and action packed Hellsing Ultimate can get. More often than not, the background music simply is there, and then forgotten. That being said, the series does feature some rather stunning ending theme songs, with each episode featuring a different classical sounding song.
Extras: FUNimation’s release of Hellsing Ultimate I-IV is absolutely jam packed with extra features, so many that they have been spread across both episode containing discs as well as a full disc of bonus features. In fact, not only does every episode in this release have a commentary, but there are a large number of lengthy video interviews with the English voice cast where they discuss practically everything there is to discuss about their workings with the series so far.
Outside of that there is also footage of the cast’s AX 2007 panel as well as footage of the Hellsing Ultimate booth that was set up during the event, clean versions of each of the ending songs and a large number of promo videos. In fact, the length of all this bonus content is actually longer than the episodes provided in this release.
Overall: Hellsing Ultimate: Volumes I-IV provides everything a fan of the series could possibly want. Not only is the original English voice cast still present in this release, but the action scenes provided in these four episodes are top notch. With a dark storyline that leaves viewers on a rather high point in the story, a stellar art style and plenty of extra content, this release will see new fans joining the ranks of the Hellsing family, eager to see how bloody and insane the next fight in the series will be and just how dark this series will turn in the next release.
Fairy Bloom Freesia is the latest release from Nyu-Media and is developed by Edelweiss. It’s a 2.5d brawler that is pretty similar to the Super Smash. Bros. series mechanically. However, the game is it’s own identity and it looks and plays incredibly well.
Why do I think these things? Check out the rest of our review below to find out why.
Story
Fairy Bloom Freesia follows the story of a forest guardian Fairy named Freesia. As cute as she is, she is also incredibly dangerous and this is proven right off the bat when she is tasked with defending her forest from invading golems from the neighboring human establishment.
What I quite liked about the story is that it progressed in such a way that you couldn’t help but like all of the characters in it. Even the villains had likeable qualities to them. I quite like where stories do that to you.
The story progresses at a set interval of days within the game. These usually culminate with boss fights and lead into a new area. Eventually the story leads places you don’t expect and it’s really, really cool. It’s also really, really, linear, but that’s to be expected with this kind of game.
Gameplay
Fairy Bloom Freesia reminds me so much of the Super Smash Bros. feel that I can’t help but plus it up for that. I mean, I don’t think that was trying to be a Smash Bros. clone whilst it was being developed, which is quite important, but it just had that same frenetic brawling action that created an associative link between the games.
In Freesia it is your job to protect a forest from attacking golems and other enemies from the nearby human kingdom. This means that you’ll be fighting in enclosed arenas against a large number of enemies. As you defeat a wave, another will spawn after it until you have defeated all of the waves for a particular day. In Freesia, a day corresponds with the duration of a level.
The arenas within the game are something you’d expect from a 2.5d style brawler. There’s platforms you can jump on and off of, there’s a bottom floor and they’re completely enclosed. You complete a day by beating on enemies until they die. It’s pretty simple.
Freesia will also gain levels as you progress by gaining experience from defeating enemies and doing well during the game. As you level, you gain something called mana which can be used to upgrade your abilities and unlock new skills. You just have to remember to equip some abilities, like the HP buff, if you want them to be active.
Combat in this game is actually pretty fun. I quite like it. I know I keep throwing the parrallel to Smash Bros. in here, but if you’ve played that then you’ll pick up on the control scheme pretty quickly. In fact, I found the game was so similar in function that I remapped my controller buttons to be similar to the Nintendo franchise. This made picking up the game so much more easy and intuitive. You’ve got a button that does special attacks, a block button, jump button and normal attack button. Each one of these work pretty naturally. You have to put in a button combo to access some moves though.
Overall the gameplay in Freesia is incredibly fun, even if it does remind me of other games a little. Definitely a game for the fun minded gamer.
Visuals
Visually speaking, this game is not going to win any awards. It isn’t exactly technically taxing, nor is it some hyper-realistic realism simulator. However, this is not a bad thing, in fact, it’s quite the opposite. The visuals in Freesia are quite impressive from an artistic standpoint.
Fairy Bloom Freesia has a very anime-esque look to it that only makes the game feel a little more authentic. Normally when a game wants to follow an Anime aesthetic whilst still being portrayed in 3D, I’m a little cautious about it. Anime is definitely a 2D medium, and with the exception of a few notable series, still looks like it’s going to be that way. However, they have rendered everything in this game so well that such caution was unwarranted.
Even the animations in this game are really nice and flashy. I remember the first time I did a special attack, I was like: “Wow, this is like watching an anime show”. And it’s true it is kind of like that. But more fun, and it looks cool and glowy and stuff. I’m easy to impress sometimes.
Audio
Fairy Bloom Freesia has a fairly simple soundtrack but it fits the game quite well. In fact, I really liked the BGM in particular. This is one of those games where I didn’t have to switch on Windows Media Player to take over music controls. Whilst the soundtrack was simple, it was also enjoyable, which is something I found quite nice.
Even the sound effects in this game are pretty good. They’re nothing amazingly super-awesome, but they work for what they’re doing. I would have loved to have had a voice track for the dialogue, but it isn’t really a necessity.
Overall
Overall Fairy Bloom Freesia is fairly entertaining game that is well worth its price. It seems that Nyu-Media really know how to pick the funnest games to bring over to the west and Fairy Bloom Freesia is one of the better examples of why this is true.
