The Strain Season Two: The Battle For Red Hook

After failing to capture Zach, Kelly and Eichorst launch an attack on the safe zone of Red Hook which is protected by Councilwoman Feraldo's forces.

Talk about having one heck of a great showdown where we finally get to see a massive group of Strigoi take on a massive group of Humans and in my opinion it did not disappoint. Before getting into the episode I first got to say that the new opening is so damn cool! It looked like pages right out of the comic book and gave us something really different than just the bloody five second opening we have had so far, props to whoever thought this one up. On to the episode the team up between Kelly and Eichorst continues to be really great and I enjoy their scenes together; like the first one where Kelly opens up to Eichorst about her failure and feelings and Eichorst consoling her (plus fuelling her anger towards Nora), it's almost like she is his protégé. Then there was their plan on bringing an army of Strigoi into Red Hook which gave us one of the best action moments in The Strain so far but I will go into this more in a bit. I want to talk first about Fet, Zach and Nora going to the power station to turn back on the power and it made for a really creepy atmosphere with the darkness and the bodies lying around. Kelly showing up was great as well because she had a great fight with Fet such as the part where she took his gun and then trying to infect him with worms from her wounds. As for Eichorst I admit his showdown with Abraham wasn't as epic as the build up for it was implying but it still made for a good team up between him and Eph.

As for the battle of Red Hook it was just so damn impressive and really created the feeling of hopelessness with the lack of personnel to the power outage. This really was Feraldo's episode to shine because she really took charge and brought all of Red Hook together in this massive clash. I mean she had to deal with a lot form the mayor who only wants her to save the rich who then abandons her and dealing with a quick lack of confidence when seeing the numbers they have to battle. Her Captain of her forces (Frank I think his name was and has been in a few previous eps) was great in this as well like the moral talk he gave her and defending the gates. Feraldo then got the citizens of Red Hook together and we saw some great fighting scenes between them and the Strigoi. I also liked the ending as well at daybreak when the main characters got back together, I have read some people's comments saying it was cheesy but I liked it and gave a sense of hope with all the doom and gloom there have been lately. Finally the only thing I didn't like was the Dutch and Nikki subplot because I just don't freaking care about it! I don't care about their damn arguments and I don't care what Nikki has been up to; I hate her character and she has just been making everything awkward since she reappeared. Plus I was right in thinking this subplot was similar to Barbara's on Gotham because Dutch is now all like "I like Fet but I used to be a lesbian so I'll sleep with my ex". I mean are we supposed to care these two are back together? Well I sure don't it just makes me hate Dutch's character now.

Overall a near perfect episode I just wish that instead of a stupid subplot with Dutch and Nikki we could have had one with Gus or Palmer.

SCORE: 9/10

Highlights: The battle of Red Hook
                   I great episode for Feraldo
                   Kelly and Eichorst
                   The new intro

Let - Downs: The Dutch and Nikki subplot

Falling Skies Season Five: Reborn

The final battle between the 2nd Mass and the Espheni begins in DC as the fate of the whole Human Race is on the line.

Wow I can't believe that this is not just a finale but the last Falling Skies on TV, this has been on for five years and I have enjoyed it and it is going to be difficult knowing there is no new season. As for this finale it was satisfying way to end the story and I will first go into the good points. Firstly all the of action; the attack of the Flying Skitters, the assault on Washington and the creepy moments we had with the eggs where really well done, the best parts of the episode. I also really enjoyed the seeing the Queen and I just loved her design so much it is a shame it was saved just for the finale, plus I liked that she could talk because Espenhi talking was one of the best parts of Season Four. What was weird though is that they talk about the Queen's daughter being killed on Earth before but they didn't go into as much detail as I thought, how did primitives beat the Eshpeni? But still Tom vs. the Queen overall was an exciting moment and the moment when Tom used the magic bullet while being sucked of blood was really awesome. Another great moment was the epilogue at the end with the time skip; I love these at the end of a story in any form (TV, film, books, games) because I like seeing a glimpse at what the characters are doing after everything they have been through.

As for everything else I knew that Pope was going to survive last episode but it didn't seem to matter because he dies in this one anyway! I am not going to hate on this as much as I would have (his death was done well and he settled some of his differences with Tom) but I wished the whole scene didn't feel squeezed into the episode and wish we had more time with Pope. I still wish Pope survived as a hero to fight in the final battle and not die a villain, R.I.P John Pope, you where one of my favourite fictional characters. However the stupidest thing in this episode, which I just shook my head at when I saw, was Anne's revival at the very end, talk about all of the Masons surviving this war unscratched! It was one of the silliest things I every saw I must admit; her death was supposed to have this huge emotional impact but it was almost like the writers thought "screw it we'll bring her back in the end". I mean Anne is a good character but I think that could have been a good way for her to go and her being pregnant felt like was added as an afterthought. Finally another stupid thing was Hal asking Maggie to marry him which just felt so forced and out of place, I thought the last few episodes indicated that they had gotten over each other (I mean Hal looked like he was with Isabella?) and they kind of mention it several times.

Overall despite some small issues the finale was really good and I am glad the story ended on a really happy and positive note. I am going to miss this show and I kind of wish they would do spin off or at least make some comics or novels based on this but the ending was so final so I guess that won't be happening.

SCORE: 7/10

Highlights: The action scenes/the moments in the tunnel
                   Tom vs. the Queen
                   The epilogue

Let - Downs: Pope's death and his short appearance felt squeezed into the episode
                      Anne's revival was so bloody stupid!
                      Hal proposing to Maggie

Game Review: Lightning Returns

Finally, finally a review on the last entry of the XIII series.

The story of Lightning Returns is set five hundred years after the events of XIII - 2 and the old world was been completely erased and a new world now stands in it's place. The Chaos that was unleashed has stopped humans from aging and the death of Etro has stopped any new humans from ever being born. Lightning has returned from her crystal sleep after all this time by the God Bhunivelze who informs Lightning that the world has only thirteen days left before it's destruction and she must save as many souls as she can so they can be reborn in the new world the God wants to create. In return for this service Bhunivelze has promised to return Serah to her so Lightning, aided by a now young Hope, must do the God's bidding and save the human race.

Like with the other two XIII games I will first start off with my thoughts on the story and in my opinion it is stronger than XIII -2 but not as good as XIII. Overall XIII's story with Fal'Cie, artificial world and a rag - tag group of misfits trying to save it is better, this is probably to do the fact that besides the supernatural elements its was a lot simpler. What I mean by that is that in XIII - 2 they add in time travel and made the whole game feel episodic where you jump from one time to the next dealing with other problems. In this one they basically got rid of the entire world of Gran Pulse and Cocoon and included more powerful Gods etc. It just felt like the whole thing has gotten out of hand from the first entry. Many characters from the previous games return however most of the time they are against Lightning and usually serve as the final boss for one of the storylines.

Now for what makes Lightning Returns really great is the gameplay; out of the three games in the XIII series they put the most effort into the gameplay for this one. Firstly they have finally created a massive open world that the previous two entries didn't have, it was so massive that it felt like you where playing a MMO but single player (like Skyrim!). They may have had only four areas but like I just said they where just so big and I like the diversity in them because you have two cities, a grassland and a desert. There is lots to do in these areas such as finding items, fighting monsters and completing side quests. Side quests are actually more important now then they have ever been before because completing them increases your stats. The good thing about this is that it gives you a lot of things to do in the game however in my opinion I would have preferred some kind of levelling system because that is just more traditional really.

Also just like with the massive world there is now more freedom with the main quests as you can complete part of it, do something else and then comeback. This is a really enjoyable way to approach the main missions and reminded me of a lot of the older Final Fantasys however this is hampered by the 13 day rule. You only have 13 in game days to complete the main and side quests which actually seems pretty long when I was playing it and I get why they have done it because it ties with the main story however I really wished they didn't include this because it feels restrictive about what I can do. Again you have more freedom to complete the missions then any of the other XIII games however I kind of felt a bit rushed sometimes to make sure I fit in all I can.

Now for the best part of Lightning Returns and that is the battle/garb system! You may only control Lightning in the game but it is one of the best battle systems in Final Fantasy, just as good as the Dress Sphere system in X-2. I think the ability to change outfits and in to different job roles is the best way to fight in Final Fantasy because it offers so much variety and different styles of fighting the enemy. Lightning has lots of garbs in this, each one having it's own strengths and weakness and Lightning just looks great in all of them too. You can even customize them in the menu for new abilities, change their colours and even add accessories; wish the last one was a bit more flexible as you can only equip one accessory per garb. You also have a wide array of weapons and shields that offer their own abilities or stat increases and can be gain from shops or side quests.

Overall Lightning Returns certainly stands out from the previous XIII games and was a great way to end the series. This review defiantly wasn't as in depth as I would have wanted but that it because it is a quick one I wanted to do while I was writing all the Arrow reviews.

SCORE: 8/10

Highlights: Battle system
                   Bigger map and more things to do
                   Garb system

Let - Downs: The first XIII game still has the best story
                      The 13 day time limit

Film Review: Battle Royale

Finally thought I'd get round to reviewing one of my all time favourite Japanese film and manga/comic adaptions; Battle Royale. Very minor SPOILERS because this is just a quick review, a break from Resident Evil you can say.

Battle Royale is about how the Japanese Government have given up on their youth after 800,000 students walked out of school and created the BR act. The BR act allows the government to chose a random class and pit the students in a game against each other called Battle Royale where they have to fight to the death. They are stranded on a vast island with a wide range of weapons and are equipped with collars around their necks that will explode if there are any who refuse to compete or if there is no winner after three days. The story follows Shuya Nanahara (Tatsuya Fujiwara) and Noriko Nakagawa (Aki Maeda) two students who wish to get off the island but must face their fellow students and their former teacher Kitano (Takeshi Kitano) who is running this year's Battle Royale.

One of my favourite film villains of all time!

As many of you already know Battle Royale is based off the manga of the same name by Koushun Takami. The manga is known for it's extreme violence but for touching on the themes of love, psychology and loyalty to name a few. It raises the question of what we would do in the same situation, especially if we where 15 year old students as well? I have read the manga and while I can say there are quite a few differences the film is still a near perfect adaption and the only real major cuts where some character back story and small events.

Yep I'm having nightmares tonight

We have some great cast of characters in this film and almost all of them are from the manga but before I go on I'll just get it out of the way that the acting is some of the best I've seen, you've got some great protagonists and even a lot of the support cast is great as well. However I think what makes Battle Royale stand out is its great antagonists because of how damn psychotic they are. My favourite being of course the mute Kazuo Kiriyama (Masanobu Ando), the guy just look really cool his portrayal is creepy. Some of my favourite scenes in the film is when he attacks the main characters and his theme plays in the background at the same time. Tatsuya Fujiwara and Aki Maeda are two great leads and I really like their refusal to play the game and that they don't waver in that conviction; they don't become like Kiriyama. However that is left to Shogo Kawada (Taro Yamamoto) a good guy but a badass who doesn't mind the killing and it's interesting learning how he fits into the story. Lastly quick mention to two other great characters; Kuo Shibasaki who plays secondary antagonist Mitsuko Souma and Takeshi Kitano who plays the creepy Kitano.

"You two where so damn unlucky with your weapons"

Now as for the action in this it is something else; the amount of gore and action in this is really high so it's not for younger audiences but it is dialled down a bit from what I have seen in the manga. The action in this is all really fun to watch as well, it's so fast paced and choreographed so well that wish it didn't have to end. I myself really like it when films don't hold back like this because I hate censorship I films and hate it when people complain about the level of violence, which was some of the criticism that this film received.

"That's what you get for interrupting me!"

I guess there is that much else to say about this film maybe that's because its an adaption and the only thing you have to really say if it did a good job to the source material or not (it did). As proof that this film is probably one of the greatest creation of all time just look at the legacy it has left; Quentin Tarantino has said that this was the one film he wished he could have directed and it influenced Kill Bill. Then there is Hunger Games and I don't care what anyone says the s**t books and the films are nothing more than watered down rip - offs of Battle Royale!!

"Hopefully nobody will attack me when I'm this injured"

Overall this is one of my favourite films or all time and I recommend it to everyone not just anime/manga fans.

SCORE: 10/10

You can find all of the great screenshots I used right here;

http://ladymanson.com/ShadowofReflection/home.php

Game Review: Final Fantasy XIII

Back to do another game review and I have decided to chose one that has caused a lot of controversies since its release; Final Fantasy XIII. The Final Fantasy series is my favourite series of game ever however I will try not to be bias with XIII.

Final Fantasy XIII is set in a fictional world called Gran Pulse however floating above Gran Pulse is an artificial floating world called Cocoon, which is based on a Dyson Sphere. People live on both worlds and for centuries they have hated and warred with each other, helped by godlike beings called the Fal’Cie. These beings have immense power and play a specific in the running of the world they belong too, for example there is a Fal’Cie on Cocoon that acts as its sun. They can also turn humans in to beings called I’Cie; they have powerful magic abilities granted to them but they are also given a Focus, a vague mission that they must complete. If they do not complete it they will turn in to monster but if they do complete it they turn in to crystal, so it is a no win situation. The game’s protagonist Lightning, a member of Cocoon’s Guardian Corps, along with several others are dragged in to this long lasting war between Cocoon and the world below and eventually discover a plot that can destroy both worlds.

Now I shall first start off by saying that this game is very, very story focused, I think they spent longer on it than any other part of the game. While this can be seen as a good thing some have said that it has sacrificed the game play element of it and I will come to that in a bit. I for one love this story; it is one of my favourites in the Final Fantasy series, it is just so thought out and rich in history and detail. The worlds, the war, Fal’Cie, l’Cie – I like all of it.

As for the game play, though it works overall for this game, there are several issues I have to address. Firstly there is almost no backtracking in this game at all which is a downer, beautifully thought out areas such as the Vile Peaks and Sunleth Waterscape can never be revisited again unless you start a new game. This was frustrating to me; the game is just like walking in one big straight line however I loved the story and experience of it so much that to me it is one damn good straight line!

When it comes to battle however XIII is again one of my favourites for it. I really liked the Paradigm Shift to change job class because it adds a lot of variety to the fight and each character has their own strengths and weaknesses with them. Apart from that the rest battling should feel really familiar; wait for bar to fill up and select what move you want to perform.

When it comes to levelling up they use Crystarium System, were you collect CP points off monsters and power up your character, it is kind of like the Sphere Grid in X but this is a lot more straight forward and you can not stray from your path and you have to wait for the System to level up at certain points to advance further. This might seem annoying but I liked it because it made sure I did not over power my characters, I am not usually one to grind in Final Fantasy but sometimes I accidentally do and the boss and enemies are then easy, at least when they stop you in this you and the boss seem to have an equal chance (of course since I have finished the game multiple times now I know all of the strategies so that doesn’t matter)

One other thing that did annoy me however was the lack of side quests and the after game missions. There are a lot of monster hunting mission, and I mean A LOT of them, and I enjoyed them all but that was all there was.

For the cast of characters in this game I really like most of them and they all fit well in to the story. Lightning is has a no nonsense, serious personality but but is not heartless and helps those who need it. She is a great protagonist, the first lead since VI and is one of my favourite female Final Fantasy characters. Then there is Snow who is the complete opposite of Lightning in terms of personality and the self proclaimed ‘Hero’ of the game. Snow is my favourite character in XIII, I just like his attitude and the way he never gives up. As for the rest we have Sazh, someone who comes off as the comic relief but has a lot more depth to him than that, then there is Hope a young boy trying to find his inner strength and wants to be stronger and Vanille, a spirited girl who never seems to get sad at all. Now there is another character and that is Fang and I have to say that I hated her completely (even though I know she has a strong fan base). The reason for this is because I just can not stand her personality and attitude to the other characters and the world. I don’t how many time she mentioned that Vanille is more important to her than anything and what she would not do for her and I really wanted to tell her to shut up. Also she is not in the game for a while, which is great, but when she does she some how has to make everything to do with; she is a bloody scene stealer in my opinion.

The graphics in this game is really something to look at; there is so much detail in everything they created from the character designs to the backgrounds. As I said before however there is no backtracking so for most areas you can only appreciate it once until you start new game again. And since there is no revisiting the same can be said for the music; the background music for areas are perfectly done but you can not go back to hearing it again. As voice acting it is my favourite out of any Final Fantasy game so far (even though they have only been doing it since X) but then again anything that has the voice talents of Troy Baker (Snow) will always be great.

Overall this is a Final Fantasy game that is not for everyone, those who like the previous games for its massive amount of game play content will be disappointed here but that is not to say I won’t recommend it. Sure I, like most, am frustrated by the lack the backtracking and things to do but to play a game with a story with so much depth with characters that are so amazing is an experience I have not regretted. I myself still have my copy of XIII and I still start new game on it, I think since I got it near the end of 2010 I start and finish it at least twice a year (I might have even fit in a third playthrough but I do have other games to play). Why you might ask? Because it is one damn good straight line from start to finish.

SCORE: 7/10

           

Film Review: Highlander

My first film review since Psycho and since I will be a bit busy over Christmas I wanted to end this year on a high note. So I thought what better way to do that then review one of my most all time favourite films of all time; Highlander.

The film stars Christopher Lambert as Connor Macleod, born in Scotland in the year 1518 and in the year 1536 is mortally wounded in battle by the warrior Kurgan (Clancy Brown), however he does not die and instead fully recovers from his injuries. Driven from his village he eventually becomes a blacksmith and settles down with a woman named Heather (Beatie Edney). One day a mysterious man appears named Juan Sanchez Villa – Lobos Ramirez (Sean Connery) who explains to Conner what he really is; an Immortal just like him, Kurgan and many others. Connor can not age and can not die (Besides from having his head chopped off) and must eventually battle with all of the other Immortals to obtain the Prize, because there can be only one! This story takes over the course of centauries and ends up in New York 1885 where Connor must fight Kurgan in a final epic showdown.

I immediately liked this story after only the first few minutes and that is because I am a massive fan of the old mid nineties to late nineties adventure films (like Conan, Jason and the Argonauts, Brave heart etc). They just don’t make them like this anymore maybe because they really rely too much of computer special effects nowadays or because their locations don’t look as epic, it is hard to explain but nothing modern can compare to them.

I admit I am getting a little off topic here so back to the film; what I really like about the structure this film is how it cuts to flashbacks every now and again to tell another part of Connor’s story but it does not upset the flow of the film at all because it is all relevant.

Of course however one of my favourite things about this film is the awesome sword fights that they have in it. That is another thing about modern adventure films; their sword fighting is all about over the top moves and jumping about. In Highlander it looks a lot more authentic and realistic, it is really on the edge of your seat stuff, I mean the final duel between Connor and Kurgan is something I will never forget.

As for the cast I can not think of any other actors who would have been better at the roles. Christopher Lambert gives a stellar performance as Connor Macleod and he really makes you feel for the character as you watch the events of his incredibly long life. This is one of my favourite Sean Connery roles as the tutor Ramirez but who could forget Clancy Brown as the villainous Kurgan; the guy his menacing, psychotic and intimidating, it is hard to believe that anyone can beat him. Then of course you have a really good supporting cast from Connor’s first wife Heather to his modern love interest Brenda Wyatt (Roxanne Hart).

Other stuff I would like to mention is the great use of establishing shots during the flashbacks in Scotland. They really capture the beauty of its country side; one of my favourite scenes of the film is Connor’s training montage which has some epic shots. Then there is the music delivered by my favourite band Queen and did a fantastic job at it. I mean come one who could not get sad during the scene when Connor’s marriage with Heather is flashing by and they play Who Wants to Live Forever, you would have to be made out of stone.

Overall I really recommend this film to anyone who likes adventure fantasy films because it is simply one of the best but then again I think everyone should check out this film. It is a prime example of adventure fantasy film at its best which the modern era of today is severally lacking.

SCORE: 10/10

Here is a quick run down of the Highlander sequels, I did not want to do separate reviews on all of them but I did not want to leave them.

Highlander 2: The Quickening: The worst one of the sequels because they add sci – fi to the plot and it fails at every turn. You might have already heard bad things about this film and they are mostly all right and it is a shame. However it is not completely unwatchable; I myself still watch it when I want to watch all Highlanders in order and some of the fight scenes are OK but I will not blame you for skipping this one. SCORE: 2/10

Highlander 3: The Sorcerer: Now this is a true squeal to the first Highlander and the makers must have wanted that to be obvious because they completely disregard the events of the second film. However it is not all perfect because some parts feel like a copy of the first film, and I wished they could have had more sword fighting. But this is really good because it includes some great music (especially during the sword repairing montage), great sword fights when they get down to it and I found the villain Kane (Mario Van Peebles) to be a really cool antagonist. SCORE: 6/10

Higher: Endgame: Easily the best of all of the Highlander series because I feel that out of all them, this one returns as close to it’s roots and tries to recapture the essence of the first film. This film does not star Connor however instead it focuses on Duncan Macleod (Adrian Paul) the star character from the TV series. This film has a lot of really great moments, from the really great fight scenes, the wide range of cast and the great use of flashbacks that really does remind me of the first film. However because this film is about the star of the TV series there is a lot of references to it so those who have not seen it might find some points hard to follow and even though I really like Duncan as the main character it does get to me that Connor is a secondary character in this one. I do highly recommend this squeal for all of the Highlander fans. SCORE 8/10 

Bleach Review: 560 – 564, Mask De Masculine vs. Kensei and Renji

Now it is time for another review that I promised to do in my earlier review and that is the recent Mask De Masculine fight that was shown. The reason I am reviewing it is because besides from being a really great fight, I want to review the all fights that are coming up in Bleach but only after they have finished.

It starts off with Mask De Masculine defeating Ikkaku Madarame, Yumichika Ayasegawa and Shuhei Hisagi (along side his cheering fan James), however before he can land the finishing blow he is stopped by the Soul Reaper captains Kensei Mugruma and Rojuro ‘Rose’ Otoribashi. Kensei steps up to fight first and activities his Bankai, Tekken Tachikaze, which controls the power of wind and focuses all of the power of his Shikai in to his knuckle blades. This explosive power makes his assault seem endless and he uses it to get the upper hand on Mask, however it his then revealed that Mask’s S stands for The Superstar and the cheering from his fan James grants Mask even greater power and strength. Kensei fights back but the constant cheering from James powers up Mask too much and he is defeated.

Next Rose steps up to fight and starts by cutting James in half before activating his own Bankai, Kinshara Butodan, a music type Bankai. Acting as a conductor to direct several giants that have numerous techniques such as Sea Drift (Water) and Prometheus (Fire) and seems to overwhelm Mask. However before he can activate another technique called Ein Heldenleben, Mask figures out the weakness in Rose’s Bankai by destroying his own eardrums and thereby blocking out the music, he then blasts a star shaped hole through Rose’s chest, critically injuring him.

But all is not lost because Mask is interrupted once again by the arrival of Renji, who has just come back from his training in the Royal Realm. Mask starts off by having his eardrums healed by James, who still turns out to be alive, before charging at Renji. However Renji’s training has made him more powerful than he thought, so even after Mask changes form, enters Vollstandig and unleashes a wide array of star based moves; Renji survives them and enters Bankai. His Bankai has changed to it’s ‘true form’ has a result of his training; the head of the snake engulfs his sword arm and looks like a shield while he can control massive bone arm of the baboon, this new Bankai his called Soo Zabimaru. After overpowering Mask, Renji actives a move called Orochio, cutting Mask in half and burning him to ashes. 

Now this was one exciting fight and I thought it was very well done and there was few stand out moments for me. First was that Mask was shown to be a really powerful Sternritter, when he first appeared many thought he was just a simple minded Yammy copy but no this guy took out five Soul Reapers and was hard to kill. Mask really did grow on me during this fight and I really thought he was going to survive it so that was a shame.

Next was that Kensei and Rose got in on the spotlight and kicked some ass, sure they where defeated but they went down swinging. I think Kensei being in this repaired a lot of the damage Kubo did when he completely skipped his fight with Wonderwiess and he was missing for the rest of the Fake Karakura Arc; that was one of the biggest disappointments in Bleach. Then there was Rose, who is one of my favourite characters and we finally got to see his Bankai and it was soooo creative, one of the best Kubo has done, I really hope we see more of it.

Lastly was the reveal of Renji’s new Bankai and it is way better than his last one that was just a massive bone whip. This was looks cooler and gives Renji a ton of new abilities while the last one was just really straight forward and predictable.

However I felt that this chapter was not without and few flaws, he first being Kensei and Rose getting defeated. I know I said they still kicked ass but they are two of my favourites and since it’s been ages since we saw them last fight I thought they deserved a few victories, especially Rose who just revealed his Bankai. I really like the Vizards in Bleach but I think Kubo is just wasting them; first there was Shinji in the Komamura fight and now these two, all three seem to go down too quick for my liking and they did not even use their Hollow powers.

Next is another contradiction of the highlights I picked but I just have to say it; Renji. I admit his Bankai is awesome but it and he are now so overpowered. The Vandenreich are supposed to be the Soul Reaper’s ultimate enemy, Mask took out five Soul Reapers and he did not even break a sweat but Renji stepped in and dealt with him straight away, I just did not like that.

Lastly speaking about Mask, I did say he was growing on me but the latter half of the fight did not help. When he fought Kensei and Rose he kept calling them villains which made me think that Mask truly believed he was the good guy saving the world from the Soul Reapers, it added a bit of depth to his character. However when Renji his personality seemed to change, he flies in to a rage and even says that he is just going to kill Renji just for the sake of it. It made him out just to be mindless and cruel when I really thought he was a good person who truly viewed Soul Reapers as evil.

In conclusion this was a really great fight, one of my favourite of the Thousand War Arc so far, we got some cool Bankai action, a Sternritter with some cool abilities and Kensei and Rose got in on the fight too. But it was let down by Renji’s massive amount of over powering, the fact that Kensei and Rose are probably not going to be fighting again soon and Mask just turning in to some kind of berserker near the end.

SCORE: 7/10