Arrow Season Three: My Name Is Oliver Queen

"I have saved this city.........three times now"

Ra's al Ghul enacts his master plan which puts everyone's lives in danger and Oliver must decide how much he is willing to sacrifice to stop him meanwhile the rest of Team Arrow springs into action.

Another finale, another season of Arrow finished and while this season has had it's ups and downs (especially in the later half) I was satisfied with what I watched. First off while it lacked the impact and intensity of the Mirakuru army I did enjoy the bio weapons attack on Starling and the rematch between Oliver and Ra's. I liked that all of Team Arrow was united to stop the four League members from spreading the virus but I didn't like that the virus was cured completely off screen by Ray's nanotech; it didn't feel like it was that big of a threat overall. However I did like the fight on the cargo plane and the final fight between Oliver and Ra's because I really like me some sword fighting, it's one of my favourite type of action sequence. I also liked that Oliver mimicked the words Ra's spoke to him on the mountain but I don't think that Ra's is going to be dead for long because the guy is famous for constantly coming back to life. I did like that Thea (she was good for once) got to show up in Arsenal costume for the ending but damn was that brief! I just hope she gets more crime fighting time than that next season. I also liked the team up between Nyssa and Oliver because I really prefer seeing them working together than against one another and when she defending Oliver against Diggle. As for Quentin I hated his relapse into drinking again but there is hope he can support Team Arrow again when he was against the sniper taking out Oliver (liked his funny "this is May" line lol). Then of course there was the reveal that Ra's was also after Damien Darke as well and the fact that he managed to fool even Ra's makes me really look forward to seeing him in Season Four; I liked the whole hotel scene and the moment with Damien's assistant because it was a well done tease for the new villain.

As for everything else Diggle of course shined the most with again struggling to accept Oliver back into the team but at least they came to an understanding at the end. It is a bit of a shame about Oliver's departure because it is almost like an end of an era for those two but hopefully Diggle will continue the good fight and get his own costume! Then there is Malcolm who is always one step ahead and came out on top as the new Ra's, was not expecting that. Obviously he and Nyssa are going to have some friction but with the reveal of Sara alive in Legends of Tomorrow (I've seen the trailer so no need to talk about Ray because I know he is alive too) maybe they will come to a truce. He will probably also go back to being a full villain but I doubt the League will have too much of a presence for a while so the show can focus on other stuff. Then there was Felicity and while she was alright I didn't like her being in the ATOM suit too much (because it was a quick attempt to involve her in the fight which meant we couldn't see Ray in action) and then she drove off with Oliver at the end. I never wanted these two together but I bet the OliverxFelicity fans are jumping with joy now, I guess I just got to accept it. Now I don't think Oliver is retiring for good (because he is the star obviously) but maybe like the Brick Arc he will be absent for a while which I don't mind because the Brick Arc proved that the secondary characters can hold there own so hopefully we will see more developments with Thea, Laurel and Diggle. Finally there is the Flashbacks and I just didn't like them because there was just little for Oliver, Maseo and Tatsu to do and was far less dramatic than the Slade vs. Oliver fight last season. However we got a great Easter Egg for Green Lantern with Oliver boarding a ship to Coast City so I hope we see Hal Jordon next season because he has been teased on Arrow/Flash for ages.

Overall not the best finale out of the three seasons but still a fun one to watch and makes me look forward to the possibilities of Season Four. Plus I liked how they managed to fit in the Flash for the finale, that was cool!

SCORE: 7/10

Highlights: Oliver vs. Ra's/Oliver and Nyssa team up
                   Team Arrow stopping the virus
                   Malcolm as the new Ra's
                   The possibilities for Season Four/Damien Darke

Let - Downs: The bio attack wasn't as threatening as the Mirakuru army
                       Flashbacks didn't do much
                       OliverxFelicity
                       ATOM didn't join in on the fight

The great screenshots of the episodes where provided by the great site Screencapped. You can look for yourself from the link below;





http://screencapped.net/      

Bleach Review: Divine Division

The chapter begins with Ichibei saying that Yhwah does not listen to any of the warnings he has given him and the only think to do now is kill him, they then both draw their weapons. Back down in Vandenreich City, Urahara is drawing lines on the ground and someone asks him if he has finished his preparations and the we see the Visords; Love Aikawa, Hiyori Sarugaki, Hachigen Ushōda and Lisa Yadōmaru. Hiyori asks if it is okay that Urahara has already sent the others up to the Royal Realm even though they will die but are interrupted by the arrival of Yoruichi's little sister Yūshirō Shihōin who is carrying a large wrapped object. Urahara says it will be useful to them before walking inside the building.

Been so long since I've seen these four

Back at the Royal Real Yhwach and Ichibei continue to clash however when Yhwach knocks Ichibei's brush away with his arm it suddenly hangs useless from his side. Ichibei says his brush cuts words not flesh and that is arm is now ar and it is at half strength. He then says that's Yhwach's movements must feel sluggish now before slicing him down the middle and knocking him away. Ichibei says that Yhwach must be at half strength now while having a really crazy expression and asks he if wants to be chopped into little pieces. Yhwach only grins and starts to stand up while gathering Reishi around him.

"Do you really think I'd ever fall?"

Pretty good chapter here however it isn't as good as last weeks because once again a large part of the beginning is completely wasted. I am glad to see the Visords again because they are some of my favourite Bleach characters but other than that the beginning just frustrates me. Once again we are just given vague explanations to what characters are doing and I am kind of sick of it. This is the LAST Bleach arc and I kind of want more answers than questions, I guess Urahara might actually have something more to do with Aizen but can't they just say it. We also get the introduction of Yoruichi's little sister but I think its a little to late to introduce new characters like that but I guess I am interested to see what she's carrying.

How important will she really be to the story?

The best part of the chapter is still the fight between Yhwach and Ichibei because like I said in the last review it has been so even between them so far. Ichibei is more of a manic in battle than I thought with those facial expressions he makes and he did say he is leader of the Soul Reapers which kind of confirms that he is the most powerful. He also calls Yhwach "old friend" which implies (like it has in earlier chapters) that Yhwach was more connected with the Soul Reapers than we know. Lastly Ichibei's powers are really cools and fits into is title of being the creator of names and I hope this fight still lasts a while so we can see more of his powers.

"Have at thee!"

Overall this is a good chapter but I didn't care much for the beginning because we could have seen more of Yhwach vs. Ichibei. I wonder if Yhwach is activating his Vollstandig at the end but it might be too early for that and it could just be a different power, also great seeing him use his sword again.

SCORE: 7/10

Highlights: Yhwach vs. Ichibei

Let - Downs: The beginning with Urahara, if we didn't get answers I didn't see the point in it 

Bleach Review: Don't Call My Name

The chapter starts off with Shunsui walking around Vandenreich city, commenting on all of the damage, before coming across Ukitake. Ukitake says that Kamikake is taking effort and a mysterious shadow appears behind him. Shunshui says he has to ask the Central 46 about something before he opens a passage underground and walks down the stairs.

"Who's going to pay for all this"

In the Royal Realm Ichibei has drawn another seal and says to Yhwach he will be defeated within it, however Yhwach replied that it will be Ichibei. Ichibei again says that he should not call out his name before drawing another seal and actives Senri Tsūtenshō where a massive hand comes out of it and smacks Yhwach 1000ri away. He creates another one that sends Yhwach downwards, Yhwach tries to counter this but Ichibei says that his throat has been crushed by calling his name so casually. Yhwach then punctures his own throat, gives himself the power of "The Voice" and casts a spell called Sankt Bogen which creates a massive spirit bow and fires several arrows upwards. One grazes Ichibei who notices that Yhwach had pieced himself with an arrow bring himself back up, Ichibei says he has no more choice but to kill him before his eyes roll up into his head.



"Told you not to say my name" 

Got ourselves a really great fight this chapter and really proves that Ichibei is a badass and probably the most powerful member of the Zero Squad. What I really liked about this chapter was that it has been even between Ichibei and Yhwach; all of the fights lately have been completely one-sided and just shows someone dominating the fight (Nimaiya) until a new power is revealed and another one dominates the next chapter (revived Sternritter). I really liked this fight and the moves that where used as well; Ichibei must have put a curse on his name to crush the throats of those who spoke it too many times and it worked on Yhwach who almost found himself ejected out of the Royal Realm. As for his eyes rolling up it did make him look really sinister and I guess he does that when he is finally taking the fight seriously.

A Titian's hand!!

As for Yhwach I always thought he had the fighting style of a berserker from what I saw in this previous fights and what I saw now really strengthens that. His willingness to tear open his throat and piece himself with a giant arrow just to gain back the advantage in a fight is pretty crazy. His Sankt Bogen ability was awesome; that massive bow had a huge panel to itself so it looked cool, I hope he uses it again. As for giving himself the power of "The Voice" it makes me think that he is using the letter V he bestowed upon Gremmy for himself since the power has returned back to him. But since Gremmy was "The Visionary" that implies that Yhwach can use the letter V for anything he wants or that was the power of a previous Sternritter who died.

I think this is what Yhwach used to summon his broadsword

I didn't really like the beginning of this chapter however because I just didn't get what the hell was going on. It was great seeing Ukitake again but I didn't like that he mentions something called Kamikake but doesn't explain what it is or that Shunshui was going to visit Central 46 but doesn't say what for. I have read that several people think that it is to see Aizen and while that one be one of the best things ever why couldn't he just say it. I know Kubo is trying to build suspense and have a big reveal later but it is kind of annoying while we got all these fights in the Royal Realm and since we haven't seen Ukitake or Shunshui fight yet during this while second invasion.

Overall this was a great fighting chapter and we got to see some awesome abilities but I just didn't see any point for the beginning of the chapter.

SCORE: 8/10

Highlights: Yhwach vs. Ichibei
                   An even fight between those two
                   Cool abilities like Sankt Bogen  and  Senri Tsūtenshō 

Let - Downs: Didn't care much for the beginning