Arrow Season One: Darkness on the Edge of Town

Yep your screwed Oliver

The episode begins with the Dark Archer killing all the scientists at Unidac Industries to keep them silent about the device they brought into the city. At the Arrowcave Oliver wants Diggle to be The Hood and kidnap him and Moira so they can find out about The Undertaking. In a Flashback Yao Fei betrayed the others because Fyers would have killed them otherwise; he wants to cripple the Chinese economy by blowing up an aircraft with a missile launcher but he wants Yao Fei to take responsibly. In the present Quentin investigates Unidac Industries but so does Roy and Thea, later Oliver and Moira are kidnapped by Diggle who is The Hood. Moira confesses (when Diggle beats up Oliver) that she is working with Malcolm to destroy the Glades using an earthquake device developed by Unidac Industries so Team Arrow then decide to infiltrate Merlyn Global Group Headquarters to possibly find out what and where it is.

"Remember there is no need to go overboard.......why are you looking at me like that Diggle?"

The infiltration is successful with Oliver visiting Tommy and Felicity and Diggle sneaking in however Oliver does run into Malcolm and then Thea and Roy who he tries to dissuaded going after The Hood. Thea then later breaks up with Roy because of his obsession with finding The Hood and Walter divorces Moira because he knows she must have had something to do with his kidnapping. After talking with Oliver earlier Tommy visits Laurel but sees her getting intimate with Oliver and we then have a Flashback and Fyers has shot and killed Yao Fei after confessing on camera that he blew up the aircraft. Diggle goes in search of the Unidac device but finds only an empty container; Malcolm having moved the device beforehand after learning of Team Arrow's hack of his company's systems. The episode ends with The Hood attempting to kill Malcolm however he effortlessly catches the arrow and knocks The Hood out after a fight.

Too bad Malcolm wasn't in is Dark Archer costume during this fight

Almost to the end now and this episode was great in setting up the events of the finale. First off I think one of the best scenes in this episode was when Diggle, as The Hood, kidnaps Oliver and Moira. I mean that was just such a smart plan, we got some great distress out of Moira and we got to see Diggle as The Hood again (he deserves a costume!). Someone else who had some great scenes was Tommy once again because even when he doesn't say anything it is really emotional e.g. when he saw Oliver and Laurel through the window. He might not have had to say a word but you can tell that he is really hurt by Oliver and Laurel who have betrayed him from his point of view. Tommy has been really betrayed by his friends lately and I wonder if he will side with his father or forgive his best friend?

"Where the hell is the make up crew?"

As for the villains this episode Fyers has proven himself to be an evil sob since he killed off a major character. I didn't expect Yao Fei to die nor did I expect a major character to be killed until the final episode so the writers did I good job of surprising me. It is a shame Yao Fei has to go but I guess he will give resolve to Oliver to stop Fyers not just to find a way off the island. Now to the other villain Malcolm and he continues to be one hell of a badass! My other favourite scene was when he just effortlessly caught that arrow and then defeated The Hood and even before that when he massacred the Unidac scientists. So far Malcolm has proven himself to be the most dangerous person in the series so far since Oliver as failed to stop him twice.

"Arrows solve everything"

As for the rest of the episode I really enjoyed Team Arrow's infiltration of Merlyn Global Group Headquarters; it felt like a real sneaking mission with those gadgets and some comedic moments from Felicity with the help of Diggle. As for what I didn't like Roy and Thea's subplot seems to have gotten no where and them just splitting up at the end felt kind of lacklustre. Lastly I really didn't like the moment between Oliver and Laurel because I am just not a big fan of this pairing since I am not too much of a fan of Laurel anyway (in this season and the second) and it just annoys me when Oliver obsesses over her e.g. when he abandoned Diggle to help her.

Never leave the Arrowcave without your trusty crossbow

Overall this was a great setup for the finale.

SCORE: 8/10

Highlights: Malcolm continues to be a badass
                   Diggle as The Hood once again
                   The infiltration of Merlyn Global Group by Team Arrow

Let - Downs: After several episodes the Roy/Thea subplot has gotten no where
                    

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: Verge On Vermillion

Another great Bleach chapter from inside the Royal Realm.

The chapter begins with Nimaiya saying that the real battle starts now but his sword shakes a little however he is still able to dodge an attack from Gerard. Gerard goes to attack again but he is taken down quickly by Nimaiya who slices open his back.



"You like my fountain of blood?"

Lille observes this clash and states that some kind of trick is at work here and it has something to do with the jelly like substance and why the Zanpakutō shook at the beginning. He fires at Nimaiya who slices the bullet in two and, shocked, fires more but they are all deflected. Before he can do anything else Nimaiya slices him almost in half.

Not Lille's shooting arm!

Pernida starts to do some attack however Nimaiya simply throws his sword through her head, retrieves it by jumping off her body and then slices Askin who survives this attack but Nimaiya doesn't give him a chance to do anything else and slices his neck.

Now that's pretty damn cold

Nimaiya then says that his sword, Sayabuse, is a failed creation and that it is so sharp that even blood slides off the blade. In fact a sheath can't even hold it which is why he carries it in the jelly substance and because no one else can use it that is why it "failed" but thanks Yhwach for the chance to use it. However he is interrupted by Askin who begins to stand up saying that because of his power, that he hates, he has survived but always feels that he is close to death.

Gross!

Finally got a proper fight here in the Royal Realm because the previous ones, as great as they where, was mainly the Zero Squad and the Sternritter showing off their powers.

This was such an epic chapter because of how badass Nimaiya was; he absolutely stole the chapter with his impressive sword play and the way he dispatched the elite Sternritter. This shows that even though Nimaiya does like to goof around, like when he was first introduced, when the s**t goes down he turns in to a demon. He showed no mercy to any one the Sternritter and he is probably the most deadly with a sword in Bleach like when he took out Pernida, ripped the sword from her head and immediately went for Askin. His sword is very impressive as well; it's basically a one hit one kill blade but the back story about how its a failed creation was really interesting and when Lille was saying there was I trick behind it I think he was just guessing and it was just Nimaiya's sword work.

Askin's like WTF

As for the Sternritter I really do not think that they are dead because they are supposed to be the Yhwach's elite guard and he wouldn't have brought them if they where going to be taken out that easily. Gerard for example is "The Miracle" so maybe he can perform miracles on the battlefield, for example maybe "It's a miracle that he survived that attack" so something like that. As for Pernida I am not even sure if she is even human and I have read some people's opinions that she may be a robot or even an alien. However they could also be saved by Askin's ability as well.

"You can't touch me"

Askin has been hyped up so much that next chapter is obviously his time to shine and we may even get to see what his ability is. It could be something as simply as that he can not die which is what he hinted at the end of the chapter but I like to think there is more there. He is "The Deathdealing" so maybe he can make deals with those about to meet death or are close to death but that is just speculation.

"Didn't I just say you can't touch me"

Overall this has really showed off Nimaiya as the greatest swordsman in the Zero squad and since he is my favourite member I am glad he got such an epic chapter. The art and the swordplay where all perfect and I am glad we got a fighting chapter and I can't wait for next weeks!

SCORE: 10/10 

Anime Review: Attack on Titan



Back again but this time with another anime review and I don't think I have done one of these since my review of Sword Art Online (might redo that one since I after re - watched it and I am having second thoughts about my verdict). This review will be on the anime that everyone has been talking about; Attack on Titan. Minor Spoilers.

Attack on Titan is set one hundred years after a race of giant humanoid creatures called Titans suddenly appeared and brought the human race to the brink of extinction. Titans come in many sizes (the tallest being 15 metres) and they live only to devour humans without any mercy. While they lack intelligence they are extremely strong and are near invincible, they cannot be destroyed by any method except by slicing off a small area on the back of their necks. Humanity has been forced to retreat behind three massive 50 metre walls that have blocked off the Titans but have also isolated what is left of the humans from the rest of the wall. The main protagonist is Eren Yeager who dreams of seeing the world beyond the walls and hopes to one day kill every last Titan.

Now I just had to watch it because everyone I talked to was going crazy over this series and after watching it myself I can understand why. This a really unique and dark story that is unlike any others that are out there; it combines horror, supernatural, action all mixed in a medieval kind of setting.

First off lets talk about the Titans, the creatures that I am sure was the main attraction for most viewers of the series. At first you would not think that these slow moving giants with low intelligence would pose any threat to the characters but that all changed in the second half of the first episode when we get to see what the Titans are capable of. These things are brutal, strong and completely single minded about wiping out humanity and not only that but I have watched the anime and read the manga and even though we get some answers the Titans are still shrouded in mystery. This is just one example among many that makes you want to keep on watching the series.

I will also talk about the animation and music now because these two points also connect with the Titans. Another thing that is great about the Titans is the many, many faces that the artists give them ranging from comedic to down right creepy. For example who wasn't creep out the first time you saw the face of the Smiling Titan? It is these faces which to me almost have a kind of strange attraction to the Titans, you just cannot take your eyes off them in the scenes.
Also, you might have noticed but around the Titans and human characters there is a black line that separates them from the background. I have not seen anything like this before but it really makes the characters stand out, it even makes them look even more animated.
As for the music it is all great, we got a lot of orchestral soundtracks in here that blend well with the situations on and the music for the main intro is just awesome. Once again during the first episode when you see the Titans devouring humans and what the Smiling Titan is doing, it really makes you feel like all is lost.



However this anime isn't just about doom and gloom because the action can be really over the top when it wants to be. This comes in the form of the manoeuvring gear, along with a pair of swords, that the characters use to reach to the back of the Titan's neck. While this does make for some great action sequences, watching the humans take on giants with swords, some of this can look a bit silly. An example of this is when Eren rushing towards the Titans in episode five and his weaving about between the buildings. I have read the manga so I know that that scene is mostly over done so while it does work on the screen I cannot help but thinking that Eren should have been splattered on a wall.
But when the fighting does get started it is edge of your seat good and it is really dark because of the gruesome death scenes that the humans suffer. This is not for the faint of heart but those who like a lot of blood in their action will be glad here. Not to spoiler too much but in the series we also get some unusual Titans who attack each other which is some of the best moments in the anime.
 My favourite part, and arc, is with the Female Titan. She is so badass that she is also my favourite Titan,  she is just epic when I read the manga and it was great seeing her in the anime. Glad that they managed to include that arc before they ended the first season.

Now if I am going to be completely honest if I had to pick something that nagged me during the series is my lack of liking for the three main characters. Eren Yeager is a decent protagonist but I just find his outbursts of slaughtering the Titans to be annoying at times, he is good but defiantly not my favourite. Armin just gets on my nerves sometimes because he is a wimp for the most part who has yet to kill a single Titan, I know he is the brains of the group but I just can't find myself to like him. However the one who bothers me the most is Mikasa who is the biggest b***h since Rachel from Revolution in my opinion. She is portrayed as this ultimate fighter who is an expert at slaying Titans but they have made her too flawless at it that it lowers the danger of the Titans. Also her complete obsession with Eren does go overboard most of the time, I know he saved her life but her complete single mindedness with Eren (and her willingness to kill anyone and disobey the rules for him) is just not enjoyable to watch but frustrating. There are however a lot of great side characters such as Reiner, Bertolt, Annie, Levi and Zoe just to name a few.

Overall this a near perfect anime and a perfect adaption to a great manga.

9/10