Arrow Season One: Legacies



"Our first live action appearance"

The episode begins with a robbery at the Starling Trust Bank by three armed robbers wearing masks with a King, Jack and Ace on them (the Royal Flush Gang). During the robbery Ace shoots one of the hostages which angers King because it was an off duty cop, they then send all of the hostages outside wearing similar masks of their own before escaping through a tunnel. After sparring Oliver and Diggle check on the next name on the list, Scott Morgan, however Diggle suggest Oliver goes after the Royal Flush Gang. Diggle thinks Oliver should save the city beyond his father's list and be a hero but Oliver believes he isn't one. We then have a Flashback and Oliver is weakening with no food and drink and see a hallucination of his father Robert.

Those are some really cool mask designs

Meanwhile Laurel's legal firm where she works has lost it's major donor which makes it a bad time for Tommy to ask her out but gets advice from Thea when he visits Queen manor. Diggle then calls Oliver to tell him Moira is at the hospital however it turns out to be a trick since Diggle wanted to show him the cop who was shot and is now in a coma. This convinces Oliver to stop the Royal Flush Gang and after viewing footage at the bank concludes that Ace is the violent one and steals evidence from the police station where he slapped a hostage with his ring. The next day Tommy has funded Laurel's firm with money from his family's company; Merlyn Global Group. While this frustrates Laurel because she knows the real reason he is doing this she agrees to it.

"Now that no one is looking its back to Warcraft"

Oliver later discovers the possible identities of the Royal Flush Gang but remembers he has to be at dinner with his family, however during the dinner Diggle gets word that another bank is being robbed and has to leave. Oliver arrives to stop the gang from taking any money but they get away and almost has a close encounter with the police. Oliver then contacts Felicity to do a background check on the Reston Family, who are the Royal Flush Gang, and finds out that Derek Reston was employed in a factory by Queen's Consolidated but lost it when Robert Queen moved all the work to China and was even cheated out of a severance package. Oliver is disgusted by this and even has a Flashback where he contemplates suicide in front of the hallucination of Robert. Elsewhere Tommy admits he wants to get closer to Laurel because he is tired of his meaningless relationships with women.

See this might have been a good time to bring Diggle

Later Oliver finds Derek in a bar and tries to make amends by offering him a job however Derek refuses because he is still angry at Robert. Oliver manages to put a tracker into his bag and unfortunately has to leave a fundraiser his family is hosting when another bank is being robbed. Oliver arrives at the bank to stop the gang but Derek is killed when saving his son from being shot by a guard. Meanwhile at the fundraiser Tommy is angry that Laurel is dancing with someone else but didn't realise that the person is only a client and even has to deal with a drunken Thea. Oliver broods over the death of Derek but Diggles says it wasn't his fault and then we get another Flashback where Oliver as gotten over suicide and has discovered the list of names in his father's book. The episode ends with Oliver realizing he can do more for the city than cross off names and reconnects with his mother after disappointing her earlier.



Poor Oliver I almost feel bad about eating popcorn while writing this...lol

This was a good episode however since the last episode was just awesome with Deathstoke and his fight with Yao Fei that I kind of felt that this one winded down a bit. I especially found this true in the Flashback because it really wasn't too exciting since it was just Oliver alone in a cave. Since they are Flashbacks we the audience already know Oliver is not going to die in any of them, even if he gets seriously hurt. So what I am trying to say is that I found him contemplating suicide to be unnecessary because it isn't going to create tension but I guess its more of emotional than anything else. Plus I didn't like the appearance of Robert Queen as a hallucination because when they do this in films or TV, having a loved one come back as an hallucination to help them get over something, I just find it a quick and cheap way for the character to resolve their issues.

At the very least this family has something they like to do together

As for the Royal Flush Gang I like that they got an appearance in live action for once but even though they are comic book villains they felt like a one off gimmick. Despite that however I really like how they are portrayed here because you just feel a lot of sympathy for them, especially for the father Derek and that him and his family turning to the life of crime is another ill deed done by the Queen family that Oliver must try to right. I also like their masks as well and their bank robbing scenes where done really well, especially the opening even if that trick was already in V for Vendetta. I also liked that Oliver has finally realized he can do more than cross off names from the list because of the Royal Flush Gang so maybe the episodes now won't feel so episodic of him just going after a corrupt business man every episode.

"You going to get it now Oliver"

As for everything else I like that character build up of Tommy and Laurel and how they may start an actual relationship because it gives their characters something more to do. Tommy is really starting to grow on me too because I think his character is definitely being developed more and mature for example I liked that story about how on a date with a woman he realized he already slept with her two years ago. Again I am getting kind of sick of Thea and her drunkenness around other characters because it is getting old and annoying fast. First she insults Oliver episode 1, then she makes it awkward between Oliver and Tommy and now she tries to hit on Tommy. I get what they are doing; she is a rich girl who struggled with her father and brother's death while dealing with the pressure of the family name and social life, but do I honestly care about it? No I do not.

Get used to this because early season one drink and drugs is all her character does

Overall the Flashbacks where disappointing and Thea was annoying but I did like the Royal Flush Gang and the scenes with Tommy and Laurel, I think they had some great interactions with each other.

SCORE: 7/10

Highlights: Royal Flush Gang and their robberies
                   Tommy and Laurel

Let - Downs: Flashbacks
                      Thea

 

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: 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

Bleach Review: The Shooting Star Project [We Only Have to Beat You Mix]

Lets crack on with another Bleach review.

The chapter begins right where it left off with the countdown with the cannon about to fire Ichigo and his group to the Royal Realm, however they are stopped by Ganju who insists on coming. After a brief argument where Ichigo warns Ganju about how dangerous it is they decide to let him on because he says he is ready and he has a map. After the blast off the group remembers how this is similar to when they rescued Rukia and Orihime sadly comments how Uryu was with them then, Ichigo says he will beat Ywach and bring Uryu back.



"Don't worry Sakura, I'll rescue Sasuke......wrong manga!"

It then changes back to the Royal Realm and Nianzol Weizol explains that is ability is to deflect all attacks and all the swords that are aimed at him will bend. At first Shutara believes that this ability can be counted by attacking Weizol from his blind spot but he quickly disproves this theory by bending the swords of his attackers, saying that if he has already seen the ability it doesn't matter if it is in his blind spot. He then uses his finger to bend one of the guard's sword even more and then slices three in half at the same time.

Bet this is really annoying for those guards

Shutara however says that the guards where not her true attack and that in a blink of an eye she managed to remake his entire trench coat with one of her hands. She then says that if he attempts to take it off he will not survive and sure enough Weizol is then impaled by a dozen spikes from his coat.

Really interesting chapter here; I thought it would go back to the fights back on the ground but we remain with Ichigo and the Zero Squad.

What I really like about this chapter was how the first part with Ichigo was like a nod to the Soul Society Recuse Arc, so it was really nostalgic to read it. It was really funny seeing Ganju and the group argue again even if it did waste quite a few pages when I wanted to see more fighting. It is still good to see Ganju again and he must have gotten way stronger or else he would not be so confident about going to the Royal Realm but where did he leave the Xcution members? It also once again raises the question on whether or not the Shibas have any connection to the Royal Realm because of how you must use the cannon to get up there and how Ganju has a map of the place.

I really don't think this is the end for him

We also got some great action in the Royal Realm; Weizol's ability is really interesting and I curious to who is going to fight him and get round it (I seriously doubt he is dead already). Weizol turned out to be a real sarcastic person when speaking, using his lisp as an excuse for not explain his abilities properly. Shutara also turns out to be a real badass and her stitching based abilities are really cool and it makes me all the more excited to see hers, and all the other Zero Squad members, Shikai and Bankai.

Overall this was a real solid chapter even though it felt kind of short and that is mainly because I felt the reunion between Ganju and the rest dragged out for too long.

OVERALL: 8/10

Bleach Review: Winded by the Shadow

Been busy so I only just now got time to review the chapter

The chapter begins with Pepe trying to crawl away from Liltotto and trying to calm her down, however she is having none of it and activates her Vollstandig. She then starts to open her massive mouth and then seemingly devours a scream Pepe.

You are f***ed!

The scene then changes to the Royal Palace and Tenjirō Kirinji is getting more than a little frustrated because his attacks aren't connecting with Yhwach despite him not appearing to dodge them at all. Yhwach then ignores Kirinji and starts to walk past him, Kirinji tries to attack him one last time but again it doesn't effect him and he can't sense any illusions involved either.

Yep, there isn't something odd happening here.

Senjumaru Shutara then confronts Yhwach with her personal guard and remarks that it has been ages since she lasts seen him. Yhwach however doesn't even reply and barely acknowledges her, instead he makes his way up the stairs. Shutara orders her guards to kill Yhwach but their swords are stopped just like Kirinji.

This is a really badass two page panel; her guards look really cool

The answer to Yhwach's immunity from attacks comes in the form of Sternritter W "The Wind"; Nianzol Weizol who emerges from Yhwach's shadow. He is a rather odd looking Sternritter who also possesses two tongues and the ability to deflect attacks. Before we can see anymore the chapter ends with Ichigo and his group preparing to go to the Royal Realm in the cannon.

When I first saw this I almost thought it was As Nodt

It is really refreshing to finally see some action back in the Royal Realm because for awhile I thought Yhwach's fight with Kirinji was going to happen off screen. I was relived that this is not the case and the only thing we have missed is Kirinji failing to land a hit on Yhwach. That is something that is ok to skip, I wasn't incredibly disappointed when three Sternritter where defeated off screen in Rubb Dolls 1.

We also get the introduction of a new Sternritter, Nianzol Weizol, who has a really unique look and an ability which is interesting and over powered. I am glad we have a reveal of another letter and that Yhwach has also brought more Sternritter to the Royal Realm.

Bet talking is a real pain for him

 We also get some great shots and art work in the Royal Realm, one of the best panels was Shutara with her guard because they have a badass design. I hope we see them more in action in the future and I am curious to what other abilities they might have.

The only let downs in the chapter was the beginning and the end; I am guessing by now that Pepe has turned out to be such a disappointment after so much hype. So unless people eaten by Liltotto can survive in her stomach Pepe is now dead and we also hardly knew ye. As for the ending, if I am honest I really didn't care that Ichigo is on his way back to the Royal Realm because the focus will just shift to him and I want to see more of the Zero Squad fight.

Overall this is a major improvement over the Rubb Dolls chapters and I hope that it either stays here for a while or the fights below get a lot more better.

SCORE:8/10

Predictions: Haven't done this in a while but firstly I think the reason Yhwach isn't fighting the Zero Squad and letting Nianzol block the attacks is that he may have some way to make them serve him. He was going to make Ichigo serve him during the first invasion but we only got a vague hint about it but maybe he does have some brainwashing power. I think Nianzol (and maybe other Sternritter Yhwach has brought with him) will be opponents not for Ichigo but for Urahara, Chad, Orihime and Yoruichi and it will be interesting how they will get past Nianzol's ability.