Gotham Season One: The Anvil Or The Hammer

"Soon everything shall be mine!"

Gordon and Bullock close in on the Ogre as he mentally tortures Barbara meanwhile Bruce infiltrates Wayne Enterprises and discovers a dark secret about his father.

 

Well this is the end of the Ogre Arc and the villain himself and while it is a damn shame he had to go because he was so good I think he left a lasting impression. I just really liked his mind games that he played with Barbara; he didn't inflict much physical damage on her but he still broke her down. I also liked how the Ogre was killed because he was really brutal seeing his head snap back as he was shot (just one example of how graphic this episode was with it's gore) and his fight with Gordon was great. Of course like always Barbara was a real let down because her whole subplot with the Ogre didn't really lead anywhere in the end and that she actually chose her parents to die was just sick, even if she did hate them. I know she obviously has been through a lot but with this latest development she is being really unredeemable and she just keeps getting worse and worse. The writers just don't know what to do with her and I hope she soon gets written out of the show and Leslie stays as Gordon's love interest because as I said before she is way better. Plus I knew they wouldn't show any bondage stuff between Ogre and Barbara so it was pointless teasing in last episode but I was surprised by how much we saw in the brothel with Bullock which was such a funny scene lol.

From what I hear this is still sexier than what was in the Fifty Shades of Grey film, lol

As for everything else again Penguin shows that his plans are always more elaborate then we think with his plan to actually kill Falcone than Maroni; how he used the hit men was really unexpected and now he has started the gang war he wanted. Maroni was always great in this episode (though he always is when he is on screen) and the scene where he is shooting Falcone's men with his gang in slow motion was done really well. Then there is Nygma trying to dispose of the cop's body which like the Ogre's death and the severed head was really graphic than I would have thought and it was amusing that he hurled the body through the GCPD! I am really liking his moments with Kringle because I think the relationship between them has been developed well which might be because it has been happening for a lot of episodes now. You know I have read some opinions online that some believe Kringle may become the Nygma's sidekick when he becomes the Riddler kind of like Harley and The Joker and I think giving the Riddler a female partner would be a nice twist to his character. Speaking of the Riddler it was so awesome that Nygma actually left a clue in the letter to Kringle because that is what he does with his victims in the comics and it felt like a real first step towards the Riddler in Gotham. Finally there is Bruce's subplot which didn't really have that big of a revelation because it was kind of obvious his father must have known about the companies' shady dealing to  some degree however it was worth it all for the debut of Lucius Fox and I hope we see more of him because he is a great character to work with.

"I get to got to all the best places"

Overall I great end to the Ogre Arc and I am expecting big things for the finale next week now that we have got a gang war.

 

SCORE: 8/10

 

Highlights: Gordon vs. The Ogre/Bullock at the brothel

                   Penguin's hidden plan/the moments with Maroni

                   Debut of Lucius Fox

 

Let - Downs: Again Barbara because I just hate her and everything she does

 

       

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/   

Anime Review: Baka and Test

Been ages but I have finally got round to writing another anime review and I thought I would review some of the anime I have on DVD. Now I know I might get some new anime and I'll just do a review on them straight away if I have already went past it's letter. One last thing I won't be review Bleach or Naruto (which I also have on DVD) because those anime are so long.

The story centres around the main protagonist Akihisa Yoshii for attends class F at Fumizuki Academy in Japan. At this academy there is a divide among the students where they are put in to classes based on their test scores; A reserved for the best and F for the those with the lowest scores. What is also different about this academy is that the students are allowed to fight each other by summon avatars; mini versions of themselves whose strength is determined by their latest test scores. So we follow Yoshii and his friends as they try to prove to the rest of the academy that being in class F doesn't mean your a failure.

Baka and Test is a comedy anime and it is beyond a doubt really funny, probably one of the funniest anime I have ever seen. It is just the complete silliness of the whole situation and how class F deals with various challenges that usually ends in hilarious results. The setting is a typical for most comedy anime in that it is based in a high school however what sets this one apart is the characters can summon avatars of themselves to battle each other which kind of gives the series an RPG feel to it, especially in the way that they battle. The times in which the student's avatars are mostly used is during the Summoner Test Wars where one class can challenge another one to battle and it is really funny with the tactics involved. Unfortunately they don't use a STW as much as they really should have as it takes a back seat for most of the series which is a shame after seeing it for only the first episode. If there is one thing bad to say about the humour is that it is full of cliques; not that there is anything bad about that but you can basically find every character type in this anime. As for the episodes themselves maybe because it is a typical slice of life humour anime but the they are very inconsistent with each other; there is a main plot overall with the STW but it is hardly addressed when most single episodes are focused on other things like a bathing suit episode or (my least favourite episode) ep 7 when two main characters have to go through a wedding experience.

The main characters are all in class F and surprisingly they aren't as stupid as they appear to be and yet they have typical characteristics found in a lot of anime; there is the lead Yoshii, the good natured yet constantly portrayed as an idiot and then the two lead female characters the flat chested tsundere Minami and the well - endowed sweet Mizuki who both have feelings for Yoshii but of course like most main anime characters Yoshii is oblivious to it. Then of course there is Yuji who makes up the comedic duo with Yoshii, Hideoyoshi the feminine - looking character who even the boys find attractive and who a lot of humour focuses on and finally there is Kota who is the perverted photographer. I do really like these characters however there is not much that makes them stand out from typical anime characters in other comedies. My two favourites would have to be Yoshii because of his hyper and optimistic attitude and Hideoyoshi because of some of the jokes that questions his gender e.g. special bathing room was made for him because the other characters are confused if he is a boy or a girl. However the jokes surrounding these character get overused all the time like, as I mentioned above, Kota is the pervert one and that is it for him and when it comes to Hideoyoshi's gender. Maybe because of these characteristics being overused but it leaves no real time for any character development or backstory for them and the only one who really gets any is Yoshii. Finally the animation really does look nice and is one of it's strongest points; it uses a lot of bright colours and funny facial expression and body movement when it comes to it's comedy.

Overall this is a solid comedy anime that's only real focus is bring laughs to everyone who watches it.

SCORE: 7/10

Highlights: Summon Test Wars/Avatars
                   Animation
                   Humour

Let - Downs: Not enough STW
                      Lack of character development

Thought I'd mention I plan to review Sword Art Online again next since the last one was felt a bit rushed in my opinion (it was early days in my blog when I wrote it) and I may have been too harsh on it. When I reviewed it before I only watched it once and I didn't even have it on DVD at the time but now I have all the episodes and I have had the time now to really appreciate it, heck I cosplayed as Kirito at the last Comic Con I went to.

Marvel Civil War, My Thoughts

Those of you who have paid attention to some recent Marvel news must have heard that Marvel is planning to adapt the Civil War storyline from the comics in the third Captain America film. I thought I'd give my thoughts on how it could work and what I think could happen, this will contain some SPOILERS for the comic and the Marvel film franchise.

Quick overview for those who haven't read the comic and don't care about spoilers; the Civil War arc begins when the United States introduces the Superhuman Registration Act which requires anyone in the United States with super powers to register themselves with the government. Tony Stark is for the Act because it would mean that inexperienced superheroes would get mandatory training and control their abilities. Captain America however is against it because it is against their human rights; if all identities of superheroes are registered and revealed then the "normal" part of their lives would forever be in danger. Thus a Civil War breaks out in the Marvel universe with many superheroes for and against this new Act.

Now the Civil War arc in the Marvel comics has always been one of my most favourite storylines because of its overall dark nature and that the good guys find themselves on opposing sides of war. If the films does this right then it can be an even more epic film than the Avengers or The Winter Soldier. I thought if they would have ever adapted the Civil War arc it would have been a stand alone film like the Avengers but I guess it does suit for a Captain America film because of its theme of civil war in America and protecting human rights.

Firstly what I am looking forward to seeing in this is if Stark will be the main villain because in my opinion he really is in the comics. He may support the Act for some right reasons but he does turn on a lot of his former comrades and it is easy for him to agree to the Act because everyone in the word already knows who he is and that he is Iron Man. Also wouldn't it be great to see the first hero to start off the Marvel universe of films become a major villain? It would be interesting to see how he agrees to it in the films because those who have watched it knows that he is always fighting with the government but I think what will drive him is guilt. In the comics he is guilty that his alcoholism almost kills people when he was in his suit but they have already dealt with alcoholism in Iron Man 2 so that leaves Ultron.

Everyone now knows that the plot of Avengers 2 revolves around Stark creating the artificial intelligence called Ultron that becomes self aware and deems humans to be the biggest threat to the world. I don't know how the film will play out because it is not released yet but I think Stark may feel remorse and guilt over what he created and feels after that superheroes, like himself, needs to be kept in check. This is just a guess however and I could be completely wrong about it.

As for which sides the other Avengers will take I can see The Hulk siding with Iron Man because Bruce Banner and Stark are good friends in the films and I think Banner would like the idea of young superheroes controlling their powers. However the Black Widow and Hawkeye will probably join Captain America because of their past together in S.H.E.I.L.D. As for Thor I don't think he will be in this film because the Act would not really affect him in any way.

Now for non - Avengers I first hope that War Machine (James Rhodes) is in the film because he has always been one of my favourite superheroes (even if he is now Iron Patriot) and Don Cheadle has been really great has him. But if he is to chose a side I hope he joins Captain America because it would be cool to see two armour - powered superheroes on opposing sides. Flacon will also join Captain America because he sides with him in the comics.

Starks side is looking pretty thin and that is because his big supporters are missing from the films, The Fantastic Four, Reed Richards in particular. I hear that they are rebooting the Fantastic Four films but I don't know if it will be out in time for Cap 3, however even if it isn't I guess that can still include the them. Also it would be interesting to see The Winter Solider agree with Stark and clash once again with Captain America, maybe feeling guilt over the things he has done?

Something that really worries me however about this film though is that they won't be able to include the X - Men and Spiderman because they exist in a separate movie universe. They are both against the Act and become major participants during the war so it is a real damn SHAME that we won't see them. However it is not only them but also heroes like The Punisher, Blade, Ghost Rider etc. that are also not included because once again their films have been standalone ones not connected to any other Marvel films. So I do really hope they reboot them quick or introduce them once again in Cap 3.

There you go just a quick run down of my thoughts on the Civil War arc that is going to be used in Captain America 3, I hope that everyone is looking forward to it like I am.