Sunday, August 18, 2013

Sword Art Online Review

This review came from here

Only a few shows about video games manage to get the idea of people playing videogames right.  Shows like Reboot and .hack//sign come to mind for good video game themed shows and Level Up comes to mind for the worst video game themed show I have ever seen in my life.  Showing on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim segment is a massive multiplayer online role-playing game themed anime called Sword Art Online and I could not be happier to watch it.  
           
Sword Art Online follows the story of Kirito, a solo beta tester for the MMORPG named Sword Art Online.  Sword Art Online uses a virtual reality helmet called the Nerve Gear.  The Nerve Gear allows the player to experience the world of Sword Art Online physically through an avatar.  On the first day of the game's release, Kirito finds out he and other players can not log out of the game.

The Summary 

The game creator has locked everyone inside Sword Art Online and the only way out is for someone to beat the final boss.  If someone takes the Nerve Gear off of the player's physical body then that player's brain will be fried and they will die in the real world  If a player dies in Sword Art Online then that player dies in the real world as well.  Anyone who has played a MMORPG knows that MMORPGs are full of beginners, the highly skilled players, people who are not good at fighting, and players who take joy in killing other players.  
Knowing that everyone in the game has to live inside Sword Art Online, player killers have become real criminals and players look down upon beta testers.  Kirito must learn to become a team player in order to survive and beat Sword Art Online.
There is obvious knowledge of mmorpgs and the situations people face in mmorpgs in this anime.  I found myself relating to Kirito's situations as a solo player, recalling how many males and females who play the opposite gender of their avatars, and trying to stay away from players who like killing other players.  

Characters  

Our protagonist Kirito maybe one of the best players but he still has his challenges when grouping with other players who are often weaker than him.  The love interest Asuna comes off as a likeable female protagonist who can hold her own in fights and is a good leader of her own guild.  The relationship between these two develops nicely with it's ups and downs.  I would like to see these two make it through the game and get together in the real world.

Sword Art Online is an anime that mmorpg game fans would love to watch.  For those that want to see Sword Art Online on TV in English can now look at Adult Swim every Saturday night.  

Sunday, August 4, 2013

Pacific Rim Review

Review link: http://ofanimeandvideogames.com/pacific-rim/

pacific rim poster banner 300x150 Pacific Rim
Becoming older now I am getting less surprised with Hollywood’s upcoming list or and past list of movies with similar themes, predictable plots, and formulas.   After seeing a trailer where two people fight together in huge mechs and punching a gigantic monster in the face; I knew I had to see Pacific Rim.  The director Guillermo del Toro has made a movie inspired by manga and anime and I loved the 2 hour ride.
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In short, aliens called the Kaiju have come through a portal on the Earth’s sea  and started wrecking havoc.  Countries from around the world start forming together and create giant robots called the Jaegers to start fighting the Kaiju.  In order to pilot a Jaeger, two pilots must be mentally bonded together and work as one to take down the monsters.  The movie follows the two protagonists Charles and Mori as they team up, overcome their struggles, and take down the Kaiju, and close the portal for good.
This movie is a visual treat to the eyes.  The designs of the Kaiju and Jaegers are diverse and creative.  I loved seeing Hong Kong, Japan, Alaska, and various others diverse locations and nationalities.  There are plenty of colors in this film and the colors go so nicely together.  There was obviously a lot of design work done on this film.
For those who love deep and complex characters might want to look elsewhere.   The majority ofPacific Rim‘s characters fit anime archetypes such as the hot shot who hates the Charles for no reason, the scientist who is too into himself, the socially awkward nerd, etc.  I’m all for complex characters but this movie is all about the action.  Despite the archetypes, watching the characters interact with each other was entertaining.
I really liked Mako Mori as the main female protagonist.   Mori did not come off as a female protagonist trying to too hard to be cool and neither was she treated as a sexy female side kick.   She could fight and she obviously had her own mental issues to overcome.   Charles treated her as a partner who he could trust to fight alongside him in the Jaeger.
If you are into giant robots, huge aliens, colorful and diverse environments, and anime, this movie is for you.  Just remember that Pacific Rim  is for fun, nothing too deep beyond the action here.