Full Metal Alchemist: The Final Alchemy and The School of Good and Evil

Movies that will make you go "Huh?"

Full Metal Alchemist: The Final Alchemy

Directly continuing from the previous one this is very long as it decides not only to add a number of new characters but then has to try wrap up everyone's story lines neatly. While the main actors have improved even more now it is the plot and the main villain that are stupid here. For one, people just show up out of nowhere either mid battle, or mid conversation. Weren't you just on the opposite side of the country!? Those trains must be super efficient.

Also, the entire point of the villains evil scheme didn't make much sense at the end - nor how he was beaten, despite there being cool things occurring for that to happen. Ugh. If you've already survived the first two movies you may as well finish it off. If you haven't, then don't bother as this really won't make any sense.

The School of Good and Evil

When two best friends who are both treated as outcasts in their village find their way to the magical school of Hogwarts titular School of Good and Evil, they and the audience quickly learn that it is a most stupid place that teaches almost nothing and entry requires accepting to be kidnapped. Why two schools? To keep the "balance" because you obviously can't do that in one school right?

Despite that negativity there are nice sets, decent CGI and action pieces and all the actors and actresses do an ok job with what they have. Much like most of the princesses here they are very pretty but also ultra shallow. Entertaining enough if there isn't anything else on, but it's not something I'd actually recommend.

Full Metal Alchemist: Scar's Revenge

After being left out of the first movie entirely, a serial killer who hunts State Alchemists comes to town and starts hunting everyone's favorite alchemical brothers. This second outing fixes the main flaw I had where the main character is near unlikable. Sure, he still has moments of trying too hard to copy his anime / manga form but all up he is much better this time around.

There's also a lot more action and pretty decent sequences at that, despite the CGI having the same "we're on a budget" look. The main flaws which are more pronounced here are the slow trigger fingers of anyone with a gun, because I failed to count how many times I said "shoot him in the head" out loud. This is probably a left over from the manga where people have soliloquys at gun point. What might fit on a single panel on a page does not translate well into minutes of talking on the silver screen. It's almost to the point where the rifle men should be getting tired of aiming for that long.

Fans unfamiliar with the story might also wonder about an unexplained block in one fight sequence, but its a blink and you'll miss it thing. All up, much better than the first movie but it ends with a "to be continued" sign so expect to be left hanging.

The Gray man and Full Metal Alchemist (2017 / Live Action)

People who want to save people are the most dangerous people of them all?

The Gray Man

CIA trained assassin (Ryan Gosling) becomes the target of his own agency when proof of their corruption falls into his possession. While the plot is thin and predictable it is an action packed film with some good fight scenes and some laughs included. Entertaining enough to recommend, especially for Ryan Gosling fans. Just don't go in with any expectations and everything will be fine.

Full Metal Alchemist (2017)

Based on the popular manga of the same name, this series follows a pair of brothers desperately trying to retrieve that which they lost due to their own foolishness. While the film condenses and alters a bit of the story, it is still pretty solid for the most part (the ending is a bit lol and the pace means it lacks some emotional hits) and while the CGI isn't the best as its obviously on a budget, it's passable. The main issue for me is the protagonist.

While all the actors cheesily try to act like their comic counterparts the protagonist is simply unlikable or weak acting wise, but to be fair he also has the hardest job. His "blonde" hair is also the most distracting of all of them. In the end, I'm not sure I can recommend this because there are better methods to get the same / similar story and for fans, you already know the story so...? That didn't stop them from making two more live action movies though. :P

Berserk: Band of the Hawk

A decent catch up mechanism for the non-manga readers.

The easiest way to sum this game up is: Dynasty Warriors Berserk, which is probably why it's also known as Berserk Musou. You control one character of your choice (primarily Guts) and rampage across numerous battle fields slaying literally tens of thousands of foes.

The graphics aren't fantastic and the camera is not great but they serve their purpose, and the keyboard controls (PC) are a bit clunky but serviceable. What caught me by surprise is the length of the game, which goes well past the Golden Age arc which is the extent I thought it would cover as the cut scenes directly come from the remade anime.

Afterwards, it just uses regular CGI but the jist of the story is still there (despite the hundreds of filler monsters) and that is the highlight for me as a Berserk anime fan who doesn't read the mangas!

Once you complete the story line that's available (because the manga itself isn't finished) you then have the option to go into the "Endless Eclipse" mode to unlock bonus outfits, gear, or just fight some more with the small caveat that to win it - you must reach 100 levels of Endless Eclipse without stopping.

Rest is for the weak!

One might say that is the "true" game too, since you can only complete it once story mode is done. If you like Dynasty Warriors type games and/or like Berserk, then this game is worth a look. I give it three behelits out of five.

Versus (2000)

[My fifth Blaugust post!]

This Japanese action film is a bit of a mix mash in its content AND its story telling. Starting out by following two escaped prisoners to their getaway group sounds like an interesting enough setup. Until I mention that the same getaway group has brought a kidnapped girl with them, and the forest they are meeting up in is spawning zombies (armed with firearms no less), and the big bad guy uses swords, guns and magic. By the time the two comedic policemen come looking, one with a still bleeding decapitated hand, you might have forgotten that there were escaped convicts to begin with.

It's also like the director was trying to make a manga in some shots where you have all the actors standing in somewhat un-natural positions, not looking at each other while they talk (sometimes for an entire dialogue) but they are all visible and posed for the camera.

Plot aside, the comedy and the acting is a bit hit and miss but at least the action and violence makes up for a fair bit of that. It's pretty aptly named too since everything else is just a big wrapper of fluff around the good guy vs the bad guy. 

One can never have enough weapons!

Definitely not one to be taken seriously, but if you enjoy a bit of brawling, wire work, gun and sword play and can endure Japanese humor (and a little gore) then you might actually enjoy this one! I give it two and a half bullets out of five.

Blaugust Bonus: I began enjoying foreign films after I got into anime, which led me to getting used to the whole subtitle thing. As a strange bonus, I've watched so many Japanese ones that I can sometimes tell when the subtitles have a wrong translation for some of the words - despite me not being able to speak Japanese in the first place.

Attack on Titan - Tribute Game

With low res, polygonal graphics where your character and enemies look like dolls and houses look a bit like cubes, no music, spoilerific information that can give away a few plot points in the Attack on Titan anime/manga on which it was based, and a very sparse number of levels you would think that this free, Unity based tribute game by creator Feng Lee is a disastrous enterprise.

Well I can tell you that despite all those short falls the game itself is fantastic and can be surprisingly addictive, especially for fans of the series! It also has a pretty severe learning curve at the start where you will doubtlessly die many times while trying to get the hang of your 3D manoeuvring device.

Knowing where to fire your lines, when to let go and how long to press the gas button is your one advantage over the numerous, people eating titans who can easily kill you with one hit. You can do the same to them, provided you get to their weak spot at the nape of the neck. I've seen some awesome players who almost never touch the ground anymore with their skills.

How did I see this? Because you can play cooperatively! You can lure titans away for your allies to get easier kills, or save your friends from getting devoured if you are agile enough to get in a killing (or blinding) strike. There's room for improvement for sure, but even in its current state I give this game 4 out of 5 potatoes, and highly recommend everyone - especially fans of the series - to give it a try!

I also recommend having one of the songs from the OST playing in the background while doing so to really get you in the zone. Personally, I use DOA.

TiS: Rurouni Kenshin Returns!

I've just seen news that the next two live action Kenshin movies are coming out this year - HUZZAH!

For those who don't know, Kenshin is a pretty long running manga turned anime turned OVA turned live action movie that my brothers and grandfather have been following over the years. We took turns reading out each subtitled line for my grandpa throughout the animated series and when it finally came to the end was one of the only times I've seen my grandpa cry. That's how awesome it is.

I did do a review of the first live action movie and was thoroughly impressed by how they handled the content. This time it's the Kyoto arc where Kenshin and co. face Shishio and his "Ten Swords". Totally expecting much backstory getting chopped here in exchange for beautiful and vicious combat. Having Aoshi (my favourite character) in there is a bonus! I suspect they'll need to change him around a fair bit though since they totally skipped his intro in the previous movie (which means its not going to end well for him, is it? Damn!). I'm also interested to see just how they do The Legend Ends, a little of which is seen right at the end of the trailer in the link I believe. Best of all it doesn't look like I'll have to wait long as both movies are set to release later this year! With news like that, who couldn't help smiling!?

If you still haven't seen the first Kenshin live-action movie then you can watch if for free here! It's subtitled in English, so even Simcha has no excuse not to watch it. ;P

MMOs: Spells and Spelling

[Part of my MMO Design Folder]

All this l33t speak and short hand in MMOs can be convenient, but I'd like to see games that actually encourage people to increase their literacy skills, rather than decrease it.

My initial idea is probably one that will be unpopular (I can hear the grammar nazi yells now) to many but we have to start somewhere.

Mages and clerics in most fantasy MMO's are often meant to be wiser or more intelligent than their more physical counterparts so I would focus on them and their skills first. What I'd like to see is a change to the way their spell / prayer abilities work and there are three variations I can think of right off the bat: "Cantrips", "Prepared" spells and "Aura" spells.

Cantrips are the simplest of magic that can be done with the flick of a hand or a nod or simply through sheer will, and would basically function exactly how spells currently work in most MMO's. Activate, wait for cool down, repeat. Easy.

Prepared spells are more powerful skills you can ready before hand. To ready a spell, you simply have to type out the exact wordy chant for that spell - a whole sentence (more if the spell is stronger, and each has to be typed individually - can't be pasted in as one big chunk of text). Upon completion your little icon to fire or cast the spell is available, until you use it - upon which time you must ready it again (or maybe you can fire x amount of times before readying again). Failing to complete a chant properly (mistype) can cause a variety of effects depending on the spell. A "weak" class spell will probably have no ill effects. A "strong" class spell might set you on fire. This is much like the old D&D where mages prepare can prepare their spells before hand but once they are out they'll need to be quick and precise with the word smithing to regain their powers.

Aura Spells on the other hand have no little icon. They begin when you key in the first sentence of the spell and continues/strengthens its effect as you continue typing out the rest of the spell. The best example I can think of is a cleric reciting the Apostles' Creed (for example) in a demon infested crypt. As he finishes each sentence the radius of the spell aura increases, as does the damage it is doing to the foes within it, ultimately instantly destroying the ones left upon its completion, provided he didn't make any mistakes in the incantation.

Obviously both the Prepared and Aura spells also have a time limit to type in the next line with weaker spells giving you a few grace seconds while the stronger variants require you to pretty much be touch typing at a pretty high speed to pull off fully.

More bible and less machine gun.

What do you think? Any suggestions to improve on this would be welcome! :)

That Happy Cat

It's not often that I browse through a manga shelf, pick up a book I've never heard of, at random, then finding myself stuck reading before finally admitting that I need to buy it right then and there. Yet that's exactly what happened when I stumbled upon "Chi's Sweet Home" (volume 1).

Chi's Sweet Home is the story of a stray kitten who winds up being taken in by a small family living in an apartment where no pets are allowed. From what I've seen that's all there is to it, and the artwork is pretty simple compared to the more popular series of Bleach or Naruto. I think even Dragonball was better illustrated, but Chi herself is fantastically cute (way moreso than my crappy fan-art attempt) and very very endearing.

The series seems to geared towards kids and cat lovers as I don't think it would even reach a PG rating. The most violence present that I've seen is Chi scratching stuff! It also and has an animated version you can find on youtube, with each "chapter" running around 5 minutes.

If you have a soft spot for cutesy things or just want to see what this is all about, I recommend watching the first two episodes on Youtube. Then you can see if Chi makes you smile too. :)