Redwolf's Journal (continued)

One Punch Man didn't sound very good to me in premise. I mean, a superhero who defeats all his opposition literally with one punch? That's like Superman, only more super! Even if, technically, he's super-amped-up human (ie. strength, speed, endurance and such, but no flying or unusual powers). But after watching a 12-episode season, I have to say it's better than I expected. There's fun to it, silliness, and some seriously thought. Saitama, the title character, is basically unbeatable and ridiculously powerful, but because of that, he's pretty much totally jaded with it. He still goes out and defeats the monsters that spring up around him, but there's no thrill or excitement or even reward, really. Genos, the hero who attaches to him as a self-styled "disciple" provides a more traditional viewpoint, but you can see him learn some things along the way too as Saitama searches for purpose in becoming an officially-recognized hero and so on. I als

Okay, so let's put on the critical thinking cap and look more closely at the movie. Flaws (aka stuff that bothered me for one reason or another) and other thoughts: - Rey is a little too awesome. I have zero problem with a female taking what seems to be the central lead role in a Star Wars trilogy. I don't mind that she's a good technician, pilot, and can handle herself in a fight. I actually like that she saves Finn more than vice versa and manages to free herself after being captured. I'm even okay with her powerful Force talents in a general sense. But all of that together is a bit much, and how she manages to find her center in the middle of a fight and beat Kylo Ren sort of tips it over into the realm of "does this character actually have any weaknesses?" - There's a lot of background that isn't explained. Rey's parentage (probably Luke at this point, but there are hints that she could be another Solo). Why Finn seems to be exceptional

Spoiler free while I process in more detail: - It's good. It may not be perfect, but it's definitely good. - It begs comparison to the original trilogy in a lot of ways, mostly positive. - See it. Also, this actually happened: The son of the family next to us came over to his father when the credits rolled, hugged him, and said "It was beautiful."

Sword Art Online was a pretty popular series when it was running, though I sort of missed out, even on the Cartoon Network run (that Toonami block is harder to stay up for than it used to be years ago). To some degree, I brushed it off because it sounded like just another trapped-in-an-MMO series. .Hack//Sign (and its spin-offs) may have dulled any enthusiasm for the sub-genre right off in my book. But... it's better than I expected. I actually really like the SAO arc. That first half of the series works pretty well, though I think it might overestimate people's willingness to raid blinding in an MMO where logging out isn't an option and death is permanent. But I do like that it takes this into consideration to some extent. There's a period when it's recognized that players' real bodies are probably being moved to hospitals, since they're essentially coma patients at that point. Of course, a series like this can live or die by its characters, and the a

I find it a little odd that the whole central point of argument in a game I'm playing (the synths in Fallout 4) should also be mirrored in a book I pick up. But there it is. The Mechanical is the start of a series depicting an alternate history pitting mostly the French-in-exile against a Dutch nation that's taken over most everything else (Europe anyway?) by virtue of their alchemy and the artificial beings, Clakkers, powered by it. In a lot of ways, though, it could be any two fantasy nations. While some real names and religions and such are tapped, the whole thing feels pretty skewed away from historical basis to me into the realm of fantasy. Overall, I enjoyed. The writing does spend a little too much time being descriptive at point, and the book contains what has got to be the most horrifying and haunting scene I've witnessed in years (if perhaps for personal reason), but it's still good. The story primarily follows three main characters, intersecting but not