I had heard great things about Nuclear Throne, so when I found out that it had come to the Nintendo Switch I immediately bought it. And I have to say, for a price of 15 dollars I was not disappointed. The gameplay is simple, but the game itself is far from forgiving. This dynamic makes a challenging environment with a constant sense of progression, which in turn leads to a high level of replayability. I found myself forgetting the time when I played, as the high-energy combat never ceased to hold my attention. The characters all add their own spice to each run, which further helps the variety of the game, and the variety of how you play it. Overall, Nuclear Throne is an underpriced gem, and I highly recommend it to those who don't own it already!
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One-Punch Man is a great parody and an even greater show. Since its second season's trailer has been going around lately, I figured I would take this opportunity to discuss its first season.
Since I started watching the show My Hero Academia I have received an even better view of just why One-Punch Man works so well. One show is a shonen that revels in the tropes and cool moments of American superhero movies, and the other is a comedy that revels in making those moments unsatisfying. If you contrast the two shows, you will be able to see how One-Punch Man feeds off the shonen archetype. Since the protagonist of the show, Saitama, can take out almost any opponent he faces in a single punch, every physical battle he enters is over nearly immediately. This gives room for a transition to another wacky villain almost every episode, and the villains are very creative in their own right. They all have strange gimmicks and overpowered concepts that have much more place in a comic than a TV show. But since Saitama can just finish them on a whim, there is never a moment where a villain becomes stale. No matter how wacky the villain is, there is always a cool moment with them. One example of this is the barrage of heroes that go up against a villain called the Ocean King. This villain is able to take down everyone who opposes him in extremely flashy and occasionally comical ways. Then, at the end of the fight, Saitama takes him out in one punch. This strategy works for majority of the season's villains and serves multiple purposes. The first purpose is the cool factor. Despite the fact that the show is a comedy, the fights between the wacky villains and the side characters are action-packed. They establish the villains as overbearing powerhouses and also give the audience some amazing fights to watch. Second, this strategy serves comical purposes. The side characters' interactions with baddies make for some of the show's funniest moments, and watching Saitama blast a villain away in a single blow is hilarious. Finally, this method makes for great parodies on multiple levels. It serves as a parody of a typical shonen trope, with the strategy clearly being taken from a shonen anime, and it also makes fun of typical superhero tropes. The latter leads to comical aspects, sure, but it also leads to very interesting story elements. Saitama is a man who is too strong for his own good. In the process of searching for a challenge throughout the show, he learns the value of helping others out, and it really makes a connection with the audience. You see these epic fights with other characters in the show, and you get to actively experience Saitama's boring fights along with him. As the show progresses, more and more powerful moments occur, and most of these stem from the protagonist growing and changing. This show is an amazing experience, but I believe its best aspect to be its length. One-Punch Man is only twelve episodes long. That's the perfect amount of time to get plenty of laughs and fights, but it also prevents the tropes from becoming stale. Many characters experience growth within these twelve episodes, and I believe that the story should've ended there. I adore this show, but I feel as though a second season could make the humor feel repetitive. I guess I'll see for myself when Saitama returns, albeit probably with a worse opening. Recently I've begun watching Hunter X Hunter. Although I was skeptical of why this show was anything special at first, I soon came to realize why it has gained its reputation. The best aspect of this show is the execution. I'm about 20 episodes in and I've gotten that far because the show has its own miniature secrets that serve as hooks for the viewer. "Hunters", the basis of the show and what the characters hope to become, haven't actually been explained yet within the world. Because of this, it's interesting to see what steps one must take to become a hunter, as each step gives you more insight into what a hunter is. Another hook that the show has is Hisoka. This villain is set up right from the start, and has already established himself as a great villain. His movements are erratic yet complicated. Hisoka is best described as dangerous, and this is highlighted by his aura of mystery. This aura stems from his repeated showing of supernatural feats. Sure, there are many supernatural aspects to this show, but with a title like "the magician", Hisoka is already framed as a supernatural entity. The funny thing about these two hooks is that they only work because the world itself is under-explained. It seems mashed together and I honestly don't find the world of Hunter X Hunter nearly as interesting as shows like Naruto. However, the shows underreliance on its setting allows it to execute its plot and concepts without fear. Hunter X Hunter is effectively one giant tournament arc from the start, and I don't normally enjoy these arcs, but the show pulls it off perfectly. The "hunter exam" has creative concepts that both show the viewer the world and prevent the arc from getting stale. Even though all of the events are technically synthetic, it doesn't feel that way, as the environments and tasks are consistently changing every few episodes. The art style and music are also pretty appealing. The settings are very colorful, the character designs are recognizable, and the music is just fun to listen to. However, even with all that it does right, this show still has issues. Its worst issue so far is the majority of its cast, which consists of characters from the flat archetype. These characters work well in context of the story but can't really stand outside of it. I'm hoping for the best as I move forward with this show, and I will create a full review when I finish it.
Naruto is not a perfect show by any means. Its most pervasive problem is the terrible pacing, which seems to permeate even the best of moments. These issues come from all angles as well. Sometimes the pacing is slow to the point of absurdity, and other times its fast enough give you whiplash. Some fights can last multiple hours due to the pacing. Its great for emotional buildup, but its awful for keeping the interest of the viewer. Beyond the problem of pacing, the worst issue in the show's entirety is the ending. I'm not going to spoil it here, but it invalidates the entirety of the lore that we have known up to this point, which takes the show's greatest strength and turns it into a weakness big enough to ruin it all. Besides that though, the finale also leads to an escalation of power greater than any of the other ones in the entire series. Power escalation is another problem that plagues this show, although to its merit, it affects most other shonen anime as well.
In the first part of this blog, I talked about the good characters within Naruto, but there are also many below average characters within the show's narrative. These characters, including some of the main characters, feel flat. I am aware that the flat character is a valid character type, especially for a protagonist, but it is way to common with this show. A good majority of the characters are flat, and it takes away from the story as a whole. These three broad problems prevent me from seeing this show as worth all of the hype. Even through my nostalgia for this show, I can see that there are many options of higher quality. Naruto was the first anime I ever watched. Because of this, I was pretty excited when the anime received somewhat of a resurgence in popularity. However, I believe that this show is far from perfect. Since the interest is up, I am going to explain why in a two-part blog.
First, the good parts of the show. Naruto's world is definitely the best part of the show. Prior to the finale, it had a rich history, interesting politics, and unique concepts. The world is responsible for the show's coolest moments, and without it, all of the conflicts' significance would be far lessened. The best characters in Naruto directly benefit from the rich world around them. This same logic applies to the show's jutsu, which would be terribly boring without the concept of chakra to limit them. Jutsu have clear guidelines because of their attachment to chakra, and without these clear guidelines, the fights would lose a lot of their intensity, and the jutsu would be less entertaining as a result. Naruto is very hit-or-miss when it comes to its characters, but when it hits, it really hits. Characters such as Kakashi, Itachi, and Rock Lee are able to pull at the heart strings with their tragic pasts and make you laugh with their endearing personalities. This good writing makes the fights that include these characters far more interesting because you are actually invested in their plight. Good characters are crucial to a fighting anime. It doesn't matter how many cool fights there are if your audience doesn't care about the battle's outcome. Pain is another example of a great character, his cause isn't one-sided, so you can actually side with his views if you so choose. This moral grayness makes Pain an incredibly interesting villain because his ideals aren't necessarily evil, they're just a bit warped. These warped views make him more believable than a generic villain, and make that fight with Pain so much more interesting as a result. Between the setting and the good characters, a truly appealing show is created. But the many flaws of the show prevent me from considering it one of the best. Next Blog: The Negatives of Naruto |
AuthorMcRae Walker, an 20-year-old writer and lover of many dorky topics. Archives
September 2022
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