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Dragon Ball Kai – Episode 111 Review

Episode 111, "What Incredible Kids!! The Great Struggles of No. 18"
 

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis: Goku, Vegeta, and Gohan are losing patience waiting for Babidi’s next fighter. Back at the Budoukai, Mighty Mask (Goten and Trunks) and 18 engage in intense hand to hand combat in the air while Mr. Satan looks on in dismay. 18 is formidable, forcing the boys to both transform into Super Saiyans. However, 18 recognizes the aura and exposes them. The two children are disqualified, and not wanting to get in trouble, they fly off. Now the finalists are down to 18 and Mr. Satan and the latter knows he doesn’t stand a chance. Goten and Trunks encounter Videl on her way back to the arena. read more

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Batman Eternal #14 Review

Penguin wants to be King of the Jungle, Falcone’s new empire crumbles, Jimbo’s feeling quite humble, and Dr. Crane takes a slight tumble. In this fourteenth installment of DC’s Batman weekly, Jason Bard seems to wrap up the whole gang war pretty handily. But will Batman’s relationship with the “new Gordon” end before it begins? And what is Joker’s Daughter up to in Arkham? And how many more pages is DC going to waste previewing other comics I’m only tangentially interested in at best? None of this and less is answered in this issue! read more

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Batman Eternal #13 Review

 

Jim’s tempted by a son who’s demented, Bard’s plan is attempted, Steph’s friend is lamented, and a comic preview’s presented. Issue 13 of DC’s Batman weekly book shows us that there’s at least one cop as competent as, maybe even moreso than, Jim Gordon, with his plan to trick Forbes into whittling down Falcone’s forces. We get plenty of Vicki Vale, just a little of Harper Row, and a minority character introduced and then blown up in the same page. Oh, DC. read more

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Zankyou no Terror – First Impressions

Until I had actually watched the first episode of Zankyou no Terror (Terror in Resonance), the new original anime produced by MAPPA and directed by Shinichiro Watanabe, I hadn’t realized how little info I knew about the story. This turned out to be a good thing, since almost from the first second, the show was not what I expected and took me on a wild ride that was artistically hefty and more promising than any anime I have seen in a long time.

 

The plot, as I understand it from this episode, revolves around two high schoolers who escaped from some kind of military or research facility as children and are seemingly carrying out a revenge plot using acts of terrorism. The show implies that they are either highly-trained professionals or perhaps somehow modified to be abnormally smart and capable – Toji apparently has an eidetic memory and instantly remembers the names of everyone at school; Arata can visualize entire blueprints in his mind down to the number of steps needed to get from place to place. This aside from the skills they display in the show’s opening sequence, which involves a heist of nuclear material from a disposal facility. read more

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Batman Eternal #12 Review

 

Harper’s laptop ignites, Batgirl feels a slight, the city indicts, and father and son reunite in this twelfth issue of DC’s Batman weekly. We finally return to tolerable artwork, Tim meets the newest ladies in Bruce’s life, and it seems like Jason Bard has a plan brewing to halt the gang war. There are also a few pages dedicated to previewing the new Batfamily comic, Grayson, and if you think you know Nightwing, you don’t know Dick (actual DC product description), so that eats up some of the space.
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Dragon Ball Kai – Episode 110 Review

Episode 110,"Who is the World’s Greatest?! A Battle Royal Match to Decide!!
 

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis: Kaioshin is perplexed and dismayed by the behavior of the three Saiyans, who all relish the prospect of fighting strong opponents. Dabura volunteers to be the next stage opponent, and goes into a room to meditate to be at full power. However, Gohan, whose turn it is next, becomes impatient waiting for him. At the Tenkaichi Budoukai, the officials are having trouble deciding what to do now that many of the fights have dropped out. Mr. Satan, high on confidence, suggests having a Battle Royal, where all remaining fighters battle at once. However, Mr. Satan begins to lose his nerve when faced with the reality of having to take on four opponents who will likely team up on him as the champion. Killa tries to team up with Mighty Mask (Goten and Trunks), while Jewel attempts to broker a deal with 18, but Goten, Trunks, and 18 have no interest in the offers. Angry, Killa and Jewel attack their respective deniers and are immediately knocked out of the ring. Mr. Satan thinks himself lucky to only have two opponents, but that attitude fades when he sees Mighty Mask and 18 exchange blows above the ring.
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Batman Eternal #11 Review

 

It must be Father’s Day in Gotham, because while Julia nurses her wounds, Alfred cleans rooms, and Steph watches her daddy fume, Barbara fights off a costumed goon in a country far south of Cancun. This is issue #11 of Batman Eternal and it guest stars little Red not so riding Hood and has bizarre imagery that’s eerily reminiscent of Grant Morrison’s Bat-run, of which I am not a big fan.

 

Yes, people talk like this, all right, in convenient exposition.

 

Let’s talk a little bit about Ian Bertram’s art. I can see why some people might enjoy the strangely stylized, distorted character designs that emphasize skin and cloth texture, but it doesn’t appeal to me whatsoever, and it ends up being about as cringeworthy as Riccardo Burchielli’s work in the previous issue. Obviously Bertram graduated from the Frank Quitely/Chris Burnham school of drawing, because most of the characters look like beaten leather bags that have been warped in the heat. It’s often very grotesque and off-putting, and not in a good way.
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Dragon Ball Kai – Episode 109 Review

Episode 109,"Don’t Underestimate a Super Saiyan! Vegeta and Goku’s Full Throttle Power!"

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis: Pui Pui can’t land a blow on Vegeta due to his speed. Vegeta lands blow after blow on the hapless opponent. Babidi uses his magic so that the room is teleported to Pui Pui’s high gravity home planet. Pui Pui is confident in a win, but Vegeta is not impressed, as he trains in high gravity environments constantly. The Saiyan prince easily puts Pui Pui away. The room returns to the ship and the passage to the lower level opens. On the next stage, Goku awaits his opponent, who is a large monster named Yakon. Despite his size, Yakon proves to be swift, and manages to cut Goku’s gi. Kaioshin wants them all to team up against him, but Gohan says his father will be fine. To ensure victory, Babidi transports them to Yakon’s home planet, which is shrouded in darkness. Goku transforms into a Super Saiyan to see, but Yakon feeds on the light of his aura. At first Yakon is confident this will win him the fight, as he will continue to drain energy from Goku. However, Goku simply turns him his power to such a level that Yakon explodes. The passage to the next level of the ship opens and the Super Saiyans descend, leaving Kaioshin shocked.
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Batman Eternal #10 Review

 

I haven’t commented on the artwork of this series yet, as varied as it is. Mostly because, for the most part, it’s been pretty good. It started off strong with Jason Fabok, who has done a few issues. Dustin Nguyen’s unique style made issue #4 more interesting. Gillieum March has sort of a David Finch-ish quality to his work, which isn’t a bad thing. Anybody else who’s worked on this weekly has done a fair job, up until this issue.

 

Until Riccardo Burchielli. read more

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Dragon Ball Kai – Episode 108 Review

Episode 108, "The Heinous Mage Babidi and the King of the Underworld Dabura’s Trap"
 

*****SPOILERS*****

Synopsis: Kaioshin and Kibito are shocked that Babidi has the King of the Demon Realm, Dabura, under his thrall. Having outlived their purpose, Babidi and his henchman Pui Pui disposes of Spopovich and Yamu, respectively. Unknown to Goku and the group, Babidi and Dabura are aware of their presence, and after Babidi and Pui Pui enter the ship, Dabura attacks, killing Kibito. Then he transforms Kuririn and Piccolo into stone, which can only be undone with his death. Confident, the three Saiyans follow Dabura into the ship. A reluctant Kaioshin follows as well. They find themselves in a round room in the ship. Pui Pui is sent to fight them, and he explains that there are several levels on which they will face a different opponent before they can get to Babidi. Babidi adds Gohan’s stolen energy to the Buu egg and finds it was a lot more than he expected. Vegeta wins a game of rock-paper-scissors to decide who fights Pui Pui. Pui Pui says that any energy used in fighting him will be collected for Buu, but Vegeta reasons he just won’t take any damage.
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