Barbarian Queen

 Nothing says lazy painting saturday afternoon as an 80s (semi) fantasy movie, and this time it was Barbarian Queen from 1985.

 

Which is full of exposure to boot, so best not watch it with young kids around...

 

The plot, for as far as these movies really had one bar "show nudity, do poorly co-ordinated swordfights with slow motion movements" is that a barbarian village prepares for the wedding of Queen Amethea and prince Argan.  But the forces of Lord Arrakur attack, including gang-raping the queen's younger sister Taramis, who together witht he prince is taken prisoner.

 

Together with two other survivors, Estrild and Tiniara, Amathea sets out on a quest for vengeance, and come in contact with an underground resistance to the evil overlord.  She reunites with Argan who serves in the gladiator pits, and even though captured and tortured (yes, she kills her torturer by squeezing her vagina so hard...) they escape and lead an uprising, killing lord Arrakur and freeing the lands.

 

So yeaaaaaah, you can see where that went.  And still, even with all the nudity, it was actually an enjoyable albeit short (it runs for an hour and a quarter) movie from the era, I definitly saw worse of these kind of flicks.  But it is what you can expect from these Roger Corman movies that where strife in the 80s, and the "thigh fu" scene has to be seen to be believed.

 

Good fun, but don't expect high acting quality from this B-movie fantasy story! 

 

 

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

Time for another prequel series to Game of Thrones, and this time it is based on the novella's of The Tales of Dunk and Egg, often referref to as "The Hedge Knight" after the first book.

 

Guess a bit everyone calls Game of Thrones after the first book in the A Song of Ice and Fire series...

 

The series follows ser Duncan "Dunk" the Tall, and a boy he squired called Egg.  Who is actually prince Aegon Targaryan, and yes, we are getting close to the main time line, these stories taking place around 90 years before the main books and series.

 

The series follows how our hedge knight, a low born knight who sleeps in the open skies, wants to register for the tournament at Ashford.  But to do so, he needs to find a lord that wants to vote for him, as he goes unknown through the lands.  This brings him in contact with amongst others Lyonel Baratheon, who he befriends.

 

But as he can't find a voucher for him, none other then Baelor Targaryan votes for him, as he is impressed by the pure and true values of a knight he holds high.  But after he got in a fight to save a performance girl with prince Aerion, he must fight in a Duel of the Seven.  He manages to find allies, but is betrayed by lord Steffon Fossoway.  However, right before he would be disqualified and found guilty, Baelon himself joins as the seventh knight on his side.

 

Dunk is victorious, sparing Aerion, but Baelon is fatally wounded by a mace swing from his brother.  Dunk is however freed of charges by prince Maekar, as they both understand history will remember them as the reason Baelon fell instead of becoming the future king.  Egg joins Dunk as he rides away, stating that his uncle send him to squire and learn the ways... which turns out not to be true as they ride into the horizon.

 

This truly was a great series to watch, highly enjoyable and the "low stakes" settings of a tournament and a false accusation stands out against the big politics and wars of the two other series in the setting.  And that is in a good way very refreshing, as you bond on a more simple level with the heroes, and even the machinations of the "bad guys" make more understandable sense.  

 

Definitly one of the better series I saw so far this year! 

Percy Jackson and the Olympians season 2

 Hot on the tail of the first season, me and Noshi sat down to watch the second season of this Disney+ series.

 

And this one was based on the second book, Sea of Monsters, and the quest for the Golden Fleece.

 

So yeah, basically teenage Jason and the Argonauts... or at least a part of it. 

 

The defenses of the camp are failing, another guardian in Tantalus has been appointed (a very annoying figure, both as written as well as the way he was portrayed I thought) and percy, son of Poseidon, is kept out of the loop.  And not only because he suddenly has a cyclops half brother who is also a son of Poseidon and tags along like a puppy.  

 

At the core of it all is the tree protecting the camp that is failing, also known as Thalia, daughter of Zeus, after Luke poisoned it.  Percy, Annabeth and Tyler, against the wishes of the camp leaders, set out on a quest to get the Golden Fleece and free Grover who is captured by the Fleece's guardian, which is capable to heal the tree.  Of course, this brings them not only across Luke, who actually not only wants a war that brings down Olympus by using the fleece to restore Kronos, but also wants to free Thalia.  Because we learn during the series she didn't make the sacrifice to become the tree, but was punished by her father for not obiding to him.

 

But they manage to overcome not only them, but also the machinations of Circe and the Sirens, to reach the Fleece and defeat the huge cyclops Polyphemus.  Though of course, Luke gets the fleece as he wants to save a gravely wounded Annabeth with it first, before attacking Camp Halfblood.  Percy and Clarisse, who have formed a friendship during the journey after running into each other, form the defences and manage to restore the tree... to Thalia, and she is not happy.

 

Percy realises she might be his hardest challenge to come in the future, but that will be for season 3...

 

It still isn't a bad series, though Percy (or at least, his actor) made a HUGE growth spurt in the years between season 1 and 2, the things with teenagers of course.  But he still puts down a convincing depiction of the halfgod, and the effect of the series where really nice.  Especially Clarisse's crew of the dead was pretty funny and well done.

 

All in all, it's no loss of time to watch this series, and that is a good thing amongst a lot of rubbish being tossed out the past years... 

 

 

Percy Jackson and the Olympians

 So, another go at making television presence of Percy Jackson's books...

 

The films where okay but not memorable, but what would this series bring, this first season based on the first book, The Lightning Thief.

 

Of course, this means we already know the story, as most of us have both read the books as well as seen the movies.  Percy discovers he is a demigod, a son of Poseidon, and blamed for stealing Zeus's lightning bolt, which of course he didn't.  So he sets out on a quest together with top student from Camp Halfgod, Annabeth, and his satyr protector Grover. 

 

This leads them on a roadtrip towards New York, where a portal is said to be to get to Olympus.  Of course, they are chased by furies, run into (a very sexy) Medusa, met Ares (who turned out to be behind it and not Hades) and save his mother while at it, who was saved from death by Hades and serves as a barganing chip.  

 

Ares inadvertently awakens Percy's powers, resulting in the halfgod defeating the God of War, before he realised the truth that his friend Luke, son of Hermes, is actually the Lightning Thief who despises the gods so much he wants to bring down Olympus through a war.

 

Now, the series itself is visually well done, though at some times the CGI just looks a little bit to rough still, mostly visible in Grover's legs.  But the acting is okay, Percy is well cast, and it is just that sort of light hearted fantasy series ideal for those lazy evenings of just "watching something".

 

And now to see season 2 after this... 

Wizards of the Lost Kingdom

 Before "that" trilogy by Peter Jackson, fantasy movies where a rather obscure thing.

 

But in the 80s, Sword and Sorcery was a genre all in itself, with a lot of movies reaching cult status like Ladyhawke, Highlander, Conan, Krull, ...

 

So drawing from that huge library of movies, I spend a lazy sunday afternoon to have a look at the argentinian - american production Wizards of the Lost Kingdom.  And the intro alone promised everything that is great in those times: cheesy narration, a Sword of Power and a Ring of Magic, the former lost, as King Tyler rules a kingdom, Axeholme, where wizard used to fight wizard and warrior fought warrior before he installed peace.

 

The pacing is incredible in this movie though, within the first 20 minutes the kingdom is overthrown, Simon, son of the king's sorcerer ran in the wild and met the legendary hero, lost the ring, found the sword... and learned advanced magic.  And of course, expect all the 80s special effects, with "drawn" spells, animatronics and guys in big white furry suits.

 

But actually, the movie is enjoyable, even though on the short side with an hour and 15 minutes runtime, and this probably also explains the high speed pacing.  But it is that sort of innocent adventure movie, of a young kid finding tutelage of an experienced warrior, and through their adventures learns the needed skills to defeat the evil wizard and free his kingdom.

 

So yeah, if you are in for a dose of campy 80s fantasy, make sure to give the movie a look.  And yes, the score music sounds VERY familiar, giving a serious, and I mean borderedge used, Wrath of Khan feel...

 

But judge that for yourself! 

Masters of the Universe: Revolution

 I have the powerrrr!!!!!

 

It must have been decades since that phrase was yelled on the school playground...

 

And then I discovered that Netflix did a new short series on Masters of the Universe, as I found the 5 episode long Revolution series on it.  Which is a follow-up to Revelation, and of course that wasn't available in my area, so I'll search for that online in the future somewhere.

 

So this means I didn't know who died and why, and Skeletor has changed into a semi-cyborg by the tech of Hordak.  Because it is a battle of magic versus technology on Eternia in this series.  Skeletor takes the throne, as he returned to his old guise of Keldor, an identity he didn't remember.  But soon his plan springs, bringing the people of Eternia under his sway as he aims to overthrow Hordak as well.  

 

The heroes in the meantime try of course to stop them, with Evil Lyn losing that first part of her name as she helps Adam and Teela to find ancient mystic powers to break the curse, and this all results in Adam and Teela "getting the power of Grayskull" and changing into a sort of "super saiyan form".  With Teela getting tiger shaped armour instead of battlecat, so she now really became He-Man's pussy...

 

The series is well animated and has a very strong voice cast, of course with Mark Hamill as Skeletor but also Gates McFadden (dr Crusher), Melissa Benoist (Supergirl), Lena Headey (Game of Thrones) and other big names tossed in there.  The fact you "know" their voices makes you bind easier with the characters, as they somehow feel familiar that way, if you know what I mean.

 

It ends with a possible opening for a third series, but for me, let's go and see as I said if I can find that first one, well, first... 

The Rats: A Witcher Tale

 Straight behind the fourth season of The Witcher, Netflix released this feature film, centering around the Rats.

 

You know, those loving misfits we saw slaughtered by Leo Bonhart at the end of the season...

 

Now, it does answer one of the cliffhangers from that season in it's first minute: Leo didn't kill Ciri (well, as far as that would have been a suprise).  But we do get him to tell the tale of how he ran into The Rats and why he had a score to settle with them.

 

Basically, down on their funds, they took a job which involved on the one hand a figure from Mistle's past, and on the other Leo's "sort of cousin" who runs illegal gambling arena's.  As they plan a heist, and enlist the help of an aged and drunken Witcher called Brehen, their past cross.  Brehen being played by Dolph Ludgren and making a better one then Liam... nah, let's not go there this time.

 

The movie is a great adventure, and the Rats get away, though we know that this is only for a short period of grace, because Leo is on their tail.

 

If you love the Leo character depiction (and who doesn't, this is one of the biggest villains I ever read in a book, and he is portrayed just as ruthless on screen), make sure to check this out.  If you like The Witcher series, you don't go wrong with this series.  And if you rooted for The Rats and where shocked by their fate, enjoy this final trip with them...

 

Good fun to watch! 

The Witcher season 4

 Season 4 of the The Witcher, and in a way, a new start with the forced recasting of Geralt of Rivia.

 

And let's drop in with the elephant in the room: nope, just nope.

 

Now don't get me wrong, should Liam Helmsworth had been the witcher since day 1, it might have worked, but after the gruff look of Henry Cavill, this version just looks to polished and, well, "pretty boy" compared to what we have been used to in the first three seasons.

 

The story continues with the three arcs implemented in the previous season: Ciri finds herself in a far away land, becoming a member of a rogues group called The Rats and taking the monicker Falka to hide her identity.  Geralt and his growing band of companions still try to get to Nilfgaard to prevent the marriage between Emhyr and (the imposter) Ciri, and Yennefer decides to gather surviving mages to confront Vilgefortz.

 

Now, like in the books (and face it, they should have been called "Chronicles of Ciri" or something instead of the Witcher), the heaviest part of the story goes around the missing princess, and it is also by far the most intresting and intense of the arcs, especially when The Rats are defeated by Leo Bonhart.  Yennefer discovers the truth about the marriage, and sends Geralt on his new way right after he finally had gotten into Nilfgaard, meeting and parting with other companions.  And the mages are soundly beaten by Vilgefortz, though they do cripple his plan for an unforseen amount of time, but at the cost of many lives...

 

Now, while the season has it's highs and lows as such, it does bring us with two awesome characters.  Regis makes his appearance (and Laurance Fishburn plays him well, despite online critique), and the epic, epic, EPIC portrayal of Leo Bonhart (awesome portrayal by Sharlto Copley).  Then there are some great sidecharacter arcs, like Skellen (my favorite character of both book and series btw) and Dijkstra.

 

In the end, you have a good series of enjoyable fantasy, with the only downside for me really being, well, the titular character... 

Troll 2

 Troll was a bit of a surprise hit in the past years on Netflix, the norwegian fantasy movie being great fun and a really good film.

 

And in december, the sequel hit, so me and Noshi sat down and gave it a look recently.

 

Unfortunatly, Isaksen provides a prophecy early in the movie, as he states "a sequel never lives up to the original".  Granted, somethimes this isn't true (Empire Strikes Back, Aliens, etc...) but more often than not it is indeed so.

 

We come back to our heroine of the first movie, Nora, now living remotely in the wilds three years after her encounter with the Troll king.  But she is recruited by her friend to come to a goverment facility for a new discovery: another troll is being held there!  She accidentally awakens him, and where the first movie was about a troll just wanting to get home, this one wants to level Norway.  Soon a second troll appears, as Nora had contact with the son of the Troll King and had hid him, and the army must try to stop the monster that seems impervious to all weapons and countermeasures.

 

Add in a crazy old coot... I mean archeologist, and a mystical water source of King Olaf, who was held responsible for removing the trolls in the middle ages from Norway.  And then a document shows up, and it was all a misunderstanding in that the trolls didn't needed to be killed but given a home, but the chruch opposed this.  Epic battle with huge trolls take 2, magical water and finally a sacrifice of one of the leads and the big one is brought down...  

 

Yeah, that's a lot going on compared to the mysterious monster movie that was the original Troll.  They had a big budget (so far the biggest ever in Norwegian cinema) and wanted to go big.  Unfortunatly, it doesn't deliver, and feels more like a copy of King Kong vs Godzilla, but just, well, not that good.

 

A missed chance for sure, seeing how great the original was and what they served us in this second course... 

Werewolf Castle

 Well, it was Halloween recently, so that meant some B-grade horrormovie time!

 

Because that is just a thing you do for Halloween, is it not?

 

Produced back in 2021, this actually isn't that bad at all, even the acting is okay.  It all starts when a young boy meets a mysterious stranger with large fangs, and then sees the werewolves approach whom this stranger, Wolfstan, actually commands.  Okay, those werewolves are a special bunch, people in large wolf Halloween costumes...

 

They attack the village, killing multiple inhabitants, while a young bloke named Thorfinn survives.  The village hires three knights, Thomas, Osmund and Hamelin, joined by a convicted fellon Hal, to go to the castle of the King and seek help.  Reluctantly, they have Thorfinn join them as a guide.  The movie becomes a chase and fight flick for a while, as they travel through the countryside and how the band comes together.  But one by one the companions fall, and in the end only Thorfinn reaches the castle.

 

Not only does he learn that the King is actually the one commanding the monsters, but that Hal was a son of his that refused to join his father's dark ways.  After Hal is turned into a swordholder, Thorfinn snaps and attacks, then kills the King and the monsters and returns to the village.  Here, after being hailed a hero, he is then decapitated to end the curse from spreading as he had been wounded in the fight as well and to end the Lycanthrophy starting over again.

 

All in all, an enjoyable movie, with some gore in the style of the old Hammers movies and some nice scenic views.  Costumes and effects are practical considering the budget, and it is worth to check out for sure. 

The Wheel of Time season 3

 The third season of the lovely series based on the books by Robert Jordan, an even thought the first 2 seasons changed serious parts of the story, it is a great watch.

 

But starting out with the elephant in the room: end of may it was announced they won't renew for a season 4, so let's hope the series pulls an "The Expanse" and finds a new home!

 

But this season covers the events of the fourth and fifth book in the series, so there is still a LOT of material out there to be adapted.

 

It begins with Liandrin being exposed as a member of the Black Ajah, but several other sisters reveal themselves and come to her aid, springing her free and escaping in a battle that leaves many injured or dead, including Ivhon, one of Alanna's Wardens.  Rand resists to go to Tear to reclaim a mythical sword as Egwene goes through the arches and becomes an Accepted.  The group seperates, setting for different destinations to prepare for the coming battle.

But Elayne's mother, the queen of Andor, arrives at the White Tower, and her Red Ajah advisor Elaida who has a strong rivalry with the Amyrlyn Seat, Siuan.  As Rand and his group travel to Aiel, they are constantly invaded in their dreams by Lanfear.

 

Perrin and his group have returned to the Two Rivers, learning a Trolloc invasion is imminent, while Whitecloaks occupy the region.  They meet Alanna and her remaining Warden Maksim here as well, while Mat back in the White Tower reconnects with Min.  The Forsaken meanwhile are back to their usual habbit of double-crossing each other for power, while Elayne and Nynaeve set out to hunt Black Ajah on Siuan's request, discovering a clue to where Liandrin might have fled.  They set out to Tanchico together with Mat and Min.

 

Rand travels to Rhuidean, where the prophecy tells he will be found worthy of becoming the leader of the Aiel, or die in the process.  Perrin assumes leadership over Two Rivers, meeting Faile, and prepare the defences against the coming attack.  Moiraine enters Rhuidean alongside Rand, witnessing various possible endings of their quest, always ending in either she or Rand dying.  Rand in the meantime relives the origin of the world through the eyes of the Aiel ancestors, and learns the truth of his people.

 

The other groups also meet their challenges, as they hunt on the one hand in Tanchico for Liandrin, must convince the Whitecloaks of the coming attack after they burned Mat's mother at the stake, and in the White Tower a struggle for leadership has erupted.  In Tanchico, Thom Merrilin meets with Mat and his friends, and they start the search for the artifacts there together, Thom telling Elayne her mother has no consort at all.  In Two Rivers the attack begins, led by Padan Fain, disguised as a Whitecloak.  But he is overpowered by an enraged Perrin, who does spare his life, after the Whitecloaks rode to the aid of the village.  Perrin hands himself over to them, as he had agreed with their leader without his friends knowing of the deal.

 

In Tanchico, Liandrin nearly kills Nynaeve, but this unlocks her mental blocks on channeling, as she splits open the bay to return from the water.  In the White Tower however, the coup is succesfull and Siuan is falsely accused and executed on Elaida's orders.  Rand in the meantime wins over the Aiel by fulfilling a part of the prophecy, rallying them under his leadership...

 

... and there the season, and apparently the series, ends.  Budgets ran up to high, and Prime cancelled the series, even though this 3rd season was a high point so far.  Guess you will have to read the books to know how the Wheel will turn!

 

 

Deltora 3: Dragon's Nest - Emily Rodda

 Sometimes you just want some smooth, light reading in your night shifts, and then the young reader fantasy series of Deltora is a perfect get to.

 

Because these are actually far better then a simple children's book.

 

Deltora 3 is well, the third series in the Deltora series of books, and picks up after the events of the previous ones.  After the crystal that was used by the Shadow Lord to communicate with his henchmen, Lief discovers a map.  The famine and plague that is currently ravaging the lands of Deltora are actually the result of the magical poisoning by 4 beasts from the myths, the Four Sisters.  They can only be killed by the thought extinct Dragons, but Doran the Dragonlover had convinced seven of them, one of each territory, to go into hibernation until they would be needed.

 

Lief and his companions set out to the Dragon's Nest, the most eastern point in Deltora, and discover a Capricorn called Rolf, who had been captured by the Garnous.  The Capricorn lands where destroyed by the Dragons when they stole their eggs, but Rolf claims one is still left of those.  They meet the now awakened Topaz dragon, Fidelis, the same one from the older series where he was still asleep as they travelled to the underworld.  He refuses to join them as a pact was forged amongst the hibernating dragons to not enter each others lands.

 

They travel on and reach Broome, a city build where the Capricorn land of Capra used to be, meeting the warrior woman Lindal.  She guides them to the Dragon's Nest where they meet the Sister of the East.  Rolf reveals himself to be her guardian, and a servant of the Shadow Lord who promised him power and the rule of the East.  However, he is killed by the newly awakened Ruby dragon Joyeu, who also destroys the Sister.

 

So, not a bad book at all to start the series with, and if I find some more volumes left or right I'll definitly be picking those up. 

How to Train your Dragon

 Recently, Noshi and me popped down behind the television to watch the life action remake of How to Train Your Dragon.

 

Which seems to be the latest in the whole craze and "need" of Hollywood somehow to remake everything, god forbid they need to create something original these days...

 

The village of Berk has been plagued by the attacks of dragons for ages, and the chief Stoick's son, Hiccup, has been trying to create mechanical devices to capture them.  He actually manages to capture a rare breed, a Night Fury, but is unable to kill it, instead befriending the beast.

 

As Stoick goes on a quest to eliminate the dragon's nest, Hiccup is put in a dragon slayer class with other local teenagers.  He returns to the dragon, which he called Toothless, and who is unable to fly as Hiccup's device sliced of a part of his tailfin.  He builds him a prosthetic one, and learns to fly the beast.  This also makes him understand dragon's better, allowing him to excel in class, yet it makes his crush Astrid suspicious of him.

 

Stoick's fleet, damaged in their search, return to Berk.  For the final exam, Hiccup must kill a dragon but flees, only to be discovered by Astrid.  He publically tries to prove in his exam that the dragon's are harmless and feed the Red Death, a huge beast in the nest, to avoid being eaten by it themselves.  Toothless is imprisoned by Stoick however, to guide them to the exact location of the nest, as Astrid and the others try to tame the captured dragons in the village.

 

The Red Death is awakaned, but overpowers the vikings.  Just as all is lost, the dragon riders arrive, and Toothless is freed from a drowning death by Stoick to join the fight with Hiccup.  They overcome the big beast, letting it explode, but in the process Hiccup loses a foot.  With the threat neutralized, the villages move on to live in peace together with the dragons...

 

So this was actually a great remake and the effects where well done, definintly one of the better life action adaptions to have appeared on screen in the past years.  Good fun, and grump remains as cute in this film as he was in the animated one for sure!

 

 

JK Haru is a Sex Worker in Another World volume 7 - Ko Hiratori and J-ta Yamada

 Today it's time to have a look at the closing book of the JK Haru series, an isekai series which, even though it is her work in the other world, isn't that ecchi at all.

 

Which is a good thing, because gratuite nudity has been exchanged for a good story!

 

The book contains mostly the "sequel story" after the events of volume 6, seeing how Kyori and Haru go on with their life.  Lupe is prime candidate to become the new madam of the brothel, while Sumo has intensified his skills in baking.  Meanwhile, Haru can't stop thinking about the grey-haired guy, as Kyori notices a change in Haru, in which she often spaces out in thought during conversations.

 

Haru tells Kyori and Lupe that she will return to venture into the forest, refusing to take Kyori along who wants to become a genuine adventurer.  Kyori has taken an intrest in Killak, a low ranked B-level adventurer, and after some dates she beds him, but this goes sour as she isn't a virgin anymore.  Lupe comforts her, seeing as she is one of the few friends Kyori has.

 

During her weekly prayer session in church, she is approached by three other sisters who never where that nice to her.  They hand her a message from Killak, and she decides to join them in an excursion into the forest, in the hopes of catching up to Haru out there.  But it is all a set-up, and after the others got half drunk, they want to rape Kyori, exposing her for the slut she really is.  But Chiba stumbles onto the scene, and while mistaken at first, quickly engages the adventurers.  First ridiculed for being a lower level, they quickly learn about his cheat skill as he overcomes them without any problems, freeing Kyori who kicks her fellow sisters across the face, and have them excommunicated from the order afterwards.

 

Two weeks later, Haru has returned from her expedition, as Kyori tells her Lupe is training Chiba.  Kyori confesses she wants to be more like Haru, as Haru recounts her adventure and how she froze up in front of the Demon Lord's castle, breaking down crying.  

 

Lupe and Haru think Kyori is warming up towards Sumo, while Haru confronts her inner self, realising she still needs to "grow" despite her inherint power to confront the Demon Lord, as God passes by to make use of Haru's services again.  He tells her Shequraso has already picked a mother to be reincarnated from, and Haru tells him he needs to watch over her and her mother.  The laughter of God however seems to indicate it will be here...  

 

And so the story concludes, as Haru watches a falling star, wishing for everyone both in this world and her old world to find peace and live a free life...

 

As a bonus material, there is a short story set somewhere earlier in the series where Haru learns about the history of the world, as well as an interview with the creators of the series.

 

So the series ends, and it was a damn good one of a girl isekai'd into a world where women are oppressed, yet manages to work her way upwards through pain, loss, and the finding of friendship, highly recommended reading! 

 

 

Sword Art Online II

 Roight, first let me say something about this series from Noshi's list I just watched.

 

I don't get it how it got lower ratings then the original, unless kiddo brains can't handle real life heavy issues like post-traumatic depression, or a child with AIDS in it's terminal stage.  Guess they all rather live in their dreamworld of OP videogame heroism...

 

Which is, admitted, the biggest gripe as well with this second season, 'God Kirito'. 

 

In a new virutal world game, Gun Gale Online, a star player is killed apparently through an event in the game.  The ministry's division of Virtual Affairs asks Kirito to go in and investigate the threat, as he is one of the SOA Survivors.  In Gun Gale, one of the top players is a sniper girl called Sinon, a shut-in schoolgirl outside the game.  She is however also a target of the ingame assassin that causes the deaths, named Death Gun.

 

Kirito runs into Sinon, and while they don't know each other they connect pretty smoothly as she gives him a tour or the game and the possibilities.  He beats an arcade game to get the credits for a weapon, opting to go for a photon sword (read: a light sabre).  They both register for a large event, the BoB (Bullet of Bullets), and as he runs into Death Gun he recognises him as a member of one of the SOA murderous guild members, the Laughing Coffin.  Death Gun vows to kill Kirito one day, and as Kirito reflects on his past actions against them, Sinon finds him suffering from the trauma.  They run into each other in the finals of their block, but the battle ends in a stalemate.

 

They eventually confront Death Gun, after witnessing him killing another player, and barely escape, but figure out he actually has an accomplice in the real world that does the killing the moment Death Gun takes out a player.  Kirito and Sinon confide in each other about the murders they where forced to commit, and realise that the murderer must be in Sinon's room right now.  They overcome Death Gun eventually, and Kirito arrives right on time at Sinon's place in the real world to prevent her being killed by someone she actually thought was her friend...

 

One month after the events of GGO, the band, now with Sinon having joined them, goes on a quest to retrieve the legendary sword Excalibur.  After going through the instance, Jotunheim, they obtain it, and Kirito adds it to his arsenal.  But in ALO, Asuna encounters a girl called Zekken, who is apparently unbeatable.  She faces her, and afterwards joins her party because they want to beat a level and have their name on the wall of fame as they will not be able to adventure together anymore after winter.  This is because Zekken is actually a girl called Yuuki Konno, and Asuna finds out she is dying from AIDS, an infection from a blood transfusion during labour.  She and her party are all patients in the terminal care unit, and because of her imminent death they wanted to have their names engraved.

 

Using a drone, she can grant Yuuki the joy of attending school for a day, as she never got out of the medical machine, and to go see her old house one last time.  Months later, Asuna receives a message from the hospital, telling her Yuuki is dying and they hook her up into the game one last time.  Here, she passes peacefully away in the game, so all her loved ones can come and see her one last time as per her dying wish...

 

So yeah, while the first half was so and so, that last arc was gutwrenching and made this a very good season in my opinion to be honest.  So bring those tissues if you watch this anime! 

 

 

 

 

Mythica: Stormbound

 The Mythica series is a labour of love, mostly funded through Kickstarter campaigns to bring some Sword and Sorcery to the screen.

 

And now we have the 6th instalment, taking place 15 years after the Necromancer was defeated by Marek and the Red Thorns.

 

Magic is fading, and a person known only as The Stranger comes across two marshal's that had hunted down old enemies.  His is on his route to find shelter before a heavy storm comes around, and finds a young boy injured on the road.  The lone survivor of a village burned down by a local crone, he takes him to a nearby inn where it turns out he was a slave of the owner.  The boy, Erid, is brought back to health with the other slave present, Arlin, who also seems to have a gift of magic.

 

As the storm hits, more people arrive at the inn, like the aforementioned marshall's and a large hunter and another survivor of the village burning.  But soon, the dwarf inn master is found murdered and an investigation begins.  The young girl from the village is revealed to actually be the old crone, but she isn't the one responsible for the burning of the village.

 

Instead, it turns out that Erid is under the influence of the late Necromancer, and the Stranger, revealed to be Egan, the apothecary aprentice from the earlier films.  The film turns actually into a fantasy version of the Hateful Eight, a western, and a who dunnit style of storytelling with some unexpected causalties.   Now, the special effects as can be expected from a lower budget film aren't top of the line, but it is okay for what you are watching, a movie made with love by and for fans of the series.

 

 So new heroes and heroes of old have gathered, and start to band together to face a rising threat, the question now remains if they will be having more screen time in the future.  I don't mind this sort of pictures at all, often showing more love from those involved then "yet another halfbaked high production mass produced Marvel release *cough Ironheart cough*" and hope a seventh part will be made.

 

For me this was a discovery, and now I guess it's time to seek out the older instalments and have a view! 

Warchief

 Movie time with this 2024 UK made fantasy movie!

 

Now, this is the kind of low budget barely B-movie level movies that seem to be made by a group of friends and their LARP community, and I like those, they radiate a certain love and pureness for the material.

 

The movie opens with a raid on a village by Orcs, whom we don't get to see by the way.  A trio of warriors, consisting of Orion, Griff and Arlo, accompany a mysterious cowled man called the Messenger, with a message for the king's ears only.  It doesn't take long though before they run into trouble as they stumble upon a group of plague victims, resulting in the death of Arlo.

 

When they hear the Orc warchief call to his soldiers, they try and make haste.  During their flight, we often look back at Orion's early life, from a little village boy to becoming a Guardian, who are a caste of warriors tasked with safely bringing their charge to their destination, no questions asked.

 

But the Orcs catch on to them, vastly outnumbering them as they learn the Messenger wants to double-cross the humans.  In the ensuing battle, Griff gets to explore on the spot some of her nascent magic abilities and manages to kill the Messenger, while Orion is brutally decapitated by the Orc Warchief, who is an actual fighter and not a barely trained farmhand who never been into the world.

 

The mission as a result becomes a total failure, and the Orcs start their war on the human kingdoms, as we see another village being burned to the ground as the films comes to an end.

 

So yes, an open and not-so-happy ending, which I thought was actually a nice twist, instead of the guy that paid for all of it saving the day as often happens in these types of movies.  Will it ever get a sequel to see how the war plays out?  Doubtfull to be honest.

 

But I would watch it though!

 

 

Re: Life in a Different World from Zero

 Roight, guess I finally started this classic isekai series!

 

Time to see what all the Rem and Ram is all about in these 25 episodes of the debut season from 2016... longer seasons like in the older days, though I'm from the generation where a season was 50ish episodes.

 

Subaru, on his way home from a convenience store, suddenly finds himself transported to a medieval marketplace.  Attacked by hoodlums, he is saved by a silver-haired girl.  But when he is killed later by trying to help her, he finds himself right back at the point of his arrival in the city...

 

As events repeat, but he now has forewarning, he slowly advances and figures out what is happening to him, and how he resets every time he dies.  They are attacked again, but now manage to survive and drive off the murderer.  He wakes up in a large mansion, brought there by the silver haired girl, Emilia, and taken care by the twins Rem and Ram.  He is introduced to the other occupants of the mansion, and learns Emilia qualifies to become the next monarch.  But he is forced through a cycle of deaths again as he goes on a date with Emilia, and learns he is violently killed in the aftermath every time, inside the mansion.

 

While investigating, he finds out his assailant is actually Rem, who captures and tortures him, as he has the smell of the Witch over him.  During this process of saving them both and breaking the cycle, he also learns a bit of magic, yet struggles to really control it usefully.  Together with the twins he must face a horde of Mabeasts, controlled by a demon puppy to lift a series of curses bestowed onto him, and learns the tragic origins of the twins.  

 

The royal election is about to take place, and Felt, the girl he looked for when he originally arrived, is send forward as one of the candidates.  But after an injury, and unable to tell Emilia off his powers, their friendship comes to an unfortunate end due to a misunderstanding.  He runs into a group of darkrobed humans, and returning to the mansion after finding everyone dead, he is frozen to dead  himself, resetting once again.  This group is led by the insane Archbishop of Sloth, and after barely escaping is killed by a monstrous Puck, the familiar of Emilia.

 

Knowing the cult is about to attack, they decide to evacuate the mansion, but on the way must face the huge White Whale, a flying monster that they defeat thanks to rallying everyone under one goal as he vows to become a hero, and the timeline switches as a result.  He faces the archbischop now knowing full well what is at stake, and with the help of the others he defeats him once and for all.

 

So yeah, this is a fun isekai series, though perhaps not entirely my thing and liking.  I'll get round to the future seasons for sure, but that isn't the main goal to be honest at the moment, but it wasn't bad or something.  Just, well, enjoyable without anything more...