Garo : The Eastern Sentinel

So, the latest Garo season happened, and I have feelings about it. The Eastern Sentinel is a followup to Heir to Steel Armor, picking up where it left off - Ryuga looking to reunite with Rian.

Narrative-wise, this season is kind of strange. Its primary purpose is to give Rian a send-off. Lady Ryume is dying and she chooses Rian as her successor; the primary character drama here is this means saying goodbye to Ryuga, potentially for his entire lifetime. There are some other characters, and they are cool. but since this season is only 8 episodes, they don’t really get to have too strong of character moments. The new Makai Priest bro fares the best, but his showing here is still a good bit behind Souma from the previous season, although to be fair, Souma learning to not be a dick was the primary plot of the first portion of that season whereas this guy’s bit is mostly a side thing.

But yeah, I like the idea of what this season wanted to do, which is give us a goodbye to Rian so that whatever future adventures Ryuga has don’t have her whereabouts lingering over them like they did the previous season. It’s just that this season is only 8 episodes, and that not only hurts the side characters, it hurts Ryuga and Rian. I usually don’t complain very much when Garo sticks to tropes; I am firm believer that doing the thing that works can be fine so long as it’s well executed, like with Demon Slayer. However, the short length of this season means we really don’t get a lot of time, and that makes the sticking to tropes a bit harder to deal with. I have always enjoyed Garo’s character work, and this is probably the weakest season in that regard, which is very unfortunate seeing as how the premise of this season is just super emotional.

I’m not sad I watched it or anything, but It could have been so much better. I don’t see myself rewatching this season. Very mid followup to a strong return season.

Scott Pilgrim Takes Off

Scott Pilgrim became one of my favorite pieces of media once my friend Kieth( The GOAT) introduced it to me in college(alongside BIG KRIT!). It’s the story of this 20-something loser who starts to get his shit together because he wants to get into a relationship with this hot chick…and he also has to fight her evil ex-boyfriends. It’s a pretty compelling story of growth, and it was cool to watch Scott slowly kinda sorta eventually vaguely resemble a respectable human being by the end of the series. It’s honestly a lot like No More Heroes, except Scott is probably a bigger piece of shit than even Travis Touchdown, which is a goddamn feat.

So, a couple of years ago, an anime adaptation got announced - Scott Pilgrim Takes Off. And right from the jump, it takes the story in a very different direction. The Scott Pilgrim graphic novels/comics follow Scott as he fights Ramona’s evil exes, having to slowly not be a shitty person as he goes along. The anime has Scott taken out of the plot altogether halfway through episode one. Instead of a series about Scott becoming a better person while beating up the exes, we get a series about Ramona getting closer with her exes by just talking to them while trying to find Scott. It’s a pretty different story, even if all the things that made me like OG Scott Pilgrim are still there, which is cool. The world still runs on video game logic, Kim Pine is still best girl, and the characters are just so extra while being nonchalant at the same time. The humor in this series is great.

This is a great followup to the original series. It’s a bit sad we don’t get to see Scott become not a shitter, but getting to see all the exes as actual people and not just comic book boss battles is kind of worth it.

Gestalt: Steam & Cinder

My journey through my backlog continues! This time around, I played Gestalt, an indie Metroidvania that came out almost 2 years ago now. Shoutout to the homie Xerocool for gifting me the game.

Gestalt is just a really solid metroidvania. Combat is tight, the graphics and music are great, and the story is decent. The game is pretty short; I beat it in about 7 hours and got most of the things in the game. I honestly don’t have many complaints. Keyword is many, not any. There is a skill tree, but there’s not necessarily opportunity cost here; I unlocked most of it, and if I actually 100% the game, I would’ve unlocked it all.Thats not necessarily a bad thing in a vacuum, but it does mean that you’re not gonna be having your own custom Aletheia(the protagonist) build. Far from a deal-breaker, but it is there. Secondly, the story ends on a cliffhanger for no good reason. The story has a really cool setup, and it’s told pretty decently, but it just ends in a very unsatisfying way; if this was a rpg or a visual novel, i’d be ready to throw the game in the trash over that ending.

But yeah, those two things aside, great game. Short, fun, cheap. Helluva a debut title for a studio.

I Love Boosters

I love weird shit. I love Black people. I love weird shit made by Black people. It should surprise no one that I saw I love Boosters in theaters while it was running.

This movie ain’t perfect, but it’s my brand of tomfoolery. Keke Palmer’s head is completely empty, but damn can she act. The movie eventually becomes something else entirely, but the basic premise is that a group of women who get by via stealing and then reselling clothes(Boosters) target this one lady’s brand after they learn she stole the designs of their leader. Again, it quickly becomes about some other shit, but that’s the premise I can give that keeps most of the mystery, okay.

This movie is just casually absurd, and that’s just a real easy way to get me. The rich clothing designer lady literally works in a slanted building, so when Keke sneaks into her room, she has trouble escaping quietly because the building, and thus the room she’s in, is slanted. There’s a guy who’s just casually a demon, and no one in the movie cares. It’s just an absurd movie and I love it.

The story & characters are not the strongest. I wasn’t particularly attached to the cast, and the story kinda bit off more than it could chew. But, it was pretty fun. I’d say it’s a piece of media carried by its premise, performances, and vibes. Those things are all like A+ tier, while the actual story and characters are C tier, B- if I’m being extremely generous.

It’s weird, it’s goofy, it’s got a good message, and it’s just a bunch of cool ideas. Not for everyone, but definitely for me. Congrats, Boots Riley, ya got me.

The Vince Staples Show

I’ve been down with Vince Staples ever since I started listening to him in summer 2019. His music is dope and he’s pretty damn funny. I’m late to the party when it comes to his netflix show, but it’s pretty dope.

Vince’s show is this brief, kinda surreal look into the Black experience. Over the course of 5 episodes, we follow Vince from one ludicrous situation to the next, with him playing the straight man to basically every single other person in the show. He gets arrested over some bullshit, jumped by amusement park mascots, chased around town by an old classmate, etc. It’s all just very absurd and it all goes by without missing a beat. It’s a very Black show, and that makes all the sense in the world because Vince never shies away from his Blackness in his music.

The humor in the show is great; It’s Vince’s very dry brand combined with absurd situations. You have Vince constantly responding completely straight-faced to what can only be described as straight bullshit, and there are plenty of just out of pocket comments and brick jokes to be had.

It was short, but pretty damn good.

River City Girls

RCG continues the trend of “Game I bought on my switch in 2019-20 and never properly beat.” This game is a great beat-em-up. Ya play as two delinquent girls rampaging through the city to find their kidnapped boyfriends.

I love beat-em-ups, and this game is as good as they come. Cool designs, nice music, a bunch of cool moves to unlock, funny dialogue, nice bosses; it’s got the whole package with a bow wrapped on it. I really should’ve played this sooner. Will probably give it another spin soon.