This week's episode was rather entertaining, with quite a few meta chuckles, even if most of the plot was paint by numbers.
The Mandalorian takes a bit of a vacation to Tatooine, he ends up involved in a bounty hunt, and people die. Change the planet name, and I've got a feeling that you've given a plot synopsis of the majority of episodes for this show. Not that that's a bad thing.
Mos Eisley is as underpopulated as other areas. It felt really off to me, especially the cantina. Instead of packed, it was empty. Has Mos Eisley fallen in population? Really, if you're going to use an iconic location, you have to USE it.
Same thing with the Tusken Raiders. At least imply there are others in hiding.
I liked the episode, but the flaws in doing a weekly Star Wars series are in full evidence this week. It feels like Star Wars on the cheap, which isn't Star Wars at all.
CEB
Friday, December 6, 2019
Saturday, November 23, 2019
WWE Friday Night Smackdown 11/22/2019 Comments and Ratings
Here's another form of my geekdom, professional wrestling.
There are so many recaps out there, that I'm not going to go that route. There are so many live watches...same thing. What I plan on doing is giving match ratings, comments on things that stand out to me, and get out, fast.
Sasha Banks v. Charlotte Flair v. Rhea Ripley
This match was just fine. Competent, predictable, and the pinning sequence was insulting. This was almost a lumberjill match. Why not just make it one so there could be a little bit more interbrand shennanigans? 1.75 stars.
The new Intercontinental belt is very nice looking. The white strap has nostalgia, but I am very happy with the new title belt.
Look at that!
Beautiful.
Big E and Kofi Kingston and Heavy Machinery versus The Undisputed Era
Another paint by numbers match, but slightly better than the women's triple threat. 2.25, but nothing that anyone needs to go out of their way to see for any reason. It feels like this whole show is going to be just...there.
Daniel Bryan versus The Miz
This would have been a red hot main event several years ago. Now, it's just a match. And barely a match because of the inevitable Fiend appearance. No rating.
Mustafa Ali, Shorty G, and Roman Reigns versus King Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, and Bobby Roode
Wow, that was horrible. 1 star, and I think that's generous.
This is the definition of a skippable, nothing show. Don't bother.
There are so many recaps out there, that I'm not going to go that route. There are so many live watches...same thing. What I plan on doing is giving match ratings, comments on things that stand out to me, and get out, fast.
Sasha Banks v. Charlotte Flair v. Rhea Ripley
This match was just fine. Competent, predictable, and the pinning sequence was insulting. This was almost a lumberjill match. Why not just make it one so there could be a little bit more interbrand shennanigans? 1.75 stars.
The new Intercontinental belt is very nice looking. The white strap has nostalgia, but I am very happy with the new title belt.
Look at that!
Beautiful.
Big E and Kofi Kingston and Heavy Machinery versus The Undisputed Era
Another paint by numbers match, but slightly better than the women's triple threat. 2.25, but nothing that anyone needs to go out of their way to see for any reason. It feels like this whole show is going to be just...there.
Daniel Bryan versus The Miz
This would have been a red hot main event several years ago. Now, it's just a match. And barely a match because of the inevitable Fiend appearance. No rating.
Mustafa Ali, Shorty G, and Roman Reigns versus King Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, and Bobby Roode
Wow, that was horrible. 1 star, and I think that's generous.
This is the definition of a skippable, nothing show. Don't bother.
Friday, November 22, 2019
Anime Backlog, 11/22/2019
I'm way behind in my anime watching, and have a backlog of shows I want to try to watch that is probably over a hundred by now. I'm trying to work my way through them again, until I get either bored or frustrated. I don't know how long these posts will continue, but as I said before, I'm trying to write more, and the posts that I enjoy making will continue, and the ones that I don't will fall by the wayside. All shows will be old because I'm honestly several years behind in my watching. (looking at the dates of the oldest unwatched titles in my queue, that's not just several years. It's five years!)
I tend to watch one episode of four different shows when I watch anime and when I either drop a show or finish one of those four, the next on my list pops in. I don't watch daily, but probably 3 or 4 days a week, depending on how much work there is coming in for me. Anime works really well as background noise that can be paused and restarted easily.
Today's shows are One Piece 292, Naruto Shippuden 199, Yowamushi Pedal 19, and Wolf Girl and Black Prince 9. Don't judge me!
One Piece 292
This is a filler episode, almost immediately after One Piece had pulled itself out of filler hell. Worse than filler, it's alternative universe filler, with this being about the versions of the crew from the almost historic Japan shorts that have recently been sprinkled at the end of shows to add to run time.
Point blank, 291 and 292 are among the worst episodes of a long running anime that I've ever seen, and given that the main story was left behind at a key moment, it's even worse. I can't think of any redeeming qualities for this filler arc at all. No character moments, no humor, no anything other than, "Oh, here's an alternative version of Character X, Y, and Z."
Please, save me. F for this episode.
Naruto Shippuden 199
Naruto is out of filler and into canon again, as of 198. The five Kage are leaving their villages to meet, Naruto wants to try to convince the Raikage to forgive Sasuke, and Danzo is Danzo. Mizukage...already annoys me.
I know the beats for Naruto, but haven't actually watched much of the show so a lot of what I'm watching is new to me. Still, no character in the Narutoverse draws as much pure hate from me as Danzo. Still, Danzo in combat showed that he's not just a selfish evil mastermind, but a competent one.
Kakashi's subtle plans to weaken Danzo's authority are intriguing, too.
Konohamaru's appearance was a sign of how far Naruto's come in his maturity.
Ah, Sasuke's crew is checked in on. If they and the Akatsuki are after Danzo they can't be all bad.
The Land of Iron Samurai look like stormtroopers. Real subtle.
All in all, not much happened here, with pieces in play all over the board being checked in on. It feels like something is coming, though.
Yowamushi Pedal 19
I love sports anime. This one is about high school bicycle road racing, and just completed an extended training arc. There really isn't anything exceptional about the characters, or the setting, but it's solid and without weakness, which is enough for me. The main character's exceptionalism is because he rides his bike listening to anime soundtracks, training him subconsciously to pedal at a faster rate than his competition due to the perky, high speed of the music.
Side Note: PS4 Crunchyroll is spamming the same commercial at me again today, this time for a truck dealership in Storm Lake. It's been 9 times in a row so far.
Coming back from training, the bikers have to take make-up classes for what they missed during training camp. The main character is still not confident in his abilities, and this episode is all about confronting that and overcoming it.
The episode is a solid B, but biases towards the material are in play.
Wolf Girl and Black Prince 9
And here's the black sheep of my current lineup. It's bad, but I can't quite pull the trigger on dropping it, especially since it's only 12 episodes. Every character in this show is trash, and I'm hoping to see them all go up in a dumpster fire. I think that's what I'm actually cheering for now. Yes, this is a hate watch now.
The characters are going on a two day school hike. Everything is horrible, except the gay moans in the female lead's imagination, which are so overblown that they go from horrible right around to ridiculously funny.
Another showing of the truck dealership ad at the halfway point. At least it was only once. If I ever was to buy a new truck, it would not be from you, Edwards in Storm Lake, after this blitz.
The show as a whole gets a D, but this particular episode is a C. Very little to rage against this time.
I tend to watch one episode of four different shows when I watch anime and when I either drop a show or finish one of those four, the next on my list pops in. I don't watch daily, but probably 3 or 4 days a week, depending on how much work there is coming in for me. Anime works really well as background noise that can be paused and restarted easily.
Today's shows are One Piece 292, Naruto Shippuden 199, Yowamushi Pedal 19, and Wolf Girl and Black Prince 9. Don't judge me!
One Piece 292
This is a filler episode, almost immediately after One Piece had pulled itself out of filler hell. Worse than filler, it's alternative universe filler, with this being about the versions of the crew from the almost historic Japan shorts that have recently been sprinkled at the end of shows to add to run time.
Point blank, 291 and 292 are among the worst episodes of a long running anime that I've ever seen, and given that the main story was left behind at a key moment, it's even worse. I can't think of any redeeming qualities for this filler arc at all. No character moments, no humor, no anything other than, "Oh, here's an alternative version of Character X, Y, and Z."
Please, save me. F for this episode.
Naruto Shippuden 199
Naruto is out of filler and into canon again, as of 198. The five Kage are leaving their villages to meet, Naruto wants to try to convince the Raikage to forgive Sasuke, and Danzo is Danzo. Mizukage...already annoys me.
I know the beats for Naruto, but haven't actually watched much of the show so a lot of what I'm watching is new to me. Still, no character in the Narutoverse draws as much pure hate from me as Danzo. Still, Danzo in combat showed that he's not just a selfish evil mastermind, but a competent one.
Kakashi's subtle plans to weaken Danzo's authority are intriguing, too.
Konohamaru's appearance was a sign of how far Naruto's come in his maturity.
Ah, Sasuke's crew is checked in on. If they and the Akatsuki are after Danzo they can't be all bad.
The Land of Iron Samurai look like stormtroopers. Real subtle.
All in all, not much happened here, with pieces in play all over the board being checked in on. It feels like something is coming, though.
Yowamushi Pedal 19
I love sports anime. This one is about high school bicycle road racing, and just completed an extended training arc. There really isn't anything exceptional about the characters, or the setting, but it's solid and without weakness, which is enough for me. The main character's exceptionalism is because he rides his bike listening to anime soundtracks, training him subconsciously to pedal at a faster rate than his competition due to the perky, high speed of the music.
Side Note: PS4 Crunchyroll is spamming the same commercial at me again today, this time for a truck dealership in Storm Lake. It's been 9 times in a row so far.
Coming back from training, the bikers have to take make-up classes for what they missed during training camp. The main character is still not confident in his abilities, and this episode is all about confronting that and overcoming it.
The episode is a solid B, but biases towards the material are in play.
Wolf Girl and Black Prince 9
And here's the black sheep of my current lineup. It's bad, but I can't quite pull the trigger on dropping it, especially since it's only 12 episodes. Every character in this show is trash, and I'm hoping to see them all go up in a dumpster fire. I think that's what I'm actually cheering for now. Yes, this is a hate watch now.
The characters are going on a two day school hike. Everything is horrible, except the gay moans in the female lead's imagination, which are so overblown that they go from horrible right around to ridiculously funny.
Another showing of the truck dealership ad at the halfway point. At least it was only once. If I ever was to buy a new truck, it would not be from you, Edwards in Storm Lake, after this blitz.
The show as a whole gets a D, but this particular episode is a C. Very little to rage against this time.
The Mandalorian S01E03 Disney+ [SPOILERS]
Here we go, with some thoughts on this week's episode of "The Mandalorian."
I was getting the video freeze bug this morning. It feels like it happens more often on release day for shows.
It felt a bit weaker than the first two episodes, which, when I look back at the notes I took when I was watching, is surprising because I've got a few more things to say than I would about the other two episodes.
Sad baby Yoda is sad. That face will be a meme soon enough.
The employer's planet is a volcanic planet, but not as violent as Mustafar, unless Mustafar has settled down. That's the problem with Star Wars planets being one note places. You run out of notes. The street scenes still feel underpopulated, as well, compared to street scenes elsewhere in the Star Wars universe.
The acting of the other Mandalorians was laughably bad. As cool as it was to see many of them in action later in the episode, the scene at the foundry, or forge, or nest, or whatever it's called was cringeworthy.
I'm assuming "Mando" is just short for Mandalorian, and used because no one knows the lead's real name. It works.
Retrieving the child from the Empire remnant seemed way too easy. I suspect it was a setup. Getting through the other bounty hunters was a significant upgrade, even if the other bounty hunters went to the Empire Sharpshooting Academy.
Final opinion? If Episode 1 was an A, and Episode 2 was a B+, then Episode 3 was a B-. Still good, but not exceptional.
I was getting the video freeze bug this morning. It feels like it happens more often on release day for shows.
It felt a bit weaker than the first two episodes, which, when I look back at the notes I took when I was watching, is surprising because I've got a few more things to say than I would about the other two episodes.
Sad baby Yoda is sad. That face will be a meme soon enough.
The employer's planet is a volcanic planet, but not as violent as Mustafar, unless Mustafar has settled down. That's the problem with Star Wars planets being one note places. You run out of notes. The street scenes still feel underpopulated, as well, compared to street scenes elsewhere in the Star Wars universe.
The acting of the other Mandalorians was laughably bad. As cool as it was to see many of them in action later in the episode, the scene at the foundry, or forge, or nest, or whatever it's called was cringeworthy.
I'm assuming "Mando" is just short for Mandalorian, and used because no one knows the lead's real name. It works.
Retrieving the child from the Empire remnant seemed way too easy. I suspect it was a setup. Getting through the other bounty hunters was a significant upgrade, even if the other bounty hunters went to the Empire Sharpshooting Academy.
Final opinion? If Episode 1 was an A, and Episode 2 was a B+, then Episode 3 was a B-. Still good, but not exceptional.
Blog Mission Statement
Here we go. First post, glad to be here, and all of that other tripe.
Mission statement: To prove that I can write, review, comment, on my interests and to keep my reviews, comments, and such in one place so I don't flood feeds. Also, to keep track of what I'm playing, watching, reading, and doing. Also, to improve my writing.
For the most part, my personal life will not be discussed here. Posts are likely going to be frequent. We'll see how this goes. It might dry up in days, or even hours, or keep on going for a long time.
Tallyho!
CEB
Mission statement: To prove that I can write, review, comment, on my interests and to keep my reviews, comments, and such in one place so I don't flood feeds. Also, to keep track of what I'm playing, watching, reading, and doing. Also, to improve my writing.
For the most part, my personal life will not be discussed here. Posts are likely going to be frequent. We'll see how this goes. It might dry up in days, or even hours, or keep on going for a long time.
Tallyho!
CEB
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