I'll try something new today. Instead of just naming badass villains, I'll think of villainous GROUPS that might strike off as badass. As groups, some of them accomplish feats on a way bigger scale than villains who run solo. Or maybe they just have the extra cool factor that makes them stand out? Who knows?


Spoilers for the following games:


Tales Of Xillia
Dark Souls Series
7th Dragon 2020 Series
Black Rock Shooter:The Game
Kingdom Hearts II





Every king needs his henchmen.


5. Gaius And The Chimeriad
From: Tales Of Xillia


What's with big bad enemies having an elite guard of 4 all the time? Its the f**king "Elite Four" everywhere I look...and its the same case with "Tales Of Xillia". Gaius is no simple foe, but he couldn't possibly reach where he is without his four followers, the Chimeriad.


I actually thought the Chimeriad as nothing but small time villains that just seem to appear often within the game's story, but then soon came to understood their importance and the part that they played during the game. Every single member of the Chimeriad, while insanely powerful, grows onto you as the story progresses, because of how they share links with the individual characters of your party, which is really cool (Agria to Leaia, Jiao to Elize, Presa to Alvin, Wingul to Rowen).


Let's not forget that each and every one of them went out with a solid bang...especially Jiao with his crazy heroics which let the party survived. I felt for each and every member of the Chimeriad, even freaking Wingul. It takes a truly awesome villain group to do that, though in the end, The Chimeriad aren't all that evil after all. They just got in your way and fought for their beliefs.


Members

Leader-Gaius
1-Agria
2-Jiao
3-Presa
4-Wingul



So who do you want to die to first?


4. The 4 Old Ones
From: The Dark Souls Series


Notice how the Old Ones in the "Dark Souls" series always came in groups of four. Its always about defeating the 4 Old Ones, which would in turn open up the way to the king, whether it be Vendrick or Gwyn.


The 4 Old Ones aren't particularly a very distinguished group, they just tend to be owners of 4 great souls that would serve as barriers for the player to keep going. The 4 in "Dark Souls" had a special bond together. They fought to destroy the dragons of old that ushered the age of fire. Seath sold out the dragons on their secrets of the scales, Nito unleashed a plague of death and decay, the Chaos Witch burned them, and Gwyn struck them down with great lightning.


In "Dark Souls 2", the Lost Sinner punished herself for trying to screw with the soul of the Chaos Witch. The Old Iron King was just a sad dude that got enveloped in lava, The Rotten was a guy that would accept all that was thrown away or dis-wanted. The Duke's Dear Freja was just a monstrosity of a creation from the Duke that would tear down everything in its path. And everything was just a stepping stone for the very end...


Members
01-Gwyn, Lord Of Cinder
02-Chaos Witch Izalith
03-Gravelord Nito
04-Seath The Scaleless
05-The Lost Sinner
06-Duke's Dear Freja
07-Old Iron King
08-The Rotten



Dragons...dragons everywhere.


3. The Dragons
From: 7th Dragon 2020 Series


Dragons are a pretty common source of death and destruction in many fantasy games, but nothing strikes as much fear as the dragons from the "7th Dragon 2020" series. These guys are intelligent, adaptive and just pure ruthless. They pollute the world with crystal flowers that cause poison, making it difficult for the human race to live.


Above the chain of command, the monsters that populate Tokyo are under the dragons, and even on the dragons' side, they have higher ranks to look up to. These guys are the cause of the mayhem in modern day Japan, and are the stepping stones that the 13th Murakumo squad has to overcome. 


Be it the big and scary Warcry, the technically advanced Jigowatt, the accursed Sleepy Hollow or the menacing Tiamat, all the dragons look badass as all f**k, and all of them fight differently with their own special abilities. The Scabber is massive and has many parts to his boss fight. Dragons like Okeanas and Zero Blue make use of their terrain respectively to destroy you, like laying out poison or ice attacks. They are no joke, and its always a massive pain to defeat them.


Members
Leaders-Nyarla, Formalhaut
01-Warcry
02-Jigowatt
03-Lore-A-Lua
04-Trinitro
05-Sleepy Hollow
06-The Scabber
07-Zero Blue
08-Tiamat
09-Okeanas
10-Doragusatana
11-Jabberwocky
12-Insomia



...You're screwed,


2. White Rock Shooter And The 7 Apostles
From: Black Rock Shooter:The Game


If these guys don't look freaking epic, then I don't know what does. In a world like the one in "Black Rock Shooter", without humans, its difficult to express anything at all whatsoever. So the 7 Apostles are here to give you a little bit of that. They look human, but the're aliens...and they aren't friendly.


These guys come at you one at a time, and YOU KNOW the next boss battle is going to be deviously epic as you'll be facing yet another Apostle. Each and every single Apostle is awesome in his/her own way, be it in terms of character design or their fighting style...they're all pretty amazing (except maybe Shizu and her brother, I'd probably rate them the lowest among the group). Still, despite wanting to kill your ass, all of them have something to say to our silent heroine.


Mefe just wants to blow shit up and sees you as another enemy. Mazuma takes interest in you, and wants to show you the ways through battle. Shizu is high and mighty, Llwo hunts you with a vengeance. Nafe just wants to kill you in the most fun way possible, and Zaha is like the mighty guardian that keeps all the Apostles together at bay. The WRS is the big boss...the queen. She seeks the BRS to become stronger and finally battle against her as a worthy opponent. Who takes the throne? Black? Or White? You decide.



Members
Leader-White Rock Shooter
01-MEFE
02-MZMA
03-SZZU
04-CKRY
05-LLWO
06-NAFE
07-ZAHA


13 hooded badasses!


1. Organization XIII
From: Kingdom Hearts II


Here it is. The ultimate villain team from gaming. These guys are the badass of the badass in the "Kingdom Hearts" series, even when they first made their appearance in "Chain Of Memories". While they might not be the most cohesive team, the fact that they're a bunch of personalities all jumbled together makes them all the more of a likable group.


The main antagonist of "Kingdom Hearts II" is probably Xemnas, and he pulls the strings for Organization XIII. The group itself is composed of 13 (14 if you count Xion, but that completely removes the cool ass 13 factor) nobodies with special attachments to being human. Each and every one of them wields special powers and weapons, which make them look pretty damn awesome. There's quite a lot going on for these guys as far as their feats go.


As nobodies, its their original purpose to obtain Kingdom Hearts to restore themselves, but of course, its a long process with each individual member going to do their own thing. Its the individual members that actually make Organization XIII, not their efforts a group. Be it the cocky Axel or the easy going Xigbar, these guys have sass. Plus, Roxas is in it...


Members

01-Xemnas
02-Xigbar
03-Xaldin
04-Vexen
05-Lexaeus
06-Zexion
07-Saix
08-Axel
09-Demnyx
10-Luxor
11-Marluxia
12-Larxene
13-Roxas




Peace. Might do something like that again in the future!

Sunday 25 May 2014

Rave-on! (Tokyo Ravens review)



Opening Songs
OP 1 - X-Encounter (Maon Kurosaki)
OP 2 - Outgrow (Gero)

Ending Songs
ED 1 - Kimi Ga Eru Yuugure (Yoshino Nanjou)
ED 2 - Break A Spell (Mami Kawada)

Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Supernatural

Episodes: 24



Its actually hard to find shows like "Tokyo Ravens", or any high school action, supernatural, romance hybrid to be exact. We get the action harems like "To Aru Majutsu No Index" or "Strike The Blood", then we get those that AREN'T harems like "Kyokai Senjou Horizon" or the likes of "Ao No Exorcist". "Tokyo Ravens" falls into the latter category, because there's really not much of a harem going on, though for capturing the spirit of a "fighting/combat" high school, it does very well. In fact, it reminds me so much of "Ao No Exorcist", its not even funny. It reminds me a lot about it, but that doesn't necessarily mean its better. There are some questionable routes which the series takes, and there surprisingly isn't a lot of character development for a 24 episode anime. There's just a lot of good fight scenes and a pretty interesting concept/lore about the world, but sometimes, that's good enough. "Tokyo Ravens" delivers well on that part, but doesn't really go beyond, and has an ending that leaves a lot to be desired to boot.



Sexy Kyouko is sexy, too bad we don't really see too much of her.


"Tokyo Ravens" has pretty badass opening and ending songs, which I really appreciate. The 1st opening theme is "X-Encounter" by Maon Kurosaki, and what do you know, it's effin fantastic. Not that I expected anything less from Maon, since she has always had amazing songs in her discography, and the fact that she juggles her work from Altima is even more amazing. Its very similar to early Mami kawada songs used in the "To Aru Majutsu No Index" series, it gives off that feel of mystery, awesomeness and sexy techno. The 1st ending theme "Kimi Ga Eru Yuugure" by Yoshino Nanjou is pretty slow, but its a typical kind of ending theme.


The 2nd opening theme is "Outgrow" by Gero, and honestly, I was a little bit disappointed by this one. Its a very typical shonen anime type opening theme, and it doesn't fully capture well the theme and or spirit of the anime. Most of the scenes are reused from the first opening as well. The 2nd ending theme though is where its at, and its "Break A Spell" by Mami Kawada. I felt like THIS should have been the opening theme, because it felt so much in line with Maon's 1st opening. Like with most Mami songs, its really strong on heavy techno beats.



Rating: 7.5/10



While I felt like it was doing good at what it was meant to do, there wasn't anything beyond that really stood out. The main action scenes and many different arcs were done decently well, but there was close to no character development or other noticeable goodies that could have really improved the experience. Characters that were supposed to be important never really stood out too much, the entire anime didn't feel very funny other than a few short segments, and the romance elements were really mediocre. Despite all this though, the anime captures the spirit of attending an exorcist school very well, though it probably didn't feel quite as atmospheric as "Ao No Exorcist". Still, action stands as its best bout, since fights based on exorcist chants and curses can be really interesting. The story was alright, but it was the overall lore that really hit me out of the park.




Two jealous females...you know where this is going when
they look at you with those eyes.


The story focuses on Tsuchimikado Harutora, a regular country bum who happens to be the adopted son of a great exorcist bloodline. He has been living his life normally, along with his best friend Touji and another girl named Hokuto. Together, the 3 of them attended a very normal high school, and lived a very normal life. That was of course, until a very powerful exorcist by the name of Suzuka attacked their city, she was known as one of the 12 divine generals, some of the strongest exorcist around. During the attack, Harutora's more talented cousin in the ways of the exorcist, Natsume turned out to be visiting. Harutora consulted Natsume, but it seemed like it was all an elaborate trick, since Suzuka sent a familiar to steal away Natsume's powers. After witnessing the death of Hokuto,  who was killed by Suzuka, Harutora becomes Natsume's familiar, and they both take down Suzuka. After that, him and Touji enroll into an exorcist school to further enhance their abilities, so that they can help Natsume in her future endeavors.


When all is said and done, "Tokyo Ravens" was executed decently enough, but there's still a lot that could have been improved on. The ending is seriously sequel bait though, and honestly, it wasn't nice. Its like they set up everything so nicely for a sequel bait ending...meh. If there is a sequel though, then we'd have a lot more to look forward to, that much I HOPE to see.


Peace.

Friday 23 May 2014

Red Like Roses (RWBY review)



Opening Songs
OP 1 - This Will Be The Day (Jeff Williams feat Casey Lee Williams)

Genre: Action, Comedy, Fantasy, Drama

Episodes: 16



Its hard to argue whether or not "RWBY" is an anime. It's probably not, but I'm gonna file it as one anyway, because its simply awesome. Well, the closest thing you can call it is an amerinime (America Anime...get it? Guess not)! Still, whether or or not its made in Japan...it doesn't matter. It looks ALOT like anime, even if it isn't, so close that its hard not to call it one. Despite all that, this was made by the one passionate dude that made the amazing "Dead Fantasy" series, and with him finally starting his hand on his OWN series with ACTUAL original characters, its not hard to see this doing well. "RWBY" is a great take on another example of a high school action based anime, with amazing 3D animations to boot. Though with each episode only clocking in at 5 minutes and certain ones at 16 minutes, it may be a little bit too short.



Ruby is just too beautiful!


"RWBY" has a FANTASTIC...I repeat, FANTASTIC soundtrack. So f**king awesome that it made my ears jizz a million times over. The opening song is "This Will Be The Day", and that alone should be a mark of how awesome the songs in this show are, especially the trailer songs, like "I Burn" for Yang, or "Mirror Mirror" for Weiss. There are also awesome songs IN the show itself, you just have to listen out for them as it goes.



Rating: 8.0/10



It could have gotten a higher rating for its awesomeness. The show does seem to have its share of technical downfalls once in awhile. While there are plenty of moments where the show itself looks f**king awesome, there are also many moments that lack polish. Some background seems to be a lot less well done than others, and non-important characters look dull. However, the story is simple and effective. The characters are VERY likable, their character designs are also amazing on their own. What shines best however, are the incredibly well implemented fight scenes. These are some of the best fight scenes I've seen, like, really. Each character has their own awesome weapon, and of course, with awesome weapons you fight like awesome people. These battles are fluid and full of visual flair...they are just magnificent eye candy. Though to be truthfully honest...there aren't enough fights, since its only 16 short episodes.




The crew ready for action!


The story focuses on the 4 girls that represent RWBY, Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang, though its mostly Ruby. Ruby is your regular girl....with a giant Scythe that she built on her own. She was just browsing through a dust shop when it got attacked by thugs. She single handedly chased them all off, only to be stopped by 2 of Beacon's professors. After some talk with them, she gets enrolled into Beacon, an academy that she has been longing to enter. There, she runs into her sister Yang, who also appears to be going into Beacon. After an eventful first day, she runs into some friends (and/or enemies) Weiss, a girl that hates every aspect of her, Jaun, a loser of a man who tries to get ladies (but fails horribly) and Blake, a quiet girl that has a shady aura. Will she have an awesome life in Beacon when she meets these awesome friends? Of course.



"RWBY" is a great show that captures the spirit of a battle based high school atmosphere really well. On the technical side of things, there are some wonderful parts and some parts that just need some polish. Overall though, it was a wonderful experience. Just hope that season 2 can deliver on the hype that season 1 has laid on us.



Peace.




Black Dragon Kalameet
HP: 5400
Skills: Flying Flame Breath*, Forward Flame Breath, Rushing Flame Breath*, Standing Flame Breath, Eye, Rush*, Foot Stomps, Tail Stomp, Tail Swipe*
Souls: 60000


Difficulty: 4.5/5
Times died on 1st playthrough: 10+



This guy is completely optional, and for good reason. To get access to him you'll need to die to him once, then exhaust all of Gough's dialogue. After that, you're good to go. But be warned though, heading into that great valley filled with corpses may be your biggest mistake...because you're about to fight an evil, EVIL dragon. One that will no doubt kick your ass to the abyss back and forth..over and over. He may not be as difficult as Artorias, but he is still a force to be reckoned with. He is the boss of Royal Wood.


Needless to say...you'll need to prepare to die.


Kalameet is one hell of a feisty dragon. Look at his move sets...that's a lot of breath attacks. He will absolutely destroy you if you're on the receiving end of one of those flame breaths, and since he has a lot of them, you'll need to know how to predict and deal with these annoying moves. On the bright side, he is huge, so you'll (almost) never miss him, but then again, he is tanky as shit. You're going to need a lot of flasks to to persist through the entire fight, and that's if you don't get insta killed by his flames. Well then...let's get to what can actually kill you.


Flying Flame Breath* - His signature move. He flies up, and breathes fire downward, with the flames on the ground spreading outward like a great circular field of fire. This hits multiple times, and WILL absolutely kill you. Immediately roll away like a madman when you see him fly up in the sky, before its too late.

Forward Flame Breath - The easiest of his breath moves to dodge. He breathes flames right in front of him in a straight line. Has long reach, but easily dodged by simply running away.

Rushing Flame Breath* - F**k this move. He rushes to you, then turns behind and breaths fire in an arc, covering MASSIVE distance and probably insta killing you if you are hit by the flame. Dodge the rush, then run TO him to avoid his sweeping flame breath.

Standing Flame Breath - He stands up on his hind legs, and just breathes fire downwards on you like you're a peasant. Just roll away as fast as you can to dodge this, or die. Either way works.

Eye - He stands on his hind legs, then his eye glows. If you're in front of him, you're screwed. You will take damage and will also receive a debuff, making you take double damage. Rolling away works.

Rush*- He flings his entire body onto you, dealing massive damage and causing a massive hit stun, EVEN when blocking. Just roll at the right time.

Foot Stomps - He just stomps his feet, trying to net you. Staying away from his feet works best, or rolling, or blocking. Anything goes.

Tail Stomp - Only used if you're on his ass. He'll smack his tail down on you, ignoring block and dealing massive damage. Must be dodged.

Tail Swipe* - A 360 degrees tail swipe that covers MASSIVE AOE. Roll at the right time to dodge, or just eat it and take moderate damage.



He has a lot of moves, but the ones that will kill you are the breath attacks. These are most probably OHKO unless you have a godly amount of health and fire resistance. However, he will almost always rush you at the start of the battle, which is very hard to dodge and will most likely break through block. If you are hit by it, then you're in for a massive disadvantage right off the beginning of the battle. He will almost always never rush you from then on unless you are very far away from him, which shouldn't happen at all times (unless you want to die).



Yes he is THAT scary.


Lets talk about flame breaths. If he flies, then you're in for a hell of a ride. Prepare to run like a mad man, because the flame spreads outwards with a massive AOE. If you are hit once, you'll either flinch or fall, then you'll be followed up on with a SECOND hit by the flames, leaving you dead. Running or rolling away as fast as you can is the only remedy to this move. If he cocks his head back, he's going to do a straightforward flame breath. This one is easy to deal with, you can see it coming from a mile away. You should only be wary of this if you're trying to gulp down a flask from far away.


Now then if he decides to be a dick, then he'll run towards you full speed, then turn around and breath fire in an arc. This one is very hard to read and has been the death of me for god knows how many freaking times. The rush by itself can already catch you off guard, either breaking your shield or damaging you, then following up with the arc flame. The best solution to this is to DODGE the rush, then run TOWARDS Kalameet as he's breathing flame the other way, to hit him and do some damage, while dodging this deadly move.


Now if you're standing in front of him and chopping him up too much, he might decide to switch it up and stand on his hind legs. With this, he can follow up with 2 attacks. One is another form of flame breathing, but this one only affects you if you're in front of him. Simply GTFO when he stands up, its as easy as that. Hell, that saves you from his other possible action as well, the Eye stare of doom. You know this one is coming if his singular eye glows. He levitates your puny body and curses you, dealing damage and inflicting a debuff on you that makes you take double damage. Like it or not, that sucks.


Shit bricks, shit bricks all day.

We talk so much about his attacks, but I forget how to mention about actually killing this bugger. There are many ways to actually kill him, since he is so freaking big, almost everything you throw at him will hit him. Standing in front of him isn't the smartest thing to do, because he has so many ways to assault you from there. Standing BEHIND him isn't an exactly smart idea as well, because he has a freaking tail. If you manage to chop it off, you can negate two of his attacks, but its a risk you'll have to take.


Hitting him from the back may proc tail stomp, a heavily telegraphed attack that'll have Kalameet lifting his massive tail and then dumping it on top of your sorry head. You can't really block this, and dodging it isn't really the hardest thing to do, so there you go. Tail swipe, however, is a very dangerous attack that is hard to dodge, because of its massive AOE. Blocking it is preferred, but you can work around it. That being said, if you chop off his tail, these two attacks go *poof*.


That being said if you follow all of these advice, the only place where you should probably hit him from is underneath him. Believe it or not, he doesn't have much to get you when you're down there other than some petty stomps, which are easily his weakest attacks. Of course he'll be moving around a lot, but if you get in range to hit him, this is your best bet. Keep chipping away at him while avoiding and dealing with everything that he has to throw at you...and you MAY push through.


If they actually teamed up we would be in a WORLD of pain.


That's all for Kalameet. This bitch of a dragon is a tough, tough TOUGH adversary. 60000 souls is a lot to spend, but is it worth it for a beast like Kalameet? Maybe...maybe not. We're almost done through the DLC...we have only one enemy left.


Peace.



Opening Songs
OP 1 - Sirius (Aoi Eir)
OP 2 - Ambigious (GRANidELiA)

Ending Songs
ED 1 - Gomen ne, Ii ko ja Irarenai (Miku Sawai)
ED 2 - Shinsekai Koukyougaku (Sayonara Ponytail)

Genre: Action, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

Episodes: 24



I know I've already reviewed a ton of anime that are crazy as hell...but nothing really stands out like "Kill La Kill". Its over the top, its ridiculous, its stupid, its really, really explosive, and I enjoyed every single second of it. It may not be anything too revolutionary, but its simple mix of great action scenes, a funny visual style and just being completely crazy makes it an anime that can be easily enjoyed by almost anyone....not to mention that it has a quirky sense of humor and some fan service for those who want to see more of our scantily clad heroine. Filled to the brim with crazy characters and insane antics, "Kill La Kill" aims to explode the insides of our minds, and it does exactly just that. Don't expect anything but an action packed good time, and you'll enjoy yourself with this one.



Girls in skimpy outfits trying to kill one another...yeap, seems legit.


"Sirius" by Aoi Eir is the 1st opening, and honestly, I expected a song from someone else, since something by Aoi Eir doesn't really fit the explosiveness or intensity of "Kill La Kill". It's not bad, and to be honest, its one of her better songs up to this date, though it needs a little more kick to it. "Ambigious" by GRANiDELiA is the 2nd opening, and its slightly better. It has a very techno-ish feel to it, certainly not something I expected, but it fit surprisingly well, IMO.


As for the endings, they are not anything special to write home about, to be honest. The 1st ending "Gomen ne, Ii ko ja Irarenai" by Miku Sawai, sounds a bit like an ending to a romance anime, but it has some good beats in it...The 2nd ending " Shinsekai Koukyougaku" by Sayonara Ponytail even goes as far as to sound a little bit cutesy. Not my cup of tea, of course.



Rating: 8.5/10



If you go into "Kill La Kill" with the proper mindset, you really cannot go wrong. As long as you don't expect anything like a spectacular story that will move you to tears or comedy that'll make you laugh till your sides ache, then you'll have a pretty good time. "Kill La Kill" excels at what it does best, which are explosive action scenes filled with tons of dramatic and visual flair. You will be wowed at every fight Ryuko takes against any one of the enemy students, as well as their spirit. There are a ton of lovable characters, especially on the opposing side, and there's a ton of character development as well, even if it only applies to the main characters. The visual and animation style is pretty damn impressive as well, despite keeping a little bit of a vintage style in there.



What would you do if you see a girl in a skimpy costume lying unconscious on the street?


The story focuses on Matoi Ruko, a transfer student on her way to Honnouji academy, one of Japan's most prestigious combat  schools, where how well you fare in combat determines your way of life and social standing in the city. Ryuko only has one goal going into Honnouji, to find out about the scissor blade, a weapon that her deceased father left behind. Upon reaching there she is beat up by their Goku uniforms, weapons that are made to strengthen the human body based on life fibers, a strengthening thread from within their uniforms. Cursing her own weakness, she leaves to her old home, where she falls into a secret trap hole. There, she gets ambushed by a living school uniform, which consumes her, drinks her blood, and says that he will give her power. With her new uniform, she goes back to Honnouji and defeats her foes. It becomes known that the uniform she wears is known as a Kamui, a special uniform developed to have a massive amount of life fibers in it. With her new Kamui, which she calls Senketsu, and her best friend in school Mako, Ryuko aims for the top, the student council president, Kiryuuin Satsuki, in hope for the answers that she seeks.



"Kill La Kill" isn't one of the best shows I've seen in awhile, its just one of the most ENTERTAINING. It certainly has some of the best fight scenes in anime history, but not much beyond that. The impressive visual style also adds to the fun factor, and everything else is just icing on top of the cake. Just prepare some popcorn, because you'll be glued to your seat.


Peace.




I've had "Chrono Phantasma" for quite awhile now, and the review will be up soon. But before that, I want to do some character impressions on the new addition to the game. I'm about 30-40 hours in, finished story mode 100% (god that was long as f**k), played all 3 courses of score attack, and dipped a considerable amount of time into most of the other modes. Yes, even freaking "Unlimited Mars", f**k "Unlimited Mars", and I've given all characters a try.


While most of the old characters remain similar, they have gone through some drastic changes one way or another in terms of game play (to me, especially Rachel, Tsubaki and Ragna), but listing those changes will take awhile, so let's skip that. Instead, I'll do impressions on the new characters, because they seem to be the most interesting, and they deserve the spotlight. Now I haven't got to play Kokonoe (I never bought her), but since I've fought a good deal of her and seen a lot of videos, I'll give her a spot too.


Let's freaking go!



Amane Nishikki



I really like Amane, really, I do. He's one of the most uniquely designed characters in the game, and yes, his appearance plays a part in that. The way his game play works is also incredibly unique, albeit a little bit difficult to grasp. He is currently one of the hardest characters in the game to properly master, because of how...awkward he works. He's slow in terms of mobility, but he controls the space of the field like no other. In the right hands, he can really wreck face, but like I said : in the right hands. I tried using him, but as it stands, I'm still pretty bad with him.


As I said, Amane's specialty lies in his range, not his speed. His heavy attacks reach out quite far ahead, but they only hit opponents FAR AWAY and don't touch the ones close to him, which can lead to some really awkward situations. He can control space well with his drive, "Spiral", and its many different uses, though its mainly used to chip the living f**k out of opponents. He can keep away or close in well with quick glide moves, and he has a ranged command grab. His distortion drives leave a little bit too much to be desired, though " Kaizoku Senkō: "Gōkai Rasen Renpa" can be continued if Amane moves ALONG with it. He's one for the pros.


+ Controls space decently well
+ Good ranged lockdown
+ Dat f**king chip damage from "Spiral"

- Very hard to use properly
- Slow on the mobility side



Bullet





Bullet is probably the dick magnet for "Chrono Phantasma", just in terms of character design alone. I totally dig her design and looks, but there'll be people who won't. Game play wise though, Bullet is as simple as she goes. She's a rush down character similar to the likes of Makoto, Bang or Valkenhyne. She wants to get in your face, beat you up, then get heated up for even MORE power. She has good potential up close, but like most rush down character's, she'll need to either get IN to her opponents, or let her opponents come to her for her to be effective.


Bullet has no proper tools closing in, which probably makes up for most of her issues. Her damage is only decent up close, but when heated up, she can do a lot more, ranging from more damage to better command grabs and combo finishers. That said, she's not really hard to use on her own, though it can be hard to lean all of her match ups. Her distortion drives are pretty sub par IMO. She's easy for beginners to pick up, because there's not really anything too tough about her.



+ Decent if she goes in on her opponents
+ Even more powerful when heated up
+ Her drive "Locks" onto enemies, easy to punish hasty players

- Hard to get in on opponents
- Very little to deal with ranged enemies



Azreal





Azreal is pretty beast, both in the story and in the game. Just look at that majestic beast of a man, its not surprising at all that he's called "The Mad Dog" of sector seven. Anyways, if you want to feel like a badass and crush people's face in, then you can't go wrong with Azreal. He is, in many ways, a rush down character, BUT, unlike many other characters, he doesn't suffer the problem of needing to get IN on his opponents, because his free dashes do it for him. Well, if I were to compare, he feels a lot like Wesker from MVC 3, but more powerful in many aspects.


As I mentioned, the free dashes are a problem, they are just double taps on the same direction, which is pretty broken. You can't really control the distance though, so if it takes a decent Azreal player to properly make use of these. Other than that, he has some mean and powerful attacks. His normals are more on the slow side, but hurt like crap, and if he strings a combo, prepare for a world of pain. And yeah, his drive, "The Terror", not only allows him to inflict major damage on weak points, it opens you up for some really powerful combos. He has a ton of other tools to make life hard for you, like "Growler field" to absorb projectiles or moves to close in on you from REALLY far away if you are struck by "The Terror".


+ Can close the gap really easily
+ Does a lot of damage and is really tanky
+ Has a lot of tools to f**k up the opponent

- Normals can be rather slow
- Hard to use properly



Izayoi




Poor, poor Izayoi. She's probably the hardest of the new characters to use, and thus is the most under appreciated. She's melee, she's rushdown esque, but she takes a lot of effort to learn because of her move set. I do agree though that Tsubaki should permanently be in this design and outfit, screw her old outfit. But if I were to describe Izayoi, she's the closest thing the game has to a flight based melee character with teleports. I have seen good Izayois, but they are far and few.


Her teleports and flight mode when she activates her drive are really good for getting around the area, and she has a good deal of aerial moves to make her work decently well. Her flight isn't the fastest thing in the world though, so that means she can be punished and opened up by characters with a lot of anti air. Still, most of her high end combos can only be executed at a very close range, meaning that she'll have to put herself in danger whenever she goes in. One of her distortions though, "Slaver Trans AM", is very strong and is like a call back to Strider's Ouroborous. She'll need skill to play, that's for sure.


+ Can move around the field quick with flight and timed teleports
+ Strong in the air

- Very hard to use properly
- Need to find an appropriate time to close in on opponents



Kagura Mutsuki







Kagura is awesome. Not just about his design, everything about him just oozes with awesomeness, that's how badass of a man he is. Game play wise as well, he is able to kick your ass far and wide with his many different "Black Gale" techniques. He may not be the fastest character on the field, but he has PLENTY of ways to cross you up, close the gap or even get in in the air OR from the air. Kagura is an unpredicatable character, but he still requires skill, because honestly, you'll need to use the proper skill at the proper time and situation.


As mentioned earlier, "Black Gale" is DAMNED good, and Kagura has answers to many situations, provided that you have the proper reaction. "Sky Dragon's Strike" is a ridiculous gap closer, "Dragon's Ascent" is a massive anti air, and "Dragon Spirit" is an annoying as shit projectile. He has a lot to respond to you, and its hard to read him because you never know what he might throw out next. Being slow is his only weakness, but crossing him up can be a bad choice. Still, I'd say he's of moderate difficulty. His distortions are okay.


+ Many responses to many situations
+ Damage is on the higher side
+ Good at countering and going in on opponents

- Slow in terms of mobility



Yuki Terumi






Well, as my new main, I've got quite a few things to say about Terumi, though I won't rant for too long. Terumi isn't all that different in designs when compared to Hazama, but game play wise, while they share some similar normals, they are quite different, let me tell you. While Hazama is a control type character, Terumi is more of a rushdown character that shows NO MERCY. You do not let up as Terumi, you have one of the best gap closing moves in the game which is just the press of one f**king button. Then again, when you're in, opening up your opponent can be an issue.


Well then, I'll be the first one to break it: Terumi is not that hard to play. In fact, he's cake, he's easy as hell to play, like, Ragna or Noel standards of easy. Still, being easy does not mean that its easy to MASTER playing this douche bag. He has a shit ton of distortion drives, all of which are situational, though "Sotenjin" is similar to Hazama's "Hotenjin". Terumi's corner combos are where he shines, and his drive allows him to gain meter really fast, giving him access to those huge number of distortions. So there you have it, that's how you play Terumi, stack meter in a single combo and end with a distortion for some nasty damage.


+ Very easy to play
+ Very nasty at rushdown and corner combos
+ Stacks meter incredibly quickly 

- Pure melee, suspect to lockdown characters



Kokonoe





Kokonoe is too strong right now. As mentioned earlier, I do not have Kokonoe, but I've fought enough of her to tell you this. She's got way too many tools for a lockdown character. She can close in well, she has a very powerful overhead, her normals are amazing, and then there's that ridiculous "Flame Cage" that drops on top of your head like freaking poison. She's so hard to deal with and she's got so MUCH to deal with YOU. The only minus is that she's got low HP.


Kokonoe's play style revolves around her drive, the "Graviton". With it she repels, attracts or uses it to pull fire balls on your face. While you're stuck on the "Graviton", she then opens up on you with 157 different attacks. Not literally, but you get what I mean. She can freeze you, shoot gattling guns, place even MORE traps on screen....and then she can teleport to safety if you go in on her. F**k this mad scientist dude.


+ Very strong with a lot of tools for a lockdown type character
+ Can practically win a match without the opponent moving
+ "Flame Cage"...f**k that shit

- Low HP






Peace!

Hagure Yusha No Aestetica


You never know what he's thinking.

For an anime about a pervertic hero that goes around having his way with a ton of different sexy girls, its actually kind of weird that my favorite character is a guy. Kaido Motoharu is an enigma, and a pretty damn likable one at that. From the very moment that he was introduced I KNEW I was going to like this guy. Being an A class drop out that doesn't give 2 figs about anything but his own plans, this is one badass son of a bitch.


As mentioned earlier, Kaido is an A class student, though he thinks that as "no big deal". He purposely seeks out Akatsuki and befriends him even though he knows that Akatsuki is one of the most feared students around the entire school. What starts off as a friendly fist fight quickly turns into a weird bro to bro relationship, and before long Akatsuki befriends Kaido. However, that is all part of his plan, as a terrorist attack soon leads to reveal that Kaido has some relationship with them.


Later during the natural selection battles, Kaido exhibits a great skill of concealing himself and following Akatsuki around. When the dragon appears and caused destruction all around, it's noted that Kaido took a part in actually stopping the dragon, which helped Akatsuki defeat it. When Akatsuki was called to the other world, Kaido decided to tag along, but we'll have to wait for season 2 for that. Honestly though, someone this awesome needs more screen time. We don't know much about him anyway, so this is perfect.



Mondaijitachi Ga Isekai Kara Kuru Sou Desu Yo


Stare down for 15 minutes.

"Mondaiji" is a really complicated show involving complicated things, but all of it really doesn't matter too much when you have a main character that is strong enough to punch everyone's face into the ground. Izayoi is the pinnacle of of epic-ness and power, strong enough o destroy almost everyone in the "Mondaiji" universe.


If there's one character that can Izayoi can relate to, its Dante. Izayoi is the Dante of this anime, because he just doesn't give a f**k, and he has the strength to back up his cocky attitude. On the very first episode he challenges a water god and destroys him. He hopes to stay out of fights most of the time though, as he figures that they don't really need his help. He only steps in during the most desperate of situations, like when Algol was summoned against Jin. Of course, even the great god Algol didn't stand a chance.


While he is powerful, Izayoi is very smart as well, devising plans and studying up on enemies that his guild are going up against. He even saw through the plan for the piper, which eventually lead to victory for Izayoi's team. Still, he isn't a just a character with no personality. He likes to fire off needless remarks, but can be a good person to have on your side. He mixes well with the girls and can act like a gentlemen when he needs to. What else? He's a pervert, like all men should be.



MM!



Ooo~~~

Loliloliloliloliloli! As far as lolis go, Noa isn't all that special in terms of looks. She looks just like any other green haired anime loli girl, but for someone like her...its special. Noa is a genius, the "mad scientist" in the world of "MM!". While I can be interested in how she uses her technology to sadistically torture Taro, there's a lot to Noa than just being loli.


Being a genius comes with a lot of benefits. For one, she has a loyal follower, Himura. While Himura is an assistant on the outside, he is just a lolicon that has been seduced by Noa's loli-like body structure. Himura can be hilarious on his own, but its Noa who pulls all the strings, always creating ridiculous inventions. Of course, since "MM!" is a harem, she's somewhat in love with Taro as well, if only ever so slightly.


One time, Noa drinks a self created chemical that enlarges her boobs, making her into a...somewhat sexy girl. This in turns makes Himura crazy, going head to head with Taro in an epic DBZ styled battle. Noa is a naughty, naughty girl, and if you ask me, its exactly what "MM!" needs, she fits right in as a target for the 2nd volunteer club.



Peace.

Hikari Midorikawa





The man has a sexy voice, that's for sure. When someone over the age of 40 can still do bijinn voices, you know he has it in him! Midorikawa may not be a seiyuu of our current generation, but he has done some of the most memorable characters in video gaming history...for me at least. If you've seen "Tales Of" festival every year, you know that his Leon (Tales Of Destiny) is greatly loved by fans, and I agree with them. Other than that, he can do his share of rough edged characters, like Akihiko (Persona 3) and Frantz (Rusty Hearts). Bedman (Guilty Gear Xrd) is someone of a soft spoken maniac, and he can do his share of hero type characters like Lancer (Fate/Zero) or Firion (Dissidia:Final Fantasy).


Characters from left to right

1st row: Leon (Tales Of Destiny), Akihiko (Persona 3)

2nd row: Lancer (Fate/Zero), Firion (Dissidia:Final Fantasy), Bedman (Guilty Gear Xrd), Frantz (Rusty Hearts)



Nobuyuki Hiyama





This guy is a freaking beast, there's no doubt about it. Nobuyuki is known for his epic hero voices, but to me, he's a jack of all trades. Whether or not you need a calm, laid back, badass person like Balmung (.Hack), Veigue (Tales Of Rebirth) or Haken (Super Robot Taisen OG Endless Frontier), or a hot blooded heroic fighter like Ikkaku (Bleach), or Batsu (Rival Schools), he's got it covered. He might even surprise you occasionally with characters like Demitri (Darkstalkers) or Sanageyama (Kill la Kill)! But if you want his signature, hot blooded, shouting affair, he'll go all out with characters like Hirano (High School Of The Dead), Zaimokuza (My Teenage Romantic Comedy SNAFU) or the fabulous Axel (Disgaea series). If you need epic screaming, Hiyama is your man.


Characters from left to right

1st row: Balmung (.Hack), Veigue (Tales Of Rebirth), Ikkaku (Bleach)

2nd row: Batsu (Rival Schools), Demitri (Darkstalkers), Hakken (Super Robot Taisen OG Endless Frontier)

3rd row: Hirano (High School Of The Dead), Zaimokuza (My Teenage Romantic Comedy SNAFU), Axel (Disgaea series), Sanageyama (Kill la Kill)



Ayako Kawasumi




Here's another girl who's got the sexy of the sexy in terms of the characters that she voices. JUST, LOOK AT THEM! When it comes to voicing refined, sexy, and elegant ladies, Ayako Kawasumi has got them covered...might as well call her ojou-sama while we're at it, really. Let's see, how can we forget the beauty that is Henrietta (Zero No Tsukaima), or the ditzy, sexy, yet radiant Laura (To Aru Majutsu No Index)? Even Athena (Hayate No Gotoku Cuties), who's considered a shadow of her former self, speaks with a very refined accent, and of course, Otsuu (Okami San And Her Seven Companions) and Rita (The Pet Girl Of Sakurasou) are magnificent in their own ways of the ojou-sama. Kazumi (Shakugan No Shana) is the closest we have to a normal school girl. Also, there's her stern, hero-esque voices in Saber (Fate series) and Izumi (Kyokai No Kanata).


Characters from left to right

1st row: Kazumi (Shakugan No Shana), Otsuu (Okami San And Her Seven Companions), Rita (The Pet Girl Of Sakurasou)

2nd row: Saber (Fate series), Henrietta (Zero No Tsukaima)

3rd row: Athena (Hayate No Gotoku Cuties), Izumi (Kyokai No Kanata), Laura (To Aru Majutsu No Index)



Tetsuya Kakihara




NII SAMA is the first thing that comes to mind with Tetsuya Kakihara, because of his excellent voice of Jin Kisaragi in "Blazblue". However, he's more than that, Tetsuya Kakihara is as much of a pretty boy you can get, with just his voice alone...he looks extremely fabulous in real life too. His characters are...really blonde, just look at Rudy (Log Horizon), Fujioka (Minami-Ke series), Prompto (Final Fantasy XV) and Jin (Blazblue). Most of them are pretty boys, Rudy is a hero type, very much like Natsu (Fairy Tail) and Shing (Tales Of Hearts), Fujioka is very, very normal, kind of like Morishige (Corpse Party) until he goes bat shit insane. Jin is....weird, he's sadistic as hell and quite caring at the same time. Let's see, Kiriko (Sunday Without God) is his version of an overprotective person, which was rather interesting to see.


Characters from left to right

1st row: Rudy (Log Horizon), Fujioka (Minami Ke Series), Prompto (Final Fantasy XV), Kiriko (Sunday Without God)

2nd row: Jin (Blazblue series), Natsu (Fairy Tail), Shing (Tales Of Hearts), Morishige (Corpse Party series)



Megumi Toyoguchi




You gotta love her insane diversity, because these characters don't have that much in common. She can sound cute, sexy, mature...or anything that she wants to. Let's start off with Hikari (Pokemon), she sounds pretty cute here, as a little girl should. Then she has her damsel in despair voice, Meg (Burst Angel), and to some extent, Yukari (Persona 3) as well, though with Yukari, she shows that she can do a high school girl's voice just fine. Then we have the likes of Miranda (D.grayman) and Rosie (Valkyria Chronicles), who serve as big sister stereotypes. Chifuyu (Infinite Stratos) and Chihiro (The Pet Girl Of Sakurasou) are the mature types, Haruko (Senran Kagura) fits here somewhat as well, though she has a little tint of a villainous aura in there. Aqua (Kingdom Hearts:Birth By Sleep) is a little bit of a hero type, her only one here. Junko (Danganraonpa) is the absolute best, a legend of a character, if I might add, because she's a mixture of many personalities in one.


Characters from left to right

1st row: Hikari (Pokemon), Junko (Danganronpa), Chifuyu (Infinite Stratos)

2nd row: Yukari (Persona 3), Chihiro (The Pet Girl Of Sakurasou), Haruko (Senran Kagura)

3rd row: Miranda (D.grayman), Meg (Burst Angel), Rosie (Valkyria Chronicles), Aqua (Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep)



Yukana




Yukana is pretty well versed in the ways of the ojou sama as well, because of her characters having a very refined style of speech. She can go really high and be cute as hell if she wants, or she can sound really menacing with the right tone. Let's start off with Cecilia (Infinite Stratos) and Kaguya (Super Robot Taisen OG Endless Frontier), they have her cute voice, the voice generally given to kawai heroines. Then we have the more matured characters with CC (Code Geass series) and Tear (Tales Of The Abyss), these characters sound sexy enough. Then we have the girls that just want to have fun, while acting like a big sister at the same time, Eriko (Dragon Crisis) and Fujiko (Zettai Karen Children series). Finally, we have the girls that sound a bit more menacing, Shoko (Unbreakable Machine Doll) and the deadly Imperator Saya (Blazblue series)


Characters from left to right

1st row: Saya (Blazblue series), CC (Code Geass series)

2nd row: Kaguya (Super Robot Taisen OG Endless Frontier), Eriko (Dragon Crisis), Fujiko (Zettai Karen Children series), Shoko (Unbreakable Machine Doll)

3rd row: Cecilia (Infinite Stratos), Tear (Tales Of The Abyss)



Peace.