Gamer--freakz

Opening Songs
OP 1 - Decent Black (Kaori Mizuhashi)
OP 2 - Mathemagics (Marina Inoue)
OP 3 - Mein Schatz (Mito)

Ending Songs
ED 1 - Sayonara no Yukue (Alisa Takigawa)

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Supernatural

Episodes: 12



Another day another "Monogatari" series, its like one of those shows that never truly die (much like the DRRR! seasons after the first, I've gotta start on those one day). "Owarimonogatari" is yet again, another installment in the "Monogatari" franchise, which has gotten pretty f**king impossible to follow now if you ask me. With all the freaking OVAs after the second season like "Hana" and "Tsuki", this comes right after and now they do the prequel "Kizumonogatari" films which seem like they're going to be a lot of a hassle to get into. Well, at least with the novel's story already "finished" (the author is doing some spin-off stuff with the characters), maybe we'll get to see some sort of a conclusion to the story, which I feel like the franchise so very much deserves. With "Owarimonogatari", now we get even MORE heroines for out beloved Koyomi ni-chan to invest himself in, so let's begin.

If we're being real here though, Ougi is pretty dope.

As with all of the other "Monogatari" seasons, "Owarimonogatari" comes with its own set of opening theme songs sang by their respective heroines in the arcs. My favorite here is definitely episode 1's OP, which is "Decent Black" by Kaori Mizuhashi, Ougi's seiyuu. It creepy, catchy and honestly very addictive, the mid-ranged tempo that the song has going works for it incredibly well. Then we have "Mathemagics" by Marina Inoue, who is Sodachi's seiyuu. Its a little weird, while Marina Inoue's vocals are nice, the song feels a little bit clunky, I'm not a huge fan of this one. Finally we have "Mein Schatz" by Mito, which is kind of the filler opening theme for the 2nd arc of the show. It's alright, but it still loses out to "Decent Black".



Rating: 7.5/10



I feel like at this point the series has exhausted pretty much everything that it has to offer and is pushing itself through to the finish line. I'll say what I always say: it's more of the same, which isn't exactly a bad thing. For the "Monogatari" fans, you'll be happy to eat this up like I did, because its more "Monogatari", hey, who doesn't like that? However, unlike "Hanamonogatari" or the last arc of "Monogatari Second Season" with Kaiki, there's really nothing new or special that's being done here to really spice things up. This one focuses on Koyomi's back story with this new girl named Sodachi, who ends up being pretty f**king important to Aragagi's life cycle (and for some reason, we have NEVER heard of her) and while Sodachi's arc was good, it's really just Aragagi solving another girl's problem. Still, Ougi is the one saving grace of this season, the literal goddess who brings life to this new season. As a character, she's mysterious, charming and full of spunk. It also certainly helps that Kaori Mizuhashi's voice acting made her sound so...smooth. It's actually great that they made her a central character for the first arc in this season. Oh, and Gaen, she's most certainly a fun character, too bad she doesn't appear too much. It's great that she had some screen time this season, even though the arc where she mattered was merely a prequel.

My favorite Onee-san.

Aragagi Koyomi is almost out of high school, with little more than a few months before graduating. It is at this time he meets Ougi Oshino, a transfer student who was introduced by Kanbaru. Ougi is an interesting girl, she takes an immediate interest in Aragagi and starts to be really pesky about learning his life. She makes Aragagi remember about an event that happened a few years back, an event that simply changed his life so much that he tucked it away deep in his memory. This is the memory of how his class went berserk and completely isolated a girl away for the rest of her life, the story of Oikura Sodachi. An apparition traps Koyomi and Ougi in his old classroom, and his memory of that painful past has returned. He sought to make things right again with this forgotten girl, and now that Sodachi has finally returned to school for some reason, things are about to take a really, REALLY strange turn...


"Owarimonogatari" just becomes another addition to the franchise at the end of the day, nothing much. However, things aren't over yet despite this being the fourth installment in the franchise, MINUS the OVAs. There are 3 movies that are on the way (2 of which already aired in Japan), dubbed "Kizumonogatari". Apparently these are prequels, but I am hell bent on seeing through the "Monogatari" series to the end, now that I have come this far. When the 3 and final one is out, its time for a marathon....

Opening Songs
OP 1 - Dear Answer (TRUE)

Ending Songs
ED 1 - Uchiyoserareta Bōkyaku no Zankyō ni (TECHNOBOYS PULCRAFT GREEN-FUND)

Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Episodes: 12



The time comes every now and then where you'll have one of those strange animes that break away from the traditional  archetypes. "Beautiful Bones: Sakurako's Investigation" is one of those shows, and I say this because it's very much different from plenty of shows. Still, on the larger scale of things, "Sakurako" isn't that complicated or over-sized of a show that it can really blow you out of the water. To me, it's always one of those shows that were kind of...just there for the sake of being there. It's a mystery themed anime, and for what it does, there are far too few reasons for non-otaku fans to actually find themselves invested in this show when there are plenty of other better, more popular shows. "Sakurako" isn't a fantastic show, instead, its one that simply threads itself as what it is, a simple mystery anime that tries to delve into some dark themes, without anything too epic or drastic. For that, it may not appeal to everyone, and simply tries its best to captivate that small audience that its aiming for.

At least we have a hot cover girl.

And here we have some rather uninteresting theme songs representing the show. The opening theme is "Dear Answer" by TRUE. Its a simple uplifting opening theme song, which strikes me as a little strange for a show like "Sakurako". Still, its not my type of song and it doesn't quite interest me, similar to the ending theme, "Uchiyoserareta Bōkyaku no Zankyō ni" by TECHNOBOYS PULCRAFT GREEN-FUND. This one is SLIGHTLY better because of its upbeat tempo, but not by much.



Rating: 7.0/10



Its really quite hard for me to thoroughly make that recommendation for "Beautiful Bones: Sakurako's Investigation", because its simply just not something that anyone can enjoy. The main selling point of the show, heroine and mentor character to the protagonist runs mostly on one gimmick, flaunting her intellect as she cracks mysteries of various scales throughout the show. It honestly gets old after awhile, and while some arcs are clearly more interesting than others, there never really comes a point in the show where the plot completely ABSORBS and pulls me in....it just stays constant throughout. And honestly for "Sakurako", constant is pretty okay. I can't find many faults in the show other than it not being explosive and insanely impressive at times, its just that kind of show that keeps doing what it does until the end. If you're not into simple thriller and mystery, then you won't be entertained.

Well said.

Shotaro Tatewaki is yet again, another random, high school boy with a generic as f**k personality that seems to get lucky at the right place and the right time. One day in his pathetically boring life, he stumbles onto the household property of Kujo Sakurako, an intelligent woman in her mid-20s who has a fetish for collecting bones. She comes from a rich family and owns a run-down, old mansion where she uses as her personal study. She goes on adventures with Shotaro from time to time, and they always manage to find bones of some sort. Using these bones alone, she is able to use her expertise to trace the bones to their time of death, even going as far as the depict the type of person or thing that the bones belonged to. Shotaro seems to enjoy his time with the beautiful young lady, and they actually do get into some silly situations.


"Beautiful Bones: Sakurako's Investigation" is pretty alright. For the people who enjoy these types of semi-light hearted mystery shows, this one might suit your tastes, but I'd prefer something sillier and simpler like "Hyouka". There's a right audience for "Sakurako" and before you dive into it, make sure you're in that category. There is room and possibility for a sequel here (especially after the ending), if it does get one, I'd like to explore how far this show can go with its unique concept.

Gamespot Score: 8.0 (Great)

My Score: 8.3


(+) Pros: - Megaman-esque game play is superb, - Enjoyable, yet simple story, - Solid platforming and shooting mechanics, unique twist on using Electricity to beat enemies is super fun, -That f**king OST, - Fun weapons and skills that don't make you feel TOO overpowered, - Wide variety of missions that encourage replay-value, - Crafting equipment makes and giving Gunvolt upgrades feel extremely rewarding, - Insanely fun boss battles.

(-) Cons: - Too short if you're just going to clear the base game alone, - Requires some hardcore score-attack mindset to get score REALLY good in all of the stages. 


Game play time: 10 hours+ (Including missions and optional content)

One of the biggest mistakes I've ever made, was to neglect this game for such a LONG time. As a long time "Megaman" fan, I kind of lost hope in Capcom and how hard they've neglected the "Megaman" IP. I lost so much hope that I simply gave up on waiting for a new game and let the franchise itself decay away in my memories, almost thinking that it'd never return outside of crossover games like "Project X Zone".  Then a gem came along in 2014, a gem that I would never try until this year, when it popped up on a steam sale for the PC. I jumped into "Gunvolt", and it was like a flame was re-kindled in my heart. After not touching a TRUE "Megaman" game for about 7-8 years (last one was "Megaman ZX Advent" for NDS), "Gunvolt" legitimately opened my eyes. From Inti Creates comes a message and love letter to "Megaman" fans. The franchise is not dead with "Mighty No. 9", in fact, forget that game ever happened. "Azure Striker Gunvolt" is your true savior, and if you've craved for a "Megaman" like I did, this one will more than suffice.

Lot's of weird terms here, but don't let it get you down.

Gunvolt's story is honestly a good point. It's a very simple and easy to follow story that manages to get me interested with its charming characters. The story speaks of a futuristic world that suffers a great divide. Between normal humans and special humans known as "adepts", there can never be equality. Adepts have special abilities and can use their "Septimal Power", which simply serve as regular special abilities like espers in "To Aru Majutsu No Index" or mutants in "X-men". There exists a certain evil, corrupt, government organization known as Sumeragi which attempts to use a certain young girl's voice, which happens to be her Septimal power, to rule the world. Then there's "Black Quill", a terrorist organization who exists to put Sumragi down. Part of "Black Quill" is an adept young boy known as Gunvolt, or GV for short. GV goes on a mission to rescue this special adept girl, known as Joule, who had been used as a tool for her entire life. After that, he leaves Black Quill to get Joule out of potential danger and politic squabbles, and lives alone with Joule, accepting vigilante missions for income to support her.


Being somewhat of a spiritual successor to "Megaman", you can expect many similar aspects in Gunvolt's game. For one, its an action based platformer which has you take control of the game's protagonist, Gunvolt, to go through select stages in the game. Gunvolt can jump, dash, wall climb and shoot, just like old Megaman can, so fans will immediately feel familiar. However, he can become more mobile, getting multiple jumps and air dashes as the game progresses, making him feel a lot more fluid and fun to use. Instead of regular charging buster shots, Gunvolt's shooting mechanics comes from his Septimal Power, which is also the core of the main game play. Gunvolt can shoot enemies, sure, but doing so regular does low damage, pitifully so. He can't charge shot (at least, not at the start of the game) to deal more damage, but instead, enemies that he has shot can be interacted with his Septimal Power.

Even the opening boss feels like something out of a Megaman X game...

That's right, as the "Azure Striker", Gunvolt is a master of electricity. He can zap his enemies by creating a semi-lightning dome over his body. This thing has minimal range, so alone, it's not of much use. HOWEVER...by shooting his enemies, he tags them. Enemies tagged by a single one of Gunvolt's bullets can be hit by his electricity, even if they are out of the dome's range. So come the game's main way to deal damage, tag enemies with bullets, then electrocute the SHIT out of them from afar. Multiple bullets tag multiple times, increasing his electricity damage. Since the game is also a score attack game, this is actually the only reliable way to gain points, and as you gain points by rapidly damaging and destroying enemies, the OST even ramps up. Let's be real here, the OST in "Gunvolt" is f**king dope, from old school "Megaman" style themes to cringe-worthy and addictive J-Pop songs that play mid-stage, its a pleasure to my ears the ENTIRE way.


Of course, since the main gameplay mechanic is to shoot enemies to tag them and THEN electrocute them to death, you'd think that the game gets old really fast. Not really, different enemies have you switching strategies, and its not like you don't have to dodge and manage your energy. As long as Gunvolt keeps on zapping, his energy depletes, and once it reaches 0, boop, he needs to recharge for a long time and can't zap while recharging. Ironically, the game also shields Gunvolt from damage, taking damage to his energy bar instead of his health when he is hit, as long as he has energy to spare, of course. This means that your energy runs out quick and leaves you wide open if you just spam it without thought. To keep the game fresh, there are a bunch of weapons and abilities that you can unlock through the course of the game to alternate Gunvolt's attack patterns.

Ah, screw the water stage.

Bosses are a real thrill.

Now we come to the boss battles. True to "Megaman" fashion, these are INCREDIBLY fun (either that or its just been awhile since I've played a TRUE "Megaman" game). Multiple phases, no weaknesses to any weapons (you have to beat them with your skill alone), super attacks when they are near dead, and constantly provoking you throughout the fight. These feel fun as all f**k, and its a pity that there are only 6 select-able bosses unlike the usual 8 in "Megaman" games. There's even a rival battle and the final boss (and I do mean the TRUE final boss) is cheap as f**k, something you'd expect to see in a "Megaman"-esque game. 


"Azure Striker" Gunvolt is extremely fun and all but it does have it's flaws. Mostly, its just the fact that the game isn't built for casuals. I mean, you can jump into it knowing nothing about "Megaman" and still have a blast, but you'd clear the game too quickly and be done with it without doing all of the challenges and optional content. If you decide to just breeze through the game its only about 4-5 hours, tops. All of the challenges and completionist achievements as well, those are well beyond casual standards. Getting S/S+ rankings on levels is extremely hard, needing you to to properly kill enemies in order to get the most points, AND you cannot get hit even ONCE, or your score multiplier goes down, basically nulling your entire run on that stage. Oh yeah, clocking in checkpoints ALSO f**k you up, so if you get hit, you restart the ENTIRE STAGE. The game is brilliant and full of fun, but if you aren't a full try-hard, you won't get the most out of it. 


I can only hope that the sequel is just as good, or even better.

Song: MUST DIE (Susanoo's Theme)
From: Blazblue: Central Fiction
Artist: Daisuke Ishiwatari


Well, Ishiwatari is at it again. "Blazblue: Central Fiction" is f**king amazing and so is the theme for our ultimate big baddy, Susanoo. The perfect unison of the weird chants, screaming and ancient japanese music synchronizes so well with the metal and rock. Its a mighty fine theme for a crazy, brutal, savage combatant like Susanoo, who completely gives in to his wild side. This theme just makes you want to go crazy and murder your opponent in cold blood.






Song: Yomotsuhirasaka (Hades Izanami's Theme)
From: Blazblue: Central Fiction
Artist: Daisuke Ishiwatari


The good themes just can't get away from the villains. One of the main antagonists in "Central Fiction", Hades Izanami, also gets one of the best themes in the game. "Yomotsuhirasaka" is pure, metal, rage and rock. From the moment the theme starts playing, you know that its going to be crazy as hell. For someone as powerful as she is, the chanting in the background as this theme starts ramping up just gives me the goosebumps, and when the guitar and drums just unleash their full fury, you can't help but feel the heat.





Song: Sky Must Be High (Arcade Boss Theme)
From: Guilty Gear Xrd: Revelator
Artist: Daisuke Ishiwatari


To be completely sure, this is most certainly NOT Ramlethal's theme, it's the boss theme of the arcade mode in "Revelator", just like what "Fatal Judge" is to "Chrono Phantasma" (I just used this picture because of how badass it looks). There's a vocal version that kicks just as much ass, but for today, we're going with the instrumental version that plays in the arcade mode. Its incredibly high tension just makes you want to go all out against your foe, which is what you should always want to feel in a fighting game, especially on the final stage. I found myself head banging at the intro ALL the time.







Song: Laser Beam
From: Persona Q -Shadow Of The Labyrinth-
Artist: Shoji Meguro, Lotus Juice


Without a doubt, the best song in the game. "Persona Q" has an incredibly kickass soundtrack by the gods behind the original "Persona 3 & 4" games, which only reinforces the fact that its OST is amazing. The main boss theme for a majority of the bosses, "Laser Beam" is everything that you'd want from a "Persona" song. High tension, solid rapping, and a hype as f**k atmosphere. I'd just purposely drag out my turns just to let the song play out more.






Song: 13th Reflection
From: Kingdom Hearts 2: Final Mix/Kingdom Hearts 2.5 HD Remix
Artist: Yoko Shimamura


It still pisses me the f**k off that we, the English audience, don't get to hear this magnificent piece until nearly 10 years later because Square refused to localize Final Mix for PS2. Oh well, we finally do get the data battles in 2.5 HD remix, but the remastered OST doesn't sound AS fantastic as the original IMO. Still, this is a song that'll get you pumped to fight the Castle Oblivion organization members. It beats 13th Dilemma and 13th Struggle by a far mile, its elegant, graceful, and even calculatingly tenacious, much like the members of the organization that you fight with this theme playing.







Song: Class Trial -Future Edition-
From: Super Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair
Artist: Masafumi Takada


I'm still convinced that Takada is a freaking god at composing video game music, because the "Danganronpa" series has some one of the best game soundtracks that I have ever heard. One of the new additions to "Super Danganronpa 2" that I never seemed to grow tired of is "Class Trial -Future Edition-". As with most of the class trial themes, this one usually plays after a non-stop debate or during an intense segment of the trial, which leads to epic head banging while characters dish out their arguements. Probably not as intoxicating as the non-stop debate themes, but outside of those, this one seems to be my favorite.

Opening Songs
OP 1 - Over The Testament (Metamorphose)

Ending Songs
ED 1 - Temperature (Dual Flare)

Genre: Action, Romance, Supernatural

Episodes: 10



Here we are again with more "Testament". It was pretty much confirmed at the end of the first season that we were getting a sequel, so here we go. I was actually KIND of looking forward to this one, since I needed a little bit of ecchi demon slaying action while "High School DxD" is taking a break to prepare for its 4th season (which I cannot wait for). What's more, the first season of "Shinmai Maou no Testament" was actually pretty good for my tastes, which isn't saying much, but hey, at least it's not utter garbage. While it was quite obvious from the get go that the main aim of the show is the fan service (which they did a good job of, at least in the uncensored blu-ray releases), it still managed to provide a decent lore, world, and setting....some of the characters were likable as well. I had somewhat high hopes for second season, which wasn't THAT well met. That being said, if you did watch season 1, you should give season 2 a go anyway.

Well at this point, Basara might as well go all the f**king way.

The opening theme is "Over The Testament" by Metamorphose, which consists of some veteran seiyuus and singers, like Aki Misatom, Megumi Ogata and even Yoko Ishida. Anyway, its good, its not as good as "Blade Of Hope" in my opinion, but its still good enough for an action oriented anime. The ending theme is "Temperature" by Dual Flare, which consists of a duo of rookie seiyuus with the same last name (I assume they are sisters). Its an attempt at a "cool yet cute" ending theme, and it kind of has that going for it, though to me its not the type of song that I'll listen to for a long time.



Rating: 7.0/10



I kind of enjoyed season 1 a little bit more when the cast was fooling around in their everyday school life, at least back then it had a reason to be a little bit more silly. With "Testament BURST", the story takes for a more serious tone as the team takes to the demon realm, where all sorts of political family business comes into play. When it tries to be too serious, "Testament" doesn't exactly do the job TOO well. They also introduced a F**K ton of new characters that didn't exactly do their job of investing us into this new setting. While the fan service is still rather solid, and the story does take itself further than it did in season 1, the rest of the show takes a minor dip. For a trip to the demon world, there isn't THAT much fighting, and what's there is kind of lazily done, especially that one tournament arc. I'd say that if you were like me and were sold on "Tesament" through the fan service, just watch the uncensored Blu-Ray release, because unless they go for a season 3, which is quite a far stretch, there's really not much of an improvement over the first season that's NOT fan service.

That's pretty much the gist of season 1.

Following the ending of season 1, Basara managed to save Mio from Zolga and the whole family manages to head back home safe and sound. Jin Tojo invades the demon king's castle all by himself to show dominance and to sort of "get revenge" for his kids, causing some sort of an uproar. With Mio having to return to the demon realm for some political warfare soon, everyone decides to tag along with her there for support. Takigawa returns to the demon king's side as his general Lars, and things get trickier once more girls start to push themselves into Basara's harem with the slave master pact. With Basara and Mio's opponent being the new Demon King, thing's aren't going to be so easy this time...


"Shinmai Maou No Testament BURST" concludes on a not-so-high note. Its a decent season that has a weaker showing than the 1st season in my opinion, but if you're here for the fan service then you won't be disappointed. Here's to maybe having some more "Testament" in the future, though I won't be THAT adamant about it.