Happy Monday BaddaBing BaddaBlog readers! I hope you had a kickass weekend and are prepared to make this week epic. As always, this segment is where we talk and analyze all things Japanamation. Today I’m reviewing the anime Gangsta.

Summer is decidedly over with, which means pumpkin flavored everything, beautiful trees, and dozens of anime wrapping up their twelve to thirteen episode run. Gangsta was an anime that had an incredible amount of potential, but suffered from many of the same issues that hinder other works when they are adapted from one medium to another. Namely, pacing, story delivery, and sequel lust.

Gangsta could have been a great anime, however it is bogged down to mediocrity due to the rapid changes in the narrative’s speed. It seemed like some episodes tried to cram as much story, exposition, and action into a twenty two minute time slot as possible, while other episodes spent far too much time focusing on events that contributed very little to the overall story. On a more personal note, I particularly found issue with this anime’s pacing because the bloated segments typically focused on characters that I did not particularly enjoy or find interesting.

I also take issue with the way the anime delivered exposition and told some of its story. I will not spoil anything, but there is a moment that the anime builds to over the course of several episodes through flashbacks. When it finally reaches that moment and depicts the climatic scene, it is shown in muted colors with the majority of the event taking place off screen. Needless to say I was disappointed. Actually, this is about the point where I felt the series was beginning to go downhill, around episode six.

The series’s decline continued to the final episode of the anime. I would normally refer to this episode as the anime’s conclusion, expect nothing is concluded. It is very obvious that the show wants to get a second season to elaborate upon many of its dangling story lines and cliffhangers. However, there is no way to know for sure if Gangsta actually is going to get a second season, which means that I just watched twelve episodes of build up for nothing. There are no resolutions, no pay offs, and really no coherent endings to speak of whatsoever. I part of me desperately hopes that the series does get another season so that I can get some closure, however another part of me hopes that they do not and that they suffer for making me care about these characters, only to leave their fates in limbo for god knows how long.

This review actually turned out to be way more negative than what I intended. Gangsta has some problems, but it is still a pretty good series that dares to be different from the formulaic structure of many other modern anime. It is different and I have to give it credit for that. However, I cannot in good conscious say that it is a great anime, because it did way to many easily avoidable things that piss me off way too much. I would still recommend that people watch Gangsta, just maybe not as enthusiastically as I would have after just watching episode three or four.

Alright, what do you guys think of this review? Are you going to watch Gangsta? Am I a terrible human being and are my opinions crap? Let me know in the comments down below and be sure to sure to give this post a like while you are there. As per usual, you can subscribe to BaddaBing BaddaBlog via email in the upper right tab. Be sure to check out and like the official BaddaBing BaddaBlog Facebook Page and check me, @LucasDeRuyter,out on Twitter. Have a great Monday everybody and a wonderful week.

BaddaBing, BaddaBye

Happy Saturday BaddaBing BaddaBlog readers!!! Welcome to Game Grind, the place where video games and the video game industry are carefully scrutinized. Today’s going to be a shorter post because, as I mentioned on the Facebook page yesterday, I have midterms to prepare for.

Befitting my currently hectic schedule is the fact there does not seem to be too many video games being released in the near future that I am interested in. Yes, of course I’m going to pick up Battlefront and Fallout 4. Beyond that however, there is a little that interests me. I’m over Call of Duty, I do not play sports games, and I am a bit more picky than what I should be when it comes to 3DS and mobile games. So yeah, perhaps I’m becoming a cynical old douche.

Ooooooooooooooooor, the much more likely answer is that I am just as awesome as ever and what is happening right now is an example of a much larger industry trend. I have stated on here numerous times that the video game industry is not in the greatest of shapes. It by no means is doing poorly, but if some longstanding issues are not resolved in the near future they medium may be in some serious trouble.

I think that the reason why it seems like there are so few games coming out in the near future is because fewer video games are being made. It is incredibly expensive to make  a triple A game. Actually, come to think of it I don’t really know what triple A really even means. Regardless, today a lot of video game companies will not make a game unless they are almost positive it will sell well. This is also why there are so many sequels in video games. I have not done a tone of research into this train of thought, but I suspect that if I want to play a variety of new and original games, I’m going to have to check out the mobile scene and maybe get a steam account. *groan*

Alright guys, that about does it for this weeks installment of Game Grind. As always, you can subscribe in the upper right tab and be sure to check the blog out on Facebook and me, @LucasDeRuyter, out on Twitter. Have a great Saturday everybody.

BaddaBing, BaddaBye

Happy hump day BaddaBing BaddaBlog readers! Just like every other Wednesday (except for the ones where I’m too lazy or unfortunate to post something) we’re going to be talking about one of the many facets in the pop culture world. Today, I’m going to be reviewing season 2 of the critically acclaimed television series Rick and Morty (although you probably figured that out from the title……)

The first thing that comes to mind when I ponder over this latest season of R&M is that it was much darker than the first season, which is a pretty impressive feat. Season 1 had a pedophile Jellybean king, a genie-esk being that existed to only fulfill a singular purpose and then die, and this scene:

So how could season 2 possibly get any darker than this? By trusting the audience to take what’s happening on face value. In season 2 the main characters are no long shocked (for the most part) by the crazy, unpredictable world around them. They are now struggling (and for the most part failing) to maintain their sense of self within this way to big universe. This allows the writers to tell stories that focus on more basic human concepts like trying to maintain innocence,  fighting to have a construct of what’s right and wrong, and dealing with depression or insecurity. The story lines that focused on these ideas were some of the best in the series, but he trade of is that the audience no longer has a character that they can 100 percent support or experience the show vicariously though. I personally am fine with this because, after the events of the first season, I am completely ready to buy into whatever extremely high concept idea the show throws at me.

Like this one:

Rick and Morty becoming darker by no means makes it less funny, though. I laughed just as hard if not more so at this set of ten episode than what I did at the eleven episodes from a year and a half ago. So, in terms of comedy, I would say that season 1 and 2 are about even. However, I do feel that season 2 as a whole was better than the first because it dared to be darken than the first season, all of the main characters were fleshed out, and there was some genuine character growth the was very sparse in the first season.

I would dive further into these points, but that might spoil parts of the season and I do not want to give you any excuse not to watch this season. If you haven’t watched season 1 of Rick and Morty, you have no excuses at this point. All of season 1 is up for free on YouTube, and its like fifteen bucks to get all of season 2. Seriously, this show is freakin’ amazing and Justin Roiland and Dan Harmon, the creators, are geniuses.

(Because you guys are worth it here are a couple clips that I feel show off how great season 2 was. Enjoy and be sure to go and watch the full episodes.)

That’s probably enough gushing for one week. If you enjoyed this post (or if you are awesome and enjoy Rick and Morty in general) pleas give this post a like and leave a comment down below. As always you can subscribe to this blog via email in the upper right tab. Also, in case you’re new to the internet, Facebook exists and BaddaBing Baddablog has a page there. Please go check it out and give it a like, its like the best thing on Facebook, trust me. Just click on this link. Also Twitter is pretty cool, go and check me out over there. I’m @LucasDeRuyer. You guys be sure to have a great rest of the week and be sure to stop back on Friday for News for the Mighty, News of the Week.

Waba-lubba-dub-dub

(BaddaBing, BaddaBye)

Happy Monday BaddaBing BaddaBlog readers! This is Manga (And Also Anime) Monday, the place where we explore the sometimes scary, usually enticing world of Japanese media. Let’s light this candle!

It is no secret that I am a massive fan of the incredible and super popular manga One Punch Man. So I was ecstatic when I discovered that an anime adaptation was in the works. Apparently either gods or demons do exist and one of the answered my prayers, because the Once Punch Man anime premiered yesterday and……………it was crazy good. I think the opening does a solid job demonstrating exactly how good it is, but also accurately depicting the quality  of the animation.

For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, One Punch Man is a manga and (know to my joy) an anime about a man who decided to become a hero to fight monster that plague his society. He trained so hard that all of his hair fell out, but was able to become strong enough to be a hero. The only problem is that he over did it. He is now so strong that he can defeat even the strongest of enemies with a single punch. The story follows this main, Saitama, as he tries to find meaning in his life and meets other individuals who are heroes.

Yeah, it’s pretty great. Besides a great concept, the anime did a great job bring this series to light in practice. The animation is stunning and perfectly matches the art style from the manga. I would post some comparison images, but because the anime is so new there are not a lot of screen captures of it yet. Regardless, the fight scenes look amazing and I applaud Mad House, the studio responsible for the animation, for their great work on the series. the voice acting cast has also done an excellent job matching the bizarre characters present in the series.

In short, check this series out. It’s filled with bizarre, compelling characters and a plot that is as original as it is entertaining. I fully believe that this series is going to rise to the level of fame of other recent anime hits like Sword Art Online and Attack on Titan. Check it out using any of the links below.

One Punch Man on Hulu

One Punch Man on Viz Media

If you enjoyed this post please be sure to give it a like and leave a comment down below. Also, please subscribe via email using the upper right tab. It would also be amazeballs if you like the official BaddaBing Baddablog Facebook Page and followed me on Twitter. I’m @Lucas DeRuyter. Have a great Monday and an even better week. See you on Wednesday for the next installment of Pop Culture Wednesday.

BaddaBing BaddaBye

Happy Saturday people of the internet. This is Game Grind, the place where we dive into the vast and mysterious world of video games. Today I’m going to be raving about the game that has taken up way to much of my life lately.

Shovel Knight: Plague of Shadows 

The latest free DLC for Shovel Knight takes everything that worked in the original game and makes it even more awesome. The game play is faster, the attacks and play style are more customizable, and the characters are even more lovable. Not only does this game stand well on its own, it improves the original game by expanding the Shovel Knight universe and adding more depth to the already bizarre characters.

The main character of this DLC is Plague Knight, a fan favorite boss from the original game. He’s on a quest to create the ultimate potion. To do this he needs to steal the essences of all of the bosses from the original game and the titular Shovel Knight. I’m not quite finished with the game yet, but what exactly the ultimate potion does is never really explained to the player. It is pretty much a mcguffin, but it is not to hard to figure out exactly what the potion is probably going to do.

Helping Plague Knight on his quest is Mona, a minor character from the original game that is also an alchemist. It is pretty clear that these two characters have some chemistry (haha PUN) but it seems like both of them are too unsure of themselves to act on their feelings. Fleshing out the cast is the romantic Hoarse-man Percy, the doting and infatuated Magicist, the weird musically inclined sewer mutant Oolong, and Baz, the derpy guy who’s just trying to fit in.

What I love most about this game is how much it changes while also holding on to the core principles of the original game. Playing the same level as Plague Knight that I played as Shovel Knight, allows me to use my previously gained experience, but also poses new challenges do to how different the playable character is. I also really enjoy how different characters interact with Plague Knight when juxtaposed to how they acted around Shovel Knight. For example, as Plague Knight the guard in the first town I visited would not let me into the town. Which, yeah, that makes total sense. Of course a guard would not let an evil alchemist in a bird mask into his town. Oh, also, you can make Plague Knight dance, which is just……freakin adorable, man.

In short, if you own Shovel Knight, play this new game. If you do not own Shovel Knight, get on that. Then, when your done playing that game, play this DLC. I’ve sincerely enjoyed this game and I imagine that most other people would too.

Alright, that does it for this week’s installment of Game Grind. If you enjoyed this post be sure to like it and leave a comment down below. If you feel so inclined, you can subscribe to BaddaBing BaddaBlog via email in the upper right tab. I would also greatly appreciate it if you liked the official Facebook Page, and followed me on Twitter. I’m @LucasDeRuyter. Have a great Saturday and be sure to come back here tomorrow for Politics, Politalks.

BaddaBing, BaddaBye

Happy Friday BaddaBing BaddaBlog readers! This is News for the Mighty, News of the Week! The place where you can learn everything you need to know to seem informed and knowledgeable to your friends and family when you see them over the weekend. Here we go!

Damn It  Call of Duty

The video game franchise Call of Duty is undoubtedly, if not regrettably, one of the biggest and most popular franchises in the video game industry. They have a new game coming out in 2016, Call of Duty: Black Ops. 3. In order to advertise and get people excited for this new entry into the series, the Call of Duty twitter account changed their profile to make it seem as though it were a news outlet and “reported” that a terrorist attack had occurred in Singapore. A few hours later, they changed their account back so that it obviously represented the Call of Duty franchise and tweeted that those tweets were potential glimpses into the future where Black Ops. 3 takes place.

I’m not going to harp too much on this issue, because that’s what Call of Duty wants. They want this to be a controversial advertisement so that they get a bunch of free word of mouth advertising. In order to prevent this I’ll only say the following: not cool Call of Duty. I can tolerate you guys being on the top of the video game market, but don’t be oblivious dicks about it. Thanks to you discourse regarding video games is reverting back to that of the 90s and you are almost single handedly making people like Jack Tompson relevant again. Great job *slow clap*.

Oregon Community College Shooting 

Yesterday at Oregon Umpqua community college a man killed seven individuals with a firearm and wounded seven others. The shooter was confronted by police and was killed by them. There are several rumors circulating currently regarding the shooting, with the most prevalent ones being that the shooter was encouraged by individuals on social media websites to commit the atrocity and that the shooter specifically targeted Christians. I desperately hope that those that were wounded are able to make a complete recovery and I give my complete support and condolences to the families who lost loved ones.

This is the second mass shooting in only a few months and I beg politicians and lawmakers to reform our country’s firearm laws.

Click here for more information on this story.

That just about does it for this week’s News for the Mighty, News of the Week. Sorry, I know it was kind of a bummer, but that’s life sometime. I’ll try to make tomorrows post a little lighter. As always, you can subscribe in the upper right tab via email and be sure to check out the 4B Facebook Page, and my twitter account, @LucasDeRuyter. Have a great weekend everybody.

BaddaBing BaddaBye