NYCC 2012: The Wonderful 101 Impressions

During Nintendo’s E3 presentation this past year, I found myself disappointed with Nintendo’s showcase of Wii U games. I was certainly excited for Pikmin 3, but nothing else really got me excited for the Wii U as a system at the time. It also didn’t help that Pikmin 3 was the first game shown; resulting in the rest of the show feeling like a letdown. The day after Nintendo’s presentation, I watched a trailer for a Wii U game tentatively titled Project P-100. It was a game developed by Platinum Studios and published by Nintendo. After watching the trailer, my immediate reaction was, “Why wasn’t this shown at the presentation?!” I thought the game looked great. I knew I had to try it because the game looked like a potential system seller.

Let’s fast-forward to this year’s New York Comic Con. The game has already been renamed to The Wonderful 101 and is available to try and Nintendo’s booth. As you are probably aware of by now, I just had to try it out. Turns out it’s just as awesome to play as it looks.

NYCC 2012: Wii U and Nintendo Land Impressions

This past weekend, I went to New York Comic Con at the Javits Center in New York City. One of the many things I was looking forward to during the show was finally getting my hands on the Wii U at Nintendo’s booth. Appropriately enough, the first game I tried was Nintendo’s pack in title for the deluxe version of the Wii U, Nintendo Land. Of Nintendo Land’s 12 mini-games, I got to try out Metroid Blast, Luigi’s Ghost Mansion, and The Legend of Zelda: Battle Quest. This was also my first time experiencing the Wii U console itself. As a first impression of the console, I have to say I was very impressed.

NYCC 2012: PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Impressions

Let’s be honest here; PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale exists because Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros series is a huge seller. To be fair, the idea of a PlayStation version of Smash Bros has been a game PlayStation fans have been wanting for a while now. It only makes sense for Sony to give the fans what they want. With that in mind, I decided to try the game out at New York Comic Con with an open mind. After playing the game, I can say that PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is not a Smash Bros clone. Unfortunately, I can’t say it’s as good as Smash Bros, either.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2012) Episode One Impressions

When Nickelodeon showed an early sneak peek of their new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series in early 2011, I was genuinely concerned with the direction they were taking the show. No, I wasn’t concerned that this show would be “ruining my childhood” for some stupid reason. The first teaser video featured both Donatello and Michelangelo with new weapons. The concern came from the fear that the series would try changing things in the Turtles mythos simply for the sake of change. That said, I still managed to keep an open mind and give the series premiere a fair chance this past Saturday.

Once the episode was done, any concern I had went away.

Casshern Sins Impressions

While watching Casshern Sins, I once jokingly said to a friend that this was the most depressing slice of life anime I’ve ever seen. After thinking it over, however, I don’t think that statement is that far from the truth. To be clear, Casshern Sins is not a slice of life anime by any stretch of the imagination. Based on the first seven episodes, I would certainly say that Casshern Sins is certainly a more episodic series than Deadman Wonderland is.

Deadman Wonderland Impressions

Deadman Wonderland was a show I’ve been anticipating since I heard about the show’s basic plot when it started airing in Japan. Since then, I’ve been patiently waiting for the show to be dubbed (I’m not a big fan of subtitled anime). In my impressions of the first episode, I mentioned how I loved the setup and claimed it pretty much did everything a good first episode should do. Now that I’m about half way through the series, I can confidently say that I’m hooked until the end. In fact, the only thing that can stop me from finishing Deadman Wonderland is my stomach.

Casshern Sins Episode One Impressions

I went into Casshern Sins with literally no prior knowledge other that the name of the show was Casshern Sins. As the second of the two new Toonami shows, I wanted to approach this show with a completely clear mind. I must admit, the intensity of Deadman Wonderland preceding it, made it hard to concentrate on the beginning of the show. So to be fair, I decided to re-watch the first episode to get a better understanding of the show. After watching the first episode of Casshern Sins, I can confirm that I did indeed watch a show.

Deadman Wonderland Episode One Impressions

Deadman Wonderland was a show I had high hopes for heading in. A very basic plot summary and an awesome opening sequence was all I needed to anticipate this show. I’m typically not a big fan of gory shows, but some shows, such as Blood+, have been able to click with me in the past. That said, I can confidentially say that if the remainder of Deadman Wonderland is as good as the first episode, this is going to be an awesome series.

Toonami 2012 Impressions (And How It Can Thrive)

Growing up, I spent countless hours watching the Toonami block on Cartoon Network. It was the block that introduced new action animated programming (mainly anime) to me. Without Toonami, my selection of anime would not have been nearly as diverse as it is now. The block’s host, T.O.M. the robot, helped to bring a personally to the block. It was like he was going on an adventure with you. It was a well-structured, well-presented block of programming.

Unfortunately, on September 20, 2008, Toonami held its final broadcast and ended its eleven year run. Honestly, I thought it was a bummer but I understood why they ended the block. For whatever reason, Toonami ran out of shows. At the time, the only show they had left with new episodes was Naruto, and that show was in filler territory at that point. I love Toonami, but I wouldn’t want to see it as a soulless shell of its former self.

Fast forward to April 1, 2012; Adult Swim was holding their annual April Fool’s Day prank. Instead of rerunning The Room again, Adult Swim decided to bring back Toonami for one night. Let me tell you, it was great to see T.O.M. again along with a long list of classic anime shows airing on TV once again. It was like seeing your favorite band of old reunite for one last concert. But it didn’t take long for fans to want more. Toonami fans (myself included) kindly asked Cartoon Network/Adult Swim to bring back the Toonami lineup, and it worked! Last night, Toonami made its return to TV, and it was good.

This new Toonami was good because it wasn’t trying to be exactly like the old Toonami. The shows they aired on Toonami in the past were great. But if Toonami is to thrive, it cannot become a nostalgia act.