There are two schools of thought when considering rewatching a piece of media. One is a more pessimistic prediction: experiencing something one loved when much younger may result in someone becoming aware of severe flaws in the work, a feeling that the piece is not actually as powerful as they once thought it was. ButContinue reading “Bakemonogatari: A Love Letter”
Author Archives: Red Comet
An Ode to Kratos Part 2: Failed Fathers and Being Better
After God of War III, Santa Monica Studios released Ascension, a big-budget prequel story that essentially leads up to the opening moments of God of War. Ascension is yet another tale of Kratos being provoked by scheming deities; battling the primordial Furies, Kratos finds an unnecessary new motive to hate Ares and seek the vengeanceContinue reading “An Ode to Kratos Part 2: Failed Fathers and Being Better”
An Ode to Kratos – Part 1: Grief of a Greek God
God of War For many children of the early 2000s, owning a copy of God of War was a sign of having cool (or oblivious) parents. An entire generation of kids—jaws dropped in raw awe—committed brutal executions against mythical beasts and undead soldiers. These kids hammered circle buttons to finish the game’s sex mini-game, theirContinue reading “An Ode to Kratos – Part 1: Grief of a Greek God”
Better Call Saul: Sins of the Brother
Breaking Bad swept the late 2000s, and it kept the television zeitgeist in a stranglehold throughout the early 2010s. Vince Gilligan’s epic drama series, alongside breakout hits like Mad Men and The Walking Dead, put the AMC cable network on the map as a home for serious, critically-acclaimed antihero tales. These series’ popularity exploded furtherContinue reading “Better Call Saul: Sins of the Brother”
Gintama’s Farewell Shinsengumi Arc: Tonal Balance and Character Perception
As a long-time consumer of shounen stories, I’m accustomed to strong starts, endlessly meandering middle sections, and a sloppy culminating war arc that serves as a lackluster finale after a series has stretched on for far too long. Naruto famously unravels in its second half, and its last arc is a colossal conflict that bringsContinue reading “Gintama’s Farewell Shinsengumi Arc: Tonal Balance and Character Perception”
To Your Eternity: Building Character from Scratch
When selecting a slew of 2021 anime to catch up on, I organized my queue and saved the shows I was most interested in for last. The final anime I consumed was Fumetsu no Anata e, or To Your Eternity. While knowing little about it, I was familiar with Koe no Katachi, the more famousContinue reading “To Your Eternity: Building Character from Scratch”
Metroid Prime: Atmospheric Horror and Explorative Storytelling
My first attempt to conquer the Nintendo Gamecube’s Metroid Prime was around Christmas in 2002. The isolated horror atmosphere presented to the player in the game’s opening moments stole my seven-year-old attention span. Bounty hunter Samus Aran arrives on the Orpheon, a massive abandoned spaceship, to answer a distress signal sent out by the SpaceContinue reading “Metroid Prime: Atmospheric Horror and Explorative Storytelling”
Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man Trilogy
It’s a testament to Willem Dafoe’s terrific performance as Spider-Man‘s Green Goblin that I was too afraid to watch the 2002 film as a child. My dad wasted money on tickets to see it in the theater; I started crying the moment we entered and heard Dafoe’s booming cackle. Once the movie saw a homeContinue reading “Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man Trilogy”
Arcane: Thematic Duality
The best part of Riot’s ridiculously popular League of Legends has always been the anecdotal lore about its wide cast of playable characters. These interesting archetypal stories are hardly on the forefront in the multiplayer game; players can piece relationships and past events together from quips of dialogue as they earn kills, or they canContinue reading “Arcane: Thematic Duality”
Nomad: Megalo Box 2
The follow-up to 2018’s Megalo Box, a loose adaptation of historic manga Ashita no Joe, hits like a truck. The first season of the show is thoroughly enjoyable. While it follows a wild protagonist’s standard underdog journey from slums to world champion, the production elements and weaponized nostalgia win audiences over with ease. The tiesContinue reading “Nomad: Megalo Box 2”
Red Comet Reviews 