TNT: Peerless Martial God Chapters 1-40 by Jing Wu Hen

This week for Translation Necessary Thursday I’m covering another Xianxia from China! It’s Peerless Martial God Chapters 1-40 by Jing Wu Hen!

Plot Synopsis: Lin Feng tried to be the diligent and hard-working good guy. He studied hard, did his best to make his family proud and not get into trouble, but when he saw a girl being taken advantage of, he had to intervene. He had been tricked, sentenced to 10 years in jail and framed for a crime he never committed, all was lost. If his life was over he would take those who ruined his life with him…

Suddenly he opens his eyes again. He is not dead, but alive in the body of the Lin Feng of a different world. This Lin Feng had been killed for being a worthless piece of trash…

Plot: The plot starts off similarly to many other Xianxia, but what really sets it apart from others is the fact that Lin Feng truly learned from his past lives and vehemently refuses to take shit from anyone ever again. It’s awesome, we get to see him vocally tear apart foes with words and make them look like fools. I’d totally prefer him as President over certain foul-mouthed orange sponges, but that’s a story for another day. These first forty chapters are all about establishing the foundation for Lin Feng, and while it may start off slow in these forty chapters it’s incredibly worth reading, not to mention it’s a blast to do so.

Characters: Lin Feng is probably tied with Yun Che and Nie Li for being one of my favorite main characters in all of Xianxia, though I haven’t read too much compared to other countries stories.  His father Lin Hai is also pretty awesome, and I really enjoy Han Man, he’s really straightforward, although not necessarily the sharpest tool in the shed. Liu Fei is probably my favorite female character of the series thus far, but I have a soft spot for bad ass archer women.

Overall: Definitely worth reading, it’s one of the better ones out there, and the plot and cast are awesome.

For those who like: Action, Drama, Xianxia, Martial Arts, Reincarnation, Witty Dialogue, Excellent Cast of Characters, Fantastic Plot.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Anime Sunday: The Asterisk War Episode 01 Impressions

This week for Anime Sunday I’m covering another episode 01 of the Fall 2015 Season. It’s The Asterisk War Episode 01 Impressions!

Plot Synopsis: The Academy City on water, “Rikka”. This city, otherwise known as ‘Asterisk’, is famous for being the world’s largest stage for the integrated battle entertainment <Star Wars Festival>. The young boys and girls of the <Starpulse Generation> belonging to the six academies made their wishes with Shining Armaments in their hands, vying for supremacy — Amagiri Ayato is one of them.

Ayato arrived at Rikka at the invitation of the Student Council President of the Seidoukan Academy, Claudia, and right after that he incurred the wrath of the <Petalblaze Witch> Julis.

Plot: The plot isn’t amazing, I’ll be flat out honest with you and say that it’s not that great. However since it doesn’t compress half a volume into a single episode I’m okay with that, rather than having a terrible adaptation like AntiMagic has. It does however have excellent battle scenes.

Characters: Ayato is the typical dunce protagonist when it comes to anything resembling an interpersonal relationship. Julis is little better and follows most of the standard tropes. It’s frustrating that a series like this will get a 2-cour adaptation when something like AntiMagic which is an amazing Light Novel series get’s a craptastic adaptation.

Art: The art is great though, I’ll admit that freely. It’s a beautiful piece of animation from any studio that isn’t ufotable. It’s not even close to being as good as ufotable productions, but it’s not as bad as Studio Deen.

Music: Decent, but nothing spectacular. The only noteworthy piece is the ending theme “Waiting for the Rain” by Maaya Sakamoto. I enjoy it, but it’s not my favorite theme of the season by a long shot.

Overall: This is a decent series, but other series that are out this season deserve the money being poured into this series a hell of a lot more.

For those who like: Action, Drama, Great Artwork, Decent Music.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

 

Manga Monday: Berserk by Kentaro Miura

This week on Manga Monday I’m covering a series that I don’t really enjoy, but some find amazing. It’s Berserk by Kentaro Miura!

Plot Synopsis: Guts (ガッツ Gattsu), is a wandering warrior, and former Raid Leader of the renowned mercenary unit known as the “Band of the Hawk” (鷹の団 Taka no Dan), who hunts demon like creatures called Apostles, humans who have made a deal with a group of archdemons known as “The God Hand” that in exchange for their wish they must sacrifice someone or something close to them.

Plot: First off this series is super dark in terms of plot. It is not a happy series, and if you expect any comedy you will be sorely disappointed. The series has been going on since 1989 and still hasn’t finished, so there is that to be said for the plot. Like I said above, I personally don’t enjoy this series as it’s way too depressing for me, but others think the series is solid gold. Do expect sex scenes in this series however.

Characters: Guts is a moody jerk, and the rest of the cast isn’t very happy either. Don’t expect anyone to laugh often.

Art: The art has evolved since the beginning of the series in 1989, but that isn’t to say the older chapters are bad. They aren’t at all, the art is great for a super violent series.

Overall: If super violent depressing stories are your thing check this one out, otherwise move on with your life.

For those who like: Dark Plots, Super Violent, Very Long Running Series, Action, Good Art.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Book Series Wednesday: The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn

This week for Book Series Wednesday in honor of the new Star Wars trailer that just came out a couple weeks ago, I’m covering my favorite Star Wars Expanded Universe Trilogy! It’s The Thrawn Trilogy by Timothy Zahn!

Plot Synopsis: Heir to the Empire is part of the Star Wars Expanded Universe, and takes place five years after the events of Return of the Jedi. The Rebel Alliance has destroyed the Death Star, defeated Darth Vader and Emperor Palpatine, and driven out the remnants of the old Imperial Starfleet to a distant corner of the galaxy. Princess Leia and Han Solo are married and expecting twins. Luke Skywalker has become the first in a long-awaited new line of Jedi Knights.

Thousands of light years away, Grand Admiral Thrawn, the last of the Emperor’s Warlords, has taken command of the shattered Imperial Fleet, readied it for war, and pointed it at the fragile heart of the New Republic. Thrawn is searching for a Dark Jedi and is succeeding in restoring the Empire.

Plot: It’s a Star Wars book, so don’t expect great prose like a Rothfuss book or great magic systems like a Sanderson book. That being said it still is one of the best Star Wars novels and I loved it when I was younger.

Characters: Thrawn is just an amazingly well done character in this series and the rest of the new characters are also great. Perfect Star Wars characters.

Overall: If you haven’t read this series yet and you are a Star Wars fan, you really need to.

For those who like: Star Wars, Sci-Fi, Plenty of action scenes.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above.

Manga Monday: Yu Yu Hakusho by Yoshihiro Togashi

This week I’m covering a favorite series of mine, it’s Yu Yu Hakusho by Yoshihiro Togashi.

Plot Synopsis: YuYu Hakusho follows Yusuke Urameshi, a street-brawling delinquent who, in an uncharacteristic act of altruism, is hit by a car and killed in an attempt to save a young boy by pushing him out of the way. His ghost is greeted by Botan, a woman who introduces herself as the pilot of the River Styx, who ferries souls to the “Underworld” or Spirit World (霊界Reikai) where they may be judged for the afterlife. Botan informs Yusuke that his act had caught even the Underworld by surprise and that there was not yet a place made for him in either heaven or hell.

Plot: The plot of this series isn’t nearly as serious as Togashi’s next work Hunter x Hunter, but it is pretty serious. Expect plenty of action.

Characters: Yusuke Urameshi is a blast to read, because hes the typical delinquent and doesn’t really care about things like laws or rules, he only cares about doing whats right even if it isn’t necessarily legal.

Art: The artwork for this series is pretty great.

Overall: If you haven’t ever read this series you really should.

For those who like: Action, Battles, Comedy mixed in with serious plot.

Not for those who don’t like: Any of the above, but can you really hate any of that?