Movie Monday: Kara no Kyoukai Murder Speculation Part 01

This week for Movie Monday I’m back with the second chapter in the story of Ryougi Shiki. It’s Kara no Kyoukai: Murder Speculation Part 01!

Plot Synopsis: January 1995, Kokutou Mikiya meets Ryougi Shiki for the first time while she’s in a white kimono during a snowing day. Later that year, at the high school freshmen ceremony, Mikiya sees Shiki in the crowd and chases after her, introducing himself to her. That night, Shiki stumbles onto a fresh corpse of someone killed in a traffic accident, the blood still flowing…

Plot: This is not at all like the first movie, Overlooking View, and is much closer to a traditional Murder Mystery series that you’d see on TV. That isn’t to say it’s bad, because it absolutely isn’t and this is a really important part of Shiki’s story, but the backwards leap in the timeline is going to cause some jarring at first. But if you want a bunch of supernatural stuff to go on in this entry of the series, you may be disappointed.

Characters: We get to see Mikiya and Shiki’s first meeting, as well as their first introduction to each other as they both enter high school. We also get to meet Mikiya’s friend Gakuto and his cousin Daisuke. That being said Shiki and Mikiya are the focus of this chapter.

Art: The art is as always excellent given that it’s animated by my favorite and most respected studio ufotable.

Music: Again like the artwork the musical score is excellent given that it’s done by the almost legendary Kajiura Yuki.

Overall: A solid entry in this series. Well worth watching if you enjoyed Overlooking View.

Video Game Tuesday: Newcomers I Want In The Next Smash Bros

This week for Video Game Tuesday I’m looking at who I want to see in the newly announced continuation of Nintendo’s best fighting game. It’s all about Newcomers I Want In The Next Smash Bros!

Isaac (Golden Sun): I’ve been wanting Isaac in the series since before Melee came out, but the fact he’s only appeared as an Assist Trophy is nearly criminal. He has so many different moves with his Psy powers and is perfect for a game like Smash Bros since he can mix it up with some melee abilities. Summoning could easily be his Final Smash if they decide to keep that as a thing in this version of the game.

Son Goku (Dragonball): If even Funimation is asking for Goku to be added to the next Smash Bros, you know it probably ought to happen. I mean with characters like Mega Man, Ryu or even Cloud getting into the game, having everyone’s favorite Saiyan in the next installment would be perfect. I can just imagine him slamming a massive Spirit Bomb into the stage for a Final Smash.

Velvet Crowe (Tales of Berseria): I know that Bandai Namco helped out with the last installments of the game, so letting them pick a character from their RPG series would be awesome as a thank you. Velvet being the first solo Female lead would make an excellent addition to the roster with her various Therion skills and Martial abilities. Any of her Mystic Artes could easily become her Final Smash, or even just making it a powered up version where she uses her Therion abilities for like 20 seconds for increased damage would be cool as well. And let’s be honest, we could use more female characters in the next Smash game.

Banjo and Kazooie (Banjo-Kazooie): I loved the Banjo-Kazooie games and frankly they’d make an awesome addition to the Smash roster. I have no clue what they’d use as a Final Smash, other than some sort of Mumbo transformation.

Real curveballs I never really expect to happen:

Someone from the TYPE-MOON franchises: Any of the multitude of characters of the Nasuverse might be fun to play in a Smash Game. It’d probably end up being Artoria, because of course it would. But I can always hope for Tamamo no Mae, Ryougi Shiki, or Arcueid right? Noble Phantasm’s would be perfect fits for awesome Final Smash abilities.

Nightmare (Soulcalibur): I don’t really want to see Nightmare in a Smash Bros game, but if it was anyone from the Soul series it’d probably be him. Please choose one of the above though Nintendo if you are actually reading this and seriously considering these character suggestions.

Crazy Taxi (Crazy Taxi): I don’t mean the cab drivers, I mean the freaking car itself. Yeah I absolutely expect this to never happen, but if they were to pull it off somehow, it’d be interesting to say the least.

That’s it for this week’s Video Game Tuesday. Are there any characters you’d like to see added to the Smash Series? Leave your answers below in the comments!

Movie Monday: Kara no Kyoukai Overlooking View

This week for Movie Monday I’m covering the first in a seven part series of movies covering one of the Nasuverse’s greatest stories. It’s Kara no Kyoukai, or the Garden of Sinners, Overlooking View!

Plot Synopsis: September 1998, Mikiya Kokutō brings over some ice cream while visiting Shiki, but Shiki is not happy to see him and says that she does not like ice cream so she decides not to eat it. Later at Garan no Dou, Shiki and Touko discuss the recent spate of unusual suicide incidents where several high school girls fell to their death, but left no suicide note and had apparently no reason to commit suicide. Tōko concludes that the girls did not intend to die. At night, Shiki visits the deserted part of town containing the Fujō buildings which have now fallen into disrepair and are about to be demolished, and while there stumbles upon the body of newest victim….

Plot: This is the first in a series of movies that are an adaptation of a novel by Kinoko Nasu. That being said if you get confused at first, just keep watching. It’ll make sense in the end.

Characters: Shiki is probably one of my favorite female characters of all time, and not just because she’s a badass. However my particular reason is pretty spoilerific and I’ll leave that for you to figure out. Though those who know me might be able guess after watching all the movies. However the entire cast is great, although fairly small for this first movie.

Artwork: This was animated by ufotable, so you should expect amazing visuals. Overlooking View doesn’t disappoint at all in that regard.

Music: The music is also pretty damn amazing, being done by Kajiura Yuki who is a legend in the Anime business.

Overall: Definitely a must watch for those who enjoy any type of mystery series. That being said, it’s not for kids at all.

For those who like: Mystery, Supernatural, Urban Fantasy, Nasuverse, Action, Drama, Awesome Plot, Fantastic Cast of Characters, Masterwork Animation, Excellent Musical Scores.

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