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Showing posts with label Fighting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fighting. Show all posts

November 23, 2010

Legend of the Tsunami Warrior - Movie Review

Legend of the Tsunami Warrior
Saha Mongkul Film Production©

Summary
As sea pirates threaten to invade their kingdoms, three queens of Langkasuka must band together to defend their lands and peoples.

Rating: R
Genre: Fighting, Pirates, Drama, Romance
Year: 2008

Storyline
This movie had a pretty interesting storyline. It seemed like it was based off of some sort of Mythology story. It was easy to follow and not super complicated. The ending was a bit different then what I expected, but it made more sense then what I thought was going to happen.

Graphics
There's so pretty neat effects in this movie. Riding around on whales and sting rays just make the movie cool. Not to mention, you gotta love it when people power up. No matter what the reason is, it just looks cool.

Wrap Up
After watching the movie, I came to the conclusion that this was a movie about an Asain Aquaman. The only difference being he's actually useful and knew how to fight outside of the water.

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November 21, 2010

Triple Movie Review

Kung Fu Chefs
My Way Film Company Limited ©

Summary
Ousted chef Wong Bing-Yi is determined to help Shen Qing at her restaurant "Four Seas". He trains a young chef, Lung Kin-Yat to compete against Chef Tin, the head chef at "Imperial Palace", for the title of "Top Chef".

Year: 2009
Genre: Comedy, Fighting, Cooking
Rating: N/A

Wrap Up
This movie was pretty interesting. It teaches you a lot about cooking. The fighting in it, is mostly for entertainment purposes. As in, they didn't want the viewer to get bored while they did a movie about cooking, so they threw in random fighting scenes. The storyline is actually pretty decent. I was surprised. Originally thinking that this movie was going to be a B-Movie, it actually ended up being decent. The only complaint I have is that the subs go wicked fast.

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The Warlords
Media Asia Distribution©, ARM Distribution©, Polybona Films©,
Shaw Organisation©, MediaCorp Raintree Pictures©, Innoform Media©,
Magnet Releasing©

Summary
It's a heroic tale of three blood brothers and their struggle in the midst of war and political upheaval. It is based on "The Assassination of Ma," a Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) story about the killing of general Ma Xinyi. The story was filmed by Zhang Che in 1973 as The Blood Brothers.

Year: 2007
Genre: War, Fighting, Romance, Drama, Historical
Rating: R

Wrap Up
In all honesty this movie was pretty depressing. Here, I thought it was going to be an epic movie about three brothers who stood up to the empire and change the course of China's civil war. However, I was wrong. It's about three guys who are not blood related, but take the sacrid brother pack. They work for the empirer, but still change the course of history. The ending was sad. The entire movie is sad. I guess that's just how wars are though.

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Operation: Endgame
Infinity Films©, Scion Films©, Darko Entertainment©

Summary
A battle ensues among groups of government spy teams in an underground facility after their boss is assassinated.

Year: 2010
Genre: Drama, Action
Rating: R

Wrap Up
Weird ass movie. It's pretty much just two groups of people killing each other off. Some people even kill off their own team mates just for the hell of it. Everyone is crazy. It's got a crazy twist at the end of the movie, but you kinda see it coming if you're paying attention to the dialog. If you're bored, watch the movie. It's nothing to brag about though. Pretty dissapointing in all honesty.

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November 20, 2010

Scott Pilgrim vs The World - Movie Review

Universal Pictures©


Summary
Scott Pilgrim must defeat his new girlfriend's seven evil exes in order to win her heart.

Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy, Fighting, Romance
Year: 2010

Storyline
For the most part the storyline is pretty interesting. You have a guy who falls in love with a girl, who has evil exes that he must fight off to be with her. It really shows how much he's in love with her if he's willing to put up with all that. I haven't read the graphic novel, so I'm sure how close it is. I do know that they cut some of the side charaters, but I guess they weren't needed for the main point of the storyline.

Graphics
The special effects in this movie were mindblowing. Every single minute of the film there was something going on. I loved watching it just to see all the effects. I wish real life was like that.

Sound & Music
8-Bit music and random video game sound effects? Yeah... This movie has it all. Loved it. However, I don't think having the sound track would give me the same feeling as the movie did. Just because it doesn't have all the visuals, but that's just my opinion.

Wrap Up
Best movie I've seen in a long time. Probably the best retro movie I've seen since TMNT: Turtles Forever. I personally think they did an excellent job with this movie and I put it at the top of my to buy list. I recommened everyone to give this a chance. It might surprise you.

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November 18, 2010

Red Cliff - Movie Review

Beijing Film Studio©; China Film Group©; Lion Rock Productions©

Summary
The first chapter of a two-part story centered on a battle fought in China's Three Kingdoms period (220-280 A.D.).
Rating: R
Genre: Fighting
Year: 2008
Storyline
It was easy to follow, which is always a good thing. However, sometimes the battles got a bit confusing. At least to my family, they did. I didn't have that much trouble following it. Then again, I have played Dynasty Warriors enough times to understand what was going on without the movie telling me. It's basically covers the start of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and focuses more on the battle at Red Cliff. For those of you who have played the games, it's the one where it's night and you're fighting on a bunch of ships that are stuck together. It's also the level where you can pick up fire arrows.
Graphics
Really nicely done. There's a lot of awesome scenary shots and the battles were insane. The amount of people they had in the armies still blows my mind. There are scenes where it's a flying camera shot down the river, and it shows litterly hundreds of ships stationed along the shore. An incredable movie.
Wrap Up
This movie was a lot better than what I thought it was going to be. I've seen a lot of random movies based off of ancient wars in Asia, and for some reason they're all border line B-Movie quality. However, this one really takes the cake (as you one could say). It was an amazing movie with great acting and camera work. The battles were very entertaining and easy to follow (for the most part). I would love to see another movie as good as this one to explain more about the battles that came after Red Cliff.
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The Karate Kid (New) - Movie Review

Columbia Pictures©
Summary
Work causes a single mother to move to China with her young son; in his new home, the boy embraces kung fu, taught to him by a master.
Rating: PG
Genre: Fighting
Year: 2010
Storyline
This was a really tough one to do. I have a pet peeve when it comes to remakes. A lot of them haven't been very well done. The Kirate Kid is a classic and probably should have never been touched, but after watching this, I'm glad it was. They stayed true to the original classic. It was an old story with a new feel to it. The concept was the same. It had some similar scenes, but with a slightly different look to them. I think this was done to show that this wasn't the original, but still inspired by it. The storyline for this film gave the message better then I could have ver imagined. If I was rating this, it would be five stars.
Sound & Music
I watched the behind the scenes and they talked a bit about the music in this movie. I felt the music was really well done. It had classical music, with Asian flutes mixed in. During some of the scenes it had mainstream hip-hop, which I'm pretty sure is only in the movie to give the children something to relate to. It wasn't over done and fit perfectly in the scene they put it in. I was extremely impressed with the music of this movie. They didn't use random music just so they could sell a soundtrack later. They actually used a live ocrastra. Five stars for sure!
Wrap Up
I hate remakes. I hate them even more if they're a remake to a classic movie. However, this movie did an excellent job. As far as I know, this is the first remake of a classic, that people accepted to the point where it'll probably be a classic itself. I enjoyed the movie and glad that I gave it a chance. I recommend it to everyone who hasn't seen it yet.
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November 02, 2010

Togainu No Chi - Review Update

A-1 Pictures Inc.©
Overview
Akira, the young champion of a street fighting tournament caleld BI@ster, is suddenly arrested for a crime he didn't commit. He makes a deal with a mysterious woman to get out of prison on one condition: to defeat the strongest man, the Il-Re, in a deadly game called Igura, which is taking place under the rule of a drug ring in the abandoned remains of Tokyo. This one sounds really interesting. If done correctly, I can see this becoming an awesome Shōnen type show.  A bit more mature then the others, but still has cool fight scenes and power-ups.

Episode 1
The artwork is really nicely done. This episode did a fairly decent job setting up the plot of the entire show. Also showed how bored the main character is with fighting weaklings and yet still showed that he wasn't of violent nature despite him being so good at beating the crap out of people. If you like blood there was a lot at the end of this episode.

Episode 2
This episode is mostly about the introduction of a few other possibly main characters. Shows a bit more of the area and explains just a tiny bit about the dangerous game. However, it didn't go into too much detail, and I'm guessing that's going to take a few episodes. So far this anime is pretty decent.

Episode 3
Introduction of yet another character and a possible picture of the main villain. That pretty much sums up this entire episode.

Wrap Up
The storyline is well laid out. Gives enough info, so the watcher knows what's going on, while leaving enough unanswered questions to keep you watching. The animation is well done. I recommend it. It's pretty interesting even though it has less action then I thought it would. However, the story is just begining and there's a lot of room for some awesome fights.


October 24, 2010

Hyakka Ryouran: Samurai Girls - Review Update

ARMS Corporation©
Overview
In an alternate future, the Tokugawa shogunate never lost power and Japan mainstrained its enforced seclusion from the rest of the world. The 25th shogun assumed the mantle of Japan's leadership 20 years ago, and the student council enforces the suppression of rebellious elements at a giant academy for children of military families at the foot of Mt. Fuiji. This one actually sounds really interesting. It's pretty much old school Samurai within the modern world. I personally love alternate history/timelines stuff, and look forward to seeing how well done this turns out. Judging from the name, it's probably going to be a bit Ecchi too. Which can be a good thing, but also can take away from the seriousness of the show.

Episode 1
The artwork reminds me of the video game Okami. It also has ink splatters on the screen which give it a 3D feel. Quite impressive in my opinion. This first episode is a prolouge to the series. It's actually really well done. Starts with the end, does the backstory and ends with the introduction of some samurai girl. Pretty interesting so far.

Episode 2
Interesting story development. This episode was more comical than the first one. It's based around everyone trying to figure out who the new samurai girl is. I also like to point out that the ninja maid's glasses work the same as the scouters in DBZ.

Episode 3
This episode forshadows a possible villain as well as a more complex storyline. I'm starting to see what's going to be happening. Is the mysterious samurai girl a hero or actually a villain?

Wrap Up
Other than being a border line Echii anime, this seems to have a pretty complex storyline. The art style is like an ink painting and the random blots of ink covers any nudity or blood. I'm guessing they did this to keep the rating down. It's an interesting show, but I don't know if I would recommend it. It's too hard to tell, even with seeing three episodes. Just too many questions and so many paths for the storyline to take. I say give it a couple more episodes before you decide if you should keep watching it or not. It's worth checking out just to see the art style.

Watch - Opening (YouTube)
Like - This Show (Facebook)

Shaman King - Manga Review Update

Viz Media©
Volume 16
So much happens in this volume. I'll try to keep the spoilers to a minume. Not only is there a couple of fights, but there's also a lot of background storytelling. It helps with the development of the key characters. Also there's a twist thrown in that makes you wanna just keep reading.  The plot thickens as Hao tries to recruit Ren, the X-Laws try to recruit Yoh, Hao's spirit miduim and true power is show, and Yoh tells everyone about the connection he has with Hao. You'll have to read it all to find out about these events in detail as well as anything else that may have happen that I left out.

Volume 17
This volume makes me wonder if people wrote Hirouki Yakei and complained about how quick the battles have been in the past couple of volumes. There was some intense fights and they happen outside of the tourniment. It looks like Hao's minions are making their move and attacking Ren's team. The plot is laid. The mana levels are reveled. How will Yoh and company survive this battle? We'll just have to read on and find out.

Volume 18
I'm kinda dissapointed in this volume. Mainly because it came with a free trip to Japan if I had bought the manga 3 or 4 years ago. It's no longer vailed. I also didn't care for the fact that a main character had kicked the bucket, but like a lot of manga these days, they found a way to bring him back. Some of you may see this as a spoiler, but I'm really getting fed up with that happening. Dragon Ball over did it, and now a lot of other manga seem to be finding ways to keep characters alive, because of their fan base. I know it's sad when awesome characters die, but that's what makes it realistic and what drives the other characters to get stronger. More is at stake when you don't know you can be brought back to life. I also thought that the two weakest people having the strongest ability was a bit lame. I've seen that done a ton of times too. It's a good way to balance it out, but even the game Twisted Metal did it. Weakest people having the strongest special is just so over done these days. Of course one could argue that everything has already been done. This is true, but it's nice to see things that are not done in every other manga that I'm reading. I want to see a verity. You know?

Volume 19
There really isn't much to say about this volume. The entire volume is a flash back. It even has flash backs within the flash backs. Don't worry, it's not too complicated. It coves the time when Yoh met Anna. It also has flash backs of the final battle in the last Shaman Fight. It seems like a cat spirit was the one that delt the final blow to Hao 500 years ago. The next volume continues the flashback. Let's keep reading and find out what happens.

Volume 20
The end... Well, sort of. I'm guessing this is where the anime ended. The first half of the story is over. Starting with the next volume it's the next stage in the story. A most interesting plot twist has changed the course of the storyline. What will happen next? It's hard to forsee right now. The only real way is to continue reading. However, I have no other volumes and currently no money to get them. I feel since this is the end of the first series, it's also a good place to stop and put Shaman King on hold. It may be a few months or even a year before I'll have the money to pick up the rest of the story and the time to read them. I may not do any more reviews. I think doing a review of the first series is enough to get people to read it. I might do a review on the anime, but I haven't decided yet. However, on the bright side, I can now work on some other manga. Thank you friends who give me their old manga that they no longer want. It's the one good thing about friends who move and/or get married and/or grow up.

Buy - Volume 16
Buy - Volume 17
Buy - Volume 18
Buy - Volume 19
Buy - Volume 20

October 15, 2010

Shaman King - Manga Review Update

Viz Media© & Shonen Jump©
Shaman King #11
This volume is filled with many different things. I'll try to keep the spoilers to a minume. The one thing I don't like about it, is that there's a Vampirer that they have to fight and that just doesn't make any sense when you're talking about a fight among Shamans. Ryu has his first serious battle since his training with Yoh's Grandfather. The Path Tribe gave everyone a three months to make it to their village, but it seems like Yoh & Company manage to get to the entrence in only five days. The volume of course ends in a clif hanger. I'm interested in seeing what they're going to do for the remainder of the three months.

Shaman King #12
If you're running low on cash, this would be a good place to stop for awhile. It ties up some loose ends and ends in a way that makes me feel like it would be the end of the first season. There's still a lot of questions to be answered, but they made it to the village. The first major arc is completed. My guess is the next volume is going to be after a three month time jump. Since they only took five days to make it to the enterence. They're not in the village itself, but I can see the next volume starting off with them in the village and then doing flash backs to show how they made it through the maze. The events that happen in this volume really makes me wonder if Hiroyuki Takei had this all planned out or if he's just going with the flow. Starting to really enjoy how complex the story is becoming.

Shaman King #13
Took me awhile to get ahold of this volume. None of the bookstores I went to had it. I manage to make enough money off this site to order it online. Thank you everyone who clicked the ads! It really does help. Anyway, this volume marks the start of Part 2 in the Shaman Fight. Which just so happens to be a 3-vs-3 tourniment. With 63 contestants still around, who will make it to the finals? The fights are starting to get exciting. Everyone had the chance to train for two months before the toruniment started, so you know they are all powered up. I just love to see everyone's new moves.

Shaman King #14
Not a lot to say about this volume. It covers more of the 3-vs-3 tourniment and with the way things are going, I'll say it'll be a few volumes before the finals. The fights are not super intense, but they did do a good job introducing another villain as well as the background story behind her. I also like how people are actually starting to die off now too. There has been a few deaths throughout the series, but it's more obvious and common now. I guess that's what you get for sticking evil people in a fighting compitition for the chance to become Shaman King of the entire world.

Shaman King #15
This was a real fun volume for me. Other than Shamans, I have a thing for Vikings and Druids. Both are shown in this fight with Yoh's team. I was overly interested while reading for that sole reason. Well.... That and the power ups that they showed. Yoh's team really did get super powered up, but I'm dissapointed in the fact that they showed everything right off in the begining. Hiroyuki Takei should have saved it for a surprise during one of the more important battles. However after reading it, I can see why he wanted to show it off. I'm sure Hiroyuki Takei was just as excited drawing the manga as I was reading it. I'm looking forward to see what else is in store for Yoh and company. Even more now that Ren deiceded to run off and attain a new ability on his own. Will he finally be stronger than Yoh? I guess we'll have to keep reading to find out!

Buy - Volume 11
Buy - Volume 12
Buy - Volume 13
Buy - Volume 14
Buy - Volume 15
Like - Shaman King (Facebook)

October 11, 2010

Digimon Xros Wars - Review

Toei Animation©
I'm a sucker for Digimon. I've been into it since before there was even a show. I still have the original Digimon Device where you raised a Digimon and then connected it to other Digivices to battle. However, it always died after 30 days of "old" age. This Digimon season is the first season to ever get rid of the different evolution stages. There's no longer Rookie, Champion, Ultimate, and Mega. Instead there's just the Digimon themselves and they have the ability to fuse together to form a combination type Digimon. Usually one of the Digimon is the main personality and it receieves power ups from the others. Within the first couple of episodes I notice there's a lot of Mecha references as well as music based attacks. The story itself is pretty interesting. There's other children with Digivices, but they're not all on a team nor are they even friends. They are all fighting each other for control of the Digiworld. Once someone conqures an area they gain a Data-Crown. This pretty much tells everyone else that they own that region. If you collect all the Data-Crown pieces then you become the Digimon King. There's a lot of battles and so far it hasn't been the basic digivolve and end the battle with one move. They actually use differnet stradagy and take on entire armies.  I personally really like this season and hope it stays as good as it has been so far.

October 08, 2010

Shaman King - Manga Review Update




Shaman King #6
This was on interesting volume. Once again it didn't actually show Yoh's training, but it did a better job explaining it. Of course, it was just survival training, and that's pretty self explanitory. Anyway, they introduced some new characters which seem to be only good for comic relief. This is a good and bad thing. Some of the stuff I found funny, but other times it was just too much. I'm pretty sure the two new spirits they introduce is based off of or inspired by Red & Stimpy. Next volume should cover the final fight for the Priliminaries. I'll be looking forward to an awesome battle between Yoh and his rival, Ren.



Shaman King #7
Pretty intense fighting in this volume. I thought it would have the entire fight between Yoh and Ren, but it looks like it carried over into volume 8. Other then the fight, it showed who showed up for the opening ceremony as well as random things about Ren. It looks like Hiroyui Takei is trying to make Ren out to be the "Vegeta" character. I'll admit he's a strong fighter, but I'm not sure how I feel about this. I guess the only choice I have is to keep reading and see how it turns out.




Shaman King #8
This volume actually covers quite a bit. Finishes the Preliminaries. Ren & Yoh's battle ended in an interesting way. I had a feeling it was going to be something along those lines, because the real fights haven't even started, and they went through all that trouble making Ren a main character. My original prediction about Ren being the "Vegeta" character seems to be right. They gave him a troubled past and of course had Yoh & company get involved in helping him break away from it. There's a mini battle at the end that wasn't as cool as it could have been, but they seem to be building up to a really awesome battle with Ren's father. Hirouki Takei seems to be doing an excellent job setting up his characters. All of the backstories seem to make sense in some way or another. However, there isn't any real evil people. The people who seem evil all had a tragic life. It makes sense, but in a way just ruins the darkness that could be in the story. You know what I mean?



Shaman King #9
This volume filled me with excitment as I read it. If you get this far, and still not sure if you like the series, then I would suggest stop reading. This volume is the start of your addiction phase. Not only is there an insane battle with Ren's father, Yuan, but there's also the showing of all 96 contsents for the Shaman King battle. Introducing a new villain and his minions are also done. Everyone who survived this far has been gathered at the Yokocha Naval Base and flew to the USA. Looks like it's about to get real interesting soon. 
On a personal note. Does anyone else think that Yaun, Ren's Father, look like Dr. Robotnic (Sonic the Hedhog)? I also notice that they've been in Japan, China, and now America. They've interacted with Shaman from all over the world. There seems to be no language barrier at all. Makes things easier, but I would like to see miscomunication just once in a manga like this.




Shaman King #10
Survival of the fittest seems to be the key factor in this volume. Not only does it have a few interesting battles, but it has a lot of back story on the new villain and the Path Tribe. Not all the questions get answered, but a few do. The volume ends with an incredable twist!  On a more personal note; I wondered how long it would take before they introduced a trap. Japan really likes throwing them in their manga & anime. I will never understand their obsession with guys who look like chicks. I enjoyed the random TTGL reference when Ryu did the "Who the hell do you think I am" stance. Yoh managed to pull off a new move, but it never really explained how he learned it or even him training. Not sure how I feel about it right now. All I can really do is keep on reading and hope that it just keeps on getting better.


October 04, 2010

Pokemon: Best Wishes! - Review

Picture By: endless_summer181
At First Look - 3 Episodes
Once again, another season of Pokemon. This one is still about Ash and Pikachu. However, it appears to be based off of the new Black & White games. In this season, Ash travels with Professor Oak and his Mom to a new location. Where he meets a new Professor and gets to see the new starter Pokemon (Which I personally think look retarded). The starters are still Grass, Water, & Fire types. Ash & Pikachu encounter one of the Legendary Pokemon right in the first episode and it's attacks cause Pikachu to be unable to preform Lightning attacks. Not only that, but they introduced a new rival who acts just like Gary. Starting to see something familiar? How about this then? Ash randomly forgets how to catch wild Pokemon and has to be reminded by a girl who has a bad attitude. Of course Team Rocket's Jessie & James are back. New outfits and slightly smarter then before. However, they're still obsessed with catching Pikachu and fail every time. It looks like the creators tried going back to the first season. Everything has been reset. Ash doesn't even have any of his old Pokemon, except for Pikachu. Both of them have to relearn everything. On the upside, the battle's are really awesome. They did an excellent job showing each of the moves and actually limiting each Pokemon to only 4 moves each. Just like in the games. I was pretty dissapointed that Ash still hasn't aged at all, but so far this season hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. Ignoring the huge amount of time he spent traveling, you could actually have this take place after the 2nd season or even after he recieved Pikachu. I think I'll continue watching this and see where it goes. I just hope it's not another 100+ episode season.

September 30, 2010

One Piece - Chapter #598 Review

Skull Joke Goes Here

After a month long wait, the chapter is finally out. Taking place 2 years after chapter 597, it did an excellent job showing how everyone has changed during the years apart from each other. However, it did hold back on most of their new moves. I'm sure we'll be seeing them within the next few chapters. They also introduced a group of people pretending to be the Stray Hat Pirates. This will be most interesting once Luffy finds out about what they've been up to while using his crew's names. The chapter also started off in color, which is always nice. I don't know about you guys, but I'm really looking forward to next week's chapter.


What do you guys think will happen? Do you think everyone will figure out who the real Straw Hat Pirates are? Do you think the Marines will interfere? Will they ever cross the Red Line? How do you think the other Rookies are doing in the New World?

September 29, 2010

Shaman King - Manga Review

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Shaman King #1
The manga starts off with a small boy, Manta, who had missed the train home. He decides to cut through a graveyard as it seems to be a shortcut to his neighbrohood. While in the cemertary he meets, Yoh, a mysterious young boy who has the ability to communicate with ghost. You then later finds out he's a Shama, a link between this world and the next. The manga itself is pretty interesting. They do some good character development and start introducing abilities and lesser characters. It ends with a fight between Yoh and another Shaman, Ren. Ren is a Shaman from China, and his partner is a Chinese Warlord. Not too bad for a first issue. Hiroyuki Takei did an excellent job with the ending. Adding a rival right at the end makes the reader want to go pick up the next volume ASAP.


Click To Buy Now

Shaman King #2
Hiroyuji Takei gets straight to the point in this volume. Starting off with a flash back of Yoh's life, Hiroyuji Takei sets up the main point of the entire manga; For Yoh to become Shaman King (Which is why it's called that). Then from there, they start introducing other characters, different types of Shamans, and of course explaining more about Yoh's personal spirit, Amidamaru, a legendary samurai. I truly like this volume. Lots of action and explanations. The last half of the volume is one long battle with a martial art expert, Lee Bailong. I'm pretty sure he's based off of Bruce Lee. The fight is pretty intense. You can see Yoh's summer training has made him stronger; However, they have yet to actually show what he does for training. Hopefully, this changes. I do love seeing the characters train to become strong, instead of randomly just getting stronger. Makes it more believable to me, or something.


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Shaman King #3
"I like to go out with my family. No matter how busy I am, I always go out once a week with my fmaily. That's because at those times, the smiles on everyone's faces are genuine. When you see that, who cares about deadlines?"
-Hiroyuji Takei; Shaman King 3 - 1999
I have mixed feelings about this volume. Not only did it not have any real fights in it, but it also took it's time setting up for the main arc. However, the background story on Amidamaru's sword and the introduction of a new shaman ally, made it worth reading. It did tell the story well. I don't know. I just feel that it didn't need an entire volume to do it. Let's hope that the next few volumes are good, now that they have the backstories finished and the main characters set up.


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Shaman King #4
"Wisdom, like genius, is a flash of insight. The ability to bring forth something from nothing. The ability to understand the ineffable. It is the light that reveals new possibilities in this world."
-Silve; Shaman King 4
This volume has some interesting parts in it, but once again I felt that it took longer to get the point across. It showed who was qualified for the Shaman fight. It introduce the Over Soul ability. Did a great job introducing the concept of Mana. However, other then leading up to the first Preliminary fight, he didn't complish anything else. I have a feeling that volume 4 and 5 could be one volume. It seems the author is slowing down with the pace of his story. Either to extend how long it is going to be, or he's just having trouble excuiting it.

On another note. Kororo, Horohoro's Spirit Ally, is pretty cute. So far it looks like she's the/a spirit of Winter. They also talked about animal spirits. There's so much room for different types of abilities with the set up so far. I'm looking forward to reading more.


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Shaman King #5
Things are starting to get interesting. Looks like Yoh could actually loose a match. Possible ally was made along with an obvious villain. I like seeing the main characters loose from time to time. Just seems more realistic to me. And you need that, when you're dealing with inhumanly possible powers. Volume ends in a cliff hanging, making the reader want to read more. Always good thing though. Wanting to read me means that you're enjoying the story. This shows the author did a great job. I'm becoming quite a big fan of Shaman King. Also, this volume is perfect to read around Halloween time.