Success! 365 Days of Posting!

After more than three years of blogging, I have finally accomplished one of my goals: Posting everyday for an entire year! In the past, I have posted than 365 posts in a year and more than 365 consecutive posts (I am probably around 500 consecutive posts), but never have I actually posted one or more posts on each day of the year, until today. Last year, I posted all but one day of the year, and the only reason that I did not succeed was because I was hospitalized for a day. Admittedly, not every post during the year has been quality content, especially on the weekends, but at least I accomplished what I set out to be with relative success. Will I post everyday next year? Maybe not; I will have to wait and see.... But for the time being, continue to expect daily updates on J and J Productions between 6:00-8:30am EST, and please check back tomorrow for updates on my upcoming end of the year posts.

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

The Hobbit: DOS: Extended Edition Review

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: The Extended Edition, yet another extended edition in the Middle Earth saga.

Going into the extended edition of The Desolation of Smaug, I entirely expected that the extra scenes to not add much to the overall story, much like extended edition of An Unexpected Journey, and to my surprise, that was far from the case. In fact, much like The Lord of the Rings: Extended Editions, the extended edition is the definitive version of The Desolation of Smaug. 

Instead of my usual critique format, I have decided to list six reasons why the Extended Edition is the superior version. Also, having not read the Hobbit novel, this is my opinion of how the extra scenes make the movie better as a cinematic experience, not as an adaptation. Obviously, if you have not seen the theatrical cut of the Desolation of Smaug, then this post will include spoilers.

Thorin's Father and Character Depth

Easily, the most significant addition to the EE (Extended Edition) of DOS (Desolation of Smaug) is the entire subplot involving Thorin's father, Thráin. In the previous film, it was briefly mentioned that Thráin disappeared after the battle, and in the theatrical edition, his part is cut entirely. However, the EE inserts in the entire subplot about Thráin. The cut is so drastically different that some of the new scenes are not merely additions, but rather replacements for the old content at times, particularly when Gandalf confronts the Necromancer. With Thráin's additions, there is another subplot involving one of the Dwarven rings as well, which adds further depth to the world that Peter Jackson has crafted, and it adds foreshadowing for the next film. Also, the scenes with Thorin and his father add more depth to Thorin's character, as it humanizes the character.

More Beorn

Beorn receives a couple of brief scenes in the theatrical cut, and while he serves as a decent plot device, he is lacking, even for a supporting character. Thankfully, the EE includes several more scenes with Beorn, which expand upon his character with actual character traits. While his scenes are not all that necessary for the theatrical cut, it is good to see more of Beorn.

The Nine's Origin

In the theatrical cut, only a brief line referring that the Necromancer raised human warriors from the dead with little to no explanation. However, in the EE, there is a brief flashback to when the Witch King is buried, as well as more lines of dialogue that expand the origin of the Nazgûl, and thus adding world building elements.

Mirkwood Wandering and the White Stag

With the additional scenes of the Bilbo and the Dwarves wandering through Mirkwood, the disorientating atmosphere is amplified for the audience. In addition to that aspect, a scene with a White Stag is included, which is apparently a scene from the book that was oddly missing from the theatrical cut.

Laketown

Of the additional scenes, the Laketown ones are the least important to the overall story. However, they do provide more motivation for the Master of Lake-town’s actions, and the scenes with Dwarves fighting off the Laketown guards is quite fun, even if it kind of opens a possible plot hole. 

A More Complete Experience

Even though The Desolation of Smaug is an excellent film in its theatrical cut, the Extended Edition makes it a much more complete experience, much like LOTR Extended Editions. It adds more character depth, lore, and, with the exception of one or two scenes, it makes for an overall superior experience. Of course, if you already hate the Hobbit movies for your personal reasons, then nothing is going to change your opinion. 

Have you seen the Extended Edition of The Desolation of Smaug? Do you plan to buy it? Please comment below and let me know.

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Doctor Who: Last Christmas Review

Doctor Who returns again for its annual Christmas special in "Last Christmas."

*Spoilers Ahead*

My experience with the Doctor Who Christmas specials is a bit odd. In America, when the series was first airing on the Sci-Fi channel, now renamed "SyFy," they never aired the Christmas specials on Christmas. It was not until Matt Smith's era that the Christmas specials aired on Christmas day, so the earlier specials are not all that memorable for me compared to the rest of the episodes of each season, which means I cannot really compare those earlier specials to the new ones. With that out of the way, let's move forward with the review.

Opening with Clara encountering Santa Claus on her rooftop, Santa promptly attempting to explain that what she is seeing is completely normal. Of course, the Doctor pops in with his TARDIS and takes Clara away on a new adventure.

As soon as the dream crabs were introduced, my first thought was the facehuggers from Alien. Honestly, nothing makes me squirm more those facehuggers from Alien, and the dream crabs reproduced some of the nail biting tension that made Alien and Aliens so great, albeit to a lesser degree. To top it all off, the old guy, whose name I am sure no one remembers, actually said the dream crabs were like the face huggers from Alien. After explaining the movie what the movie is about, the Doctor replies with the humorous line "Alien?! That's offensive! No wonder you keep getting invaded!" Finally! Doctor Who actually acknowledges the existence of a sci-fi film! 

Additionally, the designs of the weapons and the set are all reminiscent of the Alien franchise, with other elements reminding me of John Carpenter's the Thing, and it all makes sense as to why everything looks futuristic since this is a dream world. 

My favorite aspect of the dream-crabs is how they use multiple dream levels to ensnare their victims, and it reminds me of Inception, but in a good way. Throughout the episode, various things, like Clara meeting Santa on the rooftop, stood out to me as possible plot holes, yet, as the episode continued, all of the small things were promptly and cleverly answered. The dream world added another layer to the usual creepy suspense that Moffat's best work features, and it is very conducive to his style of writing. The scenes with the dream crabs are fittingly suspenseful, particularly the scene with Clara under the table, which also reminded me of one scene from Aliens.

Towards the end where the "crab-head" versions of themselves attack, it was reminiscent of various other Doctor Who adventures where slow zombie-like creatures lumber towards the adventures. However, the somewhat derivativeness of the scene is not all bad, since it was still decently suspenseful and served to move the plot along. 

Oddly enough, no seemed to care that the old guy actually died. They all had their happy moment on Santa's sleigh, but no one seemed to really like the guy anyway. 

After seemingly escaping the dream crabs' clutches, the Doctor and Clara reunite with a surprise twist. Clara is older, much older. Unfortunately, the makeup for her old-age is not that great. It is not terrible by TV standards, but it still could have been better. 

Having avoided most of the press about whether or not Coleman was returning for another season, the episode almost made me think that this might be her last adventure with the Doctor, so the scenes with her older self were both unexpected and actually rather good. Thankfully, as revealed at the end, Coleman is returning in "The Magician's Apprentice" next year.

As for the supporting cast, Faye Marsay as Shona McCullough is rather fun as she bordered on annoying, but never actually became a hindrance to the story. In fact, her banter with Nick Frost's Santa is rather good. 

Nick Frost as Santa is a lot of fun! He does not receive as much screen time as expected, but he makes the most of it, and the revelation that Santa is a construct of the dreamers' minds to lead them out of the dream world is very clever and Inception-y.

In the end, "Last Christmas" accomplished exactly what it needed to do, bring the Doctor and Clara back together after the fallout of the season finale, and it did so in a smartly written Christmas adventure.

Overall: 9.3/10- Eerie, mind-bending, and wonderfully whimsical, "Last Christmas" combines the best aspects of Doctor Who with a decent Christmas message to create one amazing Christmas special. 

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Middle-Earth Travel Video

With the Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies being released in theaters a couple of weeks ago, Air New Zealand released several safety video featuring a few familiar faces from Middle Earth. For a safety video, this is very amusing, especially with all of the Middle Earth references and epic scenery. 

The video aside, going to New Zealand is on my geeky buck-list, even if it is incredibly unlikely any time in the near future. Come on, who would not want to visit the permanent Shire that was built as well as look upon the various sights and vistas featured in the Lord of the Rings films!? 

On a sidenote, hopefully, I will get to watch and review the new Hobbit film sooner rather than later. Due to various reasons, including a regional flu pandemic (thanks CDC for screwing that up), I have not been able to see it yet. Also, I have decided to avoid all reviews for the film until after watching it, so if I have not commented on your review yet, that is because I am waiting until after I watch the movie. Please be sure to check back tomorrow for my review of the Doctor Who Christmas special and Tuesday for my review of the Desolation of Smaug Extended Edition.

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Fall Anime Review: In Search of the Lost Future

My review of the fall's anime continues with Ushinawareta Mirai wo Motomete, aka In Search of the Lost Future. 

Ushinawareta Mirai wo Motomete (In Search of the Lost Future)

If you remember from first impression of Ushinawareta Mirai wo Motomete (In Search of the Lost Future), it was the one anime that I was on the borderline about whether or not to continue watching it, and in the end, deciding to stay with the series was the right decision.

In Search of the Lost Future follows a high school astronomy club as they live out their everyday lives. In the first episode, the series shows various events that the group did in the school year with it ending with the heroine, Kaori, confessing her love to the main protagonist, Sou Akiyama. After giving an indecisive answer, Kaori walks home, where something happens, which ends with her in a coma with no sign of recovery. 

In episode two, the series appears to reset time going back to the beginning of the first episode, except there is one difference; Sou finds a mysterious girl, Yui Furukawa, passed out in a room. Where did she come from? Why did time reset? And why is Yui here? Those are the questions that arise, and are eventually answered in the series.

In the following 11 episodes, the series follows the astronomy club going through their typical day to day life as the mystery behind Yui is slowly revealed. 

If there is one genre that will make me watch something regardless of how poorly a story starts out, it has to be the Time-travel genre. From Doctor Who to Steins;Gate, I love time-travel stories, which is the only reason that I continued to watch In Search of the Lost Future.

As for the quality of In Search of the Lost Future, it is not the best. The first half of the series meanders along with various typical slice-of-life type stories with only a very faint semblance of a cohesive story. While not always evident, aspects to the overall story are revealed slowly in those episodes, but the first half seems to be largely focused on establishing the characters. Even though one or two of the characters are likable, they are mostly rather clichéd and typical, and honestly, those early episodes were barely tolerable at times, although that is largely due to the animation.

However, in the second half of the series, or rather the last five episodes, the plot actually starts to kick in. Ushinawareta finally begins to explain various things that have been set up earlier in the series. However, where the series shines is in its variation on the principles of time-travel. While not entirely original, certain elements are somewhat unique and the resolution to the story is relatively unexpected. However, unless you are a time-travel enthusiast like me, that aspect will likely not be to entertain for you.

Studio Feel's animation is the series' weakest aspect. While Feel's previous work, Outbreak Company, Locodol, and Jinsei, all had rather pleasant animation, In Search of the Lost Future's animation is sorely lacking. In the two episodes, it attempts to use an awkward blend of 2D and 3D animation for the character models to disastrous effect. Of the fall, no anime was uglier. Thankfully, after the first few episodes, the animation shifts back to the typical 2D animation for the most part, and while it was a bit subpar, it was not unwatchable.

In Search of the Lost Future is an anime with an incredibly rough start. However, it redeems itself due to the strong conclusion and exploration of time-travel theories. Due to said slow start, recommending the series is not easy, unless you have already seen other time-travel anime, like Steins;Gate and are in desperate need of more.

Watch if you like: Time-Travel,

*6.2/10*

Please be sure to check back next week for more fall anime reviews.

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Fall Anime Review: Terra Formars

The fall anime season is coming to a close, and many of the season's anime have already concluded their run, so it is time to look back and review each of the anime that I watched this season, which is 32 anime, including a few shorts. Unlike my summer anime reviews, my fall reviews are not in order of worst to best, but rather whichever anime that happened to finish soon enough for me to review, since several anime have yet to finish their run. Another change is that since some anime require more than a brief 500 word review, but less than a full in-depth review, several of my longer reviews will be posted solo on the weekends, in addition to the multiple review posts during weekdays. Hopefully that makes sense, so without further ado; here is my review of Terra Formars to kick off my fall anime reviews.

Terra Formars

Terra Formars takes place 500 years in the future where earth attempts to make Mars habitable by introducing various chemicals, mold, and the most indestructible creature on earth, the common cockroach. After 500 years of mutation due to the chemicals, and possibly other mysterious reasons, the once benign cockroaches are now humanoid killing machines. To assess the situation on Mars, genetically altered soldiers and scientists are sent to investigate. Each of the members of the expedient has an ability based on the attributes of various insects and animals. 

As you might remember in my seasonal impression,Terra Formars got off to a rough start with absurd amounts of censorship that nearly ruined the series. Thankfully, after viewer uproar, the uncensored cut of the early episodes were released for a limited time on Crunchyroll, and the later episodes were animated in a way avoided censorship most of the censorship, so that the action was still intense. 

My favorite aspect of Terra Formars is the concept. Using attributes based on animal and bug powers, yet actually take the story seriously, is not something that I have seen before. It seems like something that would make a killer video game, and as antagonists, the Terra Formars are imposing and almost terrifying at times.

Aside from the concept, Terra Formars did a few other things well. In Terra Formars, anyone can and will die, so the action sequences have consequences, and the action sequences themselves are intense and use smart strategy and tactics to win. Lastly, many of the episodes focus on a single character, or a small group of them, with flashbacks to earth and to show what they are fighting for. Not all of the backstories are compelling; however, several of them did succeed in making the audience care about the character to a degree. Also, in terms of personal entertainment, the series was worth rewatching when the uncensored cuts were released on Crunchyroll, and I almost never rewatch anything.

Terra Formars is Liden Films' first series, and while they seemed to have had trouble with their style at first, as the series progressed, the art style proved to be rather unique. The character designs are more realistic, which lends itself well to the serious seinen tone of the anime. With a higher budget, Liden Films could have a promising future in the seinen genre. Also, the opening song, "Amazing Break," is just awesome.

One issue with Terra Formars is that the series starts around the middle of the manga, at least that is what others say, so the characters reference some things that happened in the past, and yet anime only viewers do not really know what they are referring to. However, before the series aired, there was an OVA about the previous mission to Mars. Currently, it is unlicensed, so you have to watch it in fansub, but I do highly recommend that you watch the OVA before watching the main series.

Terra Formars' biggest problem is that the series ends with, what is essentially, a "to be continued," almost as if a second season in already in the works. Maybe we will be getting a second season, which I will definitely watch, because the concept of Terra Formars is fantastic, even if the series did not entirely deliver. Until a second season is announced, or if you are okay with a "read the manga" ending, Terra Formars is difficult to recommend. However, if you are like me and enjoy the action, concept, and characters, despite the lack of conclusion, then give Terra Formars a watch.

Watch if you like: Sci-fi, Action, Thrillers, Terra Formars' concept,

*7.3/10*

Please check back tomorrow for more fall anime reviews.

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas!

Never forget the true meaning of Christmas.

Merry Christmas and God bless you.

Christmas Music Playlist

Merry Christmas eve everyone, today's post is about Christmas music. Basically, these are various Christmas songs that I enjoy. These songs are not in any order, and extra commentary is not really necessary. Also, generally, my favorite versions of Christmas songs are by the classic musicians like Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole. Please comment below with your favorite Christmas songs.

"White Christmas"

"Jingle Bells"

"Joy to the World"

"Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"

"Jingle Bell Rock"

"The First Noel"

"Silent Night"

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Six Christmas Movies

Merry Christmas everyone! Christmas is upon us yet again, and as always, it is time to discuss my favorite Christmas movies. Unlike my previous Christmas movie posts, this is not a list, but rather several Christmas themed movies that are worth your time. Also, with the exception of a couple of movies, I plan to keep my thoughts on each movie short and concise, because I have already said plenty about each film in the past and because this is not a list. Also, while some of these movies are true Christmas movies, others have more of a Christmas setting.

It's a Wonderful Life

It's a Wonderful Life is the quintessential Christmas film; it there more that needs to be said?

Elf

As far as true Christmas films, Elf is my personal favorite. I will watch it at least once every other Christmas.

Home Alone

Of all the films on this post, Home Alone is the one that I have seen the most. From a critically standpoint, Home Alone might not a "great" film, but as a movie with a lot of personal nostalgia attached to it, I enjoy it.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Another hilarious Christmas film, National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is my favorite entry in the Vacation series, and one of favorite comedies in general.

Die Hard

As it has been argued for many years, Die Hard is not exactly a Christmas movie since you can watch outside of the Christmas season, yet it is set on Christmas and it has Christmas music, it can still be argued as a Christmas film. Regardless of what you think about the movie, it is a classic action movie and one of my favorites.

The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya is a sequel film to The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya television series, which is also highly recommended. Like Die Hard, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya does not center on Christmas, but rather taking place in the winter around Christmas, like. Of all the films on this list, The Disappearance is easily my favorite film; it is a near perfect mystery character drama. If you missed my review of The Disappearance, you can click here to read it. Another anime Christmas film that people often list is Tokyo Godfathers. 

What Christmas films are your favorites? Do you like any of the ones that I have listed? Please comment and let me know, and check back tomorrow for more Christmas content.

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.

Transformers: Age of Extinction Review

Transformers: Age of Extinction, yet another Transformers movie, and now it follows a new character, Cade Yeager, played by Mark Wahlberg.

In the aftermath of the previous movie, Age of Extinction takes place five years later with the Transformers, including Autobots, being hunted down by the government. What follows is the typical Michael Bay plot of explosions and action sequences.

By now, you should know exactly what to expect from a Transformers movie. Even though most critics hate the Transformers movies, it still manages to make a billion dollars worldwide. Why does a movie like this keep making so much money? For one, it is mostly from outside of North America, but the main reason is that the masses know what to expect: dumb action and explosions. I have never seen a Transformers movie in theaters, because they are just not good enough to spend that much money on, but for a rental, it is worth it. What confuses me is that why do people that hated the previous movies still go watch it in the theaters? Why contribute to something that you dislike so much, and something that you know that you will hate? It is a wide spread case masochism!?

Directed by: Michael Bay

Genre: Action, Sci-Fi,

Release Date: June 27, 2014

Running Time: 165 minutes

MMPA rating: PG-13

The Good: EXPLOSIONS!, Fun action sequences, Mostly entertaining, Mark Wahlberg, Stanley Tucci is mostly funny, 

The Bad: So many dumb moments, Plot holes, One annoying character in the beginning, Nameless new Autobots, Overly long (in the theater),

Plot: 3.1/10- As with most Transformers movie plots, there isn't much of one, and the one that is there is full of holes and incomprehensible at times. In Transformers movies, the plot is almost not necessary, so you basically have to turn off your brain to enjoy it. All things considered, a few of the plot twists are not bad. 

The one problem that is cited in almost every review is that the movie is too long, and that is true to a certain degree. Yes, the movie is 165 minutes and not all of that time is necessary. However, when watching it at home, where you can take a break, get something to eat, ect. the length is not as noticeable, but if you did watch it in the theaters, then it probably felt like an eternity at times.

Characterization: 4.5/10- Cade Yeager is actually not a bad character. Making a Mark Wahlberg play a relatively smart inventor, which is somewhat against type, worked out for the best. The character’s best aspect comes from him being a father, and some of the family dynamic with his daughter, Tessa, work surprisingly well. Unfortunately, Tessa can be very annoying at times, particularly the scenes with her boyfriend, Shane, who is mostly a throwaway character.  

A character introduced later in the movie, Joshua Joyce, is surprisingly entertaining to watch, and he even has some form of development. 

As for the Autobots and other Transformers, they are forgettable in name, even if the designs are cool. Aside from the main two, Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, the rest of the Autobots look cool and have fun personality traits, but their names are so rarely mentioned, if at all, it is frustrating! 

The main antagonist, Lockdown, is a typical villain doing villainy things for villainy reasons. He had some cool moments though.

Lastly, the Dinobots, and as expected, they are basically an afterthought to cash in on the nostalgia of the viewers.

Action: 8.0/10- The action is Transformers main draw, and while not exceptional, it is exactly what you come to expect: explosions! All of the set pieces are big and over-the-top with quite a bit of slow motion. Nothing in the action direction is original, but it is not bad either.

Acting: 5.4/10- Mark Wahlberg does a surprisingly good job with the material that he was given. He has a natural likability about him that made his character likable enough. Even though Stanley Tucci is given some terrible dialogue at times, he manages to make his role entertaining to watch. Kelsey Grammer goes full clichéd government bad guy as he phones in the role. The rest of the cast ranges from forgettable to occasionally annoying, like Nicola Peltz.

Special effects: 7.5/10- At times, particularly the opening scenes, the special effects seemed to be lacking, while other times they looked fine. Considering the money this franchise makes, you would think that the special effects would be the best of the best, but I suppose it would make money regardless of what Bay does.

Soundtrack: 5.0/10- Steve Jablonsky's score is the type of soundtrack that neither adds nor detracts from the movie, hence my rating, because it is entirely forgettable.

Humor: 7.6/10- As with most Michael Bay movies, his humor is hit or miss, which is heavily dependent on your taste in humor. For me, it made me laugh, even if the humor was not clever at all.

Entertainment Value: 7.9/10- Entertainment is what Transformers delivers on best, and that is what is delivers yet again. It is utterly stupid throughout, but it is still entertaining, providing you did not pay more than a couple of dollars to watch it. One notable negative is that the movie does drag in places.

Overall: 6.3/10- Full of explosions, action, and plot holes, Transformers: Age of Extinction is everything that you have come to expect in a Transformers movie. If you did not like the previous ones, then why the heck would you watch this one? 

Closing comments: What baffles me about the Transformers movie is that people pay to see them, knowing full well what to expect after the first two, and yet they are still angry about paying to see it when they end up hating it. 

Recommended for: If you liked the previous Transformers movies,

Click here to check out more of my movie reviews.

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Legend of Korra: Series Finale Review

The Legend of Korra's one hour series finale has arrived, and as sad as it is to see the series come to a close, the finale does not disappoint.

*Full Spoilers Ahead*

Team Avatar Assemble!

Wow, The Legend of Korra has finally come to an end. Even though the season as a whole has not been the best, the two-part series finale, titled "Day of the Colossus" and "The Last Stand," raises both the scale and the stakes to a entirely different level. Each season finale of Korra has gone bigger and more grand with each season finale, and nothing tops this final battle with Korra and everyone working together to defeat Kuvira's giant mecha, which the characters actually refer to as a "mecha." As stated in an insightful article on Forbes.com, which you can read here, , Korra's finales demonstrate a mastery of escalation, with each one having bigger stakes and a grander scale.

The first 20 minutes are, essentially, one giant action set piece that rivals most of Hollywood and even Japanese animation! Seeing everyone work together reminds me of The Avengers in scale, and it is truly amazing to witness. From the Airbenders attack to Korra using the four elements, the entire assault culminated with the most impression action sequence in the franchise’s history.

With so much going on, someone had to die, and even though it was not one of the main cast, killing off Asami's father, Hiroshi, aka Hayao Miyazaki, was a satisfying choice, after the series set up his possible redemption previously in the series. The emotional impact of Hiroshi’s death was relatively effective, although Mako’s death-experience should have ended with him actually dying, instead of Bolin saving him. Mako is a decent character, and he is the perfect character to kill off since the fandom will not rage over his death, but rather his noble sacrifice would have made up for his romantic troubles that the fandom still seems to hate him for. 

In the episode, there was only a small issue: Prince Wu. Yep, he has plagued the entire season, and while he has certainly had his moments, his singing was not necessary, or at least not so much of it. However, the use of Badgermoles did remind of the Avatar episode "The Cave of Two Lovers."

Varrick's proposal to Zhu Li's and their marriage towards the end of the episode is both a satisfying end to their relationship, and classic way to end a comedy play in old literature. However, I was a bit surprised that Bolin read them their vows, although there is nothing like a preacher in the Avatar. Also, Varrick asking Zhu Li to "do the thing" with him was a decidedly Varrick way to propose.

Kuvira's final scene with Korra is a relatively satisfying way to end her dictatorial reign, although her villainy was kind of undermined in that scene. As a whole, Kuvira has been an excellent antagonist in the series, who ranks among the best in the franchise. As Korra said, there are some similarities between Kuvira and Korra, but they took different paths to reach the same goal. An antagonist mirroring the hero is not uncommon, but it is executed well in this final episode.

To end the series, Korra and Asami's friendship concludes with them going on an adventure to the Spirit World. In a way, their friendship reminds me a lot of Frodo and Sam in the Lord of the Rings, especially the book version, in that have been through so much together in their adventures that they just want to take a vacation. You do not often see, what many like to call, a "bromance," or rather "sismance," with two female characters, especially in an action/fantasy franchise, so what The Legend of Korra has done is great. Generally, The Legend of Korra is a series that features a predominantly female cast, and yet it never feels as though it is trying to force a message or leaving out the male audience. 

Overall 10/10- The Legend of Korra concludes the series in epic fashion. While it does not throw in many twists, it provides a fitting send off to our favorite characters with themes that come full circle to a more than satisfying conclusion. In the end, The Legend of Korra had its flaws; however, when it delivered, it did so in spades, especially in the finales, and no finale is more epic and satisfying than this one. In fact, as far as series finales go, this might just be the best...

If you are a Legend of Korra fan that is looking for something to fill the void, I highly recommend that you watch Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and you can read my review for that series by clicking here for part one, and here for part two.

WHY DOES IT HAVE TO BE OVER!

If you want to contact us or have any questions please send an e-mail to johnstarslayer@gmail.com.