Mental Labyrinth

[mindlaby]

Every Hero Needs a Heroine: Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki Episode 3 Review

What’s the best part about playing a video game? The story? The action? The achievements? Eight years ago, I began indulging myself in the world of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Links. Every day, I would become obsessed with accomplishing each task in order to advance to the next stage. Despite the fun of it, every now and then, I would wake up to the fact that I was only accomplishing virtual achievements in…

View On WordPress

[mindlaby]

Sword Art Online Episode 17 Review

Two months have passed since Kirito cleared the game of Sword Art Online. Most of the players managed to log out, but 300 of the survivors are still trapped in their NerveGear. No one knows why. Asuna is one of them. Kirito visited her hospital room, where he learned that she is to be wedded off to a man with distasteful desires. Sugou Nobuyuki, Asuna’s groom-to-be, forbids Kirito from returning…

View On WordPress

[mindlaby]

Silent Karaoke: Yu-Gi-Oh! Chapter 3 Review

I’m no expert on superhero comics, but from the movies and TV shows that I have seen, there seems to be a general pattern between them. The pattern goes like this: an ordinary person gets superpowers and uses them to fight criminals, then a criminal organization creates or hires super villains to fight the superhero so they can continue their crime spree, and that cycle goes on for eternity. When…

View On WordPress

[mindlaby]

The Bouncy, Bubbly Minami: Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki Episode 2 Review

Fumiya Tomozaki is an ace gamer in the digital world, but a bottom-tier character in real life. His favorite game is called Takfam, which is an obvious parody of Super Smash Brothers. One day, while playing Takfam online, a familiar player with the username NONAME asks Tomozaki if he wants to meet in person. When he does, he is surprised to discover that the true identity of NONAME is none other…

View On WordPress

[mindlaby]

Sword Art Online Aincrad Arc Review

Sword Art Online is probably one of the most polarizing anime of all time. Everyone who has seen it seems to absolutely love it or downright despise it, nothing in between. The first time I heard about Sword Art Online was way back in 2015 when one of my friends who was obsessed with anime, told me about one where a group of gamers get trapped in a video game, and if they die in the game, they…

View On WordPress

[mindlaby]

The Impossible Die Roll: Yu-Gi-Oh! Chapter 2 Review

Source: https://bato.to/title/160577-yu-gi-oh-coloured-version-japanese When you hear the word “Yu-Gi-Oh!” what are the first things that come to your mind. Monsters? Card games? Ancient Egyptian Pharaohs possessing the body of a 14-year old boy? Would you believe me if I told you that there was a time in Yu-Gi-Oh!’s history when the series had nothing to do with card games? The title…

View On WordPress

[mindlaby]

To the World Tree: Sword Art Online Episode 16 Review

Two months have passed since Kirito defeated Kayaba Akahiko and cleared the game of Sword Art Online. Of the 6,147 survivors, 5,847 of them successfully logged out and uplugged themselves from their NerverGear. However, the remaining 300 have yet to wake up, and no one knows why. Asuna is one of them. Kirito visited Asuna’s hospital room where he learned the terrifying truth that Asuna is to be…

View On WordPress

[mindlaby]

Yu-Gi-Oh! Before Card Games: Yu-Gi-Oh! Chapter 1 Review

Author’s Note: This is a remastered version of an article published on July 9, 2020. I was introduced to the world of Yu-Gi-Oh! through the English dub of the Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters anime (titled Yu-Gi-Oh! in the US). Most people born in the 90’s could probably say the same thing, although I didn’t get into the franchise when it first came out back in 2001. My earliest memories of Yu-Gi-Oh! are…

View On WordPress

[mindlaby]

Into the Fire: Dragon Ball Chapter 11-12 Review

In the last chapter of Dragon Ball, our heroes Goku, Bulma, and Oolong managed to fight off the threats of the desert bandit Yamcha, and his sidekick Pu’ar. Little do they know, Yamcha planted a tracking device in their car. Now he just has to wait until our heroes gather all seven dragon balls, and then he can swipe them from their grasp. With five dragon balls now in their possession, Goku,…

View On WordPress

[mindlaby]

The Infamous Fairy Dance Arc Begins: Sword Art Online Episode 15 Review

Author’s note: Crunchyroll recently changed their subtitles to display Japanese names as [Surname] [Given Name] instead of [Given Name] [Surname] in order to more accurately represent Japanese language and culture. Henceforth, I shall follow suit in my reviews. Names that I have previously displayed as “Akahiko Kayaba” will now be displayed as “Kayaba Akahiko”. So, originally, I was planning on…

View On WordPress

[mindlaby]

Happy SAO Clear Day!

“As of 14:55, November 7, the game has been cleared.”

View On WordPress

[mindlaby]

Yo-Yugi: Yu-Gi-Oh! Chapter 48-49 Review

Yu-Gi-Oh! is a franchise that is inseparable from a trading card game, but originally, it was a manga series that paid tribute to gaming in general. The manga’s creator, Kazuki Takahashi, would alternate between showcasing a game that was created on the spot and a parody of a real-life game. In Chapters 9-10, the main characters play a game called Magic and Wizards, which is a parody of the…

View On WordPress

[mindlaby]

The Ultimate God-Tier Game: Bottom-Tier Character Tomozaki Episode 1 Review

Those who have been following my blog for the past couple of years will know that I have been reviewing the first arc of Sword Art Online – the iconic story of a boy and a girl falling in love within a video game where dying in the game means dying for real. I’ve been a fan of this story for about 7 years now, but ever since then, I have noticed a few stories that have followed this formula – a…

View On WordPress

[mindlaby]

The Terrifying Dragon Cards: Yu-Gi-Oh! Chapter 46-47 Review

Yugi plays an ancient Chinese game called Dragon Cards in order to win back his Millennium Puzzle.

Yugi, Jonouchi, and Anzu are visiting Grandpa’s game shop, where Grandpa Muto is showing them a game from ancient Egypt, when an unexpected visitor arrives. Yugi recognizes him as Imori from his class. Imori has come to the Kame Game shop to get a game from his family’s collection identified. The game, which he is holding in his arms, was obtained by his grandfather when he was in Manchuria…

View On WordPress

[mindlaby]

The King Hyena in a Land of Scavengers: Dragon Ball Chapter 7-8 Review

When Bulma loses her Hoi-Poi capsules, our heroes must travel through the desert on foot, but will they manage to survive against the desert bandit Yamcha?

In the last chapter of Dragon Ball, our heroes, Goku and Bulma, acquired their fifth dragon ball and met Oolong, the shape-shifting pig, who is joining them on their adventure, but will his shape-shifting abilities actually prove to be useful? Goku, Bulma, and Oolong are riding a motor boat down a river when Bulma announces their next stop will be Fry-Pan Mountain. “What?! Fry-Pan Mountain!…

View On WordPress

[mindlaby]

The Final Boss: Sword Art Online Episodes 13-14 Review

Author’s note: This review contains major spoilers for the Aincrad arc of Sword Art Online. It has now been 2 weeks since Kirito and Asuna began their honeymoon. Today, Kirito is sitting at the edge of a lake trying to catch a fish, but it seems that his fishing skill isn’t high enough to catch anything. A local fisherman sits down next to Kirito and fishes along side him. He introduces himself…

[mindlaby]

The Terrifying Card Bomber: Yu-Gi-Oh! Chapter 45 Review

View On WordPress