#concept review

[concept-reviews]

Yama-Con 2017!!

    We were so fortunate to be able to attend a great anime convention in Pigeon Forge this year! This convention, called Yama-Con, is an anime convention that is a medium size, though one of the biggest in our area. It is about a four and a half hour drive from Louisville, KY, but it was absolutely worth it. It occurred on December 1st-3rd, which was an inconvenient time due to finals, but we missed it last year so we had to go.

    There were many great driving aspects of this con that made us initially want to go. First and foremost is that it is an anime convention in December, which is not very usual. There aren’t competing cons and it is reasonably close to most cities in the Midwest. Another is the history of the con. They have several years under their belt, which means that they have a good fan base and are a reasonable size. Lastly, they had an awesome list of events. They brought in great guests and even had concerts. We didn’t look into it too much more and allowed the rest to be a surprise.

    This venue was beautiful and very conducive to this event. It was held at the Leconte Center. It had lots of big open spaces, some food booths and wonderful parking. It was so easy to get to and there were no lines! We like not having lines. In addition to this, the parking was free!! That doesn’t happen often so we were excited that we could leave for lunch and come back without having to pay again. Buying tickets was fast and easy and they were a super fair price for what you got.

    Now onto the good stuff, the content. Boy oh boy was there content. Now we love the vendors and they had plenty of them. We bought figures, plushes and games galore. They had some really great booths for all of things you could ever want to buy. The artists were a bit lacking, but we are picky with the artists that we support. There were a few that were outstanding, but none that we wanted to fully support. Now, the great thing about this convention is that there was so much more to do than just buy things, which is what a lot of cons focus on. They had a large area for playing video games, such as Smash or Mortal Kombat. They even had competitions you could enter. The best part though were the arcade games. We aren’t talking Pac-man here, but we are talking about these awesome Japanese games! The Japanese love beat games and they had a bunch of them that were so much fun to play. We spend several hours there. They also had a card store that held some Pokemon and other card game tournaments. There was plenty to do!

    The guests were another great thing about this con. They had many big name voice actors and bands. We were the most excited for Eyeshine, which was started by Johnny Yong Bosch. We were able to meet them and get them to sign some CDs. Not only that, but they also held an amazing concert that night as well! It was such a great time, but unfortunately it was their last concert. However, look for music from Where Giants Fall, which is a new band that Johnny is starting. The guest events were really well put together and felt very personal. Obviously there were lines to meet them, but they moved quickly and in a logical order.

    Honestly, this was one of the best conventions we have been to in a while. They had a lot of great things a big con would have, without the overbearing crowds. Plenty for everyone to do even if you don’t want to spend a whole lot of money. Obviously they still have a lot of growth potential in the future but we will absolutely be attending next year. The only suggestions that we have is to continue seeking artists to bring in some more people and just keep maintaining that feel good atmosphere that makes everyone feel welcome. Everyone was so friendly. Please check this one out and consider attending next year!! We know that we will.

Artists: 7

Vendors: 8

Panels: 8

Parking: 10

Wait/ Crowd Control: 9

Guests: 8

Personality: 10

Events: 10

Overall: 9

Honestly, we cannot tell you how amazing this experience was. If you want to go to an anime convention, please go to this one. Next year we will do a guide a few weeks before to let you know where you should stay and what to do!

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[concept-reviews]

Review: Death Note: Live Action

In case you were not aware, the popular anime and manga Death Note was turned into a live action movie through Netflix. We watched this film and have though long and hard about this movie. Not necessarily about what to review, but to try and find something positive. Even in a perfect movie (like Your Name) there is always something they could have done better. The opposite holds true for bad movies. This is one of those cases where it was just very difficult to find positive things. We will get into it.

It is very hard to condense an entire anime into a movie that is one hour and forty minutes, we get that. This usually means some weird variation of the plot or just cutting massive pieces out. Both of there were true for Death Note. The characters were nothing like the characters they were based on. Watari played a much larger role, one we weren’t really interested in. It seemed like a lot of time was wasted on side characters, while completely ignoring the main plot. L and Light were both very boring actors who did not seem to act very naturally. Nothing in these characters made me believe them or engaged me in their world. Light and Mia have sex while killing people, which should speak for itself (it’s weird as heck). The best character, as it was in the manga, is Ryuk. They did a really cool job on his animation and we really loved the actor playing him. The problem is that they spent so much of their budget animating him that they could only show his face a couple times and then keep his body totally black the rest of the time. Poor acting and terrible character development helped nothing.

To make matters worse, the plot, setting, music and everything else didn’t really do anything to help. It was set in Seattle, yet still tried very hard to be affiliated with the source material. Again, we get that they have to take creative liberties in making a live action film, but this was just so bad. The “plot twists” were not very interesting and left you asking why the director decided to do this. They tried to add their own sort of creative liberties with the film, but they all fell very short. Some films are so bad that they are really funny to laugh at, but not Death Note. Death Note is so bad that it makes you wish it were never made. We struggled to make it all the way through the film and will never be watching it again. We wish there was more to review, but all of it at the same stench of disappointment and lack of creativity. The characters (which are always our favorite part of a film) were so bland or abstract that they made the watcher just question why they were made that way. There is little motivation behind any of them and no decent development. If you are desperately in need of a movie to watch, we would never recommend this to you. In fact, this is our least favorite movie in recent memory. Avoid at all cost, even though Ryuk is cool.

 Overall Rating: 1/10

[concept-reviews]

Review: No Game No Life Zero

Boy oh boy. We have waited such a long time for more content from the No Game No Life world. If you haven’t seen No Game No Life (or read our review of it) we strongly suggest that you do. From Madhouse, we now have gotten a movie! This movie showed in theaters last week subbed and dubbed through Fathom events and we were lucky enough to go see it.

This film is meant to be a prequel to the show. It describes how Tet became the One True god of the world and its history. We weren’t exactly sure what to expect from the film but just love the series so we had to go see it. The story starts off with a human boy and describes the struggles humans have in a world full of magic. He eventually meets an Ex-Machina, who is a machine girl. They work together to fight and attempt to change the world as they know it. If you haven’t read the light novels for No Game No Life, then don’t worry. The movie does a great job explaining this backstory and follows it pretty well. Although we really want the series to continue, it was great to have some for content from this universe.

Now as we bet you can tell, this film is heavily dependent on character interaction. There is plenty of action for you battle freaks out there, but relationships take center stage here. Although this sometimes makes for a very boring film, this one did it beautifully. It started off a little slow and boring, but it picked up around the thirty minute mark. Once it started, it never stopped (until it ended, of course). These two very different characters were fully developed and their relationship just flowed so smoothly. Characters were on point.

Now something we loved about the series is the uniquely bright art style and music. This movie was done differently, but for a really great reason. The movie is all about the war before Tet became god. It was a very dark and bleak time, which the art style did a great job representing. Parts still had that great color we know and love, but when it needed to be dark, it was definitely dark. The music complemented the art really well too. There was a more eerie sound when it was about to go down, but still a lot of upbeat music too. The music and art both did a great job complementing the animation and the story.

The worst part of this movie was the Fathom events though. For some reason, there was a special interview at the beginning. We aren’t opposed to this, but this one was really stupid. It was an interview with the English voice actors which wasn’t relevant to us because we watched the movie subbed. It also talked a lot about the characters and gave away some bits from the movie which we didn’t want at all. It took us TWENTY minutes to get through it and just made us upset. If anything it would have been more appropriate after the movie.

Overall, it was a wonderful movie. We are so glad that No Game No Life is back and cannot wait for the series to continue. Although Fathom events killed the mood a bit, it was still a fantastic movie. Great action, great characters, amazing art and a story that left a big impact on us even after the film. It started off a little bit slow, but we are super glad that they made the movie and that it was done so well.

Rating: 8

[concept-reviews]

Review: Thor Ragnarok

             A third Thor movie? Really? Yeah, that’s what we thought too when we first heart the news of the most recent Marvel movie. The first two were alright, but not the strongest of the Marvel movies, in our opinion. And yet going into it, we heard some really good things. We were skeptical at first, but boy do we love to be surprised by just how well a movie can be.

              To give a basic run down of this movie, it is about, you guessed it, yet another big bad trying to destroy everything. This time, it is the sister of Thor whose name is Hela. Hela comes back and is hellbent on destroying all of Asgard. In the midst of all of this, Thor gets sent to an alien world where he meets up with the Hulk and it put in a battle against his friend. We don’t want to go too into the depths of the plot since you can see it for yourself, but do know that we get to experience a lot of new worlds and new characters throughout this movie.

              This is a fantastic film. We just wanted to say that right off the bat. As far as the story goes, it was an awesome film in ways that we didn’t expect. Our favorite parts were those that were seemed like small additions to the film. They made amazing references to other films and made sooo many good jokes. It was genuinely a joy to watch, just like most of the Marvel movies recently. Marvel has done an increasingly better job, which is really impressive. Not only is the story amazingly entertaining, the characters are also great. Loki is back and we get to see his relationship with Thor! This brings back some awesome characterization and relationship growth. Hulk is back and is actually a very different character than he was before. This is kind of weird, but also makes for some very funny bits. Hela is a cool character, though she doesn’t seem as fleshed out as she could have been. We even get to see Heimdall, Skurge and the introduction of Valkyrie as well! But the best character by far is Korg. There are not enough words to describe why he is simply the best thing ever. He is just the best. Plus Jeff Goldblum is in this. Nuff said.

              The art for this film was really cool to watch too. It varied from the bright colors in Planet Hulk to the shine of Asgard to the fiery dpeths of Hel. This variation was masterfully done. The music, as always, is beautiful and fits well with the feel of the film. This film had a very light hearted feel to it, something very different than the second film. It is so very different, and yet a nice change. Since this is the last one until Infinity War, it is a nice feel. Infinity War will probably be much darker.

              Our biggest problem with this movie was really just with Hela and the final fight with her. She seemed like a cool character with some real motivation behind her. However, it seemed like they used her to do the exact opposite of her motives. She didn’t make a whole lot of sense from that perspective. Also, we were a little let down by the final fight. We won’t give anything away, but it was fairly light in comparison to some other battles we have seen. It was kind of a clever end to the film to wrap it all up, but the rest of the movie didn’t really support the end. It almost felt like Planet Hulk and Ragnarok were two separate stories in one. We loved the Planet Hulk part so much. Almost all of the film followed this “side story” and yet we still ended with the fight against Hela. Some super cool stuff still happens at the end, but we were still let down by the Hela as a whole. She had so much potential.

           This was such a good movie despite the slight let down of Hela. We highly suggest that you give this one a try and prepare for the awesomeness that Infinity War will be!!

Rating: 9 Goldblums out of a possible 10 Goldblums

[concept-reviews]

Ohio Renaissance Festival

This “convention” is different than ones we have reviewed in the past, but it still fits the cuff. In case you aren’t familiar with what a Ren Fest is, this is an event celebrating the renaissance period in history. Full of swords, corsets, turkey legs and wonder. It lets you teleport back in time for a day and enjoy history. This particular festival is located about forty miles north of Cincinnati, OH which is a pretty reasonable drive and very worth it if you can make the trip.

This kind of event greatly depends on what you make of it. You can just walk around if you want to, but you will definitely get a whole lot more out of it if you participate. That can mean different things for different people. In case you have never been to a Ren Fest before, they are set up in similar ways, but all have their own personalities. Firstly, they all have a lot of vendors. These are local artists selling their pottery, jewelry or glassworks. There are even blacksmiths making swords and other metal works. It is truly impressive to see all of the time and effort they put into their craft. There are also lots of clothing places which sell any attire you might need to fit in with the times. This may be one of the only places where it is acceptable to wear a cape. And what is medieval times if there are no swords? Plenty of booths sell anything from small throwing knives to huge broad swords. They also range in price, from ones that come in a box to those that are handmade. This price range really applies to everything there; if it was handmade, it is going to a whole lot more expensive. Even the food is relevant to the times, in a way. Although there are lots of hotdogs and pizza, there are also places selling whole turkey legs and a lot of beer. We mean a lot of beer. This kind of food just further adds to the experience.

At this festival, there were also lots of shows that happen throughout the day at different stages. There were some in which we watched swordsmen fight, one where people threw knives around each other and even one that insulted people in the audience. The biggest attraction was the Mud Show, where classic plays, such as Beowulf, are reenacted in a pit of mud. All of the shows are hilarious to watch and definitely worth your time. Even when you aren’t watching a show, there are plenty of events happening. People play medieval music and dance around. The queen of the festival and here troupe parade around the event for all to see. There is always something for you to do and experience.

This was such a fun day. It is way more interactive than a typical convention and really depends on your interaction. Get into it, dress up, banter with some of the characters there and have an awesome time. We cannot express to you how much of a great experience it is. The food was great, the vendors were all very high quality and the people there really made me believe that we were in the renaissance period. We loved every one of the shows that were put on. Although it might be a couple hour drive for people in the area, it is definitely worth making the trip. The festival began the first weekend of September, but it is still around for the last few weeks in October. Each weekend also has a theme, with this past weekend being Highlands theme. There were bagpipes playing and lots of kilts which was great to see! Travel back in time for a day and be sure you each a turkey leg.

Food: 9

Vendors: 10

Shows: 9

Personality: 10

Parking and entry: 9

Overall: A pretty solid 10!

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Concept Review: A Fun Game of Brain Pain

Concept Review: A Fun Game of Brain Pain

Our Concept review: It’s a clever and loose game of modern charades for families and light gamers.

Vitals: 4-12 players, 40+ minutes, ages 10+

Summary: Concept is less a board game and more a modern take on charades. One player places tokens next to pictures on the board to guide players toward guessing the concept the player chose from her random clue card. Each picture can represent a number of…

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Childish Gambino’s “Because the Internet” Concept Review

Check out Lindsey McLemore's concept review of Childish Gambino's "Because the Internet." Learn about the album, the screenplay, and more!

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Cheers

I deserve a drink.