Sean Akizuki's Fantasy Critic

Heihachi will probably be those villains that will always be "too popular" in the eyes of the fans. Heihachi would be in the rank of the likes of fighting game villains like Shao Kahn from the  Mortal Kombat series, General Bison (General Vega in Japan) from the  Street Fighter series, and Geese Howard from the Fatal Fury series. They're all too iconic. Now, the new character Reina has the gossip flying over that she's secretly Heihachi's illegitimate daughter. However, she looks very young which may suggest that there's a significant time gap here and there. Tekken 6 reveals that Heihachi sired a half-breed son in Lars Alexanderson. Lars has the appearance of a man not so much younger than Kazuya. If Heihachi Mishima was 76 in Tekken 7 then I think he probably messed around with a much younger woman at some point. Maybe, Heihachi may have had a child of his old age. Maybe, Heihachi wanted to prove once and for all that the Devil Gene wasn't from his linea...

Source Some openings during the 1980s to 1990s cartoons can be VERY MISLEADING. Who can remember how X-Men: The Animated Series featured Juggernaut among the goons in Magneto's Mutant Terrorists then the show reveals otherwise? Who can remember the catchy jingle of Conan the Adventurer featuring Wrath-Amon as the main villain when the true villain is the serpent god Set? Who can remember Biker Mice from Mars featured Laurence Limburger as the main villain all the while he answered Lord Camembert for his LACK OF PROGRESS? She-Ra says they want to free Etheria from the evil forces of Hordak.  However, just a few episodes later, Horde Prime's name is mentioned in episode 11 "The Peril of the Whispering Woods". Horde Prime later showed up in episode 18 where the MORAL STORY doesn't match the episode . Horde Prime doesn't really show up all too often but when he does - there's some comedic effect to him showing up! Horde Prime's family tree is revealed. App...

There was the urban legend that He-Man was supposed to be a Conan toy line . It's been refuted but we can't deny the similarities. Maybe, the most obvious one is how He-Man is based on Conan and Skeletor is based on Comics Thulsa Doom. Another really creepy similarity is the birth of the Snake Mountain fortress. The Conan movie came out in 1982 and He-Man came in 1983.  Conan the Barbarian (1982) had the Movie Thulsa operate from the MOUNTAIN of Power. Movie Thulsa also had a pet wild cat. Skeletor would also have a wild cat named Panthor. Many incarnations of Skeletor operated in Snake Mountain. Apparently, both fortresses were created by hallowing several caves and the main villain operates there.  The He-Man (1983) episode had the episode "Golden Disks of Knowledge". The episode explained that Skeletor had the golden disks to create Snake Mountain. In She-Ra , it's revealed that Skeletor used to serve alongside Hordak (and therefore, answered to Horde Prime, th...

There's always this myth that the He-Man toyline was supposed to be a Conan toyline. Some say it was supposed to be cased from the Conan the Barbarian (1982) film though the blatant inspirations are taken from the COMICS. For example, it's too obvious that Skeletor is indeed a lighter version Thulsa Doom (no, NOT the Movie Thulsa Doom) as both have a skull for a head. The more subtle (or not) was when the cartoon (and the later toyline) snuck past the snakemen into the He-Man mythos.  I guess the 1983 He-Man cartoon never spared to take some notes from the movie. Skeletor's base is known as SNAKE MOUNTAIN while the 1982 movie had a base called the Mountain of Power. In the comics, Thulsa Doom was a worshiper of the great serpent god Set centuries before Thoth-Amon. One of Skeletor's minions is Kobra Khan, a member of the Reptons. The Reptons are a distant relative of the original snakemen. King Hiss NEVER made an appearance in the 1980s cartoon. King Hiss was introduced...

I did some rewatching of a few He-Man and She-Ra cartoons from the 1980s. What I failed to see was that Haim Saban and Shuky Levy provided the sound score for the cartoon. Sure, I don't like the soundtrack of Power Rangers BUT I think Saban and Levy knew what they were doing with American franchises. One of the episodes I'd like to review is "Horde Prime Takes a Holiday". It's a cool episode but ends up in a very awkward note. I guess Saturday morning cartoon villains do have to do some absurd plots, right? Horde Prime, the real main antagonist of She-Ra , calls for Hordak (who I believe is his brother) on an "important matter". Horde Prime mentions that he's going on a two-week vacation to Tropica (so the episode takes place in a span of two weeks as a timeframe). Hordak tries to weasel his way to Horde Prime's favor. I do laugh at how Horde Prime mentions Hordak's CONSTANT FAILURES like any good villain. Horde Prime talks about using the Ve...

I'm in no hurry to get a Playstation 5 or the Mortal Kombat 1 video game. I simply didn't like the idea of Shao Kahn getting reborn as General Shao. Kahn simply means ruler (usually spelled as Khan) as to why we have names like Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan. Basically, this tells us that Shao was called Shao. Maybe, Shao Kahn was once called Minister Shao back when he was Onaga's personal advisor in one of his past lives. Liu Kang caused Shao Kahn to be reincarnated into General Shao. What Liu Kang never anticipated was that General Shao would still become a traitor anyway. If one could notice, Shao has what might be BULL HORNS. Also his weapon of choice hre isn't a hammer but an AXE. This really might confirm my speculation that Shao Kahn was actually based on one character from Journey to the West namely this guy... The Bull Demon King in Journey to the West . Shao Kahn has a fondness for ramming attacks. I decided to play Mortal Kombat II via Mortal Kombat Shaolin Mon...

It's really my guilty pleasure to find Asian cultural references in Mortal Kombat . The concept of multiple timelines can actually be found in Buddhist cosmology and Liu Kang was raised by Buddhist monks. Raiden and Fujin may be Shinto names but their appearances look closer to that of Taoist gods. Raiden's Chinese counterpart would be Leigong and Fujin would be Fengbo. The Elder Gods also masquerade as serpentine Chinese dragons and the MK logo is a serpentine Chinese dragon. I can't help but bring up Onaga's possible inspiration after watching The Legend of Nezha . Nezha is a child hero who slays the four dragons. The main villain Ao Guang is a wicked dragon king who has an appetite for human children and conquering worlds. Unlike Onaga, we get to know Ao Guang had sons. Nezha performed a fatality on one of his sons Ao Bing by ripping off the latter's spine.  The lore of MK may have seemed to base Onaga on Ao Guang. All except that Onaga was one of the previous r...

One of the Easter eggs dropped in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys is that of Perseus, founder of the kingdom of Mycenae. It was mentioned in the episode "Love Takes a Holiday" that Hephaestus designed a shield for Perseus -- the one needed to help the hero slay Medusa the Gorgon. However, the messed-up origins of Perseus were never given. Sure, one can think of Perseus as a son of Zeus or one can think of the classic movie Clash of the Titans . Unlike Hercules, Hera was just too indifferent towards Perseus in the movie. Perseus' enemy in the movie was Thetis who mothered the movie-only character Calibos. Thetis in Greek mythology is the mother of Achilles. The story of Clash of the Titans has had some revisions since Pegasus was born from Medusa's blood - not having sided with Perseus. Perseus used winged sandals to fly instead and was sent on errand by King Polydectes - a wicked king who still wanted to marry Perseus' mother Danae. What was interesting was that ...

It's no secret that I have no desire to play Mortla Kombat Deception ever again. I think Onaga himself was wasted as a plot device just to show why Shao Kahn rules. Sure, I hate Hsu Hao in Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance while I felt both Mavado and Daegon had potential. The Red Dragon became wasted. Onaga is wasted. In the new timeline, Onaga is the secret mastermind of the Red Dragon clan. Yet, Onaga never returned to the video games and ends up as just another butt money. Now, I think I'm feeling sorry for Onaga even if he's a villain. It's because of how Netherrealm Studios treats the character. One crazy ending worth mentioning is Li Mei. Li Mei was just some random chick and test character. Ther ending in Deception is just far more stupid than I can think. Sure, the game's title is Deception but does everything have to be deception? Li Mei was corrupted as a result of Shang Tsung's and Quan Chi's machinations. Li Mei is restored and we get what might be ...

I guess there will always be wannabes, right? After Thundarr the Barbarian lasted for only 21 episodes - there was He-Man and the Masters of the Universe in 1981. Another cartoon that I may have fond memories of (and not so now) is Galtar and the Golden Lance . This was another show that lasted for only 21 episodes for some reason. The show created a double-bladed He-Man in Galtar. Galtar himself is aided by Goleeta and her younger brother Zorn. There was this epic opening. We had the tyrant Tormack who usurped the throne of Bandisar. It's time to restore Goleeta to her rightful place. Tormac has possession of the Sacred Shield. With both weapons - Tormack could conquer beyond Bandisar and maybe the entire world. As a child, I always waited for that episode where Galtar will get both and finish off Tormac. Years later, I decided to Google and find out, "WUT?" Should I be surprised that the show got canceled after 21 episodes? I really find it a bummer was that the show ne...

Back in the 1990s - there was another cartoon series I enjoyed on CARTOON NETWORK namely Thundarr the Barbarian. It was sometime before the 1981 He-Man and the Masters of the Universe cartoon. Just take note that's before the very bloody Conan the Barbarian (1982) adult film. I'm going to revisit this cartoon for the heck of it. It's a very old cartoon as evidenced by the lower budget animation style. The story is set in a ridiculously distant time in 3994 A.D. In 1994, a runaway planet caused a drift and the world supposedly ended in 1994. Talk about the funny thing that I was watching it in the 1990s! The series created a world that combined science and sorcery. Who says you can't have both science and sorcery? I never thought that the show became before He-Man . In a way, Thundarr's design inspired He-Man's design. He-Man also combined science fiction to the sword and sorcery genre. The show only had 21 episodes. I mean freaking only 21 episodes. I decided to...