Sean Akizuki's Fantasy Critic

Kamen Rider was one of the things that entranced me as a child. They had the cool bug design, the awesome action and well, it all began with the Kamen Rider era where it began with the first Kamen Rider to the last of the Showa. These TV shows were: The Kamen Rider (there was an additional Kamen Rider) Kamen Rider V3 (aided by Riderman) Kamen Rider X Kamen Rider Amazon Kamen Rider Stronger Kamen Rider Skyrider Kamen Rider Super-1 (after this, ZX was just a TV special) Kamen Rider Black-Black RX Perhaps the most popular was Kamen Rider Black which ran for two seasons against two different enemies. The first season although it was well-received by many was too gloomy for me and I preferred the second season which is Black RX because it wasn't too serious. In Black RX, the riders united to defeat the Crisis Empire but their role was more on helping civilians so to say they were given unfair treatment is trash. What was also intriguing is that during the course of the series, there...

After a decade of wait, finally Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is here. I have enjoyed playing the VS. Series with Capcom especially Marvel vs. Capcom 2 against my friends in the CPU and getting in a rough match. It's got the graphics, the moves, the violence and I hope Disney will withdraw from Marvel soon enough. I've even read it will involve Dormammu. Final boss? I kind of thought though that Sigma may make a good final boss but maybe Dormammu is better. Here's a little interview of of the upcoming game. I'll just have to pay PS3 at my third degree nephew's (or second cousin once removed) house since it's not likely I'll buy a PS3 since I've become too hooked with creative writing. I definitely however don't feel very excited about computer games anymore though.

Conan the Adventurer's most frequently seen villain Wrath-Amon the incumbent leader of the Snake Cult and high priest to the snake god Set was one of the childhood villains I found scary but not as scary as Set himself though. Wrath-Amon himself is portrayed to be the show's version of Serpentor. He has almost the same outfit as Serpentor and he's just temperamental and pure delicious ham. Consider the similarity may be there because Conan the Adventurer was also produced by Hasbro. The role of Wrath-Amon himself as the Chief Servant of Set, the high priest and ruler of Stygia. In the Robert E. Howard folklore - the city of Stygia is devoted to Set and worshiping any other god isn't allowed. The High Priest holds the real power while the king is symbolic - which may explain why Mesmira was Queen of Stygia while Wrath-Amon served as the high priest of the serpent god Set. What was revealed was that he was once a gilla monster owned by the previous high priest known a...

It's just shameful how Rita and Lord Zedd could end up together while PR's most famous couple Tommy and Kimberly were soon broken up. I mean I watched the whole show for these two lovebirds, their wonderful chemistry that was really broken. I read somewhere that Amy Jo Johnson was promised a better career by some production so she arranged for her graceful exit with Saban (in contrast to Thuy Trang who had payroll issues like Yuki Yajima had with Japan Action Club) and did it. I believe that's why Catherine Sutherland was introduced into the show as Catherine to replace her. So okay, I thought Catherine was just temporary but it wasn't. In fact, Amy Jo Johnson never showed up so the writers really had to shift her character too fast from a likable one to an unlikable one- that is dump Tommy just like that. WTF? In fact, a later episode had Tommy and Catherine a married couple (in the future) which really made me throw away the whole Zordon arc out of that outrage....

If there was any PR couple that really lasted long, it was Lord Zedd and Rita. So okay Lord Zedd didn't like Rita when he first appeared on the show because she failed to capture the Earth and banished her away. But he underestimated her that she was able to return to the moon, drugged him with a love potion and ended up marrying her while she planned to take over. But things went rather differently after their rather funny wedding. So what happened next? Rita came to truly love Lord Zedd for who he was and not for his power. Lord Zedd on the other hand was coming to accept Rita as his wife. The two had rather difficult journeys while designing even deadlier schemes as a couple. Even when Lord Zedd had toned down in terms of his temper, it didn't make him any less dangerous. So Goldar discovered it was all a sham and tried to administer the antidote but to everybody's surprise, Lord Zedd was still in love with Rita. Theoretically saying, Lord Zedd may have suppressed...

As a child in the late tens - one of the shows that I held dear (but now an Old Shame) was Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers . I could remember how Lord Zedd became known to be more intimidating than Rita Repulsa but proved to be just as stupid. I mean, it took their marriage (and him becoming less scary) to finally make him an even bigger threat (which still made him scary). I think one of the issues that I had was the rise of the Z-Putties.  Lord Zedd arrived and bragged that he would do better than Rita Repulsa. Goldar suggested sending putties. Lord Zedd finally created a new brand of putties that he claimed was supposedly stronger. Yes, they appeared stronger as the Power Rangers were worn out from the first encounter. However, the tide was changed when Jason discovered that the Z on their chests was the WEAK SPOT. One punch then POOF - those guys managed to blow out! I kinda find that quite weird really. Sure, they were stronger than Rita's Putties but they were Glass Cannons...

I just don't find it strange how I could easily relate to Beast in Disney. Why? Well I did grow up with a bad temper tantrum that can't be resolved by normal means. Okay so let's say that I can easily get irritated over trivial matters, can really roar so loud and argue over a prolonged period of time. And somehow, some people think I still have some gold within me. So I think the last thing I'd like to hear is, "You have to control your temper." And indeed it's true. And I kind of thought though maybe I've met my future Belle but she's not yet ready. I kind of figured out that my type of women would be like Belle, some beauty, more brains and character that exceeds the outer while the outer gives a preview. What if that woman I met nine years younger is the Belle I'm searching? I certainly wouldn't bet that only child I met would be Belle due to her tough attitude much like Sakura Nishihori in Boukenger.

The thing is I find quite natural that because I'm a big fan of Beast (hoping to find a Belle), Gaston would naturally be my most hated bad guy. Why? I'd like to say that Gaston is extremely a braggart (well he has the skills but not so much on the looks), oafish and not to mention, he's mostly hot air. He just reminds me of the types of bullies I faced in my childhood days. Just to think of it, I don't even find him handsome, I wish Disney made him more good-looking to create a lasting impact of a villain with good looks. I kind of thought though that he was based on Avenant who was far more good-looking than he was but the same degree as evil. Avenant in the 1946 film was a rich man so I kind of thought that would have made him more imposing. Even if Gaston didn't seem to be more of the "perfect villain" as Avenant was, but I always would hate him number one in my list also because he's the most realistic character to ever exist. Also Avenan...

If there was any wicked witch that really intrigued me was the wicked stepmother of Cinderella namely Lady Tremaine. Unlike other witches, she appeared with so much poise and dignity it wasn't easy to tell she's evil except if you know a few facial expressions to know something's fishy about this woman. This is an example of how you can know she's really full of wicked hate just with that expression shown above you. Of course, she always appears kindly with other people around and she's a serious backstabber. Man I really hated her. She does everything to make Cinderella's life miserable while not anybody outside notices because she's such a good actress- nobody knows she's really full of evil. And the thing is she's also overly demanding probably an explanation why her own biological daughters are very wicked. She may have damaged them badly too. And her wickedness doesn't end in the first movie- she is shown to look down at the commoners,...

So far, for me the most memorable and most likable character in MMPR will always be Trini Kwan. Why? Aside from being an Asian yellow ranger, she was presented to be the toughest, most kick-ass character with a tough personality. She's really that skilled that even Jason gets amazed by her knowledge in martial arts. She was also the first yellow ranger in Power Rangers. She reminded me of Mika Koizumi in Bioman who was also the first female yellow ranger in Super Sentai and the first yellow ranger in Bioman. Her character died in episode 10 when Mason used the Bio Killer Gun, she saved the others at the cost of her life. Both characters were kick-ass female. Eventually like the actress Yuki Yajima (who only stayed in Bioman for nine episodes), soon enough Thuy Trang (who stayed for less than a half of the second season) had payroll issues, had enough of Saban and quit. Eventually on that fateful day of September 3, 2001 an accident claimed her life. She like Mika Koizumi me...

I could remember the time I was a Megaman addict. So okay if you don't know this, Megaman's name in Japan is Rockman and he was given a companion named Roll but ironically, it wasn't using much rock and roll (thankfully). It began with the NES which those games back then were kind of difficult and had a lot of glitches. He later had a dog named Rush (3rd game), a bird named Beat (5th game) and he also had Eddie to send power ups. Rush reminded me of Springer from Metalder just as I compared Dr. Wily to Neros. Megaman 6 was the last NES game and for me, the most fun one with the upgrade armor he got. It was no longer limited to lack of creativity. Strangely enough, Megaman 7 was easier than the NES games and the first PS1 game Megaman 8 got a little easier. I also remembered its similarities to Tokusatsu series and frequently compared Megaman/Rockman to Janperson, Protoman/Blues (and later Bass/Forte) to Gun Gibson because of designs. Also I compared the earlier robo...

I have to admit that I once liked the Super Mario series but as time passed, the princess routine is getting redundant. I mean, can't they stop portraying the princess as someone who frequently gets caught by Bowser?! I kind of think that Super Mario Galaxy is just too redundant with the princess theme. Okay it had the cool concept of Bowser trying to take over the Universe but I wish he had a more devious thing than just kidnapping the princess. Need I say more?