Anime RE-Claimed: Assassination Classroom

There are few animes which have come out recently where the premise raises an eyebrow, many of the isekais where the protagonist is reincarnated as some random something or other ("Reincarnated as a Vending Machine" comes to mind) But "Assassination Classroom" road the line between weird and standard anime fair quite easily all the while being a completely weird series. Long story short, a yellow octopus monsters destroys the moon and declares that in 1 year he will destroy Earth but not before providing an education to the failing class of middle school students. What follows is an emotional rollercoaster of lies, treachery, secrets and of course, assassination.

Anime RE-Claimed: My Dress-Up Darling

Okay let's get the obvious outta the way, I'm a sucker for a good love story. I'll admit it Writing romance has never been my forte so when I see a good love story I'm all in. That isn't to say I'm into romance at all, I'm not but I do like seeing two characters who are great for each other get together, and that's more or less of what we're getting here but like any Slice of Life anime there is so much more than meets the eye and we gotta talk about it. Like any anime I decide to watch I'm always lured in by a pretty face and they get no prettiter than gyaru Marin (pro. Mar-reen) Kitagawa, so after seeing that character and the premise for this series I quickly added it to the list. "My Dress-Up Darling" is about Wakana Gojo, a young man with a passion for making Hina dolls coming into contact with cosplay and mega weeb Marin Kitagawa and both their worlds are rocked for the better. I'll explain more after the break;

Mortal Kombat 1 Story Mode Review

So here we are folks, after rebooting the series again for the 2nd time we are here at "Mortal Kombat 1"...yes "1" as in "1" not "Mortal Kombat: New Era" or any other subtitle they could possibly think of, nope, "Mortal Kombat 1"...which I imagine will confuse many people in the future. And while we're on the topic, what the hell is up with franchises not numbering sequels after a while or not even giving them subtitles? It's like after 5 movies they can't number anything anymore. Topic for another day. So "Mortal Kombat", ya know, "Mortal Kombat" has come a LONG way in a LONG time. I remember being a young lad when I first laid eyes on "Mortal Kombat" for the Sega Genesis, learning about the Blood Code and that one time my brother and I accidentally managed to unlock Reptile, all good times, but now "Mortal Kombat" has entered into the modern era and as such I've been able to see this series evolve and take many different forms from feature-length movies to web series, to Saturday morning cartoon and each time I've wondered how far can this series go? 

Well, here we are. After reintroducing the characters and rebooting the series in 2011 with "Mortal Kombat" after "Mortal Kombat: Armageddon" the series was set to start from square one while adhering to bits and pieces of the previous continuity with a twist. 2009's "Mortal Kombat" managed to condense the storylines of "Mortal Kombats 1, 2, and 3" into a single game, and by the end of it, Liu Kang was killed and the only remaining heroes were Johnny Cage, Sonya Blade, and Raiden. Next was "Mortal Kombat X" which was a retelling of "Mortal Kombat 4" with a much better story and better new characters like Erron Black, D'Vorah (who although I hate is unique enough to warrant existing), Ferra/Tor who although the fan loathed I found interesting enough and (design wise) my personal favorite Kotal Kahn all poised as new characters, and among the heroes we saw Cassie Cage (whom I absolutely adore), Takeda, Jaqui Briggs (who can't stop getting redesigned, like her father) and Kung Jin, 3 new heroes with unique abilities. "Mortal Kombat X" ended with Raiden shifting to the dark side after acquiring Shinnok's amulet and sought to take a more proactive approach to defending Earth, ie, destroying threats before they became threats...which meant destroying The Nether Realm forces led by now Nether Realm ruler Liu Kang.

Then came "Mortal Kombat 11" is to say the ballsiest "Mortal Kombat" game in the series. "Mortal Kombat 11" introduced us to the wider cosmology of the "Mortal Kombat" Series by introducing us to the grand mastermind behind all of "Mortal Kombat", a Titan, a being even greater than The Elder Gods themselves (although greater than The One Being is anyone's guess) Kronika, Keeper Of Time. "Mortal Kombat 11" had the craziest storyline of all the games as it established that every single ending in "Mortal Kombat" history IS IN FACT CANON. It did this by making it clear that Kronika has been erasing and resetting the timeline CONSTANTLY when the balance between good and evil wasn't perfect. This character's introduction is literally game-breaking. Since the conception of the series it's been established that the most powerful beings in the series were in fact The Elder Gods, hence why since the series' long history we've only seen a total of 2 Elder Gods: Shinnok and Cetrion (Raiden didn't become an Elder God until "MK4"), however, Kronika is the mother of Shinnok and Cetrion thus making her the literal big bad of the entire "Mortal Kombat" series.

Kronika's plan in "Mortal Kombat 11" made no sense and in the end, saw her bested by Liu Kang and Raiden merging into one being thus transforming Liu Kang into a god and after besting Kronika and taking her place, Liu Kang became THE ONLY BEING IN EXISTENCE AND THUS THE LITERAL FIRST AND ONLY GOD IN THE SERIES! "Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath" saw a continuation of that story Shang Tsung returning and attempting to steal Kronika's crown (ie, her means of controlling The Hours Glass) for himself, and at the end of "Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermath" the player is allowed to choose who the victor is, be it Shang Tsung or Liu Kang. Should you choose Liu Kang he restarts time and greets The Great Kung Lao to prepare him for the tournament, if you choose Shang Tsung is establishes his rule and gives glory to those who are cunning and bold and shun the meek. Since the outcome is decided by the player neither outcome can be considered canon...right...right? WRONG! And with all of that outta the way, let's get to the review proper.