Recap: The Battling Eevee Brothers

With the release of #PokémonLetsGo for the Nintendo Switch drawing ever closer, I present my look at "The Battling Eevee Brothers!" I have been wanting to talk about this episode for a long time. Let's open it up!

We open on everyone passing through Stone Town, as they find an Eevee that belongs to someone at 3-14. They go to the address, and a party is being held at a massive mansion!

The Eevee belongs to a little boy named Mikey; whose brothers Rainer, Pyro and Sparky are trying to pressure him into evolving to one of the original three "Eevee-lutions:" Vaporeon, Flareon and Jolteon!

They also encourage Ash and Brock to use stones on their Pokémon, but they decline, saying they want to let their Pokémon evolve on their own terms. I agree with that.

Misty then tries a different approach: encourage Mikey to talk about the situation with his brothers! Team Rocket is, of course, after the evolutionary stones and the Pokémon; crashing the party to make off with them, even taking all the food!

They did not take the balloon, instead hauling them off in a jeep, wanting to evolve Eevee themselves! Misty's Horsea then leaves behind a trail of ink to lead everyone to rescue their Pokémon! They won't let Eevee go, not even when Misty calls Jessie an "old bat!" This severely angers Jessie, to the point where she learns Flamethrower!

Everyone takes on Team Rocket in battle, and Mikey decides to prove his worth! He engages Team Rocket in battle and sends them blasting off!

Mikey is then able to tell his brothers he wants to be an Eevee trainer, which pleases his brothers. As Team Rocket noshes on cheap canned food, everyone else toasts to Mikey's success; and we close on a picture being taken to commemorate the occasion.

"The Battling Eevee Brothers" is a pretty fun episode for its time, and it remains so many years later. It's amazing how much simpler everything was then, and #PokémonLet'sGo looks to rekindle that feeling. The animation is also quite nice, especially on the battle in the second half of the episode. There's not much to say this time, just a nice little adventure that I look forward to viewing every time; so I definitely recommend watching it. There will be plenty of stuff coming for my last Halloween, so look forward to it. See you, space cowboy.

Yo-Kai Watch 3 Coming to US February 2019, Final Recaps Coming this Halloween.

Well, after roughly seven or eight months of stringing their fans along; Yo-Kai Watch 3 has been announced for English-speaking regions. It will be coming to the US in February 2019, with a release in Europe scheduled for that winter.

I gave my word, and now I shall stand by it after sticking to my guns after all this time: I will recap "Yo-Kai Watch The Movie: Great Adventure of the Flying Whale and Two Worlds" and "Yo-Kai Watch Shadowside The Movie: Return of the Oni King" to conclude my coverage of the series this October as part of my Halloween celebration. The former was OK, and the latter is the first part of the anime I daresay is actually good. I don't know how the third game will do or if the fourth game will be localized (though that's less of an issue since the Switch isn't region-locked), but this is something I have been wanting to do for ages. I will definitely state that even though I don't know how Blasters is doing, that Psychic Specters has only sold 80,000 copies in the US after roughly a year on the market. Bringing up Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon (7.6 million copies to date) as well as Final Fantasy XV (8 million copies to date) at this point is just overkill.

I've made a huge mistake...

Recap: The Joy of Pokémon

Hello again everyone. Well, ever since teasing this episode in my look at "The Ice Cave" a couple years back; I thought this would be a good way to detox from finally finishing Code Geass R2 and get ready for #PokémonLetsGo and Generation VIII. With summer making way for fall and Halloween, let's take one more trip to the Orange Islands and open up "The Joy of Pokémon!"

We open on Ash, Misty and Tracey on their journey across the Orange Islands; when a figure that resembles Nurse Joy comes rapidly paddling up in a kayak.

After landing on a nearby island, Tracey is able to determine this Joy's build and shoe size from a single footprint in the sand; and everyone decides to see what's going on with her.

They go across the island to look for Joy, and sure enough; she finds them! She was tending to an oversized Magikarp with a Calcium deficiency, and was bringing the supplements it needed! It turns out this Joy is a traveling one that tends to Pokémon in areas where there aren't Pokémon Centers. She does, however, have a small clinic nearby; and gives everyone some lunch before heading out on her next rounds.

Her next patient is a Shellder, and she is able to give it the medicine it needs just in time!

Back at her clinic, Joy tells everyone the story of how she went into this field; and it turns out that she has known that huge Magikarp for a long time, having originally nursed it back to health when she was a little girl!

Her next patients are a group of Seel with a sick infant, but there's a storm on the way! Despite the risk involved; Joy decides to go anyway; with Ash, Tracey and Misty following close behind!

Team Rocket, of course, tries to trap everyone and abscond with the sick Seel, but then; the Magikarp from before starts trashing their Magikarp submarine; and then evolves into Gyarados!

Gyarados! (Translation: That's my bread and butter you're fucking with.)

With one swift stroke, the Gyarados sends the sub blasting off! Joy is able to heal the baby Seel, and as she embraces her friend; we close on the Pikachu's Jukebox segment being the title track from the 2BA Master album once again. Less than 50 days left to #PokémonLetsGo!

"The Joy of Pokémon" is just that in one episode. Even if the Orange Islands aren't my favorite arc in hindsight, it still has enough to offer to make a fun way to kill 22 minutes. In many ways, the story structure is a sort of precursor to the Sun and Moon series, and I'm glad I finally was able to address it after all this time since "The Ice Cave." I have much planned for Halloween, including something that just came up that has helped me make a decision on what I'm doing next. You'll just have to wait and see what it is. That's all for now. Later.

Recap: The Grip of Damocles/Re;

So you thought you might like to go to the show, to feel the warm thrill of confusion, that space cadet glow? Tell me is something eluding you, sunshine? Is this not what you expected to see? If you want to find out what's behind these cold eyes, you'll just have to claw your way through this disguise!

Now that I have that out of the way, welcome to my final Code Geass R2 recap of the final two episodes! It has been a long, six-year journey to document all my problems with this anime; and now I'm finally at the end of the road. So, let's open this up with the first part of this mess, "The Grip of Damocles!"

We open where we left off, in the midst of the battle with the Damocles. Lelouch is still trying to penetrate its defense, so he can confront Schneizel and rescue Nunnally. I don't even care about the "strategy/tactics" thing from before; since I am eager to finally end this.

With the battle between Suzaku and Tohdoh dragging on as well, it's just another example of how things have dragged on for so long that it's become too dull to care. Not even Lloyd and Rivalz continuing their mugging leaves an impact.

With few options left as their ship is damaged, Lelouch relieves Sayoko and prepares to face Schneizel and Nunnally. It just so happens that the Damocles' defenses are wavering and they're running out of FLEIJA weapons. Even the conveniences of this finale don't bother me like they usually would, since I am just so eager to be finally done that I will be glad to finally be done with this. Once again, even though half of episode 24 is spent on this battle and endless exposition, the animation is actually quite good, Lelouch's Knightmare Frame keyboard solo notwithstanding.


It's also just as well that Anya and Gino are the only surviving Knights of Round left, since so little was done to develop the characters that they almost seem like they were transplanted from a totally different anime.

As for his bit where Nunnally falls out of her chair and drops the detonator for the FLEIJA: I have a bit prepared for what comes next, and it makes this discount Velma act much dumber than it already is.

As Schneizel prepares for his brother's arrival, Lelouch runs everywhere around the Damocles trying to find him and Nunally; with Suzaku apparently having penetrated its defense. I never got the jokes of him being accused of being "unathletic," now he's running around the place like he's Usain Bolt.

Schneizel tries to escape, but Lelouch has confronted him in his escape craft! He also has apparently used his Geass on several of the guards, and takes his brother to task for being so predictable. There's so many half-baked gambits that we are well past the breaking point of suspension of disbelief. Even though I can understand how people were unhappy with Ohgi's actions, it's honestly the least of my problems here.

After an increasingly winded speech from Lelouch and Schneizel, it turns out that this was Lelouch's way of being able to use his abilities on his brother! Once again, this power has been reduced to a glorified deus ex machina.

Diethard goes mad and tries to kill Lelouch, and Schneizel shoots him first; with Lelouch opting not to use his Geass on him in favor of just letting Diethard bleed out on the floor. Let's finish this, unlike Diethard.

Sixteen in the clip and one in the hole, Nate Dogg is about to make some bodies turn cold!

Lelouch confronts Nunally in the throne room, and as Lelouch demands the detonator; Nunally opens her eyes, revealing that her blindness was, as previously established, a trauma induced by Geass! This is just the tip of the iceberg of how this effectively renders the bulk of the narrative moot, and I have much more to address in the next part.

Now, after 8 years of being under this curse, 7 years since I first saw this mess and 6 years I first began writing about this anime, we have reached the "final turn," "Re;!"

Even if the circumstances of this finale are once again needlessly contrived, the mecha action going on outside honestly isn't much better. There's ashes falling from the sky and it's just become such a slog that complaining about the fanservice on Kallen and Anya's flight suits isn't worth doing anymore. 

Nunnally also rejects her brother's help to save her, which would actually be kind of interesting if this plot was actually structured better. Instead, it's just yet another example of how a potentially interesting followup to season 1 was utterly ruined by executive meddling. 

After contemplating whether or not to use his Geass on his own sister, he does eventually decide to use it to take the detonator from Nunnally. Also, Anya is apparently another Code. It would have been nice to have this plotline delved into further, but instead it's just flung at you while Suzaku and Kallen continue their duel. 

Nunnally is understandably unhappy about what her brother has done, but she again falls out of her chair as she tries to take the detonator back from Lelouch. I don't know whether to criticize how inconsistent her Geass effects are (the blindness was psychosomatic, but the paralysis is real?); or the fact that the Empire built the throne room of the Damocles without disability access ramps. Either way, fuck this scene and everything it stands for,

The last warhead is detonated, and Lelouch uses his Geass to take control of all the remaining opposition in the world. So, he basically copped his father's plan in an attempt to do it better. Just think, I could be watching my backlog of Pokémon Sun and Moon subs instead of this.

We then cut to just two months later, where Lelouch has further extended his reign. I submit it would take two decades to fully invoke a change like this, but I'm eager to end this either way.

Also, it seems most of the conspirators have been incarcerated or put in line for execution. Since we don't see Lohmeyer again after this, I'm going to presume that she's rotting in jail; has already been sentenced to death or at the very least been sent to a re-education center somewhere. It's also apparently 2018 as of a familiar tombstone, and as for why I'm not mentioning who it belongs to just yet: there is one more thing for me to address.

Suzaku apparently faked his death, and Lelouch's last plan involved him taking up the mantle of Zero so he can take responsibility for all that's happened. even when it wasn't his fault! It's essentially a much more moronic version of the end of The Dark Knight; which is still my favorite film. Seriously: the circumstances require way too many arbitrary things for it to work. Yet, somehow it does.

Using the guise of Zero and the "live on" Geass, Suzaku runs Lelouch through with the sparkly pimp sword! OK, been planning on using this gag for a long time.

"Cough, then fall over dead." (thud) "My god, he's dead!"

At the risk of editorializing, riddle me this; Sunrise: how are you going to reconcile this based on what I've heard about the remaster? Granted, a lot of people (myself included) want to forget this ending, but you can't just ignore it if you're making R3. 

Yet, even though the intention was for me to cry, much like the end of the first Yo-Kai Watch game; I instead cringed in utter astonishment at what's happened. The end also suggests that things have improved since his demise; and I find that so ludicrous it may as well have been imagined by a kid on the spectrum playing with a snow globe (before you get huffy, it's a reference to the finale of St. Elsewhere; being someone like that myself, I found it every bit as depressing as this).

With this, one of my big projects for this final year on my blog is complete. It's been a long, grueling task to analyze this anime and all my faults with it, but I was determined to finish what I started and I'm quite satisfied with what I've done. I still have content planned after this for the remainder of the year, and even as I start my biology term; you should still see plenty before I hang it up. Thank you for all you've given me over the years, and I bid you all good night for now. Stay fresh.

Recap: Schneizel's Guise

Welcome to one of my final two recaps of Code Geass R2! With this episode's "previously on" segment being shown from Sayoko's perspective; let's pull the mask off this dreck and open up "Schneizel's Guise!"

So, as long as this anime continues its trend of completely undermining the events of the preceding 46 episodes, Nunally not only rejects her brother's rescue; but is even given the detonator for the remaining FLEIJA warheads that Schneizel has absconded with. It took me one paragraph to say the plot thread that this episode essentially spends half its runtime on.  I'd get more enjoyment from watching the infamous "Backstroke of the West."

Game time started.

I must also point out that for all Schneizel's pretentious showboating, his plan to get back at Lelouch essentially boils down to "use the remaining FLEIJA warheads to destroy every major city on earth." Once again, what could have been a more effective story about their rivalry has instead led to Schneizel becoming another generic doomsday villain.


Lelouch decides to go face his brother and Nunally, and it's increasingly clear how even his dialogue lacks the zest a scene like this should have. It really doesn't help that the plot has become so needlessly convoluted that Code MENT's explanation now officially makes more sense than this.

As for Lelouch's garish sword: I have a bit prepared for the finale, so hold that thought as I laugh at how much this blade; combined with his outfit, makes him look like a pimp.

Nate Dogg and Warren G have to regulate!

I must say, despite all the quasi-philosophical rambling and faux-Shakespearean performances; the animation is once again quite good in this battle scene. I certainly hope the remaster and R3 keep this element, since it's one of the few things about this anime that actually works for me, some occasional off-model moments be damned.


Schenizel also apparently thinks nothing of Lelouch trying to intercept his attacks, and it becomes increasingly clear that this episode is just dead air meant to kill time before the finale. This is supposedly going to help build up tension, but I honestly lost all ability to give a damn about the conflict between them ages ago. It's still a dull plot, but whatever gets me closer to ending this, I don't really care what happens anymore.


Again with the mask analogy? It didn't work ten episodes ago, guys, and it sure as Hell doesn't work now. Just get on with it, Schneizel.

Honestly, this episode just seems to go on so long with its battle and heavy-handed dialogue that I think it's a new record for one of the dullest episodes of this anime I've seen. It has all the wit and relevant commentary of a sociology paper written by someone baked out of their mind on brownie medibles. 

I also apologize if this is a bit short, but I'm saving my energy for the recap of the final two episodes. To make a long story short, as Lelouch confronts his siblings, you might say the Sword of Damocles is hanging over their heads; and someone is about to be cutting the thread!

So, we close on Lelouch detonating the Sakuradite in the mines; and Schenizel continuing to press the attack on his brother. A cliffhanger this close to the finale?! Heavens to Buizel: GET ON WITH IT!

There is nothing that can mask how disappointing "Schneizel's Guise" is as one of the penultimate episodes of this anime. Seven years since I first saw this, it never gets any easier, and I'll be more than ready to declare this series dead and buried before the end of this year. With this, I have made up the time I lost earlier this year regarding my coverage of this anime, and I will get right to work on my recap of the final two episodes. That's all for now, I'm going back to playing Splatoon and watching Toonami tonight. Later.

Recap: Emperor Lelouch

We're on the homestretch on my coverage of Code Geass R2, and in the opening moments of this episode, Lelouch has effectively obliterated the old guard in a matter of days; and he's even driven Schneizel into hiding! He's also decked himself out in a fancy new outfit, complete with a hat with the eye of Geass on it! While I once again lament that they could have developed this story thread more, I'm just glad that I'm almost done with my coverage of this anime! So, let's open up "Emperor Lelouch!"

In order to sweep up the remaining resistance he is facing, Lelouch dispatches Suzaku in the Lancelot Albion. Amid yet another flurry of half-baked plot twists and incoherent mecha action, I am honestly past the point of giving a fuck. 

Suzaku, thanks to his "live on" Geass, is able to kill three of the four remaining Knights of Round, causing Gino Weinberg to weakly ask "what am I fighting for" in the vein of Zero.

It also turns out that Schneizel is hiding out in Cambodia, making this only the second-most ill-conceived political strategy involving that country I've seen. ... Too soon?

You know, just seeing how everything has gotten to this point; it just makes me wish how much better things would have been if they actually developed the plot threads they had instead of spending 75-80% of the season's content on rehashes and "shocking" swerves. I hope the remaster manages to rework the issues they couldn't at the time; as does R3.

Also, despite the earlier claims that Ashford Academy is the "safest place right now," Lelouch decides to make that the spot where he will officially merge Britannia into the United Federation of Nations! Cue the unfortunate music.

I mean, honestly, I can't begin to tell you how much the political roundtable bullcrap contributes to this anime being such a disappointment. They could have really stood to focus more on the conflict between warring states and keep the political theater a secondary plot at best. At this point, I am long ready to end this in these next three recaps.

As such, I am now able to get the key points down to just bullet points after six years and more than 400 posts of doing this. So, refusing to divorce his majority in the vote; Lelouch decides to merge Britannia into the UFN with sheer brute force; and Rivalz is narrowly able to evacuate Nina from the school despite having two roadblocks of armed cronies to elude. Still would love if the remaster or R3 killed him off.

It also turns out that the capital city of Pendragon has been destroyed by a FLEIJA warhead from the Damocles. If you'll pardon the reference to something that doesn't totally suck seven different kinds of eggs; you might say the Sword of Damocles is hanging over their heads, and someone's about to be cutting the thread!

With everything once again going down the shitter at 0.5 past lightspeed, we close on what's probably the saddest attempt at a twist ending yet: Lelouch realizing what most of us already knew, that Nunally is alive and is Schneizel's play. I have seen wrestling storylines with less predictable story swerves than this; but I'm just glad this episode is over and I only have a couple more recaps left.

I can't even dignify this with my Robot Chicken Shymalan joke.

"Emperor Lelouch" could have been a genuinely entertaining and engaging episode to help set up the finale to this anime, but due to the preceding events being bogged down with so much bullshit that I could fertilize my lawn with it; the story suffers the same cardinal sins of every other episode of Code Geass R2 I've covered. The animation is the strong point once again, but the story is also dull and the voice acting seems embalmed as all get-out. I will need more time to address the remaining episodes, since I will be doing the final two as one big recap. I will also be taking biology this term, so a lot of my material will be done in advance for the remainder of the year so it won't conflict with my classwork. For now though, I'm going to have some of the shop's "special" gummy bears and watch FLCL Alternative on Toonami; just to unwind from all this unpleasantness. I am also waiting for official sales, but it looks like despite some over-optimistic fans on Twitter, Yo-Kai Watch Blasters have been tangled in the web of the PS4 Spider-Man. That's all for now, later.