Shakyra Dunn's Blog, page 4

Animanius (2): Orange

ORANGEWhen you hear the word "orange," what imagery rushes into your mind? Would it be the fruit? How about fire? Maybe even merely the color?

Well, I'd like to give my imagery of what I find. When I hear the word "orange" after having watched this anime, I find myself thinking of the sunrise after a long, cold night. The sun tints a brilliant shade, and provides those who suffer from hardship with a sense of hope.


The anime "Orange" is a fine example of uncovering this sensation. But don't let my writer's metaphors be the reasoning behind this review. Let's get on with it!

PLOT: On her first day of her second year of high school, Naho Takamiya receives a letter written to herself from ten years in the future. As she reads on, the letter recites the exact moments of the day, including the transfer of a new student named Kakeru Naruse. This leads Naho herself to believe that there is an underlining reason why she was given these letters. 





Future Naho repeatedly states that she has many regrets, and she wants to fix these by making sure the Naho from the past can make the right decisions—especially regarding Kakeru. What's more shocking is that she discovers that ten years later, Kakeru is no longer with them. In order to correct the events of her splintered time, Future Naho asks her past self to watch over Kakeru.

PLOT ANALYSIS: ~I'd have to say, the plot really does touch on a lot of major issues regarding social norms as well as mental stability. Very few anime (that I have seen, mind you) seem to thoroughly grasp the concepts of PTSD and suicidal tendencies. As someone that suffers from severe anxiety and a lesser form of PTSD, I was intrigued watching the first episode and learning that the clause of the show, Kakeru, was the driving force.
~Suicide is a hefty subject in the story; in the original timeline where Future Naho resides, Kakeru has committed suicide due to his mother taking her own life after Kakeru chose a day with his new friends after transferring instead of journeying with her to the hospital. At first, you may see something like this as rather childish, even selfish of his mother to do, but when you analyze episode 12 of the series, you find that there was an underlining reason behind why his mother felt the way that she did, and why she ultimately took her life, and in turn, why Kakeru chose the same fate. I won't thoroughly spoil things, but it's definitely something to anticipate. Especially if you have a passion for character development as well as mental analysis.


CHARACTERS:I'm gonna switch things up a bit here from my normal style of reviewing--instead of just giving you information on each character and telling you what I think, I'm going to also rank them based on their character development for me. And I'm going to keep up this method for every anime review that has a strong cast from now on.
Let's begin, shall we?

TAKAKO: Takako is one of Naho's closest female friends next to Azusa. Stalwart, a bit reserved, but fiercely loyal and willing to fight to ensure the safety and justice of her friends, she is by far one of Naho's go-to girls for advice. She seems to be the glue that holds the group together, and seems to have a strong bond in particular with Suwa.

Sadly, I'm not sure how much that I can really say about Takako aside from that. Among the six, she seems to stand out the least, which is a shame, because I feel like her character could have been expanded on a lot more than simply being the right hand to Azusa and her complete contrast, which is why I have to put her down at sixth. She's got the potentials to be a good character, but I don't feel like it was fleshed out enough anime-wise. 


SAKU: Better known as Hagita to most, and what I prefer to call him myself, because it rolls off the tongue. He is essentially the butt of everyone's jokes, being very studious and a manga-lover, bad at sports. He's your typical nerd. But something about his personality, especially when he's paired with Azusa, is just so appealing that I can't help but feel a sense of elatedness whenever he's on the screen. 

He is actually quite funny, and his future self is remotely same. But, as Azusa proclaims, he's pretty hot without his glasses too. However... I sometimes feel bad that he's always the ass of everyone's jokes, and that his character can be left as that too. He's got such amazing prowess and potential to be better, so because of that, he is actually fourth of my rankings. (...Fourth? What about the fifth?)


AZUSA: Azusa is the most charismatic of the group of six by fair, rivaled only by Suwa. She is the daughter of a bakery owner, and so she always finds a way to have snacks handy for her friends. In tandem with Takako, she plays matchmaker for the love triangle that is Suwa, Naho and Kakeru, and also played matchmaker at a point for Kakeru and another girl named Ueda (...let's not talk about THAT woman). She is an overall carefree character, loves a good time, and to me, she has the brightest personality of all of the group. I absolutely adore her. 

So why is she tied for fourth? It's mainly because like Hagita and Takako, I feel like we don't see enough of her until near the middle-end of the anime. Which is a real shame, I'd love to see how she ended up in the future, what she was doing, and I REALLY wish that she could have been with Hagita. It's so obvious that they're in love with one another, and Hagita keeps denying his feelings, and- moving on. Azusa, definitely my favorite of the female group, probably could have become my favorite overall if she had been fleshed out a bit more.





NAHO: Now for our main character Naho. She's a rather introverted girl at first, very calm and motherly towards other characters, but still gets to interact with others as the sweet type. To me, she's your normal girl in a shojo anime, but that's not what I'm going to elaborate on. Young Naho develops quite well as she works through her future changlings to grow closer not only to Kakeru, but to her childhood friends as well. 

Naho's character as a whole seems to shape into a fashion that defies what I think of others in her archetype--she actually desires change in herself in order to work at saving Kakeru's life, falls in love with him, and overall becomes well-rounded. At the same time, she retains the person that she was in high school into her future self. And while she doesn't change her personality, her character does grow stronger. Of the six main characters, I'd put her at third place due to her development. 



KAKERU: Kakeru is a second year transfer student from Tokyo to Naho's high school in Matsumoto.

Kakeru is the catalyst of the story of Orange, and it is revealed quite early that he helps to bond the group of six together as Naho quests to save his life and ensure that he has a place with them in the future. But further than that, Kakeru is troubled.

On the day of the opening ceremony, Kakeru decides to go out with his new friends instead of going to the hospital with his ailing mother. When his mother urges him to come home, Kakeru refuses, telling her that she isn't a child and that he can't do it anymore. These actions drive her over the edge, and she commits suicide. This traumatizes Kakeru and becomes the driving force of his downward spiral. In the late winter of his second year, he gets into an accident, being hit by a truck while on his bike. Only ten years later is it revealed that he left a note; his death had been no accident. 

When I first got to see Kakeru's development in action, I found myself relating the most to him overall. I was a bit older than Kakeru when I lost my mother suddenly, and it traumatized me to the point where I felt that I had regressed into a helpless child that only wanted to have more to say. Sometimes I still feel as if I am trapped in my own mind, which is why I find so much resonance with Kakeru's feelings of suicide, his lost state of mind, his inability to find trust in others with his feelings until Naho uncovers the letters of her past self. There's so much that I can say about Kakeru's downward spiral and how his newfound friends assist him, but it would take up all of my work here. So, I'll end it on this. His relation, his believable reactions, everything about him puts him at a solid second for my rankings. (What? SECOND?)


HIROTO: Yep, that's right! Despite all of the comparisons that I can make with Kakeru, my favorite of the entire cast is without a doubt Hiroto Suwa! (Yes, if I had to pick, this would probably be my #1 anime guy of the season.)

Suwa is by far one of the most well-developed side-main characters I have seen in a long time for a shojo/drama based anime. A soccer fanatic, supportive, and sweet, he is a character that seems likable from the start, but the more that time goes on, you discover that there is more to him than just your standard jock type. 

In fact, you discover about four episodes in that Suwa has some secrets of his own, secrets that he shares with Naho. He is also a keeper of the letters from the future. He plays a powerful role in changing Kakeru's fate, but what he comes to terms with is part of what drew me to his character. And I'm going to elaborate on that here. (SPOILERS BEWARE.)


~PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE: Hiroto and Naho~ Ten years into the future, Suwa is married to Naho, and they have an infant son. While Naho and the others feels regret for not helping to save Kakeru in the future, Suwa in particular regrets that he didn't support them both as a friend rather than seeing Kakeru more as potential rival for Naho, and that he doesn't know how to make Naho happy after Kakeru's death. 

He feels the most compassion towards wishing that he had been better not to Naho as someone that truly loves her, but to them both, and that is incredible to consider. 

In his future, he loves Naho, he is married to her, they have a child together, strengthening their bond together... and yet, if he had the choice to be able to go back in time and correct things, he would have given up his happiness in order for Naho to have her own with Kakeru if she so chose it.

Yes, you read that correctly. He literally would give up everything that he haves... just to make sure that Naho gets her happy ending. He sacrifices himself for her, his best friend, the woman that he loves more than anything. Do you know how rare that is to find in any kind of media these days? That's truly beautiful, and such strength for a character like Suwa, who seems so typical at first. He defies so many odds, and that level of compassion  is what made me so drawn to Suwa as a character.

Sometimes it makes me feel while watching this anime, Kakeru was not the driving force towards a better future. I feel that it was Suwa that ultimately led them all towards that sense of happiness that everyone deserved.


ANIMATION: I thought that the animation reminded me of another anime of a similar style to this, Blue Spring Ride. But I personally find the story of Orange to be far more appealing, and the characters stand out more to me. Actually, even some of the characters themselves resemble others from that show (Ex: Naho and Futaba, Kakeru and Kou.)


All in all, I felt that it wasn't bad to look at animation wise. The character designs are more defined, and it shows well for them. The scenery could have been a bit better, but I think that the animation was pretty top-notch for its genre that it was trying to fulfill.


OVERALL:Due to its pacing, characters, animation and story, I definitely would have to recommend this anime to anyone that likes drama, great development... and I give it a solid 8 out of 10 stars!
...I kinda want some oranges now though...

Animanious (1): Final Fantasy XV-Brotherhood

Final Fantasy XV-BrotherhoodNow, I'm going to say this first: I am a massive fan of the Final Fantasy series, and followed this game in particular from the time that it was in its Versus XIII stage. When Final Fantasy XV was first given a release date back on March 30th (even if it did delay. Fricking Square Enix), this anime adaption was announced as well, and I knew that I had to watch it. 
I may be a Final Fantasy fan, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna go easy on this anime.

~~~~~~
PLOT
Feel free to blast "Stand By Me" by Florence + The Machine as you read this one. Because that's what I'm doing, and it pleases me.

There really is no plot-heavy emphasis for the anime--it is the story of four young men traveling to the realm of Altissia in order to meet with Princess Lunafreya in order for Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum to marry her and bind their kingdoms together. 

Brotherhood is a prequel to the game and can be watched as a standalone since the game hasn't been released yet, and it does not have to tie in to the Kingsglaive movie either. Its purpose is to serve as a defining statement on how these four characters met and how they came on this journey together. In other words, character development is the strong point of this mini-series. Each episode is only about 10-20 minutes long, so it can be finished relatively fast, but I watched as the episodes premiered until I finished up.

CHARACTERS(For the characters, I will not be focusing on anything relating to the main plot of XV nor anything that could be drawn too far towards it.) Noctis: I'll start with our princely lead, Noctis Lucis Caelum. Sole heir to the kingdom of Lucis and weaponsmith of the conjuring breed, he is on a journey with his three friends Prompto, Gladiolus and Ignis to venture to the realm of Altissia, seeking union with his childhood friend and betrothed, Lunafreya Nox Fleuret. After war plagues his life, he is sent away by his father Regis for safekeeping, a fact unknown to Noctis himself until long into his travels.
Noctis himself is actually a character that was unexpected to me. I normally take princes in stride when I watch anime or play video games, or hell, even in books, because they feel cut from similar cloths: happy, cheerful, gentle, mellow and naive... that kind of thing. Or they're the complete opposite of rebellious, angry, snappy. 
But then there's Noctis, who feels like a combination of both traits. He's calm and naive, but at the same time, he loves to have fun playing at the arcade with his friends, taking photos, generally being silly. He's not above having fun, and when you put him next to brooding Final Fantasy main characters like Cloud, Lightning or Squall, he seems like a breath of fresh air as a main character. I feel like there's more to his personality that has yet to be uncovered.
As far as his story episode(s) go in Brotherhood, we get insight into the past that he had. But as it's a spoiler to the main story of Final Fantasy XV, I'm going to keep it concealed! ...Unless he decides to sleep through his own past. As much as he loves to sleep, it wouldn't surprise me if he did.

Prompto: Right hand man and best friend to our prince steps in Prompto Argentum, gunner and general kickstarter of all things fun! 
When I first heard of XV, Prompto's demeanor was the one that held the most interest for me. He seemed to be silly in the trailers, pretty crazy at times, and a brilliant contrast to Noctis in terms of his playful banter. I still feel as though he is one of the best characters of the group because of how positive he tends to be. He's the one that you see having the most fun of the four. While people are working on getting camping materials together, he's taking pictures. Whenever Ignis allows him, he's driving the Regalia (yep, that's the name of the Batmobile-like car) down the sunny roads or is right in the passenger's seat complimenting all of the sights along the way.  Jumping right into Prompto's story of how he met Noctis... they actually attended school together. Yep, you heard it here first: a prince that actually attends a public school. But that's not the twist here. You see that lanky guy up there in the photo, right? Well, try to picture him a little more... plumpy. And let's call him Plumpto. Because it's cute.
Quite a contrast, right? But there's some serious admiration behind this story. 
(SPOILERS AHOY!) Prompto is actually an orphan living alone in his home that uses whatever money he earns to order out because, well, he can't cook. He's only about twelve here, and is pretty much alone at the start of his saga. Then he befriends a dog, and when he returns it, he is asked to become friends with Noctis through Princess Lunafreya due to his lingering solitude. It was her dog he kept safe!

This spark between them ignites the flame in Prompto to push himself to want to talk to Noctis, but after attempting once, he finds that his weight kills his confidence. So he works hard every day, cuts down his diet, runs outside even through the rain, all to work and befriend the prince. On their first day of high school, Prompto succeeds and introduces him, and Noctis quickly accepts him not because of his amazing weight change, but because of his character. He had been the only person to see Noctis as something more than the prince that he is. (END SPOILERS!)

I see Prompto to be the most inspirational one of the group based on his episode alone. And I truly look forward to seeing his development in the game!

Gladiolus: Next up our list, we have the bulky and ~occasionally~ brash Gladiolus Amicitia, the man with the greatsword!

If Prompto is to be Noctis's right-hand man, I would have to place Gladiolus as his shield. Gladiolus is actually the man that trained Noctis in his fighting skills, even when he was still in a prime of his own training, sworn through family birthright to protect the Caelum family. He is a free-talker and is often the one that keeps the group on track during their mission, but his direct nature tends to cause spats with Noctis due to their conflicting personalities.

Personally, I think that Gladiolus is probably the one that interested me the least of the four on the team initially, but I still adore his attitude nonetheless. His appearance gives me some reminiscence of Angeal Hewley from Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (my FAVORITE Final Fantasy game, by the way, but that's a review for another day!), but far more rugged. And as much as I love Angeal, I feel that Gladiolus is almost his perfect contrast despite holding high positions in both of their fields.

(SPOILERS AHOY!) In his episode, it is shown that Gladiolus not only has a younger sister that he protects, Iris, but that he actually seeks as a main goal to be the shield of King Regis rather than the young and sometimes gutless Noctis.

Iris longs to meet Noctis since they aren't far off in age, and when she finally does have the chance, her childish nature kicks in and she chases a cat. Noctis ends up pursuing her when he sees her in time, and the two end up going on a mini-adventure of their own together. It's a rather sweet event. But after the fact, the kingdom is going nuts looking for them, and Iris ends up crying when Gladiolus gets angry at her. But after seeing the noble and honorable nature that Noctis shows by putting the blame on himself for them both getting lost (and Noct getting grounded, whoo, go Regis, you are a good parent!) and coming back so late, Gladiolus decides to be more open-minded about shaping a relationship with him. (SPOILERS END!)

I think what I anticipate most about Gladiolus would have to be the way that he carries himself among the group, given that he's probably (next to Ignis) the most serious without being too out of control. It'd be an interesting balance.

Ignis: Finally of the characters, we have Ignis Scientia, loyal servant of the Caelum family, dagger-wielder dynamo, world-class cook, and the only one with an incredibly hot accent. *Wink-wink-nudge-nudge*

Ignis is my favorite character released so far as a main character due to his mixture of a serious nature due to being one of the oldest of the group in tandem with his dark banter of joking. The fact that he can bind himself so closely with younger, more fun characters such as Prompto and Noctis and find common ground with someone as mixed up as Gladiolus, is almost admirable. But that's not what strikes a chord in me about Ignis. Oh no. It has to definitely be the dialogue that he's given, and how he is portrayed. It's such a playful banter behind a serious tone. Which means that he's unpredictable and cuts through the grain of his character archetype. He's the stalwart soldier with glasses and cool demeanor, but he's also fun, silly, likes to mess around with his friends, probably has a beer or two on the weekends with Gladio and shoots pong. I just... I love him so much.

On to his episode. It just shows his guidance towards our prince, acting as the right dagger to Noctis's sword-hand strikes; swift, unexpected, clean-cut. In the times of crisis, Ignis is the one caring for Noctis during his high school days when he's living away from the castle in an apartment. Noctis has no restraints on caring about his health, and in particular during this episode, asks Ignis to recreate a certain pastry that he had tried. All the while, chaos is unfolding from the shadows of the Lucis kingdom, and there is little that either of them are able to do to assist.

Ignis is the one that often acts as the voice of reason of the four, partially due to his age and experiences within the Caelum family. He is also the primary strategist, which holds heavy support over the group. And he is by far the one that I am the most curious about in the story. There has to be more to him than just that stalwart behavior.

ANIMATION I personally thought that the animation quality of the characters was decent, suited the style of the show. 
Obviously when placed next to the game, the graphics of XV are superior to Brotherhood by far.
I think that most of the animation budget may have gone towards the scenery and action scenes rather than the character designs. Though, I don't feel that it takes away from the story in general. I still overall enjoyed watching everything.
Oh, and at one point, it gets all Kingdom Hearts-y. As in, Nomura and Tabata both have their fixations with characters falling through the water, through the air, etc. 
OVERALLI think that this is a good standalone anime in order to prep up the hype for Final Fantasy XV coming out on November 29th! Now it makes me feel prepared to jump into Kingsglaive!
I found that the pacing of the episodes was a bit... mundane for me after Prompto's episode, but I still loved getting in-depth with the characters and learning more about how they came to grow alongside Noctis, how they met, and seeing them interact together in those short episodes. 
I'd give the anime as a standalone a 6.8 out of 10, and round it up to 7! 
Here's to more reviews!


If you have review suggestions, you can email me at: shakyradunn.author@yahoo.com

Animanious: Final Fantasy XV-Brotherhood

Final Fantasy XV-BrotherhoodNow, I'm going to say this first: I am a massive fan of the Final Fantasy series, and followed this game in particular from the time that it was in its Versus XIII stage. When Final Fantasy XV was first given a release date back on March 30th (even if it did delay. Fricking Square Enix), this anime adaption was announced as well, and I knew that I had to watch it. 
I may be a Final Fantasy fan, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna go easy on this anime.

~~~~~~
PLOT
Feel free to blast "Stand By Me" by Florence + The Machine as you read this one. Because that's what I'm doing, and it pleases me.

There really is no plot-heavy emphasis for the anime--it is the story of four young men traveling to the realm of Altissia in order to meet with Princess Lunafreya in order for Prince Noctis Lucis Caelum to marry her and bind their kingdoms together. 

Brotherhood is a prequel to the game and can be watched as a standalone since the game hasn't been released yet, and it does not have to tie in to the Kingsglaive movie either. Its purpose is to serve as a defining statement on how these four characters met and how they came on this journey together. In other words, character development is the strong point of this mini-series. Each episode is only about 10-20 minutes long, so it can be finished relatively fast, but I watched as the episodes premiered until I finished up.

CHARACTERS(For the characters, I will not be focusing on anything relating to the main plot of XV nor anything that could be drawn too far towards it.) Noctis: I'll start with our princely lead, Noctis Lucis Caelum. Sole heir to the kingdom of Lucis and weaponsmith of the conjuring breed, he is on a journey with his three friends Prompto, Gladiolus and Ignis to venture to the realm of Altissia, seeking union with his childhood friend and betrothed, Lunafreya Nox Fleuret. After war plagues his life, he is sent away by his father Regis for safekeeping, a fact unknown to Noctis himself until long into his travels.
Noctis himself is actually a character that was unexpected to me. I normally take princes in stride when I watch anime or play video games, or hell, even in books, because they feel cut from similar cloths: happy, cheerful, gentle, mellow and naive... that kind of thing. Or they're the complete opposite of rebellious, angry, snappy. 
But then there's Noctis, who feels like a combination of both traits. He's calm and naive, but at the same time, he loves to have fun playing at the arcade with his friends, taking photos, generally being silly. He's not above having fun, and when you put him next to brooding Final Fantasy main characters like Cloud, Lightning or Squall, he seems like a breath of fresh air as a main character. I feel like there's more to his personality that has yet to be uncovered.
As far as his story episode(s) go in Brotherhood, we get insight into the past that he had. But as it's a spoiler to the main story of Final Fantasy XV, I'm going to keep it concealed! ...Unless he decides to sleep through his own past. As much as he loves to sleep, it wouldn't surprise me if he did.

Prompto: Right hand man and best friend to our prince steps in Prompto Argentum, gunner and general kickstarter of all things fun! 
When I first heard of XV, Prompto's demeanor was the one that held the most interest for me. He seemed to be silly in the trailers, pretty crazy at times, and a brilliant contrast to Noctis in terms of his playful banter. I still feel as though he is one of the best characters of the group because of how positive he tends to be. He's the one that you see having the most fun of the four. While people are working on getting camping materials together, he's taking pictures. Whenever Ignis allows him, he's driving the Regalia (yep, that's the name of the Batmobile-like car) down the sunny roads or is right in the passenger's seat complimenting all of the sights along the way.  Jumping right into Prompto's story of how he met Noctis... they actually attended school together. Yep, you heard it here first: a prince that actually attends a public school. But that's not the twist here. You see that lanky guy up there in the photo, right? Well, try to picture him a little more... plumpy. And let's call him Plumpto. Because it's cute.
Quite a contrast, right? But there's some serious admiration behind this story. 
(SPOILERS AHOY!) Prompto is actually an orphan living alone in his home that uses whatever money he earns to order out because, well, he can't cook. He's only about twelve here, and is pretty much alone at the start of his saga. Then he befriends a dog, and when he returns it, he is asked to become friends with Noctis through Princess Lunafreya due to his lingering solitude. It was her dog he kept safe!

This spark between them ignites the flame in Prompto to push himself to want to talk to Noctis, but after attempting once, he finds that his weight kills his confidence. So he works hard every day, cuts down his diet, runs outside even through the rain, all to work and befriend the prince. On their first day of high school, Prompto succeeds and introduces him, and Noctis quickly accepts him not because of his amazing weight change, but because of his character. He had been the only person to see Noctis as something more than the prince that he is. (END SPOILERS!)

I see Prompto to be the most inspirational one of the group based on his episode alone. And I truly look forward to seeing his development in the game!

Gladiolus: Next up our list, we have the bulky and ~occasionally~ brash Gladiolus Amicitia, the man with the greatsword!

If Prompto is to be Noctis's right-hand man, I would have to place Gladiolus as his shield. Gladiolus is actually the man that trained Noctis in his fighting skills, even when he was still in a prime of his own training, sworn through family birthright to protect the Caelum family. He is a free-talker and is often the one that keeps the group on track during their mission, but his direct nature tends to cause spats with Noctis due to their conflicting personalities.

Personally, I think that Gladiolus is probably the one that interested me the least of the four on the team initially, but I still adore his attitude nonetheless. His appearance gives me some reminiscence of Angeal Hewley from Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (my FAVORITE Final Fantasy game, by the way, but that's a review for another day!), but far more rugged. And as much as I love Angeal, I feel that Gladiolus is almost his perfect contrast despite holding high positions in both of their fields.

(SPOILERS AHOY!) In his episode, it is shown that Gladiolus not only has a younger sister that he protects, Iris, but that he actually seeks as a main goal to be the shield of King Regis rather than the young and sometimes gutless Noctis.

Iris longs to meet Noctis since they aren't far off in age, and when she finally does have the chance, her childish nature kicks in and she chases a cat. Noctis ends up pursuing her when he sees her in time, and the two end up going on a mini-adventure of their own together. It's a rather sweet event. But after the fact, the kingdom is going nuts looking for them, and Iris ends up crying when Gladiolus gets angry at her. But after seeing the noble and honorable nature that Noctis shows by putting the blame on himself for them both getting lost (and Noct getting grounded, whoo, go Regis, you are a good parent!) and coming back so late, Gladiolus decides to be more open-minded about shaping a relationship with him. (SPOILERS END!)

I think what I anticipate most about Gladiolus would have to be the way that he carries himself among the group, given that he's probably (next to Ignis) the most serious without being too out of control. It'd be an interesting balance.

Ignis: Finally of the characters, we have Ignis Scientia, loyal servant of the Caelum family, dagger-wielder dynamo, world-class cook, and the only one with an incredibly hot accent. *Wink-wink-nudge-nudge*

Ignis is my favorite character released so far as a main character due to his mixture of a serious nature due to being one of the oldest of the group in tandem with his dark banter of joking. The fact that he can bind himself so closely with younger, more fun characters such as Prompto and Noctis and find common ground with someone as mixed up as Gladiolus, is almost admirable. But that's not what strikes a chord in me about Ignis. Oh no. It has to definitely be the dialogue that he's given, and how he is portrayed. It's such a playful banter behind a serious tone. Which means that he's unpredictable and cuts through the grain of his character archetype. He's the stalwart soldier with glasses and cool demeanor, but he's also fun, silly, likes to mess around with his friends, probably has a beer or two on the weekends with Gladio and shoots pong. I just... I love him so much.

On to his episode. It just shows his guidance towards our prince, acting as the right dagger to Noctis's sword-hand strikes; swift, unexpected, clean-cut. In the times of crisis, Ignis is the one caring for Noctis during his high school days when he's living away from the castle in an apartment. Noctis has no restraints on caring about his health, and in particular during this episode, asks Ignis to recreate a certain pastry that he had tried. All the while, chaos is unfolding from the shadows of the Lucis kingdom, and there is little that either of them are able to do to assist.

Ignis is the one that often acts as the voice of reason of the four, partially due to his age and experiences within the Caelum family. He is also the primary strategist, which holds heavy support over the group. And he is by far the one that I am the most curious about in the story. There has to be more to him than just that stalwart behavior.

ANIMATION I personally thought that the animation quality of the characters was decent, suited the style of the show. 
Obviously when placed next to the game, the graphics of XV are superior to Brotherhood by far.
I think that most of the animation budget may have gone towards the scenery and action scenes rather than the character designs. Though, I don't feel that it takes away from the story in general. I still overall enjoyed watching everything.
Oh, and at one point, it gets all Kingdom Hearts-y. As in, Nomura and Tabata both have their fixations with characters falling through the water, through the air, etc. 
OVERALLI think that this is a good standalone anime in order to prep up the hype for Final Fantasy XV coming out on November 29th! Now it makes me feel prepared to jump into Kingsglaive!
I found that the pacing of the episodes was a bit... mundane for me after Prompto's episode, but I still loved getting in-depth with the characters and learning more about how they came to grow alongside Noctis, how they met, and seeing them interact together in those short episodes. 
I'd give the anime as a standalone a 6.8 out of 10, and round it up to 7! 
Here's to more reviews!


If you have review suggestions, you can email me at: shakyradunn.author@yahoo.com

Game Grinding (1): Tales of Graces F

TALES OF GRACES F (PS3)Behold, my review on the Graces saga as a whole now that I've completed the main arc. This will NOT be including the extra arc Lineage and Legacies accessed after completing the game through once due to me never completing it. ~~~~~PLOTTales of Graces F centers around Asbel Lhant, an heir to the country of Lhant, in the fictional world of Ephinea. During his childhood, Asbel befriends an amnesiac girl, whom he has affectionately begun to call Sophie, and witnesses her death. Seven years later, he is reunited with the girl who retains her amnesia.
Seems like a simplistic plot, right?

Well... I think that the plot is decent as a whole. The story in itself expands so much further than that as you get through the game. While playing through, I found that some of the plot is unorganized, and some things just seemed to not add up as a whole. Like... for instance, why Hubert was sent away from Lhant. Just a small example. You'll often find yourself jumping back to a lot of different places streaming all throughout Ephinea in order to further advance the story. "What? But I was just AT Lhant... now you want me to go BACK to Lhant? ....Now you want me to go to the Seaside Cavern? Oh great, now we have to go to Velanik? OH GOD."

I won't go to in detail on the plot aside from the obvious adventures that follow from a Tales game.
CHARACTERSNow, I'll focus on the main characters of our little Tales of Squadron: Asbel Lhant, Sophie, Cheria Barnes, Hubert Oswell, Malik Ceaser, Pascal, and Richard.

Asbel: My first impressions of Asbel came with him being a child. I personally thought that as a child, Asbel was... plain to say, your typical rebellious kid. He always acted out, tried to keep away from his position as the heir to the Lhant name, wanted to become a knight. I also was somewhat against the way he treated his father, but I was even more against how his father treated him, because it was borderline abusive. Sure, when Asbel gets older, it was seen as a misunderstanding, but their relationship was just turbulent to begin with. As for Asbel after the seven-year time skip... he has moments where he can be completely moronic in his actions, and he'll leave you wanting to hit him upside the head. He's dense to anything that doesn't flare his temper or make him happy, and that includes Cheria's feelings for him. But I think that the more that you see through his eyes... the more likable he can be. Granted, he isn't one of my top Tales protagonists, but I think that after he grows up, he's better as a character. I’ll put him in the middle road in terms of where I think he stands as a character.

Sophie: My initial thoughts on Sophie were that she was, well, amnesiac. And based on my past experiences dealing with amnesiac characters, they are boring, bland, and generally have no character to call their own. I am looking at you, Heroine from "Amnesia." But the more that you see Sophie, even in the childhood arc, you see that she is meant to serve a purpose, unlike some other amnesiacs I have seen in other media. Then after seven years go by, and she has returned, you see that not much has changed about her initial personality and she has to shape it again. It might sound like a bad thing… but it really isn’t. She grows, and she grows better than most characters in the game if not the best. She has her likes, for example, Crablettes. She has her dislikes, like seeing people fight. She values friendship thanks to Asbel. She learns to laugh, to smile, to be genuinely happy and grateful towards her friends. And later, when you do learn her purpose, you sympathize with her. Sophie was probably one of my top favorites amongst the group because of her development as a character, how she reacts around other characters, and she’s just so damn adorable that it’s hard not to find at least a little fun in liking her.

Cheria: My initial thoughts on Cheria… “Another Laura Bailey character, yay!” Yep. My first thoughts went towards her voice actress, one of my all-time favorites. Moving on. Cheria is first introduced in Lhant as a child like Asbel and Hubert, and her first gestures revolve around Asbel and Hubert leaving her behind in the town and going up to Lhant Hill, where they initially found Sophie. Asbel makes comments on Cheria being sickly (which, I’m still trying to figure out why all that she had was a nearly-incurable-cough-of-death syndrome), and Cheria gets upset with him. After which, Sophie gives her a flower, and she calms down. Wow. She’s easy to please, eh? This is pretty much a running thing in my eyes with Cheria as a child. She talks to Asbel, Asbel does something to piss her off, she gets angry, someone else does something to calm her down, and then the whole thing repeats itself later. Don’t get me wrong, Cheria’s cute… but I don’t think I could’ve ever dealt with that long, because it’s obvious that she loves him, and he’s too dense to see it, but at the same time, maybe he just didn’t care growing up because girls weren’t his thing. Later, after what happens with Sophie and Hubert gets sent to Strahta to live with the Oswell family (JERK move, Aston, by the way), she tries to cheer up Asbel. So, yeah, as a child, Cheria was my least favorite. Let’s get to adult Cheria. She shows up again at the Knight Academy to tell Asbel that his father had recently died fighting in a war to protect Lhant. And she also becomes your ace healer (…she’s actually one of the best healers towards the end, I found, because she kept throwing out Resurrection after Resurrection during that final fight) , and she doesn’t change much spare that she’s more motherly towards Sophie and acts as the group’s mother as a whole. Overall… I love her voice, love her healing skills, and having her as a healer in tandem with Sophie, well, dying isn’t easy. Don’t care much for Cheria’s character, and she’s probably still my least favorite main team member overall.

Hubert: My initial thoughts on Hubert were relating to how much of a scaredy-cat he was as a little kid. But I thought that it was charming. He’s the younger brother to the overly confident and somewhat assholish Asbel, so it’s only natural that he’d be both more intelligent and more prone to awareness of fear. He’s a sweet kid, and that act stays throughout the entire childhood arc—he acts as the balance between Asbel and Cheria, having grown up with the two of them. However, he’s also seen the least of the group of main fighters in the childhood arc because he ends up lugging around with his father. It’s later revealed why—he is going to be sent away to Strahta to be raised in the Oswell family, likely for political reasoning more than money, because it’s not like the Lhant family is struggling much. Seven years later, we see Hubert make a return not as a scared little kid, but as a powerful young lieutenant working under the Strahta military. His determination is strong, and his passion burns stronger, his attitude is much more mature than it had been originally. And personally, I love the way that Hubert has changed. Some people say that he is arrogant, whiny, even insufferable himself, but I love it, and Hubert is one of my favorites among the group for it. The more time that goes on, you learn that he doesn’t feel accepted in the Oswell family either, and you sympathize with him on it. It’s just… Hubert is one of those characters that really got the short end of the stick, so I can understand his attitude towards it all, and his reasoning.

Malik: Malik is one of two characters that first makes an appearance during the time skip. He is introduced as Asbel’s “Captain” as he learns to become a Knight. In other words, his superior. My initial reaction to Malik when he first appears... “He. Looks. SO manly and cool.” See, I have experience with manlier characters, because in "Tales of Xillia," I love Alvin the most by far of the guys, and I also love Gaius, the manly man of the series. In "Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII," I’m in an obsessive love with Zack Fair, but I also really love Angeal Hewley, who is the manlier of the characters in terms of appearance. Just to name a few. So, seeing Malik Caesar-Salad, I thought that I was in for something special. And he didn’t fail me. He has a cool personality, he can be serious, but he also can be very laid back, and it only gets more fun in the Lineage and Legacies playthrough. He’s just really fun to get to know, and he even has a sad past behind him when you play with the star missions and see more about him. Malik bumped himself up near Hubert’s level pretty easily, so he is tied for my second favorite character in Graces. 

Pascal: Let me tell you the truth here. Pascal is the reason I wanted to play Graces. Because by coincidence, I stumbled upon the Graces victory quotes on YouTube, and I thought the Pascal was the most energetic and lively character I’d seen in a while. I mean, she pulled CONFETTI FROM THE AIR during some of her quotes, and she’s just a walking emoticon! How cool is THAT?! Like Malik, she is introduced during the time-skip, and what is the first thing she does when we meet her? Try to grope Sophie, only to get blasted away. That’s one of the most memorable introductions I can think of in a Tales game, next to Leia’s introduction as a character in "Tales of Xillia." But anyways, after that, Pascal takes the group of Asbel, Sophie and Richard down into an Amarcian portal around Wallbridge in order for them to infiltrate. And you see immediately… that Pascal is the epitome of the smartest idiot in the world. “Lemme just give it the ka-chunk ka-chunk there, and hat-tooey here… Bingo!” And you can’t help but love her still, even if she’s the craziest plot-twister ever. If she spouted fourth-wall, I would probably compare her to Pinkie Pie from "My Little Pony." And yes, I did go there. Pascal is an overall fun character, very positive, even when she’s being insulted by characters like Hubert, who find her to be a disgraceful, insufferable woman. Oh, Hubert, stop, I knew that you loved her the moment that you met. And even when she is sad, she still retains the group’s positoovity (name that reference) and keeps them all together. Pascal is my favorite overall character in Graces because of how she handles each situation with a positive aspect, and she is not only a team player that I use, but she is the reason I kept going nonstop with the game.

Richard: Richard is the character we have on our party the least often. He is introduced during the childhood arc, when Asbel, Cheria, Sophie and Hubert BREAK INTO HIS ROOM while he’s staying at Lhant Manor, and find out that he’s a prince. It is only after Asbel defends Richard and ends up fighting against his sword teacher (only to lose, of course), that Richard gains a respect for him. My thoughts: “Um… you got buddy-buddy a little fast there, even if you were initially saying that you didn’t want to be friends with him.” But, as a child, I thought that Richard was pretty sweet. He is a prince, but at the same time, he’s not spoiled. He has noble thoughts in wanting to become a leader. And he is aware of danger as it is presented in front of him. When Richard gets older, Asbel meets up with him in the Barona Catacombs, just like he wanted him to do when they were children. And it doesn’t take long for the gamers to realize that something’s off about him. And it takes even shorter time for us to realize a key thing: Richard lived long enough to become the Graces villain. And Richard’s attitude changes, while understandable… made me angry about his character. And it made him drop down to one of my least favorites solely because of how deceptive he is. (Key: This is still before Lineage and Legacies, my perspective did change on Richard a little by this point.)
GAMEPLAY While a little broken at times, it’s definitely one of the more fun Tales games I’ve gotten my hands on. 

I usually ended up playing with Asbel because I had the easiest time controlling him overall, but I also found that I liked playing with Hubert a lot too, because his attacks are so fast and somewhat easy to maneuver with. My team usually consisted of Asbel, Cheria for healing, Pascal for summoning and elemental work, and I would alternate between Sophie, Malik and Hubert for leveling purposes. I usually had Sophie as a backup healer as well since she’s such a balanced fighter. I used Hubert because his first Mystic Arte is INCREDIBLE to have handy and are the most powerful I believe overall, in addition to his fast attacks… Malik is a great ranged fighter with his Bladerang, and he was among the most agile. Richard… I think he’s good for strength if you don’t want to have Asbel on the team, and he has a lot of ranged arte attacks that get the job done.

I LOVE the Eleth Mixer, it’s probably the easiest leveling system for items and cooking, etc. that I’ve had to use. I think it’s even better than just leveling up shops like in Xillia. Dualizing is fun as well!

OVERALL Overall, I give this game a 7.5/10 for enjoyment factor as well as the characters and plot basis.

Game Grinding: Tales of Graces F

TALES OF GRACES F (PS3)Behold, my review on the Graces saga as a whole now that I've completed the main arc. This will NOT be including the extra arc Lineage and Legacies accessed after completing the game through once due to me never completing it. ~~~~~PLOTTales of Graces F centers around Asbel Lhant, an heir to the country of Lhant, in the fictional world of Ephinea. During his childhood, Asbel befriends an amnesiac girl, whom he has affectionately begun to call Sophie, and witnesses her death. Seven years later, he is reunited with the girl who retains her amnesia.
Seems like a simplistic plot, right?

Well... I think that the plot is decent as a whole. The story in itself expands so much further than that as you get through the game. While playing through, I found that some of the plot is unorganized, and some things just seemed to not add up as a whole. Like... for instance, why Hubert was sent away from Lhant. Just a small example. You'll often find yourself jumping back to a lot of different places streaming all throughout Ephinea in order to further advance the story. "What? But I was just AT Lhant... now you want me to go BACK to Lhant? ....Now you want me to go to the Seaside Cavern? Oh great, now we have to go to Velanik? OH GOD."

I won't go to in detail on the plot aside from the obvious adventures that follow from a Tales game.
CHARACTERSNow, I'll focus on the main characters of our little Tales of Squadron: Asbel Lhant, Sophie, Cheria Barnes, Hubert Oswell, Malik Ceaser, Pascal, and Richard.

Asbel: My first impressions of Asbel came with him being a child. I personally thought that as a child, Asbel was... plain to say, your typical rebellious kid. He always acted out, tried to keep away from his position as the heir to the Lhant name, wanted to become a knight. I also was somewhat against the way he treated his father, but I was even more against how his father treated him, because it was borderline abusive. Sure, when Asbel gets older, it was seen as a misunderstanding, but their relationship was just turbulent to begin with. As for Asbel after the seven-year time skip... he has moments where he can be completely moronic in his actions, and he'll leave you wanting to hit him upside the head. He's dense to anything that doesn't flare his temper or make him happy, and that includes Cheria's feelings for him. But I think that the more that you see through his eyes... the more likable he can be. Granted, he isn't one of my top Tales protagonists, but I think that after he grows up, he's better as a character. I’ll put him in the middle road in terms of where I think he stands as a character.

Sophie: My initial thoughts on Sophie were that she was, well, amnesiac. And based on my past experiences dealing with amnesiac characters, they are boring, bland, and generally have no character to call their own. I am looking at you, Heroine from "Amnesia." But the more that you see Sophie, even in the childhood arc, you see that she is meant to serve a purpose, unlike some other amnesiacs I have seen in other media. Then after seven years go by, and she has returned, you see that not much has changed about her initial personality and she has to shape it again. It might sound like a bad thing… but it really isn’t. She grows, and she grows better than most characters in the game if not the best. She has her likes, for example, Crablettes. She has her dislikes, like seeing people fight. She values friendship thanks to Asbel. She learns to laugh, to smile, to be genuinely happy and grateful towards her friends. And later, when you do learn her purpose, you sympathize with her. Sophie was probably one of my top favorites amongst the group because of her development as a character, how she reacts around other characters, and she’s just so damn adorable that it’s hard not to find at least a little fun in liking her.

Cheria: My initial thoughts on Cheria… “Another Laura Bailey character, yay!” Yep. My first thoughts went towards her voice actress, one of my all-time favorites. Moving on. Cheria is first introduced in Lhant as a child like Asbel and Hubert, and her first gestures revolve around Asbel and Hubert leaving her behind in the town and going up to Lhant Hill, where they initially found Sophie. Asbel makes comments on Cheria being sickly (which, I’m still trying to figure out why all that she had was a nearly-incurable-cough-of-death syndrome), and Cheria gets upset with him. After which, Sophie gives her a flower, and she calms down. Wow. She’s easy to please, eh? This is pretty much a running thing in my eyes with Cheria as a child. She talks to Asbel, Asbel does something to piss her off, she gets angry, someone else does something to calm her down, and then the whole thing repeats itself later. Don’t get me wrong, Cheria’s cute… but I don’t think I could’ve ever dealt with that long, because it’s obvious that she loves him, and he’s too dense to see it, but at the same time, maybe he just didn’t care growing up because girls weren’t his thing. Later, after what happens with Sophie and Hubert gets sent to Strahta to live with the Oswell family (JERK move, Aston, by the way), she tries to cheer up Asbel. So, yeah, as a child, Cheria was my least favorite. Let’s get to adult Cheria. She shows up again at the Knight Academy to tell Asbel that his father had recently died fighting in a war to protect Lhant. And she also becomes your ace healer (…she’s actually one of the best healers towards the end, I found, because she kept throwing out Resurrection after Resurrection during that final fight) , and she doesn’t change much spare that she’s more motherly towards Sophie and acts as the group’s mother as a whole. Overall… I love her voice, love her healing skills, and having her as a healer in tandem with Sophie, well, dying isn’t easy. Don’t care much for Cheria’s character, and she’s probably still my least favorite main team member overall.

Hubert: My initial thoughts on Hubert were relating to how much of a scaredy-cat he was as a little kid. But I thought that it was charming. He’s the younger brother to the overly confident and somewhat assholish Asbel, so it’s only natural that he’d be both more intelligent and more prone to awareness of fear. He’s a sweet kid, and that act stays throughout the entire childhood arc—he acts as the balance between Asbel and Cheria, having grown up with the two of them. However, he’s also seen the least of the group of main fighters in the childhood arc because he ends up lugging around with his father. It’s later revealed why—he is going to be sent away to Strahta to be raised in the Oswell family, likely for political reasoning more than money, because it’s not like the Lhant family is struggling much. Seven years later, we see Hubert make a return not as a scared little kid, but as a powerful young lieutenant working under the Strahta military. His determination is strong, and his passion burns stronger, his attitude is much more mature than it had been originally. And personally, I love the way that Hubert has changed. Some people say that he is arrogant, whiny, even insufferable himself, but I love it, and Hubert is one of my favorites among the group for it. The more time that goes on, you learn that he doesn’t feel accepted in the Oswell family either, and you sympathize with him on it. It’s just… Hubert is one of those characters that really got the short end of the stick, so I can understand his attitude towards it all, and his reasoning.

Malik: Malik is one of two characters that first makes an appearance during the time skip. He is introduced as Asbel’s “Captain” as he learns to become a Knight. In other words, his superior. My initial reaction to Malik when he first appears... “He. Looks. SO manly and cool.” See, I have experience with manlier characters, because in "Tales of Xillia," I love Alvin the most by far of the guys, and I also love Gaius, the manly man of the series. In "Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII," I’m in an obsessive love with Zack Fair, but I also really love Angeal Hewley, who is the manlier of the characters in terms of appearance. Just to name a few. So, seeing Malik Caesar-Salad, I thought that I was in for something special. And he didn’t fail me. He has a cool personality, he can be serious, but he also can be very laid back, and it only gets more fun in the Lineage and Legacies playthrough. He’s just really fun to get to know, and he even has a sad past behind him when you play with the star missions and see more about him. Malik bumped himself up near Hubert’s level pretty easily, so he is tied for my second favorite character in Graces. 

Pascal: Let me tell you the truth here. Pascal is the reason I wanted to play Graces. Because by coincidence, I stumbled upon the Graces victory quotes on YouTube, and I thought the Pascal was the most energetic and lively character I’d seen in a while. I mean, she pulled CONFETTI FROM THE AIR during some of her quotes, and she’s just a walking emoticon! How cool is THAT?! Like Malik, she is introduced during the time-skip, and what is the first thing she does when we meet her? Try to grope Sophie, only to get blasted away. That’s one of the most memorable introductions I can think of in a Tales game, next to Leia’s introduction as a character in "Tales of Xillia." But anyways, after that, Pascal takes the group of Asbel, Sophie and Richard down into an Amarcian portal around Wallbridge in order for them to infiltrate. And you see immediately… that Pascal is the epitome of the smartest idiot in the world. “Lemme just give it the ka-chunk ka-chunk there, and hat-tooey here… Bingo!” And you can’t help but love her still, even if she’s the craziest plot-twister ever. If she spouted fourth-wall, I would probably compare her to Pinkie Pie from "My Little Pony." And yes, I did go there. Pascal is an overall fun character, very positive, even when she’s being insulted by characters like Hubert, who find her to be a disgraceful, insufferable woman. Oh, Hubert, stop, I knew that you loved her the moment that you met. And even when she is sad, she still retains the group’s positoovity (name that reference) and keeps them all together. Pascal is my favorite overall character in Graces because of how she handles each situation with a positive aspect, and she is not only a team player that I use, but she is the reason I kept going nonstop with the game.

Richard: Richard is the character we have on our party the least often. He is introduced during the childhood arc, when Asbel, Cheria, Sophie and Hubert BREAK INTO HIS ROOM while he’s staying at Lhant Manor, and find out that he’s a prince. It is only after Asbel defends Richard and ends up fighting against his sword teacher (only to lose, of course), that Richard gains a respect for him. My thoughts: “Um… you got buddy-buddy a little fast there, even if you were initially saying that you didn’t want to be friends with him.” But, as a child, I thought that Richard was pretty sweet. He is a prince, but at the same time, he’s not spoiled. He has noble thoughts in wanting to become a leader. And he is aware of danger as it is presented in front of him. When Richard gets older, Asbel meets up with him in the Barona Catacombs, just like he wanted him to do when they were children. And it doesn’t take long for the gamers to realize that something’s off about him. And it takes even shorter time for us to realize a key thing: Richard lived long enough to become the Graces villain. And Richard’s attitude changes, while understandable… made me angry about his character. And it made him drop down to one of my least favorites solely because of how deceptive he is. (Key: This is still before Lineage and Legacies, my perspective did change on Richard a little by this point.)
GAMEPLAY While a little broken at times, it’s definitely one of the more fun Tales games I’ve gotten my hands on. 

I usually ended up playing with Asbel because I had the easiest time controlling him overall, but I also found that I liked playing with Hubert a lot too, because his attacks are so fast and somewhat easy to maneuver with. My team usually consisted of Asbel, Cheria for healing, Pascal for summoning and elemental work, and I would alternate between Sophie, Malik and Hubert for leveling purposes. I usually had Sophie as a backup healer as well since she’s such a balanced fighter. I used Hubert because his first Mystic Arte is INCREDIBLE to have handy and are the most powerful I believe overall, in addition to his fast attacks… Malik is a great ranged fighter with his Bladerang, and he was among the most agile. Richard… I think he’s good for strength if you don’t want to have Asbel on the team, and he has a lot of ranged arte attacks that get the job done.

I LOVE the Eleth Mixer, it’s probably the easiest leveling system for items and cooking, etc. that I’ve had to use. I think it’s even better than just leveling up shops like in Xillia. Dualizing is fun as well!

OVERALL Overall, I give this game a 7.5/10 for enjoyment factor as well as the characters and plot basis.

Tales of a Redheaded Sea Witch ~Review 1~

“TALES OF A REDHEADED SEA WITCH”J.E Hunter

I received a copy of this book via YA Bound Book Tour, and was allowed the opportunity to review it! For my review, I broke this story down into three separate categories: the good, the bad, and the ‘meh’ as a whole. This does not pertain to any sequels, prequels or midquels (if applicable). Let the games begin!
THE GOOD:·         “All magic comes with a price.” Rumpelstiltskin has definitely said it best, and that is something that I feel most media that involves some form of magic should partake in. “Tales of a Redheaded Sea Witch” is one that falls into this guideline well for me. When Nessa finds out of her Sea Witch origins, she is whisked away from her once mundane and simple life, set to train and improve her powers, which shape from controlling water temperatures to walking along the crisp ocean. Despite the magical element, the way that Nessa trains seems wholesome and believable.·          I’ve come up with something. Most people take interest in the main characters—I took interest in the side characters. Particularly Shia and Amynta. Shia retains some sort of mental naivety from the moment that she was introduced along with her six young mermaid/merman friends. She withheld a sense of sweet sorrow, and became friends with Caesar, a pirate, someone that in olden tales hunted mermaids. That in itself could have been a dynamic relationship. And then there’s Amynta, a Siren. I’ve always found appeal in the history of Sirens, and feel that her character has more potential than simply being Nessa’s third banana in the friendship category. There HAS to be something more to her personality, her origins, as a Siren.

THE BAD:·         There were many spelling and grammatical errors, usually pertaining to the common “you’re versus your” aspect. I also felt that some sentence structure was a bit strange. One example that really stuck out for me was “his eyes were the color of an old silver candlestick that needed to be polished.” That sentence could be written a bit differently.
·         I feel that Nessa and Caesar’s relationship seemed forced and quite rushed between their first meeting and when they officially became a couple. I don’t know much about Caesar’s past, but I don’t feel that he, as a pirate, would be so quick to succumb to one person. And I feel that after losing her chance with Aaron, the boy from her old life, she fell into lust with Caesar rather than love. The pacing of their relationship felt so unrealistic, even in a magically inclined universe.      Nessa retains an incredibly childish nature throughout the story pertaining to her heritage, her negligence of her behavior towards authority, her thick-headed and impulsiveness towards others’ actions after considering her own, and her sudden call to action at the end of the story was a bit… I suppose surprising could be the right word. I’m just not certain how developed I felt that Nessa was in more than just her elemental virtuosity—her character itself lacked some depth for book one. Her behavior also leads to a lot of friction between her and other characters such as Colleen, who doesn’t like Caesar due to incidents in the past, or getting jealous of Shia and Caesar’s friendship.

THE MEH:·         I felt some relation to Nessa at the very beginning of the story, having lost my mother suddenly at the age of eighteen. But I sometimes don’t buy into how she allows the rest of the world to unravel and wants it to fall along with him. At the same time, we all have methods of coping after loss.


THINGS I NEED TO KNOW/FINAL THOUGHTS:·         I’d love to try and comprehend more about Caesar’s past. ·        Shannon’s past. I feel like she has a deeper reasoning for why she behaves as seriously as she does, and why she doesn’t have a close relationship with her daughter anymore.

OVERALL:I’d rate the first book a 2.8 out of 5 stars overall, rounding it up to 3! Sadly, the first book felt about average for a read to me, and the concerns that I had seemed to overwhelm any sorts of positives that I had.


Would I read the sequel?
Sure, I’d give it a shot just to see if any of my thoughts and concerns are addressed.


Buy Links:Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Kobo│iTunes

Tales of a Redheaded Sea Witch (Review)

“TALES OF A REDHEADED SEA WITCH”J.E HunterI received a copy of this book via YA Bound Book Tour, and was allowed the opportunity to review it!For my review, I broke this story down into three separate categories: the good, the bad, and the ‘meh’ as a whole. This does not pertain to any sequels, prequels or midquels (if applicable).Let the games begin!THE GOOD:“All magic comes with a price.” Rumpelstiltskin has definitely said it best, and that is something that I feel most media that involves some form of magic should partake in. “Tales of a Redheaded Sea Witch” is one that falls into this guideline well for me. When Nessa finds out of her Sea Witch origins, she is whisked away from her once mundane and simple life, set to train and improve her powers, which shape from controlling water temperatures to walking along the crisp ocean. Despite the magical element, the way that Nessa trains seems wholesome and believable.I’ve come up with something. Most people take interest in the main characters—I took interest in the side characters. Particularly Shia and Amynta. Shia retains some sort of mental naivety from the moment that she was introduced along with her six young mermaid/merman friends. She withheld a sense of sweet sorrow, and became friends with Caesar, a pirate, someone that in olden tales hunted mermaids. That in itself could have been a dynamic relationship. And then there’s Amynta, a Siren. I’ve always found appeal in the history of Sirens, and feel that her character has more potential than simply being Nessa’s third banana in the friendship category. There HAS to be something more to her personality, her origins, as a Siren.THE BAD:There were many spelling and grammatical errors, usually pertaining to the common “you’re versus your” aspect. I also felt that some sentence structure was a bit strange. One example that really stuck out for me was “his eyes were the color of an old candlestick that needed to be polished.” That sentence could be written a bit differently.I feel that Nessa and Caesar’s relationship seemed forced and quite rushed between their first meeting and when they officially became a couple. I don’t know much about Caesar’s past, but I don’t feel that he, as a pirate, would be so quick to succumb to one person. And I feel that after losing her chance with Aaron, the boy from her old life, she fell into lust with Caesar rather than love. The pacing of their relationship felt so unrealistic, even in a magically inclined universe.Nessa retains an incredibly childish nature throughout the story pertaining to her heritage, her negligence of her behavior towards authority, her thick-headed and impulsiveness towards others’ actions after considering her own, and her sudden call to action at the end of the story was a bit… I suppose surprising could be the right word. I’m just not certain how developed I felt that Nessa was in more than just her elemental virtuosity—her character itself lacked some depth for book one. Her behavior also leads to a lot of friction between her and other characters such as Colleen, who doesn’t like Caesar due to incidents in the past, or getting jealous of Shia and Caesar’s friendship.THE MEH:I felt some relation to Nessa at the very beginning of the story, having lost my mother suddenly at the age of eighteen. But I sometimes don’t buy into how she allows the rest of the world to unravel and wants it to fall along with him. At the same time, we all have methods of coping after loss.THINGS I NEED TO KNOW/FINAL THOUGHTS:I’d love to try and comprehend more about Caesar’s past.Shannon’s past—I feel like she has a deeper reasoning for why she behaves as seriously as she does, and why she doesn’t have a close relationship with her daughter anymore.OVERALL:I’d rate the first book a 2.8 out of 5 stars overall, rounding it up to 3! Sadly, the first book felt about average for a read to me, and the concerns that I had seemed to overwhelm any sorts of positives that I had.Would I read the sequel?Sure, I’d give it a shot just to see if any of my thoughts and concerns are addressed.Buy Links:Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Kobo│iTunesAnd as a special bonus...GIVEAWAY:Subscribe to the author’s newsletter and three lucky winners will receive a copy of the book!

A Clearing in the Forest

Fantasy, royalty, reality...Everyone loves a good adventure story, right?Then do I have a great one for you to try out!A Clearing in the Forestby Kim Love StumpGenre: YA FantasySummary:Princess Adriana is about to leave the Kingdom of Ayrden on the Journey of her sixteenth year.If she is ever to ascend to the throne, Adriana must go—alone and unarmed—into the unknown. She’s been trained and gifted for the journey, just like all the royals who preceded her—even the ones who never returned.Adriana leaves Ayrden on her brother’s black stallion the day after her birthday celebration, with bravery in her heart and hopes for a quick return. When three paths emerge, one of grass, one of gold, and one of gemstones, she chooses the pragmatic path of grass. Although it seems safe, and the landscape familiar, she soon finds she will have to overcome nearly impossible challenges. Ultimately, an unexpected friendship not only changes Adriana, but the very kingdom she someday hopes to rule. The question is, will the friendship turn into everlasting love?Add to GoodreadsAbout the AuthorKim Love Stump has loved to read and write ever since she can remember. Whether it was writing a story in third grade called "I am a Date," or curling up in her swinging chair reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, fiction in all its forms has always been the fastest way for her to transport herself somewhere else.Now, as an author, Kim strives to transport others in that very same way. She and her husband of more than 30 years make their home in Charlotte, NC.Author Links:Website│Goodreads│Twitter│Facebook│Tumblr│Instagram

The Last Winter Moon

I'm sure you guys have heard ofAdelle Yeung, right?This girl right here, the author of "The Cycle of the Six Moons" series? Seamstress, voice actor, author, awesome person and those are just a few of the titles under her belt!Well, guess what!Today is the day that we finally get to have the unveiling of the final installment's cover, and I'm proud to be a part of it!~~~~~Here's the first and second book's covers:Summary of Book One:Fifteen-year-old Michelle saves the world on a daily basis…with her trusty video game controller, of course! Naturally, she jumps at the chance to play an experimental virtual reality game.The beautiful fantasy world of Starrs? Check. The power to mold matter? Check. No reset button? Wait, she didn’t sign up for this!Turns out Starrs is really real, and to make matters worse, Michelle’s interference awakens the Cycle of the Six Moons, a series of devastating trials that will devour the universe.Fighting the apocalypse was way easier when danger stayed on the other side of the screen, but Michelle finds a secret weapon in her new-found powers. She uses them to rescue the crown prince of a powerful magic kingdom from their sworn enemies, a technologically-advanced cult that strives to eradicate magical blood.Michelle starts to fall for Prince Jayse, the only one who believes Michelle to be a savior rather than a curse. But not even video games could prepare her for what the cult has in store for them…Summary of Book Two:Deciding last minute to stay in Starrs, Michelle continues her epic adventure as Goddess. After all, learning how to save the world sure beats a year of pre-calculus. With her friends by her side, Michelle travels to a city of scholars to learn the lore of the Cycle of the Six Moons.At first, the exotic retreat turns romantic, as Michelle spends her free time exchanging sweet letters with the crown prince, Jayse. But, during her studies, Michelle learns something that drastically changes her game plan. Powerful blood must be spilled to end the Cycle…blood that only runs through her veins and the prince destined to fall in love with her.During a celebration honoring their enlightenment, Michelle and Jayse are whisked off to a rogue city as trophies of a tournament, where only the strongest can claim a taste of their blood. Gallant as ever, their guardian, Gediyon, enters to prevent harm to his friends. Unfortunately for the contestants, the Cycle’s latest trial prevents everyone from waking from a cursed slumber…~~~~Aren't they just gorgeous? Definitely fits together the vibe of the series if you ask me, especially when you really consider how ambient that it becomes over time. It becomes a sweet adventure RPG-blended story into something that slowly becomes more sinister.With that in mind, I definitely went into anticipating what the third cover could bring. So let's find out!...................................Hold on, I think my internet is having some lag...................................*Mumbles* ....Fricking Mediacom, I swear ir's crap.........................Ah! There we go!The cover of book 3! Definitely shows quite a change compared to how sweet and fun the original first book was, right?0_0 It's a little foreboding.I can only wonder what Adelle has in store for us now...Summary of Book Three:The Goddess of Starrs has vanished…Arriscyal has fallen…Gediyon is missing…Dreana holds the answers to everyone’s pasts…When Michelle returns to Starrs, the world is in chaos. No one knows who to trust, and even faith in their Goddess has dwindled. Michelle must reveal the truth of the Cycle; only then can she hope to unite everyone.The Sixth Moon looms overhead. The end of the Cycle is nigh. Michelle and Jayse must stop it once and for all.You can find more information on Adelle, her books, and her website through Goodreads below here!

New Updates!

Hi there guys! Really has been a while, but I bring good news and fun ideas!First, I'll explain my absence, and hopefully you understand--I've been a little obsessed with Pokemon Go! And before you start chiming up those crickets and say that everyone has, I'll let you know I've gone out for more than just the childhood nostalgia.I've been taking pictures of the places that I've gotten to explore during my journey to become a Pokemon Master. I've also gotten 70 out of the 141 Pokemon available in the U.S., so there's progress!Here's a few of the images that I've gathered so far:Next, I've got a few more updates.I recently signed up with MailerLite and I am planning to work on a mini-course on character creation and development, which has always been my strong suit as a writer! If you'd like, you're welcome to sign up for the course through my email subscriptions!I've also been keeping up heavily with my giveaway, which ends tomorrow at midnight PST, and so far, 350 people have signed up for it with over 100 people having added it to their to-read list! It almost makes me sad that I'm only giving away two books, but the turnout was much more impressive than I could have imagined, and hopefully that is a sign of good things to come.Next, I plan on doing more book reviews! In fact, in the coming few weeks, I will be posting a few here thanks to YA Book Tours, so look forward to those!Lastly, I've also been doing some thinking. Back on July 20th, my late father finally had his first son, Logan. And he is precious. I never imagined that I could be an older sister to a younger brother. It's most unfortunate that they will never be able to meet one another. But I plan to be there for him as he grows, even if I'm long grown myself. I want him to know me.Well, that's a bit of an update on my life. I'll try to keep in touch more, I promise!