Madnis
[12] Conqueror
wow.. I know i couldn't have closed shop up like that...
2 reviews that stated this series is beyond garbage and people just up and leave? I know I couldn't have done that... Please don't let me get that big headed.
anyway.. episode 3.
well.. we finally got some semblance of character development! starting to develop an idea who these people are and what they mean to each other. the pacing is still ridiculously fast as we're zooming by things I feel should take a bit more time. but hey, now we have an actual sense of urgency.
the story so far:
Phil i think that's his name. lost his job, and isn't sure what to do with himself or his life. he has a kid, who for all rights and purposes is a normal kid who is embarrassed to be seen with his pops, and his friend who he wants to be more than friends with some gamer chick who also in turn, wants his dick but for whatever reason they don't hook up. apparently at one time he was a competitive gamer which was made clear this episode when his ex-wife stopped by and said something along the lines of "oh, so he's back on that again." in a dreary worn out, bored tone. side note, if she's this indifferent towards it, what was the purpose of the dream sequence in the first episode? kind of made it pointless because clearly. she gives not one fuck about it. back to the story at hand.. he relives the joy of competition by entering a street fighter tourney, where we meet the villainous Dan. Loses, but earns second place, a date with the gamer chick who i think owns the comic shop the tourney was held and the respect/admiration of his son. which then brings us to this episode.
life has caught up with our main character as he has to come up with his half of the money to take care of his child. so he starts going through job listings on Craig's list, typing up resume, etc to see if he can get something real started. and by the end of the episode the solution once again appears as a street fighter tourney where the prize money is $1500.00. So, he believes he needs to start training.
giving a deadline to when the money is needed creates a sense of urgency, which then adds a reasonable explanation why entering a tournament is a good idea vs simply just job hunting. the second episode established who his rival will be for the tournament, and this episode further established the relationships between the characters and what they mean to each other. a huge step up from the past two episodes. In truth i really didn't feel the second episode was all that necessary. this third episode really should have been the second episode, as the actual second episode was more or less a glorified love letter to the competitive scene. if placed at a later time the comic tournament could have been used to add to the tension between phil and his rival and actually further the plot. as it is, it's just wasted film time. Introducing him through XBL would have been a fun way to introduce the "villian" and when we actually see him at the tourney would have been, a "so this is the ass hole" moment of the series.. another complaint. i have no idea who's playing who. it took me a minute to realize he was playing balrog. i feel like an establishing shot would have been nice here. something that lets you know who's playing who. so that when the characters talk you won't have a "what the fuck?" moment. I say this because, they established that balrog is the girl's main and was using him at one point. and yet in the practice match up, he's screamin hit me and balrog is getting fucked up so i'm like he's just good with akuma. but it turned out to be the other way around... i just went with it. but, knowing who's playin who is a fun idea. and although this episode is connected to the other episodes as one on going story, if you haven't watched the prior episodes and is just goin in fresh, this can actually stand on it's own. as we do actually have a semblance of an actual plot here. We'll see how the story develops as we move closer the end of the series.
review score: "watch if you ain't got shit else to watch."
2 reviews that stated this series is beyond garbage and people just up and leave? I know I couldn't have done that... Please don't let me get that big headed.
anyway.. episode 3.
well.. we finally got some semblance of character development! starting to develop an idea who these people are and what they mean to each other. the pacing is still ridiculously fast as we're zooming by things I feel should take a bit more time. but hey, now we have an actual sense of urgency.
the story so far:
Phil i think that's his name. lost his job, and isn't sure what to do with himself or his life. he has a kid, who for all rights and purposes is a normal kid who is embarrassed to be seen with his pops, and his friend who he wants to be more than friends with some gamer chick who also in turn, wants his dick but for whatever reason they don't hook up. apparently at one time he was a competitive gamer which was made clear this episode when his ex-wife stopped by and said something along the lines of "oh, so he's back on that again." in a dreary worn out, bored tone. side note, if she's this indifferent towards it, what was the purpose of the dream sequence in the first episode? kind of made it pointless because clearly. she gives not one fuck about it. back to the story at hand.. he relives the joy of competition by entering a street fighter tourney, where we meet the villainous Dan. Loses, but earns second place, a date with the gamer chick who i think owns the comic shop the tourney was held and the respect/admiration of his son. which then brings us to this episode.
life has caught up with our main character as he has to come up with his half of the money to take care of his child. so he starts going through job listings on Craig's list, typing up resume, etc to see if he can get something real started. and by the end of the episode the solution once again appears as a street fighter tourney where the prize money is $1500.00. So, he believes he needs to start training.
giving a deadline to when the money is needed creates a sense of urgency, which then adds a reasonable explanation why entering a tournament is a good idea vs simply just job hunting. the second episode established who his rival will be for the tournament, and this episode further established the relationships between the characters and what they mean to each other. a huge step up from the past two episodes. In truth i really didn't feel the second episode was all that necessary. this third episode really should have been the second episode, as the actual second episode was more or less a glorified love letter to the competitive scene. if placed at a later time the comic tournament could have been used to add to the tension between phil and his rival and actually further the plot. as it is, it's just wasted film time. Introducing him through XBL would have been a fun way to introduce the "villian" and when we actually see him at the tourney would have been, a "so this is the ass hole" moment of the series.. another complaint. i have no idea who's playing who. it took me a minute to realize he was playing balrog. i feel like an establishing shot would have been nice here. something that lets you know who's playing who. so that when the characters talk you won't have a "what the fuck?" moment. I say this because, they established that balrog is the girl's main and was using him at one point. and yet in the practice match up, he's screamin hit me and balrog is getting fucked up so i'm like he's just good with akuma. but it turned out to be the other way around... i just went with it. but, knowing who's playin who is a fun idea. and although this episode is connected to the other episodes as one on going story, if you haven't watched the prior episodes and is just goin in fresh, this can actually stand on it's own. as we do actually have a semblance of an actual plot here. We'll see how the story develops as we move closer the end of the series.
review score: "watch if you ain't got shit else to watch."
