The One Guy
Rust Maid
Posts: 1,148
Pronouns: he/him/his
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Post by The One Guy on Jun 27, 2016 18:54:19 GMT
Welp, I've finished Mogeko Castle. My thoughts are under the spoiler like I've been doing: It was ... amusing. Wadanohara was an amazing story that really pulled me in, The Gray Garden was a very fun and enjoyable game, but Mogeko Castle? It was just amusing. Not to say it was bad, but it didn't really have much substance to it of any sort, and as such, there's not really that much to say about it. My only major complaint (aside from the general lack of substance overall) was that the story behind the story (about Yonaka and her brother) was done very poorly. I think we're supposed to see this as some sort of Silent Hill thing where mysterious normal world circumstances are the ultimate driving force behind what happened, but it was done so poorly that it just seemed annoying and out of place, and any intended meaning behind it fell flat. In the end it's not really a bad game, and I did enjoy playing it, but I wouldn't recommend it unless to round out your knowledge of the Deep Sea Prisoner multiverse (for lack of a better term), or for a better understanding of some of the references and in-jokes made in the later games. Actually, I just thought this as I was typing that, but I guess that makes it kind of like the equivalent to what Jailbreak is for MSPA!
Overall, regarding all three games, it's interesting just how easy it is to tell how much Deep Sea Prisoner has improved over the course of making them, both in story and in gameplay. I hope they keep up this improvement into future games!
Only one fun fact about my playthrough, since that's all I can think of:
The night after completing the game, I had a dream about Mogeko Castle. Or rather it wasn't about Mogeko Castle per se, but the dream did feature a game where a high school girl is chased around a giant castle by creatures that wanted to rape her and had two main endings, one where she escapes and one where she ascends into godhood. Gee, I wonder where my subconscious got that idea from!?
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Post by thezcmme on Jun 28, 2016 13:53:47 GMT
Welp, I've finished Mogeko Castle. My thoughts are under the spoiler like I've been doing: It was ... amusing. Wadanohara was an amazing story that really pulled me in, The Gray Garden was a very fun and enjoyable game, but Mogeko Castle? It was just amusing. Not to say it was bad, but it didn't really have much substance to it of any sort, and as such, there's not really that much to say about it. My only major complaint (aside from the general lack of substance overall) was that the story behind the story (about Yonaka and her brother) was done very poorly. I think we're supposed to see this as some sort of Silent Hill thing where mysterious normal world circumstances are the ultimate driving force behind what happened, but it was done so poorly that it just seemed annoying and out of place, and any intended meaning behind it fell flat. In the end it's not really a bad game, and I did enjoy playing it, but I wouldn't recommend it unless to round out your knowledge of the Deep Sea Prisoner multiverse (for lack of a better term), or for a better understanding of some of the references and in-jokes made in the later games. Actually, I just thought this as I was typing that, but I guess that makes it kind of like the equivalent to what Jailbreak is for MSPA!
Overall, regarding all three games, it's interesting just how easy it is to tell how much Deep Sea Prisoner has improved over the course of making them, both in story and in gameplay. I hope they keep up this improvement into future games!
Only one fun fact about my playthrough, since that's all I can think of:
The night after completing the game, I had a dream about Mogeko Castle. Or rather it wasn't about Mogeko Castle per se, but the dream did feature a game where a high school girl is chased around a giant castle by creatures that wanted to rape her and had two main endings, one where she escapes and one where she ascends into godhood. Gee, I wonder where my subconscious got that idea from!?
Mogeko Castle is a really fun game and I've been meaning to play the other games by Deep Sea Prisoner but I haven't gotten around to them. |
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Post by therationaldove on Jul 21, 2016 15:43:04 GMT
Hello everyone! I know it has been a while, but I have finally returned from my trip to Iceland! I will be continuing to write up my review of Danganronpa 2. Please continue to submit suggestions or your own reviews in the meantime!
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Post by Neptz on Jul 21, 2016 21:03:26 GMT
Holy shit I thought you died.
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Post by therationaldove on Jul 21, 2016 21:10:34 GMT
Nah, I was just busy and also out of town. No worries! I am alright.
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PlatinumUmbreon
Raise of the Conductor's Baton
A thumbs-up to you, good sir/ma'am!
Posts: 428
Pronouns: she/her/hers
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Post by PlatinumUmbreon on Jul 22, 2016 2:41:06 GMT
I decided to make a review on Kirby Robobot, which I had just beaten. I'll keep it as spoiler-free as possible.
I thought the game was pretty good. Story-wise, there wasn't much other than robots taking over Popstar (and the final boss, which I won't spoil), but that's to be expected with these kind of games. Robobot brought in a new mechanic, the Robobot, which, I admit, the first time I got to use it made feel like an unstoppable machine. This installment brought in three new copy abilities as well, which are Doctor, ESP, and Poison. Doctor isn't really all that great, and Poison was kinda decent. But I absolutely adored ESP. Nothing like getting to beat up a boss while floating high up in the air, especially against ground-bound bosses. Other Copy Abilities make a return as well.
The replay value is pretty high in this one. You got the traditional True Arena, as well two mini-games, Team Kirby Clash and Kirby Rumble 3D. There's also Meta Knightmare, which I think was from one of the older games. If you completed all of these, you're always welcome to try to find all the stickers and code cubes in the main game.
Overall, I think this is a Kirby game worth playing.
Now only if they would cut it out with the Amiibo exclusives. I own a 2DS, not one of those giant 3DSes built just with Amiibos in mind. At least there's only a Copy Ability that is Amiibo exclusive. But seriously, good grief.
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Post by therationaldove on Aug 11, 2016 21:47:24 GMT
Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair [SPOILERS HERE]
Background: Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair came out in 2012 for PC, PS Vita and mobile devices, developed once again by Spike Chunsoft as a sequel to the first game.
Knowledge Pre-Review: Having played the first game immediately beforehand, I was pretty hyped to start the sequel. I had heard that there were a lot of improvements made and that it was better than the original. I dove in, excited to see what waited in store for me.
Story: The game opens up with Hajime Hinata as the playable character, wishing to attend Hope’s Peak Academy like any other student. However, just like Makoto, he occurs a dizzy spell and wakes up in a classroom with fifteen other students. A mysterious teacher known as Usami, a magical pink bunny reminiscent of Monokuma, claims to be a teacher. She soon reveals that they are actually on a tropical island as part of a school trip meant to build friendship among the classmates. Soon after Hajime greets his classmates, Monokuma arrives, hijacks the trip and turns it into yet another killing game. Along the way, mysteries surrounding the circumstances of your isolation on the island, the events surrounding the Tragedy as revealed in the first game and even parts of Hajime’s past (he doesn’t remember his ultimate talent like Kyoko in the first game) come to light as you play. There is also a traitor amongst the group- someone who is posing as a fellow classmate, but actually works for the mysterious Future Foundation, an organization responsible for placing them on the island and erasing their school memories.
Like with the first game, Danganronpa’s best aspect is in the characters. There are sixteen characters this time around, including Hajime, who all have their unique character traits. While some characters harken back to characters of the first game (Akane being a sports player and having large breasts like Aoi, Peko having white hair and a serious expression like Kyoko, Teruteru being plump and having obvious perversions like Hifumi), they feel like individuals who have their own motivations and characteristics all. Although he is an antagonist, Monokuma’s dark humor and forth-wall breaking tendencies make him humorous and intimidating at the same time. The plot, although similar to the first game, has enough of a fresh story to keep the player engaged and guessing as to what’s really going on underneath everything.
Because of the depth that the game puts into the characters, each death (whether by murder or execution) feels personal. You immediately feel sorry for those who died, even if you didn’t really like them as a whole. There are also some scenes early on in the game that help to create a sense of bonding between characters. These little moments make it hard to accuse others of murder, even if you know they are the culprit. A lot of times, I found my initial guesses and instincts were blinded by who I ended up liking, rather than who was the most likely culprit. There are also more scenes of the group of characters hanging out together or doing things in a bonding manner, moreso than the previous game.
Visuals and Audio: The overall style of Danganronpa 2 is the same as the first one. All of the character designs are in the same distinctive anime style. Each design added to the individualism of the characters. The backgrounds themselves had the same diorama appearance in the individual locations, like the classrooms in the original game. However, there are some major differences. For one, the HUD is vastly updated, with more details on the screen. For another, the main navigation has been changed. This time, Hajime walks from destination to destination on a 2D plane, instead of through 3D hallways, with the 3D segments reserved to certain locations. Like in the first game, there are a lot of bright colors, which contrasts with the death and horror of the events surrounding the environments.
In the last game, I wasn’t the biggest fan of the soundtrack, as it wasn’t that memorable. This game’s soundtrack was much better. A lot of tunes are great to listen to and match the mood of the game well. The Investigation theme is much better in this game. Each island has its own theme song, which was great to keep things fresh instead of just the same background music whenever you explore the area. Trapped By The Ocean scent is one of my favorite tracks.
However, my biggest gripe with the game was the large amount of fan service and sexual content. Obviously, fan service is to be expected, since I assume that something like Danganronpa is targeted more towards men, and that this game is produced by a different culture. I still found a lot of the more sexual scenes to be distracting and they did not really add much to the game as a whole. I can understand why they put more fanservice, but it wasn’t necessary.
Setting and Tone: The tropical island setting is a huge change from the school setting in the first game. This change of setting lent itself to a drastically different feel to the entire game. In the first game, the school’s hallways were dark in most places and, when there was color, it was muted. This allowed for the setting to feel claustrophobic. There are barely any natural elements and there is no feeling of passage of time. You could argue that this tone matches the premise of Dangaronpa more than a perverted vacation, but I found the island setting to be even more engaging. In the daytime, the island is colorful and bright. Practically every place you explore is vibrant. Being able to see the sky creates more breathing room- even the island’s size practically eliminates the feeling of claustrophobia from before.
While this might seem like a failure, I think this helps bolster the hope versus despair theme. Tropical islands are associated with vacations, relaxation and happiness, which clashes with the dark and hopeless nature of a killing game. The separation from society can be seen as attractive for a getaway, but in this situation, it is a death sentence. The color pallette is bright and attractive, further contrasting with the death and destruction surrounding the plot and characters. The varied islands also allow for a lot of visual changes that a school environment would not allow for, which makes for more variety in the cases as well.
Towards the end of the game, it is revealed that the students are all in a virtual reality, placed inside of a program to help them recover from despair after being under the influence of Junko Enoshima. During the last segment of the game, Hajime and the surviving members of the crew go into the replica of Hope’s Peak Academy, which is essentially the same environment from the first game, except everything is glitched to hell. It was a clever way of revisiting the original game, but doing so in a way that was new and unexpected.
What I like about this game, when it comes to the conclusion, rather than the game having you choose between hope and despair, it seems to point towards neither extreme being the best answer. Despair is destructive, but too much hope can be, too. In the end, in order to really be hopeful, you have to accept despair as a constant possibility.
Gameplay: Like most sequels, Danganronpa 2 retains the basic frame of gameplay that the first game offers. Once again, every chapter is divided into the Daily Life- which involves exploration and Free Time segments (along with plot events)- and an Investigation segement, which includes the class trial. Daily Life is pretty much identical to how it is in the first game. As I mentioned briefly before, most of the exploration in the game is now done in a side-scrolling view of Hajime running from point to point around Jabberwock Island, with some larger locations, like Hotel Mirai and the Old Building retaining the 3D mechanics of the first game. There is a new leveling system in this version, where Hajime can grow more powerful by taking steps, talking to people during Free Time and other similar activities. Hajime’s level transfers to how strong you are during the class trails. There is also a Pet that works a lot like a Tamagotchi. When you take steps, it evolves into a new form depending on its Hope and Despair Meters. Giving it presents gives the Pet hope.
Free Time operates just as you would expect, with presents being a major component of getting Hope Fragments/ pages of the Report Card. Monocoins make a return, but instead of being found by randomly investigating things, you can get them for finding hidden Monokumas in special places throughout the story. A vending machine for presents is in the Rocketpunch Market, which can make Free Times easier, especially if there is a certain present you want to get. However, I used the Yachine more because it provided more variety for less cost. Skill Points are now purchased using the Hope Fragments, which I have mixed feelings about. Sure, it’s nice to be able to pick and choose which skills I want, but I oftentimes forgot about this element of the game until right before or during a class trial. I prefer being able to unlock the skills by talking to your classmates.
The trials in this game ramp up in difficulty hardcore compared to the last game. Not only are the mechanics themselves more challenging, but the cases are more convoluted and ask you to pay close attention to every detail, even long before a murder takes place. For one thing, while Truth Bullets are still used as your main augmenting points, there are many points that the game purposefully does not make a Truth Bullet for, even when it is crucial evidence. There are times when a roadblock will be overcome because of a detail that was only mentioned once and was never noted as important by a Truth Bullet.
As for the mechanics, three new (ish) minigames, outside of the Nonstop Debates have been added. Hangman’s Gambit makes a return, only it is now much harder, requiring tons more hand-eye coordination and planning ahead to do well. Rebuttal Showdown involves a character interrupting the trial with something that they object to. Your job is to prove them wrong by slicing through their words. You only get a certain amount of cuts, however. Logic Dive is the second all-new minigame, which has Hajime surfing down a tunnel and answering questions related to a case while avoiding obstacles. The last minigame is the rhythm game from Danganronpa 1. Like everything else, it is much harder than the last game and I struggled so much with these segments. It was pretty awful. If you don’t like (or aren’t good at) rhythm games, these parts might cause you despair on their own. All in all, I liked most of the new mechanics and it was good to see the game evolving.
Danganronpa 2 has three extra modes that you can play. The first is Island Mode, which is a what-if scenario in which Usami succeeds in defeating Monokuma and the school trip proceeds as was originally intended. This mode is a lot tougher than I would have wanted it to be, considering that you have to collect items in order to make something as part of the goal. The mode mostly functions as a way to fill out all the characters Report Card pages' as well as witness alternative endings.
The second extra mode is a beat-em up-esque minigame featuring Usami destroying the gaurdians keeping people from moving forward on the island. It’s pretty fun once you get a handle on the controls, although you can tell that this was mostly just tacked on as some of the graphics look cheap.
The last mode is the light novel, Danganronpa IF which concerns an alternate version of the first game, involving Muruko Ikusaba. I haven’t read a lot of it yet, but it had a bookmark functions, which is very helpful.
There are a lot of details that I haven’t specifically talked about, but Danganronpa 2 has a lot of meat to it that its predecessor lacked. It offers a lot of replayabilty with the extra modes. I really enjoyed the cases this time around as they were more unpredictable and required a lot more thinking on the part of the player.
Conclusion: Danganronpa 2 is a worthy successor to the original game- surpassing the first one, in some respects. Every aspect of the game has been amped up and improved-upon, removing things that didn’t work and adding new features to make the experience fresh. I would highly recommend this game after playing the first one.
Rating: 8.5/10
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Post by Neptz on Aug 11, 2016 22:21:31 GMT
UPDATE:
If you're planning on watching the DR3 anime, play Ultra Despair Girls.
It's a obvious requisite, characters from UDG show up in it.
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Post by therationaldove on Aug 16, 2016 22:03:47 GMT
My review will be on Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Stay tuned!
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Post by Neptz on Aug 17, 2016 21:00:06 GMT
My review will be on Puella Magi Madoka Magica. Stay tuned! I am excited for this. This is relevant to my interests. I will stay tuned as much as possible. |
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quixoticTokki
Void
baby gangsta
Posts: 702
Pronouns: she/her/hers
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Post by quixoticTokki on Aug 18, 2016 16:12:18 GMT
In the meantime I'll ask you the same thing I asked you about DR1 for SDR2.
Favorite characters and most shocking moments for you?
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Post by therationaldove on Aug 18, 2016 21:32:04 GMT
Favorite characters: FUYUHIKO OH MY GOD. That one case with Peko and Mahiru obliterated my heart to pieces and the way that Fuyuhiko is so trustworthy and lovable as the game goes on is priceless. Gundham is hilarious and I love how him and Sonia have a thing for each other. Nekomaru was hilarious but also such a great spirit. Chiaki was really humurous and helpful. I thought it was interesting how much Hajime adhered to her as a love interest. I have a love-hate relationship with Nagito. I feel bad for him and his tragic backstory/awful luck, but his way of looking at things is so weird that it's hard to like him.
Most Shocking Moments: NAGITO'S CASE HOLY SHIT. That thing was a roller coaster ride from beginning to end. Not only was his actual death brutal, but the fact that he tried to throw everyone under the bus in one fell swoop was so... I don't even know. The fact that everyone turned out to be Ultimate Despair was...interesting as well as the truth about Hajime's past.
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quixoticTokki
Void
baby gangsta
Posts: 702
Pronouns: she/her/hers
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Post by quixoticTokki on Aug 18, 2016 23:25:00 GMT
Yes I love Fuyuhiko so much, he's in my top 3 favs for sure - along with Gundam and Kazuichi.
I agree about Nagito too. I feel like most people either adore him or despise him, but I've always been very "middle" about him. He's endearing in his own weird ways, but still problematic in others lol.
(also sondam and hinanami are otps of mine, haha)
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Post by therationaldove on Aug 19, 2016 0:07:18 GMT
Puella Magi Madoka Magica [SPOILERS HERE]
Background: Puella Magi Madoka Magica (sometimes referred to as Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica or just Madoka Magica) is a magical girl anime produced by Shaft and Aniplex in 2011. The series was created as a magical girl anime that would appeal to the average anime watcher.
Knowledge Pre-Review: I had already seen this anime before, so I knew what I was getting into before I watched it. However, I was very excited to be revisiting the wonderful piece of work.
Story: Madoka Kaname is an ordinary middle school girl until she meets the transfer student Homura Akemi, who warn her to “stay as Madoka Kaname”. On a trip to the CD store with her best friend Sayaka Miki, she hears someone calling for help. Upon investigation, she finds an alien creature known as Kyubey being attacked by Homura. She also meets Mami Tomoe, an upperclassman who made a contract with Kyubey to become a magical girl, powerful women who are tasked with saving the world from the evil of witches, cursed beings that spread disaster wherever they go. Madoka and Sayaka are both given the opportunity to become magical girls themselves, exchanging any wish in the world for the responsibility of fighting these wishes. At first, Madoka and Sayaka’s only trouble is thinking up a wish they want to have granted. However, as time goes on, they soon discover that being a magical girl is more than just a protector of the world. On one witch hunt, Mami dies, and Homura consistently warns Madoka and Sayaka against making the contract, as it may become their biggest regret and Kyubey’s intentions are not all that they seem to be.
It is soon revealed that the contract actually involves the separation of the girls’ souls from their bodies, turning them into odd zombies, and if their Soul Gem becomes too corrupted with despair, they will turn into witches themselves, as is the fate of all magical girls.
The plotting of this series is probably one of the most engaging things about it. The story writer created the plot first before the characters, which is different from how most anime shows are conceived. While the characters are important, the Even from the beginning, although things seem pretty ordinary, there is a sense of the dark underbelly that will soon rear its head. From Homura’s jaded sense of self and cryptic warnings, to Kyubey’s weird fixation on making contracts, there is always this suggestion of darkness. Character death in this series is very common, with almost every character having some kind of death scene. This makes tensions in the later parts of the series even more dramatic, because you know that anyone can die at any moment. Death is not cheap at all in this series. The reveals and the steady darkening of the series is perfectly paced and keeps you hooked, wanting to know how the characters will manage to survive despite the horrible situation they are in.
The characters are all well done. Each character has their own motivations and personality traits that show the tragedy of being a magical girl in different ways: Sayaka serves as an example of what happens when someone gives in to despair. Kyoko is like a veteran, someone who had everything taken away from them, yet still keeps going for her own benefit, Homura trapped herself in her own personal hell just for a dear friend. You can really feel the struggle and hardship throughout the characters. It is also great to see a practically all-female cast dealing with such hard-hitting issues and displaying a lot of strength. Kyubey is a well-written antagonist. His emotionless calculations paint him less as evil and more as someone who has no moral code. He is so chilling as an antagonist, not because he has a tragic backstory, but because he only thinks with sterile logic, seeing emotion as some sort of disease. In some cases, it is hard to truly argue Kyubey’s logic. In the true long run, generating enough energy to combat the eventual death of the universe seems like a noble goal, but the methods Kyubey uses to bring about that goal are morally questionable. His insistence that he is 100% justified in his actions make him all that more sinister.
Visuals and Audio: If you were to only use the show’s marketing as a way to gauge what it is, you would probably think that Madoka Magica is your standard magical girl anime. In fact, that was done on purpose. The creators wanted the true nature of the show to be hidden from its audience, in the same way that the true nature of being a magical girl is hidden from the main characters. The animation is distinct and the design is cute. The cuteness serves to contrast the horror aspects of the series and there is no point where the cute designs stop the terror of the scene. Kyubey, despite his cute exterior, is still a menacing presence. The labyrinth’s designs were completely different, making the scene within them dangerous and otherworldly.The voice acting is top-notch, with each voice matching the characters and the deliveries are convincing in emotion.
The music in this anime is some of the best. I love both the opening and ending song. The opening is upbeat, but also bittersweet in tone, which matches the show very well. The ending, Magia, is one of my all-time favorite anime themes. It’s foreboding, ominous and its minor tone makes the listener uneasy. It’s great.
Setting, Tone and Themes: Madoka’s setting in a ficitional tone in Japan is pretty typical of magical girl animes. There was nothing too spectacular about that choice, aside from allowing the characters to live relatively normal lives. However, the city did seem oddly technologically advanced. However, considering that Incubators unnaturally augmented the speed of human civilization, it’s not a big detail.
Madoka Magica has a seemingly perverse view of the coming of age story. You can view the contracts to become magical girls as the transition from childhood into adulthood, in which the innocent “spirit” of childhood is severed, to be replaced with the empty cynicism of adulthood. The inevitable fall to despair seems to indicate that giving up that childhood innocence for the sake of bearing the responsibilities of adulthood is what corrupts adults in the end, with Kyubey acting as the lure of freedom and power, drawing people into adulthood too fast. When viewed in this light, Madoka comes as the answer: that hope in the future- and the remembrance of our childhood selves- is what will ultimately save us from this tragedy. We don’t have to give up our spirits in order to be functioning adults. In fact, keeping it close can give us the strength we need in order to bear the weight of the world.
Conclusion: Madoka Magica is a near-perfect anime. The plot is engaging. The characters are relatable and everything surrounding that helps to tell the story all the more. If you haven’t seen this anime, I would highly recommend it. Additionally, it is one of the best examples of how to tell a great story in a short amount of time.
Rating: 10/10
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Post by therationaldove on Aug 20, 2016 18:00:27 GMT
Next review will be on Gunnerkrigg Court. This will be part of an ongoing review until the comic is finished, but I will review it from the beginning to the current standing of the comic. Stay tuned!
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Post by therationaldove on Dec 19, 2016 23:09:45 GMT
Hey everyone! Sorry for my absense, but school hit me like a tidal wave. That review on Gunnerkrigg Court is coming soon.
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Post by therationaldove on Jan 9, 2017 22:09:27 GMT
Gunnerkrigg Court [SPOILERS HERE]
Background: Gunnerkrigg Court is a serial webcomic started in 2005 by British author Tom Siddel. Siddel had been wanting to write a story for a long time, and came up with the idea, plunging headfirst into the project. Now, he works on the comic full-time and it updates tri-weekly, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Knowledge Pre-Review: I have been reading this comic since sometime in 2013, so I have been following it for a while. I am pretty familiar with the material and I am excited to share my thoughts on the comic with everyone.
Summary: Antimony Carver is a new student at the enigmatic boarding school named Gunnerkrigg Court. She begins to investigate the mysteries surrounding the school, while coming across a colorful cast of characters.
Plot: Gunnerkrigg Court has an interesting plot as there is not a direct major villain or direct major conflict throughout the webcomic. Rather, the story follows more of Antimony’s life within the walls of this school. There are multiple plot threads that occur at the same time, so sometimes it feels like there is not one singular final destination for the comic. I tend to view the plotting as very episodic. each chapter has a complete narrative within in and can, in some ways, stand alone, which is different from other comics that I have read. It comes off as very TV-like. However, the plot sometimes suffers when there are long pauses between character appearances or plot references. In some ways, I think that the plot construction suffers from the update schedule, but it is a minor flaw in an otherwise great narrative.
Characters: All of the character designs in Gunnerkrigg Court are memorable, especially the more fantastical or robotic designs. All the main characters have complex motivations. Because of this, there are not too many straight antagonists. Some characters, like Coyote, could be classified as such, but there are likeable traits in each of them, that it is hard to claim they are an antagonist. The human characters are also drawn differently, with different facial features, body types and skin tones. For this reason, there aren’t many moments of confusion. Both Annie and Kat serve as compliments to each other and relate to the major themes of the comic. I very much believe they are friends and it is great to see a strong bond made between two people who are very unalike. It is a refreshing thing to see. Everything from the weirdness of Gamma and Zimmy to the robotic emotionless face of Jones to the wacky brattiness of the regional fairies are all memorable and compelling.
Visuals: As with most serial comics, the art style drastically changed over time. The first volume of the series has a more cartoonish character design, slightly reminiscent of Homestuck’s disproportioned style. The cartoonish style keeps up until the later moments, when the art style is more detailed and less cartoonish. Human characters have more facial detail and the backgrounds are well-designed. The contrast between the normal paneled pages and the panel-free moments in the ether is engaging. Seeing the way the pages flow without the panel constraints is always a treat for the reader. Tom Siddel knows how to guide the eye in those instances. The comic is also very colorful, and uses good color scheme choices to create unique locations, both in the Court and in the Gillite Wood. The only think I would say is that it is sometimes jarring when some characters are drawn with a simpler design, yet others have more visual detail in them. This tends to occur later in the comic, where Tom switches between a more cartoonish front view of a character’s face, to a more detailed profile view of a character’s face within the same page. It can be very distracting when that happens.
Settings, Tone and Themes: The two major locations of Gunnerkrigg Court and the Gillite Wood have great detail and a self-contained atmosphere. The scenes in the Court are cold and lonely, while the scenes in the wood seem lively, yet mysterious. I really like the contrast and it allows for the major theme of nature vs technology to come through all the more clearly. The comic also has a good sense of humor. Mort the ghost, the robots and the fairies provide brevity throughout the comic. However, the comic is not afraid to go dramatic. Mort’s passing on was a very touching and heartbreaking moment in the comic, for example. Annie’s relationship with her father is also a huge spot for tension as well. There is a lot of differing emotions that the comic touches on and I love how varied that emotional range is. The larger themes of nature vs technology is explored through the characters and the setting. What is great about the conflict is that netiher side is portrayed as good or evil, rather the problem comes from a lack of understanding from either side. Both can coexist, which is a good lesson to impart on the audience. This coexistence is shown through Annie and Kat’s relationship as well as the budding romance between Shadow 2 and Robot.
Conclusion: Gunnerkrigg Court is a wonderful comic and a breath of fresh air if you are tired of your typical fantasy shtick. The characters are well-written, the setting is unique and the story arcs are all engaging. It goes through a lot of emotional twists and turns, both humorous, dramatic and everything in between. I would definitely recommend it.
Rating: 9/10
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