Posts with the “driver” tag

3 Episode Taste Test: Star Driver

This is what happens when you cross effeminate young men with Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann. A frenzy of colour and Studio Bones' deft creative hand is juxtaposed against incongruously suggestive female outfits and canned animation sequences. This is not the same studio that brought out Eureka 7 and Sword of the Stranger, but one leaving the afterglow of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood and on the downspin after the disappointing Darker than Black sequel and the no doubt expensive risk of Heroman. This is Five Star Story style robots, fighting in Gurren Lagann's alternate space with Code Geass's chutzpah. This is Star Driver.

Opening episodes are always a gamble: bedazzle now and risk a depleted budget later or hold back and aim for long-term, unwrinkled quality. The first three episodes here try and do both with a swift and incomprehensible collection of enigmatic snippets of dialogue followed by a kaleidoscopic mecha battle. The latter is then repeated, down to the vocal song and preceding animation snippet, for every subsequent episode. It's sloppy and lacks the finesse expected of a Studio Bones production.

Read the rest of this entry

Hitman Contracts playthrough: Mission 9

Mission nine: The Wang Fou Incident. Continuing to cut a swathe through Hong Kong, 47 is charged with taking out a number of Blue Lotus goons who are in the process of trying to convince the Red Dragons they did not assassinate their negotiator. This is not the last time this restaurant will see blood spilled.

Hitman Contracts contains mature content and is wholly unsuitable for minors, some of these videos also contain flashing lights; fairly warned be thee.

Download the higher quality version (63MB, XviD video, VBR MP3 audio)

Read the rest of this entry