Invincible impresses with gore and characters marred by a few things

Invincible is a story about Mark, a teenager who recently developed his powers, the son of Nolan and Debbie. Nolan is deemed the strongest superhero on earth, and Mark aspires to be just as great as he is. 

The structure of the season is simple. While there is an overarching plot around Mark, Nolan, and Debbie, new villains are showcased episodically. With the introduction of villains comes the introduction of other superheroes and recurring characters.

All the recurring characters will not be mentioned here nor hold weight in the main plotline, but they do have their own subplots. Eve, Mark's eventual friend, goes to find her own meaning of living life as a superhero. Cecil, the director of the series' Global Defense Agency, investigates the truth behind the killings of the Guardians of the Globe. There are more prominent side characters, but this post will stop with Cecil.

 

Invincible - Official Trailer from Amazon Prime Video

 

Most of the subplots are harmless, but one did become a chore to watch: the high school romance subplot of Mark and Amber. Amber is introduced in the first episode, and she is characterized as a woman with initiative. However, the quality was not seen when her relationship with Mark took a downward turn. The development of their relationship felt contrived and superficial. There are better ways to introduce the problems of Mark's becoming a complacent superhero overnight, and none of them includes a silly romance subplot.

As the series is animated, there are plenty of scenes that take advantage of the medium. Some of the fights are flashy and impactful. This is strongly evident in the final episode of the first season, wherein a certain fight took place around the globe.

The series tackles action, comedy, and drama well. However, it disappoints in sound mixing. The voice acting and dialogue are significantly leveled lower than the soundtrack and sound effects. This inconveniences the viewer to frequently change the volume of the sound system. While the sound effects are typical of an animated action series, the inclusion of contemporary music -- be it pop, indie, or rock -- is questionable. The music is a little too on the nose. Rather than adding to the emotion of the scene, they take away the seriousness and gravity.

The voice acting could also have been much better. Voice acting, in general, should be able to convey the feelings even if the eyes of the viewers are closed. The magic of knowing the emotion of the actor should be experienced by the viewer through listening alone. Many of the scenes in Invincible do not leave a good impression. I cannot precisely point to the reason as to why the scenes with dialogue fall flat. It could be because of the sound mixing, the directing, the material the voice actors dealt with, or maybe because the lines themselves aren't impressive by themselves. Regardless, I find myself looking at my phone during dialogues. 

Invincible is still fun and contains enough engaging twists for new to the franchise, even with noticeable flaws.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses is one of the best RPGs on the Nintendo Switch

Fire Emblem: Three Houses was the second game I'd played in the series. During its reveal, I had decided to stop exposing myself to its marketing and go into the game as blind as I could. The game is a tactical role-playing game on the Nintendo Switch and was released in 2019. It offers a rich experience in gameplay and plot, branching to four endings.

Byleth, the avatar or main character, is the son of Jeralt, a highly respected mercenary. They soon move to Garreg Mach Monastery after helping Edelgard, Dmitri, and Claude from bandits. The first part of the plot revolves around Byleth's life in the monastery as a professor of one of the three houses of his choosing. While the general feeling of this part is upbeat and light, it contains much foreshadowing of the second half of the game.

As the professor, Byleth can instruct his students and other playable characters to develop their skills according to their goals. He also has the opportunity to be instructed by the staff of the monastery. Skills are also developed on the battlefield where Byleth leads his students.

In the beginning, the playable characters only include Byleth and the house he is in charge of. But, by raising the support levels, professor level, or Byleth's skills and stats, Byleth can recruit most of the students from the other houses. I have enjoyed raising support levels and recruiting in this game with the added challenge of having limited actions in a day in a week. Each character is also interesting, and this made it also harder to prioritize one character from the other.

 

Fire Emblem: Three Houses - Accolades trailer from Nintendo's YouTube channel

The combat is fairly the same as Fire Emblem: Awakening and the first Fire Emblem -- the third game of the series I am currently playing. The player can choose from a variety of classes. Everyone starts as either a noble or a commoner, but they can take certification exams and acquire better classes with specialized stat spread.

In the monastery itself, there are plenty of activities to do. Depending on how well you do in an activity, you can raise your professor level. Having a high professor level brings a lot of perks. Adjutants can be assigned to units in battle if the professor level is high enough. A rewarding fruit of raising the professor level is increasing the amount of what Byleth can do -- activities in the monastery, optional battles, and lectures/instructions all have to do with the professor level.

Casual and classic modes return in Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Because of the colorful characters, I opt for casual. There are also three difficulty modes to spice up each run of the game. The optional divine pulse allows the player to roll back a turn for desired battler results. Personally, the divine pulse sees little use in the easiest difficulty in casual mode.

The second half of the game takes a darker turn as the three houses vie for their respective goals. The buildup in the first half of the game and the payoff in the second half make for a satisfying narrative, urging the player to replay the game in another story route. One of the results of having four branches of the main storyline is the depth of the characters. While gameplay remains the best motivation to play Fire Emblem games, the plot and characters make the experience unforgettable. The soundtrack and sound design are also worth praising.

There is a ton more content that was not covered by this post. The best way to know them all is to play the game. With over 80 hours for just one playthrough, this game is worth spending time on.

Get up and move! Doing something is better than nothing

I've heard this plenty of times: to get up and move. One of the podcasts that I listen to always recommends taking some time during the weekends to reflect on life. It recommends looking at the things to keep in life and the things to change. Of course, reflecting is different than acting. Change does not come from just thinking. After identifying the things desired in life, action is needed to achieve the change.

Another podcast says that doing anything is better than sitting still. Even if it is just a small step, taking a step gets a person closer to their goals in life. A popular example is exercising. Let's say a person with a sedentary lifestyle is unsatisfied with his/her looks and health. He/she would benefit greatly from taking brisk walks every day. He/she doesn't have to copy the routines of athletes and bodybuilders from the get-go.

Photo by Ivan Samkov from Pexels

For as long as I've been listening to these podcasts, I have been a firm believer in their ideas. Instead of feeling envy from social media, it would be better to shake the old habits and routines to achieve the desired life. A lot of things are within reach, but often, either hesitation or laziness stops people in their tracks.

Whenever something is done, don't forget to celebrate. A victory is a victory no matter the scope.

INFLUENCE is a gripping mystery drama about three friends bonded by unique circumstances

Taking a break from anime (read: most recent post about anime as of this writing), I decided to watch a live-action Japanese show. I opened Viki, and INFLUENCE was one of the shows that greeted me on the landing page.

Honestly, the plot synopsis of INFLUENCE at Viki sucked. It was laid out boringly. However, I still decided to give it a shot, and I am glad I did. Beware that this post may contain spoilers of the show.

 

INFLUENCE - OFFICIAL TRAILER from Viki Global TV

My eyes were glued to the screen the whole first episode. It starts with the introduction of a novelist who meets up with a local fan. The fan, Yuri, tells of a story of her, her two friends Satoko and Maho, and their unique relationships. The viewer also learns that the three women are involved in a series of murders and deaths.

The first episode perfectly set up the tone of the series, a drama with a taste of mystery and thriller. The main characters are well defined and stay true to the writing up until the finale. Meanwhile, the supporting characters leave impactful impressions even with shorter screen times.

I personally found the pacing of the whole series good. The main plot and subplots move along at a speed that the viewer won't be overwhelmed, and the structure of the plots are simple arcs. Some twists can be guessed, but the characters' reactions make up for the predictability.

The final murder the three women are entangled in is the strongest plot arc and climax of the series. It became a beautiful case wherein Yuki showcases how much she loves her friends in their unfair world. The three of them committed wrongdoings, which is a fact, but Yuki takes the blame so that her two friends can live the happy lives she wishes them to have.

The final episode satisfyingly ties all the loose ends from the previous episodes. The viewers get to see all the connections crystal-clear and know the women who have grown older. 

I strongly recommend INFLUENCE to anyone looking for a Japanese drama. It has everything going for it, and the viewer can enjoy a wonderful, thrilling roller coaster ride of emotions and twists.

Spencer Sutherland pumps out catchy, enjoyable tunes with attitude

Spencer Sutherland has been one of my favorite artists ever since discovering him a few years back. His songs are catchy, and he has a particular tone that always gets my attention.

His music videos are also quite good. In his latest videos, he goes for an old-school aesthetic -- forgive my inability to expound on this; aesthetics and art are not my forte. He also released videos that went for a modern, sleek style with complementary color palettes.

I first chanced upon Spencer's work when YouTube recommended a song of his, Fine. See, I was a huge follower of The Voice USA, and by the miracle of the YouTube algorithm, I was introduced to Spencer.

 

Spencer Sutherland - Fine from his channel

I think Spencer has only gotten better. His first few songs were a little too safe if you ask me. I always liked his soulful side more rather than pop. He still is pop, but he shines and stands out a little bit more in his EP, Indigo. In any song, his voice is always pleasant to hear.

 

Spencer Sutherland - Indigo from his official YouTube channel