Author: Jake Yoder

Does anyone remember Zoids? No? I certainly didn’t until I heard about Zoids Wild: Blast Unleashed, the newest game based on a surprisingly old franchise. I remember seeing Zoids on TV when I was younger, but it was never on my “must-watch” cartoon list. Imagine my surprise when Zoids Wild: Blast Unleashed shows up on my Switch, reminding me that Zoids is still alive and well; Or at least alive enough to get a mediocre arena fighter. https://youtu.be/a4lXy0Q9EbI Zoids Wild: Blast Unleashed is loosely based on the plot of the Zoids: Wild anime, though the game does a pretty bad job…

Viewing another person’s semi-normal life can encompass some of the best moments of the slice-of-life genre. As I grow up, the stories that were once set in high school don’t grab my interest as much these days, and I am continually looking for stories about college or adult life, which is something that Fangirl volume one tackle wonderfully. Fangirl follows Cath, a college freshman with more of an affinity for writing than partying. Though starting college means leaving her father and alcohol-abusing sister behind, she still has two people who will always be there for her, Simon Snow and Baz,…

We’ve seen the beat ’em up formula time and time again. Systems that revolve around clearing an area of enemies to progress can make it difficult for developers to find ways to set their game apart from the competition. 9 Monkeys of Shaolin uses eastern culture and kung-fu tropes to give it a sense of uniqueness, but it ultimately fails to grab players’ attention.  9 Monkeys of Shaolin takes place in China in the 1500s. Players are introduced to Wei Cheng, whose friends and family is killed during a pirate raid of his village. So like any good revenge…

Each Nintendo IP seems to have its charm, with some being more appealing than others. One series that has stood out to me, but isn’t as prominent in their catalog, is Pikmin. There’s just something about exploring a familiar environment through the perspective of adorable creatures that stole my heart. https://youtu.be/awU9_UoEnWw Now, it’s been seven years since the release of Pikmin 3, with very little news about the future of the series.  Though I’ve been holding out hope, it began to feel like I may never see my little flower buddies again outside of Smash Bros. As Nintendo continues to…

Have you ever had a piece of media get you completely invested in a plot only to throw you for a complete loop? Volume one of Yoshi no Zuikara: The Frog in the Well Does Not Know the Ocean did exactly that for me. The series spends around 60 pages setting up a quiet slice of life story about four teenagers living on a remote island in Japan only to reveal in the chapter’s final pages that everything I had just read was actually a manga written by the series’ true protagonist. Twists like this are certainly bold, but when…

Since Sherlock Holmes found his way into the public domain, it seems like the world can’t escape countless stories featuring him each year. While we have seen some really good takes on Sherlock, they’ve all started to blend together, and I can’t say I get excited whenever I hear about a new adaptation. Moriarty the Patriot, however, manages to take a completely new look at the Sherlock Holmes universe, instantly pulling readers in. Instead of focusing on the famous detective, the manga series puts James Moriarty, the arch-nemesis, in the spotlight. Whereas Sherlock is a master at catching criminals, Moriarty…

Stories revolving around the paranormal have become the new “it” thing almost overnight. Series such as Demon Slayer and Jujutsu Kaisen have quickly stolen the hearts of most of the Otaku community, with a good number of popular series running in Shonen Jump today revolving around some sort of paranormal gimmick. Chainsaw Man may just be the next big shonen series with a paranormal backbone. Begining serialization only a few months after the new big-hitter Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man has gained quite the following in the international manga community, making it impossible to avoid the past few years. However, I…

Whether it be a Rebel X-wing, and Imperial TIE Fighter, or the Millennium Falcon herself, I’ve always wanted to get inside the cockpit of a ship from Star Wars. Maybe it’s the immersive dog fights from the films or the pilots behind the controls, but one would think that we would see more games centered around the idea of piloting these ships. Although it’s been touched on before in other titles, nothing has come close to the experience that Star Wars: Squadrons offers. https://youtu.be/sgE3jnsHa4E Star Wars: Squadrons puts players in two of the most elite starfighter squadrons in the galaxy:…

VIZ Media announced this morning that it will be making the first seven chapters of Jujutsu Kaisen free through Shonen Jump to celebrate the premiere of the series’ anime adaptation. The manga, which began serialization in early 2018, has gained a large following in Japan and has recently begun to gain traction in the West. With over 120 chapters released in English via “simulpub,” there’s plenty of Jujutsu Kaisen content for fans to read on the Shonen Jump website. If the first seven chapters aren’t enough for you, you can completely catch up on the series by becoming a member of…

As a kid, there was a time when I was obsessed with King Arthur. A world of knights, magic, and dragons is the perfect fuel for an active imagination, leading to hours of a young Jake pretending to be a knight of the round table. Years later, it seems like creatives can’t seem to stop themselves from adapting this classic tale, and the same is true for anime, manga, and light novels. Last Round Arthurs brought the world of King Arthur into a tournament-style Japanese setting when the first volume of its light novel was released back in 2018. The…

Fantasy has become one of the most popular genres in the world of anime and manga. Whether taking place in the real world or a fictional one, there seems to be no end to series following magical creatures. If Witch, Then Which? appears to be just another generic slice of life/fantasy tale at first glance, but once readers get past the first chapter, they are graced with a twist setting the series apart from its contemporaries. If Witch, Then Which? follows Haruka Kuze, a third-year in middle school owes his life to Maruna Rinjou, one of his classmates. After Kuze…

After a strong first volume, Spy x Family was poised to become my new favorite series running under the Shonen Jump imprint. It isn’t unusual, however, for series to have an incredibly strong first couple of chapters and then drop off completely before they can even get fully going. With my hopes high, I jumped into Spy x Family’s second volume, unsure if I would walk away loving the series more or deciding to drop it altogether. Luckily, mangaka Tatsuya Endo cements Spy x Family as a series to watch in volume 2. Spy x Family volume 2 picks up…

Perhaps the only thing worse than a bad manga is watching a good manga slowly become worse over the course of its runtime. With an art style reminiscent of a bygone era, eye-catching colored panels, and an interesting setup, it seemed like nothing could bring down Sazan and Comet Girl. However, the series isn’t given enough time to shine in its 500-page omnibus, leading to a reading experience that left me with more ambivalence than anything else. Sazan and Comet Girl follows Sazan, a young, blue-collar human thousands of years in the future. When he misses the last ship back…

Many people spend years searching for someone to spend their lives with. It can be incredibly difficult to cultivate a healthy relationship that is ready for marriage, leading to years of struggles and heartbreak before most find their special someone. What if, however, getting married was as easy as simply saying, “yes?” In Fly Me to the Moon, protagonist Nasa Yuzaki learns that for some, that’s all it takes. After spending his whole life working to become one of the strongest minds in the world, Nasa has a chance encounter with Tsukasa Tsukuyomi, a girl so cute that he immediately…

Series such as Sailor Moon and Cardcaptor Sakura introduced millions of people to the magical girl genre, winning fans over through their mix of cute characters, wholesome storylines, and enjoyable action. When Puella Magi Madoka Magica premiered back in 2011, many assumed it was just another generic, 12-episode magical girl series. Those that made it to episode three, however, realized that it was something much more profound and darker. It quickly became one of the more popular anime from that year and, naturally, received a whole slew of spin-offs and adaptations. With Puella Magi Madoka Magica being such a popular…

The Mario brothers have been in my life for as long as I can remember. Like many gamers, I’ve spent much of my time in one version or another of the Mushroom Kingdom. Even though the 2D world is where Mario found fame, the 3D titles make up some of my favorite experiences. Now, on the 35th anniversary of the Super Mario series, Nintendo has released Super Mario 3D All-Stars. This collection brings together three of the greatest Mario games of all time: Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, and Super Mario Galaxy. Each title was released on a different…

It is incredibly rare for a game to take me by surprise nowadays. Almost every time I boot up one of my consoles, I know exactly what I’m getting into. Spiritfarer, the newest title from developer Thunder Lotus Games, was an experience that I genuinely can’t say I’ve ever had in a game before. Sure, I’ve played management games and farming sims before, but nothing that hit on the deep emotional level that Spiritfarer did time and time again. https://youtu.be/A-vLAEDY4Do Spiritfarer follows Stella, a newly deceased girl, tasked with taking over the position of ferry master to the dead. As…

For the past few years, it has been almost impossible to escape knowing about Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai. The series exploded onto the west at the end of 2018 with a 13 episode anime, quickly cementing itself as one of the best slice-of-life/romance series of the decade. Even though I consider myself a massive fan of the genre, the series evaded me until Yen Press released the first volume of the manga adaptation. With hopes high, I decided it was finally time to see what all the hype was about with Bunny Girl Senpai. Rascal Does…

Before video games, movies, and anime truly got their hold over me, I would spend hours reading the adventures of Spider-Man, the X-Men, and the Avengers. Suffice it to say, the past few years have been amazing for this lifelong Marvel Comics fan. Not only have films such as Avengers: Endgame given me cinematic experiences I thought I’d never see, games like 2018’s Spider-Man have let me step into the role of one of my favorite heroes. When Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics announced Marvel’s Avengers a few years ago, my hopes were admittedly pretty high. While Ultimate Alliance and…

What if I told you there was a fighting game with more than 45 playable characters from the most popular Shonen Jump series that is still getting updates almost two years after launch? You might be surprised to hear that I’m talking about Jump Force, which launched to almost universally negative reviews. I never really stopped thinking about Jump Force, but I never got around to playing it. With the game releasing on Switch, however, I figured it was the perfect time to form my own opinion on the fighting game that won’t seem to give up. https://youtu.be/HNNs_pkaEmA Jump Force…