The Weekly TV, Movie, & Games Discussion Post For Week Of September 10th, 2023

We’re heading into the final months of 2023 and it’s a different world to be sure due to the actors and writers’ strikes as there won’t be a broadcast season for the most part, unless you’re interested in game and variety shows. The streaming side offers us a bit more material that was in the hopper already so we’re definitely good other.

We’re in a minor lull at the moment with three main shows we’re watching have ended. We’ve got Star Wars: Ahsoka now underway and this month gives us Lower Decks as we wrap up Foundation as well. We’re hoping to slip a few movies into the reviewing pattern as well.

First up, Daniel has checked in on the first season of One Piece. ”

Netflix’s attempt to adapt manga juggernaut One Piece delivers due to a deep understanding of the source material, an understanding lacking from many previous attempts to bring manga and anime to the world of live-action. If you’re willing to immerse yourself in this weird world of pirates and plunder you may just find yourself a gem. One that is rough and perhaps a bit unpolished in a few areas, but one that shines all the same.”

Check out our full review.

Next up this week we’ve got our look at the first two episodes of the fourth season of Star Trek: Lower Decks. The end of the opening episode provides a look at what’s to come this season with a journey into Klingon space that goes badly but that has me pretty wary as to what it could be. The main episode itself is a lot of fun as we get some merged body antics with the Cerritos side, which is a pretty standard but very fun thing to try and manage, while the gang on the Voyager deals with pretty much all the big problems that crew had to face in comical form. Not without some danger, but it’s still just a lot of fun. I imagine fans of the original show have a ton of references to find throughout it and it’ll definitely deliver what they’re looking for. It was a lot of fun even for a casual viewer like me and just seeing the progress of the team while still sticking to their lower deck roots is a hoot.

Check out our review of the first and second episodes.

Next up this week we’ve got our look at the fourth episode of Ahsoka. While I do wish this episode had come a bit earlier than this and that things were tightened up in the first three episodes, viewing all of this series as the opening act to what’s going to sprawl out for the next few years has me excited. The connections to the past are here as it binds together the prequels, the in-between era, the original films, and light touches to the sequels as well. Ahsoka is a binding character in a lot of ways but it’s the sprawling cast that does a lot of things. But the new characters are stealing the show for me in a lot of ways, including Elsbeth from her previous appearance in The Mandalorian to becoming something far more of a threat. It definitely has me going back to re-read what I’ve forgotten about the Nightsisters and what they’re like. Baylan and Shin are definitely hitting the right notes for me and seeing all the potential is just delightful.

Check out our review of the episode.

We’ve got a couple of game reviews this week as well and first up is the PC release of Sea of Stars. According to Cody, Sea of Stars is quite simply the best indie RPG ever made so far. The team at Sabotage Studio has shown that it not only can take inspiration from some of the best JRPGs in the past, but carve its own path with a surprisingly enjoyable experience from top to bottom.

The fairly standard turn-based combat is interactive and deep enough to keep me interested, the platforming elements aren’t perfect but they add a nice layer to the experience, and the extra minigames like fishing and Wheels add value to the already incredibly beautiful and immersive 2D world. While I wouldn’t say the story is too surprising or unique, it is just good enough to be the anchor for this must-play indie title.

Check out our full review.

Also on the game side of things, Cody also has a look at the Baldur’s Gate PC release. Baldur’s Gate 3 is one of the finest RPGs ever made, bringing back the classic D&D-inspired computer RPGs of the late 1990s and early 2000s, and outshining all of them in the process. There is no game with this level of roleplay potential, rich combat, and player choice.

Check out our full review.

Next up, we’ve got a look at the eighth episode of Foundation with its second season. The players on the board are shaken up a bit by the end of this episode and it’s primed for where it will go to wrap things up for the season. I am intrigued to see what the next episode is as it’s supposed to focus on a lot of Demerzel’s story and the Robot Wars as viewed by this creative team so there’s a lot of curiosity but also apprehension at the whole thing. Some of it just makes me eager to revisit the novels once again and engage in its kind of storytelling. There are a lot of things I like that have expanded upon with this show and the visual and creative design is just off the charts, capturing a sprawling galactic empire in small but great ways. But so many other areas frustrate with choices that make no sense.

Check out our full review.

Movie reviews:

1. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Review
2. Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead Film Review
3. Shazam! Fury of the Gods Review
4. Justice League: Warworld Blu-ray Review
5. The Little Mermaid
6. The Boxtrolls Review
7. Kubo and the Two-Strings Review
8. Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania Review
9. Kaguya-sama: Love Is War – The First Kiss That Never Ends Anime Movie Review
10. Sword Art Online The Movie – Progressive- Scherzo of Deep Night Movie Review
11. Mobile Suit Gundam Cucuruz Doan’s Island
12. Missing Review
13. The Whale Review
14. Point of No Return Review
15. Blonde Review
16. Wendell & Wild
17. Clerks III Review
18. Luck Review
19. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
20. Fortune Favors Lady Nikuko
21. Hustle Review
22. Top Gun: Maverick Review
23. The Bob’s Burgers Movie Review
24. Chip n’ Dale: Rescue Rangers Review
25. Stu’s Show Review
26. Star Trek: The Motion Picture – The Director’s Edition Review
27. Bubble Anime Review
28. Ryoma! The Prince of Tennis Anime Review
29. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Review
30. Turning Red Review
31. The Batman Review
32. Belle Review
33. Drive My Car Review
34. The Power of the Dog Review
35. Robin Robin Review
36. BoxBallet Review
37. Bestia Review
38. Eternals Review
39. Encanto Review
40. 8-Bit Christmas Review
41. Music Box: Jagged Review
42. Ghostbusters: Afterlife Review
43. Tick, Tick…BOOM! Review
44. Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings Review
45. Free Guy Review
46. My Hero Academia: World Heroes’ Mission Review
47. Dune (2021) Review
48. Black Widow
49. Jungle Cruise Review
50. As the Village Sleeps Review
51. Space Jam: A New Legacy Review
52. A Quiet Place Part II Review
53. Knots: A Forced Marriage Story Review
54. School-Live! The Movie Blu-ray Review
55. In the Heights Review
56. Over the Moon Review
57. Feeling Through Review
58. Two Distant Strangers review
59. Yes-People Review
60. A Love Song for Latasha Review
61. If Anything Happens I Love You Review
62. Burrow Review
63. Godzilla vs Kong
64. Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren & Stimpy Story Review
65. Kamp Koral: SpongeBob’s Under Years Preview
66. Raya and the Last Dragon Review
67. The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge on the Run Review
68. The Little Things Review
69. In Other Words Review
70. Earwig and the Witch Review

What did you watch this past week?

Chris Beveridge

http://www.fandompost.com

Chris has been writing about anime, manga, movies and comics for well on twenty years now. He began AnimeOnDVD.com back in 1998 and has covered nearly every anime release that’s come out in the US ever since.

He likes to write a lot, as you can see.

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